“I saw Abdel a few moments ago and he suggested I come and help you calm down some,” Geoffrey said with a teasing smile.
Esther sighed. “Hi Geoffrey. That was sweet of Abdel, but I’m fine. Just feeling a little helpless is all.”
A concerned look crossed Geoffrey’s face and he reached out and took her hand. “We’re worried about you Esther…I’m worried about you. You don’t look like you’re getting the sleep you need. You seem stressed all of the time, and not even Marigold’s makeup and fine clothing can hide the dark circles under your eyes. You’re not yourself and if it wasn’t for the fact that Mac is still able to force you to eat, I’d be even more worried.”
“I’m fine, Geoffrey.” She sighed again and pulled her hand away, feeling a little irritated by his criticism. “I just can’t sit here any longer and let these Madrausan’s keep hurting people.”
Geoffrey sighed. “I know. I just want to make sure that you and the baby are healthy. Actually, that’s another reason why I came up here. Someone decided to not let anyone know she was with child before leaving port,” he said raising his eyebrow and giving her an accusing look. “We don’t have a midwife onboard to check on you and your baby’s health, so that leaves it up to me.”
“I think I’ll be just fine until we reach—”
“Your Highness appointed me as ship’s doctor and I will fulfill those duties,” interrupted Geoffrey.
“Really, Geoffrey, I’ll be fine—”
Geoffrey held up his hand, interrupting Esther again. “It’s important,” he said simply, walking over next to her.
She sighed in resignation. She’d only been Queen for a little less than three months, but already she was growing unused to people interrupting her, and Geoffrey’s insistence on examining her was both annoying and heartening at the same time.
“If you will go ahead and sit on the table, I’m just going to listen to your heart and ask you a few questions. If everything looks good, then we’ll be done, alright?”
She nodded and lifted herself up onto her large desk, scooting the navigational charts out of the way. Geoffrey came and stood in front of her.
“Alright, if you would tip your chin up, I’ll just listen to your heart real quick.”
Esther nodded, remembering the first time that Geoffrey had held his ear to her chest. They had been on the Ngozi, an Easterner merchant ship, after Esther had taken a blow to the head. Geoffrey had examined her to make sure she was alright.
Geoffrey leaned over and put his head against her chest and she felt herself flushing, much the same way she had the first time he’d listened to her heartbeat. His ear felt warm, and his presence comforting, but she quickly pushed those thoughts out of her mind. They weren’t proper—she was married now. When he pulled his ear away a minute later, she had herself firmly under control and the red flush that had crept into her cheeks had faded.
Geoffrey retrieved his notebook from the desk and jotted a few notes.
“Have you had any bleeding or pelvic pain?” he asked.
“No,” she replied.
“Do you know if your mother had any complications during any of her pregnancies?”
“None that I know of, and I was there for most of them.”
After jotting a few more notes, Geoffrey lowered his notebook and looked her in the eye. “I’m a little concerned about your weight and the amount of rest—”
“I know, Geoffrey,” she said in exasperation and stood up, “and I promise I’ll try and do better. Obviously I’d love to be at home resting, but current circumstances are preventing that. All we can do is our best.”
Geoffrey nodded, then reached out and touched her hand again. “Just try and take care of yourself, all right?” he asked.
She nodded, squeezing his hand. “I will,” she said quietly.
Geoffrey gave her a smile, then turned and left.
Chapter 2
Planning
The sound of many different conversations washed over Geoffrey as he entered the great cabin. He was a bit late for the meeting and everybody else was already seated. The usual dining compartment could fit Esther and the Retribution’s senior officers well enough, but with the addition of the captains and first officers of Her Majesty’s escort ships, they had been required to use the more spacious and luxuriously furnished great cabin. Conversations around the table created a comfortable din of noise.
