15. I Shaved for This?
Chapter 15
I Shaved for This?
Nylian had lost his goddamn mind.
When he said that he'd gotten us in on a caravan from Kodra, that should have been an immediate red flag. I should have called a complete halt to the conversation and demanded more details.
But I hadn't, and now I was standing on the wharf at daybreak in a dress and a veil.
"I'm going to kill you," I grumbled under my breath as we sidled up to the group of twenty other women in identical floor-length blue dresses with wide, long sleeves. That was at least helpful, as they helped to hide my not-very-feminine hands.
"You should be grateful," Nylian whispered beside me. "When I stumbled across the caravan driver yesterday, he was in quite a state. It seems four of the women died on the long trek from Kodra through Wolfrest, and he needed an accurate count in order to board the ferry."
Even with the heavy veil that covered the lower half of my face, I could more than adequately show my horror and shock with only my eyes at that comment.
Nylian rolled his eyes and huffed at me. "You know I don't mean it like that. I'd never wish death on an innocent person. I'm just saying that fate finally shined her light on us and gave us the opportunity we were searching for to get to Ulmenor."
Yeah, I got the point. Even if I wasn't happy about it.
The elf had come knocking on my door at an ungodly hour this morning, ordering me to shave and pack my things. He'd also had a long blue dress in hand, complete with a veil and covering for my hair. Apparently, a nobleman in Kodra was attempting to establish some new trade relations with the kingdom of Galinaes.
"Sadly, Kodra's idea of the perfect gift is always humans. Gold and gems can buy you an object once, but a human servant can service your needs a million times over a period of decades," Nylian had explained, his voice dripping with disdain.
If I recalled correctly, Wolfrest and Edros had outlawed slavery and indentured servitude, leaving that for Kodra and Lockeheim, who were very close trading partners. I wasn't sure about Basden. I'd never gotten around to making many notes about the island country dominated by orcs, but I wouldn't be surprised if they kept some human slaves from their raids.
Meanwhile, Galinaes had a twisted mentality, clinging to the claim that they didn't have slaves, because slavery was wrong. However, they also held the belief that only elves possessed souls. Everyone else was an animal and thus could be owned and used for work like a horse pulling a carriage or an ox in the field, dragging a plow behind it.
"Even under all those layers, you're an ugly woman," Adeline whispered loudly behind me.
My hand flew up to flip her off over my shoulder, but my hand remained swallowed under the enormous sleeve so she didn't see the gesture she wouldn't have understood in the first place.
Nylian reached over and slapped my arm back down. "Stop your nonsense."
As far as I could see, all the other women lined up in twos were being quiet and demure, while our rowdy quartet was probably in danger of being whipped. Most of it was my fault, but Adeline wasn't helping. She'd been snickering and taunting me since we'd arrived in disguise.
Not that she was wrong. I was taller than most of the women, and my broad shoulders made me appear enormous compared to the other delicate women. Even Nylian, who had me by a few inches, was slender in build and could pass for a tall woman.
"Your new owner won't even take your veil off. He needs only to glance at you and send you to the stables," Adeline continued despite Nylian's warning looks.
Thankfully, we started moving forward after being stuck standing inside this dank and gloomy warehouse, waiting for our turn to board the ferry to cross Warbrand Lake. Bright sunlight momentarily blinded me as we stepped outside. Gulls cried over the bark of dockworkers, hurrying to move cargo from ships to wagons. Ropes creaked and waves crashed while the faint scent of salt and dead fish filled the air.
When I'd originally written this scene, Nylian had been hired as a caravan guard while the four women in his entourage posed as Kodra gifts. At least, I thought he'd had four women trailing after him at that point. Mentally, I was burning pages and cursing the old men who'd thought a harem was a good idea.
Jack had put in her two cents and said that my books needed more sex, though. If I ever got back to my world, I would tell Jack that this character had no interest in getting laid. His only thought was about finding his brother's killer.
