Esther's Innocence

by Benjamin Boswell

  The door closed behind her as her escort left.

  The older woman came up to her and pointed at the bathtub. Esther fidgeted nervously, hoping the women would leave—but they simply beckoned to her and pointed at the tub. She hesitated a moment longer, a little self-conscious to undress in front of them, but they didn’t seem to think it unusual, so she quickly unstrapped her Madrausan dagger, pulled her clothing off—carefully placing her journal under her dagger—and climbed into the bathtub. The water was quite warm, but felt wonderful. She leaned back, closing her eyes for a minute and let out a long, contented sigh.

  Warm water suddenly splashed over her head and Esther reflexively sat up and opened her mouth, sucking in a quick breath of air as the water cascaded over her. Startled, she reached up to clear the water from her eyes, but before she could do anything, a hand grabbed her right arm, slapped something wet against it, and started scrubbing. Another set of hands started rubbing shampoo into her scalp.

  Using her free hand, she cleared the water from her left eye enough to see the older woman standing to her left with her hands on Esther’s head, and the younger girl to her right, scrubbing her arm with a sponge.

  “Um…” Esther said, feeling a little uncertain what to do or say, “I…uh…can really wash myself. You don’t need to wash me.” Esther finished clearing her other eye and looked up at the two Easterners, and they smiled back at her.

  “Onye ga na-asa gị azụ?” said the older woman.

  Esther just stared at her, not knowing what to say.

  “Anyị ka Ị bụ ọbịa,” continued the old woman. When Esther didn’t answer, she just shrugged and continued washing Esther’s hair. Uncertain what else to do, Esther resignedly submitted to the treatment.

  Finished with her right arm, the girl walked around the tub and took Esther’s other arm, scrubbing it thoroughly as well. When she finished with that, she started on Esther’s back. Suddenly, another bucket of water was dumped over Esther’s head, followed by another, and then another as the older woman scooped up bucketsful of water to rinse out her hair.

  Realizing that she wasn’t comfortable with the two women washing any other of her body parts, Esther quickly cleared the water from her eyes and grabbed the washcloth from the girl. She made shooing motions to both of the women until they backed away giggling to each other over her apparent awkwardness. They went and sat on a bench next to the windows and started to chat with each other in their native tongue.

  Esther finished washing, then sat back to relax. She felt bad for making the two serving women wait, but if the Easterners were going to go to the expense and hassle of providing her with a warm freshwater bath, then she was going to take full advantage of it.

  It seemed weird…last night, regardless of what she had told Baird, she hadn’t held out much hope and was fairly certain that she was going to die. Now, today, she soaked herself in a luxurious bath with serving women to bathe her. How ironic.

  After she’d soaked in the tub for a good long while, she sat up and looked around. It was probably time to get out now. The serving woman and the girl stood and walked over to the tub. The girl had a large towel in her hands and held it up. Esther climbed out of the tub and they wrapped the big towel around her. When they tried to dry her as well, Esther kindly, but firmly held up her hand and stepped away. The serving woman and girl looked at each other and laughed, obviously amused by Esther’s discomfort, but they stepped away and let her dry herself off. When she was finished, they gestured for her to follow them and they led her over to a bench sitting against the aft bulkhead where some clothing lay.

  She pulled on the female undergarment top and bottoms—the first she’d had since leaving Tewksbury. They were quite comfortable. There was also a gorgeous orange robe of Eastern design that they helped her put on. It hung lightly from her left shoulder, came across in front, then under her right arm, wrapping around her back to come and cinch in the front, just under the bosom. It really did look nice. Her bare right shoulder felt a little cold and she wouldn’t want to try and do any work in it, but it looked fantastic and was very comfortable.

  It felt glorious to be clean again—and to be wearing real undergarments, even if they were quite a bit different from the Ardmorran shifts she was used to. Esther had been surprised to find females aboard ship, but she learned that the officers often brought their wives and families with them. Many of the serving women were wives or mistresses of the higher ranking crew as well.

