ELECTRA OF THE LONE ISLANDS
Disclaimer: The characters of Peter Pevensie, Susan Pevensie, Edmund Pevensie, Lucy Pevensie, and Aslan are all property of Disney® and C.S. Lewis, as is Narnia.
A Night of Fate
Electra let out an exasperated moan as darkness was shaken away from her and back to consciousness. A hand was on her shoulder, and a voice drifting toward her. Gently she opened one eye. Light had begun to face and an orange light filled the horizon through her window and gave the room an eerie light. The person shaking awake her had been Alec.
"Wake up, Electra," he whispered helping her into a sitting position. "The night has begun. It's time to have your wits about you."
"No more alcohol," she moaned in protest, rubbing her face and moving to put her shoes on. She was careful to slip the blade into her belt so that she would have easy access to it lest she need it. After her boots were securely tied, she put on her corset and stood to follow Alec.
By the time the five had left the building, they could hear the shouts and jeers of the many already beginning the celebratory ritual. To those who lived here, it was normal to hear jeers and shouts from drunken men. Electra knew better on this particular night though.
"You three have fun," Alec told her, Darit and Damin before wrapping his arm around Veil's waste and walking off down the road. Damin was soon to leave, followed closely by his brother, leaving Electra by herself. After a moment of looking around the alley, she chose her direction and began her walk.
Once in the open street, she noticed the night seemed to be more chaotic than it usually did. Men were stumbling around with filled mugs in their hands, slopping their drinks more than actually drinking them. Many of them, Electra noticed, weren't of her crew. Perhaps this night in general simply saw so many people celebrating because of the word that the Lone Islands might be joining the ranks of Narnia once again. Electra still wasn't sure whether or not she was completely thrilled about this idea.
A sharp wrist grabbed hold of her and pulled her to the right, and arm finding its way around her waist. A musty smell of whiskey filled Electra's lungs from the man who had suddenly grabbed her. Her hand had instantly flicked to her wrist, pulling out her dagger and shoving it enough against the man's stomach to provide him a warning.
"Let me go or I'll gut you like a fish," she growled. Her eyes seemingly blazed red with fury that a man would touch her in such a way, let alone a stranger. Life of piracy was filled with this, however, and she was used to it. She knew that when it came to fending for oneself, it was always a matter of life and death whether it be literal or metaphorically speaking.
The man let her go instantly, mind too jumbled to fight her. Electra took a step back, looking at him. He was strong and could have easily taken her had his mind not been muddled with the intoxication of alcohol. She also recognized him as one of the men who worked on their large crew. He would forget this incident by tomorrow, she knew.
She turned away from him, still disgusted he had touched her, and moved on down the crowded street. Her pirate demeanor was still on a high, as it was hard to get out of the character once she was in it. It was as though she were summoning another soul within her that took liberty upon itself to take over her mind and use it for its own will.
Many others passed her, watching her like she were some sort of prized thing to be put up on auction before seducing themselves with their whiskey once more. Electra ignored them as best as she could, but this night they seemed to be everywhere and not one alley existed that she could duck down and hide. An open shop door with a small glow coming from the window was a signal to her that she was welcome inside and took no time in ducking inside.
She slowly pushed the door closed behind her until only a crack of space remained between it and the wooden frame. Slowly she peeked outside, wanting to join in the celebration so as not to feel left out, but not wanting to be looked at like a regular whore.
"Wine?"
Electra spun to see an elderly woman standing in front of an auburn beaded curtain. Beyond that she could see the glow of several candles surrounding a small wooden table where in the center stood a crystal ball.
Electra hadn't noticed she'd stepped into a fortune teller's hut. Usually she avoided places such as this because the gypsies who lived here took peoples money faster than pirates.
"I should be going," Electra said, beginning to pull the door open to leave.
"But you're on time," the woman replied. Electra turned to face the woman again. She had an heir about her that was a bit off. She knew the woman was trying to get to her money, and wasn't about to have any of it.
"I'm not interested in anything, I don't have money," she lied convincingly.
"I didn't ask you for any," the woman replied, turning to move through the beaded curtain before sitting down at the table. She sat as though she were waiting for Electra to join her, quietly and patiently. Electra knew these things were stupid, and it was impossible to tell the future, with the exception of maybe Aslan. However, the woman had said this was free, and Electra thought it better to amuse her rather than become eye candy for the drunken bastards outside.
