by J.D. Rogers
Chapter 11
It was dark when I woke. No, not dark. Something coarse and heavy surrounded my head and body, blinding me. It felt like a rug. I was lying on my stomach, on the back of a horse. A horse moving along at a leisurely trot. My feet hung over one side of the horse. My head hung over the other side. Rawhide bound my hands behind my back and secured my ankles together. A leather ball stuffed inside my mouth, then tied behind my head, gagged me.
How I ended up that way was easy. Edgerton Hooks, the Royal Chancellor of Vassa, knocked me out with a poisoned dart. I remembered that much.
I needed to know more, so I closed my eyes and pictured Edgerton in my mind. His short, stocky body. His plump round head that was bald on top and gray on the sides. His neatly trimmed gray beard. His mostly black clothing. That was when I saw him riding a horse.
It was night, but the sky was clear and a three quarter moon lit the countryside. He was traveling alone with a pack horse. Draped and tied over the back of the pack horse were three rolled up rugs. One of which contained me. Probably the one in the middle, judging by how it hung. To the northeast, I could see a hill containing lights. We were too far away to tell what the lights were, but I had little doubt that it was the Western Palace and the fort that surrounded it.
What bothered me the most wasn't that Edgerton had managed to slip me out of the palace unnoticed. What bothered me was that he was traveling through hills occupied by wild men. Man eating wild men. I needed him to free me, so I could protect myself from the wild men. The only way I could think of doing that was by letting him see my ghost image. I concentrated on Edgerton being able to see me, picturing my image floating in front of his horse. It must've worked because Edgerton let out a yelp.
"Oh my god!" he said. "I've killed the princess."
Edgerton drew his horse to a stop, dismounted, and hurried to the pack horse. He untied the middle carpet from the back of the horse and laid it on the ground.
The image of Edgerton faded and I found myself back inside the rolled up carpet. A second later, I felt myself being turned over and over as Edgerton unrolled the carpet. A second after that, I felt the cool night air and saw the stars directly above me.
"Thank God, you're alive," Edgerton said, looking down at me. "I was afraid that I had killed you."
I wanted to demand that he release me, but the gag in my mouth prevented that. Instead of trying to talk through the gag, I remained quiet. Hoping that he would release me if I was passive enough. He didn't untie my hands, but he did untie the gag.
"We're a good twenty miles from your palace," he said. "So it won't do you any good to yell for help."
Edgerton removed the gag from my mouth. I took a minute to flex my jaw, which had grown stiff from being held open for so long. When I tried to talk, I couldn't. My mouth and throat were as dry as the desert.
"Water," I finally gasped. "Please."
"Yes, of course."
Edgerton hurried to his horse and came back with a leather flask. He held my head with one hand and held the flask to my mouth with the other. I drank until water trickled down the sides of my mouth. While Edgerton returned the flask to his horse, I pulled myself to a sitting position.
"You do know about the wild men that live in these hills," I said. "They're cannibals."
Edgerton nodded. "I'm aware of them. I also know that they don't come out at night. For some reason, they're afraid of the dark. Once the sun goes down, they huddle in their little caves in the hillsides and stay there until morning."
He moved to the pack horse and tossed the other two carpets on the ground. He then came back to me and untied my ankles.
"How did you get out of the palace?"
"Same way I got in. By posing as a rug merchant from Gibney." Edgerton smiled. "One of the advantages of being fat and old is that nobody sees you as a threat."
"Would you untie my hands."
"I'm sorry, Your Highness. I can't do that right now. Perhaps later."
He grabbed my arm, pulled me to my feet, and marched me over to the pack horse.
"Could I at least have a cloak? This outfit doesn't provide any protection from the night air."
I was still wearing the yellow slave girl outfit. Not surprising since there wasn't anything else in my suite that he could've put on me. Edgerton untied the black wool cloak he was wearing and tied it around my shoulders. The heavy knee length cloak provided just enough protection against the night air. Edgerton and I were about the same height so the cloak was just the right length.
"You can ride the pack horse," he said.
