Here There be Dragons: Testing the Waters

The sound of the waves crashing outside their window was almost enough for Nereida to think she was home. She buried her face into Aella’s shoulder, stealing warmth from her cozy wife who had managed to actually stay beneath the blankets all night. Their sparse inn room was chilled, and Nereida did not want to leave the small pocket of warmth. She did not want to face the people who stared at her blue skin, she did not want to pretend she was unaffected by strangers seeing her as a danger.

But the sun was finally starting to rise. Basiano and Caleb would want them down for breakfast, to figure out the plan. Nereida kissed her wife’s cheek softly, a gentle, chaste kiss. They had not been together in bed since her father had died, and she ached for the simple joy of waking up beside her wife. Aella shifted in her sleep.

“Time to wake, love,” Nereida whispered. There was a great deal of grumbling from the half-asleep admiral. A soft smile spread over Nereida’s face as she listened to the familiar griping and groaning of her wife. It was so blessedly her that it was as if the last few months of captivity and danger hadn’t happened.

“I love you,” Nereida whispered as Aella pulled on her borrowed shift. The Admiral did not look like herself in the peasant gear, bound up in furs and wools and a simple frock that was, much to Aella’s horror, covered in tiny little embroidered roses. Aella had thoughts about flowers, and had called roses “insincere flattery”. Nereida desperately wanted to know why her wife had a least favourite flower. Aella grinned at her even as she pulled the hated frock on.

“I love you too, Ner. Feeling maudlin?”

“Feeling like myself.” She yawned and stretched, her shoulder making an unfortunate popping sound. She put on her own frock, a faded yellow thing that had been patched at least three times along the seams. The fabric was thin and approaching threadbare, but the many layers of wool and fur kept her warm enough outside. “But I am ready to leave, to see the kids. I miss them.”

“Me too love.” Aella pulled her in, holding her tightly.

They stood there for a long time, just being in each other’s presence, without anyone else forcing them into roles, without anyone needing them. Aella hummed tunelessly, and Nereida swayed into her, not quite dancing but just moving to the sounds her wife made. It was a moment of perfection, a moment she could lose herself in, a moment she could find herself in.

But it was only a moment, and soon they had to go and get food, as her rumbling stomach interrupted their little dance. Aella chuckled into her neck. They went together down the narrow little stairway, holding hands despite how awkward it was. The dining area was nearly empty, except for the innkeeper and a merrily roaring fire. The innkeeper kept his head down, obviously not looking at them, except to ask if they wanted breakfast. The smell of boiling oats and honey drifted in the air. They found a table that seemed relatively clean. Neither of them spoke in the inn. Aella’s eyes darted around as if searching for an ambush. She made eye contact with their host, and the portly man missed a step. Nereida felt a smile slip onto her face. What had her wife said to the man to make him so nervous? She could practically see the sweat dripping down the man’s face as he placed breakfast before them with muttered platitudes. The oats were thin and too sweet, but they were filling enough and were blessedly warm.

Basiano came down shortly after, and he, also, ate the thin oats and honey. The egg was not with him, but he looked older somehow, in the grey morning light. He kept his amputated hand covered in a cloak, keeping the injury from prying eyes.

“We leave tomorrow,” Basiano said softly. He looked down in his bowl, and she could see his wrinkles near his eyes. “The fishermen will be taking us to rendezvous with a Sylph ship, who will take us to port.” He did not look up at her. “They can probably take you to go find the Tooth. I’ll fund it, Nerry.” His voice broke, and he lifted another spoonful of running oats to his mouth so he did not have to talk. Nereida stood and pulled her chair closer to her brother. She put her hand on his shoulder.

“I’m not leaving until after your coronation, you big lug.” She gave him a gentle shove. “You’re my brother. And we can’t go traipsing about the ocean hoping to find the Tooth, anyway.” She leaned in. “You aren’t holding me prisoner, big brother. The time for that is done.” Tension leaked out of his shoulders and he nodded once, still not looking at her.

“Besides,” Aella offered, reaching across the table to squeeze Nereida’s free hand. “At this point, we’ve put work into the vow renewal. Best to do it.”

“Will you be evoking the gods?” Basiano asked softly. “Stars?”

“Ocean and Moon,” Aella’s reply was firm, and her voice sounded off. “Scions don’t serve others.” Her voice echoed oddly, and her grip slackened. Nereida glanced back at her wife, saw that Aella was caught in her magic, her brown eyes shining with something else. “The time for rest will end with winter, and brothers will dance for each others’ fate.” She blinked suddenly, looking confused.

