Retribution

by Benjamin J Boswell

  “Doragon no musume no tame no okurimono,” the old man had said, picking up the cloth and the swords. Oluchi and Taavi had jumped forward to stand between her and the old man, afraid that he might try and use one of the swords, but when it became apparent that he only meant to present the weapons to Esther, the stepped back...though not very far.

  “Oh, no, kind sir, I could not possibly accept such a magnificent and valuable gift,” she had replied.

  The old man had simply held out the swords and waited.

  “Please,” she had repeated, holding up her hands, “I cannot take these. Watashi wa kono okurimono o ukeire rarenai.”

  The old man had only stood there with the swords held out towards her and smiled. Finally, Esther had reached out and taken them, holding them carefully. With blades that sharp, she could easily slice off a finger if they fell. The old man turned and pulled polished scabbards out from behind the workbench. She held the swords while the man carefully slid the scabbards onto the swords.

  “Go,” the old man had said, then. “You have much to do.” Making shooing motions, he pushed them out of his shop. Just before he closed the door, the man had said, “Doragon ga kanzen ni ushinawa rete inai koto o watashi no kokoro wa shitteita.” Then he had shut the door and left them standing in the street, staring at each other.

  “What did he say?” Marigold had asked.

  Esther just shook her head. “I’m not sure, but I think it was something like, ‘It was good for me’—or maybe ‘my heart’, I’m not sure. Anyway, it was something like, ‘It was good for my heart to see that the dragon was not entirely lost’.”

  “That had to be the strangest encounter I’ve ever had,” said Marigold.

  “For you and me both,” Esther had replied, “and I’ve had a few strange encounters before.”

  They had returned to the palace and spent the rest of the day discussing what had happened with Geoffrey and Adeline. Ambassador Rashad had stopped by that evening and suggested that they tour one of the timber production centers that would be a key element in the Northern Kingdom’s contribution to the treaty. Thus, the next day, she found herself in a carriage outside of the city once again.

  “You aren’t going to make us sleep in a stable this time, are you?” asked Geoffrey.

  “Oh no,” said Adeline, “please don’t do that again. It took me days to finally get all of the straw out of my hair.”

  “I don’t know what you all’s problem was,” said Marigold. “I was fine.”

  “Oh yes, well not all of us were able to have a whole carriage to themselves to pass out in,” teased Geoffrey.

  In truth, Esther was becoming increasingly concerned with Marigold’s drinking. Christmas Eve wasn’t the first time recently that her friend had passed out after drinking too much. Drinking wasn’t the answer to her mental struggles and Esther was starting to get worried that it would become a deadly crutch for her afflicted friend.

  “Hey,” said Marigold, “There were two other carriages. That’s six benches, including the one I was on. Some of you could have slept on one of them. There were plenty of blankets.”

  “Yes, well the blankets kept us warm, but you had the good fortune to pass out before the Queen decided that sleeping in the stable was a good idea. I wasn’t going to sleep on a padded bench in a carriage knowing that she’s sleeping in a stable.”

  “Yup,” agreed Adeline, nodding her head up and down. Esther laughed and shook her head. She looked out the window and watched as the carriages passed through the town and turned east onto a muddy road leading up into the foothills. The ride became decidedly rough where deep ruts had been cut into it by heavy wagons loaded with timber being carried down the mountain to the lumber yard.

  The carriage wheel hit a large bump, then fell back into the rut, jarring Esther painfully. She gritted her teeth, grabbing onto a handle on the carriage next to her head with one hand and holding her abdomen with the other. Perhaps this trip hadn’t been such a good idea after all.

  She saw Geoffrey glance at her worriedly, but the road smoothed out after another hundred yards and they arrived at the production facility a few minutes later. The muddy road led into an area of ground where quite a few trees had been felled. Other trees in that same area still stood, seemingly at random, and Esther wondered what was special about the trees that hadn’t been harvested.

