Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't... I also don't own the Narnian Calendar. It belongs to Elecktrum who was kind enough to let me borrow it for my story. Her own stories are awesome and you should go read them too.
Summary: The sea has always been the Valiant's but when she sets out on a quest with her favored knight, Tarrin Peridanson, Lucy finds both danger and adventure. Will a quest set by Nereids bring Lucy and Tarrin together or tear them apart?
A/N: If you have not read the first eleven stories in the A Light in the Darkness main story arc (Awakened, Shadowed, Revealed, Concealed, Rekindled, Refracted, Reflected, Veiled, Unveiled, Eclipsed, and Obscured), I highly recommend you do so for the full experience. However, I have included a quick summary of the previous stories so if you want to give this one a whirl on its own, you can. Glistened takes place concurrent with the events of Brightened (post-chapter 20) so that story is not included in the summaries.
Chapter Twenty-Three – The Artifact
Sea witches were composed of sailors' nightmares.
Tarrin crept as close as he dared, relying on the lessons taught to him by his father, the General, and the other swordmasters of Narnia. In this particular instance, however, he heard the whispered instructions of Dame Sepphora and Captain Cletus. Where the Faun captain had taught him (and the kings) how to move across rocky ground without drawing too much attention, Dame Sepphora had been the one to teach the best way of ambushing a group when you were alone. She called it confidence (while the General usually called it insanity disguised as bravado). Not to mention her habit of rolling her eyes at the Faun and Centaurs then promptly showing their human students how to move when one did not have hooves to aid or hinder. The uniqueness of the swordmasters were melded into lessons aimed at keeping their students alive under even the most challenging circumstances.
Eying the sea witch and her band of six, no, seven Fell sea folk as he crouched in the shadow of a larger bolder, Tarrin couldn't help thinking that even General Oreius hadn't mentioned this particular scenario. Of course, the Centaur had likely hoped their misadventures with Circe and her island of Delos marked the final time they'd be forced to deal with a sea witch. His grip on his sword hilt tightened at the memory. One sea witch had given him his chivalric title, and this new one… She would learn that Sir Tarrin Delos, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Table, had only grown more determined in the seven years since he last fought her kind.
The branch of coral he'd stuffed inside his quiver, hoping to use it as leverage should this first plan go awry. It was a risk but he hoped to bluff the sea witch into thinking it was the artifact she sought if he couldn't free Lucy and Oberon with his first attempt. Or at least bluffing her into believing he'd break it instead of handing it over if it was the artifact.
He was overthinking. Tarrin drew a steadying breath, forcing away the tumbling thoughts and the emotions that screamed at seeing his Lucy on the ground with a serrated blade at her throat. He could feel but only if he used it to fuel his determination and focus in battle. If it distracted him, he pushed it aside. Just as he had been taught and trained. Lessons honed and hammered until his mind and instincts were as much a weapon as the steel blade he carried. Aslan, grant me strength!
Everyone was focused on the sea witch and on Oberon. Now was the time.
He moved, creeping forward until he was within arrow range of the Fell. He released his death grip on his sword hilt and slipped his bow off his shoulder. Stringing an arrow, he pulled it taught and then loosed. The Fell holding the blade to Lucy's throat dropped to the rocky ground with a strangled cry. The Fell holding a blade to the other woman's throat was the next to fall to one of his arrows.
There was a shout and then Fell sea folk grabbed their serrated blades and tridents. They were charging toward him already. He spied Lucy dropping low to the ground instead of running and cursed under his breath. His hope that they'd left her legs unbound had proved false. He loosed another arrow, managing to take down one more of the Fell, before he switched to his sword.
Lunging to his feet, he shouted, "For Aslan!"
Some of the Fell stumbled or flinched yet still they ran toward him. He shouted a hoarse war cry as he charged them in turn. Blade clashed against trident. He batted one aside then twisted to his left, narrowly avoiding a blade to his ribs. Turning his twist into a lunge, he pierced through the scaled hide of the Fell. Green blood blossomed as the Fell warrior collapsed with a gasping groan.
