The Road to
EL DORADO II
the Diamond King
Disclaimer: © DreamWorks: The original storyline and characters are not under my jurisdiction and belong strictly to the artists and producers at DreamWorks Studios. Should any of the following resemble factual or fictional events currently in existence it is merely coincidence.
Warnings: OC, OOC (?), fantasy and humor
Author's Note: I love The Road to El Dorado! It's definitely my #2 favorite movie (my #1 being The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys)! This story has undergone numerous makeovers and plot-changes but now it's finally ready to be released for public viewing. Yeah, it's yet another sequel to the 2000 release but, hey, give me some credit; I doubt anyone else has Babylonian Gods and another animal cohort. Yep, I'm going to be sticking as close to Disney/DreamWorks as possible with expressive animals (horses/wolves/armadillos) and magical wonder!
R&R,
Enjoy!
Prophecies in Babylon
A golden empire rooted in the Mesopotamian desert, standing powerfully over its enemies and protecting its allies. Unbreakable, Babylon was an image of glory and conquest. Yet it fell easily; left in the incapable hands of a single man its fortitude crumbled. Gluttony: a mortal weakness that impaled consideration for the growing populace.
Encouragement from a respected deity influenced the unwary Babylonian king and from his gullibility and greed, he sacrificed everything and gained nothing.
Belet-Seri, the reigning Goddess of the Underworld, had proven her point: man was not created to rule a kingdom made for gods. Gathering divinities questioned the abilities of humankind; it was their plan to have an earthly sanctuary greater than Heaven itself. This notion failed when the interloper, Belet-Seri, had chosen to make a statement of her higher-authority.
She was exiled to the underworld.
Babylon's downfall affected more than its unsanctified inhabitants. The gods had lost a prospected home. Overcrowded and experiencing unusual conditions, Heaven was both unfit and unsafe to dwell. Some explored the proposal of Mount Olympus while others branched into the New World where they could live securely on the undiscovered territories.
Most, however, were determined to stay in the familiarity of the Fertile Crescent and sought to rebuild the empire, grander than before. Hidden behind incantations, the new Babylon sprouted from the ruins of its predecessor, brimming with treasures from across the world. A city embroidered with diamonds and precious metals, abundant with spices and foreign delicacies. It was a dream-world, existing in myths and invisible to those with impure hearts.
A Supreme Lord was elected to oversee its maintenance; Marduk—a god who had previously shown his worth by protecting the heavens—was chosen from a short list and crowned king. Those who stumbled over its threshold (mortal or immortal) were deeply attracted by its beauty and tempted to stay, living the remainder of their lives among the holiest of neighbors.
One such accident befell Zoraida, a wandering Hispanic from Madrid. A stowaway in a Portuguese fleet, she had been stranded during an expedition to India. Marduk was instantly entranced with the exotic gem, wooing her shortly after their first encounter. Taken by his hospitality and romantic advances, she lingered longer than the ship homeward-bound was docked.
Madly in love and ruling with a soft heart, Marduk nurtured a prosperous sovereignty. Neo-Babylon flourished.
That is, until the prophecy foretold a second cataclysm.
Although she was not called upon to give her input, Fortuna, a prophetic goddess, foretold the king and his mistress' future together and it was unfortunately grey. Babylon would be conquered at the hands of a ruler born under an April moon in 1500.
Marduk disregarded the claims and was punished in his ignorance.
One year after their meeting and fifteen days before the scheduled wedding festival, Zoraida died in childbirth. After a strenuous labor she produced fraternal twins; a son, Enki, and a daughter, Luza. While eager for an heir and pleased with the bearing, Marduk was devastated at the loss of his ladylove. Now believing Fortuna's words he ordered the removal of his lastborn and entrusted the help of three servants, all possessing arcane gifts.
On their shoulders, Babylon's fate rested.
"Sire is insane if he believes—"
"Hush Eluned," Eleri barked in curt breaths, holding a bundle of silks against her chest protectively. She felt the round shape within stir. "You'll wake the child!"
Eluned growled in frustration, her expression veiled in midnight shadows. A comforting hand squeezed her shoulder as she marched forward, pursuing Eleri. Ahatah smiled, understanding her irritation.
