The town of Lutrin was getting further away with each passing moment as the crown prince of Sengar stood on the deck of what was most definitely not a ship belonging to the kingdom's navy.
"How has it come to this?" Quinn could only ask as he reflected on the morning's events.
As a royal, naturally the highest of nobility, Quinn had been on sporting hunts for wild game or exterminations of dangerous monsters. It was both exciting and challenging to locate creatures that often remained elusive. It was a flashy take that well-to-do nobles took to play at being adventurers.
Unlike the lesser nobility or commonfolk that might make a living off being an adventurer though, Quinn had never experienced what they would call being ‘dragged by the quest.' It was a phrase that adventurers used to mean that the task, typically a quest, one was doing was far more than what they had signed up for. Such an example might be removing some bandits only to find out that they were security for the death cult in the cave that was the base. If the cult remained, they would just get new bandits, so the adventurers would inevitably need to remove the cult. Of course, adventurers were compensated by the Adventurer's Guild when such things occurred.
Quinn was certainly being 'dragged by the quest.' It was already two months since he and his closest companions originally set out to do one thing, recruit the newest hero to appear for their cause. Just in that time, they had traveled to four different noble territories, replacing one along the way, dealt with a poisoning, fought a mole-like monster, and now we're playing escort and guard to said hero.
Of course, while Quinn was a bit exasperated by the entire situation, he was also still hopeful. For the next three days, he was on this ship with Rebecca, the hero. While they had discussed various aspects of future collaboration since they had truly met in Perissartio, Quinn and Rebecca had not discussed anything personal. This was an opportunity, since he was intent on getting her to be his primary queen.
That, of course, did depend on being able to speak with her freely. Such a free conversation was unlikely, given the obstructive force standing next to him on the deck. Quinn glanced at the young elf with a frustrated expression.
“Yes?” Wyen asked.
“Nothing,” Quinn replied.
The sounds of someone losing their breakfast distracted the pair from any further conversation. Fang had been looking unsteady for some time, so while the pair had some sympathy for him there was nothing they could do.
“Can we just go back and get off?” the wolf beastfolk whimpered.
“Wyen, take him to the cot. I’ll see if Rebecca can do something for him.”
Wyen eyed Quinn with suspicion, with good cause. As of late, Quinn had been a little better about his womanizing habits, but the tempting proximity of Rebecca was of concern to Wyen. While Adelade was with her at the moment, Quinn had few qualms about speaking freely to her before.
“Please don’t say anything to ruin this opportunity,” he cautioned preemptively.
Wyen helped Fang up from his slumped position and escorted the sickly knight below deck. Taking a deep breath of the salty air, Quinn turned to the rest of the ship.
The Milkmaid was considered a rapid-class ship, which was comparable to the clipper-class of the seventeen and eighteen hundreds of Earth. As the name implied, rapids were built for speed. The Milkmaid was a little on the larger side, at around 60 meters in length and 15 meters wide. They were currently not at their top speed as there was a modest cargo that was being carried as well.
Quinn had been near the bow, and was moving across the deck towards the stern as he noticed the captain approaching him. The captain was an otter beastfolk, with large whiskers protruding from a short snout, a sturdy tail, and somewhat stubby arms and legs that ended in partially webbed hands and feet.
“I’d like to speak with you’s. Alone,” the captain said as he came up to Quinn.
Quinn had, as per Rebecca’s request, been keeping his true identity a secret so as not to cause her further trouble. She had genuinely seemed irritated at feeling rushed out of Lutrin by Quinn’s visit to the naval base.
“Alright,” Quinn answered, following the captain as he briefly lamented the lost opportunity to speak with Rebecca.
The gentle slap of the captain’s bare, webbed footpaws against the deck brought a slight smile to Quinn’s face as they made their way to the captain’s quarters. He was not sure exactly why the captain desired this private conversation. The two settled into the only two simple wooden chairs in the small, yet spacious, quarters. The captain pulled out a pair of mugs and, after filling them with a mysterious alcoholic smelling liquid, shoved one to Quinn. The captain took a swig from his mug and let out a sigh.
“So who are you’s really?”
The captain turned his head slightly to watch Quinn, taking another sip as he did. It was not the question that Quinn had been expecting, but was not one he had not expected to arise at some point. After all, they had only been on the ship for a few hours at this point.
“Is that necessary for you to know?” Quinn replied, taking a cautious sip of the drink.
Normally, Quinn would never have consumed anything before it was tested for poison, but he was hoping that the captain had no reason to go that far when he did not even know who Quinn was.
