Shipyard

Solaris is the largest city within the kingdom and was the original capital before the borders expanded and overtook the southern kingdom some 200 years ago. The bustling city is home to many aristocrats and distant relatives of the royal family; but is more accurately known as a mixing bowl of foreign nationals, commoners of all income statuses, and even the social outcasts. Almost all fortune flowed through the fjord and importing businesses

The wealthiest name amongst the settled aristocrats is the Charleston family who owned more than half of the boats and the biggest shipping company. Second to them is Baron James Richards who controlled many of the merchants and owned a small fleet.

Eliza's father also owned a small shipping company with a few boats. He shipped mostly luxury textiles from far away countries. There was little to no competition in this market due to the high risk. The waters were especially treacherous to travel, and any sane sailor knew better than to use this route that shortened the distance by half. Luckily, for ex-pirates, the journey was hardly an issue.

Thomas Girard used to be a prolific adventurer and made some powerful acquaintances along the way. Eliza didn't know how so many men came to respect Thomas and even extended that gesture to his daughters. She remembered the terrifying feeling of being introduced to dozens of burly men by her father when she was young. Just as she was about to cry, they all bowed down together and greeted them both formally. Regardless, she was still surprised by his successes the more she investigated his business ventures.

Eliza's errands today were unchanged despite the late night she had. After all, she had many businesses to stop by before the end of the workday. The only place to be open so early in the morning was the shipyard out at the fjord.

She didn't realize she had drifted off to sleep when the coachman opened the door for her. She stifled a yawn while walking down the path hugging the back entrances of shipping warehouses. After she passed the largest one and came upon the dock entrance, she was overwhelmed with light. She blinked her bleary eyes while taking in the colors of the rising sun, painting the soft waves in warm tones. Seeing this view and feeling the gentle freshwater breeze made her nostalgic. It had been a while since she's been by the docks, and even longer since she formally met at the company during working hours.

She felt anxious at the idea of being disregarded or even forgotten by the workers. After all, it was Mr. Taylor who performed the duties of an owner.

"I can handle this. No problem at all." She told herself.

Eliza walked along the dock and passed by ships of all sizes with men hauling crates and chests filled with goods and outgoing exports. It was easy to tell which companies owned each vessel. The largest ships with clean, sleek designs clearly belonged to the Charleston family. Each sailor had a strict uniform code and they operated efficiently and professionally, sparing hardly a glance towards the pretty woman walking past.

The Baron's fleet stuck out as outlandishly decorated and gaudy as his fashion sense. Money was clearly wasted on needless golden trim and flourishes. Meanwhile, the workers moved fiercely with spite and lacking in any decency. Eliza pulled down her hood as best she could and avoided walking too close but their whooping and whistles could be heard across the whole yard. She did her best to ignore the name-calling followed by insults for her refusal to respond. It's unsurprising to see workers take after the behavior of their employer.

At the very end of this dock, past the personal yachts and schooners, were ships of different sizes and designs. Each ship seemed to have suffered battles with canon-sized patches on the hulls, weathered and dull wood, and flaking paint. Despite outward appearances, the ships were sturdy and strong. Jolly voices singing sea shanties while also calling out directions, combined with gruff laughter and bickering, became clearer the closer she got to the ships. Unlike the other uniformed fleets, this rag-tag bunch of vessels was unmarked for one specific reason – who would guess these ships carried anything valuable? While other ships were at risk of being overtaken and plundered, the Girard Shipping & Co. fleet operated under the radar to any novice pirate, and any experienced one knew not to mess with them.

If anything, it's the fearsome crew known for being ruthless to threats and outsiders that kept the business running smoothly. Eliza gulped remembering this fact and prayed that they remembered her despite all these years later. She removed her hood and tried walking confidently.

The moment she entered their jurisdiction, it felt like a hush settled over the docks. People moving crates slowed down and those who barked orders swallowed back curse words and spoke with a bit more courtesy. She found it strange but tried to stay focused. She was looking for only one specific person who should be nearby...

"Hey-! Er... Miss- Ah, yes, Lady!" The tallest man she's ever seen came barreling towards her and she bit back a scream as he approached. She hesitantly took a few steps back as that large, burly man seemed to be coming towards her so fast, he may trample her.

His expression grew nervous seeing her slowly back away, "Well I- hold on now."

