Dear God, is that an update I smell:Giggles: methinks it might be!
So, in the last chapter (which I had to re-read to remember where I left off), Shadow happened to help our dear little hero to defeat his first Temple Guardian, and to work up the courage to kill a creature that seemed defenceless, though it would have killed him without a second thought. Such morals are quite admirable in a boy so young and un-travelled, and Shadow admired him greatly for this. Also, thanks to the blessing of the great Valoo, all her Sheikah qualms about feelings have been numbed to the point of not caring, which is allowing her greater freedom than she has ever experienced before.
Now, however, we are going back to Rufus, who's heading back to the beach where Red is, in order to carry on his great quest! What of the girl in indigo? And who was Red speaking to through the green gem-stone? Rufus has many questions, and he is determined to have them answer.
Thoughts in : single colons :. Visions or dreams are in italics.
Rufus:Feverish Continuation
It was morning once more, so I was able to gather that I'd spent the night in the Rito City. As we walked back down to the bay, Quill explained the occurrences of the previous night to me, filling in the pieces I'd missed (as I was unconscious at the time!) "Well, you seemed to have a slight fever when I collected you – we thought the best thing would be to let you sleep it off."
I nodded, "Yeah, it worked well!" We smiled at one another, and then had to fall into single file, as we walked through the tunnel leading from the City to the other side of the isle. This hindered our conversation, so I spent the time in silent contemplation. After a lot of internal arguing, I dared to bring up a delicate. "Quill."
"Mmm?" he tilted his head around to look at me sidelong, knowing the path so well that he didn't even need to look at it.
"Did you know Judas well?"
"Yes…I did," he answered, sounding rueful, though also looking upset. "And considering what I was told by that-" he cut himself off, and looked shiftily down at the ground. "Well, anyway, I misjudged the man greatly; obviously, I didn't know him as well as I thought." I looked at him suspiciously, but didn't voice the millions of queries that popped into my head. :I suppose he's had more than enough trauma recently.:
Looking up from the ground (previously we had been walking a precarious stretch, but now I felt confident in the ground once more), I saw the sun was shining brightly, and there was nary a cloud in the sky. Glancing up, I saw the dark ashy cloud had mostly disappeared from around the mountaintop.
Next, I peered down at the beach, glowing golden in the morning light. Red jumped out immediately, vermilion against the deep turquoise sea… However, there was one colour that I'd been looking out for even since Windfall, that jumped out at me. The indigo-clad girl, who had been my saviour on more than one occasion, was next to Red. And standing next to her was the pirate woman who I'd met in the potions shop, talking to the other two!
Immediately, I broke out into a run, trying to ensure that I reached the three of them before the girl could pull a disappearing act again. Quill yelled after me, warning me to be careful, but I didn't bother to answer and sped up. :I hope he didn't spook the girl. I need to talk to her. And to thank her:
As I had feared, the girl and pirate looked up, spotting me immediately in all my filthy glory. :I'll need to wash the blood off my clothes before I next see Grandma: I thought, turning to the innocuous thoughts of home to stop panicking about meeting the mystery girl at last. The girl's body tensed, as though she was ready to run off, but the pirate put a hand on her shoulder and shook her head. The girl nodded, and stood up straight again, eyes down turned to the bright sand.
I skidded to a halt before them, sending small showers of sand from my boots as I did so. The pirate-woman (whom I now remembered as Marie) immediately stepped forwards, extending a hand. "Lovely to see you again young man," she chirped as I reached to accept her hand. "I've heard tell you're shaping up to be quite the hero," she dropped me a wink, and then relinquished my hand after a hearty shake.
"Well, I don't know about that," I chuckled sheepishly, and scratched the back of my neck. "If it weren't for the help of Miss…" I left it hanging hopefully, and Marie's eyebrows knitted for a second, before she realised what I was getting at.
"Hey, lass, come over here and introduce yourself!" she called, and the girl turned away from a quiet conversation with Red. The part of her face that I could see still looked pale, but she slinked over gracefully, and extended a hand, a slight blush appearing on her ear tips.
