Later, (and I mean much later), when the mid-afternoon had turned into night, Serena and Darien had exhausted themselves with all their hushed and romantic catching up (mainly kissing and talking about their adventures – with Darien's obviously being the more interesting… oh come on, as if the life of a princess to be is anything to look forward to. Seriously, all it consists of is obligations. Alright, people bow and you get to go to lots of important parties in lovely dresses, but that's pretty much where all the fun stops. There are only so many parties that you can attend in pretty dresses before you'd get bored out your mind. Anyway, that's not even the point. Darien spent half a decade pillaging and plundering and pirating, Serena spent that time sighing and moping), anyway, the two lovers were exhausted and were asleep, hugging each other tightly, when the speedy carriage stopped to change over drivers. Norm the Giant, who had been sleeping all afternoon for this very purpose, stepped out, grateful for the ability to stretch his legs (but rather reluctant to have to disturb the exotic sleeping beauty in his lap). Jay (pronounced 'hey' with a guttural sound, remember!), after leaping off the driver's seat of the carriage in a rather impressive dismount, clambered in and took Norman's seat. Makoto was awake now and therefore did not need to have her head placed on Jay's lap. In fact, she sat the furthest distance possible away him, practically trying to melt into the carriage wall. She refused to meet his eye.
"Are we ready, friends?" came the deep and grumbly voice of Norm the Giant. Jay tapped the roof with his knuckle to signal that the carriage could be started again. He also noticed that Makoto seemed to blush at the giant's voice. It seemed in Norman's efforts to keep her comfortable, he had managed to embarrass the lady (you see, at the beginning of the journey, Norman had carried her unconscious form into the carriage and propped her against the wall, but at the break-neck speed they were travelling, he found that her pretty head kept bashing itself against the hard surface. Thump, thud, (those were the particularly hard bumps to her head, when they rolled over a stone or something) thump, thump, thump, thud, thump, smack! So as carefully as he was able, he leaned her the other way so that she rested on his shoulder, but this was no help, for his arms were powerful and no less solid than the wall of the carriage and so the problem remained. He then did the only thing he could think of, he laid her head in his lap, stroking her hair carefully every so often when she would stir or twitch in her sleep. (I realise that in real life this could be borderline creepy, you know: unwilling girl being knocked unconscious and then being laid in her abductor's lap…but let's just take the romantic slant to it, this is a love story after all, and as we all know, love stories tend to make things which would normally be considered stalker-ish seem as if they were perfectly acceptable modes of courtship, why they practically encourage it!
Anyway, Norman was only trying to be a gentleman. He's a sweet man, whose mother had brought him up right, the type of man who will treat every woman like she's a queen. He would never think of harming a lady or take advantage of her, ever…see, I've got you 'aww'ing all over him now, don't I?)
With a gentle clicking of his tongue Norman (for some strange reason he's either 'Norman' or 'Norm the Giant' never just 'Norm') started the horses again, the carriage jolted forward and then resumed its lightning pace. At the sudden movement Jay saw that Darien had caught his eye, surprising the Spaniard since only seconds ago he had thought Darien to be fast sleep. But this was the famous Dreaded Pirate Lord Endymion, who even in his deepest of slumbers, could awaken at the snapping of a tiny twig. Jay gave Darien a small nod as a sign that all was well. He was rewarded with an almost imperceptible smile (which to others was not much, but considering that Jay had never seen Darien smile before, it was a lot), and then Darien went back to sleep, still clutching his dear love.
As the early evening turned into the night, Jay sat with his own thoughts and waited patiently for the lady sitting next to him to get comfortable and relax. Makoto was still sitting tensely near the door of the carriage, as if she was coiled spring, wound tightly, ready to pounce out of the carriage at any moment. Eventually, when Jay realised she wasn't going to relax without a little prompting, he reached under his seat and pulled out an old cloth sack (you know the ones, they're always that grey-ish beige-y colour in films).
