Onesa nodded. “Yes, Captain.” She moved over and grabbed Ralvi by the arm. The man didn’t struggle as he was escorted across the gang plank.
Vihori turned to the rest of the crew of the Grinning Panda. “You will follow us into port, but you will remain on your vessel until you are given further orders. Failure to do this will result in severe punishment.” With quickness and grace, Vihori moved across the gang plank.
The Gallant Fox sailed away from the Grinning Panda, but Luxi’s ship trailed behind.
Luxi crossed her arms and moved to the bow of the ship. The girls followed her, and so Nori followed them.
“Are all these ships under the flag of Amori?” Luxi asked.
Vihori moved up beside her. “Seriously? How long is this going to go on?”
“I asked you a question.” Luxi’s glare darkened. “Are all these ships under her flag?”
Nori placed himself between Flara, Apisa, and Rayko. Flara and Apisa watched the pair, but Rayko studied the water in the harbor. Her eyes looked wet. Her hand had been drawn to her chest.
Nori stepped up beside her. “Are you okay? I’m sorry if that wasn’t my place, but…”
Rayko plunged into him and gave him a little hug. “Thank you for that. When that brigand tried to touch me, I had imaged of what poor Senna must have gone through. Why couldn’t there have been someone like you on board? I mean… like you in character, not in…”
Nori wrapped his arms around Rayko and gave her a little squeeze. “I know what you meant. You’re my friend, and I won’t let anyone hurt you.” He broke the embrace and turned his attention back to Luxi.
Luxi shook her head. “I’ll be honest, I can’t believe she managed to take control over all of this. Did it take long after I left for her to consolidate completely?”
Vihori shrugged. “About a year after. For a while, she thought that our enemies had kidnapped you or something. You shouldn’t have just disappeared like that.”
Luxi’s arms tightened on her chest, and she lightly kicked the side of the railing. “There are a lot of things that should have happened that didn’t. I swore I would never return to this accursed place.”
“And yet, here you are?” Vihori asked. “I assume these people have something to do with your return. What secrets do they keep? I can’t wait to find out.”
Luxi peered up at him. “You’re not going to be in the audience with us, are you?”
A broad grin covered Vihori’s face. “Of course I am. I am Mother’s second in command. I am the Pirate Prince after all. What did you expect? I stayed behind and did was I was told.”
“I suppose that makes you a good little son, doesn’t it?” Luxi said. She placed her hands on her hips and jutted her chest out toward his.
Vihori simply reviewed her with the same sense of superiority. “As opposed to other things? When we dock, I’ll escort you up to the palace. You’ll have your audience there.”
“The palace?” Luxi asked. “She built a palace? Oh, that’s not pretentious in the least. She’s no better than the rich snobs in Xian Ba.” Suddenly, her eyes widened in surprise. “Well, not that all of the rich people in Xian Ba are snobs. Just most of them.”
Vihori moved past her and approached the girls. Nori moved in front of them, but Vihori appeared undeterred.
“So that’s it, isn’t is it?” Vihori asked. “One of you is a very important person. That makes sense considering the Onistan bodyguard. Which of you is it?”
Rayko stepped forward. “I am. Please do not harass my hand maidens over trying to weasel out my identity. I will be happy to express myself to your mother, the pirate queen.”
Vihori narrowed his eyes at her. “Very well then. I suppose we should get to see Mother sooner than later.”
He moved away from the group and walked up to the helm.
Luxi immediately clustered around the girls. “I’m really sorry for not talking to you about this before. I had no idea what I was going to say until Vihori actually sailed up. I just kind of went with my gut.”
“So what are you planning, darling?” Rayko asked. “This could go very badly very quickly. After all, I doubt few low-life pirates would pass up on an opportunity to try and collect a royal ransom.”
“Yeah, and besides that, do we really have time to be waiting around here?” Apisa asked. “We only have so much time before its harvest time, if you catch my drift.”
Luxi shifted her eyes over to Vihori. The man was currently engaged with a conversation with several of the pirates at the helm. They watched Nori’s group in much the same way they were being observed.
