A Sailor's Life For Me (Christopher)

[Christine Montgomery]

Christine didn't cry, it was almost as if she didn't know how. Oh she wheedled and gave her hurt looks but she refused to cry because long ago she got it into her head that crying would make her look weak, and for a girl as strong spirited as Christine was, she refused to look weak. Especially as a single girl on nearly an all male Crew. Of course the crew had partook in her raising so there was no question that she was like a daughter or a sister to all of them.

They were a good lot, a little rough around the edges, but to her the were family, there was never any inappropriate behavior from any of them, and whenever they took on a new member of the crew that member was watched and warned about Christine. It wasn't bad enough that she had three uncles and a big brother that thought it was imperative to protect her, no she had the crew of her uncle's ship to also keep her safe.

Still she loved them all dearly and the thought now that she wouldn't be able to see them anymore while she attended school was more than heartbreaking. She was near tears.

She ran up the bridge onto the ship, the crew knew her so they didn't stop her at all and she ran straight to her uncle's cabin then straight into her uncle's arms "It's awful!" she cried out.

[Christopher Montgomery]

Christopher was making sure that his ship was getting loaded and ready for a shipment that he was supposed to send out. The crew was currently making sure that there was no damage to the ship. Christopher had been helping them eariler, but he had turned to his cabin to look at his charts. He had to make sure that he had a correct plan of direction.

During the time when he was a little younger than he was now, he took off to the sea to do his father's job as a merchant. Christopher wasn't a full merchant at the time. He was sort of a pirate, but of course now he had calmed down before sometime too extreme happened. Naturally that was something that was going to keep quite. Even the crew agreed to it.

He shook the memories from his mind just as his cabin door flew open. Christopher immediately opened his arms which his niece, Christine, went into. He wrapped his arms around her. "It's alright Christine," he said soothingly. He gently stroked her hair. "Just calm down."

[Christine Montgomery]

"They're making me stay." she told him then held tighter, "It's that woman!"

She loved her mother very much, but at the moment "that woman" was her enemy. Her mother was the epitome of decorum and propriety without an adventurous bone in her body, or so Christine thought. It had been her idea to send Christine to school instead of out with the tide again, and it wasn't fair. She didn't know any other life but the sea, but adventure, she needed it, she craved it, and now it was being taken away from her.

"She's convinced your dreadful brother to send me to school!"

[Christopher Montgomery]

"Well love, you've got to learn to have your land legs as well as your sea legs," said Christopher. He held on to her as she did him. "I promise school is not as bad as you think. You need to have a good education. After all, I survived school. Look where it got me. My own ships and a great crew."

He put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her at arms length. Looking down at her he smiled. "And, whenever you are out of school and I'm here, you can always come visit. After this run, I'll be home for awhile. Let my land legs take back over for a bit. Plus, you never know when I'll come and visit you. I'll owl you, and I'm sure that the crew will owl you too. And I remember being school being quite an adventure. I promise you'll have fun once you get used to it."

[Christine Montgomery]

"I have a good education right where I'm at!" she protested. She had some of the best tutors world wide and the Montgomeries paid them well enough not to complain about being onboard a ship.

She felt slightly betrayed by his nonchalance in the matter, wondering why he wasn't as devastated as she had been and then she took a guess and stepped away from him, "Did you know? Did you know that they weren't going to let me sail with you?" she asked perilously close to tears, she swiped her hand in the air.

"It doesn't matter. I hate the whole of society." she said hastily, " It's not real there! Nothing's real, everyone's all hello and how do you do to your face but stab you in the back as soon as you look the other way. They're all so fake and stiffling Ugh!" she shrieked outraged. "It was different for you in school you could raise hell and no one'd bat an eyelash...what about me ...a girl raising hell..." she threw her hands up. She was done with her tears, even though she hadn't shed them, she was just frustrated at being denied her well loved freedom.

[Christopher Montgomery]

"I had an idea that they were, but I wasn't for sure. Chrissy, I promise it's not as bad as you think. You need to learn how to talk amougst the society. They don't all appreciate the language we use on a ship. You need to learn love. I know that we have the best tutors for you, but you have rarely been around children your age." Christopher hated the idea that she was being sent off to school, he really did. Although, he did look at it from the point that Christine needed to be around children her age.

"Look, you're a Montgomery and my niece. There is nothing wrong with a Montgomery raising hell. That's what we do Chrissy. I have faith in you. I know that you will make me proud. And I promise that as a gift we will sail to anywhere in the world you want to go on your break." He put a hand to her cheek. "And don't you think for one second that I'm not going to miss you. I'm going to miss having you here. I do hate to see you go, but it's going to be alright. You'll make me proud, I know you will."

