Seventeen years before Dalla received her unwanted proposal another young woman was fleeing from a similar situation. Shara began as a random name for a fruit merchant's daughter in chapter 16 of the Ashla Awareness. She has grown so much since LS allowed me to send her north to seek refuge with the Blackwell clan.

This chapter sits right on the heels of the Ashla Awareness epilogue.

Thanks for reading!

Duchess Kenobi

Also since we're co-authoring and I can't always see your lovely comments, feel free to stop by and chat with both LS and me in our forum!

forum/Polaris-tales-of-the-Blackwells-and-the-Onderonian-Northern-Sea/202176/

SHARA

The little boat was more of a coracle than a proper row boat, but it had served her purpose. It was a gift from Geb Gerrera. He'd used it for fishing on the river. It was never meant to go on the waters of the Northern Sea. She hadn't really meant to go that far. And yet still she had managed to pilot it all the way up the river to its mouth and to the very dock of Blackhold.

Maybe it was that and the determined angle at which she held her head that had first caught the eye of the young captain. Someone asked her if she needed help to tie up the craft but Shara refused them. "I can do it myself, thanks." It wasn't a sailor's knot that she used but she'd never known a dalgos to break free from that hitch.

She pulled the bag that contained all of her earthly possessions up onto the dock. It wasn't heavy. She wouldn't dare take anything with her that belonged to the Rash family. She'd already stolen herself away. Gods forbid they blame her of stealing anything else.

She stood there and surveyed her surroundings. Surely they wouldn't come after her here, if they even knew where she had gone. She didn't hold any hope that they actually missed her presence more than one might seek out a runaway mare of good breeding stock. It seemed that that was all she was to them anyway. They'd appreciate her more when she returned, surely. There was even the possibility that she'd be able to show them just how productive she could be. Another week and she'd know for sure.

Shara had to get away, just for a little while. At first she had just planned on going home to her father but his reception had left a lot to be desired. "What, your Highness? You had enough of livin' in the palace? Felt like comin' down and slummin' with the common folk?" He didn't seem all that upset when they'd delivered his brand new repulsor-truck.

But, no. That wasn't fair. She knew he didn't really mean it. He missed her. Even though he swore he'd always wanted a son. She was a reminder of her mother.

Mother had died in the same sickness that took Bremon's parents. Father had worried that it might take Shara too. But Shara was made of stronger stuff. She was his daughter. He taught her to ride and he taught her his trade.

She asked him once why he'd never found a new wife to get a son. He'd waved her off and said he was too busy with her to even think of such things.

She knew that she had hurt him when she left to marry Sanjay. Maybe she was hurting him more by coming all the way up here.

Now that she was here she was going to have to use what he had taught her to survive. She'd need a place to stay and a way to earn her keep.

She noticed several tables set up on the boardwalk. Above them flew the flags that represented each house or clan that had a ship in the harbor. More interesting to Shara were the notice boards which listed the positions that needed to be filled for the next voyage. There were listings for sail makers and cabin boys and able-bodied seamen. There was a listing for a galley cook that Shara supposed she might be qualified for, but what she really wanted was to work with animals. It was a feeble hope. What possible need would there be for someone on a ship who had a way with non-sentient creatures like she did?

Then she saw it, next to a blue flag, a listing for 'Beast Master'. She hurried over and joined the line for that table and hoped that none of the men in front of her were vying for the same position. As each one spoke to the gentleman behind the table and signed their name on the roster, Shara glanced up at the altered notice board.

She was still looking up at it when the last man stepped out of the way leaving her at the front of the line.

"May I help you?" Came the amused voice of the young man who now sat behind the table. He was not the same one who had been sitting there a moment before.

She looked around for the other, confused at the sudden change.

"My first mate was covering for me." The young man explained. "But I assure you, as captain, that I am qualified to help you with whatever you might require."

"You're the - the captain?" Shara inquired.

He grinned. "You don't believe me?"

"Well, it's just, you look very young to be…" Very young and very handsome, with his dark hair and meticulously groomed beard and mustache, she thought to herself. That was definitely not the reason she'd come north. She looked away but she could still feel him smiling at her.

