The princess giggled. It had a marvelous tone, like a lyre. “And to this day you still think I’m that infant you cuddled,” she said. “Did you say that wizard prescribed two tumblers of his elixir? I’m quite looking forward to the other.”
Sounds of liquid pouring and drinking. Then: “Tell me, Aztarte, whom do I have to thank for our good fortune? We’d be at the bottom of the sea with the others — poor things — if these very brave people hadn’t risked their lives.”
“It was Captain Antero who ordered the rescue,” the crone said. “And it was Captain Antero who personally saved you.”
“A captain?” the princess asked, sounding puzzled. “I distinctly recall that it was a woman who fished me out! I thought it odd at the time, but I was drowning, you see, so I didn’t question her too closely.” Her voice dropped a note, sounding disappointed.
“Oh, well. I can see now that such a thing is not possible. Perhaps I dreamed her. It was such a wondrous dream, Aztarte. She was simply the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Her arms and legs so shapely, but muscular, as well. Her hair streaming behind her like the mane of a golden horse fairly flying through the seas. A most remarkable vision, you must admit. But, alas, it seems it was only that . . . A dream. What a world it would be if women such as us could aspire to such brave actions.”
“But, My Lady,” the crone broke in. “That was no —” I knocked, cutting her off.
Silence, then Xia said: “You may enter.”
I did, bowing low as I cleared the door. “Captain Antero, Your Highness,” I said. “At your service.”
Princess Xia was agog, staring up at me from her pillows quite speechless. I was stricken dumb for a moment myself. She was exquisite — dark as Corais and as slender, but even in bed I could see she was nearly as tall as me. She wore a borrowed rough white robe, but with her regal bearing it seemed a much richer garment. Her hair fell in long black waves that glistened where the light struck the brightest. Her eyes were wide pools of blackness, bubbling with all the energy and youth of someone eighteen summers old. Dark brows arched over those eyes, setting off high cheekbones and a patrician nose. Her lips were naturally rose-colored, and perhaps a bit too full if you prefer the ice maiden look over ripe sensuality.
Xia flushed prettily at my too close inspection. Then she recovered and clapped her hands with glee. “You see, Aztarte, I wasn’t dreaming. It was a woman who rescued me.”
The gray-head who was her servant shook her head at this, setting many dowager’s chins in motion. “But I’ve been trying to tell you, Your Highness . . . Captain Antero is a woman. A woman soldier, bless her heart. Thank the gods she came along when she did, instead of those pirates I see in this crew. Why our virtue wouldn’t last a second with the likes of them.”
The princess leaped to her feet and in her excitement her robe fell open and I was treated to a glimpse of high full breasts with nipples like fresh berries, and the pink tender lips of her sex, which was plucked as smooth as a young girl’s. I thought for a moment she was going to hug me, then she blushed again when she saw my hungry look, and pulled the robe about her. But not that tightly, I noted.
Then she said, quite formally: “I owe you my life, Captain Antero. And more importantly I owe you the lives of twelve of my countrymen, including Aztarte, who is dearer to me than any other — except for my father, of course.”
Aztarte smacked her gums loudly in pleasure at this. “You’re too kind, Princess.” Then she looked at me, her brown eyes startlingly young in such an old face. “But I must tell you Captain, I thought I was done for when that big soldier of yours — Polillo, I think her name be — grabbed me by the hair and hoisted me up like I was a flounder that just took the bait.”
I bowed low again. “We did nothing more than any civilized person would do,” I said. “If we had been in the same fix, your people would have done the same.”
“I’m not so certain of that, Captain,” Xia said. “We are a suspicious people and you appear to be strangers.”
“That we are, My Lady,” I said. “Our leaders sent us on a vital mission, which we accomplished, but in the process we became lost. When we met, I was sailing to your land to beg for assistance in finding our way home.”
Princess Xia laughed. It was a most delightful sound. “And you shall have it,” she said. “I’ll speak to my father — Lord Kanara. I promise you he’ll be happy to use his influence. After all, you’ve just rescued his only child.”
