Chapter 7 A Beleaguered Bargain
Collecting Chaos
Tam and Eli stood at the front of the crew facing the group of Lobahlans that had boarded their ship.
In total there were thirty of them, including the two wealthy-looking charges.
It was not nearly enough to properly crew or defend the size of ship they had been on.
The emptied vessel continued to crackle behind the Lobahlans as the Zinferan ship pulled away.
Only a few belongings and supplies belonging to the passengers and crew had managed to make it over.
At present, they were leaning against the railing of Tam and Eli’s ship while introductions were made.
A young man and woman, former passengers of the burning Lobahlan vessel, stood in front of their own sailors dressed in clothes the likes of which Tam had never seen before.
The man, with his dark skin, eyes, and short black curly hair, wore a long, robe-like coat with billowing sleeves that ended at the elbows.
The garment was the most brilliant deep azure blue Tam had ever seen.
Finely embroidered gold ribbons lined his coat, cuffed pants, and flat hat.
A deep-purple silk shirt and black shoes, worn without stockings or socks, were the only breaks in the astounding blue and gold.
The woman’s clothes were no less beautiful.
Delicate threads of gold shot through her olive-green dress, matching the necklace and earrings that caught the afternoon sun.
The garment’s wide sleeves hid her hands, which she clasped in front of herself.
Her thick, straight black hair draped over her shoulder in a heavy braid, and she kept her heart-shaped face downturned.
The young man swept into a deep bow, his right arm extended dramatically. “Kind seafarers, you have our heartfelt thanks for your timely rescue.” He rose with a gleaming white smile.
The young woman at his side kept her expression schooled as she also inclined herself during her companion’s greeting.
The young man continued. “My name is Hamil of Judge Mago the Third, and this is my friend, Bes. Daughter of Tyre, Counselor for the People.”
Tam took in the introduction, his mind already whirring with interest.
Even though Kasim Jelani and his sister Adamma had been more forthcoming than most Lobahlans ever were, they were still incredibly tight-lipped about the details of their land.
“I am Lord Tamlin Ashowan, this is Lady Elisara and Captain Sun,” Tam introduced while lowering his chin as etiquette dictated. “We are happy to offer assistance, though we are in a hurry to return to Daxaria. To ensure we have enough supplies for yourselves and crew, we will be landing in Rollom.”
“Thank you. We offer our apologies for the inconvenience,” the woman, Bes, said serenely.
Captain Sun stepped forward, laid a hand over his heart, and bowed as he spoke.
“It isn’t your fault that the pirates found you.
They’ve been a problem in Zinfera for some time now.
Even though we are more than a day’s sail away from my kingdom’s shores, they have been venturing farther and farther out in the Alcide Sea to find helpless merchants to prey upon. ”
“Pirates taking over Zinfera? How interesting!” Hamil replied breathily, his eyes glittering with excitement as though he hadn’t nearly been murdered by an entire ship of said criminals.
Tam raised an eyebrow at Hamil. He would have guessed his age to be around twenty-two… likewise with Bes. But he seemed more immature.
Tam moved his hands to his pockets and did his best to don a polite smile.
He was a little tense about having strangers staying with them for the rest of the voyage, and anxious that saving them had eaten up nearly an entire day of travel.
“It is rare for a Lobahlan ship to be seen far from its own shores. What brings you out west?”
Hamil swung around to stare at Bes. He squinted, openmouthed, in a comical display of a youth caught doing something he shouldn’t.
Bes’s eyes rolled toward the sky when he did this, but she reclaimed her former smile quickly with a very deep inhale—though she looked a more stressed than she had before.
“We—Hamil and I—decided to see some of the other lands we have only heard rumors and stories about.”
Hamil clamped his mouth shut, grasped his hands behind his back, and nodded sunnily in agreement.
It wasn’t hard to guess that these two had left against someone’s wishes. Most likely both sets of parents. While not much was known about the government or monarchy of Lobahl, Tam could also guess that given the introduction they’d given, they came from prominent families.
Well. At least neither of them is in need of adoption, Tam thought dully.
Tam shared a quick glance with Eli before addressing the newcomers.
Her pursed lips told him she had come to the very same conclusion he had about the nature of their trip.
“I’m afraid we don’t have any hawks to help you send a missive to your families, but once we arrive in Daxaria, the harbormaster will be able to point you in the right direction for registration and accommodations. ”
“Registration?” Hamil’s face was once again rife with intrigue.
Tam paused. “Yes. All foreign visitors must register their stay with a magistrate assigned to the port.”
“Oh! That makes sense. In Lobahl that process is handled by a division called jamar. The jamar see to—” Hamil’s words were cut off by the sharp elbow Bes drove into his ribs.
Bes kept her eyes lowered despite the violence of her move. “Thank you for your guidance.”
Tam started to form the vague worry that these two young people would cause him even more problems than he already had.
However, there was nothing he could do at present, so he gestured toward the stairs belowdecks.
“We have managed to secure separate rooms for you, Hamil, and you, Bes, as you requested. Your men, on the other hand, I’m afraid, will be rather cramped with our crew for the next week and a half of our journey. ”
The first mate of Tam’s ship stepped forward and proceeded to guide their new passengers down to show them around, leaving Tam and Eli above deck to stare after them.
Once the last of the Lobahlan crew had disappeared from sight, Eli turned to Tam and folded her arms.
“Runaways?” she speculated aloud.
“Most likely. They probably left wanting adventure. I imagine it is rather difficult to leave Lobahl, given how few people do,” Tam said. He turned toward the rail and sidled over.
Eli followed.
“They aren’t siblings, and they aren’t married,” Tam continued.
“They act like siblings. So I doubt they are running off to elope,” Eli added.
