The cheering didn’t last long, however, as the Retribution and her escorts quickly ascended and came about in front of the Madrausan raiding squadron. The enemy ships had been thrown into disarray with the sudden and unexpected attack. The destruction of the Ogre—which had most likely held their commanding officer—had added to the confusion. They were pulling themselves back together now, however, and her ships began to receive sporadic cannon fire. Najafi had recommended that they hold their own fire until they drew a little closer and Esther agreed.
“Steady lads,” she heard Lt. Ben-Ezra say.
Esther watched Commander Najafi as the range fell, waiting for him to give the order.
“Fire as she bears!” he shouted at last. Cannon fire erupted on the starboard side towards the front of the ship and rolled back to where she stood on the quarterdeck as each gun crew fired in turn down the throat of the lead Madrausan ship. Esther’s view of the enemy was temporarily obscured as the smoke from the cannon’s blocked her vision, the smell of gunpowder filling her nostrils. A gust of wind finally pushed the smoke away. Flashes of light from the enemy ship signaled return fire and moments later, the sound of cannon balls tearing through the air made a horrible buzzing sound. She ducked reflexively and the deck shuddered beneath her feet as they impacted against the Retribution’s hull.
“Steady, Your Majesty,” said Mr. Najafi next to her. “The men must keep their heads up and continue with their tasks, and so must those who lead them.”
Esther nodded, turning back towards the enemy ships as the Retribution fired again. This was much different than in previous battles she’d been in. Before, she’d been a passenger and ducking for cover was both instinctive, and prudent. Now, however, she led men into combat who didn’t have the luxury of seeking cover during the battle as they worked their guns, so neither did she.
Suddenly Esther heard cannon fire at the rear of the enemy formation. She peered through the smoke and could just make out a squadron of ten Hadiqan ships engaging the rear of the Madrausan raider formation. She heard more distant cannon fire as well and pulled out her telescope again, peering towards the main battle fleets.
From the Retribution all the way back to the main Madrausan and Hadiqan fleets, squadrons of ships had raced towards her current position, meeting along the way and engaging in battle with each other. A full third of the Hadiqan fleet was trailing the individual squadrons, either unwilling to allow their fellow Captains to fight alone, or assuming that Esther’s order to engage had been official. Either way, they had finally brought the Madrausan fleet to battle as it responded to the unanticipated attack.
Her ship shuddered again as the enemy raked it with cannon fire, but her eyes were locked onto the Hadiqan fleet as she continued peering through her telescope. Finally, the rest of fleet began moving to engage. Admiral Marsena must have realized that with over half his fleet in combat, he couldn’t just stand back and do nothing. Actually, thought Esther, he might have, but the rest of the fleet wouldn’t stand for it and so he was forced to give the order to attack. Cannon’s bellowed and men died. She felt a terrible weight settle upon her shoulders. The responsibility for this battle lay squarely on her, as did the lives of the men who died. Was her decision to engage objective, or had her growing anger and lust for revenge led to this? She didn’t know the answer to that.
Chapter 4
Aftermath
…I don’t know how you do it, Asserius. How do you deal with all of the responsibility that is placed upon you? The lives of so many people are in your hands and whether they live or die rests entirely upon your shoulders. Just the few individual souls that I have care for on my ship seems to be such a great weight…
“We’ve lost one of the 32 pounder carronade cannons,” Lieutenant Ben-Ezra was saying to Mr. Najafi as Esther stood next to him on the quarterdeck of the Retribution, surveying the damage after the battle. Oluchi stood nearby providing protection, as usual. A cool, gentle breeze blew against her skin—she’d need to retrieve her cloak soon if she continued to stay on deck—but the smell of gunpowder still remained in the air and probably would until the deck was swabbed. It had been a tough battle, but the Hadiqan fleet was once again whole and back together after defeating and pursuing the remains of the Madrausan invasion fleet.
