Saturdays at Sea

by Jessica Day George

  “Now, fair gentlewoman,” the mayor began, but Lilah cut him off.

  “Your Royal Highness,” she said. “I am Princess Delilah.” She arched an eyebrow. “Think how few ships will come, bringing gold, when they find the princes and princesses of Sleyne and Grath were treated so.”

  “Think how many will come to see our griffin,” the mayor countered. “And think how badly they will look on both your countries when they learn that you paid in false coinage.”

  He threw down a handful of coins. They jangled on the stones of the quay, and everyone gasped. Celie squatted down to look at them, confused, and behind her she heard Pogue mutter something in Sleynth.

  “What?” she asked over her shoulder, touching a coin lightly with a finger.

  “That’s what I was afraid of,” he said, only slightly louder.

  “What did you do?” Lilah hissed, bending down to pick up one of the coins to get a closer look at it.

  “Me?” Pogue said in a low, intense voice. “I’m not the wizard!”

  “Mummy made this?” Celie yelped. “Can she do that?”

  “This is being not the ideal,” Lulath whispered.

  He stooped to pick up a coin, and then nearly dropped it in surprise.

  “Oh,” Celie said, getting a good look at one at the same time. “It’s Bendeswean.”

  And it was . . . though just slightly off. Still, it looked and felt very real. Celie bit the coin gently, and then looked at the miller as though confused.

  “What is wrong with this?” she asked him loudly. “Haven’t you ever seen Bendeswean coins before?” She laughed a little, a fake, brittle sound. “You scared us nearly to death! We thought someone had changed our coins with fakes.”

  “Bendeswean?” The mayor turned the unfamiliar word around in his mouth. “What is that?”

  “Bendeswe is a country to the north,” Lilah said acidly. “We passed through it on the way to Grath, which is why our money is Bendeswean.” She sighed heavily. “And now we will ignore your accusing, as well as your demand of a griffin.”

  “The accusations, yes,” the mayor said, but he still eyed the coins suspiciously as Lulath handed them back to him. “But not the demand.

  “Yai!”

  At his shout, a knot of men holding a fishing net burst out of the crowd. They threw the net over Juliet, who was nearest to them. Celie just froze in horror, but luckily Pogue did not.

  “Stand hard,” he shouted, as they had practiced.

  All the griffins, despite their burdens, went into fighting stance. Even Lady Griffin, who hadn’t had the lessons at all, raised one talon and lifted her wings. They made a circle around Juliet, who was screaming and biting at the net. One of the men tried to drag the net away, and Pogue took one long stride in front of Lilah and laid the man flat with a punch to the jaw.

  Celie recovered her wits and gave the command for the griffins to move forward, pushing the crowd back. Pogue had his dagger out now and was sawing through the net. The miller took a step forward, and Celie snapped her fingers at Lady Griffin.

  “Get him,” she said.

  If there was a specific command for that, Lady Griffin didn’t know it. It didn’t matter, though. The queen of the griffins understood.

  With a battle cry that even someone who had never seen a griffin before could not mistake, Lady Griffin leaped forward. Despite her burdens she reared up on her hind legs and raked the air with her eagle-like front legs. Then her enormous wings snapped out, knocking the closest people in the crowd flat.

  The mayor collapsed with a cry, blood seeping from slashes across the front of his chest. A quick glance told Celie they weren’t deep, so she didn’t bother herself about them. She guessed that they were meant as more of a warning.

  “Be glad her mate isn’t here,” Celie snapped at him. “He eats men like you for dinner!”

  “I will have one,” the mayor screamed. “Another monster will not get away from me!”

  “Quickly,” shouted someone behind them.

  A trio of fishermen swarmed over the seawall, knives in hand. Celie prepared to send the griffins at them, but they used their thick-bladed knives to hack through the net and free Juliet. One of them saluted Celie and pointed over the wall, and she recognized the man whose net they had rescued.

  “Follow them,” Lilah screamed, and she urged Juliet over the wall.

