Bactine (14 page)

They watched the quay. Indeed. Ulaman's unmistakable shape and his wife came walking towards the Pricosine.

"They'll be up soon, we can ask them then," Lidrin knew. His knowledge proved wrong. The two did not climb up the long gangway, but seemed to wait for something.

"I'm going down there and see what's going on," said Daniel.

The helmsman watched him go, slightly envious. He was not allowed to leave his post.

"Ulaman, Xandree," Daniel said as he reached the two. "Good to see you."

"Ah. Daniel," said the captain. "You surveyed the ship, did you?"

"Yes. Everything is in order. I just had no chance yet to check what's going on in the cabin opposite mine."

"They are not done yet?" Ulaman pulled a face. "They should've been done already." He raised his voice somewhat and yelled at some of the sailors to go below deck and urge the workmen to hurry. His choice of words was rather creative, especially the part about the fate of the workers if they did not haul their asses of the ship soon. He then turned to Daniel again. "We're having a visitor on the ship this run."

Daniel nodded. "Who is it?"

"The Seigner's daughter."

"Oh God." Daniel would have preferred even Gaguran over the woman. Ulaman nodded.

"And why?"

"She asked. That simple. The kid gets everything she wants. And more. I have a list of special orders here concerning her."

"I don't envy you," Daniel said.

"You need not. I have a list for you as well." With a wide smirk Ulaman pulled a rolled-up stack of paper from his pocket and slapped it in Daniel's hand. "And your list is longer than mine. Start reading, she should be here soon."

Daniel stared at the captain. "You're kidding. This can't be true. Soon I am going to wake up, right?"

Xandree looked at Daniel. "You'd better read. Or you are up for a very rude awakening."

Daniel looked at the first page. "Safety. Food. Safety. Language- language?! We're all screwed."

"Language, Daniel," Xandree said with her eternal straight face. And if she could read his mind: "No. Resigning is not an option."

"Arrggghhh..." Daniel walked back towards the ship, reading the first page of the stack in his hand.

"Daniel!"

He turned around at Ulaman's voice.

"Get back here. She's coming. Be nice." Ulaman looked as if he himself was in trouble also. "At least try to."

At the end of the quay, three carriages were slowly moving towards them. After a few minutes, they came to a halt in front of the gangway where Ulaman, Xandree and Daniel had taken position.

The door of the first carriage swung open and Gaguran Slindris stepped out. Daniel frowned, until the man turned and reached for the hand of the frilly girl, to help her out of the coach.

The young woman was covered in an amazing amount of fabric, most of it yellow and beige. The dress was very nice if the beholder knew to appreciate it. She picked a small umbrella from the seat and turned towards Ulaman. "Good day, captain Xhylor," she said with a smile. "Mrs. Xhylor, so pleased to meet you too." Then she looked at Daniel. Her eyes sampled his leisurely military outfit. "Oh. It's you." Her attention went back to Ulaman.

As she was chattering and flattering the captain and his wife, Daniel wondered who would step out of the other carriages, but the doors remained closed. Ulaman's voice shook him out of his thoughts. "What?"

"Wake up, Daniel. Can you start taking some of Miss Dandra ko Galem's luggage up?"

Gaguran Slindris frowned at Daniel.

"Luggage? Where is that?" As he asked, a dreadful feeling hit him. The two other carriages. "Oh. Right. Sure." He stepped away and looked at the railing where some of the sailors were waiting and watching.

"Are you sure that this man is a reliable member of your crew, captain?" he heard the woman say in a tiny sweet voice.

Daniel bit away some words that tried to force their way out. He should -not- make things worse than they already were. He waved his arm at some of the sailors and yelled up that they should come down to help.

"He yells so loudly," the young woman said, her tone definitely disapproving. In a dramatic way she covered her ears, dismay on her face.

Daniel closed his eyes, breathed deeply and opened the first carriage door. Some of the suitcases were so eager to get on board that they fell out. He scrambled to catch them. Of the four he got one. He did not look at the woman who was still talking to Ulaman and Xandree. The short silence that fell was bad enough. He grabbed four suitcases and what looked like, heavens forbid, a box to carry a hat. Loaded like that he made his way to the gangway, but before he reached it, Ulaman called his name.

He turned and looked over the hat-box. "What can I do for you, captain?"

"Please step this way, Mr. Zacharias. Miss Dandra ko Galem has some problems with her footwear."

Daniel wondered what that was to him, but he walked back to the four people.

"I wonder," said Ulaman, "if you could be so good to carry Miss Dandra ko Galem to deck."

Daniel did not drop the suitcases. Brinno and Bilk arrived just in time and took them from his hands.

"Carry the young lady up to deck." Daniel repeated the words and knew he was not helping his situation. "Of course."

"Are your hands clean?" Miss Dandra ko Galem asked.

"They are, Miss," Daniel said. "Now, if you allow me..." He lifted her up in his arms, ignoring the little squeal she let out as it happened.

"Do be careful with my dress," she said, "it costs more than you earn in a year."

Daniel did not respond. He walked towards the ship and seriously thought about how it would be to dump her in the water of the harbour. As he carried the woman upwards, she kept warning him what he had to be careful of, and where and what to watch.

"And don't drop me. We are up scarily high!"

"Don't worry, miss, I've been up this ship many times. I know my way around here."

"My father told me you are not a proper sailor, sir, so I will worry if and when I choose to, thank you very much."

