The day passed and night came again.The day passed and night came again. Jess, having slept a good deal, was unable to sleep that night. It was a quiet night. Brianna was exhausted from the sheer boredom and hunger. Jess wondered why the captain was taking so long to approve her papers. Detaining imperial agents on official business was punished harshly in the Empire, and no one should know it better than an imperial officer. Jess found the delay intolerable; even moreso at the the thought of having to spend another day with Brianna. The next morning brought a blinding light into the dark cell, as the door was opened and keys were turned in the locks of their shackles by large, rough hands. "Out you come, ladies," a voice said. They were taken above-decks. Blinking against the sun, Jess saw that another vessel had pulled up alongside of the war-ravaged Gryphon. This one called itself the Iron Chain. She heard the clink of money being exchanged and the third mate authorized the transfer of prisoners. "Wait!" she snapped. "I am Jessica Harveld, a registered member of the Slavers' Division of the Merchants' Guild. Under imperial law, I cannot be sold." Determined to have her say, Brianna added, "And I am Princess Brianna Anastasia Theresa Fiona, only daughter of King Fionn V, the Just, of Tavect, My father will reward you well for returning me, and capturing my abductors." "And I'm Nicholas Elfbane," the captain of the slave ship sneered. "Do you have papers to prove who you are?" he asked Jess. "They were taken from me the night my boat was sunk. I had a pass, as well as identification. You're not Nicholas Elfbane; I worked with his brother. Sold the little runt once, too." "She did have papers," the third mate of the Gryphon put in, "but they were on the person of our first mate, and we lost him overboard in the fighting last night. I was below decks when we captured these four and never got a chance to see them; most of the crew is dead or missing and the captain lies wounded at Death's door in his cabin and cannot be disturbed while he makes peace with the Black-robed One. The one-eyed bitch talks a good line, but you know how women are." "Aye, not a one of 'em but'll lie if pushed, and there exist no passes to a battle-field; her papers were probably faked. |