"Don't take it personally," Trembly told Florian as he rummaged through the stores to find something that would fit the slender man. There were only three possibilities - two sets of rough garments and a fine suit that the captain had acquired from one of their previous passengers. He handed Florian the suit with a smirk. "You've got bad timing - and you look like an aristocrat. The captain hates aristocrats."
"Why?" Florian asked after thanking Trembly for the clothes. He looked around for somewhere to change in private and found nothing, so he changed right there. He was much less self-conscious about these things after living with Ray. "Is that why she won't search for my friends?"
"I won't be telling tales on the captain, but I will say that she has good reasons to be wary of aristocrats - especially ones that are crazy enough to be sitting on a log in the middle of the ocean." Trembly laughed heartily at Florian's expression and thumped him on the back. "Come on, herself will be waiting, and she's not the patient sort."
Florian winced at the contact - he was sore everywhere, and the ointment the medic had given him had a faint but unpleasant odor of fish. But his personal discomfort meant nothing - he'd endure far more if he could only convince the captain to help Ray and Solomon.
He followed the large man back to the captain's cabin. Trembly knocked on the door and left Florian there with one more thump on the back and a laugh.
"Get in here," the captain barked, and Florian obeyed quickly. He stood just inside the door, his arms loose at his sides and his eyes lowered slightly so as not to appear challenging. He could feel her looking at him, studying him, but he remained as still as he could.
The time stretched on in silence and Florian had too much time to think about the motion of the ship on the water. He would be especially grateful to have some of Laila's magic anti-seasickness elixir right now. He didn't want to antagonize the captain any more by being sick in her cabin.
"For goodness sake man, sit down; you're as green as seaweed." The captain shoved a chair at Florian, and he sat gratefully. He nodded his thanks and kept his mouth closed.
The captain made another impatient sound and walked away. Florian heard the clinking of glass and looked up in time to see the captain returning with a glass holding a small measure of amber liquid.
"Brandy. It'll spare my carpet." She handed him the glass and watched as he drank it all. He handed the empty glass back with a nod of thanks.
"Now then..." She pulled a chair up and sat down close enough to Florian that their knees almost touched. "Let's have the real story on what you were doing out in the middle of the ocean on a log."
Florian condensed several days of fear into five minutes and ended by repeating his plea to find his friends. At the end, he risked lifting his eyes and meeting the captain's gaze. What he saw offered no comfort.
"You spin a pretty tale for an aristocrat. I'll give you that. And you're certainly not as arrogant as most. But I own this ship; it's my pride and my livelihood, and I can't afford to do favors for strangers - especially not those who are convinced they are somehow superior to the rest of us."
She leaned forward and placed a hand on his knee. "You were on your knees earlier. Are you willing to kneel again to prove your sincerity?"
Without hesitation, Florian slid out of his chair and onto his knees. A few years ago, the very idea would have been so unthinkable, he would have laughed. Things were very different now, and he'd learned from experience, and from Ray, that gestures of subservience weren't the same as surrender.
"It looks good on you." She rose and patted his head before adding, "Crawl out there and ask someone to give you a bucket and a scrub brush. You can start by cleaning the floors in here and stop when I tell you. Do what you're told, when you're told, without question or complaint, and I will consider your request."
Florian could feel her watching as he crawled away, setting aside his pride for the sake of his friends.
XXXXX
Ray was restless. He couldn't stand being confined, and he had no tolerance for weakness - especially his own. He'd foolishly promised Solomon to stay at camp and rest, but he had run out of things to do.
A short distance away from their sleeping area, Solomon had piled the oddments he'd recovered from the beach. Most of it was useless - especially now that Ray had removed all the nails from the bits of wood.
The only thing he hadn't bothered with was the trunk. He and Solomon had looked at it briefly the previous day, but it had been so wet and the contents so sodden, that they'd given it up.
But now, with the storm long gone and the mid-day heat, perhaps it was worth another look. At the very least, he could take a look at the rest of the clothing and decide if he should take anything else apart for the fabric.
Item by item, he laid the trunk's contents out on a pile of leaves. Anything usable he'd spread out to dry, and the rest would be stuffed back into the trunk. It was a pity - Florian had an odd fondness for old steamer trunks with all their drawers and hidden compartments.
Ray smiled as he imagined Florian studying this trunk, his amethyst eyes shining with excitement as he spun fanciful tales of hidden treasures, exotic travels and romantic encounters.
Thoughts of Florian cheered him up a little, so Ray set out to examine the trunk exactly how he thought Florian would. He pulled out every last item, right down to the pulpy mass of papers – probably letters and notes – from the very bottom of the main compartment. Then he pulled each drawer out one at a time and set them on the sand.
When the trunk was completely empty, he examined it, feeling along each space, reaching into corners, and peaking behind the soggy, loosened lining. As expected, he found nothing.
Next were the drawers containing mostly useless odds and ends – the kinds of silly things that people packed to travel great distances when they were easy enough to obtain along the way.
Each drawer was emptied, examined, then refilled and returned to the trunk. Nothing. Ray replaced the last drawer, frowning at his strange sense of unease - it felt like he was missing something.
Whatever it was, it wasn't in the dresses, or anything else that had come from the trunk - Ray had examined every item thoroughly. Feeling frustrated and irritated, he was about to close the trunk when he realized what he'd been missing.
Eagerly, he removed one of the middle half-sized drawers, and then the one beside it. On first look they appeared identical. But something...
With a rush of triumph, Ray picked up the one drawer and examined it more closely. He used his hand and then a small stick to verify his suspicion - the drawers were exactly the same size, but the interior of one was more shallow than the other; there was a false bottom.
He pressed and prodded the drawer for a while and even attempted to force it with a bit of broken seashell. He was looking for a better tool when he saw the tiny mark on the underside of the drawer. Using the shell, he pressed the mark hard until there was a click and a secret drawer opened.
Ray reached in excitedly, almost crowing with delight when he retrieved a folded piece of animal hide and a pouch containing a small handful of gems.
The drawer had been so well sealed that the items were merely damp rather than soaked, which meant that when Ray unfolded the animal hide, he could easily tell it was a map.