Hours latter he stepped into the tiny cabin he shared with Nesho and Sosho. He had played the part of a one-man boarding party using himself as a foil for their drills and practice. The experience did nothing to ease his unrest. Although they outnumbered him twenty to one it was his opinion that he would have had a decent chance of taking the ship by himself if the fighting had been for real and not just practice with blunted sword and spear. The alleged men-at-arms acted like they had never seen someone use both a sword and dagger together before. He could have easily blocked their blows and gutted them before they tried to overwhelm him with sheer numbers. Gods! He thought. Hopefully if they are attacked it will be a single pirate -- a blind and crippled one at that -- otherwise they might as well just hand over the wheel and save time!
Placing his weapons and gear next to the door he hung his shirt up in a crossbeam and rubbed his bruised and battered body. He had rinsed with seawater getting most of the sweat and grime off, but the salt water stung the small nicks and cuts he collected during the mock battle.
He noticed his cousin sitting near the porthole working on what appeared to be a shirt. Her ability as a seamstress still helped them earn a little even underway. There seemed to be no end of torn clothing or resizing work to be done between the crew and passengers. Remembering what the captain said he looked at her in a new light. It was true she and her mother had the same coloration, same hair and, in general, the same body shape. Where Nesho could pass for much younger than her twenty-nine seasons Sosho could pass for a number of years older than her true sixteen. I am blessed with a household of truly beautiful women, he thought, and both forbidden to him entirely. Heavy sigh. He stretched trying to work the knots out of his abused muscles. The workout was nowhere near as strenuous as what he was used to and the battering much, much less, but bruises hurt no matter how you get them.
"I warned you not to wear yourself out, Dent." For the first time he noticed Nesho standing up from the corner bunk where she had been reading one of the volumes from the pitifully small ship's library.' "Now you sit down right here and let me look at you," she said, pointing to a short stool in the middle of the cabin.
"It's nothing really, just a few bumps and bruises. I used to get worse every day at school," he grumbled as he moved toward the stool.
"He'd say that if they cut off an arm," Sosho interjected without even looking up from her work. "If only the rest of him were as hard as his head, then he'd never need armor."
"Hush now," Nesho chided as Dent chuckled at his cousin's standard barb, "and you sit down and be quiet." He sat. It didn't do any good to try to avoid this scrutiny, even if he wanted to.
"Hmmm," she mused as she deftly poked and prodded his various wounds. "Doesn't look like anything serious but let me work out these muscles." Her hands were firm but gentle as she kneaded and massaged his sore shoulders and arms. The tenseness seemed to flow out of him as she worked her way down his back and up again to his neck. From behind him her arms went around to soothe his upper chest and pectoral muscles. She had removed her outer coat and he could feel her unbound breasts pressed against him from under her thin blouse. Thinking about those soft warm pillows of flesh caused a reaction that even a blind man would have noticed under his loose trousers.
Hoping against hope that she didn't notice his noble reaction, he felt the heat of a flush at his shoulder, up his neck and all over his face. Thank the gods, he thought, he was facing away from Sosho. It would be bad enough if Nesho saw him, much worse if she did.
Nesho did see it of course; how could she not! The bulge under his trousers was very visible and ran half way down to his knee! As a young girl not knowing any better, she believed her husband when he told her he was well endowed, but she could see Dent's must be half again a large as that! Nesho knew Dent had been reacting to her as a woman for the past couple of years. This was not unexpected. After all, she was his mother's sister but she was also a women and their tight living quarters for the past few years made privacy, if not impossible, then at least difficult. The only saving grace was that his school occupied him from dawn to dusk almost every day for those six years leaving him too tired to even think about much else.
No, his reaction didn't surprise her. In fact she was flattered to think that a fine young man like Dent would even give an old woman like her a fleeting thought. No, what surprised her was her own reaction. She had been aware of his body before this; how could she not! But not for a good while and certainly never in a state of excitement before! He was large enough that the outline under the tight cloth left very little to the imagination. She thought she could almost see the mushroom-shaped head and the long cylinder of the shaft. Any tighter and she would be able to see the veins popping up along its length! This sight plus the feel of his strong muscular body under her hands caused a warmth to spread in her groin that she hadn't experienced for many years. She could feel her nipples harden as they pressed into his back and the moisture begin to form inside her vagina to prepare her for the sex act that she would never be able to consummate.
She knew she should stop immediately. She was teasing him and torturing herself but the feel and smell of this wonderful male body was too much to release just yet. Pressing her cheek against his she could feel the rough beginnings of a beard. He was not particularly hairy in that respect, but then neither had been his father. It would be so nice, she thought to herself, if he weren't her nephew and he could lay her down on the bunk, crawl between her legs and stuff that wonderful piece of man meat into her until she screamed.
But that wasn't going to happen. So instead she kissed him on the cheek, tousled his hair and told him to go lie down. Sometimes life just isn't fair, she thought.
