DISCLAIMER: Garth Nix still owns everything. Humph. *crosses arms* I wonder if he'll sell it for... uh, let's see... five bucks?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Another one of Belyn's dreams. You'll find out more about Sara and Daman. Read on! Oh yes, and please review when you're finished!
A tall woman walked in the shallow waters of a winding river, wading with the waves just barely reaching her knees. Her breath was shallow as well, heavy, thick, and sharp on intake, and like a sigh of relief as she released. She inhaled as soon as she exhaled, as if trying to take in only fresh air, and never holding her breath. The expired air created white puffs that hung around her head, trailing behind her like a bride's train.
A bandolier crossed her chest, like a shield, and a sword sheathed at her side in a silver case. It was pulled open slightly, so she could defend herself quickly if needed. Emeralds and rubies lined it, embedded in the metal, sketching out the Charter marks she used most. They reflected off the black waters and shot prisms of light around the darkness. Raven hair hung down past her shoulders, draping down her back like a royal cape. Her skin was pale, pallid enough to act as a mirror in the night-like sky. Her stomach was rounded, a pregnancy due at any moment, and still she walked as if not burdened. Her long, nimble fingers wrapped around the mahogany wood of a tiny bell, Ranna. The water sloshed quietly at her calves as they cut through the water, but then her sure steps stilled the water as she placed her foot on the floor of the river.
Death was the river she walked, and only cautiously she moved. The waters were bitter cold, but the woman seemed not to notice. She was Mayu, Abhorsen-in-Waiting, and she would stop at nothing.
Behind her trailed a man, inconspicuously. He crept just as slowly and steadily as she did, and she seemed not to notice him. The water around their feet splashed lightly at the same time as they walked, with twin movements.
The woman up ahead tuned into her acute sense of Death. She couldn't sense anything in the First Gate, nor the first of the Second. What was walking behind her was not Dead, just living, or she would've noticed him by now.
Where is he? she thought, looking around.
She'd chased an attacker into Death, a Shadow Hand. He was hungry and merely looking for someone to replenish his dwindling strength, but didn't realize he'd chosen the wrong home. To protect her husband, Breish, she'd decided to banish him to the blackened skies of the Ninth Gate. However, he didn't seem to be close.
Her movements slowed as she waded and her back began to ache, as did her narrow feet. Her hips had yet to grow accustomed to the extra weight of her pregnancy. Sharp pains jolted through her body, up her back and then down to her legs. The waters tried desperately to tug her down into them, but she wouldn't fall.
Suddenly, her legs buckled and she managed to sit on a jagged rock in the river. The man trailing her was evident now, and she scowled deeply as he picked up his speed and sprinted towards her.
"Breish!" she called, cursing silently. Mayu stifled a scream as her baby began aching to get out and she felt her water break, then watched it trickle down the rock's sides like a waterfall.
"Mayu! The baby! Is it coming?"
She nodded weakly. "What are you doing here? It's too dangerous for you!"
"I had to protect you."
"I don't need it," she said, crossly. She was too stubborn for her own good, Breish knew.
"I had to think of the baby then!"
Mayu struggled to catch her breath, taking in big gulps of air but feeling none of it reach her lungs. Her pain had increased, from her abdomen to her head.
"Can you walk?" Breish asked with uncertainty. His wife attempted to stand, but the anguish sent her back down. The rock jabbed into her, hard this time, and she cried out again.
"Come on then, I'll have to carry you."
"We're too far! From Life, Breish. We can't make it."
"You can't give birth to our child in Death!"
"Just go, Breish!"
He shook his head and reached for her. She tried to fight back as he lifted her in his arms, but soon realized her pac was faster than she expected. Breish's face lit up red with adrenaline and his legs pumped with a quick smoothness. She felt the coldness decrease, and the black became a lighter shade of gray. Finally, Breish had reached Cloven Crest. He ran nimbly to the Medicine Woman, weaving in and out of the townspeople, and the woman ushered him into her home. Mayu was lain on a bed made of stretched skins and the Medicine Woman, the Healer as she was called, unclothed her enough for her child to be born.
