The Blue Kingdom

The swinging of the Ballerina combined with the warm of a sunny day were a powerful lullaby. Em opened his eyes just to close them right after. He was not snoozing, not completely. He could still feel his body sway and hear the slight snoring from the depths of his nose.

He wanted to go deeper, to dive until he’d find, again, the dream that usually eluded him. One he almost had moments ago.

For a moment, he was successful. It was somewhere in Linee, a place he had never been, but that looked like many others he had seen during his adventures. The square was crowded as it was the coffee shop, and Ivy, still a toddler, was playing with other kids next to the central fountain.

Em looked at his hands, flesh and blood, and stroked his fingers. She was sitting next to him, as beautiful as always.

“I wanted to come here with you, you know?” He said, checking on little Ivy.

“I know. It was your dream then, it is your dream now.” She smiled and tucked her hair behind the ear.” How is Ivy nowadays? Is she doing well?”

“She has a good heart. She is generous and kind, but she has grown stubborn and dauntless. These days she barely listens to me anymore. It was much easier when she was little.”

“Well, she is not a kid anymore. Now she is a woman.”

“I just don’t want her to make mistakes she will regret.”

“That’s the whole point of growing, Em. The mistakes we made shaped the person we are.”

He nodded and drank his coffee in one shot. In his dream, the coffee had no taste, no smell. This time, though, Em could smell it. He took a deep breath, enjoying the aroma.

“Is time for her to make her own mistakes. Let her grow, let her learn.” Her voice faded as he returned to the Ballerina.

Beside him, Lim was waiting with a steaming mug in her hands. “I didn’t want to wake you up, but I think those on the ship are semaphoring us.” she said, her face glowing as usual.

Em rubbed his face and snorted. “I was not sleeping.” He grabbed the cup and took a sip. “Uhm, hot. This is reinvigorating, thanks.”

“Reinvigorating.” repeated Lim, raising her eyebrows. “That’s a good one, dear.”

Em answered with a proud smile. He took another drink of coffee and got up, stretching his back, which creaked loudly. “How is Ivy doing?”

“She is doing fine. Fever is almost gone. She needs more time to rest, though.”

“Let her rest as much as she can. I can handle the ship myself.” Em said with the hidden intention to stop Lim on insisting about the smuggler.

The kid was outside, at the bow, covered with a blanket and facing the Tampraparni clipper. From the window, Em could also see the flickering light from the border ship that had intercepted them the day before. He did not need to go out to translate what they were ordering, but he’d had to answer from the deck either with his signal light or via flags.

“I dream about the square again,” he said.

“Was she there?”

“Aye. This time she asked about Ivy, like she knew her.”

“What did she say?”

“She said she needs to grow up by herself and learn from her own mistakes.”

Lim smiled. “That’s the same I would say”.

“It was her face, but the words were yours.” The clipper lamps blinked again, asking to disengage the ropes. That meant they were already reaching port. “Lim. When we arrive-”

“I know. No worries. When we arrive, I will disappear.”

As soon as the watertight door was closed, he put the pipe in his mouth and lit the tobacco.

Macha was practicing a knot. More than practice, he was butchering the rope. The driest mate could tie that with eyes shut and hands on the back, but that kid was showing since the beginning the sailing skills of a tortoise.

Em took his flags and moved them to signal back. Then, he untied the rope that was towing his ship. “The Eel goes around and enters the hole. The working end goes down, not up.”

Instead of trying, like he said, Macha hid the rope under the blanket. “Do you think we could have outrun them?”

“That’s a copper-bottomed clipper, kid,” answered the Captain. “ They’d catch us before you finish that knot.”

That boy knew nothing about the sea. Em had seen through him at first glimpse but he actually cared little about it. What mattered was he wasn’t dangerous, and the truth was, Macha was such a landlubber he could handle him with one arm. Without prosthesis .

“I don’t understand why they are pulling your ship instead of boarding.” Macha said.

