"I'll come out and help again.” My hand slips comfortably into his and he leads me out of the tent. The kingdom is buzzing with rumours about us, and though we haven't been subtle, we've agreed it's out-of-touch to make the announcement at a time like this. There are more pressing issues that deserve attention.
"Quick fuck in the tent?" Asks Anna, appearing at my side, hauling a load of mooring lines over her shoulder to start bringing more boats in.
"Absolutely not," I say, gasping in shock as if I'm scandalised by such a suggestion. "It was oral, and bloody good oral too."
"Rennalya, not in public," warns Rexxan, his voice stern.
"Sorry," I mouth. I need to work on that. Anna winks at me and pokes her tongue into the side of her cheek. With a grin, she veers off to the left, hauling the pile of rope over to the shipwrights. Rexxan and I get to work at the waterline. I've not known him long, in the course of our lives, but we work together like people who have been a team throughout the ages, acutely aware of what the other is doing.
"From King Espan. It's the first of three, to express his gratitude. More will come," says the captain of a ship as it moors on the riverbank. No people are aboard, only bags upon bags of flour, oats, rice, grains, and dried fruit. Rexxan nods, beckoning twelve soldiers over with two fingers and asking them to unload the boat. That’s a relief, I suppose, but it’ll vanish quickly.
My focus is dragged away by the sound of someone screaming something in Golden Tongue. It takes me a moment to adjust to the language and hear that they're calling for help. I climb up onto an abandoned boat to see a little further in the distance, and I make out a wooden boat. The stern is much lower than the bow, and a low thud of dread begins in my chest.
It's sinking.
There's no doubt in my mind as I kick off my boots and tear my black cloak off my shoulders. "Rennalya! What are you doing?" Shouts Rexxan, standing in the water where he's searching for survivors amongst the rubble.
"There's a sinking boat!" I shout back, before jumping off the boat and plummeting down into the floodwaters below. I wince as I resurface, my body bruised and fingers still broken, but I have to push through. The water is murky, congested with splintered wood, sharp nails, and metal shards so I swim carefully, the bitter cold sinking into my skin. As the screaming intensifies I start to swim, my aching muscles protest as I battle the flow of the polluted river to reach them.
Rexxan catches me up quickly, his body built for this. "Did you see how many?" He asks, a few other soldiers diving into the water behind us.
"No, but they're from Espan's kingdom. They're speaking Golden Tongue."
Rexxan channels through the water with the agility of a shark. Oh, fuck.
Sharks.
I forgot about fucking sharks.
Suddenly I'm petrified every time anything touches my foot, even though I know very well that there isn't any. "What is it?" He says, slowing down.
"I'm scared!" I screech, channelling my inner Queen Lana as I swim after him. "Could a shark have come from the sea?"
"No," he replies, like I'm stupid. I take a deep breath, reminding myself that if a shark was going to eat one of us, it’d definitely go for Rexxan because he’d make a better meal. They’re begging for help on the ship, and I reach harder, pushing myself further. The boat looks bigger and bigger as I approach, and I was right. It is sinking, almost half of it underwater.
"Fuck!" Shouts Rexxan, looking up.
"What?"
"It's Mary."
A twinge of familiarity hits me, but I can't place why. "Mary?” I ask as he bolts off.
He doesn't reply, just leaves my side and starts swimming at a ridiculous speed, and I watch him pull himself up onto the sinking boat where Mary is screaming. Mary. From a distance, she looks familiar, and I battle the rocking of the waves and push a floating wooden plank out of my way. Oh, shit. It’s Mary who runs the orphanage we volunteered at.
I'm half a minute behind, and Rexxan is already up on the half-submerged deck of the ship, picking up children. He directs me around the back of the ship where some of them have fallen out and are treading water.
"I'm Renna," I explain, calmly wrapping the arms of a small child around my neck and putting him onto my back. "And I'm going to help you get warm and dry."
"I'm scared!" The small boy screams, and my chest constricts. Rexxan is dragging a child out of the water, passing him off to a soldier who puts him on a floating bamboo stretcher.
"I can't find Poppy!" Screams Mary, and Rexxan's eyes snap up. I vaguely recall the name, and then I remember the tiny blonde-haired toddler that Rexxan has been visiting for years. "When did you last see her?" Mary just sobs into her hands and Rexxan hands another small child off to a soldier, grasping Mary by the shoulders.
"When did you last see her?" He grits out, firmer than he means to. "Mary, fucking answer me!"
"I d—I—I don't know! She was here an hour ago!"
"Fucking hell. Espan didn't send any guards to help you all?"
