Thankfully, I didn't have to stay in the billets. Qrrog used his clout as a captain to get the two of us some nicer, private quarters, and by the time we got up there, the rooms had been cleaned and wood stacked in the fireplaces. It really did look like a proper castle, if a very utilitarian one, like castles on Earth used to be back when they were still used as fortresses.
Qrrog set me down on the bed and I let myself sink into the mattress and pillows with a sigh of relief. I could feel my stomach finally begin to settle, satisfied at finally not being in motion. "Thanks, Qrrog," I breathed as I took off my glasses. "Has anybody ever told you you're the best husband ever?"
He gave me a bittersweet smile and his shoulders slumped. "Thanks, Brighteyes, but I don't rightly feel it. I'm really sorry I got you seasick."
I patted his arm. "I forgive you. You didn't know we would be on a boat for that long." Or did he? Paranoid thoughts started ringing my mental doorbell. Had he been in cahoots with Jihl since we got to Goug?
"Well, I promise I'll make it up to you now." Qrrog pushed my hair away from my face. "Just rest, you'll be feelin' right as rain in the mornin'." He spread my hair out on the pillow and began to comb through it with his claws. "Yer hair's so pretty, love," he said with a smile.
I blushed. "Thanks—"
"Tea's ready." Jihl stood leaning against the doorway with a smirk and a steaming mug in one hand.
Qrrog looked over his shoulder at his former quartermaster and chuckled sheepishly. "Thanks, matey. Knew I could count on you." He took the mug and sniffed at it before turning back to me and blowing into the liquid a few times. Carefully, he eased my head up so I could drink the ginger tea and put the mug to my lips. "This'll help, love."
I sipped at the hot liquid, feeling the ginger burn my mouth and throat as it went down. My stomach gurgled in appeasement. "Thanks. That helps a lot."
Jihl folded his arms and snickered. "You always were a softie, mate."
"Well, you attract more flies with honey than chum… or somethin' like that." Qrrog looked back at me. "Need any more?"
"I'm good for now, thanks," I said.
He patted my head and lumbered over to the fireplace, where he knelt down and dug out his tinderbox from one of his belt pouches. "Jihl, you the only one here from the Stormchaser?"
"No." Jihl shook his head. "After this li'l lady and her clan caught you, we disbanded. We all kinda wandered for a while, but then this Ozra guy starts recruitin' early this year and I say, what the hey, pay looks great. Turns out a fair number of our crew had the same idea."
With a snap and a hiss, the warm glow of firelight began to complement the whitish light of the magick lamp on the bedside table. This is it, I thought. This is the part where he reveals his plan. Jihl's his accomplice and they're going to use their old crewmates to mutiny against—
Qrrog chuckled as he packed away his flint and tinder and stood up, dusting off his hands. "Good! I've been missin' me crew! It'll be just like old times, eh? Sailin' the seas, plunderin' booty…"
Jihl smiled stiffly. "Well, not quite, mate. Ozra's… shifted focus. We still plunder vessels, but just to replenish our supplies. No, he's got his eye on a higher prize."
"Oh?" Qrrog raised his eyebrows.
As did I. It was becoming more and more difficult to tell when he was trolling for information he could use against our targets, and when he earnestly wanted to know something for his own advantage. I was having a hard time reading his motives. That's what makes him so good at what he does, but right now it wasn't comforting.
The revgaji glanced over at me with his keen blue eyes. "Aye. No one really knows what it is, though—or at least, those who do aren't talkin'."
I narrowed my eyes in reply. "Why do you keep looking at me." Did he know something I didn't?
Qrrog sidled over to the bed and hovered over me protectively, scowling at his former quartermaster. "I was serious about walkin' the plank, matey."
Jihl planted his hand against the wall and laughed. "Sorry, mates, I didn't mean to unnerve you. I'm impressed, is all. I didn't think me cap'n would ever find a girl who could handle him. I was curious about how you two would work together." He grinned at my husband. "I like what I see—I can't imagine anyone better for you. Aye, I think she's plenty strong enough for you. I'm happy for you, mate. You two are gonna go far together."
"Thanks, matey." Qrrog took my hand and gave it a squeeze, which I returned.