“We are a Hanan vessel. Hanan and Tampra are on good terms. And they have an agreement to not board each other’s ships unless there is a major reason.”

“Major reason?”

Em sighted. Having to explain things to that boy was tiring, but deep inside, he enjoyed doing so. The feeling of teaching, explaining his knowledge, reminded him of the good old times. “If we tried to escape, for example. Or fight them back. Then they have a solid reason to board. Even sink us. But for now we are only a lost ship that was not supposed to be sailing their waters.”

Macha checked the mast. Em's eyes followed. Swaying with the wind was the maroon Hanan flag, with its three golden serpent-dragons in the middle. “So, now you are Hanan. What were you yesterday?”

The question, with a brazen tone, annoyed Em deeply.

He checked the horizon and grouted. The port of Patrishthana was still too far. “Come kid, help me with the halyard.”

To Em, Macha was nothing more than a babbler and nosy boy. Throwing him overboard was an idea that kept haunting his head the whole morning. He was in shape enough for a refreshing swim to the shore, a feat that he’d definitely enjoy watching.

While the war clipper was sailing away from starboard, a small steamer approached them from bow seas. They, as well, semaphored some instructions.

Macha struggled with the winch. “I still don’t understand why we have to come to Tampra.”

“We weren’t on the records, but I have the papers in order. Her Captain won’t risk a bureaucratic headache for a little ship like us. They want to inspect my ship, make me pay some taxes, and if they can confiscate anything, even better. A legal robbery, all done by the book.

“You seem troubled about it. I thought you’d be happier to port at your home island instead of Hanan.”

“I have no business there anymore.” Answered Macha. “I’d like to sail back to Wei. I have a friend there that will give me a job. I know it is too much to ask after all what you did for me, but I will pay you back with my work.”

Em knew Hanan did not hire foreigners to fish their waters. It was another lie. Lim, who was always right about people, said he was a good person. But Em was at the edge of kicking him off the ship. It was not the lies but the fact that this boy believed he could tease him, an experienced sailor, with fibs that would not convince a monkey.

“Uhm, too far,” He whispered.

“Sorry?”

“Alright, alright. We were going to leave you in Wei-le, anyway. A set of new hands will be helpful now that Ivy is sick.”

“Thank you, mister Em. Thank you!”

Em lighted his pipe, rejoicing in the kids’ struggle. “Come on, kid. It’s not that hard,” mocked the old man.

“I was lost at sea for days. I’m still recovering.”

“This morning you said to Lim her soup made you feel like a new man. Men don’t whine. When you finish, wait here. I’ll need you to bring it back again.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Aye, aye Captain. You are a sailor of this ship until Wei, kid.”

Em sailed the Ballerina in a well-received quietness. He thought about his dream. Wondered what he was doing wrong with Ivy.

Lim was, of course, right. But how to understand what Ivy wanted, or needed? Em had always been a man of action. Not even when he was a young sailor in the navy did he understand boys his age. How was he going to do it now, that he was a rusty old man?

Without realizing it, the ship was already at Port. The enormous bay could shelter a hundred large ships from the elements. Before commerce with the Nor’wes was restricted, Patristhana was the most important point in the south, with all the trading going back and forth from there. Now, even though it was still the entry of the Tampraparni area of the Ring of Commerce, it didn’t even have half of the transit it used to.

“Rob, engine! Macha lower sails!”

It didn’t take long for Macha to disturb his tranquility with more questions. “Why didn’t the clipper enter?”

“Warships stay outside the bay. Can you imagine if they engage in combat inside?” Em chuckled. Macha, who didn’t follow, stared, waiting for an explanation.

“Uhm, well… the other flag, aye? That was the Blue Kingdom’s flag.”

“I heard of that place. It’s in the maze, right? I didn’t know it’s a country. “

“Aye. Few do so.”