A tipping point had come when several squadrons of Madrausan ships had turned and started attacking their own fleet. After the enemy fleet fled, the defectors had struck their sails and surrendered. Everyone aboard seemed as surprised as she was. Madrausan’s rarely surrendered and no one had ever heard of a Madrausan defector before. Esther would soon have to decide what to do with those defectors. Political situations like these were brought before the royal envoy for judgement. Presently, she was that envoy. She would be forced to confront her increasingly bitter feelings towards Madrausans and deliver an objective judgement. The problem was, she didn’t know if the bitterness she felt would allow her to do that right now.
“Very good,” said Najafi, “Let’s continue making what repairs we can. Have you heard from the doctor on casualties yet?”
“No sir. Would you like me to get those for you?”
“No thank you, Lieutenant, Her Majesty and I will head down there shortly.”
“Sir!” called the signalman. “We’re receiving a signal from the Flag. It reads, ‘His excellency...humbly requests…Her Majesty’s presence…aboard his ship.’ End message.”
“Thank you, Petty Officer,” said Najafi. He turned to Esther with a raised eyebrow.
Lt. Ben-Ezra spoke before Esther could respond. “Perhaps the Admiral has had a change of heart and is now going to include Her Majesty in his council meetings,” he stated flatly, the lack of sarcasm in his voice only highlighting how sarcastic the young Lieutenant’s comment really was.
“Yeah, and maybe the Madrausans will suddenly become pacifists,” said a voice belonging to Joel Mowbray, her Ardmorran Bosun, as he stepped up onto the quarterdeck. His thick arms and large stature belied the sharp wit behind his intelligent eyes. The comment elicited a chuckle from those present and made the corners of Esther’s mouth draw up into a small smile. Dani stood behind Joel who, along with Airman Baird, had rescued her from the human trafficking trade that was a blemish on the otherwise beautiful city of Al Farnaka. She had attached herself to Joel as firmly as Marigold had to Esther.
The tall young woman was two years Esther’s senior with long black hair that hung loose down her back and olive skin a shade lighter than Esther’s. Since coming aboard the Retribution, Dani has always worn pants and a loose fitting blouse—not your typical attire befitting a young woman—but Esther wasn’t going to object or make a fuss about it given all that she had been through. She did need to talk to Dani about possibly sharing a cabin with Marigold. Currently she was sleeping on the floor of the Bosun’s cabin. Esther understood how Dani felt, and how staying with Joel made her feel safe since he had been the one who’d rescued her, but it wasn’t proper for a nineteen year old woman to sleep in the cabin of a man who wasn’t her husband. That was a battle for another day, however.
Esther turned to her Bosun. “I don’t think so. This is an attempt to show who is boss. He wants to make me come to him so that he can yell at me from a position of power and the comfort of his own command deck.” Esther turned to the signalman. “Signal the flag. Respond with the following: ‘Her Majesty respectfully declines his Lordship’s request. If he would like an audience with Her Majesty, then Her Majesty graciously grants that audience to his Lordship.’ End message.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” replied the signalman as he hoisted the appropriate signal flags. A moment later, he said, “The signal has been sent and receipt confirmed, Your Majesty.”
“Thank you, Petty Officer,” she said, “Let me know if you receive a response. I will be in sickbay.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Esther turned to her First Officer and he gestured toward the companionway leading below. Esther no
dded and descended down the companionway.
- - -
As Esther entered the Retribution’s sickbay, located in the bow of the ship below the lower gun deck, a feeling of uneasiness grew in her stomach as she caught sight of all those who had been injured and were waiting to be seen by the ship’s surgeon. Would they blame her for the pain they were experiencing?