As soon as he was before her, Eliza's fear was stunted as she had to hold back laughter taking in his appearance. He was dressed up as though ready to attend a soiree with slacks that were tight on his thighs and a coat with the seams on the sleeves stretched to its limits. Even the dress shirt had tension tugging at each delicate pearl button, creating circles of openings down the front of his hairy chest. Finally looking up at his face, she recognized him as Oliver Montgomery, a close friend of her father's. Someone who would only wear dirty, threadbare clothes and found dress clothes suffocating. Well, she certainly understands why he thinks this way, even she felt short of breath seeing his stressed suit.

"Lady Elizabeth Girard, allow me to show you around our humble settlement." He bowed deeply with a hand outstretched. That was when a clear, tearing sound echoed across the shipyard. All the sailors stopped completely and this time, Eliza couldn't hold back. Her delicate laughter escaped from behind her fingers and graced the ears of the many workers before they also joined with boisterous guffaws. Oliver's tanned face became tinted with red, and he grabbed the closest sailor by the collar and tossed him into the water. Following that was him cussing out the men who continued to mock him, all while covering the tear on his arse with his hand.

"Damn it all yar bastards! Here I was, tryin' to greet the little lady and yar fuckers are mockin' me!" He tousled his greased, graying hair and sighed. "Forgive me, Miss. I jus' wanted ye to feel welcomed."

She certainly did feel welcomed after sharing a laugh with the crew. Eliza smiled softly and curtsied, "It's a pleasure to see you again Sir Montgomery."

"Sir?" He cleared his throat and mumbled, "I quite liked how ye called me before."

"Hm?" She titled her head and thought back to what she used to call him when she wanted to be carried on his shoulders. "Ah, Uncle Olly, was it?"

He coughed into his fist, embarrassed, "Ahem. Tha' does soun' familiar. I hope ye don't mind I call yer Lizzy like before."

She allowed it and put her arm through his massive one and he guided her along the docks with his blazer tied around his waist. The sailors manning each vessel scrambled to line themselves in front and greeted her as formally as they knew how. Seeing how everyone remained respectful towards her made her chest clench with emotion. It was a lovely feeling to feel accepted right away.

"Uncle Olly, I do have some business matters to go over with you later." She gestured to her briefcase and he nodded in approval.

"Certainly. I have e'rything ye need." He led her towards the warehouse, the sounds of the crew returning to work fading behind her. It was large but organized well enough that she could tell the company brought in a lot of money. Half the country's nobles and aristocrats had this company to thank for their luxurious clothes and fabrics. She noted how they also expanded into raw materials for carpentry and furnishings.

"Here we are." He opened the door for her and pulled out the desk chair. There were piles of papers and the ledgers laid out for her to look over. As she suspected, Oliver was slacking in managerial affairs.

"Uncle Olly, do you have a secretary?"

He scratched his neck sheepishly, "Am I that hopeless, Lizzy?"

"Hmm." She slipped off her bonnet and skimmed over the clumsily written documents and ledgers with a lot of scribbles and calculations. "There aren't many obvious mistakes, rather it's hardly legible and cluttered. I'll recommend a few qualified individuals and you can choose among them to assist in these duties. Preferably someone with good handwriting and summarization skills." Prepared for this, she handed over a list of people with secretarial backgrounds. Mr. Taylor had warned her of what she may be dealing with during her rounds and handled everything before arriving in Solaris.

"There ar' mostly women listed 'ere."

Eliza threaded her fingers and tilted her head, "And what am I?"

He habitually rubbed his chin, forgetting he shaved his beard earlier in the morning, "Ah how should I put this. Suppose one of 'ese ladies need to travel wit' me crew. Tis bad luck for the ship."

Eliza blinked in surprise, then smiled bitterly, "Are you using that baseless myth as an excuse to disqualify perfectly capable workers?"

"Eh? If ye say it like that, I sound like a bad man."

She sighed and started flipping through the documents, "Do as you wish, but at least interview the first two women on the list." She was especially confident in the skills of those women, as they happen to be old friends who attended Hildegarde and are currently wasting their talents, stuck at home with boorish men.

Feeling it was a reasonable condition Oliver agreed, and they moved topics. The next hour was spent discussing plans for expansion, looking into other exports, and maintenance fees. Overall, business was doing exceedingly well, and she agreed to an escort back to the street. With copies of the ledgers and important documents tucked in her briefcase for her to look over more thoroughly later.

