the Leathermines

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The early morning was slightly overcast.  Few people were heading into the Capitol City that morning.  Only one group was on the road out, a few single travelers behind them.

Nesil and Laun rode in silence next to each other, the carriage with Gem, the babies and a few travel cases behind.  There was one soldier with them, the man driving the carriage, but he was dressed in civilian clothes, a cap on his head to cover his shaved head.  Laun was without anything remarkable on her, other than a woman wearing riding leathers, but her baring gave away her status, even with the cap instead of the crown over her hair.  There had been no trouble at the gate and Laun suspected that word had been sent to all the gates to let travelers out without question that morning.

They followed the river downstream along the River Road for more than an hour.  There was a mist that made the overcast morning even grayer, but Laun enjoyed the feeling of the humidity on her skin and the slightly muffled sound of the horses on the gravel of the road.  They came to a wide bend in the road, a smaller track coming off and into a marshy woodland next to the river turning away from the road, or perhaps the other way around.

Liam’s messenger led the way, the newly green trees around them shading the growing morning light from the path.  Grace cantered and tossed her head, not liking the woods, but staying firm under Laun as they followed Nesil.

There was a small beach area along the river, driftwood pulled up along the edge of the clearing showing effort to keep the area clear.  A boat was pulled onto the muddy sand, two men standing next to it as Nesil dismounted from his gelding.  Liam’s two-masted ship was a little into the current, anchored at both ends with thick ropes going into the slightly green water.  Laun saw movement on the deck and soon Liam was visible, watching them.

Laun had not dismounted.  Grace was being skittish and she wanted to have as much time with her palfrey as possible before leaving her on the shore.  Nesil talked with the men by the boat for a moment and then came to Laun’s side, a few knee and hand pressures on the horse needed to keep Grace from turning defensively on the man.

“Highness, the men are ready to take you and your offspring across.”  He looked like he was about to take the lead dangling from Grace’s harness until the horse snapped at his hand.

Laun stroked down the mane ridge on the horses neck.  “When shall my escort come back for me?”

Nesil glanced over to the soldier at the carriage and back up to Laun.  “A week.  Seven days.”

Laun nodded and made signals to Grace to let Laun off.  The horse rebelled slightly and backed up instead of kneeling.  Laun relaxed instead of letting her building tension and frustration show by hitting the horse on her ruddy brown neck.  Laun dropped the one rein that had been in her hand, more for looks than for directing the horse.  Grace looked back with one eye and shook her mane, backing up another pace.

“A knee, please,” Laun said into the air and the soldier was at the side of the horse, kneeling for his Princess.  Laun dismounted and Grace shied away from Nesil and the other men from the boat, turning and going to the horses at the carriage.

Laun smiled and ran a hand along the jaw of the soldier as he stood.  He blushed and started to salute, Laun moving into him and bumping him off balance as she put an arm around him and kissed him lightly.  He reflexively put his raised arm around Laun and the kiss became a little deeper.

The soldier blinked and mumbled, “Ma’am,” before going back to the carriage to unload the last of the travel cases.

There was a small sneer on the face of one of the men at the small boat as Laun turned back to Nesil.  The sailor was seasoned, the appropriate tools of his trade hanging from his vest and a coil of rope off his belt.  Laun tried not to shiver as she thought of things that could be done with the rope that had little to do with shipwork.

Laun was the last onto the boat, waiting for the carriage and the horses to leave before sitting next to Gem on the wooden bench.  The two men who had been with the boat took up oars and pushed the boat into the water, immediately having to stroke strongly against what seemed to be a slow current to make it to the side of the schooner and the rope ladder hanging from it’s side.

Nesil went first up the rope ladder, taking a rope from one of the men in the small boat and pushing it through a large iron ring on the side of the schooner.  The messenger went the rest of the way up, the rope being pulled over the edge of the larger ship and pulled taught.  Gem was helped to the ladder and then went up, looking back at Laun as her Mistress put her foot on the first hempen step.  The two women had hands offered to them at the top by sailors, Gem taking the hand offered and grabbing the railing for a moment until she felt more stable.

Laun took the hand offered and stood for a moment, looking around.  Her legs wanted to fail her, the knees feeling weak and not just because of the slight swaying motion of the ship.  Laun stepped away from the railing and went to Liam, slowly.  She saw his smile, a few too many teeth showing at his amusement at her discomfort.

“Highness.  I am honored that you would join me on the ‘Midnight Hour’.”  He held out his hand and Laun lightly placed her hand on his.

