I was glad to leave the port. It smelled of salt, but not the good kind. Not the briney scent that breezes past your nose on a sunny morning at sea. It was the kind that was mixed with the scents of sweat, urine, and the hobos and scoundrels who secreted it. It was overrun with vermin and there was no money or food to be gained.

Besides that, I was young and eager to explore. I had been a dishwasher for much of my youth, and my mother washed dishes before me; it was to be my destiny. I had never left Port Fleming before, and I was quite apprehensive as I followed Sir Corbluff onto the mighty Blue Meander, his British trade ship. He seemed to command an awful lot of respect. Every swarthy deckhand as well as the captain himself bowed upon his arrival aboard the ship. His confident swagger intimidated even the burliest of men, but it empowered me.

He introduced me as Lady Gloria Bonham. Every man removed his hat and bowed to me; I had never felt so dignified in my life.