Chapter Twelve
THERE WERE SIGNATURES ON ROUGH VELLUM—and goodbyes—to be made.
Vows from both Mahouk Nouradi and Jaska Ashwish stating that negotiations were now taking place between the vahasi and the Court of the Gray Ice.
Under such a treaty, those involved with the rebellion were to be given leeway to return to their homes as long as no other transgressions against the ruler of the Black Sands were committed.
As Teryn could not speak for King Aelir, the pact stood only on Sandrayan lands for the moment.
I suspected, and rightfully so, that our king would not be as generous to the people who conspired to abduct his children.
But that was to be worked out once the twins were back in the castle with their parents.
Teryn suggested that once the prince and princess were safe and coddled, the king, queen, and the consorts might be less prone to hang the kidnappers in the town square.
Something that I could not see Aelir doing since he was not prone to violence.
Then again, his beloved children had been taken, so I dared not say he would not toss Jaska and his cronies into the sea with rocks tied to their feet.
“If we are ready to go?” Jaska asked, his eyes filled with unshed tears as he held his son in his arms, his wife stoic at his side, her hands resting on her large belly.
“We are,” Teryn stated with a glance at me. I gave him a nod.
“Good, we shall lead you out. I would ask, Mahouk, that my wife and son be given leniency as they are innocents in this plan.” Lady Ashwish began to argue, but her husband silenced her protests by placing a hand on her swollen abdomen.
They began conversing in Sandrayan. Teryn looked morose.
Once the discussion ended, Jaska led the way, carrying his boy as we followed a thin winding staircase hewn from the rock itself downward.
The steps were slick with moisture, the stone walls bore the marks of the pickaxes used to create them, illuminated with oil-soaked torches that sent black smoke curling up the stairs.
Teryn carried the princess, for she was lighter, and I toted the prince.
Both twins were silent, eyes round with wonder, as we carefully followed Jaska and his woman downward.
He never once let her arm out of his grasp.
Keeping her on her feet was his main concern.
It came to me to wonder how a man with so much to lose would commit such an atrocious act against his king.
Surely he knew he would be imprisoned for his actions.
By law, he could be hanged or beheaded, not that those penalties were used anymore, but an attack on the royal family was treason, and that carried a heavy penalty.
Yet he had not only planned the kidnapping but had participated in it fully.
The man was either a foolhardy twit or a noble champion.
It remained to be seen which term would follow him into the annals of Melowynn history.
That was not for me to decide. My job was to protect the twins as well as Teryn.
While it felt as if the danger had passed, I could not let my guard down.
Jaska was not to be trusted. While he may appear to be accepting his fate, he could be leading me and my charges into a trap.
I shifted the prince to the left to free my sword arm.
If they thought to lead us to our deaths, I would take one or more of them with us.
“I hear the sea,” Prince Al’fur whispered near my ear.
It was growing louder the lower we descended.
We rounded a large jutting shard of white rock, ducking slightly, and stepped out onto a rock floor, smoothed by thousands of seasons of the sea washing over it.
The sun was bright, glaring off the wet rock to make us all wince.
“This way,” Jaska called over the roar of the waves.
We followed him out into the sun and wind, the caw of gulls and the rush of wind through dancing fronds greeting us.
Our boots sank into wet black sand as we climbed up onto a wooden dock that looked out over the ocean.
Bobbing on the waves were ten ships, among them two war vessels flying the Sandrayan flags.
A show of power that sent a strong message to the ragtag rebels.
A silent flex of military saying that the vahasi knew he had the upper hand but was being gracious.
I prayed Aelir would be as forgiving when we sailed into the port of Celear. If not forgiving then lenient…
The others were smaller vessels, most without markings or banners. Among them sat the Simin Draya, restored to her glory with her golden bow spar glinting in the bright sunlight.
“A most welcome sight,” Teryn commented before glancing at me. “Sorry. A welcome sight for most.”
