The Captive Kingdom

by Jennifer A. Nielsen

  Then I waited as a figure stepped onto the deck, silhouetted in the starlight. In one hand he held a knife at the ready. I already had Teagut’s knife, but I wouldn’t mind a second one. Specifically, that one.

  My life might depend on getting it.

  His life might depend on how easily he gave it up.

  The figure walked toward the forecastle, eyes trained upward at the crow’s nest where I was supposed to be. I followed, careful to move only when he did so that I wouldn’t create any additional sounds on the wood planking. But I made sure to take longer strides, so that with each step, I was closer to him than before.

  He stopped at the base of the forecastle, redoubled his grip, then suddenly swung around at me.

  I was ready for him and ducked, grabbing his arm and pulling him down to the deck where I knelt with one knee on his chest.

  “Tobias?”

  He grunted. “I sensed someone following me. I didn’t know it was you.”

  “You sensed me following you?” That was disappointing. If I had done it correctly, he shouldn’t have suspected anyone nearby. “What gave me away?”

  “What gave me away?” Tobias asked. “How did you know I was planning to attack?”

  “You checked the hold on your knife. Also, you turn slower than an old woman, so I had plenty of warning.” I helped him to his feet, then asked, “What are you doing up here so late?”

  “I saw the vigils come down the steps, and wanted to check on you. I also figured you might have a use for this. I found it on a lower deck.”

  He set a gray rock into my hands, then beamed as if he’d just handed me a bar of gold. I looked up at him, unimpressed. “A rock? Is this a symbolic offering?”

  “This is a lodestone.” When I still gave no reaction, he said, “Set in a cup of water, it will orient itself to the north.”

  Now I grinned, understanding its importance. “But if it gets too close to another magnet, for example, the one beside the helmsman’s wheel …”

  “It would pull the compass off course.”

  I almost laughed out loud, and withdrew my knife on the way to the forecastle deck. The compass was set into a waist-high binnacle, which would allow the helmsman to constantly track the ship’s direction. I used the knife to pry out the compass, but I’d need to carve out extra space beneath it for the lodestone.

  “Keep watch for anyone coming on deck,” I said, crouching low to begin working.

  “Who am I watching for?”

  “Everyone who doesn’t look like Amarinda.”

  “What if it’s Roden?”

  I paused to look up at him. “We may eventually have a problem there. Roden’s only choice right now is to do everything in his power to persuade the captain to keep him alive.”

  “It’s no different for me,” Tobias said. “She told me the only reason I’m still alive is their ship’s physician died of illness a week ago. This day just gets better and better.”

  “He probably wasn’t as strong as you.”

  Tobias’s face fell. “I’m not strong, Jaron, not the way I wish I was. But I am clever, so I have a plan.”

  I looked over at him again. “Oh?”

  “I put together a formula that will make a person appear very ill, yet it will feel to them like only a light flu.”

  “Excellent. How will that help us though?”

  “I’m working on that part.” Tobias gasped. “Hurry faster! The captain’s light just came on in her quarters.”

  “Duck down.”

  He did, and we both froze in place behind the rails as the captain’s door opened and Wilta emerged, saying, “This late? I’m sure he’s asleep by now.”

  “If I’m awake, I can demand any member of this crew to be awake,” the captain called out. “Go get him.”

  The door closed again and Wilta pulled a shawl around her shoulders and descended belowdecks.

  As quietly as possible, I made one final carving into the binnacle, then dropped the lodestone in. Angling the compass against the nearest lantern on the deck, I watched the direction change by four degrees as soon as I replaced it.

  “Four degrees,” I said. “Depending on how far we have left to go, we might never reach our destination.”

  Tobias’s smile fell. “Oh, good. That means … even longer that we can be on this ship.”

  “We’re not staying here.”

  “We’re leaving tonight?” His sigh of relief was louder than it ought to have been. “I’ve got to get out of that tiny sick bay.”

