Chapter 18
The evening of my third day in the harem, Shu took me into her bedroom, and after a brief argument with my guards, shut the door between us. She turned to me and explained what they had been talking about. "They insisted I leave the door open, so they could keep an eye on you. I reminded them that this was the only way in and out of the room and that you deserved a little privacy."
Her room was similar to mine. It was a round room with a round bed and a dozen full length mirrors on the wall. The only difference was the doorway contained a heavy wooden door. When I asked her how we were going to get away from my guards, she smiled. "You'll see."
She dug a brown leather knapsack, a couple of silk cloaks, and an extra set of clothes out of a wicker trunk that sat at the foot of her bed. I removed my solid gold getup, as well as the makeup, and slipped into the clothes, a pair of white silk pants, a red silk vest, and a pair of red silk slippers. I tied a red silk cloak over my shoulders and pulled the cowl over my head. Shu slung the knapsack over her shoulder then donned a turquoise cloak that matched the turquoise and black outfit that she was wearing.
I expected her to head for the door, but she didn't. She just turned and stared at the wall. The next thing I knew, a hidden door opened between two of the mirrors. Standing on the other side of the door, in a hidden passageway, was a female guard. She wore black silk pants, a red silk vest, and red silk slippers. She was short and stocky, like my guards, and had a scimitar hanging from her left hip. She motioned for us to come into the passageway, which we did. Once we were inside, she shut the door behind us.
"The high sage that built this palace wanted a way to sneak around without being seen," Shu said. "His architect suggested round rooms because they leave a lot of wasted space between them. Every room has a hidden door leading to this wasted space. Most of those doors can be opened from both sides, but those leading into the harem can only be opened from one side. That's why I needed someone to help us."
I noticed that the mirrors in the harem were all two way mirrors, allowing the high sage that built the palace, or anyone else for that matter, to spy on his wives without being seen. I couldn't help but wonder if the current high sage took advantage of the mirrors. Probably not. Although something told me that Jarvo and the high sage's other advisers did.
We followed the guard down a dark dusty passageway full of curving walls. Once we moved away from the harem and its two way mirrors, the only light in the passageway came from the torch in the guard's hand. Occasionally, I could hear the scurrying of tiny feet, which I took to be rats. I had no idea where we were heading, had no idea if the guard knew where she was going. I was just happy that Shu had been telling the truth about helping me.
Eventually, we came to a flat wall, which I took to be one of the building's outer walls. The guard handed the torch to Shu, then ran her hands across the wall, looking for what I hoped was the latch to another hidden door. It took her a minute, but she finally found the latch. Unfortunately, she couldn't get the heavy stone door to budge.
"Maybe if I help her," I said.
I put my hands next to the guard's hands and helped her push. The door still wouldn't budge.
"You guys need my help?" Shu asked.
"I think so," I said.
Shu found a wall holder and placed the torch in it. She moved next to me and helped us push. Finally, grudgingly, the hidden door began to move, stone grinding against stone. We didn't get the door open very wide, but then we didn't need it open very wide. We were all small and slim and able to slip through the foot wide crack that we had made in the wall.
We found ourselves outside the palace, on the left hand side as you approached the building. The guard said something to Shu in Old Landish, then slipped back inside.
"She wants us to close the door behind her."
I wasn't sure we'd be able to get it closed with only two of us pushing, but we did. It closed easier than it opened, as if the hinges were some kind of springs that wanted to bounce back.
"We've still got to get past the guards at the front gate," I said.
"Not a problem," Shu said, as we circled around the building. "The guards at the gate don't worry about who leaves the palace. Their job is to keep undesirables out."
"Won't the guard that helped us get in trouble?"
"She's not one of the harem guards. She guards the shimmy dancer's quarters. She won't even be questioned about our disappearance."
"What's a shimmy dancer?"
"They're the girls that wear that outfit they dressed you in."
"What about the two guards that were watching me? How much trouble will they be in?"
"If you're that concerned, we can always turn around."
I wasn't that concerned, so we kept moving. The closer we got to the main gate, the more nervous I got, thinking we'd be stopped and questioned. Much to my relief, the guards paid no attention to us or to anyone else leaving the palace. They only stopped those trying to enter. Even so, I held my breath until we were through the gates and halfway down the hill.
Shu knew her way around better than I did, so I let her lead the way to the docks. I kept expecting the palace guards to come riding up behind us and haul us back, but they never did.
Eventually, we reached the docks and I saw the Star of the Sea's black hull, lit by torches that lined the dock. There were two sailors stationed at the bottom of the gangplank. As soon as they saw us approach, their hands slipped to their cutlasses.
I pulled the cowl off my head, so they could see my face. "Do you remember me?"
"Yes, Your Highness," the sailor closest to me said. "But I thought you were a prisoner in the high sage's palace."
"I was." I nodded at Shu, who lowered her cowl. "This is Shumaredena Kestan. I believe you've already met her."
The sailor nodded and stepped aside. "Chancellor Edgerton has been as angry as a hornet since he returned from the palace without you. He even threatened to declare war on the high sage."
