An Aimless War (Greatest Thief 2)

Part Three - Champion - Chapter Twenty-Nine

It was nice being out on the water, but I suppose anything would be nice after hiding in a decrepit building. Under Ender's command, we'd sailed much further away from shore than I was comfortable with, before turning to head towards Zianna. Straight to Zianna, that was the plan. Tannix wanted to report to his brother directly, so he said, but we all knew he didn't want to go back to West Draulin in case his mother insisted he couldn't leave again.

The sun was high in the sky when we sailed around East Draulin, giving the city a wide berth, and through the Straits of Draulin. Ender had everyone working, even Tannix, but I had been excused on Jalor's orders. In an attempt to stay out of the way I leaned against the railing and stared at East Draulin. From our distance, it didn't look damaged.

"I never got a chance to thank you." Lady Mayah stepped beside me, and without asking, tucked in a bit of my sling that had come loose. "Not since you've been awake, at least. So thank you for pushing me out of the way. And also..." She sighed and rested her arms on the railing, her gaze settling on her city, "... for helping my people escape East Draulin. I hope everyone who is still there is being treated kindly."

"I hope so, too." I glanced over my shoulder, to where Kor was showing Tannix how to properly wrap up a rope. It had quickly become apparent that aside for the twins, none of the knights knew what they were doing on the ship. Kor had been very busy running around while Ender stood at the wagon wheel they called a helm. I made up my mind, and turned back around. "So... Lady East Draulin—"

"Mayah is fine, really," she interrupted without looking away from East Draulin. "Lady Mayah, if it makes you feel more comfortable. But Lady East Draulin?" She shrugged, and brushed some of her curly hair behind her ear. "I don't know if I'll ever have East Draulin."

Maybe she would have West Draulin, though. I took a deep breath and pressed on. "You're betrothed to Tannix."

"I was."

That caught me entirely off guard, and I turned to fully face her. "What? Was?"

She didn't seem to notice my shock. Or maybe, like most of the nobles I was getting used to, she was good at hiding her surprise. "Well, it just doesn't make any sense, does it? He's Lord West Draulin. If we do get East Draulin back, and I properly become Lady East Draulin, we can't get married, because he can't be the lord of two cities, and I can't be the lady of two cities. Now I suppose he could hand off his inheritance to his sister, but I highly doubt he would. Being Lord West Draulin seems to suit him."

"But... you just said you might never have East Draulin," I said, slowly, as I tried to make sense of this new information.

"Yes. But our parents planned our betrothal because I was going to provide him with a title. If I don't have East Draulin, I can't offer him that. Oh, certainly if we were in love none of that would matter, but we were never really given a chance to get to know each other or court properly. So given our new circumstances, we decided to rescind our engagement."

I didn't know what to say. She had never been the biggest obstacle in our relationship, but she had complicated things.

"Oh, I'm... sorry to hear that, my lady," I tried to sound sincere, so she wouldn't see how relieved I was.

Mayah shrugged again. "This is better for both of us. We can each pursue someone we're truly interested in." I saw her eyes dart across the deck, but before I could figure out who she had looked at, she turned around. "Lord Tandrix, have you been given leave to take a break?"

Tannix laughed as he joined us. "I think, more so, Kor is tired of trying to teach me. How are you holding up, Finn?"

"I..." He wasn't talking about the conversation with Mayah, even though that was the only thing on my mind. He must have meant my shoulder. "Fine."