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After a while, a hook is lowered from up above. Riden places it through one of the middle chains on the shackles I wear.
He hesitates a moment, as if he’s waiting for me to give in. To agree to the work so he can take the hook away.
But I say nothing. I even glance away from him, as though I couldn’t be bothered to look at him.
“Hoist her away,” Riden finally says, a note of eagerness in his voice. All his hesitation seems to have vanished.
I can’t tell which is the show: Is it the hesitation for me or the eagerness for Draxen? Maybe both. Maybe neither. I can’t tell with him. He seems to go back and forth frequently, as though he isn’t sure what he wants himself. Is he trying to prove himself to his brother in some way? But why should he need to? Especially if his brother loves him unconditionally, as Riden claims.
Perhaps Riden can’t admit the truth even to himself.
I grip the chains on either side, just above the cuffs around my wrists. If I let the full weight of my body pull on my wrists, the metal would bite into my skin, and it would hurt. A lot. It’s best to take the weight on my tightened fists.
Riden isn’t blinking. Draxen watches the spectacle with interest. The pirates are all eager. They want some sort of show? I’ll give them one.
Instead of allowing this Liomen to get me up into the air, I give the rope a good tug before my feet get even close to being off the ground.
Liomen, either not expecting it or unable to stop it, falls from the mainmast. A few pirates duck out of the way just before Liomen hits the deck, cutting off his scream.
There’s moaning. He probably broke one or both of his arms. Maybe a leg. Hard to say when someone’s falling so quickly.
Some pirates laugh. Others, who must be his friends, surround him.
His moans quickly turn to cursing as a stream of obscenities are directed at me.
I don’t blame the lad. I would curse, too, if I were in his position.
Draxen descends from the upper deck, getting level with me. He looks at me closely before calling out the names of three more pirates. “Get the lot of you to the mast. I want her off the ground. Now!”
They climb quickly, hurrying to follow orders. I wait, bored. If there’s a fault with these pirates, it’s surely their simplemindedness.
The three men get to the top. They’re very careful, wrapping the rope around their wrists several times before tugging me up. I don’t bother to try to yank them down. It would involve more theatrics on my part.
Not that I’m opposed to theatrics. I just have something better in mind.
They stop when I’m five feet off the ground. Then they tie off the rope while I hang, clinging to my chains. A spectacle for all the pirates. They stole me. I am a prize to them, clearly strung for all to see.
But I’m also stronger than they’re used to seeing.
Draxen gets close enough to see my face clearly. “You killed one of my finest men yesterday. I should let Ulgin have you. But it won’t do to have the pirate king’s daughter unidentifiable once we swap you for the ransom. This will have to do.”
I ignore him, focus only on the three pirates descending to the ground. I wait for them to mold back into the crowd to ensure they can’t beat me to the top.
I needn’t have worried. Everyone’s too stunned to do anything once I start climbing.
“Oi, she can’t do that,” one pirate exclaims.
I don’t bother to look down at them; I focus on the movements of my arms. One hand over the other, relax, pull. Other hand, relax, pull. The chain length doesn’t allow me to gain much rope with each pull, but it is enough. I can still climb.
And I do, all the way to the top. I hitch a leg over the rounded wooden beam that rests below the sail. Then I sit, straddling the wood. I’m not even breathing hard. If only I could think of a brilliant plan for getting the chains off. But I’ve got nothing to work with from up here.
“Bring her down,” Draxen calls, face red—not that I can see it clearly, but it’s fun to imagine it all red and puffy, fuming with anger.
More and more men start to climb up the mast. But I’ve no intention of letting any pirate touch me. So I start to climb back down.
I stop when I’m halfway down the rope. The pirates hesitate at the top, no one seems to want to climb down and join me.
Riden steps up to Draxen, puts a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Alosa!” Riden shouts. “Come all the way down, or I’ll order the rope cut.”
