Chapter 8: A Lantern in the Dark
Esther awoke to the sound of ocean waves and the gritty feel of sand in-between her teeth. Her eyes fluttered open to see the vast, starry night sky, with the last remnants of storm clouds clearing away in thin wisps, carried off by a warm tropical wind.
"Marcassin!" she called out as she sat up and looked around. The Sea Cow was docked in the shallows nearby and several of the crew members were walking about. One of them noticed her and motioned for her to look behind her.
She turned to see the captain, Swaine, Derwin and the ship's doctor huddling over a still figure lying in the sand. They seemed to be murmuring amongst themselves regarding what they should do about him.
"Marcassin!" she cried out again, desperation cracking her voice. Esther scurried over to the Prince, who was lying on a bed of palm fronds and the ship's doctor held his wrist and counted his pulse while listening to his vitals with a stethescope.
"He's probably water-logged," explained the doctor. "I can hear it in his chest."
Swaine was quietly cursing under his breath. "The councilors will be unhappy if I let him catch pneumonia."
"Aye, after the lass fell into the water, the Prince became frantic enough to jump in after her," sighed the Captain. "I've never seen someone who's usually so calm lose his cool so quickly."
"Wha-?" exclaimed Esther with a small gasp, kneeling in the sand, a few feet away from the group.
"But not before he thought of casting that giant light spell into the Eye of the Storm to blind it and make it retreat," said the first mate.
"Using up a lot of his energy, nonetheless," sighed his older brother. "Idiot brother of mine."
"He saved us," said the Captain. "Who knew a trick like that would even work?"
"Reckon he isn't much of a swimmer, poor guy," sighed the first mate. "Though he did manage to get the girl and Glasses over there back aboard out o' sheer will power before passing out."
"Stand back, gentlemen!" exclaimed Derwin, marching towards them with determination, and kneeling next to Marcassin's still body. Swaine and the seafarers looked at him, bewildered, and did as they were told.
"Since he is my savior, I will perform resuscitation on the Prince!" He pressed Marcassin firmly flat on his back and lifted his neck slightly so that his head tilted back and opened his airway.
The Captain and the others looked a bit uneasy at that point. One of them even muttered, "It seems a shame, don't it…? What if that's his first...?" while another mumbled, "Oh, that just don't seem right…." Swaine's mouth remained agape. Just as Derwin's head was about to cover Marcassin's face and place his open mouth over his lips, Esther cried out and everyone turned in her direction.
"Stop! STOP!" she demanded fretfully. She forced her heavy body from the soft sand and lunged in Derwin's direction, pushing him aside with all her might. Esther looked at him spitefully.
"I can't let you do that to him!" she snapped.
"Someone needs to clear his lungs of the water or he'll catch pneumonia or worse, suffer brain damage from oxygen deprivation!" Derwin exclaimed.
Esther looked down at Marcassin's pale, lifeless face and whispered the words, "Excuse me," before tilting his head back and placing her lips gently over his. The rest of the crew gasped while Swaine let out a low whistle. With her hands cupped around his mouth, she formed a seal and blew air directly into his lungs. Esther then proceeded to apply pumping pressure to his sternum to ease the water out of his stomach and chest. Not long after, Marcassin coughed up a fitful of sea water, and she turned him over to one side, stroking his back, until he was finished.
She helped him sit up slowly and he looked around.
"Where are we? What happened?" he asked as he put a hand to his head, trying to ease the ache at his temple. The prince looked up to the captain and the others standing around him and noticed they were all blushing, and looking everywhere but at the pair sitting on the beach. He turned to Esther beside him and she looked away, as if something more interesting had suddenly caught her eye.
"Miss Esther," he sighed. "I am so relieved you are fine."
"I would say the same to you, Your Highness," she said, looking at him indirectly for fear he might see the intense blush on her face.
Outside of ear shot, Swaine mumbled something about his virgin brother.
Marcassin got up, dusted himself off, and surveyed the ocean, the positioning of the stars and the island within his view. He looked at the ship that was tilting awkwardly to one side.