Najafi had followed her in while Oluchi waited at the door. Geoffrey stood a few feet away, working as frantically as he could to save the life of the man who lay on the table before him. Rafe—his surgeon’s mate—stood across the table holding the wound open with a pair of forceps. It appeared that Geoffrey had just removed a large piece of wood that had lodged in the injured man’s leg. From her limited training and experience as Geoffrey’s assistant while traveling and staying in the Hadiqan capital of Al Farnaka, Esther guessed that the wooden object had cut an artery when it had lodged in his leg and only the fact that the piece of wood had remained in his leg had kept the man from bleeding to death immediately. Blood now spurted from the wound and Geoffrey was frantically trying to sew up the artery before the man bled to death. The thought made her queasy, but she was confident that if it was at all possible, Geoffrey would save him. She may be young and not have experienced much of life, or seen as much of the world as those older than herself, but she doubted there were many surgeons with Geoffrey’s skill. She had seen him work before and had been amazed by his abilities.
After another few seconds, the bleeding stopped and Geoffrey tied off his thread, moving to close the outer wound. Rafe wiped his hands on his apron and stepped off the stool he had been standing on. The crunch of his feet on the sand strewn deck brought Esther’s gaze down to the floor where blood and sand mixed together The smell hit her and sudden nausea threatened to make her gag. She grabbed a hold of Najafi’s arm to steady herself. Oluchi must have noticed because he stepped in and held her other arm.
“Perhaps you should let me handle this, Your Majesty,” said Najafi.
“No, Abdel,” said Esther, swallowing hard and attempting to stand up straight. “This is my responsibility as well, if not more so.”
Najafi nodded in understanding and turned to Rafe and the doctor. “Casualties?”
“Still counting,” said Geoffrey before Rafe could respond, “In total, there doesn’t appear to be many, thank heavens,” continued Geoffrey, “but I had a couple of severely injured that took up quite a bit of time and I haven’t been able to get a total count, or even see to the more moderate cases. In fact, I could really use some help in here if you’ve got anybody to spare.”
“Of course,” said Najafi, “I don’t know of anybody with medical experience, but—”
“Abdel,” interrupted Esther, “The crew is needed where they are to make repairs. Nkiru, Marigold, and I will assist Dr. Scott and Rafe. Marigold and I have some limited training and experience…more than most others onboard anyway.”
“But Esther—” Oluchi said.
“I’m fine, Oluchi,” she said, kneeling in front of the nearest crewman who was clutching a blood soaked rag to the brow over his left eye—Airman Hosh was his name. She turned back to Oluchi. “Now please go and fetch your sister and Marigold as quickly as you can…and see if Mac can fetch drinks and some food for these men.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” replied Oluchi, turning to leave.
“I will go see to the repairs then, Your Majesty,” said Najafi. Esther nodded. He turned to Geoffrey. “When you have the time and a count, Dr. Scott, I’d appreciate your casualty report.”
“Of course, sir.”
Geoffrey and Rafe finished bandaging their surgery patient and gently lifted him from the table and set him on a cot next to the wall. Esther was almost finished stitching the cut over her own patient’s eye. Geoffrey knelt down to examine the wound of the crewman sitting on the bench next Hosh.
“It’s good to have you helping me again, Your Majesty,” said Geoffrey, smiling over at her as he wiped the wound with a cloth.
“Come on, Geoffrey,” Esther sighed, “How many times do I have to tell you to not call me that? I’m not your Queen and it always makes me feel…weird.”
Geoffrey laughed. “Well, technically, since I’m serving aboard a Hadiqan ship, I’m supposed to call you that…but since you requested I discontinue addressing you like that, how about I call you rug-girl, since you saved the life of the King by jumping out of a rug?”
Esther just rolled her eyes. Airman Hosh must have thought Geoffrey’s comments were hilarious given the ridiculous grin on his face.
“Men,” she muttered under her breath.
“What’s that, princess?” teased Geoffrey, “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you?”
“Oh, so now its princess, huh?” said Esther, cutting the thread after she’d tied it off. Her patient couldn’t help chuckling out loud this time. “And you,” said Esther, pointing at the man, “best keep that laughter to yourself or I’ll reopen that wound again.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” said the man, trying to keep a smile off of his face.
“You better watch it, Hosh,” said Rafe, “Before she was Queen, she once took a knife to the throat of a Royal Guardsman. Could’ve kill’t him if she’d wanted to as well.”
Hosh looked at Rafe in disbelief.