Moving swiftly through the night, they crept further into the unlit city, unsure of themselves and their charge.
Their king had demanded they deliver his newborn child to her mother's homeland. Though the trek had been painless their arrival had spurred some unexpected interest. Appearing beyond the gates of Barcelona, the three women had drawn the attention of many drunkards trying to find an unsteady way home.
"I just don't understand why we couldn't leave her in Egypt…somewhere closer!" Eluned reasoned in a whisper, her eyes focused on hunched figures smelling of stale alcohol. "I mean Spain? Come on! He should have just asked us to—"
"Eluned!" Whipping around on her heel, Eleri stared her companion down, the tension in her voice quieting the younger servant.
Ahatah silently walked ahead, her old body arched forward. Her dark robes blended with the urban surroundings, disguising her as one of Barcelona's own. Clad in gold and silver linens and ostentatious jewelry, Eleri and Eluned attracted the slurred focus of passersby.
"Next time," Eluned muttered tightly from the corner of her mouth, "I choose the destination,"
Rolling her eyes, Eleri continued along the narrow street. The uneven cobblestone pressed uncomfortably against the bare soles of her feet and occasionally she would stumble, clutching the little body securely.
Enfolded in the darkness, the women peeked through open windows. Finding an appropriate family was difficult; their opinions of a well suited home differentiated greatly and their exhaustion was making them bitter. Ahatah, though quiet, was exhibiting her dislike for the majority of possible homesteads.
"Too dirty," she declared, standing in front of the final clutter of portside dwellings. "The smell of seawater is too harsh, her nose would itch!"
"'Her nose would—', honestly Ahatah, she isn't allergic to the ocean!" Eleri said, collapsing onto a low barrel against a merchant stand. "Where else can we look? We've been through the entire city and still we can't make a decision!"
"No," Eluned responded coyly, "you can't make a decision. I agreed to the farmhouse we saw first. It had curb appeal…"
Eleri sent her a sideways glare.
"We can't just leave her on an outlander's doorstep because it looked nice! The people could be cruel or loud."
"Firstly, we're the outlanders and secondly, we don't have a choice!"
Bending down and scooping up the tiny bundle from her friend, Eluned settled against the cool stone of an empty alehouse. Her arms now free from responsibility, Eleri began to pace, considering their limited options.
"I agree that the first home was pleasant but Sire—"
"—told us to find his daughter a good home," Ahatah interrupted in a stiff and sensible tone. Stretching her arm laboriously to caress the woman's cheek, she relieved the building distress with a shaky hand. "He never gave a specific address."
"I just…" Eleri's voice trailed. A crisp breeze drifted off the water and shivers rose on her dark skin. Ahatah had a point; the king hadn't given them any specific information. They had traveled between Seville, Madrid and Barcelona and now it was time to surrender the baby to a strangers' will.
"What's that?" Eluned questioned, nodding awkwardly to the street corner.
A cottony silhouette, tentative and small, severed the looming grey that had descended with the evening sky. Squinting, Eleri slowly approached, recognizing the furry outline.
"Well, well, well," Ahatah chuckled hoarsely, folding her arms into the drooping, bell-shaped sleeves of her robe. "Silly little puppy."
Eluned raised a curious eyebrow. Sitting erect on the barrel, she watched as Eleri knelt and lifted the meddlesome canine. The puppy whined but did not struggle to be let down. Chaste round eyes blinked back at Eleri and she giggled sweetly.
"It's the pup that we saw the night they were born," She declared warmly, referring to the chaotic nascency and shocking death of the infants' mother.
"I remember him," Eluned grumbled, having been the one to chase it through the corridors and away from the messy scene in the bedchamber. "Damn near got me beheaded!"
The baby roused and the dog yipped, squirming out of the soft hands under its forelegs. Bouncing into Eluned's lap, the puppy nuzzled its wet nose into the blankets, painting the newborn's face with sloppy kisses. Eluned, stunned with the animal's erratic movements on her legs, wrestled to stay seated. Holding the baby above her head, she scooted to her left and turned on a clumsy angle in an attempt to slide the dog off. Instead she tottered to the ground, landing on her back, arms in the air and the baby safe.
Cocking its head, the puppy regarded Eluned, sprawled achingly on the roadside.
