The Emerald Knight

Tales of Tarza Book 3

Decks A-hoy!

Chapter 1

The planks shifted under her weight as waves hit the deck along the boardwalk. Sea salt sprayed her face from the splashing waves. Seagulls flew in the sky above, singing their songs as her eyes trailed over the mass of people. She slowly made her way through the crowds of people towards the docks where the ships were stationed for port. The smell of sweat, body odor, and fish filled her nose, making her want to gag. The boardwalk had a tendency to shift from the pressure of the waves when it hit hard against the bannisters, making it hard to keep her balance. She stumbled over a loose plank and cursed. They need to fix these boards before someone breaks their neck, Rachel thought. The never-ending waves left her disgruntled and wishing the current would recede. But it wouldn’t do that for another night or two. Right now, it was high enough for the ships to come to port and unload their wares for the capital city to use.

Rachel turned right down the boardwalk when she saw fisher boats, ferries, and large cargo ships standing tall against the banister as their men unloaded crates for the kingdom. There are so many people down here today. Her eyes danced from crowd to crowd with people wearing fancy clothes to working attire. Every class was represented on the pier today it seemed.

Rachel stepped up on the railing to look over the edge to get a better view. She didn’t know where exactly the ship she was looking for docked, but it seemed like an enjoyable adventure as her eyes danced among the common folk. I just have to find the Double Dodger, supposedly supposed to be near the cargo ships. She noticed people leaving the ferries with small belongings, but nothing too hideous to weigh them down. From the look of things it looks like the ships are by size, she thought, trying to get a good view from her spot on the landing. “Best get going if I plan to make a welcoming parting,” she whispered to herself. She jumped down from the railing and stumbled into a large brick of a man.

“What is the meaning of this?” He yelled, turning to look at her.

She froze only to take in the Quarter-master. Arnold stood before her with a frown in his face with graying eyebrows glaring at her with his sunny blue eyes. Apparently, someone isn’t too friendly today. “Sorry I didn’t mean to bump into you, Quarter-master.”

“Yeah, I bet ye didn’t. Now why in the blazes is one of your status doing down here in the gallows?” he growled through clenched teeth. He never liked her but it wasn’t because of any fault of her own. Arnold is Arnold, and he has a thing for giving women hell when he is on the job running the shipping corridor.

She smiled.

“Just visiting a special guest.”

He sneered at her.

“And…who by tell is this special guest?”

Rachel froze. She didn’t know if she wanted to reveal her intentions completely to Arnold. Her father didn’t actually know she was down here at the gallows, as Arnold calls it. But she was nosey and wanted to meet this Lord Amberhill before he got dragged into council meetings all day. He would not be around the castle for very long and Rachel wanted to get a heads up on who he was.

“Well, are ye going to share the name or what?”

“A random lord visits the king, and he requested I give him a greeting. That is all. And you should know that the king doesn’t give information to why he meets with his noblemen to the common folk. Besides it is probably only a good friend of the kings.”

“Just a friend of the king. Then why did he send you?” He growled.

She bit her lip. Why in deed? “I’m trying to put the best foot forward for my future as the future ruler, you know. That means showing up and giving pleasantries when I can.”

She winced when Arnold snorted at her. “Ya…over me dead body.” Rachel sighed. She was always trying to prove herself to the men of this kingdom. It wasn’t her fault that things went tips up every once in a while.

Her eyes spotted large white sails shifting in the wind. A large one of the right was being pulled down and tied up on a ship coming into dock for the foreseeable future. She wondered if that was the ship the two men were on. But first she had to deal with Arnold the pain in the ass that never let her come to the docks without a good reason.

“I promise nothing will go a miss. Just popping in to say hi and give them a formal welcome from orders of the King.”

Arnold’s eyebrows quirked upward on one side.

“Did ye say the King sent ye?”

“Yes, sir.”

She gave him a warm smile, trying to confirm her innocence. If it all went as planned she would walk down the stairs to the lower platform in a manner of seconds. Arnold rubbed his chin, running his fingers through his wispy grey beard.

