Crown, Rumor, Spirit

Eorlan exhaled in frustration, and rubbed his temples. The crown seemed heavier with each passing day.

He longed for the days that he'd never get back--riding his horse for weeks in any direction he pleased. Foraging for supplies, finding himself in a new bed each night, with a new companion beside him. The life of a prince is one without cares. His responsibilities were few, and his freedom great. He took a great many hobbies, not the least of which was sampling all of the fine wares--and all the fine daughters--of every farmer and merchant within forty leagues of the castle.

Expectation was always waiting for him when he got home. Disappointment from his father, quiet silence from his mother. They couldn't see that it was the pressure to be kingly that made him run away.

And now they never would.

It had only been a month since the death of his parents, and the Kingdom was still in shock. So was he, he supposed. The crown was still fitted to his fathers' head, it still smelled of his wine, and tasted of his sweat. Not that Eorlan had sampled it, but a King becomes quite intimate with his crown in a very short while.

And what is a king without a queen? His mother had selected a suitable match for him, a beautiful young girl from a high family. She was certainly beautiful, and very well may have the intellect and strength to rule beside him. But all he could see was the thousands of women he would never get to fuck again, at least not without inciting a civil war. Oh sure, a King could rightly have any woman in the Kingdom he wanted--but Meneira's father had no doubt paid a handsome price to make sure that the next King came from his daughters belly. He would not have her honor undone.

He sighed again. There were worse fates in this world than having to fuck in secret. And now, as King, he had much greater things on his mind.

Like the letter he held in his hand.

Dark rumors were swirling to the north. Beyond the Great Ocean word had come from the Colony at Crag Mountain. Reports were vague and dark. Past the expanse of the Nir fields, something older than man was rising. They had not a name for this power, but there were legends enough in this new land.

Already they had discovered the Nir, a proud, stout people who dwelled in massive structures rising from the flat plains their slaves tended for them. They were smart, and they were rich, but they were passive. No one knew what laid inside their towers, and the Nir weren't ready to let anyone know but themselves. But they were fine living alongside and even trading with the race of Man.

But no warning was ever given to what laid beyond their lands. As the Colony expanded its territory, launching subcolonies across the new unspoilt continent...it soon became apparent that this continent was not new at all. There were old things here, ancient ruins with indecipherable script and haunted by old spirits from when the world still had magic.

He shuddered. Magic. The very thought sent shivers down to his feet, and shot back up into his temples.

And now men were missing. And the ones who returned could speak only of giants that walked like trees, and shot blue fire from their fingertips. Tall crystal cities that appeared out of nowhere, only to disappear within an hours time.

They were mad.

He hoped to the gods that they were mad.

seesaw, row, aroma

Aurora had always thought the ocean would be still. But she had never been on a rowboat in the middle of the ocean before, so it was hard to say for sure.

Of course maybe that was because of the shipwreck that had just happened.

She had always been alone, but there had always been other people around. Now she was alone, in a rowboat, without oars, in the middle of the ocean. And it WAS still. And she WAS alone.

She smiled.

"Finally." She said, to the ocean.

She laid back in the boat and took a nap.

---

"Help!" Came a voice, waking Aurora. She rolled her eyes, and begrudgingly sat up.

"Help!"

The voice was coming from a small boy, even smaller than herself, clutching the side of a plank with all his strength, since he wanted to continue living for some reason. The boy was dressed in a tiny black suit that someone else had picked out, and he had somehow managed to balance a large black chest on the plank of wood that was currently serving as his lifeline.

"What do you want?" said Aurora.

The boy was not expecting that question. He panted, "I had hoped that would be obvious."

"Well it's not. What do you want?" Aurora repeated.

"I'd like to continue living, for one. As such, if I may request asylum on your vessel and storage for my belongings, I would be most appreciative."

Aurora sulked. She was looking forward to some peace and quiet, and finally some alone time. She never got to be alone. If it wasn't her parents, it was her baby sister it seemed like. Someone was always talking to her about something she didn't care. Whenever she did listen, she was sorry she had, since now she had to do something. She hated responsibility, and hated owing someone for no reason other than the fact that they had asked you.

And now that they were all dead and at the bottom of the ocean, she thought she had absolutely nothing to worry about.

Her stomach grumbled.

"Do you have food?" She asked

"What?"

"In that large black chest, is there food?"

"I...there might be some trail mix or something,"

She sighed. It's not like she'd be able to shake him. It's hard to shake a tail in the middle of the ocean without oars.

"Fine. You can come on. But only if you promise not to say anything."

He stopped, taken aback.

He looked like he wanted to say something.

"Well?"

"I wanted to agree, but I wasn't sure when we were starting."

"Let's start after you get onboard." And she extended her arm out towards him.

---

She wished that she had noticed his aroma before she had let him on the boat. The mix of boy-musk and the smell of a new suit that had been sitting in ocean water for most of the day wasn't a great combination, but a promise is a promise, and she would hold up her end.

And as it turned out, the boy would hold up his end as well. It had been a week since he'd climbed onboard the boat, and she hadn't heard a peep out of him in that entire time. He wasn't like most boys. Most boys would have lasted 5 minutes without opening their mouths.

But as it turned out, he didn't just have some trail mix, he also had some books. And that was enough to keep the two of them occupied. It was good that neither of them got seasick, or the trail mix wouldn't have stayed in their stomach for long.

They ate about half of the trail mix before Aurora realized they should start looking for more food. She fashioned a fish hook out of a hairpin and pulled a thread from the boys suit, and they were able to catch some small fish using some of the dried fruit as bait.

"You don't have a grill in there, do you?"

He shook his head.

She smiled, "What about a Sushi roller?"

He smiled, knowing it was a joke.

"I probably should have thought ahead on this one a little more, huh?"

He nodded with a smile and returned to his book.

Suddenly, Aurora felt like she was being ignored, and that upset her more than the idea of a lack of quiet.

"Okay, you can talk now if you want."

The boy looked unsure.

"I'm Aurora."

The boy squeaked. "Braden."

And then for the first time in their lives, both Aurora and Braden had a friend.