"You seek a blockade?"
"Not exactly. We are to inform you that we will continue to pursue the Skyraker, once it is safe to do so. We have reason to believe that Captain Glass desires refuge in Hero. You need only be willing to receive him."
The commodore nodded at the scarred and smiling faces of the two men, withholding any emotion he might feel.
"As the might of my vessel demonstrates," the commodore said warningly. "The White Fleet does not lightly engage in interactions with Captain Black, which leaves only one question to be answered. What has Captain Glass done that would draw the ire of the infamous Captain Black?"
Chapter 58
Breaking Point
"Get up, cur!"
Minerva recognized the cracking sound of the whip that dogged Captain Glass throughout Reshampur. She looked up from her station to see her captain stooped to one knee with a large barrel strapped to his back. His once-lovingly tended shirt and pants had sullied and frayed, and several rips ran as high as his knees. His boots were missing entirely.
On this particular occasion, Lord Arach himself held the whip. After another strike landed, Glass hoisted the barrel, stepped once, and then collapsed entirely. His face struck flat against the ground as he flopped over like a scarecrow without a post.
Minerva took a step forward, reflexively.
"Don't do it."
Big Jim stood in the doorway to the bakery, giving her a warning look.
"They're torturing him," she pleaded. "In front of everybody. Why doesn't somebody do something?"
"Because they don't want to be in his place. I say again, don't do it."
Glass didn't move as the whip came down with a crack, and Minerva clenched her fists in anger.
"Get up, Glass! You owe me more than your life!"
Crack.
"Get up!"
Crack!
Minerva flinched each time the leather struck the captain's shirt, imagining in herself the pain that he must be feeling, and the powerlessness of being too exhausted to fight back. Clearly frustrated with the captain's lack of effort, Lord Arach kicked the captain in the thigh, causing him to groan and roll over.
"Felt that, did you?" he said, and then handed the whip back to the usual guard. "Whip him until he gets back to work, or until he dies."
The angry lord then cocked his leg back and kicked the captain square in the face, drawing a stream of blood from the downed man's nose.
"Hey!" Minerva shouted, as her feet pushed her forward against her better judgment.
The nearby crowd turned to face Minerva, including Lord Arach, who glared sternly. "Is there a problem?" he asked.
"I'm sure he'll work better if you stop beating him."
"Is this one of your crew?" Arach asked of Glass.
Captain Glass looked over at Minerva, and then nodded after a pause.
Lord Arach gave a hard, cruel laugh. "He looks like a girl."
A very indignant hatred twisted its way into Minerva's body. "I am a girl!" she bellowed, seeing no reason to be ashamed of the fact.
Shock, and a tiny dusting of dread, settled upon the gathered citizens. Lord Arach turned his full attention towards Minerva and stepped forward. He wasn't much bigger than her, but he was far more intimidating. His wicked cane clacked on the boardwalk as he approached.
The desire to protect herself started to find ground, and Minerva readied the will she would need to draw Velvet.
"Really? A girl and a pirate?" he taunted.
Minerva held her head high and met his gaze.
"Show me your mark," he ordered casually.
Minerva stood stunned. Nobody demanded to see her mark.
"Hard of hearing, girl? I said show me your mark."
"Why should I?"
The crowd immediately stepped away and pretended to work, wordlessly demonstrating that talking back to the Lord of the Loftwood wasn't what people expected to see.
"Because I said so," he snarled.
Minerva hadn't put her special top on today. She looked over her shoulder at Big Jim, who had strategically distanced himself from her. Even there, she could see the fear.
Don't anger him further. Do what he says. That's what Jim would have said, she thought.
Minerva put her hands up under her shirt to cover herself, and held her chin up.
"Go ahead. Lift up my shirt."
Arach smirked. "Pardon?"
"If you wish to see my mark, so be it, but that's all you'll get to see."
