PoraBora

Chapter Thirty-Four

The sun and shouting told her it was time to wake, but awake everything was only more obnoxious, so Pe kept under her canvas even as Iumili got up.

Step one, figure out what had happened to her boat.

Pe figured she mostly knew because the results of driving straight into a sand bar were predictable. Her steering board was broken. The question to be answered was, how broken?

If the whole thing was gone, it'd be a whole other problem than if a bottom half dangled from the top half like trailing strings of meat from the jaws of a sated beast.

Then there was the matter of the propeller, which she didn't think was broken but wouldn't know for sure until she pulled the cable.

Step two, figure out how to repair it. Pe didn't have a hammer or nails. Maybe rope, if they hadn't emptied her three hulls, but she doubted that tying the pieces together would really last her back to dock.

Steps one and two were complicated by the fact that Ikaika didn't want her on her boat. It was easy to guess why. She had weapons on her boat. The saw-tooth blade wasn't much compared to the warriors' spears, but there was a firelock, and even a knife could do a lot of damage in the mind of a paranoid navy commander.

Easy. Think like the commander, and she could figure out what they wanted.

But then, wouldn't they think to remove her weapons from her boat in the first place?

Maybe he thought she'd rigged her hulls to blow.

Alright. Two steps. She could start with two steps. Pe pulled off her covers and stood, the sun too strong and people too many for first thing in the morning.

She didn't see Iumili immediately. Maybe the kid had convinced them to let her play underwater. Maybe she was examining the damage right now. Or maybe they'd put her in a brig down below.

Surely they wouldn't kill her. She was eight. Eight was for timeouts, not death.

"Morning, Tota," said a warrior.

"Good morning," she said brightly.

He gave her a look and shared a different one with warriors lounging nearby.

What she wanted to say was, didn't they receive training? Weren't they proper warriors? Shouldn't they be standing at attention and waiting for commands? And didn't they have more important things to do than bug her?

"You're in a good mood," said the warrior.

"Of course," said Pe. "It's a beautiful day, the water's deep...." It didn't come easily to her.

"And breakfast is ready." The warrior grinned. "Maybe you should sleep in more often."

Pe shrugged. "Maybe I will."

They didn't pester her more than that, but they did speak in beguiled concern as she walked away.

Iumili was right. What she needed to do was act complicit. Ikaika didn't trust her because he knew she didn't like where she was and wanted something he didn't want her to have. Let that disappear, and he would become complacent. Just like he was with Iumili.

"Well, look who's put their bed away."

"Good morning, Chief Noikoa."

"It is, isn't it?" The chief found her at the rail, where she glanced at her boat as subtly as she could. It was still there, and there was a warrior aboard adjusting the fenders. "We expect a bit of rough weather tonight, so we're taking extra cautions. Have you eaten?"