Then Tarrin staggered sideways as pain bloomed in his head. He spun just in time to ward off the trident's prongs. However, his footing slipped and he lost his balance. He managed to slash the Fell's arm but the creature still charged, sweeping his trident low and knocking Tarrin's legs out from under him.
He tasted blood and his head throbbed from where he'd struck the rocky ground. He rolled away from the Fell only to back into the legs of more Fell warriors. They raised their tridents and he held his sword up in a vain defense against the coming blows.
"Wait! Bring him to me!"
He tried to resist, to fight them off, but his movements were sluggish now as the air seemed to tighten around him. He felt like he was drowning despite being on land. Sorcery. A sea witch's sorcery.
The Fell wrenched his sword from his weakened grasp and tossed it away so it clattered painfully against the rocks. Then they yanked him to his feet and dragged him toward the others. The sea witch smirked at him, her dark eyes empty of any emotion save greed. She opened her mouth and he caught a glimpse of horrifyingly sharp pointed teeth. The stuff of sailors' nightmares indeed. "A Son of Adam. Oh yes, I know you. You were also present at Circe's murder. And you've been tagging along after this Daughter of Eve like a guppy or a remora, clinging to a mightier person because she could take you places you would never hope to reach on your own. And yet you are worth nothing more than a plaything. Once she wearies of you, you will be abandoned back into the dregs you crawled out of so briefly. How pitiful."
A black forked tongue flickered out of her mouth briefly as she stepped closer to him. Her touch was as cold as fish scales when she brushed a finger against his cheek. "I wonder. What do you desire? A kingdom of your own perhaps so you might be worthy of a royal bride? Or treasure enough to buy the respect of entire kingdoms?"
Tarrin huffed out a breath. "I want nothing from you, Witch."
"Alecto," she corrected. Her mouth tilted in a cruel smile as she continued, "And I am the true goddess of the seas. My offerings can bring you great wealth or great destruction. Choose carefully, Son of Adam. You are in the presence of a goddess."
"The sea's denizens must all bow before Aslan," he retorted. "None may be gods and goddesses above Him. He granted you your place in the sea and you have not learned from the fall of Circe that eventually even those corrupted souls deeming themselves greater than Aslan Himself shall quail before the truth. Sea witches are nothing more than Nereids who have forgotten their own vows and pledges of service. You've allowed foolish sailors to fill your ears with empty flattery and believed it to be the truth. I tell you now, Alecto, that you should surrender here and now or you shall rue the day you joined Circe in her rebellion against Aslan."
"I believe you should have an encounter with the kraken. See if your Cat will save you from becoming its next snack." She gestured to the warriors holding him and they started to drag him away. He heard Lucy cry out. Then the sea witch shouted, "Wait!"
She strode up to him, the wind tugging at her tattered and stained yellow gown and chunky black braids. Then she shoved a hand into his quiver. He instinctively tried to jerk away but it was too late. Alecto withdrew the branch of red coral. Her lips peeled back into a toothy grin. "At last!"
She waved for the warriors to follow her as she strode back to the others, red coral branch triumphantly raised over her head. "At last! Over a century of waiting, of plotting, and the power of both seas and stars is now mine!" She let out a laugh crawling with madness as she spun in a circle.
Tarrin was forced to his knees beside Lucy. He didn't dare speak but he still brushed his elbow against her sleeve. She leaned into him, putting her bound hands close enough that she could grasp his wrist.
Alecto was still crowing about her victory. He felt Lucy's fingers brushing against his wrist and he shifted his arm a little, allowing her to touch the hilt of her dagger hidden by his bracer.
"Finally!" Alecto shrieked. All of the warriors were now focused on her, stepping past their prisoners to be closer. One of the warriors brought a glass case forward and she lifted out another slightly longer branch of coral. Raising both pieces high in the air, she shouted, "The seas shall be ruled by a new mistress!"
