Disclaimer: Only Ella is mine. Everything else belongs to David Eddings.
And Leigh Eddings.
Author's Note: oh, now this is going to be fun…
~*~
Chapter Two: Eternal Salmissra's Confession
~*~
'Nyissa.' The voice that she had been slowly getting used to told her.
'You want me to go to Nyissa?' she didn't know if she liked the sound of that.
'Not particularly, but it isn't entirely up to me. You're going. Either Belgarath and the others take you, or you go alone. You'll be safer with them. Make sure the stubborn old fool realizes that.'
Ella giggled, because young ladies do not snigger.
~*~
"…so, I have to go to Sthiss Tor." Ella finished.
"And we have to take you." Belgarath added.
" 'Our mutual friend'," Ella said, amused, "thought you might argue. Actually, he called you a stubborn old fool and told me to make sure you realized that I will go, whether you come or not, and I'll be safer if you do."
"What is there in Sthiss Tor that would be…Belar!" Belgarath swore as he thought about it. "The Serpent's Daughter…is it possible,"
"I think I know what you're thinking, and I'm fairly sure that's impossible." Ella interrupted him.
Polgara sighed and cast her eyes heavenward. "Don't ever say that around Father."
"Nothing is impossible." Belgarath said, sounding a little pompous.
Ella rolled her eyes at him.
~*~
They were picking up the people they needed as they went.
Belgarath, Poledra, Polgara, Durnik, Polly, Lina, Garion, Ce'Nedra, Geran and Beldaran all went.
Ella badgered them until they let her make a side trip to Arendia, since she just __had__ to meet Mandorallen. He immediately offered his services as a protector, to his wife's dismay, and reluctantly they allowed him to come, when the Necessity said through Ella, "He comes."
Silk didn't want to leave his wife and their young baby girl, but Belgarath told him bluntly that he had no choice in the matter, and that he could do it the easy way, or the hard way.
Silk didn't argue further.
Ella seemed delighted that she was meeting all these people, if a bit disappointed she couldn't drag Velvet along too.
Relg was picked up, as the official 'Religious Something Something'. Or, that's what Ella decided to call him. She told him with enthusiasm about the religion she was technically a part of back where she was from, and he seemed interested, there were a few – very few, in Ella's opinion – similarities between his religion and hers.
So, one by one, the Companions were gathered.
And then, Nyissa.
~*~
Polgara drew herself up in front of the eunuch that bowed before her, and glanced briefly at Ella, who looked…different.
"We will see Salmissra. Now." It was not a question, nor an order. It was a statement of fact.
The eunuchs weighed up their chances of survival if they defied Polgara the Sorceress.
She and the others were shown into the throne room.
Ella looked very different now. Her hair was longer, lustrous, with a blue- black shine that had never been there before, a true brunette. Her green eyes were deeper green, and her lips fuller. She was a little taller, and slimmer, her skin paler, then more bronze than the caramel it had been.
Belgarath observed the slow and almost unnoticeable – until you saw the effects – changes. Ella looked more and more like a Nyissan as she spent more time in their presence. It was…unnerving.
Salmissra took one look at Ella and then hissed at Polgara, "How did you find her?"
"We didn't. She found us. She appeared in my dining room and hit the wall." Polgara said steadily.
"She was sent away for her own protection. Send her back." Salmissra hissed. "Elsirra is not safe here."
"Elsirra?" Polgara looked startled. "Her name is Elisabeth."
Salmissra coiled around the hand of a faithful eunuch, and was brought forward to examine Ella carefully.
"No, Polgara." She hissed, her sibilant voice oddly soothing. "This is Elsirra of Nyissa."
"Impossible." Ella stated clearly. "I am Elisabeth Adelaine Black, and I am from Dunedin, New Zealand. I know some of my family tree, and I've never been here in my life."
"Yes, you have been here. When you were born, and not until now since." Salmissra looked, if you could say a serpent did, kindly. "I am sorry, Elsirra, but you were sent away for your own good."
"From the beginning, Salmissra." Polgara ordered.
The Companions looked shocked, and so did Elisabeth.
Salmissra sighed. "I suppose I must."
~*~
'Sixteen years ago, I did something very foolish, Lady Polgara.' Salmissra began her story. 'I found another serpent of my species. I didn't take into account the fact that a part of me was still human. As serpents do, I laid eggs. There were four, and three of them were destroyed by cruel accident. The fourth wasn't any regular egg, and it continued to grow. The egg itself was growing, and it didn't look much like a serpent to me. For the first time in so many years, we woke Issa.' Salmissra paused. One could almost think she looked…afraid.
'Issa told me that my child was not a serpent, like myself, but a human child, as I had once been. He told me that she would be part of the prophecy, and that I must bring in a human to help raise her, as in my current state, it would be difficult for me.'
