Fay Tale - Chapter Five
Lily smiled as she skipped down the dock, Bremen keeping pace beside her. When she got to the ship, she whirled back around.
“Hurry up Grumps! The ship’s gonna leave without you!”
Far behind them the king limped with slow dignity down the docks, a deceptively loose square of royal guards around him.
“Grumps never hurries,” the cat pointed out.
“But the boat’s gonna leave without him!”
“It wouldn’t dare. Wanna explore the ship?”
Bremen raced up the gangplank with Lily close on his heels. Together they wandered across the deck, poking their heads into crannies and barrels and generally getting in the way of the sailors.
“Bremen. Liliana.”
Both turned to see the king watching them. He pointed in their direction then down at his feet.
“Spoil sport,” the cat muttered.
He hopped off his barrel and sauntered through the maze of legs over to his king. Lily followed more slowly, watching the sailors scurrying across the deck and up into the sails.
“Grumps what are they doing up there?”
“They are unfurling the sails so that we might begin our journey.”
“Will we go far? Daddy wanted me back for supper.”
One of the royal guards turned her head away from the royal pair, hiding a smile.
“Presuming that all goes well, we will be back several candlemarks before the evening meal.”
“What does presume mean?”
“That I believe all will go well.”
“What would happen if it went wrong?”
“Then your father would have no one to welcome back for supper.”
The same royal guard let out a suspicious sounding cough, and Bremen wound around her legs.
“You should take something for that. A guard with a cold is no guard at all.”
“Hush Bremen,” the king said then pulled out a small waxed paper from inside his robe. He handed it to the child. “Eat this.”
“Is it candy?”
“It is ginger candy. It would not do for you to become sea-sick during this journey.”
She eagerly unwrapped the candy and popped it into her mouth then made a face.
“I don’t like this.”
“Regardless you must chew it.”
Lily glared up at the king who held her gaze. Only when her little jaw began to work mulishly on the dubious treat did Anand turn his gaze back to the deck. He judged they would soon be casting off and turned to walk into the shade of a large swathe of canvas that was stretched across part of the deck, right under the eye of the watchful helmsman. Bremen nudged the child’s leg with his head, coaxing her under the awning after the king.
“I can’t see!” she whined as she followed.
“You’ll see soon enough,” the cat answered.
Before Lily could complain again the ship started to move through the water. She squeaked in surprise and wobbled as she regained her balance.
“It’s moving! We’re sinking!”
“It is the motion the ship makes when it rides the waves,” the king reassured her.
The princess slowly tottered the rest of the way to the awning under the watchful eye of the royal guard. For a few quarter-marks she was content to practice standing and watching the sailors move the ship out through the harbor. Just when she was about to get bored of that, they sailed out of the harbor mouth and hit the waves of the true sea. Lily careened to the side and only a quick grab of Anand’s leg kept her upright. The king glanced down at her.
“It’s moving really big now!” she said excitedly.
“That is because we are now in ocean waters. The waves were not large in the harbor because the water is sheltered by the rocks.”
“I can’t walk! It’s too tippy!”
“You will adjust.”
“That’s right. You’ll adjust, princess,” the cat agreed.
Bremen teased her by prancing just out of her reach. When she didn’t take the bait, he started flicking her cheek with his tail and swatting her foot with his paw. Lily glared then launched herself at him only to tumble down to the deck as the ship rolled out from under her.
“Careful Princess. It’s slippery,” the Royal Advisor said, all innocence as he trotted gracefully in front of her.
Step by step Bremen lured her across the deck until she was capable of stumbling after him without falling on her face. Then she began to chase him in earnest.
Bremen dove through the king’s legs when she stumbled closer than he expected, and half the royal guard had to look away to hide smiles when the princess dove in after him. Anand eyed the cat who quickly climbed up to sit on his shoulder and began purring as if nothing had happened. Lily got to her feet and tried to grab the cat’s tail as it hung over the king’s shoulder.
“Liliana stand beside me. We have nearly arrived.”
The princess stuck her tongue out at Bremen but moved obediently to the king’s side. She watched the sailors toss out the sea anchors and the ship’s progression through the water came to a relative halt.
