New Dawn (Divine War Book 1) (19 page)

“Did he discern that you are a man?” she asked, excited at the trick she had pulled on her father.

Maicee shook his head, still puzzled by what had passed between himself and the King.

Ausanne rolled her eyes. “He must be getting senile. I was sure he'd be able to tell.”

He was about to chide her for teasing her father when they were interrupted by a dashing young man.

“Good evening, my princess,” he said, bowing deeply. “You must introduce me to your lovely friend.”

The princess rolled her eyes again. “She's my Juliet,” she said, emphasising the word ‘my’ a bit too strongly for Maicee's tastes.

She pulled Maicee away from the superficial smiles of the man, hooking her arm into his and tugging him towards the quiet of a secluded balcony.

“That was Count Qurami,” she said. “Ignore him; he's an irritating little insect.”

In the quiet of the darkness, the party nothing more than a hum behind them, Maicee felt awkward.
I shouldn't be here like this with Ausanne,
he thought. It wasn't fair. Wasn't fair to either of them.

He cleared his throat. “Happy birthday, Princess,” he said, wondering how he was going to escape the balcony.

“Thank you.” Ausanne smiled.

And before he could move, she'd put her arms around him and was hugging him. And when she drew back, she didn't let go but stared up at him with wide eyes, a half-smile on her lips as her face drew closer and closer.

“Princess, the King demands your presence,” said a voice. “It is time to cut the cake.”

Ausanne cursed silently. “I shall attend him,” she called back. “Some other time?” She smiled ruefully at Maicee, then turned to leave the balcony.

But by the time she had cut the cake, made a speech, listened to the people sing to congratulate her, and done all the other ceremonial things that she was supposed to do, there was no sign of Maicee at all. He'd simply disappeared. Ausanne retired, disappointed with the way her evening had turned out.

*

The late afternoon sun was dancing, golden and orange, on the small waves of the harbour. On the deck of the
Freedom
, General Tongku was making a final round of inspection, carefully preparing the five-man team he'd assembled for their presentation to the King. The rest of the crew stood idly around the ship's decks, enjoying the warmth of the sun and revelling in the last few moments of calm and relaxation that they'd be likely to have in the near future.

Benho had managed to tear himself away from Sa-li, who was gossiping with her crew mates, and he earnestly whispered something to Lucia. The captain was nodding continuously, as though to reassure the man, a mask of irritation beginning to form as Benho just went on talking. Benho was saved from the captain’s impending wrath by a shouted order from the General. The men on deck came to attention as the King slowly boarded the ship.

He seems sad,
Maicee thought.
Preoccupied.
Though he guessed that being a ruler brought enough troubles of its own, without having to deal with emergencies such as the data disk Kabi had brought to Britannia.

“All is ready, Your Majesty,” barked Tongku, saluting.

The King nodded and surveyed the short line of men in front of him. They were young, though not so young as to be inexperienced, and all looked serious, eyes forward, hands and arms straining to maintain their salutes.

“Stand down,” the King said.

The men relaxed, lowering their arms, and Maicee thought he heard more than one sigh of relief.

“You have been briefed,” the King said, looking once more up and down the row of men. “I have no need to tell you what it is that you are doing here. But this is an important mission. I would like, therefore, to remind you that the fate of Archeonis lies on your shoulders.” He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in. “Bring us good tidings when we meet again,” he added quietly.

Maicee watched as the King nodded once more, then turned away from his troops to find Kabi.

“I see the captain and her crew will be joining you,” he said to his brother-in-law. “Anyone else?”

“Only Maicee, Your Majesty,” said Kabi with a shrug.

The King sighed. “I suppose it is for the best.”

Kabi beckoned to Maicee, who approached the King.

“I hope you have enjoyed your stay here, Doctor,” the King said politely. “We hope to see you again, should time permit.”

“Thank you, sire,” said Maicee. “Um...” He didn't know if it was protocol for him to question the King, but it wasn't like he had much choice. He needed to know. “I, er, don't see Princess Ausanne.” He could feel himself blushing.

The King smiled. “She does not like goodbyes. Separation has always been hard for her.”

