Jessica spent most of the next few hours staring up at the awning that spread above her bed.  Occasionally she would try closing her eyes in an attempt to fall asleep.  All she saw however, when her lids met, were visions of her mother bringing ruin and a damned reputation to the family, leaving her brother, sister and herself penniless and forced into the fields and factories, dividing them up forever.  More distressing was the image of him turning away from her, such poor connections would make her unworthy in his presence.

David.

The thought of him brought her eyes open again.
Her only reprieve since the ship had left the planets surface on a “round-the-galaxy-cruise”, had been him.
She had noticed him that first day, before they were even aboard the ship, and although he did not, at the time perceive her, she knew that he had a meaning to her.

She had been standing just outside the reception to the check-in with Anthony and Aurora, waiting for Clarissa who had not been seen in the past few hours, but who had promised profusely to be on time for check-in.  Only ten minutes until check-in closed and she was still nowhere to be seen.  Growing restless, Jessica eventually sent the younger two into checking ahead of her.
“As long as we don’t waste at least two of these tickets we’ll be sure to have spent that money well,” she hurried them inside pulling out their tickets as they went.  “Here,” she pressed them into their hands, “I’ll join you in our rooms, if she’s not here before the ship leaves I’ll come on my own.” 
“Here’s to hoping she doesn’t show up” muttered Aurora, with a sidelong glance at her brother who smirked.  Jessica would have smiled, but being genuinely fed-up she could only force a light squeeze of her sibling’s shoulders.  “Go on now,” and watching the staff members bustling them through the security check she turned to go back to her position outside.  She knocked shoulders with someone who was in a hurry, clearly much later than they wanted to be. 
“Pardon” came a muttered voice as it whirled past.
Jessica turned to watch him go through to the members of staff. 
He hadn’t seen her, which if he had had the same reaction as her would have made his delay considerably longer.
He had very dark brown hair which looked as though it would be soft to the touch with no product to keep it in a shape that most men did.  His clothes did him relative justice being all earthy browns and greens, and all fit snug as a glove around every contour of his detail.  His skin ever slightly brown as though he had spent several weeks in the sun.  What caught her off guard most of all were his eyes, which had a light blue colour that was flecked with slightly darker green.  They were the kind of eyes that, if they had perceived her own, would have swallowed her entire world up and without warning completely skew her life.  Fortunately, for the moment, their eyes did not meet and Jessica was spared such confusion.
What she saw, pleased Jessica more than thought any man’s appearance ever could, and though she did think from time to time about what it would be like to marry or even fall in love, she had never actively sought that which most women set their life’s aspirations to, it wasn’t what she thought she wanted, until this moment.
But it was also at this moment that Clarissa chose to arrive.
Huffing and puffing she came running up to her daughter, who was just watching after a tall, dark stranger.  Her manner was such that Jessica was startled into almost colliding with her as she turned.  By the time that she turned back, he had gone and she had the happy task of ushering her half-drunk mother through check-in with as little incident as could be conceived.

She did not see him again nor have to chance to meet him until that evening, although her thoughts were full of him, as well as the thoughts that accompanied those in telling her that she was being a silly green girl in thinking so much of a man that she had never met.
It was Ella that was her saving grace. 
Ella was the best friend that Jessica never had until about five years ago.  When her family was resettled in a new country with no other friends or family within a discernable distance, Jessica felt she would go insane.  Where they had come from, truthfully she had no friends that were particularly close, especially since her reformation, but she did have a few that she would miss.  With no-one to talk to she took to wandering around the surrounding countryside where she ran into Ella who was also recently resettled to the same area with no friends.  She had also taken to wandering around the countryside in an attempt to banish her boredom, which until they met had not been going to plan.  They would meet and walk together and as they got to know each other they became greater friends and began to share secrets and talk of things that they couldn’t openly talk of to others.  When her father died, Jessica found her greatest console coming from Ella, and when her mother had changed for the worse Ella was there to help her friend bare the burden and even upon a few occasions she helped to cover up a few indiscretions on Clarissa’s part.  It was this due attention that had given her leave to suggest accompanying them on the cruise, to which was met very hearty agreement from most parties.

