Chapter 121: Nereida’s Voyage
Traveling in the winter was never pleasant, but heading into the mountains was worse. When she had been a child, Nereida’s family had gone into the mountains for one Winter Solstice. There had been so much snow. They had built snow people and slid downhill. It had been one of her best memories. But it was midwinter now, and so the snow was everywhere on the path, on the rocks, in the sky even when it was cloudless, as even the most gentle wind would stir the snow about. On the first day they had seen it, it was beautiful. Now, ten days into their two-week journey, it was obnoxious. The carriage was stuck for the third time that day. Everyone was chilled, as the fire magic did not come as easily in the cold. Caleb’s nose ran, the servants who were with them to help her mother were withdrawn and frightened. Only Ango kept his spirits up, though Nereida thought perhaps her middle brother was simply trying to keep the family from falling apart.
Nereida’s leg ached constantly. She had to get out and walk occasionally, as the horses struggled up some of the steeper paths. The lizard leg gave her trouble. She took off her shoe, hiding it amongst their meager supplies. Without the boot, her foot had been cold and wet, but not sore. Unfortunately, the snow allowed her tracks to show, and so she had to go back to shoving a non-human foot into a miss-sized boot.
“We need to set camp,” said their guide. “A storm is comin’ and we need to tuck in.” Even Ango groaned, no one wanted to deal with storms, delays and other nonsense. All of them, save their mother, had children to get back to. They were at least a day from the next settlement.
Still, they did as the guide asked, the princes and princess setting up camp along-side the servants. It was necessary, if hard, work, and while her brothers struggled, Nereida was pleased to be doing something useful for a change. As she worked, she told stories of their adventures, of running from Aella’s people, of finding the sirens and meeting the people she came from.
“Did you ever find out who abandoned you?” Caleb asked at the end of her story as he helped Ango get her mother settled. Nereida glanced to her mother and smiled sadly. The old woman looked shocked by his question, a touch of hurt fluttering across her features before she closed her emotions off and became Queen, not mother.
“No, and I don’t want to.” Nereida reached for her mother’s hand, and the old woman softened. Her shoulders sagged with visible relief. Caleb spread a wool blanket over the queen's one remaining leg. “I have parents.”
Soon, the modest little fire was burning cheerfully. Nereida momentarily envied her family for their ability to bring about fire. She told them about learning to make fire without magic, without the tools she had at her fingertips her whole life. She told them about the island, living beneath leaves and tarps for weeks. In return, Caleb told them about his battles at sea. A small handful of demon ships had made an attempt to attack their waters, but the journey was so very far for them, and according to the captured human crew they had taken, they’d lost half their armada to storms, sea and sirens.
“We had doubled our armada in the last ten years,” Caleb told her. “Your father feared that the demons would move against us again, once word came to us that they’d taken Siranoa.” Nereida blinked at him a long moment, until Ango helpfully explained that they were an island nation of elves who had been their main trade partner until they fell.
“Father never did get over losing access to their black teas,” Ango finished with a rueful chuckle.
The wind picked up, forcing their conversation to end. Everyone took shelter inside two tents, their bodies pressed close. Only Basiano, still frozen, remained in the carriage. The wind was terrifyingly loud, throwing snow and bits of ice into the canvas. Nereida held her mother as they rode out the storm. The former queen had insisted her servants join them instead of going in their own, less sturdy, tent. The four women huddled together, shivering. There was a terrible sound outside, like thunder. Nereida did not dare see what was out there. But she could feel the ground rumbling beneath them. Her mother began move, calling up the heat until the tent was almost unbearable.
Within minutes, the rumbling intensified. Snow crashed into the heat, melting. Nereida tried to call on her magic, but she couldn’t make it answer, not since the Dragon of the Ocean had locked away Basiano. Her mother continued her dancing from in her chair, her face covered in sweat. This went on for only a few more minutes, but it felt like hours as she could do nothing more than watch. When the rumbling stopped, her mother finished her dance and leaned back in her chair, pale-faced and exhausted. Her two servants quickly swarmed her. Once Nereida, too, was satisfied that her mother was alright, she peeked outside.
“Avalanche,” she reported softly.
Nereida had to crawl out of the tent, as the snow was loose in some patches and clumped like rocks in others. Across their camp she could see the larger tent that the men all shared. The snow had not touched it, melted away by the heat of their combined magic. Ango and Leevan looked exhausted, leaning into each other at the door to their tent. Beyond them, the guide and Basiano were in the tent. Basiano’s frozen prison looked smaller somehow, and Nereida felt a stab of worry. Had all that fire magic woken the dragon again?
She found a new worry, however, when she found that the horses had broken their restraints and bolted. There was no way to tell how long ago they had fled. Without the horses, there was no chance of getting the carriage any farther up or down the mountain trail. Her mother’s special chair was back at the palace. She would have to rely on being carried in a litter. Why did I think this was a good plan? Nereida shook her head, trying to ignore the tears that were burning at her eyes. She was exhausted, cold, and missed her children and wife so very much. She picked her way across the snow to her brothers.
