Princess Wars

by J. D. Rogers

  "Jarvo may send some men to fetch us, when he returns to the city, but we have another problem." I thought for a second, then said, "Move the ship to the middle of the river, then drop anchor. I want us away from the docks, but I don't want us heading down river, not yet anyway."

  "As you wish, Your Highness."

  Captain Hubbard bowed, then headed out on deck. Once he was gone, Shu turned to me. "I can see why you'd rather be here than in the harem. They act as if you're already Queen Catlett's heir."

  "They spent a lot of money to get me here."

  "What's this other problem you speak of?" I told Shu about the King of Dunre's plan to attack our ship. When I finished, Shu said, "How do you know this will happen?"

  "I had a vision and my visions are unfailingly accurate."

  "Always?"

  "Unless I do something to alter events."

  "Do the people on this ship know that you're a seer?"

  "Chancellor Edgerton suspects. He doesn't know."

  "If what you say is true, we can't take this ship down river."

  "What I say is true."

  We headed out on deck and watched as Captain Hubbard and his crew moved the ship away from the dock and into the middle of the river. Bokham must have realized that something was going on, because he appeared on deck, sword in hand. He didn't notice Shu and I standing in the shadows behind Captain Hubbard.

  "What's going on, Captain?" Bokham said.

  "Just taking up a more defensive position."

  "Why?"

  I stepped around Captain Hubbard, so Bokham could see me. "Because I told him to."

  For a few seconds, Bokham stared at me in wonderment. He started to rush forward, as if he wanted to hug me, then stopped and bowed, as if he had just remembered his place. "Your Highness. It's good to see you again."

  "I suppose the only way I can get you to hug me is by ordering it." I opened my arms and smiled. Bokham hesitated for a second, then smiled and stepped forward, wrapping his powerful arms around me. I thought about taking Bokham as a consort, but quickly dismissed the idea, remembering the way his eyes lit up around the Lady Tabitha.

  Bokham released me and stepped back. "How did you escape?"

  I stepped aside, so he could see Shu. "This is Shumaredena Kestan. A spy in the employ of the Duke of Genese. She helped me escape."

  Shu offered Bokham the back of her hand. He took it in his much larger hand, then bowed and kissed it in one fluid motion. "Captain Bokham of the Queen's Royal Guard."

  We reached the middle of the river. Captain Hubbard ordered his crew to drop anchor, then turned to me. "You want to tell me why we don't just head down river."

  I told him about the two visions I had involving the King of Dunre and his pirates. When I finished, Bokham spoke first. "That's how you knew we were going to be attacked back at the inn."

  "You telling me that she really is a seer?" Captain Hubbard asked Bokham.

  "I know she is," Bokham said.

  He told Captain Hubbard about our encounter with the assassins back at the inn. When he finished the story, Captain Hubbard turned his attention to the problem at hand. "A Landish longboat can hold sixty men if they're standing shoulder to shoulder. That's twice as many men as we've got."

  "And that's assuming Max only sends one boat after us," I said. "I only saw one boat in my vision, but there could've been more hidden in the fog. The high sage has given Max half a dozen ships to play with in the last year."

  "Perhaps it'd be safer to journey on foot," Shu said. "We'd be safe once we reached Holt."

  "How far is it to Holt's eastern border?" I said.

  "Over two hundred miles," Captain Hubbard said. "Landish is a big country."

  Figuring twenty miles a day on horseback, it would take us ten days just to reach Holt's eastern border. If we sailed down river, we could reach Holt in less than half that time. But if we sailed down river, we'd be boarded and killed. Unless. "They're looking for the Star of the Sea. What if we leave in something else, say a longboat? Or even one of those fishing boats that head down river every morning."

  "A fishing boat might work," Captain Hubbard said. "They're more maneuverable than longboats. If you feel threatened, you can put to shore and get away on foot."

  "You won't be coming with us, Captain?"

  "I can't abandon my ship, Your Highness. Besides, if I take the Star of the Sea down river, I might be able to draw the King of Dunre's men away from you."