Walking past the Baron's crew again, she was a moment too late remembering to pull up her hood and some sailors blocked their path. Their noses were still pink from drinking the night before and regarded her with leering gazes.

Both of her escorts stepped forward to shield her. "Out of our way." The one who spoke up first was still green and even younger than herself.

"We have business with that bitch behind you."

Eliza's other escort balled his fists in fury, "Watch that tongue."

"Or what?" The buffest sailor with ink covering all visible skin spat at her escort's feet. "That slut owes us an apology for ignorin' us earlier."

In a blinding flash of movement, the escort lunged forward with a steel blade pressed against the red roses inked across the other man's neck, and the petals began to drip red. "Or else I'll cut off that disrespectful tongue and feed it to the carnivorous fish, along with the rest of your gutted body."

Eliza barely had time to stumble back as the two groups started to brawl. Sailors and ex-pirates from opposite yards began to join in with wild strikes, some even falling into the water and continuing their battle from there. She covered her ears and didn't know how to make it stop. If any of her employees got killed because of her...

"Lizzy!"

"Uncle Olly!" She spun around, hoping to find relief once she saw him, but her back tensed when she felt the waves of anger rolling off of him, his entire demeanor changed into something terrifying.

"Stay back, I'll handle this." He ripped off his dress shirt and started separating the men by tossing them over opposite sides of the docks into the murky water. All while laughing as he did so. You can't take the

Her legs felt stiff, and she didn't know her way around enough to get away from the chaos. At the same time, that same spot on her chest started to heat up.

"Milady!"

Her ears twitched hearing a familiar voice calling out to her. Just as she tried turning towards the source, arms wrapped around her, and a hand cupping her jaw kept her head facing forward. "Are you alright?"

Eliza felt goosebumps down her arms hearing that same male voice from yesterday and nodded hesitantly. "I am. Why are you...?"

"I had business with the Charleston's."

"I see." She was sure it was the same nameless nobleman who lent her the carriage last night. Her body flushed remembering the fantasies with this man she pleasured herself to and then became overly aware of the feeling of his hard body pressed against her backside.

"Forgive my discourtesy."

"Huh? Eek!" He wrapped an arm around her thighs, beneath the buttocks, and hugged her to his side with her feet dangling high off the ground. Then ran along the docks with an agility that shouldn't be possible while carrying her weight. "Slow down sir!"

"Are you sure about that?"

"???" Since she was facing behind them, she caught sight of the shitty Baron running out from the largest ship's quarters with waving arms, trying to seize the fighting. She stiffened noticeably and the man rescuing her flipped over her hood to disguise her better. Before long, they were back on the road and he softly set her back down on her feet. Just as she tried looking up at his face, the man yanked her hood down further to obscure her vision.

"Sorry, I'm rather insecure about my face. Wouldn't want my gentlemanly image to be ruined by my ogre looks."

"Is that a joke?" Even though his mask last night covered a large portion of his face, it was obvious he was handsome beyond comparison. "I'm not one to care about looks."

He chuckled softly, "I figured so. Regardless, I am a shy man."

She scoffed, knowing for sure that was a lie. "How should I call you then if I cannot know your identity?"

"'My Hero' would sound nice. Give that a try."

"Absolutely not."

"Haha" He patted her head and whispered by her ear, "I promise to make a formal greeting sometime soon, Milady. Try not to miss me too much until then."

Her neck felt hot with him speaking so close to her and she felt embarrassed remembering the way he unceremoniously carried her in public. Then she heard him step away and immediately pulled off her hood, but he was nowhere to be seen. She spun around looking for him, but it was as though he became invisible and ran off.

"Bollucks!"

...

Eliza toured her family's many other businesses in the city for the rest of the day and had amicable conversations with each manager and co-owner. It was almost suspicious how welcoming everyone was of her. As though Mr. Taylor threatened their livelihoods if they treated her otherwise. On her walk home, just as she was approaching the residential area, a person came out from the shadows of an alleyway and called out to her.

"Mother."

Eliza froze and was shocked to see a familiar woman waiting for her, "Dahlia, are you headed for an appointment? But we don't usually get clients from this neighborhood."

"Mother, please. It's concerning Daisy." She took a deep, shaky breath before continuing, "We found her."