"The name's Shadow," she told me softly, shaking my hand. Yet again, I was able to detect a funny hint of an accent – she spoke Hylian well, but there was just this…strain, I suppose. Like she wasn't used to talking Hylian… "I apologise for not telling you sooner, but there were more…pressing…matters."
"Don't worry about it," I answered, pleased to at least know her name. "I'm just glad to see you again, so I can thank you!" She held up a sinewy hand, and shook her head slightly, causing her blonde curls to topple from a loose knot at the nape of her neck.
"Please, it's no bother. It's what I'm here for." She dropped her hand, and took a step back, thus politely stepping out of the conversation. Marie was only too happy to retake her place, as I mulled over Shadow's words. :What she's 'here for'? Does that mean Red doesn't think I'm good enough to handle this alone: I scowled, feeling a little insulted. :Yeah, well, you couldn't help the Rito alone…you almost got yourself killed:
"…so Red says we can afford an hour or so for you to bathe and eat, before we have to get going," Marie concluded. I nodded, pretending to have heard all that she had said. She smiled, and lazily put a hand on her jutting hip, taking in a deep breath of salty sea air. "That's a grand breeze; pity it ain't in the right direction. Looks like we'll have to row our way or something Red," she tossed her head so that she was looking over her shoulder at the King of Red Lions, once more conversing with Shadow.
"Not at all," Red called back, breaking off his conversation with the girl in indigo to answer. "Rufus knows what I mean." :I do: Immediately, Marie focused her one piercing eye on me, her green and white hair whipping around her quizzical, smiling face.
"Well?"
"Uh…well…I…uh…" I began, searching my mind for something to do. Red let out a sound of unbridled frustration.
"The Wind Waker Rufus, the Wind Waker!"
"Oh!" I exclaimed, suddenly shedding my pack and searching around for the shining baton. I kept my head bowed as much as possible, so embarrassed by my own stupidity that I didn't want to look any of the others in the face. :Especially that girl. She's a much better fighter than me, and would probably make a better 'hero' than I would anyway.: Huffily, I drew out the Wind Waker, though when the sun glinted from its spiralled handle, I couldn't help but to marvel at its odd beauty. I waved it in the air, conducting as I had seen my Grandma try to conduct the other children in singing. Nothing happened.
"Red," the girl said, breaking the awkward silence with little effort and only a minimal amount of volume. . Looking at her, I saw that she was busy pulling her hair back from her face to tie it once more at the nape of her neck using a thin strand of twine. "I believe you're forgetting something – he hasn't been to see Zephos yet." Red inhaled sharply, and then barked out a laugh.
"So he hasn't! Rufus, do you remember me telling you about a shrine on the other side of the island?" There was the sound of padding feet behind us, and all four of us looked to see Quill, walking slowly towards us, swinging his arms and humming merrily. Noticing our scrutiny, he stopped humming, and hurried over, head bowed slightly. "Good morning Quill," the King of Red Lions greeted him jovially.
"'morning old friend," Quill nodded, and I noticed that he and the girl made eye contact for a few seconds, before both looking away, Quill somewhat bashfully. He quickly covered by asking, "Was that the shrine of Zephos you were talking about?"
"Yes, it was – ah! I've just had an idea!" Red smiled.
"What?" Quill asked, feigning annoyance but obviously intrigued.
"What-say you take Rufus to the shrine in order to learn something from the great Zephos? I can think of no one better, since he seems to favour your people so. It'd be good to have a Rito along, as far as I can see." Quill just nodded, and then looked down at me,
"Looks like you're stuck with me again Rufus."
"I know – how will I cope?" I sighed heavily, and he nudged me in the shin with his toe, frowning and trying to keep his expression as such. When I heard the girl talk again, I looked up, curious. But, I didn't actually hear what it was she said, as she had bent down in order to talk in a low whisper to Red. He just nodded, and then looked up at Quill and me.
