Destiny's Queen

by J.D. Rogers

  ***

  Four uneventful weeks later, we were standing on the afterdeck of the Edgerton Hooks, surveying the Sorean coast.

  "It all looks the same," Commodore Hubbard said. "Uninhabited jungle."

  Sorea was a much flatter country than Adah. While Adah was mountains and hills, Sorea was forested lowlands. Its southern coast was covered in a tropical rain forest that ran all the way up to its sandy beaches.

  "If there are no cities on the coast, how do we find the Soreans?" Bokham asked.

  "About five days journey from the Adan border, we'll come to the mouth of a large river," I said. "We're to sail up that river. The people of Sorea have been told to look for a vessel the likes of which they've never seen before."

  "They've never seen a sailing ship?" Vomeir said.

  "They're familiar with the triremes used by Gibney and Adah," I said. "They're also familiar with the catamarans used by the people in the Sugar Islands. They've never seen a caravel or a corsair."

  "How far up river are we supposed to sail?" Commodore Hubbard asked.

  "About two days. I'm told we'll come to a city. When we reach it, we're to put into port. The people are expecting us."

  "This city have a name?" Bokham asked.

  "Margos," I said.

  "And they'll welcome us?"

  "If they want to avoid a war."

  Four days after passing the border, we came to the mouth of a wide river.

  "This has to be it," I said.

  "It hasn't been five days," Commodore Hubbard said.

  "Kelce Manalac based the distances on triremes, which don't move nearly as fast as Idy's corsairs. Plus, he said it would be the first large river we came to. This is definitely the river."

  We turned and headed up river. The river was wide and slow, similar to the Istansada. The biggest difference between the two rivers was the surrounding countryside. The Istansada was surrounded by grassy hills. The land surrounding this river was flat and covered with thick tropical vegetation that went right up to the river's banks.

  Commodore Hubbard worried about the vegetation, fearing that it was just as thick in the water, and that it would tangle on our winged keel. We stayed in the middle of the river just to be safe and encountered no such problems. A day and a half later, we reached what I assumed was Margos.

  The city was carved right out of the jungle. The buildings were made out of white marble. They were single story structures with large stone columns on the outside. The columns supported a flat marble roof and rested upon a marble floor. From my spot on the afterdeck, I could see that the middle of each building contained a courtyard.

  A large stone bridge arched over the middle of the river. It was an impressive feat of engineering, at least a mile long. Like the buildings it was made out of white marble. The underside of the bridge contained two dozen arches, big enough for boats to pass underneath, but way too small for a ship. Whether this was the right city or not, it was as far as we could go.

  There was no dock big enough to birth the Edgerton Hooks, so we lowered sails and dropped anchor in the middle of the river. People of all ages gathered on both sides of the river, as well as on the big stone bridge. To say they weren't used to visitors was an understatement.

  "At least they're not armed," Patera said, noticing all the people staring at us.

  They all wore hats that looked like inverted volcanos. The hats were brightly colored, yellows, oranges, reds, greens, and blues. The men and women both wore wrap around knee length skirts that matched the color of their hats. The men were topless, as were the children. The women wore sleeveless vests similar to those worn by the women of Landish. However, there was one big exception. The vests didn't cover their breasts, they merely framed them.

  As soon as the crew saw the way the women were dressed, they scrambled to the edge of the ship to get a better look.

  "All things considered," Commodore Hubbard said. "I don't think the crew should be given shore leave."

  "I'll go ashore," I said. "Everyone else will remain on the ship."

  A large outrigger canoe left one of the small docks and headed for our ship. Sixteen men with paddles sat in the canoe. All sixteen wore yellow skirts and hats. A man dressed in a purple skirt and hat stood in the middle of the canoe, looking and acting like someone important.

  "At least they're not sending a war party," Patera said.

  I had Bokham fetch my father's crown from my cabin. It was in a leather satchel which I draped over my shoulder. I then headed below deck, working my way to the ship's stern and the hatch that opened onto the little deck we used to climb in and out of the pinnace. By the time I reached the deck, the outrigger canoe had been steered to the rear of the ship.

  The man standing in the middle of the canoe bowed when he saw me, and in perfect Adan, said, "Your Majesty. I would recognize you anywhere."

  "Lila Marie Haran," I said.

  "Gano Barr," the man said. He was short and slim with freshly cropped black hair. He bore a strong resemblance to my father and myself. "Before you set foot off your vessel, I must see the evidence of your father's demise."