  As soon as she finished dressing, the younger girl helped Esther pull up her hair, then the older woman led her out of the cabin and up a companionway to the deck above. The ship was huge! Joel had said it was a merchantman, but it had some of the heaviest gun’s she’d seen—of Hadiqan manufacture if she wasn’t mistaken. She had also seen military grade saug gas bunkers in addition to the more traditional balloon sail of a normal merchantmen—and there were quite a few soldiers about. These long-haul Easterner ships were definitely outfitted to protect themselves.

  The women ushered Esther up onto the quarterdeck where tables had been setup and a feast was being set out. The sun had just dipped below the horizon and dusk was settling in. Joel, Mac, Baird, and the doctor were already there, standing together near the tables when Esther arrived. Their eyes still looked a bit sunken and Esther realized that she still felt a bit weak and fuzzy herself. She guessed that the others felt similar. It was going to take a little time to fully recover from their time at sea.

  Geoffrey froze at the sight of her. “Wow, Esther,” he said, “you look…very nice.”

  Their eyes met and held for a moment. Esther blushed and looked away, feeling embarrassed under his gaze. Geoffrey cleared his throat nervously.

  “Yes, Esther,” Mac said, smiling as he walked over to her, taking her hand and kissing her on the cheek, “You’re finally able to wear clothes befitting you. You look radiant!”

  “Thank you, Mac, Geoffrey,” she said a bit shyly, nodding to them both.

  “I was going to say something as well,” said Baird, walking over, “But the old man and the doc beat me to it.” She and the others laughed at Baird’s comment. Although she felt embarrassed at being the center of attention, she also felt a comradery with these men. It was like a little bit of home. She cherished the feeling—especially since home was so far away.

  “You know,” said Joel, “we are very fortunate. Not only were we rescued from almost certain death, but very few people are allowed to set foot on one of these long-haul Eastern Isles Merchantmen. They don’t usually stop for long in Ardmorr, and only to purchase supplies. These ships are off to the more distant parts of the globe to procure those rare items that can only be found there. We in Ardmorr see many of those types of items because we are centrally located as a trading hub, but the Easterner’s like to purchase those items directly for their nobility and King’s and Queen’s.”

  A tall, bald Easterner in a yellow ceremonial robe approached, bowed, and said in accented Northern, “If you will follow me, I will take you to your seats. Onya-Ugbo Amadi will be joining you shortly.”

  “Thank you, honorable one,” said Esther, clasping her hands together as if to pray and bowing slightly.

  The man smiled in surprise, “You know our greetings young one? It was my understanding that you were from the inland part of Ardmorr. Although our two nations share a considerable amount of trade, most of that trade occurs along the coasts. How did one so young come to learn of these things? Have you ever met any People of the Eastern Isles before?”

  “No, Honorable one,” replied Esther, “I’m afraid that it is my innate curiosity that has caused me to read a large number of books and absorb as much learning as I can. I read a book on the cultures of the known world once. While interesting, I’m sorry to say that the extent of knowledge in the book was very limited. However, the greeting was one of the things it did teach me.”

  “Most excellent,” the tall man said in reply, nodding.

 
; Esther hesitated, not wanting to seem too forward. “Honorable one,” she said finally, “I am not familiar with your language or terms and I hope that I do not offend, but you said that Onya-ugbo Amadi would be joining us soon? What do those words mean?”

  “Onya-Ugbo, is equivalent to ‘Captain’,” said the man, “and Amadi, is his name.”

  Esther nodded and said, “I see. Thank you.”

  “You are very welcome. Now, shall we have a seat?” he said, gesturing towards the tables. Serving men and women were climbing up and down the nearby companionways, bringing trays of food to place on the tables. It smelled delicious.

  The tables were arranged in a square. Esther and her companions were seated on the starboard edge, and a number of Easterners sat on the forward and port sides. The aft side was empty at the moment. Joel sat to her left, and Geoffrey to her right, followed by Mac and Baird.

