The Axe and the Throne (65 page)

“And who will pilot this boat? One does not simply
ride
a sea vessel.” All children played in small boats in the Spicelands, and Annora was no exception. None of her boats had been with sail, but she had seen enough to know sailing was no easy endeavor.

“I have some experience with rigging, but I will require your assistance.”

Had someone told her that she and Cassen would be sailing…and that he would be manning the boat… It was too absurd a notion to even humor. But he was not the duchess anymore, and she was not a lady servant. He was an Adeltian noble and she his highborn child. She just hoped the darkness would be enough to hide the improbable nature of that claim given their difference in appearance.

The second half of the trip was quiet but went by faster than the first. Annora found herself looking forward to spending some time on the water, if only to be away from this kingdom.

The smell of wet wood and salty tang of ocean snuck up on her, and the time for riding was done. Cassen tied off their horses and led her toward the mass of boats rocking gently in the water.

“Remember, you are my highborn daughter.”

Annora nodded.
I would be better served reminding myself that I am under the care of a man that cannot be trusted.

Annora felt the uneven planks of the docks through the soles of her soft shoes. Memories of having first set foot on docks such as these came to her, and they were not pleasant. After enduring a lengthy voyage in the company of the most sordid men she had ever encountered, under constant threat of debasement, there was little relief to be had landing in Adeltia, not knowing if worse was yet to come.

“Probably shouldn't be sneaking up on people such as me under the cover of night.”

A man with thick hair covering his arms barred their path. In one hand he had a long slender blade, already stained with blood.

“We do not wish for trouble. My daughter and I require a boat for the day.”

“Heh, you don't want any trouble, you just want a boat? Clearly you don't have much experience with the damn things then.” The man stuck his knife through the eye of a large fish, gutted and stripped of meat on one side. “And perhaps you haven't noticed, the day's over.”

“So it is, however, I will gladly pay for both today and tomorrow should I find a suitable vessel. Do you know of anyone willing to hire out a boat? One with a sail?”

“Aye, I know plenty, just none that do business at night.” The scrutinizing look this man gave them made Annora uneasy. “How about you and your daughter here just wait a bit. I'll fetch a friend of mine who has a nice little sloop.”

“Yes, please do. We will await your return.”

“Father, what is wrong with his boat?” Annora asked before the man had time to leave, her Spiceland accent faint, but present. She walked down the docks a few steps peering at the boat in the darkness.

“Oh no, you wouldn't like my skiff. There's no ballast in 'er, and she's prone to tip. I'm a fisherman, no sailor, and my boat's much the same. My friend has just what you need. You two just wait a bit, and I'll be back before you know it.”

Annora found and held eye contact with the fisherman and sauntered to Cassen's side, wrapping both her arms around one of his. “I have a better idea,” she said, still gazing at the man. “How about my
father
pays for two nights on your boat, as he's promised. …The first night is his, and the second night will be yours.” She moved one of her hands along Cassen's arm to ensure her meaning was understood.

She could feel the man's filthy eyes accost her from head to toe and back up again. It was all she could do to maintain her composure and not reveal her repulsion.

“I get the first night,” said the fisherman. He did not have to lick his lips; his body spoke the action for him.

“Out of the question.” Cassen sounded as adamant as he had in the throne room.

“All right, all right. The second. Just be careful with the damn boat. Do you even know how to sail?” In spite of speaking to Cassen, the man's eyes were still on Annora.

Cassen merely grunted with discontent at the man. “What provisions are on board? Is there any wine?”

“It's a fishing vessel not an inn. There's some rum and water in the bow storage, but that's all I've got. And don't drink it all either.”

Annora remained at Cassen's arm as he stepped forward and pressed a large silver coin onto the cutting board next to the fish. “You'll get the other upon our return.”

Cassen had been scowling since they set off from the docks by oar, and his disposition had not changed in spite of the good distance now between them and the docks.

“That was a foolish and unnecessary thing you did.” He finally broke the silence with words no different from his look.

Annora, already angry, just ignored him.
The fool does not even know how his own city works.

“You were to be my daughter—no more.”

“I was not aware I was acting anything more. I thought I played the part rather well, considering the father.”

“Are you not aware that whoring outside of an authorized brothel is not permitted? That there is a reward for reporting those who do so to avoid the taxes? Where do you think that man would have gone had your little ploy failed?” Cassen had stopped rowing. He apparently needed all his strength to chastise her.

“To the same place he was already headed. And certainly not to report us to some authority for a pittance of a reward.”

“Is that right?”

“
Yes, it is right.
” Her accent flared, but she was too heated to care. “He'd go to a brothel owner who would have exacted a more severe penalty upon us both and paid him a fraction of the contents of your purse instead.”

Cassen let loose a round of insolent laughter clearly intended to belittle her. “And how did you come to that conclusion?”

