The clipper ship was small inside, as were the rooms, and the captain brought us right to the back of the ship and to the biggest room.

“Cynthia, you can't give us your cabin. That's not going to sit well with me.” Victoria said with a frown.

“I'm the captain of this ship. You are on it and you are under my jurisdiction until you leave.” Cynthia said with a blank face, then she smirked as she glanced at me. “The bed's big enough for your antics.”

Victoria opened her mouth to respond and then sighed. “Dammit, Cynthia. I'm not sleeping with him.”

“Uh huh. How else can you explain that you both smell like each other?”

“We've slept and sweated in the same small tent for two whole days.” Victoria said.

“Oh, I imagine there was a lot of sweating going on.” Cynthia said in a teasing tone. “There are fresh and clean sheets on the bed. If you want a bath, it's over there.” She pointed to a door. “It's self serve, unless you want to pay one of the crew to haul the water for you.”

Victoria looked like she was going to rant, then she sighed. “That's fine. We can handle it. Thank you.”

“I assume you already ate?” Cynthia asked and Victoria nodded. “If you don't mind, I'll come back here after supper and we can have a drink.”

“I'd like that.” Victoria said and Cynthia left to go eat. “David, I'll convince her that we aren't doing each other. Somehow.”

I shrugged. “I was going to mention I'm betrothed; but, she doesn't look like she'll believe it.”

Victoria nodded. “She's pretty headstrong, that's true. It's why she makes a great captain. Her assumptions, though...”

“You should just ignore her insinuations and just enjoy your time with her.”

Victoria gave me a sorrow filled look. “David, I don't want everyone to think...”

“They're going to think it, anyway. You're too sexy for them to believe that I'm not making love to you all the time.” I said and took off my pack. I set it off to the side and cast the lock spell on it.

Victoria put her pack beside mine, cast Lock on hers, then added the alarm spell to hers. She turned to me and gave me the same warm and gentle hug that she had given Cynthia. She held me for several moments, then she let me go.

“Do you want to bathe first?” Victoria asked.

“That depends. Do you want to be my personal maid for the next hour?” I asked and she took in a sharp breath.

“D-David, I... oh, god.” Victoria shuddered as she closed her eyes and I slipped away and entered the bathroom silently and locked it. “Yes, I... no, we... oh, god. I very much would like to be. We can't do it, though. I'm your teacher and you're my...” Her voice trailed off and a moment later there was a knock on the door. “David!” She said and then the knock got louder. “DAVID!”

I smiled because I got to tease her back after all the teasing she did to me. “I'm busy.” I filled the tub with cold water and then used the heating spell on the tub.

“Open this door, dammit. We need to talk!”

“I can't hear you over the water!” I said and quickly pulled off my clothes and jumped into the tub. I splashed it around a bit to let her hear it, then I realized I was getting a bit spoiled with the rich life, because I actually missed having this for the last four days. I quickly lathered up and washed myself as the occasional knock sound came from the door. I even did my private area by myself, which was odd, because I hadn't washed it myself in a long time.

I stepped out of the tub and dried off, wrapped the towel around myself, and picked up my things. I opened the door and Victoria was between knocks with a surprised look on her face. Before she could say anything, I spoke.

“The water's still hot.” I said and stepped by her.

Victoria's hand dropped as she looked down at the towel wrapped around my waist. “Yes, I... I need to bathe. A lot.”

“Enjoy it. The cloth is still soapy.”

“The cloth?” Victoria asked, a little confused.

“I washed down here last.” I said and pat my crotch.

Victoria let out an uncharacteristic little squeal, jumped into the bathroom, and slammed the door. It glowed for a second as she applied the lock spell, then I heard several splashes. The moans started soon after.

I pulled out my night clothes from my pack and locked it again. I changed into them and hung the towel up to let it dry, because I could probably use it again tomorrow if we were late arriving. I climbed into bed on what was becoming 'my side' during this expedition and I didn't bother trying to root around or look at everything in the room. Whatever the captain had in her private cabin was just that, private.

