Blood, Tears, Toil, and Sweat

"Okay!!! Let's go!!"

Filled with the excitement of a new day, Ayeka marched outside her home and headed towards the jungle. She had already gathered a small stack of wood in previous days, and had since stored it in her cave. Only a few more bundles were required, and Ayeka could start a fire. If she accomplished nothing else that day, she would make sure that a hearty blaze was in her possession.

Ayeka's success with finding proper wood fared pretty well. The jungle in which she explored was overrun with unused wood, most of it dry enough to burn. Some even had moss and fungus growing on it, which Ayeka considered good fuel. Personally, she was a greenhorn when it came to making fires (although there always seemed to be one going on whenever she cooked, or fought with Ryoko), but fortunately she had a good memory: whilst under the care of Tenchi, the kind young man taught her much about making fires from scratch.

After gathering sufficient wood, Ayeka decided that the small area of grass surrounding her cave was good for a fire. She didn't want to start one at the beach for fear of incoming tide, nor inside her cave for fear of suffocating. Anywhere too far away would be a hassle; anywhere too close would smoke her home. Placing all her logs in a messy pile, and setting a circle of stones around it to protect the grass from the blaze, Ayeka produced the flint she had found.

To her knowledge, there were three ways to start a successful fire. One was to simply rub two sticks together and hope for a blaze. The second was to use a magnifying glass to intensify the rays of the sun onto some dry brush. The third method, the one Ayeka tried, was to strike two stones together and hope for a spark.

Ayeka took a deep breath and prepared to make the blaze. With a grunt, she slammed the two rocks together and expected a blaze. She got a blaze, all right, but not the kind she had wanted; her finger had been caught in the middle of the collision.

"YEAOOOOWWW!!!!!!" Ayeka screamed out in torture, dropped the rocks on the ground and sucked on her poor finger. Smashed beyond recognition, the pinkish digit was quickly forming colors of red and purple. Her nail was also scratched and crushed, but Ayeka's pride was the most damaged.

After recovering somewhat, Ayeka sighed and continued to bang the rocks together. Reaping nothing but a loud crunching noise, the princess eventually gave up on the prospect and decided to search for tools. There would other days to work on the fire, but now she needed tools and water.

Leaving her wood and stones behind, Ayeka journeyed to the beach in search of seashells. Previously, she had made the discovery that, if fashioned right, some shells could provide as digging, cutting, poking, and scraping tools. Once on the beach, Ayeka began fishing out anything that looked like it would make a good tool. She knew she had to have some sort of cutting device, not just to cut through fruit but perhaps animals as well. The thought disgusted her, but Ayeka knew that she needed better nourishment than just fruit.

After collecting a sizeable amount of shells (and storing them in her box), Ayeka paused to glance off into the distance. Ryoko was probably still on those rocks, just as unconscious as ever. For a fleeting moment, a feeling of guilt and remorse washed over the princess, and she almost considered going over and rescuing Ryoko. But with a huff and a snuff, Ayeka proudly turned her back on the woman, and marched back to her home.

With shells in tow, Ayeka's next task was to continue improving her shelter. The cave was nice, but something homier would be needed. As with everything else, Ayeka knew little of constructing a shelter, save for the fact that it needed to resemble a house. The sticks she had collected would not be good enough to make a house; something else was required.

One of the main problems that beset the princess was the fact that she no longer had coverings for her feet. Somehow, her slippers had been lost at sea, so from the time she landed at the beach, Ayeka had been barefooted. This was normally not a problem, but taking treks through and across the jungle that centered her island was painful.

Her feet bled and blistered a hundred-thousand times, in a hundred-thousand different ways. Stepping over logs, thorny branches, mud, mushy soil, fungus, and thistles did horrors for her feet's complexion, and running away from the occasional predator only made matters worse. Still, she pressed on, even as she grew faint from so much injury.

Footwear aside, Ayeka's delicate hands were also starting to become swollen and bloody. Not used to anything more strenuous than sewing, her hands suffered great casualties from carrying lumber and rough bark. Jagged stones rubbed up against her soft palms, seawater and sand burned wrinkles in the smooth skin, and fashioning her shells into tools was no delicate task either. Ayeka already bore a multitude of minor cuts on her hands and fingers, along with her feet, and other than the thinning creek, she had no means of cleaning them.

Ayeka also found herself getting weaker and weaker from lack of food. Her berry supply, formerly formidable, had dwindled down to a few more branches. Here and there she found a snack that had fallen out of the tree, but if she didn't do something drastic, her supply would run out for good. Ayeka also began sweating abnormally, from heat and work, and her body screamed for water. For a bath, she merely took a dip in the sea, but only the pure, clean, cold water of a spring would satisfy her thirst.

After scouring the island (and injuring herself many different times), Ayeka had no luck in finding the means to build a shelter. She had dragged with her several palm leaves and other branches for a tarp, but unless she found something sturdier to support it, she would be forced to live in her cave.

Ayeka's physical problems were minute when compared to everything else. Emotionally, she was drained. Having been shipwrecked and stranded on an island was bad enough for her psyche, and having to work for everything she did was insane. Never before had the princess done so much for herself, from finding her own meals to fashioning her own tools.

