Chapter 14 #5
That doesn’t sound like the man I’ve heard of.
Khayzur had spoken of a released victim, breathlessly telling the outside world of a hidden kingdom of treasure and a cruel woman.
Certainly not some dreamy yet clever courtier.
Nor did Queen Lab seem to be an immortal sorceress with an instrument capable of rewriting my past and tearing apart my future.
If the role of concerned, mortal monarch was an act, she was selling it astonishingly well.
And that might indeed be what was going on here.
But I was also familiar with the way the world can slander women who step beyond the bounds of what is to be expected.
Had perhaps one of her earlier ancestors had access to magic?
Could the peri’s and Jamal’s stories be rooted in the mystery and misunderstandings of a nearly inaccessible kingdom with strange practices?
By the Most High, I wished I knew. Our lives depended on it. But all I could do for now was play the part I had been given: shipwrecked captain begging favor from a foreign queen.
“Did you hope I might be one of those ships he dreamed of?” I asked.
“I did indeed.” She shifted, the beaded veil of sea silk swaying across her face, a curtain of inaccessibility falling between us. “But you claim you came upon our land accidentally while on a planned voyage of commerce and exploration?”
There was something I didn’t like about the succinct way she phrased that question. And yet what else could I say? That I had lied and we were indeed the pirates she feared, sent by supernatural creatures to steal from her?
“Ay,” I replied. “But I also meant the rest. My vessel, once repaired, is a sound ship that doesn’t always rely on the winds. We have survived dangerous, tricky waters, some of the riskiest in the world. My crew is talented, our knowledge of the stars and seas vast.”
“You believe you can leave.”
“With the will of God, anything is possible,” I intoned. “Unless of course, your council decides to break apart our hull for firewood and set my men to working in the fields.”
“Oh, we make more efficient use of what the sea brings us than that,” she replied with a jesting smile that left me unsettled. The rain picked up, cold pricks against my skin. “But you seem rather confident, Captain, so I would like to propose a deal.”
The phrase “propose a deal” coming from the ruler of a kingdom I was currently stranded in seemed like a poetic way of giving me a command, but I took the bait. “A deal?”
“Indeed.” Lab resumed walking, her elegant hands clasped behind her back as thunder rumbled in the distance.
“I am going to make an exception for your vessel. Repair it to the best of your abilities—I will personally fund the purchase of whatever supplies your people need. I will also see to it that your men are well cared for and fed, whether they desire to make camp where your vessel is located or stay in my city.”
How gracious. I followed her stride. “And in exchange?”
“First, any member of your crew who wishes to remain in Khatti Ugal must be permitted to do so. Such refuge is the heart of our culture, and should I hear even a whisper of disapproval, I will have your ship burned to the sand.”
“Understood,” I said, forcing myself not to grimace.
I would no doubt lose a few men. There were plenty among my crew with loose attachments back home, if not debts and problems they were actively trying to flee.
Add a terrifying, lethal voyage and a peaceful city with a welcoming population and there would be some deserters, my misgivings about Khatti Ugal nonetheless. “And?”
“I wish for you and your healer to remain in my palace. You may oversee the progress of repairs when necessary, but the majority of your time is to be spent in my court and with my scholars. You have traveled the world and boast of your advanced knowledge—I would have as much of it as possible, both yours and your physician’s. ”
Ah, yes. My physician. I hesitated; being in the palace might allow me to search for the spindle, but if I didn’t have a seaworthy ship with which to flee, it would all be for naught. “I am happy to educate your people in what realms I can, but the repair of my vessel is really quite delicate—”
“Then how fortunate you claim to have such a talented shipwright,” she countered, catching me out.
“He and the merchant can return to your crew.” Her voice was dismissive.
“I have no need of them. Besides, should you fail to venture beyond even the first sandbar—which is what I expect—you will have a ready position to return to.”
