Askaro of the Falcon
Page 3
Chapter 3 – Twists of Fate
Ranith scowled at him. His face looked eerie in the pale light of the shuttered room. “What are you doing here? This is supposed to be a duty shift for you.”
Askaro could feel his heart beating in his throat and struggled to swallow the feeling. “I needed a change of clothes before going to my next shift.”
The boy backed up a step. “I don’t understand why a slave is allowed to live on the Officers’ deck. I don’t care who your father is. You should have to stay in the pens with the rest of them. It’s bad enough that your father’s personal pleaser gets to share our space. Disgusting.”
Askaro knew better than to respond to any of the derogatory comments. Ranith was no doubt repeating his own father’s sentiments. The First Mate certainly didn’t hide his disapproval of his mother or Askaro being there. “I have to get to my next duty station. Excuse me.”
Ranith leaned towards him. “I didn’t hear a ‘please’ or a ‘sir’ in that statement.”
Askaro didn’t want a confrontation or to be late. He was already counting time in his head and calculating how long it was going to take him to get to the sail loft. He was tired of the younger boy’s attitude. He had wanted Askaro to start addressing him as ‘sir’ ever since Carton, the Second Mate’s oldest son, had turned 16 and been given a deck watch position. Askaro had to address anyone with a position on the ship as ‘sir’ but Ranith wouldn’t hold a position for another six months.
A door across the salon opened. Galina, the Second Mate’s wife, shoved her three younger children out into the salon. “Now be quiet. Heaven help you if you wake your father and brother. They got in late as it was.”
After Galina closed the door, Ranith turned to look at the other children. “Look who I found sneaking around when he should be at a duty station. Shall we really get him into trouble and make him late?”
Yalina, who was a few months older than Askaro, came toward them. “Oh, do grow up, Ranith. Let Asko be.”
Ranith’s face reddened. He started to turned back but Askaro slipped away from him. He’d had enough. He wasn’t going to deal with Ranith’s jealousy. For some reason, the boy believed Yalina liked Askaro better than him.
Askaro escaped out the door and raced across the deck. He ran up the mid-ship stairs taking the rungs two at a time, and flew down the midway toward the bow. He reached the sail loft as the watch bell rang.
Master Goswin and Master Zeroci were discussing what the First Watch had finished and what still needed to be done. Master Zeroci turned and grinned at him. “Ah, there you are Asko. Right on time. Thanks to you we don’t have nearly as much work as we might have had. Good job saving the Main Course! That could have been bad with the winds so fickle this morning.”
Master Goswin sighed. “I thought Mister Jakaro was a bit mad to keep a tree woman and call her wife.” He patted Askaro on the shoulder. “But Asko is a worthwhile bonus.”
Askaro wasn’t sure what to say. He looked around the loft. “What sail am I assigned to, sirs?”
Master Zeroci chuckled. “Good lad. He doesn’t let praise go to his head.” He pointed toward the upper loft. “There’s a jib up there with a nasty rip. You’ve got a good steady hand. I know you can mend it so it will be reusable.” He turned back to Master Goswin as Askaro hurried away. “Enjoy your rest. We should have most of this finished up before Third Watch. Your Fourth Watch crew can scrub the floors.”
Master Goswin nodded. “Good. I’ve got a lot of new menders. I may also have them do some practice work.”
Their conversation faded into the background as Askaro climbed the stairs to the upper loft. He found the jib sail stretched out on the floor. The rip was near the top of the triangular sail. It must have been rigged too taut in a strong wind.
He went to the work bench and got the appropriate needle and thread. He pulled his wrist bands out of a pouch on his belt and tied them on. The leather would protect his arms from the needle. He sat on the floor, took up the sail, and began mending.
His hands were well-practiced at the task so his mind wandered over what his father had said. They were headed for Rokathalon. He’d heard some of the older crewmen talk about the city. It was supposed to be massive and located high on a series of mountains.
Askaro had never been in a city before. Slaves were not allowed to leave the ship when it was in an official port. Unless they were being sold. He didn’t want to think about that. He’d lost several good friends that way.
The largest city the Falcon had docked in that Askaro could remember was Perath on the southern continent. That had been a couple of years ago. He’d sat at the prow of the sky deck with several other boys, their feet dangling through the railing posts. They had tried to see as much of the place as they could, which wasn’t much from such a distance.
The Falcon was huge compared to other sky ships. She barely fit into the largest docking cradle at the far edge of the docks. He remembered his father’s worry over damage to the ship from such a small berth but none had occurred. The city of Perath had seemed vast to him but several crewmen had remarked at how insignificant the place was compared to the Capital. He could only wonder what the great city would be like.
He heard an all too familiar voice mention his name. He looked down from the upper loft. Bruvano was talking to Master Zeroci. His deep voice echoed across the sail loft. “You’re sure he was here on time? That brat has too much freedom for a slave. It’s a luxury he shouldn’t have. He gets into too much that isn’t his business.”
Master Zeroci frowned. “You’re ignorant, Bru. What that lad did this morning was amazing. I’ve heard several who saw it themselves. He leapt nearly straight up over 60 units to grab that rope. Do you have any idea how much damage the sail could have taken if it had gotten loose? The Main Course is the largest sail on the ship. Free in a wind like this, it could have fouled the entire starboard main mast and foremast sets and been ripped to shreds in the process. Not only that, but Port could never have compensated fast enough to keep us from going into a spin. It could have been a disaster.”
Bruvano growled. “It had to be that brat. I’ll be glad to be rid of him.”
“Are you planning on leaving the ship? Rumor has it that we’re finally headed home. Not that I have anything to look forward to. My wife denounced me when I signed on and I’m sure she’s well established with someone else by now.”
Bruvano lowered his voice but Askaro’s keen ears still heard the Master’s words. “I’ve looked at the log books. Ass will be 16 tomorrow. That means he’ll belong to me. And I plan on selling him for as much as I can get at the market. Let the rumors of his feat run. They may boost up his value.”
Master Zeroci gasped. “You can’t be serious. Mister Jakaro will never allow it, to say nothing of the Captain.”
“It won’t matter what they think. It’s in the charter, in black and white. He’s mine tomorrow to do with as I please.”
Askaro’s hand’s shook. The needle seemed to freeze halfway through the stitch. All of his father’s plans meant nothing. Askaro had read the ship’s charter. He knew what Bruvano said was true. Any boy born to a slave while underway belonged to the Slave Master when he turned 16. Askaro felt cold.
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