The Children of Archipelago

by B A Simmons

  “Don’t let the mistress hear that. She’ll send you to eat with the hogs out back.”

  “I’d have to eat to stop that.”

  Jerry opened his mouth to respond but stopped at once when the doors opened and Signora Gloria d’Silva entered, escorted by her husband, Grand Duke Federico d’Silva. The grand duke pulled a chair out from the table to allow his wife to sit at one end before he placed himself at the other end. Rob noted with some curiosity that his new master was dressed no fancier than Paul was when they first dined together at the Silver Swan. It stood out in contrast to the elegant and ornate dining gown his wife wore. Yet despite the simple attire, the man carried himself with a noble poise and he sat straight-backed in his chair as Jerry approached with a carafe of wine.

  As he was instructed, Rob followed with a carafe of water. After Jerry poured the wine, Rob filled a second glass with cool water. He saw the man’s blue-grey eyes look up from the setting and examine Rob.

  “Chi è questo?” he asked his wife. Rob understood he was asking about him.

  The signora responded in rapid fire Iyty, spoken in a whiney voice. After a short exchange between them, Frederic held up a hand to stop the argument.

  Rob stood to the side of the room and waited for Jerry to give him further orders. Only once did he see Signore d’Silva’s water glass in need of filling. He looked to Jerry for an indication of whether or not to refill it, but Jerry was busy refilling the signora’s wine. Deciding to risk it, he approached the table with the same caution he’d taken sailing in the Sea of Grass. He paused for a moment before reaching out with the carafe and filling the glass. Again, he saw the duke’s eyes on him before moving back to his position on the wall.

  The doors opened again and a young man in a city guard’s uniform entered and brought with him the smell of rain and sweat. Without looking at him, he handed Rob his helmet to hold. The signora complained at his appearance. In response to this the young man lifted an arm, sniffed at his body odor and shrugged. Rob guessed he was no older than himself, but showed the same confidence Mark was wont to display. Indeed Rob discerned aright that this was the son of his master and mistress. His blonde hair matched his mother’s while his eyes were as grey-blue as his father’s.

  “Ludo, così che ci si prende cura della propria armatura?” the duke said pointing at Rob as Jerry brought the wine carafe to the younger man.

  Rob understood that the young man’s name was Ludo and he was being asked about the helmet. He replied to his father with another shrug and mumbled something unintelligible to those not fluent in Iyty.

  Rob heard the sound of snapping fingers and turned his head to see Jerry moving his arms to imitate pouring. He then pointed at Ludovico d’Silva while staring at Rob in stern consternation. Rob moved to the table again and filled the water glass in front of Ludo.

  “You’re new eh?” Ludo said in Engle.

  “Yes sir,” Rob said, or rather whispered. He realized just how dry his mouth and throat were, causing his voice to choke. Ludo chuckled and said something that garnered a scold from his mother while his father rolled his eyes.

  Rob looked to Jerry who motioned for Rob to step back again. No sooner had he done so than four servants entered with platters of food. Three of them set the food in front of the three family members at the table. The fourth stood like a soldier at attention beside the fourth place setting; waiting without expression.

  “Dov’è nostra figlia?” Signora d’Silva said. “Corey?!”

  Rob watched Corey entered from the hall and stand before his mistress with a placid face. She repeated the question which Rob understood to be asking about a daughter’s whereabouts. Corey responded with a promise to fetch her from her quarters. He turned to leave but paused near Rob, taking the helmet from him before continuing on his way.

  A few minutes later, Corey returned and bowed to his mistress as a young woman entered the dining room. She was dressed in a beautiful, though unadorned sky blue gown. It brought out the color of her eyes which were set in the most cheerful face Rob had seen any Falcon wear. She smiled at him as she passed and a full minute passed by before Rob realized his own mouth grinned from ear to ear.

  Bringing himself back to a serious tone, Rob cleared his dry throat and tried to stare at the wall opposite him. This proved impossible as his eyes refused to ignore the girl who now sat facing him. Or rather, she faced her brother, but her own eyes seemed to be watching Rob as she ate.

