Jon stood easy at the helm, one hand holding an apple, with his breeches rolled up and his tunic loosened to take in the breeze. It was a beautiful day for sailing, and Sophie's consignment led the Naglfar and crew far to the south into seas full of warm breezes and clear skies. The kingdom of Sha'qat was a major port at the edge of a desert expanse. It was known far and wide as a place where anything was up for sale, including life and death. The Naglfar would deliver a cargo of whale bone and gems, and they hoped to pick up silks or even rare medicine for the next port. Jon's share would go into information and supplies for an inland trek on his own.
In spite of the fair wind and following seas, there was much to be done. The deck hands passed to-and-fro scrubbing and shining, repairing ropes and sails, or fashioning and deploying fishing nets. One such deckhand was diligently scrubbing a spot on a rowing bench, which was probably an eye in the log, and would not be coming out.
"Gods' ass, Lubber! Get to work on something useful," called Ndiki, Jon's first-mate. The deckhand had signed on board the day before they left port and wasted no time getting on the mate's bad side.
Jon said, "Go easy on him, Ndiki," loudly enough for Lubber to hear, but not enough for it to seem that he was supposed to hear, "Lubber's only been at sea for six days."
"Six days or six years, if he drops another bucket in the drink, he's going in after it." She clearly wasn't happy with Lubber's performance, but the seasoned deckhands could also tell she was exaggerating her frustration.
The first day at sea, Lubber had gotten sick, and he hadn't made it out of the cabin to wretch, instead spilling his breakfast on the floor next to Ndiki's rack. Then, when he tried to fill a bucket with water to clean the floor, he had dropped it in the sea. After that episode Ndiki had dubbed him "Lubber," and the name stuck.
It didn't help that Ndiki was already on edge from an eventful night the day before. After the captain's tryst with Carina, with the cargo stored and the ship ready for sea, Ndiki set a skeleton watch and took one last night on the town with the rest of the crew.
Ndiki was legendary amongst the crew for her ability to attract companions in port. That night she had drank several rounds with the crew before retiring to a room at the inn with at least three men and one woman. Early the next morning she was rousing the crew from their racks, and hungover or not, did a fine job putting the Naglfar to sea. Then Lubber came along and spilled his sick right next to her rack. Jon found the whole situation just a little absurd, and he hid a smirk by biting his apple.
Playful hazing aside, the crew spent easy days with sheets deployed, training the new crew and cleaning the ship. Jon was in his element feeling the sway of the sea beneath him and feeling the breeze of the salt air. But his thoughts kept turning to Carina and their last encounter. The tight quarters of the ship didn't allow Jon the privacy to do anything with his thoughts, so he reviewed his plan.
On the night that the princess had banished her trust, a brilliant light had streaked across the sky in many lands, lancing off into the east. Jon had already learned that the astronomers of Sha'qat had triangulated the streak's path, and also that it would be the most likely starting place for his journey. It was pure luck that Sha'qat was also one of the most likely ports of call following Torin. He had confided his full plan to Ndiki alone, the rest of the crew only knew the plan as far as their next destination. After making their deals in Sha'qat, Jon would take his share of the profit and strike out into the desert. He would remain owner of the Nalgfar on paper, but Ndiki would take over as captain, and continue their trade. With any luck, they would one day be reunited.
Jon had some sense that beyond the desert to the east would be a barely explored woodland, and beyond that, the stuff of legends.
--
Without Jon's visits to look forward to, Carina's life had become a dull monotony of courts, councils, and petty politics. Just today, she had heard a grievance from a group of farmers whose water access had been dammed by an officer of the crown. He argued that the crown needed the water, and they were late in paying their taxes. The farmers argued they wouldn't be able to pay taxes at all without access to water. When Carina asked what "the crown" intended to do with the water, and found out it was for a water feature in the castle grounds, she snapped.
"Milo," she had called, "See to it that the dam is removed."
As the guard responded in the affirmative, she had called out in her mind, and a spout of water leapt out of the floor of the court. While Carina stormed out, the water hoarder was drenched, along with all those near him. She left a cacophony behind her, as half the court was in uproar and the other half found it hilarious.
Carina had heard Sophie tittering as she ran to catch up with the princess. Sophie knew that the spell was only a glamour, and soon there would be no water at all. Once they were abreast, Sophie caught her breath. In a serious tone, she said, "That probably could have been handled better."
"Oh, I know," Carina had said, stopping and turning to Sophie. "I'm just so tired of these lords. Why do you think he's pursuing his little project?"
"Probably to gain your attention."
"Exactly. He thinks if he starves the people to build something pretty in the castle, it will gain him some sort of favor. Well, he has my attention now."
