Pirate Princess (11 page)

By that afternoon I had been all over the city and even to the farmers’ fields. I was still furious with my family and I didn’t want to speak to any of them. I missed my dad and at times like this I wished I was still on his ship. What would my life have been like if I had stayed? Would I have formed my own crew? Or would I still be on his ship? Dating boys would have been out of the question if I had stayed on his ship.

When I returned to the stables and put Duke away, three different riders came in behind me, trotted up to the front and spoke to Griffin. He walked over to me and asked, “Had a nice journey today, did you?”

I patted Duke’s shoulder as I closed his stall door and put his bridle up. “I did, thank you,” I said.

“Esmeralda asked for you to go straight to her chambers when you returned,” he informed me.

I walked to her chambers and knocked. “Come in,” she called. I stepped inside and found her talking with three women. “Tilia!” she said happily, “These seamstresses are here to take your measurements. Can you please stand on that stool?”

I did as she asked and held still as they took my measurements.

“What style?” the oldest one asked me.

I looked at Esmeralda. “Um, I want something I can dance in and easily fight in if need be.”

The seamstresses looked at each other and then at Esmeralda. She smiled, “Do you remember my dress for my seventeenth birthday?” she asked the oldest seamstress.

“Yes,” she said but did not look happy about it.

“She wants the same design.”

“I haven’t made one since yours,” She muttered.

“We like to be unique,” Esmeralda said proudly.

“What colors?” the youngest seamstress asked.

“Purple and black,” I said confidently.

“Black, your highness?” The middle seamstress asked in shock.

I nodded my head.

“Very well,” the middle one said.

“We will return in three days and have her try it on to do the final tailoring,” the oldest seamstress said.

Esmeralda waited until they left and laughed. “I love making her uncomfortable.”

“So, if my birthday is only a week away, how can we expect anyone to come?” I asked.

“We sent invites a month ago,” she said with a wicked smile.

“You’re just one surprise after another,” I told her with a laugh.

Jared walked in and asked, “Is it safe to enter?”

I looked around confused. “Huh?”

Esmeralda said, “Yes, dear. Our niece seems to have calmed down now.”

He exhaled and walked inside. “Phew. I was worried I would have to engage in battle with her.”

“I’m not that bad,” I grumbled.

“So, what’d you do today?” he asked me.

“I’m sure Griffin already told you,” I said angrily.

“You shouldn’t be so hard on him,” Jared said, “He is just doing his job and you’re not making it any easier by running our people all over town.”

“I had things to do,” I said.

“Really? All across town?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“We just ordered her dress,” Esmeralda said to change the subject.

“Good. I just confirmed the set up and the orders,” he said.

“Do I get a gift?” I asked with a smirk.

“Nope,” Jared said.

“Well I suppose coming here was gift enough,” I conceded with a fake pout.

I climbed down from the stool and started to leave, but Jared said, “If you run the guards across the city again I will assign permanent ones to you.”

I turned and stared at him in shock. “Permanent ones?”

He nodded. “Two will be assigned to you and you alone.”

“My father did it to me and it was awful,” Esmeralda said.

“That’s hardly fair,” I said, “I’m never in trouble. I don’t cause problems. I don’t…”

“There’s no debate on this,” Jared said sternly, “So you better decide what is more important to you now.”

“It’s not fair or reasonable,” I said.

Jared folded his arms across his chest and stared at me with the look that made others cower in fear, waiting for a response.

“Fine,” I finally said and left to go to my room. How could he do this? I didn’t cause them trouble! I had my secret trips that I took, but I was never in true danger. This was probably all because Griffin didn’t like that I had secrets he didn’t know about. The spymaster must hate not knowing something.

“Tilia,” Faxon called, “It’s time for a lesson.”

I was not in the mood, but knew I couldn’t tell him no. I grudgingly followed him outside, my shoulders slumped in defeat, and was shocked to find Duke saddled and waiting for me. “Where are we going?” I asked.

“Field trip,” he said, “there isn’t an area over here that we can safely complete the magic lesson I have planned for you today so we are going to travel a bit away from the population and have some fun.”

