Neptune's Shadow
Clarity
The streets of the town were nothing like I had imagined.
Previously, I had only seen them through the window of my carriage, or from the height of horseback, and the townsfolk always prepared for our visits…
…but now, with no warning of a noble in their presence, I get to see the true colours of my town! I imagined colourful fairs and laughing faces, but nothing prepared me for the sight.
It surprised me how dirty it was. Horse’s hooves ground the earth into mud, which was streaked down houses and encrusted people’s shoes. Everyone’s grubby faces around me made me self-conscious of how clean I was, so I surreptitiously wiped some dirt down my shirt, and lightly spread it across my cheeks. The more I blended in, the better.
Everything was loud, too. People shouting, people laughing, people bargaining, people were everywhere; the sound of them, the smell of them;
“Come t’ Old Man’s Beard, best beer-”
“New crew, sign-up today for a life at sea-”
“Potatoes, get yer potatoes here!”
Never before had I encountered such a wave of body odour and muck, but I did not mind. The smells of dirt mingled with the salty sea air from the harbour was heaven to me, this was true freedom. Here, where my body felt crushed by congestion, and my feet sore from standing, I felt so alive. I felt like nothing could hold me back.
I wasn’t here to enjoy the sights though, I reminded myself. I had a job to do. I need to find more information about what Lisa and the other servants were talking about – I needed to find the truth about the rebellion. But where could I go? Where was a good place for information to gather?
There’s enough people on the street for someone to know something, I thought. I could ask around, see how it goes. The first person I saw was an old man, stooped low over a basket of fish. He was mumbling something to another fisherman, I could barely hear them over the ruckus of the street, but there was something about their shifty demeanour that caught my attention.
Both men kept looking over their shoulders as they were talking, as if what they were discussing was somewhat forbidden. I moved closer to them, trying to hear what they were saying. I busied myself by looking at the fish as if I was judging them, but i was barely paying them any attention. I didn’t even care that the stench of salt was so pervasive, it was almost stinging my nose.
“…more men are signin’ on.” I heard one man say. “but there’s not enough weapons, not since the Shadow took them...”
“Aye, I heard that, too.” Said the other man. “The Shadow’s not wastin’ any time plunderin’ us, eh?”
“This isn’t a joke, y’know. It’ll take more time!” The first man hissed. “We’d be left wantin’ when the day comes…”
“…when we overthrow him….”
Overthrow. So Lisa and the other servants may have been right about a rebellion, after all? It wasn’t just a rumour?
My surprise at what the men were saying was clearly showing on my face, as the men had suddenly spotted me behind them, listening, and both shut up instantly. I went up to the first man and tapped him on the shoulder, but he shrugged me off.
“Excuse me,” I said, trying to get his attention. “Um, sir?”
The man stopped and looked me up and down. I could only pray that my feeble disguise could fool him. “Aye lad? What’s yer business?”
“Um…” I paused for a moment, not knowing how to phrase my question, but swelling with hope that he wouldn’t see past my low hat and notice that I was a girl. “I’m looking for some answers. What do you know about a rebellion?” I tried not to look too hopeful as I said it, but already I saw the old man’s eyes darken. This was not a good sign.
“I don’t know nuffin’ ‘bout no rebellion,” he grumbled, but he looked away as he said it, shuffling the fish in the basket as a distraction. “Go home, lad. You young ‘uns best not be nosin’ this kinda talk.”
“But I heard you say, to that man-”
“Listen, boy,” the old man’s voice rumbled in his chest, low as a murmur. He motioned his hand for me to lean closer. “Ye don’t want t’ go pokin’ around things ye don’t get, see? Ain’t much gonna do ya good.” As he turned away, I noticed a few people around me avert their eyes from us. So they were listening, too.
“Do you have some answers for me?” I called out to them. The woman closest to us looked down and shuffled away, while another fisherman started whistling. “Anyone?”
I was dimly aware of my rising hysteria as I looked at all these people in front of me, lying to me. I could see guilt clearly on their faces as they tried to hurriedly turn away and leave me, some poor, insignificant, random boy trying to make sense of things. Things that were obvious to them, because they knew, they knew what was going on, and I didn’t.
I found myself approaching the woman nearest to me, the one that turned away first, and I grabbed her skirt. “You know something,” I said. “I know you do. Tell me, please…”
The woman recoiled as I touched her skirt. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she hissed at me as she grabbed her skirt back, pulling me forward, and I let go so fast that I lost my balance and found myself in the mud at her feet, my feet slipping out of my too-big shoes. I tried to pick myself back up but the humiliation of what transpired made my face feel so hot, I could feel my eyes pricking with tears.
How dare she, I found myself thinking, hot tears of anger streaming down my red cheeks. How DARE she humiliate me like that. My vision blurred into one colour, as I was left staring at the mud. If she knew who I was she would NEVER have done that to me.
Then, I understood.
How dare she?
Wasn’t I the one that grabbed her?
Wasn’t I the one that tried to get total strangers to open their hearts to me?
Suddenly, with crystal clarity that knocked the wind out of my lungs, I understood why peasants, of all people, were targeting my family.
We treat them like dirt. We treat them like the dirt I’m lying in.
I was aware that I hadn’t moved from the dirt. My hands and knees were still entrenched in the mud. I was aware that tears were still rolling off my cheeks.
Suddenly, I also became aware of a hand around my elbow, picking me up. The hand was strong, and warm, and suddenly I was standing. I still couldn’t see, because I was crying so much, but I was standing.
“Come on,” said a boy’s voice. “Let’s get you out of here, you’re a mess.”
And a warm hand was on my back, steering me.
