Chapter Five

 

 

Two nights later, we were dining in the Captain's quarters as usual. It was kind of amazing to have an entire ship to ourselves. I felt like a child, playing at being a pirate. The men had given me the Captain's bedroom since it was the nicest quarters on the ship, and they'd each taken one of the finer guest rooms. It was all very respectable.

Arnet had turned out to be quite the fisherman, despite his dislike of the profession, and had shot several fish daily, to add to our supplies. Yes, shot. He simply aimed his wondrous gun at them and boom! We had fresh fish. They floated up to the surface and Barret would scoop them out with a net.

Robyn always cooked, the others helping by preparing the rations we used from the ship's stores; vegetables, bread, and some fruit. The food was always good, though simple. I loved it, and I loved dining with them. No worrying about which fork to use or how to hold it. No drinking dainty sips from my glass. No holding myself rigidly straight in my seat. No fumbling for polite conversation with some boring guest.

I had relaxed. Me, Princess Adelysia, relaxed and enjoyed meals. All of them. Even the simple fare of water, biscuits, and fruit we ate in the mornings to break our fast. I was having fun. There wasn't a minute aboard that was boring or tedious. Even when we all just sat silently together near the helm, watching the sea while Robyn steered, I had basked gleefully in the quiet. The companionable quiet. It was a rare thing indeed to be able to sit silently with someone without feeling the overwhelming need to fill the silence. But with the brothers, I was at peace.

Peace. Such a small word, and yet it held such strong emotion for me. I treasured the peace I found in those few days with them. I suspected that I would treasure it forever, and the only thing hindering this new found happiness was the knowledge that it would soon end. So I pushed those thoughts away, and determined, even more strongly, to enjoy my time with them.

This particular dinner was a special one because it would be our last together. We were close to land now, and should reach it sometime within the next day. Despite the impending end of our journey, I found myself smiling, delighting in the brother's, now familiar, antics. They each provided stories and witty conversation to pass the time, far above the standard drivel I was used to getting from the men at home. There were so many jaded courtesans, who spoke flowery words to me because they felt compelled to, while they cast longing glances at women they could actually bed.

The brothers knew they couldn't have me, and yet they seemed to enjoy my company anyway. They laughed when I said something funny (which I amazingly did often- I had no idea I could be comedic), they teased me when I told embarrassing stories of learning the ways of royalty, and they listened to everything I said with a focus that seemed to be genuine interest. I say “seemed” because I was raised around artifice, and I knew that often, things which people said or did, were not as they appeared.

But with the brothers, it felt truly genuine.

I found myself studying them. Each man was striking in his own way. Each man possessed his own type of charm. And each man treated me with a casual courtesy that went beyond the respect I was shown at home. If only I could have a husband like one of them, I would count myself lucky.

I blinked in surprise at my thoughts. When had I come to value them as men? To see them as potential lovers or husbands and not just my rescuers? It was a bittersweet fantasy to indulge in. I could never have any of them. Their social ranking separated us more solidly than a soaring stone wall. I would do well to begin distancing myself from them.

But not yet. Let me enjoy this last dinner with them. I looked down at the delicate, filigree, gold ring that Robyn had given me the previous evening. The brothers had been on their way out of the Captain's quarters after we had talked long into the night, and they each kissed my cheek as they left. Robyn though, had produced the ring after his kiss, holding it up for me to see. It had a round diamond at its center, which caught the dim light and magnified it into thousands of rainbow glimmers.

“Do you like it?” Robyn had asked me slyly.

I had nodded, suddenly shy. Robyn often had that effect on me, making me feel graceless and unsteady.

“I thought it could take the place of that other ring,” he shrugged.

He meant the ring that Saunder had made me wear. After I'd been on the ship for a few hours, I had realized I was still wearing Saunder's ring. I had pulled the horrid thing off, intending to chuck it into the sea, but Robyn stopped me. He said it would be solid proof of the dragon's treachery, and we should give it to the king, my father. I had agreed, but I still didn't want it on my person, nor anywhere near me. So Robyn offered to hold onto it for me.

“It's a gift from all of us,” Robyn had nodded towards his brothers, who were waiting anxiously in the hallway. “Will you wear it?”

“Of course,” I had held out my hand to him then, and he slipped the ring on. He had done so, so deftly that had I not been watching him do it, I wouldn't have even realized that there was a ring on my finger.

Now, looking down at it, I wished it were a true engagement ring. Though I wouldn't be able to tell you which man I would hope to be engaged to. Any of them really. I would be happy with any of the brothers. Then they started to speak about their time away from home, sharing stories with each other as well as me, and it became harder and harder for me to find a man I preferred above the rest.

Robyn spoke of the years he spent honing his skill as a thief, how he would find treasure no one knew about, and share what he could of it with those in need. He had lived deep in the forest with his teacher, and they had kept to themselves when not thieving or passing along the wealth they stole. Robyn had grown so famous in fact, that even I had heard of him. The Hooded Robyn. I was amazed to find that this local hero/criminal was one of the men who had rescued me. I didn't find his thieving ways upsetting or even criminal. To me, he was an honorable man, living life in the gray shades of neutrality, so that he could help others to live in the light.

Hugin had learned his skill of stargazing from a sorcerer. He'd had no idea that his master was magical until the night he temporarily changed Hugin into a raven, and bid him fly over the kingdom and learn everything he could. The old man vowed that he was more than a sorcerer, he was a god, who went by the name of Odin. Hugin was the second apprentice he'd taken on Earth. The first had been a boy named Munin, and this apprentice had pleased Odin so much, that Odin had taken Munin into his heavenly home to live forever. He made Hugin the same offer when his apprenticeship was over, but Hugin wouldn't break his vow to his family. Odin respected Hugin's loyalty so greatly that he gifted his student with a magical telescope. It was the telescope which Hugin had used to find me, and it could see everything on earth as well as within the skies. Hugin let me look through it, and I was able to see my father, pacing within his library, obviously worried.

