The Captive Kingdom

by Jennifer A. Nielsen

  “To you?” I looked from him back to Roden. “The two people on this ship who I thought were my friends have proven themselves nearly as deceitful as my enemies. Why does the captain have my brother’s sword and crown?”

  Roden’s eyes widened. “You have the crown too? They were supposed to be her secret.”

  “Your secret as well, obviously.” I turned to Tobias. “And you stood face-to-face with the captain as she claimed that I killed my parents. Why didn’t you defend me?”

  “Weren’t you asleep —?”

  “Why didn’t you defend me, Tobias? Conner killed my parents, you know that! He killed my whole family, Darius included. And you stood there and accepted her accusation when you know the truth!”

  “Why does it matter what she thinks?”

  “It matters to me. So tell me, either of you, where did the captain get these items?”

  Roden shook his head. “Give me more time. I will get the answers, but until then, please stay out of this!”

  “How can I stay out of my own business?” With a growl, I pushed past Roden and climbed the stairs, kicking him away when he grabbed for my leg. Minutes later, I stormed into the captain’s wardroom. She had just broken some bread into her hands, where it remained. Wilta had been seated across from her but now stood, alarmed.

  Finally, the captain took a bite of bread and calmly stared at me. “There you are. I wondered what was taking so long.”

  “Give me one reason not to use this sword,” I said.

  Roden burst in behind me. “Forgive me, Captain. I don’t know how he got that sword.”

  The captain sent a glare to Wilta, who cowered beneath it. “Bring Amarinda to me. I want a word with the princess.”

  But when Wilta was within a few steps of me, I grabbed her arm and pulled her tight against me, raising the sword.

  Wilta gasped. “Jaron, I’m innocent.”

  “So was my brother. Why do you have this, Captain?”

  Her expression remained eerily calm. “Put down the sword, and I’ll explain everything.”

  “Explain now. Wilta and I are fine as we are.”

  She lowered the bread and stood to face me. “You are wrong if you think threatening Wilta makes any difference — she means nothing to me. But I believe the owner of that sword would be ashamed to see you use it in this way.”

  “Its owner is dead. I’ll work this out with him when I’m on the other side.”

  “That will come sooner than you think, if you continue on this path. I have only borrowed that sword, from the true king of Carthya. He insisted it be returned to him in the same condition as when I borrowed it.”

  “Who insisted?”

  From behind me, Roden added, “That’s what the captain is trying to explain to you, Jaron. Darius is alive.”

  I shook my head, angry at his lies, or his stupidity for believing her lies. Angry with all of them for using my brother’s name, even his own most beloved possessions, as a tactic against me, and against all of Carthya, the country that Darius would have one day ruled.

  Then I shook my head even harder, determined to stop this deception now, before it went any further.

  “This sword isn’t real,” I said. “You’ve had an imitation made.”

  “Of course it’s real,” Strick said. “You know yourself that this sword wasn’t at the burial.”

  Nor was Darius’s crown. They hadn’t been with my family when I came to the castle, and though I had searched for them, I’d buried my brother without either. I still regretted giving him so few honors.

  Strick added, “This wasn’t the way I had hoped to deliver the news to you. But you must accept the blame for that. I asked for cooperation. In exchange, you’ve insulted me, spread rumors around this ship, and faked a very loud episode of the plague.”

  “Perhaps I missed your request for cooperation when you had Erick killed. Or maybe when you captured my friends and sank my ship!”

  She threw out her arms, the same way my tutors used to do when they refused to argue with me. “You make it sound like all of that is my fault. When were we ever unclear about our purpose? Had you surrendered immediately, your ship would be happily on its way by now.”

  I huffed but gave no response, because I had no response to give. There was too much truth in her words.

  She added, “Cooperate now, and it may save those who are still alive. You care about the princess, I hope?”

  “Is she safe?”

  Strick gestured toward the sword. “He would not wish us to harm her.”

  I took that in, letting my eyes graze over the handle. I’d held it before, at times when Darius and I used to practice against each other. The design of a sword might be imitated, but it was highly unlikely that the weight would be so exact.

  “Where did you get it?” I asked.

  “As I’ve already tried to explain, Darius sent it with me.”

  I froze, finally hearing what the captain was saying.

  “Darius sent it?”

  “This is why I wanted you. This ship is headed to Belland now, as part of our agreement to bring you to him. We are in the service of the true king of Carthya. As we have served the people of Belland.”

  I said to Wilta, “You’re here as their prisoner. Does it feel as though they’ve served you?”

  She only squeaked out, “Right now, I feel more threatened by you than by them.”

  I loosened my grip on her, but that was all. She had to remain in this room until I was certain Amarinda was safely gone.

  Strick said, “We offered the Bellanders a chance to join in our quest, to be part of a glorious future. They refused, and now their reward for helping is that we grant them their lives. We tried to be their friends, but we can be as harsh as is necessary until we are accepted.”

  “If you truly offered them friendship, harshness would never be necessary,” I said. “Now, where is this brother of mine, or whoever is using his name?”

  She smiled. “I told you there is an agreement between us and your brother. If anything disrupts that agreement, we will kill him and simply take what we want. So you had better start cooperating.”