Laun turned when she heard Ash’s cry for a moment, the babies’ baskets being brought up by the men of the ship.  “I owe you a debt, and I am here to pay, Liam.  Please, while I am your...guest, just call me Laun.  I have a feeling that there will me some very un-royal things I will be doing and I don’t think it is appropriate for this week.”

His eyebrows went up in surprise, his voice showing Laun that Liam was not expecting such.  “I will try, Laun.  It will be difficult, I am sure.”

Laun’s eyebrow flicked upwards for a heartbeat, Liam seeing the incredulity in her face.  “I am yours for the trip down and back.  What would you have of me?”

He laughed and dropped her hand slightly, but did not let it go.  He turned and they went to the railing facing the other shore.  “Hi... Laun.  Sorry.  Laun, I ask that you settle you and yours below decks for now.  We will be casting off in a little bit and the deck can be a dangerous place while we are getting underway.”

Laun nodded, her hand being pulled to his lips for a kiss, a glint in his eye that she knew from her own experience.  It was going to be different seeing the blood be her own.  She smiled, hoping her sudden fright did not show and turned to follow the men carrying the few cases they had brought.

It was not a large cabin, but there were several bunks, places to stow and tie down cargo and enough room for Laun or Gem to stand and hold their arms out in the middle of the room.  The babies did not want to stay in their baskets and were placed on the floor, the well polished wood gleaming in the light coming in through the brass-worked porthole.  It could be opened to get fresh air, which was done, but it was only large enough for an arm to get through.  Gem checked and looked concerned.

“Mistress?  There is still time to leave...”  Gem sat down, a shift in the ship making her unsteady.

Laun shook her head.  “It has to happen at some point.  I already owe so many people for what they have done for me.  I do not want to have an actual debt hanging over my head.  And from someone in the greyworld, you know the debt could be taken out in other ways if I do not settle it now.”

Gem nodded and watched Ash pull on the tightly tucked sheeting on one of the bunks to try to stand.  “I will take care of the children, but I don’t know if I will be able to do anything for you if anything happens.”

Laun sat next to the blonde, seeing the underlying fright in her clearly for the first time.  Hands clasped each other.  Arms went around each other and lips touched, but briefly and dryly.

There was a series of calls that came to them through the open porthole.  The sound of rope on wood and then a large thud fore and aft told them that the anchors were up and they were free in the current.  Gem held on tighter to Laun and they comforted each other as the men above called to each other in their own language, steering the schooner into the river and into the unknown.

The calls lessened and the ship stopped swaying as much around them.  There was a sharp rap on the cabin door, a voice from the other side asking for entrance.  The sailor was allowed in and presented the women with canvas shoes that looked like they had been dipped in tree sap on the soles.  Laun saw he was wearing taller versions of the same things and smiled as she accepted them.  He also said that it was clear on deck, if the women wanted to see the landscape go by.

Laun took advantage of the offer, her riding boots being taken off and stowed in a net bag hooked to the wall.  The shoes had little straps that fastened around her ankles.  Laun was glad, for that for they were just a little big and would have fallen off otherwise.  Gem decided to stay below, partially to stay with the active babies in the enclosed cabin, partially to keep her unsteadiness from the eyes of their host.

The sky still had clouds, but the slight breeze that went by seemed to have cleared the morning mist.  Laun looked at the shores, marveled at the swiftness that the boat was moving.  The sailors worked around her, hardly giving her a second look as she watched them expertly tie things down or move on the lightly pitching deck.  She worked her way to the bow and leaned on the rail, watching the water and the trees for quite a while.

Liam was behind her and she did not know when he had come up to her.  She kept her eyes on the shore and listened to the water and the birds as Liam was obviously watching her.  A fish popped out of the water in front of the ship and Laun smiled, a small giggle slipping out at the sight.

“Shall I have a chair brought out for you, Laun?”

She turned and kept her smile, a move she knew would be disarming to most, but she was not sure if it would work on Liam.  “You don’t have to fuss over me, Liam.  It is so beautiful on the water.  I am not sure I would want to have a chair to only let me see one part of it.”

He bowed his head slightly.  “As you wish.  May I at least offer you something to eat?  It was early when you left, I am certain you had not had a chance to sup.”

Laun blinked and thought about what her body was telling her.  “I am not sure if I am used to the motion, yet.  Perhaps just some water for now, if I may?”

