The Raie'Chaelia Read online

  Chapter 18 - The Voyage to Auvergny

  Chalice woke to a gentle nudge. She looked up and saw again the blue-green eyes of Ardenne, just as she had the day before. She straightened and stretched and found that she had a painful kink in her neck from having slept in the chair at Jeremiah’s side all night long. Ardenne raised her finger to her lips for Chalice to stay silent. She placed a covered plate and a cup of milk on the tray next to Jeremiah. Then, she picked up the empty bowl and motioned for Chalice to follow her. The two made their way silently out of the room.

  On deck, Ardenne smiled at her. “I thought you would like to have some breakfast.”

  “Yes, I’m so hungry. Thank you for waking me. I need to stop by my room first and dress if that’s alright.”

  “Sure, I’ll come with you and keep you company,” she said as they made their way to Chalice’s cabin. In the room, Ardenne sat down on the bed as Chalice removed a dress from her bag and entered the washroom.

  “How do you like your accommodations?” Ardenne asked.

  “They’re nice! I was examining the creatures in the paintings when I first got here. Are they real?”

  “Yes, they are. The small ones, here in this painting, they are called the dauphain. They are intelligent water mammals that live mostly in the waters near the Karahali.”

  Chalice walked out of the washroom, brush in hand and was stroking her hair as she studied the painting. The creatures that Ardenne was referring to were the smaller, bottle-nosed mammals that were swimming underneath the front of the ship. One was jumping out of the water into the air. The ship, she thought, looked like the Morning Dawn.

  “Many of them explore the other seas as well,” Ardenne said. “They travel with us at times, playing in the wakes of the ship. They provide protection by fending off the requin when we need to get into the water. They’re also our guides when the stars aren’t visible.”

  “How is that?”

  “They know the seas instinctually. When we need their help, one of us who has the ability tells them. They can communicate telepathically like you and me. Actually, there are many creatures in the wild that can. People just aren’t usually aware of it.”

  “Does that include land creatures as well?”

  “All creatures, on the land, air, and sea.”

  “Interesting,” Chalice said as images of the wolf and the white horse on the mountain waded into her mind.

  Had I been communicating with them without knowing it? she wondered.

  “What are these over here?” Chalice motioned toward a painting of whales with the forward-pointing, spirally twisted tusks swimming in aquamarine water.

  “Ah, the narvhal. They are the life-givers of our people. They’re the reason we’re able to survive. They are mammals, too. When one has reached the end of its life, it swims into the northern sea where it dies. We collect the bodies of those that have passed as they float on the surface. When we find one, we use every part of the whale for the things we need like food, tools, and oil.”

  “Really?” Chalice was beginning to understand how much there was to know about life at sea. She had no idea how many different creatures there were in the vast oceans. As she walked back into the washroom to change, her stomach growled.

  “So, what’s for breakfast this morning?”

  “The usual — fruit, hot bread, tea and honey.”

  “Is that what you brought Jeremiah when you woke me?”

  “Yes, I thought he would be hungry, too. I’m sorry he isn’t able to come to the dining cabin with us. I will have Lofty see to his meals until he is well enough.” Ardenne paused for a moment and cocked her head curiously to the side. “This young man, he is your sea partner?”

  Chalice poked her head around the corner and smiled. “My sea partner?” she asked and then returned to the washroom to slip on her blue dress. “Yeah, something like that I guess. For now, that is, until we’re on land again.”

  “No, I think maybe you misunderstand. A sea partner is not temporary. He is for life. A shipmate can be temporary, though.”

  Chalice poked her head around the corner again and looked a question at her. Ardenne continued to explain.

  “A shipmate is someone you are particularly fond of, but do not know well enough to be sea partners. If that feeling dissipates over time, you are no longer shipmates, but if it grows into a stronger connection, he becomes your sea partner and his relation to you is for life.”

  “So, what do you do when you decide to become partners?”

  “Ah, that is the best part. There’s a small, secluded island just offshore of the Karahali. We call it Minos. When two people become one, they spend a month there together alone, swimming, fishing … you know, living off the island. They aren’t given any provisions, only the clothing they’re wearing the day they row out together, so they have to survive together on the island for a month.”

  “Why do they have to do that?”