“I hate it when she does that,” Basiano grumbled, scraping his almost empty bowl with his spoon. “I thought you were working on control.”

“This is controlled,” Aella grumbled. “I’m not stuck. But I also know, love, even without their meddling touch, that you should come to the ocean, touch her waves even though it's cold enough to freeze the ass off a dragon.”

“Language!”

“Oh Bassi,” Nereida sighed at her brother. “We aren’t, precisely, taking court.” She shook her head. “Honestly. Language?” Aella snickered, and Nereida flashed a grin at her wife. Everything felt safer suddenly, like they had found the steps to their dance. Basiano grumbled into his empty bowl and told them to go for their walk before he exiled them. Nereida laughed, ruffled her brother’s receding hair, and decided to do just that.

The wind off the ocean was biting and cold. Winter was in full sway now, and she was going to be a cruel one. Nereida pulled her hood tight, to block out the cold and to avoid people seeing her blue skin. Aella made a discontented grumbling sound.

“Are you always going to hide, love?”

“I’m not hiding,” Nereida muttered, but she couldn’t look at her wife as she spoke. “It’s just cold.” Aella snorted indelicately, but did not push her further. The streets were not particularly busy, but there were a few people milling about. A pair of bigger boats were in the water, bobbing along as folks cast nets into the water. Even in the winter, fishing continued. It wasn’t as if the ocean froze. Her spray, however, coated nearly everything near the docks. The docks were covered in a thick layer of white ice, the beaches and nearby rocks as well. The early sunlight caught the ice and made it sparkle like gems. It was beautiful and dangerous. Nereida slipped her hand into her wife’s hand. As the waves crashed against the icy beaches, Nereida caught it, a faint song in the waves. She pulled Aella forward, heading closer to the icy edge of the beach. The song was low, almost as if it were echoed and old.

“Where are you?” it seemed to say. “Did they hurt you?”

Nereida slipped out of her boots. The ice hurt to walk on her human foot, but she ignored the pain and her wife’s sudden worried cry. She took off the cloak and the outer cloak, leaving only the thin frock.

“Nereida! It’s colder than a dead man’s heart! What are you doing?”

“Singing, love. I’ll be back soon, I promise.”

“You aren’t built for this!” Aella blustered as Nereida dropped the cloak and coat into her arms.

“I will use magic to keep warm,” she promised. “Stay here.”

Moving across the ice was treacherous at best, but her lizard paw was tipped in wicked, powerful claws that she dug into the ice. She realized that others were watching her, but she ignored that as she ignored how the ice tried to bite her human foot. She stepped into the frigid waters. The cold of it stole her breath for a moment, before she plunged in. She heard Aella helplessly calling her name before the water surrounded her and welcomed her home. Once she was submerged, she felt the cold but it no longer burned. She hoped that it was not a bad sign. Still, she swam deeper, keeping herself beneath the waves so she was protected from the wind. There were fewer distractions underwater, and she could hear the song clearer.

“I am Dolphin’s Revenge,” she sang. “I am safe. Find the Tooth. The old King is dead, and we are free.” She sang beneath the waves, repeating her message three times. After the third repeat, she heard the other song change.

“We will sing to your kin, Dolphin’s Revenge. Be well.”

The song hummed along, her own words carried by different voices, voices that were farther away, the song carrying far away on the magic of others. She listened to the voices in the water until they blended together and only made sense if she focused her magic. She breathed in the ocean water, letting her touch sooth something inside that she had been ignoring. This was, in many ways, where she belonged. But the cold was making her feel sluggish. Aella had been right, she was not built to live in the water. She’d not learned the tricks of her people for surviving wintery waters. Reluctantly she left the realm of fish and songs, and swam back to the shore.

Breaking into the air was a mistake. The wind was biting, cold and cruel, and she coughed as she transitioned to breathing air. Someone screamed “siren!” in the distance. Nereida used her magic to sing the water back to the ocean, but her voice shook. She felt a wave of exhaustion roll over her. Maintaining her heat and her breath had been more than she had been ready for. She looked toward where she had left Aella, and found her wife standing with her brother. Unfortunately, the walk across the ice was painful, as her wet flesh wanted to stick to the ice, and she had to sing the moisture away after each step or risk hurting her human foot. Someone was calling for the watch, screaming about a siren. She wanted to scream back, she was not a threat. But that would only make things worse, and so she ignored the screaming, hysterical fisherman whose voice grew ever louder.

