“Brandon!” her mother admonished.
Esther gave her mother a sad smile and stepped over to her eight year-old brother. She knelt down in front of him.
“Unfortunately, Brandon, I have,” said Esther softly. She looked over all of her siblings. “There are some bad people in the world who, as you know, did some bad things to us. That’s why I had to go away, and why I was in Lancaster—but I want you to know that you’re safe, and that now that we have an alliance between Ardmorr and Hadiq, it will be much easier to keep you safe so that something like what happened to Tewksbury can never happen again.” Her mother looked at her with thanks in her eyes.
“Alright, enough talk about that. Who would like a tour?” Hands shot into the air as each of her siblings raised them enthusiastically. “Alright then, let’s take a look at what else you can see on the quarterdeck, and then we’ll take a tour of the rest of the ship. When we’re done, perhaps Mr. Oluchi and I can give you a demonstration on how to use a sword. Would you like that?” A chorus of ascents answered her question.
“Alright then, who can tell me what that is?” she said, pointing to the rudder that extended up above the deck to the height of the mizzen mast.
“A rudder!” shouted Gabriel.
“That’s right, Gabe. That rudder helps us steer the ship where it needs to go.”
Esther proceeded to show them all the various areas of the ship, from the rudder, to the propeller’s, to the storage rooms below deck. Her brother’s liked the cannon’s, and her sister’s loved the luxuriousness of her great cabin, as well as her bathtub in the port quarter galley.
After they had completed the tour and stepped back onto the main deck topside, her father walked over to her. “I was initially worried that this ship was going to be loaded with so many luxuries that it wouldn’t be able to fight,” he said, “but I must say, it’s very well armed, even with all the fine linen and luxury items that your husband seems to have packed aboard.”
Esther smiled. “Yes, father. Retribution is first and foremost a combat vessel, and she has the finest crew in either Ardmorr or Hadiq’s navy.”
Her father clapped her on the shoulder. “I believe she might at that, lass.”
Esther turned and walked over to her siblings. “Alright, so I promised you that after the tour, Mr. Oluchi and I would give you a sword-fighting demonstration. We usually practice on the quarterdeck, so if you all head back there, I’m going to go put on my protective suit that Marigold made for me and I’ll meet you up there to begin the demonstration, after which, we’ll get underway towards Tewksbury.”
She followed her family aft until they reached the stairs, then headed towards the great cabin. Marigold was standing over Esther’s desk with some material in her hand.
“Good morning, Marigold. What’s that?”
“Morning, Esther. This is your new sparring suit.” Esther’s eyebrows rose and she walked over to look at it. She hadn’t told her friend about Adeline’s suit, but she must have heard about it from somewhere, because this one looked very similar.
“It had come to my attention that you were recently out-dressed by one of your adversaries,” said Marigold. “I intend never to let that happen again. I didn’t have the time or materials to make one from scratch, but I ordered a set just like Ms. Adeline’s and made a few adjustments.
Esther examined the white trousers and long-sleeved form fitting white tunic. It had the same semi-hard protective material in front that Adeline’s had. Marigold had even bought the white gloves.
“Oh Marigold, its lovely, but I don’t know if I could wear this instead of what you made me,” said Esther.
“Don’t feel bad,” said Marigold. “I’ll admit, I was out-performed in this instance. You need to wear what is best suited to your station. In this case, this outfit is better, but I guarantee you, this won’t happen again, and I’ll make you one so grand that no one will be able to match it.”
“Marigold, it really isn’t—”
Marigold held up her hand, cutting Esther off. “Let’s just get you dressed, shall we.”
Esther nodded, smiling at her friend. She changed quickly and headed back to the quarterdeck. When she arrived, her family was talking with Mr. Najafi. Oluchi stood nearby with two practice swords.
“Alright, are you ready?” she asked.
“Wow, Esther,” said Melissa, “That’s an awesome outfit.”
“Thanks. It’s meant to protect the wearer from bruises and damage that can be caused by the practice swords.” She pressed a finger against the protective material. “It’s a good thing too, because getting hit with one of those can hurt.” The kids laughed and Esther stepped back and donned her new protective headgear that had come with the sparring suit, pulling down the metal latticed faceplate. She accepted a practice sword from Oluchi, and assumed her position facing him.