  Geoffrey leaned over to her and whispered, “I’ve never eaten on the quarterdeck before.”

  Esther giggled, whispering back, “I know, right? I feel like I’m at a festival back home—not onboard an airship sailing a thousand feet above the ocean.”

  “Shh you two,” said Joel, gesturing aft toward the companionway on the port side.

  A very tall man had just climbed up the companionway and was helping a woman in a long, flowing white dress step up onto the quarterdeck. She was absolutely gorgeous and the white dress contrasted sharply with the dark color of her skin, highlighting her flawless complexion. She had the longest hair that Esther had ever seen, its raven black trusses were pulled back in twisted braids, bound in an intricate silver device, and ran down her back well past her slim waist. A couple of children followed—two boys and one girl. Captain—no, Esther corrected herself, that’s Onya-ugbo Amadi—pulled the chair out for the woman. Esther assumed she was his wife. He sat down next to her and conversations sprang up around the table. Wine was poured and everyone quieted down while a prayer of thanks was said before everyone dug into the feast that lay before them.

  “So,” Onya-ugbo Amadi said in perfectly unaccented Northern, “I welcome you to the Eastern Isles merchant vessel Ngozi. I hope that your needs have been met and your injuries attended to?”

  “Yes, Onya-ugbo Amadi,” said Joel politely, “You and your crew have been most gracious to us. Our every need has been met, and more. Your hospitality is without comparison. Your Northern speech is flawless as well.”

  “You flatter me, mister…”

  “Mowbray, sir. Joel Mowbray. I am Bosun on board the HMS Nautilus – or was anyway, before it was destroyed. I guess that makes me the ranking member of our little party here.”

  “That is tragic, Mr. Mowbray, and I’d like to hear more about it in a moment, but first I’d wonder if you’d introduce me to your other companions—and please, just call me Amadi, or simply Ugbo, if you prefer.”

  “Thank you, sir,” said Joel, and then, turning to Esther, he continued, “This, sir, is Miss Esther Kelley. She is the daughter of a farmer in southern Ardmorr. Next to her, on the other side, is our ships surgeon, Dr. Geoffrey Scott. He has numerous academic awards and spent the last four years before coming aboard the Nautilus at the Capitol Hospital in Lancaster studying under the renowned Dr. James Richardson. Next to Dr. Scott is Airman first class Baird. We are the only known survivors of the HMS Nautilus, a fourth rate naval Frigate.”

  Ubgo Amadi nodded. “It might please you to know,” he said, “that yesterday we observed another ship picking up people from the ocean—additional survivor’s I assume. It was a Hadiqan ship.”

  Esther looked up at Joel, a feeling of hope filling her veins with excitement.

  “I’ve been told about some information you shared with my First Officer,” Amadi continued. “He said that you were in a battle with several Madrausan ships. I’d like to hear more about that.”

  “Onya-ugbo,” said Joel, “perhaps I should let Esther tell her story first. It will explain how these battles got started. After she finishes, I will add some details about the battles themselves, if that is all right with you.”

  “As you wish,” he said, looking over at Esther with a mild look of surprise.

  She felt everyone’s eyes on her, waiting for her to speak. She cleared her throat nervously, then recited what had happened beginning with the raid on Tewksbury, her evasion and capture, and the events that occurred on the Madrausan ship. Then she told of her escape up to the point where she had fallen into the sails of the Nautilus.

  “That is impossible,” said one of Amadi’s men in heavily accented Northern. He was sitting on the opposite side of the square from Esther, “No one can survive a fall like that.”

  Esther flushed, anger causing her cheeks to color slightly. Dusk had settled in and the dim illumination provided by the torches was probably not enough to reveal the anger she felt, but something seemed to snap inside her and her anger boiled over. She stood up suddenly, slapping the table. She’d had enough of ignorant, condescending people telling her what was possible and what wasn’t!

