Punishment.
I remembered then. On the day I was stuck in the vinefruit tree, Gossel and Brogg had mentioned something about a punishment. In fact, now that I thought about it, Brogg had seemed angry that I'd overheard him. Perhaps that was the reason why he decided to take me with him. Otherwise, he might've passed me by. But whose punishment had he meant?
Gossel said, "When I get back to the Colony, I'll let Governor Felling know the terms of our agreement with Dulan must change. We cannot sustain these numbers for much longer."
Another warden spoke. "The governor already left the island."
Gossel's tone sharpened. "Why wasn't I informed?"
A cough, then the other warden said, "There was no time, sir. As soon as the waters calmed, she wanted to return to Keldan. She wants everyone in the Colony turned over to Dulan, and she'll start with a fresh group, and stricter rules."
My eyes narrowed and beside me, Weevil grunted with anger. Gossel asked, "What rules?"
"I don't know. She only said it was something that would keep her cemented in power for life. She's giving a speech tonight in Windywood."
I knew that town well. They hated my singing more than most of the surrounding villages, so I earned a lot of money there.
Gossel added something under his breath at that point. Hoping to hear it, Weevil stepped forward, but his foot slipped in some mud and he flailed for his balance. I grabbed his arm and held him steady.
"What was that?" a warden asked. "Those footsteps we saw earlier. It must be the grubs."
We held our breath while Gossel took a step into the dense underbrush. Then from the ship, Bartek called, "If you Keldanians don't have anywhere better to go, maybe you should join our crew too."
Gossel jerked back so fast, I doubted he even realized he'd dropped his hat. "What if it was them?" he grumbled. "We have enough problems waiting for us at the Colony. Let the grubs cause trouble here for once. Let's go."
Weevil and I smiled at each other. I took that as a challenge, and I knew he was up for it too.
We waited in place for several minutes after the wardens had left. I didn't know what we should do next, and I doubted Weevil knew either. We couldn't let the ship leave for Dulan with Marjorie and Clement and our other fellow Colonists on board. Della was still too weak to be much help in fighting, and even if the rest of us did our best, we could never take on that entire crew.
"You two were gone so long, we got worried," Della said as Jonas helped her down the hillside to join us. "Is everything all right?"
The expressions on Weevil's and my faces told her otherwise.
When Weevil explained to them what we had overheard, Della's only response was, "I suppose you're going to try rescuing them."
We nodded.
"And I suppose it will be the most dangerous thing you've attempted since coming to this island, and that you'll forget about the fact that I still feel like I've been sent to that treadmill, and that you'll charge onto that ship before you even have a full plan in place."
Again, we nodded, and I'm sure Weevil's heart was beating just as fast as mine. This was sounding better and better.
"I can help," Jonas said, picking up the warden's fallen hat. In it, he seemed to stand taller than before. "I think I'm remembering what it is to be from the river country."
Jonas's leftover rope was cut in half, then used to tie Weevil's and my hands behind our backs. They weren't actually tied--a sharp tug against the ropes and we'd be free--but we looked like prisoners. The soft sand beneath my now bare feet completed the look of a future slave.
Della remained hidden in the underbrush. She wanted to come with us, but we all knew she was struggling with more pain than she was letting on. For both her sake and ours, she needed time to rest and recover.
With the warden's hat on his head, Jonas followed us from the trail onto the beach. He wasn't much older than us, but we hoped with the hat and clothes as dirty as the wardens had worn earlier, he would pass for a warden. My knife was in his hands, and he shouted orders at us as any warden might do.
"Walk faster, filthy grubs!" he shouted.
Weevil turned back to him. "You know, Jonas, coming from a filthy grub like you, that hurts my feelings."
I giggled, then tried to remain serious. "Stop it, Weevil. Try to look scared."
"I don't have to try," he said. "This is like jumping into a lake and hoping you don't get wet."