  The dinner conversation was light. Parents asked children what they’d done during the day. They responded in detail with Ludo talking about a friend who had an alien merchant with her. She was trying to protect him from others. While Rob wondered if there were Ferlie or even Duarve on King’s Isle, the girl spoke with a disdainful expression about fighters causing problems in the name of the empire.

  “Liliana,” Ludo said, “Stanno solo rispondendo alla nuova legge dell’imperatore.”

  Rob undertood something about responding to a law the emperor made. He gathered there was some unrest in the city, something dealing with aliens and the emperor’s new law.

  The siblings sniped at each other’s opinions with words until their father coughed and cleared his throat. They both sat up straight and waited as their father stood from the table. He gave his family thanks and took his leave of them.

  It was at this juncture that Rob’s stomach betrayed him and growled so loud it could have been mistaken for that of a hellhound. He looked to the lady of the house to see her eyes grow wide and focus on him. His own expression confessed his guilt and Rob sucked in a breath, waiting for the reprimand. If he was expelled from the house now, his plans to subvert the empire from the inside would be ruined.

  “L’uomo ha solo fame!” Liliana said to her mother. Rob understood (though he was shocked to hear it) that she was defending him. Ludo laughed and thrust his own half-finished plate toward Rob in a mocking offer.

  “I beg your pardon,” Rob said to his mistress. However, she didn’t seem to understand him, turning to her children for a translation.

  “Si scusò,” Liliana said. “You do not need to ask forgiveness.”

  Her Engle was perfect, with only a slight accent. Rob felt heat on his face and wished he could leave the room. Instead, Signora d’Silva left, muttering under her breath. Both Liliana and Ludo remained and ate, though not another word was exchanged between them. Ludo held up his wine glass which Jerry filled just to have him drain it. He wiped his mouth with his serviette, belched and stood up from the table.

  “Thank you for a pleasant meal, Jerry,” he said. Then he turned to Rob. “And thank you for the entertainment.”

  Unsure whether Ludo was having fun with him or serious, Rob gave a slight bow and said nothing.

  After her brother left, Liliana said, “Jerry, voglio un vino diverso. Per favore, vai a prenderne un altro.”

  Rob understood that she was asking for new wine and watched Jerry bow before leaving. An awkward silence filled the room that Rob now shared only with Liliana. She took another bite of her meal and chewed, looking first at the door to the kitchen and then the door to the hall. After swallowing that bite, she looked at Rob. Figuring he had already ruined whatever standing he could achieve in the household, he allowed himself to look back at her.

  “What is your name?” She asked.

  “Rob.”

  She giggled and her perfect smile reappeared. “That is a funny name.”

  Rob stopped himself from asking why she thought his name humorous. Instead he gave her a polite smile and shifted his eyes away.

  She continued, “Oh come now, Rob. I was only teasing you. You are allowed to laugh when you are alone in my presence. You are even allowed to be hungry.”

  Rob’s smile widened at this. She noticed. Her voice lowered almost to a whisper, she said, “You may even eat a few mouthfuls of food from my brother’s plate when no one else is around.”

  Rob looked at her again. Her eyes flashed with confide
nce and pleasure. She was either trying to get him flogged, perhaps even killed, or she was exercising genuine charity. Rob could not figure out which.

  “Come now, eat something before that beast in your stomach crawls out to devour it for you.”

  Cursing himself in his head, Rob figured he had little choice. This girl did not seem the type to take no for an answer. He stepped up to the table, remained standing, but leaned over and took hold of the fork Ludovico hadn’t used. It was the wrong fork to be used with roast capon, but Rob didn’t care. The fork stabbed a piece and shot it into his mouth. He then placed the fork back and returned to his place at the wall, chewing furtively.

