Privateer (The Five Kingdoms #1)

by Robin Roseau

  "All right, Minori, if you promise me she didn't threaten you."

  "The captain intends to return all of us, including me, safely to our homes, on schedule. She intends to find a way to keep you, if you want her to."

  "All right." I gave her a one armed hug around her shoulders. "I am being silly."

  "No. You see something you want, and you are not sure you will be allowed to keep it. But if you both love each other, you will find a solution."

  "Are you sure?"

  "Solutions exist. One or the other of you may not like them. If you love each other, you will find a way."

  "Are you becoming a seer, Minori?"

  "No. But I listen to the questions I ask, and I listen to the answers."

  "I love you. I think it's time to get out of the sun."

  "I think so too. Your nose is red."

  "That's from crying."

  The Island

  Rani Karden

  Our stay on the island was wonderful. The captain had her own pavilion, well isolated from everyone else, up on the hill overlooking the islet. There was a small front porch, and from it, you could see the entire inlet and the beach.

  When she showed it to me, Sorri asked, "Will you stay with me?"

  I folded into her arms. "Will you have me?" In answer, she lifted my lips to hers and kissed me deeply, then moved me into the pavilion and began pulling my clothes from me. She made long, slow, gentle love to me that afternoon, taking from me what she wanted for herself at the same time. I relinquished all control and rejoiced in what she did.

  We grew sated but lay entwined together, my head on her chest, perspiration making us both slippery. It was warm, but I needed to be as close to her as I could be.

  "I am sorry about earlier," I told her.

  "I have already forgotten," she replied. "I am going to tell you something, and I would like you to listen very carefully. I want you in my life. Permanently. Do you understand?"

  I snuggled closer. "I am falling in love with you."

  "I am, too," she replied. "It isn't something I expected."

  "Tell me about it," I said, and we laughed together. "Sorri, I am worried for the future."

  "I know. We have this time. Let us make what we may of it, and vow to resolve the problems of the future as best we are able. But let us also not let the fear of problems stop us from enjoying each other."

  "Is that your way of saying we have a limited time?"

  "No, it is my way of saying the stronger we become together, the easier those future problems will be to solve."

  "You want to solve them?"

  "Yes."

  "All right then," I said. "There is a problem we can solve today."

  "Oh? Tell me, is it that you are not yet sated?"

  "Oh, I am very sated," I said. "But perhaps you are not?"

  "I am temporarily sated," she said. "I am sure I will be demanding again tonight."

  I giggled. "There are several problems to solve today. I have a solution for one right now." Then I rolled on top of her, straddling her. I kissed her, then when I broke the kiss, I latched my mouth onto her neck, wrapping my arms around her as tightly as I could so she couldn't dislodge me.

  I sucked. I sucked hard.

  She tried to peel me off of her, struggling underneath me, then rolling us over so I was below her, but I maintained my grip on her, and she wasn't able to dislodge me until I was satisfied with the results.

  "There," I said.

  "That hurt!"

  "Don't be such a baby."

  "A baby, hmm?" she asked. "And if I were to do the same to you?"

  "Sorri, you know I am only trying to undo a tiny portion of the imbalance in our relationship."

  "There is no imbalance."

  "Yes, Captain. I am sure you are right, Captain."

  She sighed and collapsed onto the bed next to me. We lay together on our backs.

  "Does my mark bother you?"

  "No, honey. It doesn't."

  "Good. The next problem to solve is this: it is hot and I am sweaty. You are too. I bet this is an easy problem to solve, except I have no swim suit."

  "You do," she said. "A very chaste swim suit. You will approve. I will be disappointed, but will survive."

  "Well then, may we agree that in a moment, we will solve this new problem?"

  "Yes. Are there other problems to solve today?"

  "Yes. I do not swim well."

  She rolled onto her side and looked at me. "That can be resolved, but I need to ask you something. How hard do you want to work at this?"

  I rolled to face her. "What do you mean?"

