Ittook us three days to cross theCeruleanSeato the shores of the continent, the wind seeming to favor our journey.AfterNiatawas out of sight, and it seemed beyond the distance that any sane person would attempt to swim back,Avlynlet me out of my room to walk the deck and stretch my legs.Unfortunatelyfor them,Iwas not really a sane person.
Idashed for the edge and immediately threw myself over, diving into the water.TheCeruleanSeawas not cold, but it still sent a shock through me asIscrambled to catch my breath.Iresurfaced and began pumping my arms and legs rapidly.Myouter robe became imbued with water, slowing me significantly.Itore at the tie around my waist and shrugged it off as quickly asIcould.Iheard shouting from the deck but didn’t dare look back.Thesmall voice inside my head nagged me about swimming without any land in sight, and barely any sense of direction other than the setting sun, butIswam harder, nonetheless.
Thatwas untilIwas suddenly pushed under by a great weight, and felt arms wrap around my torso.Theydragged me back to the surface, butIthrashed.
“You’lldrown us both, you idiot,”Avlynyelled at me between breaths of air and being dunked back underwater by my weight.Butthen two more sets of hands grabbed at my shoulders and hauled me out of the water onto a small boat.Iheard a sword pulled from its sheath; its tip laid at my throat.Thesoldiers on the boat watched me intently asIpanted and coughed up sea water, while another helpedAvlynclimb aboard.Itseemed they had removed some of their plate armor before jumping in after me, but how they had managed to catch up with me with so much still on,Icouldn’t know.
Theylaid back in the boat, letting the warm sun hit their face in a most appealing way. “Iwouldnotlike to do that again.”Theyturned their face to me, “Thiswill make it much harder to get permission to allow you to roam freely.”Astern look, like a teacher scolding a naughty student for speaking out of turn.Ishot back daggers with my eyes but said nothing.
Avlynlet out a harsh laugh, “Gods,I’mnot paid enough for this.”Theother soldiers in the boat jostled them and joined in laughing.
“That’swhat you get for being the king’s favorite, ass-kisser,” another soldier teased.Avlynkicked them with their booted foot, but it was more of a playful gesture.
“That’sCommanderAss-kisser to you,Lieutenant.”Morechuckles and playful slaps all around.
Somehow, seeing their camaraderie made me feel more empty.Thisdidn’t seem like the army of mindless killersIhad heard about.Justa group of soldiers like the onesIhad trained with back home.Thesmall boat docked next to the larger one and a ladder was rolled down to us.Avlynpushed me to go first.
Despitethe situation,Icould still feel heat rise to my cheeks in embarrassment.Ihad shed my outer robe, soIwas once again in nothing but a short slip that was soaking wet and very see-through.Ididn’t like to think about the view the soldiers would get asIclimbed the ladder in front of them.
Avlynsaw my blush, “Shouldhave thought of that before you decided to go for an evening swim,Princess.”Nopity there, but definitely a bit of teasing.Imade a rude gesture with my hands, andAvlynlaughed again, “Upyou get,Princess,” rudely grabbing and hoisting me up the ladder.Itried to climb as quickly as possible, rolling myself over the edge of the ship awkwardly.Ivery unceremoniously flopped onto the deck when a pair of fine shoes entered my line of sight.
“I’mused to women ripping their clothes off for me, but you seem to be making it a habit.”Icoughed asIlooked up at the king.Myhair was plastered to my face with salt water, andIprobably had the appearance of a drowned cat.He, on the other hand, looked impeccable.Itwas like he hadn’t just spent the day invading a foreign land and ripping hearts from people’s chests.Hewore all black leather pants that clung to his strong thighs but had exchanged his armor for a black linen shirt that was more appropriate for sailing, the sleeves rolled above his elbows.Hislong silvery hair was loose and blowing in the wind but still managed to never look disheveled, and his hands bore several silver and gold rings.Hestared down at me likeIwas something disgusting he had found on the bottom of his shoe.
Ijumped up.Hewas slightly taller than me, but it forced him to meet my gaze, that was until he let it lazily trace down my body again.Thatsame smirk crossed his face, “Ifyou wanted to seduce me,Princess, there are easier ways than trying to drown yourself.”
“Funnythat you think a woman trying to get as far away from you as possible is a seduction technique.Ihate to think what your lovers must go through.”Acold wind whipped around my wet body, andIfelt my nipples go hard from the cold.Ihated the sensation of them against the wet fabric, butIlatched on to how his eyes lingered there.Anopportunity.