No sooner had I thought that when the captain came into the room without knocking first. She shut the door and then seemed to jerk when she saw me in the bed. Her eyes darted around the room and then landed on me again.

“Where's Tori?” Cynthia asked.

“Taking a hot bath.” I said and pointed to the door.

“A hot bath? There's no hot water to...” Cynthia stopped talking and walked over to the door to knock. “Tori? Open up! It's me, Thia.”

The door's glow disappeared and it clicked. The captain opened the door and Victoria's moan cut through the silent cabin. Cynthia's mouth dropped open at whatever she was seeing and she looked over at me. I shrugged, pretty much admitting that I didn't know what she was doing. She gave me an inquisitive look for a moment before she stepped into the bathroom and closed the door.

I heard cloth moving, a distinct splash of water, then some sing-song moans joined Victoria's. She probably hasn't had a hot bath in a while. I thought and closed my eyes.

I stayed vigilant, of course. I knew exactly when the bathroom door opened and the two women came out wearing only towels. They were kind of draped over each other and they sat off to the side at the captain's desk. They opened a bottle of strong alcohol and had several drinks as they talked normally and didn't bother trying to be quiet with me sleeping in the bed.

After an hour and a half, both women stood up as if they coordinated it, pulled off the towels, and climbed into the bed with me. What followed was one of the oddest spectacles I had ever witnessed. I had no idea that two women could do the things they were doing to each other. I never looked with my eyes, though. My vigilance technique gave me all of the information I needed and I could 'see' them in my head.

When they first started, I saw them occasionally look at me to see if I was looking or if I was awake. They gave up trying to catch me after about twenty minutes and then they completely ignored me. When they were done, they cuddled with each other and Cynthia was between Victoria and where I lay. The two of them fell asleep holding each other and looked very peaceful.

The morning seemed to arrive a few moments later and the large window above the bed lit the room up, because we were sailing away from the sun. I didn't stir, though. For some reason, I knew that if I got up first, I would be in serious trouble. I wasn't sure why, until Cynthia started to wake up.

“Huh, wha...” Cynthia opened her eyes and she gasped. She quickly sat up and stared down at my sleeping form. It took her a few moments before she realized I was still dressed. She relaxed and looked at Victoria, who was also still naked. She leaned down and kissed her several times and Victoria let out a groan, then she opened her eyes and saw Cynthia.

“Mmm.” Victoria moaned for real and then they went at it again.

I have to remember as much of that as I can. I thought and laid there quietly. I don't know if I can adapt all of it for use, though. I don't have women's parts to do some of it.

I worked out in my head what I could ignore and discard and what I was sure would make Helena happy. She had enjoyed it when I kissed her down below and now I knew a few more things to do down there. I had learned a lot more during this trip than I thought I would.

Cynthia got up and looked at herself, all sticky and damp, and she gave Victoria a very seductive look. “Bath.” She whispered.

“It'll be cold.” Victoria whispered back as she stood up as well.

“We can warm it up.” Cynthia whispered and they went to the bathroom. “I can't believe he slept through all of that.”

“He's usually up long before I am.” Victoria said as she shut the bathroom door.

“Maybe he's catching up on his sleep, now that you're going home?” Cynthia asked with the sound of water pouring into the tub. “Either that or he was pretending to be asleep.”

“All night?” Victoria laughed. “I doubt anyone could pretend for that long.”

“We made a lot of noise.” Cynthia said and then there was a little splash. “Brrrr!”

“I told you.” Victoria said with a laugh.

“Get in here and help me.” Cynthia groused. After another splash, their moans started again.

I debated staying in bed, until I heard several other doors open and the crew going up onto the deck. I hopped out of bed, changed into my work clothes and donned my knife and bandoleer, then left the captain's cabin. Going to work gave me the perfect excuse to get out of their way for a while.