"If the winds blew us south east and I remember the constellations correctly for this time of year, we must be on the Island of Ta-Hee-Tee. I suppose it will take a while to make repairs on the ship," he said to the Captain.
"Aye, Prince. But we will manage it somehow. We've been through something like this before, if not exactly this, with the lass and young Oliver several years afore," he chuckled. "It's like history repeatin' itself again."
Esther, gathering her composure again and picking herself up off the beach, suggested "We should head into town for provisions and lodging while repairs are going on."
"All we need is food, lass. Don't forget to bring some back for us. Otherwise we'll be sleeping under the stars for a while," said the first mate.
After agreeing to bring back provisions, Swaine, Esther, Marcassin and Derwin headed towards the fairy town. It was not long before Derwin departed into the jungle brush chasing after a familiar or another, which left the three of them for an uphill trek to the village. Far above they could see the peak of the island, which was really the Fairy Mother, partially hidden by clouds. As the glow of dusk faded and the moon started to rise, its luminescent glow made the hike more like a peaceful evening stroll.
"Are you all right to journey like this, Esther?" Marcassin asked first as he helped her step over a small stream.
"That's my line," said Esther, her voice tinged with concern. "I wish you wouldn't do such reckless things for my sake," she added rather gloomily.
"I had no choice. I was the only one readily available at the time, and Swaine had to secure both our ropes for us and pull back on Derwin's. You could not expect me to simply watch you drown?" he asked, sounding rather perturbed by her statements.
"You can't expect me to feel nothing seeing you lie there, half-drowned on the beach because of me," she retorted. "Please be more careful, Marcassin. You are Emperor of Hamelin and many others depend on you. Your brother would hate me if I put his precious sibling in danger," she smiled.
"Damn right I would," scoffed Swaine as he pulled out a machete loaned from the ship to chop away some of the vines blocking their path ahead.
"You sound like my council members or my general," he snorted lightly. "So you are suggesting that your life is worth less than my title, or my well being?" he asked quietly. "I would beg to differ." He stopped suddenly in his tracks and Esther's nose bumped into him from behind. She looked up and he had turned to face her.
"Marcassin?" She asked. He reached out and stroked her cheek with one hand.
"Promise me then you too will not be so reckless, especially when it comes to that fool Derwin who seems to have nine of the Cat King's lives. Then I will not have the urge to rush in and save you." Esther looked down guiltily but did not shy away from his touch.
"When I think about what might have happened to you if I was not there, Esther, I-" he began. But he was interrupted by the sound of small footsteps scurrying towards them. Marcassin turned and held out his staff in one hand while the other protectively positioned Esther behind him. They peered into the darkness only to see an old friend pop out of the bushes.
"Mr. Drippy!" smiled Esther, peering behind Marcassin. There was no mistaking the lantern on the fairy's nose.
"Youer's truly," the fairy said with a little bow.
Swaine doubled back at the commotion and laughed when he saw their old friend. "Well if it isn't the little egg fairy I used to kick around. How the heck are ya?"
"Oy, mun! If it ain't the thief who wuz a prince in his past life," said the fairy in his native Ta-hee-tian accent. "Me Mum sent me out here to look, thinkin' you might need help, but I find them two lovebirds snuggling in the jungle, and youer big knife cutting it all up. Jeez, mun, come out of the damp and follow me to the village!" he huffed.
"Just ignore them, Drippy and show me the nearest tavern," sighed Swaine following after their guide. "Watching over those two definitely warrants a stiff drink."
"We were just…" said the pair at the same time, flushed with embarrassment but the fairy had already trotted out in front of them, his lantern glowing in the low brush. They both sighed resignedly and followed.
Notes: Sorry for the delay, I couldn't decide on Swaine or Marcassin so I decided to take both along. I've also been catching up on the Tales of series to anticipate next year's release so I've been ignoring my writing for now. Thanks for all the encouragement, and since I love both Esther and Maracassin, I wont leave them hanging for long.
-Kero (11/23/14)