“The young miss may seem to be in charge, but the others look to ya. You’s, the miss, the other girl, and the elf all carry you’selves like nobles. I ain’t asking because I care about you’s reasons for getting to Azural Island…”
Quinn sat out the drink in surprise. He knew they were heading towards the islands that the Kingdom of Sengar technically controlled, but had not expected that Azural would be the first stop. He briefly thought back to the courtship party and Cindra’s declarations that night, as well as her appearance, and a growing unease started settling in his chest.
“Something wrong lad? That’s good rum you’s just let loose.”
“Ah… It’s nothing. Did you say rum?”
“Aye. Good stuff, ain’t it?”
“Where does it come from?”
“The islands. They keep a hefty tax on it though, so not much gets out. Think it’ll be they big export when they break off from the kingdom.”
“They want to break off?”
“Lad, I know you’s a noble and there’s no way you’s don’t know that.”
Quinn took another sip as he contemplated his response.
“I’ma be honest with you’s. The Milkmaid’s a runner. You’s know what that means?”
“I don’t, but I guess you’re a smuggler.”
“I’ma liberal goods provider, thank you’s.”
Quinn chuckled at the loose interpretation.
“You’re hoping to use my position in the event that you get captured.”
“You’s a smart one, for a noble.”
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“Adelade, can you give me an honest answer? Why did you hesitate when we were talking about Quinn a few days back?”
Rebecca and Adelade were below deck in a small room usually used for storage. Since they were the only women aboard, it was a compromised place for dignities sake. Adelade shifted uncomfortably.
“What do you mean?”
“You dodged my question about his personality.”
Adelade really did not want to answer the question. It was practically a state secret that Quinn’s mind was philanderous to an extreme level. Telling Rebecca about it could be seen as treasonous. However, Quinn was trying, and had been succeeding lately, to control his impulses. He was also hoping to court Rebecca, so she would likely find out in time.
“If I tell you, your opinion of him is going to change,” Adelade warned.
“Is it that bad?”
“Well… I suppose I could say that, to start, he is honest with his feelings. But it is how he expresses them that’s the issue.”
Rebecca looked confused, “So he doesn’t lie?”
“Not when it comes to women at least.”
“Ah,” Rebecca seemed to understand what Adelade was hinting at.
“What he does express when not monitored is unbecoming of a noble, let alone royalty. To be fair, he is somewhat capable of controlling himself. Of course, even when monitored, he can be crude. In efforts to maintain a positive perception, his contact with women is limited and controlled.”
“So you are privy to this secret.”
“And now you are as well.”
Rebecca nodded, thinking about something.
“Rebecca,” Adelade cautiously spoke up again, “I think it is only fair to tell you now, since I told a bit about how he can be, Quinn is looking at you as his first queen candidate.”
Silence followed her announcement. Adelade saw Rebecca’s face change through at least three shades of red as she started blushing. Rebecca pulled up the hood of the baggy tunic she was wearing, something she had called a ‘hoodie,’ and hid her face.
Adelade internally grimaced as she wondered whether she had made the right decision.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
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Unfortunately for Quinn, he had no opportunities to sit alone with Rebecca. In part, it was because Wyen stuck with him, something Quinn could not blame Wyen for. Curiously though, Rebecca also had been avoiding him whenever possible, preferring to stay in the small space that had been provided to her and Adelade. He noticed that she was watching him, but whenever he returned her glances she turned a bright red.
Today, the Milkmaid would reach Azural Island, the heart of the Azural house’s territory. It had been years since he had accompanied his father on a journey to the island territories, so while the political climate that the territories presented was turbulent to say the least, Quinn felt a sense of adventure at visiting the area again.
Quinn happened to glance down at the waters the Milkmaid was cutting through and saw several large, dark shapes beneath the waves.
“Ah! What is that?” he gasped in surprise.
Wyen looked at where Quinn was pointing, but likewise was unable to identify the mysterious shapes. A sealfolk crewmember nearby glanced over and let out a laugh.
“They’re whales you coward. Hunter whales I’d guess,” he chuckled
Hunter whales, or orcas as Rebecca might say were she to see them, were a predatory whale species that utilized the Sengar Isles as a breeding grounds. Though they were comparable to orcas, they grew to be about twice the size of their Earth counterpart.
Quinn and Wyen watched the whales beneath the surface until they disappeared from sight, marveling at the brief glimpses at the black and white creatures as they surfaced to breathe.
“Imagine if we had ships that could travel beneath the surface,” Quinn commented.
“They would still need to surface to fire their ballistae and spells,” Wyen replied, understanding Quinn’s unspoken military application.