“Fine. Don’t cause drama!” He ordered with a thumb of his hand. “I don’t need to send the guards after ye because you can’t keep out of trouble.”

“Don’t worry, Quarter-master, I will make it scarce.”

She flashed him a smile and took her first step to the lower platform. That was easier than I thought. But best keep a low key. People always get crazy when they see me around and about.

Once she hit the bottom of the staircase Rachel froze to steady the swaying boards beneath her feet. Her eyes darted to all the movement happening around her. One body after another seem to come from the boats tied to the deck right next to her. She stumbled, trying to get her bearings. A body jostled her, causing her to sway backwards.

“Sorry miss, did you need some help?” A man said, looking over his shoulder at her. He reeked of fish guts and seaweed. Her head flitted about, knowing Arnold’s eyes were still on her. “No, I am fine.” She said with a squeak.

The man shrugged and went back to carrying in his fish from his trip. Rachel slid around him, hoping to keep out of reach of the slime coming of his hands. Why is it always fish guts they have to deal with around here?

As she passed the man Rachel noticed several dozen fisher boats awaited her. Without thinking twice or caring how to step. Rachel sprinted across the dock to avoid the stench and touch of scaly hands. Her foot tangled in a fishing net, sending her flailing with her arms to keep her balance.

As her body stopped tipping each way she looked around to see if anyone saw her nearly falling on her ass. Everyone seemed to be focused on their own tasks and didn’t seem to mind her in any shape or form. Thank the gods for small blessings.

Her hands ran down her coat, allowing her to catch her breath. Then she stepped around the net. Her foot was tangled in and made her way past the ferries. Passengers disembarked the ships in a timely manner and almost swallowed Rachel up into the herd as she walked. She didn’t know why people had to be so pushy down here. It was like they were all in a hurry or something.

Finally! Rachel found herself on the other side of the port docks. That is when she saw the two large cargo ships with four ships that could easily be doubled as war ships.

She eyed the massive white sails casting out over the ship’s helm. Flags. Don’t they usually have flags or something to mark them? She thought. Her eyes danced from ship to ship, wondering which one Lord Amberhill would be on. Rachel was about to break from the crowd to investigate the ships when a wagon cut her off. It was carrying several large barrels of rum with a donkey at the front to pull it through the crowd. Blasted thing almost run me over. The nerve of some people.

A young man followed the wagon and saw Rachel’s scowl on her face. He sheepishly waved at her to show he was sorry. Rachel waved him off without a word and stepped from her spot onto the awning. She descended the platform and walked among the ships where so much was happening. It was overwhelming, but she was used to it. Rachel spend most of her mornings down by the docks even if her father said she didn’t need to waste her time with watching the people work. She only wanted to be proficient in every turn. Mistakes couldn’t happen and they wouldn’t happen in her kingdom or at her docking station.

“Heave hoe there lassie!”

Rachel froze as a wooden crane dropped an enormous box feet from her spot. The ground shook under its weight and made her wonder if the deck could collapse. Once everything stood steady she glared up at the shipman.

“What is the meaning of this? You nearly crushed me!” She yelled enraged.

The man had long straggly grey hair mixed with black, large muscular arms, and a dirty sailor suit to boot. He wiped his mouth with his free hand while the other grasped the rope holding the wooden crane in place.

“Sorry about that. Didn’t realize your prettiness was standing there. I hope I didn’t squish ye,” The swagler said with a grin.

“Next time make yourself known before you unload. I wouldn’t like to report you to the Quarter-master.”

“Now there is no reason to get snippy. It was an honest mistake. I will do my best to watch out for little ladies next time I unload the ship.”

Rachel frowned. She wanted to give the man a piece of her mind. He had the nerve to talk to her like she was some uptight child that was just in the way at the wrong time. The man turned and left the starboard side of the ship without another word. She was about to make a scene but decided against it when a man farther down the ship on the dock yelled up to the grey-haired man.

