Once there was a nymph called Ryeset. She was a beautiful nymph, with long golden hair, deep purple eyes, and rosy cheeks. And every night, as the sun touched the sea beyond the thick vegetation of Ryeset’s home, and the moon began to rise as the sky grew dark, she danced. She danced for the moon, and for Artemis, the goddess of the moon. Once, Artemis took her flying in her silver chariot. And just before she left and the sun rose, she said “Ryeset, if you ever need a favor, call on me, for you are my favorite of all the nymphs.”
Ryeset was the loveliest of all the nymphs, and for this, Aphrodite was jealous. So she called her son, Eros. “You must shoot that nymph Ryeset with one of your arrows while she sleeps.” She said, “And when she wakes, I will bring her a troll, or a goat to love.”
“No mother.” Eros said. “I will not shoot someone just for one of you cruel tricks. Not after what happened with Psyche.” So Aphrodite thought for a minute. What about Artemis’s twin, Apollo? Yes, yes that would work. So she said,
“Shoot her, and I swear by Styx that I will bring her Apollo. After all, shouldn’t the most beautiful nymph have the most handsome god?” Eros could see no harm in this, so he went and shot the girl with on of his arrows. Then Aphrodite made an excuse to fetch Apollo from Mt Olympus, and brought him to where Ryeset was sleeping.
Ryeset awoke, and immediately fell in love with Apollo. But before she could so much as stand, Apollo had disappeared. “Where did he go?” she wailed. “Will he ever come back? Oh Aphrodite, can you bring him back?”
“I could, but I won’t.” The goddess said. “And for daring to be as beautiful as I am, I curse you. You are madly in love with Apollo, but he will never love you back, never notice your beauty that you don’t deserve. Because you’ll be invisible for eternity!”
She left as Ryeset disappeared.
“Artemis, help me!” Ryeset cried.
Immediately, the goddess of the moon appeared. “Where are you?” she called.
“I’m here. Aphrodite cursed me. I’m to be invisible for all eternity! And I love your brother! Oh, can’t you help me?” Ryeset pleaded.
Artemis thought for a minute. “I can’t bring you back; your beautiful face is gone forever. But I can give you this.” And she made a dress of clouds, coloring them a gorgeous combination of gold, purple and pink. “This dress will change a little all the time. That way, you’ll always be beautiful, never exactly the same twice. That’s all I can do for you.” And then the goddess left.
Apollo was just barely beginning to drive his flaming chariot, the sun, across the sky, and she rushed to meet him. She flew across deserts, plains and oceans, and hovered by him, her cloud dress glowing with her happiness. But as he got farther across the sky, he flew higher than she could, so she had to follow below. And as her unhappiness grew, her dress faded to white. But when Apollo sank low in the sky to finish his journey, she caught up with him at last, and her dress became colored again. And after he left and the sky became dark, Ryeset flew back across the sky, to wait for him when he came the next day. And to this day, she continues doing that, creating the sunsets and sunrises that we love to watch.
Friday, May 1, 2009
The Ring
She came to me in a dream. She was panting, her face was pale, but her voice was forceful. “They’re after me,” she said. “It’s too late to stop them, they’ll be upon me in a minute. Take this, don’t take it off and don’t tell anyone who you got it from. Because once they have me, I’m sure they’ll come after you.” She slid a plain gold ring on my finger, and then the darkness enveloped her.
When I woke up the next morning, the ring was still on my finger. The dream came back to me. The woman’s face seemed familiar; although I was sure I hadn’t seen her before. Of course it was a dream, strange things like that happened in dreams. Or was it? If it was only a dream, where had the ring come from? I pushed the matter from my mind and went about my day. Or, I tried to. I was going to take the ring off, but her face kept coming back to me, and I couldn’t. I didn’t tell anyone where I got it from, I would sound ridiculous if I told them a lady in my dream gave it to me, instead I told anyone who asked that it was given to me by a friend, and they said no more on it. Two days passed, and I tried not to think about it. Then the ring started chaffing me, and in frustration I slid it off and flung it on the floor. It must have been a practical joke, someone giving me that ring. As for the dream, maybe there was some new technology that let you send dreams to people. I had no idea, but I was completely put out by it, and I was not going to let myself be creeped out. Still, it took me a while to get to sleep that night.