Arnet had spent his years of apprenticeship in another kingdom entirely. His master had been the head huntsman for a Queen who ruled alone. That was a rare thing in itself. The Queen's husband had died a few years prior and left her as a guardian for his only child, a girl whom the whole kingdom adored. The child was meant to become queen as soon as she reached maturity, taking the place of the current queen. The head huntsman was old and had intended for Arnet to replace him as well, despite Arnet's insistence that he must return to his family in four years.

The old man was finally convinced to release Arnet from his service by the Queen herself, though not directly. Unwilling to give up her crown to the Princess, the Queen had ordered Arnet to take her step-daughter into the woods and kill her. She further demanded that Arnet bring her the poor girl's heart as proof that he'd accomplished the deed. Arnet had instead secreted the girl into the keeping of a mining community, deep within the forest. Then he killed a deer, leaving the carcass with the miners for food, but taking the heart with him. This is what he presented to the Queen, tricking her into believing that her step-daughter was dead. Clever, right? Arnet's old master knew he couldn't remain in the kingdom after that; the Queen would surely discover Arnet's deception eventually. So the old hunter gave Arnet his magical gun and sent Arnet on his way.

Barret was more reserved about his experiences. But after a bit of pressing and a bit more of wine, he finally told us about his years with his master. Barret had traveled the furthest of all the brothers, ending up in a kingdom past even that of the dragons. In this kingdom, his master had a shop and was tailor to the royalty. They worked hard and paid little attention to local issues. The issues in particular, which came to concern him, were of two giants who had been wrecking havoc across the kingdom. Droves of soldiers had been sent to kill the giants, but none had succeeded.

Within the tailor's house, it was all business. They only stopped to take their meals or help a customer. One day Barret had slathered a piece of bread with some jam, intending to eat it for his lunch, but he got distracted by the waistcoat he was working on. He left the bread there long enough that it attracted flies. They were buzzing about Barret, annoying him into a tizzy, until finally, he gave up his sewing to handle the situation.

He smacked and flailed at the insects, but they eluded him. Finally, his master handed him a long, thin stick, and told Barret to try again. Barret had looked dubiously at the twig, but had done as the tailor bid him. The twig was, of course, a magic wand, and the tailor had hoped to judge Barret's aptitude with this little demonstration. Well, Barret's aptitude, as it happened, was very high. Barret killed seven flies with one swish, and the rest of the insects immediately fled.

“Seven in one blow!” Barret had declared in delight.

A customer in the shop overheard him, and peeped his head into the workroom to ask, “You killed seven with one blow?”

Unknown to Barret, the customer had been conversing with his wife over the giant situation, and Barret's exclamation had interrupted them at the precise moment when the man had lamented the fact that no one seemed to be able to kill giants. Barret's master knew the mistake, but allowed it to proceed, thinking it quite humorous.

It stopped being funny when the king himself sent for Barret and demanded that he kill the giants. Barret's master felt horrible and offered to lend Barret the wand once more, assuring him that it could easily kill the giants. But it turned out that Barret didn't need the wand at all. He snuck into the forest and found the giants sleeping beneath a tree. After filling his pockets with stones, he crept up into the tree and began pelting the giants with rocks. The giants awoke several times, each time blaming the other for throwing the rocks. Barret kept tossing stones at the sleeping giants until they became enraged and fought. They killed each other over Barret's little prank. Then Barret leapt down from the tree and stabbed each of the giants with his sword, making it look as if he had killed them. When the king's men came to verify the kills, they found two dead giants, stabbed to death by none other than the tailor's apprentice.

“What a valiant tailor you are,” Arnet chuckled and slapped his brother on the back.

“Our brother, the giant killer,” Robyn proclaimed.

“Hey, don't tease him,” Hugin chided. “He killed seven with one blow.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Barret rolled his eyes and then settled his stare on me. “You see now why I didn't want to tell them about it?”

“I think it's much more impressive to win by your wits than by your brawn,” I observed.

“Well that put us in our place,” Robyn smirked at me. “I can be clever too, you know?”

“Yes, you're all very clever,” I agreed with a grin. “The four clever brothers.”

And they had stared at me, all of them with gentle smiles, and I had stared back at them wistfully. Perhaps I shouldn't go home. I could run away with one of the brothers instead. Robyn could take me to his forest hideout and we could be hooded bandits together. Or Arnet could teach me to hunt. We could live with the hidden Princess and her miners. Or I could make a home in a tower with Hugin, and stare at the stars with him all night. Or build a tailoring business with Barret, and learn to make beautiful clothing. I saw those possible futures in each face, knowing suddenly that I could have them if I wanted. I could simply say the words I knew they would be thrilled to hear. “Take me with you.” If only.

But I dropped my gaze at last, and it was settled between us. I couldn't just disappear. It would hurt my parents deeply, and even though they sometimes treated me more as property than a daughter, I knew they loved me. That scene I'd witnessed, of my father pacing anxiously, haunted me still. They would mourn me, and that wasn't fair. Being a princess came with responsibilities, and I had accepted that a long time ago. I would have to keep these few days within my heart, and make them last a lifetime.

When I looked back up, I found the brothers sharing grim looks. I wondered at that, but finally decided that they had to come to terms with our situation in their own ways. It would be best to leave them to it.