  "If you take the Star of the Sea down river, you'll die."

  "A risk we must take," Captain Hubbard said.

  "Give us a day's head start," Bokham said to Captain Hubbard. "If you head down river before us, and they board you, they might come back looking for us."

  "We'll have to take the Lady Tabitha with us," I said. "And she'll need a change of clothes. She can't travel in a fishing boat dressed in those boots and gowns she likes to wear."

  "I'll give her some of my clothes," Bokham said. "She's tall enough to pass for a man."

  "We should probably do this while it's still dark out," I said. "I think Max has people watching this ship."

  "I'll send some of my men to secure a fishing boat," Captain Hubbard said. He called a couple of his men over and told them to take the pinnace and secure a fishing boat.

  "We'll go wake the Lady Tabitha." I turned to Bokham. "You find her something to wear."

  While Bokham headed below deck, Shu and I headed to the cabins beneath the foredeck. We found Tabitha in her cabin, fast asleep. I shook her until she was awake. She sat up, rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, then squinted at me through strands of tousled blond hair.

  "Princess Lila?"

  "Get up. We have to leave."

  There was a knock on the door. Shu answered it then returned with one of Bokham's uniforms.

  I tossed the clothes to Tabitha. "Put these on, then meet us on deck."

  "Can I ask where we're going?"

  "Fishing."

  Captain Hubbard's men returned one hour later, two rowing the pinnace, two steering a fishing boat with a single mast and a single sail.

  "Now comes the hard part," Captain Hubbard said.

  "Which is?" the Lady Tabitha said. She was wearing a pair of Bokham's black riding boots, white cotton breeches, a long sleeved white cotton shirt that laced up the front, and one of Bokham's red jackets. Her hair was tied back in a single braid that reached clear to her waist.

  "Trying to wake Chancellor Edgerton up." Captain Hubbard turned and headed to the aft cabins.

  While Captain Hubbard tried to rouse Edgerton, I slipped into my cabin and retrieved the scimitar I acquired when we first arrived in Landish. I turned to Shu, and said, "You know how to use one of these?"

  Shu nodded. "I suspect I am not as good with a blade as you. I only had a couple of years of training. You on the other hand have been practicing your whole life."

  I tossed the scimitar and its scabbard to Shu. "You take this."

  "What will you use?"

  "I'll borrow a cutlass from one of Captain Hubbard's men."

  Captain Hubbard's executive officer gave me a cutlass. I strapped it around my waist, then returned topside. A minute after I reappeared on deck, Captain Hubbard joined us, shaking his head.

  "I'm afraid it's going to be a few hours before the chancellor is ready to go anywhere."

  "We can't wait for him to sober up," I said. "I want to be out of town when the people at the palace discover I'm missing. Have some of your men transfer him to the fishing boat."

  Captain Hubbard bowed. "As you command, Your Highness."

  It took half a dozen men to transfer Edgerton's unconscious bulk into the fishing boat. Once that was done, Captain Hubbard introduced us to a short squat dark haired man that he identified as First Mate Evan Tanner.

  "I've ordered Tanner to go with you," Captain Hubbard said. "You'll need him to set the sail and steer the boat. Plus, he's a good fighter. If there's trouble, you'll be glad he's alo
ng."

  With that said, we were ready to leave. The fishing boat had been tied behind the Star of the Sea, next to the pinnace. I started to follow the others below deck, then stopped and headed back to Captain Hubbard. I couldn't leave knowing that he planned on sacrificing his crew, himself, and his ship, just to help me.

  "If it comes down to abandoning this ship or dying to defend it, I trust you'll do the intelligent thing and abandon this pile of wood. Ships can be rebuilt, captains cannot."

  Captain Hubbard smiled. "That's exactly what the queen would say."

  "Are you known for heeding your queen's advice?"

  Captain Hubbard's smile widened. "On occasion."

  "Let this be one of those occasions, Captain."

  Captain Hubbard bowed. "As you wish, Your Highness."

  "I wish," I said.

  Chapter 19

  We didn't see the Star of the Sea until the following evening. Evan Tanner stood up and pointed to a large ship heading down river. "That's the Star of the Sea."