Lucy pulled her dagger free then cut her bonds. Tarrin grasped it and quickly cut through the braided kelp around her ankles. Passing the dagger back to Lucy, he caught her eye. She jerked her head down in a firm nod and he sprang to his feet, wrenching a trident from the nearest warrior and knocking him out with the blunt end. Lucy scrambled around him, skirts and hair flying in the wind now whipping past them.
The waves were crashing harder against the rocky shoreline, sending huge sprays of white foam into the air. Tarrin knocked down another warrior. The sea witch had fit the branches together, forming a set of double pipes. She started to raise them to her mouth and Tarrin shouted.
Lucy dodged to the right and he took his chance. Throwing the trident, he gave another shout when two of the prongs pierced Alecto's forearm. The sea witch let out a horrible screeching scream. He caught a glimpse of Lucy lunging forward, both hands outstretched, then he was tackled by one of the remaining warriors whose apparent stupor had worn off. He kicked and hit, stealing a knife from the Fell and turning it on him.
Lucy had a hold of the pipes. She wore a fierce look as she pulled her right arm back then struck the sea witch in the nose. He couldn't help cheering at the sight as the sea witch stumbled away, looking rather shocked.
As Lucy raised the double pipes to her lips, Alecto screeched in rage. "Fool! You cannot command the seas! Only a goddess may do so! Only a true goddess may control all of the sea without help or aid from any of the unworthy cowardly Sea Folk!"
Then Lucy started to play. The sound was almost as throaty as that of the pink seashell she'd played to first uncover the clue leading them on this journey…and to this moment. Alecto jerked back as if she'd been stung by a jellyfish. "No!"
Oberon gave a creaky laugh behind them. Tarrin shoved one of the warriors into his fellow, sending them both tumbling, then looked around. The woman with faded red hair was crouched beside Oberon and had undone his gag. He laughed again. "To Valiant Eastern Sea! Aslan given! Sing Valiant! Queen worthy! By Aslan hers rules!"
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She hadn't been certain what to do until she grasped the makeshift double flute. But as soon as she blew the first throaty note, a sense of rightness settled over her. She could feel the sea somehow. Almost as though she were dipping her fingers in the surging tides, but it felt as though the tides would move where her fingers willed instead of carrying her along by their own will. She blew another note, this one calling up the raging waves.
Alecto screamed and she blew another note. What song? There was a song to controlling this power. She could feel it. The seas were going to drown her and the stars would burn her if she didn't control it quickly. She would be swept away by a power she did not truly understand. Aslan!
"Lucy! The seashell! The pink seashell!"
She opened her eyes, not remembering having closed them, and Tarrin was charging in front of her. He tackled Alecto away from her then cried out as the sea witch hissed out words to form some sort of spell. She heard the sound of weapons clashing from behind. But her attention was on Tarrin. The pink seashell… Of course! She blew a flurry of notes, summoning the first song of the sea. The fury that tossed ships on massive waves then brought them crashing down. The fury of fierce storms swirling across the waters, lashing them higher and higher with the frenzy of a raging goddess. She could feel the waves climbing higher and higher threatening to plunge anything and everything in their path to the very depths of the ocean where only the Merfolk might attempt to reach them.
Tears flooded her eyes as the notes softened to the haunting call of utter loneliness. The mournful cry of a solitary gull, the dreary rain that turned sky and sea alike to sheets of grey where a sole survivor floated in the wreckage of her ship. The sea took life but it mourned too. The salt of sea blending the salt of tears was not unmarked.
She blinked away the tears and her fingers moved more slowly to a soothing pace like the sea on calm nights. Those gorgeous nearly silent nights when the waves lapping at the sand were low and gentle. The surf forming not a roar so much as a gentle murmur, urging peace.
Finally she moved to a more playful beat, leaping swiftly from high to low notes. Calling the Mermaids to leap in play among the waves, singing along in time with their song. A song suited to bright summer days when the dolphins and porpoises played alongside the ships as they cut through the waves, diving in and out of the wake.
She played the song through twice, barely aware of the changes around her. Of the Nereids and Sea gods led by Triton and Amphitrite climbing onto the rocky shore, tridents in hand. Of Tarrin moving around her in a protective circle, forming a shield. Of Alecto, collapsed on the ground and writhing like an eel caught out of the water.