  I pulled my father's crown out of the satchel and held it out for Gano to see.

  "Thank you, Your Majesty." He bowed again.

  I tucked the crown back into the satchel. While I did that, they pulled the canoe alongside the ship. Gano held out a hand and helped me step into the canoe. There were no seats in the middle of the canoe, so we remained standing. The men with the paddles turned the canoe around and headed back the way they came.

  I wasn't used to standing in a canoe, even one this large, and I spent the short trip to shore trying not to fall over. When we reached the small wooden dock, Gano jumped out of the canoe and helped me out.

  "Our clan doesn't maintain a residence here in Margos. So we're forced to stay in the guest residence. It's probably smaller than what you're used to."

  "I just spent a month on a sailing vessel. I'm sure the guest residence will be more than adequate."

  I was more interested in the fact that the residences, and I suspect the color of everyone's clothing, were divided by clan. "You're a clan based society?"

  "Yes," Gano said, leading me down a crushed marble street toward the guest residence.

  "When a man and woman marry, whose clan do they join?"

  "Men and women don't marry in Sorean society."

  "Then how do the clans grow?"

  "When a woman bears a child, the child becomes a member of her clan."

  "And if a non-Sorean woman gives birth to a child, it becomes a member of the father's clan."

  "Yes, but since we're a closed society, that rarely happens."

  But it did happen. I was proof of that. "How did our clan become the royal family?"

  "The most powerful seers have always come from our clan. Although I don't think we've ever had a seer capable of conversing with others on the far side of the continent." Gano looked at me and smiled. "Until now."

  "The Queen of Adah is moving an army of twenty thousand men to the Sorean--Adan border, how many men can we muster?"

  "I'm not a military adviser, Your Majesty. I'm afraid I can't answer that."

  "What are you?"

  "I'm a historian and a geographer."

  "How are we related?"

  "Cousins. Your father and my mother were brother and sister."

  "I'm assuming I have no brothers or sisters."

  "No."

  Of course not. If I did, they wouldn't need me as their queen. "But I have some aunts."

  "You had several aunts, but only one remains alive. The youngest of your father's nine sisters. Her name is Sester and you look very much like her."

  "Why can't she become queen?"

  "The queen, or king, must be a seer of great power. They must be able to see deep into Adah. Sester doesn't possess that kind of ability. Her skills lie elsewhere."

  "Who is Kelce Manalac?"

  "He is the overs
eer."

  "What does he oversee?"

  "He oversees the king or queen. Makes sure he or she doesn't abuse his or her authority."

  "Who has been running your country for the last twenty years?"

  "Each city-state is governed by a council of elders. When your father left the country, each council sent one elder to sit on a national council of elders. They have been running the country for the past twenty years."

  "Is everyone happy with the job they've done?"

  "As can be expected."

  "Sounds to me like you don't need a king or queen anymore."

  "We will always need a seer with the ability to protect our borders."

  We reached the guest residence, a square building surrounded by a white marble portico supported by columns that were three times my height. As we climbed the steps, Gano looked at me, and said, "Can I ask you a question, Your Majesty?"

  "Anything you want."

  "Why does Adah want to invade us? We've done nothing to them."

  "Bedonna, my big sister, and their current queen, wants to go down in history as a great conqueror."

  "So it has nothing to do with us, or the fact that we prefer to remain a closed society."

  "No, this is all about her. Who she is, who she thinks she is, and what she wants out of life."

  Gano nodded and led me into the guest residence. A narrow marble hallway circled the residence, with twenty rooms on each of the residence's four sides. Each room had its own doorway, although there were no doors, just curtains made out of polished wooden beads.

  The rooms were small, designed for sleeping and dressing and little else. Each room contained a wooden bed. The beds contained no mattresses, just a piece of cloth attached to a wooden frame. Chairs were similar in design, a simple wooden frame with a piece of cloth stretched over the seat and back. Each room contained a second door, leading to the courtyard. There were no trees or bushes in the courtyard, just grass, a marble pool, used either for swimming or bathing, and a barbecue pit, which at the moment, wasn't being used.

  "Each community maintains a guest residence for visitors. As you can see, they're not fancy, but they are functional."

  "It's fine," I said. "Can I ask how far away your army is?"

  "About four days by river. We'll leave first thing in the morning."

  "I have several men that want to come with me. They have a stake in the battle with my sister."

  "I'll secure a second outrigger for them."