The Princess and the Blade

[Soran Nightblade]

Havitharon's eyes hardened on Laurius. "She was in danger. Her power is too great. You might as well ask her to kill a spider with that oar, but don't injure its right leg." His gaze shifted to Lee, who was keeping his silence at the bow. "If she hadn't sunk that ship, you would be dead right now. In fact, I imagine they'd have sunk it one way or the other."

Lee shrugged. "With a princess aboard, we might've just killed the crew and left it crippled instead of sinking it. Her family's nuts."

[Emora Deen]

Laurius shifted uncomfortably, peeling the orange open. His gaze went to the necklace of bruising ringing her neck. Someone hadn’t gotten the memo to leave the princess be, or perhaps they hadn’t cared.

He sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m not ungrateful for her help,” he said, taking piece of orange and tossing it into his mouth. “I’m just… I’m nothing. It doesn’t matter. I’m glad you’re both okay.”

The hours ticked on, the sun growing higher. Heat bore down on them, signaling that they hadn’t yet crossed into the cooler waters to the north. There was no relief. No shade. Laurius began to wish he could be inside the blade with Ren, where there might be some reprieve from the light. He better get used to the light, though. It was unlikely to go away.

The princess still hadn’t woken up, but Havitharon didn’t seem concerned. “Would you like me to take a turn holding her?” Laurius asked Havi. “Alternatively… we could lay her down in the boat to give you a break. Use that bag for a pillow. I scooped up Ren’s last pill…. Though, that’s probably more harm than good.”

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi nodded reluctantly. "Yes. That would help, so I can get rowing again. We won't survive just sitting here." He lifted Tenara gently and shifted her into his lap. "Is Artisuren still responding?" He asked, positioning her neck as comfortably as he could.

He didn't want to feel relieved when he moved away, but he was. His thoughts were chaos, and he didn't want to be touched. He sat back on the bench and pulled his shirt over his head, passing it to Laurius. "Protect your skin," he advised quietly. He'd positioned Tenara so Laurius's shadow shielded her, but when the sun grew highest later, they would have challenges.

He sighed and pulled the oars into position, trying to decide which bearing to take.

Lee spoke up. "We passed an island, sometime yesterday. Not sure how far. Should be East somewhere."

[Emora Deen]

“He’s responding,” Laurius said, positioning Tenara in his arms. He brushed a lock of silver from her blood-splattered face.

At the mention of the island, Laurius nodded out at a cluster of small boats that had gathered while they bobbed around. “Is that where those boats are headed? Maybe we should link up with them. Survival in numbers… Though we should probably hide the food…”

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi frowned at the other boats. They looked different in style, so they must be from the other ship. "If they attack us, I should be able to fight them. But I won't be able to protect all of you at the same time."

"It's not a large island. Whoever's there first has an advantage," Lee said. "They'll probably spend a few hours checking through the wreckage, but they're better equipped and have more rowers. I vote we get a head start."

[Emora Deen]

Laurius cast Lee a glower. "Helpful. Aren't those your allies? Why do you have any interest in helping us?" He shot Havitharon a look. "I don't know if we should trust him." A second later, he added, "I suppose we have no choice."

He watched Lee take up his oars and begin to row.

[Soran Nightblade]

Lee snorted. "Allies are case dependent, at best. You need me, unless you want to help that freak row 6 people a few miles with that shoulder. Or maybe those are especially muscular cooks." Merry threw him a look, but didn't try to argue. She and Tabetha had been hiding from the sun under an apron most of the morning.

"Fine. Just row," Havi grunted. His ribs had swollen over the course of the night, and they were quite vocal in reminding him how they felt about rowing as he leaned into the oars. He pushed on, knowing his body would numb the pain if he kept it constant enough, just like an open blister in a shoe.

By the time the sun began dipping low, casting wild splashed of orange and pink across the horizon, he had real-life blisters on his hands to distract him from his ribs. "Food break," he called, for the third time that afternoon. "Lee, eat two." He'd been strict about making sure the others consumed fruit every few hours, especially Lee.