Em ignored Macha and focused on Rob, who was climbing the stairs of the lower deck.

“Rob, I need you to go to the storeroom. Put a blanket over the hatch and switch off over it.”

“I hide the entrance to the hull.”

“Exactly. Good boy.”

Rob didn’t stop and walked away, followed by Macha’s stare, who was still surprised to see him moving.

“All right, kid, help me with the ropes,” Em said with satisfaction. His plan felt, for the first time, it could work.

There were three hatches to access the hulls of the catamaran. One at the front, middle, and rear. The Ballerina had fresh water containers inside the hulls. Small enough not to compromise buoyancy, but designed to appear to be the only thing on the chambers. Of course, there was also space for the storerooms, where they hid the most expensive goods from the far Nor’wes, but only the center hatches give access there. One that was under a broken machine-man and another under the bed of a sick sailor.

At the enormous stoned peer, there were twenty men waiting. Em examined them with a long glare. He was not a man who cared about how people look, so usually he never paid attention to details. It was when there was danger involved that his senses tightened, especially if there were guns around. His old sailor’s body was maybe rusty, but his mind was still sharp.

From the group of twenty men, half were soldiers. They were all armed with flintlock muzzleloader muskets, old and imprecise weapons. They had cutlasses and daggers, too. From the group, only four, five at most, were well trained and from that half, only two were what the old Capitan would consider dangerous. Still, Em knew full well that any man with a rifle, however clumsy, was a potential danger. And there were a lot.

Surrounded by the soldiers, there was a scrawny man in a grey old suit. His eyes, deeply sunk into their sockets, were fixed on him.

Macha helped the dock staff secure the ship, unsuccessfully, trying his best to look skilled. Em sighed and checked the documents he brought from inside.

The bureaucrat, that the closer he was, the more he looked like a corpse, began to deliver his speech immediately. A verbiage that seemed to be known by heart and spoken with disdain. “Any ship that wishes to sail the Ring of Commerce from Pratishthana to the northern kingdoms of the Dragon must register in our office before departure. Any ship planning to follow the Ring of Commerce into our waters from the North must register one month in advance in the office of Wei-Le. Your vessel is not in any of those logbooks. Prepare to be boarded.”

Em waved the leather file over his head. “I have all the documents in order here. That won’t be necessary.”

The man beckoned with fast movements of his hands. “Show me.”

Em strode down the ramp and handled the file to the bureaucrat, who took his time to read every piece of paper.

“As you can see,” said Em. “I have a letter of sail for every single country of the Ring. Including this one.”

The man hissed loudly. Em took his pipe and lighted a bit of tobacco. The first blow went straight to the man’s face. To Em’s disappointment, the bureaucrat did not cough, but his glare of discontent was enough reward.

“You have letters of sail from everywhere indeed.” said the man, “But your vessel was not on our records. Why were you sailing our waters?”

“Our trip was planned to be from Hanan to south of Ya Yan and back. Never intended to sail your waters.”

“But you did. To sail around to our northern border, you need to be in the logbooks. What was the purpose of your journey south of Whaler’s?”

“Search and recovery. We are a specialized team to recover valuables underwater. We use that thing ove-”

“Yah, yah, I know. I heard about it.” interrupted the bureaucrat dismissively.

Irritated, Em took a deep puff, although his pipe had gone out.

“You will still need to pass a formal inspection.” continued the man, handing him back the papers. “I will send one of my men later. And you need to register the date of departure and destination in office one.”

Em knew how the legal robbery was going to unfold. First, they would send him to fill out papers and while he did, they would force him to pay some tax. The high taxes were one reason why the Ballerina never sailed in Tampra waters. The most abusive tax was the coal fee, which was only worth paying if a large ship was used. With great load capacity and consequently significant benefits, this type of ship was in the vast majority owned by the Royal Company of Commerce, who in turn, was who ruled the country.

“Now what, Mr. Em?” asked Macha.

