Chapter 12: The Mother of All Things

The meeting raises more questions in my head. Last night, I was controlled by a possible eastern lord and I only have one clue to who it was. The ringing of a piercing laugh strikes familiar to Lady Locke's giggles from my kalestri connection. I bet they are planning an ambush right now. Under the circumstances of trust and secrecy, I wonder if I can still trust Greg with this information. Predictably, his answers are going to be kept away from me since he is within the Order.

The midday sun is blazing above the ship and the clouds are clustered like tufts of white fluffy cotton candy. Instead of joining the crew for lunch I decide to stay on the deck and sit by my bag of weapons. I take out my whip and lashed it a few times to exercise my wrist.

The ship sways unsteadily for a moment. I tie the whip across my belt and explore the forecastle deck. From the corner of my eye something stirs. Could it be that an animal has boarded Sagra? I load my bow and point it to the direction of the stirring on the stern.

The creature is large and it's lying by the rudder wheel, possibly sleeping. Stealthily, I make my way across the deck, hiding behind the control room then bounding to the closed door of the stern. I crawl to the stair opposite to where the creature lies and I start to wonder if anyone even knows of its presence.

The crew is in the dining room and through the floor I can hear conversations and clattering of dishes. The staircase is not a very good spot to hide from whatever is on the wheel. I peer over the stair to find the creature, my eyes dart from the beast's scaly form to the golden carriage beside it.

The roof of the carriage has a hard metal handle where the chains are linked. Vehicles pulled by beasts like this one are called flying carriers. A carrier? For who? The large animal is no threat, just a driver waiting for its passenger. I put the arrow back in the quiver and hop on the stern, alerting the beast.

The scaly being perks up and its reptilian eyes catches mine. Its front arms pull it up to a standing position and I can see the shackles and chains bloodying its wrists. The emerald dragon-like beast wears an armoured battle plate with no helm or shield. I see a belt around its waist carrying a scabbard with no sword hilt. The animal is unarmed but still dangerous with the thick armoured tail, large dragon feet, scaly and toothy jaws and protruding horns on its head. I notice a logo on the shoulder plate of the emerald being; it is the seal of the Draconian.

I take a step forward, the draconian instantly curls into a ball and slinks back, chains rattling as it beckons. For a large dragon, this one in particular is afraid of something. He must have been abused by the looks of those shackles. I cringe at the sight of the peeled green scales around the wrists of the warrior.

"Who did this to you?" I whisper, subconsciously taking out a healing elixir from my pockets.

The draconian stare at me. Its large jaws can easily engulf my entire head, I think. I carefully crouch and inch closer to him, showing him the elixir. He swipes his horned tail near my direction - a warning. He shows his white teeth and they gleam across his frightened green face.

"I can heal you," I tell him. I toss my bow to the side and hold out my free hand, a gesture of harmlessness. "May I look at your wrist, please?"

The warrior unfolds his wings, looking even larger than I expected. The ship sways as the draconian towers over me. His wings cast a fearful shadow over me. I do not look away from our eye contact, but we can both see the fear in our eyes. The draconian folds his wings again and blinks at me. "Hephaestus," he says in a deep dragon-like voice, barely moving his mouth.

He told me his name, I think it's my turn. "Arakelle."

His dragon head nods and I feel the sudden scaly claws along my free hand. I almost jump with the sudden surprise, he's accepting my offer but I was too busy staring. I take off the cap of the potion and gently poured the liquid on the peeling scales. The scabs sizzle with blood and medicine and the warrior's entire body rumbles with pain, wings shivering and arms tensing.

"The medicine will help it heal faster," I say. I close my palms around the bloody wrists, reciting a verse from different incantations of healing. The wrists glow within the shackles. I concentrate even harder to soothe the entire arm. Various tongues pour from my mouth until the glow travelled from the dragon's arms to his shoulders. He exhales with relief and his muscles go fluid, relaxing from the spell. I withdraw from the casting and I feel the dragon's arms catch me. Tufts of hair stick to my forehead from the sweat; I brush them off and look up at the dragon. "There, good as new." I take a step back as he examines his wrists.

