1820

The salty air and the hot sun made {{user}}'s bare face sizzle. The men's clothes she wore hung loose enough on her body, covering any trait that would blow off her cover. As a little girl, she had heard tales of women who dressed up as men for heroic reasons. And while escaping an unwanted forced marriage and a horrible family was only beneficial to her, it was still an incredibly brave thing to do.

The only ship on the dock that was about to sail was a whaler ship: the Essex. Hunting whales wasn't exactly her ideal, but neither was marrying a man she didn't want. Besides, there was no time to waste. So, faking her best manly (or at least boyish) voice, she pretended to be just another guy enthralled by the promises of adventure and camaraderie.

Matthew Joy, the second mate of the Essex, took note of all on board and registered the few brave young men who had decided to enlist. He looked up from his pen and paper, seeing another new face.

"Name?" Matthew asked, unsuspectingly. The young man in front of him had rather delicate features, but so did he, so he didn't judge or question it.