The Last Dragon: Book Three

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Princess Elizabeth

As a princess, I had always set myself apart from most daily interactions with commoners, a bane to all royalty. Their gossiping, friendliness, companionship, and bickering was missing from our dull lives. As such, others on the ship who knew their place in society tended to avoid me, so I didn’t hear rumors circulating on the Gallant unless one of my few acquaintances shared them. The other method of communication was with the ship’s purser, who again cautiously approached from my side as if trying to decide how to proceed.

I turned and presented a welcoming smile as he stood taller at my table in the dining room, obviously nervous.

“Princess, I’m sorry to disturb you, but the captain has asked me to assure you of the safety of our ship and that he will perform a thorough investigation of the incident before reaching port.”

“I have no complaints about safety,” I said, confused and ignoring the heads turned to listen to my every word as if I had something important to say. “I also have no idea what you’re speaking about.”

He swallowed and lowered his voice as he leaned closer. “Haven’t you heard? Two more of our passengers are missing from the ship.”

“Missing?” I asked far too loudly; then recollection rushed back to me. I’d forgotten about Will and his discovery of Soren, the traitor on my staff, and the man who had paid him. Innocently, I’d reacted as if I knew nothing. Nobody watching me, and my surprised reaction could believe otherwise.

He finally decided to get directly to the hard part and spat the words, “One of them is a member of your entourage, Princess. It is the man named Soren.”

“What?” I demanded so harshly all eyes were now on me. “Where is he?”

“We do not know, Princess.”

“Speculate.”

“We’ve searched the entire ship, and he is not aboard.” The purser’s expression and sweat flowing down his forehead said more than words.

“Search again.” I stood and marched, not walked, out of the dining room and out into the brisk morning air. I had a role to play for the crew and passengers. I also felt like the food I’d eaten was going to be spilled over the side. My head felt light, my legs unsteady. A hand took mine. It was Lady Grace.

“Have you heard?” she asked. Her face was flushed, her hand shook in mine. “Two people are missing from the ship, one of them Soren. What’s happening? People keep falling overboard.”

“I need to go to my cabin.”

She clung to my hand as if to protect herself from being thrown overboard. There was no way to tell her of Soren’s nefarious actions without implicating myself. I felt the need to reassure her. As she settled me on my bed, I said, “Give me a while, then I want you and Timor to meet with me.”

“As you wish,” she said as the door closed.

My head spun with wild thoughts, some of which were probably true, I squeezed my eyes shut until they hurt, and my mind couldn’t track one subject without being quickly distracted to another. I vaguely heard the orders shouted by seamen on the deck above as the ship prepared to enter the port of Vin.

Vin was the northern part of Kondor, a smallish city with self-rule. I’d planned for it to be the first test of my new official actions, a trial of how to act in Dagger when dealing with the rulers there. I wanted to search the ship for Will and verify what he’d done.

The truth was, I knew what he’d done. He’d told me already and seeking him out was not only stupid, careless, and endangering our relationship, but it jeopardized my mission. I needed to act like an adult. A princess of the Kingdom of Dire, one who was self-centered, confident, and who had the trust of her king.

A few deep breaths later, my eyes were still shut tightly, but I concentrated on slowing my racing heart. The shaking in my hands diminished. I slowly stood and forced myself to relax. What would one of my station do next?

The immediate answer was obvious. Instead of huddling in my cabin, I’d be stalking the ship in search of the missing member of my support team.

A gentle tap on my door alerted me. I’d told Lady Grace and Timor to give me a few moments, so I swung the door wide. Instead, the man who had passed me the message from his brother, the mage, stood outside.

“May I speak?”

I curtly nodded and instantly regretted my rudeness.

“Princess, my brother is scared and asked me to pass on more information you may find useful. The one he spoke of in my dreams is restless and angry. The release of the dragon at Mercia upset him greatly, and he has heard the dragon has made its way to the Bay of Trager, at the very edge of Kondor.”

“Why would that scare him? And how does it concern me where the dragon has gone?”

“The young one we discussed also became agitated when two mage-ships were sunk. He may be making plans to travel to Kondor.”

I considered the import of the words before answering. “I had the impression he was already in Kondor.”

The man glanced down at his feet, then as if drawing strength from deep inside, he said, “Kaon. He is in Kaon.”

At the sound of another cabin door opening, he turned away to shield his face from being recognized and walked in the opposite direction of Lady Grace and Timor as they came to meet with me. Instead of explaining the presence of the man, I went directly to the subject I should have earlier. “Soren is missing. The Gallant is entering the port of Vin. Before we arrive, I want the three of us to speak to every passenger and crewman we can find. Ask if any saw Soren, who he was with, and when was the last time they saw him.”