The laundry was the best place for talk and gossip, and none of the women with choice stories had been born as washwomen. Anna, Shellie, and Jeanne, aside from being the more interesting of the women, all admitted—rather proudly—to working in brothels when they were younger. Most of their tales were a bit tall, but oftentimes pieces of their differing lies overlapped where there was truth, lending itself to believability. Annora knew exactly how the brothels operated, and how they differed between Eastport and Westport. It was a common topic, as many of the prettier servant girls contemplated running off with the idea of building enough coin with a quick bit of degradation to afford a true escape from servitude. The older women were quick to encourage the idea—to those they disliked. To the others, they warned of the true dangers involved and the certainty of never escaping until both your value and coin were gone.

“The man was lying.” It was as definite a fact as any she had ever known, and she had no desire to explain her reasoning in further detail.

Cassen just chuckled to himself.

Annora turned her back to him, but there was no way to be rid of him on so small a craft. It was about three men in length—three very short men. There was no cabin, and Cassen was nearer the bow of the boat, looking rearward as he rowed.
He is probably too afraid to raise sail and was lying about having any experience.

A brutal wave struck her, not of water but of hunger. It must have been over half a day since she'd eaten, and her desperation spurred her to action. Leaving her seat at the stern she passed Cassen, handing him the two lines that controlled the rudder.

“Steering too much responsibility for my lady daughter?”

“You can do nothing as well as I. Where are these friends of yours if they even exist? We have been headed straight south if I am not mistaken. You may wish to correct our course when we raise sail,
captain
.”

Annora had every hatch in the front of the boat open and was rummaging through with anger, throwing old rope, broken chunks of punky wood, and heavy pieces of anchors on to the deck behind her. “Nothing but flotsam in this damn boat!”

“Let me know if you find anything to eat. I have a king's hunger.”

Cassen was the only one amused by his quip as Annora had had quite enough mention of kings for one lifetime. “We will be lucky enough to find fresh water.”

Annora brought a glass jug sealed with a rotten cork back where Cassen could see and shook its contents in front of him. “This is the rum I believe we are commanded not to finish.”
Probably more spit than rum.

“I will have that man flayed for insolence upon our return.”

Yes, insolence…because lying would be too serious a charge.
“Upon our return?” He might be returning one day, but Annora had no plans to.

“Just keep looking, dammit. Food would be nice, but we need water.”

“I
have
looked. There is no food or water.” She knew she could not blame Cassen for this particular problem as it was her idea to take this man's boat, but there was no reason for their continued slow travel. “Perhaps if you raised sail we could meet up with your friends before we die of thirst?”

Cassen let his oars hang over the water and the boat continued to drift forward. She could not help but notice his arms were somewhat muscled and lean. He did not have the brawny frame of a blacksmith or swordsman, but neither was he the maidenly eunuch that all had known him to be. It only served to bring a scowl to her face as Annora thought how easy it would have been for him to have rid the kingdom of its budding tyrant when he'd had the chance.

“I will man the rudder,” said Cassen as he moved to free the boom. “You stay at the mast and be ready to raise the main when I tell you. Do you know how to fix a line to a cleat?”

She stared at him with the implication of having been insulted. She would loop the line around with a twist the way she thought she'd seen it done and hope for the best before she allowed him to give her a lesson. His patronizing air had already taken its toll.

Annora took hold of the line to raise the sail and noted the gentle breeze. It was scarcely enough to ruffle her hair, and she wished for stronger wind to move them with speed.

“Raise it full and tie it off,” said Cassen.

The sail went to the top of the mast with little effort and the loops and twists around the cleat seemed to be holding. She knotted the loose end just in case. The wind caught the sail, lifting it along with Annora's spirits while Cassen adjusted a line attached to the boom.

The vessel continued to pick up speed, but Annora soon heard a sound like rushing water that was somehow distant. When she glanced at Cassen he had the same confused look upon his face that she was feeling.

“Lower the sail,” he commanded.

She made her disappointment known as she moved to undo her knots and loops.
If this is some trick to make me look foolish…

“Hurry!” There was panic in his voice, and the sound grew louder. The line went taut on the cleat, making it impossible for her to undo her knot. “Hold on,” he cried and Annora went belly to deck and saw Cassen did the same. A massive gust of wind struck them, and she readied herself for a swim. The realization that it would be impossible for the two of them to right this boat if it toppled gripped her with fear.

The boat began to list. Annora held on to the mast as it tilted more and more. Anything beyond the midpoint between vertical and horizontal would result in capsize given that the vessel was not built for sailing. But the boat continued to lurch to the side, passing the point that she had feared and continuing to tip further still. Cassen's eyes were wide and frightened—the sea was feared by all men, and he was no exception. This boat may not even float when flipped, which would force them to cling to whatever small pieces of trash they could find, their limbs dangling dangerously into the dark waters for whatever lay below to grab hold of. They leaned so sharply it took all her strength to hold on and keep from falling into the water. She considered letting go on purpose, thinking it might help to right the boat. As she contemplated the effect such a decision would have, the choice was made for her. Rather than capsizing, the boat began to roll back to rightness, and the winds died down.