"Well, what are you two waiting for? Get going – the sooner you have seen Zephos, the sooner we can be on our way!" I nodded, and then turned around, expecting that we'd have to traipse all the way back up to the tunnel again to get to the other side of the mountain. Quill caught my arm,
"Nah, it's this way now lad," he said, tugging me along the beach and towards a curve in the cliffs. "We can climb up a ladder and shimmy over to the other side, and that takes us to the cove right next to the shrine. Much easier than going all the back up there," he explained, falling into stride beside me rather than behind or in front, so that we could talk easily. Looking back, I saw that the pirate and the girl were moving in the opposite direction. :I wonder where they're going: I wasn't likely to find that out anytime soon though…
"There it is," Quill declared, sweeping his feathered arm in a great arc to indicate the sea before us. I followed his arm, and spied a small platform just peering above the wave crests, with two slabs of rock sticking out from it. There were the remnants of pillars at all four corners of the protruding rock, but it was obvious that the time and weather had taken their toll on them. "If you want, I could fly you over there," he offered, already beginning to kneel down so that I'd be able to climb on his back.
Taking another look down at my filthy clothes, I declined. "Nah, it's all right. I could really do with a wash as it is." He stood up straight from his half-crouch, and looked me up and down, only just seeming to realise I was, in fact, covered in both blood and grime. "I see you're the observant one," I jibed, pulling him out of his shock, and making him frown good-naturedly.
"Oi! I just didn't notice quite how – repulsive – you were…" it was obvious that he was jesting, and I rose to it in a similarly ridiculous manner.
"Moi? Repulsive! No, no my dear friend. This is the height of fashion on all the upper class islands like Windfall and Outset, don't you know?"
"Really?" he feigned shock. "Oh my, I am behind aren't I?" I quirked an eyebrow, and managed to spot a patch of some nasty looking swampy ground directly behind the Rito. I innocently smiled, and turned around, gesturing with my arm that he should lead the way to the shrine. Still with a look of amusement on his face, Quill bent his knees slightly in order to start taking off – and, in that one moment of unbalance, I pounced. Perhaps, in retrospect, I should have realised I'd end up in the puddle too…
With a decidedly disgusting squelch, Quill landed heavily on the marshy ground – taking advantage of my confused state, he nudged me off so that I, in fact, fell face-first into the mud. On hearing riotous laughter from above, and realising that it wasn't either myself or Quill, I froze. :What the-: Quill sat up next to me, and turning my head to the side, I noted that he was trying to look dignified. I, however, just scrambled around so that I was facing upwards, and remained lying down in the mud. :After all, I'm already filthy.:
"I leave you alone for just two minutes, and look what happens!" Medli exclaimed, settling to land gracefully before us. The Rito man next to me allowed a short flash of envy to flicker across his face, before tilting his head to the side as the girl before us giggled behind her hand.
"What, may I ask, is so funny?" he questioned, attempting to stand up, but slipping on the mud and collapsing once more. This sent a new wave of mud flooding over my legs, and a few speckles of the stuff splattered my face. Disgusted, I reached up and wiped the foul-smelling stuff away from my cheeks, wondering exactly what Medli was doing here in the first place. :Not that I mind seeing her again: I added mentally, grinning broadly as she sent a smile my way.
"Oh, nothing at all. Apart from the fact that you're supposed to be accompanying Prince Komali to see Valoo…and you're covered in mud. Other than that, there isn't really anything all that funny going on." Beside me, Quill groaned, and raked his hands through hair covered with mud.
"Ah. Crap." I turned my head to stare at him for the swear word. "Sorry," he murmured, suddenly serious once more. "Blast – here, Medli, do you think you could do me a favour?"
"What?" she asked, sounding fed-up, as though this were a common occurrence.
"Take Rufus to the shrine for me – please?" he clasped his hands in front of him to make the plea more obvious, and she rolled her eyes.
"Fine, whatever! Just go and get washed off, and make it quick – you're meant to be leaving in an hour." She reached out a hand (albeit wrinkling her nose disdainfully as she did so) to help him to his feet. "I bet you wouldn't have turned up if I hadn't reminded you!" she prodded him slightly in the arm, and he just mumbled something unintelligible. Then, before beginning one of his famously bad take-offs, he turned around to speak to me.