Timor said, “We will reach port with the morning tide.”

“Then you’d better hurry. I will begin with the dining room, then move to the passenger lounge, should you find anything of interest.” I started to move past them.

Lady Grace touched my arm to stop me. “Do you think he’s dead?”

“I intend to find out all I can. He was one of us.”

We split up at the door to the outside and went in three directions. I confess, the task was distasteful. Especially so, when I knew the answer before asking the questions. When we gathered in my cabin with the docks of Vin in sight, we had nothing more to share. Nobody had seen the two men fall overboard, none had seen Soren speaking with anyone last night, and everyone on the ship was more than a little scared at the disappearance of two more men.

During the search, I never saw Will. Not once, and I briefly wondered if he too, had fallen overboard. Then, after a brief consideration, realized that the crew must have done a full count of everyone on board to determine that two were missing.

The next question that came to mind was to ask myself why the count of passengers had been made in the first place? Was the crew now looking for missing passengers every morning? Had someone seen something? If they had seen someone pushed over the side of the ship, the captain would have turned the Gallant and searched. That hadn’t happened, but something else must have informed him two passengers were missing and that bothered me. I’d hoped we would arrive in port without the mystery missing people discovered.

I firmly closed the door and faced the remaining two of my entourage. They deserved more than another mystery, but not from me. Not now. “We have no option but to assume Soren is dead. We will progress as before, with Lady Grace elevated to my council. Timor, you will do as she asks, which is what you would have done for Soren.”

Their faces were pale. Neither spoke. Lady Grace had been about to decline the leadership role, but Timor was far too young.

I went on. “Our mission has not changed. I have reviewed the revised treaty and will have more changes, but there is another subject I wish to speak of, and that is me. No doubt the three of you had conversations about me and my changes in attitude.”

Their faces reddened.

“No matter. I expected it. Please understand, I am a princess and have a role to play, as do the two of you. If those we deal with think I am weak they will take advantage of us. That means the people of Dire will suffer because of my inadequacies. For the remainder of this diplomatic mission, you will find me a stern, strong, demanding person. After we return to Dire, that may change.”

Timor said, “There is a rumor on the lips of everyone that mages are making people fall overboard.”

His abrupt change of subjects told me where his fears lay. Magic. Anyone not understanding how it functions is scared of it, no matter if they admit it or not.

“A lot is blamed on them. Not all of it is true. Why don’t we go on deck and watch the Gallant tie up? It will be our first look at Kondor.”

The three of us crowded together with the other passengers. The city of Vin was far different than Trager or Mercia. It was built on lowlands and marsh, where a river split and entered the sea in at least three places. The largest of the rivers flowed sluggishly at high tide, but even so, the bottom could be seen at times. The ship held to the right side of the river where a deeper channel provided ships enough water to float.

The city, however, was mostly on the left side of the river, as were the docks, each extending out into the water like the fingers of a giant hand. They were well maintained, the piers strong and many of the timbers recently replaced.

Two longboats, each with eight men rowing and one directing their actions, met our ship and accepted large ropes from the bow. Our sails came down, and the two boats pulled us to the upriver side of a dock where a small crowd waited.

Vendors already displayed their goods, and the scents of hot food drew my attention since none was served on the ship. A few military types stood in a tight group, much as in any port. Idlers, loafers, the curious, and businessmen watched.

I watched their faces. In appearance, they all resembled Damon and Kendra, but I searched for smiles and found few. Not as many as might be in a similar group in Dire, but far more than in Trager. I said, “I’m scared.”

Timor stepped up to my side. “If anyone can succeed, it is you. Of all the royals in Crestfallen, you are the most respected. I thought you should know that.”

Turning to him, I noticed Lady Grace nodding her agreement. I said, “Thank you.”

“It’s true,” he said. “Your brother will become king one day, but it is you that seeks out problems and resolves them. The servants and freemen all look to you as the one who truly wields power.”

“What about the king?” I asked.

He chuckled. “They say that he is there when large problems are to be solved, and you take care of all the small ones, so he is not bothered with them. They also say, he has not had to solve any large ones, yet.”

I found myself chuckling for the first time in two days. Even so, I searched almost frantically for sight of either Damon or Kendra and found neither among the hundred faces on the dock. Instead, I found a crowd of strangers, intent on taking from me what they could.

It was not a good way to look at the world.