Traveler of the Blue Road
Part 3 - Chagum and the Hawk
Chapter 2 - Washing Up
Chagum slept for over half a day.
When he awoke, all he did was eat and relieve himself before he passed out again. Two full days passed this way. When he woke up clear-headed sometime on the third day, he was urgently hungry.
Chagum’s fever broke during his long sleep. He ate with the appetite of someone starving, devouring his breaakfast of spiced meat and vegetables almost without chewing. He ate all the fruit on his plate as well, even though it was wrinkled and shriveled from long storage.
Later that morning, a scorched smell coming from the deck made Chagum’s nose twitch. He wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve. Eating such a full meal made him feel tired again, but what he wanted most now was a bath, not more sleep. He didn’t even know if that was possible here, but maybe he’d be allowed to go swimming or something. He was uncomfortable making such a request, so he sat near the porthole in his cabin and prayed for a cool breeze.
Chagum could hear many voices through the wall; some were clear enough for him to understand. It was hot, so the door of his cabin as open slightly to circulate the air. He could see the steps leading up to the deck.
Footsteps were audible outside his cabin. Hugo appeared on the stairs carrying a large metal basin. A set of clean clothes was folded underneath the basin. He entered Chagum’s cabin, put the basin on the floor, and knelt down.
“I thought the heat might be uncomfortable, Your Majesty,” Hugo said. “Would you like to bathe?”
The muscles of Chagum’s back went rigid. The vagueness of Hugo’s question implied that he was offering to bathe Chagum, which was both embarrassing and unnecessary. “I can bathe myself. Just leave the water, a towel and the clothes.”
“Very well.”
Chagum started removing his sweat-soaked shirt. When he twisted to remove his right arm from his sleeve, his left shoulder burned with pain. He gasped and tried to shrug out of his shirt, but both of his arms were stuck.
Hugo observed this struggle silently for a few seconds, then extended his hand to help pull the fabric away from Chagum’s injured shoulder.
“Don’t touch me!” The force of his own shout surprised Chagum. He ignored the pain of his injury by focusing on the cresting wave of his rage. He flinched, stared down at the floor, and yanked the shirt over his shoulders with a wince.
“I’ll go outside. Call when you’re done,” Hugo said quietly. He got up, bowed, and turned toward the door.
There was a young woman standing in the doorway. “Do you have enough towels?” she asked. “I wasn’t sure, so I brought extra.”
“I thought I told you not to come in here, Senna,” Hugo said. He sounded genuinely angry for all that his voice was so quiet. He seized her arm to prevent her from entering the room.
Senna’s mouth snapped shut. She looked down at Hugo’s hand and frowned.
“I’ve ordered my people to stay away, but this is my ship. I can go wherever I want on my own ship,” she said in clipped, precise Sangalese. “If you don’t like that, you’re free to leave. Take your Yogoese noble and get off at the next port. I don’t need money so badly that I’ll tolerate disrespect.”
Hugo stared at her in silence, then frowned. He faced Chagum again. “This is the ship’s captain, Senna,” he said.
She didn’t know that Chagum was the Crown Prince of New Yogo. It seemed that no one but Hugo did. Chagum had to be careful here; if he spoke carelessly, he might give something away.
Hugo’s eyes flicked hesitantly between Senna and Chagum, but he finally let go of Senna’s arm and stepped out of her way. “Fine. Go in.”
Senna gave him a nod of approval. “I’ll respect you and your masters as long as you respect me. We have an agreement, after all.” Her voice sounded completely different when she wasn’t angry.
“Understood,” Hugo said. “I swear I won’t interfere with your rights or your role on this ship.” He passed through the door next to her, then turned around again to give her a warning: “This is a very important person. Please don’t offend him.”
Senna’s eyebrows rose slightly. When she looked up at Hugo, she appeared genuinely curious. She stilled her expression to seriousness, then faced Chagum.
“It’s nice to meet you,” she said. “I’m Senna, this ship’s Tsuara Kashina.”
“Tsuara Kashina?” Chagum asked.
Senna shrugged and said, “The soul of the ship,” in exaggeratedly slow Yogoese.
Chagum nodded in understanding. The words were a title, not a name.
Hugo glanced between Senna and Chagum with interest as he leaned against the doorframe. Senna was staring at Chagum as if she were attempting to estimate his worth. Chagum submitted to this scrutiny, remaining still and unresponsive.
Something about Chagum made Senna smile. “You’re hurt that badly and you still intend to bathe yourself? Are you sure you don’t need help?”
Chagum nodded. “I can do it. I don’t need any help.”
