Chapter 3
The steady hum of working machinery, and the repetitive clink of spinning gears served as the backdrop to a strange dream she could not recall. Vision blurred and slowly cleared to reveal old wood above her head with the dim glow of a lantern the only source of light in the room. They had been on deck, Tallon had released his hold on her waist as soon as they were out of view and started laughing at the look of mingled disbelief and anger on her face. Taking in a deep breath, Evangeline had turned on her heel and was preparing to give the man a piece of her mind when her vision shot bright and then dark.
Sitting up slowly and pushing the blankets covering her aside, she heard the click of a door and looked as the light of day flooded the room for a moment before it went dark again; all she had seen was the silhouette of a figure enter, taller than her, and now hiding in the darkness, “Who’s there!? Show yourself or I’ll..I’ll..” Beat them to death with a pillow? Useful! Grabbing the fluffy weapon anyway, Evangeline readied herself to attack when a second lantern filled the rest of the room with light and revealed a very amused Tallon, “Oooh, a pillow. Scary.” Heart jumped in her chest from the way he smiled at her, and Eva was unsure if it was from anger or not.
Pushing herself off the bed and to her feet, hands worked to smooth sleep tousled strands and straighten out her clothes, Tallon crossing his arms and tapping his foot, “What’s with ladies and always takin’ forever to get ready?” “Excuse me?” “You’ve got people waitin’ to meet you, Lady.” What if they were pirates? Unsavory characters!? All of the things her wild imagination had begged for as a child. Mind swirled with all the possibilities of what could be on the other side of that door, and then it dawned on her; Where was Marxius? Turning in a quick circle and seeing no sign of her sassy companion, Eva marched herself to Tallon and put a finger on his chest, “Where is my cat!? “Buttbreath? Threw him overboard. Not much of a cat person, y’know.” Gasping, she swung a fist that he easily ducked under with a manly squeal, dodging to the door and pulling it open before running out. Following hot in his heels and running flat into his back when he stopped not too far from the doorway, she was surprised to see the little girl from before standing with Marxius in her arms.
Breaking into a fit of laughter, Tallon turned around and put his hands on her shoulders, “You’ve gotta learn to take a joke if you’re gonna be part of my crew, Lady.” His crew consisting of a child and now it seems, a cat. Impressive! Marxius even snickered a bit, stretching a paw out as he was snuggled by Pip, “Perhaps you should introduce yourself, it would be the polite thing to do.” Never in her life had Eva seen Marxius speak infront of anyone but her; with the laws ` her freckled cheek against the cats head, Pip gave a big smile up at Evangeline, “Names Pippin! Pip if ya’ please, and that’s Tallon. He’s my big stupid brother, and he ain’t got no manners.”
Making a silent promise to tickle his sister until her face turned blue later, he released Evangeline’s shoulders to step back and give an exaggerated bow, “Now that you know who we are..s’only fair you tell us your name. The fluffy rat’s been pretty light on details.” Hiss! Pursing her lips, she searched the rest of the deck for anyone else before deciding to answer, “My name is Evangeline De’Coronette. Nice to meet all of you.” It was Pip’s turn to laugh now, throwing her head back, “You ‘kidnapped’ the High Inventors daughter, you dope! We’re gonna die!” How was it she could sound so amused at the prospect of death? Tallon sighed and put a hand on his hip, sizing Evangeline up from head to toe, his gaze stopping on select sections for a few seconds too long for her liking.
“Is that right? Did I kidnap you? Judging by the stuff in your bag, Lady, you were runnin’ away.” “You looked through my bag!?” “Yup.” He didn’t even deny it? Huffing softly, she looked away and crossed her arms tightly, “Perhaps I was. I could have been about to travel, do some diplomatic work for my father.” He smirked, “Not with a book of magic in your bag you weren’t. Aren’t those against the law, sweetie?” Cheeks burned red, unsure of how to respond to that other than a defeated stammering of unintelligible words. With a bit of struggle he was able to free himself from Pip’s grasp and pad over to Tallon, delivering a firm swat of claws against calf. Yelping, he growled down at the cat who was already back on his way over to Pips waiting arms.
