Chapter Fourteen: A Lasting Trust
I ran as fast as I possibly could, knowing he was doing just the same after me. My head was bombarded with visions of a past that didn't make sense, the images flashing in before me in a way as the sapphire continued to spark with bursts of light with my racing heart. The lingering laugh of the starmaid finally faded out as I came to the shore after running without direction for so long. Tears stung my eyes that I couldn't understand as I looked out over the now quite threatening sea before me.
"Heart...!" he called out as I tried to catch my breath to try and run again.
Yet something in me betrayed this attempt as I turned to face him. It continued to do so as he came to a pause in his stride and watched me carefully, gasping for breath with anguish in his remaining eye. He didn't dare step closer, I guess from being afraid I'd bolt again. However he didn't turn away either. In fact he barely moved beyond catching his own breath still.
As I looked at him I wondered why it was I still standing there? He'd admitted to what he'd really been seeking. Yet there I stood before him, taking a in a breath of the sea air as I realized how clear my head was slowly becoming. With this I wondered why I had run from him in the first place like that?
"Heart, listen to me...okay?"
"I am..." I told him without stepping further from or near him.
"When I sought out that magic to save my crew an' myself...I had no idea it was you. Savin' you from space had nothin' to do with it either!" He started as I turned to fully face him now.
He chanced a step closer as I remained steady. Then he took a gamble on a second one as he continued cautiously in movement and in words, "I know I'm a thief, I've taken many things, hurt others, an' broken a heart or two...but I swear on all that I am Heart, whatever that's worth at this point, that I had no idea it was you I was lookin' for...I know ya have no reason to trust me after hearin' what ya did...-"
"I never said I didn't trust you Duke," I said in a steady tone I barely understood, but didn't question these words all the same.
For a split second those images from our dreams blended with the reality before us, and I knew this from his stunned reaction. In that instant, for those few seconds, I saw Duke standing in a concealing stealthsuit of burgundy and black. Glancing down I found myself in very similar attire. Then just as quickly we were back before the raging shore in our usual clothing looking to one another with bewilderment. Yet my heart still raced as I watched him and asked, "How do I know that I can...?"
It wasn't him I was asking, but he answered with how he could, "I don't know Heart...but you always have...from what ya told me anyway."
I did recall telling him that when we met. Despite his playful and forward nature I'd known he'd never lay an unwanted finger on me. His pleasant smile wasn't for show as she had tried to convince me. His kind words were never lies to bring him any gain.
How did I know after such a short time that I could look to him in the way I did even now? Was it these images telling me to do so, or...I glanced at the band on my finger as I clenched my fist.
"Do you know what it is we're seeing?" I asked as he stood just before me now.
"I have an idea..." he said with a trace of a smile trying to emerge.
"What are they?"
"I think they're showin' us the real reason I was lookin' for ya," he attempted before we heard a sudden crash pulling our attention away from the other.
Looking around we didn't see any change in the town. Yet from inside one of the shops we heard further clashing and clattering, drawing us closer to investigate.
"Did someone survive?" I asked as Duke and I hurried over to try and help whoever it might be.
However as we came to the door Duke paused with the saber he was fortunate enough to still have and motioned for me to get beside him. I didn't argue this at the moment as he stood against the frame of the door and opened it slowly. Then he gestured for me to follow in once he gave the signal it was safe. With a nod of my head he slipped inside.
Duke:
As I stepped into the dimmly lit shack of a building I searched for the sign of life we'd heard outside. Bewilderment started to settle as I found more of the same as in the tavern scattered about the floor. Bones cracked under the careful placements of my boots. Still I didn't give Heart the signal as I looked about the entrance and then the main room for the cause of the broken silence we'd heard.
Then my blood ran cold a moment as I glanced down and I found the alarming sight of a single tan feather on the wooden floor. Before I could draw my saber I heard him snicker to confirm, "How greedy of you to keep the best treasure of all in your hands old friend."
I cautiously looked about the room, yet I found no further trace of him beyond his mocking laugh, "Did you think I'd come unprepared for you Duke?"
"You know ya couldn't win in a real fight," I growled while reaching for the hilt of my blade as I thought I saw a flash of his being drawn.