“Skippy, stop giving the ladies trouble. You know you’re too old to trifle with them.”

Rachel shot daggers at the man and wanted to stab him through with a sword. He even had the audacity to smile and wave at her. She turned and walked towards him with a glare written on her face.

“This your ship steward?”

The man smiled. He had a handsome smile with shiny white teeth that sparkled in the sunlight. His flowing long blond hair fell down around his shoulders, leaving him looking like a god in human form of how fair his skin was. She found her anger subsided for a second as she took in his appearance. Wow, he is something unbelievable to look at; she thought.

“Why hello?”

His voice was deep and seductive, leaving most women quacking at the knees. Rachel luckily wasn’t one of those girls that would swoon so easily.

“This your ship?”

“Why yes? The Double Dodger.” He said with a wink.

Rachel blinked for a second in surprise. This was actually the ship she was looking for. Figures out of all the ships this one had to have the charmer and dick head on board.

Rachel squared her shoulders and forced out her hand to shake his hand awkwardly. “My name is Rachel Flares, and I have come to speak with Lord Amberhill.”

The golden-haired man leaned forward to look at her hand. Then he stood straight to look at her more closely. She was taken aback by his strange behavior and pulled her hand back to her side.

“Rachel Flares you say.” He mused out loud. The man paused for a moment, then seemed to decide on something with the way his face lit up. “Never heard of you I’m afraid. And Lord Amberhill unfortunately took a swim a few miles back. He should catch up with us soon.”

She guffawed. “You are joking, right?”

“Sorry, not much of a joker. I am. But don’t worry you will be the first to meet with him when he arrives. Promise,” he said, crossing his fingers over his heart in an x formation.

“You got to be kidding me. This can’t possibly be happening?” she said with annoyance seeping into her voice. He arched an eyebrow at her and shrugged. Then he turned to look at a ship coming to land at the deck and his mouth fell open. “Excuse me.” He said in a panic.

She stopped pacing in place to watch him run like hell around the deck of his ship. Then the next thing Rachel knew was her feet shifting uncontrollably on the wooden planks as a ship took off the norther deck. Her mouth dropped in shock. Never in her life has anyone ever drove a ship straight into the docking port. All she knew was Arnold was screaming bloody loud as he raced down the deck to get to the mess.

“What the hell blazes is going on here!” Arnold fumed, with foam coming out of his mouth.

Rachel stepped around The Double Dodger to see a younger man about her age standing next to the golden-haired man that she never got his name. Her eyes watched as the older of the two men looked over the younger for any wounds.

Arnold came to a skidding stopped and looked the two men over. “Well, what ye half-wits going to tell me?” His hands were on his hips, eye glaring like fire could erupt from them, and Arnold’s chest was huffing and puffing aloud. His face was so red she couldn’t help but smile at the scene. The last time she saw him this worked up was when she punched one of the pigs down at the corner end of the port docks. She still remembered that day trying to explain why the guy had it coming. Unfortunately for her, she made an enemy of him that day and she never lived it down. Now he was always watching her every move.

“Sorry, okay.” The golden-haired man stepped forward. “I’m Lord Amberhill and this is my brother Lord Thomas. He kind of drove his ship into your deck a little.”

Amberhill, huh? Lying sack of shit! Her eyes narrowed on him. Oh, I am going to get him for tricking me. That will teach me to believe a sweet talker with blond hair and a beautiful body.

Amberhill made eye contact with her and grinned.

“Why the hell are ye smiling? Half my deck is out of commission. Which one of ye half wits did it?”

“Uh…I did, sir.”

Rachel turned her glare from Amberhill to this Lord Thomas. He stood a half head shorter than his brother and had long pulled back brown hair. He was the opposite of Lord Amberhill. Thomas was dark tall and handsome. She couldn’t help but take in his buff body and brown chocolate eyes that made her want to swim in them. He didn’t even notice her standing there. His eyes were on Arnold and trying to calm him down.