Senna knelt down next to the basin of water. “You can’t wring the towel one-handed. Let me help. That’s all I’ll do.” She took a dry towel, dipped it in the basin to soak it, then wrung it out and handed it to Chagum.
Chagum accepted the towel and started wiping himself down. The cool cloth cleaned the sweat and salt from his skin. It was a relief to finally be clean--cleaner, anyway.
Senna sat across from him and said nothing. She dipped the cloth in the water and wrung it out for him, but did nothing else. The cabin was eerily quiet. Chagum didn’t even hear anyone else moving on the ship.
Hugo stood leaning against the doorframe and frowned slightly. Chagum’s behavior was unexpected. He moved slowly so that he wouldn’t aggravate his injuries, but all of his movements were precise and efficient. Hugo had expected Chagum to ask Senna to bathe him, since such a mundane task was unbecoming of his status.
When Chagum noticed Hugo, he asked, “Are you still here? Do you need something?”
“No. I’m sorry that I can only provide salt water at this time. We’ll be stopping at a harbor tomorrow, so I can bring you fresh water for bathing then.”
Chagum pulled on the clean shirt, feeling much better than he had when he’d first woken up.
Senna gathered up the basin and his soiled shirt, then stood up. She side-stepped Hugo and left the room.
“Pardon the rudeness of this request, but I’m going to have to ask that you remain in this cabin while we’re in the harbor, Your Majesty. As soon as we’re on the open sea again, you’ll be free to walk around the ship as you wish. It’s only going to get warmer as we go south. We have a long journey ahead of us.”
Chagum stared up at Hugo without saying a word.
“You’ve likely guessed this already, but the Sangalese pirates on this ship have no idea who you are. They believe you to be a noble from New Yogo, but do not know your rank. Please go along with this story. It’s for your own protection, Your Majesty.” He turned to leave.
“How long have I been on this ship?” Chagum asked.
Hugo turned to face him slowly. “About two months, Your Majesty.”
Chagum’s eyes widened slightly. It had been more than two months since the Mikado had cast him out of the imperial palace. Why had Hugo taken him? Why was he on a pirate ship? How had he known that Chagum would try to escape captivity on that beach in Sangal?
The white light of the sun passed over Hugo’s face. He was smiling in a vaguely self-satisfied way. “I am called a hawk in the language of the Talsh. That means I’m a spy. Part of my work is to pass secret messages back to the Talsh empire. Sometimes, I intercept communications from other nations.”
Hugo spun on his heel and left without saying another word.
Chagum broke into a cold sweat. Hugo must have read Princess Saluna’s letter. He’d known about the trap set for the Yogoese navy at Kalsh. He’d known that Chagum would be there, and when. But how? Everything would have had to work out perfectly in order for his plan to work. If Chagum had reacted differently to the letter, he never would have sailed to Sangal.
Chagum thought that Hugo must be willing to risk everything in order to win. How had he understood the Mikado’s motives and potential actions so well? How long had he spied on New Yogo? Months? Years?
The subject of Chagum and the Mikado’s contention was common knowledge; most people in New Yogo also knew that Admiral Harusuan supported Chagum over the Mikado.
Chagum’s heard beat loudly in his ears. He’d been fully aware of the dissension in New Yogo before he’d left, but he never expected the Talsh to know so much about New Yogo’s internal struggles. He felt like the Talsh had already devoured New Yogo even though the war hadn’t really started yet. A chill went up his spine.
Shuga...
Chagum removed the alsam medal from his belt pouch and gripped it tightly. This entire situation was hopeless. He couldn’t see a way past it. He was all alone here.
Chagum heard people moving on the ship through his back, which was still pressed to the wall of his cabin. A shaft of sunlight shone across the floor.
What had happened to Jin? He’d seen the soldiers cast nets over him, but what about after that? He hoped Jin was still alive, but he suspected that he was dead.
Chagum started shaking. Jin had fought so hard so that he could get away. When he thought about it, Chagum realized that he was always being protected by someone.
Tosa’s face rose up in his mind’s eye. He’d smiled at Chagum and said, “You must survive. No matter what. Promise me.”
Chagum closed his eyes. So many people had risked or given their lives to defend him. He was only alive now because of their sacrifices. Why had so many people given so much for his sake? Compared to all of them, he was still a useless child. He wasn’t strong enough or capable enough to imitate any of them.
Chagum bit down on his trembling lip and turned to look out at the sea through the cabin’s small porthole. It would be so much easier to jump into the ocean and let the waves swallow him up. If he was dead, he couldn’t be responsible for anything that happened after. He’d be free of all his terrible burdens.
Chagum took shallow breaths in an effort to hold back his tears. He refused to waste the sacrifices of all the people who had worked so hard just so that he could survive. It was shameful to even consider such a thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment