Chapter 1: A Man in a Mask
Sarah smiled and danced. The crew took turns dancing with their one female member, each cutting in at any moment they so desired. She was passed from man to man then finally to Captain Richards, the tallest man in the group. He kept Sarah's hand for three more dances before another guest at the party, not a member of the crew of the Emerald Queen, asked to take his place. Sarah smiled and let herself be led into a slow moving dance by a tall man who looked like a snake. He had scaly skin, watery yellow eyes and a fanged smile. He was dressed richly in gold trimmed clothes and had a few strands of blue hair on the top of his head all parted to the side. She felt the muscle twitch under her left eye, an early sign that she may laugh. She knew that with the Fae it would be impossible to hide it when you wanted to laugh, but he wasn't a Fae so she could get away with a smile and a little giggle.
"And what would you're name be?" She asked politely.
The snake man smiled. "My Lady, they call me King Lazarus. But you may call me Lazz."
"Lazz," She grinned. "I like that."
For a few minutes they danced in silence. Sarah would've kindly parted and left to find a crew member to drink with were it not for the fact that-
"How is it, your highness that you have not asked for my name?" She said.
Lazz smiled, a thin red tongue flickering out for an instant. "Everyone knows your name little wanderer." He said with a gentle hiss. "Not many young girls…well not any girls of any age have bested the likes of the eldest son of the high king and lived to tell the tale without some sort of scarring." He looked her up and down pointedly.
"My scars may not show," Sarah said with a little smile. "But I can indeed tell you that I have been scarred from that particular event in my life. Though it was the beginning of a very happy life for me here, I do not think I will ever be able to return the Labyrinth, even to reclaim what I have lost."
"What have you lost?" Lazz said.
Sarah's smile dropped and for a moment all the glamour and happy fantasies she lived seemed very empty. But she smiled again and ignored the gloom inside her. "I left behind my first love, my first taste of the adult world." She explained. "But I know that I have friends there, and one day I'll leave the Emerald Queen to be there."
"You said you left behind your first love, might I inquire of that?" He asked. There was a hint of sleuth in this man and Sarah found it made her smile.
"Well, what little girl doesn't fall in love with her first ballroom dance partner?" She laughed.
The snake-king grinned and said "I myself became attached to my first dance instructor, but a teacher-student relationship was not encouraged."
Sarah laughed. "It is the same in the Aboveground; it is not encouraged to have a romantic relationship with a teacher."
"So you had the same problem too then? Your first love?" Lazz said.
"Oh," She gasped. "No you misunderstand. He wasn't my teacher."
"Then," He paused and thought carefully for a moment. "What was he to you?"
Sarah felt the wing of an owl brush her cheek, a feeling she only got when she recalled her Goblin King. "He was…in a way a guardian. He watched over me when I ran the Labyrinth, he watched and made sure that I learned what I needed to."
"If I may contradict you, he sounds like a teacher to me." Lazz said.
Sarah laughed. "If you count a teacher as a very odd Fae who likes to dance and sing and wear abominably tight pants that make it difficult to keep your eyes on his face, then alright he was my teacher."
"A teacher is a teacher no matter how they teach and how they appear." He said, and Sarah had no doubts anymore that he was a very judicious king. Though he may be a fumble-mouthed snake man, he had wisdom in his ageless eyes that Sarah had grown accustomed to over her three years of journeying and meeting very intelligent folk
He continued, "You yourself are a teacher, you've taught many Fae that mortality is not a handicap. And I'm sure your crew has taught you many things."
"True," Sarah said. "But I do not count my first love as a teacher; he was simply the villain in my fairytale."
"Did you ever grow out of your villain?" The snake said.
"Well," Sarah grinned. "I grew out of the need for a villain to make my story, but I don't think I could ever go back to him. For in the end I turned out to be the very cruel creature I imagined him to be. He even said my eyes were so cruel…" She faded for a moment back into her memories.
"Sarah!" A very drunk Scoot was coming toward the dance floor from the bar. His voice was slurred and his left eye was swollen. He had defiantly been in a brawl.
"Damn," She grumbled. "I'm sorry, Lazz, but Scoot is my responsibility, seeing as no one else takes the time to care for the nit-twit. Please excuse me."