  “It is a test. It’s to see if they can do it and not break from each other.”

  Fully dressed, Chalice came around the corner. “You’re joking?!”

  Ardenne smiled and shook her head. “No, I’m not.”

  “What if it doesn’t work out?”

  “They can row back to the main islands at any time. It’s not far. Sometimes, it doesn’t work for some, but that is very rare. Usually, when that happens, the two were not a good fit for each other to begin with and made a hasty decision to become partners. You see, it is not hard to do — to live on the island. We are taught survival training early on in our education, so living there is easy. A couple’s month together is more of a retreat than anything.” She looked up at the painting of the islands and sighed. “I enjoyed my time there with Darion. There is a fresh water spring in the middle of Minos, so we did not have to search for water. All we had to do is make shelter, fire, and tools for fishing. The rest of the time, we just enjoyed being together, swimming with the dauphain, hiking up the mountain, and exploring the island.” Ardenne paused as she studied Chalice. “That is a beautiful dress!”

  “Oh, thank you!” Chalice said. “My friend Sieren Farah gave it me. She’s wonderful. You’d like her. Someday, I hope you can meet her.”

  Ardenne smiled. “I would like that.”

  Chalice walked over to pick up her cloak that one of the deckhands had placed on her table and wrapped it around herself. She thought about what Ardenne had said and realized she had been describing the Quaie’Miren version of courtship and marriage.

  “You know, I’m not sure if I could call Jeremiah my sea partner.”

  “So, he is your shipmate, then? You are fond of each other, but don’t know each other well enough to be sea partners.”

  “Well, yes and no. We’re fond of each other and know each other very well, since childhood actually, but we aren’t married.” When Ardenne appeared not to understand, Chalice explained. “Marriage is what we call it in our culture. When a couple gets ‘married,’ that is akin to them becoming sea partners, except when you get married, you don’t have to spend a month on an island together. It’s just a matter of going through a simple ceremony where you make vows to each other in front of friends and family.”

  “Oh, I see,” Ardenne said. “So, you two will get married?”

  Chalice opened the door and sighed. “Well, no, we won’t,” she said sadly. “We can’t.”

  Ardenne looked at her in shock. “Why not?” she asked. She couldn’t see the logic in that at all.

  “Our culture is much more complicated than yours. Your life is the sea and the sea is simple,” Chalice said and they left the cabin.

  Ardenne furrowed her brow as they walked along the planks to the lower deck. “Well, I have to disagree with you. Life on the sea is anything but simple, so to counterbalance that, we keep everything else as simple as possible. This includes our relations with one another. If
you belonged to us, you and he would already be sea partners. You two are the very definition of it. Only a sea partner would spend the night with you in the same cabin. If you need, we can move your things into his room.”

  At that, Chalice flushed brightly. “Oh … no, that’s alright. I’m fine where I am, thank you.”

  She liked the idea, though. It was so simple and true. Shouldn’t life be that simple? Shouldn’t it work that way?

  “You know, Ardenne, you’re lucky to be Quaie’Miren.”

  Ardenne smiled and opened the door to the dining cabin. Immediately, the smell of warm bread and honey made Chalice’s stomach rumble as she rushed in and found that Tycho, Kirna, Ardenne’s brothers, and Darion were already seated at the table. Before she knew it, she and Ardenne were seated with the others, enjoying breakfast and light conversation. Then, suddenly, they felt the ship jolt to the left as the wind howled outside. Water and juice spilled from the glasses on the table as the vessel quickly steadied itself.

  Ardenne looked up from her plate. “Ah, we must have hit open water.”

  “Or it’s Ol’ Shimeara!” Aden added jokingly. Ardenne rolled her eyes and her brothers guffawed. The others looked a question at her.

  “It’s an old Quaie’Miren fable,” she scoffed, “meant to explain the howling winds of the Aeolian.”

  “Who is Shimeara?” Kirna asked.

  “Shimeara was a Prophet who lived a long time ago,” Ardenne said. “She fell in love with a man from Var’Baden who was killed at sea. The story says that she is still out there on the Aeolian, looking for him. So, when one hears the sough of the wind out at sea, that is supposed to be Ol’ Shimeara wailing for her lost love.” Ardenne scowled. “It’s a stupid fable. It’s really more of a bedtime story for kids.”

