A bit of background:
This idea was inspired by the song Tikal by ES Posthumus (I do not own). If you want to get a good feel of how I felt when writing this, try listening to it a few times while reading the summary. Tikal is an ancient Mayan city in modern-day Guatemala that was one of the greatest cities in the Mayan civilization. It's in the middle of a jungle, known for jaguars and quetzal birds, which are real! They were really popular in Aztec culture for their gorgeous feathers, but I think they are absolutely beautiful and wanted to put them into the story. Also, I'd just like to warn you that I'm going to try my hardest not to mix the Mayan/Aztec/Toltec/Incan cultures, but I can't promise anything! They were all definitely different, but also had many similarities, so I may end up blending together some aspects of it.
The expression, "Ack, no!" is one I picked up from a Scottish television show, Monarch of the Glen, which I do not own. The sassy, spunky young lady on it always used to use it whenever she didn't believe or agree with something. It seemed like something Deryn and her family might say, so I put it in. If you can't imagine what it sounds like, this is a gross explanation: it's like you're clearing a big blob of …yuckiness from your throat. Sort of.
I can't guarantee my Gaelic is correct; I couldn't find an online translator so I had to use a dictionary. I apologize if it isn't right!
All original characters and storyline belong to Scott Westerfeld! (I own nothing.)
And lastly, thank you to Winterowl312, Daft Prince, EllieStone, and WordNerb93 for the kind words of encouragement on my last story! It really brightened my day! If anyone has any constructive criticism or tips, I am new so I am open to ideas and thoughts! I plan on making this a two-parter, maybe even a trilogy, but I want to know what everyone thinks!
Extended Summary: First half of an adventure that follows takes our favorite characters from cold Scotland to mysterious and exotic Guatemala and to the deep, dark heart of Africa. Mrs. Sharp is sick and possibly dying, and her last request is for Alek to find Deryn and bring her home. Alek hesitates at first, scared of the feelings he hid away long ago coming unearthed. But he decides to, realizing that he owed it to the woman; her own daughter saved his life more than once. Rumors state that Deryn has been working for a cryptic society that Jaspert and Dr. Barlow know only little about. Has Deryn gotten in over her head, and will Alek find her in time?
Thankyouthankyouthankyou for reading! :)
Tikal
Chapter One: A Request
"Deryn! Please, just tell me what it is! Do you want to postpone the wedding for a bit? Because I am more than willing to-"
"No! Alek, I don't WANT a wedding AT ALL," she had said, trying to mask the shakiness in her voice, but to no avail. Something wasn't right.
Alek remembered the hot sting of the tears in his eyes. "But why? Is studying more important than our life together? You've already become a doctor; what else do you want?"
Deryn hesitated. Alek could see her clenching her jaw to try to bite back the tears, but it wasn't working. "No, it's not that, it's just-"
"Am I not good enough for you?"
"Alek, of course you are- I mean- Ack. We can't be together!" Her voice had betrayed her tough façade greatly in the last sentence.
He felt every bone in his body break. Every tear burned his flesh. He felt nothing but pain. "I love you," he said, not even trying to hide his trembling, shaky voice. "I was willing to give up my empire for you," he said sharply. He hated being like this.
She hadn't expected him to say those things. Did she really think she could just slither out of this without upsetting him?
But she stood her ground. "I'm sorry."
Tears poured out of Alek's emerald eyes; he could do nothing but drop to his knees she turned and walked away.
He was awoken by a large bump the carriage went over. "Es tut mir leid!" called a loud apologetic voice from the front. It belonged to none other than Mr. Otto Klopp. He and the Count and Bauer and Hoffman had stayed in his service long after their adventures aboard Leviathan. Surprisingly, Klopp had taken a great liking to travelling, so he had asked Alek if he could accompany him as his driver whenever he went abroad. Klopp had also grown fond of beasties, both fabricated and natural, so learning to work with them hadn't been a problem. And Bovril loved him, so it worked out very well.
"Es ist okay!" Alek called back.