[Christine Montgomery]

She narrowed her eyes, " I've only heard the best language aboard this ship thank you very much." she said her chin raised. It was hardly the truth but she had taught most of his crew proper English as well as how to read and they had their ears boxed if they used poor language in her presence...unless she was using poor language herself. "I don't *want* to be around "children" "she glared at that word, " my own age, they really are like children, and most of them spoiled to boot, they wouldn't know the first thing outside of their narrow minded lives." she said hastily.

Christine could be rather diplomatic when she put her mind to it, actually she was normally diplomatic and a bit manipulative, but when she was in a temper tantrum (which didn't happen often) she said things without thinking.

"I don't want to go...there's nothing for me at a school...it might as well be a prison."

[Christopher Montgomery]

"We all do things that we don't want to do Chrissy," he replied. "Goodness knows I've done plenty! But that is what life is about. Yes, the other people your age will more than likely be like you say they are, but then again there could be people that you might find valuable to you. You say that they are narrow minded, but you're being narrow minded yourself. You're not thinking about the fun you could have in school, you're just thinking about all the bad things. I'm not going to have you think that way. If it makes you feel any better, I can wait and take you to school if you want. However, you need to think with an open mind."

Christopher looked at her. "You might find you a boyfriend that I'll have to evaluate or something. You never know. Heck, you could even find a best friend. Please promise me that you will at least try. You can owl me all the time, and I'll owl you back. I promise."

[Christine Montgomery]

Properly chastised she lowered her eyes to the ground. She was being narrow minded, perhaps it stemmed out of fear, but since she tried to make herself believe that she was fearless she refused to think of that.

She just didn't want this. She badly didn't want this.

She hardened a bit, "It's pointless uncle Chris. Utterly pointless. I don't want a gaggle of people around me. I don't want some barely post pubescent teenager hanging all over me because he thinks he's God's gift to women, and I don't want to be told that I can't do this or that because it's too dangerous or it's not what proper ladies do. I'm never going to be one of those simpering girls who act like it's the greatest thing in the world to be noticed by some guy.." she shivered distastefully, " I've lived life...I've experienced and tasted it far beyond the imaginings of people my age...and now I'm going to be locked up with the rest of them...it's like taking away color from a person's sight."

[Christopher Montgomery]

"But you're not going to be locked up," he replied. "Think of it, think of it as a long journey at sea. You have to make due with what you have around you for a bit, then when you hit land, which will be your holidays, you are free to explore wherever you want to you." Christopher still had his hand on her cheek. "And trust me Chrissy, you will find some boy that will make you giggle to yourself, even if you admit it just before you sleep at night. Not all boys are the ones that just throw their arm around you and thinks he's God's gift to women. You'll find that out when you get there. I promise." He gave her a playful wink.

"Besides, I don't think anyone is going to tell you what a proper lady should and shouldn't do. I have a feeling there are going to be a few that love to find some adventure at school. Plus, you're in an old castle. There are plenty of hidden places ready to be discovered. Trust me, I know. But, you have grown up too fast love. You need to stop for a moment and look at life on land. I'm not telling you that you will always be there, because goodness knows you will be right here with me whenever you're on holidays. Plus, Geoffrey will be nearby."

[Christine Montgomery]

He was making it sound better, but her heart was still aching over this soon to be separation. She was already months behind as far as the school year was concerned, and then months, or probably a year ahead of where she should have been scholastically.

She doubted his words about finding a boy. First of all she didn't want a boy. She wanted a man. Secondly she doubted she'd find any sort of man on a campus like that.

She didn't even want love, not yet...not really. To her love was this prison as well, then there'd be marriage and not everyone was like her father or her uncles...no the man she married would probably stuff her in one of those society dresses and tell her exactly what to say before she spoke. She really would die then.

"But I like being on the ship." she said to counter his words although without heat or even real conviction, " I like it nearly as much as I do the exploring." she liked being needed on the ship, she liked being a part of the crew.

[Christopher Montgomery]

Christopher knew that Christine was going to have a hard time, but she would be able to adjust. If he had it his way, he would just keep her on his ship, like she had always been. They had wonderful tutors, but Christine hadn't really ever been around people her age. She had to have a chance to do that.

