2 - The new world

Eileen smiled. "I know some Latin by myself already. Believe it or not there isn't much to do when you're a bachelorette. Between harpsichord lessons, refining my embroiding skills and going to Church on Sundays, I have plenty of free time to read." She assumed a thoughtful expression. "If you simply say that I am a deaf boy, I don't think anyone will make a fuss over me not talking." It made sense for a noble or rich family having sent a disabled, young child to become a priest.

Castiel nodded. "I'll introduce you as my... assistant, then. I don't think anyone will ask too much questions. We'll keep you hidden from others as much as we can." He took a deep breath, and let out a nervous smile. "The more I look at it the more I think we might actually do it."

Eileen grinned. "We will. I promise I'll be the best assistant you've ever had", she reassured him. "You just need to find me a name that isn't 'Eileen'. I doubt you'd have a priest with that name." She seemed to think about it. "Maybe Ethan. Or Bartholomew. I like Samuel, too."

Castiel chuckled. "Let's go for 'Samuel'. It sounds like an exotic name someone might give to a Spanish young man." He smiled at his sister, and then went on filling her in on anything that might be expected from them on that travel - such as spreading Christianism - Catholicism, more precisely - to the New World, and holding small masses on the ship in the meantime. As soon as he heard a familiar rushing noise in the corridors announcing dinner time, he took it as his cue to leave. "I should go, so you're not deprived of dinner again because of me. I'll talk to Raphael, and come back tomorrow to tell you how we'll proceed."

Eileen - Samuel - smiled to her brother and nodded. "I'll be waiting for your return." She raised to her feet to accompany Castiel to the door, wanting to greet him one last time. "I'll see you soon, Cas", she said as a goodbye, gently holding his hands in hers. She couldn't tackle him now - people already talked ill about her in general, she didn't need to give them another reason in her impetuous behavior.

Castiel gently squeezed Eileen's hand back, and finally left her for the night.

Let's be real: Raphael would have never agreed to bring Eileen with them on their journey - especially given that he wasn't sure Castiel and him were likely to come back. When he voiced out his worry about their sister's well-being, Raphael actually got mad at him. They argued for a solid hour, and Castiel was called names for even suggesting that they bring their sister on a ship filled with soldiers, who'd probably take turns to 'have a good time' as soon as she would be found out.

Castiel loathed the thought that this might even happen to his own sister. But that's the thing; to him Eileen's marriage wouldn't spare her of that scarring experience, whether she was bound to an old rich man or not. As much as he hated lying, he lied to his brother's face when he asked that his assistant, Samuel, a poor deaf young man who reminded him of their sister, might accompany him on this journey. Raphael accepted.

A few days later, late into the night, Castiel snuck Eileen out and brought her in the military dormitory where he had been given a room. Once there, he had her put on one of his outfits and, to his own relief, they found a way to have her hide her hair under the hood, so they wouldn't have to cut it.

They thankfully didn't bump into Raphael on the first few days - and Castiel was even beginning to relax a bit. So far, no one was suspecting them. But life aboard the ship was hell. They had little to no privacy, slept in a huge dormitory... Honestly, it was beginning to grow on his nerves, and he needed to find some time alone with his sister, to vent out a bit.

Eileen had been so relieved and happy about the fact that Castiel had kept his promise and had come to bring her away that she had made a silent oath to herself to never complain about the time she'd have to pass on a ship full of rowdy and vulgar soldiers, no matter how hard and difrficult it could become.

This was not to say that she didn't feel the strain of it as well, though. Sleeping in a room full of people made her feel somewhat nervous - she was used to have privacy, and to have many more comforts (even if she was the last thought of her family, she was still a wealthy woman). Add on the stress of having to pretend to be a man, and the fear about getting discovered by her brother, and she was most definitely not having a good time.

On one of those evenings she was standing outside, on the deck, gazing at the sea and reflecting on how this had been the most faraway she had ever been from Spain. She had been in Ireland only once, and it definitely wasn't as far away as this.

Castiel was looking for Eileen - he was always a little nervous when he lost sight of her, especially since one of the sailors had called her 'the pretty boy' a little earlier that day - but sighed with relief when he found her on the deck. He moved closer to her, and taped her shoulder to get her attention. "Hey. Are you alright?"

Eileen got startled when she was touched on the shoulder. She was quite fidgety lately - the last thing she needed was for a sailor to try something with her even if she was passing as a man - but was quick to relax when she saw her brother. "I am okay", she answered. "Just trying to avoid the soldiers. And Raphael." She sighed. "And you?"

Castiel sighed. "Same. I actually fear that Raphael will try to corner me any time soon. Apparently there's been something he wanted to talk to me about." He paused for a bit. "Actually, I- think I know what this is about. I've heard word on the ship that Michael couldn't make it into this expedition because he's been badly wounded."

Eileen frowned, looking worried when Castiel mentioned how Raphael was definitely wanting to talk to him about something - and looked startled with the piece of information he offered to her about Michael. "Wounded? But - how? What happened?", she asked worriedly. Not that she loved her older brother that dearly, but he was a powerful man, with a certain position. For which reason had he been attacked? "... but, one moment. Why would Michael want in on an expedition to find Gabriel?" She didn't recall the man being that fond of their brother.

"The expedition isn't about finding Gabriel himself - I still have to know what put that idea into Raphael's head," Castiel said with a sigh. "But apparently there's a big plan for all of those soldiers. Only the officers know where we're going." He pressed his lips together. "Regarding Michael, I've- heard he's been attacked in his own home, by some of his servants."

