“Are you ready to eat?” Rey asked, hoping to distract her. “We saved you some of the breakfast.”
“Yes,” she agreed quietly.
“Ok, climb onto the bed and sit with your feet up,” he suggested. “I’ll get your food and scoot in there beside you, if that’s all right with you.”
Smiling up at him as he cared for her, Amicia felt relieved; at least some of the men on the boat weren’t out to hurt her. “Thanks, Rey. That would be agreeable,” she replied as she moved to do as he had asked.
Newrock
Arriving at mess that evening, Baldwin rubbed his hands on his shirt anxiously. Rey had spent the entire day with the girl, while he had taken on his usual chores about the ship, leaving him at a disadvantage.
But, he would get his chance to meet her shortly, and he wanted to make a good impression on their young stowaway. Running his fingers through his hair, he straightened the black cloth cap that he always wore, and then marched to the end of the line.
Gathering a tray of food for the four of them, he hurried to the first mate’s quarters. Giving a sharp knock, he cracked the door and pushed his way inside, where he placed the lot on the table, next to Rey. “Part of that’s for you and her,” he pointed at the girl, “and save some for the Mate.”
“What’s this?” Reynard scowled. “I’ve been locked up in here all day, and I don’t even get to fetch my own dinner?”
“Sorry, Mate’s orders,” Bally groveled as he dropped into a chair and began picking out his portion while stealing anxious glances at their blond passenger.
Rey parted his lips to say more, but the door opened, cutting him off, so he directed his displeasure at the older man. “What’s with the grub? I don’t even get to go out for the evening?”
“You can make a trip to the head if you like,” Piers laughed, glancing at the young woman sitting sideways on his bed, with her back against the wall. “Do you have a name yet, love?” he asked, his sultry tone obviously changed when he addressed her rather than the young men.
“Her name’s Ami,” Rey grunted, “Amicia Spicer.” Selecting a few morsels, he laid them on a handkerchief, then stood and handed them to her. “She’s from Nalen,” he tacked on for good measure. Gathering his own food, he climbed onto the bunk next to her, also with his back against the far wall and his feet sticking off the side beside hers.
“Spicer,” Piers ciphered, connecting her to her family’s trade. Watching the pair, his jaw rocking side to side in a grinding fashion, he scowled. “Well, the two of you got a bit cozy, don’t you think?”
“We’ve been locked in here all day,” Rey shrugged his right shoulder and then continued to eat, spitting out between bites. “We had to talk about something.”
Amicia grinned slightly at his candor, tense again with the arrival of the other two men. She had found Rey easy to talk to and had answered most of his questions honestly. There were still a few points of contention she would rather not discuss with outsiders, but for the most part, she would describe the young man as harmless, if not friendly.
Taking a seat in the vacated chair, Piers took the remainder of the food and began to eat eagerly. When he had finished half, he announced, “You two need to get your gear. We’ll all be bunking in here tonight.”
“Why?” Bally asked innocently. “There’s not enough room, is there?” The cabin a mere ten feet squared, the bunk took up at least three to four of it from the far wall, and that left little room for anything else besides the table and three chairs.
“There’s plenty,” his commander replied. “Rey and Ami can share the bed and we either get the chairs or the floor, take your pick.”
“Why are we all staying in here?” Rey repeated, lowering his hand from his mouth slowly. “Has something happened?”
“No, and I want to keep it that way,” Piers cut his eyes over at him, giving him a stern glare, his unspoken shut up clear.
“What are you afraid of?” Amicia asked quietly.
Giving her the look for a moment, he shook his head, “Just a precaution. If they know they have to get through three of us, you’ll make a less tempting target.”
Her eyes wide, her heart began to pound. With the friendly conversations with Rey Daye, she had almost forgotten about the reason he was protecting her. “You don’t really think they would do that, do you? I mean, I thought maybe last night it was just because they were upset that I was hiding on their boat.” She smiled as much as her lip would allow, trying to sound unworried with the situation.
“No,” the Mate shook his head slowly. “This crew’s at sea for weeks and months on end. Chance comes to have a woman, well,” he cut his eyes over to the man seated next to her, “most of them aren’t too particular about the screams.”
“You’re making that up,” Bally laughed, then snorted, before he fell silent at the cold stares of the others. “Seriously?”
“Seriously,” Piers stated flatly, still eating in small bites. “Go down and get what you need for the night. Hit the head and then come back here.”
“Do you need to go again?” Rey asked Amicia as he cleared the bunk. He had walked her to the bow earlier in the day before Piers brought her a small black pot that now sat in the corner behind the door.
“No,” Piers interrupted, answering for her. “She uses the murphy,” he stated, pointing at the receptacle. “After Newrock, maybe she can come out onto the deck for a bit, but for now, I think it’s best if she stays inside.” He didn’t give a reason, and he didn’t have to. Piers Massheby was in charge, and his word was final.
Ami could feel the tension in the air, so thick it nearly smothered her. Something’s wrong. He knows they’re going to come after me. It surprised her that he and the younger two men would stand up for her against the whole of the others. I guess that’s why the captain put them in charge of me.
