Here There be Dragons: Testing the Waters

Everything was a blur, the only thing that was real, that was solid, was Aella. Her wife’s voice, calm, soothing, safe. Her leg hurt, but not the agony from before. It was like a memory of pain, insistent but steady. The waves had calmed, and in the distance she could hear the dolphins squealing, enjoying some of the fish that had come to feed on the dead demons. She could not make herself feel upset at the death toll. She couldn’t make herself care about much of anything.

The first thing to break through Nereida’s fugue was the fact that the door to her cabin was nothing more than splinters and debris. Frustration flashed across her mind. How was she supposed to have any time alone with her wife when they did not have a door or part of the wall? The thought triggered a soft chuckle that soon grew to a full blown attack of giggles. Inappropriate, manic giggles shook her whole body. She felt Aella’s arms tighten around her as she gasped for breath, unable to stop laughing. Soon she wasn’t even making noise, just soundlessly shaking as the laughs kept coming, tears streaking down her face.

She heard Evander say something, but in the fog of laughter and exhaustion, his words were just meaningless squawks on the wind. She could not focus on anything except the laughter, and even shuffling across the deck became a task too monumental for her to accomplish. She felt Evander scoop her up, as her dear Aella kept muttering soothing nonsense. Was it even really Evander, or his Dragon passenger? Was she even Nereida?

Once she was tucked in bed beneath warm wool and soft cotton, the laughter finally ebbed away, replaced by tears. She wasn’t even sure why she was crying, as the emotions flooding her were of all flavours and shapes. She felt Aella’s hand in her hair. Someone had lit candles, and the gentle smoke was strangely comforting.

“I love you,” Aella whispered, the first clear words Nereida had heard since she had given up her body, her self, to the Moon. The sweetest words in the world. Nereida leaned into the soft, gentle touch, and allowed herself to be lulled to sleep by her wife’s steady hand and soft voice.

When she awoke, there was sunlight coming in through the partially open curtains. Dust caught the light and shone beautifully. Aella was still at her side, though she was wearing her night clothes now, not her more fierce and proper admiral clothing. It was strange to see her in such a state of undress in the light. She blinked away sleep, noticing other things now. The children were not here, but the laundry tub had been filled with water and with a siren. He was sleeping beneath the water, at rest, while his wife paced about, clearly perturbed. She could hear distant voices of the crew, chatting and happy.

“You back with us, love?” Aella asked after a moment. She leaned in and placed a tender kiss on Nereida’s head.

“My leg is itchy,” she replied, trying to reach for her previously injured leg. The wound site no longer hurt, but the urge to scratch at it was nearly overwhelming. Aella’s expression changed, a hundred little things playing in her face. She placed both her hands around Nereida’s right hand, holding her tightly.

“I will clean it again, maybe that will help,” Aella said softly. Before she could answer, Nereida heard Evander’s voice barking orders. She tensed.

“Do you need to go? The crew needs her Admiral.” There was a moment where Aella looked startled, before she squeezed Nereida’s hand.

“You need me more.” Nereida’s heart skipped a beat as she stared up into her wife’s soft hazel eyes. She let herself be lost in her wife’s eyes, memorizing how she moved, the flickers in her expression, the length of her lashes, how her small scar on her lip tightened when she smiled even the most gentle smile.

Aella climbed into bed beside her, laying down so that they rested face to face.

“What happened, love?” Aella whispered, gently stroking her arm. Nereida felt a tightness in her chest as she thought back.

“They had harpoons. They were….” she abandoned her thought, closing her eyes against the pain in her heart. She didn’t want to see Aella’s expression when she explained. “They got my leg. I thought… I thought I was going to die.” She managed to keep her tone even, but she heard Aella’s breath hitch, felt her wife’s thin, long fingers grasp her arm in sudden panic. “They pulled me in like a fish... it hurt so much… bound the wound so tight….” She shook her head. She couldn’t say more. Tears threatened to escape again, but she held them at bay so that Aella could come to terms with what she had said.

Almost absently, Nereida reached down to scratch at her leg. Her hand came into contact with scales. She opened her eyes, looked down at herself now that she was able to think. Her breath caught in her throat. Small scales covered her leg from the thigh down, and her foot had been replaced by a more lizard-like paw. She forced her toes to wiggle, and the dragon-toes responded. She stared a long time at the shimmering blue scales, not able to think, to reason. What had been done to her? This wasn’t her leg!

The gentle hands of her wife on her cheek brought her back to the moment. Aella cupped her face.