“You did! Ye don’t look like your old enough to man your own ship. Who’s bright idea was it to leave him at the helm?”

Amberhill scratched the back of his head and looked bashful for a second. “Thought he could do with some experience. Apparently, I forgot to show him how to break.”

Thomas tried to hold back a laugh and nearly choked on it as he turned his back to Arnold. Rachel couldn’t help but laugh at the situation. It was kind of comical.

I suppose I should step in before it gets too bad for the idiots; she thought. “Quarter-master!”

Arnold turned his attention to her. “Aww…great. You had to show up.”

“One you knew I was down here and two I hold the authority of the king.”

Both men went straight and wide eye looking at her. Thomas seemed to take in more of her than she would like. It made her feel like a horse at auction. But that didn’t stop her. She looked right at Amberhill and saw him gulp. He knew he was in the doghouse for sure.

“Great, what does the king think of this mess?” Arnold bellowed at her. She flinch slightly at his tone but didn’t let it on that it bothered her.

“Quarter-master, note the damage and write it out for the king’s steward to rectify with Lord Amberhill and Thomas’ father. I’m assuming he will take care of the damages done to the king’s docking port?”

She looked at the two men, as did Arnold. He glared at them like he wanted to choke them out. But he wouldn’t touch them because they were the sons of a nobleman. That would be a quick death sentence to disrespect one of the highest ranking families that was next to the kings.

Thomas blinked, surprised. Amberhill nodded his head and frowned. He didn’t much like having to bring his father in on this but it was kind of necessary. They would get their heads cut off by their father if he knew they kept this from him.

“Yes, our father will handle the dealings with the steward your highness.” Amberhill stated with a bow.

“Great, now best be on our way.” She said and turned to walk away. Arnold snorted and started barking orders at the guards on the landings. They were to get men down there to fix the planks and get numbers on damages.

Amberhill ran up beside her as she strolled by The Double Dodger. “Thanks for the aid. Didn’t realize I was talking to the princess earlier.”

She pierced her lips at him.

“Hope you enjoyed your swim. I’ll be informing my father of your arrival and the situation you two put his people through.”

“Aww…suppose I deserve that. If you have free time later, we are meeting at the pub in town. Mind dropping by for a pint?”

He watched her to see how she would respond. She didn’t really care for ale that much but she might enjoy Thomas’ company. Blonds weren’t her thing, anyway. But talk dark and handsome definitely was.

“Sure, I might see you there.”

She stepped away from him, making her way down the deck with both men’s eyes on her. Rachel didn’t know what this would become between her new companions but she was excited to see its outcome.

Drunken Woes

Chapter 2

TEK-Chapter 2

Arnold, Thomas and Amberhill watched the princess walk away. It seemed like time slowed for Thomas as he took in her silhouette. She had beautiful curves with long legs and hips that screamed to him. He didn’t realize his brother was looking at him until Amberhill clubbed him over the head and wrapped his arm around his neck into a headlock.

“Ah…what the hell is this?” Thomas screeched. He tried to break his brothers hold, but he just squeezed harder.

“Don’t tell me you were checking out the princess’ fine physique, were you?” Amberhill chortled.

Thomas was mid struggle when he heard someone clear their throat. His eyes darted towards the noise to find the Quarter-master glaring at the both of them. Amberhill released him with a jump.

“Sorry…” Amberhill said, scratching his long main of hair from behind his head. “Forgot you were standing there. You were saying.”

Arnold crossed his arms over his broad chest. His beard shifted in the wind from a small breeze. “You two best keep ye wits about ya. I don’t want trouble. Ye already made me a mess. I have to pick up. I don’t need word of you fancying the princess’ derriere in public.”

Thomas’ face turned ruby red in embarrassment. “Sorry I wasn’t…”

Arnold cleared his throat.

“Doesn’t matter. Both of ye are a pain in my ass. That means ye better get to work or I will skin ye a new hide.”