"Well, Rufus, I might not see you again for a while lad. So…I suppose now would be a good time to say goodbye." He warily reached out a hand, and I reached up to catch it, and shook it. "Just be warned that I will have to wreak my terrible vengeance one of these days," he muttered, winking as he let go of my hand. I just nodded, and then began standing up myself, finding the slippery ground difficult to navigate. By the time I had reached my feet, Quill was already a few feet in the air, and I called hastily after him,
"'Bye Quill! And thanks for all the help!" Quill turned around in the air, and nodded to show that he had heard, before (not too gracefully) swooping up into the air and back towards the Rito city. Medli coughed slightly, and when I looked at her, I saw that she was staring at my state wide-eyed.
"What happened to you two?"
"Mud-fight," I answered simply, wiping some of the larger clods of mud from my clothes. She just nodded, gawking slightly.
"…right… Anyway… I suppose I'd best get you over to that shrine. You're all right to swim, aren't you? I'm not sure if I could carry you anyway, and when you're that covered in mud…" she trailed off, her meaning perfectly clear.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. It'll give me a clean, won't it?" She chuckled,
"Good point!" She was about to leap into the air, when something behind me seemed to catch her eye. "'scuse," she said politely, walking past me and bending down to pick something up from the mud. "Oh, for Gods sakes, Quill is so useless sometimes!" she fumed, holding whatever it was she had picked up in clenched fists.
"Why?" I ventured.
"He's only gone and left the Royal Seal behind. And he needs that to be able to take part in the ceremony!" She groaned, and opened her hands, to show me a small golden circle with the same symbol as was on the pearl I'd been given earlier on it. The circle was attached to a fine gold chain, and it was obvious that it was very expensive. Medli pulled a face, and then looked out at the shrine. "D'you think you'll be all right if I just take you there, and then hurry back to give this to Quill. Useless idiot that he is…" Though the Rito girl's words were less than pleasant, she said them in such a fond way that a question popped into my head.
"Medli."
"Yup?"
"This is probably going to sound like an odd question…but are you and Quill related?"
"You're right, it is an odd question!" Thankfully, she chuckled, which lessened my uncomfortableness at asking something so stupid. "Why d'you ask?"
"Just…the way you two act around each other…I guess…" I trailed off feebly, studying my dirt-caked boots with interest.
"Heh – yeah, I guess we do act a bit oddly. But, nope, no relation. He's just like – urm – a really, really annoying older brother," she decided, looking down at the seal in her upturned palms. She was silent for around ten seconds, and then seemed to start. "Well, no matter, we need to get going to get to that shrine, or else Quill's going to look like an idiot – well, more of an idiot than usual that is!" I laughed with her, and then hurried down the beach towards the sea as she took off and hovered above, waiting for me.
Tentatively, I bent down and dipped my hands in the water. Finding it warmer than I had suspected it would be, I kicked off my shoes, and dumped my bag on the beach a few feet away from the lapping waves. Then I started wading in. "How's the water?" Medli asked from above, easily able to keep up with my slow pace.
"Not bad actually – I thought it'd be a lot colder."
"Nah, the volcano keeps the sea around this side of the island pretty warm," she called down, now flying ahead of me. Soon, the sand beneath my feet dropped away, leaving me treading on nothing. So, I began swimming, swallowing copious amounts of sea water every time I tried to answer Medli's questions. When she noticed me spluttering, she swooped down to a bare few inches above the waves, and giggled quietly,
"Sorry, I'll be quiet now," she promised, before swirling back upwards and watching over me as I paddled my way to the shrine. :Why is it that when you're swimming, things always seem to so much further away: I wondered, when I was picked up by a large wave crest, and was able to see that I wasn't even halfway to the podium of the shrine yet. Mentally sighing, I began a rather messy front crawl to try and speed up the journey – however, when this resulted in my head spending more time below water than above it, I had to rethink my strategy…
Finally, after what seemed to be hours (but was probably only ten minutes at most), my feet once again touched onto the sand. This allowed me to half walk, half swim the rest of the way up to set of steps leading out of the water and onto the podium. Medli set down beside me, shaking her head to remove the strands of hair that had been whipping across her face. "Well, here we are." She made a small gesture with her arm to indicate the whole stone platform.