“It’s true,” Geoffrey said, “Just ask Nkiru, the Queen’s handmaiden if you don’t believe Rafe. She was there when it happened.”
The smile had disappeared from Hosh’s face, replaced with reverential respect.
“Hopeless,” Esther said, standing and moving to the next injured crewman. “The lot of you. Hopeless!”
- - -
“You look exhausted,” said Geoffrey as he finished washing and drying his surgical tools, placing them back in the leather-bound case. The last of the injured had been seen and treated. The two severely wounded were sleeping on two of the four cots against the wall near the door, and the more moderately injured had been taken by Nkiru and Marigold to lay in their hammocks further aft.
“I am,” Esther replied, gathering up the remaining rags and placing them in a wooden bucket.
“Here…come over here and sit down,” said Geoffrey, patting a spot on a bench. “I want to examine you again. That was a nasty jolt when we collided with that big ship and I want to make sure everything is okay.”
“I don’t know Geoffrey, I’m pretty tired and—”
“Come on, I insist.”
She sighed and dropped another rag into the bucket before walking over to sit in the spot Geoffrey had indicated.
“Have you had a headache or any disorientation since the battle?” Geoffrey asked.
“Nothing unusual or extreme.”
“What about bleeding or cramping?”
“No.”
“Alright, can you lean back a little? I’m going to press on your stomach in a few places and I want you to tell me if there is any sharp pain, alright?”
Esther nodded, placing her hands behind her and leaning back. Geoffrey pushed gently against her stomach a couple of times, watching her face for any reaction.
“Any pain?”
“No.”
“Good,” he said. “You’re showing a little more than I thought you would be at this stage.”
“I know,” she said, her eyebrows drawing together in puzzlement. “I was thinking the same thing.”
“Well, let me listen to your heartbeat and then we’ll be finished. If you wouldn’t mind tilting your chin up?” Esther did so and Geoffrey placed his ear to her chest…again. She couldn’t help but smile. It was so weird to be examined by him now.
“I think I’ve had your head against my chest more than my husbands.”
Geoffrey stood up quickly, a red flush rising in his cheeks. “I…uh…I’m just…I mean, I’m just doing—”
Esther laughed at his expression. “It’s alright, Geoffrey. I wasn’t trying to embarrass you. It’s just a little strange how things have turned out is al
l. I appreciate everything you’ve done for this ship, and for me.” She reached out and grabbed his hand. “I’m sorry if what I said made you uncomfortable.”
Geoffrey looked at her and sighed. “Thanks. I just didn’t want you to think I was being improper or anything.”
She shook her head. “Never.”
Just then, a crewman entered the sickbay with a piece of parchment in hand. “Your Majesty, we received a message from the Flag.” The handed her the parchment.
She read the message and looked up at Geoffrey. “The Admiral begs an audience as soon as the afternoon watch is complete.”
“Well that meeting should be fun,” said Geoffrey sarcastically. He reached out and touched her left arm. “You be careful, Esther. This man has many more years of political experience than you. King Asserius only banished Vana, but many of these noblemen would be happy to see your head removed from your shoulders, I think.”
“Thanks Geoffrey, I will.” The concern in his eyes touched her heart. She stood, smoothing her dress. She waved goodbye to Geoffrey, then followed the crewman out of sickbay. She had much to do to prepare for the Admiral’s arrival, and not much time to do it in.
Chapter 5
Admiral Marsena
Esther sat on the small bench in front of her vanity, holding as still as she could while Marigold leaned over her and applied makeup to her eyes and face. Her sleeping quarters, connected to the great cabin on the starboard side, were small and she hoped that the strong smells of perfume and makeup hanging in the air wouldn’t make her dizzy and cause her pregnancy sickness to become worse than it already was. Marigold was just finishing with the gold colored paint applied on top of the broader black eyeliner. It matched the golden eyeshadow on her eyelids. Nkiru may be her handmaiden and helped Esther with many other things, but Marigold was the one who liked to ‘beautify’ her.
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