Sulking slightly, Ami used her pot while Rey and Bally went for their gear and Piers waited outside. She had never worn pants before, and it felt odd to her, having her legs bound so tightly. She had to work the material down to cop a proper squat, with getting them back up again another chore.
Stretching afterward, she bent over at the waist to touch her toes, then pushed herself up on them and reached for the ceiling above her, exploring the feel of the material against her skin. She had sore spots after her beating, and it felt good to regain some of her movement, even in the restrictive clothing.
When her overseer came back in, she quipped, “I’m going to go crazy if you keep me in here. The hold was bad enough. I’m used to working on a spice farm, with air all around me.”
“Oh yeah? I figured as much, given your name. So, why’d you leave it in such a way you can’t go back?”
Her injured lip sticking out in a perfect pout, she glared at him. “My mum died.”
He had been picking at the scraps of the meal and paused, then continued for a moment. “And your pop?”
“He passed last winter,” she sighed, drawing her sweater around her. “It’s just me now. I don’t have anyone, not even the farm,” she embellished, not wanting to share the details of her decision with the stranger.
“Huh,” Piers grunted, his presence filling the room and chipping at her nerve. When she said nothing else, he left it at that and pulled the table out of the corner. He shoved a chair into its place, giving him a wall to lean against. “I reckon I’ll sleep here,” he announced when the others had returned. “Bally on the floor, or against the door. If anyone needs a piss, use the pot.”
Looking down at the girl on the bed, Rey’s Adam’s apple bobbed. Sitting on the pliable surface having a chat had seemed fine, after a bit of getting to know her. Stretching out on it next to her while she slept was something different.
Seeing his unease, Ami grinned to herself. Kicking off her boots, she stacked them at the foot of the bed and scooted over next to the wall. She faced it to hide her amusement over his discomfort, and a small smile painted her lips has she clo
sed her eyes and breathed deeply.
Rupert had been rather forward with his advances as soon as she had come of age, so the younger man’s shyness seemed somehow refreshing. She felt safe there, in the midst of the three men, and so grateful they had come to her aid.
Taking his place next to her, Rey faced the room so that they lay back to back. Leaving her the blanket, he slept in his clothes, staring at the door and ready to defend her honor if the need should arise.
Eight days later, the ship docked at Newrock. No one more thankful than the girl, Amicia was allowed to leave the Mate’s quarters and visit the wheel house above. Climbing the steps with quick thuds in her boots, she beamed at her view of the ship and the town they were tied off next to.
Rey stood watch at the end of the narrow passage that connected the area to the rest of the boat to ensure she didn’t go anywhere else, and that no one else paid her a visit. Watching her with a small grin, he enjoyed her eagerness, as if he were living part of her wonder, as she had never been anywhere but Nalen. Pacing back and forth, up to the top of the steps, then back to the mouth of the deck, he surveyed, keeping tabs on her and an eye out for trouble.
Up on top, Ami was surprised to discover that the “wheel house” was hardly a house at all. It had three high walls around the sides and back, but the front lay open, so that she could see the full expanse of the ship before her, as well as the sea beyond the bow.
“This is amazing,” she breathed, speaking to Baldwin, who kept her company while the rest of the crew unloaded the cargo and paid a visit to the brothel. Placing her hands on the wheel tentatively at first, she then grasped the spokes more firmly and giggled with child-like glee.
“Yeah, I like ships,” he grinned sheepishly, joining her at the helm. “It’s not much of a life for a family man, but for someone young like me, it ain’t bad. I’ve got a few friends, like Rey, and they’re really all that I need.”
“What, you don’t dream of taking a bride and learning a trade, or something like that?” she teased. She had come to like Bally and Rey very much, as if they were the brothers she had never had. A family I never had, she sighed, still bitter at her mother and father’s betrayal. The thought darkened her mood, but only for an instant before she pushed it away.
“Nah,” he chuckled, his face flushed. “I’m more of a free spirit. Besides, Rey started as a cabin boy on another ship, same as me, and now he’s crew. In a few years, I can do the same.”
At the top of the step at that moment, Rey snickered. Being cabin boy on the other vessel had been a challenge; one he thankfully survived and hoped never to repeat. Turning, he began the next round of his loop.
“Is being a cabin boy bad?” she frowned, seeing the other man appear briefly and then disappear again.
“I don’t get paid,” Bally grumbled. “I get room and board, fed, and I get to clean the head,” he laughed. “It’s not really a good job,” he stated, wrinkling his nose and shaking his head, which caused her to laugh.
“It’s honest work,” she replied, lifting her chin and noticing the clouds as they floated over. “Does it get very cold here? Rey said you guys won’t deliver to them during the winter.”
“Yeah, it gets ice locked for a couple of months,” he informed her, squinting at the horizon. “We got two more trips, and then they’re on their own until spring.”
“We must be far north of Nalen, then,” she surmised.
“Yes, north and west,” he pointed at the map of the ocean that lay spread on the chart table. “See,” he indicated the tiny island where they were anchored. “This is Newrock and this is Nalen.” He placed a stiff digit on each one, then scooted them across to where they met in the top east corner of the central ring.
