Chapter 3

Somehow I had forgotten to tell the Captain of my find. It was only when I came down at my room in the cabin I remembered the boy again. He had eaten some of the bread and then fallen asleep. As I had a rather wide bunk I decided that there was place for us both so I just put a blanket over him and then felt asleep myself. I woke up in the middle of the night by someone trying to strangle me, at least that was how it felt for me as I most desperately prepared myself for that fight to the death. But then I heard someone sobbing and all at once I remembered the boy. He wasn't trying to strangle me at all, he was just holding on for his life, I don't think he even was awake while doing it. I felt sorry for him and tried to comfort him as best as I could by telling him that he was safe now.

He seemed to relax somewhat but refused to release his hold on me even in his sleep. It took me some time but in the end I succeeded in getting loose without waking him. I knocked on the door to the adjoining room where Puss resided in all of his leonine splendor, ahh, that should be read as me meeting the dump, at least I tried to wash my clothes at times, but Puss, he just sneezed at that idea. 'A true lion will always manage Sir!' he exclaimed at me more than once. 'Clothes, what is that to a true lion' he also was fond of saying, with the result of me and the crew always trying to stand to the leeward when talking to him. On the other hand it was only when trying to impress on us humans that he choose to wear any clothes, but that didn't stop his room from looking like something from a wasteyard.

Somehow I had forgotten to tell the Captain of my find. It was only when I came down at my room in the cabin I remembered the boy again. He had eaten some of the bread and then fallen asleep. As I had a rather wide bunk I decided that there was place for us both so I just put a blanket over him and then felt asleep myself. I woke up in the middle of the night by someone trying to strangle me, at least that was how it felt for me as I most desperately prepared myself for that fight to the death. But then I heard someone sobbing and all at once I remembered the boy. He wasn't trying to strangle me at all, he was just holding on for his life, I don't think he even was awake while doing it. I felt sorry for him and tried to comfort him as best as I could by telling him that he was safe now. He seemed to relax somewhat but refused to release his hold on me even in his sleep. It took me some time but in the end I succeeded in getting loose without waking him.

I knocked on the door to the adjoining room where Puss resided in all of his leonine splendor, ahh, that should be read as me meeting the dump, at least I tried to wash my clothes at times, but Puss, he just sneezed at that idea. 'A True Lion will always manage Sir!' he exclaimed at me more than once. 'Clothes, what trifling matter is that to a True Lion' he also often could be heard saying, with the result that the crew and me always would be trying to stand to the leeward while talking with him. On the other hand it was only when trying to impress on us humans that he choose to wear any clothes, but that didn't stop his room from looking like something from a wasteyard.

'Puss' I said, we need to talk. Puss lifted up a sleepy eye rimmed with red the better to stare me down with. 'Nope.' He said. 'You need to talk, not me, you.' I had to admit that he was right. 'Yeah, I need to talk Puss, I found someone at that slaver. A boy, he's in my cabin now sleeping.' Puss shook his head tiredly. 'What are you Laur, a chick magnet? Everywhere we go you seem to attract new females?'

Awh, he hadn't listened. 'No Puss, for once you're wrong, it's a boy and he was hiding down in the slave hold when I found him. He seemed both dumb and deaf when I tried to talk to him.' Puss gave me one of his patented penetrating stares, 'So that is a, aa, boy?' he said seeming to look right through me. Now!? I thought, what the heck is up with him this time. I should have let him sleep it of instead, he gets so phreaking cranky. 'No Puss' I said patiently. 'That is your door. But if you come to my room you will see the boy.' As I explained those simple facts of life to my friend his eye seemed wider and wider. There was no sleepiness to it anymore. Instead he seemed speechless, it was when I finally thought of remarking on this peculiar behavior that I felt something poke at my back.

I have to admit that I wasn't ready for that, I must have lifted at least three feet of the floor, all at the same time as I was desperately trying to turn around. It made my landing somewhat of a mess as I ended up on the deck staring up at a pair of gray big eyes imploringly beseeching mine. 'I'm so sorry.' I heard a melodious voice.' But where am I?' A boy? Naee, Puss was right, this was definitely a girl, gray eyes, small with a beautiful voice and of somewhat pointed ears. When I first had found her she had swept herself into that cloak hiding her face, but now as I saw her I found her to be of a delicate elfin beauty. 'I'm sorry my Lady' I said. 'Do you remember me?'