We trudged toward the ship that reminded me of old paintings I'd seen of the Mayflower. I didn't know what it was. Maybe a galleon. Old-timey ships weren't my strong suit. I just knew that if you called a ship a boat near a sailor, you'd get smacked. I preceded Nylian up the gangplank that had a thin rope for a bit of railing. Swallowing hard, I kept my focus on the woman moving steadily in front of me instead of the sloshing water between the dock and the boat. The elf even reached out a hand and put it on my side, as if he could sense I was feeling unsteady.
There was no opportunity for gazing about on the main deck as gruff, bearded sailors smelling of body odor and ale came to bark at us, shoving us below deck. The wood was worn smooth and scarred from hundreds of blade marks. It was likely this ship had once had a life out on the ocean prior to being repurposed as a ferry to make daily trips back and forth to Ulmenor. Those scars made me think of pirates and mutinies.
But as my brain spun out an elaborate tale of danger on the sea, someone shoved me into a narrow room about the size of a walk-in closet. Nylian crashed into me from behind, followed by a slam of the door. A metal bolt slid into place, locking us in. Or maybe protecting the women from randy crew members and other passengers. The caravan driver couldn't afford to have his merchandise damaged on this last leg of the voyage.
The room was empty except for two rope hammocks strung up across the room and a bucket that I could only assume was our ensuite bathroom. Judging by the lack of horrendous odor, I guessed that someone had been kind enough to empty the bucket prior to our arrival.
Now that we were alone, I ripped off the veil and drew in a deep breath…and instantly regretted it. While the room didn't smell of feces and urine, there was a rankness to our surroundings that I could do without. It also didn't mix well with the salty air coming in through the tiny porthole window.
"How long will it take to cross the bay to Ulmenor?" I asked, holding my wide sleeve up in front of my face.
"If the weather stays as it is with a quiet wind and little chop to the waves, probably about five hours. Maybe less." With astounding skill, the elf pulled himself up into the top hammock. He stretched out and removed his veil so he could show off his smirk. "The real wait is going to be the processing of the ferry by the port authority. This isn't the only ship making the crossing today. I'm sure plenty of others have already set sail ahead of us. If we're lucky, they won't be letting the cargo off this ship until the sun has set."
I attempted to lean on the side of his hammock, but the thing swayed away from me. Frowning, I straightened and tried to find a relaxed position even while my stomach bubbled and churned with a strange mix of anxiety and excitement. This was my first time on a boat, and I was going to see a kingdom ruled by elves.
However, I was sneaking into a kingdom that did not take kindly to trespassers. If we were caught, I was most likely dead.
"I'm almost afraid to ask, but do you have a plan for how we are supposed to get away from this caravan and somewhere relatively safe?" I groaned and scrubbed a hand across my face. "Fuck. Do you even have a plan for how you're going to find the information you're searching for?"
Nylian reached out and pressed a finger into the center of my forehead. "One problem at a time."
I tried to smack his hand away, but the elf giggled and jerked it back, evading my touch. "Fine. How are we getting free of the caravan since we are not part of it?"
"I actually have two plans in place for that." He held up two fingers and waggled them at me. "If it is evening when we're released from the ship, the caravan driver will take the gift to a warehouse or a cheap inn for the night. Easy to escape from that. But if it's still relatively early, and it looks like the driver will deliver the gift to its destination, Jasper is ready to act with a distraction."
"Jasper!" I gasped. I leaned in closer, my fingers wrapping tight in the ropes of his hammock. "You're talking magic, aren't you? Have you lost your fucking mind?"
Nylian wiggled his shoulders as if he were settling into his temporary bed and laced his fingers together over his stomach. "No, it'll be fine."
"Uh-huh. Let me remind you of the ducks. And maybe the squirrel-sized ogres. I thought you didn't like Jasper using magic."
"It's fine. Jasper and I have discussed it. He's casting a small smoke-screen spell. At worst, it will turn into a fog that blankets the entire city for a day or two. Either way, that works in our favor. And I never said I didn't appreciate Jasper's magic. I just don't like it when you're stupid enough to stand in front of him when he's casting a spell."
I did not feel reassured. If anything, I was more afraid now than I had been a minute ago. But there was nothing I could do about it. We were locked in a room on a ship bound for Ulmenor. We'd figure out the rest when we landed.