  The carriage jolted again when it ran over another large rock as it made its way towards a log cabin thirty yards ahead. The late morning sun overhead gleamed off the snow in the forest and revealed teams of men spread throughout the area to the east, using long handled axes to chop down trees. She heard the sounds of the axes biting into the trees and the echoes of men calling to each other as they worked. One team of men she saw were using their axes to chop off the tree branches, and other teams were using chains, balloons filled with Saug gas, and teams of horses to lift the logs onto large wagons. Esther was impressed by the sheer scale of the operation.

  The carriages pulled up in front of the log structure and a big man with a thick beard stepped out. The various teams of men working nearby came to a halt as Esther and her companions stepped out of the carriages.

  “Your Majesty,” said the big man, bowing his head respectfully.

  “Good morning, Mr…?”

  “Jórin, Your Majesty. I’m the foreman and lead silviculturist here at the Lugos timber mine.”

  “A silviculturist?”

  “Yes, Your Majesty. A silviculturist is someone who specializes in forestry and timber mining by growing and harvesting in such a way as to sustain the forests. Our ancestors learned a hard lesson when they over-mined the trees in the forest of Oddr. To this day, nothing grows there but sparse grasses.”

  Esther nodded her head. “Ah yes, I remember now. I have heard that term before. I’m happy to hear that Ciel is taking a long-term view of its tree harvesting operations…but please, Mr. Jórin, don’t let my presence here disrupt your work—or at least, disrupt it any more than we have to. I will try and stop by to see everyone as we tour the facility, but there is no need for them to come to a complete stop just to wait around for me to introduce myself.”

  “Thank you, Your Majesty,” Jórin said. He turned to the teams standing around and hollered, “Alright, everyone, back to work!” The men turned back to their work and the sounds of the lumber trade resumed. Jórin turned back to her. “I appreciate your understanding, Your Majesty. When I received word that you were coming to tour the operation, I was worried that I’d lose a whole day of production—and my weekly quotas don’t change.”

  He was a rough man, but Esther liked him. He seemed very down-to-earth. “Well, I apologize in advance, because I’m afraid just my presence here will be disruptive and your output for today will likely be lower. I would also like to talk to your lumber crews, which will cause even more delays.”

  “Any time lost by such a beautiful Queen as yourself will be made up two-fold afterwards because of your impact on morale, Your Majesty.”

  “You are quite the flatterer, Mr. Jórin,” she said.

  The man laughed heartily. “Come, Your Majesty. Let me introduce you to my deputy foreman and we’ll show you how we cut down, buck, and skid the trees selected for harvest.”

  - - -

  Adeline watched as Esther greeted yet another group of wood cutters. Esther had spent the rest of the morning and afternoon examining every facet of the operation, meeting the teams of men working here, and asking questions about how they select the trees for harvesting. She had skipped lunch completely in order to make sure that she met every single person. She shook each of their hands and talked with them a little about what their individual part in the production operation was. She may not be able to see it, but Adeline could tell that she had a profound effect on the lives of these men. A Queen had come all the way out here to see them at work—and not just any Queen, but the Queen of Hadiq, one of the wealthiest and most powerful nations in the known world. In
just the two months that Adeline had known her, Esther had really blossomed, both as a Queen, and physically as a young woman, and these men could see that.

  Adeline felt a familiar surge of jealousy threaten to swell, but stepped on it hard. She was just as surprised as Esther to see how their friendship had flourished these last few weeks. There were so many differences between them—their origins, their education, and even the color of their hair and skin—but Adeline felt a kindred spirit in Esther, and was surprised by how much Esther had come to mean to her.

  Finally, Esther finished with the last group of wood cutters and Adeline followed her back to the carriages. The sun was setting and the men would be leaving for their homes soon. Esther shook the foreman’s hand again, said goodbye, then turned and climbed into the carriage. She looked exhausted. Adeline felt exhausted herself and she didn’t have twin babies growing inside of her.

  After the carriages made it past the rough parts in the road on the way down the mountain, Esther suddenly leaned over to her. “How would you feel about going to Riaseth and personally inviting King Yngvarr to come and attend the negotiations?”

