Disclaimers: I am indebted to Miyazaki for being able to tell stories so vividly and still somehow give you a character's past and present personality within the length of one movie. As a result I have more than enough material to create my own story.
Date: 5/29/13. (edited 4/22/2020) Nearing two (ten?) years, and still going!
Chapter 13: A New Collaboration
One flight of stairs, a left, then a right; pass five doors then go up the staircase on the right. Doors transformed from unsightly grey stone slabs to polished black wood... Nausicaa memorized every detail as she passed from the dungeons to the royal offices once more. Before long she found herself standing before the King of Merinth again.
"Welcome, please sit down. First things first; I've got a couple of questions." He paused to let her settle down. "Where is the boy I saw yesterday?"
"I don't know; he disappeared." She replied honestly.
"That's a shame; I wanted to at least keep the three of you together. And the remaining two that came with you into Merinth?"
"How should I know? You're the one with the spies." She chirruped rather unapologetically - did he really pull her out of the cell just to ask her that? The middle aged man gave a low chuckle, and regarded her in amusement.
"You've got quite the fun personality," he remarked. "Now, I've been thinking about our current predicaments."
"Have you changed your mind and decided to give us the plant?" She asked flatly, already knowing the answer. She knew she was reaching borderline insolence, but it felt justified given the circumstances; she had every right to be rude. In response to her rebellious tone, Sarkil simply smiled.
"I believe we are in a bit of a stalemate. You want the plant, I won't give it; end of story. I've detained you and your Pejite, but I still don't know what to do with you." Nausicaa laughed scornfully.
"Let us go." She stated seriously.
"No; I don't want you causing more trouble outside. Your companion said it himself: you're not leaving until you get the answers."
"And we will stand by what we've said. However, you can't keep us here when we've done nothing wrong."
"True, but I have a bit of confession to make... you've been imprisoned because I also want something from you."
"What do you mean?" she frowned, her attention refocused.
"I want the secrets of the Valley: how your people live so close to the Sea of Corruption without dying." Nausicaa chuckled at his exaggeration.
"That's no secret - it's the wind."
"Not just that," he dismissed with a wave of his hand. "I speak about your ways of life: how do you kill toxic spores that drift into your farmland? How is your water not acidic or poisonous? How do you keep the insects away from your fields? Here is my proposition: you give me information about the Valley, and I in return will give you information about the Mulsa plant."
Nausicaa remained silent and considered his statement very carefully. Something was very unusual about his proposal...was that really all he wanted? Why was it so important a matter to him, that it was worth luring them into the Palace and then immediately capturing them?
"Why do you care?" She questioned suspiciously.
"Merinth is expanding rapidly. At the rate our population is growing, we will be at the border of the Sea of Corruption in less than ten years. We must start developing new ways of life so that we can continue growing without being affected by the jungle." He explained. "Teach us your ways; tell us how to live in harmony with the poisonous spores and the insects." His voice turned mysterious and dangerously low. "I've heard you created a formula to cure the diseases of long term toxic exposure... we need that formula." Nausicaa snapped her head up.
"A cure for a cure."
"What?" He replied, uncharacteristically caught off guard.
"You give me Mulsa to cure Gullera, and I will give you the formula." He looked to the side with a dismal expression, and spoke unwaveringly.
"I'm afraid I can't do that. Information I can give you, but the physical plant is not part of the bargain." She rolled her eyes and finally lost her patience.
"And exactly why not?" She snapped. "What is it about this plant that it cannot leave the Palace?"
"Relax my dear, I will tell you many things about Mulsa - possibly even that mystery - but only if you agree to your half of the bargain." His suave tone of voice was diplomatic and reassuring.
Irritated, the woman remained silent and continued stare icily across the table. She and Asbel were arrested just so he could bargain with her for information?" They needed Mulsa quickly, and being in jail for an entirely different reason did not help. Nevertheless, some information about the plant was better than none at all; and most importantly time was against her.
"Fine." She said grudgingly. "Let's start now."
"What? Really?" He returned pleasantly surprised.
