I bet you won’t believe me about what came next. I don’t believe it!
The captain came into the room, all fancy in his white uniform. He wasn’t that old, probably in his late thirties, and he kept his body in shape, so he was quite attractive. His shoulders had gold tassels or was it patches? But what I liked best was his hat, white on the top like a puffed out marshmallow and at the bottom a black head piece with the same beak as a baseball cap. The bottom was black, which made the gold insignia which connected the white part and the black really stand out.
There was no doubt, looking at the man, that he was an official of great importance, yet he strode over to us and was soon shaking Timothy’s hand like my husband was the big cheese. I got introduced as Timothy’s bride, and then shook hands, too. Way, cool.
Daniel, Ben, Bob, and Terry got an introduction, too, but only by means of a wave of Timothy’s hand. The captain didn’t shake the men’s hands, but his eyes scanned them enough that I was positive the captain would remember that our guards were attached to us. (Did he know they were guards and not supposed to be friends, as Timothy kept reminding me? That I have no idea, although, as far as I was concerned, the guys were friends first and foremost.)
As if the captain’s approach and careful conversation weren’t enough to jazz our introduction to the mammoth ship, the captain then preceded to be the one to walk us up the gangway.
Timothy and Captain Bill were apparently becoming good buddies. They kept up a steady stream of conversation the whole LONG way. Of course, I was okay with that. Timothy’s arm was around me, and my body was touching his. I was as contented as a piglet in mud.
After we set foot on the gangway, the walk turned vertical. It was a slow slant, so it wasn’t that we were out of breath, but I bet those who didn’t use the incline on a treadmill would undoubtedly feel pulled muscles in their calves the next day.
Bob and Terry thumped as they walked behind us, noisier than a herd of buffaloes. Daniel and Ben, I didn’t hear. I bet neither of them made a sound. Daniel walked like all forest dwellers, probably rolling his feet rather than pounding. Ben floated for all I know. The Fae were still a mystery to me.
About the point of stepping foot inside the bloated monster of a ship, one foot over the threshold, a band down at the bottom of the port building struck up a tune. Perhaps that was notification that others were soon going to be boarding?
Whatever song the band was playing, it was a happy tune, and it made me want to dance my way inside the whale, I mean, ship.
(Have you ever seen a cruise ship? Their size is not even imaginable. Picture an airplane, then multiply it by about twenty. I guess stadium size would be too small, a floating football field? Too small, but if you can imagine this particular whale swallowing up fifteen thousand people, perhaps your imagination can cope with its enormity. I just felt like a tiny ant crawling into an over-sized watermelon.)