The Blue Kingdom

Driven by an overwhelming surge of anger, Lim pushed her chair from the private wing to the other side of the building so swiftly that no one realised until it was too late. Being able to move freely through the palace provided some help, but what had made possible to get in Kumar's workplace without anyone objecting, was the chaos that had broken out minutes before, when a whole company of soldiers besieged the premise and led a retinue of the royal household, members of the trading company and the armed men from navy to claim the country's power.

The news from the Rigg reached before the Tampraparni’s ruler returned from a trip. News of an attack he promised it’d never happen. As soon as he arrived, she was devoted to fighting, to challenge his arrogance and temper for answers. It was only thanks to Dualli, one of the sewing maids, she didn’t fall into the viper’s pit. Blinded by a blurred judgement and her thirst for retaliation, Lim had not realised that Kumar’s grand office was packed with people who for any reason should find out who she was.

She couldn't remember the last time she’d exerted herself so physically. Her hands, with the effort of turning incessantly the wheels adding to the terror of being caught, did not stop trembling. Her heavy, uncontrolled breathing might have become a good reason for suspicion, but the heated argument in the other room, echoing in every corner of the palace, was a good distraction for the soldiers.

With a Tamak scarf partially covering her face, Lim now waited in a corner for the storm to calm down, and like all the servants surrounding her, she pretended to work with deaf ears and blinded eyes. “Here, here, help me with this,” Dualli said, dropping a big piece of curtain over Lim as one of the soldiers picked a glimpse from the contiguous room.

“I should go back,” Lim whispered.

“There are members of the Commerce in the hall. They appeared after you stormed here talking nonsense, now is too late,” whispered Tarma, another of the sewing maids. “We cannot risk you being spotted by lord Jeremiah.”

“Is he here?” Lim asked.

“No one has seen the scarface, but you never know from which corner that vermin will appear suddenly. We better play safe and-”

A pimple-faced soldier in a wrinkled old uniform crossed the folding screens to let out a sheepish shush. Lim lowered her head to hide under the bulk of silk, and like the rest of the maids, returned to the curtains. The young soldier, receiving no answer, stepped hesitantly, whispering orders with brittle assurance. "You shouldn't be here, go sew somewhere else!" Dualli, like the bossy and fearless matron she was, stood between the young man and the rest of the girls, her arms around the waist and her chin held high. Her answer sprayed forth with an unrelenting velocity and, being spoken in one of the many Tampra dialects, Lim only managed to understand the blame for the nonexistent curtain’s shred had been pinned on Alishee's dog.

The soldier’s eyes widened and his palms raised. “I’m not saying anything to anyone,” A thundering yell pushed the soldier’s head to a wobble and his hands to a frantic wave. “Finish as fast as he wants, but do it in silence, yes?”

Kumar's screams soothed without losing their urge, recovering all their power as he cursed Jeremiah, whom he seemed to blame for all his problems. “Only your ineptness has led us to this situation,” interrupted Hussar, a Rajah's relative and one of the most powerful men in Tampra. “Don't blame your subordinates. The Black Geckos are bleeding us, the routes are broken. The colonies are revealing. All that is on you! The Rajah wants the best for the country and it is time for a change!”

“Gentlemen, gentlemen," said a soothing, reassuring voice, "As a member of the Guild and one of the Gents of Commerce, I can safely say that Lord Kumar does everything in his power for our country.”

“For his own interest, you’d say!” Hussar said. “We have proof, soon to be delivered to the Grand Admiral Amal, that this man has ties with buccaneers and was plotting to destabilise the kingdom and overthrow his majesty!”

“That’s a lie! You and your dogs are setting me up!” Kumar yelled.

The next person spoke with a thunderous, guttural tone no beast from the underworld could match. “We will judge on that. What is already decided is decided. For years, you people have taken advantage of not only the goodwill of the holy Rajah, but also the fervent love my soldiers have for their homeland, and you have enriched yourself at the expense of the country during the process. From now on, the Rajah will supervise the commerce personally and the security of our waters will be delegated to Vega’s men. I have a war and many uprisings to deal with and the Kraken is way cheaper than your … commissions.”

“While you go hunting weasels, you are going to put a tiger in your garden!" Kumar said.

“Silence! Be thankful the Rajah's magnanimous generosity allows you to be at home with your family instead of in a dungeon.” said the beast-like voice. “At least for the moment. You are not to leave the premises until I decide if you are only a greedy bastard like your colleagues or a traitor like the reports say. That’s my last word on this matter. The Society will be dissolved and I will decide who is still loyal enough to work on the Northerner route as consultants. Vega may be a snake, but he assured me there will be a safe passage through the Siren’s shoals. It’s time to reopen the old routes with the Norwes.”

