Sometime later, Meleng was feeling drier, and they were all seated on their bunks in their cabin—well, Sinitïa and Jorvan were on their bunks. Meleng was sitting beside Jorvan on the Isyar’s bunk. Sitting up in the upper bunk was difficult, and it was a hard place to hold a conversation from.

Jeanne lay beside Sinitïa in her bunk. Sinitïa had brushed the dog again and removed the previous ribbon. She had replaced it with a small, yellow bow on each ear, and a larger, fancier one on the dog’s tail. She had tied her own hair into a pair of pigtails with large blue ribbons.

After changing into drier clothes, Meleng had tried to see Captain Gen, but Miana Ting had sent him straight back to the cabin.

“There is a small group of soldiers representing Lord Sildane on deck,” they had told him. “They are searching for the Princess Sinitïa, who has apparently disappeared. Captain Gen is trying to reassure them that she is not here, but they wish to search the ship anyway. Please return to your cabin and watch over the young woman who is most certainly not Princess Sinitïa, yes?”

Meleng had nodded. “Oh yes, definitely not Princess Sinitïa.”

“Then there will be nothing to worry about. We will come get you when they are gone.”

So they had been sitting here in the cabin for what must have been an hour now, maybe more.

“What if they look in here?” Sinitïa asked for the fifth time. “They might, you know.”

“I’m sure Captain Gen has a plan,” Meleng said. Truth be told though, he couldn’t imagine what sort of plan the Captain might have. They could have really done with Felitïa’s magic right now.

Sinitïa frowned. “I hope so.”

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door, and Miana Ting peered in. “The soldiers are searching the ship. The Captain has taken them to the hold to start. From there, they will work their way up. As soon as they have left the hold, I will take you there. We will need to move carefully to avoid them, but once you’re in the hold, you should be safe until the soldiers leave the ship.”

“How will you know when they have left the hold?” Jorvan asked.

“We have a signal arranged,” Ting replied.

About another quarter hour later, there was a crash from somewhere below.

“The Captain must have knocked something over,” Ting said. “He’s ever so clumsy. Let’s go.”

The three of them stood, Sinitïa picking up Jeanne first.

Ting shook their head. “Leave the dog.”

Sinitïa frowned, but put Jeanne down again.

Ting frowned at the ribbons in the dog’s hair, then headed down the passageway. They led the way through the ship. “The Captain will ascend on the bow side, so we will descend on the stern.”

“What about our belongings?” Meleng asked. “If the soldiers search there…”

“We have told them that we have a young couple travelling with us, but you are both staying the night in town. As far as they are concerned, you are both Eloorin. If they search the cabin, I trust they will find nothing that contradicts this.”

Meleng grimaced. “But they—”

“They won’t though.” Ting looked at Sinitïa. “Right?”

Sinitïa shrunk down. “Um...right.” She nodded. “Right.”

“Excellent,” Ting said.

If they found Sinitïa’s painting supplies, that could give her away. It wouldn’t be proof, but it could put the suspicion in their heads, and suspicion was all they would need to impound the ship long enough to confirm or deny that suspicion. And if they found her sword… Meleng wasn’t sure if Sinitïa had brought anything else that would positively identify her, though her clothes were richer than a typical Eloorin traveller.

They moved swiftly through the ship and descended into the hold. Dozens and dozens of crates, chests, and other items greeted them in the crowded space. In some places, there were just a few sitting isolated from others. In other spots, several crates were stacked on top of each other and secured with ropes. In one corner, there was a pen with about a dozen sheep.

Ting gestured about. “Find a place to hide and remain until I or the Captain come for you.”

Sinitïa went straight for the sheep pen and, after a moment, Jorvan followed her.

As Ting turned to leave, Meleng touched their arm.

Ting stopped and looked back at him. They gave him a stare that made them look a foot or more taller than they really were. “Yes?”

“If they search our cabin, Deanna’s...uh...Deanna has painting supplies that might...well, I’ve heard Princess Sinitïa likes to paint too. And Deanna does own some rich things that might be misconstrued as...uh...belonging to the Princess, and there’s a sword. They’d have to go through her clothes to find it, but…”

“I think we can cut the act between the two of us, yes?”

Meleng gulped. “Uh...yes, sure.”

“Everything will be fine. Trust us. This is not the first time we have dealt with a search. It won’t be the last either. Now, go hide with your girlfriend. Keep her quiet.”

“She’s not—”

“Go!”

Meleng nodded and hurried to find Sinitïa.

Jorvan had successfully led Sinitïa away from the sheep. Meleng found them behind some boxes near the pens.

“What if they find my paints?” Sinitïa asked.

“First Mate Ting says they have everything under control. I hope they’re right.”

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They sat there for ages, backs against the boxes, knees huddled against their chests. Well, Meleng and Sinitïa did. Jorvan altered between crouching and kneeling; there was no room for him to spread his wings enough to sit on the floor. Sinitïa shifted about a lot, too, and questioned several times how much longer it was going to be.

Occasionally, some of the crew came into the hold as they carried out their duties, but otherwise they remained undisturbed for a length of time Meleng couldn’t be bothered to estimate. Long enough. But eventually, Captain Gen’s voice echoed in the hold along with the sound of metal boots on wood.

“...prefer Beldrum to Porthaven. It’s just so much more pleasant here. Well, when you’re not having freezing rain, that is.”

Someone else grunted.

“So, where would you like to start this time? It really is an ingenious plan, if I may say so again, rechecking places you’ve—”

“Enough, Captain,” the other person said—a deep, male voice. “If I didn’t know better, I might think your prattle is an attempt to warn anyone down here. It isn’t, is it?”

“Oh, perish the thought, Captain. Please conduct your search. I have nothing to hide.”

