She could hear many people whispering and talking about her, since she looked quite unusual and everyone wondered what's that crimson on her white dress, so she kept walking quickly and glancing around. And then a loud thump.

" Ow! Oh, goodness that hurt! Watch it you— 

"What's the matter with you?"

Marina looked up as she landed on her bottom on the ground. She kept angrily mumbling and had no idea what was going on. "Hello? Are you perhaps deaf?" The man spoke to her again, this time with a puzzled expression on his face and his arms crossed. "Did you not see me coming by!? That hurt a lot and I'm running out of time all because of you!" she explained. He halted her;

"Look, ma'am, I do not have time for small talk. Keep an eye out the next time when you walk" Marina rolled her eyes and expressed her displeasure with his demeanor, particularly when he spoke ma'am in a sarcastic manner. She looked around, unsure of what she should do next. The sound of ships, crowds yelling, pushing enormous boxes around, and arguing distracted her, and she was unable to concentrate if her parents approach her. She chewed her bottom lip again till it started to bleed.
She was annoyed because she had managed to run so far only to come to a halt. As the girl was overthinking herself, a middle aged man approached a local citizen not far away and asked if they had seen a young looking bride with brunette hair. "I assume that's her, I saw her wearing jewels and a white gown so, I'm assuming that is her." he said, returning his gaze to the man, who was narrowing his eyes in an attempt to detect Marina.

Marina was terrified and very anxious, and she didn't know how to react quickly. She looked around once more for a hiding spot, and she recognized the guy she had run into before. He was on his way to a ship, lugging heavy wooden boxes. He went to retrieve the last box and then yelled:

"All right crew, she's sailing astern towards Greece. Clear the decks"

"Captain? This is incredible!" She pondered her thoughts. And she dashed over to him, hoping without hope that he wouldn't tell her to go home. "Greetings." She waved and smiled at him all nicely as the young man turned around to her confused. "Oh, you're back? What do you want now? To yell at me again?" He scoffed and gave the heavy wooden box to one of his crew members. He told him "Get this to Hold right away, please."

"I'm aware that we've only just met, in an embarrassing manner. But! Would you be willing to let me board your ship perhaps?" She gave an uneasy smile and hoped for a positive response and she twirled a strand of her hair on her finger. "And why would I do something like that?" He furrowed his brow and wished she would just leave him alone.

"Well, you see, I'm in a bit of a...er—... in a hurry, and it would be fantastic if you let me in! You would really help me a lot!" She pleaded with him to let her stay, and tried to hurry up because her parents were about to arrive and take her back home, where she would never hear from her father and mother again.

He arrogantly looked at her in the eyes
"The answer is no, ma'am. This isn't some kind of a holiday ship that you higher class people take."

"What—No! Please! I beg of you!" tears started falling from her face "I-I have nowhere else to go and I'm terrified." He was undecided about allowing her to board on the ship. He sighed and consented, seeing how eager she was to get on it. He told her she needed to get on it right now because the ship is departing in a few minutes. She was ecstatic and delighted at the time. She reached out to shake his hand, but he flinched and made an uneasy look. She was confused as to why he acted in such way and found him quite odd. She quickly got onto the ship and waited for him to appear on the deck.

Her parents approached her as she stood there looking at the marine; luckily, she was saved just in time. But they were heartbroken and confused because they couldn't find her anywhere. The ship began to cruise southward as the wind blasted through the sails. She leaned on the banister and removed the pins from her hair, allowing the wind to blow through her hair and through the air. She exhaled and breathed with such joy and contentment at having finally escaped. She is no longer a anyone's prisoner. There would be no more courtship responsibilities, no more shame on her chest, and no more anxiety about getting married. Or, at the very least, that's how she hoped it would be.

The captain suddenly approached her.

"I see you're already settling in." he said, half-smiling and crossing his arms. "Yes, even though this place smells so disgusting, like urine. How about washing this ship?" Gagging at the idea of having to stay here, Marina asked. The man was insulted and rendered mute. That comment seemed curiously pointless. He recognized the differences between a ship and a typical home, but for it to smell like urine? Especially because he takes great care of the ship and hygiene. Quite impolite of her to say. 

He tried shrugging it off "Well, since you'll be working for me, I figured we'd get to know each other. Gabriel Santarelli, captain of this vessel." He extended his hand to shake hands.

"Marina Rivalli." she said as she extended her hand for a handshake.

Gabriel paused for a while to consider his comment. "Say, why does your dress have red on it?" He was stunned and speechless. The girl panicked and tried to come up with something as quickly as possible "Oh I accidentally spilled wine all over me when running away" The man was very suspicious of her and didn't trust her. He squinted his eyes at her and kept looking up and down on her. "So, you come from a wealthy family by the looks of you."

She gave him a troubled face, as if it were a bad thing.
"Yeah? What about it?

"Nothing just," he snickered, "have you ever worked in your life, princess? How old are you even? "

"Eighteenth, but, what does work have to do with my age?" Marina was uncomfortable and averted her gaze while clumsily wiping her hand on her arm. He was underwhelmed. He grumbled to himself, "It is because you'll work for me." What will he do with her? She's a wealthy brat, after all. She almost certainly never cleaned up after herself. He moaned and clenched his hand, hating every decision he had made in his life. "Work!? I most certainly won't! My hands are too delicate for such stuff!" she inquired, upset and Mr. Santarelli was beginning to get quite irritated by her "Do not think I'm letting you stay here for free. I'm even being incredibly generous." She looked up and peered at his strange and seductive dark nut brown eyes, black as a summer night and honey like under the sun's rays whenever he stood under it. She peered into his eyes too long, but quickly snapped out of it, looked in a new direction, and felt butterflies in her stomach just by gazing at them. The captain exhaled deeply, regretting what he was about to say, "You'll start cleaning the decks tomorrow. Did you understand? And for the love of God, go change, you're gonna scare my crew mates."