"Just be careful, princess. You can't rule without the help of the nobles."
"I know. I just need some time alone. I'll be in the library for a while."
"As you wish."
Carina spent the following hours in the library. She knew plenty about influencing minds with illusions, but she couldn't get her mind off of Jon, and she longed for a way to see him again. Now back in her chambers, she had a stack of books on divination, and was poring through them, looking for a spell to view someone a world away. She had already dismissed most of the stack when Sophie arrived to tell her dinner was ready.
"Thanks Sophie, I'll come soon."
The princess looked over the remaining books. Two, she now knew enough to dismiss out of hand. One she already knew was useless; she had only taken it on impulse. And the last was a text about an ancient form of magic from a forgotten empire. Intriguing, but not promising. Why were diviners so tunnel-visioned on the future and the afterlife? Carina thought. None of these books were concerned with remote sensing, only fortune telling! She threw herself on the bed in frustration and then rolled to her feet and went down to dinner.
Tonight Carina had no guests, so her only company was the dining staff and Sophie briefing her on the happenings of the day since she had retired. She had a good chuckle when Sophie described the water-hoarding lord complaining to her about his treatment. Apparently, halfway through grousing about his ruined silk, the glamour had worn off, and he found himself wringing out a bone-dry jacket. Sophie had handled the situation diplomatically, and gently encouraged him to impress the princess by how he treated the people rather than through gifts for the crown.
Returning to her chamber after her meal, Carina stared at the last unread book. She didn't have high hopes for the text, but she knew that it was her last option. The book was written in a dead language, so Carina had to use a glamour that would convince her mind that the symbols were actually something she could read. This was an application of her power that she had discovered on her own one day. She still didn't know how the glamour could actually perform the translation, but she had stopped questioning it.
On Mastering the Energy of the Awakening
The title simultaneously intrigued Carina and told her nothing of what to expect. She knew nothing of the writers beyond that they had existed. As she began reading, she was shocked to learn that the power of the ancient sorcerers came from a completely different source than did her own power. The Awakening, she learned, was another way of saying, "sexual arousal." As the realization dawned on Carina, her thoughts turned to Jon again, and she could feel heat building in her belly. As she tried to focus on the writing, the heat traveled down to her crotch, and she found herself squirming and rolling on the bed with her legs squeezed together.
Carina read various suggestions for generating the energy of the Awakening, including solo experiences, partners, and group projects. One hand wandered down to her folds and gently probed, while she continued to explore the ancient tome. Now, it was discussing various inanimate aids to generating energy, and she wondered if it held magic at all, or was just about getting one's rocks off.
The princess was reading the book and laying belly-down on her bed, pinning her arm in place, as her finger found her clit and started to rub in earnest. She skipped ahead some chapters until she could find something to do with the Awakening she was currently experiencing. When she found what she was looking for, Carina's breath caught in her throat. Was it from the excitement of finding the spell or the excitement building in her womanhood, she couldn't tell.
Soul Sharing: a spell for experiencing the world through the senses of another. She needed intimate knowledge of the subject. Preferably "corpus to corpus." Only one person she could think of fit that description. She was breathing heavily as she shifted so that her finger could reach inside her vagina.
As the energy in Carina's core grew, she frantically read through how to weave the spell. Her orgasm mounted as she was nearly done reading, and she had to squeeze her legs tight and breathe deep to hold it back. The princess' mind wandered to the memory of Jon's hands touching her body and squeezing her thighs. She shook the thoughts out of her head and refocused on the book.
When she finally finished reading, Carina was far past ready to use the energy of the Awakening, and she rolled on her side, working her g-spot with one hand and pinching her clit with the other. As her orgasm came over her, she suddenly felt as if she was thrust into the sky, her eyes sensing nothing, sight replaced with the all-consuming pleasure. As she came back down to Earth, she had the sense of standing, in the cold on a surface that was swaying this way and that. Was it the deck of a ship? She tried to open her eyes, but was suddenly sucked back into her own consciousness.
She lay on her back, in her own bed, in her own chambers. Her body was tired and satisfied, but the Awakening had subsided. She stared at the ceiling in shock and wonder. She had succeeded. What she felt must have been Jon's experience from the deck of his ship. But she failed to sustain the spell for some reason. She was disappointed, but encouraged to learn more.
***
On the Naglfar, Jon suddenly stumbled and nearly hit the deck, catching himself awkwardly on the gunnel. The bosun, currently at the helm, called out, with a chuckle, " Whass wrong capm? Lost yer sea legs?"
"Don't know what happened, Bosun," Just forgot where I was for a moment.
The bosun wore an idiotic grin for at least an hour after seeing his captain falling in light weather like a landlubber.