"Don't worry dear boy, I'll take good care of it! The power to hop realms and take all that I wish is far too precious to break!" he assured as I tried to find where he stood.
"She doesn't have that magic Falcone!" I insisted.
"Well if that happens to be the case, then there will be no use in keeping her...alive that is!" he taunted.
Before I could take a chance to run back to Heart to warn her to run I felt the cold, quick contact of something against my head and I crumbled to the floor into that instant black.
Heart:
When I heard the sudden hit and the collapse that followed after I went to ignore Duke's request and follow in after him. Yet all that stopped me was a strong hand suddenly slipping up from behind me and clamping down over my mouth as I tried to cry out. Then I felt the biting of a blade held against my throat as Falcone snickered in my ear, "Best not to wake him yet my dear. I need to prepare for his final moments carefully."
I pulled and fought to get loose from his grip. Yet the razor like metal nearly caught my flesh in these attempts and he warned, "I can always kill him right now if you'd prefer. Slitting his throat to spill his blood would be quite satisfying!"
At this I froze and was then reluctantly pulled away from the shack Duke was left in among the skeletons I could now see passed the open doorway.
Falcone then dragged me up along the cliffside rising up from the shoreline. We found there the abandoned lighthouse we'd noticed before. He quickly kicked down the door leading in and pulled me inside. Then we both looked around the long ago forgotten structure for differing reasons. I could only guess at what he was planning out as he pulled me along While I tried to find ways in which I could escape if I could just slip from his grip enough. There were spiraling stairs leading up to the put out light at the top. In this building we found not a single skeleton to greet us with it's unsettling grin. More so it seemed the building had been emptied before her masacre of the town. Then my blood ran cold as I instead realized as he allowed me to take a breath, "They didn't want anyone else drawn here to her!"
He then yanked me along the bottom floor until he found a steady beam holding up a bit of the upper floor deeper in the back of that bottom floor. He tossed me against it, hitting me in the side of the head to daze me in the process. As my head swam with pain I tried to stand only for him to slide behind me and pull my hands back around the sturdy post of wood. With some rope lying about at our feet he managed to wrench my hands together and tie them tightly together. As I fought to get free he quickly grabbed my chin, forcing me to look up at him, "Now then, to draw him here...I'm sure he's up and looking for you by this point."
His rough grip tightened as I tried to pull away, "I wonder, is it true though? I heard what the starmaid said in regards to your thrown aside magic; could it be gained again? Could that power be in my hands if I unlock it properly?"
"With that talent I could find and steal all the wealth I desired!" His eyes gleamed with greed, "Tell me wench, your very life depends on it!
I remained glairing up at him in silence. His beak twisted into a horrid grin as though trying to guess, "I wondered why he kept you around? He had so many others clammering for his attention, so why settle for a mere human girl? Now it makes perfect sense. I however won't waste my time pretending to love you as he does."
I didn't rise to that bait. Instead I kept my mouth shut. Then his hand went from cupping my chin to gripping my throat like a vice. Tightening his hold, closing my wind pipes as he commanded, "Now, if that power rests in you I will unlock it! If you want to try and escape so bad you'll use that magic to defend yourself! Then if you wish to survive you'll grant me that talent in exchange for your life!"
After a few moments he released my throat with a scoff as he sneered down at me when I didn't produce what he wanted. Then he forced himself into a chuckle, "Well I suppose the only use for you then is to take you from him. First I need you to cry out for him little wench!"
When I bit my lip in defiance I would immediately after feel his hand strike the side of my face. Still I didn't yell out. Instead I glared up at him just as he grabbed the collar of my tunic, "You're a stubborn one aren't you? You realize if I wanted I would make you scream quite easily!"
I held my breath as he looked over me in disgust, "Lucky for you that frail frame of yours gains no interest from me!"
He then shoved me back against the pillar, knocking my already spinning head back against the unforgiving wood I was tied to. This caused me to unwillingly slump down to my knees before him as he gave out a huff while rearing his hand back once more in what I knew wasn't a threat, "Worthless we-"
"If ya so much as touch her again I'll kill ya!" Duke's voice snapped in a low warning that was rattled with anger I'd never heard from him before.
