Ayr had been a land of adventure, thoroughly satisfying whatever wild urges she harbored Urges... she thought, with a small amount of smugness, Which have nothing to do with me being 'wild born'
After all, her father shared them too.
Sometimes, in quiet, idle, contemplative moments like this, Laesara wondered just how much she truly resembled her mother. Indeed she thought, looking down at her gloved hands, glad in fine hide against the chill breezes of the ocean, What traits do I bear, aside from my bright colors and my gender, that I gained solely from my mother?
Her father was possessed of wildness, patience, and grace, and had always struck her as more like an enormous and ancient feline (or, perhaps, a dragon) rather than a man. He was a predator, in many more senses than that of a simple beast, but like any beast he needed his time alone, away from the cage and his competitors.
Laesara's wildness resembled his – patient and deadly – and not her mothers. Mother she thought,Was fire and passion, a wild blaze that could not be extinguished, a bezerker in every sense of the word.
And Laesara was not like that. She was – usually – incredibly rational, and it was only rarely that her emotions interfered. Sometimes absurdly rational she thought wryly to herself. She would have liked to think more emotionally – there were times when pure reason was not appropriate. But she could not: for her, reason was always present, and it always had been. She was a thinker, not an feeler, and that was her strength.
I am indeed she thought, pleased at the revelation, My father's daughter. Early on, there had been some concern: concerns she had heard voiced among family and servant alike when they thought they were not being overheard. Her father, it was rumored, had not been her mother's only lover. Laesara felt no awkwardness in thinking about such things, and it was easy to believe in retrospect: her mother had been a free soul, bound to no one and nothing. Nothing but me. she thought sadly. Either way, they had taken some of Laesara's blood and tested her with magic, and the matter was resolved once and for all, and the rumors stopped biting at her like gnats.
I may be a b*****d, she thought, born illegitmately, but I am his daughter.
She looked out into the darkness, towards, now, where they were headed. Serenia's shores fast approached, that golden land of light full of secrets and beauty. It had been the land she was born in, and raised in, and lived in now, but the part of it she lived in, the life she led, was as night to day to the part of it she had left. There was no parallel between the empty wilderness of the woods and the shimmering mirage-like bustle of Ashen city. Except, of course, for the predators. she thought. Yes, the predators. They were everywhere, searching for a moment of weakness, their words as deadly as any dragon's claw.
When she had been lost in the mountains, away from the hunting party and from family, she could have easily stayed there, lost, in that strange village of mixed bloods who knew of her mother, with Simon as her company. She had been given a choice, yet again, to live free and wild or to live caged and powerful. She would not regret returning, just as she did not regret her decision to live as the nobility instead of running away.
The boat rocked beneath her feet, but its constant motion had never bothered her. In fact, she was more comfortable with the rocking than with the stillness of land. While others in their hunting party – including her father – had had to retreat belowdecks with various remedies, she had been perfectly at ease. She moved about with the same grace as the sailors, who practically lived on this vessel, and certainly with better grace than Malikai.
Poor Malikai. she winced in amused chagrin at the memory. His artificial leg did not cope well with the rolling of the ship. He had fallen more times than he had on the back of a hastar. She was greatly relieved that he had not somehow died during the hunt – she had seen him fall before she had gotten separated, and though she had helped to kill the dragons, she hadn't been able to see his fate until she had returned from her adventure. He is a terrible squire. she thought, with no small degree of affection, But I like having him around. She sighed, a sound not out of place with the wind and the waves. Malikai really was, as someone had once accused, her pet commoner. And that is fine. she decided, He can be my pet commoner. It affords him some degree of status and protection. At some point, she would have to clarify that. But for now, the title of squire would work for him.
She looked up at the creaking ship. Aside from a few sailors out and about on duty and on watch, Laesara was alone. Her father, Malikai, and even the fae dragon Simon and her bodyguard had retreated belowdecks. Apparently, Malesmech, her bodyguard, knew all the sailors and had determined that she was safe enough to allow him to crouch miserably in their cabin with a handful of crackers and ginger. He had not taken to the rolling of the sea. I wonder if it is because of his size... she thought, a little snidely.
There was a tickle at the back of her mind, a sense that someone had called her name just out of the range of her hearing. She looked around for the source. “Hmm?” she asked, her ocean-blue gaze alighting on a nearby sailor.
The sailor glanced at her. “Hmm?” they echoed, “What is it, Miss?” she asked, coiling a rope carefully between their hands.
“Did someone call for me?” she asked. Perhaps Malesmech... or Malikai the similarity in their names was amusing, Wishing to check on me
The sailor blinked. “Not that I heard, miss.” she said, frowning.
Laesara paused, listening, and heard it again, louder and clearer but still wordless and still her name. Somehow. “And now?”
“Naught, miss.” they said, shaking their head. They licked their lips, hesitantly, “Miss,” they said, warily, “Ye know, sometimes ye hear things out at sea. Best to go get some sleep... or a dram... when the water starts talking to ye.” They finished their rope coil, “Thats me advice, anyway.”
“Your advice is appreciated.” she said, giving them a respectful nod and a firm stare as they headed off.
“Aye, take it fer what its worth.” they replied, unphased by the girl's gaze.
Alone again, Laesara turned and stared off into the dark distance once more. The stars were hidden by approaching clouds – a storm. She knew she should probably return below soon. But the the feeling grew stronger and stronger until she was sure of three things – something was calling for her, and it was not calling in words. And, moreover, it was out there, in the expanse of open water. Whatever it is Laesara thought to herself, looking down at the white froth of the ship's break. Whatever such a thing could be.
Still, she felt that if something was calling for her, she should call back, in the same way it had called; Without words. Perhaps, then, she would know what it was, and it was unlikely to cause any harm. She extended her magic towards the feeling until she felt a sudden sense of contact. ”Hello?” she thought at the sensation.
- Excitement rippled like a wind, towards her and through her, jubulant. Call me it seemed to say, It is you, call me...
Call it? Well, what did that mean? Why should she call it? It could, she thought, be a trap, some sort of lure or enticement. But yet, she felt a compulsion to do so. She grabbed at the sensation with her magic and pulled.
- I come
A strange anticipation gripped her as she felt something respond to her pull, felt something push at some sort of constraint – heavy and difficult. She felt it free itself and stream through something thick and viscous. She realized that, without intending to, she was holding out her hand to the water, stretching as far as she could go without unbalancing herself. Before she could pull back to the safety of the ship, something small, white, and gleaming exited the water with a splash.
- Triumph
It flew toward her in an arc of light and, neatly, landed in her hand. She caught the object, blinking in surprise as a sense of warm, almost smug, completion settled around her and through her before fading away into a pleased satisfaction.
- Hers, it was hers the object nestled into her hand, Hers. It had waited for so long, and finally, it was here. Where it was supposed to be.
What was that? she wondered, staring down at the object. It seemed to fit, perfectly, in her hand as if made for it. It was a device, a sort of bent throwing stick, made of the bone of some enormous beast and decorated with elegant patterns, part carved and part inked. Skrimshaw, she had heard the sailors call it. She ran her fingers along its length, the designs at once wholly new and incredibly familiar. It was beautiful.
- It was hers. Wholly hers. Kin to her soul. It had been waiting so long and it had found her. At last...
She looked at the device for a long moment in the darkness before abruptly, almost awkwardly, turning and heading back down below to her cabin. This was something to be discussed immediately with her father. It changed everything...
because she was reasonably certain that she had just imprinted on a weapon.
- Yes. Mine. We will be together forever.
And was hearing its voice.
