Scheherazade and the King Ch. 09

Cas's arm pressed against her shoulder: "You just remember this, Yanamari: Ekaitz batek ez nau konkistatuko."

The girl repeated the words in a whisper: "A storm has yet to conquer me."

++++++++

Cas was on deck when the first sight of Gades appeared on the horizon. In the early morning light, the city glowed like a fiery cloud at the edge of the ocean. Though he knew the journey was far from over, he could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. The skies were fair, the wind was with them... there was no reason why the falcon shouldn't be waiting for them.

He worked alongside the other sailors but his eyes kept drifting back to the city on the horizon. Slowly but surely the skyline became more and more focused. Soon, he could even make out the ships in the harbour. And that is when he saw something that made his heart sink: not one, but three Irlazken battle ships were anchored just outside the port, their blue pennants gleaming in the morning sun.

"Fuck," he cursed under his breath.

There was only one reason for those ships to be waiting for them at Gades — to ensure the princess made it to Irlazken.

Cas waited for a moment when no one was watching so that he could go and warn Yanamari but the opportunity never came. As the Raja sailed closer to the port, one of the Irlazken ships signalled the captain to draw alongside their vessel. The captain gave the command and the Raja's crew scampered back into the rigging to adjust the sails accordingly.

The soldier hoisted himself into the shrouds as commanded but kept one eye on the Irlazken vessel at all times.

The ships drew alongside each other at an agonisingly slow pace. Finally the hulls creaked against each other, a gangplank was lowered to breach the void, and the Irlazken captain dropped onto the ship, followed closely by a trio of officers.

As out-of-place as the dark grey tunics and metal armour of the Irlazken uniforms had appeared in the desert, they were clearly well-suited to the deck of a ship. The only flash of colour came from the inner lining of the soldiers' hoods, which were the azure blue of the Irlazken flag. The captain's rank was distinguished by the inky plumage that adorned his helmet, which he currently held under one arm, tucked against his torso.

His dark hair was twisted into the braids typical of Irlazken men and dotted with shells, bones, and a gold coin that gleamed in the sunlight — the mark of a man whose burial would be expensive.

Captain Namar greeted the Irlazken with a salute: "Welcome aboard the Raja, Captain."

The Irlazken responded in fluent Arabic: "I appreciate your hospitality, Captain Namar. My name is Deunoro and I have come to escort the fugitive traitor back to her judgement, alongside my comrades Captain Bartol and Captain Matai."

He gestured at the other two ships that lay in wait.

Namar chuckled: "Three ships of war for one girl?"

Deunoro did not laugh.

Namar cleared his throat: "So, what is it that you are requesting of me?"

"That you hand the prisoner over to us."

"With all due respect, Captain Deunoro, my orders were to deliver her to Irlazken," Namar said, his tone suddenly curt. "If she is dangerous enough to warrant three warships, then your ships may accompany us the rest of the way."

Deunoro nodded: "I suspected you might say as much."

The captain signalled over his shoulder and suddenly Irlazken soldiers began hauling casks of food and water across the gangplank.

"I took the liberty of picking up your provisions from the harbour. We cannot have any delays."

Namar shrugged: "Doesn't seem I have much choice in the matter, does it?"

"You're welcome," Deunoro said dourly. "Now, I want to see for my own eyes that you are in possession of the right captive. Bring the girl."

Naman stiffened at the command but nodded towards two of his officers and tossed a ring of keys to one of them. Cas' heart was in his throat. He prayed that Yanamari did not think it was him coming and stayed in her cell. It was only a matter of moments before the officers appeared on deck once more, Yanamari between them. Her wrists were shackled in front of her and, when she tried to raise them to shield her eyes from the blinding sun, the men yanked them down again, pinning them at her sides.

Cas strained to see through the crowd of men as they marched her towards the Irlazken captain. When her eyes finally adjusted to the light, she glanced around for him too, finding his dark, anxious eyes for the briefest of moments. He realised, suddenly, that this was the first time he had seen her in the light of day. Not even the darkness and squalor of the brig could dull the shine in her hair or the sapphires in her eyes.

The guards yanked her attention back to the group of Irlazken men who stood before her.

"Are you satisfied?" Namar asked.

The Irlazken stepped closer to examine her.

