The Palace Library (11 page)

In
the chart room, the Captain introduced them to someone he only referred to as
the Sailing Master: he said was responsible, with him, for the navigation of
the ship.  There, the children told the Captain their mission.  With
as much confidence as they could muster, the children told them they must
travel to Hell’s Bay, to the edge of Hell, and make sure the dragons were
subdued so that Edwin could re-forge the Sword of State.  The Captain and
the Sailing Master stood in silence, digesting their fate, thinking they would
rather fight their enemies on the opens seas than face dragons.  The
Captain mulled it over and said simply:  “It is the Queen’s order. Make a
course for Hell’s Bay, Mr Master.” Then he made a face and added, “Just as soon
as we’ve worked out where exactly it is. For now we head west.”

As
if to break the spell, the rhythm of the drums changed.  There were four
sharp beats and then silence as the oars were lifted from the water.

“I
must go on deck,” said the Captain.  “We are nearly at the mouth of the
river and the sails must be set.” 

He
went out of the door.  As he left, he turned to the children and said,
“There can be no better ship for our journey.  Her name is The Saint
George.  Go up to the bow and you will see our figurehead.  We will
be taking a dragon to meet dragons!”

When they left the mouth of the
River Axe, the sails were unfurled and began to fill with air.  At the
same time, the oars were drawn into the boat in perfect unison.  As they
passed the headland, the wind hit the sails and Sophie and the children were
caught entirely by surprise.  From being dead flat, the deck tipped at an
angle.  Instead of gliding smoothly along the calm of the river, the ship
began to climb over the waves as well.  Sophie scrambled with her feet to
stay composed, but it was hopeless and she slid onto the bottom edge of the
boat with her legs splayed around her.  Every attempt to regain her
composure failed, especially when Grace and Eleanor slid after her so that they
all fell in a heap.  Harry had somehow managed to grab the side of the
boat to stay upright, but he was laughing so much at the other three, he was
hard put to hold on.

Once
the children untangled themselves, a hearty sailor showed them how to stand
with their legs apart and bend their knees so they could balance with the movement
of the ship.  Even with four legs, Sophie struggled and decided that in
the interests of gracefulness, she would curl up at the edge of the deck. 
It didn’t stop her smiling though - or sliding all the way across the deck
again when the ship suddenly tacked. 

The
children went to the front and saw the tail of the magnificent dragon
figurehead at the bow.  Then they climbed up onto the back of it as if
they were on a fairground carousel and felt the green scales carved into the
wood.  They would need to be in the water at the front of the boat or on
dry land to see the figurehead in all its glory, with gilded wooden flames
coming out of its mouth.  Riding the dragon, they watched the most
glorious sunset before they climbed down and returned to the stern of the ship.

Then
they saw the storm clouds gathering behind them in the east, huge grey clouds
bubbling up from the horizon and pushing towards them. A nervous captain
ordered everything to be stowed away.  Oars were lashed down with rope and
hatches battened down to stop water rushing into them. Until then, the novelty
of sailing and the smooth passage with the wind on their port heel meant the
ship was fairly comfortable, even if they did have trouble walking
around.  By the time they were back on the poop deck, the wind was
beginning to whip around in an unpredictable way and at one moment Grace
slipped headlong into the Sailing Master’s stomach.   That hardly
winded him, but he was clearly in no mood for jokes, “You’re to go to your cabin
and stay there.  It’ll be safer, and this storm will be far worse before
it’s calm again.  Now!”

By
the time the girls reached the Captain’s cabin, the colour had drained from
their faces and they were both reminded of what it was like to be
seasick.  The rosy colour in their cheeks was replaced by a green tinge
and their good humours vanished just as quickly.  Eloise looked even worse
than Grace and even poor Sophie curled up in a corner whimpering.

Grace
said crossly, “Didn’t Anwen give you something for this, healer?”  The
last word was emphasised just before she began to retch.  “I think I’m
going to be sick.”

