They had been on the water for three days. Ketil kept up a brave face, but he had never enjoyed sea-travel. Aslaug had laughed at him the first time they'd been on a long journey, but he was too sick to care. Now his stomach continually churned and he'd vomited several times the first two days. He was only glad the sea had been gentle with him.
"Bejlen!" Vasco said from behind him, laying down the crowned sun card on the five downturned card in front of him. Ketil watched him turn over the top card, revealing a dark blue card with a drawing of two crossed longswords. "Sorry boys, luck of the draw."
Vasco saw him from afar and grinned, collecting a small pile of silver colored kips from the table.
"You cheat!" One of the crew—a man with dark hair and even darker eyes stood from his seat. "That is the third time you've had the black swords! You are cheating!"
Vasco calmly crossed his arms, "it's a game of strategy." He turned over another card, revealing the one of stars—the lowest card of the game. "Watch," he flipped another card—the noble moon card. "You draw one, you flip one. You move the cards as you do it, don't reveal your highest card. Watch the players. Watch your competition, watch their face when they draw and turn a card. You can tell your odds as the pile gets smaller and can tell when someone gets ready to call bejlen. Then you call it yourself."
Vasco smiled smugly, the black swords card between his fingers. "Probability and luck, boys, that is the name of bejlen. Anyone want to play another round? Ketil? Care to risk a few kips?"
Ketil snorted a little, "never have been able to master the art."
Vasco shrugged in response, pulling the cards into a large pile. He began to shuffle them quickly as Vasco began to shuffle the cards, making light and witty banter with the slightly angry crew.
Ketil walked past them, spotting Dante and Jameson huddled together, the small girl helping him read.
"The—" Jameson looked up from the book to Ketil who paced across the deck.
"Ketil, stop pacing, you're being a distraction." Dante pressed a hand against Jameson's shoulder. "Go on, you're doing good."
He gave a small smile, looking down at the book. "The In…qui…" another pause. "Inquisition?"
"Good!"
His brows furrowed, "pro…tect—protect the people of Rajsend from the—." He looked to Dante, "that's not right. They don't do that."
"It's propaganda, Anubis thought you should learn it. Keep reading."
Ketil walked past them to Lio who surveyed the group with a smug smile. "He is cheating you know."
Ketil raised his eyebrows, Lio crossing his arms. "He has quick hands but I can see the card he keeps in plain sight. He's rolled his sleeves up to show that he isn't cheating, but on the inside of his jacket, he keeps a spare black sword."
"He's good," Ketil whispered, watching Vasco cross his arms as he laughed a little. His right hand reached into his jacket, palming the card before he reached into the pile and pretended to pick up a card.
None of the other men realized the scam.
"He's good," Ketil said again with a small laugh. "I don't know what he expects to gain through this, kips are no good in Polaria."
"Merchants will trade for—what's Polarian money called?"
"The dat?"
"Yeah, the dat." Lio sighed, "we'll be in port soon. Are you ready?"
Are you ready? It carried so much more. Are you ready to face your people? Are you ready for the journey? Are you ready to see your sister again? Are you ready to murder?
He nodded slowly, "I can't get any more ready."
"I'm sorry I snapped at you the other night. I don't know what comes over me sometimes." He scratched at the scarf around his neck. "I know you are capable, you will do what needs to be done."
Ketil fell silent before nodding. "Death does things to you, bad things. I understand, just wish it was different. We just need to get through this mission."
"The dead have to stick together, yeah?" Lio nodded, pulling at loose hair in his braid. "I've got your back if you have mine." He extended his hand. "Brother?"
Ketil took it, "brother."
"Daken!" A woman called from across the deck, storming to grab a man playing cards. He groaned.
"Jek, leave me be for just this round."
"How much longer until you gamble the ship away to this man? Go help Shuck navigate the waters." She crossed her arms at Vasco. "Your leader says to prepare yourselves for landfall at Tarn. Prince," she pointed at Ketil, "she wants you."