“Why did we stop?” Lily asked.
“Because we must wait,” the king explained.
“Why?”
“Because Scylla will wait to show herself until she is sure of our ship.”
“Is it a safe ship?”
“It holds the tribute which we grant her for allowing the ships to cross her territory unmolested.”
The princess frowned as she parsed the sentence.
“Tribute is money,” Bremen added helpfully.
“Why do you have to pay her money?” Lily wanted to know.
“Because if I do not, she will attack the ships which would come to our harbor,” the king explained.
“Why don’t you make her stop?”
“Because I would prefer to solve the situation peaceably. Not only would the loss of life and ships be catastrophic if I wished to slay or remove her, but she is also an unconventional means for protecting the harbor mouth from less peaceable allies.”
While Lily puzzled through another sentence, the rest of the ship waited for the monster to appear.
She did. Right behind them.
Sailors gasped as water surged into the air then rained heavily down upon the ship. The royal party was mostly sheltered under the canvas awning, but the rest of the ship was covered in fresh salt water. Bremen’s mew of discomfort was lost among the sound of rain pelting the wooden deck and the shouts of the surprised sailors. Anand gently stroked the creamy fur while Bremen hunched close, digging claws deeper into the fabric of the king’s robe.
Once the rain of saltwater had abated, the king limped out from under the awning, motioning for the princess to follow him. The royal guard filed behind the trio as they headed up to the quarterdeck. Lily froze on the steps, jaw dropping as she stared up at the monstrosity. A small mountain of squirming tentacles had risen up out of the sea a few bowshots from the ship.
“Come Liliana,” the king insisted.
She slowly continued up the stairs and over to the king’s side, eyes wide as the royal coins. When Anand held out his hand, she slipped her small one into his without complaint.
YOU HAVE COME AGAIN.
The princess jumped at the loud, slithering voice. The rest of the ship heard nothing but the hiss and smack of wet tentacles tangling around each other. Only Bremen’s magic allowed the two royals to understand the creature’s alien tongue.
“I have,” the king agreed, his voice carrying across waves.
YOU COME EVERY SIX MOONS.
The creature sounded almost disappointed.
“I do as per our agreement.”
I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT FORGET.
The mass of tentacles shifted and suddenly two large eyes stared hungrily at the ship. Lily pressed up against the king for comfort.
WHERE IS MY TRIBUTE, LAND KING?
Anand nodded at the royal guards, four of whom retreated back down to the main deck. They returned at a much slower pace with a large chest between them, which they set before the king. One of the guards unlocked the heavy padlock using the key on her belt then opened the well-oiled chest. Scylla waited for them to retreat back behind the king before a comparatively smaller tentacle crept over the railing to examine the contents.
It prodded goblets with dents, jewelry made only of semi-precious stones, and old gold coins bearing the mark of a long-dead monarch. These defects detracted nothing from the treasure’s value in Scylla’s eyes. The tentacle curled possessively around the chest before slithering back into the sea.
TREASURE IS GOOD. TREASURE IS ACCEPTABLE.
The king nodded and the guard with the key stepped up and relocked the chest. Once the guard had finished the tentacle struck with blinding speed, whipping back over the railing and pulling the chest off the deck and into the sea. The startled guard backed up warily, not quite letting her hand stray to her sword.
Scylla had already begun to descend once more when the king called out to her.
“I wish to make another bargain concerning your tribute.”
I HONORED OUR BARGAIN, the monster hissed. I TAKE NO LESS!
“You have indeed honored our bargain,” the king agreed, mollifying the sea monster somewhat. “It is not a complaint I have but a commendation. A further reward for services rendered.”
The mass of tentacles slithered in uncertain anticipation.
ANOTHER REWARD? WHY DOES THE LAND KING GIVE MORE TREASURE?
“Two weeks ago a merchant ship ran aground upon the rocks of your lair during a storm. It would have sunk from the extensive damage caused to the hull yet with your assistance the ship was able to make safe harbor.”