  It was too far away for me to recognize. "You're sure?"

  "Aye, Your Highness. I'd know my ship anywhere."

  "I told them to wait a day before heading down river," Bokham muttered.

  I checked the sun, already low in the western sky. "It's been a day. Casting our nets into the water slowed us down. Then we docked at this village, sold the fish we caught to the local fishmonger, went shopping, argued with the merchants in the market."

  "Can we keep up with them?" Edgerton asked Evan Tanner.

  "They're not at full sails, so we should be able to stay with them for awhile."

  "Try to stay with them as long as you can," Edgerton said. "But don't get too close. We don't want anyone to think that we're traveling with them."

  Bokham untied the boat and pushed it away from the dock. Evan Tanner swung the boat around, raised the sail in mere seconds, and headed down river, keeping close to shore.

  "I don't understand why we can't ride on the Star," Tabitha whined. "It's a lot more comfortable than this thing."

  "Maximillian Bedard is going to attack the Star and try and kill everyone on it," I said. "That's why we're pretending to be fishermen."

  It wasn't long before the Star of the Sea pulled even with us, its black and gold hull gleaming in the setting sun. The sails were raised on its main mast but not on the other two.

  We stayed with them for a couple of minutes, then they pulled ahead. No one on the Star noticed who we were, but there was no reason they should. We weren't close enough for them to identify our faces and there were dozens of boats on the river that looked just like ours.

  "If the ship is going to be attacked," Tabitha said. "Why is Captain Hubbard taking it down river?"

  "To draw attention away from us," Bokham said.

  As the Star of the Sea began to pull away from us, Shu pointed to a woman standing on the afterdeck. She was small with long dark hair and wore a red silk gown. "Who's that?"

  "Captain Hubbard must've hired a woman to pose as me," I said.

  "The King of Dunre doesn't know what you look like?"

  "He knows what I look like, but he's not on the ships that are looking for me."

  "His men don't know what you look like?"

  "He only saw me for a couple of seconds, probably told them that I'm young and have long black hair."

  "That describes half the women in Landish."

  "Exactly."

  "Do you suppose she knows what she's gotten herself into?" Shu said, as the Star pulled further and further away.

  "I hope so." I didn't like the idea of someone dying just so I could live.

  We lost sight of the Star of the Sea just after sundown. When we found it four days later, it wasn't a ship, it was just a burned out hulk sitting on a sandbar. We knew it was the Star because the stern was still intact, with Star of the Sea written across it in gold.

  I don't know whether it was good or bad, but we found no bodies, no bodies on the sandbar, no bodies in the water, no bodies washed up on shore. The pinnace was gone, which gave us hope that Captain Hubbard and his crew had managed to escape.

  "They must've gotten away," Bokham said, as we floated by the wreckage. "There are no bodies."

  "They could've been taken prisoner," Edgerton said.

  "Not enough room for that many prisoners on a longboat," I said. "Captain Hubbard claimed a Landish longboat can hold sixty men tops, and from what I saw in my vision, that longboat was already full."

  "The pinnace is gone," Bokham said. "As are the lifeboats. They must've boarded them and headed to shore when they saw the longboat approaching. Forcing Bedard's men to pursue them on foot would be their best option."

  "Captain Hubbard knew they were going to be attacked," I said. "That did give him an advantage."

  Sure enough, we found a Landish longboat on the south shore less than a mile down river. Captain Hubbard's pinnace was beached next to the longboat, as were the Star's two lifeboats. There appeared to be a skeleton crew on board the longboat, although it was hard to tell from our position on the far side of the river. The people on the longboat paid no attention to our little fishing boat.

  "They're definitely on foot," Bokham said. "That evens the odds considerably. Thirty men can travel faster than fifty."

  "Let's hope they get away," Edgerton said.

  "I can find out what's going on," I said.

  "How?" Edgerton asked.

  "I can see and hear people I've met, whenever I want, wherever they are. I can also let them see me. Well, a ghost image of me."

  "Can you talk to them?"