His eyes were drawn to Esther, who sat in the seat reserved for guests of honor to the right the empty Captain’s chair. If anything, she looked even more haggard than she had earlier. She had tried to hide her fatigue by washing up and putting on makeup and a fresh dress—a lovely form fitting maroon colored gown of Marigold’s design, but she wasn’t fooling anyone but herself.
In the seat next to Esther sat the ship’s first officer, Mr. Abdel Najafi. Geoffrey had to work at keeping a frown off of his face and step on sudden feelings of jealousy. In the past, Geoffrey would have been the one sitting next to Esther, but now that she had married the Hadiqan King, things were different. He hadn’t been able to reconcile with all of that yet.
Next to Mr. Najafi was Marigold, Esther’s dear friend and Chief of Staff. According to Esther, the normally provocative Marigold now dressed much more conservatively than before they had left Tewksbury after it had been raided. Her father had been killed during the raid and it had affected her profoundly, and more than just in the way she dressed. She had latched on to Esther as firmly as the fiercest snapping turtle, using Esther as an anchor in her increasingly turbulent world. Geoffrey shook his head. The plunging neckline of her blouse revealed ample amounts of her flawless bronze colored skin with its warm copper undertones, and demonstrated that the new, more conservative Marigold, was still fairly progressive. She kept her hair quite short—chin length and tightly curled—and was easily one of the most beautiful people Geoffrey had ever met. Having someone like her onboard was difficult for good discipline among the crew.
The rest of the Retribution’s senior officers were seated in various spots around the table along with the guests from the escort ships. Geoffrey spotted a seat diagonally across the table from Esther and made his way over to it. Esther looked up from her conversation with Najafi and nodded to him as he sat. He was really starting to become very worried about her. He didn’t know how many hours of sleep she was getting every night, but he doubted it was many. He kicked himself for not asking her that during her examination. He had been too distracted by his own feelings. He made a mental note to check with Mac about that later. Her steward would know better than anyone how much she was sleeping.
Geoffrey appreciated her sense of duty and her drive to accomplish it—that’s one of the reason’s he had fallen in love with her in the first place—but there was something driving her forward now that went beyond a healthy sense of duty. She seemed hounded by something— unable to stop. She was deteriorating before his eyes and he felt helpless to do anything about it. He longed to hold her in his arms, but that just wasn’t possible now that she had married the Hadiqan King.
The room quieted down as Najafi stood. Technically Esther was not part of Retribution’s official chain of command. Thus it was Najafi’s responsibility to initiate and conduct these meetings.
“First,” Najafi said, “I’d like to welcome aboard our guests, Captain’s Alwari and Hyam of the Achaemenes and the Piruz.” Najafi nodded to the Captains as everyone clapped. “And of course, our beloved Queen Esther.”
“The Queen!” shouted everyone around the table, raising their cups.
Esther kept her eyes up and acknowledged the toast with a nod of her head. Geoffrey was amazed at how much she’d changed over the course of just a few months—she was no longer the timid young woman he’d first met.
“We have much to discuss,” continued Najafi, “but first…we eat!”
A crewman opened the door and Mac and several others entered, carrying trays with plates full of food. Mac walked over to Esther, se
tting a plate in front of her, then stepped back and stood slightly behind her while the rest of the officers were served. Mac was Esther’s personal steward and served only her, though he did act more in the role of a majordomo before and after the meals. Geoffrey had seen Esther repeatedly ask Mac to take a seat at the table with her, as a friend, but while he said he appreciated her friendship, he was also her steward, and just as she had her duties, he had his own to fulfill. Mac also refused to allow anyone but himself to sample her meals prior to serving them to her in order to check for poisons and other hazards.
Mac’s devotion to Esther was followed closely by that of Oluchi—the dark-skinned Easterner warrior who had accompanied Esther to the Hadiqan Capital months ago. He stood in the corner of the dining room and rarely left her presence. She had other guards—Jeshua, the King’s head of security had seen to that before they had left Hadiq—but none she trusted more than Oluchi—or who was more loyal to her.