He smiled and backed away a step before leaving Laun to watch the water and landscape again.  It did not take long for him to bring up boiled wax-covered leather tankards, both with water.  Laun chose one and took a moment before sipping on the water, the clear, cold liquid allaying her fears of it being tainted.

Liam stood next to Laun for a while, sipping on his water and watching Laun as well as the landscape.  He pointed to a small building with a dock jutting out into the river, saying, “There are many port taverns along this stretch of the river.  Each one can have several ships docked to them, but I don’t usually recommend the food.  We have much better fare here, but we have to stop every day or so to get provisions.  Sometimes we are forced to use the port taverns.”  He looked at Laun and she tried to read him as he was trying to read her.  “What would my Lady wish for dinner tonight?”

She shrugged and said, “I am sure whatever your cook comes up with will be fine.  I am used to eating with the soldiers in the mess tent, and sometimes that is not the most palatable.”

She had caught him off guard.  The look on his face showed yet another assumption about her was shattered.  “Soldiers?  The Midlands allows women in the ranks?”

“Especially at night-”  Liam could not hold back a laugh.  “I have a company at my command, Liam.  I am not a leader who sits in the officer’s tent waiting for things to come to me.  I go to where I think I am needed.  That includes walking with the men on duty and eating with them in the mess.”

“There are stories and rumors about you that I have heard.  I am finding that many of them pale to who you really are.”

Laun turned and looked Liam squarely in the eye before her blush could grow.  “I am who I am.  If you wish to know something, ask.  I still do not know enough of the world and do ask the damnedest questions myself.  I surprise many people with how I am.  I hope I can please, too.”

He looked at her as she seemed open with her eyes on him, her body fully facing him.  Her shoulders were square, her arms loose at her side as she swayed with the motion of the ship.  She was dressed masculinely in her riding leathers, but there was no mistaking she was a woman.  “Laun, I believe that this is going to be a very pleasing week.”

Laun smiled as sweetly as she could and turned back to the water and landscape flowing past them, the leather tankard covering her mouth slightly as she grimaced at the thoughts going through her head.  One of the sailors called and Liam excused himself to go deal with whatever had happened.

It was a lazy day for Laun.  She watched the water as it carried the ship along the river.  She saw the change in the landscape as they moved closer to the ocean, the hills flattening and the trees changing.  A meal of cold meat and thick bread was offered when the sun was at it’s peak, Laun’s stomach only grumbling a little with the motion of the ship.  They passed under a huge wooden bridge, people waving at them as they passed under.  The children came up from below, several of the sailors softening their attitudes as the babies were looked after, a few crates being brought from somewhere to corral them.

The hidden sun was deceptive on deck and Laun felt a familiar heat on her nose.  She asked one of the sailors if there was any butter or such she could use, a concerned and confused look on his face.  He went off and talked with Liam who had been with the man steering the ship.  Liam came down and stood, watching Laun with the children before he ventured a question.

“Are you pregnant?”

Laun blinked and then laughed.  “What would make you ask that?”

“Asking for butter and oil.  The only time I have had women ask for odd things to eat was when they were pregnant.”

Laun shook her head.  “No, as far as I know, thank the gods for Mother’s Bane and my rules.  I have been on deck without a hat and I have seemed to have started to burn.”  She pointed at her face.

He relaxed.  He nodded and said, “We have a salve onboard that works well.  I’m on the water so much I should have remembered that you are inside most of the time.”

Gem snorted.  She looked at the deck and Laun said, “My lands are not inside, Liam.  It’s just early in the season and I have not had a chance to be in such direct sun for this length of time yet.”  She smiled up at him and waited.

Liam swayed with the ship and nodded.  “I’ll make sure you have some of the salve.  It is not the most pleasant smelling, but it works.”

“Thank you.”  Laun waited until Liam turned and left them to go back to playing with the babies.  “If I am burning, we will need to do something for the children.”

Gem was up and took a second to steady herself before going to the cabin for a cloth to put between the crates.  She passed several of the sailors, one with an obvious look on his face as she passed.  Gem had a shiver go through her, but knew that she would be able to defend herself and her Mistress if needed.  Though the one man seemed to have a nice strength about him...

The babies were under a sun shade and looking sleepy as the food and play had worn them out.  Laun was thinking of a nap herself, since she did not seem to have anything to do right then.  One of the sailors came by with a wooden jar and handed it to Gem who opened it and scrunched up her nose.