I dreamed pleasant dreams, then like a commercial breaks through a TV program, her face came through, the image of the darkness surrounding her. My eyes flew open and I sat bolt upright. Then I noticed a faint light in the dark room. I looked for the source, and saw the ring. It was glowing, a soft golden light. And in that light, I noticed the darkness around it. It was swirling, writhing, a monster, like the darkness in my dream. I had never been afraid of the dark before, but this, this was something else, something unnatural, frightening. Then, it saw me. I stood, paralyzed by fear. This darkness, it was evil itself. There was nothing more frightening than the fact that somehow it knew me. It’s writhing stopped, and it came towards me. It left the ring for just a moment as it turned towards me, and in that instant, the ring blazed with uncontrolled golden light. That snapped me out of it, and somehow I knew that the ring would protect me, that I needed that ring. I crossed the room to it in one bound and scooped it up. The darkness creeping up around me was blown back the instant I touched it. I slid the ring back on my finger, promising myself I would never take it off again. I wasn’t sure what had happened, but it wasn’t a coincidence or practical joke, this was something real, something powerful.
I tried, but simply couldn’t fall back asleep. Finally, and 5, I decided I was done trying, and thought I would go for a walk through the cool stillness before dawn. The sky was just beginning to lighten around the edges when I stepped outside. It was a chilly morning, so I wore my coat, scarf, gloves and boots. I set out at a brisk walk to the park, then through it, on my way to my favorite spot. There was a bench under a curly willow tree, with roses to the side, their sweet fragrance filling the air. But as I approached, I realized there was a man sitting on the bench.
I would have turned and gone back, but he saw me and beckoned. Now you may think me foolish, but I went to him. It would have been rude to walk away now that he’d seen me. As I drew closer, I noticed a strange smell. Of course, I could smell the roses, the soil, the chill fresh air, but under those scents was another, one I had never smelled before. It was almost like the smell of burnt cookies, sweet but awful at the same time. The man patted the bench next to me for me to sit down. The scent grew stronger, it was overpowering, and then, suddenly, it was like my brain cleared. The smell was there, but it wasn’t so overwhelming anymore, just there, and really quite pleasant. The man began to talk. He was actually fairly handsome. But if I hadn’t been under his spell, I would have noticed when he flashed a smile at me, that his teeth were sharp and pointed, or that his hand when he touched my cheek was cold, stone cold.
We talked for about an hour, until I realized I had to hurry home or I would be late for work. He asked me to meet him later that evening for dinner. The place he suggested was my favorite place, and it was very expensive so going there was a rare treat. I agreed with alacrity and moved through the rest of the day like in a dream. Then about an hour before I was to meet him, the thought of the ring crossed my mind. It was a bit suspicious that he would know exactly where to find me, especially with my encounter with the darkness the night before. Did he know about my ring? But no, I chided myself, how could he? I wore gloves the whole time. I realized the darkness seemed to be following me although it was still light. It lingered in the shadows, its appearance diminished by the light, but not its power, that I knew. But I knew it wouldn’t dare come near me as long as I wore my ring. Reassured, I pushed aside all nervous thoughts.
An hour later, I was completely ready. The doorbell rang. It was him, here to pick me up. I felt a brief wave of uneasiness; because I didn’t remember telling him where I lived, but I quickly squashed the thought and walked down to meet him. He drove me to the restaurant, and while I was with him, all thoughts of suspicion completely left me. I was calm as a clear summer sky.
A week passed. We spent as much time together as possible. Every time I saw him, I fell more in love. I hardly noticed his smell anymore, in fact I hardly noticed anything but him. I had no doubts about him anymore, and I all but forgot about the trailing darkness. Once, I briefly wondered why I even wore that silly ring, except it was pretty and I remembered it was from someone special. I decided to keep it on.
One evening, exactly a week and a day since I’d first met him, he picked me up and we walked to the park and through it, to my favorite bench. We sat and talked, watching the sun set, and the twilight begin to turn to night. Then he took my hand in his, and asked me, “Why do you wear that ring?”
“I don’t really know. It was given to me by a friend.”
“Take it off.” When I hesitated, he pressed, “Please, do it for me.”I pulled my hand out of his and grabbed the ring with my other hand. I got a strange feeling, like I was sentencing myself to my doom, but I ignored it. An owl hooted, a cricket chirped. It was a new moon that night, and cloudy, covering the stars, but I could make out his face. He seemed… strangely excited. I pulled at the ring. It was stuck. I pulled harder.
The ring flew off my hand. The darkness swirled, pounced. I came back to myself and realized what was happening. I screamed in terror, the most terrified I had ever been in my short life. Desperately, I looked around for the ring, but I knew it was in vain. Beside me, he laughed, the cruelest laugh I have ever heard, and dissolved into more darkness, surrounding me, swirling, surging, writhing, swallowing me up.