"Of course," Lazz said and he released his hold on Sarah. "But do remember what I said, and it may be to your advantage to return to your teacher. Goodbye Lady Sarah."
Scoot stumbled toward her, bumping into many aggravated dancers as he went. His face was much bruised and very green.
"Scoot," Sarah caught the boy in her arms and slung his arm over her shoulder. "I swear if you ruin this dress I'm going to make you clean the bathrooms for three weeks."
"Ookay," He mumbled and leaned his face into her neck. She half-dragged the boy back from the party on the beach to the docks where the Emerald Queen sat quietly, only Jay aboard to guard her. Jay was an older man, though his blue eyes were as young as Scoot's, his hair was mousey grey and was almost always pulled back in a short curly ponytail. In his youth Jay had been known as Black Bear, the dreaded pirate of the west sea. To Sarah he was merely Papa Bear.
The ship stood grandly, her pale green sails bright against the star-filled sky. Torches lit her like a thousand little fireflies making her shine like the night sky herself. Scoot let Sarah drag him up onto the ship and dump him near the side, where he hung wearily over the side and proceeded to vomit up the many drinks he had consumed.
"Well," Papa Bear laughed heartily. "What did he drink now?"
"I have no idea," Sarah said and took a seat next to the old pirate. She hiked up one leg over the other knee and leaned back against the mast. "But whatever it is I hope it keeps him from indulging too much again."
Scoot turned away from the water to shoot Sarah a dirty glare, which she returned with a blown kiss. Grunting he returned to his vomiting.
"Don't be too hard on him love," Papa Bear smiled and put a hand on her shoulder. "I remember when you were sixteen how you loved to sip that, oh what was it? Jamaican Rum?"
From his sick post Sarah heard Scoot laugh. She however was not amused. "I was young." She spat.
"You still are, your eighteenth birthday is next week." Jay smiled like a proud father.
Sarah couldn't help but smile back to him. It was true, she was still very young. But in the almost three years that she had been with the Emerald Queen she had learned more then she ad ever learned anywhere else. She had conned pirates, battled a very vicious group of Monkey Fae, had been victim of a curse from an estranged witch which had resulted in her growing a tail for three days, had danced and met with many Kings, Queens, Princes, Princesses and a Duke that weighed over a ton and had a smile unlike any she'd ever seen. She had fought for her life, the life of her crew-mates, and the safety of the Emerald Queen. She remembered one occurrence where she had fallen into the Endless Well only to find that it was only six feet deep and was home to a very cranky elf who had named the well to keep people from invading his personal space.
There was so much she had seen and so much she had done and still she was only on the brim of her eighteenth year. She was also the youngest crew member, even though Scoot was twenty five he was as reckless as a fourteen year old boy, and so she was his appointed 'mother.'
"Do you want anything for your birthday, Poppy-child?" Papa Bear loved to give her little nicknames, and they were almost always associated with flowers. She had been Lily-doll, Rosie-bell, and Violet-smile, anything with a flower.
"Oh, no thank you Papa," Sarah said. "I'm very well without anything."
"Liar," Scoot croaked.
"You're drunk, go back to vomiting." Sarah snapped.
Scoot gave her an exaggerated salute and leaned once again over the side the boat. For a while the boat was quiet, only the sounds of the party could be heard. That and Scoot's retching sounds.
"Why don't you go back to the party," Jay said. "It's hardly midnight; the party will go on 'til dawn."
Sarah nodded and smiled. "Alright," She said and started to leave the boat. "I'll be around in another hour or so."
Sarah almost ran back to the party, eager to find the Captain or Frizz to dance with for a while. There were many strange Fae and creatures at this party. Though it was on the beach, only the crew of the Emerald Queen was dressed for sand and waves. Captain Margo Richards wore a richly designed vest, no shirt beneath it, and loose fitting trousers and no shoes. The rest of the crew was similarly dressed, save Sarah of course. She wore a white dress with a thick and wide belt around her middle. The skirt was cropped and trimmed and covered in lace and beads, her favorite for dancing and the top of the dress was sleeveless and had a rounded low collar. Over the top she wore a loose leather jacket Margo had given her. She let her hip length hair fly loose in gentle raven-colored waves.
