“Miles,” Estelle whispered, “if ‘aft’ is the back of the boat, what’s the stern?”
Miles pulled his blanket over him as he slowly sat up on the makeshift bunk. “That’s the back of the boat, too.”
“So the boat has two backs?” Estelle pondered a while before continuing, “I only saw one back when we came on board.”
“There is only one back, Estelle,” Miles wrapped the blanket tighter around him, “it depends where you are. Inside it’s the aft, and outside it’s the stern.”
“Ah, I see.” Estelle settled herself down in her bunk, then sat up again. “So we’re in the aft, then?”
“That’s right. Why do you ask?”
“It was when I was up on the deck earlier, I heard the captain telling one of his officers to check aft and stern, port and starboard, leaving nothing unturned…” Estelle lay herself down again and snuggled into her blanket.
“When was this?” Miles flung his blanket off him and sat on the side of his bunk, just as the trapdoor in the ceiling above dropped down. A lantern then filled the room they were in with a bright yellow light.
“They’re down here!” The voice of the crewman shouted to a colleague, before laughing, “At least these two stowaways don’t need escorting to the brig, they’re already there!”
“About an hour ago.” Estelle whispered, realising she should have mentioned something sooner.
The Uncorn Challenge from Jenne Gray and C E Ayr is a writing challenge based on an image one or the other (or both) provide, as long as the word count doesn’t exceed 250 words.
The Mansionic Perspective 
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