Page 28 of A Princess, Stolen
The engine roared somewhere below me, otherwise, all was quiet. I had no idea how long I had been awake, but it felt like an eternity. Was it evening? Or midday? In my mind, I was painting pictures to pass the time. First, a green swamp and then the indigo hyacinths of Rosewood Manor, but eventually, the pictures became nothing but black brushstrokes. Since then, all my thoughts were gloomy. To distract myself, I started to list the men I knew. There was Troy, the Orlando Bloom type, who apparently cooked burgers for the men from time to time. Then there was, of course, the angry leader, and Pan, the man with the accent, and Sparta, the man who smelled of camphor. That made four. However, I had heard three more voices, so there had to be at least seven, though my gut feeling told me there were many more. Maybe ten or twelve. I had even picked up another name earlier. Taurus. I imagined him as a bull, but that was only because of the name, which I associated with the Minotaur.
“Hey, princess.”
The words startled me since I didn’t hear footsteps. “Troy?” I asked in a thin voice.
“The devil himself!” He laughed but then continued speaking softer. “Why did you tell the boss?”
“Tell him what?”
“You know what! Don’t act so innocent!”
“Tucekilemeur?” I didn’t want to talk to him because even if he was nice, he was one of them. And maybe he was only pretending to be sympathetic toward me.
“I got into a lot of trouble. I should be furious with you.” But he didn’t sound like that. Quite the opposite.
“I got into trouble too,” I said to myself. And how!
He laughed again. “Then we have something in common. Really…I’ve rarely seen the boss so angry. He almost hit me… I mean, he’s not the epitome of cheerfulness anyway…”
“What’s he like?”Just so I can judge him better.
There was that sound again, that clang-clang-clang, like metal knocking against metal. It was getting on my nerves, which were already stretched to the breaking point.
“Cynical. Angry. A man without dreams.” Troy seemed to be thinking. “He doesn’t let anyone tell him what to do, and when he decides something, it’s unalterable, but that’s normal at sea. Backtalk or believing you should have a say is unthinkable. Both border on mutiny.”
I had to swallow. Basically, that was good for me. The leader didn’t want to cut off my fingers, so none of the others would either. “What else?”
The metallic knocking stopped. “When he promises you something, he always keeps his word.”
“Really?” I replied anxiously because that could be good or bad, depending on the promise. “How do you know?”
“From Isaac.”
Goose bumps involuntarily crawled down my spine. “Isaac.”
“The one who called you.”
I didn’t realize that I had said the name aloud. “When…when is he coming on board?” I asked after a moment of endless wrestling with myself.
The knocking restarted, metal against metal. Troy was probably wearing a ring or a watch, which he was tapping against the bars. “I’m not allowed to tell you.” Clang-clang-clang.
My heart suddenly started beating faster. “Why not?”
“You shouldn’t know too much about the plan. Understandable, right?”
I took a few shallow breaths, in and out. “What’s Isaac like?”
Troy didn’t answer. “Say…the boss says you’re not eating. Aren’t you hungry?”
With my lips pressed together, I shook my head. Not since he mentioned Isaac’s name. The darkness before my eyes suddenly seemed even deeper. “What’s he like?” I whispered after a while.
“Hey, I’m not the help desk even if I’m the only one in this monkey house who doesn’t constantly give you a hard time.” He was silent for a while and then finally said, “You asked me how I know the boss keeps his promises. Isaac told me. Do you want to hear it?”
I didn’t want to hear anything at all anymore. I just wanted to go home, eat something, and crawl into my warm bed, but Dad always said you had to gather as much information as possible about your enemies, so I nodded.
“Okay, come closer, then!” Clang-clang-clang.
“What…why?”
