The Last Dragon: Book Three

CHAPTER EIGHT

Princess Elizabeth

As a princess of Dire, when looking back at my life, I felt I’d been a failure so far. With four siblings ahead of me to wear the crown, I hoped that day would never arrive, and the chances it ever did were miniscule. The birth of each niece or nephew, the chances moved me down the royal succession list. I’d spent my life, short as it was, carrying messages, planning balls and determining who would be invited, tracking down rumors in the castle, learning to walk properly, eat, sit a horse, and speak to those of my class. All duties and chores of a princess, and all as important as an evaporating fog on a spring morning.

For the first time, my father, the king, had given me a task worthy of a royal. I was to travel to Dagger, the capital of the Kondor Kingdom, and meet with their king. If he were not ruling Dagger, I’d meet with his successor or Royal Regent. If Kondor had no king, I would seek out the ruling body and present myself as the official representative of Dire with the offer of a treaty that would benefit both kingdoms.

All that was worthy of my talents and skills, and there was more. I would also spy on the mages and return with information that might mean the continued existence of Dire. Yet, I couldn’t even sail past a storm to attempt to meet my objectives. To this point, I was a failure as a royal emissary.

That would change.

The information about the Blue Lady the visitor to my cabin refused to leave my mind. It also made me more determined to defeat the mages who prevented the Gallant from sailing south to Vin and Dagger. The small portholes in my cabin were open to allow a modicum of fresh air inside, and a few small steps carried me to the nearest. I looked down at the water racing past the hull.

The captain had ordered all sails set. A bos’n kept men aloft to adjust them, so we sailed at maximum speed. I couldn’t imagine cargo ships with mages keeping up with us. We would reach the extent of their artificial storm and turn south. It was a good plan.

Then, as if a branch in a tree over my head broke and stuck me, a revelation came. The Gallant was built for speed, but the cargo ships carrying the mages could easily keep up with us—if the mages used their magic to speed their ships along. They could increase the wind, make the hulls slide more easily through the water, or a dozen other things to give them an advantage.

My fist clenched. I wanted to strike something, break or hurt it. Even princesses cry when frustrated or defeated. After a good cry, I wiped my eyes and went in search of Will. He would know what to do.

The wind was brisk outside, first slamming the door closed behind me, then it blew my hair into my face so that I couldn’t see. I reached up and took most of it in my fist and held it away. There were few passengers outside in the bright sunshine. The damn storm still sat off to our right, a dark line of clouds broken only by flashes of lightning. Looking at the sea in front of it, I imagined the white waves curling and breaking, turning back any ship that attempted to pass.

The mages wanted to prevent all interaction with the kingdoms up north while they secured leadership of Kondor, the kingdom that separated the upper kingdoms from the lower. An accident of geography, it controlled both the Brownlands and the narrow sea that was the chokepoint that prevented the Gallant from using the great width of the sea to sail around.

Worse, it prevented me from accomplishing the tasks that my king and the people of Dire needed. A slow form of anger grew inside while my eyes searched for Will. Instead of him, I found the purser rushing in my direction.

“The captain sends me. May I have a word, Princess?”

“You may.”

“It appears we cannot outrun the storm. He suggests we again return to Trager and any who wish to continue to Kondor seek other transportation while the Gallant returns to Dire. A number of passengers have made the request.”

My instinct was to object. My intelligence told me differently. Defying the mages by trying to sail past the storm was silly at this point. A land journey, while difficult and it would take far longer, was an option. Returning to Dire without meeting with those officials in Kondor was not.

I gave him a curt nod.

He spun and rushed off. Will appeared at my side, as always, standing almost out of sight at the corner of the upper deck. He didn’t speak or look my way. If I wanted, he was there to serve. I motioned and called, “Come closer.”

He did, keeping his gaze at the boiling clouds, still in pretense we didn’t know each other.

I said, “The Gallant cannot sail to Dagger.”

“We don’t seem to be outrunning it,” he agreed.

“I believe the mages are making the wind increase to sail their ships as fast as this one.”

His head spun to look directly at me. The surprise on his face was easy to see. He turned away again, probably thinking about my revelation and what the possibilities were. Obviously, he had not thought of it himself, but in fairness, few, if any on the ship had.

After giving him time to digest it all, I continued, “We will return to Trager. Hopefully, the damage to the city from that dragon and the fires are contained, as well as the population. Once there, you will go ashore and find the means for a trip overland. Do not hesitate because of my position. I will sit a horse, walk, ride a wagon, or whatever.”

“Your delegation?”

“Most are not adept to perform the task. They are competent in their own rights, but plan for you, me, and two of my guards. That list may change. Consider the quickest route, plan to hire the best guide, and you may wish to hire fighters willing to rent their swords.”

He turned to face me again. “May I have the rest of the day to think and plan? We can meet here again in the morning, and you can decide if my plans meet your needs.”

“Of course,” I told him and watched him move easily away and into a doorway I hadn’t noticed. I made a full turn and found only a single sailor watching me from aloft. He gave a cheery wave at being caught, but there seemed nothing nefarious in his actions. How often do common sailors have the opportunity to watch a young princess? I returned his wave before going in search of my staff.

