3-14-05
No Earthly Ship

*Translated from the original Eltaran

The shimmering water bounced harsh sunlight off the opalescent walls of the palace. Spires spiraled upward, nearly scraping the cloudless, periwinkle sky. In the distance the black sand beaches of the mainland wafted heat in billowing curtains of mirage-like mists. 

I picked my way back up the slopes of my rocky island, the setting sun signaling that soon my presence would be expected in the throne room. As I neared the castle walls, I could feel eyes watching me. My skirts were tattered and soiled, my face felt as grimy as the rocks I had climbed on, and I was momentarily ashamed. Defiance roared to life within me, and I looked up toward the watchful eyes, knowing who I would find. Flynn. 

The youngest of the Royal Guard, he seemed to immerse himself in his duty to watch over me, the youngest princess of Eltar. His silent, watchful gaze was ever-present when I dared to venture beyond my chambers, and his constantly respectful reticence infuriated me to no end. There was no sweet talking this one into letting me sneak out after dark, no half-disguised flirtation outside my chamber doors. His stoic silence told me that he had absolutely no intention of becoming my latest "interest", even though his green eyes matched the color of the sea on a stormy day and his dark hair mimicked the absolute blackness of the night sky.

I made my way up the winding staircase, brushing my wild mane of tangled brown hair as I went. He met me at the top, vaguely nodding in my direction with a polite,

"Lady Sara." I nodded slightly in response.

"Flynn."

"I have been asked to remind your Ladyship that your presence is required for the conjuring directly after sunset."

"I know very well when my presence is required and when it is not. Who asked you to remind me of this?"

"Princess Dalya, my Lady."

"Ahh." My sister. Only she, thankfully, was called by the title "Princess". Being the oldest, it was her duty to carry on the affairs of state. I was only expected to honor the family by marrying into a respected line. Respected, ha. A bunch of red-blooded aristocratic inbreeds. I would trade every drop of my indigo blood if I thought it could help me escape this sentence. 

As we reached my chamber doors, I slid in without even a thought towards seducing my Guard. When he had first been assigned, after that unfortunate incident with Malco, I had flirted incessantly. Now I never gave it a second of my time. What was worse is, with the exception of my Guard, I was not allowed any contact with men. And Flynn was quite vigorous in this, as in all aspects of his duty. A proverbial shlem in wet sand.

The sun was almost set; its last dulcet rays flickered through the thin, slotted windows of my bed chamber. Washing hurriedly, I managed to slip into one of my less intricate gowns, after all this was only a conjuring, and looked myself over in front of the shined metal mirror. The golden tones of the reflective metal made my dark brown hair shine almost as blond as my sister's. My deep blue eyes were just a few shades darker than the dried blood on my palm. 

No matter how often I climbed the rocks surrounding our castle fortress, my hands never seemed to grow calloused nor my pale skin to darken in the sun. My hair had begun to grow back, its length just past my shoulders, and I yearned to cut it short once more, if only to infuriate my father. I wiped the blood from my hand, covered the scrape with a bit of healing balm, and hurried toward the throne room, my ever-present shadow by my side. 

We entered the throne room and I preformed the usual ritual; curtsy, pause for acknowledgment, and slowly make my way down the aisle, nodding at the visiting dignitaries or mages or forms, whoever the occasion called for. Today there was only the castle mage, Jaycor, and the form of the ambassador from Druan. I tried to still my shudder as I nodded politely to the form. Druans, ech. Their green-tinged skins and orange eyes always made me a bit wary, and I never quite trusted them. After all, the tense peace between our people hadn't even lasted twenty cyclons, and I was old enough to remember the bodies that would frequently wash upon our shores. 

I was the last to arrive, as usual, and my sister and father waited impatiently for me to be seated so the meeting could start. I had missed the conjuring, obviously, but I had seen so many I could recite the incantation by heart. That and a little powder and the cooperation of the other mage and poof, a form. Forms were not as formal as an actual presence, but the castle was so difficult to get to that forms were used on all but very special occasions. I sat to the left of my father; my sister had her place on his right, and prepared myself for a wait. Druans were long winded people.

As the rumbling voice of the ambassador filled the throne room, my eyes wandered. My sister sat primly on her throne, as always, looking like a younger, female version of Father. She was Father's favorite; obedient and quiet. I was Mother's; wild and rambunctious and always in trouble. Dalya and I never got along, but the affairs of state had lately consumed her time and left me in blessed peace. She was always trying to "fix" me, her and Father.

