by Amy Sumida
It was a good hand. Not too big, but still very strong, with long, nimble fingers. Robyn himself was at least a foot taller than I was, and had ropes of muscle cording his body that made Saunder seem like an ogre. Robyn was more sleekly built, a man who could climb the side of a sheer castle with very little effort. And one who could climb back down with a princess hanging on his back.
The ocean swept nearly up to the cliff which the dragon castle was perched upon. Robyn lowered us onto the slim line of pebbled beach, and then carried me into the shallows, where a row boat was waiting, bobbing among the rocks. Robyn put me gently in the little boat, and then pushed us out into deeper water, jumping in nimbly at the last second. With great speed, he brought us to a much larger ship, and I recognized it as a part of my father's fleet.
“Dear God,” I whispered. “You really are rescuing me.”
“Of course I am,” Robyn winked at me, and then helped me up a rope ladder.
On the deck of the ship, there were only three other men. Robyn's brothers, whom he quickly introduced to me. There was Hugin, with shining blonde hair falling to his shoulders, eyes as blue as the evening sky, and the pale skin of a man who loved the night. Then came Arnet, with deep brown hair like an oak tree, and eyes the color of its leaves. He had a thickly muscled body, though not as massive as Saunder's, and golden brown skin which clearly was no stranger to sunlight. Last, there was Barret, shyly shaking my hand. He was sort of in-between the other two. His hair, a color between blonde and brown. His eyes, in between green and blue. And his skin somewhere between pale and tan.
Within moments, we were setting sail, the men manning the ship with ease. I had no idea, at the time, that they were magically gifted. So I gaped at the talent it took for them to navigate such a large vessel by themselves. They sailed that ship as if they'd been born on the sea, and they worked together as if they had done so every day of their lives. It was mesmerizing to watch, and I found myself utterly fascinated by their movements.
We had been traveling over an hour, long enough for me to relax a little when a thunderous roar echoed around us.
“The dragon!” Barret shouted and pointed behind us.
We all turned to see Saunder, in his dragon form, flying across the water towards us with the speed of Satan himself. My heart plummeted. Freedom had been so close. I should have known better than to hope. Hope is the true fairy tale, and it's not for the likes of me. No, princesses don't get to hope. So I stood alone, in the middle of the deck, and simply waited for my groom to come and claim me. Perhaps if I were submissive enough, he wouldn't kill these brave men. Yes, I knew that was a bitter lie. The brothers were as good as dead.
Except they weren't.
Arnet pulled out a shiny rifle and braced it on the wooden railing. He crouched, taking his time to aim at Saunder, and waited till the dragon was nearly upon us to fire. Arnet finally pulled the trigger, just once, but he hit Saunder square in the left eye. I saw it clearly when Saunder fell, his head hitting the deck right beside me, with a loud crack. I had a moment to stare into that gaping, bloody hole where his eye should have been, before the weight of Saunder's body pulled him down into the sea, his long neck slipping gracefully over the railing as the hiss of scales upon wood filled the air.
He was dead! Saunder had been killed, and I was still safe. Except, the crash had been so intense, the impact had damaged the ship. There was a widening crack in the hull. We started taking on water.
Hugin rushed to me and helped me over to the row boat. But Barret told everyone to wait. He pulled a silver needle from his pocket and began to sew the ship back together! The ship! With a little needle! Barret pushed that sliver of silver through wood as if it were fabric, and pulled the broken pieces of the ship back together. And there wasn't even thread in his needle.
That was when I realized that the brothers were magical. When Barret was finished, the ship was whole and looked as if it had never been harmed in any way. It sounds impossible, I know, but I swear to you, that's what happened.
We all stood there and stared at Barret's handiwork in amazement. Then his brothers ran forward and congratulated Barret on a job well done. I couldn't believe it. The rescue, the shot... Saunder's death! And now a ship sewn back together with a thread-less needle. I wavered on my feet. Was I dreaming? Was I actually asleep in the beast's castle, just as trapped as I ever was?