  Liliana’s laughter rang in his ears. She used her serviette to cover her mouth so as not to attract attention, but one of the cooks in the kitchen poked her head out the small window to see. The girl’s fit didn’t last much longer. She stared at Rob until he swallowed the meat and then stood up from the table and walked over to him.

  “I like you Rob.” As she spoke, her face became serious. “Tell Jerry I changed my mind about the wine. And in the future, say perdonate, per favore, when you talk to my mother. She doesn’t speak Engle.”

  She left the room and Rob remained, a statue of absolute bewilderment.

  13

  The Engleman

  A hot sun shone over the still harbor. Its heat made Anna sweat. She felt bewildered, like a selkie caught in the light of day. She took a step back, away from the crowd of faces that stared at her. Then she felt Malcolm’s hand on her shoulder. The gentle reassurance that she was not alone; that she could do this. Her confidence welled up inside her; a rising tide of passion matching the rapid beating of her heart. She was Mark Engleman’s widow and she needed to be heard.

  Her voice quavered as she spoke, “My husband… began this fight on Alimia a year ago. There were just a dozen of them against an entire Falcon regiment. They fought to show the Falcon Empire that they can’t just come in and take land from the innocent or take families away from their homes.”

  She paused. Her heart felt on the verge of breaking inside her. A pout fixed itself upon her face and she could not dismiss it. The crowd looked upon her with pity. The same pity the people of her home island had shown her after Mark’s death.

  The small face of Mark, her son who lived with Lisette on Engle Isle, appeared before her in place of the strangers to whom she spoke. A sob crawled up her throat from the place she’d hidden her emotions and tears were about to burst from her eyes.

  “This was the beginning of the Hellhound Consortium,” Malcolm said to them. “Now Rob Engleman, Mark’s brother is leading them and our allies from Aruth and Fallen Dome to keep the Falcons from expanding any farther. To keep them from this island.”

  Anna’s mind focused on Rob. She saw him standing before her cottage, forlorn and miserable. She wanted him to feel misery. To feel what she refused to feel anymore. The lump in her throat sank again and the tears retreated.

  Her composure restored, she interrupted Malcolm with an invigorated fervor, “The Falcons believe they are better than you— than us! They think they should rule over all people on every island. They are coming for us. Heed my words, they are coming. Whether with ambassadors and treaties or war ships and soldiers, they are coming to take away your freedom! Are you going to let that happen?!”

  A resounding “NO!” echoed across the small bay on the southern end of Isle de James. Malcolm looked on Anna with both admiration and astonishment. Her face shined with fierce animation as she continued to address the people.

  “My husband understood that sacrifices are needed to ensure victory. He was willing to sacrifice his life for freedom. What are you willing to risk to ensure that your husbands, wives and children are not taken as slaves? What are you men and women of James willing to do to keep the Falcon emperor from turning your baronial palace into his summer home?”

  “Fight!” Someone shouted, “Fight them!”

  Shouts of approval sounded from everywhere. Their faces mirrored Anna’s; full of anger, hatred and fear.

  “On Engle Isle, many young sons like yours have enlisted to fight, and even a few of our old men. They’re waiting for you to join them. Become a soldier in the baronial militia today, train with us tomorrow and before summer is out, we’ll take Alimia back from the conquerors!”

  The crowd roared. Someone started chanting. The chant was mumbled and confused, but soon others took it up and brought all the voices together in unison.

  “Engleman! Engleman! Engleman!” They chorused.

  Anna took a step back and exhaled for what seemed to her the first time since she started speaking. She looked at Malcolm. He didn’t chant with the others but gave her a pleasant smile. The world smiled at her through his face. She looked again at the crowd to see members of the baronial guard interacting with them; taking names and giving official armbands to those who joined the militia on the spot.

  Malcolm pulled at Anna’s elbow, “Come.”

  He led her away from the crowd. Away from the people toward a walled section of the town. Malcolm flashed his badge of office at the guards at the gate before leading Anna through to the shipyard inside the wall.