"Yeah," I panted slightly, sitting down and dangling my legs into the water, watching the waves ripple over my feet. A huge puddle formed all around me within seconds, and I sneezed a couple of times. The Rito girl immediately bent down next to me, looking a bit worried.
"Are you all right?"
"Yeah, I'm fine – why d'you ask?"
"Well, I was just thinking…you know, what with the fever… Drat it, I should have made Quill stay and fly you over here at least! Now you're going to get ill again, and it's all my fau-"
"Hey!" I reached up and tugged on her wrist. She paused mid-tirade and stared at me, eyes wide. "Don't worry about it; it's nothing to do with you if I get ill. It's my own stupid fault for swimming in the first place. Besides," I let go of her wrist and started getting to my feet, "I was only sneezing because there was water on my nose and it tickled." I grinned reassuringly, and she smiled weakly back.
"Heh…sorry… I just get worried…"
"And I'm glad you care enough to get worried," I answered solemnly, raking my hair out of my face so that I could see properly. She blushed, and then abruptly looked over her shoulder.
"That's all right," she murmured, before continuing at normal volume. "Well, the shrine you need to go to in order to summon Zephos is the one that isn't broken."
"That seems simple enough," I nodded. "Just one question though," she stopped, having been just about to make her way back to the City.
"What?"
"How do I summon him?"
"Oh! That's easy – if you just look at the shrine stone, and it'll tell you all you need to know. Now, I really need to go, so if you're all right here-"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Good – I might see you again before you leave, and I might not, so I'll say goodbye for now."
"Bye!" With that, she started up into the air, quite literally zooming off to make sure she got the Royal Seal back to Quill in time. I watched her go for about half a minute, before turning around to look at the shrine I'd been directed to. Considering it was meant to be for the God that controlled the winds (which were very important to the Rito), it didn't really look all that impressive. :It's just a big stone with writing on it…: I walked over, taking the Wind waker out of my pocket. :I'm just glad I remembered to bring this with me: I thought, swishing it about in the air.
I came to a stop in front of the stone, and assessed it. It really didn't look all that impressive; not only that, but the writing was so faded that it was hard to read. Squinting, I began to make out the words, forming them quietly on my lips as I went. The words read like this:
The Shrine of the Great Zephos
God of winds and master of the seas
Guardian and protector of all flying creatures and beings on the Great Sea
His song is one that can change the course of the wind itself
If you are worthy, and bear the mark of a Wind waker
You may seek his wisdom
By calling his name
Whilst holding the instrument used to awaken the wind itself.
By wildly guessing, I supposed that the instrument used to 'awaken the wind itself', must be the Wind waker. So, feeling slightly foolish, I rose the silvery baton into the air, and waved it purposefully. "Zephos, the God of winds!" I called out, hoping that the wind wouldn't carry my voice back to sure, as I must look like a complete idiot…
To my surprise (and also shock), the wind picked up speed, and I bent my head against it, eyes streaming with the intensity of the sudden gale. Even through my blurred vision, I was able to notice something fast approaching the shrine podium, and flinched when whatever it was stopped only a few feet away. The winds dropped down to almost nothing, and I heard a deep, booming and hearty chuckle. "Ah, so the young Hero finally summons me – I've been waiting for you for a long time m'lad!"
I blinked, and looked up to see large, blue, frog-like creature sitting on a cotton-wool cloud in front of me. "Are you-?"
"Zephos?" I nodded. "That I am lad, that I am. And I take it you've summoned me to learn a way to change the winds, is that right?" I nodded again, suddenly struck dumb as the realisation that I was in the presence of a God fully hit me. :I think I'm going to faint…: I stumbled slightly, but managed to catch myself, and shook my head. "Don't faint lad – and don't worry about speaking to me either! If there's anyone you want to watch out for, it's my brother."