Daniel suppressed a sigh of relief when finally he could put the woman on her feet. He just knew she would have problems with her footwear on the ship too. He also thought she should eat more, she was much too light.

Brinno and Bilk came up with suitcases. And boxes. Ulaman and Xandree were right behind them, and Xandree steered the young woman to the staircase that would bring her below deck. Daniel frowned. She did not seem to have problems walking here.

"More suitcases there, I guess?" he asked the skipper, who nodded. "Of course..."

-=-=-

Gaguran Slindris had made sure all the carriages returned to wherever they came from, riding in one of them. All the luggage was loaded and stowed. Another carriage had arrived, with a special assortment of food that should be served during the trip, and a cook.

Draiky, a calm person most always, had become very hostile when she heard she would have to share her galley with the strange cook. "If he so much as smears something on the stove in my caboose," she threatened, "I'm using his face to wipe it off."

After setting that straight, everything was ready for departure. The hawsers were released and brought in. The men had set a minimal sail as there was quite some wind, and the Pricosine moved away from the quay. Daniel was on the bridge, walking around to keep an eye on everything, Ulaman happily yelled commands into the tube, sailors on deck ran to follow them. Lidrin muttered something about the rudder and then they set course for open sea.

The first few hours the entire crew was working hard. Variations in sails were made, the new sail was severely tested as the wind was so favourable. Daniel wondered where the Dandra princess was, when suddenly he saw a yellow and beige spot at the far end of the boat, near the stern. His electronic eye made it easy to identify her.

"Our guest has drifted off to the stern, Ulaman. I'll go bring her back," Daniel said.

The captain nodded. "Keep an eye on her, Daniel. The Seigner will have our necks if something happens to her."

Daniel left the bridge and walked down the length of the ship, to find miss Dandra ko Galem leaning against the side of the ship. Her dress flapped about her as a tempered flag, her hair was flying in the wind. She did not hear him approach, so he said: "Miss Dandra ko Galem."

She looked at him. "Oh. It's you again." Then she turned her head back towards the water.

"Will you please come back with me, miss," Daniel said. "It is not all that safe here."

"It is nice here," she said. "The wind feels nice."

"Miss, I would really appreciate it if you were coming with me. The wind here can be treacherous."

The woman turned and looked at him, leaning against the railing. "Don't you lecture me. This is my father's boat, and he only has good boats."

"Ships," Daniel corrected her.

"Boats," she insisted.

Daniel picked up the remains of a command Ulaman issued, but couldn't understand it. Anything could happen now.

"Changing tack!" someone overhead yelled. Slowly the ship tilted. The spanker, the last mast on the ship, caught the new wind and the immense rigging rushed over their heads, with a hard airflow following it.

The airwave almost hit the woman. Daniel grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her against him as the rush went past them.

"I'm sorry, but I had to," he said as he let her go again. He saw how she trembled. The experience had shocked more than she would have thought.

"I - ehm - I was not prepared for this," she said in a timid voice. "I assume I owe you gratitude." She held on to Daniel's arm as they walked back towards the bridge, but as they came closer to it, she let go and went to her cabin, holding on to the side of the bridge as she rounded it.

Daniel shook his head. This was had the makings of a disaster, and they were out of port for mere hours.

The evening had another small disaster in store. The cook that had come aboard for Miss Dandra ko Galem was not feeling all too well. Draiky had helped him, so the food that had been brought on board was not a total ruin, but the end result was far from what the aim had been.

The crew, who were eating with in the sailor's canteen, heard about that from Draiky. A lot of laughing and snickering went around.

"I think the man will be sick tomorrow," their cook declared. She was right.

The next day, the winds were up quite high. The Pricosine was under small sail again and Lidrin had a field day making the ship dance as he directed it with the new rudder. All his reservations against the new mechanism melted as ice as he learnt that the ship responded better.

The Seigner's daughter did not show on deck as long as the tests were on the way. Ulaman told Daniel that he had warned the woman about the tests, and advised to keep to bed. "Looks like she listened. Also looks like we have to force-feed her cookery boy. That landlubber is sick as a dog, and there is not even a breeze."

"Feeding a sick cook is not a security issue," Daniel declared. "Ask Bilk or Stroro. I'm busy." Ulaman's laughter followed him as he left the bridge, heading for safety.

Later in the afternoon, Ulaman ordered the tests for the day over. All sails were stricken and the Pricosine floated calmly on the water.

Xandree went below deck and checked on their guest. The young woman was doing better than the crew had expected; she came to deck with Xandree, wearing a new dress.

"Now, miss, you stay close to Daniel- I mean Mr. Zacharias, and you will be as safe as you are in your own bed."

"You can call me Rayko," the young woman said with a smile. "I really appreciate how good your care is, Mrs. Xhylor."

"Please, call me Xandree then."

Rayko smiled and nodded. "I will go and watch the sea." She walked to the railing and leaned against it, staying well in view of the bridge.

Daniel was sitting a hundred and twenty feet up in a mast, together with Stroro. They were checking how the rigging of the new sails had withstood the ordeal Lidrin had put them through.

"She does not appear to be sick," the sailor remarked as he peeked down at the woman.

"No, true. Good for her." Daniel yanked a rope. It held.

"You don't like her, do you?" Stroro asked.

"I don't. She is so stuck up, so pampered, so snotty and stubborn." Daniel pulled another rope. It held too.

"She is a woman." Stroro displayed all his knowledge about the other gender.

Daniel looked at the man and sighed. "I know."

"We're done here," Stroro said.