by Robin Roseau
"No, Minori," the captain said. "I believe your aunt would be a better fit for you, but your mother loves you very much."
"So, Captain," my niece said. "Will you answer my question?"
"Yes, Minori, I will. No, I am not so stupid as to believe your aunt will... um."
"Have sex?" Minori said.
"Quite," the captain said with a grimace. "I do not believe she will have sex with me if I continue to abuse her."
"Then perhaps you won't abuse her anymore," Minori said. "She likes flowers."
"I do not believe I can provide flowers at sea," Captain Westmere replied.
"She also appreciates good conversation. But if you can't handle it when she tells you the truth, then you should leave her alone. She doesn't need someone who is going to treat her like Mori did."
"You shouldn't know about that!" I said.
The captain stood up. "I believe I will leave the two of you to settle that issue. Thank you for the conversation, Minori. You are welcome to join us for lunch and dinner meals unless I indicate otherwise."
"You mean until you grow tired of my questions?"
"No, I mean that sometimes I dine with my officers, and we will need to discuss ship's business."
"Then I may come if I promise to remain quiet?"
"Are you able to remain quiet?"
"Yes. I can save my questions for later. I am very patient."
"There will still be some meals you may not attend, Minori, but you will have advance warning. And you should be careful to avoid alienating your mother. Do you know what that word means?"
"Which word, Captain?" Minori asked. "Alienating or condescending?"
"Oh good god," the captain said, heading for the door. "Ms. Karden, I would speak with you for a moment outside. Minori, you will remain here until your aunt returns."
"Yes, Captain," she said.
The captain crossed to me and reached down, pulling me to my feet. Before we reached the door, Minori spoke again.
"Captain, you made my aunt cry. I don't think I like you, and don't think we're friends."
The captain looked between Minori and me for a moment before she said, "Perhaps you will both give me another chance."
"You have already had several chances, Captain," Minori explained. "How many do you need before you learn to be nicer to people?"
"You ask excellent questions, Minori. Please don't stop asking them, even if you don't always receive answers."
Minori didn't respond to that, but I was surprised to hear it. Captain Westmere turned around, and I followed her out onto deck.
"I warned you, Captain," I said the moment we were in fresh air. "Please don't punish her. I am doing your chores, and I am not complaining, but I ask you to not treat my niece the way you have treated me."
"I wouldn't think of it!" she said firmly. "Oh my god, she is priceless!"
I stared at her. "You're kidding."
"I am not," she said. "Where did that bit about wanting to sleep with you come from?"
"Well, I certainly didn't tell her, Captain. You have heard every word I've had with her since your first mate gagged me two nights ago."
"She's only twelve."
"Twelve going on thirty-five," I said. "You don't need to invite her to meals. She doesn't believe you're serious, anyway."
"But I am," she said. "Lunch will be the three of us. If her mother allows it, then dinner will be the three of us plus Commander Halfheart. Will that be all right with you?"
"Yes. It is best if you ask my sister-in-law."
She nodded. "Finish your duties. There is sufficient time before lunch. I will find you."
"Yes, Captain," I said. She turned away, and I returned to the cabin. When I arrived, Minori was sitting on the floor, and she had just finished polishing the second boot.
We had a lovely morning together.
* * * *
Captain Sorri Westmere
"Captain?" said Radha. "Captain? Captain?"
I blinked, refocusing my eyes, and turned to Radha. "Yes?"
"The wind has shifted north, Captain," she informed me. "We should turn west."
"Yes," I said. "Of course."
Radha turned and gave the appropriate orders, then she turned back to me. "You seem distracted, Captain. Got a certain fiery redhead on your mind?"
"She's going to be the death of me, Radha."
"I think the ship would run smoother if you let me rig up a bunk for her like I offered two nights ago. It's not the captain's bed, but I don't believe she would mind sharing space with a few sacks of flower. We've done it before."
"No!" I said. "And do not suggest that in her hearing."
"You've got her believing your bed is the only berth remaining, do you?"
"I don't hear you offering to sleep with the food supplies," I countered.
"Maybe you should let her decide. She's not going to forgive the gag very many more times, Captain."
"She was grateful I didn't toss her in the brig, and she was grateful again when I removed it far sooner than she expected."
"That's awfully calculating, Captain," Radha accused. "Even if you do have the hots for her."
"I'm not being calculating!" I denied. "I'm being stupid if anything. I'm letting her get to me. I'm baiting her, and I'm doing it intentionally."
"Yeah, well," said Radha. "Maybe you should stop that. She doesn't deserve it, anyway."
"I should have left her in the brig," I declared.
"She didn't deserve that, either, Captain," Radha told me. "You could have talked her down if you had tried. Or given her the choice of sleeping with the fruit."
"I know. But she made me so angry."
"That's your problem, and you should stop making it hers."
"I know."
"Sorri, she told you she has a mouth. Her sister-in-law told you she has a mouth. It sounds like her parents spent years trying to break her, and they couldn't do it. You either need to accept her the way she is or get her out of your sight."
"I know."