Eleanor
didn’t answer.  She was already being sick, but there was a relief in
being sick and she heard Grace and remembered she was right.  She reached
into her bag and found the strange leaves Anwen had given her. They looked a
little like bay leaves.  “Chew one if it’s really bad,” Anwen had
said.  Eleanor put one in her mouth and started chewing.  She didn’t
exactly feel better, but all of a sudden she no longer felt as if she wanted to
die.  Then she handed one to Eloise and Grace and even tried to put one in
Sophie’s mouth, but Sophie just spat it out.  “Chew!” she shouted, and
opened her mouth to show them.  They chewed.  Then Eloise pointed at
her and Grace said something, so quickly did the leaf have an effect at making
them feel better, but she could not hear as the storm had become so wild. 
Eleanor realised soon enough what they meant as she saw the other girls’ lips
and teeth turn bright green. 

They
might have smiled at that, but suddenly the ship felt as if it was rising,
rising, rising, like an aeroplane taking off; only to be thrown to the ground
again, then diving far below.  It was a helter-skelter without the fun.
They were climbing massive waves before falling into a trough of water the
other side.

Next
door, Edwin and Harry dared not hang their hammocks.  Their heads would
have been smashed against the wooden walls of the tiny cabin like conkers on
strings.  Instead they crammed themselves into a corner, backs against one
wall, feet against another.  That was how small the space was.  They
could see the seams of the wooden planks that made up the boat pull apart and
then push back together. 

“They
should make boats of out iron,” thought Edwin, his blacksmith’s mind at work.
“One day they must make boats out of iron.”

They
were all like that for what seemed like hours, but if Grace had had a chance to
look at her watch - which she had steadfastly wound every day - she would have
known it was only 20 minutes since they had been sent to the cabins.  Then
there was a thunderous crash and the ship swung round and round, plunging in a
most unpredictable way.  The girls did everything they could to stay still
in the cabin.

Minutes
later, the cabin door was thrown open.  “You must come at once,” shouted
the Sailing Master at the top of his voice.  “Come now and be
saved!”  He held out a rope and through the open door, they saw the top of
the stern mast was broken clean off 10 feet above the deck.  They saw
Edwin and Harry at the base of the mast and saw that they were tied to
it.  At once, Eleanor and Grace thought of treachery, but the Sailing
Master shouted, “It’s the only way to avoid being swept overboard. When we’re
there, I’ll tie myself as well.  God help us all.”

It
was madness, but Grace and Eloise allowed the rope to be wrapped around their
waists.  Even Sophie had a rope around her.  Then it was Eleanor’s
turn, but as the Sailing Master wrapped it around her, the wind shifted again
and the rope flung itself out tight as a piece of steel scaffolding. 
Eleanor was thrown to the side of the ship and clung to the edge of the deck,
screaming.

“Help!
Help!”  Even though they could all see Eleanor, the scream was very faint
and the wind whipped away the words.  Harry, Grace and Edwin were tearing
at the ropes around their waists where they had been tied, but they couldn’t
move them or undo them.  The knots had become soaked and the ropes tore at
the skin on their fingers, making them sore and bleed.  It was amazing
that they could hear Eleanor at all.  The wind was so strong around them
that they could hardly hear themselves think.

The
Sailing Master held on to the rope again to try and reach Eleanor.  Then a
gust came across the boat, and the wind turned the rope into a giant whip and
threw him out to sea, never to be seen again.

“Help
me!” cried Eleanor again.  “I can’t hold on.”

Only
Eloise managed to loosen the knot around her and she edged along the deck
holding one end of a long piece of rope attached to what little remained of the
mast.  She reached Eleanor and grabbed a hand which gratefully wrapped
around her own.  The others were suddenly blinded by a squall of rain, so
they couldn’t see what happened next.  The rain stung on their faces and
they had to shut their eyes.

As
Eloise held tight to Eleanor’s hand, Guy of Caen crawled along the edge of the
deck.  His black cloak bellowed above and he gave the impression of a
giant bat as the lightning started and lit the scene. 

There
was no way Eloise could signal or shout at Guy.  Even with a tongue to
speak, he would never have heard.  She just hoped he would grab Eleanor’s
other hand.