  “You will. But maybe not in the way you want.” I hesitated for the next part. He wasn’t going to like this. “I don’t want to do this to you, but we’ve got to trade clothes.”

  Tobias’s eyes widened. “What? Why?”

  I’d already begun unfastening the buttons of my jerkin and motioned for him to give me his simpler gray tunic.

  He began to pull it over his head, then stopped. “Why are we doing this?”

  In response, my eyes flicked upward.

  “Oh no, no, I won’t.” Tobias instantly pulled his tunic back down. “I can’t climb.”

  “You don’t climb. That’s different.”

  “I’m afraid of heights.”

  “No, you’re afraid of falling, so don’t do that. If you do, fear won’t be your worst problem.” I stepped closer and exchanged my jerkin for his tunic. “Do this for me, Tobias. I’m running out of time and I need to get inside Strick’s office.”

  “You’ll only make things worse with her.”

  I grinned. “Is that a challenge? Because honestly, I can’t think of a better time to irritate her, when her opinion of me is already so low.”

  “That’s your reasoning?”

  “Give me your boots too.” He did, and I said, “My reasoning is that every answer I’m looking for has got to be in her office.” I paused. “Amarinda is in there.”

  Tobias pressed his lips together, then finished buttoning up my jerkin. “I’ll do this for her.”

  Even before he was fully dressed, I started pushing him toward the rope ladder. “Now hurry up there. I’ll be back to trade places with you before dawn.”

  “What if they come up to get me and realize what we’ve done?”

  “If anything goes wrong, I’ll be there to protect you.”

  Tobias frowned, clearly insulted. “I’m not asking you to protect me. I just want to know what to do. I can take care of myself.”

  “Yes, but I also know that if not for me, you wouldn’t be in this situation.”

  “If not for you, we’d never be in any situation. Just make sure nobody else goes up this ladder.”

  He started up the ladder, then felt the first gust of wind. “At least my hat might block some of the wind.”

  “Actually, I need that hat too.” He grimaced, but he shouldn’t have. I didn’t want to take it — hat rims blocked my vision, so I rarely wore them. But now I hoped his hat would block anyone getting too good a look at me.

  Tobias offered me his hat, saying, “For Amarinda.”

  I smiled as I pulled it on my head. “This hat would look terrible on Amarinda. I thought you knew her better, Tobias.”

  He barely returned the smile. “Back before dawn, you promise me?”

  “I’ll do everything I can to get back as soon as possible.”

  “Strick is keeping you alive for a purpose, Jaron. She doesn’t need me alive, remember that.”

  His words went far deeper than simply remembering. Three of my friends were missing. The other three were in serious jeopardy. I could scarcely think of anything else. I waited until Tobias was nearly halfway up the ladder, then crept toward Strick’s office. One way or another, I had to get in there, and fast.

  Beside her office was her wardroom. Six empty bottles were stacked in a bin in the corner. If they mysteriously got loose, they’d roll around on the deck until the captain finally became so exasperated that she’d be forced to come out and retrieve them all. Then she’d
go searching for the vigils who should have been on duty, likely call everyone to attention for their punishment, and by the time she returned to her quarters, I’d be back in the crow’s nest with my answers.

  I reached for the bottles, then crouched lower when I heard Roden return to the main deck in quiet conversation with Wilta.

  “What could the captain possibly want with me?” he asked, his tone unmistakably nervous.

  “I’m sure she only wants to speak to you. The captain is always reasonable — to those who cooperate.”

  Roden paused on the deck to look up toward the crow’s nest and hissed my name. I didn’t answer, nor did Tobias.

  Getting no response, he let out a heavy breath and walked to the captain’s door. Wilta knocked and said, “I’ve brought him, Captain, as you asked.”

  A minute passed, then the door was opened again. “What took so long?”

  “Forgive me, Captain,” Roden said. “It’s crowded belowdecks.”

  Strick was still fully dressed despite the late hour, and she gazed up at the crow’s nest, as Roden had done only seconds earlier.