"Yes."
"Well, I'm most glad to see your willingness, but I still have some unfinished matters here..." He glanced at the pile of paperwork, almost a little sheepishly for a split second, and Nausicaa mused at the candid expression that flitted across his countenance.
"I can wait." She uttered. "I have nothing else to do anyway."
"Very well." He replied, composure regained. "It'll take me a couple more minutes; feel free to walk around - make yourself at ease."
She took her granted liberties and gracefully rose to explore the spacious office. Observing all of his strange wall art and numerous framed certificates commemorating great accomplishments, she concluded that he was quite an interesting person - versatile and talented. From peace treaties, to hand drawn sketches of innovative designs, to commemorative paintings of Merinth's historic milestones, he seemed to be adept in the sciences as well as in interpersonal communications. She just might have taken the time to become friends with him if she was not in such a compromised position and he didn't always act so annoyingly cunning.
"Alright. Thank you for your patience." He spoke up after about ten minutes. Quietly she sat back down opposite to him and her eyes exhibited businesslike alertness.
"A question for a question?" She asked, when he had finished filing his papers away and directed his attention to her.
"Sure." Came his affable reply. "And nothing but the truth."
"I'm not the one that has trouble adhering to that." She mildly berated him, recalling his deceptive statements from last night.
"You lack faith in my integrity." He returned, slightly insulted. "No matter; I'll start. Where do you draw uncontaminated water?" Nausicaa smiled kindly to that question.
"From underground reservoirs deep below the Sea of Decay, and filtered through the pure sands." She explained, then asked: "What is the scientific name of Mulsa?"
"If it has one I am not aware of it..." he paused as if trying to remember. "I'll ask when I get the chance and let you know."
She showed no change in facial expression but her eyes gave away her suspicion...Was he already withholding information from her? He seemed extremely knowledgable in terms of the sciences, so she doubted it was personal ignorance. Did it really not have a scientific name? Could it be so new a discovery that it wasn't named yet? Before she could think further into it he spoke up with another question.
"How do you store your water? Do spores ever float in to contaminate it?"
"We keep our water through an underground running system so that it is never stagnant, and wells serve as access points for villagers. The water flows throughout valley, powered by our wind mills." She paused to think. "At certain points along the irrigation system we place filters to screen out any impure particles, and possibly spores but we have never had that issue." She paused to let the information sink in, before continuing with a question of her own.
"Do you have a drawing of Mulsa? Is it considered a shrub, tree, bulb?"
"I believe I do..." He rose towards a large cabinet containing hundreds of memos, letters, important documents, all organized neatly in alphabetical order.
"In terms of plant category it is a shrub, although in my opinion it should be called a weed if weeds ever became a scientific category." He remarked as he started searching through the cabinet files.
"Ah, here it is." He declared, bringing a well worn, dusty grey folder over to the table. He opened the folder to reveal a small pile of clippings and government memos related to Mulsa. Sifting through them, he finally came across a small, hand drawn picture of a plant. Nausicaa leaned forward immediately, eyes intensely fixated on the picture. He carefully handed the picture to her, and she eagerly accepted it, acting as though it were a sacred manuscript.
All of her scientific faculties concentrated on the black lines before her, as her eyes absorbed every single detail. Flat leaves with a unique, ragged edge gave it a sense of hardiness, while straight slender stalks implied its tallness for a shrub. With a single glance at the numbers on the side she picked up dimensions of height, width, and stalk thickness, locking the information away in her memory. She was born to be a scientist, with her meticulous attention to detail, drive to absorb information, and fascination for nature.
Instincts heightened in her brain, and she frowned. It looked vaguely familiar, yet somehow also entirely new. Had she seen this plant before? She mentally noted the awkwardness in its proportions; it seemed relatively tall and lanky, with leaves sprawled out at the edges. No wonder Sarkil wanted to call it a weed. If asked to personify it, she would describe it as a teenage boy in the middle of an adolescent growth spurt, awkwardly tall with limbs spread out a little too far.