Compared to the other guests, the crew was a wild, untamed group. In retrospect the peaceful crew found the dark, partying Fae a bit too feral for their taste. But a party was a party and sometimes you could make a good con or snag a few coins from the Fae when they were otherwise indisposed by their partying. Sarah rejoined the dancers in the circle, and was almost instantly asked to dance by a masked fellow in a deep blue cloak. Under the cloak Sarah could catch the traces of a leather suit that gave no indication of rank or origin. The mask covered the man's entire face, but Sarah gave little thought to his oddness and took his hand and danced. She watched the magic unfold around her as it always did when she danced with powerful fey men. Glitter filled the air, glinting in the torches' light, and a smell, a very faint smell filled her nostrils. She could sense a spell in the air that tried to keep that scent contained, but it was too powerful for her to remember where she had smelled that dark, spicy scent before.
The man had a muffled voice when he had asked her to dance and even now he was silent, which was a little annoying for Sarah. So she struck up some conversation.
"The Dryads were very kind to invite us to the party," She said. "It's not common for pirates to be invited to Fae parties."
"You don't look like a pirate." The man's voice was almost too hard to hear from behind the mask.
"Oh?" Sarah asked, eyebrows raised. "And what characterizes the look of a pirate?"
"Well," He turned her in the dance so she had her back to him and he held her tightly against his chest. With his chin leaning on her shoulder, he nudged her face to look. "That is what a pirate looks like."
He had turned her to face the bar, a long glass table, covered in a variety of drinks and food. Around the table stood the majority of her crew, slobbering drunk, tugging on the wings of passing fairies, flirting with every woman that came their way. Frizz was arm wrestling his twin Maze, and losing miserably to him, which would not have seemed strange if not for the fact that Maze's arms were made of wood after he lost them in a very bad accident.
"You should really see them on their good days," Sarah sighed happily, liking the way this stranger was holding her a little too much. "They make for wonderful conversational companions."
The man snorted, a sound Sarah assumed was accompanied by a smirk. He spun her around again so she was facing him.
"Do you like the pirate life?" He asked.
"Well enough," Sarah answered. "Lucky for me my crew mates treat me like a queen."
"How nice for you." He sounded irritated, almost cross.
"Seeing as I think you know who I am…" She implied the question but he didn't catch the hint.
"Sarah Williams, member of the Emerald Queen, Lady of the Labyrinth," He said. "Mortal woman." The last words bit with a smidgen of mockery.
"Huh," She said her tone sharp. "You must be some sort of monarch, only those too high and mighty and proud of themselves think mortals so low."
"You dare speak with such a manner to one whom you think a monarch?" He asked angrily.
Sarah smiled and lifted a hand from his shoulder and tapped the hard, smooth lips of the mask. The shadowed eyes flickered dangerously. "I speak to anyone in which manner I so choose. If you speak with respect I will return it. But if you dare mock someone like me, I will not be kind for your cruelty."
"I see," He said. "I will keep friends with you Lady."
"Shakespeare?"
"'Much ado about nothing.'"
"Very good, I love that play." Sarah said and her smile turned brighter. It was rare to find someone who knew the works of the great Willy S.
"It is one of my favorites." He admitted with a hint of embarrassment.
"Mine as well," Sarah said happily. She was about to inquire further upon his knowledge of Shakespeare when I sudden crash from the bar made the dancers pause and the music stopped mid-crescendo.
"Sarah!" Margo's voice broke the shocked silence. "Bombs away baby!"
"Goodbye, sir," She looked at her masked companion. "Though I must say that I lied, those pirates don't even have sense enough to form proper sentences. It has been very fun." She leaned up to kiss the masked cheek then darted quickly through the crowd with her crew members back to the boat. Once the crew members were all accounted for and Captain Margo commanded the ship out to sea, Sarah asked what had happened.
"Well," Margo laughed and pointed a thumb behind his head to Scar.
Sarah turned around and looked at the three-thousand year old Elf man. He was leaning against the side of the boat, arms crossed over his chest. He was grumpy; Sarah knew it from the tension in his muscled arms. His black hair hung loose over his face, shadowing his tight-lipped expression. Sarah sighed and shook her head, but went over to stand next to her mate.
"Hey, doll." She said. "What happened this time?"
"I don't think it's any of your business, doll." He said angrily.