I was in it. I was gone. I became one with it. I was blackness. I was evil.
I was a vampire.
When I woke up the next morning, the ring was still on my finger. The dream came back to me. The woman’s face seemed familiar; although I was sure I hadn’t seen her before. Of course it was a dream, strange things like that happened in dreams. Or was it? If it was only a dream, where had the ring come from? I pushed the matter from my mind and went about my day. Or, I tried to. I was going to take the ring off, but her face kept coming back to me, and I couldn’t. I didn’t tell anyone where I got it from, I would sound ridiculous if I told them a lady in my dream gave it to me, instead I told anyone who asked that it was given to me by a friend, and they said no more on it. Two days passed, and I tried not to think about it. Then the ring started chaffing me, and in frustration I slid it off and flung it on the floor. It must have been a practical joke, someone giving me that ring. As for the dream, maybe there was some new technology that let you send dreams to people. I had no idea, but I was completely put out by it, and I was not going to let myself be creeped out. Still, it took me a while to get to sleep that night.
I dreamed pleasant dreams, then like a commercial breaks through a TV program, her face came through, the image of the darkness surrounding her. My eyes flew open and I sat bolt upright. Then I noticed a faint light in the dark room. I looked for the source, and saw the ring. It was glowing, a soft golden light. And in that light, I noticed the darkness around it. It was swirling, writhing, a monster, like the darkness in my dream. I had never been afraid of the dark before, but this, this was something else, something unnatural, frightening. Then, it saw me. I stood, paralyzed by fear. This darkness, it was evil itself. There was nothing more frightening than the fact that somehow it knew me. It’s writhing stopped, and it came towards me. It left the ring for just a moment as it turned towards me, and in that instant, the ring blazed with uncontrolled golden light. That snapped me out of it, and somehow I knew that the ring would protect me, that I needed that ring. I crossed the room to it in one bound and scooped it up. The darkness creeping up around me was blown back the instant I touched it. I slid the ring back on my finger, promising myself I would never take it off again. I wasn’t sure what had happened, but it wasn’t a coincidence or practical joke, this was something real, something powerful.
I tried, but simply couldn’t fall back asleep. Finally, and 5, I decided I was done trying, and thought I would go for a walk through the cool stillness before dawn. The sky was just beginning to lighten around the edges when I stepped outside. It was a chilly morning, so I wore my coat, scarf, gloves and boots. I set out at a brisk walk to the park, then through it, on my way to my favorite spot. There was a bench under a curly willow tree, with roses to the side, their sweet fragrance filling the air. But as I approached, I realized there was a man sitting on the bench.
I would have turned and gone back, but he saw me and beckoned. Now you may think me foolish, but I went to him. It would have been rude to walk away now that he’d seen me. As I drew closer, I noticed a strange smell. Of course, I could smell the roses, the soil, the chill fresh air, but under those scents was another, one I had never smelled before. It was almost like the smell of burnt cookies, sweet but awful at the same time. The man patted the bench next to me for me to sit down. The scent grew stronger, it was overpowering, and then, suddenly, it was like my brain cleared. The smell was there, but it wasn’t so overwhelming anymore, just there, and really quite pleasant. The man began to talk. He was actually fairly handsome. But if I hadn’t been under his spell, I would have noticed when he flashed a smile at me, that his teeth were sharp and pointed, or that his hand when he touched my cheek was cold, stone cold.
We talked for about an hour, until I realized I had to hurry home or I would be late for work. He asked me to meet him later that evening for dinner. The place he suggested was my favorite place, and it was very expensive so going there was a rare treat. I agreed with alacrity and moved through the rest of the day like in a dream. Then about an hour before I was to meet him, the thought of the ring crossed my mind. It was a bit suspicious that he would know exactly where to find me, especially with my encounter with the darkness the night before. Did he know about my ring? But no, I chided myself, how could he? I wore gloves the whole time. I realized the darkness seemed to be following me although it was still light. It lingered in the shadows, its appearance diminished by the light, but not its power, that I knew. But I knew it wouldn’t dare come near me as long as I wore my ring. Reassured, I pushed aside all nervous thoughts.
An hour later, I was completely ready. The doorbell rang. It was him, here to pick me up. I felt a brief wave of uneasiness; because I didn’t remember telling him where I lived, but I quickly squashed the thought and walked down to meet him. He drove me to the restaurant, and while I was with him, all thoughts of suspicion completely left me. I was calm as a clear summer sky.
