Fresh Start
Jan. 15th, 2012 11:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
intheheartTitle: Fresh Start
Rating: PG-13 for swearing.
Summary: Gina sees Plymouth and makes a friend.
AU: EPIC PIRATE AU
Notes: So, did you know that most of the Caribbean wasn't settled until 1625 or later? And that "fence"'s criminal meaning didn't come into use until the 1700s? Let's pretend that St. Kitts was settled in the late 1500s for the purposes of this AU. I actually have a fanwanky handwavy explanation for how, but we'll ignore that for now.
Plymouth was... different.
Gina had never been to England, or at least not in her memory. She had been born there, in London, but her father had been sent to the Caribbean when she was hardly more than an infant, and brought her along. Her mother had been left behind in England-- she'd died there, when Gina was a child.
When she thought about it, her memories of England were like her memories of her mother; cloudy, inconsistent, and probably entirely made up, from stories her father told her and fragments of reminiscence from her relatives. Dreams of a grey sky, of chilly breezes, of golden curls and a soft hand on her baby cheek. Nothing more solid, more real than that.
But Plymouth was very real.
It stank, for one thing. Gina couldn't remember St. Kitts smelling quite like this. Fish and unwashed men, rotting things and the overwhelming smell of the sea.
Ivy seemed perfectly at home though, standing on the deck and shouting at her crew as they unloaded boxes and barrels. Booty, she'd called it with laughter in her voice, and then explained that only about a quarter of it was actually stolen. The rest, mostly sugar and spices, was fairly bought and paid for, legitimate cargo destined for the wharves of Plymouth and eventually the shopkeepers of London.
It was a little dazzling, actually. She'd never imagined that the things grown at home came so far away. She'd known, but she'd never imagined someplace like this.
"Are you all right?" Ivy asked, touching the inside of her arm in a movement that was more than half caress. "You look a little overwhelmed."
Gina smiled at her, feeling safer already. "I am a bit," she admitted. "This is so... it's not what I was expecting. But I'll adjust."
"Of course," Ivy said, and slid her hand into Gina's, squeezed once, quickly. "But maybe you don't want to meet my parents just yet. I wouldn't want to hit you with too much at once."
Gina didn't even have to think about that one. Meeting the parents of your intended was all very well and good. Meeting the parents of your lover was a little trickier-- meeting the parents of your female lover when everyone knew very well what was going on but no one could say anything about it was going to redefine strange. "I'd rather go for a walk," she said. "See if I can't get used to the place before..."
"Fair enough," Ivy said, smiling. "Besides, Papa's easy, but my mother can be rather... overwhelming. I'd rather you stayed on the ship though. Plymouth can be tricky if you don't know where you're going."
Which was a tactful way of saying "you stick out, you look like you have money, and there are very rough men around here." Gina appreciated the attempt, anyway. "I'll take someone with me," she answered. "Danny or someone."
"Ah," Ivy said, and frowned. "Danny has to stay with the ship. Aaron and I are both going home and she's next in command. Lars, maybe?"
Gina didn't know Lars very well, and though he was kind to Summer, which spoke well for his character, she wasn't very comfortable spending an entire afternoon alone with (essentially) a strange man. "Is there... someone else?" she asked, frowning herself.
Ivy opened her mouth, presumably to answer in the negative, but was interrupted by a small voice. "I'll take her," Summer said, and slipped her hand into Gina's free one.
Ivy looked down at her sister, distress written plain on her face. "Oh, heart, don't you want to go home?"
"Of course," Summer said, in her best 'don't be stupid' voice. Gina smothered a smile. "But I'll take Gina to Jake's first. He can show her around and then she won't be in danger. And then I can go home."
Gina half-expected Ivy to object to her little sister wandering around the dangerous areas of town, but the other woman only nodded. "All right, love. Be careful, though. Not everyone here knows you."
"No," Summer said. "But they all know Mama. And they all know about the mutiny."
Ivy laughed. "That's true. No one wants to mess with Mama after that. Go on, then." She bent and kissed Summer's forehead, then gave Gina's hand a rather less sisterly kiss, let go, and turned back to her crew.
Gina made a mental note to get someone to tell her that mutiny story, and looked down at Summer. "So who's Jake?"
"Jacob Foster," Summer said, and tugged on her hand. "This way."