"I know you like being on the ship and you know that I love having you here," he said soothingly. "I promise it'll be here when you're on holidays. Hogwarts is in need of exploration. There are secret passage ways, paintings that speak everywhere you turn, staircases that move. There will be things to keep you entertained like Jeremiah keeps you entertained from time to time. You'll find people that you get along with. It's important that you have interaction with people your own age. How awkward would it be if you hadn't ever been around people your age and then we set port in a place that's filled with people your age wanting to talk to you or something? If I could I'd keep you on this ship for however long you wanted to be here, but school is going to be similar to life out at sea. I promise it is. I bet that whenever I come to get you on Holidays, you'll have loads of stories to tell me."

[Christine Montgomery]

When put that way Hogwarts was seeming more and more like an adventure, but she was still wary, she wanted to stay with Chris, more than anything,but at the same time she had missed her parents, and her brother, and her other uncles. She didn't care for meeting people her own age, certainly not, but for family she wanted to stay...if even only a little bit. Then there was Samantha whom she still didn't know very well, but she wanted to get to know her cousin better who knew maybe School would be an adventure.

She was coming around but then she sighed, "I don't know how to tell the crew."

[Christopher Montgomery]

"That's my girl," he said with a softened smile. "I think the crew will agree with school being an adventure just waiting to be taken. Of course I think Andrew is going to take it the hardest really, but other than that it'll be alright. I'll go with you to tell them if you want me too."

Christine was like the daughter he never had, and Christopher did the best to help raise her the best he could. He was going to miss having her on board, but he had a feeling that at some point his youth was going to catch up to him, and he didn't want her to know about it. In fact, no one but the crew knew about it, and he was going to keep it that way. However, he wouldn't say no to her whenever she wanted to come on Holidays or something, because he couldn't deny her that much. He would just improvise if he had to.

[Christine Montgomery]

Christine always had her suspicions about her uncle and his crew, sometimes when they were welcomed at port by "shady" characters referring to her uncle as some nick name or other, but she never suspected anything less than respectable.

At the mention of Andrew her heart sunk a bit, she was still teaching him how to read , she bit her lip, "I'm going to miss everyone so much." she said with a sigh.

[Christopher Montgomery]

"And don't worry about Andrew's reading lessons, I'll make sure that he continues practicing so that he can impress you whenever you return," Christopher said with a grin. "We're all going to miss you, but your free time will get here sooner than you think. I promise it will."

He pulled Christine to him and kissed her forehead. "Alright love. Before you really do have to leave, want to help me finish charting out stuff, or do you want to run down with the rest of the crew for a bit? After all you have a day before you have to go to school."

[Christine Montgomery]

She glanced at the chats, " I'd better have a look at those." she said as if she were the expert and he might get himself shipwrecked somewhere. It was the furthest thing from the truth, well at least in the aspect that Chris could get them shipwrecked. He was the expert and Christine, well the still learning apprentice, but she could read a chart as well as any seaman or captain. She glanced down, "Well you're not going here... and you're not going here." she said canceling out two of the paces where she had wanted to go, he wasn't going without her, "How about trading along the triads...safe, familiar territory." she said it had been long enough ago that there would be new things to trade for, but not so long ago that she yearned to go again.

[Christopher Montgomery]

Christopher chuckled as she moved over to his charts. He glanced over her shoulder as she marked out two places with an amused look. The triads were safe and familiar, but Chris didn't know for sure. People now knew his as a respectable person, and that was how he was planning on keeping it.

"The triads it is," he said as she marked his map. "That is where the majority of our goods are supposed to be going anyway. I'll be sure to bring you back things. Do you want me to bring you back one of those pretty dresses?"

[Christine Montgomery]

Tilting her head as if thinking about it she nodded in the affirmative, " I would."

For all her adventure and hoyden ways, she was still a girl and she had her feminine whims. She enjoyed all things beautiful, and in the Triads there was a woman who sold handmade dresses that were infinitely that. She had wanted one the last time she had been there but the woman could only make so many at a time and had been out when Christine had asked for one.

But inspired by the hoyden the woman indeed had agreed to make her a dress for the next time the girl sailed that way. She had said that the dress would be special. For a woman. Christine had been a young girl at the time, and was disappointed she had to wait. She had all but forgotten about it until her uncle brought it up.

[Christopher Montgomery]

"Alright," he replied. "I'll send an owl to that dressmaker's that you liked so much and make sure that she has a dress specially for you. I'll make sure that you get the dress as quick as possible." Christopher smiled. He hoped that if he ever had a daughter, she would be more like his niece. However, Christopher settling down was not in the near future. No woman that he met wanted to really be with a sailor but for one night and that was it. Of course, he couldn't complain too much about that, but then again the one night deals weren't really what Christopher did. After all he had his niece that he took care of and she was more important to him than any of that stuff.

"What else do you want me to bring you? Some nice guy that I could haul onto the ship and bring him to you," Christopher teased.