"We'll run out of oranges if that thief keeps eating them," Merry noted.

"I need him to help me row," Havi said dully.

"We can row!" Merry argued. "We can... learn to row," she corrected herself sheepishly.

"You two will row at night," Havi said. "Not in the sun. And I expect you to hydrate while rowing, just like he is."

"What if we run out of food? We don't know how far away we are?"

Havi shook his head. "If we get sunstroke, we'll be dead in the water anyway."

Tabetha frowned. "Mister, why aren't you eating anything? If you're not eating, I think you should take a break."

"I don't need it to survive. It's too complicated to explain," the alien said. Tabetha and Merry looked skeptical. He looked at the setting sun, and slowly ungrasped his blistered hands from the oars. "Fine. Let's have a break, then swap shifts." He migrated from the bench to sit on the floor opposite Laurius. "How is she?" he asked the man.

[Emora Deen]

Laurius looked up. "No change," he said, brushing fingers in her hair. "I checked her pulse. It's strong. She's... otherwise healthy, I think." He had the urge to dip his hand in the water and splash her face with it to see if that woke her up, but it seemed cruel. The length in which she'd been sleeping, though, unnerved him. He sighed and broke open an orange, hesitating before parting her lips and squeezing some into her mouth. "I can row," he told Havitharon. "Let me take your next shift. I might not last as long as you, but I can give you a rest. Besides... wouldn't you rather be holding her?"

[Soran Nightblade]

Would he rather be holding her?

"Of course I would. And I will, when the girls take their shift." He spoke without meeting Laurius's eyes, or anyone else's for that matter. He tore a strip of fabric from his pant leg like it was woven from lace and not heavy cotton, hissing at the way it stretched his hand. The he did the same with the other leg. He twisted with a tight breath and stretched his arm over the side of the boat, dunking the two loops in the salt water. "You should not row with your shoulder like that. It's not even stitched properly," he said as he wrapped the wet fabric around his blistered palms. The salt felt like fire on his skin, far worse than he'd expected. He felt like a fool. "I am an idiot. If I had done this earlier and wrapped my hands, there would be less blistering."

[Emora Deen]

Laurius frowned at his hands. "You are a sword," he said, trying to be funny. "It's hard to remember you can blister. I'm sure Tenara will help you when she wakes."

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi looked at Tenara's sleeping form, unease spreading through him. He wished he could get them to shore and then wake her. He'd rowed like mad all day with that nonsensical goal. He even thought he could see a small blot on the horizon that could be the land they were searching for. But in the end, he was forced to stop. He closed his eyes a moment and made himself imagine the sound of her voice. He pictured her awake, speaking to him softly, warm hands touching his shoulders when he grew tired. The thought made his throat close. Could he still feel like that? He stared at his hands spiritlessly.

If she woke up, would she be safer? Would hearing her voice make these doubts fade? It felt strange to see her in Laurius's arms, but the man had cared for her well, all day. He was being a coward. He feared her, and he missed her. *Tenara.... What can I do for you?* he whispered into her mind.

[Emora Deen]

Tenara dreamed of a maze. She walked it. Endless twists and turns until her feet bled. Dirt covered the stone flooring. Roots and dead brush sprung from the cracks. She found an obsidian throne at its center. It had been built for someone else. Someone larger. Someone…

Tenara sat on it, and suddenly it felt made for her. Just for her. Always her.

Havi appeared from behind the throne. He sat on its large, smooth armrest and draped his long, long arm across the back. He handed her his sword, and it struck her odd for a second that he was touching it at all. When she took it, he ran his fingers over her cheek and lips. He tilted her face up to his and kissed her.

The world burned. Screams filled her ears, growing and compounding into terrible music. She saw herself standing in the ruins of a city. It was rubble and ash and everything burned brilliant blue and vivid orange. Armies knelt and people cowered and she was a goddess, Heir to Darkness, Mother of Monsters, Queen of Nightmares, and, in her hand, was the sword—Havi's sword—and she was using it to bend the world to kneel.