Bartek, the same sailor who had approached the wardens before, now hailed us from a distance and began walking forward. "What's this?" he asked. "We've got your full group."
"You've got only nine, and then took one of our wardens onto your crew." Jonas nodded at us. "These are the two young people we told you about before. I found them, and I want to exchange them for the warden you took. Two grubs for one warden. It's fair."
Bartek rubbed his stubby chin, looking us over. "They're younger than I expected. They couldn't have caused all that trouble."
I lowered my eyes and tried not to defend myself, to insist that, in fact, I hadn't yet reached my full potential for causing chaos and general mayhem. But Weevil had reminded me of one of the most important rules: Everyone who goes aboard that ship must be broken.
"They created plenty of trouble," Jonas said. "That is, until the storm last night, when I found them huddling beneath a rock, alone and scared."
"Just take us somewhere safe and with food," Weevil said. "We'll do anything you want."
I peeked over at him. He might've been serious about the food.
"All right," Bartek said, grabbing my arm. "I'll take these two. Let's go get your man."
As we walked to the ship, Bartek said to Weevil and me, "There are only two rules you both need to know before you come with us to Dulan. The first is that you must leave any thoughts of Keldan behind. You belong to us now, by treaty with Governor Felling. Serve us, and we will treat you well. Dulan is not a cruel place, unless we have to be. As long as you are loyal, you will be rewarded."
Then I was already breaking the first rule, for I would never consider Dulan my home. I had only one home, and it was amongst rivers and grassy banks and near Weevil and my family.
"The second rule is that disobedience will be punished. It took us a while to understand the Keldanian spirit. Some of you will sacrifice yourselves in the attempt to escape or to defy us. So Governor Felling suggested a way to be sure you would not disobey."
"What is it?" I asked.
He turned away to face the shore. "Once we reach the ship, I will show you."
That worried me, and Weevil too. He glanced over at me with a grim smile.
The ship was nearly finished with its repairs, and commanders were ordering their crew to dig out the beach to make it easier to haul the ship into the water. Brogg was already working with them and didn't seem to notice we had come. Even from here, I could see sweat glistening on his face. Ropes were being fixed to the bow to pull it. I assumed that would be our first assigned duty as Dulan's two newest slaves.
But until it was ready, Weevil and I were made to sit on the beach beside the other Colonists.
"You'll get your warden back once our ship reaches the water," Bartek said to Jonas.
Marjorie wasn't far from us. She looked our way with tears in her eyes and shook her head. At first I thought she was afraid for her own future, especially because she probably still felt sick. Or perhaps Marjorie had hoped we'd escaped during the night, and she didn't want to see us captured too. I tried to silently communicate a reply to her that we had deliberately come here, to rescue her and the others. No one from the river country would ever leave a friend behind, even at their own peril. Everyone seated around us now were friends. We would all escape together.
But for as hard as I tried to help her understand that through my tense expression and the flicks of my eyes, she only looked away and cried a little more. Then I glanced past her to where Clement Rust was staring at me. They must've grabbed him sometime after he w
as forced from the caves. He nodded back and gave a slight smile. He'd understood my silent message.
He leaned very slightly to whisper something to the man next to him, who looked over at me. Then the message was passed to the woman at his side, who continued it on.
All we needed was an opportunity. I wanted it as late as possible, after the ship was repaired and back in the water, but before the crew had loaded us on board for the voyage to Dulan. If we fought too early, we risked not having enough people to launch the ship and save ourselves. If we fought too late, we'd become the property of Dulan.
After an hour of waiting, a sailor came around with some flasks of liquid he said we could share. All of us eyed them suspiciously. Finally, with a heavy sigh he said, "It won't harm you. This is a drink from Dulan. It'll give you strength to help us pull that ship into the water." Still, none of us took a drink until he grabbed one of the flasks back and drank it himself. Then we began passing them around with great enthusiasm. Everyone was thirsty, and the drink did boost my energy. In hindsight, that sailor would regret sharing anything that made me feel stronger.
