* - * - *
Epilogue – Beyond the Blue Horizon
“Well, heave and ho! And away we’ll go; All sails to the wind and heat up the air! For the Falcon is ready for the winds that will blow; And her crew is prepared to go anywhere.”
Askaro let the final note fade before he clapped his hands. “A fine tune, Marlo. I’m sure everyone will love it.”
The musician leaned back in the chair and rested the lute in his lap. He ran his fingers along the polished neck. “This is a very nice piece of work. Your grandfather was generous.”
Askaro looked around his new office. “He certainly has been busy these past few months. But the spring winds are blowing strong. And your song is right - the Falcon is ready.”
Marlo got up. “So how does the new Chief Engineer like his job?”
Askaro chuckled. “I’m fine with it. I grew up in the Control Room. That’s where my father spent most of his time when he wasn’t elsewhere on the ship.” There was a rap on the door. “Come in.”
Ensign Carton looked around the door. “Mister Askaro, the Captain and the Adviser are waiting for you on the Bridge.”
“Thank you, Mister Carton. I’m on my way.” The Ensign saluted and left. “At least Mister Rickton is staying on. He’s a splendid First Officer.”
Askaro and Marlo walked down the hall toward the Bridge. Marlo laughed quietly. “Adviser. That’s some title.”
“Well, even though he retired and turned the ship over to my father, my grandfather just can’t let go of it. The Falcon was his dream, his determination, and his life for too long. So we had to give him a title. I think it’s fitting.”
Marlo nodded. “See you later. I have a few more songs to practice. I want everyone to enjoy tonight’s first big performance.”
“I’m sure you’ll be magnificent.” Askaro moved through the doors. He saluted. “Engineer Askaro, reporting as requested.”
Jakaro pointed to Delkaro. “The Adviser wanted to see the changes you made to the heat controls.”
“Of course.”
Delkaro grinned at him. “Ah, the youngest Chief Engineer ever. I knew you had great potential.”
“I just had great teachers.” He pointed toward the doors. “After you, Sirs.”
They walked out onto the main deck. Crewmen were busy bundling rope and checking over spare canvas lashings. Master Elvarian matched strides with them. “Captain, just wanted to let you know that the last load of canvas has been received.”
Jakaro smiled at him. “Excellent. Make sure Quarter Master Thorson checks that off his list.” The Sails Master hurried away.
Delkaro looked at both sets of riggings. “It was a good call to promote Elvarian up to First Watch. He’s a good man.”
Zane came out of the Aft Deck door. He saw them and called out. They paused at the mid-ship stairs and waited for him. “Ah, good. I wanted to catch you before I started preparations. What did you want for the dinner tonight, duck or lamb?”
Delkaro raised his brows. “Oh, we should have found this one sooner.”
Jakaro laughed. “The duck sounds wonderful, Master Zane. I trust everything in the galley meets your satisfaction?”
“Yes, Captain. And we are well stocked for at least the first six weeks.”
Jakaro looked at the wind flags tied to the frame of the dirigible. “If these winds hold, we’ll be in Gaston well before then.”
Zane turned to Askaro. “Who would have ever thought I’d get to see the world. This is so amazing.”
“Your father would have appreciated this ship, don’t you think?”
Zane looked around. “He certainly would have.” He looked at them and cleared his throat. “Sorry, Sirs. I don’t mean to keep you.”
Jakaro patted him on the arm. “That’s okay, Zane. We’ll see you at dinner.”
Zane went down the stairs and they ascended into the dirigible. The midway was busy with crewmen hurrying to complete their tasks. They all stopped and saluted as the three men made their way aft.
Delkaro was impressed. “Considering how many of these crewmen are new, they are very well-trained.”
Askaro opened the door of the Control Room. “I think Master Natib has done an excellent job with them.”
Lorin turned toward the door and caught his breath. He blew his whistle. “Captain on deck!” The other crewmen hurried to fall into line. They stood straight at attention.
Jakaro nodded to them. “Thank you, Master Lorin. At ease. We just came to show Adviser Delkaro the modifications to the heat controls.”
The crewmen relaxed and went back to work. Askaro motioned for Lorin to join them. “Did you talk Tolok into joining us?”
“I’m afraid not. He’s grateful to be released from his bonds but he never cared for ship life. He’s quite happy now working in the gardens.”
“That’s good enough then.” Askaro turned to the equipment he’d installed and began explaining the system.
The communication tube whistled and Lorin answered. He called over to them. “It’s the Bridge. The King and Queen are here for their tour.”
Jakaro sighed. “I almost forgot about that. Thank you, Master Lorin. Please inform the Bridge that we’ll meet the royal family in the Beak.”
They hurried back to the other end of the ship. They found the King looking around the hold as Mister Thorson listed many of the unique items they had brought back on the last voyage. The Quarter Master straightened when he saw the Captain. “Begging your pardon, Sir, but I didn’t want them to stay standing in the Beak until you arrived. There’s a ripe wind coming from the west.”
Jakaro stepped forward and bowed to the Queen and her son, the King. “I apologize that we kept you waiting. We were examining some newly installed equipment in the Control Room.”
The Queen smiled warmly. “That’s quite all right, Captain. Mister Thorson did an excellent job of entertaining us. I do so hope you won’t be gone quite as long this trip. I’d love to see some of the things he was describing.”
Jakaro thanked the Quarter Master again and began his tour. The Prince fell in step beside Askaro. “You’re so lucky. You get to go off on this grand adventure and I’m stuck here.”
Delkaro laughed. “You sound just like your father. He said almost the same exact thing to me before we left the first time.”
