Chapter Text
“Dawderdale?” Van Chapman scoffed. “That’s not a captain. There’s only one captain on this ship, and it’s not her.”
Freyja’s eyes narrowed as she watched the taller woman in a crisp uniform pause, then turn back to walk back the way she’d come rather than turning the corner to join the Zephyr’s crew.
“You allow them to besmirch your honor and good name?” she demanded. “Why?”
Dawderdale paused for a second and shook her head, stepping around the small banker. “It’s not my place. I mean… they’re legends.”
“I have not heard these legends. Tell me!”
“I – I keep forgetting not everyone grew up reading Montgomery LaMontgomery’s books.” She laughed ruefully. “Would you like to borrow them? I could lend you mine.”
“Books? Mr. Gotch says the first three are quite good.”
Dawderdale leaned in. “Personally, I like them all,” she said in a low voice. “But I agree that the key relationships are established… more thoroughly in the first three, and I do see his point of view.”
Freyja frowned thoughtfully. “Do you like them because the man you are attracted to is a main character? Is there a lot of sex involved?”
Dawderdale reddened and quickly straightened up. “No! I mean, not… a lot of sex. And really what I enjoyed the most was the adventure. Mr. Bucklesby is just… my favorite character.”
“I will say, I don’t believe the writing did him justice.”
Both women jumped and whirled, Freyja drawing her sword, to find Wealwell standing in a corner.
“Master Gotch! I apologize for speaking out of turn. How… how long have you been there?”
“Oh, a few hours,” Wealwell said with a light shrug. “You can observe a lot when you stand so still that you blend into the woodwork.” He waved away her apologies. “No, I read the entire series as a young man and I was never terribly impressed with Pappy until I met him. Now, of course… well, you know.” He winked at Dawderdale, who was now bright red.
“Yes, you are both in love with the same man. Perhaps you will fight to the death over him?” Freyja suggested hopefully.
Wealwell retched and covered his mouth.
“No! No, absolutely not,” Dawderdale said firmly. “And I… I… I am in the employ of the Gotch family, so…”
“Nonsense,” Wealwell said, dabbing the corners of his mouth. “In this matter – and no other, mind you – we are equals, you and I. We shall both continue to present our merits, and let Pappy choose for himself.”
“You think that he wants to lie with one of you?” Freyja asked doubtfully.
“He does still seem quite taken with Professor Macleod,” Dawderdale muttered. “But she may be dead.”
“Or he may just want different things from different people,” Wealwell suggested, grinning. “Care to get in on the action, Freyja?”
“No, I have no interest. It is unprofessional! He is a warrior, but he is… not my type.”
“You need to read the books,” Dawderdale said, shaking her head. “I’ll lend you the first one. You can tell me what you think.”
“Very well,” Freyja said doubtfully.
“I haven’t read the Wind Rider books in years,” Wealwell sighed. “Perhaps I’ll reread them as well.”
“Oh,” Dawderdale said. “All right.”
“Then it’s decided!” Wealwell clapped his hands. “When is our first book club meeting, Captain?”
“…What?”
“Your book club,” Wealwell repeated patiently. “That you’ve just started this moment. You’ll need to be a bit sharper than that if you intend to lead an entire book club.”
“I certainly didn’t intend to form a book club… But we generally take a break around mid-day. We can just… discuss a chapter every day, more or less. How about that?”
“Very well,” Freyja said solemnly. “Give me your book. I will guard it with my life.”
“All right. Good.” Dawderdale smiled. “I’m so glad you’re interested. They’re really great books. They’re what inspired me to fly.”
“And we will meet daily to discuss them?”
“Yes! It’ll be fun, I think.” Dawderdale glanced briefly at Wealwell, who was nodding, and her smile fell a little.
“You are attracted to Pappy, but I must ask. Do you want to be my girlfriend?” Freyja asked, frowning pensively.
“W-what! I – no! Just… I want to share these books with you because they’re important to me! That’s all!”
“I also wasn’t offering to be your girlfriend,” Wealwell said, leaning in.
“Thank you for telling me,” the banker said shortly. “We are not girlfriends here, I understand. I will not ask again.” She hesitated. “We are… friends, then.”
“Yes!” Dawderdale burst out. “Yes, friends. I… have lost a few friends lately, when they decided to stay behind. And the… the original Zephyr crew is so far out of my league…” She shook her head. “Yes. It would be good to have a friend.”
“Friends,” Wealwell agreed, clasping Freyja’s hand, then shaking Dawderdale’s before she could pull away. “Even though you are my employee and my brother’s employee. We will keep this friendship professional. I must say, I miss my old chums from Biffmore. And Maxwell’s been leaving me behind while he goes off on adventures, even though I’ve proven myself useful time and again.”
