Privateer (The Five Kingdoms #1)

by Robin Roseau

  "Rani," I said. "This will not affect what happens to you. I swear."

  "I presume you understand why I misled you."

  "Yes, and I don't blame you at all. As far as everyone is concerned, you have a curse. That is the only magic."

  The room was silent for a while as Rani decided what she was going to do. Finally she said, "Glora, I have never been in a position like this. I find I do not know what to do."

  "Well, you should decide for yourself if you are interested in accepting the apology. This is a fledgling relationship, and maybe you are not interested in continuing. If you are, then you decide what the offense should buy you in compensation. I typically make Dinor suffer for a night or two. He starts buying me presents. Once I know he has felt a tenth of the pain he caused me, then I let him know he is forgiven."

  "Anything," I said. "Please forgive me, Rani."

  She turned to face me. "It is still a crappy grovel, but I know the tables will be turned someday, so I am going to be magnanimous. But I still want my ass kissed."

  And then she turned around on the bed, moved closer to the edge, and offered her bottom. She was wearing breaches and tunic. I leaned forward and immediately kissed the offered bottom. It would have been more fun if she'd dropped her drawers.

  "You too, Commander," I said.

  Radha didn't even hesitate. She gave a loud smooch on the other cheek.

  Minori giggled. Rani turned around and looked at both of us. "Get up. Let's go clean up the cabin."

  "It's not your responsibility," I said.

  "I know, but I'll help anyway. Glora, thank you again."

  "You are welcome, Rani. I do hope you will come to call on us for less stressful visits, however."

  Rani smiled. She hugged the girls, then climbed from the bed and hugged Glora. She reached out a hand and pulled me and then Radha to our feet. Without another word, she stepped from the room.

  "Dinner is in an hour," I said. "If your family would care to dine with us, Glora."

  "Looking for more help cleaning the mess?"

  "No, it will be clean by then. There isn't that much."

  "We would love to attend."

  * * * *

  I did end up kissing her bare bottom later that night. I spent a couple of hours pampering her. Eventually she said, "Sleep now, Sorri. I've already forgiven you."

  I cuddled down next to her.

  "How soon do we reach your island?"

  "Late tomorrow, after dark. We'll anchor but not alight until morning."

  "I already know we are sailing south."

  "How do you know that?"

  "Because you promised me warm beaches, and I was in the water today."

  I laughed. "Quite. You were magnificent."

  "Not really. I decided to take ownership of the situation, or I would instead have been very, very angry with you. Today was supposed to be a good day."

  "I am so sorry."

  "Dropping people from the crow's nest like that is cruel. That is a horrible way to celebrate what should be an achievement."

  "Everyone grows proud of it, once they get over their embarrassment at screaming."

  "It completely overshadows the achievement, especially for those of us who were scared."

  "Everyone is scared their first time. It is exciting to climb as high as the top of the mainsail. Everything above that is scary, the first time. In a storm, it is always a little scary."

  "They should be able to enjoy the achievement, not have it overshadowed by a terrifying plunge of death."

  "It is necessary to remind people to remain humble, Rani. It isn't meant to be cruel. It is meant to help you stay safe."

  "And because you enjoyed doing it."

  "Well, yes, I admit a certain sick amusement."

  "Try that with Minori and Glora will kill you."

  "It is perfectly safe, as long as we don't drop you onto the foresail boom. That's why it's always Radha or I who do it."

  "And who would delegate something that much fun?"

  "Quite."

  She lay quiet. "Scratch my back," she ordered after a time. "Very, very lightly."

  "Yes, Rani," I said, and I began caressing her back.

  "Use your fingernails."

  "I am."

  She sighed.

  I scratched for several minutes, then stopped, thinking she was asleep.

  "Is the dunking really a tradition?"

  I began scratching again. "I have not lied to you about anything."

  "Including kraken?"

  I chuckled. "Okay, I lied about the kraken. But you knew we were pulling your leg."

  "I suspected. I wasn't sure."

