CHAPTER 3
For a moment, as the light brightened steadily to reach a climax, the four stunned air pirates just stood where they were, frozen, like animals caught in sudden bright lamplight.
"Vyse, you go first!" requested Aika, blinking as she tried to adjust to the sudden luminescence.
"I will, once I can see something clearly. My eyes are dazzled!"
"I think he speaks for all of us in that respect," added Guilder, trying to use a hand on his forehead to shield his eyes. It seemed like a long moment before the four could see clearly again without getting a headache.
Vyse stepped into the newly revealed room, closely followed by Fina and Aika. Gilder brought up the rear. The room was empty except for the stone throne-like object in the centre of it…and the beautiful, young-looking girl placed on it. They gasped in unison.
She was clothed in layers upon layers of a light, sheer fabric, but the exact colour was indeterminable from the inch or two of dust that lay across everything. Her hair looked to be a dusty, grey-blonde colour, and her skin a stone grey. She sat slumped on the left side of the throne, her head tilted and leaning against her own shoulder. Her bare feet dangled from the great chair, but did not reach the ground.
They were each caught speechless for a moment. "Is she…dead?" Aika asked in a whisper, taking on her stance of leaning back with her face caught in an expression of apprehension, and curiosity. Vyse was frowning, as was Fina. Gilder's expression was neutral, his feelings difficult to read.
"If she is, she seems very well preserved…" Gilder observed, trailing off.
Vyse was shaking his head. "This whole place is too weird to be a simple tomb."
"She…she's not dead," whispered Fina, who always spoke in soft tones to begin with. She had begun to waddle over closer to the throne.
"Fina!" exclaimed Vyse, starting up to match pace with her.
Gilder and Aika exchanged glances, Aika's unmistakably portraying worry. They followed, Aika quietly moaning to herself, "please don't be a ghost, pleeeeeease don't…"
Daydraea, merely dozing on the throne as she lacked the energy yet to raise herself up, could hear the voices and the footsteps slowly approaching the place where she involuntarily rested for countless centuries. What was most reassuring was that she could hear and feel that both were very close to her, now. A private relief came over her as she thought, 'finally, that I may leave this place and take care of my beloved earth once more!'
It did not yet occur to her that she didn't understand a word that the mortals were saying.
Fina and Vyse reached the throne first. All of them were still baffled as to who this girl was, and what to do with her…and in the back of their minds, they secretly wondered what she instead might do to them.
The four of them now gathered, Vyse reached out and touched the girl's arm. She didn't respond. Another gasp as eyes widened when Vyse retracted his fingers and left distinct marks where he had lifted some dust off of the girl's skin. Underneath a thick layer of grey dust, gleaming, pale skin was revealed.
"Wh-what's wrong with this ghost? I guess she doesn't want to come out to play, can we go now?" Aika stuttered softly. The realization that there was no treasure but a dormant ghost in this deep, dark place had put her usual cheery treasure hunting mood off and replaced it with a fearful anxiety. She wanted to leave this place behind and re-emerge into the sunlight of middle and upper sky, safe, sound, and…well, unhaunted.
Fina leaned forward, placing her hands on the seat of the throne as she leaned in closer towards the girl's face. She turned her head and smiled warmly at Aika. "She's no ghost, Aika. She's…sleeping."
Gilder raised an eyebrow. "How do you know? Looks like an uncomfortable place for a nap."
"And a long one, at that," added Vyse, rubbing the dust between his fingers.
Fina had turned her head to face the girl again. "Something very super-natural has happened here…I don't know what, but…I think we should take her with us." She raised a hand to dust off the sleeping girl's face. More of that beautiful skin was revealed, as well as a delicate face that portrayed one who was no older than fourteen.
"She's just a kid!" exclaimed Gilder.
"Or rather, she looks like one," smirked Aika, again taking on her most natural pose. Fina had taken to dusting off the girl's hair. The parts that had the grey dust brushed off of it showed a beautiful, shiny, rusty-blonde.
The gentle touch upon her face and hair brought new energy into Deydraea's being. Her eyes slowly opened. Fina froze in what she was doing, the other three instantly held their breath. Just as slowly, Daydraea smiled and raised her head off her shoulder, releasing a small cloud of dust as it fell off of the top of her head.
Moving her eyes across her four rescuers, she thought to herself 'why, they look like a bunch of pirates!' Fina had drawn herself back to the other three, and was watching with her hands again clasped on her chest. Daydraea's smile stretched wider. She pulled her feet up to sit in a cross-legged position on the throne (and again stirring more dust off of her body), and flipped her hair behind her shoulders with both hands. The dust that rose from the latter action lifted and slightly clouded the light around her momentarily.