Alek was tired. He'd been traveling almost all day to get the small Glasgow village. He'd come to Scotland for the sole purpose of responding to a letter he received from one Jaspert Sharp. It was very vague, but said that both Jaspert and his mother wished to see the Austrian Emperor immediately; it was a very important matter. He had kept in touch with Ma and Jaspert, despite Deryn's wishes. As long as they were sneaky about it, no one would know. No one had heard from Deryn in almost two years anyways, so he doubted she would even find out.
"Mr. Sharp," said Bovril, whose voice came from the seat beside Alek, as it stood up and peeked out the carriage window.
Alek looked down at it. "Yes, but not the one you are hoping for," he said.
They had just arrived at the Sharps' house, and Jaspert, who must have seen the carriage coming, stood in the doorway to greet Alek. He had the same light, blonde hair as Deryn, and almost the same eyes, too.
The carriage came to a stop, and Alek took Bovril and placed him in a large bird cage. "You stay here," he instructed the loris. "If you behave well, I will make sure to have a treat for you."
"Treat," the loris said excitedly.
"Yes," Alek replied. "Now be good for Mr. Klopp. I'll be back."
Alek placed a think cotton sheet over the cage and went to unlatch the door-
"Alek," said the handsome, tall blonde man as he opened the carriage door. "It's so good to see you. It's been so long." He smiled. "Thank you for coming."
"Indeed it has," answered Alek, smiling and shaking Jaspert's hand as he stepped out of the carriage. The house looked exactly the same way when he had seen it for the first time five years ago, long before they were engaged. It was when Deryn brought him home to meet her family. "It was the least I could do. And besides, it's always nice to get away for a little while. I like Scotland quite a lot."
"Aye, we do, too. Thanks again so much for coming; it's really going to mean a lot to Ma."
"Yes, I'm glad to. Where is your mother, if I may ask? She was the reason you asked me to come." Alek inquired. The two of them stepped into the small kitchen.
Jaspert's face fell. "That's just it," he began. "Would you like some tea? It may be easier to explain everything if you're sitting down."
Alek was a little taken aback by all the mysteriousness. Just a week ago, he had received a letter from Jaspert asking Alek to come to their house in Glasgow, per his mother's request. It had all been in a very cryptic manner, but Alek was glad to see Deryn's family, since he hadn't seen them in so long.
Jaspert motioned for him to sit down. Alek did so, and noticed the lovely little tray of tea sweets that had been set out earlier. One of which was shortbread, most likely Mrs. Shape's recipe, Alek's favorite. He slyly put a piece in his pocket, for Bovril.
Jaspert sat down and handed him a mug. "So, Alek, the reason I wrote you was because Ma asked me to."
Alek nodded. "Yes, you said that in your letter."
"Oh, right. Well, there's no other way to put it, so I'll just say it." He took a sip from his tea and looked down at the table. "She's dying."
Alek wasn't expecting that. After a moment of silence, he softly asked, "...How long does she have?"
"Doc says a month, two if the medicine works," he said as he took another sip of tea. Alek studied his expressionless face for a moment. Jaspert had changed since Alek had first met him, and greatly at that. Five years ago, just after Alek and Deryn started working for the Zoological Society and had come out to everyone as a couple, Jaspert had enjoyed tormenting and teasing Alek in every possible way, simply because he was courting his little sister. Alek had seen it as disapproval and had worried about it constantly; Deryn always insisted it was the opposite. "That's just the way he is!" she would say whenever they discussed the matter. "He only does it because he likes you!" Eventually, Deryn was proved to be correct, to Alek's pleasant surprise. He and Jaspert began to have real conversations together, Jaspert even taught him to play a little on the guitar. And since Ma had become ill only two years ago, he had become the man of the house, a responsibility he didn't take lightly. It was strange now to see Jaspert like that, responsible. Alek could see the how the stress had taken its toll on him.
"I'm so sorry, Jaspert. Is there anything I can do?" Alek asked. Since Ma had only had one son, she had taken a great liking to Alek. She enjoyed all of the "proper customs" Alek practiced, especially the compliments he gave her regarding her cooking. "A true gentleman he is!" Ma had exclaimed the day he had first come to the house and Alek couldn't stop raving about her shortbread. She even insisted her refer to her as "Ma" from now on, seeing as he was to become part of the family.. Was.
Jaspert nodded. "Aye, that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. See, she's sort of got a 'last request' she wants to ask you."
Alek nodded fervently. "Anything."