  Aden laughed. “Yep, you’ve always been a hopeless romantic, Denni!” Aeron and Darion smiled in agreement.

  “If you mean that I prefer sticking Draaquan scum with my arrows to save people like Chalice and Jeremiah, then you’re right Aden!” she retorted.

  “That’s something I meant to ask you, Ardenne,” Chalice said. “I noticed that your arrows easily pierced their armor. How are your arrows so effective?”

  “Because they’re tipped with obsidian arrowheads, which is the sharpest and strongest material you can find. Also, the arrows’ shafts are shaped out of whale bone, which makes them very strong and our bows are longbows made from the tusks of the narvhal. They can send an arrow whistling swiftly through the air at great distances. Up close, they can pretty much penetrate anything.”

  “Where do you get the obsidian? I noticed that you have obsidian knives, too.”

  “Well, where did you get your obsidian dagger?” Aden asked.

  “From … a friend,” Chalice answered hesitantly, still wanting to keep that information to herself. She trusted them, but she didn’t want to give up any secrets out of respect for the Chinuka.

  “And would that friend happen to be a furry creature who lives high up in the Trui’Quirré and looks like Bunejab?”

  “How do you know that?”

  Aeron grinned. “Because that is where we get ours.”

  “How? The Chinuka don’t trade with people anymore.”

  “They don’t trade with the people of the Realm, but they do with us,” he said and Chalice arched a questioning eyebrow.

  “We have goods they want,” Ardenne interjected. “Things from the sea like certain kinds of fish, shells, and even the shagreen they use to make their drums. We meet with them high up in the mountains when we have goods to trade.”

  “Jeremiah would be interested in this,” Chalice said, thinking about his broken bow. “Do you sell your bows and arrows?”

  Ardenne nodded. “Yes, we do, but they are very expensive, mostly because they are very expensive to make. Not just because of the materials, but because of how we make them …” Ardenne proceeded to explain the process of how the bows were shaped out of Narvhal tusks and the arrows from whale bone.

  “We have actually sold many to the Strelzi,” she said.

  Suddenly, Chalice, Kirna, and Tycho looked up and said in unison: “The Strelzi?! Where?!”

  “We meet with them in the north,” Aeron said. “We don’t know where they come from.”

  “Oh, I see.” Chalice had to admit she was a little disappointed. She was hoping to find out more about her father’s bowmen. “Well, we may buy a bow from you. Jeremiah is a hunter and he makes his own tools like you, but unfortunately, the Draaquans destroyed them.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. I think we may have some for trading, some that are newly made and have not yet been used. I can check the cargo hold. I’m pretty sure I saw a few of them.”

  “That would be great!” Chalice said. She was excited. When Jeremiah was better, she would go tell him. She knew it was something that would make him happy after all they had been through. She continued on in conversation with the others until breakfast was over and they were all sufficiently fed and watered.

  After they left the cabin, Ardenne gave them a tour of the ship. Once outside, they found they were indeed out on the sea, sailing westward with the coastline in the distance to their left. The sun still sat just over the horizon and shot a golden stream over the water, just touching the ship. The ocean water was a gorgeous blue and sparkled with light in every direction.

  The speed of the Morning Dawn amazed Chalice. The Quaie’Miren were truly the greatest master shipbuilders that lived in Naeo’Gaea and she felt honored to have been able to meet them.

  Ardenne introduced them to each and every deckhand and explained their function on the vessel. It seemed overwhelmingly complicated to Chalice who soon forgot all the minute details that were shown to her. Tycho, however, took to it like a duck to water and was soon helping the crew. During the down time, he took out his cup of jags and taught everyone how to play. He absolutely loved it this way because he being the teacher and they the students, he always won.

  His preoccupation with helping and teaching the crew gave the girls time to walk on the deck and talk for the rest of the day. Ben, it seemed, spent the day visiting with the Prophet and his wife while Bunejab climbed the ratlines into the masts with Lofty and swung from the rigging, performing acrobatic flips for everyone.

  At night, after dinner, Lofty sat up on the boom of the main mast and played the flute loudly while Bunejab, who had constructed a few makeshift drums out of shagreen and some small, empty brandy barrels, played the beat. They danced, laughed, and played games until everyone became too tired to move. Then, they slowly made their way back to their cabins for the night and fell asleep.