  "I can teach you casually, and you will have a small improvement. Or I can work you very, very hard, and you will have a very large improvement. Or we can do something in between. If I work you hard, you will complain. I can be a stern taskmaster. I will do this if you ask me to. I would rather not attempt something in between. So, casual or stern taskmaster. Those are the only choices I know to give. You may get a different offer if you ask Radha to help."

  "Will I swim as well as you do?"

  "No, but you will feel confident."

  "Will I hate you?"

  "Perhaps. But you will forgive me as well."

  "Stern taskmaster," I told her.

  "If we leave this pavilion under that agreement, Rani, then I won't back off, even when you beg me to. This may be more than you want."

  "So no changing my mind later?"

  "Nope."

  "Why not?"

  "Because you are going to change your mind, but in the end, you will be disappointed if I let you."

  "Stern taskmaster," I said. "But I want to do the other things we have talked about as well, and I do not want to be worthless when we come to bed."

  "You will not be worthless. I will happily take your limp body and do delectable things to it, and be very, very pleased."

  "I want to teach you our card game. I want to teach all the officers and some of the crew. You will not wear me out so badly I am unable to do so. Can you do that as a stern taskmaster?"

  "Yes. I will allow a nap and a very light swim before dinner each day."

  "Stern taskmaster," I said one more time.

  "All right. We start now. This will be a short lesson."

  "Can we add Minori to the lessons?"

  "If she likes."

  We both rose from the bed. Sorri gave me a suit. It was a single suit covering my entire front and backside with laces along the back to pull it snug to my body, much like a corset, but of course, there were not so many laces, and there was no boning. Once Sorri snugged me into it, I felt covered and exposed at the same time.

  "I thought you said chaste. You can see every curve!"

  "You are covered. You look good, honey. You can put on clothes for the walk to the beach if you like. We will bathe afterwards."

  And so, hand-in-hand, we descended to the beach. We found Minori playing cards with her mother, Lindora and Radha.

  "They're teaching me a game," Radha said.

  "I am going to begin swim lessons for Rani," Sorri said. "They are to be very serious lessons. I have room in my class for a small number of very devoted students."

  "How small a number?" Glora asked.

  "Up to four more, I think. I do not see Jorek."

  "Several of the seamen took the boys for a hike."

  "Marines, actually," Sorri said. "The fighting men of the ship."

  "Commander Halfheart indicated they would be perfectly safe," Glora added. "Does your class have room for someone that is a bit older than Minori, and thus may not be quite so capable of such serious lessons?"

  "I can make adjustments. I ask everyone to work as hard as she is able. Rani has asked me to be a stern taskmaster, and for her, I will not relent. For you, Glora, I will relent if you ask. If your daughters join us, I will be relentless with them, as well. This isn't to be playtime."

  Minori looked to her mother, then to Sorri. "I am invited?"


  "If you wish, if you promise to work hard, and if your mother allows it."

  "I promise. Mama?"

  "You may attend lessons. Lindora?"

  Lindora looked at the captain with a certain amount of caution in her eyes. "I am not sure I have the same devotion as my sister may have."

  "You may ask someone else to teach you. If you ask me, I will make you work very hard. You will become a much better swimmer."

  "I might like that," she said. "Would you allow me to sample the lesson today, and if I decide to join you tomorrow, then I agree to your terms?"

  "All right," said the captain. "And no hard feelings if you decide you do not enjoy it. But if you come tomorrow, there is no changing your mind later."

  "I understand."

  "Then I would join you under the same terms, if I may," said Glora. "But I will not keep up with these younger women."

  "I understand. You are not old, Glora."

  "No, but I am ten years older than Rani, and I can barely swim a stroke." She was actually twelve years older, but I didn't correct her. Minori looked at her askance but also kept her mouth closed.

  Glora sighed. "Maybe a tiny bit older than that."

  Radha smirked but didn't comment.