Maicee nodded, not sure if he was disappointed or relieved that he wasn't going to have to see the princess again before they left.

“Oh, that reminds me.” The King patted his robe, finally digging into a pocket and retrieving a small voice recorder. “She did ask me to give you this.”

He accepted the recorder and bowed. “Many thanks.”

The King smiled. “It is I who should be thanking you,” he said, though Maicee wasn't exactly sure why. “Godspeed.”

And then he was gone, striding down the deck to discuss last-minute arrangements with the General.

Maicee looked at the small recorder in his hands, tossing it from one hand to the other thoughtfully. Looking around the deck, he could see that most of the crew were busy making final preparations to leave, and he decided that he had time to see what the princess had to say. Slipping away, he scrambled up a small ladder that spat him out through a hatch close to the medical bay. Once he was sure that Falorni was not lurking in any of the cupboards, he settled himself down on one of the beds and pressed the button on the recorder.

“Hello... hello... testing,” said the princess's voice, a little crackly but immediately identifiable.

“It is working fine, you know,” came another voice, squeaky and high this time.

“I know, Niku, I know,” said the princess in irritation.

There was a pause, and Maicee guessed that the princess was trying to gather her thoughts before speaking. Sure enough, a second or so later, her voice came back.

“Hi, Maicee. You, er, must have been disappointed that I didn't come to the harbour. But in order to make it up to you, I have arranged that two hours after launch, you shall receive a surprise gift from me.”

Maicee's brow furrowed as he wondered what the princess could have sent him. The recording paused again, a couple more seconds of silence, before Niku's tiny voice came back.

“That's all?” asked the furry creature. “That's all you have to say? I would have thought that you had more to tell him.”

Maicee heard the princess sigh and say: “I do, but I don't know how to say it.”

Niku's chirruping laugh came through the speaker. “Why don't you just say I lov—”

And the recording abruptly ended.

Maicee sank back on the bed with a groan. This was what he'd been afraid of. Actually, if he was being honest, this was what he’d already known was happening but wasn't sure how to stop. Now, though, there was nothing for it. Should he see the princess again, he was going to have to have a very uncomfortable conversation with her.
At least,
he thought,
I’m not likely to see Ausanne for the foreseeable future.
That was some small condolence.

*

The last hatches on the
Freedom
slammed shut with loud, metallic clangs. Dusk had fallen over the harbour, the soft glow of the second sun glinting off the tips of the waves. Maicee felt the deck under his feet vibrate for a moment as the powerful engines of the ship dragged themselves to life, revving before settling down into their normal quiet hum. The
Freedom
's navigation officer shone a single green beam of light towards the harbour master's watchtower. A returning green light flashed three times.

“Anchors away,” said Lucia's cool, calm voice over the ship's speaker system, alerting everyone on board that the vessel was about to launch.

There was a quick jerk as the
Freedom
's engines thrust her away from the harbour wall, then very slowly the battle cruiser began to edge out into the centre of the harbour's waters and then towards the large gap in the harbour wall where the dark, deep sea began.

Major Ulsa'hi, the leader of the five-man team put together by the General, stood with Kabi and Lucia, a map unrolled on the crates in front of them, discussing strategy. Maicee did his best to contribute, or at least look interested, but found himself growing rapidly bored. He was disturbed by Ausanne's voice recording.

He paced around the deck of the ship, trying to burn off the nervous energy he was filled with, as Ausanne's two-hour deadline rapidly ticked down. The
Freedom
had crossed the threshold of the harbour and was now in open sea, and the ship rocked slightly, the movement soothing.

Exactly two hours after launch, Maicee's com beeped. He pressed the icon to answer without thinking, and a tiny voice whispered out of the speaker.

“Hello, can you hear me?”

His face flushed, and he quickly put his face closer to his wrist to avoid the conversation’s being overheard. “Yes, Ausanne, I hear you.”

And then suddenly it dawned on him. There was no way for Ausanne to contact him on the short-wave wrist com. No way at all. Unless...

He turned back towards the bridge and saw her, her white robe billowing in the breeze, the fabric clinging in all the right places. Almost tripping, he hurried towards her, his first thought to get her hidden where no one else could see her.

