The navigator, p.10
The Navigator, page 10
"I don't know. She's barely spoken to me beyond yelling at me. She's looking for that ship. She saved me so. . . I owe her."
"Where are her parents?"
"Don't know. You've seen her. She's not chatty. I think she and her sister must have grown up feral or something."
"Well you and Petal are welcome to stay in my palace for as long as you'd like. I know she's anxious to find that sister, but you look like you could use a home for a while."
"Thanks. I'll think about it."
"No pressure." Tarquin put all of the newly mixed drinks onto a tray and began walking back to the women. "How about you join me and the ladies for some Hesperian TV? Can't get cable, but I have all the good shows on disc. Recorded."
"No thank you." Quill stared out at the sea. "I want to be alone for a little while."
***
Petal peered down the dark beach. A sliver of the moon hung over the ocean.
Hugo was on the shore a few hundred feet down from her. He was walking up to her boat, which lay on the sand slightly back from the tide line.
Petal jogged toward him. "They said you've heard from Antigony."
Hugo had a long piece of nylon slung over his shoulder. He looked back and nodded.
"Yeah, she agreed to see you. I'll take you and Quill out to the border in the morning."
Petal skipped alongside him, studying the nylon. "What is that?"
"It's a new sail for your boat. It'll make it much faster. Same kind they use for windjammers." He threw the fabric into the boat.
Petal examined her little craft. Hugo had packed it full with water jugs and tins of food. Along with the sail, he'd given her a steel frame to hang a shade onto.
"Tarquin said to give me all of this?"
"Eh, he doesn't know, or care to. A lot of this stuff has been lying around for years. He never uses it.
Petal studied him. "How long have you lived here?"
"Ten years. Since Tarquin was seventeen."
"You're his friend?"
"Huh?" Hugo scratched his head. "Not really. What do you mean?"
"Nothing." Petal hopped into her boat and began arranging everything to her liking. "You just seem nothing like him."
"Heh. He's just rich. He can do whatever he wants. If he wants to get baked and drunk all day - that's his prerogative. He treats me well and pays me even better, so I've got no problem." Hugo picked at the paint on Petal's boat. It was peeling. "You should really repaint this. Will help stop all this rusting. . ."
"What about Antigony?" Petal poked her head up. "What's she like?"
"She's a bitch," Hugo sniffed. "Watch yourself around her. People that visit her don't always come back."
Petal jumped out of her boat. Her bare feet sunk into the wet sand.
"While you're there keep your eye on the exit."
"What?" Petal twitched.
Hugo pointed down the beach.
"See that jetty? That's a bit past Tinian's dividing line. Part of Antigony's side of the island. I'm not allowed to, but if you want, I can anchor your boat out by the end of it - after I drop you off at the border. Antigony's sea patrols are loose at night. Their path swings wide out to sea. The patrols on land stick to the border – so they won't notice your boat floating in the water. As long as you can find a clear path back to it, you'll have a way out if things go sour."
"Okay?"
"If you don't need it, Antigony's patrols should find it by morning. They'll haul it in for you. It will look like it just drifted down there and got stuck on the rocks. They'll be none the wiser."
Hugo began to walk toward the palace.
"Why are you helping me?"
"Huh? You don't want me to? Then fuck it."
"No - just. . .I'm not used to it. And you're not the first."
"Sea people have to look out for one another, right? Dry foots won't, now will they?"
- 21 -
"Quill."
Quill felt someone shake her. She was half asleep. Her face felt puffy. She wrapped her blanket tighter around herself and buried her head into her pillow.
"Quill!" The nagging voice continued.
"Urgh." Quill opened her eyes.
Petal was standing at the foot of the bed. She was already dressed and she looked like she was edging to go. Her eyes demanded that Quill get up.
"What?"
"Hugo's taking us to see Antigony."
Quill rubbed her face. It was heavily creased with sleep lines.
"What time is it? Can't we go later? I still need to catch-up on sleep. You have no idea what I've been through."
"It's already afternoon." Petal fidgeted. "He's going now."
Quill yawned. "Do. . .do you really need me to go with you?"
"You want me to go alone?"
"I don't want you to do anything. You just seem to like taking care of yourself. I wasn't sure you wanted me to come along."
Petal crossed her arms. "Fine. I'll go alone. Have fun living with Tarquin."
"Just wait. I'll go. Give me a few minutes to get dressed and ready. I'll meet you outside."
Petal walked out of the room.
Quill collapsed back onto the sheets. They were soft as lamb's wool. An ocean breeze came through the window and chilled the night sweat that still clung to her skin. She didn't want to leave Tarquin's palace. She didn't even want to get out of bed. She was finally relaxed and comfortable. Her two nights in the palace had been the most serene experience she'd had since leaving Kudu.
