Ruby Eyes
The Queen Fury tossed and turned across pitched and restless seas. Meru had already gone belowdeck to avoid watching the way the waters churned, pulling the ship along the waters toward Mille Seseau. Miranda took the time to chide her for it, even if her heart wasn't in the ribbing she normally gave her wingly friend for being so easily seasick. Everyone was pensive in light of their predicaments. Though her boots effectively hid the strange, silvery scales that appeared on her calves, they itched something fierce and she had to resist the urge to scratch at them. Everyone save Kongol took the opportunity to hide their blemishes. Even Meru traded in her scanty dresses for something that draped over her shoulder and kept all eyes off the blue scales that glimmered there. The Gigantos saw no point in it, and the gold on his chest stood out for all to see. But, he too had finally gone below and the rest scattered to their own respective spots aboard the ship. It left the Sacred Sister on her own, leaning against the edge of the boat to watch the waters idly and toss hunks of bread to the gathered seagulls that screeched and circled above her before diving to grab up tasty morsels that otherwise would be sacrifices to the capricious seas.
The prospect of becoming a dragon frightened Miranda. Albert's theory made sense, and certainly explained the theft of the Dark Dragoon Spirits only days before the Black Burst Dragon's appearance. Why would Emille dare to touch the stones? She never held an interest in them beyond passing questions directed toward Albert. Gold brows furrowed at Miranda's dark thoughts over it all. If the princess had been foolish enough to court something she knew nothing about, then she deserved her fate. With a firm nod of her head, the Sacred Sister resigned herself to a sigh, following. She was changing, she knew. Once upon a time, she would have believed that with all her heart and refused to think otherwise. Now, it was a half-hearted thought, knowing it was her own jealousy rearing its head and nothing more. No one deserved what Emille must surely be suffering.
"Penny for your thoughts?" a voice asked quietly, startling Miranda enough to make her jump and whirl around.
"Dart!" she cried in exasperation, lifting a hand to her chest as if to will her heart still again. "Don't do that. You scared me."
"Sorry," he grinned, shrugging his shoulders sheepishly while reaching up to scratch at the back of his neck. "You just looked so thoughtful and kinda down... didn't mean to make you jump."
"I think we're all subdued right now, Dart," she replied quietly as her composure returned. "I suppose it was fortuitous that you relinquished your spirit awhile ago."
The blonde shook his head, reaching into his armor for a moment before drawing forth a glowing red stone. Opening his palm, he displayed it for Miranda and it suddenly shone bright as the sun, detecting the Spirit nearby. The Sacred Sister couldn't help the slackening of her jaw muscles, staring with wide, stunned eyes.
"Dart, you fool. Does Shana know you've taken the Red-Eye Dragoon Spirit?"
"No, and don't you tell her either. She stayed home for a reason. I'm not going to put her or my son in danger if I can help it. But we need all the power we can get; I took the risk."
Miranda felt her old fire returning, considering Shana's feelings in this as the girl had become like a sister to her. They both shared the experience of possessing the Silver-White Dragoon Spirit, they both deeply understood life and love and pain and healing. This felt like a betrayl, and it rankled the justice oriented spirit of the Sacred Sister. "Dart... you will tell her when we return, or I will. And you be careful with that, don't make me show you the scales on Albert's arms to display why."
Dart rolled his eyes heavenwards, but bobbed his head in a dutiful nod, "All right, all right. God, I forgot how much alike you and Shana are at times."
That startled Miranda anew, changing her expression to puzzlement. "Shana and I are friends, but hardly alike. You won't see me --" Stopping herself before going any further, she swallowed back the words she knew would only anger Dart. To her surprise, he merely grinned at her, knowing what she meant even if she never quite finished her sentence.
"S'okay, Miranda. Someday, you'll remember you started to say that and be glad you ate your words now rather than later."
And he left her after that, snickering into his hand while dodging the hunk of bread she flung at his head. Flushed and indignant, she clenched her fists and then whirled back around, determined to forget his obvious hints and innuendo while resting her chin atop her crossed arms while leaning against the rail again. The cool sea air breezed past her cheeks, taking away strands of gold hair and forcing her to blink a bit more rapidly. Nothing soothed her faster than a rocking motion. Her mother used to rock her to sleep when she was a toddler. It was one of the few good memories she had of the woman who abandoned her. Lullabies and rocking chairs. The sea lulled her to a state of half-awareness, and in that her mind was prone to wandering.