I was about to thank her, when a knock came on the door. It was Corais.
“Excuse me, Captain,” she said. “The Admiral’s boat is on the way.” As she spoke, her eyes were moving to the princess, then to me, then back to the princess again.
“I’ll be with you in a minute, Legate,” I said, and Corais shot me a salute — it was quite crisp, and meant, I’m sure, to impress Xia with my importance. Then she ducked out again.
“If you’ll forgive me, Princess,” I said. “Duty calls.”
Her look was not quite as bright as before. “Of course,” she said, “you must attend to your Admiral.”
I laughed. “Actually, My Lady,” I said, “he’s attending to me. In this fleet the admiral takes my orders.”
Xia glowed. “Fancy that,” she said. “A woman in command! We must speak again soon, Captain.”
She extended her hand. I bowed over it, brushing her soft flesh with my lips. She shivered. I rose, troubled by the heat rising in me, and made a stiff farewell.
Cholla Yi was pacing my cabin. I’d had my bunkmates clear away their gear and ordered a table and chairs brought in along with a few refreshments. Besides his angry pacing, the first thing I noted was he was alone. Which meant he didn’t want witnesses to our conversation.
He whirled to confront me. “You’ve landed us into a mess of trouble, Captain Antero,” he snapped. “And if we don’t act fast we’re all doomed for a flaying, or worse.”
I was rocked by his accusation. “What have I done?”
“Saved those Konyan bastards, is what you’ve done.” he said. “I’ll be the first to admit it was a brave act, but it was also a damned foolish one.”
“Since when has rescuing people been foolish?” I asked. “I thought it was one of the unwritten laws of the sea to come to the aid of your fellow mariner.”
“Your seas, maybe,” he said. “Not mine. And especially not these waters.”
I had no immediate reply — I had an inkling of what was troubling him. Cholla Yi looked at me, then he let his anger whoosh out in a long breath and got himself under control.
“Look, Captain, we’ve been through a lot together. I still don’t like you much — I’m honest enough to admit that. And I expect the feeling’s mutual. But I’ve got a lot of respect for you now that I’ve seen you in action. But we’ve got a big problem here, and me pointing fingers is no help and I’m sorry for that. We haven’t had time to talk since that Sarzana business, and that’s the root of our trouble.”
The germ of worry that I’d had since Corais had awakened me become a full blown plague. As full understanding hit me, I sank into a chair and poured us both tumblers of strong wine. Cholla Yi nodded when he saw my look of realization and sat across from me. We both emptied the tumblers and refilled them.
“The way I see it,” Cholla Yi finally said, “is everything The Sarzana told us was a lie. Not only that, the opposite of everything he said was the real truth. He was a right bastard, he was, and the Konyans hated him for it. They couldn’t kill him — because of the curse. That was truth. Any Konyan who kills the leader is doomed. So they did the next best thing, which was to stick him on an island. Then they gathered up every wizard and witch in the kingdom and cast a spell on that island so strong that he could never escape.”
“And then we came along,” I said, “and freed him. But it wasn’t our fault! With Gamelan out of action, how were we to know The Sarzana pulled the magical fleece over our eyes?”
“You think the o
ld wizard would’ve picked up on it?” Cholla Yi asked.
“Sure, he would,” I said. “That may have been one mountain of a blissfulness spell The Sarzana smothered us with, but it would have been nothing to Lord Gamelan before he was hurt. As Captain Stryker commented before, I belatedly sensed it myself, but my talents are too new to stand up to an experienced wizard like The Sarzana. Regardless, that’s past. We were fooled, but by powerful magic. There’s no shame in that.”
“I don’t give a piss hole about shame,” Cholla Yi said. “Getting rich and dying old is all I care about. And right now, you can keep the coin, because I don’t see much hope of growing a gray beard if word of what happened leaks out to the wrong people.”
“Which brings us back to the Konyans we rescued,” I said.
