The Stolen Child (27 page)

“
That might do, for a little while, but believe me when I say that Manindra Bhandari has not forgotten about you.  As a refugee you will have few, if any rights within the Guild lands.  He could probably kidnap you in broad daylight and simply claim it was Guild business.  With Manindra's connections, I doubt anyone could challenge that claim.”
 

“
And you got a better plan?” Rachael said, sharply.
 

“
Trust me, Rachael, I've certainly given it some thought.  The best way to keep you safe, both from Manindra and from the Inquisition, is for you to become a Guild Citizen.”
 

“
And how does that work then?”
 

“
Simple.  I adopt you.  I have standing in the Guild, and I
would have no trouble getting the appropriate paperwork in order.  You'd sign a few documents and by all Guild law you would be my daughter.”
 

“
And what if I don't want to?” she said, not quite able to meet his eyes.
 

“
Don't want to what?”
 

“
Be your… Your daughter.”
 

He calmly steepled his fingers.
 

“
It's just a piece of paper, Rachael.  That's all I'm asking for.  The choices you make with your life, those are yours to make.  But you're more than welcome to stay here with us, if you want to.  We can look after you.  Keep you safe.  We can give you a life here, Rachael.  A home, and even a future.  Will you think about that?  Can you, at least, give us a chance?” the professor said.  She saw cautious smiles from around the room.  People trying to be welcoming.  
 

The whole time Arsha didn't say a word, but there was a look in her eyes that the girl couldn't hide.  Something
wildly
hopeful.

It was hard to look at them all, to meet their eyes and see their nervous yet expectant faces.  It was hard to swallow that cold lump and force the words out into the
deep
silence that
filled
the room.

“Alright.  
I'll think about it.
”

The professor nodded, wetting his lips.

“Thank you.”

The meeting seemingly over, the crew began to file out of the
room, breaking off into smaller conversations as Rachael held her place by the wall and watched it all impassively.  Arsha smiled as she passed her on the way to the door.
 

“I'll be in my room if… If you want to hang out or anything,” the girl said.

There was a curious fluttering in her stomach as Rachael felt herself smile back.
 

“Yeah…
I might do that,” she said.
 

Arsha turned and slipped out the door.  The professor was the last to leave, and it wasn't until he was at the door that Rachael finally blurted out the question that had been buzzing away at the back of her head.

“Why
'd
you come for me?”

He turned back to look at her, as if unsure what she
meant
.

“Why you?”
she continued.
  “
I know why Justin came
.  And this Manindra guy,
he
thinks I'm valuable
or whatever
.  
I get that.  But
what's your deal?  Why did it have to be you that came all this way, broke all these rules, put all these people around you in danger?  Because as far as I can see it, none of them know either.”

“Because you were in danger.  Whatever the cost, whatever the risk... It was the right thing to do.  I know you might
not agree
, but that's the honest truth,”
he said, softly.
 

“
I don't buy it.  Everyone's got an angle.  Nobody does a right thing just 'cos,
”
s
he said, eyes narrowed.

“Do you really feel that way?”

She said nothing.

“Well, maybe it's time someone started,” he said, with a smile that didn't quite seem to touch his eyes.

They were flying
low, the ocean stretching out on all sides.  
There was the smell of salt water on the wind, and a soft mist that settled
on her face as Rachael stepped out onto the deck
.
 
Arsha was standing at the prow, leaning back with her hands holding onto the railing.  Her face was turned upwards, a soft smile on her lips as she basked in the sunlight.
 

“Hey,” Rachael said, leaning
against
the railing
beside her.
 

Arsha turned to her and smiled.

“Morning,”
she said.
 

It had been
over
a week since
she'd first woken up in the small cabin that was now her home
.  
She'd kept to herself, for the most part, watching life aboard the ship go on around her.  When Arsha wasn't studying or busy with chores, the girl had often joined her in the small loft at the front of the hold
.  
At first they'd spoken very little.  Arsha read while Rachael doodled in her sketchpad or watched the view through the portholes
.  Eventually their faltering attempts at conversations
had
come more naturally.  
Arsha was eager to know more about her world, about London, England, and everything else, and she seemed just as eager to answer Rachael's questions about the ship and its crew.
 

“So... What's
happening
?”
Rachael
said, looking around at the empty deck.  Instead of answering,
Arsha
pointed
at the horizon
, where a craggy outline was barely visible through the fog.  Rachael leaned forward over the railing, squinting in
to
the
sunlight.  Slowly the cliff-face began to take shape, dark lines emerging from the fog, capped with a faint haze of greenery.  A deep cleft in the stone wall allowed a river to burst forth, crashing down several hundred yards in a spectacular waterfall that churned the surf into a a violent foam of white
.  Atop the cliff
she
could make out
a
town,
spreading out
to either side of the cutting formed by the river.  The buildings twisted and wobbled as they rose into the air, adjoined by sky-bridges and buttresses, the river gorge criss-crossed by larger bridges held up by ropes
and
cables.  At the near edge of the settlement the buildings hung right out over the edge of the cliff, long wooden piers jutting out into empty space.  There were cranes and signal towers, their lights flashing as they guided another vessel in towards its pier.

“
Welcome to Westfall,” Arsha said, smiling.
 

They pulled in about half an hour later.  Micah and
Milima
arrived
on deck, throwing ropes to the dock-hands who tied off to the large iron loops spaced along the
pier.  The pier shuddered and groaned as it kissed the hull, the slender scaffolding seeming like it could barely stand up to the Triskelion's mass.  Still, it held fast, and as the propellers wound down the sudden quiet was filled with the distant sounds of Westfall.
 

