Order of Swans (The Blue Swan Duology #1)

Chapter 7

7

Even though she’d been told that the island of Selkan was mostly men, Kaley wasn’t prepared for seeing it in reality. When they disembarked in the town of Doyen, a wagon was waiting for them. On the side was painted an outline of what she assumed was the island, with a symbol in the middle. She didn’t ask, but she had an idea that meant it belonged to King Aramus. It was a far cry from the elegance and luxury of the one on Eren. This wagon was so hard and sturdy that it could probably withstand an earthquake and a hurricane at the same time.

She stood in the background as they showed the bordermen the papers the king had sent with them.

Three of the king’s guards met them. They looked as strong as the horses, with their leather clothes and knives that hung on to their belts and stuck out of their tall boots. Each man had deep scars on his face. One man’s face had healed in a way to make a permanent sneer. The men were talking to each other while they leered at Kaley in a vulgar way.

Instinctively, Kaley stepped closer to Sojee, and Tanek moved to her side. He looked ready to draw a weapon on the men.

Sojee picked up a heavy case and tossed it onto a pile. “The scars are from a game, not combat. They present no danger to us.”

Neither Kaley nor Tanek looked like they believed that.

Another guard came forward. He was also scarred, but he didn’t have the predatory look that the others did. He angrily said something to the three men in a language she didn’t understand, then left.

Kaley got into the wagon.

“I can adjust you to understand,” Sojee said as he sat down beside her. He put his hand on his pocket, meaning his magic blue-light pen.

“No, thanks,” Kaley said. “I don’t want to hear what they’re saying.”

Tanek nodded. “The captain’s name is Garen and he’s to stay with us every minute that we’re here. He’s never to leave us.”

“Great,” Kaley mumbled. “And what’s second prize?”

The men looked at her, not understanding her comment.

The guards took their places on the front and back of the wagon. Unlike the men on the ship, who seemed to know they weren’t supposed to stare, these men looked at Kaley like ravenous predators. She was well covered but she pulled her collar up to hide more of her face. The captain saw her movement and snapped at the men, but they gave little smirks and didn’t stop stealing glances at her.

Tanek moved from the opposite side to sit beside her so Kaley was wedged tightly between him and Sojee. She scooted back so the men were farther in front of her.

In other circumstances, the two large men would be intimidating, but not to these guards. In fact, they seemed to be amused. They started talking to Tanek and Sojee.

“I don’t think we’re scaring them,” Kaley said.

Tanek spoke. “They want us to play their sports game with them.”

“The one that scarred their faces?” she asked.

“Yes,” Sojee answered.

“I vote no,” Kaley said, and the men nodded in agreement.

As they drove through the town, Kaley peeped out around the men and looked at the place. It was very different from Eren. There were no boxes filled with flowers, no pretty railings. The houses were all large and heavy. Doors were tall and thick and often covered with big nail heads. The fading daylight made the town look like something out of a horror film.

The only people she saw were men. They wore leather clothes and heavy boots, and when the wagon passed, the men stopped and stared. Kaley moved back farther, letting the muscular arms of Sojee and Tanek hide her.

It seemed like a long time before the wagon stopped. They were in front of a building with massive doors. Small windows were framed by stone and covered by iron bars.

“It’s the inn and it’s better if you stay covered.” Sojee got down, held up his arms and lifted her out of the tall wagon. She stood close beside him as Tanek got down.

She looked around. “I think that just looking at this town is making hair grow on my chest.”

The two men looked at her in surprise, then Sojee laughed. Tanek just stared.

The captain of the guard, Garen, said something to Sojee, then the heavy door opened.

Inside, the inn had high ceilings with huge rafters and beams. To one side were tables, each one looking like it must weigh hundreds of pounds. Several men were eating and drinking from metal plates and mugs. They halted and silently stared at the visitors. Kaley kept her face hidden.

Sojee spoke to Garen, then said, “We’re to follow him.” Sojee went up the stairs first, then Kaley, with Tanek close behind her.

When Garen threw open a door to a room, Kaley was happily surprised. It was quite pretty, with curtains of fabric printed with little blue flowers. The bed was a four-poster and looked soft and comfortable.

“This is lovely,” she said, looking at the scarred man. “Thank you.”

When Sojee translated, Garen smiled. He was pleased.

As two other guards dropped Kaley’s duffel and her backpack on the floor, they looked around the room in awe. Garen snapped at them and they left. He spoke to Sojee, then he, too, left.

Kaley looked at Sojee and Tanek. “So we share this room?”

Sojee grinned. “No. It’s yours alone. We’re next door. They’re sending supper up to you. Ah, here it is.”

An older man, with scars on his face and bare arms, set a platter down on a table. It was a slab of meat that had to be about six pounds. There was nothing else with it.

“Nice appetizer,” Kaley said.

The man was puzzled, not understanding her sarcasm.

