Saturdays at Sea

by Jessica Day George

  “What do you think, Celie?” Lilah asked. “What do you think the Ship wants?”

  “It’s your Ship,” Celie pointed out. “Maybe it’s trying to make you happy.”

  Lilah blinked, and then her mouth dropped open. She looked from Celie to Lulath and then out at the open sea before them. She laid one hand on the wheel, and a smile slowly spread over her face.

  “We’re going to find the unicorns,” Lilah whispered.

  “Oh, good heavens,” their mother said in despair. “Unicorns again!”

  Chapter

  12

  Upon consultation with the Ship’s crisp new atlas, it seemed that Lilah was correct. Their course was set for Larien, and nothing would move the rudder to change that. Instead they had to address the crew and explain that the Ship was a living thing, and that it wanted to go to Larien and see if there were unicorns there.

  Most of the crew was not happy about this, but some of them seemed deeply moved by it. They seemed to feel that if they were on this magical, living Ship, that meant the Ship had chosen them, specially, for this journey.

  “We should probably encourage this idea,” Queen Celina said later, in the privacy of the main cabin. “If more of the crew would believe it, I would worry less about there being a mutiny.”

  “I think we should encourage it because it’s true,” Celie said. When they all looked at her, she shrugged one shoulder. “If the Ship didn’t want them on board, it would probably just toss them into the water. It doesn’t need them. So if they’re still here, it’s because the Ship has chosen them.”

  “See, Cel,” Rolf said. “This is why we always ask you what the Castle wants, and now we’re asking you what the Ship wants. None of us ever think of these things.”

  “Even you?” Celie asked him. “You’re the next King Glower!”

  Celie used to be pleased when her family turned to her with their questions about the Castle and acknowledged her as its favorite, but lately she’d started to wonder. Why was Rolf the heir if she was the Castle’s favorite? It was something that she hardly dared think about. She didn’t think she’d like to be Queen Glower, and there never had been one. But why? Was it just because the crown only fit on a man’s head? That seemed like a stupid reason. And they’d only had the real crown, the Builder’s crown, and his rings, for a few months. They could just as easily have made a woman’s crown years ago.

  “Yes, but I’m the next King Glower because the Castle likes me—it doesn’t love me,” Rolf said, as though he’d reasoned this out long ago. “Being king is a horrible job, full of paperwork and people coming to the Castle every week to complain about their neighbor’s goats and the fight Pogue started—”

  “Hey!” Pogue interrupted. “I haven’t started a fight in months.”

  “Very true,” Rolf said, shaking his head. “I almost don’t recognize you anymore.”

  Pogue gave Rolf a look that clearly said he’d like to start his first fight in months.

  “Anyway,” Rolf went on breezily, “the Castle gives you all the fun jobs, Cel. Raising griffins. Finding lost ship bits. That’s because it loves you. It just wants me to be its slave.”

  “What an interesting way to look at kingship,” Queen Celina said in a dry voice. “And not entirely wrong. But we should probably discuss that later. For now we need to talk about what provisions we have, and what we’ll do if the Ship won’t let us veer course to get more.”

  “Oh,” Lilah said. This was apparently just dawning on her. “Surely if we run out of food, the Ship will help us get more.”

  But she didn’t sound sure. The Castle couldn’t make food, and so it stood to reason that the Ship couldn’t, either.

  “If we continue on this same course, we’ll go right by the Neira Isles,” Orlath said in Grathian, using a brass ruler and a soft pencil to draw a line from their current position to a group of islands to the southwest. “There’s a fine port here on the largest island where we can resupply.” He drew a circle around a small dot on a heart-shaped island and frowned. “If the Ship doesn’t slow down as we go past, we might try to signal to some of their ships to bring us provisions. They could pull alongside, perhaps.”

  “Or we could use the griffins,” Celie replied in the same language.

  “The very thing!” Lulath said. “We can fly with the griffins to the port and back to pick up the supplies we need.”

  They all stopped to think about this. Slowly they began to nod, and the mood started to lift.