She could have stayed there forever.
***
"So Tinian is a pretty small island?"
"It's seven miles wide and five miles long, a nice little slice of paradise."
Hugo was driving the same solar-powered golf cart over the rough, rugged scrub that made up much of Tinian. There were a few paved roads here and there, but, as if by design, none of them went up to the border.
The golf cart bounced up and down over small rocks as it approached the border fence, a shimmering silver wall in the sand. It looked like a spinal cord, running across the landscape from sea to sea.
He slowed his vehicle as he came closer to it.
Petal scanned her soundings while the golf cart putted forward at a crawl. She could see the ocean to her left and to her right, its deep blue hues beautifully contrasting Tinian's reddish tint. Tarquin's palace had shrunken into a little flesh-colored lump, somewhere far behind them.
Beyond the ten-foot-tall razor wire loomed a big pink building lined with white columns. It looked like a giant birthday cake, complete with marble icing and decorative chimneys for candles.
Petal leaned forward, huddling next to Hugo, and pointed at it.
"That's Antigony's palace?"
"That's one of them."
Hugo stopped the golf cart a few feet from the fence. On the other side of the razor wire was a squad of guards, dressed in black riot armor. They were armed to the teeth and seemed to regard Hugo with suspicion as he approached them on foot.
"Who we got out on the wire today? Can't tell who's hiding under those helmets."
"No one here but us chickens." One of the guards opposite answered. He had a baritone voice and a massive figure.
"Tlak?" Hugo smiled. He turned around and motioned for the girls to come up to the fence line.
"Wait by the gate," Tlak grumbled. He walked down the fence to where there was a small gateway. He then grabbed the lock and pulled it open.
Petal and Quill hopped out of the golf cart and approached the opening.
"How's the new boss treating you?" Hugo spit into the scrub. "Better than Tarquin?"
"You know - grass is always greener and all of that," Tlak muttered. He waved the girls forward and shut the gate behind them.
Quill eyed the guards. Their jet-black helmets hid most of their features, making them all look faceless and identical. Their entire getup - jack boots and paramilitary armor - reminded her of Kudu's notorious State Security Service.
The resemblance made her shudder.
"Hi. I'm Quill." She tried to approach one of the armored men.
Petal hid behind her, using Quill's body like a shield.
"Either of you armed?" The guard spat back, looking past Quill at Petal.
"No."
"No."
"Good. Great to meet ya," Tlak said emptily. He pointed to a gravel trail that led up to the palace. "This way to the Princess."
Quill studied the looming façade of Antigony's palace and concluded that Antigony, unlike Tarquin, had a definite sense of style. Tarquin's palace had been full of expensive things and beautiful trappings, but it was a hodgepodge, more of a collection of luxuries than a well thought-out pleasure palace.
Antigony's palace was themed. It had a pink and powder blue color scheme. The architecture was seamless, instead of looking like five separate houses. Everything – the marble portico, the ornate colonnades, the sweeping entrance stairs – went together flawlessly. The light blue curtains perfectly complimented the white and pink walls. It was so thoughtfully planned out that Quill wondered if Antigony had designed the palace herself.
Petal wasn't as impressed. She thought a pink house was ridiculous, no matter how nice it was. The only thing that captivated her were the horses.
Every girl has her favorite animal, but Petal was certain that Antigony's must be horses. Horse statutes lined the front of the palace next to each of the colonnades. More marble horses strutted around a large fountain by the front door. There were even more horses standing at the center of the fountain, spitting out jets of fresh water.
Once Petal walked inside the palace, she saw that the entire ceiling of the foyer was a tile mosaic - a herd of horses grazing on amber grassland.
The interior of Antigony's palace was open and mostly devoid of furniture. It didn't look like a house, as Tarquin's palace had. Huge sections of the walls and ceiling were cut out and exposed, letting everything from the outside in.
While the views and architecture were incredible, the emptiness and giant gaps made the mansion feel hollow.
Quill paused by one of the gaps and looked out at the reddish sand and the deep blue sea. The image – the sand, the ocean, the skeletal white walls – reminded her of a dreamscape. She lingered for a moment, taking a mental picture, and then followed Petal and Tlak down a long, royal-red carpet that led from the foyer to the throne room.
Antigony waited in the very center of her palace, sitting on her throne, a bulky, gold-leaf chair. Behind her were no walls, just the pink sandy beach and the churning ocean. Next to her sat a large, black dog. It had the beefy face of a mastiff. A golden chain ran from an eye-hook on the floor up to its diamond studded collar.
