Excerpt: Exile

Chapter Five - Excerpt:

“Hi! You must be the girl that's been driving Melyssa mad over the last couple of days – Derryn, isn't it? I'm glad you've decided to join us! You are as pretty as she's been telling anyone who would listen! My name's Inez.”

The name rang bells for some reason. Then I remembered that Melyssa had mentioned her as the Quartermaster, and the second in command of the ship.

“Hi – it's a pleasure to meet you. Melyssa told me you were the fount of all wisdom on board!” She hadn't mentioned that Inez was that good looking, though – was everyone on this ship uncommonly attractive, or had I just been deprived for too long?

She laughed. “Mel does exaggerate from time to time. Occasionally completely making things up. You'll get used to it! I'll show you where to put your stuff – she's going to be busy for the next little while, til we cast off. I'm pretty much a spare hand during this part of the sailing. My biggest role is provisioning the ship when we dock, Mel and I together decide on the cargo – with suggestions from the crew, so if you see anything you think we ought to take, please do mention it to one or the other of us – and I look after it during the voyage.”

We'd been walking while she talked, and she had led me past all the ropes and women doing complicated things with them to the captain's quarters at the back of the deck.

“Mel's quarters are here, and you'll be in here most of the time.” She managed this with a straight face, although given that Melyssa had apparently been talking about me, she must have had a good idea as to the nature of our burgeoning relationship. “Let me give you a quick tour while everyone's up on deck. How much time have you spent on ships before?”

“Very little – assume I know nothing at all, you'll be about right!”

She ran through the specifications of the ship – two decks, three masts, cargo in the hold at the bottom. Most of the crew's living quarters, the galley and the ship's sick bay were on the next level up, just above water level, and the captain's quarters were on the main deck, where we were now. Inez had her own cabin on the level below us, as did the ship's surgeon, Sabina. The other women shared a large dormitory space, which they used in shifts, as one third of them were on duty at any given time.

Inez took me down the ladder to the level below, to show me where the galley was – I'd need to eat, and get Melyssa's food for those days she felt like eating in her cabin. We then went to the sick bay, where Inez knocked politely on the door.

“You can't be hurt already, we haven't left yet. Go back to work.” came the grumpy reply.

“Sabina, it's me, Inez. I'm showing Melyssa's new girl around – open the door and be friendly.”

The door opened, reluctantly.

“So, you're the reason Melyssa's been skipping around like a deranged child, these last few days, eh? I'm Sabina, the ship's surgeon. I'll sew you up if you're bleeding, and set broken bones. But if you've got cramps, indigestion or minor stomach upsets, don't even think of bothering me. Not least because there's not a lot I can do about it.”

“Pleased to meet you, I'm Derryn.” The ship lurched away from shore, and I stumbled, caught unawares.

Sabina laughed. “New to boats, are you?”

I blushed, embarrased. “That obvious?”

“Yes. You're cute when you blush, I begin to see Melyssa's point. Don't worry, about being new on board. No one's born knowing how to sail. You might get some pointed comments and teasing to start with, but everyone does when they're new to a ship – don't take it personally. If it does get really bad – it it goes beyond teasing and into anything physical – do tell Inez or me, if you don't want to tell Melyssa. There are rules on this ship about behaviour, and we do expect people to stick to them.”

I made a mental note to ask Melyssa about the rules of behaviour. Sabina looked the sort to take take any infringement very seriously – personally, even. But I was grateful for the implicit support both women had offered me.

Chapter Three - Excerpt:

Night over here was different too. Since we'd left the city, the nights had been silent, aside from occasional snoring from the men. Now, the forest came to life at night, with insects, bats, monkeys, all kinds of creatures, and all kinds of strange noises. Couple that with the bites from the flying bugs, and few of us slept well, those first couple of nights.

After another couple of days, the jungle began to clear, giving way to more straggly vegetation and more sand. We were nearing the sea and the tang of salt in the air became more pronounced almost with each passing hour. It was a bright, sunny day when we finally reached the shoreline, and my first impression of the sea was of a vast blue sheet of molten steel and refracted sunlight. It went on for ever, and it literally took my breath away. Closer to shore, the waves danced with the white sand and gulls soared overhead.

“If I've got to be exiled, at least it's somewhere picturesque,” I murmured to Althor. He smiled, sadly.

In the distance, the bay widened, allowing ships to dock at Merlaix, our destination. The city rose up ahead of us, a endless spiral of multi-coloured houses on winding cobbled streets. Here and there, a gleaming temple spire indicated a place to pray. I wondered idly if our gods paid attention to their worshippers in foreign countries. The town met the sapphire blue sea in a chaos of boats, sails, ropes down at the port.

Chapter One - Excerpt:

It wasn't supposed to end like this. I had had the best of intentions. Oddly, this hadn't helped much when it came to the trial. The sun beat down; it was getting close to high noon. I felt its warmth on my skin; I'd always liked the feeling of sun on bare skin but, given the circumstances, I'd have forgone the pleasure just this once.

My arms were lashed tightly in front of me to a short stake. That would hold me up, after the firing squad had done their duty. Much as I liked to think they would regret it afterwards – I knew some of them, after all – I had no doubts they would shoot anyway. The Ducal Guard are trained well. [...]

The door to the palace opened, and the Commander of the Guard stormed out. Her face taut with anger, Krystal stalked across the amphitheatre towards me. Tall, slim, in her early forties, Krystal was a gifted soldier and made an excellent Commander. The Guard lived for her approval, as well as being universally terrified of her temper – with good reason. She and I had been lovers, once, and experience suggested that whatever she was about to say to me, I wasn't going to like it.