Amberhill arched an eyebrow and seemed too shocked to respond. Thomas nudged him and shook his head at his brother. He was trying to signal his brother that they didn’t need to get on the bad side of the Quarter-master. It was bad enough he crashed the ship. Now we had to explain what happened to their father and the king. Hopefully, it’s not at the same time, he thought.

“We will be on our best behavior. I actually was just about to send my brother to tell the crew to unload the ships.” Amberhill confessed with a smile.

Arnold ran his hands up and down his beard. “Right. Ye best hurry. The docks close in three hours. Then you have to find lodging if it isn’t with the king.”

“No worries. Our lodging has already been gained.” Amberhill chided.

Arnold snorted. He then turned to walk away. But stopped to eye them once more. “The princess is a handful for her father. Neither of ye seem to have the wits about ye to challenge her wild spirit. Stay away if ye know what’s best for ye.”

Both men looked at each other as the Quarter-master turned and walked away.

“That’s new.” Amberhill said.

Thomas rolled his eyes at his brother. “What’s new?” He snapped. His brother was driving him more insane than the looneys on board the ship.

Amberhill looked at him and grinned. “Never thought I would get romantic advice from a fisherman.”

Thomas punched him in the shoulder.

“Ow…what was that for?”

Thomas put his hand in his brother’s face. Then counted off why he was an idiot.

“One. You don’t call people stupid names when they have titles for their jobs,” Thomas said with his index finger in the air.

“Two. Stop being weird. I wasn’t checking out the princess.” He lied.

“And three. We better get to work before we get summoned by the king. Don’t want to explain why the shipment is late, because we are standing around talking.”

Amberhill shrugged.

“Fine, you win. I’ll get my ship on the way with unloading and you can do yours. If you can do it without sinking the ship.”

“You son of a…” Thomas had his fist raised as his brother put his hands up in surrender. He laughed and tip toed around Thomas. Then scurried over the dock to get back to his ship. Thomas shook his head in annoyance.

He wiped his hands on his pants, then climbed the plank to get on deck. Once on the ship he looked around to see not one person doing his job. Actually, the deck was a ghost town. Not a single person was on the main floor. He stomped over to the crew’s corridor and opened the door. Thomas could hear laughing coming from downstairs.

“Get your asses on the deck. We have cargo to unload!”

The laughter stopped and several “yes, sirs,” came through the disgruntled men. Thomas waited a few moments until he heard feet on the steps, then he turned and went back to his captain’s office.

Thomas looked around the room to see if anything was a miss. The right side of the room was filled with bookcases that were lined with leather-bound books of all sizes. There was a stand where his maps were wrapped and stacked in order of kingdom location. His eyes dashed to the large windows behind his desk where he kept his comfy chair. Father always says to never leave home without a chair worth sitting in. Especially if you plan to doze off in it occasionally. Thomas smiled. It was one of his fawner memories with his father. Most the time he was all serious and never wants to have fun. But that didn’t mean Thomas and his brother didn’t get the old man to chuckle every once in a while.

As his mind wondered to other places Thomas stepped around the large table where he had his current maps for his cargo ship’s journey spread out for everyone to see. He made his way over to his chair and knocked over his clothing rack that housed his captain hat. “Damn, I need to get a grip. Next, I will set the ship on fire or something.” He chided himself with a smirk creased across his lips.

He followed up with kicking his boots off, putting his feet on his desk and leaning back to take a nap. The memory of beautiful green eyes and long blonde hair with a sweet, seductive smile filled his dreams.

* * *

“What in the hell!”

Thomas’ feet flew to the floor, dislodging him from his chair. He hit the ground hard, jumped to his feet and slammed his hands down on his desk to find his brother glaring at him from the other side.

Thomas roared, “What was that for?”

Amberhill rubbed his eyes. “You are the laziest mother fucker I have ever met. Did you honestly think I wouldn’t notice you not helping with the unloading of the ships? Everyone pulls their weight, not just the crew!” He bellowed right back at Thomas.

They argued for several moments until they both froze in a stare down. Scabby came in at that moment thinking it was safe to referee the lads. But he was sadly mistaken.

