Perilous Travels (The Southern Continent Series Book 2) by Jeffrey Quyle Page A

hour.  Grange, you keep paddling straight ahead,” she directed.
    The canoe gave a pair of wobbles, then Layreen brushed past him and joined her daughter in the front of the small vessel, and Grange could dimly see the two of them shrugging their more extensive clothing over their heads and into place.
    Grange continued to paddle, and the canoe continued to make its seemingly slow progress towards the lights, as Layreen trembled the boat again when she returned to her position in the back.
    “See those two light houses?” she asked a few minutes later.  “Those are the entrance to the city harbor.  We’ll go between them, and pull up to the island in the harbor.”
    “When will we go to the palace – tomorrow?” Grange asked.
    “As soon as we land,” Layreen answered.  “The island in the harbor is the palace and the grounds.  The royal family lives on the island.”
    The canoe reached the opening between the tall, bright lighthouses, then entered the harbor.  The passengers in the canoe would see the lights of the city along the harbor shore line, while the island appeared in front of them, closer, and lit up just as brightly.
    “Let’s steer around to the right, and dock on that side of the island.  That’s the non-public dock,” Layreen instructed as she began to turn the canoe from her seat in the back.
    The right side of the island was relatively dark, Grange noted, as a few dim lanterns hung at the ends of wooden docks.
    “Hail ship, who arrives?” a voice called from the end of the dock when they approached.
    “We’re hardly a ship,” Layreen answered in an amused tone.  “I am Duchess Layreen Kwa’Graccore, arriving from the village of Waters End, with my daughter Shaylee, and a guest,” she announced herself.
    “Approach and wait at the dock,” the man’s voice sounded uncertain as he replied.
    The canoe glided up to the side of the dock.  Grange reached out and caught a rope as they slowly arrived; he held onto it and brought the canoe to a halt, while a group of lanterns came strolling along the top of the dock towards them.
    “Please step up to the dock,” a man’s voice said in a friendly tone seconds later, when the group arrived at the canoe’s location.
    “Grange, you’ll hand us up, of course,” Layreen said.  He stood accordingly, and offered his hand to help the mother, then the daughter step up to the dock, and he stepped up immediately afterwards.
    “You’ve brought an outsider?” the man asked critically, immediately upon seeing Grange’s odd color in the ruddy light of the lanterns.
    “He is a stranger who washed up on our shores several weeks ago.  He was part of a mission of outsiders who tried to sail to Kilau during the monsoon season, but he was washed overboard,” Layreen answered.  “And you shall address me as ‘My Lady’,” she added.
    The men in uniform on the dock looked from Grange to her.
    “I have heard the story of the runaway Duchess, Layreen Kwa’Graccore,” one of the men spoke up.  “but these others are too young to have heard the story, and none of us can verify your identity of course.  Do you have some way to prove your identity?”
    “You could take me to see the Queen, my aunt.  I’m sure that Queen Shajo will remember me.  I have a few stories that she’ll remember,” Layreen smiled.
    “The queen is engaged,” the officer spoke.  “We will take you to a waiting room at the palace, and I’ll let the staff at the palace decide what to do about you.
    “And this is your daughter?” he asked. 
    “She is, though she wishes to deny it sometimes,” Layreen said with a straight face.
    “I see the resemblance.  She may wait with you,” the man answered.  “As for the foreigner, we will take him to meet the other foreigners, to find out if he is truly one of theirs, or if he’s someone else we need to deal with.”
    “I would prefer to wait with Layreen and Shaylee,” Grange said instinctively.