Even with my doubts, I felt it a great compliment that an old friend of my husband's, who seemed to be as close to him as a brother, thought I was the best match for him. I was well aware that our relationship was unusual. As a seeq, the most looked-down-upon civilized race in Ivalice, most women would not even give Qrrog the time of day.
But his earnestness had endeared me to him from the day we met. And as our bonds of friendship strengthened through our adventures with our clan, I became more and more pleasantly surprised by his kindness, thoughtfulness, intelligence, and tenacity. I honestly couldn't think of a better match for myself, either.
Jihl looked back at me and smirked. "You and the bangaa put on a good act back there, by the way."
I stiffened. "What?"
"Although it would've been more convincin' if Qrrog hadn't doted on you the whole time, but he just can't help himself when it comes to that. Don't worry, no one else caught on."
Qrrog snickered. "I knew I couldn't pull the wool over yer eyes, matey. Thanks fer playin' along."
A triumphant smile spread across my face. Yes! Jihl is in cahoots with us! Now we're going to break out of here and—
"No worries. Would've been a shame to see 'em come to harm just because you went turncoat on their clan. You did the right thing, mate."
My face fell. I tried to disguise my disappointment by taking another sip of tea, letting the mug hide my expression. What was going on here?
"Aye, I didn't want an altercation," Qrrog said. "But we had to make it look convincin'. Don't worry, they'll be good. But I can't let 'em go back and tip off Mogworks."
I sat up, staring at my husband in shock. "Y-you mean we're really prisoners?!"
He patted my hand and grinned. "Now, love, that's such a nasty way of thinkin' about it. I prefer the term 'honored guests'."
"Aye, guests who had better behave themselves," Jihl grunted. He stretched out his arms in the doorway. "All right, you ol' sea dog, you've kept me awake long enough. I'm off to get some shuteye. See you at breakfast—" He glanced out the window at the lightening sky. "Or lunch, now."
The door to our quarters had barely closed before I pulled my glasses on and jumped out of bed. "I don't understand," I said to Qrrog, who was leaning against the bedpost with his arms folded. "Why are you doing this? Come on, it's just the two of us now—if you've got some brilliant plan up your sleeve, now's the perfect time to tell me about it."
He said nothing as I rounded the bed and moved to the window. My fingers dug into the cold stone as I watched the gray water lap at the rocks below us. The fog that blanketed the sky was now a rosy gold. Somewhere past the mists, the sun had risen.
Had my trust really gone too far? "I don't—" My chin trembled and I put a hand to my face. "Please tell me you're not really betraying us."
"I'm not really betrayin' us." Qrrog slid his arms around my shoulders and pulled me close. "Trust me, Brighteyes, please. I know exactly what I'm doin'. We'll be back with Saskia and Coele within the week."
I clung to his arm and nodded. As much as I wanted to be relieved, I couldn't quite get there yet. "What if you're lying to me? What if you've been lying this whole time?" I took off my glasses to wipe my tears on my sleeve. "I just don't understand—you had so many opportunities to triple-cross already. We know who's stealing from Mogworks, and we just uncovered a huge piracy operation."
I turned around to look at my husband. "If you get us out of here now, we can tell Basch, and the Judges can bring this place down!" Our clan had a rapport with the Judge Magister of the Archadian Empire, thanks to yours truly. Not that I'm bragging or anything. "Why isn't that a viable plan?"
Qrrog smiled and held my face in his claws. "I could. But I got an opportunity here, and I ain't gonna pass it up." His grin faded as he looked me square in the eye. "Terra." I knew he was serious, because he stops using nicknames when he's serious. "Please trust me. I need yer help with this. If I can pull this off, things are gonna be so much better. I can't give you all the details yet, so you'll just have to trust me. I've never lied to you before. I ain't gonna start now."
He was right. Even when he was double-crossing, he had never outright lied to me, and he had always kept me safe. His methods were anything but orthodox, but that was why they worked so well. I had to trust him. He had gotten us into this mess and I had the faith he knew how to get us out of it, and do so in style.
I was tired of doubts making a wreck of my mind. With a smile, I flung my arms around him. "Of course I trust you, you big weirdo. I'm excited to see what you have planned."
Qrrog laughed and patted my back. "Aye, it's gonna be a doozy, lemme tell you! Just sit tight and be yerself, love, and yer ol' pirate captain'll steer you through this storm."
"You're cute when you use nautical metaphors."
"And yer cute all the time."