“Dr. Scott,” said the man sitting next to Geoffrey, interrupting his thoughts. He was the First Officer of the Piruz and had a nicely trimmed dark brown beard and light brown skin. “How do you like serving aboard a Hadiqan ship?”
“Well, the Retribution is Ardmorran built, so it’s not much different than what I have experienced before,” Geoffrey replied. “The traditions and command styles are a little different, but I’ve grown pretty used to it now. The biggest difference is the food, but since I quite enjoy Hadiqan cuisine, it’s been very nice.”
“Has it been difficult for you to fit in?”
“Not really. Some of the officers and crew are also Ardmorran—and Mr. Najafi and Est-…I mean, Her Majesty, have done an excellent job integrating the crews.”
“That’s good to hear,” the man replied.
Geoffrey continued talking to the man about strategies that had been used to better integrate the Retribution’s crew and Geoffrey’s own experiences as a naval surgeon. After dessert was served and eaten, the plates were cleared away and Geoffrey felt the atmosphere in the room—which had been almost festive earlier—grow quite heavy.
Najafi stood. “At Her Majesty’s request, I have called us together this evening.” Najafi turned to Esther her. “Your Majesty?”
“Thank you, Mr. Najafi,” Esther said with a nod. “As you all know, the Fleet was sent to Ardmorr to prevent an invasion by the Madrausan’s.” Geoffrey noticed how she practically spat the word ‘Madrausan. “However,” she continued, “this fleet has consistently allowed whole squadrons of Madrausan ships to break away, without pursuit, and proceed on towards Ardmorr to pillage and raid. Often, these raiding parties are driven back by the Ardmorran Navy, but sometimes they aren’t, and this is unacceptable. Even though a state of war does not officially exist between Hadiq and Madraus at this time, it was never His Majesty’s intention that this fleet simply sit here and prevent an invasion while allowing these raids to occur. Therefore, I want us to develop plans to intercept any enemy squadron’s detaching from the main flotilla.”
The noise level in the room rose considerably as everyone tried to talk at once in response to Esther’s announcement.
“Your Majesty, with all due respect,” said the Captain of the Achaemenes, his voice rising above the others, “We have but three ships at our disposal. How are we going to stop a large squadron of Madrausan ships from doing whatever they want?” The room quieted down as all eyes turned towards their young queen.
“That, gentleman, is what we’re here to figure out.”
- - -
It was well past midnight when the guests and the last of the officer’s gathered their things and left the dining compartment. Mac grabbed a tray and began collecting the dishes and coffee cups that lay on the various surfaces of the room. Esther and Mr. Najafi still sat huddled over the documents strewn across her desk. The papers detailed several different plans to accomplish the all-but impossible task of preventing another detachment of Madrausan ships from breaking away to raid Ardmorr. Mac rubbed his eyes, exhausted. He wasn’t getting any younger and the tasks of maintaining Queen Esther’s household and great cabin onboard the Retribution left him ragged, not to mention his attempts to keep up with the young Queen in order to be present whenever she might have need of him. In the end, he just wasn’t able to do it—she was always awake before he was and always went to bed after he did. He was proud of his young charge, especially at moments like this when she focused her people on a task and drove them until it was completed. Sometimes he saw a feverish look in her eye that concerned him, and he was beginning to worry that maybe she was driving herself too hard, but he had come to trust the young woman whose soul seemed so much wiser than the young body in which it was encased. He would do everything in his power to make sure that she had everything she needed, to do whatever task she thought needed to be done. In this case, it was simply tea. Mac set down the tray of dishes he had collected and walked over to the table and to refill Esther’s cup.
“Thank you Mac,” she said, looking up at him with a smile.
Mac gestured to Najafi to see if he wanted more as well, but he shook his head and turned to Esther.