Buthe looked up and raised a single eyebrow at me, “Ihaven’t had any complaints yet.Infact, quite the opposite.”
“Oh?”Imoved towards him then, andIheard the armor of the soldiers around me shift as they placed their hands on their weapons.Butnone moved, soIleaned in close to the king, so our bodies were merely a hairsbreadth apart, andIcould hear his pulse beneath the smooth skin of his neck.Iwhispered in my softest voice, “Thenhow would you like me to seduce you?”Healmost didn’t react, butIheard his heart rate increase and saw the slightest dilation of his pupils, which gave him away.
Buthe locked a cold look on his face. “Now,Icanclearlysee that you are disarmed, butIdon’t intend to give you the same opportunity that those fools in the dungeon did.”Itwas my turn to freeze, asIworked with all my might to keep the taste of blood from rising back into my mouth.
Hestepped towards me then.Istepped back to avoid him but smacked right into the armor of one of the soldiers who had climbed up the ladder after me. “So,Princess, are you going to stop trying to kill yourself, or are you going to force me to lock you up?”Somethinglingered there behind his gaze, somethingIcouldn’t decipher.
Iraised my wrists to him, trying to call his bluff, and his eyebrows shot up, “Bestto lock me up,YourMajesty, my tutors always told me thatIhad a hard time following directions.”Italmost looked like he was about to laugh, but instead, his sneer locked back into place.
“Asyou wish.”Hemotioned to the soldier next to me, who, to my surprise, pulled a pair of shackles out and clamped them around my wrists.Iwas grateful they weren’t iron, but my arms sagged under their weight, andIwas sure that they would chafe.
Andso,Ispent the next three days locked in my room, shackled.Theydid start to rub away at the skin, bright red welts forming that could never really heal as they kept being ripped at.Avlynwould let me out of my cabin twice a day, butIwas chained to their side now, and not allowed near the railing of the ship.Ididn’t see the king again, butIwas more than happy about that.
Ishifted on my bed, and the shackles ripped a new welt in my skin.Probablyshouldn’t have asked to be locked up,said the little voice inside my head.Theywere right, as per usual.Ithad always been hard for me not to push, not to fight back with any weaponIhad at my disposal, but it did seem to get me in deeper trouble more often than not.Ithad certainly ruined my relationship with my father.ButIlooked out my porthole window again, focusing on the turquoise ocean, and imagined my thoughts disappearing below the surface.Ilet all my grief hide away until my mind was as calm as the lazy ocean outside.
Wewere headed for theDragonKingdom, a place almost as isolated as thePearlKingdom.Theonly thing that ever left there was this army.ThearmyIwas currently trapped on a boat with, in the middle of the ocean.AllIcould do was observe my captors and wait for my next chance to escape.
Chapter5
Tori
Ourship came into port at the coastal city ofMetlin, where the great riverVardamet the sea.Thisriver was the very lifeblood of theGoldenKingdom, and it fed thousands of fields of ambrosia flowers.AndMetlinwas its beating heart, the continent’s largest port.
Icould hear the whole ship rumbling with the steps of the soldiers as they moved, loading supplies and performing other shiply dutiesIknew little about.Ihad always enjoyed swimming in the ocean but traveling by boat had always been somethingIdisliked.Besides, my father never allowed me to leave our kingdom.
Ihad been content to read of the continent and experience it through others, especially when so many of the stories were of war and famine, where slavery was not only allowed, but openly practiced on the so-called lower races, especially humans.Ihad wanted nothing to do with a place that would allow such monstrosities.
Butnow, as the ship swayed gently in the dock,Icouldn’t help but look out the window.Imostly saw the great dock that stretched along the bay and the delta of theVardariver, wooden decks and gangplanks lined with derelict shacks, each faded from the sea salt spray that had coated them year after year.Peopleof every race bustled about.Isaw a crew of small, winged pixies holding one end of a long, heavy trunk, the other end held up by a single orc, his moss-green skin gleaming with sweat and ocean spray.Theyloaded ships like many of the other porters then disappeared into the shacks that seemed to be taverns of some kind.Ahuman male, clearly very drunk despite the early hour, was held up by his ear by a matronly woman who viciously kicked him out of her establishment.Helanded face-first on the filthy boardwalk, with other citizens simply stepping over him as if he were just another piece of flotsam.
Icouldn’t help but smile at the humanity of it, the similarity to the docks back home.Niatawas much smaller thanMetlin, its dock stretching as far asIcould see from my small vantage point, but somehow it felt familiar.
