Recruits (Keeper of the Water Book 2) (29 page)

“Not that we were allowed to step foot on it again.
That one is yours, not the big one,
one of the Amazons told us. She pointed to our rickety rowboat floating next to the ship. I figured they were joking but I should’ve known better; they were
not
the joking type.
If we ever see you on this island again, you’ll meet the same fate as the rest of your men,
the woman told us.
Now swim
.

“Our Amazon escorts stood on the rocky beach and watched us swim into the sea and climb aboard the small boat. They did not budge even as we rowed far out into the water. We spent two days rowing in the middle of the huge sea, two of the longest days of my life – and I’ve had plenty to choose from. I was certain we were going to die of thirst. I don’t know if my mind was playing tricks on me but I didn’t like the way my two troops stared at me during those days, as if they could drink water from my veins. I should’ve known from that moment not to trust them…

“We finally spotted an island and I expended the last of my energy trying to row to it. It looked just like the last island we were at. Our brains were so fried by the sun that we were certain we’d floated in a big circle and ended up back where we started. My troops were so worried about seeing the Amazons that they fought me as I paddled, choosing to die rather than face the wrath of the warrior women. But many of those Greek Isles look similar and we soon realized it was different. We stumbled upon shore and found fresh water to drink and food to eat. The villagers there were just as kind as those we encountered before and within days we found passage on a boat home.

“The return trip to Spain took several long weeks. At first, my troops and I swore we would never mention what happened again, that we would not risk our lives a third time to go after the women. But we were soldiers, men who did not cower in the face of fear. It didn’t take long before we dreamed of gaining control of the magical water to take over the world. We knew it wouldn’t be easy considering our dangerous enemies guarding it but we convinced ourselves that the next assault would be different. With more men and more ships and proper planning, there was
nothing
we couldn’t accomplish.”

“
Men
,” I mutter, shaking my head slowly. It’s this exact kind of thinking that made the Amazons hide the water in the first place. John shrugs his shoulders un-apologetically.

“That is the way we were trained to think. A soldier never met a problem that enough force couldn’t overcome. But life wasn’t so easy for us once we finally reached Spain. I had a lot of questions to answer about losing my ship and an entire squadron of men. If I hadn’t had such powerful allies, I may have faced the gallows for such a catastrophic loss to Spain’s military resources. Instead, I was stripped of my rank and kicked out of the military.

“I assumed this would prove disastrous to my future plans. I considered telling some of my superior officers about the fountain of youth but was afraid they would kill me and go after the magical water for themselves. Over the next year, it became harder to control my two troops, who drank too much and started too many fights to be any help in planning our next step. I tried going to the most powerful, wealthy friends I had but none were interested in financially supporting an expedition that they considered to be chasing a fable.

“I quickly grew frustrated and was worried I would
never
have the chance to return to the water. It became my obsession – I barely slept, I barely ate, I barely functioned as a human being. But finally, a powerful friend did something even
better
than provide money. He gained me an audience with Spanish royalty, which ended up changing my life forever.”

“I still remember how nervous I felt while standing in the back of the big throne room,” John continues. “But I wasn’t alone the way I expected. Nearly a dozen men waited to address the Spanish Royals, each given only a few minutes to impress the king and queen with their ideas. It was an intimidating process; King Ferdinand loomed large on his throne and treated every presenter like a fool. His wife was not much better. Queen Isabella appeared bored the entire time and even mocked many men with snickers of contempt.
How will this idea benefit me?
she asked as soon as each man was done speaking. In fairness, I could understand why the king grew more and more annoyed. Most of the idea were so poor, the requests so off-the-wall, that it shocked me they were allowed to address royalty in the first place. Not that stealing magical water from a tribe of superhuman warrior women in the mountains of a small Greek Isle sounded any less crazy…

“I was the last person in line for an audience with Ferdinand and Isabella. Directly in front of me was an older explorer who kept blabbing on and on about finding a new path to the other side of the world. He had a strong Italian accent that I couldn’t understand very well but he talked and talked about how he could change the world with proper funding, which was the reason he traveled all the way to Spain. I had much loftier goals in mind so the Italian sounded quite pathetic to me. Still, he was very confident in what he could do and even offered me a place on one of the ships he expected to receive.
If your request denied, I always need many of men with strong backs,
he told me.

“After King Ferdinand had his guardsmen chase away the next presenter, the head guard stepped forward and announced loudly:
Next to see the Royal Highness King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella is Christopher Columbus… again
. This received quite a chuckle from some in the crowd though Columbus remained unfazed. He stepped forward and bowed low. Even the queen – who was the definition of disinterested during the other requests – smiled and said,
You’re back again?