Obediently, Gina followed her down the splintered wooden boards and onto the beaten-down dusty road. "Jacob Foster," she repeated. "Is he a friend of yours?"
Summer shook her head and peered down the alleyways created by old, worn wooden houses leaning together at the top. "No, he sells the things we get." She glanced around for listeners, and added, "Not the legal things. The other things. Mama met him somewhere, I don't know where. Anyway, he runs a pawnshop most of the time. I think he only takes Ivy's things because he likes Mama."
"I see," Gina said, somewhat at a loss, and lifted her skirt as they rounded a puddle of... something she didn't care to think about. "He's a family friend, then?"
"Something like that," Summer said. "Oh, here." She turned, perforce dragging Gina with her, and skipped onto a rough plank bridge laid over what must have been some kind of stream, feeding into the ocean.
Gina paused briefly at the apex of the bridge, looking out towards the sea. It was hard to believe that only a few months before, she'd been far across it, lying indolently in her fancy gowns, bored out of her mind and trying to make small talk with her betrothed, wondering if her life was ever going to change.
And then a redhead obviously ill at ease in her borrowed finery had swanned into a reception, quick clever eyes taking in everything about the house and for Gina...
She caught her breath. For her, everything had changed in that moment.
"Gina!" Summer cried, just as someone else bumped into her.
"Oh!" Gina stooped quickly (grateful that she'd left off corsets for bodices, because she could never have done this in one of them) and caught a couple of apples before they landed in the stream. "I'm so sorry! I was woolgathering."
The girl who'd bumped into her, a small brunette with curly hair and huge, wondering brown eyes, blushed furiously and looked down. "It's nothing," she mumbled. "I'm sorry, I was... in a hurry."
"Of course," Gina said, and handed her the apples. "Well, I shan't keep you, then."
Summer, at the other end of the bridge, propped her hands on her hips and frowned. "Gina," she said. "We really have to go. We... oh, hello, Olivia."
The brunette blinked, and then smiled, slowly. "Hello, Summer." She faltered, then added, "Jake didn’t say you were back."
Summer shrugged. "We only just got in. I haven't told him yet. Are you going there?"
"Yes," Olivia said, and lifted her basket a little. "I thought..." She blushed again. "My mother has gone to London for a month or so, and I've nothing to do when my chores are finished. I thought I'd bring him lunch."
"He'll like that," Summer said. "Will you take Gina there, please? I need to go home."
Olivia turned back to Gina, her big eyes rather startled. She looked so young, Gina thought, irrelevantly. Younger even than Summer. "I... I suppose so," she said.
"Good," Summer said, and before either of them could say anything more, she whisked off in a swirl of dusty brown skirts.
Gina sighed, and decided she'd better introduce herself since Summer had apparently forgotten her manners. "I'm Gina Caravecchio," she said, and smoothed a hand down her bodice and rough skirt. "I sail with Summer's sister, now."
"Olivia Marhenke," the girl said, shyly. "I... I know Jake, I suppose. He's a friend. I've only met Captain Hirschfeld-Kendall once or twice, though."
"She's lovely," Gina said, positively, and when Olivia only dipped her chin in response, added, "But a little overwhelming at times, I grant. Particularly if she wants something."
"I don't think she ever wanted something from me," Olivia replied, fidgeting with her basket. "I think... I think she... well, she's nice enough, I suppose. I just don't know many people like her."
"There aren't many people like her," Gina replied, dryly. "Well. Shall we?"
"Of course," Olivia said, but made no move to go. She hesitated, still fidgeting with the basket, then said, abruptly, "Miss Caravecchio, I hope you don't... that you won't... Jake is my friend."
Gina stared at her for a moment, and then abruptly comprehended what she meant. "Oh, no," she said. "I won't do anything to come between the two of you, I promise. I..." How to put this delicately but plainly? "I have someone else, you see."
"Oh!" Olivia said, and went red again. "Oh, I didn't mean... I'm sorry. It's just that I don't have that many friends, and I don't... I don't want to lose any."
"You won't on my account," Gina said, and then on impulse added, "In fact, I hope you'll consider me a friend. If you need to."
That got her a look so astonished she wondered what, exactly, this girl had in the way of friends. Not very good ones, clearly. "I... thank you," she stammered. "I... Jake's shop is this way." She turned abruptly and went quickly off the bridge, the backs of her ears a startling crimson.