Ketil nodded slowly looking back to Lio. He started to say something, anything, but he had no words. He just offered a small smile, following the woman, Jek. Anubis and Raziel waited for him below deck.
"We're going through a checkpoint soon," Anubis said, her face lit by the glow of a lantern. "Jek has told me that the guards have a habit of checking ships for Rajsend stowaways and illegal goods."
Jek frowned, "and we have both."
"Can we hide?"
Jek shrugged, her fur stole falling off her shoulders. "The goods are well hidden and we offer the guards a…token of our appreciation, but as for you all…" she shrugged again. "I am unsure."
"Three of us can speak Polarian," Anubis finally said. "We won't need to hide, but the others will have to hide."
"And if they recognize me? It hasn't been five years since I died."
"We'll rub your hair with soot. It'll give us enough of a disguise."
Ketil nodded, "I hope you've brushed up on your Polarian."
She smiled, Raziel shaking his head. "Anubis, I think this is a terrible idea."
"We're running out of ideas and if you haven't noticed, bad ideas are the only thing we produce."
"What are you carrying that's illegal?" Ketil said, looking to Jek who had disappeared in the background a bit.
She dug the toe of her boot into the ground. "Various things for various clients. Some want relics and artifacts, others want books, elixers, animals, plants—" she added a shrug. "A high paying client wanted a highly illegal Rajsend liquor."
"Jalta drops?" Anubis guessed.
Jek nodded, "it's become very popular in upper Polaria. People add it into everything they can."
"That stuff will kill you, it's barely consumable. I'm fairly certain half of it is kerosene." Ketil shook his head, "out of all the things Rajsend contains, why Jalta drops?"
"The danger is the allure." She lowered her head a little with a smile. "Some women believe that drinking it will produce a batræ heir. It's quite popular in lower classes for that reason. It's been a while since you have been here, Prince. Batræ heirs are becoming a hot commodity."
"What is Aslaug doing? What is she—" He stopped, mouth still open. She was preparing for war. Gathering all the batræ that she could? It was an act for war.
Anubis shared a look with him, nodding. "We will act before she can, don't worry." The words were empty though.
Raziel shook his head, interrupting them. "So this is probably the worst possible combination of events. You two—" he pointed at Anubis and Ketil, "plus Lio are going to act as Polarians while we hide below deck with smuggled liquor? What could possibly go wrong?"
"We'll pull it off like we always do," Anubis patted his shoulder.
"Jek," a man called down. "We're approaching the checkpoint!"
Anubis took a satchel from her side, pulling the strings open to reveal a mixture of soot and ash. It had been ground so fine that it was little more than a fine powder. "Here, quickly." She grabbed a handful, scattering it across his head. He coughed a little, listening as the crew ushered Dante and Jameson into a hiding spot before Raziel and Vasco followed in suit.
"Stay safe," Ketil whispered, spreading the ash across his hair until it turned gray. Then he rubbed it into his eyebrows. It wouldn't hide the face that his blond eyelashes revealed his true coloring, but it didn't matter. Not that much.
Vasco flashed him a smile before disappearing into the hold of the ship.
"Ready?" Jek said. "We speak middle Polarian on this ship. Try not to talk though."
Ketil nodded, rubbing his hands against his pants to rid them of ash. "There, I look less Prince Østberg and a bit more ship man."
"Jai." Lio whispered, his Polarian accent on-brand. "Let's bluff them yeah."
Jek carefully grabbed a bottle from a crate, cradling it in her arms. "Don't talk, especially the very blond one."
Lio frowned and Anubis took his arm, guiding him to the top deck.
"Guards of the Port of Tarn!" The crewman named Daken muttered. "All crew up top!"
Ketil formed a line among the others, Anubis and Lio beside him. His breath caught in his throat as he saw the guards. Royal blue uniforms with silver embroidery, blond hair cropped to their shoulders and pulled into a braid. He clenched his hands into fists, remembering a man in that uniform running him through with a longsword.
