Chapter 12: Adrift in a Swift Current

It was two weeks later when the group, which now included Rucar and his outcasts, made its way to the big river that bisected Azkoval.

Julia, who had walked near Joseph for the first two months of the march, made it a point to be as far away from his as possible during the final leg. She either joined the scouts in going ahead or stayed behind with her mother and sister.

Joseph wondered what he had done to offend his little shadow but figured that she would let him know soon enough. He had other things on his mind.

The group’s path was different from his southern hike. They were nearer to the western coast and deep in the heart of those who worship Serrat. There were no crowds to greet his entourage as there had been in the other sections of the country he had traversed. A few people would come out to greet him as he walked past but most would stay indoors or ignore him from their farmsteads.

He didn’t think his actions against the religion had been harsh, particularly given their participation in a coup. But a decade of unchecked power had given not only the church but its devout followers the illusion of power. He would have to reckon with the Serratians in the near future, putting the prospect of peace off for at least another year or more.

He wished he had kept his army intact for the northern march. He could deal with them immediately and be done with it. He dreaded the thought that many of the people killed putting down a few arrogant priests would be the good people the clerics commanded. Still, he couldn’t allow the religion to run unchecked. That had been part of his father’s downfall and Joseph would not repeat the man’s mistakes.

He was heartened to see several barges awaiting him at the Corning docks. The sailors bowed as he approached, causing Joseph more consternation.

“Please, none of that,” he told the man in front.

“Oh, of course, Your Highness,” the man said. “I had forgotten this territory is still somewhat hostile to you. My apologies for identifying you as the king.”

“It’s not that,” Joseph said. “I simply dislike people treating me as though I am something special. I’m not. I am just an ordinary man in extraordinary circumstance. I hope we haven’t kept you waiting for long.”

“Not at all, Your Highness,” the man said. “We returned earlier in the week from transporting the rest of your army. We took them all the way to Blue Harbor. The river is hard to traverse easterly. We have to put the barges on wagons and tow them back.”

“Since I outlawed slavery,” Joseph added.

“Not our group,” the man protested. “We were never wealthy enough to own slaves even if we did hold with the practice. We’re not Serrats. We all were open-water sailors until the merchants took over the trade and sunk our ships. We would prefer to be on the sea again but this is honest work and we’re honest men.”

“My apologies,” Joseph said earnestly. “I have seen firsthand how this section of the country views me differently than the rest and I must confess it bothers me.”

“It is not the entire region, Your Highness,” the sailor told him. “To be certain, there are some who are feeling your reign in their purse and they dislike you. The rest of us view you as deliverance from the tyranny that held us for a decade. Those with power will not release it willingly. It will have to be wrested from their grasp. The men we took west last month assured me that you understand that as well as anyone.”

“I do,” Joseph agreed as he shifted his gaze to the wide river. “I still had hoped to avoid it. The merchants and the priests will be just like the lords I’ve deposed. They will not take up arms themselves. No, they will kidnap wives and children to force honest men like yourself to do their bidding. I always try to avoid harming innocents but there are always some – husbands, fathers and sons of good, hard-working people – who fall at my hand.”

He shook his head with a long breath.

“I can see it will be necessary though to root this out,” he continued. “I did not ban the practice of the religion. I have not banned the practice of any religion. I want people to have the freedom to act in their personal lives as they see fit. I do not want to harm the Serratians regardless of the harm they have done to this country. I do expect them to obey the laws and I will enforce the laws if I must. Now, let us settle on a price and begin our journey.”

“I will not charge the king!” the man insisted.

“Nonsense,” Joseph replied. “You have mouths to feed and you are doing me a great service. I am grateful that you and your crew have agreed to help us. I worried that we would be forced to walk farther and I have had all the walking I wish to do for a while. I will pay you and your men 30 gold pieces for transport to Blue Harbor.”

The man’s breath escaped his lungs in a rush. That was more money than the men would see in a lifetime of toting goods down the river.

“Will that be enough to outfit a new ship for you and your sailors?” Joseph asked.

“Your Highness,” the man stammered. Joseph just looked at him.

“That will be more than enough to purchase and outfit a ship,” the man declared.

“I will acquire the ship for you when we reach Blue Harbor,” Joseph told him. “That is the price of transport for the men you’ve already taken. I believe that good men deserve good things to happen to them. Now that this is settled, I will turn this group over to your able hands. Arrange us however you’d wish.”

The sailor looked at faces of his men. They had overheard portions of the conversation and they were eagerly awaiting word from him.

“I would like for you to separate those who can swim from those who can’t, Your Highness,” the stunned man said. “After we see how many of each we have, we will decide how to arrange things on board the barges.”

Joseph nodded and let the man speak to his crew. He pulled his group together and spoke to them.

“I need everyone who swims well on this side and those who don’t on that side,” he said. He saw a few looks that bothered him so he continued. “This is not the time for bravado. The current is swift and the water is deep. If you do not know if you can swim, I want you over there. If you swim but only a little, I want you over there. If you cannot swim at all, I want you over there. We have travelled together for many months and our losses are small. I do not want to lose another person on our way home, particularly because that person is too stubborn to admit they can’t swim. Am I understood?”

The group separated further, leaving 13 men and one woman with the swimmers and 28 men and women on the other side.

“The numbers work well, Your Highness,” the captain said after he had given the news to his men about their improved fortunes. “It will leave one person who can swim with two people who cannot. The last trip was almost four to one and I was a bit worried.”

“Did the entire group make it to Blue Harbor?” Genrico asked.

“Every single man and woman,” the captain said.