“I think you’re right, Your Majesty,” Najafi said. “This option is going to be our best bet. We know that the main Ardmorran fleet is currently stationed near Lancaster, with detachments protecting and overseeing the rebuilding of Port Meijer, Port Hastings, and the other areas that were affected by their initial raid. This leaves vulnerable areas near Port Bergen, Sandosal, and Wallingshire, but I think that if the Ardmorran fleet tries to spread themselves out any further, they won’t be able to repel the attacker’s and might be defeated in detail. Therefore, if we reposition the Retribution, the Achaemenes, and the Piruz on the other side of the Fleet, it will give us our best chance of intercepting any ships heading towards those more vulnerable areas. However, it puts us out of position to intercept anything else.”
Esther sighed. “Agreed, let’s go with it,” she said, wearily. “We can’t cover everything, and this will give us our best chance. At first light, give the order to reposition.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” said Najafi, leaning back in his chair. After a moment, he leaned forward again and looked Esther in the eye, “You know, Your Majesty, if at least some of the other ships in the Fleet don’t follow us in, this could turn out very badly for us.”
“I know, Abdel,” said Esther, rubbing her own bloodshot eyes, “but even if they don’t, our contingency plans should minimize the risk, and like Captain Hyam said, quite a few of the other Captains in the fleet are as frustrated with the Admiral as we are. If they don’t follow us in, then they don’t, but we are going to follow through with our plans.”
“Aye, Your Majesty,” said Abdel, standing, “Then if you’ll excuse me, I have preparations to make before I head to bed.” Esther nodded and Abdel walked out of the room.
“Can I get you anything else, Your Majesty?” asked Mac after Najafi had left.
Esther turned to him with a grin, “Oh don’t you ‘Your Majesty’ me, Mac. You know me too well for that. And besides, I’m not your queen.”
“You’ll always be my Queen, Your Majesty,” Mac said with a smile.
“Thank you Mac, that’s sweet of you. Actually, a nice warm bath would be nice. Would you mind having someone draw one up?”
“The water is already warm and waiting. I’ll have it poured into your bath and ready for you when you get there.”
“Thanks Mac.”
- - -
Esther eased herself down into her bathtub, the warm water caressing her skin and sending a feeling of such contentment through her that she couldn’t help but let out a long sigh and lay back with a smile. These baths were one of the luxuries she enjoyed most aboard ship. She typically liked her baths warmer—almost hot—but since becoming pregnant, she took milder ones.
Esther looked over to make sure that her dagger—the one she’d taken from the Madrausan—was still sitting on the small table next to the tub
. Ever since that experience with Ikenna aboard the Ngozi, she hadn’t been able to allow herself to be unarmed, or unprepared. Except for bathing and sleeping, she never took it off.
She looked down at the polished conical gastropod sea shell fastened to the end of a necklace that lay against her chest. She never took that off either. The rare seashell, called a Laleh shell, had washed up on the beach near the Hadiqan city of Deyr. Geoffrey had found it while they had been walking along the beach and given it to her. It was supposed to be a good omen. The silver necklace on which it hung had been a gift from the Satrap of Deyr—a kind man who held a special place in Esther’s heart.
This small bathing area that Asserius had installed was as luxurious as such a small space could be, even with the expansion of the quarter galleys. Thick burgundy drapes were drawn over the window panes in the aft wall, both to keep out the chill and provide for privacy. The copper tub was large enough to lay back in, and an intricately carved wooden stool stood at the foot of the tub to help her get in and out. Silver candlesticks were spaced throughout the room on small shelves to give it a warm, cozy feeling. If more light was required, elegantly designed metal lanterns mounted on the walls could be lit as well. Nkiru, her handmaiden and Oluchi’s sister, made it even better by applying scents in the water to make the experience truly wonderful. A horrendously expensive cast iron stove had been placed in her great cabin against the wall to her bathing area in the port quarter galley, with the planking removed directly behind it so that, when heated, the warm metal of the stove’s rear surface could heat the bathing area as well. Currently it wasn’t in use, but she was sure she’d appreciate it in the cold winter months to come.
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