My father, King Nestra, sat stone straight, his long blond-gray hair flowing in waves across his broad shoulders. He never smiled; his gray eyes always squinted as if not quite trusting those in front of him. He was a good king, I supposed; he never took more than was needed from the peasants on the mainland and protected them from the Druans. When I was younger, Mother would tell me of times long ago, in the reign of Father's Father, when there were more kingdoms than Eltar and Druan. Wars were fought incessantly and the peasants lived in constant fear. Then a great plague swept the lands, wiping all but Eltarans and Druans from the earth. The wars still continued for a while, but the opponents were equally strong and peace finally came. I heard whispers that not all of the other peoples had died of the plague. They said that some, those that looked like Druans and Eltarans, survived and were used as Royal Guards. Hints of strange powers and strength lay within the Other. Not that I believed the rumors. After all, Flynn was a Royal Guard... It was preposterous.

"If you continue in this war-like manner I will be forced to stop you!" My father roared, jerking me back to the present. I gulped. I had only heard that tone once before and never to an ambassador. I wished I had been listening as the ambassador’s form flickered and vanished. I wanted to ask what had happened, but Father's stormy countenance froze the words upon my lips. He strode from the throne room, Dalya trailing behind him. Their Guards slid from the walls and shadowed them. 

I sat there in shock, desperately processing the occurents. Flynn silently left his post and came to my side. As his hand lit upon my shoulder, I looked up at him. His eyes were troubled, turning into pools of churning sea.

"What happened?" I whispered, longing for him to reassure me.

"It has begun," he said quietly, echoes of pain in his eyes. He knelt before me. "I will soon have to leave you. If something should happen, you will be unprotected. Promise me you will be careful."

"But, Flynn..."

"Promise me!" He insisted, squeezing my hand tightly. 

"I promise," I whispered, eyes wide. I had never seen him like this. He had always been so cold and calm, and now, now it was as if he was... frightened. The fear in my breast grew in bounds as he resumed his post, and I knew that something terrible was about to happen.

	*			*			*

The morning began as any other. I rose, dressed in a simple garment for my walk, and headed out towards the rocks. And Flynn didn’t watch. I felt his absence the second I stepped out of my chambers, and, like poking at a missing tooth, I waited for the feel of his watchful eyes upon my back. I picked my way down the rocky shore until I came to my place. A shadowy half-cave of piled boulders and lichen; the soft, blue growth padded my darkened hideaway, and a protective calm stilled my nervous movements. This was my place, my domain, and I was safe here. I pulled out my drawing pad, a little sewn-together scrap of pressed parchment, and a dark piece of chalk. There was not much to see today, no lonely boats or restless birds, but the sun’s reflection in the calm sea spoke to me. I began to sketch; the tiny, lapping waves, the red glow of the sun, the green depth of the sea, the serpent. The serpent? 

My chalk dropped from my fingers and shattered against the rocks. A deep green serpent with fiery orange eyes rose out of the water, towering above the waves, and struck the castle. BOOM. The whole island seemed to quiver in terror. BOOM. The serpent threw itself against the thick walls again. BOOM. BOOM. A double thunder as a dark red serpent joined in the assault. The top of the spire tumbled from its perch, crashing to pieces on the ground. Out of the water before me raised an orange serpent. Its scales were as big as a hand span, and its yellow-orange eyes seemed to burn with an inner fire as it gazed upon me. I cowered back into my hole, pressing into the soft moss and rough stone. Its tongue flicked out, tasting my fear, and the sharp point of its arrow-shaped tail waved like a pendulum behind it. Its childlike arms sported long, curved claws, and I remembered my mother’s stories. The Eah. When the Other transformed into their true selves, they became this; deadly claws, massive size, and a poison-tipped tail. 

The serpent came towards me, its pointed tail aimed to impale my frozen body, and the dragon appeared. His pale pink torso rose out of the water between my cowering form and certain death, grappling ferociously with the serpent. Instead of scales, he had feathers, and the petal-pink tail thinned to a round, razor sharp, edge. He was a little smaller -a little leaner- then his opponent, but he held his own, thrashing in the sea before me. The echoing booms gave way to bellowing cries of anger and I caught glimpses of pastel shaded dragons charging towards the serpents. Green met blue, red met purple, and, of course, orange met pink. 

