Exactly one week ago, midnight.
Danny quietly opened the door of her friend’s house, Ben. Her and her father lived out of the hospital set up in one of the newer houses, but she rarely spent more than a few minutes at a time there, preferring to wander the island or spend time learning from others. Looking down the street lit only by the moon and a single window lit by a candle, she stepped out, closing the door silently behind her before taking off towards the docks, her bare feet making no more than a dull slapping noise against the dirt. It wasn’t unusual for her to sneak out of houses and roam on her own, but tonight she had to make absolute sure she wouldn’t get caught. The island’s inhabitants weren’t ones for leaving, and even if she wasn’t native to the land she was considered as such. Upon reaching the rotted wood of the docks, she looked around at the few boats there. Most of them were small to medium sized, used mainly for fishing or transporting goods, but one was large and impressive, painted with the navy colours. She began to run again, slowing to a slow creep as she looked onto the deck. There was no one to be seen, but loud voices could be heard under the deck. Grinning with glee, she crept on, silently approaching the closest barrel she could see, taking the lid off to see it nearly empty, around a dozen red, roundish things in the bottom. She climbed in, moving in such a way as to half cover herself with the smooth things. Had the island grown the fruit, she would have known them to be apples. Curious, she picked one up and sniffed at it, picking at the skin with her fingernail. Tasting the small bit she pulled out with it, Danny continued to cautiously take a bite, finding it juicy and sweet. She hadn’t tasted anything like it, having nothing but meat and potatoes back on the island, with a few peas and other vegetables thrown in. Danny was amazed, taking big bites out of the fruit, picking up other ones as she sat in the barrel, filled with excitement to be getting off the island. When she would be discovered in the morning, she’d be doubled over with a stomach ache, having eaten the entire stash of the fruit.
Present day
Danny sat on a crate on the docks, having been left on the island by the navy boat a few hours prior. Already had she gathered a few of her own maps, as well as a little half a dozen apples? Now she just had to find another suitable boat to sneak onto. She pulled out the smallest map she had gotten, one of the surrounding islands of the one she was on now. It had notes on each one about the general climate, culture and food natively grown there. Danny’s attention was pulled from the maps by a great commotion further down the docks, where there seemed to be a battle going on. A bunch of pirates, from what the tiny girl could tell. Her heart leapt at this, a grin curling her lips.
‘Pirates! That’d be better than any old navy ship!’ she thought, rolling the map back up before placing it back into her bag. She stood up, casually padding her way down the docks towards the ship, making sure nobody noticed as she climbed up a rope to the deck, crouching down as she landed on the wood. The fight was still going on, and it seemed as someone had just been shot- the captain, if Danny could hear right. She swallowed, pausing behind a crate as she wondered if she should help, having a very small amount of medical experience from her father, but decided against it. moving to quietly and quickly behind some crates beside what looked like the kitchen, Danny crouched down and squeezed into an impossible small corner. the only way someone were to see her if they had wanted to get something from one of the crates, but otherwise she was totally out of sight. content, she pulled out an apple from her backpack, quietly eating it as the captain came near, only to leave again, a body in tow, a cannon going off shortly before. Danny raised a brow, swallowing incredulously. On the island, women worked in the house and the small gardens, while the men did the heavy lifting. other than herself, she'd never seen a woman do anything that involved an excessive amount of muscles. She settled back again, continuing to work at her apple as it became clear the fight was over and the ship was sailing away from the island.