Salmissra stopped again. Ella was watching, silently stunned, as were the others.
'When she was born, I found an old passage that allowed the High Priestess of Issa to call on his magic, once in her life, when her need was great, and since she can only call once, he must do as she requests. I knew of the danger that the prophecy held, and it was her that I cared for, not the prophecy. I demanded that she be sent away for her own safety. Occasionally, I would wonder how she fared, but I knew that Issa would find a way of watching over her.'
When she stopped, they were all staring at her.
'You see before you, Crown Princess Elsirra of Nyissa, heir to the Snake Queen's throne.'
~*~
Ella fainted.
Mandorallen caught her, much to Geran's irritation.
~*~
The confession of the Snake Queen gave them another piece of the puzzle, but it didn't help them with much else.
Beldaran was outraged – she was fairly sure that Elsirra (as we now must call her) outranked her. Beldaran was the second child; Elsirra was the heir to the throne. Salmissra admitted later that now, she hoped to be able to groom Elsirra for queenship (a/n: I made up a word! Yay me!), and then told Polgara all the awful things that would happen if Elsirra came to harm.
Issa was woken long enough to see the Princess, and Beldaran felt the green- eyed monster of jealousy and envy rise once more as the god looked favorably on his Beloved Salmissra's child, and bestowed upon her his blessing. Elsirra was beautiful, youthful, a princess, and part of the New Prophecy, the New Necessity.
Jealousy gnawed at her, and she glared at Elsirra, who was laughing at some witticism of Geran's.
~*~
Salmissra was happy. It was an odd feeling for her; she hadn't felt it often even when she was human. She had felt triumph at small victories, and she had lusted. She had never really loved, and she had never missed happiness, having felt it's gentle touch so infrequently.
Now, at the sight of her daughter Elsirra, she was happy.
It was a nice feeling.
~*~
Author's Note: Girl-gets-transported-into-another-world may not be the most original idea, and neither is making her daughter of a real character. Still, it's fun. I like Salmissra, for some weird reason, so it seemed natural that Elisabeth – well, Elsirra – be her daughter. Took me a while to work out how she could be Sally's, and longer still to work out how she got to the 'real' world, but I worked it out. I'm still a little hazy on the details of Ella's birth, but like I really care. No, Elsirra is not going to be turned into a snake by Polgara. Hey – now I've got an idea…Polgara, owl. Poledra, owl. Belgarath, wolf. Garion, wolf. Beldin, blue-banded hawk. Elsirra…serpent!
Author's Note: oh, now this is going to be fun…
~*~
Chapter Two: Eternal Salmissra's Confession
~*~
'Nyissa.' The voice that she had been slowly getting used to told her.
'You want me to go to Nyissa?' she didn't know if she liked the sound of that.
'Not particularly, but it isn't entirely up to me. You're going. Either Belgarath and the others take you, or you go alone. You'll be safer with them. Make sure the stubborn old fool realizes that.'
Ella giggled, because young ladies do not snigger.
~*~
"…so, I have to go to Sthiss Tor." Ella finished.
"And we have to take you." Belgarath added.
" 'Our mutual friend'," Ella said, amused, "thought you might argue. Actually, he called you a stubborn old fool and told me to make sure you realized that I will go, whether you come or not, and I'll be safer if you do."
"What is there in Sthiss Tor that would be…Belar!" Belgarath swore as he thought about it. "The Serpent's Daughter…is it possible,"
"I think I know what you're thinking, and I'm fairly sure that's impossible." Ella interrupted him.
Polgara sighed and cast her eyes heavenward. "Don't ever say that around Father."
"Nothing is impossible." Belgarath said, sounding a little pompous.
Ella rolled her eyes at him.
~*~
They were picking up the people they needed as they went.
Belgarath, Poledra, Polgara, Durnik, Polly, Lina, Garion, Ce'Nedra, Geran and Beldaran all went.
Ella badgered them until they let her make a side trip to Arendia, since she just __had__ to meet Mandorallen. He immediately offered his services as a protector, to his wife's dismay, and reluctantly they allowed him to come, when the Necessity said through Ella, "He comes."
Silk didn't want to leave his wife and their young baby girl, but Belgarath told him bluntly that he had no choice in the matter, and that he could do it the easy way, or the hard way.
Silk didn't argue further.
Ella seemed delighted that she was meeting all these people, if a bit disappointed she couldn't drag Velvet along too.
Relg was picked up, as the official 'Religious Something Something'. Or, that's what Ella decided to call him. She told him with enthusiasm about the religion she was technically a part of back where she was from, and he seemed interested, there were a few – very few, in Ella's opinion – similarities between his religion and hers.
So, one by one, the Companions were gathered.
And then, Nyissa.
~*~
Polgara drew herself up in front of the eunuch that bowed before her, and glanced briefly at Ella, who looked…different.
