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Good noon .

She went down to the docks and decided to stow-a-way on the first passenger ship heading for anywhere but here. She had to get out from under her father's control and away from the chaos of the life her father was trying to create for her.

It was noon on March 13th, the sky was overcast and the day was dreary just like her mood. But this day was not just any day, no this was a Friday. Friday the 13th, and for Alannah Irish born and raised, that day above all other days always spelled trouble. This Friday the 13th was no different. Alannah had been on the run from her father for the last five years, her father was at one time a man that she looked up to, but by the time she ran, he was a man she feared. She never stayed in one place for too long, she always feared that her father would find her and take her home. She always made it a point to, never get comfortable. She knew that if you got comfortable you ended up making mistakes, and in her world mistakes could be deadly.

she would end up in she would find jobs either as a maid, or a farmhand, or even down on the docks cleaning fish. For years she had prepared for the inevitable, she knew that one day her father's men would catch up to her and drag her home. When they did, she knew that she would be whipped for running. There was a man waiting back home that she would be forced to marry, a man that was more than twice her age just to keep the peace between her father and his business partner Luis Delgado. She was nothing more than a pawn to her father, a beautiful, pawn that he thought he could control.

Every time Alannah moved to a new city, she kept her carpetbag hidden nearby, that way if she needed to make a sudden departure she could do so. Along with her hidden carpet bag, she kept a change of clothes at her place of employment. Her latest home was in Nuremberg, Germany, she managed to stay hidden in this quiet town for a few years, but she was getting too comfortable, losing her edge. Although she maintained her job cleaning fish, she rarely thought much of her past. And that was the beginning of her downfallHer father had placed a generous reward out for her safe return home. Every day when she would go to the fish market to work she prayed that this would not be the day she would have to run again, her father's private "army" were crafty men. Having living with them most of her life, she could easily identify them by their hand-gestures, subtleties in their movements, the way they dressed - even when not in uniform, how they walked and carried themselves. A private guard from Ireland in a German market stood out like a Strudel in a basket of nuts.

Her few friends, most of them genuine Mädchen girls, who had lived for generations within the tunnels of Germany's greatest city Nuremberg were loyal to Alannah. From day one of Alannah being there, the swath of girls had sensed that she was in some sort of trouble, but none of them could fathom just how much trouble she was in. It wasn't until nearly three years after Alannah arrival in Germany when they would find out just how much trouble Alannah was really in.

Alannah closest friend was Kasey; Kasey was a very spirited sort who was much like the sister she never had. Kasey had short brown hair, and dark brown eyes, and despite her stocky build she was all muscle. Kasey's years of working gleaning fish has earned her the reputation of being a "Pitbull". So on Friday the 13th, Kasey was the one that spotted the two men snooping around the market, scrutinizing every female face they came upon, knocking over baskets of food and tables. Kasey, glanced over at Alannah, who was making fillets out of a rather large tuna, then she looked down at her fish, wiped her hands on her bloody apron and nudged Alannah in the ribs lightly in order to get her attention.

"Here now," Kasey said in fluent German "take a look at those two gorillas, don't you think they look out of place? If you ask me, I would say that they are up to no gut."

Having been in Germany for the last three years, Alannah had learned to speak and understand German quite well, which had made life much easier for Alannah. This was what she had been fearing from the moment she left her father's home five years ago, and now that she saw them she was left feeling weak and cold inside. No amount of preparation could prepare her for the reality of who was actually less than 200 feet in front of her. "I … I ….I think I'll just step out for a moment, if that is alright." She said with a low mumble.

Kasey, looked at her friend with deep concern in her dark brown eyes, "You know those men, don't you" she said in more a matter of fact tone than a questioning one.

Alannah, looking down at her feet, tears welling up in her eyes, muttered "Yes they were sent here by….by… my father. They want to take me back to Ireland. To a life that I ran away from."

"Well, you're not going anywhere, with them, not if you don't want to" she said "not on my watch! Here, I got this - now and be ready to make your exit. I'll take care of these two."

