To a man, the entire complement of sailors and Marines tried feverishly to figure out just where she was hiding that pigsticker. Her dresses weren't daringly low-cut, but they were rather form-hugging, leaving no really good place to hide a long dagger like a poinard.

There were some things to break up the monotony. There were a few deaths, either caused by the Vendari, the human, or by the little maid herself as some Wikuni got a bit too adventurous. The ship's priest mysteriously vanished some twenty days into the voyage, coming up missing one morning. Nobody saw him all night, nobody heard any splash that would hint that he jumped overboard, and there was no sign of struggle in his room. Indeed, there was no sign that he'd even slept in his bed. He had simply vanished like smoke. Of course, the Princess and her complement were immediately suspected, but they were all closely watched. None of them had left their rooms at all during the entire night, nor had anyone spoken to them or delivered any messages to them. It was a mystery, one that Captain Longshanks did not like at all.

It only deepened when the replacement priest, borrowed from one of the other ships, also disappeared without a trace some six days after the first. Again, there was no sign of struggle, no evidence of foul play, and nobody saw the Wikuni at all during the night of his disappearance. Again, there was no possible way that any of the passengers could have perpetrated or arranged the disappearance, so there was little that they could do. It did, however, ensure that no priest on any of the remaining ships would set foot on Sailor's Pride. For the first time in its entire history, the flagship sailed without a priest of Kikkali aboard.

It was the monotony of any other day, at least until their convoy was met by a single Wikuni frigate. It tied up with Sailor's Pride in the open sea, and a strange little Wikuni transferred aboard. He was short and frumpy, a rabbit Wikuni with wide bucked teeth and a ridiculous pair of large, floppy ears. He wore a waistcoat and breeches of sober gray, and the gold chain of a pocketwatch hung from the pocket of the vest he wore beneath his coat. A couple of men identified the Wikuni as Jervis, the King's lead spy and head of his intelligence organization. He boarded with his own small retinue, some five Wikuni, including two who wore the robe and cassock of priests.

This Wikuni's appearance was a clear sign that things were not as they appeared. He had brought his own priests, and they didn't seem to be afraid. Everyone on the ship suspected that the Princess had something to do with the disappearances of the other two priests, but nobody could prove anything. They all thought that Jervis was there to find out.

Some of the sailors were on hand to listen to the initial exchange between Jervis and the Princess. They hung nearby from the rigging or performed tasks as close as they could get when the frumpy rabbit Wikuni approached the Princess, who was seated in her customary place near the bow with her slate, pen, and parchment, writing whatever it was she was writing. She stopped before the rabbit could get withing twenty feet of her, placing the parchment in the satchel at her feet, capping her pen, and giving the spy a cool look as he approached her.

"Keritanima, I presume," he said in a lilting voice, the slightest hint of a smile on his lips. "The real Keritanima, anyway."

"I was never fake, Jervis," she replied in a calm voice. "The Brat was as much a part of me as this is."

"And who am I addressing now?"

"Me."

"Ah. I see you're going to be difficult."

"Did you expect anything less?"

Jervis chuckled. "Not really. I must say, I was quite impressed by your letter. Have I been playing against you all these years, or against Miranda?"

"Me at first. Once Miranda got comfortable, you were facing both of us."

"No doubt that's why I never quite seemed to be able to win," he chuckled. "Miranda is bad enough by herself."

"She's been a good friend, and a good partner," Keritanima said with quiet respect, setting the slate down against the bulwark. "Did my father send for you to watch me?"

"It would be silly for me to deny it, your Highness," he replied easily. "The, ah, misplacement of the priests on board has disrupted the flow of messages reaching him about you."

"I rather guess that it would," she said with a strange little challenge in her voice. "I only have two words of advice for you, Jervis. Stay out of my way, and respect my privacy. I'm in no mood to play with anyone right now. If you annoy me too much, I may forget my cultured upbringing and do something unpleasant to you."

"I'm sure her Highness means it, but I have orders from someone higher up the ladder than you," he told her.

"It's your decision," she shrugged. She looked at him and picked up her slate, then reached at him with one hand in a strange gesture. Jervis squeaked in shock when his feet rose off the deck, and he hung suspended in midair. "Where would you like to land?" she asked conversationally.

"Setting me down where I was would be most appreciated, Highness," he said with just a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

She pulled her hand back, and Jervis dropped to the deck, let go by whatever invisible hand had grabbed him. "There won't be another reprieve, Jervis," she said bluntly. "I am in no mood for your games. Cross me, and I will be the last person you cross. Stay out of my way, and there's no reason why we can't be civil to one another."

"Your Highness has made her point," Jervis said with a slightly quivering voice.

"Good. I'm also in no mood to repeat myself."

"This is very unlike you, your Highness."

"You never knew me from the start, Jervis," she retorted. "How do you really know what is unlike me?"

"The girl I played against in Wikuna told me much of you, Highness," he said easily. "Cold-blooded murder wasn't your style."

"I learned all sorts of new things from the Tower, and from my brother and sister," she told him with a penetrating stare. "I think I'm done talking to you, Jervis. Go away."

"As you wish, Highness," he said with a bow.

"And Jervis."

"Yes, Highness?"

"Tell my father that I haven't forgotten what I wrote in that letter. And he'd better not either."

Jervis blanched. "As you command, your Highness," he replied, bowing again.

That sent the rumors flying among the sailors. A couple of the more adventurous ones managed to find out which cabin was Jervis', and that he had a magical mirror that allowed him to speak directly to the King. Those same sailors managed to arrange themselves so they could hear what Jervis reported back to the King.

It had taken place later that same night. The Princess and her retinue had retired for the evening to their rooms, and Jervis had quartered his own staff and the priests, making sure the priests had one Marine guard to watch them and make sure they didn't disappear during the night. It was after he took his evening meal that he contacted King Damon Eram, ruler of Wikuna. The two sailors doing the eavesdropping stood behind the door as Jervis' voice greeted the monarch, a monarch whose strong voice was irritated and a bit unstable.

"What is it now, Jervis?" Damon Eram demanded. "Are you there yet?"

"I have arrived, Majesty," Jervis replied mildly. "I spoke to your daughter, as you requested."

"Well?"

"She intends to kill you, Majesty," he said bluntly. "I think it would be wise to have the captain turn this ship around and put her back on Sennadar."

That made the two sailors gape at each other, hands over muzzles to prevent blurting out anything that would give them away.

"I can handle her, Jervis," he said bluntly.

"You could handle her, but I doubt you can handle her power, Majesty," Jervis stated. "She is a Sorceress, and from what I gathered at the Tower, she is a Sorceress of exceptional power and ability. I have little doubt she is behind the disappearances of the priests aboard ship. She wouldn't have to leave her cabin to kill them with her magic. She could kill you from a hundred yards, Majesty. In the interest of the Royal person, I highly suggest you do not bring her back to Wikuna. You'll be signing your own death warrant."