When they all went back to work, only Sara and Prin remained in the mess hall. Sara reached for the small book again, but Prin said, “Did you know about that? A half year?”
“I didn’t, but I’m not surprised. In fact, there is a measure of happiness because I’m imagining that young mage tearing up Indore and checking on every girl between the ages of ten and fifteen, but you’re not there.”
“Someone may tell him about me.”
“I don’t think so. Not because they don’t want the reward, but the few that know you will believe another told him about you, so they won’t. Besides, many will not connect you because he is looking for one, and we are a family pair. Then, there’s the matter of the blonde hair. Only El had noticed the color, and we shaved you again.”
Sara ignored the book she was supposed to read from. “What do you think the young mage will do?”
“Well, I don’t believe he will stay in Indore half a year searching for you, but I don’t expect he will stop his search, either. My guess is he will hire people to watch for you and send a messenger to him if you’re seen.”
“That worries me.”
“But we have half a year to think of how we proceed and make sure that does not happen.”
Prin accepted the explanation and started to open the book, but as she turned to reach for it, she noticed the toe of a shoe beside the partly door that led to the crew’s quarters. She pointed.
Sara saw the shoe and being closer to the door, climbed to her feet, leaped to the door, yanking it open.
Jam stood there, ear to the door.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Sara snarled at Jam, “Why are you spying on us?”
“There’s a reward for you?” His eyes were locked on Prin, a humorless smile still in place.
“I hope the bos’n does throw you overboard,” Sara said. “Now get out of here before I do it myself.”
He left, after a last superior smile cast in Prin’s direction. She said, “Well, that was not the best thing to happen.”
Sara shrugged, but her tense face belied her concern. “A lot can happen in half a year. Jam may learn some manners, or I may punch that nose that seems to constantly be in our business. No matter, begin reading on page three, no pre-reading this time. Let’s see how you do with no help.”
Prin began reading, slow and stumbling, but after figuring out the words to a sentence, she went back to the beginning and read it all without error, then went on to the next sentence, rarely needing help.
When she reached the bottom of the page, Sara said, “I think we can truthfully say that you can read. Now it is just a matter of practice. Read aloud each day. I’ll be sitting here studying the diary, and when you don’t know a word, stop and point.”
“Is it so hard to read the diary? I’d like to read it.”
“Yes, it’s way too hard. First, it is written by hand, and not always the most careful. It is also written using a few strange words, and I get the feeling some others have different meanings.”
“Did she do that on purpose?”
“No, I think things change over time and distance. In our land, we may call a female horse a mare, but in another land, it might be something else. It was not done to confuse, it’s just different.”
“Is there anything interesting?”
“Yes. This was written when she was first living alone, and about my age, I think. She did not say that directly, but was intended to be read only by her so she wouldn’t add that sort of information because she already knew it.”
“But she was a sorceress?” Prin looked to the door to make sure it was closed to Jam, and she had lowered her voice.
Sara said, “That much is clear. She went to live in the city from a small village. It reminds me of what I intended to do. She took a room to rent, and found another sorceress that she hopes will teach her.”
“You should write a diary. And you might put in your diary when we learn something good, something we can use. Like maybe a forget-what-you-heard spell that we can put on Jam.”
Sara chuckled and said, “We have six months to find something like that, and they do exist. Maybe it will be right on these pages if you let me get back to reading it.”
Chagrined, Prin turned back to her reading about the silly dog with the tail that was so long it caused one problem after another. When a word couldn’t be figured out, she silently pointed, and Sara provided the information. But Prin was old enough to study each word she didn’t know, then when she came across it again, she often recognized it. But there was another problem she encountered. Not all words were familiar to her ear. Those she asked about, and even Sara hadn’t heard some.
Instead of reading a single page, as the day before, she finished with six. Back on the deck, she went to her bucket and mop. The bos’n came along and tossed a floppy hat to her. He said, “Sunburn. Wear that in the middle of the day.”
He barely paused as he spoke. Her face felt hot, and she put the hat on, then pulled up another bucket of water. Nearly the entire deck had been swabbed, but she took the time to look around as she worked. Seabirds circled the ship, and in the distance, she spotted two other ships, but no land in any direction.
Three more days of afternoon study, and one storm in the night brought them within sight of mountains in the far distance, with clouds surrounding the white peaks. She accompanied the bos’n to each of the crates on the deck, him carrying a clipboard and her reading the destination of each. She also carried a small jar of green paint and a brush. After verifying each crate destined for Donella, a splash of green was made on each where it couldn’t be missed.
He took her below to the forward cargo hold and carried a lantern. They repeated the pattern, and she found that nearly all crates for Donella were stored together, so crates shipping to other ports didn’t have to be shifted or unloaded to get to the ones they wanted. She started to realize there was more to the procedure than she knew, but she appreciated the forethought.
She said, “Shouldn’t Jam be doing this? I don’t want him more upset at me than he already is. I’m just supposed to be the deck scrubber.”
The bos’n was double-checking the last of the crates in the forward hold. He turned and said, “The boy refuses to learn to read, so he’s no help. Sayed tries to help where he can, but he reads another language, so about all he can do is hold the lantern for me.”
Prin started for the ladder and the small hatch to take her above deck, when he called softly, “Listen here. Don’t you worry about him. His father knows he’s worthless and he sees how hard you work. Me too. If that boy does anything, and I mean anything to cause you problems, you let me know.”
“But his father is the captain.”
“I run the deck. If I have to, I’ll restrict him to stay in the wheelhouse with his father the entire trip. Then it’ll be his father that throws him over the side, not me.”
“His father might not let you.”
“As it is, the crew has had about enough of the boy. The deck hadn’t been properly cleaned since long before you came aboard, and other tasks have fallen behind. He isn’t well liked; his father depends on me to make him grow up a little. I fear I’m failing.”
Prin decided to change the subject. It seemed she was learning more than she wanted, although the bos’n was generally quiet. “I heard we get to Donella tomorrow morning.”
“We do.”
“We’ll unload the ship, and then we can go into the town?”