  Lulath leaped over and then caught Lilah as she jumped. Pogue grabbed Celie around the waist and slung her over, nearly dropping her right on top of Rufus, who had needed no special command to follow Juliet and Lorcan. Pogue leaped down with Arrow and an apology for Celie, and then Lady Griffin came sailing over the wall and landed neatly in the bow.

  Their rescuers came right after, and the rowers began pulling the moment the rescuers’ feet hit the deck. One of the men raised the triangular sail as well, and they made it out of the harbor at a steady clip, despite the weight of the extra people, the griffins, and their cargo.

  “Please do think not badly of our people, lords and ladies,” the oldest of the men said. His Grathian was formal and a little stilted, but clear nonetheless. He laid a hand on the man who had dropped the net, and Celie could see that this was likely his son. “The mayor’s father was the best mayor. His son is not a good man, but out of love for the father we gave him the office.” He grimaced.

  “What did he mean?” Lilah asked, looking over Juliet for injuries. “He said ‘Another monster will not get away from me.’ ”

  “Ah, yes,” the fisherman said. “Years ago a ship came from the south bearing a strange beast. Like a horse but with a great horn on its head.”

  “A unicorn!” Lilah exclaimed, straightening.

  “Yes, that is how it is called,” the man said. “I saw it, poor beast. It must have been wondrous once, but it was aged and in the lowest health.” His grip tightened on his son’s shoulder. “The mayor made an offer for it, but they refused. He craved an exotic beast to display and raise his status. The people who had brought it said that it was not for sale. They were making for Grath, and beyond, to see if any could cure it. But it died before they left, while they were still fighting with the mayor.”

  Lilah let out a cry of distress, and Lulath put his arm around her. The fisherman smiled sadly at them.

  “Did you also seek the unicorns, to match with your fierce flying beasts?” he asked her.

  “Yes,” Celie said, because Lilah looked close to tears. “Not because we want to . . . display them,” she hurried to say. “But because we come from their true home, and we want to take them back there. They are from a country called Sleyne, like us.”

  He nodded, and then he took his hand from his son to pat her shoulder. “I’m very sorry, then. That was the last one, and it died here in NeiMai.”

  Now Lilah was crying for sure, and Celie felt like it, too. What was the point of going to Larien now? Maybe that wasn’t even where the Ship was taking them. Or maybe it didn’t know, and it thought it would bring back a hold full of unicorns.

  “Where is your ship?” the young man who had dropped the net inquired.

  They scanned the horizon and saw it, to the south but not too far.

  “Can your beasts fly there?”

  “We are hoping they can,” Lulath said. “Though they are greatly burdened. Thank you for your help.” He looked back the way they came, but there seemed to be no one in pursuit. “We have caused you a great deal of trouble.”

  The father made a rude noise. “My family has fished these waters for a thousand generations, when the mayor’s people were rooting in the mud with their pigs on DiMai.” He saw Celie’s confusion. “That is the smallest island, and not a very worthy one.” His smile stretched wide. “And today we have helped expose the mayor’s greed and brought in the largest catch of the season! All because of you!”

  This cheered the rest of the tiny boat’s crew immensely, and Celie and her people just a little. They fixed the griffins’ burdens and made some
adjustments so that they could fly to the Ship, and then they climbed on. Celie had to be boosted into place, and her legs stuck straight out on either side of Rufus’s head, but the fishermen didn’t seem to find this strange. They were clearly too impressed with the griffins to think anything they did was ungainly.

  “You’ve been wonderful,” Lilah told them, recovering her manners.

  Lulath tried to give them the rest of the purse, but the older man refused.

  “Truly, that was twice the fish we normally catch,” he told them. “The boat nearly sank!” He laughed in delight. “We would have helped you sooner, but we were busy unloading!”

  There was another round of thanks, and then they took their leave. The griffins nearly capsized the boat, leaping heavily off the side, but the men had their oars ready and they recovered.

  They flew close to the water again, but because they were loaded so heavily, and not because they were playing. If it were possible to trudge through the air, that is what they were doing. They were all tired and worried and scared, but the good news was that the Ship appeared to be at a near standstill now.