"I've been sailing all my life. Actually I'm more comfortable on the sea than on the land. I'm Jamos by the way, Captain Jamos Blackwell."

She looked up when she heard his family name. Of course he was a captain. His clan were the lords of the whole North. "I'm sorry… Sir." She added.

He leaned back in his chair studying her. "Now, what brings you here?"

Shara glanced once more at the notice board to see her desired occupation still listed as unfilled. "I need a job." She hesitated and then plunged on. "What does a Beast Master do… exactly?"

"Beast Master?" She'd shocked him. She would have almost laughed at his expression but she didn't want him to think this was a joke.

"Yes." She answered him seriously. "I have experience working with animals. You may have grown up on a ship but I practically grew up on the back of a dalgos."

They stared each other down for a moment until he said, "Alright." He tapped on the screen of a data tablet. "Beast Master is an essential part of a fishing crew. It can a dangerous job if the Brylks are acting up or seas are rough."

"Ever tried to corral a herd of fambass when they're spooked by a spring storm and start to stampede?" She asked with an arched eyebrow.

"No, I can't say that I have." He smiled, turned the tablet towards her and activated a vid for her to watch. "This is what a Beast Master does."

Shara studied the vid. Watching the big aquatic creatures come to the master's call and then turn at his urging to drive the smaller fish towards the nets draped over the side of the ship. She meant to pay attention to the beast master and how he accomplished his goal but her eyes were drawn back to the creatures, Brylks, the captain had called them. They appeared so noble and grand.

She longed to be out there with them. She would have been at the Summer Fete right now if it hadn't been for… everything.

She looked up from the tablet and found the captain studying her as closely as she had been regarding the vid.

"You think you could manage something like that?" He asked skeptically.

"I know, I could." She answered defiantly.

He honestly seemed as if he wanted to believe her. "You'll have to excuse me, but I really need more to go on than just your word."

She was desperate. She needed the work and she wanted the chance to work with those creatures. If this was to be the last time she ever got to have an adventure before she had to settle down and be the Rash family's incubator, she was going to make the most of it.

Shara nodded and then tapped on the tablet and turned it towards him. With a satisfied expression, she activated a vid of her own. She'd only just remembered that it had been uploaded to the net after her exhibition at last year's Summer Fete. "That's me." She pointed to the girl in the vid racing around the track, standing on the back of the dalgos, shooting blaster targets.

He watched, amazed. "Why aren't you doing this professionally?"

She smiled smugly and then sobered and gazed at the dalgos in the now still image. "Sophia just had her first foal. I couldn't… Will you allow me to have a go? I promise I won't disappoint you, Captain."

Suddenly, out of nowhere, or so it seemed to Shara, he asked, "Can you sew?"

"Captain, just because I'm a girl…" she began a frustrated rant.

He stopped her. "I'm not saying that I want to take you on board as ship's seamstress or that I think sewing is women's work. Each member of the crew is responsible for mending their own uniforms and hammocks and there are a few who are specifically assigned to working on the sails…" He was rambling and he seemed to realize it. "It's just that I don't think we've got any fishing leathers small enough for you. You'd have to alter some to fit."

She brightened. "Really? You'd take a chance on me?"

"It seems so." He smiled at her. "Can't leave the dock until we have a Beast Master on board and you're the best qualified candidate I've seen."

"Oh thank you!" Impetuously, Shara leaned over the table and hugged him. Then realizing her mistake she stepped back hurriedly. "Sorry, Sir. er Captain."

When she glanced at his face she could see that he was valiantly trying to keep from grinning. "It's alright." His fingers tapped at the tablet and then he looked up at the notice board and she followed his gaze. The message there now stated that all positions for the next voyage had been filled. "Oh but I guess I'd better have you officially sign on." He turned the tablet toward her once again and handed her a stylus. "Just there…" he pointed.

She glanced up at him and then back down. "It's… just for this particular voyage, correct?"

"Yes." He gave her a nod. "Though if we find it agreeable working together…"

"And how long does the typical voyage last?"

