‘Maybe she can’t talk,’ he suggested, Daniels’ face clearly said that he didn’t believe that.
‘Fine. We’re getting nowhere here… We’ll call you Zhe for now.’ He hated the idea of using her brand for identification, but if she refused to give her name what was he to do?
When she showed no sign of either agreeing or disagreeing, he sighed. ‘Come with me,’ he ordered; walking off to his cabin, she trailed obediently after him.
As they walked into his cabin, he decided he really had no idea what to do with her. Shaking his head, he shrugged off his coat and threw it over the chair. His mind flicked back to the Serronous and their intentional cargo. We were definitely lucky today, he thought, very lucky.
‘What!’ he exclaimed, turning around to find Zhe standing by his bed taking off her tunic.
‘No, no – you don’t have to do that. That’s not why I brought you in here,’ he told her quickly, retying the cord around her waist. ‘You’re not a slave, understand?’ he reiterated in a somewhat exasperated tone as he sat down on the bed. He sat there looking at her for a few minutes, trying to decide what to do. She remained standing, still shaking and quite obviously confused by his actions – she couldn’t remember meeting a man like him before.
‘You’re going to have to change,’ he said suddenly, making her jump slightly after having been silent for so long. That tunic definitely had to go; that was about the only decision that he had managed to reach.
Coming to his feet, he looked her up and down and realised Sophie’s clothes wouldn’t fit. Looks like it’ll have to be some of mine, he thought doubtfully. He began rummaging through his trunk and drawers, pulling out all sorts of clothes, none of which he deemed suitable.
‘What the…’ he trailed off as he found a stash of female clothing hidden away at the back of a cupboard, ‘how the hell did that…’ realisation slowly crept across his features. He stood there holding the skirt he had come across, staring at it, lost in his thoughts and memories.
Zhe – seeing that he was, for some unknown reason, mesmerised by the clothes – felt it safe to look at him. She had stolen glances before, but could never bring herself to look at him properly; just in case he should see her, as she didn’t want to anger him. Although she seemed to make him angry really easily and for the strangest of reasons. What she saw surprised her a great deal. His age was indeterminable to her, his manner had suggested to her a much older man, but… she wasn’t sure… his features were undoubtedly handsome and, right now, they held so much emotion. So captured was she by his face that, in her curiosity, she inadvertently stepped forward and the minute sound broke the spell, which had had the captain hypnotised.
Quickly, he spun round and looked straight at her. Feeling as though he could see straight through her, she dropped her gaze to the floor and all of the fear she had felt before came soaring to the surface as she staggered backward away from him.
Daniels watched in confusion, as Zhe staggered backward. He really had no idea what he'd done this time to scare her, but he decided not to dwell on it. He looked back down at the skirt in his hands for a moment before reaching up and pulling the rest of the bundle down.
‘Here.’ He held out the bundle of clothes to her. ‘Take these; wear whichever you like,’ he instructed, having realised that anything short of a direct order would result in her doing nothing for fear of doing something wrong.
Hesitantly, she took the clothes he offered. He smiled as he watched her carefully place all the clothes on the bed and look at them in awe; she even smiled as she ran her hand over the fabric. He sighed with an air of great sadness, as she reminded him of another from long ago.
‘I’ll wait outside while you change,’ he told her abruptly, surprise was evident on her face as he walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.
When outside, he leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes. Finding those clothes had shaken him – he didn’t even know they were still there. Although, he reasoned, he would never have thrown them away.
Lost in his thoughts, Zhe’s appearance in the doorway startled Daniels, causing him to turn and half draw his sword before he realised it was her. This did nothing for her fear of him; fearing that she had done something wrong, she started back.
‘Sorry,’ he murmured, sliding his sword back into its scabbard. He then looked her over; she had chosen a long, dark-blue gypsy skirt and cream blouse, and her black hair fell about her shoulders. She was quite beautiful to behold, except for the fear on her face.
Daniels sighed. ‘You don’t have to look down in front of me,’ he told her gently, determined that she should understand this.
‘You hungry?’ he asked after a pause, it suddenly having occurred to him that she wouldn’t have eaten since her solitary meal the day before; he had no doubt that Devonport was the sort not to feed a slave too much. After all, you wouldn’t want them getting fat, he thought derisively.
Hesitantly, she nodded her head.
‘Come with me then,’ he said turning and walking her back to the mess.
‘It’s not much,’ he apologised as he set in front of her a plate of dried bread and a slice of salted fish. However, from the look on her face he surmised that to her it was a banquet, which only served to increase his anger at slavery.
Not fully realising her hunger until food was placed in front of her, she dived into the meal, eating it as fast as she was able. She had taken several mouthfuls before she became conscious that Daniels was watching her and then realisation struck her that she hadn’t been given permission to eat. In horror, she dropped the food back onto the plate and braced herself against the hit.
Daniels looked at her strangely. ‘Do you not like it?’ he asked, but Zhe didn’t answer; she remained petrified, staring at her plate. Daniels followed her gaze, still not sure what had happened – she confused him more than anyone else could.