She arrived at their rooms shortly after the family had eaten to invite them all to promenade.  However the idea of spending unnecessary time together as a family, even for a quick jaunt about the ship that they were to call home for the next two months, seemed like a rather tedious idea.
“Come on now,” groaned Ella, staring down the two who, so far refused to be moved, “the deck is roomy, the air more circulated and the company may be found a lot more tolerable I dare say.”  But neither Clarissa nor Aurora could be shifted.
Clarissa had a stomach full of bile and a head full of hammers pounding anvils.  Aurora was too much taken with her usual occupation of burying herself in a book.  The fifteen year old girl found so much more joy in the romances of fiction that she was rarely found without some novel or fairytale in her hands.  Anthony however was a lot more minding of his eldest sister, usually taking her side in an argument that he didn’t understand or trying to read the same literature and undertaking similar activities, though being the wrong side of fourteen he would often come up short, although recently he had become slightly more independent than he had been.
This did not, however, weaken the affection that they both felt for one another.  Upon this occasion, Jessica had little need to prevail upon her brother to join the walk.
She herself had the most enthusiasm for the venture.  Primarily, she wanted to she if couldn’t catch another glimpse of the compelling gentleman from earlier.  The whole family being seen together in society would not be a bad thing at all either, and heaven knows they were all talked of enough due to the peculiarities of the family members themselves; a widowed gambler, a bookworm, a single young man amongst naught but women, and a reformed rebel.  Jessica could hide from her turbulent early teen years as well as a panther in the snow, so she was determined to not hide from it but to prove her reformed state, which was hard to do with such a parent.  However here was a chance to show society that they could function as a family.
Eventually, Jessica and Ella, and with a little help from Anthony, were able to bribe the other into coming along.  Aurora was promised a trip to the ship’s library, which held a far more impressive selection of books than the library back home could boast.  Clarissa was promised a passing trip, a very quick passing trip, to the ship’s casino, as long as this trip would not be loosing a single penny.
The all donned shawls and shoes and set off.  After not too long they came across an acquaintance who accompanied them to the casino, and in taking her companions arm promised, “she’ll not spend a penny on frivolous pursuits under my watch,” and addressing Jessica directly added, “you have my word.”  She was a trustworthy woman and so thus satisfied they left the party and entered.
The rest of the company continued on towards the library.  Upon arrival the group spread out in search of their own style of books.  Anthony stuck close to Jessica, although eventually, rather in need of some solitude, she selected for him a book on the history of trains, a subject that he was quite passionate about and sent him to be settled on a nearby sofa whilst she chose her book.  After a few minutes she found a suitable book containing some very old, famous poems and joined her brother on the sofa, where they were joined soon after by the other two.
They all read in silence for some time, but Jessica found her head far too distracted to concentrate.  She was about to say so when a crackling sound rang out as the announcement system was brought to life.
The Captain’s voice rang out clearly,
“Good evening ladies and gentlemen, we have happened upon a most incredible coincidence this evening.  Not several light years from where we sail has opened up the Harris wormhole.  Please rest assured that we are at a perfectly safe distance, a distance that allows for a most excellent visual spectacle.  Those wishing to see it best should at this time make your was the ship’s port side.  We will be able to see it in less than ten minutes, and will be able to observe until it closes which usually is about twenty minutes after it opens.  Please enjoy the rest of your evening.”
Another crackle as the voice went dead.
Jessica and Ella rose to their feet almost immediately, but to their dismay the younger two did not.
Aurora, glancing up from her book, perceived her sister and friend looking down with unconcealed eagerness.  She let out a small groan, “must we really?”
“Lady Cox and myself should really love to, and you know quite well that we can hardly leave you here unattended.”
Aurora looked first from her sister to Ella and then back again, “I am fifteen years old and Anthony is almost fourteen, I’d like to think that we are trusted enough to sit in a library and read.  Besides you won’t even be that long” she moaned.
Jessica felt rather like chuckling and pointing out that moaning such as she was, was not helping her case any, but was able to restrain herself.  “Alright,” she said in a voice, that she hoped sounded superior, “I trust you both enough to sit here quietly.  I trust that I won’t regret this… Anthony?”  Without even raising his head he replied, “We shall stay right here and not move until your return.”
“Well then, we shall return in half an hour” and with a satisfied nod to her sister, who went straight back into her book, and another with a slight raise of the eyebrow to her friend, she took Ella’s arm and headed for the port side observation deck.