I watched with wide eyes as the huge creatures fought, each seeming frozen in an eternal battle, none gaining any ground. And then a whimper-roar of pain. The orange serpent jerked out of the pink dragon's grip, sending the dragon flying, and darted towards me, death in his eyes. I clambered over the rocks, desperately fighting to get away from the hulking, ominous form flying towards me, and ran. I fell, tripping over the loose stones perched precariously atop the boulders, and landed hard. With a whoosh the breath exploded from my body, and I could only lie there, gasping. The soft whirr of scales against stone grew close behind me as I turned my head. He was upon me, the orange serpent. He filled my world; he was my world; a terrible fire roaring in silence, the setting of my last day's sun. My cry of terror was overwhelmed by a haunting scream. As if his heart had been ripped from his chest, the pink dragon released a cry so pained and enraged that even the serpent paused mid-strike. It was all the time he needed. 

The pink dragon attacked ferociously, throwing himself between us and fighting with abandon. Pain. A ripple of almost unnoticed stinging flowed up my leg as a line of blue appeared across my foot. For a moment it didn't register. Then it hit me full force. The sting spread through my body, tingling every muscle into forced relaxation. I couldn't move. Even the urge to blink was difficult. I had been poisoned by the Eah. The laughter-tears of confusion swelled as I realized it had not been the serpent's arrow that has stung me, but rather the edge of my savior's blade. 

A sudden silence was overwhelming. The grunts and cries of battle fell away abruptly as the serpents retreated. The dragon watched warily as the three attackers slithered beneath the seas, and then he turned to me. It was the first time I had seen his eyes. Unlike the malignant glow of the serpent, his eyes were soft and warm and familiar green-gray. As the great creature hovered over me, I felt no fear; even if I could have moved...

My eyes felt heavy as the poison overwhelmed me, and I knew I would die. There was a certain peace to that thought, that knowledge, and I was only sad for my family... and Flynn. He would blame himself, I knew, even though he could not have protected me from this. My eyes closed of their own violation; I could no longer force them open, and I felt a silky claw brush the blood from my foot. A terribly mournful moan filled the incoming black and ushered me to my grave.

	*			*			*

"Lady Sara. My Lady? Lady Sara!" I faintly heard a familiar voice calling me from darkness. I was not dead. But how? It was impossible; this must be heaven. I opened my eyes. Flynn's worried face gazed into mine.

"Where?" I managed to rasp out. Flynn didn't answer; instead, he raised my head slightly and gave me water. The dryness of my throat eased, but I was still confused. I wasn't dead, but this was not the castle. The mud-brick walls and thatched roof spoke of peasant life, not the comfortable stone of the royal castle, and the cloth-covered hay I laid on was as far from crehy feathers as you could get. 

"Where am I?" I asked again. 

"This is my home," he said quietly. I sat up, feeling better by the moment.

"Your home? Well, how did I get here? The last thing I remember is the castle, and then the attack... My father! Dalya! Where are they? Are they okay?!" I cried, trying to stand.

"My Lady! You must rest; you're still far too weak! Your family is fine; the castle was almost undamaged in the attack."

"Then why am I here?!" His face changed to an indecipherable mix of fear, guilt, and sadness. He turned away from me as he answered, looking out the rough hewn door towards the blank black of the night sea.

"You were poisoned by an Eah," he said, eyes haunted. "I brought you here because you would not have survived otherwise."

"How did I survive? I thought there was no potion that could cure an Ear’s sting." He turned back to me, and his eyes were filled with salty tears. He fell to his knees in front of me, looking so humbled that I felt instantly ready to forgive whatever transgression he had made.

"Forgive me," he sobbed, tears flowing freely. "It was my fault you were stung..." I cut him off.

"You could have done nothing. It was no ones fault, not even the Eah. It was an accident. In fact, you seemed to have saved me, although I'm still not sure how." His sobs morphed into a steady stream as he looked up at me, seemingly drawing up his courage.

"I fear you will find the potion worse than the poison. There is only one thing that can cure an Ear’s sting." He paused and I grew impatient.

"Well, what is this potion that you think I will find so revolting?"

"My Lady, I had no choice. I had to save you, even if it meant..." He looked down, not meeting my eyes as he finished. "We are mated."

I gasped. Mated. The blending of two minds, two spirits, was only done by those who were to be married forever. It was an unbreakable bond, a thread wound around the pair until death took them away. Even if I had been ready to be married, the mating would not have come into the picture for many years. And to Flynn! I looked down at him as he kneeled upon the floor like a servant waiting to be punished. How could I spend the rest of my life mated to this, this commoner? At the very least my father would never allow it. As if sensing my thoughts, Flynn looked up and spoke.

"If you wish it so, I will surrender myself to King Nestra. Once I am executed you will be free from the mating. I can only apologize for any pain the breaking will cause. I beg your forgiveness, Lady Sara."