At length, he realised the reason for her sudden change of attitude. He made a great effort to control his anger before speaking, knowing that, although it was not directed at her, she would see it that way. ‘You don’t need my permission to eat. You are no longer a slave. Do you understand? I am not your master,’ he told her. When she still refused to move he added with an exasperated sigh, ‘Please eat.’
Taking this as the permission that she needed, she resumed eating her meal although at a more sedate pace.
Once she had finished, Daniels, not being able to contain himself any longer, began to question her. ‘Why do you not believe me?’ he asked. ‘I have told you time and time again you are no longer a slave. Why do you still act like one?’ he practically demanded of her.
However, these enquiries produced the opposite effect to the one desired, Zhe acted more the slave, neither daring to look at him nor answer him.
‘I know you understand me perfectly well, so why do you choose to not understand this?’ he continued; his voice rising. ‘Argh!’ he exclaimed standing up suddenly and flinging his arms out wide in frustration.
Zhe, misinterpreting his gesture as a strike aimed at her, flinched back. This heightened Daniels anger and frustration. He looked angrily at her before storming out of the mess, knowing that if he stayed any longer he would do something he would regret. She seemed to be able to bring him closer to losing his temper than he was used to.
Zhe watched him go in complete confusion. She could not understand how he could be so angry with her; she was behaving as she should, but he wanted more. Maybe he is being sincere, she thought, maybe he really does mean that I am free, but why? What’s in it for him? Why would he just let me go? He was so different from all other men in her memory that she couldn’t understand him, or decide what she should do. She had a strange feeling of wishing for someone to guide her, but was unsure exactly whom it was that she was wishing for. Slaves were always separated from their families before they or their mothers
could get attached – a mother didn’t make a good slave, as she was too preoccupied with her child and not her master. The farms were cold places, and were devoid of any affection for the young children, who had to learn their place in the world at a very young age: before the beatings killed them. Zhe shuddered as memories from that place swamped her mind.
***
‘Oy, what’s this runt doing in ’ere?’ a burly man questioned his mate, as he looked down at the trembling child who stood in the doorway; she couldn’t have been more than six years old.
‘What’re you asking me for? It just appeared,’ the other replied, focusing more on his cards than the girl.
‘Well, you gonna answer me?’ The first man demanded of the girl, swiping at the bottle on the table. After taking a swallow, he stood, throwing his cards onto the table and advanced towards the girl, who was shaking with fear and unable to speak.
‘Well?’ He spat at her, grabbing a handful of her hair and viciously yanking it down, forcing her to look up at him.
‘M… Ms C-C-Cromer sent m-me, sir.’ The terrified lass managed to stutter.
He just let a bark of laughter, ‘’ere Charlie, she says Mags sent ’er.’
As Charlie looked over from his cards and took in the girl practically hanging from his friend’s hand, a slow malicious grin formed on his face – he obviously enjoyed her terror. ‘Well, she’s a little small, but…’
‘I dunno, could be fun to break ’em in this early. ’Sides she’s big enough to perform, don’t you think?’
Charlie just let out a full laugh at the confusion mixed with terror on the lass’ face. ‘Throw the runt back, mate.’
‘All right, you heard him – scram,’ he told her, releasing her hair and throwing her at the door, ‘but don’t you forget to come back and see us in a couple of years.’
She heard their laughter echoing behind her long after she had left that place. Four years later, she found out what the slave girls learned in that upstairs room. The thought of those last few weeks at the farm when she was forced to go up the staircase to that room for her “lessons” and their “pleasure” could still make her retch. Years of looking forward to the time she could leave the farm came tumbling down when she realised what she would have to do for her food for the rest of her life – a life outside of the farm turned from heaven to hell faster than a bull shark on the hunt. Facing the hopeful smiles of the younger girls and their envy at her leaving with this new-found knowledge of what life had in store for them hurt her more than anything they could ever do to her. Yet she just couldn’t bring herself to shatter their hopes, and so she did the same as the older girls she looked up to: painted on her smile.
Chapter Four
‘Taken?’ Fahlen demanded, shaking with rage as he glared at Devonport, making Devonport extremely thankful that this was only a long-range visual communiqué and not a personal meeting.
‘Forgive me, Minister. We were boarded by pirates… They knew what we were carrying and demanded that we handed it over…’ Devonport stuttered his reply.
‘And so you just handed it all over to them!’ Fahlen thundered, ‘With no attempt to stop them!’
‘They were very mercenary in their approach,’ Devonport whined, briefly touching his still painful nose. ‘They wouldn’t take no for an answer. We only just survived: if it hadn’t been for the Corronous we would have all drowned.’
Fahlen continued to glare at him, completely disregarding his pitiful whining. ‘Wait, you said they knew you were carrying the documents. How could that be possible?’ he demanded suddenly.
‘I did? Yes, yes I did.’
Fahlen glared impatiently at him, awaiting some sort of explanation.
‘Ah how they could know? I see that does present a problem.’ Devonport attempted to stall for time.
‘Yes. Perhaps someone informed them,’ Fahlen announced insinuatingly, ‘but who knew… now let me think… I knew… oh, and so did you.’ His tone became cold and harsh.