  Adeline raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Is that because you respect my diplomatic skills, or is it just because you think I have a pretty face and can lure him here with my feminine charms?” she teased.

  “Both?” said Esther and Adeline had to laugh at the sheepish look on her face.

  “I’ll pack my bags as soon as we get back.”

  “Thanks, Adeline. The Piruz rotated out yesterday, but its replacement, the Adena, will take you to the capital of Riaseth and back.”

  “Are you sure you don’t just want me to catch a transport ship?” asked Adeline. “I’d hate to deprive you of one of your escorts.”

  “Yes. I don’t want to wait any longer. We’ve got to try and get this treaty signed. I’m not going anywhere at the moment, and the Adena’s crew would probably love to have something to do. Besides, I want you to have a ship to get you out of there if you need it. By the time you get back, I think we’ll have the last details hammered out and the treaty papers drawn up.”

  “So are you really going to offer Hadiqan ships to be stationed in the Mandalay Archipelago?” said Adeline, knowing that Esther was really worried about how Asserius would react to that.

  “As long as the Northern Kingdom’s allow Hadiqan investment there, and set aside a fair share of land, then yes.”

  “Do you think Asserius will go for that?”

  Esther shrugged her shoulders. “We should find out soon. I sent him a missive after we finished our discussions before Christmas and I’m hoping to get a response back with the next courier.”

  Adeline nodded. “I’ll get Yngvarr here,” she promised.

  “If anyone can get it done, it will be you,” said Esther, reaching over to squeeze her hand.

  Chapter 26

  Something Unexpected

  Esther felt weak as she stepped off of the platform and into the hallway leading to her suite. The carriage ride back from Lugos had been torture. After being on her feet all day long talking with the woodcutters, she was exhausted and felt every rock and pebble in the road. She just wanted to fall into bed, but she felt dirty and gross after spending all day at the timber production facility, and there was no way she was going to climb into bed feeling like that. She had sent word for warm water to be delivered to her bath as soon as they’d arrived back at the palace. She hoped she wouldn’t have to wait long for it to arrive.

  “Are you going to come down for dinner?” asked Adeline, looking at her a bit worriedly.

  Esther had missed lunch, but doubted she’d have the energy to eat dinner. Maybe she could have someone bring her some soup while she was in the bath. “I’m not sure. Right now I just want to get cleaned up,” Esther replied. “I’ll see you all later.” She turned and walked through the doors into the foyer’s suite.

  “I will check on the water,” said Nkiru in her heavily accented Hadiqan.

  “Thanks, Nkiru.”

  Esther walked through the second set of double doors, closing them behind her. She walked into the privy and quickly used the toilet, washed her hands, then stepped out and through the door next to the privy into the small room with a large bathtub in it. A knock sounded on the door.

  “Come,” said Esther.

  The doors opened and several female servants wheeled in a couple of carts with large buckets of water in them. The servants picked up the buckets and filled the tub. Nkiru checked the temperature, had the servants poor another couple of buckets in, checked it again, then nodded. The servants wheeled the carts out and Nkiru secured the doors behind them. Esther pulled off the turtleneck and stripped out of the skirt and her undergarments. Her hands were so shaky, she was having a hard time. Nkiru stepped up next to her and helped her remove the clothing, then steadied her as she climbed into the tub.

  “I will go fetch you some chicken broth to eat,” said Nkiru.

  Esther nodded and leaned back. The warm water felt fantastic, and she was so exhausted, she thought she might fall asleep right here. She wouldn’t be comfortable though—not like in her bed—so she quickly washed herself and climbed out of the tub. Her hands were still shaking. After she dried and dressed herself in her nightgown, she walked over to her bed, climbed in, and immediately fell asleep.

