It had been ten days since Evan began his voyage to India. Life on the ship was as hard as it gets and Evan had realized this by now. Even though he was raised with the utmost military disciple, he couldn't help but grumble a few times.
This was also another one of days in the middle of the sea.
Evan woke up at eight in the morning with nausea and a severe headache. The whole night, the ship was swaying around on the sea weaves and Evan found out on the first day of the voyage that he had a severe case of sea sickness. Thankfully, he did not wake up vomiting like the first few days.
Evan stretched his stiff body which was the result of the cramped space of the cabin. The bed wasn't much big and it was hardly enough for a full-grown adult man.
The window was open and the curtains were fluttering, what could be seen beyond were white clouds, a light blue sky, and the boundless sea with seabirds roaming around finding for fish to prey on.
The sea amazed Evan every time he saw it. His excitement the first few days was limitless when he saw the sea. But as days went by, the excitement died down. Just like everything repetitive becomes boorish, the sea also became dull after seeing it day and night.
Now Evan just wanted to curse out loud and be done with this voyage once and for all.
After narrating his grievances to his lonesome self, Evan finally got up. He, first of all, looked around the cabin to see if anything was off-place or not. This was necessary is the turbulent journey often messed things up in the cabin.
After confirming that everything seemed to be orderly and in place, Evan grabbed his suitcase and brought out the small tube of toothpaste.
This was something that had been invented just a few years ago and it was rather efficient as well and so all higher society had started to use it. Evan put some of the paste which was stored in a small jar onto a small, clean cloth.
He then began scrubbing his teeth using the cloth.
'At least there's no smell of charcoal and salt like before' Evan thought to himself and continued the endeavor of scrubbing his teeth.
A few minutes passed, and Evan stopped scrubbing his teeth and went on the ship's deck, in his hands was a mug of hot water. Evan drank the water and gargled for a while, after that he spit out the water into the sea.
This whole process did not take much more than ten minutes, Evan then went inside his cabin and started doing some minor exercises like push-ups, sit-ups, and squatting. Although the space was cramped up there was still some space enough to lie down on the ground and do exercise.
Evan did the exercises for over an hour. He then washed his body with a wet towel and a sponge and got into his formal wear.
'Tuk Tuk'
The sound of the wooden door knocking rang, Evan, opened the door and saw his assisting officer, James.
"Sir! The breakfast is ready sir!" James saluted and said.
"Let's go then," Evan said as he tapped James' shoulders.
James was a twenty years old youth who came from a poor background. His parents were laborers in a backwater village, and James could not study because of his financial position and so he applied for the army. He was hard-working and skilled and so he rose in the ranks quickly.
In one of the missions, he caught the eye of Evan who liked his personality to strive forward despite all odds. They soon became friends despite having a huge difference in their social background and status.
James had a strong build and a well-maintained body, He had sharp grey eyes, a small nose, good-looking features, and blond hair.
"So how is your morning sir?" James said as both of them were going towards the dining hall.
Evan stopped and looked at James with narrowed eyes as if asking, 'Do you not know?'
"Ahem, sorry sir," James said while averting his gaze.
Both of them again began heading toward the dining hall. Many others could also be seen coming out from their rooms. Some had just woken up and were hurrying to get ready for breakfast. Some were already ready and were walking leisurely as they made some small talk with each other.
The hall was filled with various types of people, some were merchants, and some were just normal wealthy passengers. A voyage was not something the middle classes could afford easily. A few of Evan's officers were also sitting together at the table in a group waiting for the others.
Evan walked up to them, and all of them saluted. Evan gestured to take it easy and sat down in the middle, James sat next to him.
A few more minutes passed and now the hall was filled with people as the sound of muttering, laughter, and jeering filled the atmosphere. The ship crew came to the hall with dishes in their hands, they served the dishes to everyone and then began serving the food.
There was bread, butter with beer, and dry beef for the breakfast today. Evan was somewhat happy to see beef as every day there would be just bread and butter or the hard sea cookies. It seemed that the crew also served some special dishes once in a while.
The utensils were already provided to everyone, some preferred to carry their own and Evan was one of them. He brought out the utensils and began having the meal.
While Evan was having his meal, everyone else was gossiping about one thing or another. The common topic was the royal family of Britain and the affairs of the Nobility. Sometimes they talked about the politics of the world as a whole while some just talked about silly day-to-day banter.
Suddenly, the ship shook because of a weave as the sea was very unstable and moments like this were common.
"Good Riddance!"
"God Fuckin Dammit!"
"Shit Arse Sea!"
"Bloody Hell!"
A string of curses sounded out from multiple people as some spilled their beer on the floor. And unfortunately, Evan was one of them. Evan's eyebrows twitched in frustration and he let out a deep sigh of hopelessness.