There was a hubbub, followed by steps and a door snapping close. The group of maids raised and gathered in a circle, surrounding Lim under a bulk of curtains. “Girls, this one is not done,” Dualli said in a loud whisper the group of soldiers passing by could hear. “And here and here, missed this, unacceptable!”

When Lim found a way through fabrics to glance at the surroundings, Dualli was no longer there. The time she spent in Kumar’s office, although brief, became neverending. On her return, silently and with care, she took Lim' and pushed her past the folding screens. Kumar, prostrated at a chair behind the desk, was the true picture of defeat. When Dualli curtseyed, Lim reached for her hand. "I'm sorry, dear." The maid retreated backward, still bowing to her servitude as Lim insisted with a breath. “I put you and your staff in danger, I am so sorry,”

“They came all of a sudden and I didn’t foresee it. I’d be the one apologising.” Lim frowned as a feeling of disbelief grew inside her with the struggle to see that despicable man blurting out a sincere regret. His lost gaze didn’t rise from the table as he continued to speak. “I’m in house confinement until the Grand Admiral decides my fate. The urchins of the Society have betrayed me to save their heads. I have no choice but to fight back with little hope of getting away, and yet, I’ll face it. I rather prefer a cell for life instead of my head rolling in the dirt. I still have money and influence to at least try, but that's a risk my girl won't be put on.”

When the door slightly opened, Lim's heart jumped. The swarthy, sunken face of an old man appeared from within the frame. The head was followed by a tall and equally scrawny body, barely covered in shabby clothing unable to hide hundreds of tattoos, all made of black little lines, and most blurred by age. As Kumar's eyes regained their strength to follow in the footsteps of this newcomer, the tattooed man's ones fell on Lim, a stare that was devoid of any sense of humanity.

“This is Papiku. he will sail you out to the Red Island, and you will take my daughter with you. I didn't forget my promise, but the recent events may delay the trip. It won't be easy to find a way to leave this place unnoticed, but you have my word I'll put all my efforts into it.”

Lim didn't oppose it. She didn't give a positive answer either. Although any option that would get her as far as possible was welcomed, the mere presence of that tattooed man was filling her with a visceral, paralysing fear that she could neither understand nor escape.

“He is my most loyal man. You don’t need to fear.” Kumar said.

Papiku raised his arms and swayed, showing the lines filling both sides. “I have killed many,” he said, resembling the hissing of a snake. “But if necessary, to protect Master Kumar’s daughter and you, I will kill many more.”

Kumar gently knocked his desk to awaken Lim from her catharsis. “He was one of the Sea Kraits. What did you and your comrades use to say?”

"Always finish the job, keep your oaths, and never lie." Papiku moved the palm towards the chair’s handle. “May I?” His grin, made of crooked yellowed teeth, was reassuring and disturbing at once. Without waiting for permission, he grabbed the back of Lim’s seat and pulled her away.

“Miss Lim,” Kumar said. Papiku stopped the chair midway to the corridors and turned so she could face the former Tampra ruler for a last time. “I am sorry about the Rigg. That was not my doing.” Finding no words to reply, Lim deflated, only nodding slightly to accept an apology she didn’t expect. The rage-fueled energy that had been building over the past few days was completely banished, and she could feel nothing but a tremendous emptiness inside her.

The palace, always a joyous sight with its colourful walls and decorations had turned, without any physical change, into a depressing jail. The servants, moving like ants in the hole, were moving just as fast, and just as gloomy as always, but their wretched existence was made more apparent by the sorrow Lim was carrying. The void in her soul joined forces with a surrounding aura of malice, a weird mixture managing to make her feel as miserable as anyone could be. The Kraits, once primal terrors made of flesh, were now forgotten myths. “What are the Sea Kraits? If you don’t mind me asking?” She said, pretending not to know.

“They were just a bunch of despicable people. The world became a better place after they died.”

Lim raised an eyebrow and turned, trying to lock her eyes with his. “Was it your doing? Did you make the world a better place?” she asked, knowing very well the answer.

Papiku grinned. “No. I was as skilled, committed, and dreadful as all the others. I’m just blessed with a little bit more luck, that’s all.”

Lim forced a subtle nod to agree, but the restlessness in her heart did not fade. He was possibly the best man to be by her side, indeed: Skilled to face any challenge that may arise. Committed to finishing his job and fulfilling his oaths. Neither the Kraken, nor Tampra, nor any of the fingers of the Fist could stop the unbreakable will of a Krait. But what for others would be a safe trip to the Red Island, for Lim was going to be a journey of continuous danger. Of the few memories that she still had, the fate of the infamous group of killers was one lingering on with the most insistence, as was the knowledge of who did it, the only one ‘why’ and the many ‘wheres’. If Papiku discovered it, his will of protection could easily change into the desire for vengeance, and the longing to end an old feud would turn her future into another line of ink over the skin of a forgotten myth.