Previously, I had only seen them through the window of my carriage, or from the height of horseback, and the townsfolk always prepared for our visits…
…but now, with no warning of a noble in their presence, I get to see the true colours of my town! I imagined colourful fairs and laughing faces, but nothing prepared me for the sight.
It surprised me how dirty it was. Horse’s hooves ground the earth into mud, which was streaked down houses and encrusted people’s shoes. Everyone’s grubby faces around me made me self-conscious of how clean I was, so I surreptitiously wiped some dirt down my shirt, and lightly spread it across my cheeks. The more I blended in, the better.
Everything was loud, too. People shouting, people laughing, people bargaining, people were everywhere; the sound of them, the smell of them;
“Come t’ Old Man’s Beard, best beer-”
“New crew, sign-up today for a life at sea-”
“Potatoes, get yer potatoes here!”
Never before had I encountered such a wave of body odour and muck, but I did not mind. The smells of dirt mingled with the salty sea air from the harbour was heaven to me, this was true freedom. Here, where my body felt crushed by congestion, and my feet sore from standing, I felt so alive. I felt like nothing could hold me back.
I wasn’t here to enjoy the sights though, I reminded myself. I had a job to do. I need to find more information about what Lisa and the other servants were talking about – I needed to find the truth about the rebellion. But where could I go? Where was a good place for information to gather?
There’s enough people on the street for someone to know something, I thought. I could ask around, see how it goes. The first person I saw was an old man, stooped low over a basket of fish. He was mumbling something to another fisherman, I could barely hear them over the ruckus of the street, but there was something about their shifty demeanour that caught my attention.
Both men kept looking over their shoulders as they were talking, as if what they were discussing was somewhat forbidden. I moved closer to them, trying to hear what they were saying. I busied myself by looking at the fish as if I was judging them, but i was barely paying them any attention. I didn’t even care that the stench of salt was so pervasive, it was almost stinging my nose.
“…more men are signin’ on.” I heard one man say. “but there’s not enough weapons, not since the Shadow took them...”
“Aye, I heard that, too.” Said the other man. “The Shadow’s not wastin’ any time plunderin’ us, eh?”
“This isn’t a joke, y’know. It’ll take more time!” The first man hissed. “We’d be left wantin’ when the day comes…”
“…when we overthrow him….”
Overthrow. So Lisa and the other servants may have been right about a rebellion, after all? It wasn’t just a rumour?
My surprise at what the men were saying was clearly showing on my face, as the men had suddenly spotted me behind them, listening, and both shut up instantly. I went up to the first man and tapped him on the shoulder, but he shrugged me off.
“Excuse me,” I said, trying to get his attention. “Um, sir?”
The man stopped and looked me up and down. I could only pray that my feeble disguise could fool him. “Aye lad? What’s yer business?”
“Um…” I paused for a moment, not knowing how to phrase my question, but swelling with hope that he wouldn’t see past my low hat and notice that I was a girl. “I’m looking for some answers. What do you know about a rebellion?” I tried not to look too hopeful as I said it, but already I saw the old man’s eyes darken. This was not a good sign.
“I don’t know nuffin’ ‘bout no rebellion,” he grumbled, but he looked away as he said it, shuffling the fish in the basket as a distraction. “Go home, lad. You young ‘uns best not be nosin’ this kinda talk.”
“But I heard you say, to that man-”
“Listen, boy,” the old man’s voice rumbled in his chest, low as a murmur. He motioned his hand for me to lean closer. “Ye don’t want t’ go pokin’ around things ye don’t get, see? Ain’t much gonna do ya good.” As he turned away, I noticed a few people around me avert their eyes from us. So they were listening, too.
“Do you have some answers for me?” I called out to them. The woman closest to us looked down and shuffled away, while another fisherman started whistling. “Anyone?”
I was dimly aware of my rising hysteria as I looked at all these people in front of me, lying to me. I could see guilt clearly on their faces as they tried to hurriedly turn away and leave me, some poor, insignificant, random boy trying to make sense of things. Things that were obvious to them, because they knew, they knew what was going on, and I didn’t.
I found myself approaching the woman nearest to me, the one that turned away first, and I grabbed her skirt. “You know something,” I said. “I know you do. Tell me, please…”
The woman recoiled as I touched her skirt. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she hissed at me as she grabbed her skirt back, pulling me forward, and I let go so fast that I lost my balance and found myself in the mud at her feet, my feet slipping out of my too-big shoes. I tried to pick myself back up but the humiliation of what transpired made my face feel so hot, I could feel my eyes pricking with tears.
How dare she, I found myself thinking, hot tears of anger streaming down my red cheeks. How DARE she humiliate me like that. My vision blurred into one colour, as I was left staring at the mud. If she knew who I was she would NEVER have done that to me.
Then, I understood.
How dare she?
Wasn’t I the one that grabbed her?
Wasn’t I the one that tried to get total strangers to open their hearts to me?
Suddenly, with crystal clarity that knocked the wind out of my lungs, I understood why peasants, of all people, were targeting my family.
We treat them like dirt. We treat them like the dirt I’m lying in.
I was aware that I hadn’t moved from the dirt. My hands and knees were still entrenched in the mud. I was aware that tears were still rolling off my cheeks.
Suddenly, I also became aware of a hand around my elbow, picking me up. The hand was strong, and warm, and suddenly I was standing. I still couldn’t see, because I was crying so much, but I was standing.
“Come on,” said a boy’s voice. “Let’s get you out of here, you’re a mess.”
And a warm hand was on my back, steering me.
♠ ♠ ♠
"WOOO finally! A new chapter!" I hear you say...Sorry for the long wait! Please leave a comment and let me know what you think :)