"Thank you." She breathed gratefully and handed the drawing back to him, feeling truly relieved to at last put an image to her goal.
"You're welcome." He replied cordially. They continued the information exchange for another 20 minutes more; neither minded getting peppered with questions since the knowledge gained was far more rewarding. Near the end she asked one last question to clear up lingering suspicions on having seen Mulsa elsewhere.
"What kind of soil does Mulsa require to grow?"
"Soil rich in nitrates, which is very dark soil found only in these lands; and wet enough only in Merinth." He answered.
Eventually they exhausted all the most burning questions on their minds and decided to continue the conversation later.
"I believe we should arrange another meeting soon," Sarkil stated. "I am indeed learning very much from you. I have another deal to make with you: meet with my scientists tomorrow morning and teach them your cure for the toxic poisoning 'Miasma' illness. In return I will set aside time in the afternoon, to answer your remaining inquiries about Mulsa."
"Scientists?" She asked curiously, contemplating her potential new schedule.
"Yes; they're a talented, fine bunch of botanists and chemists. I have no doubt they will listen intently for something as valuable as your new cure." Nausicaa felt a twinge of excitement to meet other people who were as enthusiastic as her about plants and spores. Suddenly another thought crossed her mind.
"I have one request." She bargained. Sarkil raised an eyebrow, listening.
"Leave my friends alone." The King of Merinth leaned back into his chair and narrowed his eyes at her.
"What do you mean?" He asked carefully.
"Remove the search warrants for everyone, and do not harm Asbel." Impressed, the man gave a strange smirk. His opponent was quite sharp indeed; he anticipated a fun game of military strategy with her.
"The situation is more threatening than you realize and it needs to be contained." He reaffirmed, watching her purse her lips into a thin line. After a few seconds of silence she acceded.
"Then at the very least their lives must never be harmed."
"You have a deal." He wasn't planning on murdering anyone in cold blood either; he just needed them all in one place as opposed to running loose across Merinth.
"Guards will come tomorrow morning to escort you to the scientists, as well as in the afternoon here. After that you are welcome to spend the rest of the day in the Conservatory." Then he paused; a faint smile appeared on his lips as he was considering something.
"In fact, you are free to walk anywhere, as long as you do not leave the Palace." He added. "Think of it as house arrest."
"Thank you." She replied politely, showing only a small portion of the gratitude that she felt; boredom could kill her as easily as a gun. Sarkil's faculties of observation had clearly helped him reach that conclusion already, because he looked up and gave her a knowing smile.
"You're welcome." He replied as she exited the room. When he was alone once more his face turned startlingly sinister and he frowned deep in thought. He needed to implement precautions to ensure things would go as planned.
"What did he want?" Asbel was still awake, eagerly waiting for her by the time Nausicaa returned to the cell. It was just barely past midnight.
"Secrets of the Valley, he said." She responded sardonically.
"What?" Asbel replied, very confused.
"Honestly, he could have just asked me politely and I would've told him." She sighed. "He wants to know how we live so close to the Sea of Decay without getting killed." She sighed. "Sorry; we got stalled because he wanted information from me." She lowered herself onto the bench where he sat.
"So we're not detained here because of Mulsa?" He clarified, still trying to make sense of the situation.
"We are; he's simply taking advantage of our compromised position to gain knowledge. I'm receiving information about Mulsa in exchange for information given." She noticed the tiniest spark of excitement light up his hazel eyes, like a single candle flame on amber walls in a dark room.
"Tomorrow I work with scientists in the Conservatory," she piped up rather enthusiastically. "I will be showing them the formula for the cure for the Miasma poisoning, and then in the afternoon I get to interrogate Sarkil about Mulsa." She ended with a determined smirk, while Asbel couldn't help smiling bemusedly at her tenacity.
"So that's what took you so long; another hour and you might have bargained your way out of Merinth." the Pejite teased.
"We're making progress." She agreed, a confident smile just tugging slightly at her lips.