“Now they will take the coal if I don’t pay the fees. Listen, while I’m gone, do not let anyone board my ship. You are a matey of this vessel now, and as the only mate on deck you can order them to wait.”

Macha frowned, “How about if they don’t ask for permission?”

“Nay!” Yelled Em, striding away. “No matter how much they insist or complain. Only you can let them board, they won’t if you don’t allow it!”

He walked as fast as he could. Hopefully, he could do the paperwork before the inspector arrived. Inside there were a few tables, but only one clerk was working.

“What can I do for you sir?” said the office worker with great courtesy.

“I need to register for departure.”

“Sure sir. I need to know, name and type of vessel, flags, destination, purpose of the journey and date.”

Em sight. “Vessel is Ballerina. A two mast cat. Flag of Hanan. Destination is Wei-le,Purpose is returning home, and the date is today.”

“That will be five silvers.” She said with a complacent smile.

“I need to check for a permit for coal transportation and use. Where should I go?”

“Here you can arrange that, sir. How many tons will you store on departure?”

“Only one. I have a small ship.”

“Only?” His Answer shocked her. “The cheapest tier is from fifty to one hundred, and it costs thirty gold. Plus the tax of three gold per ton.

Em cleared his throat and scratched his eyes. “Registration only, thanks. Have a good day.” He put the silver on the table and left.

Back on the ship, the inspection team was already harassing Macha, who was standing on the deck with a stoic pose.

“You don’t understand, sir. I have permission to board, sir,” said a man shaped like a barrel.

“I said you don’t have permission to board. Captain’s orders,” replied Macha firmly.

“You’re not the captain, sir. You cannot tell me what to do, sir.”

“I am the only crew on duty. Is the law. If I say you cannot board, you cannot board.”

The barrel man pulled down his vest in frustration. Of course, he hoped to be in luck and go up without the captain on board. Thus, without direct supervision from Em, he could have filled his own pockets with whatever goodies he found.

“I am the vessel Captain,” interrupted Em solemnly.

“Sir. Sir. I am the Inspector on duty of the Royal Company of Commerce of the Southern Islands. Awdeen Rashed. I request permission to board your ship.”

“I have to inform you, Mr. Rashed, that my mate here didn’t let you board because I have a case of fever on board.”

The little man’s face turned white.“No one told me! It is not on the form.” he moved the papers with nervous hands.

“They didn’t ask.” replied Em.

“They didn’t ask because you didn’t raise the yellow flag. Where is the yellow flag, sir?”

“I can assure you it’s just a case of fever. Nothing contagious. No need to alarm anyone with yellow flags.”

“That should be decided by a physician.” Said the man hesitating.

“If you think so, then we wait for the Doc. I have all day.”

Em needed him to be scared enough of Ivy’s room. He knew doctors were not so easily available, so, waiting for one would take hours, and by then Mr. Rashed shift would had finished and all his chances to get a cut of the prize, banished.

“All right,Sir. I will proceed. I take your word.” Rashed said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

“Then you have my permission to board.”

“I thought you didn’t want them enter.” whispered Macha.

“Not while I was not here. If we don’t let that barrel come, he will return with a bunch of soldiers. Soldiers on my ship are the last thing I want.”

“Rashed is gonna bring two,” Macha pointed with his chin at the two men climbing the ramp. Those two weren’t soldiers. At least not the kind that would make their country proud. Still, Em didn’t want those thugs on his ship either.

“Gentleman’s way.” said Em, pointing to the two bodyguards. With a disappointed grimace, Rashed ordered them back to the dock. The inspector avoided getting too close to Macha and waddled towards the watertight door.

“Be a good lad and keep an eye on those two,” whispered Em.

Inside, Rashed checked every single corner like a little mouse looking for food And Em had to remind him a few times he was not allowed to touch anything. Rashed reluctantly agreed. But that didn’t stop him from asking Em to open every single drawer and cabinets. The inspection of the galley became even more tedious than the bridge.