‘But, but, Minister Fahlen, you don’t think that I… that I told them?’ Devonport spluttered. Fahlen didn’t reply to that, but continued to glare at him.
‘I assure you I didn’t. Why would I? I mean there’s nothing for me to gain by this,’ Devonport continued in an attempt to clear himself of any treachery.
‘Well, you had better find out or it will be your neck that we stretch at the next Feature,’ Fahlen told him coldly. ‘The Republic stands.’ His closing words acting more as a threat than their usual promise, as he switched off the communiqué before Devonport had time to process what he had said, let alone answer it.
Fahlen cursed under his breath at Devonport’s incompetence. How he ever became a minister Fahlen could never guess. Maybe just for the amusement factor of having him bumbling around, he thought maliciously. Glaring at the screens in front of him, he attempted to fathom who could have taken the documents. It didn’t take him long to come to the conclusion that the Guild had something to do with it. They were the only ones with enough resources to pull off such a brazen attack on the Republic. But who gave them the information they needed, to be there at the right moment? Perhaps it was a lucky random attack, he thought, but no one in their right mind would attack an Imperial Class C, let alone a Class A without a very strong reason. Fahlen leaned back in his chair; he had no doubt that he had already made further advancement into this investigation than Devonport would in a week, even when his neck was on the line. Hitting the comm. switch on his desk he called the clerk to come inside his office.
‘Yes Minister,’ the clerk said, bowing dutifully on addressing Fahlen. ‘I need the surveillance recordings from the Serronous immediately,’ Fahlen stated, without looking up from the papers on his desk. The clerk hesitated before answering warily, ‘Minister, the Serronous was abandoned to the waters. Only Minister Devonport and a few troopers survived; nothing non-essential was brought off the sub.’
Fahlen turned to look at the clerk with a face of thunder, ‘Non-essential! Would you class the recordings to be non-essential? After all, they only deal with who attacked the Republic!’ Fahlen roared.
‘My apologies, Minister, I merely meant that…’
‘What you meant is of no consequence. I want those recordings,’ Fahlen demanded, and then, turning back to his papers, ended the meeting.
‘Yes Minister,’ the clerk murmured, bowing once more before retreating to the outer office.
Fahlen waited until the clerk had returned to the outer office before leaning back in his chair. He enjoyed giving out impossible tasks. It is amazing what people can do if they really try and are given the right motivation, he thought malignantly.
Chapter Five
‘Oh, sorry,’ Duncan apologised offering his hand to the form currently sprawled on the floor of the entrance to the mess.
‘Zhe?’ he called as she shrank back away from his hand, as though he had or was about to strike her. He had swung off the access ladder into the mess so fast that he didn’t even see her until she was on the floor, having practically bounced off him.
‘Sorry, I didn’t see you there. Are you all right?’ She nodded slightly, but still lay on the floor.
‘Here… come on.’ Duncan grasped her hand and pulled her to her feet. ‘You sure you’re all right now?’ He questioned her once again, but her nods did nothing to reassure him; the scared look upon her face still remained.
Glancing around, he noticed something strange. ‘Where’s Ben? The captain?’ he asked her, which proved to be an unwise decision. She stiffened as though he had just shot her, and her face went from scared to completely terrified.
‘Where did you get those clothes? Does Ben know?’ Duncan asked suddenly as he realised what had been really bothering him. This produced a flurry of motion from Zhe – nodding her head frantically and gesturing with her arms – but gesturing what, Duncan could not
make out.
‘Let’s go find Ben,’ Duncan decided, which caused Zhe to still her arms immediately. ‘He won’t hurt you, you know,’ Duncan explained as he ushered her up the ladder to the next deck where Ben’s cabin and all the others were located. Thinking on his last statement, Duncan began to realise that, although Ben wouldn’t intentionally hurt her, he must have done something to her to make her react like that.
‘Ben?’ Duncan called through the hatch. ‘Ben?’ he called louder upon receiving no response from within.
‘I’m sure you can sort out whatever it is by yourself, Duncan.’ Ben’s harsh voice filtered through the hatch. Duncan glanced down at Zhe. She hasn’t taken that comment well, he thought wryly.
‘Ben, I’ve got Zhe with me.’ He tried to get a response out of his captain.
‘That’s wonderful.’ Came the sardonic reply.
‘Ben, I don’t know what you’ve done to her, but she’s scared to death of the very mention of your name!’ Duncan gave up being polite and resorted to simply baiting him. It worked.
‘What I’ve done!’ Ben roared yanking open the hatch, almost pulling it off its hinges in the process. ‘My fault is it!’ he demanded rather than questioned. ‘And she’s the innocent one, is she?’ he shouted, throwing his arm in her direction, causing her to recoil from him.
‘Ben!’ Duncan’s tone brooked no argument as he grabbed Daniels’ arm. Ben looked up and saw Duncan staring at him intently. Ben clenched his jaw and gave way allowing them both to come into his cabin, although Zhe needed a little persuading by way of a gentle push from Duncan. Ben shut the door, stalked to the far side of his cabin and stood with his forearm against the wall staring out of the porthole.
Duncan waited a few minutes before speaking. ‘Have you calmed down yet?’ he merely asked.
Within the Water Page 4