  “Dagger could make the flight, if he flew with you and Rufus,” Rolf admitted in Sleynth. “I don’t think he could carry me. Certainly not me and supplies. But some light things. Loaves of bread?”

  Celie knew how much it took Rolf to say that, and she rubbed his back. It was hard to be separated from your griffin, and to offer to let him fly over the ocean to a strange port . . . that would be very hard indeed.

  “He’s coming along nicely in his training,” Pogue said. “He’ll stay with Rufus and Arrow, and we should be able to sling some light things across his back.”

  “And I’ll send Lady Griffin without a rider as well,” Queen Celina said. “Mainly because I don’t think anyone’s ever ridden her!”

  “That settles that,” Orlath said in Grathian. He didn’t look happy, though. “With the exception of one, rather large, problem.”

  “What’s that?” Lilah asked.

  “Water,” Orlath told her. “We’ll need to refill our barrels of fresh water—more urgently than we need bread. But I don’t think the griffins can carry a full water barrel, marvelous as they are.”

  “But we don’t know that the Ship won’t stop and let us get supplies,” Lilah pointed out brightly. “If it really wants us to go all the way to Larien, surely it will turn into the port of its own accord?” She looked around the cabin, waiting for an answer that didn’t come.

  “I’m not concerned about the water,” Queen Celina said. They all turned to her in confusion. She was smiling. “It will give me a chance to show off,” she told them. “Magic has its limits, as do I, not being a full wizard. So I can’t make food—at least, not food that will taste good enough to eat.” She made a face. “But I can, in fact, make seawater into freshwater.” She tilted her head to one side, and a broad smile stretched across her face. “In fact, I’ve been told I have quite the gift for it!”

  “O my new mother!” Lulath exclaimed, reaching across the atlas to clasp both her hands. “A radiant queen, and yet a wizard of such power!”

  “Can you really?” Rolf asked in awe. “That’s amazing! That’s probably the most useful kind of spell you could do!” He also reached over and gave their mother’s arm a pat. “I don’t think even Bran can do something like that!”

  Queen Celina squeezed Lulath’s hands in return and then released them to wave casually, as though this announcement were of little note. “Oh, I’m sure he can,” she said lightly. “It’s really quite simple.”

  But Celie could tell that her mother was proud of herself, and rightly so. Lilah was near tears of joy now, as well.

  “It’s really going to happen,” she whispered. “We’re going to make it. We’re going to find the unicorns.”

  Lulath hugged her. Even Celie hugged her. Excitement was rising in all of them. They were going on an adventure, in a living Ship. They would have freshwater. They would have fresh food. All they needed to worry about was finding unicorns.

  Unicorns!

  That, and the griffins trying to eat the unicorns, as Rolf pointed out later.

  “Do you really think they will?” Celie asked. They were sitting in the bow of the Ship, looking out over the ocean. It was beautiful, and somewhat terrifying. They had already lost sight of Grath, and though in the distance they could see a few other ships, there was a great deal of sky and a great deal of water. And nothing else.

  Celie pointed to where Lorcan was lying sprawled in the sun. Lulath’s girls were curled around him or on him, napping. Dagg
er, who was at Rolf’s feet, noticed the pile of creatures and went over to join them, flopping down on top of Nisi. Rolf leaped up to rescue the small black-and-white dog, but she wriggled her way out from under Dagger and put her head on his foreleg without even appearing to wake up.

  “See?” Celie said.

  “Well, yes,” Rolf said. “And it’s not like they’ve eaten all the sheep at the Castle, or anything like that. Which makes me wonder why they attacked the unicorns. Are they natural enemies, like pigs and thornsnakes, or something?”

  “Or is there something horrible about the unicorns that we should know?” Celie said, picking up his line of thought.

  Then they both laughed, because it was ludicrous to think that unicorns could be horrible in any way.