The old man leaned on his cane with both hands, matching the intensity of her stare. Then he stretched the pommeled end forward and hooked it under her top, lifting the cloth. Two deep and jagged scars crossed from her shoulders to her hips.
Lord Arach only minimally reacted, with a disconcerted sort of curiosity, but the crowd certainly filled in where he lacked. They whispered in the hushed tones of suppressed awe.
"Why do you cover yourself?" he asked.
Minerva felt her face flush and her temper rise even further.
"Are you ashamed? I thought pirates didn't have shame."
Minerva saw Olbus step to the front of the crowd behind Lord Arach. He looked at her for a moment before casting a malevolent look at the lord.
"I mean really, it's not like you've got anything to hide," Lord Arach said. "Your body is like that of a child."
"Because I'm a lady!" she snapped, defending her pride and swatting his cane away. Olbus had said so, and he was right here to agree with her. She caught herself stepping forward for a pre-emptive strike as she scowled at the old man.
Lord Arach shifted even closer, sending the smell of wood chips and something sweet into her nose. "You're a lady, are you?"
"Yes!"
"A pirate and a lady?"
"Yes!" she replied with even greater conviction.
Lord Arach laughed wickedly in a manner far worse than anything Big Jim could achieve. "What's your name, miss pirate?"
"Minerva."
Lord Arach cackled further and stepped back. "I think I know why your ship crashed," he said mockingly to Captain Glass, and then he looked back at Minerva, clearly enjoying the fury it instilled in her. "Alright, Miss Minerva, the Lady Pirate. If you can prove that you are, in fact, a lady, then I will hear any plea, persuasion, or argument you might utter to sway me against squeezing the life out of this useless man. Entertain me for an evening, as a lady, and I will concede that you are in fact the world's first lady pirate."
Minerva wasn't exactly certain what he was requesting, but she wasn't about to give up on Captain Glass, either.
Lord Arach gave Minerva a pat on the shoulder when she agreed to his challenge. Many golden rings, studded with gems, pinched the flesh of his fingers.
"Wear something nice," he sneered, and then winked at her in an unkind way. "That is, if you even own a gown."
Chapter 59
Little Blue Dress
Minerva stepped out from behind the curtain in Olbus' cabin. She felt very naked beneath the strangely lightweight cloth of Thimbler's little blue dress. It draped straight and flat across her frame, leaving little to the imagination.
A heated debate occurred among her friends as to whether she should even go to dinner with Lord Arach, but her own decision won out. She would go because she had to. Not for herself, but for her captain.
Upon reviewing her ensemble, Minerva felt that she needed a clutch, but didn't have one. "How do I look?" she asked of the half dozen men in front of her.
Woody whistled sharply, probably out of reflex. A few of them wore very embarrassed expressions, perhaps on her behalf.
"Is it bad?" she asked. She had attempted to tie her hair up in a stylish bun, including her sword in dagger-form, and accented it with a pair of earrings, some nice bracelets, and a ring that Nezzen had given her.
"You – look – like – a—" The twins stalled on each word, probably trying to leave the final adjective in the hands of the other.
"Lady." Gags f
inished, on behalf of the twins, and the rest of the men made grunts of agreement.
Olbus gave her a warm smile. "You look very formal, sailor."
The way he ended his statement, with a slow and calming 'sailor', reminded her of warm molasses running down a spoon. Now she knew it was good.
Chapter 60
Dinner for Two
"We'll be – right outside. Just scream – if you need us. Like that time – in Riggersport." The twins forced a smile from Minerva, but they were serious.
Olbus knocked hard on the solid wooden door to the palace, one of the only legitimately walled structures in the entire city. Everything about it was beautifully crafted out of dark wood or polished brass.
A tall, elderly gentleman in formal attire opened the door almost immediately. "Lady Minerva, for an evening with the lord?" he asked.
Olbus nodded stiffly.
"Come inside, My Lady."
Olbus gave Minerva one last look of reassurance before stepping back to allow the door to close.