Gina would have to ask Ivy about her. She made a mental note, and followed.
Rating: PG-13 for swearing.
Summary: Gina sees Plymouth and makes a friend.
AU: EPIC PIRATE AU
Notes: So, did you know that most of the Caribbean wasn't settled until 1625 or later? And that "fence"'s criminal meaning didn't come into use until the 1700s? Let's pretend that St. Kitts was settled in the late 1500s for the purposes of this AU. I actually have a fanwanky handwavy explanation for how, but we'll ignore that for now.
Plymouth was... different.
Gina had never been to England, or at least not in her memory. She had been born there, in London, but her father had been sent to the Caribbean when she was hardly more than an infant, and brought her along. Her mother had been left behind in England-- she'd died there, when Gina was a child.
When she thought about it, her memories of England were like her memories of her mother; cloudy, inconsistent, and probably entirely made up, from stories her father told her and fragments of reminiscence from her relatives. Dreams of a grey sky, of chilly breezes, of golden curls and a soft hand on her baby cheek. Nothing more solid, more real than that.
But Plymouth was very real.
It stank, for one thing. Gina couldn't remember St. Kitts smelling quite like this. Fish and unwashed men, rotting things and the overwhelming smell of the sea.
Ivy seemed perfectly at home though, standing on the deck and shouting at her crew as they unloaded boxes and barrels. Booty, she'd called it with laughter in her voice, and then explained that only about a quarter of it was actually stolen. The rest, mostly sugar and spices, was fairly bought and paid for, legitimate cargo destined for the wharves of Plymouth and eventually the shopkeepers of London.
It was a little dazzling, actually. She'd never imagined that the things grown at home came so far away. She'd known, but she'd never imagined someplace like this.
"Are you all right?" Ivy asked, touching the inside of her arm in a movement that was more than half caress. "You look a little overwhelmed."
Gina smiled at her, feeling safer already. "I am a bit," she admitted. "This is so... it's not what I was expecting. But I'll adjust."
"Of course," Ivy said, and slid her hand into Gina's, squeezed once, quickly. "But maybe you don't want to meet my parents just yet. I wouldn't want to hit you with too much at once."
Gina didn't even have to think about that one. Meeting the parents of your intended was all very well and good. Meeting the parents of your lover was a little trickier-- meeting the parents of your female lover when everyone knew very well what was going on but no one could say anything about it was going to redefine strange. "I'd rather go for a walk," she said. "See if I can't get used to the place before..."
"Fair enough," Ivy said, smiling. "Besides, Papa's easy, but my mother can be rather... overwhelming. I'd rather you stayed on the ship though. Plymouth can be tricky if you don't know where you're going."
Which was a tactful way of saying "you stick out, you look like you have money, and there are very rough men around here." Gina appreciated the attempt, anyway. "I'll take someone with me," she answered. "Danny or someone."
"Ah," Ivy said, and frowned. "Danny has to stay with the ship. Aaron and I are both going home and she's next in command. Lars, maybe?"
Gina didn't know Lars very well, and though he was kind to Summer, which spoke well for his character, she wasn't very comfortable spending an entire afternoon alone with (essentially) a strange man. "Is there... someone else?" she asked, frowning herself.
Ivy opened her mouth, presumably to answer in the negative, but was interrupted by a small voice. "I'll take her," Summer said, and slipped her hand into Gina's free one.
Ivy looked down at her sister, distress written plain on her face. "Oh, heart, don't you want to go home?"
"Of course," Summer said, in her best 'don't be stupid' voice. Gina smothered a smile. "But I'll take Gina to Jake's first. He can show her around and then she won't be in danger. And then I can go home."
Gina half-expected Ivy to object to her little sister wandering around the dangerous areas of town, but the other woman only nodded. "All right, love. Be careful, though. Not everyone here knows you."
"No," Summer said. "But they all know Mama. And they all know about the mutiny."
Ivy laughed. "That's true. No one wants to mess with Mama after that. Go on, then." She bent and kissed Summer's forehead, then gave Gina's hand a rather less sisterly kiss, let go, and turned back to her crew.
Gina made a mental note to get someone to tell her that mutiny story, and looked down at Summer. "So who's Jake?"
"Jacob Foster," Summer said, and tugged on her hand. "This way."
Obediently, Gina followed her down the splintered wooden boards and onto the beaten-down dusty road. "Jacob Foster," she repeated. "Is he a friend of yours?"