"Wine?" the woman repeated, already pouring two glasses as Electra pushed past the hanging beads.
"I suppose," she replied, sitting down opposite the woman and taking the glass. The taste was delicious, more spiced than something that one would drink just to be intoxicated. It also tasted a bit watered down, as though this woman expected her to be here.
"I am Agatha," the woman said, her cup already drained and set aside. "I've been waiting for you: the dark wanderer of worlds."
Interesting title to be given, Electra thought. She wasn't that surprised Agatha would have said she was expecting her. Most of the frauds usually said something along the lines to make these visits and visions more mysterious. And by worlds, Electra suspected she meant the different countries of the world.
"If you say so," she replied pushing her cup aside as well. "So, what can you tell me about my future? Any huge piles of gold there?"
It had meant to be a joke, the fortune; however Electra knew hearing this woman say something about gaining a lot of gold within the next few days her spirits would be heightened a great deal.
"You seek a treasure more powerful than gold," Agatha replied, staring at her directly as though seeing into her soul. Electra's grin faded, slightly unnerved by the way Agatha being stared at her.
Agatha then picked up a set of five dice, each with a different number of sides before allowing them to roll onto the table. Electra watched with heightened interest and curiosity as three of them landed with a one up, each at the edge of the table. A six landed almost in the center and the fifth landed on a three toward the left.
Electra watched the still dice in silence before glancing up at Agatha with a small impatience.
"So, what does it mean?" she asked.
"Thrice you defy death before your nineteenth," she replied. "Picking up the dice and placing them in a cup. "Richness lies in your blood and body, though you do not realize it. Your love will come at a cost to those you hold dear now, and your choice will change the course of history.
"By going one path, land will fall into darkness as it had four years prior to the White Witch. Chaos will run and you will help lead a great campaign for your people which will last many years, resigning in you dying old yet alone.
"If you choose the other path, the world will prosper, uniting kingdoms and bringing long lost peace between worlds. Love will fill your life unlike it has ever before. Yet with this choice comes a terrible price. You will die young and without a future."
A silence thick enough to suffocate filled the room. Normally Electra didn't believe in prophecies and the like, but she couldn't deny that the words of this woman frightened her, if only just. Never before had she heard someone talk about the future so surely and without the added mystic expressions. If Electra didn't know better, she would have said this woman was for real.
"I'm going to 'cheat death' three times?" she asked, a small strain in her voice. What exactly did Agatha mean, cheat death? Electra, despite her being a pirate and the idea of death was just around every bend, didn't necessarily like it being told to her.
"No," Agatha replied. "You already have once. You will escape death twice more."
Electra couldn't believe this. Was Agatha saying she was going to narrowly escape death two times? She quickly racked her brain, wondering when she could have possibly cheated death once before. Sure, there were some close calls when merchants aboard vessels fought back for their freedom before being overpowered, but nothing close to the idea of 'cheating death.'
Then she remembered Alec telling her how she had been found: floating a drift a piece of nailed board like a small platform at her young age, completely unconscious and not breathing. Her skin had been blue and lungs filled with water. Somehow, they had revived her and here she stood for all to see. Electra slowly stood from her chair, staring disbelievingly at the woman.
"How could you know that about me?" she asked slowly.
"I know many things about you, Electra," she replied, making Electra's muscles size up involuntarily. "You are not of this world."
"I don't remember giving you my name," Electra mumbled, thinking back to when she first entered the shop. From everything she remembered, she hadn't given Agatha her name.
"Your love will be unexpected, and will draw your decision that will change history," Agatha continued, ignoring her now. "Beware, for what you do with your love will make your path harder or easier for you."
Instinct told Electra to run, but something kept her put. Slowly, she lowered herself back into the chair.
"Who will it be?" she asked, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.
"Your love will be unexpected, and will draw your decision that will change history," Agatha repeated, still ignoring Electra. "Beware, for what you do with your love will make your path harder or easier for you."
Electra's temper began to rise. "Yes," she replied, "I got that the first time. But can't you tell me who it is?"
"No," Agatha informed her. "Nor can I tell you where you truly come from. All of these things you must learn for yourself."
Electra didn't care about her past history that still remained behind a locked door in her mind. What worried her was this mystery man in her future that could change the course of history. Or so Agatha said, she quickly reminded herself. Yet she already knew Electra's name and how she had cheated death once before, what if she was a true seer?
