by Tamara Moss
Eire.
Lintang jolted. Eire seemed even fiercer in the shadows, her head slightly lowered so her wide-set eyes made her look like a predator watching its prey. She waited a beat before saying, ‘Stupid girl.’
Lintang didn’t know how to answer.
Eire moved from the shadows. ‘Captain should not have rescued you, but she gave up necklace, and now she risk everything to keep you safe.’ Her hand moved to her hip, where she usually kept her weapon. The axe-spear thing was not on her at the moment, thankfully.
‘I’m sorry,’ Lintang said. She hadn’t wanted to annoy anyone on the ship, especially not the captain’s second-in-command. ‘I didn’t mean –’
‘Save your sorrys.’ Eire flicked her hand. ‘We are turned around. You will be off this ship by tomorrow.’
Lintang choked, but before she could reply, the door swung open and Captain Shafira stalked in. She had a steaming bowl in her hands and one of Lintang’s spare sarongs draped over her arm.
‘That will do, Eire.’
Eire sneered at Lintang before slinking out and shutting the door behind her.
Captain Shafira cleared a space between scrolls to set the bowl on the desk. She’d changed her outfit, but her braids were still wet.
‘Thank you for saving me.’ Lintang’s voice cracked. She inhaled a lungful of euco oil to steady her breaths. She had never felt so horrible for doing the wrong thing, not ever.
Captain Shafira perched on the corner of the desk, the sarong still hanging from her folded arms. ‘What was the instruction Eire gave you when you reached the top deck?’
Lintang wriggled in her blankets. ‘One of the crew told me to get out of the way, so I –’
‘You’re not answering my question.’
Lintang’s face burned. Any story that entered her head disappeared like smoke on her tongue. She’d promised not to lie to the captain. She swallowed hard and said, ‘She told me to stay where I was.’
Captain Shafira tossed the sarong onto Lintang’s lap. ‘There are good reasons for the instructions we give. If you don’t follow orders, you may get yourself or someone else killed. Do you understand?’
Lintang nodded. She freed her arms from the blankets and pretended to examine her sarong so she wouldn’t have to look Captain Shafira in the eye. It was pale blue, one of her old ones. She’d probably still be wearing it when she arrived back in Desa tomorrow, disgraced. Father would shake his head in shame. Elder Wulan would say she’d tried to warn Captain Shafira: That Lintang, she just doesn’t know how to follow instructions. And Mother …
Well, Mother would be happy to have Lintang back, at least. Maybe happy enough not to send her away to the mining community.
But Lintang would still be sentenced to domestic duties for the rest of her life, stuck doing nothing but chores while the Winda sailed around the world, with other, luckier people on board.
She pulled on the sarong and climbed out of bed. Her stomach rumbled at the aroma of pepper and lobster soup.
‘Eat,’ Captain Shafira said, gesturing to it. ‘Dee fought hard to save it for you. The crew are vicious at meal times.’
She grinned, but Lintang couldn’t smile back. Instead she sat on the chair, careful to avoid her wet golden sarong, and slurped at the soup. Dee had infused the broth with mao juice. And as well as being peppery, it was … sweet?
‘Her cooking is interesting,’ Captain Shafira said, ‘and it’s certainly better than her sailing.’ She was still perched on the desk, so close that Lintang could smell an unfamiliar floral scent from her skin.
Lintang’s throat tightened and she put the bowl down. She didn’t want to go home. How could she, now that she knew there were better options? She had almost, almost gone on an adventure, and the fact she had been so close only to ruin it left her feeling ill.
Captain Shafira unfolded her arms, staring at the unfinished soup. ‘I didn’t think it was that bad.’
‘I’m sorry about the mermaids,’ Lintang said. ‘I promise I’ll never do it again.’
‘The mermaids were why I’d sent for you in the first place. I wanted you to learn an important lesson … I suppose you won’t forget it now.’ At Lintang’s puzzled frown, Captain Shafira added, ‘Just because the mermaids you know from home are safe doesn’t make them all safe. Different countries have different versions of mythies. In some places, fey are human-sized and cast spells. In others, gnomes are cunning and try to kill people. The waters are dangerous because aquatic mythies roam out of their territory. You don’t know whether you’re facing a gentle common mermaid or a killer mermaid from Caletrom.’