Jaspert held his breath for a moment, and then spat it out. "She wants you to find Deryn."
Alek froze. Deryn. He hadn't spoken to her in two years. As far as he knew, she wanted nothing to do with him. Why did Ma want him to find her?
"Alek, I know that what happened wasn't right, I'm ashamed of my sister for that, but please just talk to Ma. She still considers you like her own and ever since Deryn disappeared, she hasn't been well. This would bring her so much peace." Jaspert said almost tearfully.
Alek nodded. "All right, I'll talk to her. May I see her?"
"Aye," Jaspert said. "Her room is this way," he said as he got up from the table.
The two stepped up the stairs softly, bring a wave of nostalgia over Alek. The stairs he had trudged up so many times with Deryn while trying to sneak about. Ma's room was the first on the left, right next to Deryn's.
Jaspert knocked softly. "Ma, can we come in?"
"Aye," said a weak voice from behind the door. "It's open."
Jaspert pushed open the door to reveal Ma Sharp, who was understandably not looking her best. Her face had thinned significantly, her hair turned a paler yellow than it had been before, and she had a constant look of being tired on her face. Alek had loved his own mother dearly, but since he had lost her, Ma had helped to fill the void that his mother left. It pained him to see her like this. Deryn had certainly taken a toll on the Sharp family.
She smiled. "Aleksandar!"
He moved swiftly, knelt by her side, and took her outstretched hand. "Ma," he said with a small, sad smile.
"I see you got my letter," she said as she pecked him softly on the cheek, in an especially motherly way. "You'll have to forgive my appearance."
"Yes, I got it," he said. "And I'm so sorry to see you aren't feeling well."
She waved her hand. "Ack, no. I've been worse," she said with a wink. "Jaspert, would you fetch me some tea?"
"Aye, Ma. I'll be back in a moment," he said as he went through the door.
Her wise blue eyes looked sad. Alek cleared his throat and said, "I understand you have a request for me."
"Oh! Yes. Aleksandar, up until a few days ago, I had no hope of seeing my daughter ever again. Or you, for that matter. But then Jaspert received a strange letter in the mail-"
"A letter? From Deryn?" Alek interrupted.
"Yes, Well, we think so, at least," said Jaspert as he returned with the tea tray.
"Don't interrupt," she continued. "Jaspert, would you please fetch the envelope from my desk?"
Jaspert obeyed, and brought it over to her. She removed the paper inside. "It's a drawing, and we think it's one of Deryn's."
Alek gently took the paper from Ma's hand and studied it. It was a beautiful, full-color drawing of some sort of bird he had never seen before. It was a great, green bird with a dark orange breast and long, emerald and white plumes jutting out from its bottom. The bird was sitting on a branch in what looked like a thick forest or jungle. The faint pencil marks around it showed that it was probably an observation, that the artist was sitting close by when it was sketched.
"As you can see," Ma continued as she turned and removed a folded piece of paper from her nightstand drawer, "There are several similarities between the two of these." She handed him the folded piece of paper and when he unfolded it, he saw the words "To: Ma Love: Deryn" written across the top. "She made that for me right before she left for the Service," Ma explained. It was a picture of a small barn owl, perched on the windowsill of the Sharps' barn. Deryn must have sketched this from her bedroom window, Alek thought to himself.
"This looks like something she did, all right," Alek noted as he continued to study the owl and then the green bird. They were both beautifully drawn.
"Yes, Jaspert and I both agree. However, if you look back at the picture of the green bird, you may notice something a bit strange." She handed the picture to him. In the plumes there appear to be words. Tell me what you see."
Alek held the picture close and then at arms' length from his eyes. The more he looked, the more he could see that there was definitely something there.
"D...Um. Spi...Ro...Spero? D Um Spi Ro Spero?" he asked. Whatever could that mean? Was it a secret message Deryn was trying to tell Jaspert?
"Actually, Dum Sprio Spero," Ma corrected."You're familiar with your Latin still, I trust?"
Alek nodded. He thought for a moment, then said, "While I have breath I hope."
Ma turned to him. "That's the Sharp family motto."
Alek had to restrain himself from letting out a gasp. It had to be from Deryn.
"It's from her," Alek said. "It has to be."