  - - -

  Nkiru returned with tray and a bowl full of chicken broth, but Esther had already climbed into bed and appeared to be sleeping. Nkiru set the tray on the side table and went back into the bathing room, picked up the dirty clothes, and dropped them in a wash basket for her to clean later, then straightened up the room and walked back into the bedroom. Poor Esther had looked so exhausted when they had stepped out of the carriages after they had returned. Nkiru had been nervous at how shaky Esther’s hands had been while trying to undress, but she felt better now that the young Queen was in bed. She was already asleep.

  It worried Nkiru that Esther hadn’t gotten much to eat before she’d fallen asleep, but perhaps rest was what she needed at the moment. Nkiru closed and latched the shutters on all of the windows, then quietly exited the bedroom through the double doors into the foyer. Two marines stood next to the doors leading out into the hallway. Another stood by the door she had just come through, and a fourth was probably asleep in the small room just off the foyer to her left.

  Nkiru decided to head down to the dining hall to eat and get some food with more substance for Esther. She would sleep in the foyer tonight, just in case Esther needed her. She would keep some food there as well in case Esther got hungry. Nkiru smiled at the guards as she exited out into the hallway and headed for the lift to take her to the dining hall.

  - - -

  Nkiru woke. She was laying on one of the benches covered with a blanket of fur in the foyer to Esther’s suite, her arm cradled under her head for support. She sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and yawned. There were no windows in this room, but she sensed from the general rumblings of the palace that the morning routine had started. She looked over at the table. The additional food she had procured for Esther last night sat upon it, untouched. Knowing Esther, Nkiru guessed that she would probably be getting up soon. Nkiru wanted to be sure and have some warm food for her as soon as she did, so she stood up, nodded to the marines, and walked out into the hallway, heading for the dining hall.

  After taking the lift to the second tier, she was just turning the corner into the dining hall when she was almost bowled over by someone.

  “Oh, hello, Nkiru,” said Lady Adeline in fluent Hadiqan. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to run into you. I was just running a bit late. I’m supposed to catch the next carriage to the airfield.”

  “No pro-blem, La-dy Adeline,” Nkiru said, then made a shooing motion. “Go, hurry, you don’ want to miss de carriage.”

  Adeline flashed her a smile and walked swiftly down the hall towards the lifts. Nkiru smiled at Adeline’s back. At first, she hadn’t liked
Lady Adeline. She had seemed proud, as if she were better than everyone else. But that had changed since Lady Adeline had come North with them. Nkiru didn’t know why, but was grateful, because she had come to see a side of Lady Adeline that she never would have known existed, and she and Esther seemed to be becoming good friends. That also helped elevate her in Nkiru’s eyes.

  Nkiru asked for a tray and a Cielian man brought one to her. She took a glass plate—reserved for royalty and visiting dignitaries—and filled it with wonderful smelling breads, cheeses, jams, and fruit. She poured some fresh milk into a metal cup and placed it on the tray with metal utensils. Finally, she took some flowers, placed them in a vase, and set it on the tray. She picked it up and carried it out of the dining halls, heading for the lift.

  After taking the lift to the third tier, Nkiru walked down the hall towards Esther’s suite. Oluchi was just coming down the hall from the other direction.

  “Good morning, Nkiru,” he said. “I didn’t hear you go to bed last night.” She and her brother shared a small room across the hall and two doors down from Esther’s suite.

  “I slept in Esther’s foyer,” answered Nkiru. “She only had some broth last night and I was afraid she would get hungry, or need something.”

  Mac had just come out of his own room and was coming down the hall as well. Since arriving at the palace, his role had taken a back seat to the one that Nkiru provided, as there wasn’t as much of a need for a steward here, but he liked to stop by every morning and check on things.

  “Good morning, Mr. Mac,” said Nkiru, switching to Hadiqan from the Easterner tongue she had been conversing with Oluchi in.

  “Good morning, Ms. Nkiru. I hope you slept well?”

  “Well enough,” answered Nkiru. “I believe dat Esther was still sleeping when I left. I wanted to get some fresh breakfast fo’ her as she didn’t eat much last night.”

  “Yes,” said Mac, “I was a little bit worried after she returned from Lugos. She seemed very tired.”