Trying to look up in my unsteady state, I attempted to see where he was. As my gaze fell upon the rafters he'd called out from I barely caught a glimpse of burgundy and gray before it shifted into a fast blur, swinging from them, as Falcone backed up from me. Duke now stood shielding me with his saber drawn after dropping down from the rope he'd been holding onto.
"You always were a clever one old chum," Falcone admitted mockingly, "but I'm afraid that wit won't save you this time, nor will it save her."
"What makes this time any different from any other match we've had Falcone?" Duke questioned in a bitter growl.
"As you may recall you had quite the assortment of items upon your ship that I...relieved you of," he snickered while waving a hand over a gold feather pendant we now noticed pinned to the sash at his waist.
In that instant he vanished before us, saber and all. Duke remained unphased it seemed while gripping the hilt of his own blade tightly. I heard as the drake took a breath and tried to listen. To aid in this I didn't so much as let out my own. Together we watched for any sign of the avian.
Suddenly there was a whistle of a slash and Duke quickly swung out his blade, blocking the unseen attack. He held his stance steady while glaring at the unseen foe, "You never know when it's enough do ya?!"
"Have you forgotten that's the nature of a rogue such as us Duke? All we know how to do..." he chuckled before shouting sharply, "is take!"
Duke was then knocked back a bit, but managed to steady himself in time to block the next swipe. Still Falcone continued, "You pretend to be the best pirate there is, limping along on that heap of wood with your so called family! You hold yourself back with such notions you foolishly cling to! Comradery! An honest code! Love! If you striped all that away you could be the richest pirate that ever lived! It's insulting to our very name as pirates that you entertain such ideals!"
I watched as the drake before me simply focused on the fight at hand. He didn't let these words bait him, nor did he falter from them. With the next slash coming from the left he twisted his stance and blocked the blade. Then with a swift twist he pulled Falcone's hilt from his unseen grasp and it went flying across the room towards the steps.
"Even with a cheap trick like that ya can't win!" Duke half laughed bitterly before stepping back defensively.
"Oh dear boy," Falcone snickered as Duke remained ready as his rival continued to laugh, "That's not the only one up my sleeve!"
A small flash of light signaled the shot that went wizzing past my ear and into the beam of wood I was tied to. He then assured in sheer amusement as Duke tried to shield me, "I didn't have to miss."
Duke tried still to judge where he was coming from. Falcone scoffed at him, "If you shield her you'll die instead!"
Duke:
As I searched without a word said in response I then noticed something upon the floor. In the low light of the room, though it was faded due to the dim illumination of the natural daylight, was a shroud of something cast upon the floor. Without a second to waist I darted forward and slashed outward, striking the blaster just before he fired again and knocked it into the wall. A gasp of shock could be heard before I heard him step back off of the rug he'd been standing on to mask his steps from the creaking floorboards. This was followed up by a sudden bit of force swinging forward as his fist knocked me back as it struck my beak. With me trying to steady my stance I heard him make a dash for his saber.
I took the slim chance I had and turned to Heart as he did this. Reaching my free hand to her bruising cheek I breathed, "I'm sorry sweetheart."
Then I quickly cut her free of her binds and caught her as she fell into me a bit. While she tried to steady herself I listened carefully for Falcone to attempt at a strike as I noticed his blade vanishing upon him grabbing the hilt again. I watched for that shadow again as I helped Heart to her feet, "I've got ya."
From the steps I heard him assure, "You won't for much longer dear boy! Don't worry though; I'll make sure she doesn't miss you for very long!"
At this I felt Heart wrap her arms tightly around my lean frame. As I held her against me we both watched and listened for the persistant threat.
In that split second I caught sight of the shadow dancing along the wall now and managed to block his blade once again. Holding him locked in that steady stance I assured him, "I'm not lettin' ya get near her again Falcone!"
With that I pushed him back with a bit of strength behind my force. Then I carefully stepped forward, moving smoothly to where Heart stood behind me now. His vague shadow's beak dropped it's jaw in bewilderment before he turned and ran up the spiraling steps.
"I can't let ya get away this time!" I called up to him as I gave chase.
