Lai gestured to the stairs nearby that led up to the forecastle. “Sit.” He did gratefully while Lai leaned against the stair railing. The wind whipped past them, smelling of briny salt and some sort of ocean plant smell he didn’t know.
“Thank you,” Shi’chen said, motioning with the cup.
Lai nodded to him. “First time on a ship?” he asked in his slightly accented Hanen-shii.
Shi’chen nodded slowly. “Yes,” he said softly. “I’m still trying not to get dizzy.”
When Lai looked uncertain, Shi’chen spun his hand in a circle in front of his eyes. “Dizzy.”
Lai nodded in understanding. “It will go away soon,” he said as the wind whipped past again.
Shi’chen suddenly spotted Lai’s ears from where they poked out under his blond hair as the wind tossed it. Where his own goblin ears and the ears of elves were long, extending almost past the back of their head in slightly rounded points, Lai’s ears were only about half that long, ending in a more severe point, lying against the side of his head, unmoving. He had never seen such short ears before. He also noticed that the young man’s hair was plaited into a braid on the sides of his head in such a way that, at a quick glance, or under a cap or scarf, his hair would look like he had longer ears like other elves did.
“You’re… you’re not an elf,” Shi’chen said softly.
Lai turned to study Shi’chen’s face a moment, as if trying to read what emotion might be there, his body tensing against the railing he leaned on, as if he were preparing to run. Shi’chen swallowed hard, then slowly held out his arms from his sides, palms up. “No, please. I won’t hurt you. I’ve just never seen ears like yours before.” He motioned to his own longer ears, hoping that Lai would be able to understand his tone, if not his words. Lai seemed to understand what he said, and his tension eased a little, though he still seemed like a cat prepared to dash at the slightest movement. Shi’chen felt his stomach clench. It was the body language of someone who was used to running.
Lai’s green eyes searched Shi’chen’s face another moment before he let out a breath. “My father was an elf,” he said slowly in careful Hanen-shii. “My mother was human.”
Shi’chen blinked. He might have been less surprised if Lai had said he was part sea dragon. “Human?” he repeated. He suddenly had so many questions. He had heard of “human,” though he had never met one himself. The lands inhabited by their race were on the other side of the world, in places that very few elves, let alone goblins, had traveled to, and returned from. There had been rare stories of “humans” in elven lands, and the few goblin stories of humans were from generations before his time. They were no more real to Shi’chen than the mythical beasts of legends. But yet, here stood Lai, with the strangest ears he had ever seen, saying that his mother was of the race of humans. He opened his mouth to ask a question, but Lai suddenly spoke first, in his accented but clear Hanen-shii, seeming to have made some sort of decision.
“Look, you’re on a ship. There’s only so many places you can go. Just be careful. Not everyone will be your friend.”
The words sounded like a warning, but not a threat. Shi’chen nodded slowly. “Thank you.”
Lai gave Shi’chen a small smile. “If you get dizzy again, go stand at the bow and watch the horizon.” He pointed up the stairs to the forecastle. “It helps.”
Shi’chen nodded again, but before he could say anything more, Lai had moved past him and over to the main mast, climbing up the rope ladder with a speed and grace Shi’chen had never seen before. He watched him until the sun caught his eyes and Lai was no longer visible amongst the blue sky and white sail.
Chapter eight
A'bbni
A’bbnihadneverbeenmore grateful for a physician than he was for Thelara, the ship’s physician Kella had sent to him. Thelara had gone to work with a gentle compassion that A’bbni admired, cleaning and bandaging his wounds, being very sensitive and kind about the injuries in more personal places. They used several special blends of healing medicines that A’bbni had to ask about. By the time Thelara had finished their ministrations, A’bbni felt better than he had in days, and he sat eagerly talking with Thelara for most of the afternoon until the physician was called away by a seasick passenger.
A’bbni went to work, scribbling notes on a piece of paper in the office. He was not about to squander the opportunity to continue learning, especially from an elven physician with years of experience working with both goblins and elves. He really needed to compliment Lord Kella on his staff, as they had all been nothing but professional and kind.
A few days went by, and he was at least able to occupy his time with helping Thelara, reading books in the library, and having meals with Lord Kella on occasion when Kella was available. He learned that Kella was married and had two children at home already, which he was quite curious about. Goblin families often were small, usually no more than two children, but Kella had five siblings, most of whom had at least two children already. He was learning so much about elven culture that he had not known before. If the reason for his travels had been different, it would have been a welcomed lesson.
A’bbni had lost track of time since they had been taken from The Keep, but the weather growing colder the further north they sailed prompted him to look at the date. There were three seasons, and today was the second day of the third season. His heart jolted at that harsh realization. Tomorrow was his birthday, and the day he would turn 20, the age of majority in goblin society. Their Father had been planning a celebration for them for months now. A’bbni wondered to himself if that would have been the day that their Father would have tried to force En’shea to surrender his claim to the throne. He also wondered which of them their Father would have named as his successor. By all rights, Shi’chen would have been the next in line, being the elder of the two twins, but he already had a successful military career before even reaching adulthood.
He forced himself to not think about it anymore. Their Father was dead; anything he might have wanted died with him. He thought again of those two earring studs in their Father’s ear, and that sent him racing to throw up as he felt the sting of Hi’jan’s knife against his skin, the heat of him pressed against the back of his legs, the smell of blood and leather trapped inside his lungs. A’bbni did not sleep at all that night, just lay awake in the darkness of his room, staring out the window at the seemingly unchanging ocean.
The morning of his birthday dawned cloudy, mirroring his feelings as he tried to drag himself into some semblance of presentable. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined he would reach his majority day without his twin by his side and not even in the only home he had ever known.
Kella summoned him to his office after breakfast. A’bbni tapped lightly on the door, and Kella answered it himself, giving him a warm smile. “Welcome, my lord,” he said, gesturing for A’bbni to enter and sit on the comfortable couch. A’bbni sat, his fingers twisting nervously into the hem of his tunic. Kella sat down in a chair nearby, pouring A’bbni a cup of tea from the pot on the table without asking, then picking up his own that he had been drinking before A’bbni arrived. “I wanted to ask you, what are your plans when we arrive in port?”
A’bbni blinked, his fingers curling around the warm cup. “I… What do you mean, my lord?”
“I know you were thrown into this situation quite unexpectedly,” Kella said, his blue eyes somber above his cup. “Do you have a place to stay?”
A’bbni shook his head slowly, turning his eyes down into the teacup. “No. All I know is that I am supposed to meet my brother atVayalla Oren.”
“That’s what I thought,” Kella said with a soft sigh, lowering the cup again. “I am sure things would have been more prepared had the crown prince not initiated the strike against the Regent, but as such. When we arrive in Csereth, would you like to stay with my family?”
His cup paused halfway to his mouth. “Really?”
“Of course,” Kella said. “Part of my duty to the rebels is to ensure your safety, and I can hardly do so if you are left to fend for yourself in a strange city.”
