Here There be Dragons: Testing the Waters

Aella helped her wife hobble back to bed after her visit with the children. The siren was exhausted, and even the little walk had drained any reserve she had. The moment they were away from the boys, Nereida’s smile shattered. Aella did not wait for her wife to ask for help, she simply made sure the princess made it back to her bed. She tucked her in, kissing her head gently. Nereida was asleep in moments. Her wife taken care of, Aella assessed the rest of her people. She started with Kana’s husband, guiltily thinking she ought to learn his name. He was conscious now, but had not surfaced from the tub.

“He can’t stay in there,” Kana said softly. “He needs to be in the sea, breathe the salty water, rest. But as long as we are moving, we can’t do that. He won’t be able to keep up even the lightest pace.” She frowned. “I know I have responsibilities to the Prince’s child, responsibilities I chose, but I can’t…. I can’t sacrifice him for that.” She looked away, and began picking at the skin near her claws as she spoke. “Can we find a harbour where you could hire someone else? I… I know I said… but… if he dies….”

“What if we dropped anchor, let you rest?” she asked softly. Kana looked up at her, surprised.

“I thought… I thought the Prince needed to be home quickly.”

“Aye, but… the egg will hatch soon. The ship needs repairs. You need to heal. It seems…. It seems best we stop at one of the little islands. There’s a chain of small ones nearby, nothing that takes more than a day to cross on foot. That will give all of us what we need.”

“And the Daughter of the Ocean? Is she… will she?”

“She will be alright eventually,” Aella replied, keeping her tone even. “But her leg… it will take time.”

“The Ocean favours her,” Kana whispered reverently, looking over to the closed curtains where Nereida slept. There was almost a longing in her voice.

“That favour may destroy her. It is not the gift you think it is.”

“Perhaps, Admiral, it is not the curse you think it is.” Kana smiled at her, a soft, sad kind of expression.

Aella was not sure how to refute that, and so let it slide. She sent the siren out so that she could change into her proper clothing. Dymion had mounted a curtain across the remains of the doorframe. The threadbare old sheet that served as a curtain gave them at least the illusion of privacy. Her jaw hurt from how often she clenched it, her palms were sweaty and she just wanted to stab someone or something. Unfortunately, she was in charge, and had to deal with orders at least for the moment. She gave the heading change to Gregors at the helm, who caught on to her plan without explanation. She found Dymion, who did not waste his time with condolences or pity, but who was happy to have something to do with his hands besides cooking and gardening. The gnome was still angry about his husband’s possession.

“Where will It be while I work?” he asked, crossing his arms. “I won’t be friendly with it.”

“The Great Dragon will be with us, on an island, until the egg hatches. Hopefully he will leave peacefully after that.”

“You think he’s still in there but could leave any time?”

“I suspect,” she replied with a forced shrug. She couldn’t let him know how angry she was at the dragon inside her first mate. It would only encourage the gnome to open hostility. She saw a mean little smile play across Dymion’s face, and suspected perhaps she needed to practice her neutral face.

“Carpentry team’ll be ready,” was all Dymion said. “And I’ll pack ya some provisions.” He left, whistling a little tune that made Aella nervous. What was the gnome planning? But the short man disappeared into his magical nook, leaving her alone.

Of course, on the ship, one was never alone for long, and the Admiral squared her shoulders and headed to find the Great Dragon of Clouds. She had things to demand of him. The way she stomped about sent most of her crew either fleeing for cover or into their tasks as if nothing else existed. She wore what she considered to be her best glare, looking down her nose at him, quite the trick considering he was a head and a half taller than her.

“Good evening, Admiral.” It was not Evander’s easy tones. Good, it wasn’t Evander she wanted to speak with. “I was about to take a lie-in on the deck. Lovely clouds tonight, after the Ocean sprayed up so much water.”

Before Aella could process what she was doing, she had slammed the Dragon-in-Evander against the mast. The air left his lungs and he looked pained momentarily. There was surprise in the Dragon’s usually smug eyes.

“Sensitive topic, I see.”

“She took my wife’s body!” Aella took a step back, still seething. The Dragon was their ally, she had to remember that, but she so, so, so wanted to pummel him.

“With your darling wife’s permission, I’d wager. Or perhaps not, given how temperamental Ocean was before. What, pray tell, set off the watery one’s temper?” His words were lazy, but she caught how he looked up at the cabin, fear twisting his expression for only a moment.

“If I tell you, Great Dragon, I expect answers in return.” She made a show of pulling off her fingerless gloves and tucking them in the pouch on her belt. “Do we have an accord?” He blinked at her, slow and lazy, but she could practically see his mind churning.

“We have an accord.”

Aella took a breath, to gain a moment to organize her thoughts, before she dove into the issue.

“Nereida said they had vials of blood. Of dragon blood, belonging to Shadow.” It was the Dragon’s turn to take a step back, naked horror on his face.

“They didn’t!” His words were practically hissed. He proceeded to hiss, long, drawn out syllables that made no sense to her, but given the tone, she imagined they were the draconic version of swearing. He slammed his fist into the mast.