“I know you won’t want to hear this – I don’t want to
say
it – but for the sake of full disclosure, I will leave nothing out. Queen Isabella was beautiful. She was middle-aged at that time and more than twenty years older than me. But I’ll never forget that first moment I saw her smile, the cruelty and power that flashed in her eyes. If she so desired, she could’ve snapped her fingers and had any of us put to death. I was enthralled by that power, enthralled by the idea that she could do or have whatever she pleased. I wasn’t even twenty years old yet and felt like my life was in ruins already because of my military failures. She was like a light shining in the darkness of my life, able to make everything better if she wanted, though I was still afraid of how she would react upon hearing my request.

“The king frowned at his wife’s moment of pleasure.
You can let me handle these requests if it’s such a laughing matter,
Ferdinand told her. His voice possessed a threatening edge and I expected her to quiet immediately. I felt a burst of rage for the way he spoke to her but she snapped right back at him.
I am the Queen of Castille and will have just as much say as you about how we spend our money
.”

I snort. “I guess Cassie has always been strong willed.”

I don’t know if it’s the thought of Cassie that angers me or that I think it’s cool how she didn’t back down from the king. Either way, John frowns.

“You don’t know the half of it. The king’s face turned bright red and I fully expected him to admonish his wife… or worse. But he did no such thing and instead told Columbus to continue. The Italian explained his plans to travel
west
to reach the Spice Islands of the Far East, a revolutionary idea that was cause for ridicule at the time. Columbus vowed to find these riches in the name of Spain and only wanted little in return – a modest percentage of the journey’s profits along with a more distinguished title. King Ferdinand appeared interested in the request, especially since Columbus required only three ships and seemed confident for his chance of success. But Queen Isabella eventually yawned and asked a single question.
Do you really expect us to trust the word of an Italian?

“Columbus spoke about the similarities between our countries, emphasizing a shared vision in regards to religion. But Isabella turned to her king and made a snide remark about her stance on religion and Ferdinand’s desire for public perception on the matter. This seemed to end the discussion about funding the Italian’s journey. King Ferdinand told him that they’d consider the proposal but the queen wasn’t quite so cordial about the rejection.
If we refused you the first time, what made you think this time would be any different?
she snapped at him. Columbus muttered angrily to himself but when Isabella demanded he speak up – with her guards stepping forward at the same time, swords raised in the Italian’s direction – he thanked the king and queen for their time and stormed away from the thrones.

“
Best luck, this women is insufferable,
Columbus told me as he rushed out. My name was announced last and I stepped forward, bending to a knee in front of the royals and thanking them for the opportunity. The queen commanded me to rise and when our eyes locked, she sat a bit straighter in her chair. Her look of amused boredom vanished when I smiled at her. I know some women find my looks appealing and I could
definitely
sense an attraction coming from her.”

“Yeah,” I interrupt, a bit more than a twinge of jealousy creeping into my voice. “
Definitely
.”

“I’d had a long time to think about exactly what I would say to the king and queen but the words suddenly disappeared from my memory,” John says. “Isabella quickly realized I was at a loss so she began to ask questions of me: my age, my role in the military… if I was married. I was still a young man and couldn’t help but smile that the Queen of Spain was actually flirting with me. Unfortunately, the king also couldn’t help but notice.

“He turned to his head guard and yelled,
You’ve allowed a
boy
to waste my time?
The guard apologized profusely and promised to throw me out but my mind suddenly began to work.
Please, your Highness, what I have to say is
– I never got a chance to finish that thought.

“King Ferdinand interrupted and began to yell every threat at me that he could think of.
How dare you question me? You’ve wasted my time and done nothing but smile at my wife! Such disrespect has earned greater men than you a trip to the gallows!
I was worried that his guardsmen would take my head off with their swords on the spot, but do you know how Isabella reacted?”

“Let me guess: she jumped in and saved your life and the two of you fell in love,” I say, nearly gagging on the words. John shakes his head.

“She threw her head back and laughed, which only infuriated her husband further. If I didn’t think my life was on the line before, I
certainly
did now. It seemed like she was
trying
to get me killed. But just before I thought the king’s head might explode from anger, she reached across her throne and gently touched his arm.
Stop acting foolish over a mere boy,
she told him. The king’s fire was instantly extinguished but he still looked annoyed and ordered his guards to take me away. As I was being dragged out, I should’ve gone quietly and just been thankful that the king didn’t want me dead. But the prospect of death wasn’t nearly as bad as not being able to pursue the water.
I found the fountain of youth,
I blurted out.

