17. Magdalena

Magda’s eyes barely opened, heavy with debilitating grief. Her body jolted forward, and her stomach surged with a falling sensation. She stood in a dark space—alone. All around her was a void of darkness, with no apparent escape.

“You run from me,” a voice echoed from every direction.

Magda held her breath, startled at the sound, searching every inch of the dark realm for the source of the voice, but not a soul could be seen. “Who’s there?” she called out. Was it her brother, trying to reach her from the great beyond?

A stark silence followed, as if there was no breathable air to carry the voice in the empty space.

“Who’s there?” she shouted louder, spinning in all directions.

But the desolate blackness didn’t respond.

Magda jolted awake. She snapped upright in the bed, realizing she was on the bobbing Starway. Her face and neck were clammy with sweat. She shook the nightmare out of her thoughts. She had expected that the recent terrorizing events would follow her even outside of the fortress, but the dream had felt too real.

Suddenly, Odie’s tongue streaked over her face.

“Odie, stop!” Magda laughed, pushing away his soft fur.

Suddenly a horn sounded, announcing their arrival. Odie’s ears perked up and Magda beamed in excitement. They darted out of their cabin and up onto the deck. Magda was the first to race to the stern, with Odie bounding beside her, getting a glimpse of the grand, urban sprawl beyond.

Up ahead was the capital city of Flaustra, Eloquas. It was a tightly interwoven and dense city, home to the largest number of people in all the kingdoms. On the outskirts were rolling hills of lush farmland, and great structures for irrigation brought glacial water down to the crop fields. Great plants and vines twirled down from the jungles, snaking through the city. The city itself sat on the banks of a river, and was dusty and crowded, for it hosted too many people within its gates.

BARK! Odie pointed his snout in the air in the direction of the city, before turning to look up at Magda.

“Yes, that’s where we’re going,” Magda answered.

Soon the ship docked next to twelve others. Magda recognized the flags of Celestaire and Azurem on the opposite ships. Even though all of the kingdoms had cut off ties with Ilusauri, it was a well-known fact that there was a black-market for Ilusauri goods in Flaustra. Only certain guilds were willing to trade with the Mad King behind Queen Sanyal’s back. Making deals with the guilds had proved difficult for Magda’s kingdom, and it was never a reliable source.

Magda slung her knapsack on her back and bag over her shoulder before crowding next to the sailors. Then they all began making their way down the plank and onto the docks. Odie trailed her closely as they disembarked. Before them, an immigration officer stood at the end of the plank. He patted down each one of the sailors, looking for stolen or compensated goods. It wasn’t clear if he was acting on behalf of the royal family or one of the guilds.

When Magda’s turn arrived, she was also patted down. They searched her belt for any weapons. Luckily, she had already spent all of her elk-stamped gold, although it wasn’t worth anything in Flaustra. Here, the currency was a brighter, yellow gold stamped with a tiger, which she had taken from the fortress and hidden at the bottom of her knapsack. Bartering was also accepted, hence why she had stolen so many jewels from her mother’s study.

“Welcome to Eloquas. Registration card.” The guard held out his hand to Magda.

Registration card? That was something Magda had never heard of before. She didn’t have such a thing in Azurem. In fact, she had no way to prove her identity.

Odie whined beside her.

She searched for the proper words in Flaustran. “It’s…” but they didn’t come quick enough. Her accent gave her away.

“So you’re Azuremi? And alone?” The immigration officer looked her up and down. “I’ve never seen an Azuremi girl aboard the Starway. What business do you have in Flaustra?”

“I’m here to purchase some fabrics,” Magda lied.

The immigration officer didn’t seem pleased by her answer. “The guilds control what comes in and out of this kingdom. So, as for you, I think you should get back on the next trip to Azurem.”

“But…” Magda tried to protest, but once again she couldn’t find the words.

“Officer!” a loud voice sounded from behind Magda. “She’s with me.” The voice said assertively.

Magda turned to see Ishani, the Captain of the Starway, strutting down the plank in her clicking heels. Today she was wearing flowing green pants, and a jeweled shirt that showed her entire stomach. Her hair was slicked back into a bun, and a jeweled headband hung down onto the center of her forehead. A sash hung across her body, revealing the pin of the Fowler’s Guild. Both axes were on full display.

The officer raised his eyebrows. “She’swith you?”

Ishani placed her hands around Magda’s shoulders and leaned close to her. “Don’t try too hard and maybe I’ll invite you to join us next time,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.

The officer seemed intrigued. “You said I wasn’t your type.”

Ishani sighed. “It’s amazing what a few months at sea will do to you. So, are we good here?”

“What about the dog?” he motioned to Odie, who cocked his head curiously.

