The Pirate's Legacy: New Horizons

Chapter 42: Hearty Offerings

Demitri —

I grieve with you for the men newly lost. No good man deserves to be taken in the prime of his life, especially by a lizard with wings.

Just in case word has yet floated to the mainland, Her Majesty Queen Emelia has returned. She came upon the pirate Oh Henry Golomorth's ship; and before you wonder, Dread Robin was with her. I hope you are sitting down for my next words. She promised both pirates a queen's worth of gold. Apparently, Dread Robin lost his ship to a sea monster conjured by the god Portunus, and the fat Politickan pig had to rescue them. Our generous queen decided to reward Dread Robin with a brand new ship, and the Tick demands another Long Tom to his collection of artillery. The two currently reside in Peralta. Dread Robin, as his usual fashion, stays on the Tick's ship (since he does not have his) while the Tick himself sleeps and eats and fucks on Tarymian coin with the queen's blessing.

Unfortunately, I have no more good news with which to cheer you. Em's woes do not end with fewer monies in the Treasury.

She is with child. I don't have to say by whom; you know the son of a dragon's whore. According to Dr. Forsythe, she is more than four months along, although no one can see it on her yet. She cries under stress, she becomes faint constantly from hunger, and she vomits when drinking spirits or eating any sort of vegetable.

Worse yet. Brace yourself. Dread Robin was struck by amnesia after losing his ship. What did he lose, you wonder? Oh, just about every bloody memory he ever had of Em. That means he has lost more than a decade of his life. Em, of course, is in hysterics, and the hysterics make her pregnancy worse. She tries to get him to remember, but you know the devil. He is more stubborn than a mule. He rejects her invitations to court and spurns her every time they chance to meet, which is not often. He is forced to the castle only when he needs to tell Em what new design he came up with for his new bloody ship. I swear, I would run him through with my sword if Em wouldn't have me ganched right afterward.

So there you have it. Our dearest queen is expecting the bastard child of the Pirate King who has no memory of her. Onus and every god help us.

Leo

P.S. Em wanted to send reinforcements to you, but I convinced her to wait until we heard you were dead. You may thank me when you come back.

Demitri could imagine Leo swearing up and down in his chambers as he dictated to his secretary, his bearded face red as a tomato and a scowl sharpening his round features. At first, Leo's responding letters had felt stiff and cordial. In time, once Demitri started reporting the deaths of his men, Leo's conversational way of speaking through his writing returned. They spoke only of important matters. What happened between them on the night before Demitri's departure from the castle had never been discussed and probably never would be. Demitri would be too embarrassed to speak about his moment of weakness, and Leo's attempt to shrug off the incident would make everything more awkward. Better to forget, Demitri supposed, than to keep dwelling. As for the matter of Em's pregnancy, Demitri was furious, yes, but he was more troubled by its political repercussions on the queen and Tarym's succession. Dread Robin's refusal to acknowledge the child effectively made it a bastard out of wedlock. Even if its parents, by some miracle, could join together in matrimony, only the gods knew if it would take from his half-Draconian father's side or his entirely human mother's side. Demitri didn't even want to think about how the country would react to Em's pregnancy and the father of the child.

Demitri stuffed the letter inside his cloak at the sound of raucous voices coming closer to him. Yohan, carrying Demitri's leather-bound journal, and the other five soldiers emerged from the entrance of the sleeping quarters. They hailed their leader upon seeing him, sitting cross-legged underneath an ash tree growing in front of the building. Beside him stood a lit cylindrical lantern that had helped him read in the twilight hour. Demitri unwound his legs and got onto his feet as his men walked over and came to a stop in front of him, still joking. He cast his warm brown eyes over them, feeling his heart sink in envy that they could be so lighthearted. Yet he felt sadness as well. Some of these men, if not all, will die in the coming days; weeks, or even months.