With a grunt, I paced over to the porthole and cautiously peered out. Thankfully, we were on the side of the ship facing the lake. The waters looked calm, which was reassuring, since I was about to find out whether I got seasick. The shore for Galinaes and Ulmenor's port was far enough away that I couldn't even see a glimmer of land. It was endless water, as if we were about to set out to sea.
"Is it strange that none of the female captives that are going to be gifted to someone in Ulmenor were bound or shackled?" I turned and faced Nylian, leaning on the bulkhead with my arms crossed over my stomach. "Didn't the caravan driver risk losing more of his cargo with them escaping?"
The elf had closed his eyes, but there was a strange grin playing on his lips. "Nope."
"Why?"
He tilted his head toward me and opened those enormous green eyes. "Because not one of those women sees themselves as a captive. They all belong to a caste that was raised to serve those of a higher caste. It is all they know, and it is all they believe they are capable of. For them, it was an honor to be chosen to represent their people and family in another land. To run away from their duty is to dishonor their family and their original owner. If their previous master discovers it, it's likely their entire family will be punished. Probably killed."
My nose wrinkled and my lips twisted in disgust, no matter how I tried to hold back my judgment. That was a result of my upbringing. I'd grown up with the insane belief that I could be anything I wanted, as long as I was willing to work hard enough.
Professional athlete? Sure.
President? Of course.
Full-time author? Yeah, but I wished someone had smacked some sense into me on that one.
"By your expression, I'm guessing that such a thing doesn't exist in your world," Nylian drawled.
I opened my mouth to agree, but paused. There were things around my world that I hadn't been fully exposed to or could properly speak to. "It's not been part of my personal experience. Where I grew up, such a thing didn't exist as far as I know. However, it would be na?ve of me to say that it doesn't exist at all."
"That's fair," Nylian said, closing his eyes. "Do you…miss your world?"
Now there was an interesting question. Did I?
I'd not given it much thought other than the need to return to it. But even that wasn't so much a matter of missing it, but a need to return to the place where I belonged. Did I miss my tiny, messy apartment? Did I miss microwave ramen noodles, my lumpy pillow, and mean comments from readers of my books?
"Not really." I pushed off the wall and crossed to the hammock. After giving his hammock a shove, I carefully climbed into the hammock under him. "I've been kind of caught up in all the insanity here. There has been little time to think about my world."
Nylian fell silent, and I closed my eyes, thinking that was the end of his questions. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to catch some sleep, as there was nothing we could do while stuck in the room.
"Are you married?"
That snapped my eyes open real damn quick. "No."
"Oh." Silence stretched for another minute. "Do you have any children?"
"No. It was just me." I almost stated that it had been a while since I'd last attempted to date, focusing instead on my work. However, I wasn't sure how well the concept of dating would translate in this world. In Nylian's world, marriages were arranged, or you met someone and your families decided if you were a good match. If yes, then you married.
"You already know that I'm not married, don't you?" Nylian's question jerked me from my wandering thoughts, and my heart skipped a beat.
Swallowing hard, I forced my mounting anxiety aside and replied, "Yes, I do."
"Will you explain to me why you know so many things about this world, and yet you don't know others when you've never been here? How is it you know so much about me even though we've never met before?"
Seconds ticked by, and I didn't know what to say. Explaining that I'd created this world, created him, seemed like a bad idea. "Nylian, can I tell you after we are out of Galinaes?"
"Why wait?"
"Because it's not a simple answer, and where we're headed is extremely dangerous for both of us. I think we need to focus on what's ahead of us and not on the bit of nonsense about my life. In the grand scheme of things, it's not important. Surviving Galinaes and getting the answers you seek are all that matters."
"I don't believe anything associated with you is nonsense," Nylian countered, making my heart skip for an entirely different reason. "However, I'll abide by your wishes. Just don't think I'm letting you off the hook."
Never. I would never think that this stubborn, annoying man was going to do something as kind as to forget to poke into my background.
I simply had to figure out what to tell him. The truth felt like a mistake.