"…W-w-why would I need t-to watch out f-for h-h-him?" I stammered, looking surreptitiously up at the great God Zephos.
"Oh, he's just got a beastly temper ever since his shrine here became broken," I looked at the other shrine, which had been reduced to rubble. "But don't worry about that – I shall have to get around to chastising him for being such a sour creature recently. However, that's not important," he brushed the topic aside. "What I'm here to do is bequeath upon you the melody that will allow you to conduct the wind to blow in any direction you so wish. Are you ready to learn, young Hero?"
"Y-yes sir," I rose the Wind waker, ready to begin.
"Good – now, repeat after me using the Wind waker. Ready?" I nodded. "Good." He shuffled about on his small cloud platform, and then the cloud suddenly moved in odd patterns in the air. I followed as best as I could, beating in three beat time. First there was a circular movement, and then two downbeats followed by one upbeat. Lastly was another circle, but in the other direction (being clockwise as the first was anticlockwise.) As soon as I had finished tracing this pattern in the air, everything around me became completely still.
"What happened? Did I do something wrong?" I asked, panicking slightly.
"Don't worry lad – you've just slowed time a little. Now, which way do you need the wind to go?"
"South," I answered. Suddenly, the wind came back, and the world started to move at normal speed once more. "Wow, it worked!" I cried, elated. I looked up to thank Zephos, but he had already gone. :Oh…I wanted to say thank you.: Instead, I just put the Wind waker back into my pocket, and started my journey back to land, already tired after being up for what couldn't be more than an hour and a half.
When I'd reached the shore and gathered up all my belongings, the sun was beginning to go behind a huge bank of cloud. Looking around, I saw that the sky behind me was extremely cloudy. And now, without the sun to warm me up, I felt quite cold in my sodden clothes. :No point just standing around here. At least if I walk I'll be a bit warmer.: So, shivering slightly, I started making my way back to the beach where I'd left Red, using the same path as Quill and I had used earlier.
By the time I'd gotten back to Red, it had started to rain slightly, and I sat down underneath a tree near him to try and shelter from the downpour. I sneezed a few more times, and then groaned when I realised I had a headache. :Maybe I am still a bit ill…: I pulled my knees up to my chest and lay my chin upon my knees, looking out to sea. The waves were choppier than before, and I wondered how the pirate woman and the girl in indigo were going to get off the island. It'd be a tight squeeze for us all to fit into the King of Red Lions after all.
Just as I was thinking about the two women, they suddenly appeared at the far end of the beach, having rounded the headland there. The pirate woman was walking with her head dropped to stare at the ground, shoulders slouched and dejected. The indigo girl was walking closer to the edge of the beach, every so often kicking up sprays of water as the waves washed over her feet. I could see that she was holding a rope in her hands, and not a second later, a boat rounded the corner after the two of then, being tugged along by the girl.
It seemed that she managed to cajole Marie into helping, as the pirate woman picked up the loose end of rope at the front, and began pulling the boat along as well. Red looked up from where he had been snoozing gently, and let out a small cheer. "Well done Shadow! I knew you'd be able to persuade them!" She just nodded, gratefully stopping and allowing the boat to drift until the rope was taught in her hands. Then, she left the boat to Marie, and walked over, nodding to me as she walked past.
"Well, it certainly took a lot of persuading. The only way I was able to get it back was to make Marie give her word as an honourable pirate to repay her debts."
"I'm just grateful we got out of there when we did, or else I'm sure you would have signed my whole life away to those ruddy post-men!" the green-haired woman fumed, having just tied off the other boat. "I can't believe you just did that! Didn't even let me get a word in edge-"
"I'm sorry Marie, but had you got a word in, I'm not sure we'd have Flo back," the girl bit back calmly. "I was just using diplomacy – and having seen their tallies of how much you and your crew stole over the years, I think you got off quite lightly." With this statement hanging in the air, Shadow turned around and nodded to me again, motioning that I should come and join them. "I see the wind's turned – was that your doing?" she asked me.