Alannah stared in pure amazement as the scrawny Miss Kasey Adcock, a small yet stout young woman with a florid complexion, rolled up her sleeves and walked right up to the two men who seemed to pose a threat to her one friend. She was unafraid and undeterred from her mission.

Alannah didn't wait around to see the outcome, she picked up the bag that held her change of clothes and ran to her hiding place. There she quickly showered, changed into suitable for a cool and wet spring day in Nuremberg Germany, 1929. Alannah appeared on a narrow cobblestone street that was overshadowed by dirty brick warehouses. Her long red hair, that had once been wrapped around her head in a braid was now pulled into a fancy chignon on the left side of her neck, she donned a wide brimmed sun hat with black trim, and a black wide sash. The dress she was wearing was a black knee length gown with lace around the hips and shoulders, and a Chinchilla Fur Stole. She was also wearing her mother's double strand of pearls with a pair of black and white T-strap Mary Jane shoes.

Alannah began briskly walking towards the docks holding her oversized carpetbag close, she was nervous and walking on legs that were not so steady. She was trying to walk as normally as possible, that way she would not draw attention to herself. Her first priority was to get to the docks, then to secure passage on a passenger ship leaving Nuremberg tonight. She had started feeling like she was being watched weeks ago, so she sold what she could of her belongings and jewelry, minus her mother's pearls and the clothes she had with her in her carpetbag. When it came time to sell the jewelry that was bestowed upon her by a most unwanted suitor, she was all to happy to let it go. Now that she had more than enough money to get her on her feet when she got where she was going, and her carpet bag filled with her last worldly possessions, she fled to the pier. Here she knew from listening to the fisherman that brought them their daily work, that the trans-Atlantic steamships, were berthed. So Alannah went from dock to dock in search of passage, and each time she asked the captain she received the same nasty looks and the same answer "No, Miss not today."

Alannah was beginning to lose hope, there was no ship was leaving port that day, nor any day that week. Frantic to get away, shee looked around and spotted the "Sailor's Moon" a bar near the docks where the crewmen of the berthed ships would come to drink and have their "fun" with the local ladies who wanted to earn some extra money. The bar was known for being the worst of the worst, yet Alannah knew she had to find passage out of Nuremberg. She walked into the bar, as as she did every head of every nasty looking sailor turned in her direction, after all she was not the typical sort to walk into this sort of place. She found a stool at the bar, closest to the door, ordered a water and buried her head in her hands.

"What's a pretty little thing like you doing in a place like this?" the bar keep asked as he handed her the water.

She looked up at him noticing the clock above the bar indicated the time was now almost two p.m. she had wasted almost two hours looking for passage. She gave the bar keep a halfcocked smile, "Thanks for the water," she said in a heavy Irish accent, "I'm looking for passage on a ship."

"Well where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere but here!"

"You can come up to my room, that would be anywhere but here." He said and busted out laughing.

"I'm not that kind of lady!" she hissed at him.

"Well then girlie you should have never walked into this bar."

Looking around her, the men were getting up and coming towards her, she knew that if she did not leave here soon, she was going to be in some serious trouble. With her fathers men scouring the pier looking for her, and now with these men wanting to take what wasn't theirs, she was terrified. Just then a younger man, maybe around her age walked into the bar and stood up for her, grabbed her arm and the two of them left. Before she could thank him for his help, he was gone.

She sat at a table just outside the bar, she had to think of a plan. She heard people in the bar talking and when she peered in she saw that they were passing around a black and white photo, panic struck. Alannah knew that it was only a matter of time that they would find her, she had to leave town and fast. "There has to be a ship leaving town, I have to get out of here." She had said to herself. Or at least she thought she was talking to herself, a moment later a rough looking man came up to her.

The older man spoke to her in German saying "I couldn't help but hear that you are looking for a ship to leave town? Well you are in luck, an old ship that docked last night near the end of the pier, they are taking on supplies and passengers at this very moment. You can purchase a ticket at the booth just north of here. They are to set sail for America in a mere thirty minutes." She bolted upright and finished listening to this old sailors tale, he also told her that although the vessel had since converted to steam like the other ships, this one had maintained its twin masts from the glory days of sailing. Looking up at the sky he said in an old raspy voice, "'Scuse me, Miss, but I have taken up far too much time that passenger-freighter will be leaving in less than twenty minutes if you must make haste. It's docked near the end of the pier, you'd best run along now."