“It sounded utterly ridiculous without first explaining the events that transpired in Greece.
The what?
King Ferdinand asked. The guard stopped dragging me away long enough so I could describe the mysterious glowing water source with amazing healing powers and the ability to seemingly grant eternal life. I told them of my failure to take it the last time and about how the godly-powerful women defeated my well-trained soldiers.
That’s not something you should be proud to admit,
the king grumbled. But I urged them to give me the resources to defeat the warrior women since anyone who owned the water could become the most powerful person in the world. Interest sparked in the queen’s eyes but it didn’t last long. When her husband glanced over at her again, she yawned and slumped back down in her throne.
Only God has the infinite powers you describe,
she said.

“My ego deflated, the king called my request foolishness and ordered me away. I was escorted all the way out of the castle when another guard – one I hadn’t seen in the throne room – stopped us.
I was told to deal with this man,
the guard said. The others nodded and left me alone with him.
Follow me.
I looked out toward the world outside the castle, the freedom I was tempted to rush out to. The new guard worried me and I was hesitant to go with him. But I had no choice and followed him into a different part of the castle, one that I hoped
never
to see. We went down a long spiral staircase and into the castle’s dungeon area. He lit a torch but did not offer me one, probably a good thing since I didn’t want to see what awaited in the darkness.

“
Where are you taking me?
I asked the guard but he would not tell me, only saying that he was following orders. I considered trying to escape but the guard was massive, his sword was sharp and the dungeon area was pitch black. He directed me toward a small room that was dimly lit by several candles – it wasn’t nearly as dingy as I expected a cell to be.
Please, what did I do to deserve imprisonment?
I pleaded. The guard would only tell me that I must’ve really had an effect on the Royal Highness to be brought all the way down here, away from merciful eyes. He laughed as he locked me in the small room and left. My mind spun out of control while I waited, certain that the king would show up with an executioner. I don’t know how long I waited – it may have only been an hour, but it felt like four or five knowing that my life was likely to come to a bloody end.

“Then the door opened and someone completely unexpected walked in.
Leave us,
Queen Isabella told the guard.
Are you sure that’s such a wise idea? You don’t know if this man could be a danger to you,
the guard told her. I was about to assure him that I meant the queen no harm but she dealt with him herself. She launched such a profanity-laced tirade at being questioned that I thought the huge man might burst into tears. Without another word, he turned and left.

“Once we were alone in the small room, I bowed and began to apologize for the way I acted in the throne room. But she held up a hand and cut me off before I could finish.
Do you suffer from illness of the mind?
she asked, her way of wondering if I was crazy. I told her I didn’t and she stared me in the eyes for several minutes, which
did
make me feel like I was going crazy. Once she was satisfied about my sanity, she asked more about the water. I told her the entire story, starting from the woman who shot my soldier for forcing himself on the young Greek woman. I told her about the healthy old villagers who lived just downstream of the same water source as the mysterious women. I told her about the way the women fought, the way we shot one and how we found her alive later. We thought the old villagers were crazy but everything I experienced supported their tales of magic water. I told Isabella that with this water in his possession, King Ferdinand could become the most powerful man in history and could rule the world forever.

“I thought I made convincing points but Isabella looked disgusted and shook her head.
I hate my husband
and
the religious ideals he’s forced upon me. I wanted to live a life of adventure – to see more of our kingdom – but he forced me to bear his wretched children,
she explained. Needless to say, she was
not
happy with her marriage to the king. She made no secret of her hatred for him and had no problem flirting with me even more once we were alone. Knowing that she had the means to give me what I wanted, I flirted back.”

“Very cordial of you,” I interrupt, growing sicker with each detail he tells me.

“I warned you that I wasn’t proud of my past,” John says. “Do you even want me to continue?”

I have trouble looking at him so my eyes survey everything else in sight: cars speeding by, birds pecking at trash in the parking lot, Amelia and my mom standing by the motorcycles. Mom looks at me and shrugs her shoulders but I turn away, pretending not to see her. I’m sure Amelia will keep her preoccupied until John and I are done.

Which I
wish
could be now…

“Keep going,” I say miserably.

“I picked up on her signals and told Queen Isabella that since her husband passed on my offer for the water, I was willing to retrieve it for her and I only, that the two of us could use it to live together, forever.
You presume to know quite a lot about me,
she said, acting insulted by my insinuation. But since we were alone, I no longer feared her guards. I smiled and didn’t back down from my offer. She didn’t back down either and stepped forward, throwing herself into my arms as we shared out first kiss.”