"What is your name?" He asked in Arabic.

"I have gone by several names in my lifetime," she replied.

"One of them is 'traitor'," he said bitterly.

"I have been called many things I am not."

Deunoro reached out and, before Yanamari could shrink away, he caught the collar of her shirt in his fist and yanked it off her shoulder so that he could see the tattoos on her arms.

The captain eyed the markings on her shoulder and then placed both hands on her collar, ripping the shirt down the middle so that it hung off her shoulders. She glanced down frantically and pulled her wrists close to her chest to stop him from tearing the shirt down any further.

"Look how the whore tries to defend her modesty," Deunoro said in Irlazken, glancing over his shoulder at his men. They smirked, their eyes glinting from the shadows of their helmets.

"On your knees, you insubordinate wench," he barked, this time in Arabic. The soldiers at her sides immediately pushed her to her knees.

"You'd better get used to that before you meet your king," he sneered, switching to Irlazken once again.

"He is not my king."

His mocking smile disappeared: "You'd better learn to keep your mouth shut, too."

He crouched before her and cocked his head at her: "If the stories are true, you used to be a princess before you betrayed your people to become a pirate's whore."

"Do you believe everything you hear?"

"No but, I have to admit, you look like a pirate's whore to me."

Yanamari glanced away angrily.

Deunoro leaned forward suddenly and grabbed her hands, pushing something between her fingers. As she tried to struggle out of his grip, he whispered: "Read it. Destroy it."

Then his voice returned to a level others could hear and said in Arabic so that everyone gathered would understand: "Just a traitorous whore."

He pushed her away and stood up, straightening his armour.

"She is the correct prisoner. Take her away," he said, waving a hand at the men flanking her.

He turned his attention sharply back to Namar: "But you keep your men away from her. I don't want her pleading her belly when King Ekaitz strings her up for treason."

"What kind of ship do you think I run? Not a soul will lay a hand on her. Not anymore than you just did, at least."

Deunoro shrugged: "If you knew the ways she betrayed her people, you'd marvel at the restraint I just showed."

Deunoro watched as the girl's head of golden hair disappeared below decks and then motioned for his own men to follow him across the gangplank.

After the last of the goods were loaded onto the Raja, the ships drifted apart once more and the Raja steered westwards.

"Well boys, I'm afraid the sour-faced Irlazkens have ruined our plans for a rest," Namar said. "Let's see if we can't give them a run for their money and get this old tub to Irlazken as fast as the wind can carry us."

As Namar began calling out the orders to change their course, Cas disappeared into the crowd and slipped below deck. He made his way to the brig as quickly and quietly as he could. Yanamari pushed the cell door open at the sight of his boots descending the stairs.

"What happened?" He asked, rushing towards her. "Are you alright? Did he hurt you?"

"No he — he gave me this," she said, holding out a small, worn piece of parchment.

Cas sat down on the stairs and she joined him, holding up the piece of paper so that he could see it.

"On this side are the names of guards, shift times, and on the other side a map," she said.

"What does doan jendea mean?" Cas asked.

"It means 'free people'," she said. "I think I recognise that coastline."

"That's Sanctuary Cove," Cas said. "That's where the summer palace is!"

"Santutegia Kala," Yanamari murmured. "Yes, I think I know that name."

"So, what is the doan jendea?"

"I don't know. Why would he give this to me? He cannot mean to aid me in escaping?"

"Perhaps he does... or perhaps he means to lead you into a trap."

Yanamari sighed: "That's more likely."

"But how will we get word to Shahzaman of what has happened?" Cas asked. "They will get here only to find no message waiting for them."

"He will hear of it regardless," Yanamari pointed out. "An Irlazken warship escorting a Persian vessel is hardly a normal sight."

"Three."

"What?"

"Three Irlazken warships."

"I only noticed the one... Three for one prisoner? My god, do they know something we don't?"

"If even that Captain is trying to help you escape, then perhaps so. My lady, what if you can use this information to escape? Perhaps these 'free people' are some sort of resistance movement... That would be a far better army than the motley array we have now."

"And what if Ekaitz kills me on sight?"

"Don't say that."

The tone of Cas' voice made Yanamari throw him a sharp glance. For a moment, a shadow seemed to linger over his face. But perhaps it was just the light of the lantern moving with the sway of the ship.