"Tej!" The commander said with a small bow.
Jek stepped forward with a small bow of her own. "Tej."
"This is your crew? All of them?" He gave a nod to a woman who nodded before disappearing into the hold of the ship. "We will be checking for illegal goods and stowaways. Captain Jek, you know the drill."
She nodded, producing the small bottle. "For you and your kin, may your children be blessed."
He nodded with a smile, opening the bottle to take a deep smell. "You are a just captain." He stashed the bottle in his pocket, turning to the others. "Search the ship. Easy."
"Captain, you seemed to have gotten a larger crew." He examined the three of them, eyes lingering on Ketil. "You seem to have a passing resemblance to the fallen Østberg Prince."
Ketil felt his palms sweat slightly before nodding, answering in heavy southern Polarian. Nobles never spoke with the southern accent. "I have been told that before."
The commander looked to Jek. "What are their names?"
She grinned, "answer them crew."
"I even share a name with the dead Prince. My name is Ketil Dak." It was a good thing Ketil was a common name.
Anubis looked to him with a frown. "Keji."
Lio's eyes met the commanders and for a moment, he thought that there was a fire there, one that would happily burn them all down. But Lio resisted. "Boske."
"Lucky to find work these days, Jek. People don't want to work going back and forth from that mound of trash below us."
Ketil snorted with a laugh.
"I think I like you, kid," he said with a small smile. "Rajsend is trash. Dirty pigs and slobs, murderers and savages."
"I will drink to that," Lio whispered.
One of the men behind him met Ketil's eyes, they all shared those same icy Polarian eyes. His father had told him once that the river and sea ran through their veins and only appeared through their eyes.
The man's brows creased in thought and as the commander dispersed them to search the ship. Anubis turned to Jek as she dismissed her crew to business as usual.
Ketil turned into the dark of the hold, knowing that there were guards behind him, but they were only half searching the ship. He went about looking natural before going deeper into the hold.
Ketil turned around to find the guard who had stared at him earlier on his heels. He took a step back and the man carefully approached him. Ketil shook his head, "Do I know you?"
He paused, in thought. "Are you…?" He pinched Ketil's arm.
"Ouch?"
"You are not a ghost? But you are Prince Østberg!" Ketil could see his own reflection in his icy irises. "You are dead! How are you alive? Oh! I'm sorry I pinched you, your majesty." He swooped into a small bow. "But you are alive!"
Ketil opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't.
"We mourned your death—we have a holiday for you!"
"Oh…well I'm alive," Ketil finally said. "And I'm here to take my throne back."
"Betras!" The man's eyes widened, a small open-mouthed smile taking over his face. "We have awaited the re—"
A hand wrapped around the guard's face as a woman hushed him. He fell to his knees as Anubis' eyes met Ketil's.
"You killed him!"
"An astute observation."
"He didn't do anything, Anubis. Why did you do that?!"
Anubis grabbed the man by the arms, dragging him into the shadows. "He recognized you. That is too dangerous."
Ketil stared at the man's still open eyes. "These are my people."
"Don't become moral on me now," she stood back up, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Remember we have a mission."
"He had a family," Ketil whispered slowly.
"So have other men," Anubis crossed his arms. "It's never stopped you before."
"But we have the same eyes—we have Polarian eyes. We have Polarian blood." He looked down at the man. "I'm supposed to protect these people."
Anubis grabbed him by the shoulders. "Ketil, look at me." Their eyes met. "Being emperor means knowing that you can't save everyone."
"But I can try—I have to try."
"You do what is right for the majority."
He dropped his head, shaking it slowly. "Cruddy emperor I'd be."
"Come on," Anubis said slowly, guiding him to the top deck.
The Polarian sun glared down at them, it's warmth against the cold atmosphere familiar. He shut his eyes and breathed a long sigh, his frozen breath floating up to the sky like an offering.
For the first time in a long time, he was home.
ns 15.158.61.8da2