  And so the days and nights passed in this fashion for the remainder of the week. Chalice was sad that Jeremiah had to remain bedridden the whole time, but she knew it was necessary. His meals were taken to him by the serving boys and Bunejab brought him new salve everyday for his bruises. Bunejab also took care of Chalice’s shoulder every night before dinner, taking off the bandages and checking the wound, only to reapply medicine and re-wrap it. It was not healing properly, which seemed to vex the little Chinuk, but the bleeding had mostly stopped and the soreness was gone.

  During the day, Chalice wished Jeremiah could have joined them while they promenaded around the ship and learned about the life of the Quaie’Miren. He was missing out on so much, she thought. Then, it occurred to her that that must have been the way he had felt when she was sick at the Farahs’ castle.

  No wonder he came to visit me every evening, she thought. Unlike him, however, she didn’t go back to his cabin to see him. Not that she was trying to be cold or mean. A conflict was brewing inside her and she didn’t know what to do about it.

  Until now, their relationship had largely been kept secret. She was surprised that Ardenne had been so keen to notice it. To Chalice, it was such a personal thing. She wanted to see him, but she knew the social ra
mifications of their relationship. Did she care? She wasn’t sure. What she could be sure of, however, was that the King wanted her dead and what would her death do to Jeremiah? Would it devastate him?

  Should I let him get close to me, knowing the dangers? Or should I stay away … stay distant? She didn’t want to think about it. In the end, she convinced herself that he would need peace and quiet to rest and recover. After all, she decided, he had been in very bad condition when they arrived and her presence would only be a bother to him.

  The morning of the seventh day at sea, Chalice walked into the dining cabin and found Ardenne seated with her family, Ben, and Bunejab. A new bow and a quiver full of arrows was on the table next to her. Also, a dark leather belt lay next to them. Chalice sat down, staring at the weapons.

  “This is for you,” Ardenne said, handing the belt to Chalice. It resembled Ardenne’s, with a sheath for a knife and a leather pouch fashioned on the sides.

  “And these are for Jeremiah,” she continued, motioning to the bow and quiver.

  Chalice’s jaw dropped. “Really? Thank you! How much do I owe you?”

  “You owe me nothing,” Ardenne responded. “It’s a gift in return for the beautiful blue dress that you gave me.”

  “Wow! Thank you!” Chalice remembered that she had given Ardenne the dress she had admired the first day of their voyage. Ardenne had tried it on and it had fit her so well that Chalice gave it to her. Chalice also knew that the dress wasn’t worth even half of what the bow and arrows were worth. Not even close. It was an incredible gift and she knew it. She couldn’t wait to tell Jeremiah.

  He must be fully healed by now, she thought. I should go tell him.

  “I’ll be right back,” she said and shot up from the chair in hurried excitement. She ran out of the bridge and up the ladder to the stern deck. When she reached Jeremiah’s cabin door, she knocked and heard his deep voice echo from the inside.

  “Come in. The door’s open.”

  She had missed that voice. She hadn’t seen him since the night she spent in the chair next to his bed. She entered and found him shirtless in front of the mirror, applying Bunejab’s salve to his side. She could see that his bruises and wounds were almost completely gone. He had just gotten out of the bath and his hair and chest were still wet.

  She froze and gaped stupidly as he stood there, the form of his chiseled muscles gleaming in the lamplight. Her cheeks heated and her heart beat so fast she thought it would beat right out of her chest. She couldn’t control it. She had never seen him this way before.

  “Oh, I … I’m sorry,” she said, stammering. “B … Bad time. I’ll come back later.” Quickly, she turned to leave and almost ran into the edge of the open door.

  “Chalice, no, stay,” he said softly as he walked away from the mirror. “Please, stay. I haven’t seen you all week.”

  Something made her stop and turn. It was almost as if she had no control over her own motions. Walking in slowly, she shut the door behind her. She hoped he couldn’t see the flush in her cheeks. Suddenly, she couldn’t remember why she had come in the first place.

  “You look much better,” she said. “You can barely tell you were hurt at all.”

  “Well, Bunejab’s herbs work miracles, don’t they?”