Mayu's clothes were already damp, and her shirt now drenched in the baby's fluids. She stretched her hands out to Breish, but as he approached her was pushed aside and out of the Healer's tent, the woman having said it was for Mayu's own good.
He waited outside in the sun. When it turned to darkness, he still lingered by the door, pacing, waiting.
The scene turned black, as if all the lights had gone out in the middle of a moonless night. But then, just as quickly, the lights reappeared and Mayu lay propped up in the bed. Breish was dozing in the wooden rocking chair next to her, snoring lightly.
The flap that served as a door to the Healer's home lifted, streaming sunlight around the silhouette that stood there. Breish woke up, rubbing his eyes, and then squeezed May's hand when his eyes had cleared. The Healer entered, carrying a bundle carefully in her arms.
"It's a girl," she said happily as she handed the baby over to her parents. He voice was coated with warmth and love and her age hadn't changed her voice from it's earlier stage, which surprised Breish. The Healer was an old woman, nearing an age too old for most. She still moved with youth, though wrinkles coated her face.
"She's beautiful!" Mayu whispered almost breathlessly.
"What shall we call her?"
"Belyn. Belyn Amaya."
Belyn jolted awake, just like she had many times before. To her, this was nothing new, although she'd never had this dream before. And just like always, she surveyed the scene around her.
The sun was just now peaking over the horizon, lighting the sea and sky in brilliant pinks. The ship was passing a small town passing a small town and even though it was still early, people fishing along the banks cheered and waved as they passed.
Strange, Belyn thought as she sat up. Had one of the sailors done something to provoke them? Shrugging, she let it slide.
Belyn Amaya. Breish and Mayu were back in her dreams, she realized. Were they her family? Was that her real name? But Mayu was the Abhorsen-in-Waiting, she argued inside her head. She didn't know how she knew how Mayu wasn't yet the Abhorsen, but something told her from inside her head. She couldn't be related to an Abhorsen!
Since the sun was already rising, she decided to surface with it. Belyn tossed back her blankets and swung her legs over the bed and planted them on the cold floor. She still hadn't gotten used to the chilly sea nights and she shivered in the stale morning.
As she stood, she could see Daman already on board, fully dressed. Her cheeks began to burn with a mix of embarrassment and rage. She had doubted Sara at first, but now she was believing to be true. She was spending more and more time with Daman, and had little left for Belyn's care.
Belyn still couldn't believe she had been nothing to Daman. She was finding it harder and harder every day regressing back into herself, showing no emotions when she spoke briefly with him. Days had passed since they had kissed, and still the memories lingered in her mind. When they grew cloudy, she would bring out the dress she had worn that day and with the first glance, she would remember all over again. It was painful sometimes, but she needed to remember. She had to. She wanted to.
Belyn busied herself now with sewing. Sara had provided her with several finely woven rolls of linen, colored white, pale blue, red, pink, and lilac, but only after she'd taught the orphan how to stitch in delicate patterns. Belyn was making herself her own dresses, and she'd return Sara's when she was finished. She tailored them to fit her own measurements, and was creating the designs in her head.
After she allowed herself to cool down, she sat a comfortable wooden chair and placed her dress on the table in front of it and she began to sew. Periodically, she stopped to test the sizing, but then she returned to her duties. She ignored most of the breakfast tray, and still hadn't touched the food delivered for lunch. The sun was beginning to set, and her diner would arrive shortly.
A string of giggles drifted in through her window, and she realized they belonged to Sara. Belyn's mind began thinking randomly. Was she with Daman? She had to see for herself. She had to see if it was the truth she was told.
Quietly, as if Sara could hear, she set her dress down and scooted her chair backwards, the two woods screeching loudly. Belyn paused, waiting to see if the giggles had been interrupted, but they still floated in to her ears. She tiptoed on bare feet out onto the deck, and she tuned her ears into the sounds Sara was making.