There were a lot of decisions to make. Should any of them go? The obvious answer was that all of them should. Each possessed skills in negotiating, transcription, and the study of hundreds, if not thousands of earlier treaties. If none of them accompanied me, and I managed to sign a treaty, but Kondor had its people writing the terms, the result might be worse than no treaty. It might be considered treason when I returned home.

I threw the door to the cabin where they worked and allowed it to slam into the backstop with a solid slap that drew their instant attention. Without preamble, I said, “We’re turning the ship around. Not quitting, by any means. I intend to get to Dagger one way or another, probably by foot—even if it takes fifty or sixty days to walk there across the desert.”

Their faces revealed fear.

I continued, “I would like all of you to go with me but know that won’t happen. If you believe you can make the trip, tell me later. If not, take whatever portion of responsibility you share for the mission, condense it, and present it to me along with alternatives and problems I should be aware of. There may only be three guards and me, so consider our limitations.”

Before any could speak, I left and slammed the door shut behind me.

Instead of waiting for my meal to be served in my cabin, I walked confidently to the tiny dining room and served myself a helping of two kinds of hard cheese, stale bread, and hard crackers. I filled two mugs with white wine so I wouldn’t have to stand up to refill them.

The table barely held my food and drink. People stared at me. I ignored them. A man approached me. He was tall, handsome, young, and full of himself. He gave a slight bow, more a nod of his head. It was a bow that I considered offensive. If you are going to show respect, do it right. The proper way is to bend from the waist and display the back of your neck so I can use my sword to cut off your head if I feel so inclined.

“Princess?”

“Yes?”

He moved to sit. “May I join you?”

“No.” My sharp answer caught him between standing and sitting, an awkward position. He managed to regain his feet before I said, “Have you anything to say?”

“Uh, I was going to chat with you. You know, like fellow travelers who are being friendly.”

His demeanor had transformed from over-confident to simpering fool. “I don’t chat.”

He retreated.

I was not going to become the focus of a tale he would tell his drunken friends—the time he ate and chatted with a princess. There was too much else on my mind. I slowly gnawed the edges of salted crackers and the centers of hard, bland cheese, while downing both mugs of wine before finishing the food. Then I refilled both mugs. It was that sort of day. After taking my seat again, I decided I was not hungry and concentrated on drinking the wine.

“Why are we turning?” a woman asked loud enough for all to hear, a touch of fear in her tone.

A glance at the window confirmed her question. The captain had decided enough was enough. The ship would sail back to port, drop off some of the passengers in Trager and then continue back to Dire. Passengers remaining in Trager could arrange for later ships. Speculation about the turn came from every table, but mine. It wasn’t my place to inform them.

Will sat down at my table, uninvited, and drew glares from the pretty man who had tried to impress me earlier. He said, “Do we know who is going with us and who is not?”

“So far, only the four of us. I’ve given the scribes an option and ordered a concise briefing of what I should be aware of while negotiating a treaty.”

He scowled. “If it were that easy, someone would have printed a little handbook for princesses.”

That sort of attitude was why familiarity was discouraged by my tutors and mentors. I would accept that sort of statement from Damon. Kendra too, if she ever spoke like that, which she wouldn’t unless talking to Damon. I returned his scowl and planned my biting retort but gave it up. Too much time had already passed. Besides, he would brush aside my words and continue as if he never heard them. He worked for my father, only technically for me.

I said, “Do you have any advice?”

“Age twenty years.”

I furrowed my eyebrows. And bit off another angry retort. Will was not the sort to tease. He was answering my question and I needed to remain calm and listen to him. It was probably as hard for him to tell me as if was to hear.

He continued, “I’m serious. I see before me a pampered girl-woman. A spoiled child who is gracious and wanting to please. One who tells her staff, ‘I will either have my way in the treaty or send you home to be spanked’ instead of directing them with orders. In its place of stamping your foot in anger, you need to take charge like a military commander.”

Will was not an ordinary man in word or deed. When he had been my age, he had fought in a war so fiercely he’d been singled out by my father to be awarded a title and lands bestowed on him. Now he was twice my age and had learned courtly manners and absorbed wisdom along the way. I needed to listen. A wag of my finger told him to keep talking.

“I know you cannot age twenty years in a few days, but you can make changes that will help. You will have to become imperial. By that, I mean you will stop being nice and asking people to do your bidding. You will order them. Your tone of voice will be cutting. No matter how servants attempt to please you, it will not be acceptable. If a pillow is slipped under your bottom as you sit, it will be too thin, the material too coarse, the design ugly. You will make those things known.”

“I’m not like that.”

“And there is your problem. I tell you what needs to be done and you revert to responding like a little girl.”

“I did not!”

I heard the childishness in my answer. He smiled in a way that fueled my anger.

“You are a monster,” I spat.

“So, rush home and tell your father I talked mean. That’s what little girls do, right?”

He was pushing me. Attempting to teach me something about myself. I understood that. I didn’t like it. “What should I do?”

He flicked his eyes to the young man who had attempted to sit with me.

“Oh,” I muttered.

“You destroyed him with a few words. Nobody in Kondor, including your guards and especially me, are your friends. You have none. You have only your duty to your king and Dire. Nobody is going to sign a treaty favorable to Dire with a spoiled princess who does not even know her demands.”

“A bitch. You want me to become a bitch.”

He smiled his agreement.

Maybe he was right.