The tentacles shifted en masse as the monster considered his words. She remembered the ship. A nice, fat merchant ship stupid enough to try and sail in the storm. The only reason Scylla had not torn the ship apart and eaten the crew was her bargain with this Land King who gave her treasure when she hunted things below the surface rather than above.
Deprived of a meal by the bargain, she had merely tossed it away from her lair in irritation. Only by chance had it been in the direction of the harbor. Scylla, however, decided not to mention that.
YES, YES I HELPED THE SHIP, she crooned. REWARD FOR HELPING SHIP?
“You will indeed be rewarded for your assistance to the ship,” the king agreed. “But before I present the reward, I wish you to speak to one of mine previously unknown to your senses.”
The whole mountain of monster shrank visibly into the sea.
DON’T LIKE STRANGERS. DON’T LIKE THEM SEEING. DON’T LIKE TO SPEAK. NO STRANGERS.
“She is the daughter of the crown prince. One day she will be the one to give you this tribute. Therefore, it is imperative you meet her,” Anand insisted.
For a long moment Scylla hovered on the water’s surface, indecision in the restlessness rippling under the water. Then she rose back up from the surface to tower over the ship. A face slowly inched out of the mass of tentacles, almost canine in appearance but glistening with wet scales rather than fur.
The king paced slowly forward, towing the reluctant princess along with him.
“Liliana Mirandas of Eirendyr. Scylla the Devourer.”
Lily gave the beast a wobbling curtsy, still clinging to the king’s hand. The globoid eyes examined the royal child, taking in the golden curls.
SHE IS BEAUTIFUL. VERY BEAUTIFUL. LIKE A TREASURE.
The king blinked in surprise at the comparison. He had not expected the monster to have a framework for the concept of human beauty. It appeared that, unfortunately, she did.
I LIKE TREASURE, she continued and two more lupine heads slid out from between the tentacles, looming closer to the ship. WANT THIS TREASURE. GIVE HER TO ME.
The king abruptly tugged the princess behind him, cutting her off from view. Bremen let out a piercing yowl as he leapt from the king’s shoulder onto the railing. The monster cowered back in surprise at the abnormally loud sound, all three pairs of eyes staring now at the tiny cat.
“My gargantuan lady!” Bremen called, “You forget that you yourself are the greatest treasure the nine great seas have ever encountered! The Land King knows this and in honor of your beauty has commissioned these bracelets at great cost to himself to adorn your peerless form!”
With a flick of his tail, he summoned another chest up from main deck. The royal guards hurried without seeming to do so, eager to distract the creature’s attention from their princess.
This chest was smaller than the first and one of the guards reached inside the chest and pulled out a long rope of shimmering silver metal, adorned by fist-sized moonstones. Scylla’s eyes lit with greed and she surged closer to the ship, causing it to bob alarmingly in the water.
“If you would allow these unworthy servants to place it upon your glistening arm?” the cat suggested.
At once one of the smaller tentacles—though still large enough to snap even the largest of the ship’s masts—collapsed across the top of the quarterdeck. The guards moved with impressive speed, wrapping the mass of chains and stones around the limb. The chains cleverly hooked around several protrusions in the scales and skin so that the bracelet would not be lost when Scylla moved through the water. They had barely finished securing it when she whipped the tentacle out of reach, holding the bracelet up so that it gleamed in the sunlight.
“You will find that the stones and metal both shine even in the darkest parts of the sea,” Bremen informed her grandly. “Truly a present meant for a sea queen!”
One tentacle ran lovingly across the surface of the bracelet.
SCYLLA RECEIVE ANOTHER BRACELET IF SHE SAVES ANOTHER SHIP? the monster asked.
"The Land King would count it an honor to give you many bracelets as part of your tribute,” the cat finished shrewdly.
Up to this point Anand had watched the exchange with passive silence. Now he suddenly stepped forward.
“The waters about the harbor are calm,” the king said reminded. “The only danger to my ships lies within the rocks where you lair, which are easily avoidable during fair weather. A bracelet will be provided only if a ship is assisted during a storm which causes them to run aground within your territory.”
The king was uncertain whether it would occur to Scylla to purposefully wreck ships so that she might ‘assist’ them into harbor, but he was not about to take any chance he could reasonably deter.