“We have to turn back, Nerry,” Ango said firmly. He touched her shoulder, his large hand resting gently. He was warm, and the urge to fling herself into his arms was strong. “I know this is important, but I won’t risk mom, or myself. Not now. You’re a parent too, you understand.”
“He talked about impregnating Camina,” Nereida hissed, her voice pitched low so that the guide would not overhere her. Ango tightened his grip on her shoulder and shifted so that his back was entirely to the frozen Basiano. “Without her knowledge.” Caleb hissed.
“We can try again, without mom,” Ango suggested, though his tone was hard. Nereida started to argue, but caught Caleb’s eye. He shook his head, slowly, faintly. He had a plan! And so she looked up at Ango and nodded.
“Do you have enough fire to help mom and the servants?” she asked. He didn’t answer, but headed over toward the snowy tent and began to chant and move. Nereida told the guide about the horses, and he wandered out of the tent, calling for the horses, his deep voice carrying over the snowy mountain and echoing forlornly.
Finally alone with her brother-in-law, Nereida turned to him and crossed her arms.
“I can’t go back,” she said. She wanted to control this, be the one leading this conversation. She and Caleb were friends again, of a sort, or at least friendly. But his betrayal still stung.
“You need me, when we get there.” She nodded, keeping her face carefully blank. She had a rolling feeling that she would not like his plan. “How strong are you?” he asked. She blinked at him.
“I’m no soldier,” she replied softly. She wanted to ask why, but he shook his head.
“Not this body. The other one.” She winced and looked at the ground.
“You want me to be the Dragon of the Ocean.”
“Not want. Need.” He was suddenly in her space, looming over her. He had not been this much bigger when they had been children. He gingerly touched her wedding bracelets. “Your wife needs you.” She pulled back, panic rising in her chest. “Your brother needs you.” She could not look up at him, instead focusing on the muddy floor of the tent.
“You don’t know what you are asking,” she managed.
“Is she our ally or not?” he demanded, his voice harsh and angry. “I’ve been Basiano’s family for nearly twenty years, Nereida. I have NEVER left him. I am not about to start now. Will you leave him when he needs you most? Are you that selfish?” She swallowed her own anger, grief drowning her instead. She sank down to the mud, the cold dampness clinging to her and making her lizard leg ache further. Her gift from the Ocean. Her curse from the Ocean.
“She is not a toy.” Her voice was weak and there was a rushing sound in her ears. They were far from the waters of the sea, far up high. The sea could never reach up this high. Could She?
“I am not looking for a toy.” His voice was calm now, soothing, but hard to hear. He sounded far away. “I am asking, no, begging, a goddess to help us right this wrong. Please.”
Nereida sighed.
“I can’t,” she said after a moment. “I have no magic to call her. We are too far from the sea. But… I have an idea. You’ll hate it.”
“Already do,” he said with the ghost of a smile. “What is your plan?”
“Everyone is busy. We go. You, me, and we put Basiano on mom’s litter, and drag him. We… we cover our tracks in about an hour.”
“Cover?”
“You use your fire, set off a secondary avalanche, as soon as we find a good spot. Then we get to your village. We finish this. We… we have to.” Caleb nodded grimly, glancing back at Basiano’s frozen form.
The first part of the plan was the most difficult. Nereida managed to get the litter out of the carriage, along with a packsack full of food. They only needed four more days of rations, and they could eat snow if they ran out of water. Ango nearly caught her, but one of the servants asked him a question, and she was able to duck out of sight. They lowered Basiano’s frozen, icy form onto the litter, nearly throwing out Nereida’s back in the process. He was heavy. Caleb lifted the back of the tent, and the two of them headed out, dragging Basiano behind them on the litter-turned-sled.
Caleb and Nereida trudged along in silence up the road until they came to a turn and a snow covered rock.
“Here,” Nereida declared.
“Stop!” It was Ango, who was jogging up toward them, his breath making little clouds. Nereida winced but put her brother down.
“Ango,” she began, but he put up his hand to stop her.
“Save it.” He paused, bending over to catch his breath, wheezing hard. Princes did not usually run up steep hills. No one spoke, but Nereida made eye contact with Caleb. He nodded, just once, but she knew he stood with her, regardless. “You suck at plans, Nerry.” Ango straightened, and he looked bemused, his mouth curled slightly as he shook his head. “I’ll tell mom I couldn’t find you, if you can tell me what you plan to do next.”
“See my sister,” Caleb said softly.
“Oh?”
“She can help.” Caleb shifted as he spoke, not wanting to say more. After a long moment, Ango sighed heavily.
“Fine. Get help, save him. The story will be that the carriage broke, and I was the dutiful son and brought mother home. Be safe, for the love of the gods, would you?”
“I will,” Nereida replied. She ran forward to hug Ango, and her middle brother chuckled.
“Still you,” he sighed, ruffling her hat like she was still a child.
“Still me,” she promised. And, heart lighter, she and Caleb continued onward.