She looked at me shaking her head, her brown hair falling in long tresses around her. 'No, ' she said. 'I was home going down to the harbor to shop. Then there was scuffle and... ' she looked at me in a beguiling even if somewhat disoriented manner. 'Do you know what happened?' She asked. 'I'm sorry too my Lady.' I answered. We found you under a bench on a Slaver ship. You were the only person there and I took you off and left you to sleep at my cabin.' I continued by describing how we had found the galleon floating around in the abyss and how she had ended up when we were finished with her. She looked down in distress, her hands starting to shake as she whispered to herself 'Oh my poor mother, what will she think.'

She lived on a island called Clairvan'te. She called it a planet, which is a very old word for islands of a most peculiar shape and size. To my knowledge there were no such islands anywhere inside the quadrant of Chmeer, or for that sake anywhere that I knew apart from Emilias Home. But Home was not round, and if I understood rightly planets were supposed to be almost perfectly spherical. Puss who had listened to it all seemed to be quite taken in of Bell'e. How I knew that? Simple, he had started to clean his room in a most frantic manner, going so far as to try to sweep both his laundry, as well as all the accumulated dirt under his bed at the same time. Finishing he had succeeded in creating a sizeable mound almost lifting that poor bed, all the time trying to act as inconspicuously as possible nodding and smiling at her, but his sneezing gave him away I thought. Even Bell'e couldn't help give a small smile as she noticed his behavior, and when Puss found himself caught he had the grace to admit it to her. 'Hrrmph, lovely ladies should not have to see this shabby room.' he said somewhat shamefully, at which Bell'e answered ' So you are expecting company then, my Prince?'

At that I was much surprised, how did she know he was a Prince. We hadn't discussed Puss at all, more than to name him my friend? At my thought she gave me a hasty look and smiled reassuringly. Awh, noo! Don't tell me that she could read minds. In some old books I had read something of this rare ability, but as it was said that it had died out a long time ago with a race of elves called pixens or pixies or something, I never even considered the possibility before. And ancient I wouldn't call her, at her most I thought she might be seventeen? Naee not even that. At that she looked at me again in a very surprised manner and then gave me a smile of unsurpassed sweetness.

Puss who now seemed almost like mesmerized by her actually blushed at her comment, I didn't know that lions had that in them. 'No my Lady. It's just ahh, I've been sorely underestimating the state my room has been in lately, my only excuse is that I never expected such a rare visit of beauty.' Here Puss looked very pleased with his choice of words. Bell'e gave him a new smile, and one could hear his contended sigh at this from miles away.

Time of War

What little I know of fighting a war is that it is much like butchery. A logical and cold butchery made possible by logistics to make food, soldiers, materials etc, be placed in the proper place at the proper time. Although some few might fight and kill with passion and bravery, finding it their ultimate testing ground, well knowing that killing always should be the last resort, most turn away from it all. When we do fight it's more often than not ordered by others, without choice, in that way we are very much like sheep lead to slaughter.

To fight with honor, even though being presented by most as the proper way of war, is to me just another lie. Real war is dirty work best arranged by killing from behind, from far away or perhaps by an ambush, preferably always being in overwhelming force. There is no honor to be found in a modern war, and I'm not sure if there ever was any honor in it. Instead of admitting to killing civilians, those in power, military and other leaders, hide behind buzzwords like 'collateral damage'. We are as a race, I'm afraid, in some ways worse than all other animals. Very few animals attack their own kind to death without cause, we do.

As far as I knew our Octagonal Universe hadn't had a great war in a long time, I actually thought that we had grown out of it. But now there seemed be one brewing. A bad one too, if you asked me. I was talking with the Captain, explaining about Bell'e when he choose to take up the topic.' Ahem, laurel, you do know that there are other things than trading on my mind?' I smiled. 'Yes Captain, I know' I answered. ' Girls and such, but be assured Captain that this is only a normal craving known to us all. Although Captain, I would like to know, why now? Seeing as how splendid a fare you have Captain, with all this travelling and all?' I just couldn't help needling him, he could be quite pompous at times.

He hemmed some more and then finally said. 'Girls? Who have been talking about girls?' I smiled again. 'We did Sir, you remember Bell'e, don't you?' at that he seemed to reach a conclusion. 'Well, be that as it may, it just might be time for you and your pet' and here he smiled evilly at me, 'to be introduced to our cause.' Saying so as he scrutinized me into small bits. 'Be at my Cabin at eight bells son, both you and Puss. But no girls, do you hear. No girls.' Looking very stern at that.