“Which brings us back to the Konyans,” Cholla Yi agreed. “Before they came along, we were going to bluff it out. Slip into a port in a hurry, boast about how important we were in Orissa, then cozen some help out of them and get the blazes out before they learned we were the ones who set that devil loose. But that plan — weak as it was — is wrecked now that you rescued those people.
“You can’t keep secrets in a fleet. We all live too close. The Konyans will find out and soon as we drop anchor at one of their ports, they’ll let the rat out of the barrel. And then we’re done for. Looking at it from their lights, we deserve the worst that can be handed out.”
“Maybe The Sarzana drowned,” I said, knowing it was a weak prayer. “That was a pretty small boat he escaped in.”
Cholla Yi shook his head. “He’s too mean to drown,” he said. “The fish would spit him back. No, my guess is that as we speak he’s hauling into his home port and rousing the rabble to his cause.”
“We did rescue a Konyan princess,” I said. “That should count for something!”
“Okay, so they don’t gouge out our eyes after the flay us,” Cholla Yi said. “Which is about all that’s going to produce.”
I lapsed into silence, drinking my wine as I pounded at mental doors for a way out.
“There’s only one course I can see,” Cholla Yi said.
“What’s that?”
Cholla Yi shrugged. “Toss them back. They drown, just like they would have in the storm. And we sail innocently into Konya and make our plea. No one will be the wiser, as long as we keep the mouths of the crew shut tight.”
I shook my head. “I won’t do that,” I said.
Cholla Yi went from reasonableness to instant fury. “By the gods, I’ll drown them myself, if you don’t have the stomach for it.”
“I don’t make war on civilians,” I said. “These people have done nothing to harm us.”
“But they would have of been dead anyway, if you hadn’t of interfered,” Cholla Yi shouted. His hand hovered over his sword. I came up, kicking the chair back and out of the way.
“But I did. And that’s that. As long as I command here, they will not be touched.”
Cholla Yi looked as if he were about to draw his sword and have at it. I was more than ready to accommodate him. Then he fought for control again and won. I heard leather harness creak and shot a look over my shoulder to see Polillo’s bulk filling the door. Just behind her was Corais. Our argument had been so hot and loud they’d come running to see if I need help. I didn’t. On the other hand, killing Cholla Yi was no solution. I’d only have a mutiny of his men for a reward.
“We shouldn’t fight amongst ourselves,” Cholla Yi said. “Perhaps there’s another way. I’ll return to my ship and think on it.”
“I’ll rack my own brains,” I agreed.
“Shall we confer again tomorrow, Captain?” Cholla Yi said, cold and formal.
”If you please, Admiral,” I replied.
After he left, I looked at my two Legates. “How much did you hear?” I asked.
“Enough to know we’re in for it,” Polillo said.
“Half the ship knows now, Captain,” Corais said. “You two weren’t exactly speaking in whispers.”
“There has to be some way out of this,” I said. “Let’s go talk to Lord Gamelan.”
Some hours later, after attacking the problem from every angle we could think of, even the wizard admitted defeat.
“There’s a spell I know of that causes forgetfulness,” he said. “But it’s quite unreliable and dangerous as well. If it went wrong, it would be more merciful to simply kill them. Besides, I don’t think it would be within your powers as yet, Captain Antero.”
“But you all agree with me that it would be wrong to harm these people?” I asked.
“That would be a cowardly act, Captain,” Polillo growled. “I’m more than willing to spill blood, as you all know. But I won’t be a party to injuring innocents.”
“I had my fill of that kind of fighting on the streets of Lycanth,” Corais said, shuddering at the memory of the civilians who were hurled against us by the Archons.
I looked at Gamelan. As if sensing my gaze he shook his head. “I have enough to account for on the other side when the Seeker comes for me,” he said. “My vote is no.”
“The only path I can see,” I said, “is to confess our error to the Princess and pray to the gods that she’ll not only forgive us, but champion us.”
No one could see any other course, so I sent for her. When she entered, the room lit with her presence. She wore a short, borrowed tunic that displayed her long legs, and hugged her narrow waist and high breasts. When she looked at me her eyes were full of admiration. I hated to kill that look. But I did.