  Chapter

  13

  Two weeks later they could see the green humps of the Neira Isles. And not a moment too soon. They were running low on food, though the queen had regularly replenished the water barrels, so there was freshwater aplenty. The cook had used this water to stretch the food supplies by making everything into a soup. The sailors had also taught Rolf and Pogue how to drag a net alongside the ship to catch fresh fish, but Queen Celina was insisting that they needed flour and eggs and fruit.

  But the Ship showed no signs of slowing.

  In fact, as the largest island grew clearer, the Ship veered course to give it a wide berth.

  “We’re not going to stop,” Lilah said.

  They were gathered around the useless wheel. Orlath stood with one hand on it often, and when he wasn’t touching it he had a loop of rope tied around it, as though fixing their course. He had told them it was to put the crew at ease, so they wouldn’t realize how much the Ship was doing on its own, but he had confessed to Celie and Lilah that it made him feel safer as well. It was also a good vantage point to see what needed to be done: the Ship steered itself, but now it left the sails and rigging to the sailors, and in that Orlath was still needed to give orders.

  “We’ll have to ready the griffins to fly,” Queen Celina said, her brows pulled together with worry. “I wish I could go myself, but I’d have to ride double, and then that griffin wouldn’t be able to carry as much back.”

  “It is being perhaps better that you are going, or I,” Orlath said in Sleynth.

  Queen Celina shook her head. “As nervous as it makes me to send my children to a strange country alone, I think it’s best if we don’t overburden the griffins. It’s quite a distance for them to fly, even without carrying the supplies.”

  “So, you think that Celie, Pogue, Lulath, and I had better go?” Lilah asked.

  “And me,” Rolf said. “I’ll go double with Celie, and then Dagger—”

  Queen Celina put a gentle hand on his arm. “Rolf, I’ve thought about this a great deal. Dagger is far too young. Even without a rider it will tire him too much. There’s no sense in his going, and no sense in burdening one of the griffins with two riders. You and I will stay and try to be patient.” She smiled at her son as though she knew he wouldn’t like what she’d said.

  “It’s the best way to do it,” Lilah said. “No griffin carrying double, and all of them at least half-grown.”

  “Now the trick is going to be how fast we can get to port, buy what we need to buy, and get back,” Pogue said. He looked at the ocean streaming by on either side of the Ship. “We’re moving pretty fast.”

  “With that I am helping,” Orlath said. “When an hour comes, I will be curling of sails and dropping of anchors, that the great speed of this great Ship is slowed.”

  “We can only be hoping this noble Ship does not have objections,” Lulath said, running his fingers through his hair.

  The steady supply of freshwater meant that they were able to wash and keep their clothing clean, but they all had only one set of clothes, and it was odd to see Lulath in the same coat day after day. Celie herself was beginning to hate her green gown, and wished that she were as tall as Lilah and Queen Celina. They were of a similar size, and had swapped gowns a few days ago for the sake of variety.

  “I’ll speak to the Ship,” Lilah declared.

  She marched down the stairs from the helm to the main deck, then up the stairs to the foredeck. At first they all stood there watching her in mystification, but when she leaned over the rail in the bow, Celie and Lulath both started to run. They caught up to Lilah just as she put her stomach on the rail and leaned over as far as she could.

  Celie immediately grabbed the back of Lilah’s skirts, and Lulath put himself on the rail alongside her, with one long arm over her back. Together, Lilah and Lulath leaned down toward the figurehead, and Lilah began to shout.

  “We need to slow down!” Lilah called. “You’ve got to let us slow down! We have to get supplies from Neira, all right? Or we’ll all die!”

  They waited, but nothing happened. Celie pulled Lilah back onto her feet, and Lulath straightened with a groan. The blood had rushed to both of their heads.

  “Was that being helping?” Orlath came up behind them. He was nervously stroking Jocko, who looked ready to leap at the figurehead himself, to join the game.

  “I guess we’ll find out when we try to slow down,” Lilah said.

  “Shall I begin?” Orlath asked.

  “Of a sureness,” Lulath said.