  “Did he heal your ribs? Or did Ben do that?”

  “Ben. It was the strangest feeling, too. Like hot water rushing through my rib cage right where the fractures were.”

  “Where were they?”

  “Right here,” he said as he motioned to a place on his lower chest. He was very close to her now. It made her heart beat even faster.

  She scanned the area with her eyes and reached up to brush her fingers over the bare skin. She felt his muscle ripple as she stroked her hand across. He looked down, watching her intensely as if her touch could heal him all over again. Then, she moved her palm over the ribs to the middle of his chest and felt his strong heart pulsing underneath. He laid his hand over hers. His expression was very serious, but he spoke softly.

  “Chalice, Ben was right. You should not have told them about your mark. Now they know who you are. The most powerful man in the world wants you dead and anonymity can no longer protect you.”

  She shook her head. “They would have killed you.”

  “You don’t get it, do you? I would rather die than see you in this kind of danger. I would rather die than see you die right in front of my eyes. I couldn’t bear that and it almost happened.”

  His words drained away all the stubborn anger inside her. Peering deeply into his dark eyes, she realized that she had been wrong. She hadn’t been thinking about how he felt during that day in the forest clearing. She had only been thinking of herself. She reached up to stroke his cheek.

  She felt his fingers caress the back of her neck, brushing through her blond locks and moving her closer. She breathed him in. He smelled clean. It was a mixture of soap, hot water, and a scent that was uniquely his own. She was aware of everything about him, from his wet eyelashes to the drops of water that streamed down his cheek and over the roundness of his lips. His eyes were brown pools that drew her in and she knew that if she let herself, she could get lost in them forever. His arms lifted her from the floor and he pulled her to him as passionately as she pulled him to her. Her hands brushed the back of his neck gently as her mouth melted into his. The moment seemed endless and she could feel eternity in his arms. Then, suddenly, the door flung open.

  “Hey, Jer! You got that cup of jags I asked about?” It was Tycho.

  Jeremiah was the first to recover, glancing up as Chalice hid her face in his chest, breathless and thoroughly embarrassed.

  “Tyke, in the future, do you think you could maybe knock before entering?” he asked politely.

  Tycho halted and gaped, not believing what he was seeing. “Oh, uh, oops. S … sorry! I’m really sorry,” he stuttered and backed away carefully, shutting the door.

  Chalice broke out in an uncontrollable fit of laughter, shaking with mirth in his arms. He was trying not to laugh, his lips pressed to her forehead. They held each other until the laughter was gone.

  “By the way, what did you come for?” he asked.

  “Oh, you know, I forgot,” she said sheepishly and the corner of his mouth quirked into a crooked smile. Then, her face lit up. “Oh, yeah, I remember now. I was going to tell you about the bow that Ardenne has for you.”

  His eyebrows shot up. “She has a bow for me?”

  “Yeah, it’s a really nice one, too. It’s made out of narvhal tusk,” she said and he looked a question at her. Then, she told him everything that Ardenne had taught her about the Quaie’Miren weapons. “The arrows they make out of bone, sea grael feathers, and obsidian. That’s how their arrows were able to penetrate the Draaquan armor so easily. The arrowheads are obsidian.”

  “Where do they get it?”

  “From the Chinuka! Apparently, the Chinuka trade with them.”

  “They do?” he said as he made his way to his bags and pulled out a shirt. “Okay, hold on. Let me finish getting ready and I’ll be right there.”

  “Alright, we’re in the bridge. It’s just below us,” she said and left the room. Out on deck, she brushed her hand down her dress and it came away wet. She realized it was from holding him.

  That’s not obvious or anything, she thought. I better stop by my room and change. She did this quickly, and in a few minutes was back in the dining cabin downstairs with the others.

  She noticed immediately that Kirna and Tycho had arrived and were watching her keenly as she entered the room. She pretended not to notice Tycho snickering in the corner and sat down next to Kirna.

  “I went to tell Jeremiah about his gift. He’ll be down in a minute,” she said. “He’s just changing.”

  At this point, she could no longer ignore the blatant stare that Kirna was giving her and so she turned and
signed with her hands: Tycho told you, didn’t he? Kirna, nodded, giving her a wry smile. Don’t smile at me like that.