  "I understand, Glora." She paused. "During lessons, I am Captain. Afterwards, perhaps we are friends, and I am Sorri."

  "Am I to also call you Sorri?" Minori asked.

  "Do not be cheeky," Sorri told her. "I am working very hard on becoming Aunt Sorri to you."

  Minori's grin grew wide. "I would like that a great deal," she said.

  Glora hustled her girls off to get dressed. I looked around and saw Henny Mismeet sitting alone, looking out at the water.

  "Henny, do you have time for a hand or two?"

  "I could find the time," she said. She partnered with Sorri, and I with Radha. We reviewed the rules and played several hands with our cards exposed so that Sorri could fully understand. We were ready to play a hand with the cards held normally, but Glora returned with Minori and Lindora, and it was time to swim.

  On the way to the beach, Sorri said, "I am going to enjoy that game. Thank you for teaching me. But why did you partner with Radha?"

  "Partners who partner together can be awkward," Glora said. "If they play poorly, they tend to bitch at each other. But if they play together a lot, then everyone wonders if they are using silent communication. We also do not let Rani and Minori partner."

  "Why not?"

  'They cheat. We haven't figured out how, but they cheat," said Lindora.

  "We do not!" Minori said. "We are just very attuned to each other."

  "They cheat," Glora said, ruffling her daughter's head. "We just can't prove it."

  "I never cheat, Mama!" Minori complained. "Take that back!"

  "I am teasing, daughter-of-mine," Glora said. "And you know it."

  "Yes, but the Captain may not know it. I would not prefer she believes I cheat."

  "So, Minori, you do not ask yourself whether your opponent is holding a particular card?"

  "What good would asking that question do for me? I still wouldn't know the answer."

  We made it to the water. I stripped out of my tunic, and everyone saw my suit. "Glora," I said. "I am so sorry about the suit yesterday. It wasn't my fault."

  Glora laughed. "You have nothing to apologize for."

  "Jorek-"

  "-Was teasing you."

  "Jorek was teasing me?"

  "Yes."

  Sorri was grinning. "Shut up," I said to her.

  "I like this suit, Aunt Rani," Lindora said. "You look nice in it. I bet the captain really likes you in it."

  "Enough teasing now," Sorri said. "For the next ninety minutes, I am Captain." She turned to me. "That includes you."

  "Yes, Captain Sorri, ma'am," I said.

  "Smart asses will suffer," she said.

  "I think you'll find an excuse to make me suffer anyway."

  "True," she replied. "But don't make it easy on me."

  I laughed. "All right. Captain."

  She asked Glora, Lindora and Minori, in order, how well they could swim. They all said, "Poorly" or "not at all".

  "All right," she said. "We will start with floating. Rani will demonstrate." We moved out into the water until it was chest deep on me, somewhat shallower on everyone else. "Rani, demonstrate how to float on your back."

  I lay back in the water and took a big breath. "You have to breath carefully," Sorri said. "Our bodies are buoyant when full of air but sink when empty of air. Rani, do you know how to show them?"

  "Yes." I breathed in even bigger, and my chest rose out of the water.

  "Now she'll let out that air slowly." I did, and I began to sink, struggling to keep my mouth and nose out of the water. Then I took in another breath and rose again, offering a little more comfort.

  "You see she doesn't have to move. This is very relaxing. You can't do this in the open seas, but in calm water, this is very easy."

  Then she made each of them practice it. Once they had it down, she turned to me. "You are going to swim. You said you can swim properly but not far."

  "Yes."

  "Show me. Swim to the other end of the beach and back. I do not care if you are fast, but I want to see the best technique you know."

  I put my face in the water and began swimming. I was too tired to continue by the time I was halfway back, and I rolled onto my side and finished far more slowly.

  "Did I tell you that you could swim on your side?" Sorri asked me.

  "No, Sorri."

  "Captain!" she said firmly. "Do it again."

  "What?"

  "Do not question my orders! Do it again, and do it right."