Guy’s
cloak was finally whipped away by the wind, and he managed to stand
upright.   But instead of helping, he stamped on Eleanor’s other hand
so that she had to let go of the deck with a scream and only Eloise’s feeble
grasp was saving her from oblivion. 

In
spite of all the wind and rain, Eleanor could hear what Guy of Caen said to
Eloise, “We must be rid of her!  It is our duty to King Louis of
France!  Let her go.”

Eloise
shook her head and uttered a groan from the depths of her belly. A guttural, “
Nooooooooo
!” emerged from her mouth.  With all her
strength, she pulled Eleanor towards her. Then, she scratched at the eyes and
face of Guy of Caen, drawing blood and making him stagger back to the
edge.  He regained his stance before wiping his face and looking angrily
at the blood on his fingers.

Suddenly,
the rain squall passed and the wind changed.  Harry opened his eyes and
saw the wind catch the rope Eloise was holding, with Eleanor now firmly in her
arms.  It was whipped up and the two of them lost their footing to become
a gruesome pennant, flying in the wind right over the edge of the
ship.   Harry looked on helplessly.

Suddenly the ship tipped right
back in the other direction and Harry was looking at the sky, his back tight to
the mast.  He saw everything in slow motion.  The rope was straight
above him.  Eloise and Eleanor were both forced to let it go.  Down
they flew, their backs towards him.  Suddenly Eleanor’s body hit him and
winded him, but he acted as a cushion and he had the presence of mind to grab
hold of her.  Edwin had Eloise and they tied them both to the mast, giving
them temporary safety.

When
Harry looked up out to the edge of the boat, Guy of Caen had vanished,
presumably taken by the wind and drowned.

Eleanor
opened her eyes and tried to think about what she had heard in the midst of her
ordeal.  It was impossible and despite the noise of the storm, the
exhaustion of the adventure made her pass out into a restless and nightmarish
sleep, with her head resting on Sophie.  By morning, she had forgotten all
about it.

Eleanor
woke from the storm with Sophie licking her face.  The rain was falling
heavily now and it was pitch black all around.  Eleanor licked her lips,
but all she could taste was salt.  Then the rainwater refreshed her lips.
The touch of water was delicious.  She was so thirsty.  She needed
more water, but where would it come from?  That was when Eloise, who was
tied next to her by the mast passed her a cloth.  It had been torn from
her voluminous robes, and she had wrung all the salt water out of it before
letting it soak up the rainwater.  On the other side of her, Harry, who
had already had a drink, shouted:  “Suck it! Suck out the water!” 
Then it was much better.  Just those few delicious drops gave her back her
energy and strength; the others had experienced the same. So Eleanor held the
cloth up to the rain again to soak it through.  This time she let Sophie
suck in the water.  Then, even with the strength from the drink of water,
she lay down and slept again.  This time there were just bad dreams.

When
they all awoke, dawn was breaking.  The sun was just peeping up in the
east, though that could be the only indication of where they were.  Then
it vanished again behind dark clouds and the night returned for a moment. The
clouds stayed to hide the sun, but the day gradually became lighter.

The
ship was dipping and diving, out of control, but it did not seem to be in
danger of sinking.  Harry, Eleanor and Grace could make out figures on the
deck.  The Captain was moving around. There beside him was the diminutive
figure of Edwin, hacking away at broken ropes and rigging with an axe nearly as
tall as him in an effort to help make the ship work in some way again. 

Harry
suddenly realised he wanted desperately to be away from the ropes around
him.  He remembered the penknife he had put into his pocket just before he
had gone to visit Great Uncle Jasper in his study.  He hacked at the thick
rope around his waist.  The rope was made of hundreds of tiny pieces of
twine wound together, and it seemed each one only gave way at a time.  It
was infuriating.  Harry felt utterly trapped.  Finally, it
split.  Then he was able to set Grace and Sophie free.  By then,
Edwin had managed to release himself and used an axe to break Eloise’s bonds
open with one blow.  That annoyed Harry after all the work he had done
with his penknife.