She glowered.
"And I suppose you think this is funny, hm?" She said. The dog made a hollow sound from the back of its throat and gave a yelp. "That wasn't an invitation for you to agree!"
"I think he likes you," Eleri teased, gathering the heap of silks from the grounded chambermaid. She sighed somberly, tracing a smooth plump cheek with her thumb while supporting the child's head.
Gazing out at the serene Atlantic, the women watched the whitecaps roll into the harbor. Eluned, biting back her sharp tongue, curled her arm around Eleri's back sympathetically and led her to the mouth of the street.
"Sire wishes us home before daybreak," Ahatah stated calmly, retracing their steps up the sunken hill. "We must move quickly,"
The other two nodded in unison, walking briskly past the acquainted storefronts and rejected residential contenders. Bringing up the rear, the puppy bounded after them, keeping its eyes fixed on the surprisingly motionless linens cradled in Eleri's gentle clutch.
Ducking into a barley noticeable alley, the woman huddled. Each produced similar pendants; embossed in small diamonds and molded into squared heads with flat noses and feathery headdresses.
One connected into another and the jeweled eyes glowed dimly. Intoxicated laughter echoed boisterously before fading down the road. A bright flash of white light erupted from the midpoint where the pendants met. The light burst into an explosion of little stars, expanding around the woman before swirling back in and swallowing them.
An identical phenomenon burst from nowhere beyond the city gates. Once the light vanished the woman materialized; the puppy landing with a thump after having leapt into the teleportation spell after them. Impressed, Eluned smirked at it, patting her thigh in a motion to follow her.
Eleri frowned at the simple farmhouse standing in the center of a healthy and well-kept field.
"So this is where she is going to spend her life?"
"Always the skeptic," Eluned said, brushing past Eleri and starting up the beaten dirt road. "Now all we have to do is place her on the front doorstep and knock…"
"Do you think—?"
"We were not hired to think, child," Ahatah said sharply, "we were hire to do…and now we are doing."
Shaking her head, Eleri gave the baby one last kiss on her brow, placing her softly on the stone threshold. The puppy cushioned her head, pulling one of the silks further over her chubby arms. It had made it its duty to protect her until she was surely safe.
"Goodbye Luza la Sombra…little princess…"
Author's Note: Yay! A finished prologue! I hope you all enjoyed and now's the time to tell me what you thought. I'll be updating shortly so please don't go too far :) Oh, and if you would like to see pictures of the cast, don't hesitate to email me! I don't mind being added to MSN (which makes sending the photos easier sometimes).
(We all know Disney/DreamWorks has this thing for narrating everything through song, right? Well, I'm going to be following this in both a 'songfic' style as well as adding lyrics here with a little history to them. Yep, there's singing in here too except I put it at the end so it doesn't disrupt the flow :P)
Featured Song:
Faceless Child
Featured in the Prologue
"Prophecies in Babylon"
Written by Understudy
Sung by the three servant women
Hush now child, don't you cry
we'll always be near
and as I sing this lullaby
we must leave you here
this baby in my arms
Has no place, no family
We must find her a home
Where she can grow up happily
No name, no identity
Nowhere to call her own
No memories, just destiny
And we leave her here alone
She cannot know her history
a secret it must stay (a secret it must stay)
Where she was born, her ancestry
We can never say
Why did he ask us this?
To bring her here
Why did he wish her gone?
This baby, can he fear?
In the prophecy
Her future was foretold
So now she has to be
Forgotten and unknown
This baby in my arms
(This baby in her arms)
has no place, no family
we must find her a home
(Find her a home)
Where she grow up happily
No name, no identity
(No name, no identity)
Nowhere to call her own
No memories, just destiny
(Just destiny)
and we leave her here alone
She cannot know her history
A secret it must stay (secret it must stay)
Where she was born, her ancestry
we can never say
Why did he ask us this?
To bring her here
why did he wish her gone?
This baby, can he fear?
In the prophecy,
her future was foretold
So now she has to be
Forgotten and unknown
Why did he ask us this?
To bring her here
why did he wish her gone?
This baby, can he fear?
In the prophecy,
her future was foretold
So now she has to be
Forgotten and unknown
Forgotten and unknown
Forgotten and…unknown