The dog stared at Quill and Petal, watching them with dull gray eyes, drooling.
Antigony had been eating a colossal chilled shrimp when the girls entered her throne room. She threw its tail down onto a silver tray and a servant jumped forward and took the dish from her.
"You must be the castaways sent here by my brother."
The Princess of Tinian had a high, ethereal voice. Her curly hair was hidden behind a thick tiara.
Quill and Petal came up to within a few feet of her throne before Tlak put himself between them.
The giant dog let out a deep, territorial growl.
Quill stopped dead, glancing between Tlak, the dog, and the Princess for several seconds.
"Yes. I'm Quill. She's Petal."
Princess Antigony cocked her head to the side. She was wearing a red and gold dress. Silver tassels hung down from the bottom of the dress and zigzagged up its side. Her golden earrings were carved into the shape of conch shells.
"I know. Did my brother treat you well?"
Quill nodded. "He was very kind to us."
"I'm sure he was. He has a fondness for pretty things." Antigony licked her teeth. Her lipstick was mixed with glitter. It sparkled. "What did he tell you about me?"
"Not very much. Just that you're brother and sister."
"Don't lie to me. You saw the fence. He hates me and it's mutual. All the lies and rumors he spreads - don't believe a word of them. I'm not evil."
Petal cut in front of Quill, glaring at Tlak to step aside.
"I'm looking for my sister. Her name is Junk. She was taken by a ship called the Kowaka Adon. Tarquin said-"
The dog began to growl and show its teeth, snarling.
"Shhhhh," Antigony put her finger to her lips. Her fingernails were painted pink with powder blue stars stenciled in their centers.
The dog sat down in submission.
Antigony stood up and approached Petal.
Petal looked to Quill and then locked eyes with the Princess.
Antigony licked her thumb proactively. She grabbed Petal by her cheeks and leaned into her face.
"You have such pretty eyes." The princess rubbed her wet thumb across Petal's tattoo for a moment.
Petal recoiled.
Quill watched the two of them, baffled. "Tarquin told us the Kowaka Adon may have docked here a few days ago."
"He's been spying on my harbor?"
"I don't know." Quill looked down at the floor.
"Poor, poor Tarquin. The playboy prince. He's such a fool nowadays. All he does is piss away our father's hard-earned fortune. He used to have such grand plans for himself. Now he has no ambition. All that silly soma. He could have built his side of the island into something. Instead he's content to sit around and drink - play with his empty-headed entourage while he wastes away slowly. How sad Tarquin has become, how juvenile, how pitiful."
"He was. . .overindulgent. . ."
"Did he try to turn you into one of his playthings?" Antigony pointed at Quill's dress with a tut-tut.
"No."
"What about the ship?" Petal wrinkled her brow. "Where is it?"
"Gone now." Antigony gave her a plastic smile. "I'll have Tlak check our manifests. In the meantime, please join me for a meal. Tlak will tell me when he's found something."
- 22 -
Antigony's dining room table was long, much longer than Tarquin's. Servants buzzed around it, lifting the silver covers off each dish anytime Quill or Petal reached for something. Spread before them were lobsters, crabs, fine cheeses, and caviar. All of the smells saturated the air.
At the center of the table stood two large candelabras. Their flames flickered from the sea breeze and reflected off the palace walls, twinkling ever brighter through the approaching twilight.
Antigony sat across the table from Quill and Petal. She now wore a long blue dress and had let her hair down. She cradled a glass of wine through most of her meal and had barely eaten so much as a nibble.
Instead, she spent her time silently studying Petal.
"Thank you so much for all of this." Quill smiled at Antigony. The princess's silence and coolness made her nervous. "You're even more generous than your brother."
Antigony ignored her. "When did you get that tattoo, Petal? Such a unique design. It's fascinating."
"I don't know." Petal slurped some soup. "I've had it as long as I can remember."
Quill picked up a lobster claw and cracked it open. She began to suck the soft flesh out of the shell, washing it back with a sip of soda. A doting servant hovered over her. She found his omnipresence annoying.
Antigony continued to stare at Petal like she was planning on eating her for dessert. She licked the rim of her wine glass.
"Where were you born?" Antigony said slowly.
Petal looked up from her bisque. "I don't know."
"What about your parents? Where were they from?"
"I don't know. I was too young to remember them."
"You remember nothing about your mother?"
"No."
Antigony brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and tucked it behind her ear. "What about your sister?"
"Junk?"
"Is she your younger sister?"
"Uh-huh."
"How much younger?" Antigony took a tiny sip of wine.
"Five years. I think."
"Then you must have been at least five when your mother gave birth to her. Strange you can't remember anything about your mother. . . ."