No. No. She didn’t want to be this. She didn’t want to be evil. She didn’t want to hurt anyone!

*Tenara.... What can I do for you?* Havi's voice whispered into her mind, blowing a cool wind over the fires until they fluttered out. Dark swallowed her.

There was a ship and it was sinking. Down. Down. Down. And people were screaming. She couldn't get them out. She pried at the boards, pried at the windows, but it just kept going down into the dark. *Help me get them out. Help me. Please. Please help me get them out!*

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi lurched to his feet. Merry let out a squeal of terror as the sudden movement rocked the boat wildly. Any trace of fear in him had been obliterated by the urgency in her voice. He dropped to his knees next to Laurius and pulled Tenara up into his arms like he was yanking her out of a fire. He could more or less imagine what she was dreaming about, and what she was asking for. This was why he was reluctant to wake her up. Of course, she was going to blame herself. This kind, gentle female who had never asked for any of this would tear herself apart with her guilt, and he didn't know how to stop her. *I have you. Tenara, it's over. You are safe, and I have you,* he whispered into her mind, his lips against her hair.

[Emora Deen]

Laurius startled at Havitharon’s sudden change of mind. He opened his arms wide as the being snatched her into his arms. He almost expected him to put his mouth over hers, to breathe into her lungs like she was dying. He had just felt her pulse. He knew it was strong. What was he doing? And then, he cradled her. Pressed his lips into her hair. He didn’t see Havitharon’s lips move, but he had the strangest feeling he was speaking.

Likely how he spoke to Ren…

*I wish I could bring you out of that dagger,* he thought. If he could help that way, maybe Ren could help row. Maybe they could find land… *When she did it, what did it feel like? Did you hear a word? Did you hear a sound? A pull? How? Is it really just wanting something bad enough?*

—-

*I have you. Tenara, it's over. You are safe, and I have you…

The water seemed to wrap around her, keeping her from following the ship into the dark ocean depths. Tenara clawed for it, stretching to reach it, but it disappeared, and, soon after, so did the screaming.

Tenara choked on a sob, and it felt like her lungs were burning. Maybe she was drowning too. She deserved to be down there in the dark too. But she didn’t want to leave Havitharon. Who would carry his sword? Who would make him whole? Who would treat him well?

She couldn’t leave him. She couldn’t stay in the dark.

Tenara swam for the surface. It felt so far away… When she finally broke the surface, she took a breath of air and found herself in Havitharon’s arms, in a small boat, adrift in the sea. She twisted to hide her face from the others, clinging to Havitharon as reality beat into her.

She felt sick, and sprung up from his chest and arms a little too roughly, clamoring for the boats edge, and wretched into the sea.

[Soran Nightblade]

Ren tried to keep calm and logical, but it was impossible not to get his hopes up. He bit down the instinct to beg. If Laurius preferred him this way, he wouldn't dream of asking, but it seemed like the man wanted him there. Don't beg. Don't be arrogant. *I don't know what she did, but there was something hot washing through me... I think it was blood. There was a bright silver light, like another soul next to me. It felt like... Do you know when there are two drops of water, and one touches the other, and draws it up? Like that. Like the blood touched, a boundary dissolved, and sucked me through.*

Havi held tight to Tenara's waist to counterbalance her as she wretched off the side of the boat. Merry and Tabetha stared at him, their eyes begging to know how to help. He met their eyes and shook his head softly. They seemed to get the message and held their positions with reluctance while Havi held the princess stable.

When her body finally seemed still and remained so for several minutes, he pulled her slowly back from the edge, guiding her to a seat on the floor. The girls could wait no longer, and Havi grudgingly accepted them as the huddled on either side of Tenara.

"Here, put this on your face. Poor sweet thing," Merry soothed, pressing a cool, damp cloth to her cheek.