The brothers rushed forward and helped me sit on a pile of rigging. They held my hands and smoothed my hair as I took deep breaths, staring at them in amazement.
“Who are you all?” I finally asked them.
They looked at each other and laughed. It was Barret who finally answered me.
“Just four brothers who want to see you safely home.”
That was a good enough answer for me. I nodded, and decided not to check out the teeth on this gift horse. There would be time enough to learn more about them on the voyage home.
“Princess, let's get you to your cabin,” Robyn suggested. “You must be weary.”
“No, I'm fine,” I protested and stood. “Just a little shocked.” I ventured over to the side of the ship, where Saunder had gone over, and stared into the sea. There was no sign of him, but we'd probably traveled far from the spot already. Still, I shivered as I looked into the clear blue, fancying that I could see Saunder rising up to snatch me away again.
“Princess Adelysia?” Arnet, the one who had shot Saunder, stood at my elbow. I looked over to him. “He's dead. I promise you. I never miss. The dragon lies at the bottom of the sea. No one will ever hurt you again.”
“Thank you,” I rested my hand briefly on the one Arnet had laid upon the railing. “But you can't make that promise. The life of a princess is full of pain.”
“How dreadfully depressing,” Robyn commented dryly.
I looked over my shoulder to see Robyn lounging on the same stack of rigging I had just vacated. He gave me a lopsided smile and a wink. I frowned a little at his familiarity and quickly looked away. I didn't need their sympathy or their understanding. They had rescued me, and I was grateful for that. But, in the end, I would be returned to my family, where I would go back to waiting for my father to choose a husband for me.
“A princess' life should be full of happiness,” Hugin mused as he came up to stand with Arnet and I. “Why is yours so different that you believe otherwise?”
“So different?” I chuckled. “And by the way, Robyn,” I said as an aside, “I am not depressing, I am practical.” I focused back on the other men as I continued, “I am no different than any other princess, nor am I unhappy about it. I have everything I need, and I'm grateful for that. I've never suffered starvation nor had to work a single day in my life. It sounds wonderful, doesn't it? I should be smiling as I greet every dawn,” I looked off towards the horizon, where I could just barely make out the dark smudge that was my kingdom.
The journey home would take far longer than my flight to the dragon kingdom. Days longer. But I didn't believe I was in any danger with these men. Why would they save me just to accost me on the way home? Surely my father would reward them in some manner, and that would be incentive enough for them to leave me unmolested.
“But you don't?” Barret asked as he came up on my left.
“What's that?” I looked over to him.
“Greet every morning with a smile,” he amended. “You don't?”
“No,” I sighed. “But don't let me dampen the mood. We should be celebrating your victory. You're heroes,” I gave them my brilliant “princess” smile. The one I'd practiced for years. The one I gave courtiers and visiting royalty. The one I even gave my parents on occasion. But these men weren't courtiers or royalty, and they weren't accustomed to dissembling.
“Please don't do that,” Barret whispered, his eyes going sad. “God, it hurts to look on you, when you smile like that.”
My smile faded, and I gaped at Barret a moment, shocked by his perception and his compassion. Then I set my eyes firmly b
ack on the sea.
“So you pretend to be happy?” Arnet asked casually as he leaned both forearms on the railing beside me.
“Damn it all,” Robyn groused. “Someone needs to steer the ship.”
I heard his boots pound across the deck as he headed for the Captain's wheel. He was right, of course. We couldn't just let the sea take us where it will. Who knows where we'd end up. It was a miracle that these men had been able to reach me at all, with only four of them manning the vessel. I stared up at the sails thoughtfully. We were lucky that Saunder hadn't brought those down with him. But I suppose Barret would have just sewn them back together as well. Magic men saving me from dragons. At least my life wasn't boring. I managed a small smile at the thought.
“Now that's much better,” Barret leaned his shoulder briefly to mine, as one might do with a close friend. It was a type of companionship that I'd never had, and I instantly treasured it.
“Yes, it is,” I smiled a little brighter at him. “I've decided to enjoy this brief freedom.”