Although the shackles are hiding the result, the surrounding peeled scales are gone and new dark green ones replaced them. Hephaestus shakes his entire body and feels new energy inside him; I can tell by the way he's tensing his muscles like he's preparing for battle.

"I am really grateful, Arakelle," he looks down at me with the yellow lizard-like eyes. He looks up at the sky with a look of yearning. "My master is Lady Owen. She pays me with great food and respect."

"Respect?" I gape, absurd at the word. "Being chained is not respectable!"

"I question that myself," he says, sitting down with his winged-back to the golden carriage. "I have no choice. I am a Captured One. The captured must obey the Order."

"Who made those rules?" I ask.

"You're not allowed to know," says a voice behind me.

I turn to see the young captain leaning by the rail. Elias is wearing his black boots and a blue formal trench coat with white collar and loose sleeves, making him look like a pirate with double blades behind his back. For once he is not wearing his brown leather gloves but he still bears his trademark cross belt and goggles. A navy blue sash across his waist carries a gold handle of a revolver, something I have not seen before. Goggles pulled back, his icy blue eyes narrow to Hephaestus. The draconian turns away and sulks to the other end of the carriage.

"What are you doing here?" I put myself between him and Hephaestus. "Aren't you supposed to be entertaining your new guests downstairs?" I remember Greg disappearing into the dinning room and before him, Kendra and Latoya. I bet they went googly-eyed over the sight of Elias during their lunch time.

"I'm here to get away from a certain woman," he replies.

I think of names off the top of my head. "I can guess who that is."

"Huh. I see you've met the carrier," continues Elias. "They arrived here while you were at the Ruins."

Ignoring him, I pick up my bow and take the empty bottle of elixir to my bag of weapons on the main deck. I reach my bag and sling it over my shoulder. As I return to the draconian's side Elias stops me with a blade resting on my shoulder.

"You're not allowed to free him," he grins, his face glittering with deviousness. "You've got to go through me first."

"What are you going to do, slice me with this toothpick?" Not taking my eyes off of the captain's, I brush his blade away and drop my bag beside Hephaestus.

"I can try." Elias takes his sword and gestures me to fight him. I am prepared with a whip, two knives, a drow dagger and a broad sword, in any case of fun, I'll use my spells.

My hand lashes the whip forward to the captain's direction, he dodges the crackle entirely but the lasso is quicker, the end of the whip wraps around Elias's blade. I pause with satisfaction, ready to disarm him. Two of his hands tighten along the hilt of the captured sword and he reels back, sending me forward. I lose my balance and hit the floor. I can feel the tension he has on my whip and I let go. Unarmed, I quickly recover as Elias's sword hits the floor an inch from my face. "Croup's got to swab the deck again," he says. Scrambling on the floor, I intercept his blow to my head using two knives. I roll over, twisting my knives to handle his sword. His blade plunges into the wooden floor.

He tugs on it, as I get up. "Don't worry, I got another one."

I intercept the swing of his left-hand blade. "Are you really trying to kill me?" He sends a boot to my unguarded side. Barely dodging it, I slice the air to his direction.

"Not really," he replies, single-handedly blocking my knives. "I am trying to kill you, just not really." He laughs as he steps away from my tackle.

Hephaestus watches us, intrigued by our fluid movements. At every lunge I give, Elias manages a controlled dodge and at every effortless assault he gives, I breathlessly intercept. It is almost choreographed but unfairly making the young captain look so relaxed.

I let my anger blind me for what the captain is doing the whole time. His right hand works his way around the sword hilt of his other blade. He yanks out his sword and smites my knives off my sweaty grip. They fly across the ship and bounce off the railing never to be seen again.

I scream. "Idiot! That was from Greg!"

For a moment, his eyes blink pitifully at me. I calculate his advantage; my spells are my last resort and I certainly do not want to use my broad sword over his exquisite blades. It looks so embarrassing to wave around, I think.

"Would you like to take a break?" he says uncertainly, still in a fighting stance with his long swords in both hands.

"Not really." I send the drow dagger flying to him. He dodges it as expected but the distraction worked. I disregard his cry, seeing my whip lying on the floor, I slide to grab it. I lash it to his legs and it wraps around his ankles. I tug and Elias falls to the floor, dropping his swords. Alert, I notice a drop of blood trickling his face. I scramble up to him to check if he's hurt.

