Chapter 14

James reined in his mount.

The ocean.

The land dropped down and spread before them, forests and fields extending until they met the dark blue expanse of water. He could feel it. Even from here. There was a certain tinge to the wind, taste to the air, that only the ocean could create.

But ... this was not his ocean. His world. Why, then, did it remind him of home?

Riders drew his attention back to what lay closer to his small wagon train. They were humans, he was glad to see. The trail marked by Lech's men was good, and the wheel tracks starting to form a visible path, but there still had been a few unsure moments once they were off the road and traveling cross country. The journey was almost over.

"Your Grace!" The Hussars pulled up before them, saluting. James nodded in acknowledgment.

"Greetings. What's the situation?" That, he had found, was a good, general response to people. It sounded leadership-like, and gave him some time to think of something. The wagon beside him stopped, the driver obviously deciding he, too, wanted to know. James could hear the sound of all those behind them doing the same.

"The Commander sends his regards, and has asked us to lead your wagons into the encampment. He has also asked me to escort you and your party to the construction headquarters."

James looked beyond the Sergeant. The afternoon was getting on, and it was probably still another hour or more for the wagons to cover the distance. He could not even see the encampment, although he was not sure what he should be looking for. There could be nothing actually built yet.

"Piotr, stay with the wagons, have your men keep their escort until they're well within the camp defenses, then you're free to make your own camp. These men will escort Shanna and me the rest of the way. Ola!" The man stood in the uncovered wagon, eyes serious, respectful. "See where they want us, and set up camp. We'll be here awhile. Ewa has full authority to set up my quarters as she sees fit."

He nodded, not even batting an eye. Gone was any hint that this was not proper. Ewa's eyes seemed to glow. James figured he had earned some extra treats come night. He motioned to the Sergeant.

"Lead the way."

More was done than he had expected, but not nearly as much as he would have liked. An outer perimeter, quite large, had been marked out, with stakes and some digging. What James could only assume would be strong points along the wall were in various states of construction, earthworks rising up out of the ground. The ones he saw were manned, sentries watching over the approaches. Inside, trees were felled, logs cut, ditches dug or filled depending on the need and plan. Everywhere men worked, uniformed or shirtless, the sounds of hammer and ax ringing above the rhythm of the surf. They paused as he passed, saluting. He returned the greeting.

The largest tent, grey, unadorned, stood on a slight rise a few hundred feet from the beach. The bay itself was not that large, maybe two football fields wide, but James could see it would be big enough for their needs, providing protection from the worst of the storms for their infant navy. He saw no sign of ship construction, but, obviously, there were many things to do before then. Dismounting, handing the reins to one of the people always magically there for such a need, he entered the tent.

"Your Grace!"

The head engineer Tadeusz Kosciuszko was standing before him, grinning happily, hand outstretched in greeting. Not caring if it was too familiar, James took it. Commander Lech Watesa was there as well, his own hand taking the King's.

"We're glad to have you here safely, Your Grace."

"And I'm glad to be done traveling for a bit. So, show me what's going on."

The two stepped aside, motioning James towards a long table in the middle of the tent. He sensed, more than saw, the annoyance on Shanna's face at being ignored. Well, he wanted her here. She was smart, and her perspective on all this would be invaluable. Turning, he motioned for her to precede him. Her nod in acknowledgment dripped with sarcasm.

What the table held took his breath away. It was a model. Diorama. Whatever. A three dimensional preview of the city to be. Six feet long and almost four wide, the detail, compared to what he would have expected, was exquisite. James shook his head.

"OK, I want one of these for my quarters. With toy soldiers, and some toy monsters."

"I'll see what we can do," Tadeusz laughed. "Some of my men did most of the detailed work around the evening fire. You can't stop them from carving."

"They're promoted to royal toymakers." Reaching out, he picked up a small house. It was carved from a solid piece of wood, the unpainted detail incredible. Shanna shook her head.

"That family is now homeless, you know."

"I'm a friendly giant." He placed the house back. "OK, tell me what I'm looking at here."

"Certainly, Your Grace." Tadeusz picked up a long smooth pointing stick. "As you can see, we plan on walling off a rather large area. This will be mostly a defense against the wilds and a declaration of ownership rather than a serious fortification, but it will slow down any attack. We've chosen this area due to the harbor, as well as two fresh water streams, and are running the wall on the high ground as much as we can." He moved his pointer. "The actual keep will be here, around the royal residence and defending the end of the eventual dock. We've found a good potential quarry to the east, so the second phase of construction will involve stone."