“I am always being left behind as well!” Freyja punched the wall. “We will no longer allow this dishonor!”
“I… don’t think it’s meant as a dishonor,” Dawderdale said, rubbing her hands anxiously. “It’s just… that’s… I mean we’re –“
“We are essential to this mission, even if it is less glamorous than any of us deserve,” Wealwell said confidently. “We guard the ship. And where would any of us be if anything happened to the Zephyr? Stranded in Zood!” He paused and gazed off down the hall thoughtfully.
“Er… yes,” Dawderdale said. “Well Freyja, come with me and I’ll get you that book.”
Wealwell gave a little wave and didn’t follow as they walked down the hall.
“He is your boss, yes? You are bold to invite him into your friend group,” Freyja noted.
“Oh, he’s not… I mean it’s not really a friend group.”
Freyja paused, just for a step, then hurried to catch up to Dawderdale’s longer strides. “You said that we are friends. Was this a lie?”
“No! Just…You and I can be friends. This… er… group is just… to discuss the Wind Rider books. It’s a separate thing.”
Freyja nodded slowly. “I left behind my clan and my life to be here, because I want to be great. I did not leave behind many friends. I thought that perhaps I would find a girlfriend, but I see now it is unlikely. But if I could have just one friend…” She trailed off, clenching her jaw tightly.
Dawderdale hesitantly touched the shorter woman’s shoulder, making her jump. “Sorry! Sorry. I… I do know how you feel. I’ve left everything behind too, and… I’m not sure I’ll ever return.” She paused. “Don’t… give up completely on a girlfriend, though. There’s all of Zood, and we haven’t explored even half of it yet.” She smiled tightly. “We’ve already had a couple of crew members leave for love and for family they’ve found here.”
Freyja stared at her hard, then nodded resolutely. “Thank you, I will continue my search. And as your friend, I will defend you from all attacks and slights against your name. I will lay down my life for your honor.”
“Please don’t,” Dawderdale said quickly. “Just… I don’t know, try to live a good life. For yourself. And please don’t attack any crew members.” She led the way past the captain’s quarters, to the crew quarters, where she had a slightly bigger square of space in a corner. She dug in her bag and pulled out a worn copy of the first Wind Riders book. “Here. Um. I’ll leave you to it. Let me know if you have any questions. But I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon to talk about it.”
“Our pact is sealed.” Freyja took the book and clasped Dawderdale’s hand tightly. “We will meet daily!”
“Ah!” Dawderdale jerked back, but Freyja did not let go. “Yes! Daily. I’m looking forward to it. See you tomorrow, then. …And around the ship, because… it isn’t that big.”
Freyja headed up to the deck, and passed Torse on his way down. “Torse! Captain Dawderdale has given me the first of Mr. LaMontgomery’s books to read, and we will discuss it tomorrow. Would you like to join? We can share this experience as the new guys.”
“I have no time for such entertainment,” Torse rumbled. “I traveled with Comfrey Macleod. I was often regaled with the tales of their past exploits.” He paused. “They rely on a combination of clever battle tactics and pure luck, it seems.”
“Mr. Maxwell Gotch claims that the first three books are quite good. And it may allow us to mesh with the existing crew more effectively.”
Torse stilled for a moment. “This is a good point. It would be useful… for combat purposes.”
“Then you will join us!”
“No.” Torse stepped past her. “There are many copies of the books onboard. I would prefer to study them uninterrupted.”
“All right.” Freyja’s stance faltered slightly. “We meet at mid-day in the mess hall! If you would change your mind!”
Torse didn’t answer, but continued around a corner.
“What’s his deal, do you think?”
Freyja yelped and spun to find Wealwell leaning in from the deck. “What are you doing there! You were belowdecks a moment ago!”
“And now I’m here,” Wealwell explained slowly. “Please keep up.”
She narrowed her eyes at him.
“Something’s up with Torse. I can see it in his stance.”
“What does that mean?”
“Oh, his posture, his balance, the way he leans, the way he places each foot, the tilt of his head… Just depending on who he’s looking at. A bit harder to read than a human would be, but… I think he bears watching.”
“You think he will betray us?”
“What? No, I doubt that very much. Just the opposite. I just think I’ll keep an eye on him.” He paused and grinned. “I suggest you do the same. Perhaps you’ll learn something!”
“What do you mean!”
“I’m going to feed those delightful little embergliders!” Wealwell announced loudly, turning and walking away.