  "Really?"

  "I know the seas hold strange creatures. If you had told me it was a custom to drop someone from the crow's nest, or that the kraken were real, I would believe in kraken first."

  "Have you forgiven me for dunking you?"

  "Yes. But I haven't forgiven you for dropping me."

  "You forgave me for the sextant but not for dropping you?"

  "Your reaction about the sextant, while unfair, is understandable. It was an unintentional mistake. The dropping was intentional."

  I was quiet for a while.

  "You justify it as a means to keep me humble, but you enjoyed it far too much. If I were in a position to play such pranks on you in return, I would not be upset about it. But it is another way you have made me a helpless victim."

  "I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't think about it that way."

  "I do not have any friends, Sorri, except my niece. I have a great deal of experience in being a social pariah, and I have been the subject of cruel tricks in the past. I have never in my life pulled a prank on anyone. I wouldn't know how. There may be pranks I can play on you, pranks someone else might consider, but I can't think of any that remotely compare to being dropped from the crow's nest except some that would be dangerous or would justify your reaction this afternoon. Clearly, I couldn't ever do anything like that."

  I didn't have an answer to that, either. My hand stilled.

  "Enough fingernails," she said. "You may rub very gently now. You are not obligated to confine yourself to my back, but it must be soothing, not stimulating."

  I began caressing her gently, including her bottom. I thought perhaps she liked that.

  "I am at a distinct disadvantage in this relationship, Sorri. I can't tell when you are teasing me. And Radha helps you. I don't mind the teasing when I know I am being teased, but I feel like I risk becoming the fool at every turn. I do not care to be the fool."

  "I am sorry. I do not seem to be good at seeing through someone else's eyes without prompting. I promise I will not let anyone make you the fool."

  "Not even you."

  "Especially not me." I kissed the back of her neck.

  "I will consider forgiving you for dropping me."

  "Thank you."

  "If you do it again tomorrow."

  "Excuse me?"

  "You heard me. And you will make it look like it is not my idea."

  I smiled and kissed her neck. "You're sure?"

  "Make sure there are people waiting for me to pull me down to the deck. I do not care to be left dangling."

  "I don't understand."

  "I am owning it. Besides, you said it's the fast way, and I gather people jump down with some frequency."

  "Yes. It is my favorite way to return to the deck."

  "You may now lull me to sleep with your touches."

  * * * *

  Rani stood at the shrouds, one hand clutching the webbing but both feet still firmly on the deck. "May I ascend, Captain?"

  "After me, Ensign," Radha told her.

  "Aye-aye, Commander," Rani said.

  She looked nervous, and once Radha lead the way, she gingerly began to follow. But once she was moving upwards, she began to move more quickly. She wasn't foolhardy. She moved deliberately with at least three points of contact at all times, and she practically hugged th
e lines with her body. But she moved upwards in a steady fashion, and I enjoyed following along behind her.

  She glanced down at me. "Am I being over-cautious?"

  "Yes," I said. "But no one is timing you."

  We arrived even with the crow's nest. Rani froze during the very few more violent motions of the ship, but there weren't many of those, and otherwise she ascended with caution but without delay.

  Radha turned to face her. "I'll steady you," she said.

  Rani eyed the gap. "I would like to do this adroitly," she said. "But I worry I am about to attempt something I can not do."

  "We can secure you with the drop line," Radha suggested. "If you fall, you may embarrass yourself, but it will catch you before the deck. You will undoubtedly dangle for a while."

  "All right," Rani said. Radha grabbed the drop line. I moved up the shrouds to Rani. Radha passed the rope to Rani, Rani passed it to me, and I secured it around her in a proper harness tie.

  "You will teach me that, Captain," Rani ordered.

  "Yes, Ensign. Not today."

  "No. Not today."

  "You are secured, Ensign," I told her. "Do you want assistance?"

  "No." She eyed the distance again. "You do this in one smooth motion yes?"

  "Yes," Radha said.

