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I sigh and roll my eyes. Riden, Riden. It’s sad, really, that they all have to try so hard to make me behave.
I do as he says, though. I’ve no intention of gaining breaks or bruises.
I just really don’t want to clean the deck.
Hanging at the end of the rope, I wait. It’s the only trick I have left. It’s moments such as these when I’m truly grateful for my father’s blasted endurance tests. They made me strong. They made me aware of how much I can handle.
And no one has ever been able to outlast me at holding up their own body weight.
Minutes pass and still I hang. Everyone watches, waiting for me to sag from exhaustion. Curious to see how long I’ll be at this.
Riden coughs. “Captain, perhaps the men should get back to work while the princess suffers her punishment.”
“Aye,” Draxen says.
“You heard the captain. Back to your positions. Get on with it. Who knows? She might still be conscious when you’re done.”
The men laugh as they scatter to different areas of the ship. The muscles in my arms and stomach start to sting.
At least I don’t have so much of an audience now. It’s mostly Riden and Draxen. Draxen looks on with satisfaction. And Riden—Riden looks… I cannot tell. He just looks.
The sun moves in the sky. The wind changes direction. My body begins to tremble. It’s hard to breathe.
And then I can’t take it anymore. I drop myself. The iron pinches at my skin, digs into my bones. It hurts like hell, but I’ll not utter a word of complaint. Even if I agreed to clean, the captain would only keep me up here now. He wants me to suffer for what happened to Sheck. I can see it in his eyes. There will be no relief for quite some time.
Eventually Riden and the captain move on. They have duties to perform as well. I think they’re consulting in the captain’s quarters now. It’s difficult to tell. Turning my head involves too much effort.
“Miss Alosa,” a voice whispers.
“Yes, Enwen? Can I help you with something?”
He smiles, knowing very well I can’t do anything for him in my present condition. “It would take a hurricane to dampen your spirits, lass. I have something for you.”
“What is it?”
“The siren bracelet. I bought it from Belor after we woke up from the conk to the head you gave us.”
“I’m really sorry about that.”
“You already apologized, miss. Remember? No harm in trying to fight for your freedom. ’Tis a noble cause. I can’t fault you. Would’ve done the same thing. Now, here.”
He ties the leather string to my ankle.
“That’s a bootlace, Enwen.”
“Maybe so. Maybe not so. Important thing is that you have it anyway.”
“Why would you give me something you bought for yourself?”
“I stole some of your hair. And I had to be your prison guard. Kidnapping and mistreating women is not why I became a pirate. I’m a proper thief and good with a knife. Nothing more. It don’t sit right with me what we’re doing to Your Highness. Besides, I’ll steal the coins back from Belor tonight.”
He steps closer and whispers so softly now that I can barely hear him. “And between you and me, the men were laughing at me something fierce. The only thing that bracelet brought me was mockery.”
“Hmm. Then I think its powers were working on me before you tied it on me.”
“No, no, Miss Alosa. I already thought of that. This token is a bracelet. Bracelets are for women. It’ll bring you protection from the sea but not me.”
I laugh softly. “Thanks, then, Enwen.”