  After a minute of silence, she said, “Do you consider yourself a friend to Prince Jaron?”

  Roden hesitated nearly as long. Then he said, “Captain, my oath is to you now.”

  “That wasn’t my question. Are you and the prince friends?”

  “Yes.”

  “What are your duties to him?”

  “I am … I was … the captain of his guard.”

  “Ah, military. You are a warrior!” She looked at him carefully. “What do you mean, you were the captain of his guard?”

  Roden sighed. “Shortly before we boarded the ship to Bymar, I was angry with Jaron. I resigned, only he wouldn’t accept it.”

  “Why were you angry?”

  This time, Roden’s sigh was louder. “Jaron has a difficult time with trust.” He was silent for several seconds, and then the words spilled out of him. “He makes plans without informing anyone, reveals only the few details to others that he must, even if those secrets threaten our safety, or his. He doesn’t seem to care what anyone thinks about him, which means there is almost nothing any of us can do or say to make him listen to our needs or complaints. And I’m sure it’s difficult for him to bear the weight of an entire kingdom on his shoulders, but if he would only trust us enough to let us help him, he wouldn’t have to bear the whole weight.” Roden drew in a deep breath. “So I was angry.”

  “You had a right to be angry, Roden. You wish to prove yourself and have not been given the chance.”

  “Exactly!”

  “I want to give you that chance, but proving yourself will be difficult. Obey me on the small things, and I’ll test you with something even greater. Perhaps one day you will obtain the status you desire. You may even become a king yourself.”

  His brow furrowed. “I have no royal blood.”

  “Nor does our monarch, but that has never been important. My people believe that the throne is for the person who takes it, not for the person with the chosen bloodline.”

  Even from here I saw Roden’s eyes brighten. The hardest part was that I couldn’t tell whether he was trying to impress Strick, or whether he truly believed what she was saying to him.

  “You said there was a way Roden could prove his loyalty?” Wilta asked.

  Strick’s answer was ready. “It’s quite simple. I want Jaron on his knees to me.”

  Roden drew back. “Captain, he won’t … he never —”

  “He will, or he must die. But I want you to make him do it.”

  “I cannot control him. No one can.”

  Strick gestured for Wilta to come forward. “Tell Roden why you are here.”

  Wilta gulped and lowered her head. “Above all others of my people, I was the most defiant. The common belief was that I could never be broken, never be brought into submission. After an attempted rebellion against the Prozarians, I was captured and sentenced to a lifetime of service. But it is no longer a punishment. I have earned her trust, Roden, and I want to serve the captain. Jaron will feel the same way, in time.”

  “Once I break the leaders, I command their people.” Strick put a pensive finger to her lips. “I simply need to understand Jaron better. Tell me something useful about him and I will reward you. Refuse, and I will have you beaten until the right words are forced out of you.”

  Roden’s voice wavered. “There is something I can tell you. Jaron is good at hiding his fears, but I promise you, he is afraid, and probably has no idea what he is supposed to do. So even if he does not show it, he is highly vulnerable right now.”

  I cursed under my breath. Roden was mistaken. Right now, I was far more irritated than afraid.

  Strick smiled. “Thank you, Roden. As a reward, you will no longer be locked in your room. But be warned, my people will be watching you at all times. You are dismissed.”

  In acknowledgment, he dipped his head, and she turned to go back into her quarters. Before she did, she paused and said to him, “I must admit that I am surprised.”

  “Why?”

  “For someone who was once the captain of the guard in Carthya, you are surprisingly weak. I knew Jaron wouldn’t cooperate, but in truth, I expected you would be far more difficult to defeat.”

  Roden was standing close enough for me to see the hunch of his shoulders. Strick’s comment would have stung him deeper than she might have known. Or maybe she did know. She returned to her office, chuckling softly.

  Sensing the change in his emotions, Wilta pushed her arm through his. “Don’t listen to her. She gave you no choice but to tell her something, and I expect you could have revealed far more damaging information.”

