To Paxaria: part 2.0

The first sighting of land far off in the distance started a ripple of excitement that swiftly spread through all the crew and passengers on the ship bound for Paxaria. The volume of eagerly chattering voices alone was indicator enough, not to mention the number of people on the ship’s deck, straining their eyes to catch a glimpse for themselves. Every one of the Human hearts roused from the boredom of the journey to reach out toward the land they’d always heard of only in grand tales.

Standing apart from the other clusters of people looking out across the sea, Ruelle felt her own excitement mingled with a new dread. The words of the strange young woman from the previous night still rang in her ears and dampened her long-cherished dreams. For as much time as she had spent looking forward to this journey, this opportunity, would it even be worth it?

“Look at that! I can’t believe it – Paxaria, right there!”

Gaius Aldhelm’s voice just behind her pulled Ruelle from her ponderings. She found herself both surprised and yet not surprised that he was here again.

“This is the opportunity of a lifetime, wouldn’t you say?” he enthused.

“Many of the people back home would say so,” Ruelle conceded.

“You sure don’t sound as excited about it as you did yesterday,” Gaius pointed out. “You didn’t change your mind overnight about going, did you? Because it’s a little late to change it now.”

Ruelle was aware that he was teasing, but only she knew how close she really did feel to changing her mind.

“What if . . .” she started, then stopped, unsure she wanted to go on, or even what she wanted to say.

“What if what?” Gaius pressed. He planted himself next to Ruelle and placed his arms on the railing. It was evident he was there to hear the whole issue, and Ruelle guessed he probably wouldn’t give it up until she told him anyway. Still, she glanced around to make sure no one was within hearing range before she continued.

“What if this whole thing isn’t what we expected? What if some of us don’t get to be fighters after all? What if none of us do?”

“What? Don’t be silly!” Gaius laughed. “Why would that happen?”

“I mean, did we not simply make assumptions about what all of us extra people are going for? You know they never take people under sixteen years old in the Tributes. What if they didn’t take us to be fighters? What if they make us do something else?”

Gaius seemed all of a sudden to be incapable of making any expression except for gawking with his mouth slightly open. Clearly these thoughts had never occurred to him.

Finally he laughed a short, disbelieving laugh.

“Where did you get all those ideas anyway?” he said.

Cautiously, and somewhat hesitatingly – for she did not like to dampen his spirits – Ruelle recounted last night’s exchange with the unknown young woman and the new worries which had taken form in her mind since then.

“That’s . . . that’s a lot to think about,” Gaius admitted. He scratched his head, his brow knitted as he contemplated. Ruelle worried that she had just dashed his expectations in addition to her own, and worried even more that he had nothing to say to disprove her fears.

But finally he said, “Here’s what I think. What does that girl know? How are we sure she knows what she is talking about? All the passengers on this ship come from the Three Islands, so you know what that means?”

“I don’t know. What?”

“It means she’s one of us, right And have any of us ever been part of a Tribute before?”

“No,” Ruelle admitted, beginning to see his point.

“Exactly. So how does she know what she is talking about? She probably just doesn’t want to be a fighter and is coming up with all this merely to comfort her hopes of getting out of it.”

Oddly enough, Ruelle felt a little of the weight slip off her shoulders at the reasoning Gaius presented.

“I suppose that does make sense,” she said.

“Of course it does! I’m very smart,” Gaius smirked. “Smart enough, in fact, that I will find a way to be a fighter and defend the kingdom even if that is not what I’m given to do.”

Ruelle couldn’t help but laugh.

“You’re very inspiring,” she told Gaius. “You may have to find a way for both of us, though.”

“No!” he protested earnestly, pushing off the railing and standing up straight. “I mean, I will if I have to, but you need to be able to find a way for yourself, too, Rue. After all, who knows if any of us will even see each other once we’re off this ship. Paxaria is a big kingdom”

“You’re right,” Ruelle agreed. His words unexpectedly nurtured some of her waning courage back into the warmth of life. “I suppose I can’t be a fighter for Paxaria if I can’t even fight for myself.”

“That’s the spirit,” Gaius beamed. “Don’t worry. Things will be all right. You’ll see.”