Makoto felt a light nudge to her right bicep and turned her head from the window to see that Jay was offering her an apple, a knife and some cheese. "Here, you must be hungry," he said in Spanish… so I suppose he didn't actually say "Here, you must be hungry" but "Tiens, vous devez avoir faim." (Ok, OK! I KNOW that's French, but I don't know how to speak Spanish and Google Translate isn't exactly a reliable source for translation! I'm pretty sure that the Spanish words it's given me aren't conjugated correctly and we don't want to end up in a Monty Python's Life of Brian scenario where I get my ear twisted by some Roman dude because my grammar is wrong… Look, just imagine that whenever Makoto and Jay are talking alone together, they're speaking Spanish to each other). So anyway, Jay has noticed how completely embarrassed Makoto looks and has offered her some cheese and apple in Spanish.
Makoto hesitated for a second before eventually taking the food, a small "Gracias" escaping her lips (everyone knows 'gracias'), but she did not relax one little bit. She simply clutched the food in her hands and crouched closer to the carriage window, despite the night chill.
Jay realised he would have to work harder (he too was a gentleman and did not like seeing a lady suffer). "You should relax. No harm will come to you or your mistress. You are safe with us."
She turned her head to him and gave him a half-smile. "I am not afraid, señor." But still, she did not touch the food.
"Then pray, señorita, why are you so tense?"
Whether it was meeting someone who spoke her native tongue, or the fact that she was simply exhausted from sitting so tensely in the carriage, Makoto wasn't sure, but she couldn't help opening up to him. "I am afraid I may have compromised my own honour," she said, looking sheepish and unable to meet Jay's eyes.
"Is it because you slept in the lap of Norman?"
Makoto's leafy green eyes widened. "I beg your pardon?"
"Well some honourable ladies would find that such intimate contact with a strange man could be considered…improper." As her wide eyes turned to a frown he barrelled on, hoping to dig himself out of whatever hole he'd blatantly thrown himself into. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, we did kidnap you and put you into a drug induced sleep," he said, trying to make her feel better but realising that perhaps he may have missed his mark.
"I am perfectly aware of how I was put in this situation!" She sounded angry now. "I am hardly to blame if my head was in his lap inappropriately!"
"Of course! I wasn't suggesting that that was why your honour was compromised!"
"No, but if the reason for my distress was not the fact that my head was in his lap, then according to you I am not an honourable lady!"
Jay wanted to slap his own head for his bumbling mistake. Consoling women was not his forté, that was how he'd gotten himself fired from the King's guard in the first place. "Oh señorita, it was not my intention at all. I was simply trying to put you at ease."
"As you can plainly see, you have not done so, señor."
"I realise this, and I do beg your pardon. Perhaps we may start again?"
She eyed him carefully. "Did your friend act untowardly towards me when I was asleep? Is that why you thought I was embarrassed?" she asked, gripping the knife in her hand tighter.
Now he'd really done it! Somehow he'd managed to put his friend in hot water too. Sword-fighting was so much easier than talking to beautiful ladies! (I was tempted to put in some kind of stereotypical Spanish exclamation in here, but I resisted!...Oh bother, I can't help it:) "Aye Caramba, señorita! Norman is the most gentle of creatures! Even when he grabbed you off of your horses, he made sure to do his best to not harm you! He is a noble man, both in spirit and heart! I can swear that he only had your wellbeing in his mind while you slept!"
He spoke with such conviction that Makoto could not help but believe him. "Fine señor, I will trust your words, and I will forgive your earlier rudeness. I can see your true intent was honourable."
"May I ask then, señorita, what has been causing your distress?" he questioned, as he knocked against the wall of the carriage with his knuckles and then lifted an apple out of his window, allowing Norm the Giant to reach down and take it.
Makoto took a bite out of her own fruit and chewed delicately (well as delicately as one could when speeding along at the ridiculously fast and bumpy pace that they were travelling at) and thought for a moment, finally deciding to tell him once she had swallowed. "I have wronged myself in two ways. The first is the failure of protecting my mistress."
"But-" Jay began, but Makoto interrupted him.
"No matter what the outcome was, and even though I know I would already have her forgiveness, she was my charge to defend. I did not do so well, I think," she said, smiling slightly, as if she did not judge herself too harshly in the matter. "The second manner in which I have compromised my integrity happened while I slept on your friend. For you see, as I slumbered, I dreamed of a happy time. I was in my homeland, the beautiful country Mexico, and there I was resting with the man I had loved."