If I found the concept of joining a royal court jarring (there was only so long I could be polite and respectful), the concept of Dalila needing to perform as a knowledgeable physician—who offered information freely—seemed as likely as the lot of us growing wings and flying away to join the peris.
And yet what choice did we have? “I would be honored to share what I know.”
“I am glad to hear it. Also,” Lab added, not quite selling it as an afterthought, “when you depart, should you depart . . . a group will stay behind.”
I stopped walking. “You mean those who choose to stay?”
“No, I mean a group of people whom I decide. Chiefly those who aren’t essential to the running of a ship and may serve me well.”
“You wish me to sell you my people for ship parts?” The heat in my voice was obvious. “Forgive me, Your Highness, but—”
“Your Resplendency,” she corrected. “And I wish to borrow your people, Captain,” the queen added, a look of warning in her dark gaze.
“For my final condition. If you are successful in leaving Khatti Ugal, I want you to return—not only to recover the rest of your crew but to teach us how you did it.”
Now, that was a far cry from making an exception to their law.
“Do you wish to leave your kingdom?” I asked. “To expose your people to the outside world? For it seems idyllic, so harmonious one might believe they are in Paradise. Why risk that?”
“Right now, I merely desire knowledge. My son isn’t the only one who listens to stories of foreigners, but while his are adventure tales, mine are far different.
Far deadlier and far more worrisome.” She eyed me.
“We may be isolated now, but as you said . . . maritime technology has advanced. How do ‘backward’ kingdoms fare when they come to the attention of those thirsty for land, for treasure, for people? I would not have us taken unawares.”
I saw little argument there, but still . . . the price. “My people will fear themselves abandoned.”
“I suspect a great many more of your people are going to be clambering to be left behind than you realize. My kingdom is exceptionally skilled at welcoming new arrivals, of finding them lovers and friends, opportunities to start anew, and chances to learn, to train, to become people they only ever dreamed they could be.” She must have seen my skeptical expression for she gentled her tone.
“We will not be dragging anyone off by their hair, Captain. We are civilized.”
I cleared my throat. “I must speak to them.”
“But of course.” The rain was falling in earnest now, though Queen Lab seemed unbothered by the water streaming down her diadem, the hem of her white gown turning muddy.
“You need not fear us. Indeed, if you are the talents you claim to be, you will find yourselves embraced. It is the essence of who we are. New arrivals are new blood in the veins of this kingdom. Make yourselves useful—open yourselves to this land, to me—and you will want for nothing.”
That sounded far more intimate than sharing navigational technology. I didn’t particularly want to “open myself” to a woman I still wasn’t certain wasn’t a sorceress, and I was fairly certain Dalila hadn’t opened herself to anyone in her life and would consider it a hostile request.
One that the lives of our crew might depend upon. That our chance of ever seeing our families again might depend upon.
I took a deep breath, the roses so fragrant it was almost as though rotting flowers had been shoved up my nose. The garden was quiet save for the approaching storm, the birds silenced. I glanced at the hill, but the ruin was now vanished behind the mists.
Nothing you say is binding. Are you not a criminal? Fix your damn ship so you can flee with the spindle and your crew. For I wouldn’t be leaving anyone behind who did not wish so.
Now, if only I could achieve that. And pray Lab wasn’t as much of a liar as me. “I understand . . . Your Resplendency,” I agreed.
“Excellent!” Lab clapped me on the back, the chill of her hand making me jump.
“You stand quite unbowed, Captain al-Sirafi.” She followed it with a phrase in her tongue and when I lifted a brow in incomprehension, she explained.
“We have a tree here known for shattering the stones around it. The iron cypress; it grows so straight and so unyielding, it is like metal. A metaphor for leadership.”
The words were clearly meant as praise, but with the bodies of six of my sailors growing cold under the sea, it was difficult not to react poorly. “I would hope leadership could be attained without shattering those around you.”
The queen seemed unfazed. “Perhaps something is lost in translation. But it is not the time to chat Khatti Ugalan poetry; that shall be tomorrow. For now, let us return you to your companions.”