Chapter 12

"I will remember it, Captain. Thank you," I replied and dared a small smile. I was happy that our relationship had been restored. I never expected him to apologize to me. To a maid! I knew I wasn't really a maid, but for him, I was.

But my joy was poisoned by the remorse and guilt I felt for the lie we told. I hadn't imagined it that way. I thought I wouldn't care about lying; all I cared about was running away from the Red Valley. But my feelings changed towards these good people who accepted us and showed so much willingness to help us.

Before we leave the ship with Brielle, and since I would never see him again in my life, maybe I should decide to reveal the truth to him. Maybe. I hadn't made my mind yet, I would think about it, and I would discuss it with Brielle as well.

After he gave me his permission, I got out of his cabin and returned to the kitchen. But I didn't find Jimena alone as I expected.

Four men from the crew sat at the table and ate breakfast prepared by Jimena. She was hovering over them, bringing them some bread, water, glasses, and they enjoyed her attention.

I recognized one of them. It was Ian.

I didn't know the others by their names.

I restrained my surprise and smiled at them. "Good morning guys. Ian».

"Good morning, Serena," they told me.

"Do you know my name?!" I asked them in astonishment.

"Of course we know it."

"Well, then it's unfair for me not to know yours too." I told them, and they agreed.

They told me their names. To the right, next to Ian, was Mark, across from him was Logan, and next to Logan was Sean. They were all young men, about the same age as the Captain, with muscular bodies from the hard work of the ship and their skin tanned by the sun.

We didn't have time to say anything more because Jimena broke off us.

"Everything okay with the captain's breakfast?" she asked me.

"Yes. Everything is okay."

"Good. In a while. I will tell you when. You will go and get the tray and clean the cabin. I will explain to you when the time comes exactly what you have to do."

"Okay, Jimena." I replied.

"Here, you can have breakfast too" she tended to me a plate full of food.

I didn't realize how hungry I was until the smell of the food pierced my nostrils.

I sat on a small stool in a corner and devoted myself to my food. It was so delicious that I can't describe it in words.

Meanwhile, the four men had finished their breakfast and left, greeting us with a smile.

Jimena hurried to set the table, and I understood the reason for her hurry only when four other men from the crew entered the kitchen.

After greeting us formally, they sat down at the table and began to eat with a great appetite.

These four men didn't pay attention to me, so I didn't speak to them either. I continued my meal speechless until I emptied my plate.

Jimena reached out, and I gave her the empty plate.

"Can I go and see how Lady is doing?" I asked Jimena.

"Yes, you can go. But come back quickly."

"Okay. I will."

I left the kitchen and went to our room. I came in, and Brielle, with a small scream, covered her nudity with a shirt. As soon as she realized that it was me, she sighed in relief.

I smiled. "Good morning, my Lady. Do you need any help?"

"Yes, please, thank you." she replied, and I approached.

While I was helping her get dressed, I told her about the Captain and how he apologized to me for his behavior yesterday.

Brielle was pleasantly surprised and smiled.

"This is a good thing if we think that he apologized to a maid. I'm glad the Captain is such a man. Although I believe that it is not only his kindness that made him behave like that." She told me and raised her eyebrow, smiling playfully.

"Here we go again! The same thing over and over. I told you before. This is not possible." I told her sharply, grabbing my apron abruptly squeezing the fabric of it.

Brielle didn't say anything. She didn't give me not even a sorry look.

But that was okay. She would understand it on her own in time.

"I'm going to get you breakfast." I told her when I calmed down. "Unfortunately, you can't come to the kitchen, the table is occupied by the men of the crew. They come in groups of four and eat breakfast."

"Oh, is that so?" she told me, disappointed.

"Yes. I'm sorry Brielle."

"I will get used to it, don't worry. Of course this will happen every day. So will I be in here all day alone? Can I come and help you with the cleaning? I prefer it than being in here all day alone."

"I wish it could be possible, really. Your help would be invaluable. If you want, you can go out on deck. I don't think it is forbidden. Maybe I should try to find you a book or something? Borrowed of course."

"It would be nice!" she answered me, and her eyes shone.

