1
The port of Riwas was filled with ships from all parts of the globe. As Rafiq exited his ship, he glanced at the tall masters, watching the flags from each nation blow in the wind. Today was a beautiful day, he noticed. No clouds were in the sky, and the sea was at peace.
“When the sea is calm, that can only mean troubles on land,” Taisto mumbled under his breath. He stepped away from the cargo near their ship as a few sailors loaded it onboard. “These damn barrels…”
Far away, they could hear loud voices from the other captains and officers talking. However, Rafiq wasn’t here to talk and make friends. He had been tasked with a very special order, one that filled him with pride and joy.
The two slowly made their way to the nearest structure, one with Riwas writing, a language Rafiq didn’t understand. That was why he had brought Taisto with him. A nobleman with too much pride, but that excelled at speaking foreign languages.
“Is that the way?” Rafiq asked, pointing to the structure. It had Riwas insignia carved in the stone. The symbol had several nautical elements, typical of this region. They lived for the sea, and it was the sea they celebrated the most.
“It is, yes. It’s the office control. Did they tell you what the cargo was exactly?”
“No. They just told me it was precious and had to be given to me directly. Something to do with… rarity? The King’s advisor didn’t say much.”
“Well, you should consider yourself lucky the King trusted a pirate.” Taisto shook his head, a smile on his lips.
Rafiq stopped walking and met his expression with seriousness. “Lord Taisto, I advise you not to call me a pirate. Not here, not anywhere. I am a privateer. Do I need to explain the difference to you again?”
“No, of course not. I… apologise.” Taisto bowed quickly, an apologetic look in his eyes. “I will use the title you wish from now on.”
“It’s not a title.” Rafiq rolled his eyes and kept walking, mumbling under his breath, “It’s my profession.”
When they arrived at the port control structure, Rafiq noticed how old it was. The white stone cracked, it barely had enough space to hold more than three people inside. Even Riwas’ so-precious-emblem had parts missing, either from falling with the years or being pulled apart by delinquents. He wondered what this port was like during Winter when the waves crashed and the rain was heavy. It probably wasn’t very appealing to work here.
Rafiq watched as Taisto took the lead while talking to the port officer. He spoke in flawless Riwete, Riwas’ official language. Rafiq understood a couple of words here and there, but he couldn’t grasp the full context of the conversation.
“From Thasal?” the officer asked, looking at Rafiq, speaking his native language with a thick accent that made his Ds sound more like Ts.
“Yes.” Rafiq nodded. “We’re from Dhasal.”
The officer frowned at him, not loving Rafiq’s take on correcting his pronunciation. He quickly got back to speaking in Riwete, the language heavy and fast, with too many harsh sounds for Rafiq to keep up with. After a while, Taisto smiled and said his goodbyes.
“Where is the cargo?” Rafiq asked when Taisto started to walk away from the building. “Did he tell you where we could pick it up?”
“He told me to wait by your ship. Someone will bring it soon. Something about lunchtime. I assume the workers are having their meal. I wonder what they eat around here.”
“Fish,” Rafiq said, not amused by this change of plans. “They eat fish.”
“But there are many types of fish. You have—“
“I don’t care. All I care about is my cargo. Spending two more hours in this port will be an extra expense. I don’t want to lose any coin.”
“I’m sure they won’t take too long,” Taisto said, fixing his hat as they walked towards his ship. “Should we explore for a bit? I’m sure we have time!”
“Do you plan on buying souvenirs for your wife?” Rafiq was losing his temper.
“You know I’m not married. Waiting for my one try love, you see?”
“I don’t care. I need you with me on the ship. You’re the only one that knows how to speak Riwete. I might need you to negotiate the cargo terms.”
Taisto nodded, slightly embarrassed by Rafiq’s comment. He didn’t care about people’s personal lives and he especially didn’t care about people’s love life. He couldn’t see himself marrying someone or having kids. Rafiq had been made to be at sea, always travelling, never settling.
When they approached Eagle’s Eye, Rafiq's ship, he saw a small crowd in the distance moving towards them.
“Guards,” Taisto said Rafiq’s exact thoughts, stopping next to him. “Is that our cargo?”
“What could be more precious than…” Rafiq’s thoughts trailed off when he saw what the guards carried.
“Let me go!” a woman screamed, trying to escape from one of the guards, her wrists in metal cuffs. “I said you should let me go, you stupid jerk!”
