Outlanders

Chapter 27: Return Voyage

The ships forged through the calm ocean, bearing the warriors home. On the stern of the lead ship, Zoltána stared out at the grey ocean.

"Zoltána?" said Eva. "Are you alright?"

Zoltána turned. Eva stood behind her, for once with none of her children in sight.

"The children?" said Zoltána.

"They're safe. They're playing with the others, Zoltána. I'm free."

"Sit down."

Eva crossed her legs and sat neatly behind her sister. Zoltána noted with satisfaction that Eva's limp was completely gone.

"What is wrong, Zoltána?" asked Eva. "What's happened to you? You should be happy. We won, Zoltána. The Inti are free."

"No thanks to us," said Zoltána. "What good did our land do? First the factory bosses invaded, then we came and wasted everyone's time until the Inti fought them off. Then the bosses left, and so did we. That's all we did: violence."

"It's okay, Zoltána. We did what we could. You should be proud."

Zoltána shook her head, trying to throw off her dissatisfaction. "Did you hear about the pirate? Nabina?"

"No. What happened to her?"

"Leif told me about it. He said she was going to come with us, then strike out on her own when we make landfall."

"Alone?"

"She's made friends, but she doesn't want to stay with any of them. That's what Leif told me. It's strange, isn't it? Before we left Textile Town, I would have been offended, her going out on her own. Cutting the ties she had made."

"She never could have done that back in Textile Town."

"No."

The slapping of water on wood took over the air. For an hour, maybe more, the sisters waited in silence, each thinking her own thoughts.

"I should check on the children," said Eva, standing carefully. "Take care, Zoltána."

"You too, Eva." She turned and said after her, "Do you need anything?"

"No."

Eva disappeared behind the cabin, and Zoltána saw Leif standing against a railing. His ears were back, and his eyes had glassed over, focusing on nothing. He looked up. "You have a family," he said distantly. "You're lucky."

Zoltána bit back a disagreement. "You remember your home, don't you?"

Leif stood and walked over to her, his head down, saying. "I still can't believe I can never go back. I didn't have to get banished. I could have just left. When they did banish me, it didn't feel like such a disaster. I had a whole world to explore. But no part of it will ever be as special to me as those mountains."

"Don't worry. Losing a home is permanent. But being homeless isn't. And if you stick with us, I think you'll have a home very soon."

"Do you really think we could get that to work?"

"I don't know," said Zoltána, squeezing his hand. "But don't you want to try?"

Leif looked back to her and smiled, his tail waving. "Yes," he said. "Yes, I do."

* * *

In the hold of the old ship, were candlelight threw circles of yellow onto the wooden walls, and where soup sloshed in bowls as the ship rocked, an eating table sat in the back. The noise of merrymaking came back as a muffled echo, which was just how Ellis liked it. He was as comfortable as he had been all year, but he still was not sure that he wanted his lunch.