  "Yes, Captain," I said sullenly. I swam slowly away, checking my progress periodically, but swimming as properly as I knew how. By the time I got back, I was panting badly and didn't think I could swim another stroke.

  "Better," Sorri said. "You may stand and catch your breath." Then she whispered into my ear. "Do not be angry. I knew you could do it, but I cannot let you cheat."

  "I know," I said. "I'm sorry."

  Sorri had already taught them how to swim around slowly on their backs. While I was catching my breath, she made them swim a little faster, still on their backs. Then she told them, "Swim down to the other end of the beach and back, just like this." Slowly they began paddling away.

  "You got tired much faster than you should have."

  "I told you."

  "That's because you kick far too frantically, tiring yourself out."

  "I do?"

  "Yes. Try it again, but kick more slowly. With each kick, think about pushing the water. If you aren't pushing water, it's not worth kicking."

  I swam away from her, concentrating on my kicking. I kicked more slowly and paid attention to whether I was pushing water when I did it. I still was tired when I got back, but it felt better.

  "Better," she said. "Catch your breath and do it again."

  When I got back, she was teaching everyone else to swim on their sides. "Rani will demonstrate," she said, and so immediately I swam a circle around the group, facing them on my side, panting heavily and swimming slowly.

  "This is a slow way to swim, but it is faster than the way you were swimming on your backs, and it is very relaxing. Notice how she kicks her feet, snapping them together while using her hands to push the water past her. Then she glides. But she is tired, so she glides longer than if she were not so tired. She can swim like this until she is out of energy, perhaps a long time."

  I wasn't sure it would be so long.

  Then the captain sent me down the beach again, telling me to continue to pay attention to my kicking.

  The lesson went on. I was long past the point I wanted to give up, but still the captain made me swim.

  She drove Glora and the girls hard, too.

  Finally she collected all of us. "You all did very well. One more lap, as fast as you each can, and we're done f
or the day." She swam next to me, urging me on, and when I was done and stood panting, she went back and urged Glora on.

  Once we got to shore, I collapsed on the beach, done in. Glora collapsed next to me. Minori and Lindora weren't as tired. Sorri looked at them and said, "If you come back tomorrow, I will work you harder. I hope you come. We will swim in the morning for two hours and another two hours in the afternoon."

  "I will be here, Captain, if you will have me," Minori said.

  Lindora was slower to answer, but then said, "And I as well."

  "Ask someone to show you where the pools are," Sorri said. "We'll be along shortly." The girls disappeared up the beach, and Sorri sat down between me and Glora. "You two did well. Glora, please come tomorrow. I won't push you any harder than you can handle."

  "I will, Captain."

  "The lesson is over."

  "I'll be here tomorrow, Sorri. I never knew I would learn to swim. Will I be able to swim like Rani before we're done?"

  "You will swim like Rani tomorrow afternoon, I think, but perhaps not so far. Rani, did you surprise yourself?"

  "Yes. Taskmaster Sorri."

  She chuckled. "Don't you forget it, either. Let's go get a nice soak."

  "We just had a nice soak," I complained. "I can't move."

  "Get up. You're not that tired." Sorri rose to her feet then pulled Glora and me to our feet. She handed our things to us and led the way past the tents. There was a little path, and then after a minute I heard waterfall. We passed a sign that said, "Girls only," but the captain showed us how it could be made to say, "Boys only." We then turned the corner, and spread before us was a beautiful pool, a waterfall at one end and a river leading out the other end. Minori and Lindora were soaking up to their necks in the water not far from the waterfall with Radha on shore watching over them. Stretched on the rocks next to Radha were the girls' swimsuits.

  "We have soap and towels," Sorri said. "Drop your things with Radha and let's clean up."

  "I am not parading around naked," I declared.

  Glora ignored me. She stepped up to Radha, stripped out of her clothes, and then lowered herself into the water.

  "It's cold!" she complained.