When we'd finished, Bartek stood before us and said, "We're ready now. The crew will go behind the ship to push it toward the sea. You will each pair up and take a rope, and do all you can to pull it. This will be your first test as slaves of Dulan, and the way you perform will determine where you are assigned to work once we arrive. Work hard, and you might find yourself as a lady-in-waiting or manservant to the rulers of our country, a relatively comfortable position. Appear idle, and we will find dirty, dangerous work that will cure your laziness." His eye fell on me. "Refuse to cooperate, and you will come to understand the most terrible of penalties."
Beside me, Weevil gasped and grabbed my arm. I thought it was a warning from him to not react, so I only shook him off and said for everyone to hear, "You said it didn't work to threaten a slave with his own life, but that Governor Felling did suggest a punishment that worked. What is it?"
"Ani, I see--" Weevil started.
"Hush, I'm arguing."
The sailor walked over to me. "Stand up, girl."
I obeyed.
"You're from the river country of Keldan--a grub?" When I nodded, he continued. "The River People have never gotten the Scourge before. But Governor Felling took you anyway. Did you ever wonder why she suddenly wanted River People?"
"She wanted five River People," I said. "In the end, she only took two of us."
"Three more will come, in time." He backed up, speaking again to all of us. "A few weeks ago, the crew of this very ship attempted an uprising, led by someone who thought he should not have to cooperate. The uprising failed, of course, so he had to be punished. Our agreement with your governor is that if you disobey any order, she will take one of your loved ones into the Colony. But if there is an uprising, and you cause others to disobey, she will take--"
"Five," I breathed. "She wanted five River People because it was a River Person who started that uprising. But everything started with me. I was the first of our people to go to the Colony."
"To go to the Colony perhaps," he said. "But you were not the first of the River People to be taken away." He gave a whistle and said, "Show yourself, grub!"
From around the back of the ship, a man came forward in rags and with chains around his wrists. He was thinner than when I'd last seen him but I knew him well, and he knew me too.
But most of all, he knew Weevil, who had already gotten to his feet beside me and held on to my arm for support.
The man in chains was Weevil's father.
Weevil's father clearly recognized us, but he only shook his head back in acknowledgment. Why? Was that a sign for us to say nothing of our connection? A message to end our planned revolt before we endangered more of our people? Or a sign of defeat, that in seeing his own son here, knowing why we had come, now he had at last been broken?
I didn't know what he meant by the simple shake of his head and wasn't entirely sure what to do next. Beside me, Weevil's hand wrapped tighter around my arm and began shaking.
Bartek said, "Now that you understand what it means to disobey, I suggest you all take ropes at once."
We went to the ropes, though I practically had to drag Weevil with me. "We've still got to fight," I whispered to him.
"My father's alive," Weevil mumbled.
"Yes, and he wanted to get free. He expects you to do the same."
"It was his uprising. We're here because of him."
I grabbed Weevil's arm and made him look at me. "Then we're here to save him, and everyone else. We still have to fight."
He nodded and said, "This can't fail, Ani. If it does, the governor will come for our families, and then more River People."
"I know." She was already looking for my father, and Della's father, though I suspected their fates would be much worse than a trip to the Colony.
With the ship already moving toward the water, the Dulanian sailors climbed rope ladders to take them onto the deck and from there shouted orders to their crew and to us. While Weevil pulled, Jonas and I went into the shadow of the ship, out of sight of the sailors. There, he hoisted me onto his shoulders, allowing me access to a porthole near the front of the ship. I had to pry it open with my knife, but once it was open, I slipped inside the ship's hull. Maybe they should've fed me better in the Colony. I might've gotten stuck if they had. Once I landed, I listened a moment to be sure that none of the other captives would betray what I'd done, and that no sailors were down here with me. But everything was quiet, and the ship continued forward. So far, so good.