“Very good,” Genrico replied with a smile. “Well, I suppose we should select those we will look out for.”

Joseph glanced over and shook his head. He had seen Victoria and Amelia join the non-swimmers almost immediately. There were few water sources in Wellington and none large enough for swimming. He knew who Genrico would be shepherding down the river.

When everyone was selected, Joseph took the two remaining – Julia and a cheery faced cook who had travelled with him from the moment he left Tyrell.

“Well, ladies, I suppose we shall travel together,” he said with a warm smile at both. Julia simply looked at the ground but the cook turned white.

“Your Highness, you are much too important to be responsible for me!” she exclaimed.

Joseph had expected Julia to launch a barb in his direction but she continued studying the tops of her leather moccasins.

“I am no more or less important than anyone,” he answered with an easy smile. “Lydia, you have been with this group since the day we left. You have cooked meals for me and mended rips in my clothing. I have seen you gathering firewood and even digging latrines when the need arose. Those duties are just as important as anything I’ve done or will do. Besides, I have heard your singing around the camp. The loss of that beautiful voice would be far greater than my meager skills.”

Julia glanced at the cook who was scarlet. She appeared to about ready to swoon. Julia took the woman’s arm and led her toward the barge.

“They will rope us together at the outset,” Joseph informed them. “The most difficult part of the passage is when we debark from shore. They have to use long poles to push us out to the center and the barge might take water and capsize.”

Julia looked at Joseph for the first time and he saw her gulp.

“I want you both to listen to me,” he said. “I will protect you but you cannot struggle if we go into the water. You cannot panic or we all will drown. I have been thrown into the water unexpectedly before and it is not easy to keep your head but you must. Lydia, I do not mean to be crass but you should remove any excess clothing you might have on. The water will make it heavy and pull you under. Thankfully, Julia has no excess clothing so we needn’t worry about her.”

He looked at Julia and winked but she was looking at the ground again.

“We will remove our shoes and put them on the deck,” Joseph continued. “The weather is still relatively warm so I don’t think you will need your slip or your shoes. Is this alright with you?”

Lydia continued to blush but nodded. The time around the army had relieved her of much of her shyness but this was the king. Her parents had farmed around the capital their entire lives and had suffered the slings and arrows of the previous decade. Their small farm had been forced almost to extinction by the gluttonous King Wilhelm and his minions. Any surplus was immediately claimed as a tax. The atmosphere had grown so bad that Lydia had been sent to live with distant cousins rather than have her maidenhood ripped from her by one of the king’s followers.

She had been permitted to return to her home when King Joseph had arrived but she knew there was no money for a dowry. She would either grow old as a spinster or be married to one of the many younger sons whose lives would be spent working for an older brother. That was why she left home to follow the army. She thought perhaps one of the soldiers would cast his eye her way – and in fact many of them had. Lydia was one of the funniest and friendliest people in camp and the Lord Burbridge had taken an immediate liking to her, treating her as a daughter.

Sadly, that sent many of the younger suitors away. Still, she had enjoyed her adventure and made many new friends. And she had a dowry. The king had paid her the same amount as he paid his soldiers. The gold coins in her belt would let her parents ease their toil and provide her with money to purchase a better husband.

But now she stood beside the king, who had just told her to remove her underclothing and it was a bit much for her.

“Come,” Julia said, seeing the woman was about to drop over. “There are other women in the bushes doing the same. It appears either the king speaks true or all the men are in on the joke together.”

Joseph chuckled and shot Julia a grateful glance but again she hadn’t met his eye. He shrugged it off and went to help the men who were loading the gear about one of the barges.

The highlight of the trip for Julia was the chance to bath when the barges came to shore for the first night. As she had helped Lydia remove her undergarments she had come to realize that she smelled like a swamp. The last few days of the march had been done in rain and humidity. The smell of body odor and dirt was overwhelming in the small area where the women changed. For many, it was a smell that was normal for them. Not everyone held bathing in high regard but Julia and her family did.

Julia would slip into a tub of warm water three times each week to clean the smell of the woods from her skin. But it had been three weeks since she had the chance to do more than a quick wash. The streams running from the mountain ranges had already turned too cold for bathing and there were too many people trying to get clean the few times they had found anything close to warm.

“I smell like an outhouse,” she grumbled. “I have to spend the next week standing right next to Joseph and I stink.”

“We all stink,” Lydia replied as she folded her filthy pantaloons and slip. She stared at them for a moment and then shook her head.

“Yes, I noticed that,” Julia admitted with a chuckle. “It wasn’t until I was in this small space that I understood how ripe I’d become.”

“I heard one of the sailors say there was a shallow pool near where we’ll stop tonight,” another woman chimed in.

“A shallow pool that had 250 sweaty men bathing there a few weeks ago,” Julia pointed out. “I’m not sure if we will be cleaner when we go in or when we get out.”

The group’s laughter was stifled by the call to the barges.

The initial castoff wasn’t as terrifying as Julia had expected. She had a rope around her waist that was tied to Joseph. Lydia had the same thing from his other side. He put his arms around their shoulders and held them as the crewman shoved away from shore and the barge started its way down the river.

By midday, Julia had grown comfortable enough to move more than a few steps from Joseph. Her sister and mother were on a different boat, Genrico having been separated to equalize the weight. As evening grew near, she was bored. She had seen the same scenery going past all day. It was even the same on the other side of the river. Joseph had never let her get far away from him even though he had released the ropes once the voyage got fully underway.

Lydia seemed quite content to stay near the king – despite the lack of undergarments. Indeed, the young woman had giggled when the wind had caught her dress and pressed it tightly to her body.