3.02: Transplants

The moment the gangplank slammed onto the dock, I was already moving. The planks creaked underneath me as I walked briskly without caring for decorum.

Aprilia was standing at the end of the pier.

She was the same woman, but her posture was now more deliberate, her jaw more defined against her elegant neck. The unsure peasant girl I had said goodbye to less than three months ago now held herself with the grace of a noblewoman. Glowing in the dying sun’s orange light, her eyes tracking me as I stepped closer.

I opened my arms.

Her composure shattered.

She rushed forward and collided with me, wrapping her arms around me.

Burying my face in her hair, I inhaled deeply.

My new senses went wild; the smell of her warm skin, perfume that smelled of caramel and salt hit me at once.

Silver-gray eyes looked up at me, glassy with tears.

“Welcome back.”

“It’s good to be home,” I murmured, squeezing her into my chest.

A hiss of pain left her.

“Sorry,” I said, loosening my arms.

“I missed you,” she whispered.

“I missed you too. How have you been?”

“Lonely,” she whispered, her tone making tantalizing promises.

“We’ll have to fix that. Immediately,” I whispered back.

A throat cleared next to us.

Sighing, I let go of her to look at the spoil-sport.

Lothar stood straight with military stiffness, though a faint smile graced his lips. His eyes, on the other hand, were red, rimmed with dark circles.

He saluted sharply.

I took a step back from Aprilia and returned it.

“How have you been, General?”

“Fine, sire.”

“And Chadom?”

“Well. Although, there have been quite a few changes,” he said, his eyes flickering to Aprilia.

“What kind of changes?”

“Good ones.”

Noticing the dozens of gazes leveled at me, most of whom didn’t have the Cha’s light-colored eyes, I didn’t feel he was being completely honest.

Too many of the hundreds gathered at the coast had anxious eyes, and I kept seeing flashes of buried anger as I scanned the crowd. A few teenagers glared openly, while old men watched with the caution of those who had learned to keep their heads down.

The four dozen Cha soldiers present there had their repeating crossbows in their hands, ready to use. The bayonets glinted ominously red in the light of the dying sun.

The tension was dense enough to taste.

“How is the situation here?” I said, pointing around with my eyes.

“Delicate,” Aprilia answered softly.

“Meaning?”

“There is resentment building among the people. The immigrants and the Cha.”

“Over what?”

“Everything. The location, food, water, money. I had to ask Lothar to not arm the soldiers posted here with crossbows after a brawl turned nasty. We didn’t want lethal weapons involved.”

“I’ve kept some armed men close-by. Just in case,” he added.

I hissed, then noticed Aprilia’s words. “Wait… you asked him?”

“Mm-mhh. Let’s talk about it later.”

What the hell happened in three months?

“How did it start?”

“From the very beginning. The conditions just made it worse.”

I didn’t have to look around to know what those were. When I had left, this had been a pristine coast.

“I tried to convince the people the importance of what we are building here,” she continued, “but they wouldn’t believe me. We’ve been promising that you will clear things up.”

A young man in the crowd muttered something stupid.

Another answered.

Both glared at the soldiers.

This wasn’t good.

Rubbing the back of my neck, I took a long breath.

Time for another bloody speech.

“Captain Jaklen! Bring the other ship here, pronto. Change the rowers if you have to.”

The military man was back instantly. “Sire,” he saluted sharply, then left.

They looked at me for an explanation.

“Those men need to hear what I have to say. Especially them.”

I looked around, without meeting the crowd’s eyes.

The sea crashed against the docks in heavy rhythmic slaps.

“How many of them are here by choice?”

“You don’t know?” Aprilia asked.

“No. I just asked Laira to get me some people who could build and man ships.”

“Half of them are here by choice, or desperation, more like.”

My eyebrows arched in confusion. “How?”

“They said trade has been limited to Nanon’s own ports due to Vozoran, so there hasn’t been much need for new ships.”

“Ah.”

“Still, they are not happy, Jack.”

“I can understand that.”

I had, after all, asked Laira to specifically send me sailors and shipbuilders with families for a reason. So they couldn’t just sail away. I was essentially holding them hostage at crossbow-point.

This time, I truly looked at them.

Experienced craftsmen with sun-baked leathery skin looked at me as if assessing a tool for quality, while fear danced in the eyes of women clutching infants to their bosoms. At least they didn’t look malnourished.

As peasants, they were used to being under the boot of nobles. It didn’t mean they were happy about it, especially when traded to a noble they didn’t know, like an object.

“They do know who I am, right?”

“Yes,” Aprilia whispered. “I think that you being the Queen’s fiance is all that’s keeping them in line.”

I glanced at her.

No hitched breaths or anything. As if she had accepted the arrangement.

That talk would have to wait.

As we waited for the other ship to arrive, the silence grew uncomfortable, with three hundred pairs of eyes watching me.

“Theo. There is a sack of candied nuts…”

“Sire?”

“Never mind.”

Giving them treats right now would come off as patronizing. I had also brought casks of booze with me, but lowering their inhibitions also wouldn’t be the best of ideas.

After what felt like an eternity, the second ship arrived.

As the stink of the rotting soil added itself to the smell of sweat and sea, the simmering anger bubbling behind the eyes of many intensified.

“Great, shoveling shit for days again,” a young man whispered.

“Have any of them seen our crossbows in action?” I asked Lothar.

“No. Thankfully we didn’t have to use them. Though we came pretty close. I wanted to give a demonstration, to keep the peace, but Aprilia stopped me.”

“It could have turned into a massacre,” she hissed defensively.