“Also with me,” Ishani answered.

He nodded and stepped to the side, allowing them to proceed.

Ishani interlinked hands with Magda and then brushed past the man, intentionally knocking him in the shoulder as she passed. Odie followed their lead, dashing behind them. Soon, they were hustling through the crowded docks, in between immigration officers dressed in turquoise and yellow.

“What did you do?” Magda snapped, finally able to find her words in the foreign language. It was rudimentary vocabulary, to say the least.

“Stay with me. There’s one more checkpoint before getting inside the city.”

Magda gritted her teeth as she whispered in Ishani’s ear. “Why are you helping me?”

“You’re not just any Azuremi girl,” Ishani laughed, before switching back to Azuremi. “Your hair, the lack of dark circles underneath your eyes, and those crystal-studded earrings say it all.”

They approached the next checkpoint, and this one was more secure than the last. There were exactly four lines of people waiting their turn to get into the city. They each were checked by a group of three guards, while another one stood by and observed the entire production. The people that had animals were undergoing even more scrutiny.

When Ishani and Magda approached the guards, Ishani simply flashed a smile to the man in charge of the group. He too, wore a peacock pin attached to his upper-right shoulder, just like Ishani.

With a silent nod that passed between them all, Ishani and Magda walked through the gates and entered the city of Flaustra without showing any identification papers. Odie stayed close to Magda’s legs, his fur brushing up against her knees as they exited the dock.

The streets of Eloquas were jam-packed, almost unwalkable, and all around were merchants pushing carts and wagons, threatening to trample everyone in the roads. To their right and left were tiny store fronts with makeshift, bright-colored signs displaying the prices of the newly bought goods that were being brought in on the ships. Magda spotted a store—full of Azuremi salt cubes—that were going for twenty times their normal prices. Vines and plants snaked around the sandy-colored, dense buildings.

When they reached the end of the street, Magda turned to Ishani, “Thank you, but I can take it from here. I didn’t ask for your help.”

“But you needed it,” Ishani said. “Have a good trip. And if you need to find me to get back home, I live on the Starway. I’m happy to take your money again once you realize that you want to leave Flaustra and head back to Azurem. Don’t be afraid to come find me. I’ll tell my men to expect you.” Ishani began walking away before adding over her shoulder, “Dagmara.”

Magda watched Ishani leave until she was certain she had completely gone. At least she had passed the checkpoints and had safely arrived in Flaustra. It was mid-afternoon, and she wanted to get to the palace as soon as possible to talk to Queen Sanyal.

Magda continued on her way. She headed straight, directly down the overcrowded street, pushing her way through the peddlers that shoved their merchandise in front of her face.

“A dog?” someone on her left whispered. That was vocabulary Magda had mastered in Flaustran.

Magda picked up her pace down the road, and suddenly she and Odie were inside a store covered with a purple tapestry as a roof. Then, upon taking a few more paces, she was outside on the road again. The street continued as so, with storefronts and merchants spilling out in every direction, with no indication of where the street ended or began. She passed stores with items from Celestaire and Azurem, and others that seemed like they would be storefronts for blackmarket goods—those could only be entered for a hefty sum.

Smells of heavy spices and hot porridges, along with Flaustra’s signature tea, filled her senses. Behind the commotion of voices was the sound of a soft but beautiful instrument, singing high over the cacophony of noise. To the left, a young street musician played a dashing tune on a violin. He had drawn a significant crowd, who were in awe over his music, quick fingerwork, and lush bow-strokes. In-between lyrical phrases, the small audience dropped trinkets into a tin can at his feet as a token of appreciation for his efforts.

Odie noticed Magda’s interest in the musician. Shooting ahead, Odie charged forward toward the musician, wagging his tail as he went.

“Odie, come back!” Magda shouted.

But Odie was already charging forward. The curious dog bounded up to the violinist, begging for attention at the start of each new measure.

Magda, embarrassed for pushing to the front of the audience, called Odie back from the tiny semi circle of crowd-members that had gathered to see the show. Odie turned to obey Magda, but as he did, his tail knocked over the violinist’s tin can and the trinkets spilled out all over the street.

The boy instantly stopped playing, and the audience let out a series of gasps. They began whispering to each other:

“Why would she bring her dog outside?”

“Who does she think she is?”

“Let’s get out of here fast.”

Magda blocked out their whispers and turned back to the musician.

“Just give me a minute,” he was saying frantically, rushing to pick up his payment. “I’ll pick these things up, and we’ll get back to the music!”

Magda rushed forward. “I’m sorry about my dog.” She pulled Odie by the scruff closer to her despite his whimpers.

The boy looked at her curiously—it was clear he didn’t understand her rushed Azuremi.