Electra's choice pretty much made up history. If she stayed with the man, things would be good. But what if she really didn't love him? There was also the idea that she was going to die young.
Yet if she didn't chose him she'd live a good life and old, yet alone. Both had their ups and downs, and she wasn't sure at this point which she would have preferred: a long life without love or a short one with it.
"Do not dwell on what is to be now," Agatha told her, seeming to read her dazed expression that resulted from her brooding over these topics. "You will make your choice when the time comes."
"But what if I make the wrong choice and don't realize it?" she asked. "What if I mean well but completely destroy history?"
"A right choice cannot be made in advance," Agatha told her. "You must make it when the time comes to make it."
Electra wasn't sure if she liked this bit of news. She quickly shook her head, resigning to remain with the same attitude as she did when she walked in. This woman only knew her life by coincidence. Darit or Damin was probably playing a trick on the off chance she accidentally walked in here. In fact, she tried to make herself believe, she wouldn't have been surprised had they come out of one of the wardrobes now, laughing their heads off.
"For your trouble," she said, throwing two silver coins onto the table for Agatha.
"But you don't believe me," Agatha resigned, leaving the coins where they were on the table. Electra shook her head, and in response she sighed. "It is probably better that way."
Electra quickly pushed past the bead curtain and back into the main room. She had to force herself not to look back in fear that she would stay and try to listen to more of Agatha's words. She opened the door and quickly walked out of the store, allowing the door to close behind her.
Moon had fully risen and stars glittered as though dancing from the heavens. It was a cloudless night, filling the streets with more than enough light without the aid of the street lamps.
The streets were still filled with drunken men and women alike. Women who made a living by seducing drunken men for their money and pleasure were beginning to wander the streets, taking advantage of this particular night.
Electra moved down the street, doing her best to ignore her surroundings, yet still disgusted by the fact that the people were willing to go so far before retiring to a hotel room. More so, she was annoyed that the whores who littered the streets and were willing to give themselves away so easily. She had heard the stories of the degree a lust of a pirate could get, and that was one area she was hoping not to venture toward in the near future. At least, not unless it was on her own terms.
Soon enough, her surroundings were beginning to take their toll, pushing aside her more innocent state of mind and bringing forth the piratess in her. To that sub-consciousness, all these things were second nature. To the cat calls, she was now devilishly smirking at them, teasing that they could look, but not have what they desired so much.
She finally opened the door to a pub, entering with the same demeanor as she had on the street, gazing around before she spotted Darit and Damin sitting at a far booth. Damin was already so drunk that he was snoring loudly with his head on the table. Darit glanced up at Electra as she sat next to them.
"You're late," he laughed, slurring his words slightly. "Damin's already sleeping."
"I can fix that," she replied wickedly, picking up Damin's empty mug and pounding it down on the table. The noise jolted Damin awake. Darit was laughing so hard he almost fell out of the chair.
"There's the Electra we know and love," he said with a grin, gripping her shoulder affectionately. "I was wondering where you'd got to when you arrived."
"It takes me a bit to get into the mood," she replied before turning to Damin. "Are you awake?"
"You could have just shaken me or something," he replied, rubbing his temples.
"Takes away half the fun. Where's Alec?" Electra asked him. "He has my sword and the moon's already high in the sky, we're leaving soon."
"I think he and Veil were going to have some alone time before heading to the ship," he replied, squinting at me. "Is it really time already?"
"We might as well head out. We can sleep there in the brig," his brother nudged him before standing, staggering a bit in the process.
"Sooner rather than later when you're drunker," Electra replied, standing but making no effort to help the two of them. "I'm not carrying either of you. You're walking."
Damin followed Darit in standing, though taking more time due to his hangover.
"You'll at least need to lead the way," Darit said, holding onto his brother for support. Electra knew the two were destined to tip over at least a dozen times on their way out.
"I wouldn't do that to you," she replied. "I'm not that evil."
The two brothers slowly made their way to the front door, led by Electra. Like she had predicted, the journey was slow and a good hour later, in what normally would have taken ten minutes, they arrived at the row of rowboats that lined the beach shore on the far side of the island.
It was a more desolate cove, one where hardly any boat could reach the shore due to reefs and the shallowness of the water. The rowboats were going to take them to the mother ship, where they would set sail right as dawn broke the horizon.