When they reached the store room, the small man gasped and his whole body froze at the sight of Rob. The machine did as Em asked and was laying over the entrance of the cargo hold. “What, what, what is that?” Rashed murmured from under a handkerchief that had been over his mouth since he entered the boat .

“That is called Automat. Is a toy for kids. I made it for my daughter. You pull some strings and it moves.”

“That’s a huge toy! ”

“She always liked to play with my old diving helmet. I used that as the head. That’s why it’s so big.”

The man tried to move it. “It’s really heavy. Can you make it move?”

“I’m afraid not. It’s broken.”

Disappointed, Rashed left the storeroom and continued his inspection, avoiding Ivy’s cabin. Em could hardly contain his satisfaction.

“Sir, where is the entrance to the hulls?”

“My hulls store water containers. If you want to check, the hatches are at the decks. Two at the stern, two at the bow.”

The little man urged Em to open each one of the hatches, just to verify, much to his regret, that the captain was right.

Rashed Scowled. “How does your ship float, then?”

“The hull has air chambers as well. But it is not designed for storage.”

“Where do you store the coal, then? This is a steam, I saw the funnel.”

“We mostly sail. We use the steam to move the ship while we do underwater work. The amount of coal I have is small.”

“Doesn’t matter. I want to see. Where is that coal?” Insisted Rashed. Of course, he wanted to see it. Knowing that they did not have the permits, the inspector was already prepared to confiscate it. Or, as Em hoped, find a less drastic but more lucrative solution for himself.

Bribery had to work. If they confiscated the coal Em bought in the north, he would have to buy the southerner variety. A type that burned better, and was perfect for giving speed to the heavy commercial ships but that was not suitable for the little Ballerina’s engine. Not strong enough for that kind of pressure.

Rashed followed Em down to the lower deck. Not without first forcing him to open the captain’s room and inspect all of Lim’s things.

When Em hit the light switch, the little man jumped. “Electric lights?” Exclaimed Rashed licking his lips. “I’ve never seen this technology on a small ship. Your job must be well paid, sir. What is your business again?”

“As you can see in the contiguous compartment, my engine is small.” Em answered, ignoring a topic he didn’t want to talk about. “I need little coal.”

Em pointed to the sacks, stored with other menial merchandise that didn’t interest the inspector in the slightest.

“Let me see. That is fifteen per ten sacks on a pallet?” Rashed said, poking the air with fast strokes. ”Two tons. I need to see the papers.”

“I don’t have the papers.” Em said, gritting his teeth.

“Sailing with untaxed coal is illegal in Tampra waters. You need to pay for the papers or I will have to confiscate it.” Rashed licked his lips again.

Em pinched the top of her nose and squeezed her eyes shut. “This is the only coal that my machine can use. Can we fix this without you having to take it off? “

“Yes, sir. Pay the taxes,” Rashed replied with a sneer. The inspector, seeing that Em was biting his lip, changed his tone immediately. After all, he was the most interested in finding a less official solution to the matter. “All right, sir. I understand. Listen, I have a friend in the office. He helped small merchants like you to get over this easily. I can ask him.”

That was the moment Em was waiting for. If everything went like other times, the inspector would give him a friendly price which, although cheaper than the fees, would be still too expensive. Then, he would let him bargain, lowering it a bit. A final amount that Em couldn’t afford either.

He had to bypass all the scam machinery and make an acceptable deal with the inspector directly.

“What’s your friend’s price for such help?”

“I’m not sure, sir. I have to ask him-”

“I’m pretty sure a smart and professional man like you knows the prices of your friend’s… alternative option. I’m also convinced you are a busy person. So, how about we save each other’s precious time, and we go straight to the point where you give me a price?”

Em saw a flash of shock in Rashed’s eyes. The inspector was used to naïve merchants who only nodded and thanked. Being so blunt made it clear that Em knew what waters he was swimming in.