  I’m just happy for you, that’s all, Kirna signed back. So, when did it happen?

  Chalice looked a question at her. Just now, her hand signal said.

  No, I mean when did you and he discover … you know?

  Oh that. I’m not really sure. I think we’ve always felt this way, ever since childhood. We just didn’t realize it until now.

  Tycho and I always wondered about you two, but you were so good at hiding it. We assumed you were always just good friends.

  Chalice looked down at her hands and didn’t sign this time. Instead, she said softly: “No, we are much more than that.”

  Kirna paused, a concerned expression on her face. “But, you remember what Ben said … you know, about—”

  “I know, Kirna,” Chalice interrupted. She knew what Kirna was going to say. “I know. I don’t want to talk about it right now. Who knows what is going to happen in the future or how this will all end.”

  Or if I will even survive, she thought silently, but didn’t voice it. She didn’t want to worry her best friend. She knew very well there was a good chance she wouldn’t.

  “Right … okay,” Kirna responded, nodding to her friend to show she understood. Just then, Jeremiah entered the cabin and everyone greeted him.

  “It’s good to see you up and about, Jer! How ya feelin’?” Tycho said as Jeremiah took a seat next to him.

  “Excellent,” he said. “I feel great! And I’m hungry!” he added, as plates of food were handed to him.

  He ate ravenously. As soon as they were finished with breakfast, Ardenne passed the bow and arrows down to Jeremiah and explained how the tools were crafted. Jeremiah examined each tool and shook his head in disbelief.

  “This is fantastic, Ardenne! Thank you!”

  “You want to go outside and try it out?” Ardenne asked.

  “Absolutely!” he said and with that, they all rose from the table and went out to the quarterdeck on the port side of the ship.

  “Here, Jeremiah, use this arrow,” Aden said and handed him an arrow that appeared to be made out of cheaper materials than the arrows in his quiver. “You don’t want to waste yours.”

  Jeremiah took it and Aden showed him how to strap the quiver to his back and hold the longbow straight to shoot. Suddenly, Tycho jumped and pointed to the water.

  “Hey, look! In the water, just there.”

  They all did and saw a pod of dauphain swimming along with the ship, racing each other and jumping out of the water. Lofty and Bunejab scrambled up the ratlines where they could get a better view and Bunejab chittered excitedly.

  “What are they?” Tycho asked.

  “They are called dauphain,” Ardenne said and proceeded to tell him what she had taught Chalice the first day.

  “I know a few in this pod,” she said peering down into the water. “That one, he’s my favorite. His name is Squirt. I can tell by his coloring and by the way he swims, always in the front.”

  “You know them?” Tycho asked incredulously, turning away from the rail. Ardenne nodded and smiled knowingly. Then, she did something very odd. She backed away from him just slightly. Tycho didn’t notice.

  “So, why do you call him Squirt?” he asked.

  Just then, the dauphain sucked in a large gulp of water and blew it forcefully out of his air hole. The water shot straight up into the air and right down onto Tycho’s head, drenching him all over. Everyone laughed hysterically. Sopping wet, with water dripping into his eyes, he scowled.

  “Uh … nevermind,” he said. He looked over the rail and saw the animal leap out of the water, flip, and give a loud squeak. “Yes, very funny!”

  “He does that to everyone,” Aeron laughed. “If he squirts you, that means he likes you.”

  Tycho smiled and shook the water from his hands. Then, he proceeded to walk toward the ladder of the stern deck, his boots squishing down the planks.

  “I’ll be back. Gonna go change. I’ll definitely keep an eye out for that one in the future.”

  After recovering from their laughter, the others watched as Jeremiah nocked the arrow with his new bow.

  “Aim high and far … like this,” Aden said, positioning Jeremiah’s arms just so. “We don’t want to hit them,” he added motioning to the dauphain.

  “Okay, how about now?”

  “You’re good. Go!” he replied and they all heard the soft THUP as the arrow loosed and cut swiftly through the air, straight out into the sea. It shot so far, they could barely see it when it hit the water. Jeremiah was ecstatic. He wanted to shoot more, but didn’t want to waste the arrows. He thanked them again and took his new gift back to his cabin. Aden then gave him a tour of the ship and the day proceeded as usual with Jeremiah assisting Tycho in helping the crew and playing games during the down time. In the evening, after dinner, they played music as usual and danced until they were all too tired to continue and went to bed.