  Orlath strode to the end of the foredeck and cupped his hands to his mouth. He rapidly gave orders, and men began to race around, pulling in the sails and tying them fast. Two of the men went below to lower the enormous anchor.

  Lilah leaned back against the bow rail. She took Lulath’s hand in one of hers, Celie’s in the other. Rufus, sensing their tension, came to lean against Celie, and then Lorcan and Juliet, not to be outdone, had to lean against their people. The weight of the griffins nearly knocked them all over the rail.

  The sails were furled. The anchor hit the water with a splash. The Ship’s breakneck speed began to slow.

  Lulath reached across and grabbed Celie’s other hand so that they made a circle. The griffins were forced to stand under their arms, and Lulath, Celie, and Lilah all cheered. And then Lilah solemnly thanked the Ship.

  “We’d better get ready,” Lilah said.

  “We don’t really have any riding clothes to change into,” Celie said, letting go of their hands and feeling self-conscious as Pogue and Rolf came toward them.

  “No, of course not, but we’ll need to make a list of what we’ll want and how much, and collect some money.” She froze.

  “Do we have any money?” Celie asked, knowing exactly what her sister had just realized.

  “I never have any,” Rolf said, wide-eyed.

  “I have a few Grathian coins,” Pogue said. “But I don’t think it will be enough.”

  “Here’s the purse,” Queen Celina said, gliding up to them. She handed Lulath a fat leather purse that chinked reassuringly. “Why don’t you carry it, Lulath, darling? And Lilah, let’s trade gowns again. I’m very fond of the one you’re wearing.”

  Pogue went to talk to the cook about what supplies they would need, while Lulath stowed the purse deep in his coat and began to adjust all the griffins’ harnesses. Celie followed her mother and Lilah to the cabin she and Lilah shared.

  “Where did that purse come from?” Celie asked her mother after the door had been latched. The cabin wasn’t large, so she had to sit on Lilah’s bottom bunk and draw her legs up while her mother undid the laces at the back of Lilah’s gown. “I’ve never seen it before.”

  “You’ve just never noticed it before,” her mother corrected her. “And why would you have?” She helped Lilah out of the gown and laid it on the top bunk while Lilah undid her laces.

  “Is the money Grathian or Sleynth?” Celie asked. “And what happens if they don’t like Grathian money—or Sleynth!—on Neira?”

  “It’s perfectly good gold, and some silver,” her mother said. “And they’re a trading post. There’s no reason why they wouldn’t take it. None at all.”

&nb
sp; “Thank heavens you had it,” Lilah said. “I never carry any money! I don’t think I’ve even seen Grathian money!” She laughed as she slipped her own gown over her head.

  “Money is money,” their mother retorted. She yanked at Lilah’s laces, making her oldest daughter yelp. “Neither of you need to worry about it.”

  “Fine,” Lilah wheezed. “But I need to breathe to ride Juliet!”

  “I’m sorry, Lilah, darling,” Queen Celina said, contrite.

  She helped Lilah adjust the gown, and then she braided Celie’s hair so that it would stay out of her way. The sisters helped their mother into her gown, and they all went to the main deck together.

  The tide was still drawing them forward, toward the mouth of NeiMai Harbor, as Orlath told them it was called, though if the Ship didn’t turn, they would pass right by it. The island was shaped like a large crescent, and NeiMai Harbor contained the only real city on all three islands. They could not only see it but also see a fleet of fishing boats scattered about the ocean ahead of them.

  “Will the fishermen help us if we need it?” Celie asked Orlath.

  “Of course,” Orlath said. Then he switched to Grathian so that he could speak more easily. “The main business here is fishing, but they also resupply ships passing by. They would lose a large part of their income if word got out that they had failed to aid a party of distressed travelers.”

  He paused. “But even as slow as we’re going now,” he added, “we go much faster than any other ship I’ve captained, let alone a fishing boat. If the Ship chooses to speed up again, there’s no prayer another ship could catch it. The griffins are the only hope for that.” Seeing Celie’s concern, he patted her shoulder. “But I see no reason to worry about it now.”