"The threat of the gag and the brig might break her, but I don't think you'd want her afterwards, and to be blunt, you would be proving her point about you if that's what you did. You've never been cruel before, Sorri."
"I know, Radha, I know."
"What are you doing, Sorri?" Radha asked. "This isn't a casual playmate. She's going to be with us for what? A week or two? You're playing with fire for a temporary bedmate? This isn't like you. Let her sleep somewhere else and I'll keep her out of your way."
"I think she'll be with us longer than that, Radha, and I can't stop thinking about her."
"Fine. She's with us a month. You don't think she's going to change her mind about us, do you? She doesn't understand it's only business."
"She has cause to take it personally," I replied hotly.
"Whoa!" Radha said, holding up her hands. "Don't take your frustration out on me. You need to get laid, Sorri. And not by the fiery redhead."
I looked at her, but she laughed. "And not by me, either."
"Is it almost time for lunch?" I growled.
"Got a hot lunch date, Sorri?"
"No!"
She chortled. "She's got you good, Captain. Give up now. You're not going to tame that one."
"I will," I said. "I have to."
* * * *
Rani Karden
"Those chores weren't so bad, Auntie Rani," Minori declared. "Are there more?"
"Not right now," I told her. "I suspect the captain is away trying to think of more for me, but until then, we're on our own. What would you like to do?"
Minori looked around the cabin, her eyes settling on the bed. "We could short-sheet the captain's bed."
I chuckled. "It's also my bed."
"She makes you sleep in here?" Minori asked.
"I believe your mother decided the voyage would be better for everyone if she didn't offer me a place in your cabin," I said with as much diplomacy as I could.
M
inori frowned. "That's not true, Auntie Rani. She offered to take you."
"What?" I said, startled. "Are you sure?"
I didn't accuse her of being mistaken. Minori rarely misspoke. She cocked her head at me before responding. "The... The woman who took us?"
"The first mate, Commander Halfheart?"
"Yes, her. She told Mama that everyone was required to use a berth. I think that means a bed."
"It does."
"She said it might be okay for someone to sleep on the floor in calm seas, but if things got rough, it could be very dangerous. And they had no way to rig another bed in such a small cabin. It's very crowded. I have to sleep with mother on a bed normally big enough for only one person. If it was Daddy, there wouldn't be room for me at all."
"Your mother offered a place on the floor for me?"
"No, she offered to make Jorek sleep on the floor. I think I would have slept in your bed and Lindora with Mama. I don't think Mama was looking forward to the idea." Lindora at fourteen was full grown and even at twelve was bigger than Minori was now. "She might have let Lindora sleep with you instead. You're smaller than Mama. But-"
"I know. Lindora doesn't care for my company." I realized I owed Glora an apology. "Minori, thank you for telling me."
"I wish you and Mama could get along, Auntie Rani."
"I do, too, honey, but you seem to be the only person in the whole wide world who gets along with me. It's not your mother's fault, honey."
"It's not yours either, Auntie Rani."
"Of course it is," I said. "If I could learn to control my tongue, I wouldn't make everyone so angry with me. I don't blame them. It's my fault. And I'm the adult. I should have outgrown this temper of mine a long time ago."
She paused, thinking, and I knew she had a really good question coming. "Everyone knows magic has a price; is your tongue the price of your magic, Aunt Rani?"
I put my fingers over her lips immediately. "We must not talk about that here, Minori. Do you understand?"
She nodded, but when I removed my fingers. "But I'm right, aren't I. Your temper is your price for your magic. Isn't it?"
"I think so, honey," I said. "But you must not talk about this. No one on board may know. If they knew, they might not sell me back to your father. Whatever happens, even if you think it's to save me, you must not tell anyone."
"Mama knows. Daddy told her why you were coming to visit."
"Were you listening?"
She nodded. "Are you going to tell on me?"
"Have I ever told on you?"
"There is a first time for everything," she said wisely.
"Not for that," I said. "What did your father tell your mother?"
"She was angry. She wanted to know why you were coming. At first, all he said was that there was something you needed to do for him. But you know how mother is."
"And I know your father eventually told her. But what did he tell her?"
"He said something important had been stolen, and you would find it for him."
"Did he explain how? Did he mention magic?"
She rolled her eyes up; that was what she did when she was recalling a conversation or a series of events. "No," she said eventually. "Only that you could find it. So maybe she doesn't know you have magic."
"Your daddy knows it's magic, and your grandmother and grandfather. And you. But no one else knows. Some may guess, but none of them know for sure. And Minori, you mustn't tell anyone what I do for people."
"That you find things?"
"Right. I don't want the captain asking me how."
"What would happen if she found out?"
"Honey," I said. "I don't know. Maybe nothing. But maybe she would decide I am worth a great deal more than I really am."
"She would make Daddy pay more for you?"
"She might make Daddy pay far, far more for me than he would ever pay. And if he doesn't pay, she might sell me somewhere else."
"She can do that?"
"She can. Or she may think she can use me to help her find more people to kidnap."
"You wouldn't help!"