The deck was sturdy, and did not creak as she walked. The boards had long since splintered, but the Charter marks in the wood protected her exposed feet. She had forgotten she was dressed still in her nightgown, too lazy to change after she'd awoken. The gown provoked stares from the sailors just like it had from Daman, but she didn't notice. Their eyes traveled with her and roamed over her body until she was out of sight.
She followed the sound of both Sara's laughter and her footsteps, and she wondered if she and Daman were just leading her around before going to his cabin. Belyn finally caught a glimpse of the man Sara was walking with, and his sandy hair matched Daman's. She felt her heart drop in her chest, but she stayed in pursuit.
The couple turned off into hallway that led to the sailor's rooms. Were they keeping their relationship a secret and hiding? They entered one of the smaller cabins, which probably belong to one of the servant boys. The door fit loosely in it's frames and the boards were nailed in place with spaces between them.
Belyn could see through the door without impaired vision, but she waited, her breathing shallow.. She trailed them this far now and she didn't want to blow her cover what little cover she had. She didn't even have an alibi. She inhaled deeply and peeked in through the cracks.
The room was surrounded, with no windows, so it was dimly lit with a single candle that Daman had just sparked into life with a softly murmured Charter mark.. It cast eerie shadows around the room and she hoped hers wasn't evident. A single bed was shoved hastily into one corner, its covers still rumpled from the sailor's last night of sleep. A small dresser was pushed up against another wall, and from the looks of it, it had seen better years. A few articles of clothing stuck out from it's drawers and a fresh outfit lay on it's top.
Daman wrapped his arms around Sara, holding her just as tight as he had Beyln. At no matter what angle she looked, she couldn't seen his face. He'd buried it in Sara's neck after he had unwrapped her hood from around her head, letting her hair free. The smell of it's bath oils filled the air and wafted to Belyn's nose.
Sara fumbled with the buttons on Daman's shirt, but finally got them free. They were kissing now, and Belyn tried to advert her eyes, but couldn't. She wanted to see Daman's face. Daman's chest was smooth and hairless, pulled taut over his muscles, just like she'd remembered. Sara pulled the garment from his arms and tossed it onto the floor carelessly. The floor was probably dirty and it would lose its whiteness.
Belyn tried not to laugh, for the thought was strange in a scene like this.
Sara's hands roamed across his chest, covering every inch of it in her possession. She freed her lips from Daman's and began planting them over his chest, leaving the imprint of her trail to gleam in the candle's light. Daman searched for the fold in Sara's overcoat that hid the buttons.
Sara never wore it, Belyn knew, unless her uncle was around. Herim was protective of his niece, so she was hid discreetly from the lonely, hungry sailors. Below it was a dress, an alteration of what Belyn wore now, except for Sara didn't sleep in it as she did.
Daman found the fold and began unbuttoning as Sara went lower and lower on his chest. She pulled it off with some difficulty, then pulled her off her knees and up to her feet. Just as Belyn had thought, Sara wore a dress that hung too high and scooped too low. Daman's hands unlaced the dress as they kissed again, deeply. He pulled it slowly down her shoulders, leaving her back exposed. Sara loosened Daman pants.
Belyn closed her eyes as the dress slid down Sara's hips and Daman's drawers slid down his. She could hear them step out of the clothes, and then heard them stumble backwards. She opened one eye to see Daman facing her.
She gasped, bringing her hand up to her mouth to stifle a groan. The man wasn't Daman, just one of the sailors. Suddenly, she felt very foolish and bolted from her place at the door. As she left, she could hear then fall onto the bed, it's creaking frame warning of it's demise.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: *Yawns* That's it for now!! It's Sunday night and I'm supposed to be in bed in seven…. Wait, six minutes. I've had this chapter halfway finished, but couldn't think of anywhere to go until now. Hope you like it, and as always, review!!
I'll start working again on my other fics too, but I've been focusing on my own stuff lately, original stuff. I promise they'll get done.
Again, please review! Ice cream cones for those who do! (And I'll love you too!)