She tried to kick him, using the only part of her body that wasn’t constrained by the weight of the metal.
“Do you think that’s our cargo?” Taisto asked, curious.
“My cargo.” Rafiq didn’t know why he felt the need to clarify it. “It’s my ship, Lord Taisto.”
The guards came to a halt. The woman in the middle of them was not frightened but simply pissed at what was happening. Everyone had stopped what they were doing to watch the scene unfold. Rafiq just wanted to get this over with.
“Rafiq Alyev?” one of the guards asked, pronouncing his name flawlessly.
“That’s me. Eagles’s Eye captain.”
“Pfft.” The woman’s eyes met Rafiq in disdain and she tried to blow away the hair in front of her face. “They sent a pirate to get me? The King must be mad.”
“He’s not a pirate!” Taisto corrected her, but Rafiq stopped him, shaking his head. He took a step back and nodded in understanding.
“Who is she?” Rafiq asked the guard.
“Your cargo.”
“My cargo is… a woman?” Rafiq looked at her again, seeing her cheeks red from anger. She attempted to stomp on the guard with all her strength, but her throat was met with a sharp blade, leaning softly against it. He raised an eyebrow, looking harshly at the guard. “Careful. She’s my responsibility now.”
“Let them do it,” she challenged the guard, a nervous chuckle escaping her lips. “It would save us both time.”
“Withdraw the blade from her throat. No metal should come on board as it’s too heavy. If anything, we’ll replace the handcuffs with rope.”
“What?” She looked at Rafiq, lips parted in shock. He remained unbothered and watched as they slowly removed her handcuffs, the metal around her waist coming off last.
“Here’s the rope, captain.”
Rafiq accepted it and slowly walked towards her, his steps echoing in the wooden planks below his feet. She kept her gaze on him, studying his features one by one.
“Your wrists,” he ordered, meeting her gaze. He could tell they weren’t feeding her well and she had spent too much time away from the sun. Also, the dark circles under her eyes were too big. Had they been torturing her?
“No.” She didn’t stumble on her words. She was defiant, brave, bold. Who was she?
“I won’t ask nicely again. Your wrists.”
“Try saying please.”
Rafiq sighed and ignored her remarks. He grabbed one of her hands, feeling her resisting him. Still, this wasn’t the first time Rafiq had met a delinquent who refused to do as he said. In a few moments, he had both of her wrists tied and she looked at him, trying to catch her breath.
“I don’t do please.” He met her gaze harshly. “And I’m not a pirate. I’m a privateer. The captain of Eagle’s Eye. Your captain.”
She laughed at him and shook her head. “You’re not my captain. And you’re a pirate. I know one when I see them.”
“You might regret your words later,” he said, eyes looking into hers one last time. She wasn’t going down without a fight, he could tell. He turned around and pointed to two of his sailors and back at her. “Take her on board. No special treatment. She might be precious, but she’s defiant. We must be on the lookout.”
“Yes, captain!”
Rafiq watched as she tried to fight the sailors, but they were the bulkiest men he had on his ship. The more she tried to use her legs, the more they lifted her off the ground and everyone watched as she screamed and tried to escape once again.
“Anything else I should know about my… special cargo?” Rafiq said with some irony, looking at the guards once again. They gulped and exchanged a worried look. Rafiq raised an eyebrow at them. “What is it?”
“Whatever you do, do not, under any circumstance let her hands free for too long. Always keep them cuffed, even if it is with rope.”
The guard looked terrified, but Rafiq could tell he was relieved he didn’t have the woman next to him anymore. Everything he had witnessed had been bizarre, to say the least. He’d try to know more about her once they were sailing. It would be hard to get her to talk to him, but he’d have to try. She couldn’t spend five weeks at sea and not say a word to anyone.
“Thank you.” Rafiq bowed to them and they returned the gesture. “After we have everything on board, we’ll leave. It shouldn’t take us much longer to load the cargo. Lord Taisto shall pay for the dock’s rental.”
With this, Rafiq walked back to his ship, the crowd slowly returning to their tasks and trying to move on from what had just happened.
When Rafiq accepted to transport this cargo back to his Kingdom, he never expected it to be a person, let alone a woman. But he couldn’t deny he was impressed by her. She was feisty and certainly courageous. He still didn’t know her name, but she had caused quite the impression on him.
That was dangerous. Women at sea were always seen as a danger to sailors. Or so the stories told. Rafiq never really believed in any of them, anyway.