“Oi! What are you doing out here so early?” One of the crewmen said as I stepped out onto the deck.

“Your mother only likes taking it once in the morning.” I said without missing a beat. Everyone around us stopped what they were doing and looked at me, then they all burst out laughing.

“Ha ha ha!” One of them said and clapped me on the back. “Good one! I gotta remember that!”

“Hey!” The first guy that spoke said.

“He's friends with the captain's guest. As long as he stays out of the way, we'll get our work done.” The man next to me said.

“Actually, I can help.” I said and he gave me an odd look.

“Do you know anything about sailing?” The man asked.

“I can do all the jobs on a schooner.” I said and he looked impressed.

“All right, get up on the main mast and show me what you got.” He said.

I looked over the ropes tied around the place, went over to the right one and loosened it into a slip knot, then I scrambled up the rope ladder to the right spot and pulled. The rope let loose and I unfurled the middle sail. When it dropped to the right height, I grabbed the rope and tied it off on the holding post.

“Are you sure that's wise? We shouldn't let a civilian work on a navy ship, should we?” Another guy asked.

“He's doing better than Johnson and we've been training him for three weeks.” The man that told me to try working said, then he laughed when I used the rigger's trick to slide down the sail and landed on the deck. “Boy, you're lucky you're not wearing anything that'll snag on the sail. You could have ruined...”

“That's why I'm not wearing anything like that.” I said. “What's next?”

The man shook his head and pointed. “Harris needs help changing out the front sail and running new ropes.”

“Sir.” I said and carefully walked over to the front of the boat as I avoided the other men working.

I worked for the rest of the day, helping where I could, and doing jobs alone when a few of the men realized that they could relax and let me handle it. I really did know what I was doing.

“Damn, boy. I wish you'd enlist in the navy. I could use someone with your skills.” The warrant officer said.

“I'm enrolled in the mage academy for the next three years.” I said.

“You're going to be a mage? Really?” He asked, surprised.

I made a starting flame appear in my hand and he nodded.

“I also doubt they'd assign a fresh recruit to a scout ship.” I said and he had to laugh.

“Yeah, you got that right. Too dangerous for newbies.”

A little bell rang and everyone that was up on the deck went below to the small crew mess. I saw Victoria was already sitting at the captain's table and they were chatting and carrying on as they ignored the rest of the people in the room. It was now packed with navy men and to my surprise, a woman came out of the little kitchen and served the men. When she came over to the table with me and five other men, her eyes widened.

“Oh! You're eating with us?” She asked, surprised.

“I'd like the seaside special.” I said and everyone around me gave me a shocked look, then they all burst out laughing, even the woman.

“Ohh... oh, you're funny.” The warrant officer said and wiped a tear from his eye. “Lass, if you don't have enough ready, I'll share mine with him.”

Lass gave him a pleased smile. “I'll see what I can do.”

“She's a good one.” The warrant officer said to me as we waited for her to come back. “She's polite and treats everyone with respect.” He leaned in a little. “She's damn sexy, too.”

Lass was right there and put two plates down between us, her face red. “I hope... you enjoy the meal.”

The warrant officer looked like he was caught stealing and he looked up at her face. “Lass, I...”

Lass put a hand on his shoulder. “We're staying at the capital for three days to resupply.”

The warrant officer's eyes widened, then he gave her a very happy smile. “I'll make the arrangements.”

Lass smiled back before she left to finish serving the others.

“Well, damn.” The guy next to the warrant officer said. “Nice going, sir.”

The warrant officer chuckled. “We'll see. She might hate having to stay on land all three days.”

“Treat her like a lady.” I said and used the proper etiquette to start eating. “Noble or not, they all like it.”

The warrant officer gave me an odd look, then he smiled again. “I think I'll do just that.”

We fell quiet after that and ate the meal in silence. It was pretty good.