A sudden pall fell over me as the weight of his words sunk in. I felt tired. "I will sleep on the matter. I must rest now."

"Yes, my Lady." Flynn whispered, covering me gently. 

	*			*			*

"No! NO!!! Sara, Sara run! Get away! Oh, no. No, no, no, no..." A gasping sob. "My fault. My fault." Mumbling. I sat up in the darkness, the faint light of the stars trickling through the doorway just enough to let me see Flynn's tossing body in the corner. He was having a nightmare. "Oh, it burns!" A stifled scream of pain and heaving gasps.

"Flynn?" I whispered, carefully picking my way through the darkness. I reached his side, fighting with myself whether to wake him. He moaned painfully.

"The poison, oh, I didn't think it would burn like this. Too much! I must! Too much!" He screamed- a cry of pain and suffering like I had never heard. I shook his shoulder.

"Flynn. Wake up, Flynn! Flynn!" His eyes snapped open with a gasp and his writhing body collapsed against the cool wall. He was so exhausted he could barely keep his eyes from sliding shut.

"Lady Sara," he whispered. "Do you need something?"

"I'm fine. You were having a nightmare; I woke you up."

"Thank you." I slid to lie on my hip.

"Did it hurt?" I asked.

"What?" He whispered, barely awake.

"The mating."

"It was the poison," he answered.

"Why did you do it?"

"Had to save you. My fault."

"So, it was your duty. Because you're my Guard?" I asked without venom.

"No," he mumbled.

"Then why?"

"Two reasons. Because I love you and because..." He fell asleep.

He loved me? I rocked back, astounded. He loved me. But did I love him?

	*			*			*

The turbulent boat ride to the castle was silent. Neither of us spoke more than two words at a time, and as the castle grew closer even those dried upon our lips. We made no mention of the nightmare.

"I forgive you," I whispered as we landed at the dock, and some of the tension fell from his face. We were escorted to the throne room. The great doors opened.

"Seize that commoner!" My father's voice shouted before I could say a word. "He has been holding my daughter against her will!"

"No, Father! You don't understand! He..."

"Be silent, Daughter! I have not permitted you to speak!"

"My King, I have come to surrender myself..." Flynn spoke up, his arms held by a burly soldier.

"You dare speak in my presence! I will not only have you beheaded but your tongue removed beforehand!" Jaycor, the castle mage, interrupted his roaring as only he could do.

"They are mated." He pronounced, and I paled. I had hoped to explain things, but now he would never listen.

"Mated! This time, Sara, you have gone too far! Mated to a commoner!"

"My King, it was not her choice! I..." Flynn started to explain, trying to steer away my father's wrath. He only served to increase it.

"Throw him to the skee!" I gasped in horror and Flynn paled. The skee would literally eat him alive. Reserved for only the most heinous of crimes, the skee that lived in the Execution Pool fed on anything alive, ripping it to pieces with their sharp teeth and dragging it to the deepest part of their bottomless dwelling. Flynn went limp in the soldier's arms, his worst fate realized. As they dragged him from the room I tried to block their path. They pushed me aside like so much sea foam. 

"Flynn!" I cried, grasping at his tunic.

"I knew that execution awaited me, but I had hoped it would be swift. Farewell, my Lady!" He cried as they dragged him out the door. I tried to follow, but the soldiers blocked my path.

"I'm sorry! Flynn, I'm sorry!" I sobbed, feeling my heart wrench at his fate. A fate he did not deserve. 

I pushed past them before they could stop me. Running towards the pool, I slid around the corner just in time to see them push Flynn's unresisting body to his death. I ran to the edge, needing this one last glimpse. Already the skee were upon him and the green water was tinted blue with his blood. His screams echoed off the chasm walls. My heart was ripped in two.

"Flynn! I love you!" I cried, the truth I was too blind to see finally escaping. He looked up.

"Sara!" He screamed as if my name was ripped from his lips. And then he was pulled under. 

"NO!" I sobbed, the blue tinged water still and empty. "Flynn!!!"

	*			*			*

I watched the ships come in. Everyday of my life I had watched the ocean, the ships. Now I waited for one to bring him back to me. But no earthly ship would ever bring him home. I turned my back on the ocean and all it had taken from me. The walls of my castle-prison mocked the gray of my heart. Only those that have known love and not realized it would recognize the color of my soul. That is why I picked today. Today the sea matched his eyes, and the sky matched my soul. Today I would join my love. I took one step back.

