Gina looked around the room it was a lot bigger than the last one that they gave them. It was easily double the size, but Will had said that this was the room that they would give to a family, so it sounded like they had started taking on more passengers for quick trips. Gina thought that Katie and she must have had a bigger impact on the captain and crew than they thought they did.
Gina was still glad that this was only going to be a day or two travel to the island where the trial was going to be held. But she was thinking that this would give her a chance to say hi to the crew. She had been missing them ever since she had been washed overboard. From what Katie told her they went through a lot looking for her and as soon as they were under way she would try and see the captain.
Gina knew better than to try and talk to any of them while they were in the middle of offloading and loading the cargo.
Snow decided that it was just going to be easier to set up the double hammocks than the extra-large one that would make them all sleep together. Since she was unsure if they were all going to sleep through the night. The last thing she wanted was for one of them to have a rough night and keep the rest of them up. If one of them really couldn't sleep, then they could always change and go to individual ones, but she was thinking that it was not going to get that bad.
She had the girls help set them up, which was no trouble since the hooks were already mounted on the walls for them all they had to do was unroll them and hang them on the hooks. Mistress Snow looked at the three girls trying to decide which one she was going to be sleeping with knowing how attached they were to each other. She thought about taking Gina with her so that she was sure that they would all sleep without any hard feelings because it seemed like if she took anyone else someone would have hurt feelings. The last thing that she wanted was for them to fight over each other or who they were going to get to sleep with.
Snow had heard that Katie had a special friend on board, but she was not going to let her have that much time out of her sight. After all, it was not like she was going to be offered a bed somewhere else, and if she did there were going to be more problems than who they get to sleep with. She wanted to make sure that on this trip none of the girls wandered off, not that she was thinking that Mia would, but she didn't want any of them disappearing on her.
It didn't take any time at all for them to get the room together since they were not unpacking anything they would only have to change for bed and then when they get up. As long as the weather was nice, they would be able to reach their destination by the next evening and they would get a room there. After thinking about that she thought that maybe it would be best to have Katie in bed with her so that she could make sure that she didn't try and sneak off till they were off the ship.
Once the room was set up there was a knock on the door. Mistress Snow answered it with a stern tone, "Yes. What is it."
Will said, "We are casting off and leaving port if any of you want to come to the deck now it's fine."
Gina and Katie got all excited to go on deck, but Mia was more or less not caring about it at all. Snow knew without asking so she said, "Come on, we will go on deck and wave goodbye to the ones staying behind."
They all knew that there was no one special was going to be standing there to see them cast off, but it was the idea of waving goodbye and getting one last look at everything until they made it back.
Will led the way up to the deck and left them there so they could find a spot where they liked to wave goodbye.
The three girls quickly lined up close to each other and started waving to the onlookers. Katie was the only one who was truly happy about leaving this place. It was not so much for where they were going. It was just that she didn't really like the island that profited off of trapping and enslaving people. It didn't really matter to her who lived there. She knew that it was going to take a lot more than just her to bring a change to the whole island. She could tell that Gina loved it there, but it was not the island that she loved it was the people. So, all they would have to do is get Miss Kathy and Mistress Snow to decide that it was better to live somewhere else and then move the whole family.
Gina was waving and seeing all the people that were there she had hoped that she would see Miss Kathy, but she knew why she was not there she had to stay behind with the others that were not going. But for now, she was just going to have to rely on the strength of Mistress Snow to see her through the difficulties that were lying ahead. Gina looked out into the crowd and saw that there were a lot of them that looked like they were more than a little pissed off.
Gina was more than a little confused by that, so she turned to Snow looking for answers. Snow saw the confused look on her face and knew just what was going on and said, "It looks like the hunters that are after you girls are a little upset that they couldn't grab you girls before you got away. Now they are pissed off and will probably be looking to grab you later, but I will make sure that they don't get the chance."
Gina's expression hardened as she looked at the ones that were hunting them. She was trying to remember the faces that she was seeing. She wanted to remember them all, every detail that she could about everyone. She knew that she would not be able to remember them all, there were just too many for that. But even if she could remember something about them so that if she saw them again, she would know that staying away from them would help. At this point, she was no longer waving. She was looking out and paying special attention to anyone who was not waving, especially if they had mad looks on their faces.
Mia was half-hidden behind the others. She had watched them waving and followed suit, but her heart was not in it. She really didn't want to go, but being without Gina and Katie would be far worse than being away from Miss Kathy and Sarah. She looked out and didn't see anyone that she wanted to say goodbye to. As she stood there, she saw a lot of men and that made her tremble. Because they all had about the same expression on their faces. She had seen it so many times before just before one of them would do something to hurt or torment her. Mia started to wonder if she had made the wrong choice in leaving the safety of the house and Miss Kathy. She knew that she would be safe with Mistress Snow, but she was now realizing just what a big responsibility it was going to be for her to look after the three of them.
"GINA, KATIE, MIA, MISTRESS SNOW!" Miss Kathy had yelled out along with the others as they had made it to the dock just in time to see them off.
With that one little act, it made a difference to all of them. Tears formed in their eyes as they were able to truly say goodbye to the ones that they were leaving behind. Gina couldn't help but cry as the scene tugged at her heart not really wanting to leave them behind. She had not realized just how hard it was going to be for her to wave goodbye and see them waving back at her. With all her heart she wanted them all to join her, or to stop the ship and get off to stay with them. But she knew neither option was possible. Gina knew that must have been why they waited so long to come.
