Rime of an Ancient Mariner

Piers stood on the deck of his ship as he silently set sail towards Lemuria after having parted ways with his dear friends. He was lost in his thoughts as the ship caught the wind and the tide and sailed out to sea. A lot had happened in such a short time.

Rime, one of his trusty Djinn, noticed his friend's unusual behavior. "Piers?" He asked. "Is something bothering you?"

Piers smiled at Rime sadly. "Leave it to you to see through me."

"You miss your friends already, is that it?" Rime asked.

Piers didn't answer right away. There was an uneasy silence. "Yes." Piers said, finally. "I miss them. That's it."

"There's more to it though, isn't there?" Rime prodded.

Piers sighed, clasping the wheel between his hands. "Yes. Yes, there is."

"You can tell me, Piers." Rime said.

Piers looked at the Djinni, and nodded. "I suppose I could. It might help." He stared out into the distance, out over the waves. "Where to begin?"

"Why not the beginning?" Rime asked.

Piers nodded. "Alright. The beginning."

...

Not so long ago, he had almost been a normal Lemurian, albeit one that had a bit more spark than most. He had always been drawn to the sea, to the lands beyond it. He'd never known why, beyond the fact that his own father had had such a calling and had died for it—as had his grandfather, and his grandfather's father. All three had died at sea. Perhaps Piers should have feared that he would suffer a similar fate, curse of the family and all that, but he never was afraid. Not of the sea.

He had suffered more than his fare share of misfortune, however.

As a child, he had been alone. There were no children of his age in Lemuria. The generation before him were already adults, and he was grown by the time the next generation came. Instead of playing, he turned to studies under King Hydros. It wasn't a bad, really. He'd always been eager to learn, if somewhat timid around the other Lemurians. They had never really understood him, he had been afraid of what they would think if they knew what he dreamt of—to leave and see the world, to follow in his ancestor's footsteps and live a life at sea—perhaps even die at sea, if that was his fate.

When King Hydros decided to send someone out into the world, of course he chose Piers. He knew how badly Piers longed to go, and he was willing to allow it. Piers knew what the consequences were likely to be. He wasn't afraid of banishment, though.

He had been making a few last minute preparations when the tidal wave had struck. More bad luck, so it had seemed. Truly, it was just proof of how luck is something all mixed up, not really good or bad on its own. He had washed ashore near Madra, and had been mistaken for a Champan pirate, and had been thrown in jail. He'd had plenty of time to reflect then, and had thought himself a very unlucky man.

That was when Felix and his friends had come to Madra. He'd thought nothing of them at that time, to his later regret, but of course he'd had a lot on his mind. Not long after that, he was freed because the real pirates had been captured—by Felix's party, no less—and he had set out in search of the orb that controlled his ship.

...

"I know the rest, I think." Rime said. "I've been with you lot for a while now, and I've heard that story."

"Yes, I'm sure you have." Piers agreed.

"They're nice people." Rime said, quietly. "Nice friends. No wonder you miss them."

Piers said nothing, still staring at the waves out on the ocean. Rime saw that his eyes were full of deep and desperate longing. "You'll see them again." Rime assured the mariner.

"Yes, but..." Piers bit his lip, silencing himself.

Rime sighed. "You left something out, didn't you? What is it? There's more to it than that. If it isn't them you miss... Your mother?"

"No." Piers said, in sudden anger. Then his shoulders slumped and his eyes became sad again. "I mean, yes. I do miss mother, too. That's not it, though."

Rime remained silent, leaving it to the mariner to speak when he was ready. Piers let go of the wheel and walked towards the prow of the ship, running his hand along the side of the ship as Rime followed. He leaned against the masthead, not a bit of fear in his eyes. He trusted his dear ship with his life, as any man of the sea should. Now he was gazing back towards the lands he'd left behind, and the longing in his eyes was even more intense. Rime hadn't realized that was possible.

Piers spoke only one word then, and it was barely a whisper. "Jenna."

Rime understood immidiately, the true problem the mariner faced. "Oh..." He said, barely a squeak.

As one of the spirits entrusted to Piers, Rime should've realized. He should have known the look in the mariner's eye when he was around the flame user was more than mere respectful admiration. Should have realized that, atop Mars Lighthouse, when Piers had shouted to the Wise One in anger in Jenna's defense it was not only because she was one of his companions. Should have seen the hurt in his eyes when she was crying such mounful tears for her parents... Tears the mariner would never be able to forget. The happiness Piers had felt when Jenna was happily reunited with everyone from Vale even though their home had been destroyed.

And the sorrowful air that had been around him ever since, after the reunion, Isaac had finally pulled together enough courage to kiss the girl he'd been in love with for some time. The girl who obviously felt the same way in return. Neither of them had noticed the shock written on the mariner's face, the pain in his eyes. No one had.

No one ever would.

Rime tapped his feet quietly on the deck of the ship. "Piers... I'm sure you'll find someone else."

"I doubt it." Pier sighed, turning his face into the wind. "There's no one in the world like Jenna, Rime. No one."

A single tear fell from his face then, into the sea. A drop of water in the ocean. The only tear the mariner shed for his lost love. The only proof of his broken heart.

...

In the years that followed, he put on a happy face. He sailed around the world, to and from Lemuria, spreading trade and knowledge that had for so long been isolated. When he did get news from his dear friends, he took it all with a smile. Rime respected him for that.

Especially the day the news arrived that Isaac and Jenna were expecting. Piers wrote back to them how happy he was to hear of it, just as he'd written all the others who'd sent him such news. It seemed all his dear friends were starting families these days. Isaac, Jenna, Garet, Ivan, Mia... Even Felix and Sheba. Only he had no one.

"Rime of the Ancient Mariner." Piers muttered as he let the pidgeon fly away with his letter. Rime looked at Piers in confusion, and the mariner smiled back sadly. "It's a tale of misfortune. I should've seen it coming... I should've told her how I felt. But as long as she is happy, I am happy enough."

Happy enough, indeed.

...

Author: I'm not sure how I feel about Sailingshipping yet, so I'm not putting anything in here about that. This is a one-sided Piers/Jenna story I've wanted to do ever since I learned about the real story Rime of an Ancient Mariner. The first thing I thought of really was this story about Piers, since I really do have Rime set to him. I don't know when I started shipping Piers/Jenna, but I knew from the start it wasn't going to happen. Still, I couldn't get it out of my mind.

I've been a fan of Golden Sun for a while and felt bad that I'd never done any stories for it. Truth is, I think the story is so good already I don't know where to fit a fiction in. I may do some now though, with the time-skip between the originals and Dark Dawn. There's plenty of stuff there to work with now. Gives me some direction:)