Eileen bit her lip. "I see." She felt somewhat lost, now. If not to seek a land to bring supplies to, if not to get to a colony that Spain already owned - if not to find their lost brother. Where were they going? She perked up again when he mentioned Michael. "You mean his slaves, right?", she signed pointedly, her jaw tight. "Use the right words. I have seen how he treats them, when he comes to Rachel's place." She could barely look every time - her brother was a cruel, cruel man. She felt that people working their skin off in the fields might have it better than any of Michael's house servants. Maybe even the pirates serving under Lucien - maybe they were treated better, too.

Castiel seemed suddenly quite sheepish when Eileen mentioned their brother's slaves, and lowered his gaze for a bit. Truth be told, he had always known, but had kept on lying to himself, trying to pretend that their eldest brother hadn't stepped so low. Apparently he did.
He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. "I fear he's been too influenced by our relatives," he said with a grim look on his face.

Castiel was actually so caught up in his talk with Eileen that he didn't notice right away that someone was walking straight towards them - that someone being Raphael. He clasped his hand on Castiel's shoulder, and without even greeting him, he urged him, "I need to talk to you-"
He had only meant to throw a quick glance at his assistant - Samuel - to convey with a single glare that his presence was not requested, but his eyes widened when he realized that there had however never been a 'Samuel' to begin with.

Eileen had completely missed Raphael's arrival. And the moment their older brother arrived and spoke to Castiel, she instictively made a mistake - she had turned to look at him, and her eyes had locked, even if for only a brief instant, with his. She saw a spark of recognizal and paled, immediately turning away, stupidly trying to hide her face again. She knew that it was too late, however, and cursed inwardly before forcing herself to look at Raphael again - trying to appear as defiant as possible. She needed to face his rage now. "Raphael", she started, calling his name out loud.

There definitely had been concern on Raphael's face, soon replaced by anger. And quickly enough, his expression morphed back to his cold façade, and he glared briefly at Castiel.
"Both of you, follow me. Now." He grabbed Castiel by the shoulder and pushed him forward, leading him under the deck. He was way less harsh with Eileen, but still put a firm hand on her shoulder to let her know that he wouldn't allow her to flee for the talk they were about to have.
He lead them that way all the way to the artillery - one of the few locked placed for which he had a key - and closed it behind their back.
As soon as he was done, he turned back towards them, clearly fighting the urge to let his anger turn physical.
"Give me one good reason not to punch you," he snarled out loud to Castiel.

Eileen - who had meekly let Raphael guide her away towards a closed compartment of the ship without opposing any kind of resistence (she felt like she didn't really have the right to do so) - didn't really understand what Raphael had yelled to Castiel, but she didn't need her hearing to note the aggressive stance he had taken and the way he showed his teeth as if he wanted to bite off their brother's head. She side-stepped in front of Castiel, as if to shield him. "It's my fault, Raphael", she said out loud with no little struggle. "I have forced him to get me on board."

Raphael glared back at Eileen, and pointed an accusing finger at her before he began signing angrily to her. "Don't get me started on your case. What were you two thinking? We're crossing the ocean on a ship filled with rowdy, stupid soldiers, and you're a woman. Do you have any idea of what they might do to you if you get found out?"

Castiel gently grabbed Eileen's arm, staying at her side, and wanting to offer her her support. Raphael- was impressive, to say the least, but he was looking for a way to explain the situation to him, a way that might have him calm down.

Eileen was generally quite level-headed, but if her father had taught her something - that had been her saving grace while growing up among so many brothers - had been to never grovel in front of someone who yelled at her. She frowned and lifted her chin before answering to him, signing just as angrily, "I do have an idea, yes. The exact same thing my new husband would have been doing to me, legally and with our family's blessings back in Spain for the rest of my life."

Raphael clenched his teeth, and sighed, before he ran a hand on his face. He clearly hadn't grown cold enough to argue that it would have been better for Eileen. Still, he took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "If anyone here finds out about you, I cannot guarantee your security, or even Castiel's. Who know what these frustrated morons might do if they found out he sneaked a woman on this ship."

"No need to worry about me. No one has understood that I am a woman", Eileen replied, relieved about the lack of a physical response from Raphael - but also still angry about the coldness he had demonstrated towards her and Castiel alike. "In the next mass, Cas will talk in detail about how dangerous would it be to lay a hand on a man of the Church. For good measure." Sailors and soldiers might be aggressive, but they were known to be fairly superstitious.

Raphael sighed. "Alright." He seemed to hesitate for a good long while, before he looked at the both of them, seemingly a little nervous. "I suppose there's no reason to hide it to the both of you. I think that we might find Gabriel on our journey. At least- I found out that Michael hid one of his letters from us."

Eileen, who had perked up at the mention of Gabriel, made an outraged noise. "He hid one of his letters-? Why did he do something like that?", she signed franctically. "Since when was he holding it? What does it say? Does it give a location, or some information that makes you think he's alive?"

"I don't know," Raphael replied out loud, out of frustration, before he sighed. He took a wrinkled piece of paper out of his pockets, and handed it to them to read. The letter - although impressively short - had been addressed to their father, but written only a few weeks before he passed away. Which meant that it was very likely that Chuck never received it. It didn't say much. Gabriel said in it that he was doing alright, but that it might be better not to talk about what happened in his letter. He apparently enclosed a map to find him, but it wasn't with the letter either.

Raphael pressed his lips together. "I found it in Michael's home after he had been sent to the hospital."

Eileen read the letter over a couple of times, her shoulders dropping a little. True, it was the proof that Gabriel had been alive even after they thought he had died by the sea - but that letter was still not recent. Their father had passed two months earlier. "Anything could have happened to Gabriel in the meantime", she signed to Raphael after passing the letter over to Castiel. "Michael has an army at his disposal - why wouldn't he send out someone to look for Gabe right away?" That self-centered jerk. He had probably overlooked the letter because it was addressed to Chuck. "And where is the map?"