Someone Else's Kingdom, BOOK I - Chapter 19

The weather turned stormy almost the moment they left Patina. With rain crashing down, and the boat increasingly seesawing on the waves. The entire expanse surrounding them an eternal grey. Julen, still in a daze from the preceding events, was equally gloomy. Lying down belly first on one of the bunks below deck, his head hanging over the side dejectedly. Box and Goola had been interrogating him for a good thirty minutes about what had happened, but with little success. Each time they pressed too hard Eldskeep interjected on his behalf.

"We just got in a little scuffle, that's all. Swords were raised, a few minor wounds inflicted. Now it's sensible for us to get out of the place, just - just in case anyone does kick up a fuss. They won't, but it's possible. So we might as well take the precaution. Just in case."

"Were you hurt?" quizzed Goola, looking down at Julen with concern, for what was now the third or fourth time of asking. "I was fine," returned Julen, the emphasis firmly on himself.

"Yes," insisted Eldskeep again, "We certainly got the better of them. It's the last time any cutpurse will attempt to rob us in that part of the world. Make no doubt about it."

"So, if they were just cutpurses why are we now heading to Fools' Harbour?" queried Box, still not quite buying the entire story that Eldskeep was telling.

"To keep our heads down. Maiden's Tower is a busy place. A very busy place, and the traffic between there and Patina is endless. Ships crisscross daily, so someone might spot us. Best to take the scenic route. Fools' Harbour is nice and quiet. We can make our way there, then travel down to Maiden's Tower - at our own pace. By which time all this will have blown over."

"But if they were cutpurses why are we the ones hiding??"

"Well," pondered Eldskeep, "These thieves operate in gangs, so they might have accomplices - that might be looking for revenge, and I'd rather avoid a 'round two' if you don't mind. Plus, even if the law did get involved, there's no guarantee of justice. We are strangers, remember, so it would just be their word against ours. Nothing more. No, much better to just keep our heads down."

"Did you see the masked woman?" cut in Julen, in a jaded tone, looking up briefly at Eldskeep, before returning to his previous detached position, staring down at the cabin floor.

"A masked woman? It might have been Liofia."

The moment Goola made this remark she felt a little as if she shouldn't have. The current situation seeming so much more serious than when they were chasing glimpses of princesses. Still, even in this concerned moment the day's earlier fascination petered through.

"Does Princess Liofia have a tail?" replied Eldskeep, quickly dashing the thought.

"I did indeed catch a glimpse of her," he then continued, "And she was definitely a half-tail. Probably a gypsy half-tail, wandering the streets and selling her wares. Or a common streetwalker - that would explain the clothing."

"She didn't have a tail," insisted Julen, looking up for another brief moment, "If she did it was well hidden. The cloak she wore fell all the way to the ground."

Just as Julen said this the captain returned to the cabin, soaked from head to toe. He noticed, with little care, that the conversation had frozen the second he'd entered.

"Don't mind me, I don't care what you've been up to, or why you're travelling, or where you're going. As long as I'm paid - and you don't cause me too much trouble." He then brushed some of the water from his jacket, inadvertently spraying the whole cabin. "It'll be an even longer voyage though if you all freeze up and stop talking each time I walk in. With these storms you'll be stuck below deck for most of the journey, so you better get used to it."

He then looked over at Julen, taking in the sorry picture. "What's the matter with the young man?" he grilled, with deliberate loudness, making sure Julen heard, "Let me guess, a woman? Has he had to leave someone behind? She hasn't ran off with somebody else has she?" He laughed out loud to himself as he said all this, though no one else did. "Don't worry," he then added, with a rare show of warmth, "We've all been there. Plenty of nice girls in the Maiden Lands though. That might cheer you up."

Julen didn't acknowledge the words, and remained in his mire.

"He's had a long journey, he'll back to normal tomorrow," quipped Eldskeep, filling the void. He then gave Julen a light, playful jab to the stomach with his hand, as if to jolt him back into life. Forgetting that Julen was still quite bruised and beaten from the fracas. The gentle jab reminded Julen how painful it still was where he'd been kicked. The pain made him wince, but it also made him feel a little less guilty about the revenge he'd inflicted on the stranger who'd kicked him. "He deserved it. He attacked me," he thought to himself, "And from behind too. What else was I supposed to do? Just allow him to kill me?"

Still the image haunted his mind, and the endless replaying of it - along with the emotion it inspired - drained him further. He then, in this already delirious state, fell into an irresistible sleep, just as another large wave hit the ship. The churn of the cabin barely registered in his senses, and simply rocked him further towards nod. The captain rushed back above deck. Eager to clear their own thoughts, Box and Goola tepidly followed him. The fresh air, even amidst the howling turbulence, refreshing in contrast to the claustrophobic air below. Eldskeep, not so inclined, and now almost as worn out as Julen, removed his heavy leather boots, and dropped down onto one of the bunks.

Julen was in a deep, restless sleep.