  The smells of stagnant sea water and fresh-cut wood mixed in her nostrils. She was both repulsed and awed as she studied the skeletal frames of ships under construction. Workers shot inquisitive glances in their direction, but otherwise ignored their presence. Malcolm found two men speaking together as they pointed at the unfinished bulwarks of a large galleon.

  “Master Henderson.”

  The older looking of the two men turned when Malcolm called his name. “My Lord Hunter! How are you?”

  Malcolm’s expression changed. “I’ve told you sir, you don’t need to call me that.”

  “I’ve said the same about ‘Master Henderson’.”

  They both laughed and embraced one another.

  “Anna, let me introduce you to our master ship builder, Lamont Henderson. Monte, this is Anna Engleman.”

  Henderson bowed slightly before shaking Anna’s hand in his calloused one. “A pleasure to meet you ma’am. I’ve heard about you, but I must admit you look much younger than I imagined.”

  Anna thought for moment before responding, “I’m eighteen now. It seems as though it’s been much longer since I first set out from Engle Isle. Things have happened so fast that I…”

  “Eighteen, and already a widow. I’m so sorry your life has to be this difficult. However, I believe you’re here to see something that is meant to make it easier.”

  “Oh? I have no idea why I’m here.”

  “Come this way,” Malcolm said and Henderson joined them in a walk across the ship yard to the launching bay. There sat a fifty foot, double-masted cog. A crew of workers painted her with a resin found in the swamps of Isle de James’s interior. The honey-brown wood still carried the smell of the forest and her shielded forecastle and quarterdeck gave her the look of a floating castle.

  “She’s got two gun ports on each side for cannons, once we get those from the foundry,” Henderson said.

  “They’re being tested now. They should be here in two or three days,” Malcolm replied.

  Henderson continued, “We’ve already installed the bow and stern ballistas. The hull has an extra layer, making it tougher than most cogs her size. She’ll be slower, but more capable of taking on a Falcon warship in a pounding match.”

  “She’s beautiful. A true warship,” Anna said.

  “The best part is back there, at the stern,” Malcolm told her.

  She moved along the stone quay to get a closer look at the rear of the ship. What she saw there made her gasp. A grey-blue flag hanging from the stern bore the heraldic Hellhound symbol she had designed for the consortium and the name of the ship painted below the quarterdeck read: Engleman.

  “Named for Mark.”

  “He would be honored,” Anna said.

  Malcolm drew in a sharp breath. “He’d pro
bably tell me to change the name to something else.”

  “He never thought badly of you. Never,” she said.

  Malcolm looked at her. “I know, but I was angry at him for quite a while. Then I met Laura and we fell in love and… all this.”

  He pointed the large medallion hanging from the silver chain around his neck. It bore the royal seal of the House of Humphry, Isle de James’s ruling family. It signified his position within the household— it made him royalty.

  “You regret not being able to apologize.”

  He nodded. “He made me who I am now. Not a hunter, not a mercenary, but a member of a royal household. I owe him everything. Which means now, I owe you everything, Anna.”

  “You don’t owe me anything. I’m here to complete the mission; to push the Falcons off Alimia. If helping you fill the baronial militia gets me one step closer to that goal, I’ll make as many speeches as you want. Just guarantee me a place on that deck when we sail against them.”

  “You’ll have a place. I promise. In fact, I’ve all but convinced Henry to name you captain of the Engleman when she’s ready.

  “Captain?”

  Anna couldn’t keep the smile from her face. Malcolm flashed one of his own and nodded.

  “Cap’n Anna Engleman. Avenging angel of the Hellhound Consortium.”

  * * *

  Two women, Emily Galbraith and Heidi Massoud, laid Joshua against the wall just inside the entrance of the cave. This wall was made from the black stone upon which the island was built. It extended about ten feet on both sides from the door and supported a stone roof. The entrance provided a façade for the actual door into the cave, which as Anna had discovered just a couple months before, was in fact the remains of an advanced airship brought to the island by its first inhabitants.