His hands finger his cheek. "Gah!" There is a small cut along his face that starts to drip with blood. It looks so small like a paper cut but it must be deep enough to bleed.

I run to my bag near Hephaestus who doesn't say anything. I take out another elixir and run back to Elias's side. "I didn't know the -"

"You're dagger won the match," he laughs, as I gently pour a drop of healing liquid on his cheek. "This isn't over yet, Arakelle. I still have a gun and you still have your magic."

The liquid sizzles but then sinks into his skin, leaving no trace of the small cut. But the blood along his face is still visible. He feels his cheek and rips off his white sleeve and damps the cloth along his face. I sit back relieved but also stunned by what Elias has said. "You stopped calling me nicknames?" I ask him.

He grunts, seemingly absurd by the question. He takes his blades and cuts off the whip wrapped along his legs. I scream. "Those were from Raul you inconsiderate bas-"

"Get over it." He gets up and sheathes his blades. He stretches his limbs and climbs down to the main deck like nothing interesting happened.

A volcano erupts in my head. First I lose Greg's long knives, I say to myself, now Raul's whip is trimmed to uselessness? He's not getting away with this. I devilishly think of ways to avenge my broken weapons. I spy Elias plucking the drow dagger from the mainmast where it stuck after my throw. Like a lady, I think. I gracefully get up and climb down the stern to stand by his side. I note Hephaestus watching.

"Elias," I say, gently resting a hand on his shoulder.

He almost flinches back at the tone of my voice. He looks at me like I have done the strangest thing in the world then holds out the drow dagger.

I take it with a charming smile. "Thank you, Captain," I say, sweetly. I keep a hand to his shoulder and the dagger on my right. "So what do you say we do that again?" I lower my voice to an alluring whisper.

He blinks. "What's the catch?" he says with awareness.

"I really want to free the draconian, Captain." My hand fixes his collar and unexpectedly I feel heat burning my cheeks.

His hand brushes the scar along my face. Leaning closer, he levels his eyes to mine. I stare straight at the blue hues of his pupils, hypnotized. My arms swing over his shoulders. Elias's muscles relax and I feel his hand touch my back. He pulls me in and I can feel his gentle breathing. His face is an inch from mine and our eyes lock together in a hypnotic stare. Somehow I resist the urge to pull away as I look into the depths of his ice blue eyes. Snapping back to reality, I adhere to my scheme. "Smooth move, Captain."

My other hand unsheathes one of his blades and I swiftly step back letting go of him like a fly zapped from an electric shock. Weird, I say to myself, I don't want to start caring for this guy. What a stupid plan. I start walking back to the stern where the draconian sits, carrying a drow dagger on one hand and Elias's sword on the other.

Elias doesn't move from his spot but I can feel his suspicious gaze following my every step. "The chains are for his service to the Owen family," he calls to me. "You cannot unshackle him without their permission."

You mean permission by the Order? I think a weapon from the enemy might unravel the magic entwined in these chains. I hold up the drow dagger and set the chain down for a strike. Hephaestus watches reproachfully with his body tucked in a sleeping position. I strike the chain with all my strength but I jolt back from a wave of repelling energy. I gasp for breath, blinking up at the sky, my back to the floor and my chest heaving for air. Dizzy, I get up to try Elias's sword. I raise my arms and strike hard. The draconian howls as a ringing shriek erupts from the broken chains. Shattering bits of chains fly everywhere, my eyes close and my entire body curls to the floor. I cover my head with my hands as metal and blade exploded. Sparks energized and dissolved, within seconds the place is quiet again.

I scuttle to Hephaestus. The warrior holds out his free wrists and I could not resist an embrace. "How did you know child?" his deep voice shaking with joy. "The Order is the only one able to liberate me."

"They did liberate you." I hold out the hilt of Elias's blade. "It was a lucky guess. I didn't think it would work. Elias is part of the Order and so is his blade." The blade is gone and only the hilt remains gleaming of gold.

"The Order did not liberate you of your service Heap," says a harsh voice. The woman climbs onto the stern wearing a stunning royal Greenguard dress. Her dark hair is tied to a braided bun underneath a translucent bonnet and her face is sharp and stern. Narrow slits of lined eyes slice to mine. Hers are blue and colder than Elias's. Following her is Buzzard the dwarf. He is struggling to hold a flowery umbrella above the woman's head.