Grinning, now, Daydraea thought she felt strong enough (for the moment, anyway) to try her voice. "Hello, people! I thank you very much for releasing me. What are your names?"
Silence. Each of the four air pirate's faces contorted in their way of expressing confusion.
Vyse turned his head. "…Fina?" he prompted the fellow party member
Fina shook her head slowly, her eyes wide. "I'm as confused as you are."
Aika turned to face Gilder. "Well?"
"And why would you think I know any better than you guys?" Gilder asked, his face falling into a "you-know-better-than-that" look.
"You seemed to have an idea as to why this place was here," Aika smirked.
Gilder sweatdropped. "You don't really want to know where I read all that…"
"Oh do tell."
During the conversation, Daydraea's smile faded into a frown of confusion. 'I don't understand anything they are saying! But…how can this be? I know all the languages of the people of the world! Unless—'
Her thoughts were cut short by Vyse extending his hand towards her. She looked from his hand, to his face, and back again.
"Vyse, what are you doing…?" inquired Aika, a little apprehensive again.
"What does it look like? We're getting her out of here. Whoever…or whatever she is, she wasn't meant for this place. The least that we can do is help her out." He looked back to Daydraea and smiled, offering his hand again in encouragement for her to take it.
Gilder had crossed his arms, resting a hand and forefinger on his chin, smirking to himself. "Very nice, Vyse! Maybe I should be taking notes."
Aika turned to look at Gilder with her eyebrows lowered into her "you've-got-to-be-kidding" facial expression before turning to look back at Vyse. "You're right. We're Blue Rogues! Since when have we ever deserted someone in need?" Smiling, she turned to Daydraea and offered her hand as well.
Daydraea looked from one hand to the other. For a moment, no one moved. 'They mean to help me, despite being unable to understand my words! If this is so, then maybe they will help me find my bracelets, as well…after all, they did find me here…' Her face suddenly split into a beautiful grin, her green-grey eyes shining. Lifting both her hands, she placed them into the hands of Vyse and Aika. The smile had spread to all four of the air pirates. Daydraea felt safe and welcome as the hands of Vyse and Aika closed on hers.
She slid her feet out from under her knees and was standing on the cold, stone floor, when remnants of the powerful sleep spell washed over her again, but this time it would be for the last time. Nonetheless, her knees buckled as she once again was plunged into sleep (or as close to it as a spiritual entity as herself can get). Her unconscious head fell back as her eyes closed and she would have fallen to the floor if Aika hadn't quickly stepped to catch the falling girl, to the sound of gasps of the others.
"What's wrong, what happened?" Gilder was asking, watching the scene.
"A little help, here?!" Aika exerted, who was in an awkward position to begin with, and now was having trouble standing underneath the weight of the sleeping earth child and was beginning to sink to the floor herself.
"Here, Aika, I can piggy-back her to the ship," offered Vyse, stepping towards her. He wedged himself between Aika and Daydraea, draped her arms around his neck and her legs around his hips and lifted her relatively effortlessly.
"Are you sure?" Fina asked him.
"Of course. I used to piggy back Aika all the time when we were kids, right?" He looked over at Aika for support.
Aika blushed unwillingly. She avoided eye contact. "That's not exactly, um, relevant right now, Vyse…"
Unsure as to what brought on the sudden discomfort in Aika, he shrugged (kind of) and turned to the other two. "Shall we go?"
Vyse and Gilder started back towards the exit, the passageway being lit, for the most part, by the strange and magical light that still shone in the room. Fina silently noted how shiny the rock was underneath the outline of the girl they just removed from it. 'You poor, dear girl…how long have you really been confined here?'
Aika noted it as well, but thought little of it. Something else was on her mind. "Hey, Fina? What could have kept her dormant for so long?"
"Hm? Oh, very strong magic would be my best guess. She is immortal in some way…whoever placed her here knew that the only way to keep her out of the way for a period of time would be to seal her up and put her down."
"It looks like this treasure hunt isn't over after all!" grinned Aika, resuming her natural cheer.
Fina turned to look at her, also smiling. "What do you mean?"
"Well, now we have to find out who she is, and why she was really here! Doesn't that sound exciting?"
Fina closed her eyes to nod in agreement. "Aika, traveling with you and Vyse is more excitement than I ever expected in my lifetime!" But Aika was deaf to the compliment, her imagination already engrossed in exploring more of Deep Sky, places filled with treasure, adventure, and of course, fun.
If only she knew the half of it.