Behind me I could hear Heart following up along the steps as well. Together we made our way up to the room of glass atop the lighthouse. It's dome encasing vaguely reminded me of a battle I'd never fought from long ago with the now ebony sky looming over us peering through it. This made it far more difficult to find him as he slowed his steps and grew silent. The only indicator he gave us was closing the door once Heart stepped through to lock us up there, "A perfect casket for the both of you!"
We then heard a switch go off and a small lever pulled as the center piece of the light began to spit without a flame to show. The whirring of the device was simply to mask his steps I realized as I backed up in an attempt to defend Heart. However this was quickly stopped when I suddenly stumbled to the right after being struck in the left side by a heavy kick.
"Duke!" Heart cried out as I colided with the wall.
Hearing her this way pushed me as I quickly spun on my heel and managed to block the blade that swung out next. Pushing back it back a bit I then pleaded to Heart, "Get back!"
She did as I asked in time for me to, with some considerable effort, shove him back. However this also meant him slipping into an unveiled space again. Before I could barely look around I felt the steel of a blade bite into my left side. I could hear Heart gasp in fear as she watched me attempt to stop the sudden flow of blood before I was knocked into one of the window panes from a blow to my back I couldn't block or even see.
I did however manage to catch the glass with my hand to push off of enough to at least turn around. Yet this didn't provide much help as I barely had enough time, as I heard, the whistle of his blade coming for my throat. I managed to block it with my own, with both blades crossing just at my neck. In this struggle I heard him laugh in a low, chilling voice, "Do you know what the best part of this will be?"
I didn't risk answering as I focused on keeping our blades from slitting my throat while he began to push further.
"I still get to watch you crumble as life slips from your grasp, and you get to watch her fall to pieces as it happens!" he hissed, "That's what will really kill you isn't it old friend? Breaking the heart of someone you actually care for would just destroy you wouldn't it?!"
"That's why I won't let it happen!" I managed while pushing back a bit now.
He quickly kneed me in my injured side to put this to a swift stop. I cried out as Heart did as well. I looked to her wearily, trying to manage a smile despite now being shoved back onto the floor as I stumbled back from yet another cheap kick. His laughter was his only indicator that helped me once more catch his blade against mine. I tried to hold him back a bit, blocking him as best as I could with a kick he pushed against, overpowering me as my side screamed in pain.
This time I didn't hear Heart as I cried out from a pain I couldn't calm. I could feel my flesh tearing a bit further from the struggle, as well as the warm blood staining my tunic and vest. Still I had to fight. I had to try and keep him from her, "I won't let ya...hurt her..."
"Oh dear friend," he chuckled as the blades barely grazed my throat, "you won't have a choice!"
He suddenly jolted back slightly as a blinding light engulfed us in it's rotation along the dome room. In this instant I saw him as a full shadow looming over me and managed to swing my fist to knock him off of me. As he stumbled off of me, knocked into the glass himself as the hilt of his blade cracked the large window, I leapt to my feet, holding my side as I steadied myself. I then looked to the center of the room to find Heart kneeling where a light would have been placed. While shielding my eye a bit from the blinding illumination I could see the sapphire in her hands giving off the burning source. Only now did I realize why I hadn't heard her moments ago.
Heart:
As Duke had been trying to find Falcone in an attempt to fend him off I'd been watching the fight with a held breath. Without a blade of my own or any way to get the pin off of the avian I had begun searching for any other way I could be of use. Then I'd thought about the shadow we had detected before and tried to find a source of light. It was Duke had been struck with the blade that I realized it had been planned this way. Falcone had certainly lead us here after following our longboat to the planet. For there was not even a scrap of wood I could hope to spark into any source of light that may reveal him.
When Duke was knocked into the glass and then to the floor I had grasped the sapphire hanging from my neck in a desperate plea of some sort. Yet as my hand closed the stone heart in it's palm I'd felt it suddenly grow hot. When I glanced down out it in confusion I felt a memory I understood without knowing it spark an idea in me. Looking to the spinning mechanism I then quickly leapt over to it's center and began begging the sapphire to give off it's light for us.
