Her cheeks flushed and she gingerly took the money, tucking it into her pocket and shifting around on her feet, “Thank you..sir.” Glancing up at the ships around then, she cleared her throat, “Well, I suppose I should be off, I don’t want to be caught out here if angry brings any friends with him.
"I'm Daso," he said quickly, bowing slightly. "And yes, that's probably a good idea. I'd love to fight for your honor, but I'm not really a fighter."
She gave a small bow in return and smiled, “Its alright, I wouldn’t want anyone fighting against angry for me anyway.” Looking back towards the city, she didn’t see any sign of the man, making her smile slightly as she said goodbye to Daso and hoped the man still wasn't there in a few minutes. “I’m Andrea by the way, it was a pleasure to meet you.” She was sure to use her best manners when she was talking to him, not wanting to make another person mad if she accidentally messed up.
"Andrea," he repeated, smiling widely. "Andrea! That's lovely. I'm so pleased to meet you." He gestured to one of the biggest ships. "Where are you headed? I'm thinking of hopping aboard one of these."
“Oh, I was going to head back to the city before I get in trouble,” She gestured back towards the crate she was sitting at before, seeing the man coming back towards them out of the corner of her eye, “Or, never mind, what boat did you say you were going to board?”
"Um…" He hadn't quite decided yet, but he didn't want to appear indecisive to Andrea. "Oh, there it is. That one." He pointed to the one they were closest to, the large one with black sails.
A smile crossed her face and she started towards it without another glance back at the city, “Well then, I suppose I’ll hop onto that one as well.”
"Really?" he asked, delighted. "I'd be honored if you joined me." He struck a dynamic pose. "Two heroes, becoming stowaways, going on a swashbuckling adventure!"
She laughed and nodded, already making her way towards the ship, “That’s if we don’t get caught.” Her lips turned up into a smile again and she was clearly amused by his over the top dramatics.
Daso's heart skipped a beat at her amused smile. Most people got annoyed with his melodramatic tendencies. "We'll just have to be sneaky. Any ideas?"
“Walk onto the ship like we own the place and find a hiding spot?” She suggested joking with a shrug and a sparkle in her eye, “I’m terrible with plans, sorry.”
"That's a great idea!" he said, bouncing lightly on his toes. "I'm good at acting like I own the place. Follow my lead." He stuck his hands in his pockets and strolled towards the ship casually.
She rolled her eyes and smiled, linking her arms behind her back and assuming the most serious but casual look she could as she followed behind him.
Daso's heart pounded as he paused, glancing at a few men as they boarded the ship. They were carrying barrels. He noticed that there were no women. "Hold, I have an idea." He hurried over to a barrel and opened it up. It was half filled with apples. "Get in," he said mischievously, gesturing to the barrel.
“Why?” She asked, eyeing the barrel suspiciously, “You're not going to throw me into the water are you?” Andrea made her way closer to the barrel anyway, though she didn’t get in.
"No! Of course not!" He glanced around, hoping no one was noticing their suspicious behavior. "Listen, loads of pirates are superstitious. If you try to walk on, they may throw a fit because you're…well…a woman." He blushed, glancing away. "And see, all the cabin boys are carrying barrels. If you get into a barrel, I can carry you in. Perfect disguises for both of us."
She sighed and rolled her eyes, climbing into the barrel and squishing herself in so he could put the cover back on, “You boys and your problems with ladies.” She looked up at him and poked her head out one last time before squishing back in, “Please don’t drop me.”
"I won't drop you. I swear on my honor," he said, giving her a mock salute. "I'm stronger than I look!" He'd built up quite a lot of upper body strength from the days he used to practice archery. He lifted the barrel. It was definitely heavy, but he could manage until he'd found them someplace to hide. Keeping his expression as neutral as possible, he boarded the ship.
She squeaked once when he picked up the barrel, quickly going quiet so they wouldn’t be caught. She looked down at the apples she was with and shrugged, taking one and quietly starting to eat it.
Daso hurried onto the deck, glancing around for a good place to hide. Hmm, there seemed to be an empty cabin. Why not? He hurried into the cabin, finally putting down the barrel. He didn't really stop to question why there was a seemingly empty cabin. "Okay, I think we're good," he whispered, opening the barrel.
She poked her head out and looked around before climbing out, half-eaten apple in hand, “Do you think they’ll notice a random barrel in an empty cabin?”
"Maybe," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "I didn't think that far ahead. What now?"
“I don’t know,” She replied, shrugging “Maybe we find somewhere less open to hide?” She polished off the apple and set the core down by one of the walls.
"A great idea," he said, looking around. The cabin was nicely furnished and only had one bed, along with a desk. Weird that such a lovely room would be empty…unless… "Wait. Is this the captain's cabin?"
Andrea bit her lip, “I hope not, if we’re in the captains cabin and we get caught..” She shuddered, “I don’t want to think of what would happen to us. Let’s just get out of here to be safe.”