Since cannons and other gunpowder based weaponry had not been realized yet to the greater world, military vessels were still armed with the large siege-based, crossbow-like ballistae. Spells from mages tended to make up the difference in comparative firepower that the limited bolts could do when it came to long range naval combat, but the close range method of naval combat was boarding enemy vessels. It was one of the things the Sengar Special Elite Amphibious Legion, or SEALs, trained specifically for.
“But such a thing would work for avoiding they,” a voice said from behind.
Quinn and Wyen glanced back to see the Milkmaid’s captain standing behind them. Apparently while distracted with whale watching, he had snuck up behind them. Unfortunately, Fang was still suffering from seasickness despite Rebecca’s assistance.
The pair looked to the horizon, seeing the edges of Azural Island coming over it. Likewise, several ships of similar make could be made out forming a protective barrier. At this distance, the crest on the sails was difficult to make out, but it was likely that the ships were part of the Azural’s navy.
“Captain, you mentioned your particular skillset the other day. I think I might like to see what that entails doing,” Quinn said.
“You’s want to avoid the navy? I’ma take a liking to you’s in no time!”
With a smirk, the captain began shouting out orders to the crew. The Milkmaid slowed and, as best as possible, held its position. A short while later, Rebecca and Adelade emerged from below deck and approached Quinn and Wyen.
“Why did we stop?” Adelade asked.
“See those ships out that way?” Quinn pointed, “I think it would be best for them not to discover our presence aboard this ship, particularly Rebecca’s. So the captain is going to take evasive actions.”
Rebecca blushed as he mentioned her.
“Thank you,” she stammered.
“We said that we would protect you. The Azural’s practically made a public threat against you. While I would prefer that we avoid the islands altogether to prevent any confrontations, you said you still wanted to come here, so we will do what we can.”
Rebecca nodded before retreating.
“Adelade?” Quinn asked, stopping the mage from following the hero.
“Yes?”
“What is going on with Rebecca? She’s been flustered since we got on the ship and avoiding me.”
“It is concerning. He has not even said much to her, much less anything that would concern us,” added Wyen.
“Oh. That,” Adelade sheepishly said, looking as though she had been caught.
“That?” Quinn pressed.
Adelade wanted to avoid this conversation even more than her previous one with Rebecca.
“I may have said something along the lines of your desire to make her your queen, and the concerns about your interactions with women.”
Quinn was speechless.
“You what?” Wyen shouted, “There are reasons that is kept under wraps. You know this! And exposing the end intent of his motives? Why are you sabotaging getting her on our side?”
“It doesn’t sabotage anything! You men wouldn’t understand, but you can’t logically reason through this with her. She’s a hero remember? They think differently, especially about love and relationships. I’ve been talking with her to get her to open up to Quinn despite knowing things. She’s fighting with potential feelings right now! If anything, you’re going to ruin it,” Adelade retorted.
Adelade was glaring at Wyen in a manner that Quinn had never seen before. Putting aside what Adelade had told Rebecca for a moment, Quinn realized in this moment who it was that Adelade was in love with herself, and the complications that posed.
“I’m going to leave the two of you to talk,” Quinn said, edging away from the pair and disappearing after Rebecca.
Wyen and Adelade were continuing to glare at each other in silence. The tension was palpable, and even the Milkmaid’s crew were avoiding the pair as best they could.
“Why did you tell her?” Wyen asked again, breaking the silence.
“That’s what you want to discuss right now?”
“What should I be talking about?”
“How are you not upset? Father will stand in the way of us. How are you not enraged by what I’m being forced into by him?”
Wyen sighed.
“I knew from the moment I met you that I would never win against him. And I tried at first to avoid ‘us’ before there was anything to fight him for. But I failed that, and want nothing more than to fight him for you. But I still won’t win.”
Adelade was quiet for a moment.
“You won’t fight alone. Quinn and Fang will help you naturally, but I will be with you too. When I was talking with Rebecca, she told me that what matters is my happiness for my future, not Father’s. I will take it, and throw out everything if I have to to get it.”
Wyen was taken aback.
“Everything?”
“Everything about my family, my position, absolutely.”
“For me?”
“You tried throwing away your own family, I don’t want to hear it.”
“That wasn’t because of you though. I mean, I still was hoping at the time, but it was more than that.”
“You know, as smart as you are, you’re an idiot sometimes,” she laughed.
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Knocking on the door to the women’s space, Quinn called out.
“May I speak with you?”
There was an extended pause, leaving him wondering for a moment if Rebecca had gone somewhere else on the ship.