“They were using it to make themselves stronger. Said they planned to put some into Nereida.”

“They didn’t manage to, did they?” His tone was quiet, ruthless.

“No.”

“Good. I like the Droplet. Wouldn’t want to put her down.” She stared at him, anger rising, but he put up his hand in surrender. His tone returned to its usual arrogant tones. “I don’t mean it to be cruel, Moonlet. They’d have made her insane, powerful and likely unstoppable by mortal means. Our blood is not meant to mix, not without the buffer of mortality, of humanity. And we cannot know what, if anything, they put in the blood besides the blood itself.” She snorted at that, but took a step back, letting her shoulders fall. She could feel the tension in them. These Dragons would drive her to an early grave, with the stress they put on her heart!

“How could old blood help them so? It's been eons since there’s been dragons,” she managed. She needed to understand. But the Dragon looked at her with something resembling pity.

“We never managed to bind him like we did Stars. He was free. Or partially so. Old blood would be dried, useless as dust. If what they had was liquid, Moonlet, then they have Shadow bound somehow. And they have been draining him of his blood like leeches.” She shivered, and ran her hands down her sleeves.

“That… oh.” She stopped, her thoughts jumbling. “That’s why, then, when they would use their power on me it felt… slimy. But not…” she stopped herself, her brain catching up with her mouth. She was not about to reveal little Egaz to the Dragon! But he simply smiled at her, showing too many teeth.

“But not the other,” he finished for her. “I know of him; I have known since I stepped on the ship. I have not, however, let my host know.” He paused, looking thoughtfully up at the sky. “If what the Droplet says occurred, then the Ocean was downright restrained in her action. Perhaps your lady-love has made an impression. Or perhaps it was you. She’s always had a soft spot for the children of the Moon.”

“I have questions now.” Aella forced herself to focus. She could not let him steer the conversation.

“Yes, yes, have at it.”

“We are going to make landfall tomorrow, on some small islands. Nereida, the egg and I will be disembarking and staying on land until the egg hatches. If we permit you to make land with us, will you release my friend after you have seen the babe?”

There was a long moment where she thought he would not answer. He licked his lips, and stared up at the sky.

“What makes you think I have power enough to return to the sky?” His tone was lazily, and he looked up into the sky as if cloudwatching.

“Intuition,” she replied, matching his almost bored tone. “Which, I think in this case, is the Moon letting me know you could go at any time. That, had the boat been attacked by the Dragon of the Ocean last night, that you would have taken flight. That’s why Evander was in charge even in the worst of it; you were prepared to flee and leave us to our fates.”

“I’d have saved your egg,” he replied, his tone suggesting he thought that was being helpful. She snarled at him, a rage that was not quite hers stirring in her chest.

“Every soul for themselves is what got us into this mess,” she hissed. The words were not hers, the tone was not hers, the voice was not hers. Aella should have been horrified. But the way Evander’s cheeks lost colour, she suspected the Moon’s barb had hit, and that was satisfaction enough to dispel the horror.

“You’ve had the eons to see,” he replied, his words almost an apology. “Yes, Moonlet, I will take my true form once the child is here. And I will guard you while you rest, on that little island, so you need have no fear.” He looked at her, his eyes calculating. She felt like a used dress at the market being examined for flaws. “Have you stopped fighting fate, then, child?”

“I will make my fate what I want,” she replied tersely, though her insides churned anxiously. His mouth quirked upward, not quite a smile, but he nodded, not pressing whatever issue or thought he had.

Over the next few hours, before they completely lost the light, the crew finished salvaging what could be taken from the three wrecks. They pulled salvageable lumber from the ocean, fabric, oil and rope. They did not trust rations or drink, since it had all been in the sea a few hours before they could reach it. Jules, quick-thinking lad that he was, had managed to get into the shattered remains of the cabin to fetch the logs. They were in a chest that had been mostly water tight, and the young man had set about drying the logs page by page so that they could study their enemy. He also recovered one of the hateful vials. It was in the chest with the log, in a smaller, velvet lined box. She was no apothecary, no one on her ship had such skills, but she did allow them to show the dragon. He reacted with visceral disgust.

“It is real,” he told her. “And would do all the mad seer said and possibly more. Give it to the sea,” he motioned to the water. “Let her dilute it so it cannot be used to do any more harm.” She hesitated, not willing to throw away what could be a valuable resource, until he leaned in close to her. “Think of your child.” She nodded, her expression steely, and hurled it overboard.

She rested for a while next to her wife in their broken cabin. With the curtain around her bed drawn, Aella could pretend that everything out there was fine, that the ship was fine, that her crew was fine, that her wife was fine. She was careful, oh so careful, to not so much as brush up against her wife’s scaled leg. Nereida whimpered in her sleep, and so Aella rubbed her back. She missed her wife’s robust snores. She knew Nereida was deeply asleep when she snored like a dragon.

“It will be fine,” she whispered to her wife, throwing her arm around the sleeping siren. Nereida’s whimpering calmed. “I have you.”