“Surprise!” she said as he got closer.

“How did you get on board?” he asked, trying to figure out where he could hide the woman so that she wouldn't be caught. It was a stupid question—she'd obviously smuggled herself here. She was a stowaway, and the punishment for stowaways was not pleasant. Not pleasant at all. He groaned as he imagined Lucia trying to keel-haul the princess, dropping her over one side of the ship on a rope and pulling until Her Royal Highness had gone under the vessel and appeared on the other side.

“Did anyone see you?” he hissed.

“I haven't met anyone yet.” The princess shrugged, smiling inwardly as she guessed exactly what Maicee was thinking. Then she took pity on him and decided to put him out of his misery. “It doesn't matter, though. Lucia has agreed to let me come along.”

“She did what?!” Maicee cried in alarm, his voice ringing around the open deck. “She did what?” he repeated, more quietly. “Doesn't she know that this is going to be dangerous?” He couldn't believe that the captain would be so irresponsible. Or that he was going to be stuck on a ship with Ausanne for the next few weeks. Then he thought of salvation. “Kabi should know about this,” he told the princess, defiantly. “He'll send you back ashore immediately.”

“I wouldn't be so sure about that,” Ausanne said with a grin.

“Welcome aboard,” said Kabi from behind Maicee. He'd heard the commotion and guessed what had happened. He hadn't thought it fair to surprise Maicee, but the princess had insisted. “Don't just stand there like sheep; come onto the bridge.”

Maicee stood, his mouth agape. Kabi had known about this? Once more, he made a vow to kill his irritating uncle. Or at least give him a good beating, as soon as his unarmed combat skills were good enough, that was. Ausanne shot Maicee a triumphant look as she skipped over to hug Kabi.

*

The
Freedom
sailed on. She left the seas of Britannia far behind, entering international waters. They travelled for days without encountering any sign of another ship. On and on they sailed, the sea stretching out, endless and blue, in front of them. The weather was fair, the winds good, and the sun hot. They entered the Lawless Sea three days after leaving the harbour of Britannia's capital, and Maicee felt a quiver of apprehension. But not for nothing was Lucia the most-feared pirate captain on Archeonis. Seeing the distinctive profile of the
Freedom
, most ships gave them a wide berth. No one, it seemed, was looking for trouble.

The one young, inexperienced captain who did attempt to engage them soon found himself abandoned on a life raft with half his crew, his ship settling in the soft sand at the bottom of the blue abyss.

Maicee busied himself with training. He was more determined than ever to master the combat skills that he was now sure he needed. And not just for defence. He was also still determined to give Kabi a reason not to try to trick him again. Kabi had cut his unarmed combat training down to just half a day.

“You've improved,” he said, nodding in satisfaction. “You must have been practising.”

Maicee grinned, happy at the compliment and even happier at the thought of having a few spare hours a day in which to relax. But Kabi soon burst that bubble. From that moment, whilst his mornings were still filled with unarmed combat training, his afternoons were spent practising armed combat. Archery, bolt blasting, swordplay. Both Kabi and Lucia trained him incessantly. Though he was adept at most armed exercises, certainly preferring them to unarmed practice, he was particularly fond of swordplay. So much so that he chose himself an elegant rapier from the
Freedom
's weapon cabinet.

“Excellent,” Kabi told him one afternoon.

Maicee had managed to stay undefeated for a full half-hour of sword combat with his uncle.

Kabi bowed at his student and bade him to come to the railing of the deck. Leaning on the salt-hardened wood, he looked at the young man and smiled. It was time.

“You have proven yourself to be adequately versed in close-combat fighting,” he began. “And now we shall go on to learn of the GOD power.”

Maicee wrinkled his nose. “Huh?”

“And maybe we shall improve your vocabulary as well,” said Kabi, dryly.

“Sorry,” said Maicee. “I mean, I don't understand. What's the GOD power?”

“That is what we shall learn about next.”

Maicee sighed. He hated it when Kabi spoke in riddles. But looking up, he saw that the older man's eyes were dancing and understood that he was being teased. So he stayed silent, refusing to rise to the bait.