Luxi licked her lips a couple of times. “You mentioned that things are going to get really bad before they get better, right? Well, I thought we might be able to enlist pirate support. Pirates are fierce fighters, and no one but a good smuggler knows the river like a good pirate does.”
Flara locked gazes with her. “Why didn’t you tell us what you had planned? We could have helped you do something.”
Luxi averted her eyes and her lips curled down. Her face grimaced, and her arms went behind her back, clutched at the wrists. She reminded Nori of a child currently being scolded. “I don’t want to get into this now, …but I’m sort of connected to Tadaga Amori… and Vihori.”
Apisa asked, “Were you and him going to get married or something?”
“What?” Luxi asked. “No way!”
“Maybe he was going to marry your sister, or you to his brother. Is it something like that?” Rayko asked.
Luxi shook her head. “What’s it with you two and marriage? That has nothing to do with any of this.”
Nori spoke up. “She said she doesn’t want to talk about it, so we should respect her enough not to press her about it.”
All eyes fell upon him. Apisa and Rayko fiddled with their fingers, and now they resembled children being lectured. Luxi gave him a brief warm smile, and her bottom lip quivered ever so slightly.
“Nori’s right,” Flara said. “How you’re connected to Amori doesn’t matter at this point. So what is Amori like? We’re going to have an audience with her, is she agreeable?”
Luxi shrugged. “It’s been years since I last dealt with her. I’ve heard she’s grown hard in her self-appointed positon of queen. She really wasn’t all too agreeable to her enemies. After all, she is a pirate. Maybe we’re catching her on a good day.”
“If things go badly, can we muscle our way out of there?” Nori asked.
A nervous chuckle escaped Luxi. “Amori is a master swordswoman. She taught Vihori and I how to fight.”
“You and Vihori had the same master?” Apisa asked.
Luxi grimaced. “We grew up together. Let’s change the subject, shall we? We’re almost to port.”
Nori fidgeted with his hands for a moment, and finally placed them on his hips. A massive storm of anxiety swelled within his stomach. He leaned on the edge of the railing and watched as the figures on the docks became more distinct. The people who came into sight all wore dark colored clothing that appeared austere in nature. Men and women wore vests or short sleeved shirts with shorts and sandals. Every single person had some kind of weapon on their belts too. Wooden stalls lined the street where the piers connected with the wharf. Vendors demonstrated their wares to sailors and pirates who moved about. Very few of the passing patrons actually stopped through. Some people carried large bags or crates through the crowds, while others merely strolled around lazily. Gangs of children ran about, bobbing and weaving around the adults.
The Gallant Fox pulled up beside a pier. The pirates on the ship scrambled to tie off of the ship and lower the gang plank.
Vihori stood beside the gang plank. “Are you coming or not?”
Luxi rolled her eyes. “By Saito’s ball sweat, he’s such an asshole.” She peeked over at the girls and Nori. “Follow my lead. Things are about to get rough.”
NORI LICKED HIS lips nervously as he followed Rayko, Apisa, Flara, Luxi and Vihori t
hrough the wide cobble stone streets of Gohoda. Several pirates trailed behind him, but they neither said anything to him, nor did they try to make him go any faster. Luckily for them, their weapons were not drawn.
Crowds of people parted ways for Vihori, and they observed Nori’s group with more than a little interest. The people within the city walls didn’t wear the same austere outfits that the dock workers wore. They wore brighter colors, and had more fashionable designs.
The buildings behind the people were all made from stone and had thatched roofs. Even though the streets rose up at a steep angle, the tops of the buildings were all level with one another.
Children pushed through the legs of the adults, and gawked at Nori and the others as if they were on parade. Many people stared at him, but their expressions differed than that of the people of Xian Ba or Jadai. No one regarded Nori with fear or disgust. In fact, they were more awe inspired by the trio of mages that had etched a place in Nori’s heart.
Vihori led the group to the rectangular building with the large dome. It towered over all the other buildings, and it appeared even more magnificent up close. A dozen columns decorated the outsides of the structure. Elaborate carvings of people fishing and sailing on ships covered the columns. A pair of ornate, dark wooden doors faced Nori and the group. The doors were etched in beautiful carvings of people farming the land and growing crops.