"Yeah – Zephos showed me how to do it."
"Good!" Red exclaimed. "That means we can finally get going. After seeing what dark creatures have been let loose here, I'm worried for the Forest Haven. It's about a day and half's sail from here, so if we leave now, we should get there by noon tomorrow. Are you all ready to leave?"
"Yeah," I answered.
"Yes," Shadow answered.
"No," Marie answered, petulantly. Strangely enough, she reminded me of Aryll for a split-second…
"Why not?" Red sighed, turning his head to glare at the green-haired pirate.
"Because I want my belongings back!"
"They weren't your belongings in the first place!" Red contested, glaring at her. "Besides, what's more important? A few pieces of gold and silver, or preventing Dragmire from wreaking havoc to the Great Sea and all the lands upon it?" Marie didn't answer, and looked slightly ashamed of herself. "Exactly. Now, you and Shadow will take Flo, and you'll follow behind us. Rufus, you'll be coming with me."
It was that precise moment that another couple of sneezes decided to hit me. And this time, my head didn't just throb afterwards – it felt as though it was going to split in two! I groaned, and placed both hands on either side of my head, trying to make my vision go straight again. A strong gust of wind bit through my soaked clothes, and when I drew in a breath to try and answer the queries as to 'whether I was all right', I started to cough.
"Red, I don't think he should be in an open boat for that distance. He doesn't look at all well," Shadow advised. "Perhaps he should stay below deck on Flo to recuperate, and Marie'll look after him."
"Good idea lass," Marie agreed, and I felt her pat me gently on the back to help my subsiding coughs end more quickly.
"Are you sure?" Red asked. He lowered his voice slightly, but I still heard him, "You're not looking too well yourself."
"I'll be fine Red," she assured him. "But I do think it'd be best for Rufus to stay in the warm." She bent down in front of me, and looked up to catch my eye. "Do you have anything dry that you can change into?"
"No, I don't," I answered, as quietly as she was talking, as my head was hurting so much.
"Ah – Marie, do you think you have anything that might be good?"
"I've probably got a few old things the lad could borrow – they'd be a bit big, but at least they'd be dry."
"You wouldn't mind lending them would you?"
"Nah. Wouldn't want the poor boy to get any more ill. Here, you come with me lad. I'll get you kitted out in something warm and dry, and then you can go to sleep after having something warm to eat. How does that sound?"
"Sounds good," I answered, feeling glad of the arm she had put around my shoulders. The body-heat against the side that I was squashed against warmed me up greatly, and I allowed myself to be steered towards the larger of the boats.
"Hang on a sec, and I'll just pull her in so you can get on without having to get wet again."
"OK." She let go, and the cold suddenly hit me again. There was a flash of lightning above, and then a huge rumble of thunder which made me jump. Looking up at the sky, I suddenly felt dizzy due to suddenly moving my head. The world around me began to spin, and before I knew what was going on, I had collapsed onto the rain-wetted sand. The small gritty crystals stuck to the side of my face, and I felt too weak to even move.
"Up you come," Marie grunted, hooking her hands underneath my shoulders and bodily lifting me up off the floor. "We'll get you dried off and fed, don't you worry." I leant against her shoulder, feeling quite comfortable, and drifted off to sleep before she even put me down again.
It was the annual remembrance of the day when my parents had left Outset Isle on the Voyager for the last time. My tenth birthday had just passed, and Aryll was ill with a fever. Grandma had stayed home to look after her, but I just hadn't been able to stand being in the house any longer. It smelled of sickness, and in my mind, sickness only ever led to death. And that wasn't something I needed to think about anymore than I already was.
I'd woken up that morning to a nightmare, about the Ghost Ship, and my parents being ghosts, and some other such nonsense. Grandma had been worried when she came in that I was ill as well, but I assured her I was all right. She didn't seem to believe me, but she was just so busy looking after Aryll that she let it go. And, after all, I was the man of the family…I was supposed to be strong and able to cope with things…
But I couldn't.