"That will depend on the weather and the quality of the catch…"

"How long?" she asked again.

He smirked. "Do you have somewhere you need to be?"

She looked away from his joking expression. "Perhaps."

"Three to four weeks."

Shara nodded. She took the stylus and then paused. What name was she to use? Finally she decided that it was a legal contract and deserved her legal name. She formed the letters, 'Shara Rash' and pushed the tablet back towards him. She watched as he perused the signature to make sure that everything was in order but he didn't react to her name. When he looked up at her again he just smiled. "Glad to have you aboard, Beast Master Rash."

She smiled too, when she heard the title.

"And now it's time to actually get aboard." He clapped his hands and rubbed them together.

"Pardon me, Sir. But which ship is it?" she asked.

"She's the one…" He placed a hand on her shoulder and pointed out toward the docks.

She felt a little awkward at his touch but didn't let on since she'd just had the gall to embrace him a few minutes before.

"There with the blue banner, The Polaris!" He announced to her proudly.

She saw the one he meant. It wasn't the biggest ship in the harbor. There were others that were broader with higher top masts. But Captain Blackwell's ship seemed to stand taller than any of the others.

"She's beautiful. It will be an honor serving on her, Sir." Shara said honestly.

He beamed. "Well, you can go on aboard whenever you're ready. Get your gear stowed. I'll make sure you get your leathers so they can be fit to your... " She didn't imagine his eyes traveling over her. "...figure."

"Thank you, Captain." She said a little more coolly, stepping beyond his reach. "Oh and… Captain." She frowned. "You said something before about hammocks... How does that…"

He hurried to reassure her. "You don't have to worry about that. You'll have your own cabin, of course. Rank of... Beast Master, has it's privileges."

She wasn't sure if that was normally the case but she allowed the worry to ease out of her a bit. She had a berth on the Polaris for three weeks and she had a job to do. After that she was sure she'd be able to tackle whatever was waiting for her back in Iziz.

JAMOS

Jamos walked the deck, surveying his domain. It was brilliant to be back at sea again with a full crew. He was happy with the new acquisitions, especially his new Beast Master. It was hard to believe that she had never been on the sea before coming North from Iziz. True she'd been a little green when she first stepped aboard but now everything seemed to be going swimmingly.

Just now, she stood by the rail looking out over the waves. He frowned. She seemed sad and distant and Jamos hoped that was only spray wetting her cheeks. He went to stand beside her and pretended not to notice the way she wiped her eyes with her sleeve upon his arrival.

"Captain." She acknowledged with a sniff.

"You seem to be well over the seasickness." He smiled at her.

"Yes, thank you, Captain." She nodded. "It shouldn't get in the way of my duties."

He glanced around and noticed they were alone but lowered his voice anyway. "I was more concerned with your well-being, Shara."

She looked up at him, eyes wide with surprise and then turned her gaze again to the sea. "I'm fine now, Captain."

"Please, when it's just us, call me Jamos."

"I couldn't - I can't do that, Captain." She moved a half step away from him, nervously.

He closed the distance again with a bit of a swagger and grinned, teasing her. "I could order you to."

"No, I mean," she moved away from him again. "The reason I left Iziz was to get away from my husband." She glanced at him a second to see his reaction. And then rambled on. "He's already accused me of… I didn't come here to prove him right."

"He accused you of being unfaithful?" Jamos clenched his jaw. It was certainly a shock to learn she was married. He hated her husband just on principle but if the fracking sleemo had falsely accused her and driven her away… "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No! No, it was nothing like that." She hurried to assure him. "It was… well… his sister."

"His sister accused you of being unfaithful?" He asked, confused but trying to make sense of everything that she was finally opening up to tell him.

"No." Shara sighed a little shakily. "She died. She was… well I mean it was partially because of her that Sanjay and I… would it make you think less of me to hear that part of the reason I married him was to have Melaana for a sister-in-law?"

