In Her Shadow(4)

The captain frowned. He swiveled on his heel to his first mate and shouted for the slaves in the galley to steer the boat to berth, listing off his instructions for the safety of ship and crew before the docking was complete. The ship lurched forward at his command. "Before we dock, Dux Lucius, I must ask: are you armed?"

Lucius pushed back his heavy oil skin cloak to reveal the hilt of the short sword hidden beneath. "Always, captain."

***

The ship sailed into port a few minutes later, gliding the last few yards under its own momentum like a bird coming to rest. The crew scurried about, hopping here and there, jumping from the boat to the dock and back again as they tossed ropes around, working to secure the ship in place to the pier. When it was, they set planks across the gap. Longshoremen hustled aboard and began carrying out the various supplies the ship had brought with it: casks of wine, wheat, olive oil, mail from all parts of the empire. They worked quickly, more efficiently than Lucius had ever seen longshoremen go. Was it that they were in a hurry to get home before the sun set, or was it they hoped to take part in the nightly revelry? Even with an armed guard waiting for him at the end of the pier, and despite his own personal bravery, Lucius preferred to be safely inside the walls of the Governor's manse before nightfall.

Not for his sake, but for hers.

Lucius ducked under a low beam as he made his way below decks, past the stinking rowers at their oars, into the darkness of the ship's bowels. He knocked on the door to his cabin. First one knock, then a pause, then three more.

"That's not right," said the tiny muffled voice from the other side.

He caught his smile before it escaped on to his face. "No time for games, Ava. We're here."

The sound of shuffling came from the other side, then the clanking of the door's heavy lock opening. Ava peeked out one sharp blue eye – her mother's eye. "We're here?" she said.

"Yes."

She flung the door open and jumped past him.

Lucius tried to catch her, but she was so small and quick his fingers missed her by the width of a thread. "Ava!" he said, loud enough to hopefully get her attention but not in a way that might speak to anger. He wanted to curse as she raced towards above decks. He wanted to chase after her, grab her, protect her from the city, but he couldn't. To chase after her, to run calling her name, would expose his concern to the world. That simply wouldn't do. So, instead of running, he walked at a steady, determined pace.

"My daughter?" he said as he neared the first mate who was busy making sure the galley rowers were fed.

"Above decks."

Lucius gave him a pat of approval on the shoulder as he passed. "Make sure the longshoremen see to my luggage."

Before the first mate could respond, Lucius was halfway up the stairs to the deck. When his head surfaced from the darkness below and the sea spray hit him full in the face, he realized it was dark above too. He stood, hand over his eyes trying to make out where Ava might have gone. Was it permissible to beat her for running off? Or would that expose him as an angry man? Still, she had to learn. Better a beating than knifed in a dark alley.

Then Lucius saw her, on the dock down from the ship. She had her arms thrown around the Governor's neck as he bent to embrace her. The Governor's household guard chuckled at the sight.

From their slack stances, bored expressions, and idle conversations, it was obvious the guards' giggling was a manifestation of how little they respected the Governor. This was how mutinies foment. Lucius had tried to warn him in letters against hiring mercenaries, to depend on the local imperial garrison instead. The Governor had argued the political situation in Ankshara demanded he distance himself from the military. He'd also hinted at friction with the local garrison commander – the man Lucius had come to replace.

Not the only reason Lucius had come to Ankshara, of course. There was the wedding, but taking over as garrison commander was most important in Lucius's mind. His impending marriage to the heiress of the local priestesshood was a mere formality, a trifle, an inconvenience. He hadn't even bothered to explain it to Ava. He should have, perhaps, but hadn't found the right words.

It was silly. He'd hoped to raise Ava as a Disciple of the Sun Triumphant. To avoid teaching her the ugly truths of political marriage wasn't the best way to go about that. He'd have to eventually. It was vital he instill in her the lessons of the Disciples before the Wicked City corrupted her. Having a priestess of the city's notorious abbey as a wife was sure to complicate his efforts to preserve Ava's virtue. He intended to keep his future wife at arm's length. That did nothing to prevent him from wondering who she was, what she was like, what she looked like. He crushed each question in turn before it fully formed in his mind. It was the only way to keep his guilt at bay.

Lucius took a deep breath to center himself. All this standing around thinking a way to avoid the inevitable. No putting it off any longer, he thought as he stepped off the boat onto the pier.

A broad smile broke across the Governor's face. He wrapped one arm around Ava, and as he straightened, lifted her so she clung to his neck. "Son," he said, "it's been too long."

Lucius kept his expression rigid. It had been too long, but he couldn't make it seem so. The only proper response to the situation was a polite but non-committal act of filial piety. "It has," he said.