The action gave Eva enough time to form a real thought, “He’s very protective of me, as you can see..and yes, I am running away. Once we land, I will leave you alone and send my father a letter. This was my choice; I cannot let anyone be punished for something I did on my own.” Sighing, he reached out a ruffled her hair, “Nah. Pip could use another girl on board, and we’re kinda already runnin’ from the law, one more little thing won’t make a difference.” “Stay!” Chimed in the smaller half of the crew, though her motives were likely of the fluffy variety. Hair now a mess again, Evangeline peered up at Tallon and then over to Pip and Marxius before offering a sigh, “I am a stranger, why are you so eager to have me stay?” Years of listening endlessly to diplomatic arguments had left the Noble girl wary of help from anyone, and Tallon looked almost annoyed by the question, “You’d be dead in a day without us, you didn’t pack any food, the way you talk? Dead giveaway of a better upbringin’, someone would rob you of all those pretty shinies you brought and keep you as a trophy ‘fore selling you off to the highest bidder. You don’t know the world outside of those big walls, do you?”
His words did not carry a cruel edge, but rather a calm sense of reality; he intended on protecting the naïve girl, Evangeline’s shoulders steadily sinking. Cheeks burned hot with embarrassment at how foolish the very idea of running away had been, though she suppressed the urge to cry, “Then I will stay, but I want to be useful! Please, put me to work.” Taking her hands in his own, Tallon flipped them over and ran his thumb over the soft skin of her palm, “Work wouldn’t suit these hands, not the kind you’re thinkin’. Can you cook?” “Cook?” She echoed, though her focus was not on his words but rather the soft but worn touch of his hands, taken from her stupor only after he left her go and nodded, “Y’know. Stew? Eggs? ..Food? Cooking.” Clearing her throat and laughing for reasons unknown to even her, Eva gave several quick nods, “Yes. Yes I can cook, the maids taught me after my mother le--the maids taught me.”
Though he had noticed her slip-up, Tallon brushed it off and smiled, “Well then! You can be our new cook, it will be nice to have food that doesn’t taste like ash! Pip is brilliant with machinery, but she can’t cook, and I’m no better.” “Could you show me the kitchen, then?” Pip started to laugh at that, raising a hand to salute Evangeline, “Good luck with that!” This did not fill her with hope, and once Tallon had led her below deck to the kitchens she discovered why. Pots and pans that had not been cleaned it what looked like years toppled over one another in the sinks, the stove was covered in layers of filth and ashes. The entire kitchen was in a state of disarray, mice wondering to and fro without any fear of the entering humans. Marxius would be able to come in handy, too!
Rolling her sleeves up to her elbows and tying her hair back with a ribbon, a sideways glance was tossed to Tallon, “You should go, I need to be alone.” Gulping, he backed out of the kitchen with his hands up and shut the door..he really ought to have checked all that before sending a woman in there!
Hours later, Evangeline emerged from the depths below with a confident smile. During the time she was gone, Tallon had remained above deck and listening to the sounds of screaming, a few explosions, breaking glass, and words that he never thought he’d have heard from a proper lady’s mouth. Hands met her hips and chin raised, clearly proud of herself, “I have conquered the kitchen, and dinner is cooking. You are welcome.” “You’re.” “What?” “You’re. Say You’re. If you’re gonna stay with us, you’ve gotta stop talkin’ like that or people will get suspicious.” Her tutors growing up would be catching Tallon on fire right now if they could hear him, but the concept of not having to mind her every word was..exciting! Taking a breath, she’d repeat her sentence; “I’ve conquered the kitchen..the damn kitchen! You’re welcome.” Hah! She’d done it! Beaming proudly at her lack of proper speech, Tallon couldn’t help but smile and ruffle her hair again as he walked past her to go see the spectacle for himself.
Opening the door, he could never have been prepared for what he saw. The pots and pans were clean and all hung up above the stove, plates and the like were also cleaned and put away properly. The stove itself was now visible and shining like fresh polished silver, the floors were clean and the room smelled heavily of meat and potatoes from the stew cooking over a fire. Scratching the back of his head, Evangeline appeared beside him and grinned, “Like I said, you’re welcome. Oh, and we have some new pets.” Pointing to one of the counters, a makeshift cage now contained three little mice, she couldn’t bring herself to sick the cat on them once she saw those cute little faces. He thought about arguing the point of the mice, but that was before he saw the smile on her face; this girl was going to be dangerous.
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