Fable

At dawn the next morning, the labyrinthine reefs that make up Tempest Snare come into view. From her perch atop the mainmast, Fable uses her scar to call out directions to the crew so they can navigate between the reefs. Tempest Snare has sunk countless ships, and she’s keenly aware that West and his crew are trusting her with their lives. The ship must turn at a sharp right angle between two reefs, and the crew barely manages the difficult maneuver. Knowing that the ship’s hull could have breached and doomed them all, Fable tears up in relief. The Marigold approaches the Lark.

Although the Lark is only about 40 feet underwater, Fable will need most of the day to retrieve the treasure. She must work quickly, or they will be forced to spend the night in Tempest Snare and risk a storm sinking the ship. West reveals that he also knows how to dredge and will accompany her. When Fable voices her surprise, he grins and says, “There are a lot of things I haven’t told you” (310). She’s never seen him smile before, and she blushes. Together, Fable and West dive down to the Lark’s cargo hold. He kisses her, and she kisses him back, feeling as though she has been transformed and filled with light where she used to carry darkness. Her desire for West triumphs even though it was “hidden beneath everything [her] father taught” her (314).

The Marigold sails out of Tempest Snare around sunset. In keeping with the bargain West and Fable made before she joined his crew, they continue to act as though they have no romantic feelings for one another when they resurface. Still, Fable is distracted by his proximity as the crew counts up the treasure the two dredgers retrieved, which includes peacock pearls, black opals, serpentine, gold, and palladium. Hamish calculates that a quarter of the treasure will suffice to buy the Marigold from Saint and to settle their accounts with the merchants they trade with. The coin master urges them all to be cautious and strategic when trading the riches so that they don’t attract attention from their many rivals and enemies. When Willa and Fable are alone, Willa reveals that she plans to leave the Marigold and move back to Ceros after West gains his independence from Saint. Willa knows that Fable is in love with her brother, and she warns her that she might not “be able to keep [her]self from cutting [Fable’s] throat” if he dies because of her (321).

The Marigold sails to Dern. Fable feels a mixture of hope and nerves as she prepares to make her first trade as part of West’s crew. West, Fable, and Paj split up in the merchant’s house. Fable exchanges a few gems at a time for coins. Last of all, she trades an extremely rare black opal for 250 coins. The gem merchant advises her, “Don’t know what you’re up to, but you’d better be careful” (328). Filled with relief, she rejoins West and Paj and rejoices in the knowledge that the Marigold and its crew will soon be free from Saint.

The crew purchases porcelain plates, cutlery, and a lavish feast. Willa proposes a toast to Fable, and everyone drinks heartily. Fable asks West why the ship is named the Marigold, but he evades the question. He excuses himself from the feast, and Fable follows him to his quarters. West admits that he’s worried about the changes taking place in the Narrows and that he isn’t certain that gaining his freedom is worth losing his alliance with Saint. He admits, “I think I’ll always feel like I owe him. Even if I pay the debt” (333). West explains that he named the ship after his younger sister, who died when she was only four. He once stole from a dying man to feed Willa, and he snuck her onto the vessel where he was working to try to protect her from the illness that killed Marigold. He also tells Fable that he burned down a merchant’s warehouse in Sowan because Saint ordered him to. The golden ring that he gave Fable to trade for Willa’s dagger once belonged to his mother. West offers to tell Fable anything she wants to know, and she becomes concerned that he’ll be afraid of her if he gives too much away. In reply, he says that he’s loved her since they first met on Jeval and that losing her is the only thing that frightens him. She promises, “Don’t lie to me and I won’t lie to you. Ever” (337). Fable and West sleep together.

The next morning, Fable wakes up before West. Auster sees her leaving the helmsman’s quarters, but she trusts him to keep her secret. Fable leaves the ship and heads into Dern. To her surprise, she finds Saint in a tavern. He urges her to leave seafaring behind before it claims her life the way it killed her mother. She argues that she’s proven herself by escaping Jeval and becoming part of a crew. Saint gives her some more context about why he abandoned her on the island: “I swore to your mother that I would keep you safe. There is nowhere more dangerous in this world for you than being with me” (343). In addition, he warns her that West isn’t who she thinks he is and laments, “You were made for a far better world than this one, Fable” (344). She gives her father a hug and a kiss before she leaves the tavern, sensing that she will never see him again. He sheds tears during their parting.

Fable goes to the gambit and buys back West’s golden ring. On her way back to the Marigold, Zola stops her. He knows that she’s Isolde’s daughter because of the resemblance between them. Fable tries to fight her way to the harbor, but Zola’s men catch her and beat her unconscious.

When Fable regains consciousness, she is bound to the mast of Zola’s ship, the Luna. To her horror, she sees Clove, whom she trusted like family and believed to be dead, among Zola’s crew.