Mac stepped forward between them with is hand raised. His hand dropped. “Go!”
Oluchi immediately stepped forward and pressed with an aggressive attack. Esther, distracted by her family’s presence, almost let it slip through. Alright, girl, get your head in the game, you don’t want to mess up with your family watching.
Oluchi attacked again and Esther brushed it aside. She stepped forward and around him, sliding the blade of her sword along his to keep it away from her as she slipped past. She spun and brought her sword down in an overhand strike, but Oluchi deflected it and stood there, warily. She launched into a series of fast assaults and their swords clashed together as they moved around the quarterdeck, thrusting and parrying. Finally, after five minutes of this, Mac rung the bell signaling the end of the match with no points scored.
“That was amazing!” Gabriel and Brandon said in unison as they ran up to her. Esther smiled at her brothers, breathing heavily.
“He couldn’t hit you,” said Gabriel, “You were fantastic!”
“Thanks, Gabe,” said Esther, pulling off her gloves, “but I couldn’t hit him, either.”
“You were still amazing,” said Brandon.
“Your Majesty,” Mr. Najafi said, stepping up next to her, “The ship is ready to sail at your command.”
“Then by all means, Mr. Najafi, let’s be on our way.” Esther turned to her family. “If you want to head up front to the bow of the ship, we’re about to get underway and the landscape can best be seen from up there.”
- - -
It was strange seeing her oldest daughter giving commands to grown men. To Niniva Kelley, she would always be her little girl. Now, however, she was a Queen as well. She didn’t know what to think of that. It hadn’t been very long ago when she’d stood in her kitchen talking with Mrs. Charlotte about her worries as to where Esther’s life was going to take her. She’d had no idea it would take her so far from home. She was Queen Esther now. Niniva smiled. At least her daughter was safe now.
She had worried so much about her, especially when she’d disappeared after the raid on Tewksbury. For several months, she had honestly thought she’d lost her. And now she was pregnant—her little girl was going to be a mother in her own right soon. Given Esther’s lack of interest in getting to know the young men in town, Niniva had always assumed it would be a long while before she’d have any grandchildren, but now, in just a few short months, she was going to be a grandmother! The thought filled her with such joy that sudden tears welled up in her eyes. She quickly wiped them away before anyone could notice.
Niniva followed the rest of her family to the bow of the ship and rested her hands on the railing, looking over the side at the ground below. A bell sounded twice and there was a twitter of a whistle, then the ship began to ascend into the air. It was slow at first, but then accelerated, and she felt butterflies in her stomach as the ground receded away beneath them. As they gained altitude, the view was absolutely amazing. She could see Tewksbury off in the distance to the north, and the small villages of Maypar and Southwick to the west. The propellers near the bow of the ship on either
side began to turn, creaking as their shafts accelerated. Airmen shouted as sails were unfurled and the Retribution began moving forward, slowly at first, but then more quickly. They had stopped ascending. Tewksbury wasn’t very far away and there was no need to go higher, though Niniva wished they would just to be able to see more.
As she looked out over the landscape, she could understand why her daughter loved airships so much. The thrill of being up in the air, defying that which otherwise bound them to Earth was exhilarating, and the views were fantastic. Her children were having the time of their lives as the ship sailed towards Tewksbury and she was grateful that they had this opportunity. Like Esther, she didn’t know where the future would take her, or her children, but right now she was just content that they were happy, and that’s all she could ask for.
- - -
After she’d given the order to get underway, Esther had gone quickly to her bedchamber to change out of the sparring suit. Marigold was there and had already laid out her dress on the bed. At first, Esther thought she should wear the simple cream-colored dress that she had first worn upon coming home, but visiting Tewksbury was much different than just coming to visit her family and both Marigold and Mac had insisted that she wear clothing befitting her station—which included her crown. She didn’t much care for the idea, but had reluctantly agreed. It was only a short trip by airship from her family’s farm to Tewksbury, however, so she had to hurry and get dressed before they arrived.