He grabbed me by the waist and set me on the pack horse, so I was sitting sidesaddle. He was a lot stronger than he looked, leading me to believe there was more muscle underneath his clothes than fat.
"I can't ride like this. I'll fall off."
"Then straddle the horse."
"Even riding that way, I'm not sure I'll be able to stay on. Can you at least tie my hands in front of me?"
"I'm sorry, Your Highness, but I can't risk letting you run away."
Edgerton mounted his horse and continued west. The pack horse's reins were tied to his horse, so I had no choice but to swing my leg up and over. It wasn't easy to ride with my hands tied behind me, but we were moving at a leisurely pace and I was in no danger of falling off.
As we rode, I wondered why I was fighting Edgerton. If he had come to me a week ago, telling me that the Queen of Vassa was willing to make me her heir, I would've went with him willingly. But a lot had happened in the past week. Salisha was dead. Iderra was heading for Sorea. I learned that mother made me the heir hopeful. And I had eliminated Ezerra, the one person that stood between me and control of the Army of the West.
Of course, there was no guarantee the Army of the West would support me for queen. And even if they did, there was no guarantee they would be willing to fight Bedonna, the palace guard, and whoever else rallied around her. There was also no guarantee that if I led the Army of the West against Bedonna, half of them wouldn't defect to her camp. Nor was there any guarantee that if Bedonna and I went to war, I would win. Maybe I would be better off on the other side of the desert, in this country called Vassa.
"Edgerton?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Is your country at war?"
Edgerton laughed. "Hardly."
"Tell me about it."
"We're one of five small countries sandwiched between much larger countries. Those five countries are known as the Finger States. We're the third of the Finger States, counting from west to east, or east to west. A large river divides the country in half and connects us to the other Finger States. It's very green, with rolling hills, but no mountains."
"Do the people like your queen?"
"Yes. She is quite popular."
"Does someone covet her throne?"
"The King of Dunre has issues with her. Dunre is the large country to our northwest."
"Do you worry about his invading your country? Taking it by force?"
"We have an alliance with the other Finger States. To invade one of us is to invade us all. Wars are not common in our part of the world. Most political maneuvering is done through marriage and assassination."
"What will you do with me if your queen doesn't find me suitable?"
Edgerton laughed. "I don't believe that will be a problem, Your Highness."
"But if it is?"
"If you so wish, we will return you to Adah. Or you may choose to remain in Vassa as a princess in exile. The choice will be yours. Whether you assume the throne of Vassa or not, I suspect you'll have plenty of marriage proposals. Political alliances through marriage are very common in my part of the world."
"I'll be a princess without a country. I can bring nothing to an alliance save myself."
"A baron or duke seeking to elevate his status can help himself immensely by taking a princess for a wife, even a princess without a country."
"Will your people accept a queen b
orn in another country?"
"That will depend upon your ability to win them over."
So I had a choice to make. Try to escape, so I could fight a war with Bedonna. A war I might lose. A war which would cost lives even if I won. Or go willingly with Edgerton, to a land I knew nothing about, but which wanted me bad enough to kidnap me.
I couldn't just walk away from my homeland, from the people that were counting on me and had taken an oath to serve me. If Edgerton gave me an opportunity to escape, I would take it. However, that opportunity might not arise. Which meant I had to prepare myself to live in a new country.
"I know nothing about your part of the world," I said. "You'll have to teach me its history. You'll also have to teach me to speak your language."
"We can start right now," Edgerton said. "We speak one language west of the Great Desert. It's called the Common Tongue."
Edgerton started with simple phrases. I repeated the phrases until I knew them by heart. By sunrise, I knew a couple dozen words in the Common Tongue.
We reached the edge of the desert just as the sun rose over the mountains. The red sand of the desert washed up against the brown hills, much like the ocean washed up against the shore.
"Where are we going?" I asked, as we turned south.
"I have a ship waiting for us."
"We're going all the way to Queen's Town?"
Queen's Town was a small port a couple hundred miles south of us, located at a point where the mountains, desert, and ocean all met. It was too small to attract Bedonna's attention, so I'd be safe there as long as we didn't linger.