Luxi stopped as soon as they got closer to the rectangular building. “Are you serious? She turned the Great Granary into a palace?”
“Well, it was the largest building in the city,” Vihori said. “After she consolidated her power, Mother had two granaries built on the west and east side of the city. There’s a lot more stability since you left. No one goes hungry.”
Luxi moved alongside Vihori and walked with him toward the palace. “That’s rather impressive.”
The closer that Luxi got to the palace, the less sure her steps became. Her shoulders started to slump a little more. Luxi’s face contorted in slight, and barely noticeable, anguish. An icy finger traced up Nori’s spine.
Vihori marched up to the doors and signaled to a pair of armed pirates who had positioned themselves beside the front entrance. With determined speed, they pulled open the doors, and bowed before the Pirate Prince.
Sanded wooden floors spanned the interior of the building, and plaster walls lined the hallways. People moved through the corridors with purpose, and very few of the individuals actually acknowledged the group. They even ignored Nori.
Apisa said, “This place looks more like a city hall than a palace.”
“For all intents and purposes, it is.” Vihori flashed a grin. “Even though Mother carries the name ‘Pirate Queen,’ she treats the position more like a governor role. She takes it very seriously.”
Vihori led the group to a large audience chamber on the second floor of the palace. The audience chamber was quite spacious, and had a gigantic square, red rug dominating the center of the floor. Wide windows peeked out into what looked like an elegant garden.
A woman dressed in an exquisite long-sleeved charcoal grey coat and a pair of matching slacks sat behind a large wooden desk. She had short brown hair that flared out the ends. The woman had been reading an opened scroll, but she peered up at Vihori when he walked in.
Tadaga Amori narrowed her eyes, and leaned on her desk. “What do we have here? I expected my wayward child, but I didn’t anticipate a crowd. I’m not in the mood to entertain, I’m afraid.”
Luxi planted her feet tightly and placed her hands on her hips. “Well, if you won’t meet with them too, then I’ll leave.”
Amori narrowed her eyes and stood up from her seat. “This is how you greet me after all this time? What have I done to earn this hatred from you? Answer me that!”
Luxi pointed at Amori as she got closer to the other side of the desk. “You allowed my father to die, all to feed your selfish ambition. His death was meaningless.”
Amori slammed the flats of her hands against the desk. A wild rage flared within her brown eyes. “Is that what this whole thing was about?! Is that what you think really happened? How dare you!”
Under the energy of the pirate queen’s anger, Luxi actually steeled herself and raised her shoulders a little higher. Flara and Apisa winced as they watched the altercation unfold. Rayko averted her eyes. Nori hid his discomfort behind a mask of neutrality, yet his soul writhed in sympathy. Vihori also appeared unmoved, yet his eyes reflected a greater degree of anguish.
“I loved your father too!” Amori said. “And I never pursued this path for my own sense of ambition! You left us when we needed you the most. Not only did your brother and I have to mourn alone, we had to face an entire city of enemies by ourselves.”
Luxi slapped her own hands down on the desk. She leaned over and glared at Amori. “I was thirteen years old, and you let me down! I trusted you to safeguard him against that kind of bullshit. He never wanted to get involved with that kind of twisted politics. He only stayed in the city because he loved you.”
Amori reached out and grabbed Luxi by the front of the shirt. “Yes, he did! At what point did you stop loving me? When you assumed I was a selfish power monger? Damn you for worrying me for so many years. Take your ship and your guests and leave. I’ve learned to live without you in my life, and you’ve done the same.” She pushed Luxi away.
Luxi didn’t back away from the desk though. “You need to listen to them. They have something very important to discuss with you. If you care about Gohoda, then you won’t send them away.”
Amori rounded the desk and got in Luxi’s face. Their chests’ pressed together, and their noses nearly did as well. Neither woman backed down, and they sent daggers out through their eyes.
“Give me one good reason I shouldn’t have you thrown in prison?” Amori asked. “You abandoned us when we needed you the most. So why do you think I’m going to do anything you’re asking of me now?”