  I’d learned to tolerate many frustrations in life: restrictive clothing, overcooked meat, the occasional threat to my existence. But blackmail was unacceptable, particularly when it came from villains such as these.

  Strick rolled her eyes. “Your cooperation begins with lowering that sword. It is impossible to have a reasonable conversation with you right now.”

  I had no intentions of harming Wilta, but to be fair, after all that had happened in the last day, I figured I ought to threaten someone. However, my thoughts always ended with the fact that the captain had information I desperately wanted. So I lowered the sword but kept it in my hands as I stood back.

  I pointed out the nearest chair to Wilta. “Sit there.” When she did, I asked, “How far away is Belland?”

  “Another day at sea, if the winds remain to the west. Once we arrive, you will be greeted by your brother, who will explain his agreement with us, and your role in it. He hopes you will peacefully surrender the throne.” Strick’s lip curled. “Though he is prepared to take it, if you are not careful.”

  It was far too late for me to be careful. “How did Darius come to be on Belland?”

  Strick shrugged.

  “How long has he been there?”

  Now she sighed. “Will there be many more questions?”

  “Absolutely. Do you intend to attack Carthya?”

  “Not if your brother keeps his agreements with us.”

  I arched a brow. “What agreements?”

  “That is between me and the true king of Carthya.”

  I shook my head. “You may have Darius’s sword but you do not have him. My brother is dead. I buried him myself.”

  “Did you? Or was it someone who looked very much like him? Darius has a mole on his right wrist. Did the boy you buried have that mole?”

  I genuine
ly couldn’t remember. He’d been dressed in ceremonial clothing that came past his wrists, so I easily could have missed that. And if I was honest with myself, the captain’s claims weren’t impossible. Once I came to the castle, enough time had passed since the deaths of my family that their bodies were nearly unrecognizable.

  “There is only one way to find out the truth,” Strick said. “Cooperate with me, and we’ll keep you alive until we reach Belland.”

  My eyes narrowed. “That’s another lie, Captain. You have no interest in keeping me alive, not anymore.”

  Her lips tightened with equal anger. “If that plan has changed, it’s only because you have forced it to change.”

  I looked at Roden, who had remained silent in a corner of the wardroom for several minutes. “Did you know all of this?”

  His shoulders fell. “No, not all.”

  But he had known some of it and failed to say anything to me. I wondered what else he was still holding back.

  Then he added, “But if you give her that sword and agree to cooperate, she may allow you to —”

  I shook my head, and addressed the captain directly. “No, this is my offer. Give me control of the ship and I’ll agree to meet this person who claims to be my brother.”

  “Where is the advantage for us?” Strick asked.

  I smiled. “A great advantage. In exchange for your cooperation, I will agree not to cripple the Prozarian army.”

  Strick smiled. “That’s a kind proposal, but you should have listened to Roden.”

  “Roden is in your service now. He can offer nothing that I want.”

  Her smile became crisp and cold. “Then I will.”

  “Jaron, I’m sorry!”

  I didn’t need to turn around to know that was Fink speaking to me. My heart sank, then filled with dread. Behind me, another voice said, “We have a stowaway, Captain. What should we do with him?”

  “Well, I don’t know.” Strick’s eyes were on me. “What do you think, Jaron? Will you consider returning that sword now?”

  I briefly closed my eyes, then placed the sword on the table and pushed it over to her.

  Captain Strick turned to Roden next. “Do you remember what I said would get me to trust you? That time has come.”

  I locked eyes with Roden, casting a glare that I fully intended him to feel.

  He squirmed beneath it, then said, “What will you say to the crew?”

  She stood. “I will tell them that this boy must be punished for disobedience.” Her eyes shifted to me. “How many rules have you broken on this ship?”

  “Possibly all of them,” I replied.

  “If you cannot do this, Roden, if your loyalties somehow are still attached to Jaron, then tell me now so that I can make an example of you first. Take him out to the deck and get him on his knees, either willingly or by force. Then assemble the crew for his punishment.”

  Now her attention returned to me. “If you resist in any way, your little stowaway friend will take the punishment for you.”

  I felt Roden staring at me again, but this time, I would not look back. Instead, I felt his hand wrap around my arm, and he whispered, “Tell me what to do.”

  Strick passed the sword over to Wilta. “Return this to its original place. Make sure that everything else is still there.”

  She followed Roden and me out, but when she turned away, I whispered to him, “You protect Fink, at all costs.”

  “I warned you to go back to the sick bay,” he replied. “You should have done what I asked. I had this under control.”

  I stopped walking long enough to look at him. “There’s a difference between us, Roden. I never fool myself into believing I have anything under control.”

  “I can fix this,” Roden whispered.

  “You can’t —”

  My words were cut off when Wilta screamed from inside the captain’s quarters.

  “You can’t fix that,” I said.

  Wilta rushed onto the deck, the sword still in her hands. “Captain, I beg you to forgive me for having to deliver this news, but everything is gone.”

  “The Devil’s Scope?”

  “And the first lens. Everything is gone, Captain.”

  Roden and I locked eyes.

