The Hunt

Chapter 1

It was late January and her classes were in full swing at Cornell University. Winter break had just begun. Lyanna was just starting to develop her thesis. The main culmination of every graduate student's education. Lyanna was determined she was going to receive the graduate grant to fund her marine research. Her thesis would be the talk of campus and the marine biology community for years to come after she discovered a new species in the unexplored depths of the ocean. She was determined not only to make a discovery that would make her parents proud, but to bring funding back to their valuable research.

Marine life had always been her passion. Of course, nothing else really stood a chance when you were homeschooled and spent most of your life on the sea. Both of her parents had been marine biologists. Lyanna had practically been born with her sea legs. Neither of her parents had wanted to give up their dreams to stay on the mainland to raise Lyanna like a normal child. When it was time for her to start school, they decided it would be best to homeschool their daughter at sea rather than be separated for long periods at a time. Maybe some people would say it was selfish of them like her grandmother claimed, but Lyanna knew just where she belonged: Out at sea with her parents and the rest of her rag-tag family on the Lunar Eclipse.

The one downside to being homeschooled and having only occasional interaction with people away from the boat, in Lyanna’s opinion, was having little experience interacting with boys. Lyanna had little contact with boys her own age growing up. Or really anyone her own age. Her best friends had been the ocean and the creatures that resided within it. When most children were learning what sounds basic farm animals make Lyanna was learning the differences between whale vocalizations. Lyanna didn’t play with dolls. Instead she played with dolphins and learned their various social interactions. Once she even got to observe a whale shark during a dive with her parents. Her mother would say Lyanna was brought into this world as a mini adult.

Other than her father, the one constant male figure in her teenage life had been her parents' research assistant, Oliver. He joined them on the Lunar Eclipse when Lyanna was sixteen. Often when her parents were too busy on a project Oliver would make time for her. He would teach her about what he had learned in his marine biology classes in college. Oliver told her all about his life growing up on land. His father worked as a foreman in one of the factories in his hometown. His mother was a homemaker.

Oliver joined the research team right out of graduate school. He had attended Cornell University in New York and graduated with a masters in marine wildlife biology. Her father was a Cornell University Alumni and often took interns from the school. Oliver hadn’t completed his internship on the Lunar Eclipse but he was highly recommended by the faculty when Lyanna’s father spread the word he was looking for a research assistant.

Lyanna had a huge crush on the 6 foot 2 inch, chocolate brown eyed, brunette research assistant. She took every opportunity to be near him and bombard him with every question she could think of just to hear him talk. He always seemed to make time for her and her million questions. He laughed at all of her jokes. He never acted like she was in the way. Oliver became her best friend.

Lyanna mistook his kindness for romantic interest. Having little experience with men Lyanna thought Oliver might be interested in being more than just her friend. She had no experience in flirting but she tried when it came to her sweet Oliver. She took all of the advice she could from the romance novels she secretly borrowed from her mother.

Lyanna began to let down her hair more. She experimented with makeup and changed her clothing styles, as much as she could from her limited wardrobe on the ship. She even borrowed a few low cut shirts that emphasized her breasts that were blooming.

Lyanna became flustered trying to figure out all of the different beauty products women were supposed to use to make themselves more attractive. She was at an utter loss as to what they were all for and how she was supposed to use them. Her mother had once told her that whenever Lyanna was ready she would show her how to apply everything and what it was for. She found her mom in the study reading.

“Hey Mom?”

“Hi sweetie! How is your day?”

“It’s pretty good. How about yours Mom?”

“It has been decent. I’m just taking a break, catching up on some reading.”

“Mom do you remember when you told me you would teach me all about makeup and the other beauty products you use when I was ready?”

“Of course sweetie. The offer still stands for whenever you’re ready.”

“I think I’m ready. I was in the bathroom trying to figure it out but it’s all so confusing to me. How do you know how or when to use it all? Don’t you get confused with all of the different stuff?”

“Come on honey. Let’s go into the bathroom and I’ll show you what everything is.”

Lyanna’s mom was beautiful without wearing any makeup but she loved to play with it. She loved to put it all on for the rare occasions she and her husband had date nights on land. It was rare for them to get to do anything on their own especially since most of their days were spent on the ocean. Occasionally when the boat was docked one of the crew members would watch Lyanna when she was growing up so they could take a night for themselves. Lyanna always thought her mom looked like a movie star on those nights.