I hear familiar voices on the main deck, peering over I see Lord Pierce, Greg, my mother, Croup and Elias gathering. I look back at Hephaestus who slinks even lower by the carriage.

"You're free now," I whisper to him.

"Dur Gahl!" yells the woman. Her heels stomp the floor angrily."If you even have the slightest respect for me, please courteously step aside."

I do not reply, instead I stand up picking up the dagger and hilt. I have the temptation to slap her. But then I realize that she must be Elias's mother. Lady Owen.

"Now pick up the pace, Heap," she demands, "I wish to leave soon and need I remind you that you're carrying two more passengers later on."

The draconian stumbles and then flies upward. For a second I thought he was going to escape and freely fly over the skies, to my disappointment he lands on the roof of the carriage and his unshackled hands hold the handle ready to take off.

"But you're free!" I run up to the carriage. It sways unsteadily, weighing lightly against my push. "You can fly off for good Hephaestus! Tell every dragon what they have done to you!"

"How dare you," says Lady Owen, "speaking about those reptiles without any knowledge of them at all."

I turn to face her. I am clearly not good at first impressions, especially in front of royalty. "Forgive me, your highness."

She walks up and inspects me, Buzzard grumbling as he follows the woman. Lady Owen's eyes are like lasers scanning every character of the document. I begin to fidget uneasily. Greg and Elias make their way up to us. They halt near by letting Lady Owen dominate the scene.

The woman raises her nose. "She's a fine lady. Unfortunately, we have to arrange etiquette classes for her at Greenguard. She is clearly unstable but I shall do my best to fix her dysfunctional traits. I question myself why she did not inherit her mother's grace." Her cold gaze rests on me. "Dur Gahl, a pleasure to meet you finally. Maybe at the wrong time but let us reintroduce ourselves right now. Come have a seat and let us talk." She comfortably takes a seat along the platform of the back railing, with Buzzard scuffling behind to keep up.

I glance at Greg, but his expression is unrecognizable. My eyes dart to Elias's and he looks like he's fuming at the sight of his golden hilt on my hand, bladeless after the ordeal. Inside, he's picturing me hanged with a noose, I think. Putting the dagger and the hilt away, I scurry over to Lady Owen's side.

"I never thought Elias would share his things," she says, as I clumsily take a seat beside her.

"I didn't share, my Lady," says the young captain. "She just stole it from me."

"And you let her," snaps Lady Owen.

Elias turns away and order's Croup to get the sneevils and patrol below. The ghoul skips away with Sneezes and Shocky to the portal. Elias takes the wheel with his back turned to us. Greg disappears without a word and I hear him speaking with Lord Pierce. I can tell Kendra and Latoya are with them conversing.

"It is rude to eavesdrop, young lady," says the strict woman beside me. Lady Owen takes a fan from her purse and starts fanning herself. Buzzard grumbles beside her, still holding up the umbrella to provide her shade.

"I apologize," I say to her, not stopping myself to think. "But sometimes, when you are clueless to what is going on and you have an important deed to fulfill, you can't help but eavesdrop in people's conversations just so you don't get the wrong instructions." I could not resist a smirk to her direction.

Lady Owen closes her eyes like a swear word just slapped her across the face. "What manners you have. Do you know who I am?"

I do not answer. Of course I know, I say silently, you're the mother of all things lady-like under the shelter of a golden roof.

"I am Lady Owen, the royal baroness of the Secret Order. I do not tolerate obnoxious people, Arakelle. I know you are frustrated with the secrecy however, I believe that anyone strong and smart can still combat many things. The rules and restrictions do not limit them - please hold the umbrella a little higher, dwarf."

Buzzard raises the umbrella a few inches up, straining his tired arms. "Sorry, my Lady."

I look at Lady Owen's straight posture then to the dwarf struggling to keep the shade up for the woman's convenience. "Here." I hold out my hand to Buzzard. Lady Owen's eyes widen to dinner plates as my arm interrupts her fanning. "Buzzard, let me hold the umbrella," I say gently. The dwarf reluctantly gives it to me.