"It's not that I wouldn't, Minori. It's that I couldn't. My magic doesn't work that way. But there are things she could do to me that would make me want to help her. I wouldn't be able to, and she could keep doing those things to me for a very, very long time."
Minori sat, considering everything for a minute. I didn't worry about her. She was twelve, but she could handle the things we had discussed, and I knew she would keep my secrets.
"Auntie Rani, if people knew it was your magic that gave you your temper, maybe they wouldn't hold it against you."
"Maybe they wouldn't, but I would still be unpleasant to have around. And if people knew about my magic, some of them would want to control me."
"Why?"
"Because people think magic is very powerful, and if I have a tiny bit of magic I am willing to let them see, I must have a great deal of magic I am hiding. And some people will think if they control me, they would control the power of my magic."
"But you don't have that kind of magic."
"I know, but they may not believe me."
"If people never lied, everything would be better."
"Is that true? People dislike me because I tell the truth. And some people dislike you because you ask questions that unearth the truth."
Minori looked down at her hands, uncomfortable with her own truth. But I hadn't said anything she didn't already know. She had told me the same thing about herself countless times. "People shouldn't be afraid of my questions."
"But they are."
She looked up. "I won't stop asking."
"I wouldn't want you to. But be careful with the captain."
She smiled. "I am always careful, Auntie Rani. My magic's price isn't as cruel as yours."
"No, honey, it's not."
Minori's magic was simple; her questions. Somehow, she knew the right questions to ask. It would have been terrible magic for someone less intelligent than she was, as that person wouldn't be able to understand the answers. And Minori didn't always understand, but she understood far more than any twelve-year-old should.
"But no more mentioning magic, honey. Promise."
"I promise," she said. "Auntie Rani, why do you never mind my questions?"
"Because they are such good questions, honey, and I take such delight in watching you understand the answers. And sometimes, your questions help me understand something I didn't understand before."
"You laughed earlier."
"I did. I had warned the captain about you. It was a delight to see her so taken aback."
Minori smiled, then slowly frowned. "Will she hurt you because of my questions?"
"No, honey," I said. "But you must stop asking if she becomes too upset."
"I'll stop for a while," she said. I watched her, and I knew another question was coming, a particularly good one. I braced myself, smiling. "Auntie Rani, does the captain think if she's nice to me, you'll be nice to her? Is that why she invited me for meals?"
"I think that's half of it," I answered. "But I think for now the captain is amused by you. She may see the same wonderful things in you that I see. I honestly believe she likes you, Minori."
"Really?" Minori asked. "Should we give her another chance?"
"Maybe," I said. "But remember: she did kidnap all of us. Nice people don't kidnap other people. And she made me sleep in the brig, which wasn't at all nice of her."
"Do you think she knows it's wrong?"
"Oh honey," I said, pulling her into my arms. "You ask the best questions."
"I know," she said. "Do you?"
I released her. "No, I do not think she knows it's wrong."
"Are you going to teach her?"
"I am going to try, honey. But I think teaching her it's wrong may be very much like teaching me to keep my mouth closed."
"I will help," she replied. "She should answer my questions."
"Yes, honey, she shou
ld. But she is very proud, and you ask difficult questions she may not be willing to face."
Minori's smile returned. "Perhaps I should ask easier questions for a while."
"I think if you find the opportunity, you should ask questions of the other officers, too. But not the crew, except very simple questions."
"I should ask them why they help kidnap children," Minori said.
"No," I said. "You may ask the officers that question, but do not cause trouble with the crew. The captain's patience will not tolerate that. You may only ask the crew questions no one will mind answering, and even at that, not too many."
"All right, Auntie Rani."
"Do not cause trouble, Minori."
"I know," she said. "That's your job."
We laughed together.
Questions
Captain Sorri Westmere
When I found them, Rani and Minori were playing some game together on the deck. I couldn't have told you what it was, but then Minori glanced at me, standing back and watching them, and she immediately reached to her aunt, tagged her on the arm, and I clearly heard the child say, "Tag! You're it!" and she ran away across the deck, her aunt in hot pursuit. Moments later, every child on deck was playing tag, with Rani the only adult involved.
I stood, watching the antics. Rani was laughing, playing with the kids, and I suddenly realized how much I wanted to hear her laugh that way because of something she was doing with me.
One of the girls tagged Rani; I thought perhaps it was her other niece. Rani immediately turned to Minori and began stalking her around the deck, both of them giggling. Minori ran to get away, but Rani simply stalked her slowly, eventually cornering her between the rail and the forward quarterdeck. She caught the girl, hugged her, and said, "You're it!"
The girl giggled, chased one of the other children for only a moment, but then ran past me, slapping my arm and saying loudly, "Tag! You're it, Captain!"
Everyone froze and turned to me. The adults suddenly became far more interested in the outcome of the game. Minori pranced four paces away and turned to face me.
"Don't you want to play with us, Captain?" she asked me.
I didn't have an answer for that. The two of us considered each other for several seconds, and then she asked her next question.
"Are you afraid people will think you are foolish, having fun with a bunch of children and my aunt?"