Hey all! This is a group of one shots about the various characters in my main story, A Caravan Tale. I thought these would be fun if you like more back story =)
Trista's Tale
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"…up, over, and through! See that wasn't that hard De Nam!" The little selkie girl exclaimed as a boy similar in age held up a jumble of fish nets.
"That's easy for you to say Trista, the daughter of a fisherman." he grumbled.
Trista laughed and took the nets from him to untangle them again.
The two selkies were perched on a sea wall overlooking the ocean. A few fishing boats could be seen in the distance. It was indeed a lovely day in Leuda.
Trista was a bright eyed blonde selkie girl with a keen eye well developed for the age of eight. She was also very skilled with her hands since she learned from her father who was always busy fixing torn nets.
"So are you going to be a fisherman someday Trista?"
Trista shook her head immediately, "No siree! I wanna be an adventurer or join the striped brigands like my uncle Ben did."
De Nam began to laugh, "But you can't do that! You don't know how to fight monsters and you don't have a crystal!"
Trista crossed her arms angrily, "Just you wait De Nam! I'll be an expert fighter!"
De Nam began to laugh harder, "I'll still beat you!"
Trista immediately tackled De Nam and they rolled away from the sea wall and into a tangle of nets. The two continued to wrestle until Trista cried in defeat. De Nam stood up, "See you should be a fisherman."
Trista wiped away a tear from the pain of being pinched, "No! I will go on an adventure! Just you wait De!" She then proceeded to run home.
De Nam crossed his arms, "Stupid girl."
5 years later…
"See, I still can beat you!" De Nam exclaimed after he had tackled Trista for the second time that day, "You are going to be stuck as fisherman my friend!"
Trista pushed him off and rolled away, "One of these days, when you least expect it…"
De Nam stood up and helped Trista up as well, "Now please let me get back to my studies."
De Nam headed back to the sea wall and retrieved his book. Trista joined him as he began to read once again, "So why do you always have your nose in a book now a days? You're going to turn into a Yuke!"
De Nam elbowed Trista but continued reading. Trista nudged him back. She had nothing better to do than pester her friend, "Hmmm so you're going to become the youngest scholar at age fifteen!"
De Nam looked over his book at Trista. She was thirteen now, but still determined as ever to beat him. Her hair had gotten much longer. She didn't help her parents as much anymore. She was more interested in exploring all the crevices of Leuda and spending time with De Nam.
"No, but I want to learn more about the world and miasma."
Trista looked out at the ocean, "Good luck with that. We're trapped on an island except for our caravan. How do you expect to learn about the world if you don't go out to see it?"
De Nam set down the book, "This is all I can do for now. At least it's something. If you're going to be an adventurer you might as well read too."
Trista stood up on the wall, "I don't need to; I will trust my own instincts when the time comes."
De Nam slyly grabbed her ankle and pulled so Trista fell and hit the wall and was partly hanging off of it. She let out a scream but De Nam was there to pull her up, "Did your instincts tell you that?"
Trista now a little bit shaken sat down next to De Nam, "So what page do we start on?"
De Nam let out a little chuckle as he opened to page one.
3 years later…
This was her moment and Trista knew it. De Nam was about to use the same moves as usual except this time she slipped under him and swiveled her leg so De came crashing to the ground and Trista quickly turned to tackle him, "Ha! I told you!" She quickly got up, not wanting to mess up her clothes any further. As she stood up De Nam moved his leg and tripped her. Trista fell sprawled on the ground and De Nam tackled her, "Never underestimate your enemy."
Trista pushed De Nam off, "That was cheap!"
De Nam stood up and dusted himself off, "Just preparing you for the real world."
Trista sat up and crossed her arms, "I think you'd enjoy me being stuck as a fisherman."
De Nam squatted down in front of her and smiled, "Indeed. You would be a lot safer here." He then kissed the tip of her nose.
Trista began to blush but then remembered his comment, "You can't keep me here!"
De Nam stood up and sighed, "I know but the crystal can."
Trista pouted, it was true. De Nam really did know how to put down her dreams. De Nam grabbed Trista's hand and pulled her up to her feet, "Now I really need to get back to my studies."
Trista sighed, "What is it now, poetry, mathematics, history…"
"Alchemy." De Nam smirked.
"Alchemy?"
2 years later…
Trista leaned against De Nam as they sat on the sea wall. She had a deep sadness in her heart as well as anguishing jealousy. She wished she had read more with De Nam through the years. A caravan of Yukes had offered De Nam an opportunity to study in Shella. Trista let out a deep sigh.
"I know this seems unfair Trista." De Nam responded to her sigh.
Trista began to cry and De Nam put his arm around her, "It's not just that De Nam. You'll be gone, and I still haven't defeated you once. I think I will end up becoming a fisherman. I'm going to miss you so much."
De Nam smiled and gently turned Trista's head to face him, "You haven't figured it out yet? You defeated me years ago Trista. Why do you think I kept fighting with you, why I've been studying all these years? I will get you off of this island and to see the world."
Trista felt the tears running down her cheek and she embraced De Nam, hiding her face in his chest. De Nam returned the embrace but made her look at him again, "I love you Trista."
Trista blushed and wiped her eyes, "I love you too." Trista closed her eyes and felt De Nam's lips brush against hers. Soon it became a deep loving kiss. Trista didn't want it to stop, but soon they departed from each other. Their faces were both flushed. De Nam looked down the walkway to see a Yuke coming to fetch him for their departure. He quickly turned to Trista, "Oh there is one more thing I must give you." De Nam pulled out a new racket from his bag and handed it to Trista. Trista let out a gasp, "How could you afford this!?"
De Nam smiled, "I made it. It has a bit more kick to it than regular rackets so be careful. I expect you to master it next time we meet."
Trista looked up at De Nam, "And how long will that be?"
"I am not sure, but hopefully sooner than later."
The Yuke cleared his throat, hinting for De Nam to leave. De Nam and Trista stood up and faced each other. De Nam gave her one more kiss and looked at her lovingly, "I will miss you."
Trista gave him a hopeful smile and watched as he walked down towards the boats. The tears began to slip down her cheeks once again.
Today…
Darling,
These past two years have been painful without you by my side. I still continue my studies. Shella is such a treasure trove of knowledge. I am glad to hear you are safe and sound in Cedon with your cousins. I wish I could join you. You are so much closer to becoming the adventurer you plan to be. Hopefully in my studies I will make your dream possible. I still remember the day you told me your dream. Ever since then I have been studying to find a way to stop miasma poisoning. I thought when I was younger if I could solve the miasma problem then we could go on adventures and you would never need a crystal. Such foolish ideas huh? Write me soon my dear.
Love,
De
Trista smiled as she folded up the letter. Maybe they could travel together sooner than she thought. She wanted to show De Nam her new skills. Trista looked out the window to see Lora and Puck heading towards her house for training. She placed De Nam's letter in her drawer with all of his other letters, grabbed her racket, and headed outside. If only he could see her now!
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So I hope you enjoyed Trista's tale! I'd like to try and do one for all the characters, but let me know if you liked this one or not, so I know if I should continue this. Thanks for reading!