As she was preparing to leave she asked the old man about the Bahamas, and whether or not the ship would take her there. He assured her that it would, with a glint of a wicked smile.

Alannah thanked the elderly gentleman profusely, she pressed but a single coin in his hand - she could afford to give this old man a small token of her thanks. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek, and thinking nothing of the consequences she bolted down the pier towards the end as fast as her legs would carry her. Finally a break, she had to make it to that freighter, she just had to.

At that same time the two men that she had seen earlier near the fish market were now closer to the bar, they had stopped to talk to some men and were showing them something when out of the corner of their eyes they spotted the quick movement and turned in that direction. When they saw that a young woman was running, they looked at each other and knew immediately that it was Alannah and they began to give chase. A great reward was being offered to the men who brought the wayward girl home, as well as they got to live. Failure was not an option for Alannah father.

As she ran towards the ship at the end of the pier, Alannah thought that she heard the sound of pounding feet behind her. She dared a look behind her and when she saw the same two men that were spotted at the fish market earlier that day she panicked. She tried to speed up but the pier was slippery and there were several times when Alannah had stumbled and almost fell. The weather had been foggy, and birds don't care where they let loose, sailors spit where ever they feel like it, and there was garbage everywhere. Alannah finally spotted the ship that the old man had talked about, the only problem was his estimate for when the ship would set sail was dead wrong! The crew had already cast off the first mooring lines and they were preparing to haul in the gangplank!

"Stop! OH Please Stop! I'm coming - please Wait! "

Alannah could see a few passengers on board the vessel. They appeared to be on the top deck peering down at her, she also noticed that there were some people watching her from round portholes close to the water line. She kept waiving at them screaming STOP, finally someone spotted her running and began cheering her on.

"CAPTAIN - hold the gangplank! There's another one more coming - if she can make it!" One of the sailors on the deck of the ship yelled.

"Come on girl! The ship is already moving!" another replied "Run for it, lass! Don't mind your hat just let it go!"

Hearing that call, Alannah kicked it into high gear, and almost tripping over her own shoes, which were not made for running of course. Holding tightly to her carpet bag, Alannah ran for all she was worth. The footsteps behind her also picking up speed and she knew this was it, it was a miracle that they didn't catch her. When she arrived at the spot where the ship had previously been docked, she barely took time to register the ever widening gap between ship's gangplank and the dock. She knew that if she did not make the jump and missed that she could end up in the murky waters below. Alannah knew she had no choice, her mind was telling her that it was time to sink or swim. Alannah finally made the choice to jump, she backed up to what she estimated was 10 feet from the dock, taking a deep breath she mustered one last burst of speed, closed her eyes and jumped.

Alannah saw the two sailors who had yelled encouragement standing with their arms stretched out ready to catch her. She had to trust her life to them, complete strangers, that was something she had never done before. If those two sailors had been inexperienced, they wouldn't have been able to catch Alannah. But luckily for her they were able-bodied men who'd spent their entire lives at sea, and had experienced almost anything you could have thrown at them. Those two sailors had been witness to all manners of emotional extremes, brought on by the need to escape from one thing or another, and they thought they had seen it all. Though Alannah had fallen short in her leap of faith, and it seemed as though she were destined for a plunge into the murky blue-green waters of the North Sea, those two sailors, with their outstretched hands made a single death defying catch that threw everyone on board into an uproar of HOORAY's and clapping. As they stood upright, they brought Alannah over the rails and steadied her on her feet between them, she was still clutching her carpetbag to her chest. They acknowledged the cheers with a slight waive, and they took the now relieved Alannah away from the stern of the ship.

Unnoticed, by everyone but Alannah, as she looked back over her shoulder, she saw the two men that had been chasing her come skidding to a halt - just before falling into the murky waters of the North Sea themselves. She watched them as the ship moved further away from the port, their face said it all. They were angry, they glared in her direction a stony icy glare that if looks could kill, would have put her six feet under.

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