Читать книгу The Bee Keeper's Daughter. Kingdom of Meridian. Vol 1. - Shian Serei - Страница 4

The sounds of footsteps and men’s voices woke Maria; it seemed she had only slept for a minute, but the daylight peering through the edges of the cargo cover assured her it was now morning. Maria carefully looked through the stitching holes of the cover to see if her cousin was in sight.

She saw unfamiliar faces and realized how dangerous it would be if she were discovered by someone loyal to the Tatars. Then she recognized her cousin Dima’s voice; he was speaking with someone else as he walked onboard the boat. As he turned in her direction, she started to move off the grain sacks, but then she saw he was walking with two of Alchiday’s soldiers. They were asking him questions and looking around at the cargo holds. Maria could just overhear the conversation.

«Of course, if I see either of them I will alert you, but I doubt they would come here. They’re just simple farmers, have you checked the woods?» Dima said confidently.

As he spoke, one of the soldiers stepped on board and went below to look around. The other soldier took out his sword and began lifting the covers off the cargo. Dima began to explain what was in each one, his voice was casual but annoyed at the soldier’s presence.

«This is cotton, be careful with the sword, if you cut the bailing it will blow everywhere!» Dima said cautiously to the soldier.

Maria panicked, if Dima didn’t know she was there, he wouldn’t know to conceal her beneath the tarp.

Step by step, the soldier flipped the covers, as if he would strike the moment he saw anyone underneath.

Maria could feel her breath growing faster; the fear was like hands around her neck. She couldn’t get enough air as the sound of her breathing seemed so loud that everyone on board could hear her. The edge of the soldier’s sword jabbed beneath the cover, and she knew her life was about to end. Her lip quivered as her body began to shake uncontrollably. She held her breath and then heard the voice of the other soldier shouting as he appeared back on the top deck.

The guard was distracted and turned to speak with him as his sword slid away, leaving the cover in place.

The seconds that went by seemed like a lifetime as she waited for him to turn back and uncover her there. But then the other soldier, who appeared to be in charge, motioned for them to leave and continue searching elsewhere.

Maria could not believe her eyes, just as her life was surely about to end, the soldiers walked away.

Dima returned to tie down each of the cargo covers, his hands quickly lashing them with ropes. He came to the place where Maria was hiding, and as his hands reached to tie it down tighter, she whispered to him, «Dima!»

Dima’s hand nervously pulled back, as if he had seen a snake. Some of the other shipmates looked for a moment then returned to their work. He kneeled down, pretending to work on the rope, and slid the cover carefully aside just enough to look inside.

«Masha? Are you and Tetya Lena in there?» he said in a relieved voice.

«Tolka ya» her young voice sighed.

«I heard what happened, sorry about Dyadya Alex, he was a good man,» Dima said as he tried to keep his voice from others ears. «They put a reward on your heads where is Tetya Lena?» Dima asked.

«I don’t know where she is, but we are too meet in Neva, at your mother’s house» Maria replied, wondering if she could trust anyone with these details.

«We are setting sail today for Yaroslavl, can you stay in there until nightfall? No one can know you are here, that reward is too tempting for even my friends to turn down.» Dima said as he tied the rope in place. «I’ll bring you some food and water, just stay in there.

«Alright, I’ll stay here, please see if you can find my mother before we leave?» Maria asked.

«I’ll see what I can find out,» Dima said, in a doubtful voice.

Dima was an experienced sailor and knew how the Tatars worked. What they could not buy, they took through force. «If Lena hadn’t already been captured, she would surely be dead,» He thought. He stepped off the boat and walked toward town, looking for answers about his aunt’s location.

The deck of the ship was made of rough splintered boards that were filthy from endless cargo storage and dirt. Maria shifted her position often, quietly trying to relieve the growing discomfort of laying across thick, coarse ropes and sacks. There were noises and rumblings on the deck as the last of the cargo was placed on board. Maria fell asleep at times, sleeping only from exhaustion, as her mind tried to understand the events in the last few hours. From the moment she stepped off her father’s cart to peer inside the church, her entire life had changed forever.

Flashes of the scene haunted her mind. The chilling fear returned as she pulled through the crowd of soldiers in the church. Her father’s gentle hands turning to iron when he struck her face to create an escape; the scene of him turning to face the soldiers, unafraid and determined for her to get away; Her mother so calmly doing the same at the farm house.