We mounted and started to head out of the city towards the mountain we had traveled down to get here. “You better let Griffin know where we are going so he can send someone to follow us,” I said bitterly.

Faxon looked insulted. “Griffin knows that I am more than capable of protecting you myself.” He paused and asked, “Do you doubt my ability and skill?”

“No, Faxon. I know that you are more than capable of taking on an entire kingdom if you needed to by yourself. I’m just upset because Jared threatened me with permanent guards,” I told him honestly.

“As the next in line for the throne you are as important to the kingdom as the current King and Queen,” he informed me, “And we would all be lost to grief if anything happened to you.”

“So that means I can have no privacy? No time for myself?” I asked him. People looked at Faxon with reverence and women giggled to each other as we went by. He seemed none the wiser, focused on me and my question. How could he not see what he did to the women? Why was he alone? Just because he had enemies? It wasn’t like any enemy could get into Crilan and kill his wife.

“Of course not,” he said, “but having a guard nearby who is ready to assist you isn’t invading your privacy. You can still go where you want. You will just have a guard within running distance. They don’t report what you bought or who you spoke to unless it is a concern for your safety.”

And if they saw me entering a known pirate establishment they would definitely report that to Griffin. “How can I experience anything if I can’t go anywhere exciting?” I asked.

“Exciting? What kind of place would you want to go that a guard would stop you?” he asked me with a frown.

“Why do I need a guard when I have proven my fighting ability? Esmeralda doesn’t need a guard anymore.”

“Esmeralda has proven herself in many battles whereas you haven’t,” he said. “In time we may choose to stop with your protection, but not anytime soon.”

“I don’t understand why I’m being punished when I haven’t done anything wrong,” I mumbled.

We crested the mountain and Faxon dismounted. The top of the mountain was very wide and flat and there were a few trees which we tied the horses to. “If you haven’t done anything wrong then why are you still keeping secrets from us?” he asked me, but looked to the side of me and had his fists clenched at his sides.

“I want to,” I admitted to him softly, “but I can’t. My dad ordered me to keep this secret to protect myself.”

He looked at me in shock. “What would you need to hide from us that would protect you? If you told us we could help protect you.”

“I can’t,” I said angrily, “I want to, but I can’t.” I couldn’t find out what they would say or do. I couldn’t risk them hating me or shunning me because of it. Or hurting my dad.

“You don’t trust us,” he said as a statement and I could see how much it hurt him to say it and to understand that fact.

“What lesson are we doing today?” I asked him, hoping he would drop the topic.

His lips tightened into a thin line and he looked at me for a long moment before saying, “I’m going to test your fire ability today.”

“Again?”

“This time we will test the size and distance,” he said. He pointed down to the bottom of the mountain on the opposite side of Markleville’s location and ordered, “Disintegrate that wagon.”

I peered down and could barely see a lone wagon sitting at the base. “I can barely see it,” I told him.

“Seeing the wagon is the only important thing.” I focused and was shocked to see a poof as it exploded. “Good,” he said proudly, “Now, try that ship off to the east there.”

I squinted in the direction he was pointing and said, “I can’t really make it out.”

He handed me a small telescope and I used it to locate the ship. I also checked to make sure there wasn’t anyone on it. He took the telescope from me and said, “Now that you found its location I want you to try without using the telescope.” I tried, but couldn’t do it. He handed me the telescope and as soon as I saw it through the telescope it disappeared. “Impressive,” he said, “We will have to work on increasing your range, but you’ve already surpassed what my abilities had been in the second year of training that skill.”

I felt lightheaded and sat down on the ground.

“Tilia?” he asked nervously.

“Dizzy,” I said.

He walked to his horse and then returned and handed me a water container and I took a long drink from it. “Doing this from a distance is always harder than up close. You could probably destroy four ships up close or two far away. We can improve those numbers with practice.”

We headed back to the castle and Faxon continued to glance at me, but said nothing. The tension between us seemed to be growing every day. I ate dinner with everyone and then went to my room and locked the door.