“What are ye bellowing at the top of ye lungs for?”

Thomas eyes narrowed in on the old man.

“None of your damn business!”

Scabby put his hands up in surrender and took a step forward like an idiot. Thomas was on the verge of throttling the daft old fool. But he took it upon himself to keep the peace between the brothers.

“Now is that anyway to talk to one of my crewmen, dear brother,” Amberhill chided.

Thomas rolled his eyes and leaned down to put his face in his hands. He rubbed down his face, then looked at his brother with disgust.

“Why do you think because you’re the older brother that you get to boss me around all the time?”

Amberhill grinned opened his mouth to say something smart but was stopped by Scabby.

“I think you two need a break. How about ye head to the pub and have some spirits to get your mind off the lazy assess you both are?” Scabby laughed.

Amberhill turned on him with a shocked expression on his face. “What do you mean by throwing me in with his lot? I did my share of the work.”

Scabby stared at him with a blank look on his face.

Thomas shook his head.

“Looks like he doesn’t agree with you. So, that means you were too busy flirting with women coming in off the ferries again. Talk about me being lazy. At least I did something that didn’t make me look like a womanizing pig,” Thomas shouted.

Amberhill’s eyes blazed ready to rip into his brother again. But once again, Scabby came to Thomas’ rescue.

“The work is all done. Your main jobs were to meet with the King tomorrow. Now is the time to enjoy yourself after a long trek on the ship. How about ye two stop bickering like children and come with me for some fun?”

“Ugh…with you?” Thomas whined.

Amberhill grinned devilishly.

“I think I am up for some fun,” Amberhill said.

“Great! Now no bickering or I will have to slap ye silly, ye get me,” Scabby said shaking his fingers at the brothers.

“Fine. But Amberhill is paying!” Thomas squeaked.

“What! Why do I have to pay?”

“No one has to pay…” Scabby interrupted. “Ye can drink off the King’s tab. After all, ye are honored guest, aren’t ye.”

Both men smiled and looked at each other. Amberhill waggled his eyebrows with a grin that could cool dairy. “I’ll drink your ass under the table before the nights out.” He promised.

Thomas laughed.

“We will see about that. You will get distracted by the first set of tits you see.”

Amberhill guffawed.

“Now you insult my honor.”

“What honor? Even Father thinks you need to put a chastity belt on it.”

Scabby splatter spit over the both of them as he tried to control his laughter. He never thought the Lord of his homeland would think such a thought about his own son. This definitely put him in a new light.

“Ew…that is gross, man.” Amberhill stated, wiping the spit off his coat. “But I don’t need a chastity belt, and Father doesn’t know what he is talking about. Besides you didn’t see me hitting on the princess. You were too busy eyeballing her. And what kind of brother would I be to step in on a woman you like?”

“Shut it. I didn’t say I liked her. She differs from the women I meet. That is all.” Thomas growled back.

“Spirits then?” Scabby called, turning his back on the lads.

Both men nodded their heads in agreement. They made their way out of the captain’s quarters and walked down the plank to get to the deck below. It didn’t take long to walk through the crowds since the last ferry came only half a candle mark before, and skeleton crews were all that remained from the ships around the deck. Thomas walked shoulder to shoulder with his brother fully aware that the ladies were eyeing his brother out of the two. Amberhill was the fair one and always got the girls. Thomas took after his Father. They were more dark. Women kept their distances for how their bodies were built. It used to bother him but as he got older he realized he didn’t like the type of women that his brother mixed himself up with. They were too easy to get them interested. Thomas wanted something more, more of a challenge.

Long strides brought them to the pub in town they like to enjoy when they came to the capital city. It was full of patrons from the seashore and streets all over Tarza. Thomas had to shove through the crowd to get to the nearest stool to sit at the bar. Amberhill snatched one from a few stools down and brought it over to his side. They ordered their drinks, and the competition began.

The Pendant

Chapter 3

TEK-Chapter 3