“I’m sure the journey will be better returning home than it was coming,” I replied, trying to be upbeat for the twins, who were gleeful seeing the armada of boats with their snapping sails.
A small skiff was launched from the Simin Draya, with one lone sailor and two guards.
The children clapped happily when we were inside the rowboat.
I found little to applaud as the surging waves began to play a soft, chaotic tune with my gut.
Knowing it would only grow worse the longer I was on the sea, I dug into my satchel for my tin of paste as the guards placed heavy iron shackles on Jaska’s arms and around his ankles.
His woman began arguing, but Jaska calmed her with a few softly spoken words.
The lid of the tin came off with a clink.
Both children looked at me as I smeared paste onto my tongue and made a face.
“That smells like dirty baby clouts,” Alfina stated, her regal nose wrinkling.
“It tastes like it as well, Your Highness,” I gagged, which set the prince to giggling.
“Must he be shackled?” Teryn asked the guards as he passed his child over the side to me. I got them settled on either side of me. “What would happen if the ship goes down? Masha is most concerned over that fate.”
Ah, so her name was Masha. It was pretty, just like the woman fighting for her partner.
“Then he would drown,” one of the guards clad in blue robes with a tall, fluted gold hat flatly replied.
I had seen that headgear in the palace when the vahasi visited many seasons ago.
So these men were royal guards, just as I was, only they looked much crisper than I did at the moment.
I had come to learn that coil root took on a displeasing, moldy scent after a time.
Perhaps it was not meant to be worn for days on end as the bark possibly was not only absorbing any ground liquid but my sweat as well.
A hot bath would be incredibly welcome. “He is to be shown no mercy by order of the vahasi and the mainland king.”
So it seemed Jaska would feel the brunt of Aelir’s anger.
As it should be. I had found a grudging respect for the man, but he had stolen children, taken them into danger, and held them for ransom for a cause.
That was not to mention his drugging an old woman while nearly killing a pixie princess.
Surely a less radical way could have been found to bring attention to the plight of the poor.
What that would have been, I had no clue.
The status quo had been in place for centuries with no signs of massive revisions on the horizon.
Mayhap something this bold was needed to shake the nobles from their complacency. There were no easy answers.
Jaska was shoved into the skiff. Holding onto the twins to keep them from tumbling into the sea, I heard his shoulder impact the wooden seat.
He grunted but made no other sound as he righted himself.
He was moved from the seat to the bottom of the boat, where he knelt the entire way to the Simin Draya, then was taken off first and led away.
Porgo stood on the side of the boat, reaching down to lift the princess from my arms, followed by the prince.
After Teryn and I aided Masha up, her son was passed along.
I waved the ambassador to go first, placing my hands on his lean waist to boost him upward.
Then I followed, easing my way to the deck of the familiar boat while my stomach began to make unpleasant sounds.
I sat under the awning, my back among pillows, my sight on the horizon.
The twins cuddled up to me, curled under each arm, as Teryn barked at the guards.
They were being none too kind to our prisoner as they chained him to the mainmast in the blazing sun.
The others who had filed out behind us, the rebels who had taken part in this abduction, were being rounded up by the army of the vahasi.
Their fates were in the hands of the Sandrayan leader.
I hoped he would be merciful to the young and the elderly.
His wife shouted in Sandrayan, his son crying softly, until Teryn motioned to the warship with a wave of his hand.
The guards then freed Jaska, hauling him down into the small hold of the ship instead.
The rich smell of lavender flowed out of the small space.
The trapdoor was closed with a slam. A vibrant conversation between Teryn, Masha, and the guards broke out.
Porgo joined me in the shade, squatting down to make funny faces at the twins, who seemed most intrigued by his tattoos.
“Mahouk Nouradi is telling them that he will speak to the vahasi as well as your king about the unnecessary roughness being shown to Ashwish. I have my doubts that the father of these two will think a few days in a flowery hold would constitute abuse, but our ambassador is a man of firm morals and a soft heart.”