  "You made it look easy, but you are both much stronger than I am. Is that going to matter?"

  "You can do it," Radha said. "It is more about confidence than anything else."

  Rani wavered twice, and then she threw her legs into the crows nest, wavered for a moment, and then reached for Radha, who grabbed her and kept her from falling.

  "Thank you. What did I do wrong?"

  "You were too worried about bumping into me, perhaps, and stopped suddenly."

  "I wouldn't want to bump you out. I am the one with the rope around my middle."

  "You couldn't bump me out if you tried, but thank you for not wanting to after yesterday."

  I jumped into the Crow's nest next to them. We didn't release Rani from the harness.

  "It is smoother today," Rani said. "And it's getting hot. Captain, I cannot stay here long. I do not wish to turn bright red."

  "I didn't think of that," I said.

  "If you two are good, I can remedy the situation," Radha said. "I'll be right back." Radha disappeared over the side, and we felt the vibrations as she rapidly descended the lines. Rani peered over and watched her.

  "So fast, Sorri.

  "Yes. Radha is better in the lines than I am. She belongs up here. Twice she has turned down command of ships in our little fleet because she knows she is stuck firmly on the deck when she would rather be up here. As is, she is unhappy the first mate is not allowed to command from up here."

  "So you are not so quick?"

  "Oh, I can descend as quickly as that, but that was Radha going slow. If there had been an emergency, she would have jumped."

  "What?"

  "She has tricks of which I do not approve, but she told me if I forbid her, she will find another ship. I do not believe she is bluffing."

  Rani turned around, facing forward, then reached over and took my hand.

  "I can not see land," she said. "If I see land again, does that require another dunking?"

  I laughed. "No. The tradition is after a long voyage. A week is not a long voyage on the open oceans, but it is a long voyage on the sea. So we use a week as the guideline. The first to see land after a week's voyage gets dunked."

  "Even in winter?"

  "No. That would be cruel."

  "So I just got unlucky enough to be captured in the summer."

  "In winter we bring a tub up on deck and fill it with ice and snow. You can guess what happens next."

  "Why are we so far from land?"

  "I'm sorry, Rani, but I am not answering that."

  "How fast are we sailing?"

  "I am not answering that, either."

  "Can anyone see us if we slip below the railing?"

  "No."

  Rani immediately crouched down, pulling me along with her. "Kiss me, Sorri."

  I did. Very thoroughly.

  Then I felt the vibration in the lines as Radha began climbing back up. I considered not saying anything, letting Radha catch us, but I wasn't sure whether Rani would be amused.

  "We'll have company in a few seconds."

  She immediately stood up and pretended she'd been watching the horizon the entire time. She even let go of my hand. Radha popped into the crow's nest.

  "Did you bring me a present, Commander?" Rani asked her.

  "I brought you a loan, Ensign," Radha said. And then she plopped a big, flopping hat over Rani's head, tugging it down and tightening the laces under her chin. Then there was a thin but sun-tight, long-sleeved tunic. It was one of Radha's, so Rani was going to drown in it. Rani slipped out of the tunic she was wearing, tugging it out from the harness I had tied around her, and slipped into Radha's over the harness. She laughed as the sleeves came over her hands. She pushed them up.

  "Thanks, Mom. I love dressing up in your clothes."

  "If you angle the hat carefully, it will shield your face. You'll still get some sun. Your soft complexion may take a little damage, but it will be a healthy glow."

  "Thank you, Radha."

  We stood quietly for a few minutes. "So, is this watch necessary?"

  "Not really," I told her. "But we're getting you used to it. It's a nice day, and I thought you would be comfortable today."

  "Thank you, Captain. That is very kind." Kind my ass. I was following her orders from last night. But it was a nice day, and I missed being up here, especially in such pleasant weather. The breeze was brisk, and we were making good time, but the seas were light with only a mild chop the Fleetwind didn't even notice. The only motion came from the variance in the wind causing the ship to cant further downwind from time to time.