I smiled. "I'll see what I can do. I'm going to see about your breakfast," I told her and left the room.

I returned to the kitchen, and four other young people were sitting at the table. I said good morning to them, and they answered by nodding with their heads as their mouths were stuff with food. I smiled understandingly and approached Jimena to let her know that Brielle had woken up.

"Okay, I will prepare a tray for her, and tell her I'm sorry she can't eat her breakfast here."

"I will tell her. Don't worry. She will show understanding." I reassured her.

She prepared the tray, and after I took it to Brielle and conveyed the message from Jimena, I immediately returned to the kitchen as she had asked me to.

"Now we will go to the captain's cabin and tell you what to do."

I said "okay" and followed her there. We walked in, and she headed for a cupboard and pulled out a small bucket.

"In here you will find everything you need to clean the cabin. You will find water down to the hold. It is in a large barrel with a painted red 'X' on it for separating it from drinking water."

"Okay. Where do I go for the hold? "

"You will get out of here and go left. It is the door that has a latch on it. When you enter, leave the door open, so when someone sees it, will understand that someone is inside and will not close it. You will need that too." She told me and gave me a lantern with a lit candle inside.

Jimena kept giving me instructions. How should I dust all the items and furniture in the cabin with the wet cloth, and how should I put them back to their position exactly where they were.

"The captain doesn't like to change the position of his things." She added.

"Okay. I'll be careful." I said, but I wasn't sure if I would actually manage to do as she told me.

"As for the library, clean only the objects on it. I will do the rest," she stressed.

"When you finish, you will put new water in the bucket, and with this cloth," She told me and showed me a larger cloth. "You will clean the floor."

"Okay," I finally said, and Jimena left in a hurry, leaving me alone.

I sighed. I hadn't started yet, and it looked impossible.

I took the bucket and got out of the cabin to get water from the hold as she had told me. I found the right door and pulled the latch that receded with a loud squeak making me shiver.

Everything was drowned in darkness.

With the help of the lantern, I went down the few steps. I took a few steps raising the lantern in front of me.

It took a few moments for the light to spread through the place. Everything was tidy, and the place was clean. The packing cases were piled on top of each other and tied tightly. Barrels of various sizes were arranged on the opposite side of the packing cases. Large pieces of salted meat were hanging from the ceiling and many other things I couldn't identify.

The heavy smell coming from all these various foods brought me nausea. I had to hurry. I found the barrel with the red 'X' on it and approached it to fill the bucket when something caught my attention.

I passed the barrel and approached with the lantern in my hand. A piece of black velvet was covering something.

I tried to resist, but my curiosity was more vital. I took the clothes in my handful and felt its softness. I took a deep breath and lifted it, exposing what was hiding so reverently.

I brought the lantern closer to it for a better look. A vividly colored painting with an ornate gold frame was unveiled before my eyes. It depicted a couple, the woman was sitting on a chair, and the man was standing next to her. One hand of his hugged her shoulders, and he held the woman tenderly by her left hand with the other. My mouth opened in surprise when I saw crowns on their heads. The couple was some kings, but I had never seen them in my life.

Their smile wasn't wide, but even that reflected their happiness.

I looked into their eyes. Their gaze was intense, strong. Although it was just a painting, I felt their gaze enter my soul, which scared me.

I let out a small scream and let the clothes I held fall from my hands, covering back the royal painting.

I took a deep breath and picked up the clothes again. I wanted to see which painter had done such an amazing job. I searched the whole painting, avoiding the couple's gaze, but the painter's signature was nowhere to be found. That was very strange. I left the cloth to cover the painting again, making me puzzled about that bizarre fact of the absence of the artist's signature.

I returned to my bucket by opening the barrel tap, and while I waited for it to fill, my thoughts swirled around the painting.

Who were the kings it portrayed?

Was it stolen? Was there a reason it was unsigned?

Ominous thoughts flooded my mind that I unjustly tried to repel.

I took the bucket, and as I climbed up the stairs, a divine inspiration hit my head and kicked away all my bad thoughts.

But of course, what a fool I am! The painting will have a destination like the rest of the merchandise that was in the hold.