"I do not see how you have crossed yourself there, señorita. You said yourself, you did nothing wrong, surely you have not betrayed your love by simply dreaming of him?"
"Ah but there you misunderstand me, for I said had loved. It was a memory of the distant past."
"I believed you were simply being poetic. Did things end badly, then, between you and your love?"
"Indeed they did, I am very sorry to say. He deceived my heart most cruelly, and from that day forth, I vowed never to think or dream of him with only happiness again. If I were to ever remember him, it would be with mixed emotion, I would re-feel the sadness of his betrayal along with any gladness I felt."
"That sounds very bitter, señorita, especially for one so young and lovely as you."
"I do not wish it to be seen as so." Feeling more relaxed now, Makoto bit into her cheese. "I only desire to keep the lesson, to let it remind me that I should not only love passionately but wisely, with my heart but also with my head."
Jay could only nod in agreement and admiration, and for a while they ate in silence. Finally a thought occurred to him. "Señorita, I wonder at your dream. You say it was of a good time, and that you only felt happiness, yes?"
"I did."
"Well, I wonder if it was entirely your own doing."
"Señor?" Makoto's chestnut eyebrows lifted in curiosity.
"While you dreamt, it was Norm the Giant who held you."
Makoto was still confused. "I do not understand."
"Then let me explain, you see Norman's mother, if the rumours are to be believed, is said to be of Fae blood (I had to put a fairy in this story somewhere! It can't be called a 'fairy tale' if it doesn't even have a fairy!)"
"You jest señor!" she exclaimed in amazement (I know I said that Darien could wake up at the drop of a pin, but let's pretend that both he and Serena are REALLY exhausted and sleep right through this entire conversation. Plus, Darien's already told Serena all about Norm the Giant, so it's not like they're missing much).
"I do not, but whether the rumours are true or not, her grace and calming presence were passed to him. When one is around Norman, they cannot help but feel at ease. He has an air about him. He will strike great fear in his opponent with his tall and imposing figure, but he will soothe his friends like a lamb does a child. Perhaps it was his influence, he sensed your distress and he allowed you to visit a happy memory in order to calm your fitful heart."
Makoto thought about what she was told for a long time, and Jay noticed, even in the dark, that every so often she would tilt her head, as if she were attempting to look through the carriage walls at the giant who stole them through the night. "Señorita, I must confess, I am surprised and impressed at your bravery. You were kidnapped and yet you do not seem afraid in the least."
Makoto shrugged. "My Princess is happy, how could I be afraid if she is not?"
"Even so, you have been taken by the Dreaded Pirate Lord Endymion, is his reputation not fearful?"
"It is so, he is indeed a man whispered about in taverns and firelight, but I see in my mistress' eyes and in her manner towards him that he is her dearest love. I can tell that this can only be the Darien that she spoke of so very often, and in that case I know that I have nothing to fear, either from him or from you."
That seemed to interest Jay. "So she spoke often of him, then?"
"Daily." Makoto replied. "At least twice before lunch and three times after dinner."
Jay sat back in the darkness and Makoto fancied that he stroked the side of his thin, golden moustache with a light flick (did I give him a moustache earlier? I can't for the life of me remember. Well even I didn't, he has one now…) "This is good news," he said, "for my master felt a deep sadness when he found out that she was to marry the Prince Diamond. He believed her love for him had died."
Makoto seemed appalled at the very notion. "Why no! How could he think that anyone could recover from such a passion as hers? Her marriage is to be one of convenience only! There is no love shared between the Prince and my Princess."
"This is good news indeed." Jay repeated.
"Pray tell me, how did you and Norman find yourselves working for a pirate?" she asked with curiosity, her voice now slightly perkier since she was very much awake and not in the least bit sleepy anymore, having slept most of the afternoon and evening away in her drug-induced stupor.
