Toby Neighbors - Fierce Loyalty

The worst of the storm only lasted a few minutes, but it was a full hour before the seas calmed enough that the captain ordered his men to open up the hatches. Zollin was soaked and very cold. He hurried down to his cabin and stripped out of his wet clothes.

“That was a complete waste of time,” he said, his teeth chattering.

Eustice wrapped a blanket around his shoulders and Zollin knelt down and kindled a small flame in midair, directly in front of him. He rubbed the blanket over his head to help dry his hair and then dressed in dry clothes. He could have used magic to dry his wet clothes, but then he might have to explain how the clothes got dry so quickly.

“I think that woman is insane,” Zollin went on. “At least the storm is giving Mansel some time to figure things out. I hate that something happened to him. I can’t imagine anyone giving him that much trouble. They must have ambushed him or something.”

Eustice nodded, but didn’t add much to the conversation. At first the eunuch’s silence had bothered Zollin. His sense of justice couldn’t stand the thought that someone had been so cruel as to cut off part of his tongue. It just reaffirmed his opinion about Offendorl and the Torr. He’d been right not to go to the Torr when they had come for him in his village almost a year ago, but resistance had cost them all so much. People had died that could have lived if he’d gone, and it seemed that everywhere Zollin went magical beings were appearing, and many of them were viciously cruel. Still, he knew that much worse could have been done if he was under the evil wizard Offendorl’s control, and Eustice was living proof of that. The wizards of the Torr had no regard for non-magical people. They were just pawns to be used and then cast aside, regardless of their well-being.

Zollin squatted down by his magical fire again, holding his hands close to the flames. He was thinking hard about how to help Mansel. He needed to find his friend and see what they could do to get him out of the mess Mansel had landed in.

“We have to find a way to help Mansel,” Zollin said to Eustice, who nodded in agreement. “I’m not sure what the captain has in mind, but he obviously felt like Mansel did something wrong. We can’t let them hurt him anymore.”

Eustice was still nodding when someone knocked on the door. Zollin looked surprised and snuffed his magical fire as Eustice opened the door.

“Hello,” said the woman who’d been on deck. Her hair was still wet and her clothes were dripping water onto the wooden floor. She looked at Zollin for a moment with an appraising eye and then said, “I love the storms at sea. They make me feel more alive than almost anything else. I think perhaps company would be nice. Will you join me for dinner?”

Zollin couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The woman had been rude before, and now here she was asking him to dinner. He had half a mind to tell her off, but the other half was lonely. He missed Brianna so much. Her tender smile, the way she made him feel about himself, the excitement of holding her close and feeling her soft lips on his. The woman in his doorway didn’t make him feel the same way, but it was similar, and he couldn’t refuse it.

“Yes,” was all Zollin managed to say.

“Good,” the woman smiled. “Meet me in my cabin in half an hour.”

She walked quickly away, leaving a trail of water behind her. Zollin stood as still as a stone, flabbergasted at what just happened. Eustice was looking at him questioningly, but Zollin had no idea what had prompted the woman’s change of heart.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I didn’t even speak to her outside. I just went up on the command deck to see what was going on. She just stood by the railing and laughed. She thought the storm was funny, I guess. I found it terrifying.”

Zollin sank onto his bunk as Eustice hung the wet clothes to dry. He’d grown used to letting Eustice do most of the chores. He’d tried to get Eustice to stay in Yelsia. He’d argued that Eustice didn’t have to be a servant, and even though the eunuch insisted on staying with Zollin and Mansel, Zollin had tried to keep him from doing the small labors around their camp. But then it occurred to Zollin that it was Eustice’s only way to contribute. So he’d spoken to Mansel, and although they never ordered Eustice to do anything, the mute servant happily took care of them.

Guilt was plaguing Zollin. He wanted to have dinner with the woman from the storm, but he felt like he was betraying Brianna. He didn’t even know if she was dead, although whenever he considered that he felt like a fool. Of course she was dead, he thought to himself. The dragon, which Zollin now thought of as Offendorl’s dragon, had almost certainly killed her. And if he’d left her in the mountains, she wouldn’t have survived on her own. She had no way to hunt or protect herself. She had no gear to scale the treacherous mountain heights. And there were no reports of her anywhere in Yelsia. If she’d managed to make it to one of the villages, she would have come to Orrock, or at the very least sent word. Still there was a little part of Zollin that refused to believe she was gone, and it was furious that Zollin dared to have dinner with someone else.

It isn’t romantic, he told himself, although he hoped that it would turn romantic. The woman was beautiful, and Zollin couldn’t help but hope she found him attractive. He felt a little like a child seeking approval, but the thought of the woman being attracted to him was much more exciting. It made him feel strong and somehow confident, even though he was also scared of doing something that would break the tenuous connection he had formed with the woman.

Finally he stood up.

“Well, that’s settled then. I’ll go to dinner with this woman. You take a stroll on the deck and see if you can learn anything about Mansel.”

Eustice nodded his head and Zollin began running his fingers through his hair. The little cabin had no mirror, and neither Zollin nor Eustice had included one in their supplies. He used his hands to make sure no part of his hair was standing out at an odd angle.

“How do I look?” he asked Eustice.

The mute servant smiled and nodded, giving him a thumbs up gesture.

“Okay,” he said, “I guess I’m going to dinner.”

Zollin walked down the passageway toward the double doors of cabin where he knew the woman was staying. He could hear the moans of seasick passengers as he passed their rooms. The storm had obviously made some of them sick again. He’d seen the other passengers occasionally walking the deck, but knew some of them had been too sick to leave their cabins. The passageway seemed long and his nerves grew more jittery with every step. Guilt warred with excitement as he approached the doors. He took a deep breath before knocking firmly on the door.

It was only a moment before the door was swung open by one of the lady’s guards. He was a well built man, and well armed as well. He didn’t smile or speak, but merely stepped aside. The lady’s cabin was much larger than Zollin’s. There were padded chairs, rugs, a long dining table and two large portholes. The lady came sweeping out of one of the side rooms. She was in a new dress with a low neckline and a billowing skirt. She had a pearl necklace and matching earrings. Her hair was dry now, and pinned up with small, exotic looking combs. She smiled, revealing white teeth, but the gesture made her look almost menacing, like a wolf eyeing its next meal.

“We haven’t been formally introduced,” she said. “My name is Roleena of Shupor.”

“It is nice to meet you,” Zollin said, feeling more self-conscious by the minute. “I’m Zollin Quinnson.”

“I hope you’re hungry, Zollin,” she said, taking his hand and leading him over to the dining table. “A good storm always gets my appetite up. You don’t get seasick, do you?”