Lashen grinned. “Well, maybe I am a little like him but I don’t plan to make the same mistakes he did. I’ve already changed a lot of the laws that the Regent enacted. Now I’m starting to go through the older ones that my father, and his, put on the books.”
They climbed the stairs to the interior of the dirigible. Delkaro pointed out the improvements to the structure. They continued along the midway. The Adviser walked beside the new King. “And what will you do about a wife?”
“There happens to be a young lady that I met at the University. She’s very sweet and quite smart. I’m hoping that she might agree to be my wife someday. But I don’t want to rush her. I want her to feel ready.”
The Queen put her hand on his arm. “When she is, I hope you’ll introduce me. All you do is talk about her.”
Lashen’s cheeks reddened. “When I finally get around to telling her that I’m the King, I’ll bring her by.”
Askaro laughed. “That must come from your father’s side of the family.”
Jakaro stopped at a Hot Room door. “We won’t actually be going in but I thought you’d like to see the changes we’ve made.” He tapped and the door opened.
Master Gilus looked out. “All are behaving themselves, Sir.”
The Queen peered in the doorway. “I thought you said you had eliminated slave labor on the Falcon.”
“We did. These aren’t slaves, they are criminals. Why let them waste away in a prison cell when they can be useful?”
Askaro hadn’t paid much attention to the men brought on board for Hot Room duty. He saw a familiar profile. “Is that Bruvano?”
Delkaro leaned down to see
better. “I do believe it is. Well, isn’t that fitting.”
Lashen moved away from the Hot Room. “And how are the new crew arrangements working?”
Jakaro glanced at Askaro. “I have to admit, better than I expected. When Askaro made the suggestion of letting women join on as crew, I thought we’d have nothing but grief. But it turns out they are better than men at some of the tasks because of their lighter weight. And they tend to be more agile so they can move through the riggings faster.”
The Queen’s face betrayed her concern. “And what about when they aren’t on duty?”
The Captain led the way back toward the mid-ship stairs. “Even that has worked out. Over the past month, as the new crew got to know each other, relationships formed and everything balanced out.”
Delkaro led the way up the winding stairs toward the Sky Deck. “And no more Pleasers. We’ve done away with all of those old rules. If the crew want to have families, they can. They are all happy about that.”
They stepped out onto the metal deck and Jakaro pointed at the ropes. “It’s a bit windy up here. I’ve got weather lines up. Feel free to make use of them.”
They moved toward three figures standing near the railing watching a training exercise with the sail crews. Lashen quickened his pace. “Blin!”
She turned to him and waved. “You’re finally here. So what do you think of my new home?”
He hugged her. “Very nice, sister dear.”
Tralora’s hands rested on her extended abdomen. The Queen hugged her. “And how are you feeling today?”
“Quite well. This baby is so active already. He will be born ready to climb the riggings.”
Jakaro kissed her cheek. “Or she will be dancing all over the ship.”
Tralora’s smile widened. “Either way, I can hardly wait. I still have several months to go.”
Lashen looked over at the Seeker. “So, Unoli. What do you think of your new duty station?”
“I will finally be a true knight of the realm, Sire. After all, are we not called the Sky Realm? And what better way than to take to the skies aboard the Falcon, the greatest of all the ships of our realm.”
The Queen hugged Blin. “I will miss you so much.”
“Don’t worry about me. If I can stand on my own in the streets of Old Town, I can master the sky as well.” She took Askaro’s hand and pulled his arm around her. “Besides, my husband has lots of experience. He was born and raised on this ship, just like our children will be.”
The Queen hugged both of them. “Just don’t wait another seventeen years to bring my grandchildren for a visit.”
Jakaro motioned toward the stairs. “Shall we continue our tour?”
Blin kept a hold of Askaro’s hand. He looked at his father. “I’ll catch up.”
Tralora and Unoli left with the others. Blin moved his hand to rest on her less obvious bulge. “This is certainly going to be an adventure.”
Askaro held her close but looked out across the expanse of open sky to the east. “Are you ready?”
She leaned into him. “I just have one question for you.”
“What’s that?”
“Are you seriously expecting to find fairies out there?”
He kissed the side of her face. “Myths have to come from somewhere. I’m willing to look. You never know what you’ll find beyond the blue horizon.”
*~*~*~*~*
About the Author
I have been writing most of my life. I published my first work of fiction at the age of 16 and have continued on for the past 35 years. I currently live in the Pacific Northwest of the United States of America.
Although I have written both fantasy and science fiction, this is my first attempt at Steampunk.
This story was originally written as a serial for WattPad.com. I’m releasing it as a whole book for those readers who want the entire story in one place. I hope you’ve enjoyed the story. Although some have asked if I intend to write a sequel, there are no such plans at this time. Although if enough readers ask, I might be persuaded…
You can find most of my work as e-books at Smathwords.com under my author name. I write both fiction and nonfiction.
Fiction:
Eternal Knights Series: Dark Predator & Shadow Dancer
The Dragon Lady of Hamilton High
Salty Dogs (A children’s chapter book)
Micah’s Gift – A Christmas Countdown Story
Askaro of the Falcon
Non-fiction:
Writing the Journey
A Place Called Kalaloch
Weaver Wisdom – A Practical Guide to Wholistic Living
Reuniting the Divided States of America
Coming Soon!
For More Information:
If you want to keep up with all of my adventures, you can follow me on Facebook. Sorry Twitter fans, I simply don’t have time to keep up with all the chatter. For more information on my work or to book an educational seminar, drop an email to La
[email protected] Thanks for reading and have a great day!
Lady Li Andre
January 2017
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