“Enough!” Basiano’s voice rang over the distance, echoing sharply. The ranting fisherman did, indeed, stop his yelling. Nerieda managed to get to her wife. At some point, Nereida had stopped shivering. She wanted to sleep. Aella threw the cloak around her.

“We need to get Nereida inside,” Aella said to Basiano. “Can you carry her and warm her at the same time?”

“Yes,” he replied, scooping Nereida up like she was a child. She wanted to protest that she was a grown woman, but her protests died on her lips as the fisherman hurled a chunk of ice at them, as if to drive them from the beach. She felt Basiano’s heat flare under his skin, but her brother did not give in to his anger this time. Instead, she felt his chest move as he took a deep breath to calm himself. Wrapped in a cloak and held in the arms of a fire-caster, Nereida let the exhaustion take hold. She closed her eyes and cuddled into her brother.

When she awoke, it was to Aella yelling at someone.

“She’s your bloody princess!” Nereida blinked herself awake and looked around. There were two fisherfolk who were standing and glaring at Basiano, their arms crossed.

“We won’t take a siren on board. It would invite the ocean to drown us.”

“I’ll drown you myself, you arrogant prick!” Aella did not have her sword, but kept reaching for it as if she could summon it. The two fire-folk backed up at that, fear on their faces, but they did not change their stance.

“She’s ensorcelled you!” Nereida groaned at the words, remembering when there were those on the crew who believed that of her. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see the hatred on the fisherfolks’ faces.

“She’s my wife, you twit. I am Admiral Aella D’Igna.” Nereida did her best to ignore how her wife’s voice was rising. She wanted to disappear, hide herself, her face, her blue skin and fangs.

“She’s a monster! Not even human. Look at her leg!” Blood rushed to the princess’s face. They were right. She wasn’t human. Not even a siren, not any more. She was something else. Scion.

Nereida opened her eyes and pushed gently on her brother, silently asking to be put on the floor. He obliged, worry in his eyes.

“I am Nereida D’Igna,” she said softly. The shouting stopped, and she suddenly had everyone’s attention. “I am the only sister of Soon-to-be King Basiano. I am a siren, I am a princess and a wife.” She took a step toward the two fisherfolk. They drew closer to each other, the man’s thick, ice-filled beard was melting down on his female friend’s head. Both had eyes wide as saucers as she spoke, never lifting her voice in anger. “The Siren people are not your enemy. They have never been your enemy. They have only wanted to survive and thrive, the same as you. The same as the Sylph, the Gnomes and the Salamanders.” She saw her brother twitch at the name. It was considered a rude descriptor in court. But she was not in court. This was the place of the common folk, and she would use their words. “If you won’t have me aboard, that is your choice. I am done hiding who I am, what I am.”

“What are you?” the man asked, a tremble in his voice. Nereida smiled, a shark’s smile, a predator’s smile.

“I am the Scion of the Ocean, touched and changed by her.” She curled her lizard toes, the sound of wood splintering beneath her feet made the fisherman jump. “And I am going back to my children one way or another.” The fisherman whimpered like a child, and the woman in his arms pulled free and fled. Aella, however, rushed to her side and kissed her. It was a deep, desperate kiss that promised more.

“There you are, love,” she whispered, kissing her cheek in a more chaste manner. Basiano made a choking sound.

“I do not have enough gold in all the coffers in the palace to get you on a boat after that,” he muttered, sighing dramatically. But he flashed a grin at her. “You do like things to be difficult.”

“I am not getting into another dog sled,” Aella said resolutely. “I’d rather eat grass.”

“Won’t find any grass here,” Basiano replied with a laugh. “I’ll find us a ship. Someone has to be brave enough to take us.”

“If worst comes to worst, Basiano,” Aella suggested. “Buy a fisher boat, and I’ll get us to one of the Sylph boats. I do know how to sail, even small craft.”

“You?” sputtered the fisherman, who was still there, standing like an idiot with his mouth hanging open.

“I’d wager that I can sail better than you,” Aella replied cheekily.

“Hear that, lads?” Nereida turned toward the new voice. There were a few more of the fishermen who had come in to see that commotion. She was not sure how she’d missed their entrance. “We got ourselves a competition!” Nereida rolled her eyes. Of COURSE it was a wager that settled the issue.