“Mm-hm. My concern is whether or not they stole that boat, and whether or not misunderstandings will take place when they try to get in touch with their families. If we don’t handle the situation carefully, we could be named as accessories to their antics if they did anything outrageously illegal.”
Eli cringed.
Tam said nothing else as he allowed his attention to wander to the pale-blue sky. The temperature was already cooling considerably, and he wondered if Eli was warm enough.
“I’ll talk to the physician in the morning.”
Eli’s sudden announcement made Tam’s neck snap round to stare at her. Her face was perfectly still.
So, keeping his tone as neutral as possible, he said, “Alright.”
She peered down at the water, her long fingers fluttering against the railing. “I feel fine. But not knowing is making me look for symptoms and overthink. It’s annoying.”
Tam leaned his forearms on the railing and nodded silently.
“Are you ready for the news?” Eli ventured on, resignation thick in her voice.
Tam raised his eyebrows at her with a closed-mouth smile. “Who is ever ready to be a parent?”
“Apparently you. All the time. Anytime. Especially on a boat,” Eli reminded him glibly.
Tam laughed while turning back to look out over the water. “You know better than anyone I’ve been fumbling my way through with a lot of help from everyone around me. Yourself included.”
Eli gave a half shrug of concession to his point. “Are you going to be unbearably protective if we know that I am?”
“That depends on what you think is unbearably protective. Though if you’re trying to resume our fight from earlier, I’d keep it timed out. You know we need energy to deal with the kids when we go belowdecks. They’ll be pinging off the walls wanting to hear about the Lobahlans.”
“Mm,” Eli conceded, nodding.
“What pregnancy symptoms do you think you’ve been experiencing?”
Eli shot him a wry look. “I keep getting angry and wanting to fight with you, for one.”
Tam could’ve chosen his next words carefully, but he didn’t. “I certainly would like to think that isn’t how you normally are.”
He could feel Eli’s eyes bore into the side of his face.
He glanced back at her innocently. “Any other symptoms?”
It took a few tense moments, but Tam could see Eli opt to let him off the hook for the previous comment. “I’m craving milk in my tea and jam on toast.”
“It could be that just because you’re heading back to Daxaria, you’re thinking about that more. Jam and toast weren’t common as breakfast food in Zinfera—”
“I know,” Eli snapped.
Tam blinked and watched as she pinched the bridge of her nose. He gingerly rested a hand on her back.
She let out an aggravated huff that made him remove it.
“When I’m Kasha, your mother keeps asking me whether or not I’m pregnant.”
Tam recoiled. “Oh. I’m… I am very sorry about that.”
Eli grunted. “She also repeated your family history of virility.”
“Aah!” Tam backed away, his hands coming up as though to cover his ears, his expression horrified.
“ How do you think I felt about it?” she asked, her eyes rounding.
Shuddering, Tam resumed his position beside her. “Maybe don’t change into Kasha anytime soon. Unless it’s an emergency.”
“I’m fine with that,” Eli agreed grimly.
Tam suddenly frowned. “Come to think of it, I haven’t seen my mother or Kraken in a while…”
Tam and Eli looked at each other.
“Do you want to pretend that we didn’t notice?”
“I’d like that,” Eli confirmed while they moved away from the railing toward the stairs.
As they walked, Tam allowed his mind to drift toward the next morning. Were they going to be parents to an infant in the near future?
Before, he had been nervous because he’d been worried about Eli’s reaction to the news of expecting a child of her own flesh and blood.
Now memories of when his sister had been pregnant with the Daxarian princes resurfaced.
Tam started feeling a little afraid for himself in the coming months, should the physician confirm what he was already suspecting…
He decided that, come the next morning, ensuring Eli got to enjoy her tea with milk and toast with jam had just become his utmost priority.
★ ★ ★
Deep in the hull of the ship, Henrietta stared through the bars, her eyes wide.
The chicken duchess clucked ominously.
Kraken, the infamous familiar, sat beside the duchess and stared straight through Henrietta’s soul.
“I-I’m not turning her back! It’s—It’s for the greater good!
Daxaria needs to… The king needs to agree to annex the coven to rule on its own!
Witches aren’t like humans! We should be more in tune with the Gods and should have our elders leading a temple for all our kind!
It would be better for Daxaria, too, if—”
“Bok bok, bok bok bok bok bok. Bok bok bok, bok.” The chicken duchess tilted her head and blinked once. Her beady eyes glinted in the dim lanternlight.
“So?” Henrietta whimpered softly.
“Bok bok bok bok. Bok bok bok bok. Bok. Bok. Bok.”
Tears pooled in her eyes. “What will you do to them?”
The chicken duchess poked her head through the bars, leaning closer to Henrietta’s manacled feet.
“Bok bok bok bok, bok bok bok. Bok bok bok bok bok bok.”
Kraken emitted a short low growl, making Henrietta’s eyes snap over to the emperor.
“Y-you wouldn’t! You’re Duchess Ashowan! Finlay Ashowan is a good man, and a witch who—”
“BKAAAAAW! BKAW! BKAW! BKAAAAW!”
Henrietta was reduced to sobs.
The chicken duchess withdrew her head from the bars. “Bok bok, bok bok bok bok bok bok bok bok bok.”
Shivering in her cell, Henrietta dropped her head to her knees. Out of the corner of her eye, she vaguely saw the animals’ shadows stretching larger and larger as they strode away from her cell.
While Henrietta couldn’t hear them climb the stairs, she could sense that she was once again alone in the rocking, damp bottom of the ship.
In her renewed solitude, she was forced to question just how long she could keep refusing the utterly terrifying duchess…
and she didn’t think the answer would bode well for the coven.