The Princess and the Blood of Eternity

Chapter 26: A Plan for Rescue

Three days outside of Mont Qerath, Quinn stood on the deck of their trade ship. Her mood stunk worse than week old oysters. Agis at the helm met her gaze, then shared in her frown. His creased features and tired eyes spoke to the prolonged stress of the past few days, weeks.

A wave broke on the keel, showering them in a light mist of sea spray. Sails taunt, the winds had been remarkably favorable, but it still hadn't been enough. Somehow, the ship they chased had stayed ahead of them every step of the way. Few boats should be able to manage that kind of speed, especially if she factored in the benefits their new tree afforded their hull by making it tighter, more seaworthy. If she were more religious, she might be apt to believe something was intervening on the part of their adversary.

Quinn found it was becoming increasingly difficult keeping her emotions in check. Boulder had rescued Cleo, but she had failed to save Lilith. She had reached the ship, and they had set sail in record time with the threat of the Matriarch's forces opening fire on them. By the time they had circled to the rear of the island, the boat holding the princess had already left. Instead, they found Cleo, alone, untouched, and unwilling to elaborate on what'd happened.

Even though she had done everything she could, she still fought against the guilt. She wished she could take back the things she'd said to Lilith. Wished she wasn't so anxious and held hostage by an insatiable call to action. She wished for many things.

One look at Cleo revealed he hadn't moved one bit. Standing on the bow, his lanky form hovered with his foot resting anxiously on the point of the keel. Almost like he was ready to leap off in the middle of the ocean. Half a day had passed, and he'd yet to move. He still carried Boulder's rapier, hooked through a hole poked through the waist of his pants. Quinn even caught him occasionally caressing the hilt.

Back on Mont Qerath, the current had made docking inside the hidden crevice extremely difficult. But before they could even communicate the problem, Cleo had jumped off the dock and swam out to them, crossing two hundred yards of rough ocean before promptly climbing aboard and demanding they set sail immediately. Since then, he hadn't spoken but one or two words at a time.

And now, he stared at the horizon like he expected the princess to show up at any moment. Quinn had to admit, the newfound intensity scared her a tad. This journey had transformed him to the point she barely recognized him. Sure, he looked the same physically, healthy and safe. And yet, to look beneath the surface, she feared a different person lurked at the helm. Each time she caught him talking to the air, sneering or yelling at nothing, she had the worrying notion painfully reinforced.

Most of the crew pretended like they hadn't noticed. Ural and Agis often feigned they were in the middle of a conversation, or they'd simply turn around and walk the other way whenever they saw Cleo spouting off. Marius was the only one who seemed to accept the new Cleo. He watched his nephew's odd behavior with a kind of grim determination, which for how little emotion Marius usually displayed, they could interpret the result as him screaming and jumping up and down.

Ural joined them at the helm. His arm and torso were still wrapped in bandages. He gave each of them a nod of greeting.

"What are we going to do?" Quinn asked. "Do we have a plan? When we arrive, the Nobles won't let us swoop in and take the princess back, err, former princess."

Ural nodded, then winced. His bandaged arm and shoulder had only begun to heal. The linen wrappings were red with fresh blood.

Despite her weariness toward blood, Quinn had volunteered to change his dressings. In a way, she felt like she had a stake in his survival, in all their survivals. Peculiar to be proud of now, but she viewed them as family.

"I think..." Ural said. "If what you said is true, and she's not a princess anymore, she might've lost whatever value the Nobles had hoped to extract from her. We might be able to barter for her release. Either way, the Matriarch plays a dangerous game. If the Nobles learn of this deception, it could lead to war. Our interference may lead to them discovering the deceit. I'd hate to be the facilitator of such a conflict."

"Barter. Now that's an idea," Agis said. "As for war, I fear the Matriarch was going to facilitate that on her own. From what I know, war could be one of her goals. Therefore, us revealing Lilith's identity as an imposter won't matter." He stood up to scan the horizon again. The helm was in autopilot mode. He'd secured the wheel by a tying a rope through the spokes.

With Cleo and Marius acting so strangely, and Ural injured, Agis acted as helmsman during the day and Quinn most of the night. Ural could help, but they weren't about to leave him alone. His pain could become intense enough to render him incapacitated. Plus, the sooner he healed, the better. Ordinarily, Quinn would have near zero navigation responsibilities owing to all the maintenance and repairs, but after the appearance of the strange tree—she was having trouble determining where her work would be needed in the immediate future.

And the late shift wasn't too bad. It helped Quinn feel useful, and with everything that'd happened, being helpful was encouraging. Besides, Agis and Ural rarely slept more than a few hours at a time, and they'd taken to sleeping on the deck, a routine she found comforting since those late hours had a habit of becoming intensely boring.

"Either way," Agis added. "I don't see how we're going to get out of this without violence. As soon as we dock, Cleo's going to leap off the boat and charge into the city. He'll cut down anyone who gets between him and Lilith. The man has lost all sense of control."

Ural compressed his lips in worry. He didn't like what he was hearing, but he didn't disagree. "I'm afraid you're probably right. Something has happened to the poor lad. He has a one-track mind. Can't say I blame him. Lilith is a smart, beautiful young woman, but yes, I fear you're right. We probably won't survive this visit if he goes in, swinging."

Quinn frowned at the implication but didn't argue. These old tarts can think what they wanted. "He's going to get us killed, isn't he?" she added. "I want to help Lilith as much as anyone, but charging into the Noble capital like a psycho won't do us any good. Can we at least come up with a plan? If we're going in, we should at least try to be prepared."

"That's the spirit!" Ural said. The quick movement made him wince from a fresh wave of pain. "Though I'm afraid I will have to focus on more of a supportive role."

The three of them talked and planned well into the night. They didn't have a clue whether anything they did could affect a positive outcome, but they wouldn't let that stop them. They'd survived an earthquake and a maelstrom. How difficult could Gholand be?

The Nobles had wealth, an army, and a navy with one of the largest islands on this side of the Divide. Not to mention a horde of an armored guard that patrolled the city with impunity. Not difficult at all.

"Here's for hoping," Quinn mumbled as an afterthought.