  My options had narrowed until I’d had only one choice left. They had been warned.

  Now I only had to hope my plan would work. Considering my history, it likely would not.

  But I was still in a far better position than anyone else on this deck.

  In the chaos that followed, Fink was able to get close to my side. I leaned over to him and whispered, “Where’s Tobias?”

  “He’s in the lifeboat. Sorry, Jaron, I went back for something and got caught.”

  I was sorry too. I’d had a plan in mind for myself, but it would have to do for Fink. I whispered, “First chance you get, take the mainsail rope and tie it around your arm. Make it tight. Understand?”

  “I rarely understand you. But I’ll do it.”

  “Where are the contents of that closet?” Strick asked. Or more accurately, she yelled the question, which was unnecessary. I was an arm’s length away and could hear her just fine. “I demand an answer!”

  I eyed Fink, and he quietly began winding the rope around his arm.

  Behind me, one of the Prozarians strode forward and belted me across the backs of my legs. I hadn’t expected that and fell to my hands and knees, letting the sting pass.

  “I asked you a question, Jaron.”

  “Touch me again and I’ll have those items destroyed.” I forced myself back to my feet. “Start telling me the truth and I’ll consider returning the items that are yours.”

  “The Devil’s Scope is a valuable —”

  “Valuable relic, yeah, I figured it must be, and I have it. So I want answers. Where did you get my brother’s sword?”

  “From Darius — I’ve explained that! He sent me with something to convince you that he was alive.”

  “Well, it didn’t work. I’m not convinced. If he’s been alive all this time, why hasn’t he returned to Carthya?”

  “He’s ready to return now.”

  “Darius is buried beside my parents. Whoever you are dealing with is a fraud.”

  A false prince. The words echoed in my mind.

  “I’ve answered every question as fully as I can. Now, where are my things?” the captain asked again.

  “In my control, to save or to destroy. Turn this ship over to me, or I will prove just how cursed it is.”

  My request was reasonable enough, but I assumed she would refuse it again. So I called out to the pirates who had already assembled on the deck, “I know what the captain carries in the cargo hold, and it’s enough to sink a half-dozen ships, so imagine what might happen here. But that is not the greatest threat. The Prozarians were crippled by the plague not long ago. If you want to know whether this is a cursed ship, ask yourself if you are not already feeling some of the symptoms of the plague?”

  “I am!” I looked back and saw Teagut, who winked at me, as if that favor would be free.

  “I am too!” another pirate echoed, and with that, the pirates began to stir, which caused some confusion for the Prozarians, who were either becoming angry or wondering if they too felt a sudden scratch in their throats.

  Captain Strick’s solution was not what I had hoped for. “String him up!” she ordered Roden, pointing to me.

  “Stay back, I’ll do it myself.” I reached up to the ropes above me and wound my hands through them, creating a slipknot that tightened when I pulled my hands downward.

  Roden came forward with the whip in his hands and reddened eyes. “Please listen to me now. You cannot win here. Return what you’ve stolen from the captain and maybe this will go easier for you.”

  That couldn’t possibly be true. With an icy glare, I said, “You are still the captain of my guard. Will you protect me now?”

  He shook his head. “I tried to protect you. That’s all I’ve trie
d to do since the moment I agreed to be your captain. You don’t know how hard you’ve made things for me.”

  If he had known how thin my temper was, he wouldn’t have said that. “How hard I made what?”

  “Everything! I spent week after week thinking of ways to protect you from yourself, knowing it wouldn’t be long before you came to us with some harebrained idea that I’d have to somehow rescue you from.”

  “I wouldn’t need a rescue now if I’d had your loyalty before.”

  “This is not a test of loyalty.”

  “It is, Roden, believe me. It is.”

  “I have to be loyal to Carthya now, to the true king.” He glanced back at the captain. “That’s my only choice.”

  I chuckled at that. “Are you serious? Endless weeks of planning and all you came up with was treason?”

  “It’s not treason if you’re no longer the king!” Roden shouted. “Please, go to your knees!”

  “Listen to me, Roden. Whoever is claiming to be Darius, it is not my brother.”

  Roden raised the whip. “Please, return what you’ve stolen.” He stepped closer and lowered his voice. “I can still try to get you off this ship, but I can’t get Fink off too. If you don’t give her what she wants, she’ll tell me to go after him.”

  I kept my eyes fixed on Roden. “Touch him and I’ll cripple this ship.”

  His voice was louder this time. “Give her what she wants, Jaron.”

  “Bring me the boy.” The captain’s long finger pointed at Fink, but her wicked smile was sent to me.

  My words to Roden had not been a threat. They were a promise. I took a step forward, then slipped my hands free from the knot, snatched the knife from Roden’s belt, and in a backward motion, sliced through the taut rope nearest to my hand. It was attached to a pulley high overhead within easy reach of the carpenter’s tools I’d stashed in the crow’s nest the night before. Free of their rope, the tools fell to the deck, causing an adjoining rope to whisk Fink equally high into the air, his arm now suspended over his head.

  Roden growled and dove forward, knocking me to the deck, flat on my back. “You think that helped him? You make everything worse. You always make everything worse!”