She had always known her parents love, but seeing them step in the way of death to protect her, made her shake with a sense of unworthiness. She could hardly swallow from crying and running in the damp night air. She tried to silence her despair by thinking of reuniting with her mother.

The men began to come from below deck with bowls of food. They sat on the deck and talked as they ate and drank.

Dima finally appeared, carrying a bowl of borscht and a cup of water. The captain spoke to him as he walked across the deck.

«Ah Dima, missing all morning for the loading but made it in time for lunch?» he said sarcastically.

«Da Captain, I had an urgent family matter to attend to before pulling out, I apologize for my absence,» Dima said respectfully.

«I heard, Sorry to hear about your uncle. Any news on your aunt or cousin?» The captain asked.

Maria feared Dima could give information about her or her mother and listened carefully.

«Net, they vanished into the woods. That’s all I know.» Dima said sadly.

«Hopefully, they will find safety.» The captain replied, patting Dima on the back, «Can you handle first watch tonight?» he asked.

Dima nodded and walked toward the place where Maria was hiding. He sat with his back to her and slid his soup under the cover for her, pretending to have the cup still in his hand to avoid suspicion.

«Masha, eat this!» he whispered.

Her delicate, shaking hands slid from beneath the cover and pulled the bowl inside. Dima could hear her gulping it and wondered if anyone else might notice. He coughed to mask the sound and alert Maria to be quieter.

Dima reached inside his coat and carefully lowered a quarter loaf of bread to the deck and tucked it behind him. «Masha,» he said in a whisper.

Maria’s hand appeared again, just long enough to pull the bread out of sight. It was just bread and soup, but at the time it was a feast. She felt less tense now; her hands stopped shaking, and she focused on finding her mother.

«Dima» she whispered. «Did you find my mother?»

«No» he whispered as he reached to take the cup back into his hand, noticing it was empty.

«Do you want water?» he asked, wondering how he would give it to her without drawing attention.

«Net, spacibo» Maria whispered, «I’ll need to pee if I drink anything.»

«We are leaving soon. Your mother must have found another way out of town so you should go with me!»

Dima waited for an answer but then realized Maria had fallen asleep now that she had a meal.

The ship cast off, taking the strength of the northward wind into its sail. A cool breeze slid beneath the covers as the boards of the deck creaked from the ships movements along the river. Maria awakened as the sun was setting, and realized the ship was now well on its way to Yaroslavl.

From her limited view, she could see Dima talking to the man who was steering the ship. Dima then came and sat in front of her as before. He slipped more bread to her and told her they would arrive early in the morning.

«I’ll have to get you off the ship before the crew wakes up to unload. There won’t be much time, but I can make arrangements to get you to my mother’s home in Neva.» He said quietly.

«I’m going back to Rostov tomorrow to see if your mother is still there,» he said confidently.

«Thank you Dima, she is a clever woman; I’m sure she is already in Yaroslavl,» Maria said hoping her wishes were true.

«Just be ready when I come for you!» Dima said as he quickly stood up.

Footsteps of the captain echoed on the deck as he walked over to Dima.

«Enjoying your rest while on watch, young Petrov?» the captain snapped.

«Just tightening my shoes, sir, all is well,» Dima said in a nervous tone.

«Indeed. Keep an eye out for stowaways. Those Tatar soldiers will be searching every ship coming in or out of port now.» said the captain as he walked below deck.

Dima hoped Maria didn’t hear the captain’s words. He was more like her brother than a cousin and was determined to save her.

Maria began to see her life change from dreams of the future to an unknown existence with each passing moment. The helplessness of her situation crushed her spirit, but her resolve to survive was never stronger. Her parents sacrificed everything for her, and she wanted to deserve the selfless bravery of their deeds, even though she felt responsible for setting those acts in motion.

«If only I had stayed in the cart» her thoughts tormented. «If I could just go back and change that one decision, my Father would be alive, and we would be on our way to Neva as a family.»

The remorse and guilt swam around her like a heavy breeze until she could not bear the weight of it. A depressive mood guided her eyes to close as she slept concealed under the cargo tarp as if an invisible hand closed her eyes to sleep, avoiding the pain of her conscious reality.