  “I’ll have you know, sir!” she said, practically yelling, “that you are the second person to question my integrity because of your own ignorance! If you were well read, you would know that by extending the impact interval, the force of an impact can be reduced significantly. It was not you whose life hung on the accuracy of those calculations! It was mine,” she said, pointing to her chest, “And there are numerous accounts of people falling from airships at great height and surviving.”

  Tears started to fall down Esther’s cheeks now and she wiped them away angrily. Why was she crying?! She felt Geoffrey’s hand cover her own, giving her strength. “All I had were the sails, sir! So forgive me if that doesn’t fit into your nicely cushioned world-view, but my home was just destroyed, my family taken, and my nation under threat by a vastly larger foe bent on our destruction and enslavement. So I took what I could get, and all I had left were those sails, sir,” she said, her voice growing soft, “They were that all I had left.”

  Finally, feeling shaken and a bit foolish, she sat down, looking into her lap and wiping her tears and nose with a cloth napkin. There was complete silence around the table. It was probably only for a minute or less, but it seemed like a very long time to Esther.

  Joel cleared his throat and spoke up, recounting the details of the battles. They all acted like she had never spoken. She didn’t hear much after that, until he got to the part about how she’d shot the grappling hook at the propeller on the Madrausan ship to keep it from escaping the Nautilus’ fate. He praised Esther for her idea, which made her feel quite embarrassed, especially after her earlier outburst. He continued with his narrative until he reached the part where they had spotted the Ngozi and were rescued.

  “Thank you for your detailed description of the battles, Mr. Mowbray,” said Amadi, “I have one question. You mentioned that Miss Kelley had spoken to a Madrausan High Priest after the battle, and that he told her about an impending assassination plot on the Hadiqan King’s life? If Miss Kelley is willing, I’d like to hear her tell it in her own words—and ask her a few questions?”

  Joel turned to Esther and she nodded.

  “Thank you,” said Amadi, “I appreciate your willingness. I have one question before you begin. Why do you think the High Priest told you this? Why would he share this information with you?”

  Esther thought about the question for a moment, then stood to address Onya-ugbo Amadi. “Honorable Amadi, what Joel—Bosun Mowbray— hadn’t mentioned in his retelling, is that I believe the High Priest wasn’t thinking clearly. He was injured and dying. He thought we were both going to die. He said to me, ‘Of all the types of people I would have expected to see out here in the middle of the ocean, a young woman is not one of them’. I think he told me about the assassination plot because, like anybody who has a secret, they want to tell someone, and he wanted to hurt me with that secret. And who was going to find out? He was sure that we were both going to die there. I
t was his intent to kill me.” Esther paused to let her words sink in. “He tried,” she continued. “He tried to murder me. But in his weakened state, I was able to fend him off and he fell into the water.” Esther shrugged, the memory causing unpleasant feelings to re-emerge. “The sharks finished him after that.”

  “I see,” said Amadi. He paused for a moment as he thought over her words, then continued, “So tell me what you heard him say about this assassination plot.”

  Esther recounted what the High Priest had said about the King’s uncle’s involvement, and Madraus’ plans to use that opportunity to strike at its greatest foe. She concluded with a petition for Amadi to turn his ship towards the Hadiqan Capitol of Al Farnaka, so that they could warn the Hadiqan’s. After she finished, she sat down.

  Amadi was silent for a long time. Finally, he spoke, “I believe that you believe you heard and saw what you did—but to go on the word of a young girl, and her word alone, is just not enough. This High Priest could have been insane, or simply lied to you in order to cause you to despair. Even if your tale is true, and what you say is accurate, this vessel is a long-range trading vessel heading to the distant Kamakuran Empire. We’ve already taken enormous risks by slowing down and stopping to rescue you. While this vessel is heavily armed and well able to defend itself, pirates are still a threat. Besides, the Hadiqan’s have protected their King’s from Madrausan assassins for centuries without fail.” He paused for a moment. “I’m sorry. I can drop you at the Hadiqan outpost of Deyr as we travel west, but to go further out of our way would be foolishness on my part.”