Aja Vana

The Admiral woke her up from her slumber. They were going to reach the port in no time at all. The Princess was on the smaller side and quite fragile compared to the frigates and warships of their worst enemies, but it was the nimblest little thing ever seen on the northern waters and it navigated the shallows near Aja Vana with grace and ease.

A ray of sunlight was reflected from a statue, it hurt Serenica's eyes, but they were finally there. The pagan halls of Aja Vana opened up before them, and they could lay anchor carelessly, like proper merchants did in Neul, in open daylight like they had nothing to fear. No crown ruled here. There were no slave masters, no slaves, no city watch, and judging by the smell the fish was at least as good here as it was in the south.

Serenica put her left foot on the dock. She put her right foot on the dock and breathed in saffron and crime.

"Excuse me, are you high on something?" Spade asked.

"She's a first-timer in Aja," Myorka said to him. "Cut her some slack. You remember how you were, don't you?"

"It's wonderful," Serenica said.

The terracotta and gray of Neul could never compare to the shining white and azure blue of Aja, of that she was certain. Neither could the roses of the cold south rival the wild flowers that were climbing up the walls of the port hall.

There were noises, too.

"Glue! Made from the best horses! Glue!"

"Rat poison!"

"Spices! Cheap, prime quality spices!"

Serenica realized she was spinning in circles, trying to romanticize everything at once. Spade had to hold her still.

The halls of Aja held many secrets, of which few were actually secrets. Serenica learned many things about her profession while simply strolling with the captain.

She managed to find a new recipe for the green panacea in the time it would have taken her to light a lantern in her old apartment. She sampled the coffee and found it vibrantly delicious. She had some rum to go with it and finally, after all those years of poverty and variable states of misery, she was home. She felt like the richest woman of the world. She only wished Helen would have been there to see it herself, the blazing red that was in fashion, the artists painting out in daylight, and most of all, the pirate captains that treated her like one of their own. Since she was from the crew of the Princess, she was treated differently. She didn't even need to clear her throat to get the free drinks flowing. Everyone was climbing over each other to please her. Spade's healer girl, they said. The best Neul had to offer, that's how they spoke of her once they learned of her identity.

The captain made use of her newfound fame and let her heal a few men for a promise of favors in the future.

"If only someone knew of Theod's men, but they seem to think it's the devil's business," Spade said as they were enjoying one of those fine, fatty lunches he liked so much.

Serenica poked at the dead, fried cephalopod on her plate. She couldn't recognize the species.

"Do you think there's something wrong with Theod? He's a bit too generous, I think," she said, tasting the food. It was simply too good to be true, just like Theod and his shenanigans.

"Oh, he is suspicious, I'll give you that," the captain said, staring at her.

Serenica felt uneasy under the man's vigilant gaze. She remembered that it was Karshaan politeness to stare at people eating. She tried to act normal, but she found herself dropping little bites of corn on her lap as she tried to feed herself.

"I'm saying that the men might have a reason for the mutiny, if there ever was one," she said.

"I agree. I don't think Theod could ever rat anyone out, he's far too scared of me, but I'll take a guess that he didn't treat those men well. I've seen the work of his scourge. It's abominable. I would never be like that to my boys."

"It's a form of parenthood, is it not?" Myorka butted in. She had been very quiet, but now she seemed to be under the influence of good wine and the fever of Aja Vana. "We feed them, clothe them, and look after them, trying to guide them towards beneficial actions. I strongly feel like I am, in a sense, a mother to our boys. And many of them are older than me!"

"Many of them lack a mother of their own and it shows," the captain said. "When we are finished, I will go meet a contact."

"Not that man," the bookkeeper moaned. "He's so difficult."

"Deim is a fun fellow," Spade said. "I know you two have difficulties getting along, but you don't have to come."

"No, I'll definitely come. It's time I learned to understand him."

Deim, whoever he was, lived just outside of the actual city. The road was narrow, and all kinds of tropical plants decorated it. Serenica did her best to try and collect as many of them as she could. She could always ask later if they were poisonous or not. Poisons had their use, too. She regretted not poisoning Kinley while she still had the chance. It was a woman's weapon, very much unlike all those she had used.

They came to a little cove, overgrown with weeds and those constricting vines that drew the life out of the trees they plagued. On the opposite shore, when one looked over the heavenly turquoise water, there was a little shack, though its exact form was somewhat unclear due to the midday sun shining in Serenica's eyes.

Spade led them towards the shack. Once they came closer, it occurred to Serenica that the curtains in the windows were clearly made in Neulian fashion, such a dreadful floral pattern decorated them.

The captain knocked on the door.

"How exactly does this man have the information we need?" Serenica whispered as they waited.

"They could have come to him for protection," Spade said. "If a mutineer shows up in Aja, they need certain things with them to avoid getting jumped or worse."

"Like a reverse black spot?"

"A what spot?"

"Oh, never mind," Serenica said and began to verbally explore all the different circumstances that could have led to the crew abandoning their captain, but she was cut short by the door of the shack being slammed open.

The palest man she had ever seen stood in the doorway. He had pale hair, pale skin and unsettlingly dark eyes set deep beneath pale eyelashes.

He flashed a grin that was almost too white and sparkly to be true. "Spade, you old walrus. And Myorka. And some lass who can't dress herself. Come in."

"You should have worn that green shirt," Spade hissed as he entered the shack. "No one can pull off black and yellow. No one but me."