Aliasing: Not yet, but yes...nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!
blsteen: Smart idea...but we never said Talena was perceptive.
Sather: Personally I think it's the latter, but yeah. When you have no one to talk to you will talk to anyone...no matter the consequences.
Boris: Thanks!
morningSIDEr: Agreed. They're all a little strange for different reasons. I wonder what each of their motives are?
Chicken: No comment!
Thanks for the reviews. Now, to the future. Valois France or Tudor England? It's turned out so that I could either have a potentially victorious France or a remaining Catholic England.
Views on which option I should take?
Chapter 5 – The Call to Arms
21/5/1532
Acapulco was in its first years of existence in 1532. The famous wharves and buildings were not completed yet, so there was basically only a small amount of structures under the gaze of a stone fort. As the ship sailed into the bay it was greeted with cheers from a few people on the shore.
As they disembarked Talena became aware that something else was going on. The unpaved main street was rutted, and the close, humid heat was everywhere. In the main square near the fort was a man in armour with a Spanish flag. He had several servants carrying bags with him.
“What’s going on?” Talena asked Rodrigo.
“I am not sure. Wait here.” He sounded suspicious as he headed up the road with several of the sailors and soldiers with him.
Talena took shelter under a wooden awning with Isabella, Maria and Alava the priest.
“Hardly the grandest place around,” Isabella commented.
“It has grown since we left,” Alava commented.
Talena leaned against a wall and moodily looked out at the haze at the distant jungle. She’d spent the last few days mainly avoiding the others and sticking close to her room. Now she was off the ship she didn’t intend that to change. The problem was of course that she was stuck in Mexico with no money, knowing no-one outside of the crew, and unsure what to do.
Isabella walked over to her. “Have you considered what you’re going to do now that we’ve landed here?”
“I’m not sure. I guess I should try and find a way to get a ship back to Europe.”
“You don’t have any family here? You didn’t mention them as being on your ship that sunk. In fact, you never even told us about which ship it was.” She looked suspicious, but more than that she looked amused.
Talena looked at her, sizing her up. “It was not a ship you would know,” she said with perfect honesty.
“I’m sure it wasn’t. I am tempted to ask…” Isabella begun.
Maria again chose the perfect time to interrupt. “My Lady, the Count is calling for you.”
Isabella gave Talena a dirty look and marched off down the street, the others following her.
When they reached the armoured horseman they could see a dozen other armed men clustered in the shade around the square.
“My dear, this is Captain Hernando De Soto, and he brings orders from the Captain-General of New Spain. The lands to the south are to be conquered and brought under the rule of his Majesty. An expedition has been commissioned, and our ship is to be involved. Is that right, Captain?”
De Soto nodded his head. “It is, Count. We leave as soon as your supplies are refitted for the lands of Peru.” De Soto stood in his stirrups and called out to those civilians who had clustered around. “I have here a commission to enlist any man who can fight. The rewards will be great, but this expedition is sanctioned by the King himself!”
While several of the men were signed up Talena was left on her own for a moment. She was confronted with what to do with herself. One hundred and thirty years of alternate history was a big barrier to remembering what the ‘real’ past had been. Yet she had no reason to assume that history would not now change if she became involved. But would she become involved…could she?
And of course the ‘real history’ ended with Spain conquering Central and South America. She knew this, and the mention of Peru and the date brought back the vaguest memories. But what would happen she simply could not remember. For her, the history of what had happened 1200 years before her birth was simply not a common occurrence.
Into this confusion and gloom Rodrigo appeared. “Talena, you heard what the Captain was saying?”
“I heard. So you’re off to fight in Peru?”
“Yes. It will be a great honour for me. Naturally my fiancée will have to remain at Tumbes once we reach Peru. I hope that you will stay with her, at least until I can return.”
Talena looked at him, then shook her head. “No, I want to come with you.”
“War is no place for a lady,” Rodrigo said sternly.
“Merely because you’ve never seen a lady who can fight,” Talena retorted.
That got an amused, condescending smile. “And you figure yourself an Amazon warrior?”
“I figure that I could beat anyone who tried,” she declared rather rashly. She was not in a good mood, and being condescended to did not improve her temper.
“I’m sure you think you could,” Rodrigo said. “But come, Talena…go with me to the port of Tumbes. From there you will be close to the action, yes?”
Talena knew that he didn’t believe her, but at least he was kind enough not to try and push the point. It also postponed any decision until she was far in the south. Of course, once she was there it’d be harder to extricate herself even further from home.
“Very well,” she said.