Esther pulled off the sparring suit and stepped over to her vanity to wash herself with water from the washbasin. She then quickly slipped into the dress that Marigold had chosen for her. It felt nice to wear something that was more Ardmorran in its style without the plunging Hadiqan necklines or dupatta scarfs. Marigold was just finishing lacing her dress up in the back when a brief knock sounded at the door.
“Dr. Scott is here to see Her Majesty,” Esther’s marine sentry called through the door.
“Have Dr. Scott wait for me in my great cabin,” Esther replied, “I will be there shortly.”
A moment later, Marigold stepped back. “Done,” she said, walking around to stand in front of her. “You look fabulous.”
“Thanks.”
Marigold took the scented perfume and dabbed it on Esther’s neck, then turned and picked up her crown. Since she wasn’t wearing Hadiqan style clothing, Esther decided that her traditional crown wouldn’t work well with her outfit, so she’d had Marigold pull out her simpler crown. It was little more than a circlet of purest gold with fine gold chains that hung from the sides, looping from front to back, and a large diamond centered in front. It was lovely, but not quite as…intense as her traditional crown. It would work well with the Ardmorran style dress. Marigold placed it lightly on her head, making sure that the golden chains lay correctly, then took Esther’s Laleh shell necklace from the vanity table and placed it around her neck.
“Alright, Your Majesty, you’re ready to go.”
“Thanks, Marigold. Are you sure you won’t come? Tanya and Charity would love to see you.”
Marigold nodded. “I’m sure. I just…I don’t think I could handle seeing Tewksbury right now. I…” She turned away slightly, folding an arm in front of her and raising her other hand to her mouth.
Esther stepped up and put her hands on her friend’s shoulders. “I understand. I’m sorry. I’ll give them your best wishes.”
Marigold nodded. Esther patted her friend on the shoulder and left her to her thoughts, closing the bedchamber door behind her as she exited into the great cabin. Geoffrey waited there, standing next to her desk, looking out the large windows along the aft wall. He turned as she approached.
“Hello Geoffrey,” she said.
“Hello, Esther. You look stunning this morning. It’s nice to see you in Ardmorran-style clothing once more.”
“Yes,” she said, looking down at her dress and spreading her arms out a little. “It feels good, too. I think I’m going to start swapping my outfits between Hadiqan and Ardmorran, depending on what I feel like that day. I really like them both, but not all the time.”
Geoffrey smiled. “You might end up spreading Hadiqan fashions to Ardmorr and Ardmorran fashions to Hadiq. Actually, I have something for you that will go well with that dress.” He reached over to the table where a long rectangular box lay. “I was going to wait for your birthday, but with everybody vying for your attention, I thought I’d give it to you early”
Esther smile, taking the box from him and untying the ribbon wrapped around it. “That’s very thoughtful of you Geoffrey.” She opened the lid revealing a dark brown belt and scabbard.
“I had it made specifically for your Madrausan dagger. My uncle is one of the best leather workers in all of Lancaster.”
“Wow…Geoffrey, this is gorgeous,” she said, running her hand along the leather.
“It’s made to belt around your waist, then have the extra length hang down in front, forming a ‘Y’. You can also adorn it with jewels down the front if you’d like. Unfortunately, I couldn’t afford any that would befit your station,” he said wryly.
Esther wrapped the belt around her waist and adjusted the clasp so that it formed the ‘Y’ shape as Geoffrey had described. It was lovely and even gave her hips some definition.
“This is just beautiful,” said Esther, looking up at him. “Thank you.”
“There’s more.” He handed her another dark brown leather object. “That’s a small scabbard that my uncle made for you to fasten to your inner thigh or calf. You can place a small dagger in it as a backup for your Madrausan one.”
“That could come in handy,” said Esther, nodding her head as she accepted it from him.
“And there’s one other thing,” said Geoffrey, smiling.
“Geoffrey! This is too much!”
He pulled out something that looked like a fat knitting needle, but with no hook. “I am told that this is a hair accessory. When I saw it in the marketplace in Al Farnaka, it reminded me of your Laleh shell that I gave you in Deyr—it has the same coloring. I knew that your birthday was coming up and I wanted to get something for you. That was before I had the idea to commission my uncle to make a belt and scabbard for you. So now you get both.”