She could see people moving through the sky-bridges, and along the streets and the dock front
s
.  There were horses and carts laden down with crates, sacks and barrels,
trade goods headed for warehouses, or out to the docks to be loaded
.  
The air was thick
with the smell of machine oil, pine wood and manure.
 

“
This is... This is real,” Rachael said, almost to herself.  “I'm really in another world, aren't I?”
 

Arsha nodded, not entirely sure what to say.
 

“
I guess this is all just normal for you.  I mean, I guess it's pretty normal looking, really.  It's just...”
 

“
Did you want to take a look around?” Arsha said.
 

Rachael nodded.
 

They were heading for the gangplank when Rachael heard Arsha's father calling her name.  She turned to look back as he strode across the deck towards them.
 

“
I'm sorry pet, you won't be doing any shopping today.  You both need to stay aboard.”
 

“
What?  But why?” Arsha said, looking mortified.
 

“
Arsha, we still have Manindra's people and the Guild to worry about.  I can't have either of you wandering around right now.  Better for you both to stay on the ship.  We're just here to resupply and do some maintenance.”
 

“
Dad, I've hardly left the ship since Skytower, and this the first time Rachael's ever been anywhere like this.  You cannot be seriously making us stay aboard,” the girl said.
 

“
Arsha, I've already explained myself.  Now both of you need to go back inside.  Rachael, I hope you can at least recognise that I'm doing this to protect you.”
 

“
Sure,” Rachael mumbled, not feeling the slightest bit thankful.  Arsha just looked sullen as they trudged back inside.  With little else to do, as the rest of the crew made their way out
into the town, they ended up down in Arsha's room.
 

Lying on her bed,
Arsha
stared at the ceiling
as Penelope flew agitated little circles over them.  Rachael sat by the door, playing with
the strange device that Arsha referred to as a 'holographer'
.  
It seemed to be some kind of camera, but one that could project images in three dimensions
.  
Raising the viewfinder to her eye, Rachael centred it on Arsha's mechanical pet and took a picture.
 

“
It's not fair.  I just wanted to show you around was all,” Arsha moaned.  The girl had begun to drum her feet on the wall in obvious agitation.
 

“
He like that a lot?” Rachael said, not looking up.  “Not listening to anyone else?”
 

“
No,” Arsha said.  “I mean... Not normally.  It's just everything that's happening now...”
 

“
Don't see how that's your fault,” Rachael said, careful not to meet the girl's eyes.  “Guess he just didn't trust you to keep me out of trouble.”
 

She heard Arsha kick the wall just a little harder.
 

“
It's not like that,” the girl protested.  “He does trust me... And I trust him.  I do.”
 

“
Right,” Rachael said quickly.  “Sorry.  Didn't mean nothing by it.”
 

Arsha sat up and leaned forward, pulling her knees up to her chest.
 

“
It's not that he doesn't trust me,” she said.  “It's just... He still treats me like a kid, you know?  Like he always has to
make all my choices for me.”
 

“
So...” Rachael paused, as the sneaky little voice in the back of her head began to wonder just how much of a push the girl would need.  “Maybe you need to prove that you can.  Make your own choices I mean.  Maybe he needs to see that he doesn't have to be telling you what to do all the time.”
 

“
That'd be nice,” Arsha said.  Rachael raised the holographer and took another picture.
 

“
Fates, I hate this,” Arsha muttered.  “I wish we had something to do.”
 

“
I know what you mean,” Rachael said.  “I really wish we could have taken a look around this place.  It's like... It still don't seem real, this thing about these worlds and stuff.  I wanted to see it for myself, you know?”
 

“
Yeah,” Arsha nodded, glumly.
 

“
It wouldn't even have to take long, would it?” Rachael said, keeping her face hidden behind the holographer, as she focused it on the porthole behind Arsha's shoulder.
 

“
Not really.  We could have taken a walk through the main market and been back in an hour.”
 

“
Like, they'd hardly have missed us,” Rachael nodded.
 

“
Yeah.”  Arsha settled her chin on her knees.
 

“
So,” Rachael paused again, not sure if the girl was ready to be convinced or not, “what if we just did it?  You know, took a look around, got back here before anyone noticed?”
 

“
You mean... Sneak out?”
 

She could hear the nervousness in Arsha's voice, but also the
excitement that lurked beneath it.
 

“
Yeah.  No harm in it, right?  Everyone's out doing stuff anyhow.  We could be real quick about it,” Rachael said, doing her best to sound nonchalant.
 

“
We can't,” Arsha said.
 

“
Why not?  Because your dad never lets you do nothing for yourself?”
 

Arsha said nothing.
 

“
You said it.  He still treats you like a kid, right?  Like he doesn't even think you can't handle wandering out a little town like this by yourself.  It's rubbish, that is.”
 

“
He's just trying to keep us safe,” Arsha said, though she knew it didn't sound very convincing.
 

“
Sure, I mean I get that he means well, but he's acting like we can't look after ourselves.  I don't know about you, but I never needed no one looking out for me, you know?”
 

“
Right,” Arsha nodded, cautiously.  Carefully, Rachael set the holographer down, feeling that it was now or never.
 

“
So what do you say?”
 

The market was a riot of sights, sounds and smells, a constant press of people and a cacophony of voices, arguing prices, hawking wares, and holding conversations against the din.  
People in an array of brightly coloured clothes pressed in all around them as they darted through the throng.  The smell of cooked meat wafted off the open grills, mingling with the overwhelming scent of cardamom, chilli, coriander, and other spices Rachael had no names
for.  The air was hot and humid, and sweat gleamed on skin of a thousand different hues.