Eventually her eyes drifted shut, dozing against the rail with the wind in her hair and the seas gentle lap against the bow of the ship.
Down below, Meru moaned wearily to herself, tired of the rolling and pitching of the ship. With a whimper she rolled onto her side and sighed quietly, squeezing her eyes shut. These trips were always easier when she slept but it was hard to sleep when constantly sick. So, the little medicine vial from Haschel had been a godsend. Though it made her mind a bit fuzzy, she drifted off to sleep anyway, smiling in her repose. At least until the nightmares began.
Albert loved the sound of the ocean. Shana declared him a poet once for expressing his feelings, but it never ceased to lull him into a sleepy stupor. The heartbeat of the world beneath him, carrying him and his friends off to adventures yet unknown. He stretched out across the couch, long legs not quite fitting and dangling over the side. To the crewman who passed by on an errand, it appeared that the King of Serdio had nodded off.
Kongol didn't mind the sea, but never quite felt as though he fit in with the crewmen. That and the doorways were always so small, making it difficult for him to move about the ship like his friends did. So, he had his bedding and personal affects kept in the boiler room, where he could move about freely and the crewmen avoided the Gigantos if they could. The heat of the room reminded Kongol of his homeland, the ruins now that had been his birthplace. How he would bask in the sun on warm days and even nap until the stars filled the sky. The memory brought him to smile quietly to himself while drifting off to sleep as he did when he was young.
All was so very quiet, the sound of the waves lapping against the boat, the gentle cry of seagulls circling, the shuffle of crewmen quietly going about their tasks. A lazy afternoon and what better way to spend it than by catching a well deserved nap? That was Haschel's way of looking at it. Finding a secluded spot in the crow's nest, after convincing the lad who normally kept his perch there that he was free to go, the rogue sighed contentedly and laced his fingers behind his head. Leaning back, he closed his eyes and intended to get in some shut eye before someone came and yelled at him.
Dart headed back to the room he shared with the others, smiling quietly to find Meru stretched out and looking green around the gills, even while asleep. Removing his armor, he left it propped up against one of the bunks. It had been two years since he'd worn it, and it had fit a little tightly on him, having gained a bit of weight since settling down. After this adventure, he figured he'd be fitting into it again without trouble. His sword arm was, naturally, a bit rusty, too. Hopefully the heroics of yesteryear wouldn't be necessary this time. Everyone had grown complacent in the years since the Dragon Conflict.
The peal of a chiming sound caught his attention, followed by the glow that enaminated from his belt pouch. Somewhat startled, he glanced down to see the fabric aglow with an inner light. Since the others had worn their Spirits around their necks, he felt it far safer to keep his off his person, or as far from himself as possible. At night, he didn't dare to sleep with it on or near him. But now, seeing how it shown, he reached into the pouch to draw it out, opening his palm to watch the crimson glow undulate there against his flesh.
He never saw it coming, nor would he understand how it happened. One moment he was standing there near the bunks and in the next, he had collapsed to the wooden floor, the stone rolling from his palm and circling around till it came to rest beside him... at his chest level.
When Albert finally woke, it was to the solicitous visage of one of the Queen Fury's crew members. A hand rested against his shoulder, having ceased the motion meant to shake him to wakefulness. "Oh... I must have fallen asleep."
"Aye, Your Majesty. You were dreaming something fierce, too, calling out some name. Lavitz? I think. Sounds right," the crewman agreed with a firm nod of his head.
Albert reached up to rub at one of his eyes with the heel of his palm. He had been dreaming, that much he was aware of, but the contents and meaning had begun to fade now that he'd woken. And, Lavitz had most definitely been a part of the whole thing. "Thank you. I'm all right now, truly."
The crewman hesitated, as if not quite sure and then bowed slightly before turning to leave the room and let the King of Serdio gather his wits there on the couch. The boat still swayed and rocked gently, like the hand of a mother against a baby's cradle. It might have lulled Albert back to sleep, except that the dream still haunted his memory, and then the sudden remembrance of the Dragoon Spirit and its mysterious attachment to his body. Removing his gloves and peeling back the sleeves of his tunic, he grimaced to see the pronounced color of jade scales trailing from his wrists up to his elbows. Since he'd last stared at them, they'd gained more of a hardened luster, spreading further across his flesh. Inwardly he felt the heat of the Dragoon Spirit, knew the poison it spread into his flesh was what now sought to transform him and a sense of sadness washed over him.