It took him a second to realize that she was actually asking for his opinion. "Uh...no… family is important. If you marry into a family you don't get along with… could be like a one way trip to Dxun." He made a movement with his hand over his heart like the old superstition to ward off evil.

Shara nodded. "I didn't get along well with the entire family but Melaana was different. She … she was everything good and light in the Galaxy." She smiled sadly and though he was sure that was probably a bit of an exaggeration, Jamos was glad to see that smile. Whoever that girl was she must have been one of those rare beings who charmed everyone they met and were more often than not removed from the plane of the living much too soon.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, wishing there was more he could do for this woman who, if he wasn't careful, would capture his heart completely.

Shara nodded her thanks and then looked away again as she continued with her story. "She and her husband were married just the day before Sanjay and I. Maybe it was the signal we were waiting for to…" she looked over the rail down into the foam. "Take the plunge."

Suddenly Jamos worried that she might be thinking of doing just that. He placed his hand over hers where it rested on the rail. She looked into his eyes for a moment, searching and then stepped away, but not towards the churning sea. And he breathed easier.

She paced across the deck towards the main mast and he matched her stride not feeling like she was trying to get away from him or that she was finished with the story for that matter. He waited for her to continue.

"Producing an heir was very important to my husband's family. I didn't mind that so much. We did try. I would have liked very much to… have a child."

Jealousy welled up in Jamos at the very idea but he made a concentrated effort to swallow it back. She was speaking again and he didn't want to miss a word.

"It didn't take Melaana and Brem any time at all. Would have been happy for them even if it didn't take the pressure off a bit."

"She died in childbirth, then?" He guessed. Saying the words gently, with respect.

"No," she explained. "It was a crash. Mel was a great pilot. We may never know how or why, but she flew off in her freighter and never came back."

Jamos knew there was more to that story but he didn't ask. It didn't pertain to Shara's own tale and that was what he was really interested in.

"Brem was devastated, as you can imagine. We worried that he might do himself harm. I went to see him when I could. Tried to do things around the house, keep him company, give him a shoulder to cry on…"

He thought he understood now but Jamos didn't dare interrupt.

"At first Sanjay was just upset that I was spending too much time there. And then… well someone brought up the fact that with Melaana and her child gone producing an heir now fell to us. I don't know what the change was. There was talk of a curse put on the family?" She said with a wry, humorless smile. "Suddenly it was my fault and my visits to see my friend were misconstrued as an effort to… produce a…"

The captain raised his hand to place it on her shoulder, but drew it back before he made contact knowing that she would just throw him off. "He accused you of being unfaithful with his sister's husband." He said softly.

Shara nodded, tears making her eyes grow brighter. "I told him it wasn't true. That I … that…" She turned away to the ship's rail.

She was silent for quite a while and Jamos warred with himself whether to reach out to her. Everything in him wanted to take this woman in his arms and promise her that she never had to worry about anything ever again.

Then she spoke so softly that he had to strain to hear the words. "I thought maybe when I came on board… when I was so sick… that maybe it had finally happened."

The realization of those words washed over him like a cold wave. She had thought she might be pregnant. "You would have gone back to him if…" It surprised him how much it pained him to say the words.

She turned to look at him as if just remembering that he was there. "Of course." She was loyal that was for sure.

"And now?" He asked.

Her sorrow was as deep as the North Sea, itself. But then she straightened up. "I've … signed on to this crew, Captain."

That was right. Her loyalty was to this ship and to him now, or at least until the voyage ended. Jamos took a certain amount of satisfaction from that fact. But he didn't show it and he wasn't going to take it for granted either.

"Shara," again he longed to reach out to her. "This crew is like a family. If you need anything, if you need any help with arrangements back in Iziz…" if you need me to gut your no good husband with a harpoon, he did not add aloud. "You have only to ask."

She nodded and though he knew the conversation had reached its conclusion, he had to force himself to turn away from her and continue his tour of the deck.

Before he was away he heard her quietly say, "Thank you… Jamos."

From her lips it sounded like music. His heart leaped but he would take things slowly. The captain knew how to weather a storm. He could row out of a calm. Jamos Blackwell was a patient man.