Tilly got her way and joined me on the ship for the journey to the southeastern farrins across the violent seas. I was desperate enough to learn anything I could of Akoni Farrin and its clan before arriving there and so I granted my coverling her wish.
I kept Tilly securely chained below deck for the first few days. I wasn’t sure how desperate she would be to get away and didn’t want to give her any opportunity. Thoughts of her jumping over board bombarded me and I wasn’t willing to lose her quite yet. I’d decided that if she didn’t warm up to me, I might have to kill her and choose another coverling, one more amiable, quiet and less volatile in character.
The first two days were brutal on the vicious waters, the ship bucking more aggressively than usual. The Tonrar did not make an appearance as I’d hoped. I was promised that they’d succor a speedier trip to the southern land masses. I was still hopeful that they would appear and assist us past the most turbulent section of the sea.
Those first few nights, I visited Tilly below deck and brought her the evening meal. She was furious with me both nights, insisting that I unchain her. The first evening I sat with her while she picked at her food. She hardly ate a thing while she glanced at me with loathing. The slightly green tinge on her face was sign that the violent rolling of the ship was taking its toll on her.
By the third day the seas had calmed a degree. That night I again went to her and placed her food on the small table which was nailed to the wall. Sitting on the stool against the far side of her room, I watched as she left her bed and sat at the table, her chains clinking behind her. I could tell her appetite was returning by the way she ate. After watching her for a few minutes, I decided to start with the questions that were swirling through my mind.
“Tell me of Akoni.”
She glared at me and said, “Why should I tell you anything? I’m still chained like a criminal. I’m not your coverling. I’m a slave.”
“If you’re a slave then you should speak when your master demands it.”
“You are not my master. You are proving to be my enemy.”
“If you would perform your coverling duty and warm my bed, I might reconsider removing the chains.”
She grew contemplative and pensive. After a few minutes of silence between us, she looked at me cautiously and said, “If I agree to this, warm your bed, will you promise to leave me unchained for the rest of our time together?”
“I don’t understand what you’re asking?”
“No more chains for the rest of my life.”
“For the rest of your life or for the remainder of our days together?”
“What’s the difference?”
“You promised to slit my throat.”
She actually had the nerve to smile. “That would solve a lot of my problems.”
“No it wouldn’t. My crew would kill you quickly in recompense and throw your worthless hide overboard.”
Her smile vanished. “I promise not to slit your throat.”
“How can I trust you?”
“You can’t.” Her blatant honestly was commendable and it made me sweat. She stood and returned to sit on the edge of her bed. My questioning had obviously forced her appetite into submission.
I realized that I might be getting my wish. She was considering warming my bed and my temperature rose. I stood and stared down at her as she sat on her narrow, straw bed, which was covered by a thin wool sheet, with a blanket barely thick enough to keep off the cool night air.
Tilly looked fetching in her new garb, even with the chains extending from her wrists, the chain attached to the metal rings on the floor. She didn’t get the fine leather, warrior wear that she’d requested. I had Una make her a matching uniform to mine, all black, only more feminine looking, with softer lines, more red trim embellishments, a fine leather belt that cinched her narrow waist and a cap that she could wear once we reached Akoni Farrin. I thought it best to remind Akoni that they had a deserter, informer and new enemy, one of their own. This would undermine the leadership of Akoni Clan and place them on the defensive. I fully planned to make Tilly appear beside me on the deck as we approached the shore of her previous land mass.
Tilly stared up at me and said, “So, are you releasing me?”
“I’ll come for you later. I need to make some arrangements.”
She smiled. “You’ll post guards outside your room for the night, so they can listen for any sounds of foul play?”
She could read me too well. Her seasoned warrior status worried me.
I decided to leave her in the hull of the ship one more night. I had to get my mind around the risk of having her so close with no chains to contain her. She was furious but I didn’t care. I had to enforce that the captain still ran this ship.
The next day I brought her up to my room, just before the evening meal was served. She looked fascinated by everything although she refused to meet my eye. My room was large and spacious, befitting a high ranking sea captain. My bed was large, the mattress filled with soft lamb’s wool and my blanket thick and warm.
The kitchen crew served us together in my room as we sat at the table in the corner. Tilly looked thrilled with the new arrangement. She kept rubbing her wrists. They were red and sore from where the chains had chaffed her skin. I didn’t feel guilty for what I’d done to her. Her volatile behavior warranted my measures.