Weevil climbed in next, though he needed my help to squeeze him through. Jonas was too big to fit through a porthole, as were most of the other captives. The rest of this plan was up to us.
"My father," Weevil whispered. "Do you think he recognized me?"
"Of course he did." I paused a moment to smile at him. "Couldn't you tell how glad he was to see you? He'll be even more proud once this is over. Now come on!"
Our plan at this point was a little vague. But in the short time it had taken Weevil to crawl in here, I'd had an idea. A pretty good idea, I thought, even if it was wildly insane. As far as I was concerned, those two always went together. When I whispered it to Weevil, he agreed with the wildly insane part.
"Whether it's a good idea or not," he said as a grin spread across his face, "there's only one way to find out!"
The hull of the ship had four cannons mounted into it, which in itself was surprising since Dulan was not at war with us and since Keldan had no similar ship to defend our country. Maybe that was the point. If they decided to attack, we would be defenseless.
It took some effort to maneuver the cannons. Neither Weevil nor I had ever handled cannons before, though my father had once explained them to me. I understood the basics. Turn the wheel at the back of the cannon until the angle is correct. Load the cannon with gunpowder. (I appreciated Dulan for having supplied us with a fine load of gunpowder in a barrel right next to the cannons. They were thoughtful people indeed.) Put a cannon ball in next, and use a long stick to pack the two close together. Finally, when ready to fire, light the fuse. It would carry the spark down inside the cannon, light the gunpowder, and explode the cannon ball out of the muzzle.
"Are you sure about this?" Weevil asked. "It seems far too dangerous."
"It is far too dangerous," I agreed. "And yes, I'm sure. We've got no more time to spare. The ship is almost to the water."
I waited until the sailors above called out that the front of the boat had reached water and that everyone should now move to the back of the ship to finish pushing it in.
Then I grabbed my knife and climbed the ladder up onto the deck of the ship.
Bartek noticed me right away. "How did you get up here, grub?" He saw the knife next. "You're in big trouble now."
"You're in bigger trouble," I countered. "You have no idea what weapons I have aimed at all of you, right this moment."
"What weapons?" Bartek asked. "That little knife? It won't save you from us."
He advanced on me, and I backed closer to the ladder. "I'm talking about the cannons below. Did you know they can be angled almost straight up? I admit that made them more difficult to load, but we managed that too."
Bartek swallowed hard. "We?"
"Everyone down below who is waiting for my orders to light those cannons. They will blow you back to Dulan with a fire on your backside."
Granted, when I said everyone, I meant Weevil. And when I said the cannons would blow them back to Dulan, the reality was much worse than a fire on their backsides. These sailors knew it too.
Bartek's eyes narrowed as he said, "There's no one below. Everyone else is too big to have gotten in."
"The wardens already told you about me, about what I did to the Colony in only a few days. That was an entire Colony, a former prison. Think of how much simpler it is to take over one small ship."
"If the cannons blow us up, you'll go with them."
I didn't move. "I've spent the last several days expecting to die or be killed at any moment. So I've made peace with whatever the cannons might do to me. Have you?"
His eyes narrowed. "What are your terms?"
"Simple. Abandon ship." I nodded to the bow of the boat. "The water might provide you with a softer landing, but you can jump onto rocks for all I care. Once everyone is down, the captive crew members and the Colonists will come on board."
"When Dulan hears of this, they'll come to war against Keldan."
"You're wrong," I said. "When Keldan hears of this, they'll come to war against you! The River People have been awoken now. Either Dulan will admit their wrongs and return our people, or you will have to fight us." I winked at him. "I'm not even the cleverest of the River People. Imagine what happens to Dulan when you meet the really smart ones."
Bartek folded his arms. "We're not leaving this ship, girl. You're bluffing."
I did not flinch. "I will count down from five. At zero, the first cannon fires. I hope it's not the one right beneath your feet."
He smiled. "Or yours."
My smile mirrored his. "Five. Four."