He cleared his throat slightly and then murmured: "We cannot think that way."

"It's a reality I have to become accustomed to."

"I don't think it's one I can."

Yanamari scoffed.

Cas looked up at her: "Do you doubt me?"

"You have not known me more than a few days. I still do not understand why you are here. What does the fate of Irlazken matter to Shahzaman? What does my fate matter to you?"

Cas paused a moment and, in the silence, the piping of the boatswain echoed down through the ship. The soldier rose to his feet on instinct.

"I'll be missed on deck if I don't leave now."

Yanamari stood listlessly as he picked up the lantern and turned to climb the stairs.

Just before he opened the trapdoor, however, he stopped and looked at her once more.

"I may not have known you long, my lady, but I think I know the kind of person you are — compassionate, brave, strong, merciful — the kind of person who could change the course of fate... if only she would listen to a simple soldier and stop doubting herself."

And then he disappeared through the trapdoor, leaving her in darkness again.

+++++++++

Shariyar slammed his fists on the ship's railing and called down at his brother: "What the fuck do you mean they never put to shore?"

Shahzaman's eyes flashed as he climbed back onto the deck from the tender: "Apparently Ekaitz's navy got here before we did. Reports from town are that three Irlazken warships commandeered the Raja's supplies and escorted them west. They didn't even get the chance to enter the harbour."

"Fuck!" Shariyar snarled. "What are we going to do now?"

Shahzaman jumped down from the railing and eyed his brother: "Compose yourself. We need to plan our next steps carefully and rationally."

"There is no time for any of that. Ekaitz will kill her!"

"Not if Cas has anything to say about it."

"You place a lot of trust in your man."

"I do."

"Cas always seemed too brash and undisciplined to me," Shariyar grumbled.

"Once again you prove yourself a poor judge of character," Shahzaman said curtly. "Cas is a loyal and brave soldier. Just because he smiles in the face of danger does not make him brash and just because he is willing to buck tradition in order to achieve success does not mean he is undisciplined. You could not ask for a better man for this task."

"Well if you know him so well how do you think he will get her out of this mess?"

"If I know Cas, he's already figured out a way to free her from the brig. And, if I were him, I know what I would do..."

Shariyar waited expectantly for his brother to finish his sentence.

"What? What would you do?"

"I would create a diversion by hiding her away somewhere and reporting her as missing."

"They didn't put into port," Shariyar countered. "They would know she had no means of escaping from the ship."

"True but, with Irlazken vessels athwartships and astern, a missing captive is hardly ideal. They would be desperate to find her before they reach Irlazken. They might even call for the Irlazkens to assist in the search. Either way, it might create just enough confusion to delay them until our arrival."

Shariyar brought his fists down onto the wooden railing again with a cry: "I should never have sent her away! Fuck! This is all my fucking fault!"

For a moment Shahzaman looked as though he might reach out and pull his brother into an embrace. But, instead, he blinked the sympathy from his eyes and said simply: "Regrets are not particularly useful to men of action."

Shariyar cast a bitter glance over his shoulder: "Fuck you."

"What do you expect me to say? If you want comfort you had better go beat your fists at someone else. You are to blame for this whole fucking mess and I'm not going to pretend otherwise just to protect your feelings," Shahzaman hissed.

The king's knuckles turned white as his grip on the railing tightened.

"You need to stop trying to hide from what you've done," he continued. "You can't keep sulking around feeling sorry for yourself. If you want to make a difference to that girl now, you need to focus on what you can do, not what you did or didn't do in the past."

Shariyar's fingers loosened slightly and he hung his head, nodding like a schoolboy after a scolding.

"I'm sorry, Shahza," he said.

Shahzaman started at his brother's use of the childhood nickname. For a moment or two, his fists clenched and unclenched as he wavered between anger and sadness.

"Don't call me that," he muttered finally.

Shariyar's expression filled with hurt anew.

"And don't give me that look," Shahzaman said. "You and I are not the boys we used to be."

He brushed past Shariyar and bounded up the steps to the helm: "Heave to men! Make ready to weigh anchor! We are sailing for Irlazken with the next tide!"

++++++++

Yanamari fell back into the water with a grunt. She tossed her hair from her face and looked up at Cas, his wolfish teeth bared in a lopsided grin.