A week passed. We spent as much time together as possible. Every time I saw him, I fell more in love. I hardly noticed his smell anymore, in fact I hardly noticed anything but him. I had no doubts about him anymore, and I all but forgot about the trailing darkness. Once, I briefly wondered why I even wore that silly ring, except it was pretty and I remembered it was from someone special. I decided to keep it on.
One evening, exactly a week and a day since I’d first met him, he picked me up and we walked to the park and through it, to my favorite bench. We sat and talked, watching the sun set, and the twilight begin to turn to night. Then he took my hand in his, and asked me, “Why do you wear that ring?”
“I don’t really know. It was given to me by a friend.”
“Take it off.” When I hesitated, he pressed, “Please, do it for me.”I pulled my hand out of his and grabbed the ring with my other hand. I got a strange feeling, like I was sentencing myself to my doom, but I ignored it. An owl hooted, a cricket chirped. It was a new moon that night, and cloudy, covering the stars, but I could make out his face. He seemed… strangely excited. I pulled at the ring. It was stuck. I pulled harder.
The ring flew off my hand. The darkness swirled, pounced. I came back to myself and realized what was happening. I screamed in terror, the most terrified I had ever been in my short life. Desperately, I looked around for the ring, but I knew it was in vain. Beside me, he laughed, the cruelest laugh I have ever heard, and dissolved into more darkness, surrounding me, swirling, surging, writhing, swallowing me up.
I was in it. I was gone. I became one with it. I was blackness. I was evil.
I was a vampire.
Captain Shawna's Battle
Shawna was the most feared pirate ever. She had pirate written all over her-- one glance and you knew she was someone you wouldn’t want to cross. She had bushy red hair, so fiery orange it was hot to the touch (not that you’d want to get close enough to touch it). She was tall, fierce, and strong—she could lift the world with one hand. Her ship was the biggest and fastest around, and her crew almost as feared as she was. She was as merciless, tireless and unstoppable as the sea she sailed on. What she wanted, she got, and no one could stand in her way. She was queen of the seas, men quailed before her. The few who dared to fight her instantly regretted it.
But after she had sailed around the world a few dozen times and collected an uncountable amount of loot, she became bored with the whole business. Sailing the seas wasn’t nearly as glamorous as it sounded. After all, it was just water, and being surrounded by water wasn’t really that exciting. Plus being cramped up on a ship wasn’t that fun, even if it was an especially large and superior ship. But it wasn’t the ship life that really bothered her, no, she was a true pirate, she could handle that. What bothered her was it was all so easy. She longed for a challenge, a real opponent. Hardly anyone dared to fight her, and those who did she took down easily and quickly. She wanted to fight someone who would push her to the limits, someone she could really use all her skills against.
Unfortunately, she could think of no such person, ship, or crew like that that existed. So she took the problem to her crew, to see what they could come up with. Her crew sat in silence for quite some time. Then, the youngest and newest member of her crew, Gabby, spoke up.
“I have an idea,” she said, her voice barely more than a whisper. She shook like a leaf as all the pirates eyes focused on her.
“Well, tell us your idea.” Shawna said. “Go on, we’re not going to make you walk the plank if we don’t like it.”
“Well, where I come from, there’s this story about a boy who created a monster. I don’t remember how it ended, but the story told exactly what he did to make it. And the woman who told it to me swore it was true.”
“A monster? Just what did this monster look like?” Shawna asked
“Well, it, it was human form, but, like, more than a human, relentless and strong and smart.” Gabby babbled.
“A human-like monster. I rather like that idea. Now, if it could be taught to sword fight, it might make a worthy opponent.” Shawna said, looking at Gabby, considering.
“Well, I think would think it could, but I don’t know. The boy in the story knew wrestling, so that was how the monster he made fought. But since you know sword fighting, maybe….”
“Very good Gabby. Leave now while I think this idea over.” Shawna ordered and the pirates stood and left without a word. No one disobeyed Captain Shawna.
She thought it over the whole night. Finally, the next morning, she called her crew up on deck.
“I have decided.” She told them. “We will create the monster. I will have a worthy challenger at last! Gabby, what do we need to do?”
“Well, you need a piece of your home, a board from the ship should work, then soak it in a cloud, then you put something that represents your fighting style in it, so a sword should work, and then a bit of your own blood, then toss it in the sea.” Gabby said in a rush. She had been thinking about it all night, not wanting to disappoint Captain Shawna should she decide to create the monster.
“All right then, let’s get started.” Shawna said, reaching down and prying up a board from the deck. “Now Gabby, will fog work for a cloud?”
“I, I” Gabby stuttered.
“Out with it girl!” Shawna roared impatiently.