I loved Grandma and Aryll dearly, but I still missed my parents. Every day I missed them – playing games with them, hearing them tell stories about their wonderful adventures. Mother's terrible cooking that always made us laugh, and father's talent for singing us to sleep without any effort. And today, of all days in the year, was the worst of the lot. Because all I remembered was how determined I was that they shouldn't go. I threw tantrums and hid their maps and their equipment, trying to make them stay.
If only I'd tried harder. Maybe if I'd told them about my nightmares, about how the Forsaken Fortress was coming alive again in my dreams, then they would have listened. Or how the sea was too dangerous, and the monsoon season too close. If only… I should have done more. Then they'd still be alive…
I woke up to find myself snuggled beneath a huge pile of blankets, and a cold compress sitting upon my forehead. I could see that Marie was sitting in the open doorway, wrapped up in her great coat and watching the storm outside. She'd made it so that no gusts of wind would pass through the door, so the cabin was delightfully warm. The sea wasn't as rough as it had been, but the boat was still pitching quite a lot. She managed to keep her balance easily, having the trained legs of a pirate. But, now that I was awake and I had to think about it, my balance went to pieces, and I felt glad I was lying down.
I shuffled so that I was sitting up in bed, and Marie turned around at the sound of me moving. "Ah, you awaken! I was a bit worried for you back there when you fainted lad! How are you feeling now?"
"A bit better, thanks," I answered croakily.
"Hungry?" I didn't even need to answer, as my stomach rumbled loudly as I picked out the smell of soup. Looking to my left, I saw that there was a pot of the stuff simmering nicely away above the small cabin-range. "I'll take that as a yes!" she chuckled jovially, moving away from the doorway onto the deck, and closing it behind her to make sure no draughts had any chance of getting in. When the door was fully secure, she hopped down the three steps and onto the cabin's floor.
"What sort of soup is it?" I asked, unable to guess.
"Just various vegetables I had in the cupboard – potatoes, leeks, onions, carrots – that sort of thing," she answered, bending down and rummaging through a cupboard to find two tin mugs in which to put the soup. "I'll start you off with a little bit, because I don't want to make you ill with too much at once."
"Sounds good," I smiled, accepting the half-full tin mug she handed me. The warmth of the soup bit into my cold hands, and gave me the sensation of pins and needles. Greedily, I drank the whole lot down, scalding my throat in the process. However, it didn't matter, as the soup did the trick. It warmed me up from the inside out, and I immediately began to feel sleepy again. I yawned widely, and Marie looked at me with an amused green eye over her own mug of soup.
"If you want to go back to sleep, go right ahead. You've already slept through most of the day – it's just coming up to dusk now."
"I've been asleep all day?" I exclaimed, sitting both upright and cracking my head on the low ceiling. "OW!"
"Oh, Gods, are you all right?" she smiled slightly at my clumsiness, but at least had the grace to also look worried. I gingerly rubbed the top of my head, and sent an evil glare to the ceiling.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I chortled weakly, lying back down. "I think I will go back to sleep – you know, before I injure myself."
"All right then lad – call me if you need anything, won't you?"
"I will," I muttered, pulling the many blankets right up to my chin and holding them there. I curled up into a ball on the thin bunk, turning to the side so that my knees were nearly touching my chest, my free arm wrapped around them. My feet were still a little cold, so I took one of the pillows I had been resting my head on, and dumped it over my feet, which warmed them up a little bit.
Content that was I was as comfortable as I was going to get, I closed my eyes, and drifted off to sleep once more, full of soup and nearly better.
Lossemare, H7 and my newest prisoner (I mean reviewer!) kizna1200! Thanks for putting up with my horrible and sporadic updates. And your reviews are always helpful (especially when Lossemare points out my mistakes. I expect you'll find a lot in here as well ;) man, I really need a beta reader one of these days!) I won't promise to try and update more frequently, because I'll probably break the promise. So I'll just say that I will try and update…eventually.
Also, I've somewhat escaped my man-love spiel, so I'm hoping I don't slip back into that for at least a couple of months.