Magda switched to Flaustran, “I’m sorry.”

Together, Magda and the boy began putting the money back in the tin can and the empty violin case.

“Don’t worry about it,” he shrugged. His accent was different, almost easier to understand. “I’m Ravi,” he introduced himself.

“Ma—Dagmara.”

He was about her age, with brown skin and a gentle smile. His wavy brown hair sat in a tousled mess on his head, coming down beyond his ears.

“What a mischievous dog,” Ravi laughed, giving Odie an embrace, while Odie jumped up and licked Ravi’s face with his tongue. “Brave of you to bring him out here.”

“What are you talking about?” Magda smiled. “Odie comes everywhere. He’s good.” Then she cursed herself under her breath. Good? Why was it so hard to find the words she needed? Her Flaustran was definitely rusty.

Ravi glanced upward to notice that the crowd was already dissipating.

Magda also realized that he was losing his audience. The busy buyers and sellers were turning their limited attention back to the marketplace. “Let me make it up to you,” Magda offered, searching for a bracelet or pin on her clothing that could serve as payment. She didn’t have time to dig through her knapsack for the secret compartment. So she tore off one of her golden buttons on her sleeve, and was about to drop it into the violin case, when Ravi caught her hand around the wrist.

“I don’t need your charity,” he said.

Ravi’s eyes flicked to the right and left, although his head hadn’t turned, as if he was afraid of revealing where he was looking. “Stand and walk with me.” He replaced his violin and bow in its case, and locked it shut.

Magda did as she was told, and the two began walking together through the busy streets. Odie circled behind them, wagging his tail furiously. Up ahead was a fork in the road. Magda knew one way led to the royal district and eventually the royal palace. She had no idea where the other fork led.

“I’ve been watching you as you made your way down the street,” Ravi said. “You know you have members of the guild following you, right?”

“No, I don’t,” Magda protested. She turned to look over her shoulder, but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

“You have to know who to look for and where to look,” he answered her.

“I arrived here only an hour ago.”

“The guild doesn’t follow you for nothing,” Ravi said. “Do you want to lose them or not?”

Magda turned back around. This time she was aware of two men that had seemingly shifted positions. They both wore small hats, decorated in bright turquoise, and she suspected they both had peacock pins pinned to their chests. They moved slower than the rest of the crowd, as if they weren’t rushing to find the best deals, but waiting strategically to pounce. Did Ishani send men to follow her? All that she knew was that she had to make her way to the royal palace as soon as possible, and she couldn’t get caught up in guild politics.

“Follow my lead,” Ravi said.

Ravi pulled Magda across the road and ducked into a store, with Odie right behind them. There were no doors to the clothing-shop, just an open entryway leading into the rows of stands. It was full of day-time shoppers paying for fabrics and jewelry.

“In here,” Ravi whispered, yanking Magda behind a thick curtain.

Magda stumbled behind Ravi into the dressing room. It was a small space, barely big enough for the two of them and her dog. Her body was pressed against his, and she had to turn her head away from his face uncomfortably.

Ravi pulled the curtain back slightly, peering outside. Soon, the two men with the turquoise and yellow uniforms continued down the road, passing by the shop. Magda breathed a brief sigh of relief. Sweat was pouring down her face, for she wasn’t used to this heat—or being trapped in a tiny dressing room with a young man.

Magda didn’t trust the violinist. Why was he helping her? She needed to lose him in this marketplace and make a run for the street ahead.

Magda gave Odie a quick scratch behind the ears, making sure he stayed with her.

“We lost them,” Ravi said, breaking her thoughts. He stopped holding his breath, expanding his chest and pressing her into the wall.

“I don’t even know for sure that they were following me,” Magda retorted, pushing herself away from him and stepping out from behind the curtain.

“About time you two wrapped up in there,” an annoyed patron raised her eyebrows. Then she tapped the wrist of her partner, “Look, a dog!”

Magda shook her head and walked briskly to a separate exit on an opposite road. To her annoyance, Ravi followed her. Now, she just had to get rid of him.

“Sir, we need some help here!” Magda yelled, pointing back into the store.

Ravi turned to see where Magda was pointing, and she quickly placed one of the store’s hats upon his head, before sprinting in the opposite direction.

“Wait!” Ravi began to run after her, but the shopkeepers shouted at him.

“Sir are you going to buy that?” they asked, swarming him furiously.

Ravi screeched to a halt, turning back to the shop, and rushing back inside to find the correct stand to replace the hat. Then he was caught up in a fierce discussion with the shopkeeper, explaining how he didn’t intend to steal the hat.

Magda and Odie finally reached the fork and tore to the left. She prayed she had gotten rid of the guilds—for now.