Kinta - Warrior Princess

Kinta kept her face and eyes perfectly still. She raised the back of her hand slowly up to her forehead, then shaded her already half-closed, squinted eyes against the low setting sun. The sun's glare continually flashed and reflected brightly off the river's smooth surface before them and made visibility extremely difficult. She and Misty stood half-crouched in the blunt bow of the old wooden-hulled dhow sailing vessel and clung tightly to the worn timber gunwales. Kinta and Misty methodically swept their eyes from side to side as they systematically searched the surface of the water ahead. They looked for hidden submerged rocks that would instantly tear the vulnerable bottom out of their boat. The full, sluggish river had previously passed passively through the flat, tilled fields of the rural countryside where they had started their journey. It continued to carry them along but had now completely changed in character. The river surged and splashed dramatically between the significantly steeper and much closer together, rocky cliffs that now towered over them. It caused the river's passage to rapidly increase in speed and turbulence as it tumbled down out of the mountains on its way to the sea. Meanwhile, Vaalyun focused intently as he smoothly steered the vessel and carefully trimmed the large, square, cloth lateen sail. He had earlier reefed down by about an arm-span to maintain adequate control in the robust and surging current and kept their boat safely in the middle of that part of the channel. Suddenly, Kinta's squinted, strained eyes spotted the discrete but unmistakable signs of danger. The tell-tale sign of disturbed water on the surface directly in front of them as it swirled and rippled slightly. It indicated the possible dangerous hidden presence of a large, submerged rock. Instantly and instinctively, her right hand shot straight out to the right. It signalled to Vaalyun the direction he needed to immediately steer the boat to avoid the hidden hazard and prevent the vessel from smashing itself onto the rock. That would throw them all into the freezing river water rapids. "Steer, right!" Kinta called out loudly over the roaring water, then glanced hurriedly over her shoulder to check that Vaalyun had heard. Vaalyun immediately leaned his tired, tense, and strained body again into the heavy tiller. He held his breath nervously as the sluggish bow started to move ever so slowly in the required direction. Then he slowly eased off the tension on one side of the sail to maintain speed and control. Kinta and Misty watched tensely, with evident concern, as the eddy of muddy water quickly approached and swirled across the surface of the river. It then moved swiftly and safely down the left-hand side of the boat before they hurriedly returned their eyes to the front and scanned the surface of the water again. "Well spotted!" Vaalyun shouted before the wind whipped his voice away. The raging river water's constant thunderous noise roared, smashed, and crashed against the riverbanks' precipitously steep-sloped sides. It echoed off the rocky cliffs and became increasingly more deafening as they rushed headlong into the sunset. Vaalyun was very much concerned about their safety. He was also quietly determined that they needed to continue pushing ahead at this breakneck speed through the rocky canyon rapids. Eventually, it would enable them to exit shortly into quieter, safer waters and a possible mooring point for the night. All three became progressively more soaked as icy water spray splashed over the boat's bow and blew back over them in a saturating mist. It caused the bare-skinned parts of their exposed bodies to shiver uncontrollably with the freezing breeze currently being generated by their swift passage. Vaalyun's young muscular arms already ached and twitched from the constant strain as he held steady the large, heavy wooden tiller. The swirling current carried them along rapidly and threatened to dash them onto the jagged rocky walls that tightly lined their path. Vaalyun stood with his feet firmly planted on the wet and slippery wooden deck and strained and squinted his eyes against the constant freezing water spray that hit him in the face and drenched his body. The freezing water on his hot face caused condensation on his forehead and ran into his eyes. It blinded him, so he attempted to anticipate the vagaries of the various twists and turns of the raging river ahead of them. He briefly snatched a discrete glance ahead at the cramped, huddled figures of Kinta and Misty crouched down behind the protective timberwork in the bow of the boat. His heart raced as he suddenly realised that his lifelong dream of adventure with a trusted companion had finally come true. Then he was shocked when he noticed just how saturated Kinta's clothes had become. She was situated directly in the icy spray path as it came over the bow and instantly became a freezing mist that drenched them. "Are you alright, Kinta?" Vaalyun shouted against the howling, chilling breeze of their passage. Kinta glanced around quickly over her shoulder, and her face lit up brightly for a moment. She smiled back at her new husband, Vaalyun, to give him warm reassurance. Then, she whipped her head quickly back around again to maintain her constant visual vigilance against any sunken rocks. The corners of Vaalyun's mouth momentarily lifted slightly, and his eyes twinkled as he smiled back at Kinta. He also laughed at the sight of Misty standing saturated in the bow next to Kinta and looking like a drowned rat. Suddenly his jaw dropped, and his eyes snapped open very wide with shock and surprise. Misty morphed into a large white fur seal and shook herself vigorously. It automatically caused the accumulated salty water to run in swift rivulets off her thick blubbery skin. "What the …?" Vaalyun could not believe what he had just seen.