While kneeling in the center of this rotating candle I then heard as Duke struggled for his life, crying out in pain I couldn't bare to hear him in. I begged the gem in my hands, "Please, show me those memories again! Do what you can! Just please give off your light I know you have! Please!"
As Duke had cried out, I had as well, screaming his name in fear. Then in that sudden rush there was a burst of sheer blue white light to go with it. Despite the heat now in my hands, threatening to seer my skin, I held up the sapphire so it would cast that light as long as it lasted. As I did those images from our dreams danced around in my mind, drawing forth tears I was beginning to understand. Even as the images faded I watched as the gem in my hand remained bright as it illuminated the top of that lighthouse, giving Duke the chance he needed to strike back.
Now I watched as the device still rotated around me as it would give off Falcone's shrouded stance in a turning motion. Duke, seeing this as well, stood ready to fight again with his hand closed over his injured side. As Falcone attempted to step only when the light was cast away from him Duke watched just as carefully.
Suddenly their blades sparked with rage as they clashed once more. Falcone sneered whle trying to use his strength against Duke's to force him back. However the drake only glared back at him and grounded his footing.
"You do realize that you can't outrun fate forever don't you?" Falcone pushed, "Whether it's me, your enchanting siren calling you, or the noose you're promised to dance from once you're arrested, you will lose all that you're clinging to! You'll lose your freedom, your life, and her!"
"I wonder though...what will happen to such a devoted soul? Would she simply break along with that heart you took from her?" He snickered as Duke focused on pushing back, trying to ignore his injury draining his strength.
Then for a moment I looked in that moment to see him glance towards me, our eyes locking briefly as he assured me, "I won't be stolen from her to let that happen!"
With that Duke shoved Falcone back and into the already damaged window, causing it to splinter and web in a thin defiance before it shattered from Falcone's weight. The avian stumbled back further, grasping at anything as he started to fall. Duke, in shock, had sheathed his saber and went to reach for him onto to have Falcone grab his arm with one hand, and the steady floor with the other. As the falcon went to pull himself back up over the shards of broken window he would in the same motion pull Duke down with him. In the precious seconds he had the drake managed to shoot out his grappling hook out at the base of the turning light to keep from falling as Falcone let go of him.
"Duke!" I cried as he had been pulled over the ledge before I noticed the rope suddenly grow taught from him hanging on.
Hurrying over I woud find Duke starting to climb up while Falcone tried to as well. As I drew near the falcon would take a swing at me with the blade he still held, forcing me to stay back a bit. Then he sneered downward towards Duke, who was still trying to make his way back up. With a bitter laugh in his throat Falcone spoke, "Watching you fall will be just as satisfying as slitting your throat...and don't worry, I'll throw her down to you!"
Falcone then swung his saber as Duke clung to the rope for dear life, looking up as his former friend severed that lifeline in one swoop. Without a second though I leapt to the ledge, dodging a reationary swipe of the avian's blade, and grabbed Duke's hand, "No! Don't let go!"
"Heart?!"
I looked over Duke, not daring to let him slip despite his stronger build compared to mine, and begged him, "Don't you dare leave me again!"
"Then you can go with him!" Falcone bellowed with cruel laughter as he nearly made his way up and raised his blade while doing so.
Duke:
As Falcone's blade gleamed with an unnatural light in an attempt to claim her life I caught sight of his billowing cape and grabbed for the corner of it. Releasing my injured side I used what strength I had to pull him back from her. In a startled yelp of fear Falcone stumbled back off the ledge, dropping his saber as he scrambled for a desperate purchase on the now sleek ledge from the rain pouring down on the broken window and us. Before I could try to do anything else he lost his remaining balance and began to plummet. His brief saving grace was the cape I held onto still until a sudden rip filled the air, followed by his scream as he fell to the crashing waves and unshakable rocks below the cliff we hung from.
Not even able to take a moment to register what had just happened to my long ago best friend I looked up as Heart reached out her other hand to me now. Only adrenaline could have given us both the strength we needed for me to climb back up as I did, and even more so for her to support me with her smaller frame in the process. None the less I found myself able to grasp the ledge, allowing the shards of glass to bite into my hand and fingers some before pulling myself the rest of the way up with her quickly sliding an arm under me for support.