“Tell him thank you,” Kaley said. “It’s very nice and I’m sure I’ll enjoy it.”

When he was told, the man grinned, showing that he was missing several teeth.

Sojee yawned. “This has been a long day. I think we should go to bed early. Tomorrow we’ll look for the prince.”

“Sounds good to me,” Kaley said. “I can see a bathtub through that door so I’m going to have a long soak. I’ll see you two early in the morning.”

Sojee explained how to bolt the heavy door from the inside, and told her she was to let no one in. Kaley yawned and promised to securely lock everything.

The men hesitated but they finally left and Kaley sat down to her steak, which was delicious. If there was one thing men could do well, it was cook meat.

She ate as much as she could, then she unzipped her bag and pulled out black sweatpants, her hiking boots and her black hoodie. She tied her hair back and pulled the hood forward, all while muttering, “Do they really think I don’t know what they’re planning to do? If they do find the king’s son, how will they persuade him to go with them? Hold a sword to his neck? But then, Sojee doesn’t want him marrying the princess so he won’t try very hard, so—” She stopped muttering and looked at herself in the mirror. She was as covered as she could get. Nothing girlie was showing.

When she opened the door and looked out, she was scared. She reminded herself that they were protected by the king. Sojee had a pouch full of papers telling who they were and—Her thoughts didn’t help.

She did her best to swagger down the stairs. Since she’d spent a lot of her life in her father’s car repair shop, she knew how boys walked. She stomped down the steps in a way that made the men at the tables not even look at her. It appeared that they were used to men who kept their faces covered.

She went to a far corner that was dark and had to wait only minutes before Sojee and Tanek came down the stairs. She clomped over to them. “You boys from outta town?” she said in a deep voice.

The men looked at her in shock. Tanek recovered first. “Starken-el! What are you doing here?” He grabbed her arm and pulled her back into the dark corner.

She pushed his hand away. “I’m going to help find the prince. I am not staying alone in that room. What if one of these men decided to break in? Who’d be there to stop them since you two are out frolicking around town and leaving me all alone, by myself, undefended?”

Tanek’s face was red with anger, but before he could speak, Sojee’s laugh stopped him. He put his hand on Tanek’s shoulder. “Boy, have you not learned that the strength of women is in their words? She will beat you every time.”

“She—” Tanek began, then stopped. “You will stay covered.”

“Yes, sir,” Kaley said meekly, making Sojee laugh again.

Still angry, Tanek threw open the big door to the outside. When two men, obviously drunk, came in, he pushed Kaley behind him, hiding her.

Outside, there was little light in the streets, but a whole lot of horse manure.

“Did you two have dinner?” she asked. “It was the best steak I ever had. So how do we find the prince?”

“He has a dragon,” Sojee said. “We look for it.”

“You mean like a Komodo? I didn’t know they were tamable.”

“Your woman’s voice will draw attention to you,” Tanek said in warning.

She knew he was right. As she walked, she heard the men talking behind her.

“She can’t keep up,” Tanek said.

“I know that she can,” Sojee said. “But she will fear the dragon.”

“Ha!” Tanek answered. “It will roll on the ground with her.”

“And how do you know this?” Sojee sounded almost angry.

Kaley turned to them, walking backward. “Are you two going to fight over me? I’m a prize? I should wear a steeple hat with a veil, and toss my hankie to my chosen champion. Surely, being part of a fairy tale will get my dissertation approved.”

The two men looked at her in puzzlement, but when her voice caught the attention of a passing man, she turned away, smiling broadly.

They walked over the rough cobblestones for what had to be hours, going in and out of so many places that were open that Kaley began to regret her decision to go with them. Several times, Sojee stopped men and asked if they’d seen the prince. Each time, he was sneered at. One man spit out a glob that almost hit Kaley’s boot.

“People don’t seem to like the prince,” she said. The men didn’t reply to her observation of the obvious.

About an hour before dawn, the men went into yet another tavern, but this time, they sat down at a table in a dark corner and ordered big mugs of beer. Kaley drank half of hers in one gulp. When she looked up, the men were staring at her. “I’m thirsty. Tell me about this island. Why aren’t there any women?”

“There are few women on this island,” Sojee said.

“I can see that, but the men must have mothers and probably sisters. Please tell me these macho men haven’t locked the women up somewhere.” The beer was making her feel lightheaded.

“Male and female are separated at seven years old,” Tanek said. “The under-seven boys are on Pithan.” He looked at Sojee, who nodded.

She took another drink. “Why is this done?”

Sojee leaned back to let Tanek answer. He seemed to be the historian. “There was a lot of anger between the sexes, each accusing the other of causing the problems. They said it would be better to live without each other.”

“I can understand that,” she said. “I mean, separating people.”

Anger rose in Tanek’s face. “How is that understandable?”