“Come in.”
Rebecca was sitting up in one of the two cots in the room as Quinn entered. There was nowhere to sit otherwise, so Quinn remained standing. They awkwardly looked towards each other, but were not making eye contact.
“Adelade mentioned telling you some things about me.”
“Yeah.”
“That’s why you’ve been avoiding me.”
Rebecca did not immediately respond.
“I don’t know how to feel about it. Are you interested in me, or just ‘me?’”
At the second self reference, she vaguely gestured at herself, implying just her figure.
“I’m worried that you only see me in a physical sense, given what she said.”
If Quinn were honest with himself, then in this precise moment she was very much correct. Fighting the urge he felt to, as he saw it, compliment her, he remained silent.
“I can understand why you think that. I will admit you are beautiful, but what I said about your assistance in helping improve the country is equally true. Heroes have that power to make great changes, and you are one. Sengar will undoubtedly benefit from working with you and supporting you.”
“You want to use me then?”
Rule two of the nobility’s secret rules for dealing with heroes was to exploit them relentlessly. Rule three was to never let the hero find out the rules. Rebecca had, perhaps unintentionally, trapped Quinn into either lying about what he wanted, or admitting to the second rule, in the process breaking the third.
“Well… yes, but actually no.”
Rebecca let slip a slight laugh, but said nothing. Quinn was not sure what he said that was funny.
“I want you to help me, yes. However, I have no intention of forcing you to do so. Am I hoping that, were you one of my queens, you would stay and benefit the country for years to come? Yes. And finally, although I know how enamored you are with me, I realize how little we know about each other.”
Quinn did not notice the perturbed expression that crossed Rebecca’s face at the mention of multiple queens. He also exaggerated, though he did not think it so, the last bit about her feelings towards him.
Rebecca remained in silent thought for several minutes, which Quinn decided not to interrupt.
“I’m not sure about any sort of love, but you haven’t been as bad as Adelade mentioned. Maybe in time things will change, but for right now, let’s work on becoming friends.”
Friends. For Quinn, the prospect of a female friend had been routinely denied. Even Adelade, one of the only women his age that he had routine contact with, would not have considered Quinn a friend, despite the relaxed nature they could share. Only Wyen and Fang were Quinn’s true friends.
“Very well,” he said.
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Several hours past sunset, the Milkmaid was once again on the move. All lanterns were shuttered so as to give minimal light and everyone stayed quiet as the ship glided through the waters. Only the occasional order from the captain and the minimal movements to carry out said orders were heard.
The MIlkmaid was being guided towards a gap between two ships in the improvised blockade. It was easy to find, as unlike her own crew, the crews of the other vessels made no effort to conceal their presence.
Quinn was impressed at the stealth the captain had employed to get them as close as they were without being spotted. It certainly helped that the captain was also quite familiar with the waters around the islands, and therefore knew there were no natural obstacles on their current course. It made the sudden lurching unexpected and startling.
“What was that?” Quinn asked.
“Not sure,” replied the captain.
Suddenly, magical bursts of light emanated from the two ships they were attempting to sneak past, leaving the area nearly as bright as day.
“Some sort of warning signal apparently,” the captain amended his previous statement.
With a few succinct orders, the Milkmaid was a flurry of activity as the crew scrambled to switch from their slow speed to a faster one. As the ship picked up speed, the two other vessels were likewise moving to intercept and detain them before they escaped.
It was tense as the gaps between all three ships closed. Quinn could hear the shouts from the two others to surrender and be boarded. It was a situation that Quinn would prefer not to have occur. He could easily avoid any repercussions for his and the others presence if he threw the captain and crew to the navy, but he figured that having such a unique asset as the Milkmaid was something worth keeping around.
With expert steering by the helmsman, the Milkmaid avoided collisions with the two other ships. Being as close as they were now, Quinn could make out the Azural crest on the sails, confirming the fears he had thought plausible earlier. It seemed that, like the captain had said, the island territories were almost practically in rebellion.
Unfortunately for the Azural ships, the Milkmaid was a faster craft than they were even with its cargo slowing it down considerably.
“Will they not simply use magic to stop us?” Quinn asked.
“Nah. They don’t wanna spend the night picking us out of the water,” the captain replied with a glance back at the ships attempting pursuit.
The gap was slowly increasing again between the ships, giving Quinn a sense of relief. At least today, the threats of being found out by the Azural’s were mitigated.
As the morning sun was breaking over the horizon, the Milkmaid came into port.
“Welcome to Azure Gaze,” said the captain.