Minerva found herself inside a large open space lined with carpets of silk and walls of cloth hung from ropes. The ceiling above her formed an incredible tapestry; a single sheet, hundreds of times her own height, draped away from the tree like a web. Colorful lamps hung from the vibrant surface at various points, like the meals of a spider wrapped in silk spun from rainbows.
Fine wooden furniture and antique collections filled the hall, and a comforting warmth permeated the air, leaving the smell of fine spices throughout. Several flying spiders of varying size flitted about the pavilion, making themselves perfectly welcome among the silk decorations.
Lord Arach rose from a writing table on the far side as she entered. He wore an assortment of silken cloth, and a complimentary pairing of shirt and trousers with only a small amount of jewelry. He was clearly dressed to entertain.
"The lady, Minerva, here to dine with you, My Lord."
Lintumen had given Minerva a hasty course in noble etiquette and formal dining, and so Minerva responded to her introduction with a short curtsy. Lintumen's lesson mostly amounted to speaking in full sentences, and saying 'my lord' where she would normally say 'sir'.
"Thank you, Ubadah." Arach didn't look at the servant as he dismissed him. His eyes firmly rested on Minerva, but in a kind way. "How are you tonight, My Lady? You look very elegant."
Then the mean, nasty, bald man that Minerva already hated took her hand and kissed it softly, supporting her fingers as gingerly as one might hold a boll of cotton. The scent of his perfume wafted over and caressed her senses at the same time, leaving her feeling both enthralled and surprised. Minerva really wasn't sure what to do in response. Her curriculum hadn't covered the reversing of expectations.
"Come, have a seat at the table. Dinner is nearly ready to be served." Lord Arach pulled out a chair beside the head of the table for Minerva, and waited for her to sit. "May I serve you a drink?"
"Water please, My Lord."
Arach looked confused for a moment, and then ordered his servants to fetch a decanter of water. "Do you not drink wine?" he asked.
Minerva shook her head. "No, My Lord. I am not fond of the taste."
Silence throttled the ensuing conversation, while Lord Arach and Lady Minerva waited for the drink to arrive, and they occupied themselves by watching a tiny spider make its way across the table. Arach cleared his throat awkwardly, while Minerva said nothing. Lintumen had provided no advice at all on how to manufacture convenient small talk.
"Do you like spiders?" Lord Arach asked.
"Not so much, My Lord. They frighten me, to be honest."
"That's a shame. Incredible creatures, really. Not counting what you probably already know about their silk being used to fly, it has many other astounding properties. Did you know it can be stronger than iron, and a single heavy rope of spider silk could hold down a galleon rigged full of hammers?"
Minerva looked around at the many tiny webs in the room, thinking about how easy it was to snap them, given her comparable size.
"If put to task, you could stop a flying arrow with just a thinly woven sheet."
"My friends told me that one bite could kill me, My Lord."
"That is true, for some of them. Flying spiders hunt and catch their prey with a web between their front legs. If they don't kill things quickly they could be seriously injured waiting for their meal to die."
"That sounds awful."
"I think it's merciful. We all have to eat."
Minerva's mind went back to the day that the spiders stormed their ship. It hardly made them seem harmless. "What about when they group up in a big cloud?"
"Well, that's different. The young ones do that on their maiden flight, although sometimes the adults will do it if they feel threatened. It's a defensive measure used to ward off predators. Most ships know better than to enter the Loftwood during the spawning season. You're lucky to be alive, honestly."
"How long does the spawning last?"
"A week or two. They started hatching only a few days before you arrived. We host a nightly festival here to commemorate the event."
The conversation halted as the appetizers came out, and Arach didn't speak as he ate. Minerva felt certain that he normally ate alone, as most of the time he didn't even look at her. It was a blessing, in a way, as it left her time to remember which fork to use.
As they finished their main course, Minerva reminded herself that she was supposed to be entertaining Lord Arach. She was to win his favor. "Do you have a wife, My Lord?" she asked, trying to make eye contact with him.