"Laugh now, one of these days I am going to knock that smile off your face," she said.

Cas lowered the piece of wood he was using as a mock sword and held out his hand. She wrapped her palm around his wrist and let him haul her to her feet. Though the weather had grown rougher since they left Gades, and it was hard to keep their footing in the slippery brig, Cas had kept up her training.

"You're getting better, my lady. Look at me, you've got me panting!"

"And you've got me wet," she said, holding out her dripping arms.

"You've got to be quicker on your feet," he said with a teasing smile.

Yanamari answered back with a kick that sent a splash of water all over him.

Cas sputtered and then laughed, launching another attack at her so fast she barely had time to raise her own mock sword to meet his. The wood clashed and she countered with an attack of her own, knocking her sword against his ribs.

"Good!" He grunted, swinging at her stomach.

She parried the blow and then thrust for his stomach, just missing him as he leapt backwards. In that same moment, the ship pitched and Cas lost his footing, falling hard into the water.

Yanamari was at his side in a moment: "Are you alright?"

"Yes," he sputtered, wiping the water from his face.

"Good, because you're dead," she whispered, pressing the edge of her makeshift sword against his neck.

He laughed and let his head fall back for a moment before she moved her mock sword away and he pushed himself upright.

Yanamari rose to her feet and held out her hand to him.

He took it and then, instead of letting her help him up, pulled her down into the water with him. Yanamari gave a little shriek of laughter as she fell forward against his chest, sending water flying around them.

"Oh you're done for now!" She said, pushing herself upright so that she was straddling his torso. She used her palm to launch a wave of water at his face.

He twisted beneath her, using his hands to shield his face from the water and laughing the entire time.

"No! Have mercy!"

"Never!"

Cas suddenly grabbed her arms and rolled over so that he was on top of her, pinning her wrists to the floor. She grinned up at him as water dripped down from his hair onto her chest and neck.

"Do you surrender?" He asked.

Yanamari strained against his weight to lift her head closer to his and whispered: "Make me."

For a moment, something that looked like hunger flickered in Cas' dark eyes but then he blinked and, all at once, seemed to realise what he was doing. He released her wrists and pushed himself off of her and to his feet.

"My lady, I -- please forgive me," he stammered, backing away from her.

"Forgive you? For what?" She asked, sitting up in the water.

"I forgot my place," he muttered.

Yanamari's brow furrowed as she climbed to her feet: "Your place?"

He glanced away from her and pulled off his soaked shirt so that he could wring it out: "Yes, my place as a soldier and as your servant. I should not have done that."

But Yanamari was hardly listening to him. Her focus was captured all at once by the sight of his muscles rippling in the dim light, by the glint of his teeth as he smiled at her, by the trail of dark hair that led her eyes down to his waist... She glanced up at him and found his eyes fixed on the shirt in his hands.

"What shouldn't you have done?" She asked, her voice a murmur.

"I could have hurt you."

"You didn't hurt me, Cas. You're one of the few people I can say that about."

"But it was not right of me. I should not have put my hands on you that way."

"What if I wanted you to?" The words fell out of her mouth before she realised what she was saying.

From behind dripping strands of hair, Cas' dark eyes widened. Yanamari watched his muscles tense as she stepped towards him. She reached out a hand and gently brushed her fingertips against his stomach.

He let out a heady sigh and closed his eyes. Yanamari felt as if she could feel the very air between them pulsing and each breath they took seemed to bring them closer and closer to each other.

"Cas?" She whispered up at him.

"Yes?"

His lips were inches from hers now.

Cas leaned forward then slumped backwards, pushing her hand away gently.

"I can't," Cas said, lowering his eyes as he drew away from her.

"What?" Yanamari's eyes were imploring. "Why?"

"Because you are royalty and I am a commoner."

"I think you are the most uncommon man I have ever met."

"Your opinion of me does not change the fact that you are a princess and I am just a soldier. A man like me cannot presume to ever kiss a princess."

"What sort of man is that?"

"I have nothing to offer you. I have no castle, no riches, no family left on this earth. I am an exile, a traitor to my king."

"So am I. And I, too, have no castle, no riches, and no family."

"But you are still a princess without any of those things. And princesses are not supposed to kiss soldiers."