Meleng looked to Jorvan and Sinitïa. Jorvan’s face was expressionless, though he was rising from kneeling to crouching. Sinitïa was looking wide-eyed at Meleng, her jaw twitching.

Someone snapped their fingers. “Spread out,” the deep voice—a guard captain based on how Gen had addressed him—said. “Pay attention to the exits. Don’t let anyone pass.”

Meleng rose to a crouch and motioned Sinitïa to do the same. “We need a distraction,” he whispered. He doubted the trick he’d used on the quay would work here though. Gods, he wished Felitïa was here.

Jorvan pointed towards the sheep pen. Meleng edged past Sinitïa, and peered round the boxes. An Aristen soldier was walking alongside the sheep pen, looking both inside it and about. Meleng pulled his head back.

Jorvan raised his hand and twirled his forefinger in a small circle. A tiny funnel of air formed in the path of his finger. After a moment, he pulled his finger back from the air funnel and used his palm to give the funnel a little push. It flew around the boxes, while Jorvan continued to make small motions with his hand and arm.

“Unfortunately, I cannot see what I am doing. I will need some luck.”

A sheep bleated, and bleated again a moment later. Then another bleated. And another.

Meleng peered around the corner of the boxes again. The soldier had stopped moving and was watching the sheep. Meleng couldn’t see the air funnel at this distance—not in the dim light—but it was clearly aggravating the sheep. He hoped the soldier also couldn’t see the funnel.

“Something’s wrong over here, sir!” the soldier called, and Meleng ducked back again.

Jorvan swiped his arm straight down.

Several sheep bleated loudly. There were several thuds, a crash, and more bleats, then the sound of running feet.

Meleng was tempted to look at what was happening, but instead, squeezed past Sinitïa and peeked around the opposite side of the crates. There appeared to be a safe way to another pile of crates—not as high and wide as where they were, but it would have to do.

He motioned to Jorvan and pointed the way. The Isyar nodded and took the lead. Sinitïa was peering round at the pens. Meleng touched her shoulder, and they ran over to join Jorvan.

“The soldier climbed into the pen with the sheep,” Sinitïa whispered. “They didn’t like that.” She giggled.

Jorvan put a finger to his lips and Sinitïa went silent. “The aft stairs are clear.”

“They’re called a ladder,” Sinitïa said. “I know, it’s weird.”

Jorvan put a finger to his lips again, and together, they darted for the ladder

“There’s no one there,” someone said.

“Probably just your ugly face stirred them up,” another voice said.

“Keep searching!” the deep-voiced guard captain said.

They made it to the ladder and rushed up.

“Where to?” Sinitïa asked.

Meleng shrugged. “Our cabin, I suppose.”

The passed a couple of crewmembers who ushered them along. When they reached their cabin, they found Ting there. They put a finger over their lips, ushered the group inside, and closed the door.

Meleng had been worried that the cabin would be a mess. He’d half-expected to find all their clothes and belongings scattered everywhere. But the cabin was exactly as they’d left it.

Sinitïa sat on her bunk. “Jeanne’s gone.” She frowned. “You didn’t hurt those sheep, did you?”

Jorvan shook his head. “No.” He sat on his bunk and shifted about as he adjusted his wings.

“That was neat what you did with the air,” Sinitïa said. She looked at Meleng. “That was scary. Is it over?”

Jorvan had gotten himself comfortable, so Meleng sat beside him. “I hope so.”

Sinitïa gave a small smile. “It was also kind of exciting. But scary too.”

The door opened and Ting looked in. “Shush.” Then they shut the door again.

Sinitïa frowned, and the three of them went back to waiting.

It must have been another hour before the door opened again. Captain Gen stood there, Ting just behind and to the side.

The Captain clapped his hands. “Well, well, well. That was rather exciting. You three have certainly provided me an eventful journey. Good thing you’re paying so much.”

“Are they gone?” Sinitïa asked.

“For now. They’re clearly suspicious. Apparently, there was some sort of disturbance near the ship earlier that they think might have been a distraction of some sort.” His gaze passed over all three of them, and Meleng did his best not to let his expression give anything away.

“At any rate,” the Captain continued, “we made sure they found nothing. They are likely to keep an eye on us, though. We’ve already hired a pair of actors to come to the ship in the morning to play the role of the passengers we told the authorities we have. We might need to take them along. Not sure yet. You will, of course, reimburse me their fee, yes?”

Meleng nodded. “Oh yes, of course.” He looked at Sinitïa, who nodded.

“Very good,” Gen said.

“Do we need the actors, though?” Meleng asked. “Any way we can convince you to leave early?”

Gen smirked and shook his head. “That would be more money than even you can afford. Besides, we need to de-ice first, and that requires an end to the rain.”

“Jorvan could do it for you,” Meleng said. “Couldn’t you, Jorvan?”

Jorvan bowed his head slightly—almost, but not quite, a nod. “I could, yes, but you are not thinking of the consequences, Meleng.”

“Too right, Jorvanultumn,” Gen said. “As much as I would love to avail myself of your friend’s abilities, Meleng, if we de-ice and leave faster than anyone else, we will draw suspicion. They will know you’re here, and they will send ships after us. We must wait this out. We will conduct our business as planned, and with a little luck, we will be on our way the day after tomorrow.”

That was longer than Meleng would have liked, but the reasoning made sense. He should have thought of that.

“The three of you must remain below deck at all times. We can’t risk anyone seeing you. Otherwise, you’re free to move about as you wish. Sit tight. We’ll get through this.” Gen gave them a broad smile, then turned away. Ting closed the door again.

Sinitïa bent over and pulled a roll of canvas out from under her bunk. “I think I’ll go paint the sheep.”