"No, you're making progress. I'm just pacing around the cell." Nausicaa chuckled, clearly picturing her Asbel pathetically moping around the enclosure. She treated him to a gentle look of pity when she remembered how much he detested being powerless. She needed to put him to work.
"Help me predict his motives. He's acting far too nice, and I suspect he is hiding something very dark."
"I'm down to playing mind games now?" He whined sarcastically and Nausicaa emitted a burst of laughter, relieved to see his humor had returned. The light atmosphere effectively dissipated the tension of the day, and soon she could barely stand against the exhaustion that swept over her. The princess succumbed to a yawn and slouched against the wall. When she tilted her head to the side she caught him quietly and unashamedly watching her, a smile touching his face. Her own heart warmed to moments like these, and her eyes softened in affection. Sweetly smiling back, she gazed into his expressive eyes, enchanting amber seas full of warmth and adoration.
"It's tiring isn't it? Saving two countries from Gullera..." He coaxed, lifting his hand to gently brush a wisp of stray auburn hair behind her ear. She nodded meekly, all outer walls of composure removed to reveal a weary, innocent girl.
"Come." He said soothingly, as he took her hand and led Nausicaa over to the straw mattress farther back in the cell. She didn't object and simply let him take her by the hand. Only around him did she ever begin to act this docile; with everyone else she was naturally independent, full of drive and authority. Her mature personality hadn't changed after meeting Asbel, but she realized how nice it felt to be pampered by someone else every once in a while. It was her way of showing him how much she valued him, trusting him enough to let him see all sides of her.
Asbel of course was fascinated by all contrasting facets of her personality, and her most vulnerable moments would without fail draw out his protective instincts. He knew she was more than competent, but that didn't stop him from constantly keeping an eye on her. They reached the corner and began adjusting the bed.
"I just feel guilty that I can't help you." He continued, his mind haunted by the issue. She looked up at him, surprised.
"We all have our own roles, and this is mine. You'll already be fulfilling yours simply by being with me, and by staying put in this cell."
"But it was my sick mother in the first place." He returned, still unable to reconcile with his conscience.
"It involves both our countries; it's my responsibility as well." She reminded him as they both settled down flat on the bed. It was barely large enough to fit both of them resting shoulder to shoulder, resulting in a relatively snug configuration.
She took one look at him and couldn't resist snuggling into him and resting her head on his chest. Fully aware he was watching her, she frankly didn't care if she looked like a kitten nestling into a pillow - being this close to him had sparked a sudden yearning for contact. Her ear, pressed into him, picked up the strong sound of his steady heartbeat, and her arm slipped around his torso, hugging him tightly to herself. When she was satisfied with her position she inhaled deeply, registered his alluring scent, and sighed contentedly. The whole time he had been smiling lovingly down at her and waiting in patience for her to finish.
"Comfortable?" He finally inquired, before placing his arm around her.
"You have no idea." She sighed.
She wasn't lying either. It honestly gave her a feeling unlike anything before... so satisfying and secure. Who had ever thought she would feel this contented in someone else's arms? She had lived so many years in solitude, found peace in nature, companions in insects. She supposed the many years of adult-like independence had left her somewhat lonely; her status and warm character had brought her many acquaintances but no one truly close to her other than Tersa, and maybe Jarel.
She was pulled out of her reflections by a warm, low rumble. Realizing he was chuckling at her, she smiled and closed her eyes to feel the sound vibrating through his chest. Occasionally he ran his hand along her back, sending her chills to the base of her spine. Eventually he began play with her hair, making her deliciously drowsy.
"Goodnight." He said after a while of silence, tilting his head down to softly place a kiss in her hair.
Feeling safe in his arms she had already fallen asleep.
AN: I love writing Nausicaa and Asbel... I should just start a series of one-shot drabbles of these two. Hope you didn't mind me momentarily turning into a romance writer on you readers.
Really apologize for the long gaps my dearest friends, but life has been so full of activity (it's a blessing really) and hardly any spare time. Thank you for sticking with me so long on this adventure of mine; I'm gonna miss writing this fanfic when it ends. But fear not, it's nowhere near done yet! :P