  Catching up to it, with their own crew hailing them triumphantly, raised Celie’s spirits a little. Rufus was drooping, as were the others, but he managed to fly high enough to just clear the main deck rail and collapse onto the boards.

  The crew, used to the griffins by now, didn’t hesitate to rush forward and relieve them of their cargo, and JouJou and Nisi went into an ecstasy of barking. Jocko danced around Lady Griffin until she snapped at him, and he ran to the rigging to sulk.

  “My darlings,” Queen Celina cried, running forward to kiss them all. “We’ve been so frightened!” She held Celie at arm’s length, then kissed her again. She even grabbed hold of Pogue and kissed his cheek. “When Lady Griffin suddenly left, we were certain you were in danger.”

  “We were,” Pogue said grimly. “Your Majesty, they . . .” But then he looked to Lilah to tell the story.

  “First of all,” Lilah said crossly, “you gave us counterfeit money you made with magic. I thought we’d be arrested!”

  “I’m so sorry, my darlings!” Queen Celina looked stricken. “I thought I did a good-enough job! I didn’t think they’d know what Bendeswean coins would look like, if I got the details wrong!” She was wringing her hands, which was unsettling to Celie. Her mother rarely lost her composure in such a way. “But what happened? Is it all right?”

  “No, it isn’t,” Lilah went on. “They tried to steal Juliet!” Her voice broke on a sob. “And then we found out that all the unicorns are dead anyway!” She fell into Lulath’s arms as their mother and Orlath gasped in horror.

  “Hello, you’re back,” Rolf said, coming onto the main deck from below. “Er, everything all right?”

  “No,” Lilah sobbed. “It’s all awful!”

  “Um, I see,” Rolf said. “So. Is now a bad time to mention that one of Lulath’s dogs just had puppies?”

  Chapter

  16

  The new dog mother was Kitsi, a regal creature the size of a loaf of bread and blessed with a great quantity of caramel, brown, and white hair—which is why no one had noticed that she was going to have puppies. Now she looked noticeably leaner as she reclined with her four babies nursing busily, and Celie wondered how they had missed it.

  “Why does it always have to be my bed?” Rolf said ruefully.

  Kitsi had chosen Rolf’s bunk to expand her family on. Dagger had also hatched from his egg in the middle of Rolf’s bed. Lady Griffin carked, and then leaned forward to nuzzle the puppies. Kitsi thumped her plumed tail in response.

  “So that’s how she got up there,” Queen Celina said.

  Rolf slept in the top bunk. Lulath’s girls were good jumpers, but not that good.

  “She must have spread the word that your bed was the best place for having babies,” Pogue said. He grinned.

  “If she doesn’t want to move, you can stay in my cabin with me,” Queen Celina told Rolf. “Although that means that Pogue will have to take care of the mother and babies on his own until they’re ready.”

  “Griffins, puppies, they’re all the same,” Pogue said airily.

  Lulath had apparently been too overcome with emotion to speak for a moment. Now he leaned against the side of the bunk and carefully encircled the mother and babies with one long arm.

  “Such beauties,” he murmured to her in Grathian. “Delicate and lovely as their mother!”

  Kitsi thumped her tail again.

  Celie looked suspiciously at the other dogs. Was JouJou fatter than usual?

  Pogue followed her gaze. “Any more puppies, though, and I think I’d rather swim to Larien,” he remarked.

  “What’s the point?” Lilah said brokenly. She had barely glanced at the puppies, and now she slumped on Pogue’s bunk. “I’ll see if I can’t get the Ship to turn around.”

  “Now, Lilah, darling,” Queen Celina said. “There’s no need to despair. The Ship knows what it’s doing.”

  “Does it?” she asked, still listless.

  “Come on, cheer up,” Rolf said. “First of all, no one has had puppies on your blankets.” He held up his hands when he saw they were all about to shout at him to be serious. “Sorry, sorry!

  “But anyway, the Castle always knows what’s going on, even if we don’t. That’s why it moves things around, so that we foolish humans can find what we need.”