“I’ve never seen a map of the world before,” she stated in awe. “I’ve heard about it, but I never imagined it was so big.”
“Why would you?” Rey cut in, having lengthened his steps onto the wheel house deck so he could catch their conversation. Dropping the line, but not waiting for the reply, he turned his back and started the next loop.
“I guess I wouldn’t have any need,” she agreed, watching his back vanish. “Why does he keep coming up here and leaving?” she demanded once he had left earshot.
“The Mate told him to keep look out, so he’s watching the entrance to the wheel house here, and he’s keeping an eye on us. I’m not normally allowed up here, either.”
“Oh,” she looked surprised. “But you like all of this. The steering, and the map, and knowledge about the world.”
“Definitely,” he nodded vigorously. “The world is huge, and I want to see it all, or most of it,” he stated enthusiastically. “There’s more world than we will ever need. I think there’s a few who live out in the netherlands,” he indicated the area outside the circle of land with a wave of his hand, “but most of us stay along the coast or the continents of the ring, and that’s good enough for me.”
“The ring,” she repeated, tracing the loop with her own finger. “That’s funny how all this is almost a perfect basket of sorts. A big ocean with so many islands in the center of a rim, like a bowl of soup.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “And it’s filled with land and fish of all kinds, everything we need. Only those crazy adventurous types go out close to the edge.”
“To the edge?” she laughed. “You mean the edge of the world?”
“Sure, out here,” he waved his hand off the side of the table, where the map ended. “If you go out too far, you fall off,” he chuckled. “I’m staying clear of the edge, for sure.”
“Yes, I’m glad we won’t be going too far out, then. When we get back to Nalen, I’ll need to get another boat and find where I’m going to live.”
“You mean you don’t know?” His features grew serious.
“No, I haven’t figured that out yet.” She slid the tips of her fingers lightly over the long string of islands that formed the west side of the ring, south of their current position. “Maybe over here.”
“Not many people live over there,” Bally informed her. “There’s stories about them that do. Cannibals and such.”
“Cannibals?”
“You know,” he shrugged, “people who eat other people.”
“I thought they were just a myth,” she giggled. “Like fairies and dragons.”
“Dragons?” Rey chimed in, even closer to them on this pass. Ending his pacing, he crossed the rest of the deck with a few loud stomps. “Who said anything about dragons?”
“No one,” Ami stammered, gazing up at him with wide green eyes. “We were just talking about the western rim, and that dragons and fairies… and stuff like that… they’re just something people tell their children to scare them at bed time.” His demeanor made her anxious and she found herself tongue tied by his angry scowl.
“Oh no, those things are real. If you go too far west, you’ll find them,” Bally grinned. “But don’t worry, Ami. Rey and me’ll help you find a nice place to live… without the cannibals or the dragons.”
Giving the younger man a dark stare, Rey growled, “Yeah, we’ll make sure you steer clear of the west and all of those things. And better yet, let’s not even talk about them. Ok?”
Her brow furrowed, Ami could feel a wave of confusion overtake her, and she clipped, “Rey, what is wrong with you?”
“Nothing,” he cut his gaze over to her. “Sailors just have a respect for certain things and talking about them is considered bad luck. So, take my advice and don’t even so much as breathe the word dragon again for the rest of this trip,” he instructed. Turning his back and marching back to the stairs, he fully expected them to heed his warning.
Watching him go, Ami sighed. “Men can be so unpredictable!”
“I guess so,” Bally laughed. He had heard many a story about sea creatures and sunken ships, but apparently Rey Daye had been far more affected by them than he had been. “I could tell you some stories though, if you ever want to hear. We should do it wh
en he won’t be interrupting us, though.”
“Thanks, Bally,” she giggled, not wanting the other man to be upset by them. “I’ll keep that in mind next time I need a good scare.”
Stormy Seas
Seeing that the last of the empty water casks had been stowed and fresh ones brought out, Piers surveyed the contents of the hold. Except for the food stores for their return voyage, every crate and barrel had been removed and replaced with an empty one, which would be traded once again when they arrived back in Nalen.
Inhaling deeply, he blew the breath out through his nose in a slow and deliberate manner. Then, turning on his heel, he squared his shoulders, as if preparing to face some dark demon, and stomped his way to the deck above. Looking up at the wheel house, he could see Bally showing the girl the navigational charts and pointing at the horizon.
“Amicia,” he whispered, “where were you twenty years ago?” In his younger days, he had sported a few regrets, but as of late, he didn’t look back too often. There wasn’t much point in wallowing in things that he couldn’t change, and he liked to stay focused on the here and now.
Tearing his eyes away from her, he announced loudly, “Let’s get these hatches sealed,” indicating the pullies that raised and lowered the large set of coverings centered above the hold.
Some of the crew seized the ropes and hoisted the load. A few minutes later, the access had been closed and locked, ready to set sail on the morrow. “Fair enough. Everyone is dismissed for the evening,” he bellowed.
Gazing up at the girl once more, he admired her simple features, now that her body was on the mend. He had removed the stitches from her lip and temple the day before and couldn’t help but notice the natural beauty she possessed, especially with the dark rings all but gone from around her eyes.
Whisper of Suffering Page 6