Emille obviously had succumbed already. She had never used a Dragoon Spirit and her genteel temperament simply would not have given her the willpower to survive an onslaught such as Albert and his allies faced now. It made sense to conclude that she was now the Black Burst Dragon nesting at the Mountain of the Divine Dragon. And he had no guarantee that she could be rescued. Somehow, he couldn't help but blame himself for the entire situation. If only he had been more attentive, if only he had kept the stones more guarded. If only...
But, if onlys were not going to save her now, or extract the Spirit trying to take over his body.
Rising to his feet, he blinked away the last of the sleep from his eyes and realized he should find the others. The crewman hadn't told him how long he'd been asleep and he'd neglected to ask. But, stepping out onto the deck, he realized that it was well after dark, the stars a bright blanket of jewels in the sky. The roar of the ocean rocking against the boat filled his ears, along with the sound of laughter from down below, where the crew currently gathered to tell stories and eventually prepare for bed. No one was on the deck, that he could see, except for a small figure against the railing, curled up beside a coiling of thick rope.
It was not until he was practically standing beside her that Albert realized it was Miranda.
Kneeling beside her, he reached out to touch her shoulder, shaking her when she would not wake at first. She mumbled something incoherent and finally a pair of cerulean eyes cracked open, blinking a few times as her wits returned to her.
"Oh god," she gasped, sitting up abruptly as she realized her surroundings. "I must have... fallen asleep here. How did I do that?"
Albert smiled at her somewhat ruefully and shrugged his shoulders, offering her a hand to help her to her feet again. "I'm not sure, but I suddenly felt the need to nap, myself, except that I was below deck, on a couch, instead."
"I suppose next time I'll just have to make sure I'm near some sort of--" she cut herself off as she realized belatedly that it was Albert she stood next to. Flustered, she drew back from him, flitting her hair over her shoulders before tugging her skirt down. "Um, thank you."
The awkwardness was contagious, it seemed. Albert found himself almost fidgeting in the Sacred Sister's presence. Miranda, in realizing this, fit her hands on her hips, expression changing to something far more stern, something anyone would expect from her.
"Since I have you here..." she began and before Albert could backpedal, before he could make some sort of excuse or warn her away from him, she had reached out and grabbed the fabric of his tunic, dragged him down to her level and planted a firm kiss on his lips.
After that, he gave up trying to get away from her.
Meru's scream startled half the ship.
She continued to wail at the top of her lungs until nearly everyone had gathered in the sleeping cabin to find out what in the world was the matter. Kongol had woken already after Haschel had found him. And Albert and Miranda found their moment of solitude interrupted by the shrill sound, all four of them rushing in so quickly they nearly collided with one another.
Sitting up in bed, Meru just screamed again and pointed at the body on the floor of the cabin. Dart lay there, still unconscious despite the noise going on around him. It was Haschel who reached the youth's side first, checking to see if he were still alive and then shaking him afterwards until finally he woke. Only then did Meru finally cease her caterwauling, huddled in her blankets and whimpering.
"He was just lying there like that, I thought he was dead or something," she whined.
Somehow retaining his good humor, Haschel chuckled at the wingly and shook his head. "Just asleep, next time, why don't you call for us or just check for yourself, ok?"
Groggily, Dart sat up, holding his head in his hands. "Ugh... what happened?"
"Did everyone fall asleep?" Albert couldn't help but ask, seeing too many coincidental moments. "I found Miranda passed out on the deck. I fell asleep abruptly on the couch..."
"Kongol sleep downstairs," the Gigantos confirmed from his spot outside the doorway. Haschel sighed and nodded to admit to his own bout with unconsciousness.
Silence permeated the room after that, too many thoughts echoing loudly in everyone's heads to express them. It was Dart who broke the stillness, groaning as he held his head in his hands and then slowly staggered to his feet, reaching out blindly until finally Haschel helped balance him a bit. It took them all a moment to understand why Dart was having such trouble. Just a moment and then a collective gasp from all by Kongol.
Dart's eyes, both of them, glowed a ruby red, glittering like gems. And it blinded him entirely.
(Author's Voice: Sorry this took me so long to get out. I got distracted, gomen. But, here's the chapter you all wanted. - Hopefully I'll get back to this and my other LoD ficcies soon.)