Elurra fell into a deep slumber soon after the ship left. She had cried herself into oblivion. After all the princess’s emotional and physical fatigue, Aleah wasn’t shocked to see how fast sleep overtook her. The bags under Elurra’s eyes looked exaggerated against her pale skin. Aleah remembered tucking Elurra in every night, so seeing the princess as a grown woman made her uncomfortable.
Elurra was akin to a hollow corpse on the cliffs, so it had taken Aleah hours to coax her back to the castle. After changing her out of her soaked clothing, she tucked Elurra into her own bed in the servants’ quarters and went back to completing her regular duties. She returned that evening to find Elurra was still asleep. She could see the gentle movement of her eyes under her eyelids, stirred by vivid dreaming.
“How could she sleep this long?” Aleah muttered under her breath as she sat down gently on the side of the bed.
Elurra opened her eyes slowly as the movement awoke her. It took her a few moments to collect herself enough to recognize where she was.
“Aleah?” she asked weakly, turning to look at her. “Is Terrin gone?”
Her face was an unnatural shade of milky white, seemingly drained of all color. She looked deathly ill. Aleah nodded, concerned for Elurra. It was painfully obvious she cared for him deeply. The normally sharp, inquisitive blue of her irises was clouded, like a pool of murky water that had stagnated for far too long. Elurra was always so determined, but it seemed Nitiri had quenched her spirit.
“I did not run away, you know. Nitiri tried to kill me,” Elurra said. Her pupils were wide and distant; her voice was flat and void of emotion. “She cast a spell on me like she did on Terrin. He saved me, though. I owe him my life. My world collapsed around me, but he swooped in and saved me. And he paid the ultimate price.”
Elurra looked at Aleah with her dull gaze, then seemed to read her mind. “I am this age because Terrin and I chose to be this way. He is only thirteen.” A little color returned to her face. Talking about her loss appeared to help with the anguish.
“What color are Terrin’s eyes?” Aleah asked curiously.
Elurra looked at her for a while, then a thin smile tugged at her frail lips.
“His eyes are the color of tanzanite,” she breathed. Aleah grinned.
“His eyes shifted from gold to purple. Was one caused by the spell?”
Elurra nodded. Her thoughts drifted again, so Aleah pulled out some food she’d saved for her and asked about her adventures over the last two months. She listened attentively as Elurra told her the whole story. Aleah was completely taken aback by the atrocities Nitiri had committed.
“I cannot believe Nitiri is really so awful. She has been so nice to the people. She cracked down on the bandits at the borders, invested more in domestic protection, and has given the people tax breaks. She brought in a lot of new staff for the castle, and while I have not approved of some of the things she has done, I never would have imagined she was capable of what you have seen. Considering how you kept insisting she killed your parents, I was sure you had simply run away. But now…what do we do? What is the next move? What is Nitiri planning?”
Elurra stared at her servant thoughtfully, the dull look in her eyes fading.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“We need to keep Nitiri from getting what she wants. Right now, she wants a war, so we have a prince to steal.”
°◌°○●○°♣°○●○°◌°
Terrin woke to the gods’ wrath on the ship. The horrible storm made the vessel skitter across the water like a puppet on a string. Waves crashed against the sides, threatening to snap the deck in half like a toothpick. The boat creaked ominously, and a thin layer of water covered the planks and swashed around with every buck and wave. Everything was pitch black. Terrin crawled forward slowly, searching for anything to hold onto. He was soaking wet and chilled to the bone; his teeth chattered together uncontrollably. His head throbbed, and his ribs hurt from his tumble down the stairs.
He grabbed onto the frigid bars to keep from being tossed against the wall. His handcuffs made everything hard to do, but he held on with all his might. The vessel groaned under the stress and bucked over the waves. Terrin was thrown around his cell like a rag doll. The floor unexpectedly dropped downward, and Terrin careened forward into the prison’s door. His back hit it with surprising force, sending explosions of agony down his spine. To his astonishment, the barred door gave way, and he tumbled into the hallway. He took a few seconds to recover before attempting to stand.
The boat tilted again, sending him sliding over onto his side. He gritted his teeth and lay down on his stomach. He started scooting forward, using his hands and feet to propel himself. Every time the ship rocked; water slammed into him then ran down the hallway. He constantly had to hold his breath to make sure he didn’t get a mouthful of salty liquid. After what felt like hours, he reached the staircase. He used the handrail to stand, then held onto it with all his strength.
He took one step at a time, as slowly as the convulsing sea demanded. Water streamed down the stairs like a river searching for the ocean of darkness below. After a few minutes, Terrin managed to reach the deck, where hell was unlocked and dishing out havoc. The ocean looked like it was a boiling inferno blessed by the goddess of chaos. Waves as large as houses crashed against the hull. Rain pummeled the men, and Terrin could barely see two feet in front of him. Walls of water rose up and attacked like black monsters sent from the deathly froth below. For a moment, he considered retreating down the hatch and hiding in his cell, but he steeled his nerves.
If you don’t escape now, you’re going to spend the rest of your short existence as a miner. Both options are basically certain death, but at least you won’t die as a slave, he thought as he considered making a break for it.
His drenched clothes weighed him down and made it hard to move as he exited the hold. The torrent of rain blinded him immediately. All the sailors were busy trying to secure cargo and bail off water. Most of them were tethered to the mast so they couldn't be pulled over. A wall of ocean erupted from the depths of the sea and crashed onto the deck, sending Terrin floundering. The current pulled him to the side of the ship, threatening to take him with it into the depths.
At the last second, he grabbed onto the railing and held on with all the strength he could muster. The bars were slippery, and his fingertips scrambled to get a proper grasp. He lost one hand, and then the other. The sea tugged him toward its wrath, but the chain of his handcuffs caught on a peg and saved him from being plunged under the surface. Terrin felt fear pump through him and adrenaline rang in his head like a siren. His hand twisted painfully, and the handcuffs dug into his wrists. The howling wind around him swallowed his desperate cries for help.
I'm going to die, he thought in utter terror.
Unexpectedly, a large meaty paw clamped around his arm and an unknown savior yanked him back from nature’s gaping jaws.
“What are ya, crazy?” a man yelled at him. Terrin tried to make him out, but salt water filled his eyes; all he could see were shades of gray.
“Oh, yer a slave!” he exclaimed in an unfriendly tone. He grabbed Terrin’s handcuffs and dragged him back to the side of the ship, where he secured him to a strong chain. “Stay there. This is no place for yer nonsense.”
Terrin watched him dissipate into the torrent of rain before a wave crashed across him. Terrin choked and gagged on the water filling his nose and mouth. He spent the rest of the night fighting for his life. Every few seconds, a new wave battered him until Terrin was sure he was full of saltwater. Everything swam together in front of him, and he could no longer distinguish between the craft and the sea.