The evening air was a bit cooler than it had been earlier in the afternoon. Dent felt refreshed and invigorated as he stepped through the hatch to the main deck. Nesho and Sosho decided to remain in the cabin after the evening meal but Dent wanted to know the status of that mysterious vessel whose sail had been trailing them throughout the day. The deck was gently rolling as he made his way aft towards the piloting platform. The breeze had picked up since the afternoon and the ship progressed at a steady pace with the wind-filled sails billowing overhead. Looking in the direction where the mysterious sail had been visible earlier, he was unable to make out anything in the deepening dusk.
Climbing the ladder to the piloting platform Dent spotted the captain by the railing casually peering out into the gloom.
"Good evening, Captain," he said in greeting. "Any word on our mysterious companion?"
"Nay," the captain replied without turning. "They be still there the last we could see them but since losing sight, well... " He shrugged, sighed and turned toward the young warrior. "I canna tell where they be by morn, but it worries me. It's just a feeling, mind you, but I think that ship be more than a simple merchant, and if that be so then they probably will be making their run in on us tonight for an attack at first light."
"Can we outrun them?"
"If they be pirate or privateer, I think not." The captain's face remained outwardly calm but his eyes were crystal pools of rage.
"If they intend to close during the night they must assume we will hold our course. What if we maneuver, open them up?" Even though Dent had no experience with naval warfare the tactical portion of his mind was racing, adapting what he did know to this strange wet environment.
"A superior idea, my fine young warrior, but alas not possible. To open them up we must turn to starboard, that which I have done a wee bit, but off our beam here are the Karken reefs, and a more vicious set of ship-eaters you will never hope to see. I'll not set course there unless I know the ship is in mortal danger. We turn into them we close the distance for them. Turn back? I dinna know if we could lose them. This ship wallows like a pig in headwinds, we be too slow to get out of their sight in just one short night. Forward at best speed is the best we can do. Hope they be simple merchants or hope for one of the Putram's patrol ships to meet with us before the pirates." The captain sighed and his body seemed to shrink like a waterskin with the liquid running out. "Bad choice maybe, but the best we can make now."
"I'm sure you know best, Captain. Maybe it's just another merchant, or maybe they will lose us in the night. If not, know you that I'll stand ready to fight with the ship if it comes to that."
"Aye, well that be something anywise," he turned back to the rail resuming his scan of the waters. "At least that be something."
Opening the cabin door Dent could see the flickering light coming from the small lantern casting shadows on the wall. Silently sitting on their bunks, legs crossed, his cousin and aunt fixed their dark eyes on him as he entered. Dropping his gear in its accustomed place next to the door he stretched and finally broke the silence.
"We need to talk."
"Is it that bad?" Nesho asked coolly.
"We can't be sure," he said running his fingers through his fine blond hair. "If it's pirates we should know in the morning. The captain seems to think that will be the time of any attack. If they wait too long, they stand a chance of running into Malshall's patrols or losing us if we change course in the night. No, if there's to be trouble it will be tomorrow morning. I plan to be up and ready before the dawn watch. My part is easy; what we have to discuss is you two."
"What do you want us to do?" Again Nesho's voice exuded calm and control.
Collecting his thoughts Dent looked proudly at her wondering that such beauty could contain the strength of will needed to remain calm in what could be a very dangerous and deadly situation. His eyes flickered over to Sosho and although she remained still and quiet, he could see the terror in her white-rimmed eyes. His heart went out to her and he wanted nothing more than to run to her, cradle her in his arms and assure her that all would be well, that he would protect her. But that would be false and they deserved better than that.
"Do? Nothing during the battle. Bar the door and wait. If it's just pirates then we stand a good change of fending them off. If it's privateers, well..." he sighed and sat down on the stool facing them.
"Pirates? Privateers? What's the difference?" Sosho's voice was ragged but she also was trying to keep her terror under control.
"Well," Dent paused formulating the words that would help him explain. "True pirates are independent: sea bandits really. They're usually small in number and poorly equipped. They prey on those weaker than themselves. They attack for loot and will attack anybody. Privateers are another matter entirely. You see, when a Putram has no navy or a very small one, he can't use it to attack his stronger foe. Instead he 'allows' -- contracts really -- private naval vessels, mercenaries, to attack his rival's shipping. He guarantees a price for any prize brought in, a market for their loot and a safe haven for them to make port in. In this way he weakens his enemy without exposing his own resources to harm."
"The problem is," he continued, "privateers are usually well armed and well equipped. It's true this ship does carry men-at-arms but they're not true warriors and I doubt they would last very long against them."
"If these are privateers we stand a good chance of losing and if that happens you two will be taken as slaves. I know this is difficult, but if it happens you must submit. Accept it. If you don't resist they won't kill you. You may be a slave but at least you will be alive."
"And where will you be?" Sosho suddenly shouted. "Where will our big protector be then?"
Calmly he looked her straight in the eye, his blue against her black.
"My dear cousin," he said softly, "I will be dead."