Vihori spoke up, “Mother, you really should listen to her. You know Luxi, she’s always been a great judge of character. Granted, she’s sometimes had errors in judging actions, but she’s always lived her life earnestly. Just like Father did.”
Amori whipped around and turned her brutal rage against him. “I can’t believe you’re taking her side.”
Vihori walked up and wrapped his arms around the both of them. He glanced at each one in turn, and he beamed a ridiculous smile. Some people might have found that grin charming, but Nori rolled his eyes at the sight of it. No Onistan would be swayed by such roguish tactics.
“Why don’t you hear them out first, and then you and Luxi can have private time alone?” Vihori said.
Amori’s lips curled to form a sneer. “My daughter died five years ago when she disappeared into the wide world. I don’t know who this impertinent little whelp is, but I have half a mind to remind her who the master really is.”
Luxi tightened her jaw for a moment, and she inched her face a little closer to her mother’s. “I’m not the same little girl who left port all those years ago. If you want to cross swords, then draw.”
Electricity zapped through the air, and Nori rested a hand on the hilt of a small dagger. Just feeling it under his palm made the blood in his veins a little less rapid.
Amori’s eyes narrowed. “Fine, little girl. After I hear what you’re friends have to say, you and I are meeting for a private duel.”
Luxi brushed Vihori’s arm off of her, and moved back toward where Nori stood. “Good. I can’t wait to finally beat you.”
The pirate queen pushed Vihori in the chest, and then leaned against her desk. As Vihori moved back to where he stood, he rubbed the spot where his mother had pushed him. A bit of tension swirled in his eyes. A smug smile remained just below his slender nose.
Amori crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, out with it. I’m a busy woman, and I have a city to run.”
Rayko started to move forward, but Flara placed a hand on her arm. Rayko and Apisa
stared at Flara with wide eyes, but neither woman said anything. Luxi, Amori, and Vihori watched with rapped attention. Nori’s stomach clenched like a giant fist.
Flara walked up to Amori, and stopped when she was within arm’s reach. Her eyes had been averted while she moved, but then she slowly leveled her face. Their eyes met. Flara quivered in her spot.
“M-my name is Twisha Flara, and I am the youngest daughter of Empress Twisha Fausa. I have come t-to your city on urgent business. I …need your help.” She paused for a moment and swallowed hard. “The Empire needs your help.”
Amori never took her eyes from Flara, and she asked in a neutral tone, “Is she joking? If this is a jest, I don’t find it funny in the least.”
Vihori gaped at Flara’s back, while Luxi simply stood there with an unreadable facial expression. Her eyes danced between her mother, Vihori, and Flara.
This time, Nori had openly grabbed his dagger handle, but he kept it sheathed.
Luxi said, “No, Mother. She really is the daughter of the Empress. Her Onistan friend is her Qu-Tar.” She pulled out the jade imperial seal that Nori had given her at the beginning of the trip. “See?”
Flara gave Amori a bow. “I’m d-desperately trying to get home to my mother in order to warn her about a coming threat. This th-threat will endanger all of Korrine, including Gohoda. I would like to ask you for your help. Sp-specifically, I would like for you to stop piracy on the river until this matter is handled. Also, I would like to request that you please use your ships to help our imperial navy against the oncoming enemy.”
Amori placed her hands at her sides, and she regarded Flara with an appraising focus. “Why would I do that? You’re asking me to stop the livelihood of many of my citizens, and then dedicate their lives to some unknown enemy?”
Flara’s shoulders shook slightly. “If you would do this, I’m s-sure that my mother would send Gohoda imperial aid and support to offset any loss of …”
Amori scoffed. “Imperial support? You mean Imperial rule. There’s no way that I’m giving up my fleet of ships to your navy, just so you could come here at a later date and take over. I’ve worked too hard to stop the meaningless bloodshed that once occurred. If I followed your crazed plan, it would undue years of precious work. I’m not giving up my position to some hoity-toity noble who wants to play governor.” She slammed her fist into her chest. “I’m living it now! I am the governor of Gohoda.”
The Wrath Of the Forgotten Page 22