Instead, she focused on the sea. On binding the dark blot against the waves so it could no longer taint her beloved waters. There was more deeper down and far away. She could just sense the blot's presence. Oh how she yearned to send the magic of the sea's proper songs to them, purifying and cleansing the destructive blot that threatened her sea.
At long last she lowered the coral pipes. Alecto no longer moved. But she did not seem to be dead. Lucy opened her mouth to ask after her condition. However, the words failed her as her knees buckled. Tarrin's arms wrapped around her, steadying her.
Titania and Oberon moved into her line of sight. Titania nodded to her. "Well done, Valiant Queen. It is over."
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Lucy smiled brightly at Triton as she offered him the coral double pipe. "I'm sorry we cannot tarry longer but we must go home. Our families are likely worrying over us." She hesitated a moment then asked, "Are you certain you remember the song?"
The Sea god nodded. "We do, Queen Lucy."
"Wonderful! Please give my respects to your father and mother." She glanced over at where Alecto and the surviving Fell Sea folk stood bound with their kindred guarding them. "I pray you will have an uneventful journey home."
Now he offered a quick smile. "Alecto has bemoaned her severance from the dark magic since she regained consciousness. I believe our journey shall be uninterrupted." He offered a bow of his shaggy head. "May Aslan keep you, Valiant Queen. The Sea god and the Nereids shall sing of your valor even longer than the stars could hope to manage."
She laughed but he was already striding away from her. He slammed his trident against the rocks thrice. The Sea folk leapt into the waves, taking their prisoners and the artifact with them.
She would have waved but none of them surfaced again. Instead, she turned to see Tarrin standing right behind her. He staggered back a step as she threw herself against him, wrapping her arms around him. "I'm so glad you're all right! That was such a foolish thing to do!"
"With fools Aslan works," Oberon declared from where he was sitting on the ground.
Tarrin stepped out of her embrace then kissed her cheek. "I'll go get the horses."
As he walked off, Lucy went to Oberon. She dropped her hand to her cordial. "Are you quite certain that you don't want a drop?"
Oberon nodded, tugging on his bushy beard, as he cut his gaze toward Titania. The woman shook her head in what could only be described as fond exasperation. "You just want me to come back to your house and care for you."
Oberon grinned. "Scheme Oberon would?"
"Yes, you would." Titania flicked her hair back over her shoulder. "If anything your twisted speech should be a reminder of how much trouble your scheming can cause you."
"What do you mean? Oberon doesn't talk this way because he's a star?" Lucy asked, curiosity burning through her at the thought of uncovering another secret.
Titania sniffed. "Of course not. I do not speak that way. Nor did our son or the other fallen star we know (though his story does not concern you)."
"Broken Oberon, better serve," he interjected solemnly.
She rested a hand on his head, fondness in her gaze once more. "True." She looked at Lucy. "Oberon is very persuasive. However, he misused this gift and caused discontent among our people. So Aslan twisted his speech to teach him the true power of words."
"Lucy, are you ready?"
Tarrin's call tugged at her yet she couldn't rush off. Instead, she hurried forward and wrapped Oberon in a hug. Then she did the same to Titania. Pulling back, she smiled at the woman's wide eyed expression. "You should come and visit Narnia. Both of you. I'm sure Kat, I mean, Alambiel would welcome the visit from her grandfather's parents!" Tarrin called again and she backed up slowly, waving vigorously. "We shall visit each other again!"
Then she spun and raced away from the two stars before they could say anything else. She laughed as Tarrin helped her onto her mare, grinning down at him. "Are you ready to go home, Sir Delos?"
"Most ready, My Lucy." He paused then added, "It's time to tell our families exactly what's happened over these last months."
Lucy nodded. "Yes." Her grin widened as she turned her mare south. "Race you!"
"That's not fair!"
She threw her head back and laughed then urged her mare onward. Thank Aslan, her quest was over.
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A/N: Please Read and Review! Whew! A fast and intense chapter for y'all tonight! One chapter left in this story!