Rashed frowned and moved his fingers in a counting motion, attempting to look as if he was really thinking. “He usually, for this amount, gives a price of around twenty-five gold. That includes all permits.”

“That’s still really pricey.” Em said, faking a sigh of disappointment.

“It’s a lot of work, sir. You need to understand. “

“I know, I know. And the clearance of the taxes, and waving formalities, the commissions for everyone… I wonder… how much do you get from the twenty-five?”

Rashed eyes opened wide. “Sir! I get nothing, I… I…”

“All right, all right. Listen.” Em leaned over the sacks and crossed his arms with confidence. That was his moment: He had to be convincing. “I will not pay for your friend’s help. I don’t have that amount of money. So, we have only two options here.

“You confiscate my coal. Your friend will resell it and you will get less than the ‘nothing’ he’d pay you from the twenty-five.

“The other option is, you confiscate only half of it. Your friend gets a piece of the prize and I keep the other half. And for your invaluable help, you receive seven gold. Straight into your pocket.”

Rashed was unsettled, not knowing how to react to Em’s move. Yet the Capitan could see that greed was winning the game. The inspector took his time, licking his lips again and again, a mannerism that Em came to find disgusting. “Ten.”

“Eight. No more.” Em said bluntly.

The inspector bobbled his head and extended his hand towards the Capitan. “Eight it is. Gent’s deal?”

“You get me the clearance for my ton and I give you the coin.” Em extended his hand, holding back the urge to squeeze hard. Rashed’s face paled at the sight of Em’s hand, who couldn’t believe that the inspector hadn’t noticed his prosthesis until that moment.

As he explained to the impressed Rashed about his arms, they reached outside. Em sat at the ship’s edge watching the inspector walk away, with his characteristic little mouse steps.

Macha sat at his side. “It took you long. Did he confiscate anything?”

“He’s taking half my coal.” mumbled Em, moving the tip of the pipe around the mouth.

The deal he got was acceptable enough. Rashed's ‘friend’ was not going to believe the Ballerina had no coal so one was better than none. And if he bought a ton from Wei and mixed it with the ton he saved, his steam would manage.

“How much?”

Em glanced sideways, surprised at the boy’s familiarity with everyone. “Eight,”

“That price for a ton is not bad, is it?”

With the sight of the group of workers approaching, Em stood up. His knee creaked and his shoulder slightly squeaked.

“Aye, not bad.” The old captain tapped his shoulder gently, where there was one of the oil containers, hoping it was just a blocked tube. “I’m rusty but I can still bargain like old times.”

“The skinny old man with the cheap suit is also coming,” Macha said. En turned suddenly. No sign of Rashed. Em got a chill down his spine .

There were also soldiers in the group. This time, more than soldiers, they were assassins in uniform. who stared atevery of the captain’s moves, ready to use their weapons.

“It came to my ears that you have unauthorized coal in your ship.” shouted the bureaucrat. “Two tons.” he added, with a grin of mockery and challenge.

Em clenched his jaws, and the wood between his teeth snapped.

“My men need permission to board and seize your illegal merchandise. But do not worry, I know it was all a matter of bad luck, so we will prepare a batch of the same size from our storehouse at the price of thirty gold. Including taxes and clearance.”

“You can keep your generous offer. I don’t want it. Permission to board and make it quick.” Snapped Em.

The workers made a human chain and in the blink of an eye, Em’s bags were on the dock. During the entire time, the soldiers did not take their eyes off him.

“My minions think I am stupid.” said the bureaucrat, still challenging him with his eyes. “Well, I’m not stupid.” He walked next to Em and whispered. “Next time you accept my first proposal.”

Em took the paper from his hand and walked inside. “If you are done, get out of my ship.”

He clapped Macha on the shoulder, and the boy followed. “Let’s go kid. Help me set sail out of this damn place.”