"I'd rather put everything into the ships rather than worry about stonework."

"Agreed, Your Grace, but we have only so many skilled carpenters and ship builders, who will only need so many laborers. The stone work will not delay us in any way, and in fact will free up more large wood for the ships- although, yes," he added, responding to James' raised eyebrow, "wood will be needed to work the quarry and transport the stone."

"We're thinking long and short term here, Your Grace," Lech said. "We can build once, then tear it down and rebuild once most of us are over in our new homeland, or we can start here with what we'll need once this becomes just our outpost on the mainland."

"I can't believe we can get anything done in stone before winter, and I want to be in a nice warm palace on the island by then."

"And you will be, Your Grace. Again, this is for the long term. This building here," he pointed to a wooden structure next to a stream, "is your home while you are with us here. They worked day and night, and it should be ready for you as we speak."

"An actual roof?" Shanna's comment drew the two older men's eyes. She shook her head. "It must be good to be the King."

"There are chambers for companions, staff, and guards," Tadeusz said. James could only chuckle at his obvious uncertainty at which the dark skinned girl was. "We felt it was important for you to be settled, and court established, as soon as possible."

"That's why I'm here." He leaned over the table. Streets were laid out, a grid pattern. Most of them were empty, probably indicating tents. "How are we housing everyone?"

"Tents, communal buildings. No personal houses to start with, but eventually. Understandably, the longer people are here the less they'll be satisfied with conditions they accepted while on the road."

"Won't blame them" James straightened. "Now, what about our future home? What can you tell me?"

Lech led them to a second table. A map was already spread, sea shells holding the four corners. James leaned over it as the man spoke.

"No name, that we know of. Fifteen miles long, most of the northern coast facing us rocky cliff face. There is an inlet, though, leading to the interior, which we think is navigable. We'll have to check. Lots of good land in the interior, and the southern coast is a bit less rocky but will still provide a natural barrier to attack."

"And this?" James pointed to a mark on the western tip. Lech sighed.

"That, Your Grace, is a fishing village."

"Which we know about."

"Yes, Your Grace. Our traders have dealt with them, and much of our information about the island comes from their dealings."

"They won't like us taking over their home."

" ... no, Your Grace. They won't."

James considered. There was no guarantee that the rest of the island WAS empty. It could be filled with villages, all protected by not just mountain walls, but secrecy. He did not want war. Did not want to fight these fishermen, whoever they were ... or whatever city-state or nation supported them. His people deserved peace, after their sacrifice. He traced the distance on the map from the bay to the village.

"How long until we have ships?"

"It depends on what we start with, Your Grace. Our shipyard is about done. That was our top priority, along with your residence." James thought his house could have waited, but he was only King. What did he know. Tadeusz regarded him.

"What is your suggestion?"

"Two or three ships, able to carry ... thirty?" He glanced around, Shanna shrugging. "Thirty men. I want to get over to this village as soon as possible. Talk to them."

"Your Grace!" Both men were shocked, Lech almost sputtering out his objection. "You can not risk... !"

"I can and I will. It's a fishing village. Not a fort. I trust my soldiers to protect me, and our sailors, or oarsmen, to get me there and back. I seem to speak any language I need to, so, logically, I'm the one to do any negotiating."

"And," Shanna said, a slight smile on her face, "if you can get this done before the rest of the column gets here..."

The two officers glanced at each other. James could see the wheels turning. Yes. If he could secure their home, without violence, before Captain Putaski arrived...

"I'll talk with our shipwrights," Tadeusz said. "See what our options are."

"I want at least two ships," James said. Shanna nodded.

"Just in case one sinks."

Shanna walked down the beach, shoes and socks in her hands. The sand felt good between her toes, nice and wet, squishy. Good sand castle sand. A wave came in, just barely reaching her feet, the cool water flowing over her small toe. The tide must be going out. The next wave went over both her feet.

So much for creating a theory based on one data point.

She looked around. So much activity. What was she to do, exactly? Staying by James' side would be a good choice, naturally, but somewhat limiting. She didn't actually have a duty, and couldn't really think of one she wanted. Shanna wasn't the type to just stand off to the side and be part of his posse. A soldier? Well, her weapons training with Piotr was going well...

Piotr.

She stopped, smiling, another wave hitting the side of her foot. She was engaged. Engaged! God! It still wasn't real. And, maybe, it really wasn't. Things said under the night sky look different in the day, and while they had found time together since, had whispered sounds of love, that did not mean they would be together once they were settled. She hoped so, though. He...