“I’m here,” she whispered. Only then did Nereida cry, the flood of emotions too much. She curled into her wife and sobbed. Aella pulled the blanket up over them again, and so slowly her warmth returned. She wept until she had no tears left, and then she simply lay in her wife’s arms, counting Aella’s breaths, reminding herself she was alive and safe.

“They had the blood of the Shadow Dragon,” Nereida whispered. “Ocean was… she was livid. That’s our son.” She felt Aella’s arms tighten at her words, pulling her in closer. “Her son,” Nereida corrected, realizing what she had said. “She… wanted my body to do justice.”

“Revenge,” Aella muttered, though rather than sounding angry, Aella sounded sympathetic. “I can’t blame a mother for that kind of reaction. No one blames her… or you.” Nereida nodded, a feeling of misery snaking around her heart.

“I blame me. It was my plan.”

“No crew died, love. The demons can’t chase us. They are dead.” Aella hesitated, and then asked, her voice quiet, “what was the blood for?”

“They use it to make themselves stronger… and they were going to use it to bind me to them, make me…. Make me do whatever they wanted.” She shivered at the thought, and Aella stopped breathing for a long moment.

“Bastards,” she hissed after a moment. Nereida giggled at the exclamation, the tension too much. Aella kissed her forehead.

“I lost my leg,” Nereida whimpered, the tender touch too much. “They tied it off so I wouldn’t bleed to death, but I couldn’t feel it and then, and then…” she described giving her body, her mind, over to the dragon, the smothering darkness.

“She didn’t leave you with a dead leg, love. I think that may have been a kindness.” Aella sat up, helping Nereida do the same. “Let’s go see your boys, yeah? Wouldn’t seeing them make you feel better?” Nereida nodded.

But it was not as simple as that. Her new leg, while she could move it, had a different foot, and the muscles had not been used. She fell hard the first time she put weight on it, banging her good knee hard enough on the wooden deck that she saw stars. Aella was at her side immediately, helping her stand. Kana stood nearby, watching helplessly, looking like she would rather be anywhere else than there. The other siren turned toward her husband to fuss over him in the tub, giving them what space she could. Aella pulled her to her feet, moved her to a chair, and began to dress her like a helpless child.

“Slowly love, carefully.” Aella helped her pull the dress down, covering her better and hiding most of the new leg. “Let’s not go out in rags, yeah? You’re still a princess.” Her tone was teasing, but her mirth did not quite reach her eyes.

Aella whistled sharply, and one of the crew poked his head inside. “Martino had a strong cane, tell him to bring it here.” The man nodded sharply and took off in a run, though his eyes lingered on Nereida. She could almost taste the pity he had for her. Nereida closed her eyes, counted her own breaths. She could be strong. She could weather this storm. For her children. For her wife. Maybe, even, for herself.

Once she had the cane, she could walk a little better, taking it easy on her new leg. Aella was never more than a handspan away from her, hovering and ready to catch her should she stumble again. The crew, when she hobbled out, were suspiciously all busy. She appreciated that they were giving her space to breathe and to grieve. The wooden cane clacked along on the deck, and the stairs to below deck were almost painful to navigate, but she made it to Basiano’s cabin. He was waiting with the door open, and when he saw her hobbling forward. He looked torn between rushing to her and staying there and letting her come to him. His protective instincts won out, and he rushed forward, sweeping her into his arms. She buried her face in her brother’s tunic, breathing deeply. He still smelled like a hearth.

“Uncle Basi?” Alejo’s little voice came from the doorway. He peeked out. “Mama!” He ran toward her, but stopped short of slamming into her as he saw her cane. “Mama, are you hurt?”

“Yes love,” she answered softly. “But not too hurt for a gentle hug.” Relief flooded his little face, and he gently wrapped his arms around her waist.

They moved, slowly, to the cabin so that Nereida could sit. Egaz looked at her with serious little eyes, his mouth set in a frown.

“I’m sorry mama,” was the first thing he said. “I went upstairs when I wasn’t supposed to. But.. I had to!”

“You scared me,” Aella chidded. The boy ducked his head, looking guilty. “Next time, little man, tell your uncle, or Dymion, and they can bring a message to me, yeah?”

“Yes ma’am.”

Nereida visited with her boys, played with them as best she could. She showed them her new leg, told them it would be a while before she could run again.

“This leg is strong,” Egaz said, touching it softly. “And… kinda funny looking.” He giggled nervously. Nereida smiled at him.

“It is, isn’t it?” She put her own hand on her scaled leg, feeling the way the scales overlapped, how they were smooth and hard. “Do you think my leg will shed like a snake?”

“That would be so neat!” Alejo exclaimed. And like that, the boys accepted her new leg as part of her.

If only it was that easy for her to do.