  That night, in the middle of her recurring dream, Chalice awoke to a sudden jolt. She realized that the ship had run into some heavy winds and was adjusting. She closed her eyes and tried to fall back to sleep. When she found that she couldn’t, she rose from the bed, slipped her cloak over her shoulders, and stepped outside to the wooden railing overlooking the quarterdeck. Maana, the dull moon, looked like a fingernail in the night sky just over the watery horizon and the stars shone brightly around it. It made her think of the time she’d spent at the Farahs.

  “They are beautiful, aren’t they?”

  Chalice turned to see Ardenne, in a dark night cloak, her blond hair blowing in the wind. Ardenne moved up to the railing next to her.

  “Yeah, they are,” Chalice replied.

  “They guide us during the night,” Ardenne added and then glanced sideways at her. “Can’t sleep either, huh?”

  “No, the ship woke me.”

  “The winds are getting stronger,” Ardenne said. “During these past few days, we’ve been heading deeper in the Aeolian, away from the coast.”

  “Why?”

  “To avoid being spotted. It will take us longer to get to Auvergny, but we’ll we get there more safely, I think.”

  “Oh, I see,” Chalice said, looking out at the stars. “So, you must be familiar with star constellations?”

  “Yes, we are. The stars not only guide us at sea, but they also tell us what time of year it is and where the warm weather will be.”

  “Like a calendar,” Chalice commented and Ardenne looked at her curiously.

  “Exactly,” Ardenne replied, nodding curiously.

  Chalice was thinking of the astronomy tower and its riddle. Could Ardenne decipher it? she wondered.

  “During the day, we use our backstaff and the sun. If it is not visible, say if it is overcast, we use our navigational charts and a compass, although the charts are not complete and the compass doesn’t always point to true north. In any case, if these fail us, we always have the dauphain. They know the waters better than any creature.”

  Chalice smiled. “Yes, they seem to be very smart. I’m glad we got to see them.”

  “So am I,” Ardenne said. “Hey, I’m going down to the bridge to grab a cup of tea. You want to come? It is a special kind of tea and will help you sleep.”

  “Sure!” Chalice replied and they strode down the planks.

  The tea was good and it made her very drowsy. Afterwards, as she lay there in her bed, falling back into the deep slumber of the dream, she made a mental note that she would someday have to take Ardenne to Cedarwood.

  Finally, two weeks later, at dusk, the Morning Dawn floated gently into Marego Bay and approached the docks of Auvergny slowly and quietly. The crew had been instructed to remain as silent as possible. The bay was large and as they drew closer, Chalice noticed that the docks were criss-crossed, set up to harbor a fleet of differ
ent types of ships. Ardenne told Lofty to set the ship at the farthest slip from the customs house. He did so and soon, they were securely moored. Packed and ready to go, the small band waited on the main deck for Ardenne, who had made sure they had enough provisions for their journey. After the planks were secured on the dock, Ardenne led them down to the hatch and out onto the plank, which they descended. When they reached the end, she turned to Chalice.

  “Your horses are just there, waiting for you.” She pointed to the men on the dock who were holding their reins.

  “Thank you again, for everything!” Chalice said as she gave her new friend an endearing hug. “I don’t know what we would have done without you.”

  “Don’t mention it. We are honored to assist the Raie’Chaelia. If you need us again, just call.”

  “If I can remember how,” Chalice said, smiling. She still felt uncomfortable with her title. She didn’t think she could ever get used to being called the True Princess.

  “You will remember,” Ardenne reassured her and smiled back as Chalice and the others gathered their mounts from the men and led them down the dock.

  “Hey, I just thought of something,” Jeremiah said after a moment.

  “What?” Chalice asked.

  “Their name, the Quaie’Miren. Is that Angaulic?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What does it mean?”

  “It means the ‘Faithful Seers.’” Chalice said.

  “That’s a fitting name for them,” he remarked, scratching his chin.

  The evening sun shot long shadows on the wooden planks of the pier, and cries of petrels echoed overhead in the moist air, as they strode down the dock to enter the port town of Auvergny.