"I was married once. No longer."
"Do you keep a mistress, then?"
Arach first responded with a look of confusion, before replying. "No. No mistress. Just Ubadah and myself, and the few servants that cycle out every so often."
Minerva felt her face flush and she started to fidget with the square cloth that guarded her lap. "Perhaps then, if it pleases you, we could dance?"
Arach slumped back in his chair with his arms across his chest. "Are you trying to seduce me?"
Minerva blushed and crumpled up the napkin in her fingers. She didn't know what she was doing.
"If that is the case, then carry on," Lord Arach teased. "Perhaps at a different time I might have been shocked, or even offended, but it is clear to me that you have very little practice in the field. As such, I'll allow you to continue, for your own benefit."
Minerva swallowed hard, trying to regain her courage. "Am I not appealing to you?"
Arach laughed cruelly. "You look stunning in that dress, I must admit, and maybe some would take you up on your advances, but you're barely a young woman, and I am a very old man."
"I'm sorry, My Lord. I didn't intend to offend your sensibilities."
"As I said, I am not offended."
Minerva felt terrified and very uncertain as to what she was doing with Lord Arach at the table, and he kept talking in lieu of her response. He leaned forward onto the table, and spoke in a dour tone. "You would have struck me when we met earlier today, wouldn't you? Had I insisted on striking your captain. That look in your eye, and the way you clenched your fist. You would have done it."
Minerva recalled the moment and how furious she felt. "Yes," she admitted.
"Nobody does that," he said. "I rule this city, and this forest, without reproach. Perhaps I could attribute your conviction to the impetuousness of youth, but I don't believe that to be true. Without any doubt in my mind, I believe you fought very hard to be accepted as a member of the Skyraker's crew. I'm certain of this because some of those men were willing to fight their fellows to protect you. That's not a level of respect that you can stumble into, and I think you would stand by them in return, even if the hells themselves opened up to take them from you."
"They're all I have, right now. I would rather fight and lose than have nothing to fight for."
Lord Arach flashed a yellow, toothy smile, in a rather menacing way. "That there is precis
ely why I invited you to dinner."
Chapter 61
Lord Arach of the Loftwood
"I want to show you something," Lord Arach said, as he rose from the table.
Minerva followed Arach as he exited the main pavilion and entered a tiny, winding hallway. Polished, hardwood flooring filled what space it could through a tunnel of natural root and rock. Quiet rooms, sequestered by curtains of thick silk, branched off at frequent intervals.
"Where are we going, My Lord?"
"I am going to show you something that I have never shown any of my guests. I will show you this, because you have shown me something that no guest ever has."
"What did I show you?"
"True courage."
As they walked they descended many flights of stairs, passing through doors and rooms, some hidden and others locked, until at last they entered a small balcony, beyond which Minerva could see nothing but darkness. The vastness of the space revealed itself in the coolness of the air, and the deep echo that returned their footsteps after significant delay. Like the waters of Riggersport, she could only imagine the horrors that dwelled in the darkness.
Lord Arach lit a candle on a small table, revealing some papers on a stand and the wooden case of a musical instrument. She observed him curiously as he withdrew a violin from the case, handling it as lovingly as a father with their child.
"When I was much younger, I was a musician and a member of the royal court. I played daily for the nobility. Sometimes I dined with them and sometimes I danced with them."
Lord Arach flipped the stringed instrument up to his neck and pinned it against his shoulder with his chin.
"I even met a princess, and we grew close."
Then he pulled the bow across the thickest of the strings, drawing forth a wonderful sound that instantly captured Minerva's heart. The air seemed to brighten in response.
"I was already married to my wife at the time, not that I held any interest in marrying a princess. She would never have lowered her standing to be with a lowly house musician. My wife was a tailor. A fine woman that I deeply loved. We were to have our first child, and I was awash with excitement."
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