"I was a soldier of misfortune," Jay said simply about himself, "but Norm the Giant has a longer tale of woe, as I shall now relate to you…"
At this point Jay spends most of the early night talking to Makoto about Norman's past and then asks her about hers and they speak a lot of Spanish. Unfortunately time and words limit my ability yet again, so I'll just sum up Norman here for you. His mother was believed to be some sort of fairy since she was so lovely and came from a family that lived in the woods. His father was a slightly tall man, a strong warrior from their village, and he was nice too, but you know, definitely not fairy material, so people were pretty sure Norm the Giant's 'quirks' didn't come from his father's side of the family (his quirks being his penchant for staying up at night and looking at stars, his ability to be a calming presence despite his enormous and intimidating size, and well, like I just said, his enormous and intimidating size. It meant that he was a bit of an odd one when he was growing up, and when he finally left his village to seek adventure and make enough money to support his family, things didn't change much. People liked him, especially when they were around him, but then afterwards they would think about it and realise there simply was something a little unnatural about him. And they wouldn't like that at all. So life was generally pretty hard for Norman. Eventually he decided to pack it all in and make his way East to seek his fortune with the cocoa plant when fate dictated that he should travel on the very same ship as Darien.
It was on the middle leg of their voyage, as they were making their way past the coast of Queen Jennifer's country, that their ship was attacked by another ship. You see, the Captain of their ship had secretly placed a bet at a betting agency that the insurance taken out for the loss of any cargo or of the loss of the ship would be paid out (this kind of betting was legal back in those days, I kid you not!). In order to guarantee that this would happen, he got his pirate-y friends to invade the ship with the intention of sinking it. Fortunately for the innocent passengers and crew, Darien was on board. With Norm the Giant's help, they successfully fought off the pirates, and while they were at it, they confiscated all of the pirate gold and then sank the pirate ship. It was at this point that our heroes realised how much moolah they could make in that business. So they tossed the mutinous and deceitful Captain overboard, convinced the crew and passengers to join them and renamed the ship "Elysium". As a strict rule, they never killed anyone who didn't deserve it, and they only ransacked the vessels of people who could afford to lose a ship or its cargo (sort of like a Robin Hood thing on water, but with less 'steal from the rich and give to the poor' and more 'steal from the rich and keep it for yourself'). Of course, they made sure their reputation was fearsome, just to make things easier.
After Jay told Makoto his tale, and she had told him hers, she looked at him (although he could not see her eyes through the darkness) and she asked him, "Where are we going? And why are we in such a rush to get there?"
"We are going to the ship, the 'Elysium', and we are hurrying because we are surely being followed by the Prince Diamond and his famous entourage, the most notable members being Zacharoni the Bachelor, who is known as the greatest tracker in the history of the world, and Beryl, Prince Diamond's right-hand sorceress."
"I know both of these characters," Makoto said.
"And are they honourable?" asked Jay, yawning. He had not slept since the night before the kidnapping and it was finally taking its toll on him.
"Zacharoni the Bachelor is a fine gentleman, although as you may have guessed from his name, he has sworn never to love, which I think is most foolish. As for the sorceress Beryl... she is not a lady I am close to." Makoto's mouth twisted into a grim look. "She is sweet on the outside, but my heart tells me there is mischief in her and I do not trust her past my pinky finger."
"But are they fierce opponents?" Jay pressed.
Makoto nodded. "Indeed they are. I have seen Zacharoni the Bachelor's skill first hand, he once found the Prince Regent's cat, Artemis."
"That does not sound so impressive."
"The Prince only noticed that the feline was missing after a year of it being gone," she said. "And Zacharoni the Bachelor found Artemis alive a hundred miles away in a deep cave in the Great Mountains."
Jay was impressed to say the least. He'd heard of Zacharoni's legendary skill, but this was remarkable. "That was awfully remiss of your Prince Regent to lose his cat like that," he couldn't help saying.
"If it's not about war or hunting, then he doesn't really notice very much." Makoto sighed. "In some ways I wish his brother, the Prince Saffir, would inherit the throne, he's much better 'king' material."
Jay traced his finger along his fine moustache briefly as he absorbed all of this information. "Is Beryl as powerful as people say?"
At that, Makoto frowned. "I believe so, although I have not seen what she is truly capable of. As of yet she has managed to keep her magical abilities hidden from the rest of the court, but she has a fearsome reputation, and she is trusted by the Prince so I do believe that she must be very powerful indeed." After a moment's pause she added in a grave voice, "I think it is best that we fly to your ship."
With that they both fell into fitful slumber.
Outside Norm the Giant drove them onwards in the night.