Lintang had read about different mythie species in the guidebook, but it was one thing to learn about it and another to come across it. She’d lived her whole life only knowing safe mermaids – how could she have expected this?
Captain Shafira pushed the bowl forward. ‘Keep eating.’
Lintang picked it up and took another sip, even though she’d lost her appetite. ‘I really am sorry.’
‘We all make mistakes, Lintang.’
How could she be so understanding, even after Lintang had disobeyed her? How was she the same ferocious pirate queen everyone spoke about?
Lintang licked broth from her lips and lowered the bowl again. ‘You know, you’re nothing like the stories.’
Captain Shafira laughed. ‘What stories have you heard?’
‘You and Captain Moon battled on a volcano.’
‘Oh, that one’s true.’
‘Really? What about the one where you stabbed a man for touching your necklace?’
‘Lie.’
‘What’s so special about your necklace, anyway?’
‘You know, I don’t think even the governors asked this many questions last time they caught me.’
Lintang clicked her tongue. ‘Everyone makes a big deal about it. It must be important.’
‘It has a sunstone. It’s a gem only found in Allay, so it’s worth a great deal to the rest of the world.’
‘Is that all? A single gem?’
‘Well, it’s also the crown of Allay.’
Lintang, who had slurped again at her soup, nearly choked. ‘The what?’
‘The leader of my country isn’t a king or a queen, but a Zulttania. The title’s passed down from mother to daughter, along with that necklace. I took it when I discovered the Zulttania was dead. I was going to use it as proof, but I was labelled a thief by her counsel instead, and now there’s a huge reward for its return. There, are you satisfied? Now finish your soup.’ Captain Shafira waited until Lintang had her mouth full before adding, ‘Listen, my point about the Caletromian mermaids –’
This time Lintang really did choke. She had almost forgotten they were on their way back to Desa.
She let the bowl clatter to the desk and scraped her chair away as the peppery broth burned her throat.
Captain Shafira thumped on her back. ‘Are you all right?’
‘Please,’ Lintang gasped, ‘please don’t make me go home. I promise I’ll follow all your instructions, I promise I’ll do whatever the other crew members say. Give me another chance, please, please –’
‘Make you go home? Why would I do that? You know perfectly well I need you to get past the sea guardian, and we already wasted enough time in Desa.’
Lintang sat up, her coughs subsiding. She stared at the captain through watery eyes. ‘You’re not taking me home? But … but Eire said –’
‘Oh, Eire.’ Captain Shafira let out a breath through her teeth. ‘She likes to stir up trouble.’
‘Isn’t she your first mate?’
‘More or less,’ Captain Shafira said, then corrected herself. ‘Yes, she is.’
‘So why does she stir up trouble?’
‘It doesn’t matter. The important thing is, I’m not sending you home. I need you.’
Lintang couldn’t help it. Laughter fell from her lips between a few extra coughs. She was still going to meet Nyasamdra, she
was still going to hunt sirens, she was still going to stand on the deck every day, and sleep in her hammock at night, and feel the wind in her hair as they ventured over the horizon.
But then the laughter faded. A cold dread settled over her like a blanket. After everything that had happened, she’d almost forgotten her monstrous problem.
What was she going to do about Bayani?
The Weapons Master
Lintang knew exactly where she was when she woke the next morning. She didn’t need to open her eyes to feel the rocking of the ship, or hear the creak of timber, or smell the euco oil. She breathed in, long and deep, and smiled.
After changing into her sarong, she headed towards the aromas of breakfast. She’d gone straight to bed last night, even though there were raucous sounds of games and laughter from the dining room. She hadn’t been ready to face everyone after her embarrassment with the mermaids. She still wasn’t sure she was ready.
But Quahah was the only one in the dining room when Lintang arrived. She was reading an enormous book with a bronze cover. The ‘tentacles’ of her woolly octopus hat hung over the pages, which were made of thick, rubbery material.