  “It’s true,” Celie agreed. “It showed me the Spyglass Tower weeks before we needed it. I couldn’t figure out why we’d need some dry biscuits and a Vhervhish grammar, but sure enough, we did!”

  “But how could the Ship know what’s on Larien?” Lilah protested. “The Castle knows what it knows because it’s all happening inside the Castle.”

  “But how does the Castle know what’s going to happen in the future?” Pogue said. “None of us knew that Khelsh was going to try to take over—otherwise he wouldn’t have been allowed in the gates!”

  “How does the Castle know the future?” Rolf said, pulling at his ear. “I never really thought about it in those terms. So do you think it knew Father was still alive because it could see him returning home in the future, or could it sense that Father wasn’t dead?”

  “How can we possibly know that?” Lilah said crossly. “We can’t, that’s how. Just like we can’t possibly know how powerful the Ship is! Is it as full of magic and . . . all-knowing as the Castle? Or just a tenth of that?”

  No one had an answer. Out in the passageway, the griffins began to whine. The cabin was too small for any of them beside Lady Griffin to fit in, not with all the people in it, and it was becoming extremely crowded. Celie’s stomach growled loudly, to her embarrassment.

  “I suppose it’s dinnertime for all of us,” Queen Celina said. “I’m sure the cook is happy to have fresh supplies to work with.”

  Everyone left the cabin except Lilah, Lulath, and Celie. Celie had been about to follow her mother out and scrounge some food before dinner, but Queen Celina raised her eyebrows and jerked her head for her to stay. Celie made a face at her mother, but her mother’s eyebrows just went higher, and Celie turned back to the cabin.

  In the past few months Celie had been made to chaperone Lilah and Lulath quite a bit, to make sure they didn’t spend all their time kissing, and it was her least favorite duty as a younger sister. Did her mother really think they would start kissing now? When Lilah was so upset?

  “Oh,” Celie said aloud.

  “Yes, Celie? What is it?” Lulath asked solicitously. He still had one arm around the dogs, while the other hung down so that his hand was on Lilah’s shoulder.

  “Oh, nothing,” she said.

  It just occurred to her that she was supposed to stay there with them because Lilah was so upset, and not to keep her from kissing Lulath too much. But she couldn’t say that out loud. Not to either of them, anyway.

  Instead she lifted the other dogs up onto the top bunk. At first Kitsi tensed, and Celie a
nd Lulath watched carefully, but then she made a friendly sounding yip and allowed the other dogs to sniff her puppies. Then they all lay down around her, cuddling and warming the puppies with their own furry bodies.

  Lilah suddenly grasped Celie’s hands, scaring her.

  “What?” Celie almost shouted, and Kitsi raised her head and growled.

  “What does the Ship want?” Lilah whispered. “I thought I knew! I thought it wanted what I wanted: to find unicorns. But does it?”

  “I—I don’t know,” Celie stammered.

  “I want you to find out,” Lilah said passionately. “I can’t do this, Celie. I can’t charge into something blindly like this. I have to know where we’re going and why.”

  “How am I supposed to find that out?” Celie appealed to Lulath.

  “If anyone can be finding such a thing, it is being you,” Lulath said to her.

  He turned to comfort Lilah, and Celie wandered out of the cabin. Pogue was lounging in the passageway outside. He straightened and followed Celie.

  “All right?” he asked her.

  “No,” she said. “I’m not.” She realized that she sounded angry, but it wasn’t Pogue’s fault. She slowed down a little and looked up at him. “Did you hear that?”

  “Yes.”

  “What do you think?”

  “I’m angry,” Pogue said.

  Celie stopped in her tracks to look at him. They were at the bottom of the stairs that led up to the main deck. The light spilling down showed that his jaw was clenched, and his eyes were hard. Celie drew back a little, and he softened.

  “I’m not angry at you,” he said quickly. “I’m angry that your family always does this to you. Whenever there’s a problem with the Castle—and now the Ship—they look to you for the answer, but the rest of the time they treat you like a child.”

  Celie couldn’t believe it. Someone finally understood! She wanted to hug Pogue, but she put her hands behind her back instead.