They widened in shock when I told her about our encounter with The Sarzana, then they hardened into dark mirrors when I revealed what we had done.
“I wish you had never rescued us,” Xia said. “I’d rather be dead than to witness what is going to happen to my people with The Sarzana loosed.”
“At least they will have warning,” Gamelan said.
Xia made a bitter laugh. When she spoke, her words were much beyond her eighteen summers. “You cannot realize the full extent of what you have done,” she said. “The Sarzana is the most evil man in all our history. He enslaved us, he robbed us of all dignity. Whole seas of blood flowed from our islands while he reigned. It was a miracle, a once-in-a-lifetime blessing from the gods that we were able to rid ourselves of him.
“He will not be so easy to defeat again. In fact, it may not even be possible. He is a wizard of tremendous powers and is certain to have been practicing planning when he was in exile all those years. And only awaiting the day when he would be freed by fools such as you.”
She looked at me, angry tears coursing down her cheeks. “When I told you my father would be grateful for rescuing me, his only child, I did not explain that I was his only surviving child. I once had four older brothers. They were slaughtered by The Sarzana during his purges.”
Xia wiped her eyes, and composed herself. Her features became cold, distant. “My family, you see, is cursed with royal blood. Through my mother, who died when I was a child, we spring from an ancient line of Konyan monarchs. The Sarzana slew all the male children of every family with royal ancestors.”
Her head fell and she wept again. There was nothing I could say. Sorry seemed such a mewling word. The weeping stopped and the Princess raised her head. I saw puzzlement in her eyes.
“Why did you tell me?” she asked. “Now that I know . . . it isn’t safe for you.”
I told her about Cholla Yi, studying her closely as I did. I saw no fear, even when I explained that although I commanded the fleet, Cholla Yi and his pirates held the upper hand in numbers.
“Are your women better warriors?” she asked.
I said they were, but it would be a mistake to underestimate the Admiral’s men. They were good fighters, fearless fighters, with much experience in slaughter.
“And you still refuse him?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Why?” she pressed.
I answered, but with difficulty. ”I am a soldi
er. But above that, I command the Maranon Guard. We are sworn to protect hearth and home. It has been thus for hundreds of years. All of us here would rather suffer the most humiliating of deaths than to defile that tradition.”
The Princess thought a moment, and once again I marveled that one so young could display such depths. Then she said: “I will help you . . . if I can. There is a small, lightly populated place near Isolde, which is my home and the chief island in the Konyas. Drop me and my kinsmen there secretly at night and then wait. I will talk to my father and explain you were as much of a victim of The Sarzana as we have been.”
“Do you think he’ll listen?”
Xia shrugged. “I don’t know. And even if he does, he is only one of nine Lords who make up the Council of Purity that rules us.”
She made a face when she named the council, as if she found the group distasteful. “I don’t know what they’ll say. If they agree, I’ll send word to you. If they don’t, then you must flee. Sail as far and as fast as you can. And although you have harmed me and my people most dreadfully, the gods forgive, but I pray that you will someday find yourselves safe and at home again.”
It was a generous offer and we accepted.
“What will the Admiral say?” the Princess asked.
“I don’t know,” I said. “But I’ll do my best to persuade him.”
“And if he refuses?”
I looked at my companions. They nodded, firm.
“Then we fight,” I answered.
The next day came too soon. I slept little, but arose early to prepare. I passed the word to my troops to be ready for the worst, but to be quiet about their preparations.
Gamelan and I took a morning stroll. The atmosphere among the crew was so chilly and the looks so hateful that even the blind wizard could sense the trouble brewing. Captain Stryker stayed well clear of us, and I could tell he had communicated with Cholla Yi, because rather than urging the crew to work with a will, he passed among them, pausing to speak low and casting quick glances in my direction. Gamelan kept a smile on his face as if nothing was amiss, but all the while he whispered instructions to me, filling my head with an arsenal of small, defensive spells.
The Warrior's Tale (The Far Kingdoms, Book 2) Page 37