"Considering the size of Vassa's army, I don't think that's advisable."
The sailor smiled, "I reckon it ain't, Your Highness."
"Do you know if the chancellor is still up?"
"I suspect he's passed out by now. When the chancellor gets upset, he drinks. And he's been mighty upset the past few days."
"How about Captain Hubbard?"
"Captain Hubbard should still be up."
"Is he sober?"
"Captain Hubbard is always sober when he's on his ship. He only drinks when he's on land."
"Is he in his cabin?"
"I suspect so, Your Highness."
We headed up the gangplank and made our way to Captain Hubbard's cabin. I barely had time to knock twice before he told us to enter.
"This better be important," Captain Hubbard growled.
He was sitting behind a desk at the end of the cabin. A wall of windows built into the ship's stern was behind him. A lone oil lamp lit his desk and he appeared to be studying a map. I couldn't help but wonder if it was a map of the high sage's palace.
"If you're busy, I can come back some other time."
At the sound of my voice, Captain Hubbard looked up. "Well, I'll be dammed. She actually pulled it off."
He pushed himself to his feet and strode across the room. He grabbed me in a bear hug and picked me off my feet. "Never thought I'd see you again."
"You and me both."
Captain Hubbard grabbed Shu and hugged her. "When you showed up saying you could help the princess escape, but that you needed some gold, I wasn't sure if you were telling the truth or just looking to make an easy score."
I assumed Captain Hubbard's unbridled enthusiasm had less to do with seeing me and more to do with the fact that now that I was back, Chancellor Edgerton would stop drinking and threatening to declare war on the high sage.
"I take it Chancellor Edgerton has made the last few days rather unbearable."
Captain Hubbard laughed. "You can say t
hat again. First he demanded to see you. When Jarvo refused to let him see you, he came back here and got drunk. Then he threatened to declare war on the high sage. When I reminded him that only the queen could declare war, he got drunker and decided that he would challenge Jarvo to a duel. After two days of drinking, he finally passed out."
"We have a problem," I said.
Captain Hubbard nodded. "You're thinking Jarvo will send some men to fetch you back, fetch both of you back. Not to worry, I'll order my crew to set sail immediately."
"Jarvo may send some men to fetch us, when he returns to the city, but we have another problem." I thought for a second, then said, "Move the ship to the middle of the river, then drop anchor. I want us away from the docks, but I don't want us heading down river, not yet anyway."
"As you wish, Your Highness."
Captain Hubbard bowed, then headed out on deck. Once he was gone, Shu turned to me. "I can see why you'd rather be here than in the harem. They act as if you're already Queen Catlett's heir."
"They spent a lot of money to get me here."
"What's this other problem you speak of?" I told Shu about the King of Dunre's plan to attack our ship. When I finished, Shu said, "How do you know this will happen?"
"I had a vision and my visions are unfailingly accurate."
"Always?"
"Unless I do something to alter events."
"Do the people on this ship know that you're a seer?"
"Chancellor Edgerton suspects. He doesn't know."
"If what you say is true, we can't take this ship down river."
"What I say is true."
We headed out on deck and watched as Captain Hubbard and his crew moved the ship away from the dock and into the middle of the river. Bokham must have realized that something was going on, because he appeared on deck, sword in hand. He didn't notice Shu and I standing in the shadows behind Captain Hubbard.
"What's going on, Captain?" Bokham said.
"Just taking up a more defensive position."
"Why?"
I stepped around Captain Hubbard, so Bokham could see me. "Because I told him to."
For a few seconds, Bokham stared at me in wonderment. He started to rush forward, as if he wanted to hug me, then stopped and bowed, as if he had just remembered his place. "Your Highness. It's good to see you again."
"I suppose the only way I can get you to hug me is by ordering it." I opened my arms and smiled. Bokham hesitated for a second, then smiled and stepped forward, wrapping his powerful arms around me. I thought about taking Bokham as a consort, but quickly dismissed the idea, remembering the way his eyes lit up around the Lady Tabitha.
Bokham released me and stepped back. "How did you escape?"
I stepped aside, so he could see Shu. "This is Shumaredena Kestan. A spy in the employ of the Duke of Genese. She helped me escape."
Shu offered Bokham the back of her hand. He took it in his much larger hand, then bowed and kissed it in one fluid motion. "Captain Bokham of the Queen's Royal Guard."
We reached the middle of the river. Captain Hubbard ordered his crew to drop anchor, then turned to me. "You want to tell me why we don't just head down river."
I told him about the two visions I had involving the King of Dunre and his pirates. When I finished, Bokham spoke first. "That's how you knew we were going to be attacked back at the inn."
"You telling me that she really is a seer?" Captain Hubbard asked Bokham.
"I know she is," Bokham said.
He told Captain Hubbard about our encounter with the assassins back at the inn. When he finished the story, Captain Hubbard turned his attention to the problem at hand. "A Landish longboat can hold sixty men if they're standing shoulder to shoulder. That's twice as many men as we've got."