Her mother went through all of the different products and showed her how to use each one of them. Lyanna didn’t even recognize herself in the mirror after. All of her blemishes and red patches on her skin were gone. Her face was flawless. The mascara and eyeliner made her eyes pop in a way she never thought was possible. The lip dye turned her plain boring lips into a sexy pout. She was beautiful.

“Wow! I look like a totally different person!”

“No honey. Makeup doesn’t make you a different person. It just enhances what was already there. You’ve always been this beautiful.”

“Thank you Mom! I love it!”

“As happy as I am to get to teach you about makeup, my darlin, why the sudden change? You’ve never had an interest before.”

Lyanna glanced down, embarrassed that her mother had seen right through her. “I just want to be ready when I meet a boy. Especially since I’ll be leaving for college soon and It’ll be hard to talk to you.”

“I understand sweetie. I just don’t want you to put your dreams aside because of a boy. You are becoming such a beautiful woman and I couldn’t be more proud of you. Any man is going to be lucky to have you but I want you to be careful. Not every guy who shows interest in you is going to have good intentions. A lot of guys might try to take advantage of you and will break your beautiful heart. Just be careful who you decide to trust with that precious treasure, okay?”

“I’ll try my best to be careful Mom. I love you!”

“I love you too, my darling daughter! I better go find your father before he gets himself into trouble.”

Both women broke out in laughter. “What would Dad do without you Mom?”

“Probably fall into the ocean walking around with his head in a book.”

“You’re probably right.”

“See you later honey.”

“See ya Mom.”

Lyanna made the eyeliner and mascara a regular part of her look. She spent as much time as she could with Oliver. Her attempts to flirt with him seemingly went unnoticed. With her mother’s words running through her mind Lynna wondered if she was really attracted to Oliver or if it was just convenient because he was the only boy remotely close to her age she knew.

With her father being an active alumni Lyanna had no issues being accepted to Cornell University. She planned to complete her undergraduate and graduate degree there and possibly continue her education for a doctorate degree.

Lyanna kept her crush on Oliver to herself until two weeks before her move in date at Cornell. One night she met him on the boat deck during his watch shift. They were in the area to document a rare whale species that had been rumored to be in the area. Each person on the boat took a shift looking for any sign of it.

When she found him he was resting his hands on the side railing watching the water for any sign of the whale. Lyanna took advantage of the opportunity to sneak up on him. She quietly crossed the deck and poked him in the sides just where she knew he was ticklish. He jumped several inches in the air.

“Damn it. I told you not to do that anymore!” Oliver scowled at her then smiled and shook his head.

Lyanna grinned at him. “I’m sorry the opportunity was too good to pass up.”

“Uh huh. Sure it was.” Oliver turned back to the water to continue his watch. “What are you doing out here this late anyway?”

“I figured I could keep you company for a little while on your watch tonight.”

“You can but I’m afraid it’s going to be awfully boring tonight. There’s no sign of anything being in these waters. I’m wondering if this area is a dead end.”

“I’m sure something will turn up. We will find it sooner or later.”

Lyanna rested on the railing next to him and leaned her head on his shoulder. They stayed like that watching the water for a while.

“Oliver?”

“Yeah?”

“Will this ever be anything more?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like the two of us. Will we ever be more than just friends?”

Oliver closed his eyes and sighed. “I had a feeling this was going to come up at some point.” They stood silently watching the water before he spoke again. “Lyanna, you know how much I value our friendship and how much I care about you. However, I view you as my little sister. I don’t think I could ever see you in any other way. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I understand.”

Feeling sad and defeated Lyanna turned toward Oliver. “Goodnight Oliver.”

“Are we okay? We’re still friends right?”

“Of course we are. Nothing could ever change that.”

Lyanna turned away and made her way back to her room. She fought back the tears on the way letting them loose only when the door to her bedroom closed securely behind her.

Lyanna collapsed against the door and slid down to the floor. She finally allowed the wave of emotions to wash over her.

Oliver was the first and only man she had ever had feelings for. Not that she had actually been around that many.

She cried until she was exhausted. Lyanna crawled into bed with her favorite stuffed animal and went to sleep.