"Heaven's no," Edgerton said. "I have a sand ship docked about ten miles south of here."
"What in the world is a sand ship?"
"Are you familiar with the catamarans of the Sugar Islands?"
"Yes."
"It looks a lot like them, except it glides over the sand on polished boards called skis."
"I've never heard of such a thing. Is it wind powered?"
"It has one mast and five sails. The mast, as well as the rest of the ship, is made from a wood called bamboo. It's light but strong."
"What if the wind doesn't blow?"
"Then we pull the ship until the wind does blow."
"Your people use these desert ships?"
"Not my people. They're used by the people of a country called Landish. The Great Desert occupies the eastern third of their country and they use it to sail north and south. It took me awhile to find a ship willing to sail across the desert." Edgerton laughed. "Most of the desert sailors didn't even think people lived on this side of the continent. They thought we were on a fool's journey to the end of the world."
"How do you know they'll still be waiting for us?"
"I left a couple of soldiers with them, to make sure they didn't leave prematurely."
Some movement to our left caught my attention. At first I thought it was a herd of deer, but upon closer inspection, I realized it was a band of wild men. Even from a distance, I could tell that they were small, the largest being no bigger than me. They were naked and hairy. Not as hairy as I thought they would be, but hairier than normal men. I didn't expect them to look as human as they did, but except for their small size and excess body hair, they looked very human.
"We're being watched," I said. "On the hill to our left."
"They won't bother us. According to the troops at the fort, they think people on horseback are some sort of two headed animal. Here, watch this."
Much to my chagrin, Edgerton pulled up both of our horses. He dismounted and walked toward the wild men, waving his hands in the air. The wild men turned and ran away from him as fast as they could go. Edgerton laughed until they were out of sight, then returned to his horse and mounted it.
"As I said. They think men on horseback are two headed animals. When we dismount and walk toward them, they panic. They think we're some kind of animal that can split in two. They may be a big threat to each other, but they're not much of a threat to us. Especially when we're on horseback."
We resumed our journey south. Occasionally, a group of wild men appeared on a hillside. They watched us, but made no move to get closer. They weren't nearly as scary as the stories led me to believe. If anything, they seemed more frightened of the world than the world was frightened of them. Of course, if I were out here alone, and on foot, they might seem a lot scarier.
Eventually, a ship's mast came into view. It seemed odd, seeing a ship's mast this far from water, but there it was. As we got closer, I could see that the ship was indeed similar in design to the catamarans used in the Sugar Islands.
The twin hulls found on the catamarans had been replaced by two giant boards with curved ends. Three planks, which were actually bamboo poles tied together, connected the two boards. Skis if you preferred. Bamboo support poles about three feet long raised the planks above the skis. A mast rose from the center of the middle plank with rigging for two square sails and three jibs. Two large nets filled the space between the three planks. As far as I could see, there was no tiller, no way to steer the ship other than to point it in the direction you wanted to go.
"How do they get it to glide across the sand?" I asked. "Won't there be too much friction between the skis and the sand?"
"Trade secret. They coat the skis with a substance that makes them very slick. I think it's some sort of tallow, but I can't be sure. Whatever it is, it works quite well."
"How do they steer it?"
"They lower the sails, pick the back end up, and turn the ship in the direction they want to go."
As we drew closer, I could see there were four men camped next to the ship. Two of them were soldiers. They wore black riding boots, white cotton breeches, white cotton shirts that laced down the front, and red jackets. They carried swords and crossbows. The other two men wore billowing white silk pants, red silk vests, and white silk turbans. They were shorter than the two soldiers and had much darker complexions, clearly the sailors.
"Only two sailors?" I said.
"Sand ships can't carry very many people. The more people you have, the more weight you have. The more weight you have, the more wind you need to move the ship. A ship this size is limited to no more than five people. One sailor to work the square sails. One to work the jibs. Three passengers."
We obviously had a problem since we now had six people. Edgerton must've realized what I was thinking. "One of my guards has agreed to stay behind. He'll work his way to a port and book passage on a ship from Gibney, one that's headed to Standish."
That explained what would happen to the horses we were riding. "You trade with Gibney?"