Ayeka desperately desired the company of another. Living all by herself on the island was eating away at her sanity. She was so lonely it scared her, and at times her mind wandered back to Ryoko, who had not been moved from the rocks. At times, Ayeka found herself walking over to the unresponsive pirate, almost as if she were ready to rescue the woman. Every time, of course, her pride took over and she turned away.

But Ayeka knew that she couldn't last forever. Sooner or later, if it had not happened already, she would snap and lose her mind. In physical terms, she would never be able to handle all the tasks and chores by herself. Day after day, her body grew exhausted from too much work and not enough nourishment. Nights were a blessing, but they never seemed to last long enough.

Emotionally, Ayeka was a mess. Each new night brought demons that picked at her mind. They taunted her, insulting her, and mocked her--for what reason? Perhaps her conscience was ragging on about Ryoko. Perhaps her heart was telling her that she needed to save the other woman, that bringing Ryoko from the rocks was the right thing to do. The princess found the frequency of these dreams to be increasing, and her resolve weakening.

One night, she had a dream that it was she who was on the rocks, and Ryoko was out and about on the island. Ryoko, upon discovering Ayeka flattened on the rocks, laughed and jeered at the princess--while simultaneously lifting her up and carrying her away. That wicked demon was spewing curses, but soon the curses turned into words of kindness, and Ayeka saw herself being carried away--not dragged, as she might have been. Ryoko had rescued her without hesitation.

Ayeka, as always, ignored the dream. When she woke that day, it was barely even dawn. She found herself perspiring, even though the morning wasn't warm. With a sigh, Ayeka slid off her mattress and walked out of the cave. She found a beautiful pre-sunrise island greeting her, with the water on the beach receding and advancing as it always had been. The dark sky was littered with stars, billions of them, each one gorgeous.

Ayeka smiled as she greeted the day, and decided to go on a walk before doing her chores. As always, she stuffed herself with berries, and found it a surprise that there was still enough left over for her to eat. With her stomach full, Ayeka merrily began humming a tune as she skipped alongside the beach.

For some unknown reason, she found herself approaching the rocks. Whether by curiosity or fate, she walked towards them and saw Ryoko lying there still, her body sprawled over one of the larger ones. Ayeka saw it and smiled wickedly, but the grin faded fast. Her conscience, stronger than ever, began picking and poking at her mind.

Poor woman. Look at her! Who knows how long she's been out there! Probably starved to death by now, almost! And she can't be in good health! She's been outside this entire time, weathering the waves that continue to lick at her legs. Don't you feel ashamed for leaving her there?

"No, I don't!" replied Ayeka, screaming to the wind. "I don't feel ashamed! I stand by my decision!"

Fine, then. Let her lie there until she dies. You'll be no better than she is if you don't help her.

"I don't care!" retorted the princess, not caring that she was talking to herself. "Ryoko is an evil space pirate! She has committed thousands of crimes against the universe, and she must pay for her wicked ways!"

True. But is this punishment really fair? Is it really right to let her die such a miserable death?

A pause.

"Yes! Yes, it is! She deserved every bit of it!!"

And what will you get if she dies? Satisfaction? Happiness? Comfort? Will you really be able to live with yourself if you let her die like this? Will you ever be able to hold your head up proudly?

No response.

If she dies, you will be all alone. You will have nobody to talk to, nobody to converge with, nobody to express your feelings towards.

"I have my diary!" exclaimed the princess.

True. But your diary cannot give you what another living person can. Your diary cannot help you build a shelter, or show you how to make a fire. Your diary cannot laugh at your jokes, or it cannot be a shoulder for you to cry on.

"And Ryoko is?!"

Maybe if you gave her the chance. I'm sure that if you help her, she'll help you. She'll be in your debt, after all. She can help you find more food, some water, maybe set up an SOS system…

"Rubbish!" blurted the princess. "All lies!!"

What do you have to lose? Your food? You don't have enough even now. Ryoko will understand. She's not going to steal the food.

"I, I… I, I don't want to!!"

All right. I'm not going to do anything. Leave her there, then. You can have the joy of doing all the work by yourself. Think of it: all those sprains, all those bruises, all those cuts will be yours alone. Ryoko will be spared that. She won't need to find food and water either. She can just stay there forever.

"Y-you're trying to trick me," whispered Ayeka, her confidence fading.

Use your head, Ayeka. You know that if you don't help her, you're going to have to do everything yourself. I know you don't want that.

No response.

Princess Ayeka growled, battling her subconscious in a losing war. She didn't want to admit it, she never wanted to, but that inner part of her was correct. If she didn't do anything, all the "joys" of managing an entire island would be left up to her. Ayeka knew, though she would never admit it, that she couldn't handle the job herself. It was becoming far too complicated, and messy, and her body ached so, and she had so much to do…

"ALL RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Ayeka let out a scream, drowning out the waves that crashed against the rocks. Any intelligent being that was living on the island would have heard her by now. "All right!!!!! I'll help her out!!!! But I'm only doing this so that I won't have to do all the work myself!!"

That a girl.

"Don't you start with me!!" growled the princess, and with a huff and a snuff, she stormed off to the unconscious woman lying on the rocks.