‘It’s about time,’ Quahah said as Lintang sat beside her. ‘We usually get up with the dawn bell, you know.’
‘I … had a busy day yesterday,’ Lintang said, ducking her head to hide her face.
‘Yes, I heard about that.’ Quahah gave a sly smile. ‘We had a good laugh about it last night.’
‘I’m sure Eire wasn’t laughing,’ Lintang muttered.
‘Oh no, Eire doesn’t laugh. It wastes precious scowling muscles.’
Lintang peeked at the open book, but it was written in another language. It had sketches of islands between the scrawl.
‘This was my father’s,’ Quahah said, shifting it so Lintang could see better. ‘He was an explorer. Taught me everything I know.’
‘What language is that?’
‘Phaizen. I come from the island of Phaize. Eire’s from there, too.’
‘Did you know each other before you came on the ship?’
‘Thankfully, no. The captain needed to travel through Phaize, and she enlisted me as a guide and translator. We found Eire deep in the forest with her tribe.’
Lintang crinkled her nose. ‘Why did Captain Shafira choose her to be first mate?’
‘I thought I heard your voice.’ Dee wandered into the dining room, her arms laden with plates of food. She set the plates down and took Farah-the-clam-shell out of her belt.
‘She looks a little peaky,’ Farah-the-clam-shell said in her squawking voice. ‘That dip in the ocean did her no good.’
‘Swimming’s supposed to be refreshing,’ Dee said.
‘Not if you almost drown, you gnome!’ said Farah-the-clam-shell.
Lintang stared at the spread. Scrambled eggs with cheese and herbs, fat sausages, bacon, yoghurt, ripe burbleberries, crab meat, a whole roasted fish, wild mushrooms, a bowl of rice, half a loaf of bread and seven hard-boiled eggs.
‘Is that enough?’ Dee sounded concerned. ‘Do I need to bring out more?’
Lintang picked up a hard-boiled egg. ‘Who else is coming?’
‘This is just for you,’ Quahah said, helping herself to a sliver of crab meat. ‘The captain said you’d need a hearty meal.’
‘Swimming makes you hungry,’ Dee agreed.
‘I don’t think I need any more,’ Lintang said. ‘Er … thank you.’
Dee beamed. ‘I can brew you a cup of tea later, if you’re still peckish.’
She wandered out of the dining room, and Lintang started on her meal. ‘What were we talking about?’ she said, her cheeks bulging.
‘Why the captain chose Eire as first mate,’ Quahah said, closing her book and sliding it well away from the food. ‘See, Eire’s a skilled warrior. Very useful when travelling the world. She can defeat any creature, large or small. The captain saw her potential and offered her a place on board, but Eire would only accept if she was given a position as second-in-command.’ Quahah cut into the roasted fish. ‘That was before we came across most of the other crew. I don’t think the captain realised she’d find more suitable people for the job and regret her decision.’
‘Then why doesn’t she just kick Eire out?’
Quahah tossed a stray woolly tentacle over her shoulder. ‘Her word is law, even for herself. She made a promise to Eire, and now she has to keep it.’
Lintang’s mouth was too full by this stage to answer, so she made a face to show her disapproval instead. She shouldn’t have felt so bad about annoying Eire, after all.
She’d been hoping to sneak to the cargo hold and give Bayani something to eat, but Quahah stuck with her through breakfast and helped her carry the leftovers into the galley. Dee tried to talk them into a cup of tea. Lintang said that if she had anything else, her stomach would explode.
Poor Bayani, meanwhile, would be picking at cold rations from barrels.
Unfortunately, Quahah didn’t seem to have anything important to do. She followed Lintang out of the galley, and when she suggested they go to the top deck, Lintang couldn’t think of a reason to say no.
It was a beautiful, clear day, with a warm breeze that kept the sails full. Most of the others were up here. Captain Shafira was at the steering wheel with Zazi, who was once again wearing her tablecloth-like sarong. Eire prowled by the railing. Something caught Lintang’s eye above, and she looked up to find one of the crew flipping across the rigging as naturally as a howler in the rainforest.