"No, but the people of Standish do, and we trade with them. What we know about this side of the world, we've learned from them. And they learned from the Gibeans."
"Why don't you trade with us?"
"Our ships don't sail to this side of the world. Your ships don't sail to our side. Only the Merchants of Gibney send ships to our side of the world. If you sent ships to us, we would gladly trade with you. Perhaps when you become Queen of Vassa, you can change that."
"If I become Queen of Vassa, my oldest sister, Bedonna, will become Queen of Adah. She won't be interested in establishing trade with a county ruled by her little sister. She'll only be interested in killing me."
"Why would she want to kill you when you're living on the other side of the world?"
"If she found out I was alive. She'd convince herself that she needed to kill me before I tried to kill her."
Edgerton glanced back at me and smiled. "I'm glad I didn't try to kidnap her."
"Bedonna's not someone you kidnap."
The two soldiers saw us approaching and moved toward us. They were both tall and thin, with long blond hair pulled back into ponytails. The older one had a neatly trimmed beard of the same color. The younger one was clean shaven. The two sand sailors were smaller, not any bigger than me. They had thick black beards. The turbans they wore made it impossible to tell i
f they had hair or were bald. All four men seemed surprised to see us.
"You found a princess," the guard with the beard said. Or something to that effect. He spoke in the Common Tongue. Since I only knew a few words. I had to guess what some of them meant.
"Princess Lila Marie Haran," Edgerton said. "Youngest daughter of Bella Justine Haran, the late Queen of Adah."
"Why are her hands tied?"
"She didn't come willingly. I had to kidnap her."
"You think that's wise?"
"Wiser than returning empty handed." Edgerton gave his horse to the guard and helped me off mine. "I'll untie your hands, but I wouldn't try to run away if I were you. Those wild men aren't dangerous when you're on horseback, but when you're on foot, they can be very dangerous. Especially if you're alone and unarmed."
"Understood." I used the Common Tongue instead of Gibean. I turned my back to Edgerton and he untied my hands. I wasn't foolish enough to try to walk the thirty or so miles back to the Western Palace. Not with all those wild men I had seen. Plus, I was hungry, I hadn't eaten since yesterday morning, just before Edgerton drugged me.
"I haven't eaten since yesterday," I said, switching back to the language of the traders. "I would like something to eat. Or do you think that starving me will make me more cooperative?"
"Of course not, Your Highness. I just never gave it much thought." Edgerton turned to the guard with the beard and switched to the Common Tongue. "The princess is hungry. Find her something to eat."
"We have no food left, save for the coconuts that grow on the palm trees."
"That will have to do."
The guard grabbed a green coconut from the pile next to their burned out campfire, split it into smaller pieces with his sword, and offered a piece to me.
"Thank you," I said in the Common Tongue. "What's your name?"
"Conkling Eades, Your Highness. Captain Conkling Eades."
He seemed surprised that I could speak the Common Tongue. I didn't bother to tell him that I couldn't. That I only knew a few words and phrases in his language. I found a spot near their burned out campfire, sat, and ate my coconut. It wasn't the ideal breakfast, but it was sweet and moist and it filled my empty belly.
While I ate, Edgerton conversed with his soldiers. They talked too fast for me to follow the conversation. I assumed they were talking about which of the two men would travel back on the sand ship and which would ride the horses to a nearby port. After a couple of minutes, Edgerton walked over to me and switched to Gibean.
"My man needs your help. He needs to travel to the closest port where he can book passage on a merchant ship from Gibney."
My first thought was to not help him. After all, they were holding me here against my will. But I realized I might be able to use him to get a message to Vomeir and the others that were still waiting for me.
"He doesn't speak Adish," I said. "How does he plan on getting around in a country where he doesn't speak the language?"
"He doesn't speak Adish," Edgerton said. "But he does know the language of the traders."
Edgerton nodded at the guard with the beard, Captain Eades. I turned to him, and spoke in Gibean. "Can you speak the language of the traders?"
"Enough to get by," he said in Gibean. "I need to get to a port that will have a ship from Gibney."