"We will see Salmissra. Now." It was not a question, nor an order. It was a statement of fact.
The eunuchs weighed up their chances of survival if they defied Polgara the Sorceress.
She and the others were shown into the throne room.
Ella looked very different now. Her hair was longer, lustrous, with a blue- black shine that had never been there before, a true brunette. Her green eyes were deeper green, and her lips fuller. She was a little taller, and slimmer, her skin paler, then more bronze than the caramel it had been.
Belgarath observed the slow and almost unnoticeable – until you saw the effects – changes. Ella looked more and more like a Nyissan as she spent more time in their presence. It was…unnerving.
Salmissra took one look at Ella and then hissed at Polgara, "How did you find her?"
"We didn't. She found us. She appeared in my dining room and hit the wall." Polgara said steadily.
"She was sent away for her own protection. Send her back." Salmissra hissed. "Elsirra is not safe here."
"Elsirra?" Polgara looked startled. "Her name is Elisabeth."
Salmissra coiled around the hand of a faithful eunuch, and was brought forward to examine Ella carefully.
"No, Polgara." She hissed, her sibilant voice oddly soothing. "This is Elsirra of Nyissa."
"Impossible." Ella stated clearly. "I am Elisabeth Adelaine Black, and I am from Dunedin, New Zealand. I know some of my family tree, and I've never been here in my life."
"Yes, you have been here. When you were born, and not until now since." Salmissra looked, if you could say a serpent did, kindly. "I am sorry, Elsirra, but you were sent away for your own good."
"From the beginning, Salmissra." Polgara ordered.
The Companions looked shocked, and so did Elisabeth.
Salmissra sighed. "I suppose I must."
~*~
'Sixteen years ago, I did something very foolish, Lady Polgara.' Salmissra began her story. 'I found another serpent of my species. I didn't take into account the fact that a part of me was still human. As serpents do, I laid eggs. There were four, and three of them were destroyed by cruel accident. The fourth wasn't any regular egg, and it continued to grow. The egg itself was growing, and it didn't look much like a serpent to me. For the first time in so many years, we woke Issa.' Salmissra paused. One could almost think she looked…afraid.
'Issa told me that my child was not a serpent, like myself, but a human child, as I had once been. He told me that she would be part of the prophecy, and that I must bring in a human to help raise her, as in my current state, it would be difficult for me.'
Salmissra stopped again. Ella was watching, silently stunned, as were the others.
'When she was born, I found an old passage that allowed the High Priestess of Issa to call on his magic, once in her life, when her need was great, and since she can only call once, he must do as she requests. I knew of the danger that the prophecy held, and it was her that I cared for, not the prophecy. I demanded that she be sent away for her own safety. Occasionally, I would wonder how she fared, but I knew that Issa would find a way of watching over her.'
When she stopped, they were all staring at her.
'You see before you, Crown Princess Elsirra of Nyissa, heir to the Snake Queen's throne.'
~*~
Ella fainted.
Mandorallen caught her, much to Geran's irritation.
~*~
The confession of the Snake Queen gave them another piece of the puzzle, but it didn't help them with much else.
Beldaran was outraged – she was fairly sure that Elsirra (as we now must call her) outranked her. Beldaran was the second child; Elsirra was the heir to the throne. Salmissra admitted later that now, she hoped to be able to groom Elsirra for queenship (a/n: I made up a word! Yay me!), and then told Polgara all the awful things that would happen if Elsirra came to harm.
Issa was woken long enough to see the Princess, and Beldaran felt the green- eyed monster of jealousy and envy rise once more as the god looked favorably on his Beloved Salmissra's child, and bestowed upon her his blessing. Elsirra was beautiful, youthful, a princess, and part of the New Prophecy, the New Necessity.
Jealousy gnawed at her, and she glared at Elsirra, who was laughing at some witticism of Geran's.
~*~
Salmissra was happy. It was an odd feeling for her; she hadn't felt it often even when she was human. She had felt triumph at small victories, and she had lusted. She had never really loved, and she had never missed happiness, having felt it's gentle touch so infrequently.
Now, at the sight of her daughter Elsirra, she was happy.
It was a nice feeling.
~*~
Author's Note: Girl-gets-transported-into-another-world may not be the most original idea, and neither is making her daughter of a real character. Still, it's fun. I like Salmissra, for some weird reason, so it seemed natural that Elisabeth – well, Elsirra – be her daughter. Took me a while to work out how she could be Sally's, and longer still to work out how she got to the 'real' world, but I worked it out. I'm still a little hazy on the details of Ella's birth, but like I really care. No, Elsirra is not going to be turned into a snake by Polgara. Hey – now I've got an idea…Polgara, owl. Poledra, owl. Belgarath, wolf. Garion, wolf. Beldin, blue-banded hawk. Elsirra…serpent!