“No, it would not.”

She scoffed. “Let’s say you’re right; they would still hate us!”

“Better that than dead.”

The sailors from the other ship began disembarking, with naked anger in their eyes.

Shit.

Things here had gone downhill, fast. My zeal for reform in Nobart had kept me there for too long. It could have cost us many lives.

No more impromptu reforms from now on, I promised myself.

I walked inland through the corridors of soldiers, just high enough that I could look at everyone gathered. Aprilia and Lothar followed.

Eyes followed me. Some angry and some afraid.

Looking over the crowd, I cleared my throat.

“My name is Jack Nobart. I am the Count of Nobart and the Supreme Leader of Chadom.”

Skeptical looks spread throughout the crowd at that title.

I deserved them. Idiot.

“And soon to-be-husband of the Queen of Nanon.”

I had their full attention.

Alright. No apologies. That would only make them think their anger is justified.

“Do you know why I asked Her Majesty for ships, sailors and builders?”

Nobody spoke, until one; a young woman. “So you can have a navy for your kingdom?”

Next to me, Aprilia exhaled. “Gretel.”

“There is that,” I admitted. “You were brought here because Chadom needs ships to fish, keep the coast safe and for transportation. Do you know what we are going to transport?”

“Whatever you sell.”

“Weapons.”

Aprilia took a deep breath beside me.

Taking her hand in mine, I squeezed it lightly.

You have to give trust to gain it.

“You are no village bumpkins,” I said. “You know what is happening in the world. The danger that threatens all of us.”

Some of them paled.

“Chadom will produce the weapons that will help protect Nanon. But we have a critical weakness. The Cha-- Chads don’t know how to sail or build ships.”

An old man scoffed.

“Obviously,” someone else said under their breath.

I ignored them. Only exposure would fix prejudice, not words.

“This is where we need your help,” I continued. “By keeping Chadom safe and by providing it a powerful navy, you will be contributing in protecting Nanon.”

Some heads nodded in agreement, while far too many for my liking glared back at me.

“When do we get to go back?” a young man asked.

“Not for some time.”

That was the best truthful answer I could give.

“We are forced to live in the open here. Like animals!” another shouted.

That opened a fountain of complaints. The air shook with hundreds of voices repeating dozens of complaints shouted together.

“Calm down!” I shouted back.

It took them a minute.

“You will not be living out in the open for long,” I pointed to the four half-built, massive and identical buildings behind me. When finished each would feature sixteen large rooms, big enough to house a family of five.

The buildings’ first storeys were almost finished. Soon they could house half of the immigrants.

“As if you would give those manses to us!” someone shouted from the crowd.

“They are not mansions. They are insulae and they are meant for you and your fellow Cha-- Chads.”

They didn’t look like they believed me, but the anger in my eyes kept their mouths shut.

Most of it was directed at myself.

Why am I so bad at names?

I exhaled the anger away. “I know you are afraid for your future in this unknown land, but I promise you it will be glorious. Give me your loyalty and diligence for a few years, and I promise you will be living much better lives than you did in Aldersthron.”

Eyebrows rose in disbelief.

“You promise a lot, my lord,” one of the older men spoke carefully.

Intelligent eyes looked at me.

“But all we have seen is this beach in the middle of nowhere. When we arrived, there was nothing here except for a few rickety boats. Why won’t your people let us see your lands?”

Shouts erupted to support him.

“For a very good reason,” I said slowly.

I caught my guards’ attention, then gestured to a plank of wood lying upright next to the half built insula to the right.

“Boys, light it up.”

They didn’t know the idiom, but understood the meaning just fine. The five soldiers stepped ahead. As they lifted their crossbows, the crowd shifted.

Parents pulled their children closer. Men narrowed their eyes and shifted their stances, preparing to either rush them or flee.

Ignoring them, my guards leveled their weapons at the plank.

“Fire.”

The crossbows erupted.

The whistles of flying bolts filled the air, as the men pulled the reloading levers with practiced ease and fired again, and again, and again. Until the magazines ran dry.

Within seconds, the board was a pincushion.

For the first time since I had arrived, the coast was silent, save for the sea.

I turned to look at the former Nanoans.

Their faces had lost all color. Naked fear danced in three hundred pairs of eyes.

Now they understood the balance of power.

I’ll take it for now.

I didn’t like acting like a typical noble; telling them their place by the threat of violence, but at least they wouldn’t be causing too much trouble for a while. I had bought myself time.

“As you can see, these are not common weapons. Laira Nanon grasped their usefulness instantly. She decided to marry me because I showed her I could help her defend Nanon from the danger to the south, who has been subjugating one realm after another.”

Eyes left the board and met mine.

They nodded in understanding.

Not all, but enough. The older, sensible ones.

“Once you have hauled the ship’s contents, you can enjoy the casks of ale I’ve brought for you.”

A few young men in the crowd cheered, then quickly shut up under the angry gaze of their neighbors.

The crowd began dispersing, and the tension eased.

Not gone, but muted.

Hopefully long enough for me to earn these people’s loyalty and trust. We really couldn’t do without them; even with their help, it would take the Cha years to learn shipbuilding and sailing.

As the sun drowned itself in the ocean, I slid an arm around Aprilia and squeezed her into myself.

She was smiling, but I could see the discomfort behind it.

It chilled me.

I was getting into the habit of using violence as my choice of tool for persuasion.

I’d be fine, as long as I didn’t let it change me.

A nagging voice spoke in my mind.

Isn’t that what every tyrant thought before they turned bad?