Sky Pirates

Chapter 19

The small hands that pulled Lord Parker Greene to safety righted him. He was doused with what smelled like tropical rose water. Normally, he would have protested being accosted by these women with their scent, but after what he'd just endured, the fragrance of tropical flowers was preferred.

His jailors now rapidly ushered him through a series of twisting, tunnel-like hallways with low ceilings, dark walls, little light, and close air, and out into an open air market.

"Where is this place?"

"This island is called Victoria in homage to Her Royal Majesty," said one of the dwarfs escorting him.

"This island?" The tunnel they'd traversed hadn't seemed long enough or deep enough to take them from one island to another.

"Yes, we've left the entry island, that's where the Balsa Robin birthed. This is the second of the four islands here."

He took a moment to look around, both at the various stalls and booths selling all manner of foods and clothing, and the little people who accompanied him. They seemed to be a different group, dressed in fine clothing, well-made gloves, and hats with exotic plumage. Nothing like the first group who had been dressed in peasant clothes, or like the dwarfs aboard the airship, dressed as medieval pages.

"Are you trying to figure us out?" Her voice and manner grew seductive.

"I'm sorry to stare," Parker said, taking a step toward the vendors lining the wide street they were standing at. As he walked, the sounds of calling salespeople, hawking their wares, mixed with the birds in the trees all around them. The cacophony was amazing and lovely. The human voices were a blend of accents, all calling and talking in the King's English. It was obvious they'd been taught in the verses of the King James Bible, for they spoke in like patterns.

It wasn't only that they spoke in similar ways, but those selling their goods were all dressed in a unique fashion that Parker Greene had never seen before. Even the women were dressed like shipwrecked men. Their clothes appeared clean, yet well-worn and a bit tattered.

Parker finally spoke: "I've traveled most of our world and I've never, never seen anything like this before. So many dwarfs." He gestured to those who now accompanied him. "So many groups of people, each dressed in different, period fashion. Do the clothes signify rank?" Now he pointed to those in the stalls and booths lining their passage.

"You'll come to understand us soon enough. Depending on how you answer."

He chose to ignore the reference to the question. "Where do all these goods come from? Are you manufacturing all of this here?" It seemed impossible.

The group of little people laughed. "No, no. Well, not all of it. No, this is the salvage from the many ships that our sailors acquire."

Parker truly couldn't tell one of the women who accompanied him from the other. They were morphing, with some leaving and others joining their group as they traveled up this fine avenue of sellers toward what now looked like a mansion or statehouse of some sort.

Parker Greene had been to many of Her Majesty's colonies, and most of them had buildings and architectural styles of red brick and white gingerbread woodwork just like those around him now. Had the pirates stolen an island, as they now steal ships and plans? He decided to let go of his own questions for a bit and just be part of the progress of him and his small entourage. He knew, no matter what he asked or spoke of now, it would all appear to him as a riddle of some sort, so he simply let himself be one with the group.

When he enquired about a fruit he'd never seen before at one stall, one of his ladies purchased it for him with a square coin that was new to him. The vendor cut the ripe, dripping fruit into halves and offered Parker the pieces. The woman took half in her small hand and ate it in several bites, skin and all, but she spit out the two or three deep black seeds. Parker followed her example and was treated to the sweetest, most delectable fruit he'd ever encountered.

"What is this called?" he asked, wiping juice from his chin with a handkerchief. Instead of spitting the seeds out on the ground, he deposited these into his handkerchief, as well.

"Sallow Sallow. It's only ever been found on this island. It doesn't grow on any of our other islands."

"Sallow Sallow?" Parker took mental notes of how the fruit looked, smelled, tasted.

Again, it was a different woman who answered him: "A native name that we have kept. Some things and items we rename, but when it comes to foods, we like the exotic sounding names that they arrive with."

The little women gathered and broke apart, each visiting a different vendors' stall and returned quickly with more exotic fruits. These they quickly cut open and fed to Parker from their dripping hands. He could barely keep up with the colors, tastes, and flavors as they laughed and fed him from their raised hands. By the time they were finished with him, his face was covered with sticky liquid and everyone in the market was laughing in a good natured way.

As they continued up the avenue, they sampled several more wonderful foods, including roasted vegetables and meats, dark coffees and teas with sweet, raw sugarcane. Lord Greene couldn't help but think of those men he had met earlier, starving to death where they lay while all this abundance only a short distance away.

The group arrived at a stone plaza in front of the great building. To the left, a narrow river dumped into the sea. To the right, a row of poles stood tall, atop each wooden post, a head rotted.

A woman with a particularly elaborate hat that involved black lace, brightly colored pastel plumes of yellow, pink, and blue, and a pair of workman's goggles pulled on Parker's arm. He lowered his head to be nearer hers, brushing one of her feathers from his face.

"Those are the men who answered incorrectly, Lord Greene," she hissed in his ear.

Beheading, of course, wasn't new to Parker Greene. The British hold their own long tradition of the practice that even included killing defiled kings and their wives and families. Parker had seen such practices among the natives, especially those here in the Caribbean and in South America. Yet, the thought always sent a shiver down the man's spine. And, the sight...he feared he would vomit the lovely fruits he'd recently consumed. But, with deep breathing and changing his view to the building on the opposite side of the stone plaza, he managed to hold himself together.

"The governor?" he asked.

"The Magistrate. You've already met our leader. He makes all decisions. The Magistrate carries out the wishes of our Admiral and generally keeps the peace. Not that that's ever really an issue."

"And, why have I been brought here? Will the Magistrate ask the question?"

"No, Lord Greene. The Admiral always asks the question. We were tasked with allowing you to see the outcome of a wrong answer." At that moment, the group of ladies who had brought him to this place, as a group, curtsied, turned, and left him there.

* * *

Want to find out what happens next? Use this link to read Sky Pirates free on Kindle Unlimited: https://amzn.to/2tncj1H