"You could ride straight south from here. That would take you to Queen's Town. But Queen's Town is just a fishing village. The ships from Gibney don't stop there."
"So where do I go?"
"Head north until you see the Western Palace, then turn east. There's a road that will take you through the Pass of Nod to the city of Morcesha. Once you reach Morcesha, you can take the Queen's Road south, to the Port of Nadal. It's our largest port and at any given time there are a dozen ships from Gibney loading and unloading."
Captain Eades bowed. "Thank you, Princess."
"It's a much longer route. But it's a safe route and your best chance to get home."
"I look forward to serving you, when you assume the throne of Vassa."
He seemed so sincere about wanting to serve me, that I couldn't let him go without a warning. "When you reach the Pass of Nod, you'll be stopped by a small group of soldiers. Tell them that I sent you to let them know what happened to me. Then tell them I went with a man from the Far Lands, that I decided everyone in Adah would be better off if I left the country. Just don't tell them that you served under that man and that he kidnapped me. If they know that, they might kill you."
Captain Eades bowed again. "I understand. You don't want them sitting around waiting for your return when you won't be returning."
"Tell them that the powder witch is dead and it should be safe for them to continue to the Western Palace."
"As you wish, Your Highness."
"Tell them that their duty to me is fulfilled and they are free to do as they wish. There's one called Captain Vomeir. Tell him that I said thank you, for everything."
Captain Eades bowed a third time, tied a sack of coconuts to the pack horse's saddle, mounted Edgerton's horse, and headed north. As the two horses disappeared over the hill, so did my last chance of escape. Like it or not, I was heading across the Desert of Shifting Sands.
"The sailors tell me that it's time for us to leave," Edgerton said, coming over to me. "They've spent the last couple of weeks charting the winds on this side of the desert. Apparently, they blow from the east during the day and from the west at night."
Edgerton looked toward the east. The palm trees on the distant hills were swaying in the wind. A minute later, a warm breeze hit us in the face. Edgerton escorted me to the sand ship and then offered me a hand, helping me climb on.
"We ride on the rear net, Your Highness. The sailors work on the planks and sleep on the front net."
I noticed several sacks were hanging from the ship's lone mast, filled with what looked like coconuts. Obviously our food and water supply for the trip across the desert.
I sat in the middle of the net directly behind the mast. The net was thin but strong. I was about three feet off the ground. Edgerton and the clean shaven soldier helped the two sailors push the ship off the grassy hillside and onto the sand. The sand was reddish brown in color and as soft as talc. The boat sunk down several inches, its two large skis disappearing beneath the sand.
That convinced me we weren't going anywhere. Then the sailors raised the sails. First the top square sail was unfurled and secured, then the much larger bottom one. Both were made from squares of red and white silk that had been stitched together to form checkerboards. As soon as the bottom one was unfurled and secured, the ship lifted out of the sand and moved forward, gliding on top of the sand.
About a mile out, a large sand dune loomed in front of us. I was sure we would plow into it, but the two sailors raised three red jibs over the front of the ship. With each jib, the ship's front seemed to lift further out of the sand. Once all three jibs were tied down, the ship glided over the dune with no problem.
"Amazing isn't it?" Edgerton said, sitting next to me. "I don't know what they coat the skis with, but even sand doesn't stick to it."
The clean shaven soldier sat on my other side. Edgerton introduced him as Captain Bokham Moira. At the same time, one of the two sailors, the one standing on the right hand side of the mast, looked at us and said something in a language that wasn't Gibean or the Common Tongue.
"He wants us to move further back," Edgerton said. "It will help keep the front of the skis from plowing into a sand dune."
The three of us scooted further back. The front of the ship did seem to rise up a little, although we didn't seem to gain any speed. We were moving at a good clip, not as fast as a horse could run, but certainly as fast as your average man could run.
"How long will it take us to cross the desert?"
"About two weeks. If the winds remain strong. Longer if they die down."
That meant I had two weeks to learn to speak the Common Tongue, not to mention learn th
e history of Vassa and its neighbors. Before turning my attention to my studies, I took a final glance at Adah, wondering if I would ever see it again.