Gina could be heard above all the others as she called out, "WE LOVE YOU AND WE WILL BE BACK AS SOON AS WE CAN!"
Even Mistress Snow had to wipe her eyes from all the emotions that were running through her. They all waved more intently now that there was someone there that they wanted to say goodbye to and that they couldn't wait to return to them. They moved along the rail as the ship pulled out of the harbor until they could no longer see them.
Will approached and said, "If you ladies are ready the captain would like you to join him in the captain's mess."
Katie thought it was weird because when he had her come to his chambers for food it was just a little table off to the side in his cabin. But to her, there were a lot of differences that she was noticing about the ship. It was like they had removed part of the storage area and made it more usable than it was before. She had helped to look for Gina and had been taken through most of the ship at the time. Which had mostly been used for storage of cargo. It seemed to her that every square inch of the ship had been used for storage before and now everything seemed more open.
Will opened the door and not only the captain was sitting there. Will took his place next to him and there at the table was the rest of the officers that were in charge of the men.
The captain spoke up and said, "Welcome, we are all glad to see you both."
Gina at that point went running over and gave them all a hug, making sure to start with the captain. Katie followed suit thanking each one, knowing that without their help she never would have made it this far.
The captain said, "There is someone here that you both have changed and improved all of our lives and it is us that want to thank you for your efforts." As he pointed to the cook Tug.
Tug walked in carrying plates he was followed by a couple of the crew that were carrying enough for everyone to be served.
The captain said, "Please take seats so that we may begin."
The girls all waited for Mistress Snow to take a seat and then they all took their place next to her.
Will gave the girls a smile and a nod seeing that they no longer were on leashes. As he looked at the three of them, he noticed that Katie had removed her collar. He was still a little concerned when he saw that Gina and Mia still had one on, but he no longer saw the lock so he thought that he would just let it all go for the time being.
Captain Filmore said, "So you must be Miss Kathy I am glad to see that the girls are with you and are looking so happy and healthy."
Mistress Snow took a breath and Gina said, "No. This is Mistress Snow." she gave a smile and continued, "Miss Kathy is under the weather and is unable to bring us so Mistress Snow is bringing us instead."
At first this confused Filmore he had only communicated with Miss Kathy. He said, "I am so sorry I had only had communications with Miss Kathy and was hoping to get to know the woman that is taking care of our lost girls."
Snow gave him an approving nod and said, "It looks like I will be the one looking after them for a while, but I am surprised to hear you refer to them as your lost girls."
Captain Filmore said, "What? They didn't tell you what happened onboard the ship?"
Snow replied, "I had heard part of the story, but I haven't heard how they became yours."
Filmore said, "Well that is the easy part. You see the cook was terrible before the girls came along and now that they have taught him so much the food is enjoyable. In fact, we are now getting passengers all the time boosting the profits since they are worth a lot more than just transferring cargo."
He smiled at the two girls and said, "You probably have noticed some of the changes." then looked down at his belly and gave a hearty laugh.
Gina knew that it had been a few months, and he was always kind of portly, but he did look like he was getting heavier. Then she looked at the rest of the crew and could tell that they were no longer all skin and bones. Gina giggled under her breath not wanting to be noticed giggling.
Filmore said, "Well it is all thanks to the girls and we all think of them as part of the crew and they are welcome on board the ship at any time."
Snow gave him a smile and a nod. She signaled to the girls that they should be thanking him for his generous offer. But it was not needed, they were both in the process of thanking him.
Filmore said, "There is no need to thank us. You both have earned your place here."
Snow said, "You said that your profits have gone up. Just how much has it helped?"
With that, he knew just what type of woman he was dealing with. So, he said, "Yes the profits have doubled, and the company is quite pleased, and they are showing it to us all."
He could see the wheels turning in her mind, looking at her he could tell this was not the first time that she had found a way to increase her wealth by the example of someone else. Of course, it didn't hurt that she had the girls who had trained his cook who was drawing the people to the ship.
Filmore said, "Well let's dig in while it's hot wouldn't want it to go to waste now, would we?"
To Filmore and the men it was spectacular some of the best that Tug had ever made, but to the girls, it was easy for them to see lots of things that he could have done to improve the flavor. They could tell that he was cooking at the standard that they were at when they taught him. It was just that they had improved so much more now and had new skills that they could teach him.
Gina said, "It's great Tug but I could show you a few more things if you want. If that is okay with everyone?"
Filmore gave her a huge smile and said, "I was hoping that you would feel that way you are welcome to teach him anything you want." As he rubbed his belly in anticipation of something even better than he had just eaten.
Gina turned to Snow waiting for her approval. Snow thought like I could keep you girls out of the kitchen. She said, "You three are allowed to as long as you stick together."
Filmore spoke up and said, "There is not a man on board that would ever hurt one of them and if one did the rest of the men would tear him apart."
Snow saw that he had lost his smile and joking manner and he was dead serious about the girls being one of them, and they would be treated better and be more protected than anyone else on board the ship. At this point, there would be no way one of them could be lost off the ship.
Filmore looked at Mia who had sat there silently throughout the whole meal, so he finally had to ask, "So who is this? She looks like she could be a sister?"
Mia blushed at the fact that they were noticing her. Gina said, "Her name is Mia, we are close; she is like a sister."
Gina at that point explained everything that happened to her after she was washed overboard. By the time she had finished explaining everything, dinner had finished. They now understood why she was feeling that way for Snow and Kathy as well as Mia.
The captain stood up and walked over to a drawer that was part of the stand that held the clean dishes pulled out the missing girl posters and placed them on the table.