  Rani's hand found my bottom and squeezed. Radha noticed, but she didn't comment.

  "Will you be allowing Minori into the rigging?" Rani asked several minutes later.

  "Will Glora allow it?"

  "If you intend to drop her from the crow's nest, you better talk to Glora about it first, and if you promise not to drop her and do it anyway, I will not be responsible for the reaction."

  "Has she been learning, Commander?"

  "She's passed the normal quiz, Captain. She won't pass the one we subjected the ensign to."

  "Perhaps we should go discuss this with Glora, then," I suggested. "Rani, you could use a break from the sun, even with the shielding clothes Radha has offered. Commander, we're going to need the awning erected."

  "Awning?"

  "It gets darned hot up here in the sun," Radha explained. "We can rig an awning in light winds.

  "Perhaps the ensign should begin the conversation for us," I suggested. "But it's going to take forever to get her down from here."

  "Oh, I don't know," Radha said, grabbing one arm.

  "No!" Rani said immediately. She struggled with Radha, then I grabbed her other arm. We lifted her over the edge. She kicked her feet, but she very carefully didn't kick either of us.

  "On three?" Radha asked.

  "Sure."

  "Don't you dare!" Rani said, looking over her shoulder and grinning at me.

  "One!" said Radha. And we dropped her.

  She didn't scream. She shrieked, but it sounded like laughter at the end.

  Radha was leaning over the edge of the nest. "She came up short again. She's about nine feet above the deck this time. The seamen can't reach her."

  "Oh that's going to make her mad."

  "Race you down there." And then Radha leapt from the crow's nest. She slid down the topgallant sail, jumped off the boom, grabbed the drop line that was holding Rani suspended, swinging widely, but adding her additional weight and bringing Rani down to the deck, perhaps a little faster than she was prepared.

  I heard Rani screech again.

  Radha's motions let her swing away,
but then she swung back and dropped, sliding down the fore mainsail, then running along the boom to launch herself into the lines, clambering down the final portion. She was on the deck before I even left the crow's nest.

  By the time I got to the deck, Radha had Rani untied. Rani was hugging Minori and grinning. She turned to me. "Can we do it again?"

  I laughed. "Yes."

  Radha disappeared to give orders to the seamen. I knew the drop line would be reset and the awning in place by the time we got done talking to Glora.

  No one had noticed the start of Rani's descent, but they had all seen the end of it.

  "Did you see the commander come down?" Minori said. "Wow. Do you think she'd teach me to do that?"

  "No!" I yelled. "She will not. Minori, go play with the children."

  "They don't like playing with me. May I help Rani with her duties?"

  "Minori, we are going to talk to your mother, and we do not want you listening," Rani said.

  "Oh," Minori said, grinning. "Are you going to talk about me?"

  "Yes. You have been naughty, and we are discussing your punishment."

  "Have not!" Minori said. "I am never naughty."

  Rani fluffed her niece's hair and sent her along. Together, we approached Glora.

  "You do not seem so upset today at being dropped, Rani," Glora said.

  "I asked her to do it," Rani said, "but don't tell anyone else. Radha doesn't know I asked."

  "Well done then," Glora replied.

  "It is a glorious day at the top of the mast, Glora," Rani said.

  She sighed. "Will you be dropping my daughter, Captain?"

  "Will you allow it, Ms. Karden?"

  "Is this a new tradition you started with my sister-in-law?"

  "No. We drop everyone their first time. But we could make an exception. However, if you allow us to drop her, we will argue about it before your daughter is allowed into the lines, and we will agree in front of her not to drop her."

  Glora smiled. "It is very difficult to fool my daughter, Captain. Has anyone ever gotten hurt?"

  "Yes. The seamen who descend that way are not always as expert as Radha and I are. Radha and I have never hurt anyone this way."

  "How do the seamen get hurt?"

  "They hit things on the way down because they do not judge the location of the booms properly. It is a foolish mistake, one that I do not make."