“Good,” Arnet nodded, but then cast a look to the helm. “Enjoy every minute you can, Princess. Life is worthy of your attention. But I find I must lend my attention towards helping my brother,” he took my hand and kissed it, as sweetly as any prince, and then bowed to me before he walked away.
“I don't know where he learned those manners,” Hugin laughed as he took Arnet's place at the railing. “The man has been living with a master hunter for four years.”
“Four years?” I asked.
“We have all just recently returned from apprenticeships,” Barret clarified. “Each of us has learned a trade.”
“Our father couldn't support us any longer,” Hugin shrugged, “and none of us wanted to take up his mantle of being a fisherman.”
“The sea has no allure for you?” I looked pointedly across the expanse of sparkling, sapphire water. Their father was a fisherman. Well, that explained their knowledge of ships.
“Now she teases,” Hugin said to his brother. “Look at how we've improved her disposition within minutes.”
“It wasn't you,” I teased further with haughty disdain. “My royal self has decided to enjoy this journey, if you recall.”
“My mistake, Your Highness,” Hugin barked out a laugh before executing a perfect bow.
“And you,” I narrowed my eyes on him. “You seem to have manners as courtly as your hunter-brother.”
“I was trained to be a stargazer,” Hugin shrugged. “My master was so revered, that royalty would come to visit him. I learned things,” he gave me a wink nearly as scandalous as Robyn's. I lifted a brow at Hugin, and he blushed, his skin going red up to his blonde roots. “My apologies for the liberties I've taken.”
“No,” I sighed. “My apologies to you. I was enjoying our casual banter until I went and ruined it. It's so ingrained you see. The rules of behavior. I've trained for my position far longer than all of you have apprenticed.”
“Is it really that complicated?” Barret asked. “Being a princess?”
“Oh yes,” I nodded. “From a very young age, I was taught how to speak, how to act, and how to dress. I had to learn the correct ways to address members of the court. How to eat properly, breathe properly, live properly,” I may have put just a little venom into the last bit.
The brothers stared at me incredulously.
“Well then, I decree that there shall be no more propriety on this journey,” Hugin declared. “We shall all behave exactly as we wish!”
“I always do that,” Robyn called down to us.
I couldn't help smiling up at him. Robyn's smile froze, then fell open a bit as he stared at me. His black eyes seemed suddenly intense, and I blinked in confusion. What had I done now? But then Robyn looked away, scowling, and I watched his jaw clench. I saw Arnet staring at him shrewdly, and when he noticed me, he gave me a little shrug. So maybe there was more to the hooded man than casual flirtation.
“Very well,” I finally agreed to Hugin's rash declaration. “Let's all be like Robyn, and do as we please.”
The brothers cheered. I felt myself smiling again. Truly, I hadn't been so happy in years. Perhaps being abducted by a dragon had been good for me.
Chapter Five
Two nights later, we were dining in the Captain's quarters as usual. It was kind of amazing to have an entire ship to ourselves. I felt like a child, playing at being a pirate. The men had given me the Captain's bedroom since it was the nicest quarters on the ship, and they'd each taken one of the finer guest rooms. It was all very respectable.
Arnet had turned out to be quite the fisherman, despite his dislike of the profession, and had shot several fish daily, to add to our supplies. Yes, shot. He simply aimed his wondrous gun at them and boom! We had fresh fish. They floated up to the surface and Barret would scoop them out with a net.
Robyn always cooked, the others helping by preparing the rations we used from the ship's stores; vegetables, bread, and some fruit. The food was always good, though simple. I loved it, and I loved dining with them. No worrying about which fork to use or how to hold it. No drinking dainty sips from my glass. No holding myself rigidly straight in my seat. No fumbling for polite conversation with some boring guest.
I had relaxed. Me, Princess Adelysia, relaxed and enjoyed meals. All of them. Even the simple fare of water, biscuits, and fruit we ate in the mornings to break our fast. I was having fun. There wasn't a minute aboard that was boring or tedious. Even when we all just sat silently together near the helm, watching the sea while Robyn steered, I had basked gleefully in the quiet. The companionable quiet. It was a rare thing indeed to be able to sit silently with someone without feeling the overwhelming need to fill the silence. But with the brothers, I was at peace.