  "Only through images."

  "What does that mean?"

  "I can change my image to look like other people, but I can't make it talk."

  I sat and closed my eyes. I pictured Captain Hubbard in my mind, tall, with a narrow waist and broad shoulders. I pictured his snow white hair, which he wore in a ponytail. I pictured his broad flat nose and his bright blue eyes. I pictured his uniform, red knee socks, white knee breeches, a white shirt, and a red jacket.

  A second later, I saw him, running along a dirt road with a smile on his face. His men were running behind him, cutlasses in hand. The girl they had on deck, posing as me, was no where to be seen. I hoped that was a good sign. Once she got rid of the gown, she went back to being a local. Dressed in her native clothing and speaking Old Landish, Max's men wouldn't pay any attention to her.

  "Captain Hubbard and his men are fine," I said, opening my eyes. "They're on the road that borders the river's southern bank. Max's men are chasing them, but they don't look too concerned."

  "And the girl that was with them?" Edgerton said.

  "Gone, but once she got rid of the gown we saw her wearing, she goes back to being a local." I turned to Shu. "How far are we from the Holt border?"

  "Less than a day by river," Shu said. "Little over a day by horse. A couple of days on foot."

  "Will the Duke of Genese give Captain Hubbard and his men sanctuary?"

  "If they can reach his lands before being overtaken."

  "If we seek the Duke of Genese's assistance, will he send some men to help Captain Hubbard?"

  Shu shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know."

  I turned to Edgerton. "What do you think?"

  "The King of Holt is an ally and a friend of Queen Catlett. I have no doubt that he'd send men to help Captain Hubbard. I don't know his little brother that well. There's a bit of a gap between their age."

  "Could we ask him for help?"

  "We could ask."

  I turned back to Shu. "How far is the Duke of Genese's palace from the river?"

  "It sits on a hill that overlooks the river, just above the river's northern bank. There's a city surrounding it, with more city on the southern bank. Rowboats ferry people back and forth between the two halves of the city."

  "And you lived there?"

  "For a couple of years. My father is the duke's chief adviser."

  I
turned back to Edgerton. "I know you're worried about Captain Hubbard, and I know it's not much consolation, but he was smiling when I saw him."

  "Let's hope we reach the duke's palace before that old fool's age catches up with him," Edgerton said.

  ***

  We reached the Duke of Genese's palace by the middle of the next day. The city itself looked different than Istansada City. The hills were steeper here. The river gorge deeper. It was also greener, there were more trees, more bushes, more grass. Most of the buildings were log cabins with a few of the larger ones being made out of stone. The buildings descended down the hillside to the river. Docks lined both sides of the river, extending deep into the water. Rowboats ferried people across the river.

  On the northern side of the river, atop the highest hill that overlooked the river, sat a castle. The castle was built from gray stone and had numerous towers. As you moved from front to back, the towers grew taller. They had peaked roofs covered with tiles made from red clay. The windows in the castle were all round and made from glass stained red, blue, green, and yellow.

  "This is Genese," Shu said. "The second largest city in Holt."

  I turned to Shu. "Is it safe for you to take us to the duke's castle?"

  "Why wouldn't it be?"

  "The duke won't get mad at you for abandoning your spot in the high sage's palace?"

  "When you train and place a spy," Shu said. "It's with the understanding that they might have to pack up and leave at any moment."

  "That's true," Edgerton said. "Spies are free to leave whenever they feel it's warranted. The duke might expect us to compensate him for the loss of his spy, but that's our problem, not hers."

  Evan Tanner steered our fishing boat to the docks located on the north side of the river. When we headed for the duke's castle, he elected to stay with the boat, stating that he wasn't comfortable around royalty. When Edgerton pointed out that I was a princess, Evan Tanner blushed.

  "She ain't like the royals in this part of the world," he said. "She's not afraid to work alongside us real folk."

  On our way to the duke's castle, I asked Edgerton what Tanner meant by that. "Royals in this part of the world don't toss fishing nets into rivers, nor do they help pull them out. They consider themselves above manual labor."