“I think this is what Liam was talking about, Mistress.”  Gem handed the open jar to Laun and Laun turned slightly away even before it was in her hand.  Gem dabbed some on Laun’s face and other places not covered and rubbed a little on her own face.  It smelled strongly and was not pleasant, but both women felt a little relief from the growing heat and pain that they both had been ignoring.

The babies were asleep and Laun laid down with her head under the shade with them.  Gem kept sitting up and watched as Laun fell into a deep sleep, any worries that had been on her mind not showing on her relaxed face.  It only took a few minutes for Gem to get restless, a need to be doing something growing in her.  It was a pleasant day, but the nervousness the assassin was fighting, with the unknown men around her was pushing the outward laziness away.  With every approach of a sailor, every unexpected noise, Gem felt her heart race just a little more.

She finally stood and went to the rail to look out onto something other than the peaceful faces of the not so softly snoring Laun and her babies.  She felt some focus coming back to her as she looked out on the water.   There was a small group of fishing boats moving towards one of the port taverns, a wave from one of the local fishermen bringing Gem’s arm up in a return wave.  She watched the men dock and get out of their little shallow boats and go inside the low building as the ‘Midnight Hour’ floated past.

The thought that the fishermen would never know what the schooner was used for, or what Gem thought would happen to her Mistress on it, went through her mind.  It had only been a year, but Gem was attached to her Mistress and did not want anything bad to happen to her.  Laun had told Gem of some of her suspicions of the smuggler, the change in how he acted the once, and now that they were onboard the ship, Gem saw what Laun had.  There had been little indication of, or need to look for, the fact that Liam was a smuggler the few times she had seen him with Lady Engrid.

  Laun often said that she did not know what she was teaching Gem.  Laun did not do lessons like Blue Master had, things to be read and given back by rote and repetition of certain lessons in preparation for the next test.  Laun knew what to look for, what was out of place.  By just pointing out the little things, asking about a piece of information that Laun thought stuck out, she was able to go behind what people wanted to present and find the core of truth that was being hidden.  Gem was told of one inconsistency that her Mistress had seen and Gem saw things behind the mask that was over Liam and his crew.

Gem turned and looked like she was keeping an eye on the sleeping babies.  Her eyes went to the side and saw sailors along the other side of the ship.  They were talking, lounging a little against the railing as their hands were coiling and uncoiling lengths of rope.  She saw small head movements towards Laun as they talked, a few in her direction, too.  Gem’s mind counted off the weapons on herself, and all the things she could see on the men that could be used as weapons, doubling that for whatever she could not see or take into account.  She was almost naked comparing the numbers.

A sound over the side brought Gem’s head around and she saw a small boat coming alongside.  It looked like a fishing boat, perhaps one from the small group she had seen earlier.  Gem did not know what to do, so she moved away from the railing, a call from the man in the boat catching the attention of some of the sailors.  She sat on one of the crates as some sort of negotiation happened, a basket on a rope lowered down and then pulled back up.  The sailors seemed to be happy with whatever happened and the basket was untied and taken belowdecks.

One of the sailors who had been in on the negotiations came to Gem and glanced down at Laun, lingering on certain portions of the leathers covering her a bit too long before looking back up to Gem.  “We got fresh longfish and some mussels.  Does your Lady eat that?”

Gem shrugged and said, “She isn’t a fan of fish, but she will eat whatever she is given.  She is not as picky since the children were born.”

He nodded slightly.  “It’s all fresh, so should be good.  Though the mussels will be lost to Padrone Liam.”

Gem’s ears heard and understood the sailor.  He was from the same part of Rosemond she was from.  She looked at him again and did not see it, but the blonde she had was more for the upper classes, the darker swarthyness of the sailor more of the working classes of the region.  “Graze, cugino.  My Mistress will enjoy, I am sure.”

His posture changed, he leaned closer and looked into her blue eyes, his dark brown ones searching for something.  “You are from-”

Gem shook her head.  “I am from nowhere and attend her Highness by her whim.  Though it is nice to be reminded of past things lost.”

He stood up and bowed slightly, saying on low tones, “Graze, Bella.”  He took a moment, looking at Gem in a way that she had seen him look at Laun just a few moments before.  He smiled, showing straight, white teeth and went on his way.

As simple as that.  Gem had a connection with one of the sailors because of a word that was slightly out of place.  She smiled and relaxed as she watched her Mistress sleep in the afternoon heat.

 

Onto Chapter 5 of the Slave Mistress - The travel makes Laun anxious to pay her debts