Page 19 of Apple Boy

“Yes, my travels,” I said, trying to remember where I had gotten to. “Jossuah and I were the only guests on the Royal galleon, The Trojan Star,” I recalled. “I understood that the ship was transporting bars of precious gold from the Kings to the Great Council of Serein. The Royal Mint is located in Serein, and the gold was due for the minting of Empire coin. I was assured the shipment was a secret and there was to be extra security aboard. The Captain, Silas Oates ordered us to keep to our quarters or to walking on the main deck. We were not permitted in any other areas of the ship, and all meals were served in our cabin.

The Trojan Star skirted the coast of Osia, past the jagged headland of Thorn and then we followed the coast of Erias, never more than ten miles out into the Wide, so the coastline was always on view. The first five days of our ten-day voyage were uneventful, but the seas became rougher on the sixth day, so Jossuah and I were confined to our quarters. I tried to read, then write letters to pass the time, but I kept nodding off to be awoken by blood-curdling cries and terrified moans. Alarmed, I instructed Jossuah to find out what was happening. He left the cabin and returned sometime later to tell me that he’d spoken to the first-mate and was told that several men had been unwell with the sea sickness, and that was all, and there was nothing to worry about.

The seas calmed the next day, but still, I heard moans and cries echo through the timbers of the ship. My mind began playing tricks, conjuring all kinds of dark, malevolent imaginings and I could not settle into sleep. So when night fell, and Jossuah slept, I decided to explore the ship.”

I paused then and sat up to take a courageous gulp of wine.

“What happened?” Adam enthused seemingly annoyed by the pause in my tale. It was not a pleasant story, and it irked me a little that he seemed to be enjoying my telling.

“Understand that this is hard for me.” I reminded sharply, annoyed by his childlike exuberance.

“I know; I’m sorry, forgive me. I just want to understand what happened to you, is all.” Adam said, chagrinned.

I regretted my earlier sharp tone, and so softly I accepted his apology, “Very well,” I continued.

“So… yes. As I crept around the ship at night I expected to encounter security measures, but I was surprised that there were no guards about the ship, and more importantly, nobody guarding the hatch for the cargo hold. I found it unlocked, and curious to see the riches held below I decided to take a look. It wasn’t until I clambered down the ladder with a lantern in hand that I understood why there were no guards.”

“Why?”

“Because there was no need for them.” Adam turned peered at me, his brow furrowed in confusion. I’d never spoken of what I saw to another soul, and the memories made the wine in my gut churn like rancid butter. I sat straight and took several deep breaths for fear I would be sick.

“It was the stench that hit me first—” I said, a tremble in my voice, “Of vomit, piss, and shit. I pulled down my sleeve and covered my hand then held it over my mouth. On proceeding into the hold, I saw that there was indeed a great cargo of timber and iron-strong boxes that I believed must have contained the royal gold. At a glance, I estimated thirty boxes spread out across the length of the cargo hold to balance the ship.” I felt nauseous with the memories flooding in and the pungent smell that had burned my nostrils.

“Each strongbox was bolted to the timbers of the deck and had at least four links welded to its lid, each link led to a long chain, which was secured around the wrists—of a slave.”

“WHAT?” Adam sat up like an alert hound. I fixed on the shocked expression he wore and knew what he would say before he said it.

“Slavery’s outlawed in the whole of the Empire!”

“I know. And the sight of those poor creatures is burned into me. I will never, ever forget it.”

I watched the cogs whirring in his mind and understanding my peril Adam exclaimed, “Oh my Gods, Winter, what did you do?”

I could not keep the emotion from my voice as I spoke on. “I held my lantern aloft to take in that terrible sight of abject misery. The captives were from all provinces of the Empire, from the pale skin of my homeland of Thorn to the darker flesh of men from Terria. The captives stared at me with a mixture of fear and resignation in their eyes. Not one of them asked me for help. They just looked at me with my golden hair and fine garments as I held the lamp aloft to gaze on them with disgust. I had no idea what crimes they’d committed to deserve such a fate. But the fact the matter was that the Twin Kings had broken Osia’s own treaty and were dealing in flesh.”

Adam held his head in his hands. I could see he was not as stupid as his father believed him to be. He seemed to understand the gravity of what this meant. “Does anyone else know? What did you do?” The worried questions tumbled from his mouth.

“I told the men I would help them and then I did the only thing any honest, decent man would do. I went straight to the Captain’s cabin and thumped on his door until he answered. Then I demanded to know why he was illegally trading in slaves.”

“Oh.” A beat of shocked silence fell between us.

“Quite.” I agreed. My behavior had been self-righteous and foolish, foolish, foolish.

“Of course, the Captain was furious that I’d disobeyed his order to remain in my quarters. But my fury matched his, and with a full head of steam I made threats, that, in all honesty, I could not follow-up on.” I ran my fingers through my clean golden hair and stared at the flames dancing in the heath and said,

“Two things you must know about me Adam —I value honesty and it appears I am a terrible, terrible liar.”

“You didn’t do too badly with the landlord of this place,” Adam suggested. I shrugged.

“There was more of a bending of the truth than outright lies in what I told him.” I conceded. Adam did not need to know about the Star-fall quite yet!

“Anyway, the Captain asked me if I possessed the favor of the Kings. My sister has their favor, but neither Kristoff nor Fabian sought a male bed partner, so, knowing what a terrible liar I am I saw no point in dragging things out, and so I said I did not hold their favor, but as the heir to the province of Thorn he should take my threats seriously. In hindsight, that was the fatal error. I will never forgive myself—” I stopped speaking, unable to make the words move past the lump in my throat. I covered my eyes to shield my tears from Adam. I was adamant that I did not want him to see me cry. I felt the bed shift beneath us, and then I was pulled sideways into Adam’s arms.

“Hush there now,” he whispered as if he were tending to a babe. He tenderly ran his fingers through my blond locks.

“I mu…must continue,” I spluttered, “I must.” Adam loosened his grip, and I wiped my tears on the sleeve of my bed shirt.

“Captain Oates hollered for his second, a Mr. Matthers, and with him, two other deck hands were in tow. ‘The Count of Skraedig will be leaving us, please collect all of his belongings’ was all he said. Gods, I can still recall the way he said those words. Naturally, at hearing this I protested loudly, but Matthers hand was suddenly over my mouth and quicker than I could believe his arm snuck around my waist. I struggled as he dragged me backward out of the Captain's stateroom. The betrayal sent me rigid with fear. Oates looked at me as if I was filth and not the heir to the province of Thorn. This man had been paid a vast sum by my father to take me safely to the Port of Serein, and now I believed he was going to put me in the cock-boat with Jossuah and set us adrift. That scenario would have been a much better fate than what actually happened.”