The sun was high in the sky and the hour for the midday meal already over before the ship docked at last. Multiple smaller ships and boats bobbed in the shallower waters all around, tied up in semi-chaotic clusters at the docks. People bustled all about the wharf, calling to one another and talking over each other, while gulls screeched in the bright blue sky above to add to the commotion. All along the sea wall, a generous scattering of wood-and-stone buildings attested to the vibrant life of an active harbor town. Ruelle personally was glad to see this. While their ship had still been a good distance away, she had noticed some seaside cliffs which looked rather uninviting and she hoped they would not be pulling in among those. This pleasant contrast lifted her spirits.

The next thing she knew, Ruelle found herself in a crowd of Tribute members, all eager to disembark at once. Surrounded as she was, she could only catch a glimpse here and there of the diversity of people gathered on the wharf, some to greet and receive them, some just out of curiosity. Many of the latter would gossip at home that evening about the arrival of the new Tribute and how promising they thought the arriving members appeared to be.

“Look at them!” Gaius said beside her, gesturing out ahead of them.

“I can’t,” Ruelle scowled. She was rather crammed in among several taller Tribute members. Even though she kept trying to stand on tiptoe and peer around their heads and shoulders, she still could not see much. “I’m not tall enough.”

“Well, there are some really important looking men out there. They are wearing shining mail and they have swords at their sides!

“Kingdom officials, no doubt,” someone nearby commented. “Maybe even from the military, to receive the recruits.”

A slight part in the crowd ahead of her granted Ruelle a quick sight of the scene they described. Just as the others had said, the sword-bearing men looked to be of some notable status. In fact, they seemed to be keeping order among the onlookers, holding back those who had not come on official business from those who were sent to receive Tribute members.

The ship’s captain stepped forward to greet the officials with a courteous bow. The men returned the gesture. With their strong, tall figures and noble attire, they made a fascinating sight to Ruelle, who squinted curiously at their faces to determine if any of them could be an Elf. She wasn’t rightly sure how one who’d never seen them was meant to recognize an Elf, though.

The ship’s captain turned and faced the waiting Tribute members, raising his voice to present instructions. They were to step forward in groups of four and each be inspected by a guard. This, the captain explained, was to ensure none of the Tribute members carried any items of perceived danger. If one of them did carry a weapon, this was to be noted and approved by the officials at hand.

“I only wish I had my own sword,” Gaius said to Ruelle.

“Soon, maybe.”

Meanwhile, as they formed lines and waited for their turn to be inspected, Ruelle watched as a second group of guards helped the ship’s crew unload all the possessions brought by the arriving Tribute members. Ruelle marveled at how quickly they worked through the piles of boxes, crates, and trunks.

“They’re going so fast, I don’t think they’d even find it if there was anything threatening in any of that,” she remarked to Gaius, who was waiting next to her.

“This is all part of what they do,” he shrugged. “Tributes have been coming to the mainland for years and years. I doubt these guards really expect there to be anything dangerous by now. It’s not like you could hide a dragon in any of that.”

Ruelle realized Gaius probably had a point. The inspectors worked with the swift, practiced efficiency of people who had performed this process so many times they now hardly even thought about it anymore.

“You’re right,” Rue said. “They know there’s never any reason to worry about a Tribute presenting danger of any sort.”

“Next in line!” a guard’s voice rang out.

Ruelle stepped forward to stand before the sword-bearing figure in front of her, and found herself looking into the face of a woman.

Ruelle’s heart soared a little.

“You’re a woman,” she blurted, then felt her face warm with embarrassment at her own bluntness.

“Of course.” The guard before her smiled, unoffended. “Paxaria often places women in positions of military and government officials as well as men.”

“I’ve heard that,” Ruelle said.

But that was not the same as beholding it with her own two eyes – a woman with a sword at her side, all shining and gloriously gleaming in the light of the bright afternoon sun.

Hope rose again within Ruelle’s heart as the female guard checked her over and declared her safe and approved to proceed.

I will get to be a fighter after all, just you wait and see, she thought, smiling to herself as she was motioned forward.