Scylla screamed with rage, her clever plan ruined before she could even begin it. All the tentacles rose up in protest, writhing about in the sky above the ship. For a moment she balanced upright as if she would slam them all down and shatter the ship. Anand didn’t move as he matched the gaze of the canine head nearest him. With another shriek the monster sank into the sea without hitting the boat. She didn’t need to.
The whole ship lurched toward the sudden trough in the water despite the sea anchors. Bremen yowled and leapt away from the railing. The king caught him then hit the deck, pinning both Lily and the cat beneath him.
As the ship canted alarmingly toward the sea, two guards flung themselves on top of the king, gripping him tightly even as they dug blades into the deck to keep from sliding towards the railing. Others were not so lucky. Barrels crashed into the wooden railing followed by sailors screaming with fear. Wooden planks groaned as the ship strained to stay upright. It spun like a cork down a drain as the sea sought to fill the sudden hole left by Scylla’s absence. Heavy waves surged across the deck and those who could braced themselves to avoid being swept overboard.
Then as suddenly as it had begun the commotion was over; the sea smoothing itself back into smaller, manageable waves.
Once the captain was sure Scylla wasn’t lying in wait to try something else, he sent down a skiff for those who had been washed overboard. The two royal guards warily peeled themselves off the king while the rest hurried over to help.
Lily was trying to cough up all the seawater she had inadvertently swallowed while a guard pounded on her back. Others helped the king to his feet. He thanked them then tried to peel the Royal Advisor from the front of his robes, but the cat’s claws had locked into the fabric. Anand wisely gave up the attempt.
“Escort the princess under the canopy,” he said, wrapping an arm awkwardly under Bremen to support the cat’s weight.
Two guards quickly picked Lily up and descended onto the main deck with her.
“Your Majesty it might be best if you followed her,” a guard suggested.
“If Scylla truly wished to dispose of me, moving to another part of the ship would simply delay the inevitable and hardly that.”
The royal guard look pained but simply bowed and retreated.
Anand waited on the quarterdeck while sailors rushed around, securing lines and checking for leaks. When the last unfortunate sailor had been retrieved from the sea, the ship’s captain set a course back into the relative safety of the harbor. Once he was certain both ship and crew were behaving correctly, he turned and headed up to the waiting monarch.
“Your Majesty. I report no loss of life.”
“And the ship?”
“She’s a sturdy gal. She’ll pull through with nothing more than a few scratches,” he said with obvious affection.
“Repair what is necessary. The royal coffers are at your disposal.”
The captain bowed deeply in thanks.
“As for Scylla...” The captain hesitated.
“If she truly wished to sink us then she would have done so,” the king finished.
The captain nodded in obvious relief.
“That’s the way of it, Your Majesty. Though I imagine she would have enjoyed getting another of those fancy bracelets for having to assist us back to harbor.”
“Your crew performed admirably, Captain. Inform them that their normal reward will be doubled.”
The captain bowed again.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
The king nodded, politely signaling the interview was over, then turned and descended toward the canopy on the main deck. He found the princess being held by one of the royal guards and stepped toward her.
“You are injured, Liliana?”
Lily shook her head then hid her face in the guard’s neck.
“She’s fine, Your Majesty. Just a bit shook up.” Understandably so, his tone seemed to say.
The king nodded then retreated further under the canopy and began the process of slowly prying Bremen’s claws out of his clothing. The Royal Advisor was shaking both with fear and outrage over having been put through such an unexpected saltwater bath. Instead of setting the cat back on the deck or onto his usual shoulder perch, the king simply cradled Bremen in his arms.
Eventually the cat recovered enough to hop onto a nearby crate and begin a vigorous washing of his coat, muttering expletives, which had the royal guard holding the princess glaring in his direction. The king chose to ignore both. Instead, he turned his thoughts on how he might best avoid another near drowning in the future when confronting the creature.
Author’s Corner
I was searching for ‘kraken’ images and came up with this little fellow. Suddenly I imagined a clam-sized Scylla threatening the ship and cackled. So now I must bless you all with this mental image.