  “Definitely. Jaron is very —”

  “Don’t say it.” Wilta looked back toward the captain’s quarters. “I don’t want to know anything that she might force me to tell her.”

  “So you don’t serve her by choice?”

  Wilta shook her head, then looked up to the crow’s nest. “I know that Jaron will be the same way. But if you can’t get him on his knees to her, he will never reach Belland.”

  Roden pushed a hand through his hair. “And what happens if he is taken to Belland?”

  “That depends on him … and you.” Wilta took Roden’s hand in hers. “Jaron needs you now, whether he knows it or not. But you can do nothing for him until the captain trusts you. Believe me, I learned that lesson in the hardest possible way. I lost everyone….”

  That was as far as she got before she drew in a sharp breath, as though holding back tears. Using the lantern light, Roden looked closer at her arm, brushing a finger up the skin. “These scars, did the captain do that to you?”

  “It’s proof of the cruelty of the Monarch.” She paused to collect her emotions. “These people took everything from me, everyone I ever loved. I only stay now so that I can take back from them all that is rightfully mine.”

  As her emotions broke, Roden pulled her into an embrace. At the same time, Tobias hurled one of my boots over the side of the crow’s nest. In a surprisingly good aim, it nearly hit Roden, who had to push away from Wilta to avoid it.

  He chuckled, though it sounded forced and tense. “Jaron holds grudges. It’s not a big problem.”

  Yes, I did. And if he continued to pour out my secrets to Wilta, he should consider it a major problem.

  Wilta led Roden over to the rail to look up at the crow’s nest. “He seems angry with you.”

  Roden sighed. “It’s like I told the captain before. Nothing I do is ever good enough for him. He always believes he can do it better, or smarter, or bolder.”

  “You must make him see you as you truly are.”

  “Jaron will never change, no matter what I say or do. Besides, if I want to live, then I can’t think about him anymore, only the captain. I need her to trust me.”

  Wilta placed her hand on his cheek. “If there’s a way to gain her trust, we will find it together.”

>   “Thank you, Wilta.”

  He continued staring at her, and her hand was still on his cheek, and I was getting increasingly annoyed with all of it when Wilta finally stepped back. “Someone’s coming.”

  The vigil who had been with Teagut walked partway up the stairs. “Is Tobias up here? He’s needed down in the sick bay.”

  Roden glanced around. “No one’s up here but us.”

  “I know he came up, not thirty minutes ago. He is here, somewhere.”

  With tension thick in his voice, Roden said, “I’ll go look starboard.” Wilta followed him and I immediately darted out of the wardroom, with Tobias’s hat pulled low over my face.

  “Never mind, I found him,” the vigil called.

  “Hush, or you’ll be next in the sick bay.” I pushed past him to start down the stairs just in time to hear Roden’s feet pounding across the deck.

  “Tobias!” he called, but I didn’t look up. Obviously.

  Instead, the vigil followed me down the steps and I hurried forward, trying to keep a few steps ahead of him. I didn’t know how well he knew Tobias’s face, or mine, but I hoped any differences would become blurred in the low light belowdecks.

  I called behind me, “What’s the problem?” If the patient required my use of needles or a surgeon’s knife, he would have serious regrets for being ill tonight.

  “It’s Teagut. We were on deck keeping watch for the night. He went up to check on the prisoner we put up there, and he’s been acting strange since we came down. Says he’s too ill to return to the deck. I doubt he’s really sick though. When the captain finds out nobody’s been keeping watch on the deck, she’ll have our heads.”

  “You’d better get up there and hope she doesn’t notice,” I agreed. “I’ll tend to the pirate.”

  The door of the sick bay had a sign to indicate when someone was being treated. I turned the sign, which read do not enter, then shut the door tight behind me.

  The sick bay was a square room with a small bed and wash basin for Tobias in one half and a narrow exam table on the second half, surrounded by shelves and cabinets and trays. Teagut was on the table, seated with his back to me, his head hung low.