Kaley drank more of the strong beer. “Well...when a woman is angry about something at work, instead of listening, the man tells her how to fix it. He can’t find anything—unless it’s with a rifle. Women cook three meals a day, and no one pays any attention, but if a man makes pancakes on Sunday morning he expects to be praised for the next month. Basically, women get the Second Shift. They have a job, then go home and do eight hours of housework. A man has a job, goes home, drinks beer and fiddles with his hobby. I could go on, but is that the kind of problems they had here?” She didn’t wait for an answer, but finished her beer. “So how are babies made?”

“That is strictly controlled,” Sojee said.

“Ah, fornicating under command of the king,” she said. “I read that in a Sara Medlar book. It got abbreviated.” With a sweet smile, she put her arms down on the table, rested her head on them and closed her eyes. She heard nothing else.

Sojee looked at Tanek. “Do I carry her back or do you?”

“I’m sure she would prefer you,” Tanek said.

“Why does she dislike you so much? What did you do to her?”

“Nothing.”

Sojee’s face showed that he didn’t believe him.

“She was a bit, uh, aggressive at our first meeting and I... I wasn’t receptive.”

“Are you saying that you let her know you weren’t interested in her as a woman?”

Tanek was silent.

Sojee shook his head in disbelief. “She’s beautiful, she has a superior body and she entertained the grumpy old king. And there are those eyes of the richest brown! But you turned her down?”

Tanek had no intention of talking of this. “You could wake her with your illegal pen.” He ordered two more beers. That he wasn’t leaving showed he had something more to say. “Where did you get that pen?”

Sojee took time to answer, as though considering whether or not to confide. “I am strongly connected to the Old Kingdom.”

Tanek wanted to ask more but he didn’t. He believed that trust had to be earned—and he was trying to gain Sojee’s. “I have some things I need to do here,” Tanek said. “They are private.” He nodded to Kaley. “What are we going to do with her?”

Before Sojee could answer, a Never appeared. He’d heard of them, but hadn’t seen one. She was a tiny woman with a bright light that surrounded her, and she was exquisitely beautiful. He stared in awe.

Tanek smiled in a way that showed he loved the little creature. “This is Arit,” he said to Sojee, then looked back at her. “I wondered if you could cross the water.” He reached into his pocket, withdrew a leather pouch and took out a spoon that was no bigger than a straw. “Did you come for me or my beer?”

Sojee saw her reply, but he couldn’t understand what she was saying. He watched Tanek tip his mug, fill the spoon with a drop of beer and hand it to her. Her wings slowed and she landed on the salt pot to sit and drink her beer.

“Prince Nessa is encased,” Arit said.

“With a Selkan?”

Sojee understood only what Tanek said.

“Yes.”

“That’s not good,” Tanek said. “He’s promised to a princess, a female.”

“He likes both. Or everything.” She held out her spoon for a refill.

“Is he as bad as people here seem to think?” Tanek refilled the spoon and handed it to her.

“Worse . ” Arit looked at Kaley sleeping with her head on her arms. “I saw her today. She is very pretty, and she has extraordinary eyes. They’re like moonlight on Pithan.”

Tanek looked at Sojee. “You have brown moonlight on your island?”

He guessed what had been said. “On some nights, it’s as beautiful as Kaley’s eyes.”

Tanek gave an eye roll, then looked back at Arit. “Too bad you can’t talk to her and keep her busy today. I have to see someone and I don’t want her knowing. But I dare not leave her alone.”

“Do not let these men see her. They are very lonely. Do you understand me?”

“All too well.”

Arit was smiling at Kaley as she held out her spoon for a third beer. “You two would make beautiful babies.”

Tanek grimaced. “She’s from Earth and wants to return there. And I have other things to do in my life.”

“You are probably right,” Arit said. “Besides, you’re too old for her. She needs a younger man.”

Tanek groaned. “Go home and sleep.”

She fluttered her wings and rose about a foot above the table. “Tomorrow, I will tell you where the prince is.”

“Thank you.”

She started to leave, but then turned her attention to Sojee, who was still staring at her. Suddenly, she flew directly toward his eyes.

Tanek came out of his seat, fearful that he would instinctively swat at her.

But Sojee didn’t move. When she buzzed in front of his left eye, he winked his right eye in a flirtatious way.

She flew back and turned to Tanek. “He is very controlled. He has done more than you think he has, and he is more.” She paused in the air. “I’ve heard stories that there is a white swan on this island.”

“Is there?” Tanek said. “Where—?” But Arit was gone.

When her laugh came out of the void, even Sojee heard it. “The sweetest sound,” he murmured.

Tanek stood up and nodded to Kaley. “You carry her.”

Sojee touched his pen to Kaley’s arm and she woke up. Or at least she woke enough to walk out of the tavern, sandwiched between the men, her hood covering her face completely. They left her in her room, then Sojee wedged the door closed. No one would enter without everyone hearing.

He and Tanek went to their room.