"Is that any way to treat someone who's trying to help you?" Sarah snapped. She bowed down to peer up under his hair to see his chocolate brown eyes.
"No ma'am." He recited.
"Now, tell me what happened." She ordered.
Scar snorted and raised an eyebrow at Sarah. "It was a troll."
"Scarrie! What did I tell you about trolls?" She said angrily.
"That I'm not to approach them or even look at them…" He said glumly.
"Because?"
"You really love this aren't you?" He snapped. He stood up straight and pulled his hair up out of his face. Without the black locks to hide it the deep scar over the left side of his face shone clear in the light. "Because of my anger against them, because of the scar they gave me."
Sarah stood up, having been victim of Scar's anger more then once or twice, winced at his voice, but stood firm even as he moved forward to stand over her in all his dark scarred glory. She looked at him, watching with her green eyes the sadness that tumbled in his eyes. She was not afraid of Scar.
"Do you think letting your anger out on me rather then the trolls is any better?" She asked. She took his hand in hers. "Come with me, we're going to let out some of that anger."
Scar didn't protest and he let Sarah take him down to the bottom floor of the boat. Down there were sacks of grain and corn for barter, but on bad days Sarah and Scar went down to punch the bags. Scar was maybe the only crew member next to Jay who knew about Sarah's entire past, and Sarah in turn was the only one who knew the true source of the scar on his face.
Scar had been born to a young Elf woman named Serena; he was named for his late father Lanzer, but adopted the nickname Scar after his fifth birthday. On that day, he lost his mother and his name in one attack from a band of vagrant trolls. They raped his mother and killed her and left little Lanzer for dead with half of his face shredded to bits and a stake in his gut. Amazingly he survived the ordeal along with four other youths from his town that helped raise him and took him from cit to city. When he was fifteen he joined Jay on his ship the Rascal and stayed with him ever since.
Though Sarah's life since the Labyrinth had been adventurous and dream-like, she had suffered a great deal on account of these adventures. Marvin, a year older then Scott, had been a beloved companion for everyone on the boat, but an accident with a broken mast had been his death. Few of the crew ever wanted to replace him, but no one ever spoke of him after his death. He had been Sarah's best friend.
Down in the deep bowls of the boat, Sarah sat on a bag of oats, while Scar bunched a bag of corn seeds.
"What did the troll do?" Sarah asked.
Scar answered between punches. "Pushed me out of the way, stole the girl I was talking to and my drink."
"So you…?"
He gouged her reaction and frowned. "What I always do."
Sarah shook her head and sighed. "You really need to keep your cool."
"Sarah, I've known you for three years, but I still do not understand half the things you say." Scar looked at her with his trademark grin.
"I meant you need to watch your temper." She clarified.
"Ah," He said. "I'm not the only one." He eyed her frown with a smile.
She was quiet for a while, then spoke in a soft voice "He was there, he danced with me again."
"He came?" Scar shook his head. "Why does he still follow you? The man's a lunatic."
"Stop that," Sarah said sternly. She was more offended then she should have been.
"You…" Scar smiled mockingly. "You still love the man! Of all the…good gods above."
"Shut up, Lanzer!" Sarah said. "He is my friend, he can do what he wants, I do not object to him coming around to visit…even if his manner is odd."
"If he still loves you," He put up a hand to silence her. "Then why does he come to you in a mask?"
Sarah thought quietly for a moment. When she did speak her voice was soft and full of unguarded passion. "I don't think he has forgiven me completely, I know I haven't forgiven him either. But we have a sort of connection that makes it difficult to be far apart."
"You've mentioned your connection before, but do you think you'll ever get over him?" He asked.
"I…" She paused and shook her head, feeling like nothing could have made the situation better. "He'll always be there, here." She laid a hand on her chest over her beating heart. "But until we can settle the conflict between us, I'm not going to push him."
"You don't seem to be the kind to push anything," Scar said and grinned.
Sarah cleared her throat and rolled her eyes. "I'm going to bed, when you plan on being nice maybe I'll speak to you again." She stood and left, ignoring Scar's low chuckle.
Up in her room she changed into her night shirt, a very oversized poet's shirt, stained a deep red. Then she cuddled up into her bed, and fell asleep to the sounds and the sway of the sea.