As we ate, I couldn’t stop staring at her and longed for night to fall. She’d insisted on changing into one of the frocks Una made for her before being brought up to my room, the one for afternoon visits. So I unchained her, allowing her to change before we came up.
“I like what you’re wearing.”
She finally met my eyes and said, “It’s more comfortable than that Apolake warrior uniform you gave me. I detest wearing it. It brings back bad memories of Casimer’s ship visits to Akoni.”
“If you prefer, you can wear the frock until we arrive at the southern land masses.”
She stared at me. “Thank you.”
I nodded and poured her another glass of mead. She took the cup and downed it quickly. I smiled and poured her another. Hopefully she wasn’t a violent drunk. I was anticipating a mellow and relaxed woman in my bed.
“Tell me of your leader,” I demanded.
“Casimer?”
Her question took me off guard. “No. I meant your former Akoni leader.”
“But you intimated that I no longer belong to the Akoni Clan. If that is so, then my leader is now Casimer. I don’t know much about him though. I’ve never met him. I thought I’d see him at the ball. That was really the only reason I agreed to go in the first place. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of this god-man. Is he as powerful and amazing as everyone insists he is? Is he the most beautiful being ever? I’ve heard that he’s fearfully impressive. I’ve always been fascinated with the possibility of meeting him. Could I meet him one day?”
Terror rode my spine. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”
“Is he as beautiful and ferocious as they say?”
“Don’t wish for something you’ll regret.”
She studied me for a moment, her eyes clear and her gaze intense. I was surprised the mead wasn’t affecting her more quickly.
“So he’s also as dangerous as it is reported?”
“He is the ruler of all things. His power is not to be trifled with. It’s best not to request anything you’re not prepared to endure. Now…tell me of the Akoni leader.”
“Why are you so eager to learn of her?”
I was thankful that I’d successfully steered her away from discussing Casimer. I was also grateful that the mead was loosing her tongue. I fabricated astonishment for her sake and said, “The leader is a woman?”
Tilly grinned. “Yes, of course. And she is more capable than ten men.”
“What possessed the men of your clan to choose a woman as their leader?”
“She had qualifications and credentials that far surpassed any male.”
I felt stumped at Tilly’s proclamation. “Like what?”
“She was summoned to Tarmon.”
“Tarmon?” I’d not heard this before. Obviously this female clan leader had failed to respond to the summons or else she’d be dead.
“Yes. Tarmon summoned her. I escorted her in my own vessel to the edge of the mist.”
With my heart hammering in my chest, I asked, “She went?”
Tilly stared at me in silence. Her response told me enough and it shook me to my core. I’d heard enough about Tarmon Farrin to put the curse of Casimer to rattling my bones. To think that a woman had entered the mist around the mysterious farrin, responded to the summons and returned alive was beyond my mental capacity to absorb.
“How is that possible?”
“Tarmon now fights for Akoni. Their warriors cut down our pompous former leader, a self-possessed imbecile of a man, and the clan unanimously appointed Xiomara as the new clan leader.”
Terror beyond anything I’d felt before invaded my mind. For the first time since leaving Dwarkaa, I second guessed my new mission. What had I gotten myself into? Intimidating, subduing and bullying the clans were easy. But I hadn’t bargained on going head to head with Tarmon Farrin and the clan that occupies that land mass.
The leadership of Dwarkaa was well aware of the rumors that have floated through the southern clans for generations concerning the mysterious Tarmon Farrin. Dwarkaa’s leading echelons have debated over many decades what could be behind the constant mist that surrounds Tarmon. Anyone who attempts to go through the mist is never seen again. There is a belief that has been firmly held to – that Tarmon is a ghoul infested land, a place of death and destruction. The reports I’ve heard of the south declare that even the Tonrar get overly edgy when a ship gets too close to the feared land mass. My discussion with Umiko months ago confirmed this. I suddenly wondered if that was the reason the Tonrar had not made an appearance on our voyage.
“Don’t worry so,” Tilly said, a lilt in her voice, her speech slurring slightly. “Akoni won’t kill you, at least not right away. As long as you behave, they will let you live.”
Her statement didn’t quell my anxiety. I found myself on the defensive and it left me feeling inadequate and angry.
I needed to have the last word. “When I deliver Dwarkaa’s demands, Akoni will weep.”
A shadow of fear crossed Tilly’s irises and I felt somewhat back in charge and yet I couldn’t shake the quiver that had taken over my gut. I unexpectedly dreaded our arrival on Akoni Farrin and no longer wished for the Tonrar’s expeditious help.