Peace. Such a small word, and yet it held such strong emotion for me. I treasured the peace I found in those few days with them. I suspected that I would treasure it forever, and the only thing hindering this new found happiness was the knowledge that it would soon end. So I pushed those thoughts away, and determined, even more strongly, to enjoy my time with them.
This particular dinner was a special one because it would be our last together. We were close to land now, and should reach it sometime within the next day. Despite the impending end of our journey, I found myself smiling, delighting in the brother's, now familiar, antics. They each provided stories and witty conversation to pass the time, far above the standard drivel I was used to getting from the men at home. There were so many jaded courtesans, who spoke flowery words to me because they felt compelled to, while they cast longing glances at women they could actually bed.
The brothers knew they couldn't have me, and yet they seemed to enjoy my company anyway. They laughed when I said something funny (which I amazingly did often- I had no idea I could be comedic), they teased me when I told embarrassing stories of learning the ways of royalty, and they listened to everything I said with a focus that seemed to be genuine interest. I say “seemed” because I was raised around artifice, and I knew that often, things which people said or did, were not as they appeared.
But with the brothers, it felt truly genuine.
I found myself studying them. Each man was striking in his own way. Each man possessed his own type of charm. And each man treated me with a casual courtesy that went beyond the respect I was shown at home. If only I could have a husband like one of them, I would count myself lucky.
I blinked in surprise at my thoughts. When had I come to value them as men? To see them as potential lovers or husbands and not just my rescuers? It was a bittersweet fantasy to indulge in. I could never have any of them. Their social ranking separated us more solidly than a soaring stone wall. I would do well to begin distancing myself from them.
But not yet. Let me enjoy this last dinner with them. I looked down at the delicate, filigree, gold ring that Robyn had given me the previous evening. The brothers had been on their way out of the Captain's quarters after we had talked long into the ni
ght, and they each kissed my cheek as they left. Robyn though, had produced the ring after his kiss, holding it up for me to see. It had a round diamond at its center, which caught the dim light and magnified it into thousands of rainbow glimmers.
“Do you like it?” Robyn had asked me slyly.
I had nodded, suddenly shy. Robyn often had that effect on me, making me feel graceless and unsteady.
“I thought it could take the place of that other ring,” he shrugged.
He meant the ring that Saunder had made me wear. After I'd been on the ship for a few hours, I had realized I was still wearing Saunder's ring. I had pulled the horrid thing off, intending to chuck it into the sea, but Robyn stopped me. He said it would be solid proof of the dragon's treachery, and we should give it to the king, my father. I had agreed, but I still didn't want it on my person, nor anywhere near me. So Robyn offered to hold onto it for me.
“It's a gift from all of us,” Robyn had nodded towards his brothers, who were waiting anxiously in the hallway. “Will you wear it?”
“Of course,” I had held out my hand to him then, and he slipped the ring on. He had done so, so deftly that had I not been watching him do it, I wouldn't have even realized that there was a ring on my finger.
Now, looking down at it, I wished it were a true engagement ring. Though I wouldn't be able to tell you which man I would hope to be engaged to. Any of them really. I would be happy with any of the brothers. Then they started to speak about their time away from home, sharing stories with each other as well as me, and it became harder and harder for me to find a man I preferred above the rest.
Robyn spoke of the years he spent honing his skill as a thief, how he would find treasure no one knew about, and share what he could of it with those in need. He had lived deep in the forest with his teacher, and they had kept to themselves when not thieving or passing along the wealth they stole. Robyn had grown so famous in fact, that even I had heard of him. The Hooded Robyn. I was amazed to find that this local hero/criminal was one of the men who had rescued me. I didn't find his thieving ways upsetting or even criminal. To me, he was an honorable man, living life in the gray shades of neutrality, so that he could help others to live in the light.