"Don't do that, young child," cries the lady, "his hands are filthy and we are meant to be served by the dwarves! They owe us so much!"

I bite back. "I don't know about their debts. I only know a thing or two about generosity and respect."

"Don't talk to me about respect and generosity. Who do you think you're talking to?" The woman's ruffled collar seems to puff out every word. She tones down her voice, "Young lady, have some grace. We humans are above these creatures. You meet them in battle during your training exercises and I do not see any problem with having one hold an umbrella for me."

I hold up the flowery umbrella for her, bearing a look of contentment which annoyed her even more. Her lips purse to a thin red line and she withdraws from the subject. Her attention turns to the sailing captain.

"I see," she says, fanning herself, "you've met my son, Elias Crowe."

"Yes," I grumble. Buzzard bows, realizing where the conversation is going, he leaves.

"He is a gentleman, following his father's footsteps."

"He destroyed my weapons," I tell her.

She disregards my accusation. "He is a great captain serving the Order."

He is also deceiving me, just like everyone else in the Order, I add silently.

"I want you to befriend him," she eagerly states, "He's a wonderful gentleman and I am sure he likes you."

I think that's rather surprising.

"I believe it is almost time for my departure." Lady Owen gathers herself up. "I was informed of your kalestri connection during lunch. Sir Sabor and Lord Pierce will be monitoring Lady Locke's activities. Fortunately for you, drows have not given chase. I really wish to pluck the drow veins off your system, Arakelle. It is too dangerous to have a drow track you through that, especially Lady Locke for that matter."

She straightens her layered dress. "Our chat shall continue at a later date. For now, stay hidden."

"Stay hidden?" I do not mind her leaving, but what does she mean by that?

"Once you reach Greenguard and meet with the lord of the Order, we will further discuss the terms of your arranged marriage." Arranged marriage? I repeat the blistering words in my thundering head.

Elias leaves his wheel, overhearing the conversation over his shoulder, he says, "Marriage?"

I can feel my cheeks reddening. Dropping the umbrella, I get up stiffly for answers. "I'm not doing anything else that I have no -"

"I said we will further discuss this at Greenguard," says Lady Owen, glancing at Elias and I. She picks up her umbrella, hesitantly. "Right now, there are other things to deal with."

"You have other things to deal with?" The captain is annoyed at the thought. "My lady, can't we -"

"At Greenguard," repeats the strict woman.

"Sorry," I argue, "but I must have a say in this-"

"Will further discuss this at Greenguard!" she underlines the words with a rising anger. "You know your obligations, Crowe. I will not hear another word. Besides, I wasn't talking about your marriage, young Captain." She smiles at both of us, cold eyes glinting with a devilish sparkle. She is really entertained by my dread.

Does Greg know about this, too? I feel my shoulders tense and my eyes brimming with warm tears. I recall vowing to do whatever it takes to end this war, but if this arranged marriage she speaks of is not part of the plan I will reject it in a heartbeat.

Lady Owen paces down to the main deck. I remain standing with closed palms. My brain starts to weave questions to whatever Lady Owen said. First she implied to stay hidden, meaning there is a possibility that I might be left in the dust, alone. And what did she mean when she said that the dwarves owe us so much? I know very little of the Cold War and the dwarves.

"You jumped at the thought of an arranged marriage," says Elias. I almost forgot about him standing close by.

"Give me names of the girls who never bolted at the thought of an arranged marriage," I say, shuddering to the bone thinking about a forty year old groom and an eighteen year old bride.

"Believe me," he replies, "I do not know anything about the arranged marriage part. But I do know this: The Order is willing to do anything for you, as long as it suits them."

Before I can say anything, Greg calls my name. He is standing beside my mother with a sullen look on his face. I run to him like a lamb called to her shepherd. The man embraces me and for a moment I thought we were going to train and have archery lessons all over again. But by the grim looks of Latoya and Kendra huddled behind him, training session has been cancelled.

"I'm sorry, Arakelle," Greg pulls me away. "We have a few things to attend to. I'm afraid we can not have that training session I planned for today."

I feel a tear trickling my cheek. "I did a little training by myself, anyways."

"Maybe Latoya can teach you a few tricks with a gun."