Then with me bracing myself on my hands and knees still, and her kneeling beside me as she held me up, we both had little choice but to catch our breath a moment. That is until I risked looking at her and found her trembling as much as I was. I didn't even feel my side buckling as she threw her arms around me in that instant, nor did I feel it when I embraced her just as tightly.
"I won't leave ya again Heart...I swear I won't!"
As I made this vow my grip around her only tightened. That is until I felt the sharp pain in my side trying to remind me it was there. When I pulled away I stumbled back a bit against the inner part of the room, forced to lean back against the half wall between us and the still rotating mechanism. I pressed my hand to my side, glancing down as I did to see how soaked with blood my shirt was again. Then resting my head back I took a breath and tried to focus through the pain.
"Maybe there's a med kit on the lower floor," Heart suggested while slipping an arm under mine for support, "I can't leave you up here like this."
I gave a nod as I gathered some energy to get to my feet. With her aid we managed to reach the bottom of the steps before I stumbled from the pain seizing up my stride. She managed to somewhat slow my fall by easing me down as she noticed this happening. Then she hurried over to a pile of crates and supplies shoved into the corner of the large room. All the while I watched her, forcing myself to stay awake to make sure she was safe. Though I wasn't sure what more I could do at the moment if anything else did happen. None the less I focused as best as I was able to manage.
Minutes later she returned with a latched wooden box in her hands that she knelt down beside me with. Upon opening it we would find bandages, medicine, and other items for a general first aid kit.
"Let me look at it," she instructed while trying to move my hand from my side.
Letting out a groan I did as she asked to hear her catch her breath quickly. I then felt as she pulled back the torn cloths of my shirt and vest, making sure the wound was clear for her to see as much as possible. With a breath taken and released to steady herself she then told me calmly, "I have to clean it before I can sew it."
"Alright sweetheart," I gave in without much of a fight as I looked into her eyes, finding I couldn't argue if I wanted to, "I'm in your hands then."
I gave a light smile as I said this to try and reassure her somehow. With this she got to work. When the stinging cloth met with my open side I gritted my teeth to keep from yelling out. Then I heard her trying to reach me, attempting in a soft voice, "Stay with me...okay...?"
"Heart..." I attempted myself, "Ya need to know that I had no idea it was you I was searchin' for...I didn't want you because of any magic ya might have or not..."
"I know that...," she admitted as she threaded the needle I braced myself for.
I felt as my side grew numb around where the slash in my flesh was from an ice pack she pressed against it now. As she did I caught my breath a bit and asked, "Then why did ya run from me back there?"
"Maria must have planned for us to be in that house when revealing all of that...something about her home, the energy in it, was trying to eat away at us I think...she took advantage of that to try and pry as away from each other..."
Then she paused, "What am I doing? After what just happened...he was your best friend regardless of..." Heart stumbled before I grabbed her hand.
Looking at her I assured firmly, "He hasn't been that in a long time...an' as far as I'm concerned he made his choice the moment he tried to take ya from me."
I then reached up and caressed her bruised cheek, "I'm sorry he hurt ya...an' I'm sorry if I did too..."
"I need to-" she started while preparing the needle now before I stopped her hand a moment to tell her softly, "Don't warn me...jus' do what ya need to an' I know I'll get through it. Bracin' for it will be worse..."
Seeing her trying to steady that shaking hand now I offered, "I trust you Heart, more than anyone else in this life."
She'd caught it and in doing so took a breath as her now stable hand grasped in mine pulled away. As I vaguely felt the needle pierce through I tried to focus on talking with her, asking gently, "What made ya stop runnin' sweetheart?"
I could feel the thread doing it's work as she listened to me. Her hands remained as steady as her voice as she paused and answered while looking at me eye to eye, "Knowing that I trust you Duke."
A genuine smile curved my beak as these words reached me and I replied, "Thank you Heart...I don't think I could stand it if I lost that from ya..."
"After all this time...I don't think you could," Heart assured with a soft smile of her own as she continued weaving my wound closed as we talked quietly together. Trusting the other with every word we shared, and the life we were sharing.