“That’s very kind of you Geoffrey,” said Esther, examining the decorative pin, “and I think it will go well with the Laleh shell—when I’m not having to wear this thing.” She pointed up at her crown currently perched atop her head.
“Well I just wanted to wish you happy birthday…” he said, suddenly awkward.
“Thank you, Geoffrey.” She gave him a brief hug. “I don’t mean to rush off, but we should be arriving in Tewksbury any minute and I should be on deck when we do.”
“Oh, of course,” he said, stepping to the side. Esther noticed a touch of color in his cheeks and her thoughts focused momentarily on the brief physical contact between them and it caused a flutter in her stomach. Uncomfortable with where her thoughts were heading, she quickly grabbed her cloak, pulling it over her shoulders, nodded to Geoffrey and left, perhaps a step quicker than she normal.
Chapter 16
Tewksbury
Esther had thought she might have mixed feelings coming back to Tewksbury, similar to what Marigold was experiencing, but really she only felt excitement at being home again. She looked forward to seeing Tanya and Charity. Esther’s mother had told her that Charity had been courted by the innkeeper’s son, Gerold Schmidt, and married a few weeks ago on the day after she turned seventeen—the traditional age for marriage in this part of the country. She now lived in Tewksbury and worked at the Rosebud. Esther had been stuck with the fleet in the blockade around Ardmorr at the time.
Tanya was now serving on the town council, having replaced Felicity Rowntree, who had been killed during the raid on Tewksbury. She may be very young for such a position, but it didn’t really surprise Esther. Tanya was driven, intelligent, and strong—both physically and mentally. The only thing standing in her
way had been her age, and with the losses from the raid, Tewksbury needed their finest to step up, and Tanya was more than able and willing.
As the Retribution descended toward the village green, crewmen attached their harnesses to ropes and rappelled to the ground, grabbing the mooring ropes and securing the Retribution to the stakes the town had placed for the merchantmen that typically came to visit. They had replaced the ones that were there when Merchant McKinney’s ship had been destroyed during the raid and Esther felt a familiar feeling of fear and anger surge through her as images from that night flashed through her mind. She shook her head and took a deep breath to banish the images and brought herself back to the present.
The grass wasn’t green at this time of year—more of a yellowish-brown, but they still called it ‘The Green’ anyway. The side platforms descended, dropping marines in order to secure the area where a large crowd was already gathering. The platforms returned and descended once more carrying Esther, her family, Mac, and several other officers and crew. Mayor Cromwell stood with several others a few feet away with Sergeant Taavi, who had obviously cleared him to approach closer.
“Mayor Cromwell,” said Esther, stepping off the platform, “It’s so good to see you again.”
“And you as well, Your Majesty,” Cromwell said with a bow.
Esther smiled. “No need to address me so formally. This is my home, you know.”
“And it’s good to have you back here, even just to visit. If I’d known you were coming, I’d have prepared a better reception party.”
“I’m happier to be home without all of the ceremony,” said Esther. “I just wanted to come and see how the rebuilding is going, and to see some friends.”
“I assume you mean Councilwoman Green and the newly married Mrs. Charity Schmidt?”
Esther nodded.
“Well I’m sure the news of your arrival will spread quickly…in fact, I think that’s Charity coming this way now,” the Mayor said, gesturing across the green towards the Rosebud Inn. Charity had just come running out, her curly red hair bouncing up and down as she ran. Watching her friend run towards them, Esther couldn’t help but smile. Charity had a bright personality and was always fun to be around. She was about the same height as Esther, but that was about their only similarity. Her flame red hair, fair skin with just a smidgen of freckles, and curves that Esther envied contrasted greatly to Esther’s light brown skin, brown hair that was so dark it was almost black hair, and slim figure that was only now breaking its way out of its youthful appearance as it attained the full curves of womanhood. Sergeant Taavi tensed momentarily and looked at Esther. He relaxed after she nodded to him and allowed Charity to run past the marines.
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