A Kiss from a Rose

The year is 1710, late in the era known as the Golden Age of Piracy. It is a time of adventure and excitement on the high seas, but also of great hardship, as the New World is colonized and Spain and England battle for dominance. It is this time that a young noblewoman named Eleanor Rose comes of age.

Eleanor is the only daughter of a wealthy merchant named William Rose and his French wife. In addition to being quite intelligent and quick-witted, Eleanor is also considered quite the beauty. She is fair-skinned and raven-haired, with striking golden eyes. She is tall, but also a late bloomer; she has not yet fully grown into her womanhood, and thus still has lean hips and petite breasts.

Eleanor has lived her entire life being pampered in a spacious manor in London, England. Though she wants for no physical possessions, her heart aches for a freedom that thus far has been denied to her. After all, an English noblewoman has expectations, and hers' come in the form of a young man named Charles Tarell. Charles Tarell is Eleanor's betrothed, and is the eldest son of a wealthy member of the East India Company. Their betrothal is meant to seal a partnership between their fathers, something that Eleanor somewhat resents.

Not that she particularly dislikes Charles himself, of course. He's always seemed likable sort, from the interactions Eleanor has had with him. He was certainly polite, at least. And he was even a little bit cute, in an awkward and bookish sort of way. But Eleanor doesn't like the idea of being sent off to him, to be trapped in the domesticity of being a wife and to be to bear children for a man she hardly knows.

And so that brings us to where our story begins, with Eleanor deep in thought on a warm afternoon. Eleanor knows that she will be sent of to Charles soon enough ... perhaps even tomorrow, if she was unlucky. But she would rather not have that happen. And so she sees three possibilities in front of her.

The first would be to disguise herself as a boy, run away to the docks, and join the crew of some ship. Eleanor would find this option the most appealing. She has always been fascinated with the sea, and those who make their livelihoods upon it, and she's confident that she could thrive on it as well.

The second option would be to run away into the city itself. There would be less freedom in that option than there would be upon the open ocean, but it would also be less of a permanent choice. After all, she could easily return home from the city, but it would takes months before she could return from sailing.

And finally, the third option would be to stay where she is, and hope for the future in front of her to work itself out.