"Are you serious, Mr. Santarelli? I must work here, really?" The young lady inquired because she believed he would give her a free stay out of sympathy for her miserable life. "Yes you will, you're not on a vacation here. And please don't wreck my ship." he grinned at her, and Marina rolled her eyes in irritation. She approached him and sheepishly prodded his arm with her index finger as he was going to walk away to his cabin and prepare the ship's location.

"What is it now?" He turned to face her.

"Could you please inform me where I'm supposed to sleep? Is it even possible to find a room on a ship?"

"In the bottom deck, you'll sleep with other men. However, because you're new, you'll most likely sleep on the ground."

"On the ground!" she exclaimed aloud. "That's utterly disgusting?! Do you really have no private room only for me? I require a private room." her ocean blue eyes widened and she gave him a worried look.

The captain smirked and shrugged it off, asking if she wanted to visit her cabin or sleep on the deck outside. She immediately nodded, following him, and became enthralled by the fact that he was kidding. They walked down on wooden staircase to the Lower deck. Marina was awestruck; she had never been on a ship like this before, and the timber style of the ship felt attractive and intriguing, as well as oddly cozy. She grinned as she caressed the ship's walls, and the captain, who was perplexed by what she was doing, decided that it was best to remain silent and not even try to dispute with her.

"Well, we've arrived." he stated as he came to a halt in front of a cabin and opened its doors. Marina peered through the doors and startled as she realized there were people inside.

"I thought I was going to be alone?" she exclaimed, her face flushed with embarrassment.

"Yeah, that's a good one; I'm the only one sleeping alone. Get used to it." Gabriel murmured as he placed his hand on the door to keep it open for her. "Francesca, Margherita, and Giordana are three women you should get to know. Ask them to lend you some of their clothes" Marina was uneasy. And questioned him why does she need their clothes.
"If you don't mind being noticed for wearing a wedding gown, then go ahead, I don't mind." He crossed his arms. Marina sighed and felt guilty about having to borrow someone else's clothes; strangely, she had never borrowed anyone's clothes before; instead, she had custom-made dresses and shoes fashioned for her by the best dressmakers in the kingdom. The girl took a timid step inside, and he shut the doors behind her. She gave them an uneasy smile and waved as she introduced herself;

"Good afternoon, my name is Marina. I suppose I'm new on board—"

"So you were getting married today." a girl with fiery hair exclaimed, laying on the top of the wooden bunk bed. "Congratulations," She sarcastically asked, "where's the groom?" Marina was perplexed by what she said.

"Its not any of your business." the young lady said with a harsh tone, and buried her hand in her thick dark brown curly hair.
Marina sat in her shared bunk bed with Francesca, which was now empty. Her corset was killing her and creating red blotches, so she couldn't wait to get rid of it since a maid accidentally tightened it too much. Marina inquired whether the red haired girl had anything she could lend her. Francesca sighed and rolled her eyes. "I'm only doing it because Gabriel told me to. Otherwise, I won't even touch you." Marina gasped and didn't know what to reply. Margherita, a middle-aged woman in her late fifties, began an argument with Francesca, saying, "Just because you despise rich people doesn't mean you have to be so disrespectful to her. Come here dear; I may have something for you. I know it's ancient, but I hope you don't mind." She gave Marina a warm smile, and the girl was relieved that at least one person on the ship was being courteous to her. "I think this is going to fit you, you're petite like me when I was younger," Margherita said as she opened her chest and showed her a few garments.

Marina guffawed and immediately snatched the clothes. Margherita looked at her with disappointment since the young lady couldn't even say a simple thank you to her. "Fran, was that so difficult to do?" The old lady inquired, and the girl agreed, groaned angrily and turned around to face the wall, continuing to sleep as she had been before Marina interrupted her. Marina despised Francesca because she was frightening and haughty.... Her chilly, dark brown eyes frightened her.
She removed her long black oversized cloak and hung it on the bed; she then felt disgusted as she glanced at her bloody feet; the girl was still shocked by what had happened a while ago. She couldn't wait to get some rest; her feet hurt from running so much that day, and she wasn't used to it. She felt as if she were walking on glass with every step she took. The old woman became concerned and inquired if she was alright. 

Marina looked down and said how her feet hurt a bit. Margherita sat down next to her and took a bottle of grappa from her box of clothes. Marina didn't understand why she needed alcohol; she assumed it was because she wanted to drink it, and she was nervous. She had never tried strong alcoholic drinks before, only wine, which she drank only on rare occasions, such as balls or other special occasions. As soon as she was about to ask what she needed alcohol for, Margherita raised her leg and positioned it on her knees, rubbing the alcohol into her feet. Marina screamed in agony, struggling to breathe and started swearing. The woman rolled her eyes and urged her to pull up her other leg and stop being such a hypocrite. The girl felt as if her spirit was about to depart from her body, and she couldn't wait for it to happen. Marina's face was full of tears as Margherita finished bandaging her up; the anguish was too great for her to bear. But at the very least, she can now walk more confidently.