His mind was set.  Upon hearing the captain’s announcement, David Jacobs was determined to see the fascinating spectacle.  Once, many years ago he’d had a chance to see the Harris wormhole open, however being thus dedicated to his work at the time, the chance passed him by, instead he has sat at his desk, continuing his calculations.  Back when he prized pleasing his father and making him proud by proving that he could very well run his own land.  Unfortunately his father was a selfish, greed driven man, he barely noticed that his son had risen to a rank above even his own and when forced to notice it, he seemed, more than anything else, to resent it.
At the time it had broken David’s heart to become so estranged to his own father.  He quickly realised his own folly in the matter and sold up all of the land he had worked so hard to acquire and resettled himself in a completely different part of the world.  Here he was offered the opportunity to govern a rather small community, no bigger than a few hundred people.  Accepting the position, he found it suited well; the community were of a quiet, happy sort, who rarely needed any interference.  So he settled quite happily in the considerably large residence that he had chosen, chiefly because it had the most beautiful view from the balcony of the master bedroom.
This cruise had been the idea of his head of house, a woman who had been with his family for years, but when he had left his home, she, in seeing the loss of his most loved one, had come with him, to be his friend in a new place.  She had taken it upon herself to help him maintain his public image.  This included ‘helping’ run his social life.  She had suggest the voyage because, whilst he did have a few loyal friends, they were few, and she felt that he was in need of more steady friends who would actually be around more often.  To Jennifer’s mind it was a wife that her master needed. 
Whilst David did catch her less than subtle meaning, he had no particular intention of being married any time soon, especially not to someone with whom he was not head-over-heels in love with.  Eventually, maybe, if it came to it, but he was only twenty-four with his life full ahead of him.  
He decided to look upon the voyage as a chance to make many various acquaintances though more along the lines of friendship than any other kind of companion.

For the first evening David had every intention of staying in his rooms, however the news of an old friend had tempted him from his room in an eagerness to see how she had turned out.  Also because, as Jennifer had firmly impressed upon him, “to be absent form society on the first night was not to be done, as it would make that person seem like a rude recluse.”
As it was, he was sat in his room contemplating whether or not to have a post-dinner coffee before heading out, when the captain made his announcement.
Coffee would have to wait for another night, and donning his shoes and quickly checking his appearance in the mirror, he headed for the port side observation deck.

The observation deck was surprisingly empty, as only eleven people in all had turned out to see Harris.  The rest were probably too involved in their suppers or card-games to see something they could later on see pictures of.
The ramp leading up to the sky was dark as someone had the idea of enjoying the show without the lights interfering.  Up the ramp he could see nothing, it hadn’t started yet.  He began to hurry forward.
A sudden flash directly above the ship caused him to stop in his tracks and momentarily guard his eyes.
When he took his hand away, he was rewarded with an immense light show that incorporated every colour he ever knew existed swirling and dancing around a certain point, the entrance to the wormhole.
From this point his vision was bared by a single female figure, in such a way that made it seem as though the lights were dancing for her.
For a while he daren’t move lest the vision be stolen from him, eventually he forced himself forwards.  Getting closer he could see golden hair that shone like spun gold and sun rays, extensions of the lights and colours that dancing all around them.  It spilled, unchecked, over her shoulders, pinned back from her forehead with a single clip at the back.  Her skin was pale but in the presence of this spectacle a colouring blush had risen to her cheeks giving her a healthy glow.  Her hands were delicate but not even vaguely bony.  Her figure was quite pleasing, not too skinny, just the right size for a woman to be if she possibly could and in a dress the colour of azure blue, the figure was very well held and highlighted her hair. 
It wasn’t until he was right next to her that he perceived her eyes that were such a dark hue of blue that in this light they almost looked black, almost as though they were themselves the centre of the wormhole, and he looked straight into them he would be irretrievably lost in their depths.
The lights caused by the wormhole, now quite forgotten, continued to swirl above them, though at their sudden break as Harris closed, Jessica suddenly perceived the man standing next to her.
Turning to look at him she could not disguise the sharp intake of breath that escaped her lips.  Her expression of surprise melted into a smile that, in seeing hers, caused him to smile in return.