* * *

With Griffin and the guards on my tail and the threat from Jared hanging over my head I didn’t do much for the rest of the week before my birthday aside from practice my magic in private. I didn’t need to risk having permanent guards assigned to me.

Jared had built a fighting arena not far from the castle and it had been the only thing I did aside from hide in my room and hide from Griffin and Faxon. I sparred with Esmeralda, but my heart wasn’t in it. I was too nervous about my birthday, the ball, and the boys who might attend the celebration.

“So, are you excited about tomorrow?” Esmeralda asked as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

“A little,” I admitted, “And a lot terrified.”

“You don’t have any reason to be scared,” she said.

“Tilia,” Griffin called, “It’s my turn with you.”

Having a session with Griffin now made me nervous. Would he hound me for answers?

He led me into the castle and to a room with a map of all of the Kingdoms and the islands outside of them. “What do you know about Emprad?” he asked me and sat in a chair with his fingers steepled.

I pointed to the island. “That’s Emprad. It’s very misogynistic. They don’t allow women to fight. They don’t even allow women to learn magic. The women are allowed to have simple jobs such as cleaning and sewing clothes. The King is the same age as Esmeralda. Jared hates him. Their main export is clothes since that’s what most of the women in the Kingdom make. Their military is weaker than most, but survived a fight with Trian. No one is able to leave or move without approval from the King.”

“Which means?” he prodded.

“Many of their people sneak away without the King knowing.”

“And many attempt to flee, but don’t make it,” he informed me.

“Why can’t we help them?” I asked angrily. I couldn’t understand a king being so cruel to his people.

“We aren’t the military of Olanze. If we interfered with them it could cause the other Kingdoms to revolt against us and attempt to dethrone Jared and Esmeralda as well as kill you so you couldn’t take the throne and continue their reign.”

“Can’t we secretly help their people?”

“Who says we don’t?” he asked me with a happy smirk.

“I heard a rumor that they are overpopulated,” I whispered sadly, “And that they kill children.”

Griffin’s face hardened and he said, “We aren’t certain of the claims yet, but we have people there to find out.”

“And if they are?” I asked him. It would be the same as us getting involved with them over not allowing people to leave.

“Then a group of rebels will cause an uprising,” he said.

“Would those rebels be former Crilan military?” I asked with a knowing smile.

He shrugged. “Who knows?”

Faxon opened the door and said, “Time for your lesson.” I said goodbye to Griffin and Faxon made me follow him to the garden on the opposite side of the castle from the fighting arena. Since the castle backed right up to the ocean it had little grounds, but being so near to the ocean was better in my opinion.

“I don’t want to,” I told him honestly.

“Too bad,” he told me.

I sighed, but followed him to the center of the garden where the builders had placed a bench for sitting and viewing the flowers. He held up a glass of water I hadn’t seen him carrying. “I want you to try to move the water,” he explained. He placed the glass down on the bench and then sat down a few feet away. I focused on the water, but nothing happened. I watched the sun drop below the horizon, turning the clouds pink and still the water didn’t move. Faxon stood up and stretched. “Well, water must not be your thing.”

I followed him back inside, feeling like a failure and feeling as though I had wasted my evening. I ate dinner and then escaped from them.

* * *

“Wake up sleepyhead,” Esmeralda called.

“Tired,” I mumbled.

“It’s lunch time. How come you’re so tired?” she asked.

“Couldn’t sleep,” I mumbled, “too excited.”

“Well come eat before Jared calls a doctor,” she said.

I waited until she left, got dressed and then headed down to the dining hall. “What’s for lunch?” I asked as I stepped inside.

“Happy birthday!” Jared, Esmeralda, Griffin, and Faxon yelled when I stepped inside.

“Thank you,” I mumbled and sat down. A plate of food was brought out to me and after I finished it they brought me a cake and made me blow out the candles. Esmeralda set a small present on the table in front of me. “You didn’t have to get me anything,” I said. She folded her arms across her chest and waited. I opened it to find a beautiful silver bracelet. “It’s beautiful,” I whispered.