"And that's assuming Max only sends one boat after us," I said. "I only saw one boat in my vision, but there could've been more hidden in the fog. The high sage has given Max half a dozen ships to play with in the last year."
"Perhaps it'd be safer to journey on foot," Shu said. "We'd be safe once we reached Holt."
"How far is it to Holt's eastern border?" I said.
"Over two hundred miles," Captain Hubbard said. "Landish is a big country."
Figuring twenty miles a day on horseback, it would take us ten days just to reach Holt's eastern border. If we sailed down river, we could reach Holt in less than half that time. But if we sailed down river, we'd be boarded and killed. Unless. "They're looking for the Star of the Sea. What if we leave in something else, say a longboat? Or even one of those fishing boats that head down river every morning."
"A fishing boat might work," Captain Hubbard said. "They're more maneuverable than longboats. If you feel threatened, you can put to shore and get away on foot."
"You won't be coming with us, Captain?"
"I can't abandon my ship, Your Highness. Besides, if I take the Star of the Sea down river, I might be able to draw the King of Dunre's men away from you."
"If you take the Star of the Sea down river, you'll die."
"A risk we must take," Captain Hubbard said.
"Give us a day's head start," Bokham said to Captain Hubbard. "If you head down river before us, and they board you, they might come back looking for us."
"We'll have to take the Lady Tabitha with us," I said. "And she'll need a change of clothes. She can't travel in a fishing boat dressed in those boots and gowns she likes to wear."
"I'll give her some of my clothes," Bokham said. "She's tall enough to pass for a man."
"We should probably do this while it's still dark out," I said. "I think Max has people watching this ship."
"I'll send some of my men to secure a fishing boat," Captain Hubbard said. He called a couple of his men over and told them to take the pinnace and secure a fishing boat.
"We'll go wake the Lady Tabitha." I turned to Bokham. "You find her something to wear."
While Bokham headed below deck, Shu and I headed to the cabins beneath the foredeck. We found Tabitha in her cabin, fast asleep. I shook her until she was awake. She sat up, rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, then squinted at me through strands of tousled blond hair.
"Princess Lila?"
"Get up. We have to leave."
There was a knock on the door. Shu answered it then returned with one of Bokham's uniforms.
I tossed the clothes to Tabitha. "Put these on, then meet us on deck."
"Can I ask where we're going?"
"Fishing."
Captain Hubbard's men returned one hour later, two rowing the pinnace, two steering a fishing boat with a single mast and a single sail.
"Now comes the hard part," Captain Hubbard said.
"Which is?" the Lady Tabitha said. She was wearing a pair of Bokham's black riding boots, white cotton breeches, a long sleeved white cotton shirt that laced up the front, and one of Bokham's red jackets. Her hair was tied back in a single braid that reached clear to her waist.
"Trying to wake Chancellor Edgerton up." Captain Hubbard turned and headed to the aft cabins.
While Captain Hubbard tried to rouse Edgerton, I slipped into my cabin and retrieved the scimitar I acquired when we first arrived in Landish. I turned to Shu, and said, "You know how to use one of these?"
Shu nodded. "I suspect I am not as good with a blade as you. I only had a couple of years of training. You on the other hand have been practicing your whole life."
I tossed the scimitar and its scabbard to Shu. "You take this."
"What will you use?"
"I'll borrow a cutlass from one of Captain Hubbard's men."
Captain Hubbard's executive officer gave me a cutlass. I strapped it around my waist, then returned topside. A minute after I reappeared on deck, Captain Hubbard joined us, shaking his head.
"I'm afraid it's going to be a few hours before the chancellor is ready to go anywhere."
"We can't wait for him to sober up," I said. "I want to be out of town when the people at the palace discover
I'm missing. Have some of your men transfer him to the fishing boat."
Captain Hubbard bowed. "As you command, Your Highness."
It took half a dozen men to transfer Edgerton's unconscious bulk into the fishing boat. Once that was done, Captain Hubbard introduced us to a short squat dark haired man that he identified as First Mate Evan Tanner.
"I've ordered Tanner to go with you," Captain Hubbard said. "You'll need him to set the sail and steer the boat. Plus, he's a good fighter. If there's trouble, you'll be glad he's along."
With that said, we were ready to leave. The fishing boat had been tied behind the Star of the Sea, next to the pinnace. I started to follow the others below deck, then stopped and headed back to Captain Hubbard. I couldn't leave knowing that he planned on sacrificing his crew, himself, and his ship, just to help me.
"If it comes down to abandoning this ship or dying to defend it, I trust you'll do the intelligent thing and abandon this pile of wood. Ships can be rebuilt, captains cannot."
Captain Hubbard smiled. "That's exactly what the queen would say."
"Are you known for heeding your queen's advice?"
Captain Hubbard's smile widened. "On occasion."
"Let this be one of those occasions, Captain."
Captain Hubbard bowed. "As you wish, Your Highness."
"I wish," I said.