Summer shook her head and peered down the alleyways created by old, worn wooden houses leaning together at the top. "No, he sells the things we get." She glanced around for listeners, and added, "Not the legal things. The other things. Mama met him somewhere, I don't know where. Anyway, he runs a pawnshop most of the time. I think he only takes Ivy's things because he likes Mama."
"I see," Gina said, somewhat at a loss, and lifted her skirt as they rounded a puddle of... something she didn't care to think about. "He's a family friend, then?"
"Something like that," Summer said. "Oh, here." She turned, perforce dragging Gina with her, and skipped onto a rough plank bridge laid over what must have been some kind of stream, feeding into the ocean.
Gina paused briefly at the apex of the bridge, looking out towards the sea. It was hard to believe that only a few months before, she'd been far across it, lying indolently in her fancy gowns, bored out of her mind and trying to make small talk with her betrothed, wondering if her life was ever going to change.
And then a redhead obviously ill at ease in her borrowed finery had swanned into a reception, quick clever eyes taking in everything about the house and for Gina...
She caught her breath. For her, everything had changed in that moment.
"Gina!" Summer cried, just as someone else bumped into her.
"Oh!" Gina stooped quickly (grateful that she'd left off corsets for bodices, because she could never have done this in one of them) and caught a couple of apples before they landed in the stream. "I'm so sorry! I was woolgathering."
The girl who'd bumped into her, a small brunette with curly hair and huge, wondering brown eyes, blushed furiously and looked down. "It's nothing," she mumbled. "I'm sorry, I was... in a hurry."
"Of course," Gina said, and handed her the apples. "Well, I shan't keep you, then."
Summer, at the other end of the bridge, propped her hands on her hips and frowned. "Gina," she said. "We really have to go. We... oh, hello, Olivia."
The brunette blinked, and then smiled, slowly. "Hello, Summer." She faltered, then added, "Jake didn’t say you were back."
Summer shrugged. "We only just got in. I haven't told him yet. Are you going there?"
"Yes," Olivia said, and lifted her basket a little. "I thought..." She blushed again. "My mother has gone to London for a month or so, and I've nothing to do when my chores are finished. I thought I'd bring him lunch."
"He'll like that," Summer said. "Will you take Gina there, please? I need to go home."
Olivia turned back to Gina, her big eyes rather startled. She looked so young, Gina thought, irrelevantly. Younger even than Summer. "I... I suppose so," she said.
"Good," Summer said, and before either of them could say anything more, she whisked off in a swirl of dusty brown skirts.
Gina sighed, and decided she'd better introduce herself since Summer had apparently forgotten her manners. "I'm Gina Caravecchio," she said, and smoothed a hand down her bodice and rough skirt. "I sail with Summer's sister, now."
"Olivia Marhenke," the girl said, shyly. "I... I know Jake, I suppose. He's a friend. I've only met Captain Hirschfeld-Kendall once or twice, though."
"She's lovely," Gina said, positively, and when Olivia only dipped her chin in response, added, "But a little overwhelming at times, I grant. Particularly if she wants something."
"I don't think she ever wanted something from me," Olivia replied, fidgeting with her basket. "I think... I think she... well, she's nice enough, I suppose. I just don't know many people like her."
"There aren't many people like her," Gina replied, dryly. "Well. Shall we?"
"Of course," Olivia said, but made no move to go. She hesitated, still fidgeting with the basket, then said, abruptly, "Miss Caravecchio, I hope you don't... that you won't... Jake is my friend."
Gina stared at her for a moment, and then abruptly comprehended what she meant. "Oh, no," she said. "I won't do anything to come between the two of you, I promise. I..." How to put this delicately but plainly? "I have someone else, you see."
"Oh!" Olivia said, and went red again. "Oh, I didn't mean... I'm sorry. It's just that I don't have that many friends, and I don't... I don't want to lose any."
"You won't on my account," Gina said, and then on impulse added, "In fact, I hope you'll consider me a friend. If you need to."
That got her a look so astonished she wondered what, exactly, this girl had in the way of friends. Not very good ones, clearly. "I... thank you," she stammered. "I... Jake's shop is this way." She turned abruptly and went quickly off the bridge, the backs of her ears a startling crimson.
Gina would have to ask Ivy about her. She made a mental note, and followed.