‘Mei used to be an acrobat,’ Quahah said. ‘Ah, here’s Xiang.’
A tall Vierzan woman approached them. There was something graceful about her, so even her loose, casual clothes appeared as if they belonged to royalty. Her glossy hair was pinned in a bun with a thin stick that looked like a spindle.
‘Xiang’s the weapons master,’ Quahah said.
Xiang dipped her head in acknowledgement.
‘Weapons master?’ Lintang said, perking up. ‘Can you fight?’
Xiang arched a thin eyebrow. ‘Is that supposed to be a joke?’
‘Great! I challenge you to a duel!’ At last – a real opponent. Lintang was bored of beating Bayani all the time.
Xiang inspected Lintang’s outfit. ‘Where’s your sword?’
‘I’ll get it.’
Lintang raced downstairs and snagged her wooden sword. She regretted moving so fast as she climbed the stairs again – her bloated stomach protested noisily.
Xiang was still in the same spot, but now she held a long, silver blade.
‘Where did you get that?’ Lintang said, slowing.
‘Am I not the weapons master?’
Lintang lifted her sword. ‘True. Are you ready?’
There was a blur of movement, and before she’d even blinked, her sword was knocked from her hand, clattering onto the deck.
‘Wait,’ she said, scrambling to pick it up. ‘I didn’t say go.’
Captain Shafira started towards them, leaving Zazi at the wheel. Lintang was determined to impress her captain, so she lifted her sword and faced Xiang again. ‘Right. Go.’
Another blur of movement. Another clatter as her sword hit the ground.
‘What? Stop it! Go slower!’
‘Very well,’ Xiang said. She lifted her sword in a sweeping arc, exaggerating slowness.
Lintang lifted her own blade to block it, only for Xiang to change direction suddenly and, with a twirl of her wrist, disarm Lintang a third time.
Lintang said a bad word in her own language and picked up her sword, heat rising in her cheeks. Quahah chuckled.
‘I’m still full from breakfast!’ Lintang said.
Without warning this time, she lunged. Xiang blocked her first attack, then her second. And her next.
‘How are you doing that?’ Lintang said, her voice a pitch too high.
Captain Shafira laughed softly behind her.
‘She’s got fire,’ Xiang said as she continued t
o block Lintang’s attacks. She didn’t even seem to be trying.
‘I know,’ Captain Shafira said. ‘Stop teasing her, will you?’
‘As you wish.’
Lintang released a final flurry of attacks, knowing what was coming, but despite her best efforts, her sword still fell uselessly to the deck. Before she could pick it up, Captain Shafira grabbed it.
‘Not bad,’ Captain Shafira said, examining it. At first Lintang thought she was talking about the craftship, but instead she grinned at Xiang. ‘You didn’t even leave a notch.’
‘Of course I didn’t,’ Xiang said, sounding offended.
Captain Shafira handed the sword back to Lintang. ‘Xiang’s blade can cut through wood like this in a single blow.’
Lintang whirled to Xiang. ‘Teach me how to fight. Properly fight.’
‘Oh no,’ Xiang said, sheathing her sword. ‘Don’t you understand the rules of a duel at sea? You challenged me and lost. You must throw yourself overboard.’
Lintang lowered her blade. ‘What?’ The roar of the waves dulled to a whisper.
How was she going to talk her way out of this one? Why was she always getting into trouble?
But then Xiang’s solemn expression broke, and she burst into giggles.
‘What?’ Lintang said again as Quahah starting laughing too, and Mei above them, and Zazi at the wheel. Even Captain Shafira’s lips twitched. Eire at the bow was the only one who didn’t look amused.
Xiang no longer had an air of grace or formality. She clutched her sides, her cheeks turning red from her fit of laughter. ‘You should’ve seen your face,’ she said through tears. ‘How could you have believed me?’
‘That was mean,’ Lintang said weakly.
‘Well, we are supposed to be pirates,’ Quahah said, which brought about another string of giggles from Xiang.
Lintang managed a smile. Whoever was trying to convince the world that this crazy crew were criminals obviously hadn’t met a single one of them.