The rolling water surrounded me, tangling my hair into a massive halo as I sank. The saltwater burned my eyes. I did not resist as I sank into the sea. Soon it would be over. My lungs strained to breathe and I started to see things.

My pink dragon was back. A little worn, a little tattered, he swam towards me with a grace like flight through water. He cradled my body in his slim claws and we rose. We broke the surface of the water, the churning waves like towers around us. My lungs took a breath. And it was real. I failed in dieing as I failed in living. I pounded my fists into his chest.

"Why couldn't you let me die?! What have I got to live for?! Why?!" The dragon looked down at me in compassion and swam towards the mainland.

He lowered me to the black sand. I didn't stand, didn't move, letting the lapping edges of waves roll over me, hoping that he would be merciful enough to sting me once more. He slid back into the water.

"I don't know why you saved me, Dragon, or if you can understand, but I want you to help me. Cut me with your tail." The dragon cocked his head, asking a silent question. "I have lost my Love, Dragon. Help me to join him, please?" The dragon shook his head and seemed to grow smaller. I turned away. "Then leave me. I will find my own way." The hard drops of rain pounded my body and joined with my tears.

"My Lady?" I heard his voice again; down to the subtle emphasis on 'my'. Was he going to haunt me now? I covered my face, convulsing with tears.

"Sara." His tough voice. The one he used to get my attention. Perversely hopeful, I turned towards the sea. Bedraggled and soaked, Flynn stood among the waves.

My mouth opened and shut without a sound. I stood before I thought, racing towards him with all my might. He stumbled forwards, and, that moment, I knew he was real. No spirit would stumble. I grabbed him in silent desperation, clinging to him as if he would fade away beneath my touch.

"Flynn. Oh, Flynn, how? How did you escape the skee? And how did you find me? The dragon..." He pulled away with a half-grin of hope and hesitation.

"Sara, I am the dragon. I'm an Eah." If he was looking for a reaction, he was out of luck.

"Good," I mumbled into his chest as I drew him close, crying in relief.

"Shh, shh. It's okay. I'm here. I'm here." He half-chuckled. "The skee don't seem to like Eah flesh. Too tough, I suppose."

I drew away, looking him over. Scars and teeth marks lined his bare chest. "If you are an Eah why didn't you just transform as soon as you fell into the pool or brush away the soldiers like bugs?!"

His serious look returned. "You didn't love me." I shuddered and felt nauseous. The tears flew from my eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. You almost... I almost killed you." I looked up into his grinning face in confusion.

"I guess that makes us even, then." I was puzzled for a second and then smiled through my tears.

"Yah. Yah, I guess it does."

	*			*			*

The marriage was small and quick that same night. Only the joiner, the two witnesses, Flynn, and me. We had practically nothing to our name, but we took what we could and journeyed towards our new life. The black sand beaches gave way to dusty cliffs towering above the turbulent sea. After a many day trek, we stumbled upon our sanctuary. In the small fishing village on the edge of Eltaran land, the quiet and friendly people took us in with little question. 

The work was hard, and the small shack we construted barely stood against the winter gales, but the months passed quickly. My hands, once ignorant of hard labor, turned rough and calloused as I helped repair the nets with the rest of the women as the men went out fishing. Flynn was soon highly regarded as a spotter; his boatmates always came in with the ship so full it sank to the waterline. I, of course, knew his fishing 'secret', but the other men took his abilities in stride. I was not as skilled in my clumsy attempts, but after one of the women spotted me sketching away with a drawing-rock and driftwood, I was employed. Soon, everyone had a family portrait, or even art on their bare walls, and the ship's blueprints I scribbled out were as big a hit with the men. We were happy, poor, and content.

"Flynn?"

"Yes, Sara?"

"Are you happy?" I asked to the celing as we lay in bed, not really looking at him. He propped himself up on his elbow and looked down at me.

"Yes," he said with all sincerity. I met his eyes.

"Why?" I asked. I had lived in luxury all my life and had never been happy. Now, in this stinky little place in the middle of nowhere...

"Why?! You mean you don't love the wonderful atmosphere we have? What about the archatecture and splended accomadations?! Ha! What more does one really need?!" His eyes laughed as he spoke, and I punched him in the arm. "Ow!" He cried in mock pain, collapsing down on top of me. 

"Oof! Get off!" I laughed as I pushed halfheartedly at him. "You smell like fish!" I cried, wrinkiling my nose.

"I hate to tell you this, my Lady, but you're not exactly a tropical flower yourself," he whispered as he covered my lips with his own.






Sara pregnant w/Eah