The ship was nearly finished with its repairs, and commanders were ordering their crew to dig out the beach to make it easier to haul the ship into the water. Brogg was already working with them and didn't seem to notice we had come. Even from here, I could see sweat glistening on his face. Ropes were being fixed to the bow to pull it. I assumed that would be our first assigned duty as Dulan's two newest slaves.
But until it was ready, Weevil and I were made to sit on the beach beside the other Colonists.
"You'll get your warden back once our ship reaches the water," Bartek said to Jonas.
Marjorie wasn't far from us. She looked our way with tears in her eyes and shook her head. At first I thought she was afraid for her own future, especially because she probably still felt sick. Or perhaps Marjorie had hoped we'd escaped during the night, and she didn't want to see us captured too. I tried to silently communicate a reply to her that we had deliberately come here, to rescue her and the others. No one from the river country would ever leave a friend behind, even at their own peril. Everyone seated around us now were friends. We would all escape together.
But for as hard as I tried to help her understand that through my tense expression and the flicks of my eyes, she only looked away and cried a little more. Then I glanced past her to where Clement Rust was staring at me. They must've grabbed him sometime after he w
as forced from the caves. He nodded back and gave a slight smile. He'd understood my silent message.
He leaned very slightly to whisper something to the man next to him, who looked over at me. Then the message was passed to the woman at his side, who continued it on.
All we needed was an opportunity. I wanted it as late as possible, after the ship was repaired and back in the water, but before the crew had loaded us on board for the voyage to Dulan. If we fought too early, we risked not having enough people to launch the ship and save ourselves. If we fought too late, we'd become the property of Dulan.
After an hour of waiting, a sailor came around with some flasks of liquid he said we could share. All of us eyed them suspiciously. Finally, with a heavy sigh he said, "It won't harm you. This is a drink from Dulan. It'll give you strength to help us pull that ship into the water." Still, none of us took a drink until he grabbed one of the flasks back and drank it himself. Then we began passing them around with great enthusiasm. Everyone was thirsty, and the drink did boost my energy. In hindsight, that sailor would regret sharing anything that made me feel stronger.
When we'd finished, Bartek stood before us and said, "We're ready now. The crew will go behind the ship to push it toward the sea. You will each pair up and take a rope, and do all you can to pull it. This will be your first test as slaves of Dulan, and the way you perform will determine where you are assigned to work once we arrive. Work hard, and you might find yourself as a lady-in-waiting or manservant to the rulers of our country, a relatively comfortable position. Appear idle, and we will find dirty, dangerous work that will cure your laziness." His eye fell on me. "Refuse to cooperate, and you will come to understand the most terrible of penalties."
Beside me, Weevil gasped and grabbed my arm. I thought it was a warning from him to not react, so I only shook him off and said for everyone to hear, "You said it didn't work to threaten a slave with his own life, but that Governor Felling did suggest a punishment that worked. What is it?"
"Ani, I see--" Weevil started.
"Hush, I'm arguing."
The sailor walked over to me. "Stand up, girl."
I obeyed.
"You're from the river country of Keldan--a grub?" When I nodded, he continued. "The River People have never gotten the Scourge before. But Governor Felling took you anyway. Did you ever wonder why she suddenly wanted River People?"
"She wanted five River People," I said. "In the end, she only took two of us."
"Three more will come, in time." He backed up, speaking again to all of us. "A few weeks ago, the crew of this very ship attempted an uprising, led by someone who thought he should not have to cooperate. The uprising failed, of course, so he had to be punished. Our agreement with your governor is that if you disobey any order, she will take one of your loved ones into the Colony. But if there is an uprising, and you cause others to disobey, she will take--"
"Five," I breathed. "She wanted five River People because it was a River Person who started that uprising. But everything started with me. I was the first of our people to go to the Colony."
"To go to the Colony perhaps," he said. "But you were not the first of the River People to be taken away." He gave a whistle and said, "Show yourself, grub!"
From around the back of the ship, a man came forward in rags and with chains around his wrists. He was thinner than when I'd last seen him but I knew him well, and he knew me too.
But most of all, he knew Weevil, who had already gotten to his feet beside me and held on to my arm for support.
The man in chains was Weevil's father.
Weevil's father clearly recognized us, but he only shook his head back in acknowledgment. Why? Was that a sign for us to say nothing of our connection? A message to end our planned revolt before we endangered more of our people? Or a sign of defeat, that in seeing his own son here, knowing why we had come, now he had at last been broken?
I didn't know what he meant by the simple shake of his head and wasn't entirely sure what to do next. Beside me, Weevil's hand wrapped tighter around my arm and began shaking.
Bartek said, "Now that you understand what it means to disobey, I suggest you all take ropes at once."
We went to the ropes, though I practically had to drag Weevil with me. "We've still got to fight," I whispered to him.
"My father's alive," Weevil mumbled.
"Yes, and he wanted to get free. He expects you to do the same."
"It was his uprising. We're here because of him."