I look up to his grey eyes; within the grey pupils are small specks of green and hazel. "I'll have to handle her first," I say. A faint smile appears across his face, making my vision blur with tears. "Greg…" Stopping myself to hold back tears, I drop my gaze to the floor, understanding how he is not able to tell me anything under the Order.

"We'll see each other at Greenguard, Arakelle…" My step father looks away, letting his words dissolve in the air. He brushes my right cheek where the so-called scar is and we stand there staring at each other. Finally getting up he sighs and turns to leave. He rests a hand on Latoya's shoulder and joins Lord Pierce and Lady Owen standing at the front of the ship. Latoya does not turn her blank gaze to her father.

My mother approaches and I almost fall to my knees crying at the sight of her unfamiliar face. She is wearing a new dress of gold lining and an unusual dark green hood matching her eyes. Her appearance displays a woman I have never met before, but beneath the visage is the mother I grew up with.

My body is swallowed in her arms. "The sword will come to you once it is finished. The spell is almost…done." She speaks with hesitation and I begin to wonder what the problem is.

"What other ingredients does this thing need?" I ask her, as she raises my chin.

"My dearest, the sword simply needs you. I am just preparing it." She kisses my forehead and releases me. She flutters to Greg's arm and pulls her hood over her blood red hair. Lord Pierce's hood is also pulled over his face to conceal the serious gaze that I bet is burning my stare.

"Your passengers await, Heap," commands Lady Owen. Her words seem to whip the draconian. From the main deck I can see Hephaestus's wings burst to flight. His fore limbs carry the gold carriage like it weighed less than a pebble. He gently lands the wagon before Lady Owen on the forecastle. The draconian lands on the roof of the wagon, claws holding the handle, he waits for more orders.

Lady Owen steps inside without a farewell glance. My mother glances back at me. "Be careful with your spell casting," she says softly, almost too faded to hear. "And remember what you promised me." She turns away from me and disappears into the carrier.

Greg goes inside only stopping for a wave to us, his mouth not uttering a single word of farewell. I somehow predicted my mother's leave but certainly not Greg's. Why does he have to leave me behind? The answer I come up with is because of my mother and probably Lord Pierce's demands. Lord Pierce remains where he stands, seemingly waiting for something.

Suddenly, a scroll appears from the mouth of the carriage and he takes it without a turn of his head. He holds it out to me. The scroll is tied with a gold and purple ribbon and they usually call these types Mission Scrolls. He's offering me a mission? I refuse.

"First, I want to know why you are leaving," I say, crossing my arms. "Then I want to know where you are taking my parents and -"

"Oh for crying out loud," exclaims Latoya. The girl snatches the scroll from Lord Pierce. "We'll take it. Whatever this is…" Without opening the parchment, Latoya strides to the nearest railing and looks out to the Ruins below.

Elias finally shows himself. He climbs down from the poop deck and courtly stands before Lord Pierce. "I'd give this ship at least a couple of weeks, my Lord. And yes, I will make sure we reach Greenguard in time. Oh, and simply send us a postcard once you get there."

Lord Pierce raises his head. "The wind is telling us to separate, now," says the elf seemingly to the skies. He nods to Elias. "Remember to reach your destination," he glances at me, then suspiciously at Kendra and Latoya, "by whatever means necessary." He turns to climb into the carriage, adding a few more words over his shoulder, "Do not fail me Crowe." The door shuts behind him. Elias steps back. He puts out an arm in front of me, to prevent me from running after the rising wagon.

I scowl at him. "I can handle myself."

He looks at me like I have said the cheesiest thing. "But can I trust you to not jump overboard?"

I push his arm away and watch the draconian beat his wings, lifting his load higher.

The carrier lifts off, carried by Hephaestus's muscle and wings. His dragon eyes glance at me one more time before he turns to fly out of range. Through the golden carrier window I hope to catch a glimpse of Greg or my mother, but all I see is Lady Owen's conspicuous face. She obscures the window view with her white flowery umbrella and the carrier disappears into the clouds.


Author's Notes:

This was my first fanfic and it is still not done. It's got battles and plenty more adventures in store. But I just need your critique at this point to keep going. I don't know what to change or improve on without feedback.

Don't be shy! ^_^