“Yes, I think so” Gabby said. “I heard the story a long time ago, I could have forgotten… I’m not sure if it’ll even work!”
“It’ll work,” Shawna declared. “It gets plenty foggy at night this time of year; we’ll leave the board on deck until then. Now go below and bring me every sword we’ve ever taken. I want to choose the perfect one for my rival.” The pirates all quickly left and returned with a huge selection of swords. Fancy ones, plain ones, heavy, light, rusted and shining. Shawna spent the day trying out the swords, giving each a twirl. The minutes seemed to pass agonizingly slowly. Soon her frustration built and she began throwing the swords she didn’t like. Her crew didn’t dare venture on deck. Finally, night fell and cooled her temper. Only then did the pirates come up on deck to see the sword she had chosen. It wasn’t the fanciest or shiniest, but it was nearly identical to her own.
“This is the one I will use.” She declared. “It’s the only one with the right balance. My challenger will have a sword as good as my own. I want this to be a fair fight. Now everyone below deck!” This time, Shawna followed the pirates down. After all, she would need sleep if she was to fight the greatest sword fight of her life the next day.
Shawna stepped out on deck as the sun was rising and the fog fleeing before it. Her pirates followed her a few moments later. She turned and looked them over. “Today’s the day! Wait, where’s Gabby?” The pirates all muttered and shrugged. “Go fetch her for me-no, I can’t wait. I don’t need her anyway.”
And she strode across the deck, picked up the sword and thrust it through the center of the board from the ship. The board started to glow slightly. All the pirates gasped. Shawna’s face remained impassive as she reached for her dagger. She had just pressed it to her skin when the door to the deck burst open and Gabby appeared. “Stop!” She cried. “You have to stop! I remembered the end of the story!” Shawna turned slowly towards her, her eyes glowing like hot coals.
“Silence!” she roared.
"You don’t understand, I” Gabby tried.
“Gag her!” Shawna ordered. The pirates near Gabby grabbed her.
“No! I’m trying to save you! You can’t” But before she could finish, the pirates had stuffed a wad of cloth in her mouth, and were holding her tight. Poor little Gabby was no match for the burly pirates, and she watched in horror as Shawna ran the blood from her arm across the board and flung it into the sea. Splash! The ocean seemed to explode where the board hit. Giant waves beat the ship, the wind picked up, singing a haunting melody.
And then a ship emerged, as big and grand as Captain Shawna’s, but solid black. The ship sailed towards them, and the monster came into sight. He looked like a man, only deep blue with eyes the color of lava. Shawna drew her sword and tensed as the ships met with a deafening crash. Both she and the monster leapt at the same time, meeting on the railing. Clickity-click screech! Went their swords as they parried, dancing onto one ship, then the other. They lunged and blocked, twirled and jumped, but neither could gain the upper hand. The fight went on and on. Sparks started flying from their swords, setting the ship ablaze. The pirates, who had been standing there open mouthed, sprang into action, pulling buckets of water from the sea to put out the flames. One pirate, panicking, fired off a cannon. The cannonball traveled around the world so fast, it went back in time and killed the dinosaurs.
In all the excitement, Gabby was forgotten. She pulled out her gag with disgust, and looked at Shawna sadly. “She should have listened. There’s nothing I can do about it now though. If only she had listened.” There was no point in her staying, so she hunted through the ship for some food, and then lowered a lifeboat and climbed in. She pushed off rowing towards the mainland she knew was off in the distance. Her life as a pirate was over. She knew that the fight would never end. That was what she had been trying to say; you can’t beat it. Because Shawna used her own blood, just like the boy in the story, the monster had become exactly like her, so neither could ever win.
Meanwhile, back on the rail of the ships, the fight continued. A few pirates followed Gabby’s example, dropping lifeboats and fleeing the ship, as the fire from the sparks grew, despite their best efforts to drown it. The smoke and fire increased—the ship was burning up, the flames devouring the wood before the sea could put it out. What was left of it would be swallowed by the sea any moment, and all the pirates had leapt overboard, when the monster too leapt. But not into the water, no, he jumped straight up, landing on a cloud. An instant later Shawna followed him. The two continued to fight on the cloud. The sparks from the swords crashing together created lighting, every time they jumped thunder boomed. And still their fight goes on today, creating the mighty thunder.
But after she had sailed around the world a few dozen times and collected an uncountable amount of loot, she became bored with the whole business. Sailing the seas wasn’t nearly as glamorous as it sounded. After all, it was just water, and being surrounded by water wasn’t really that exciting. Plus being cramped up on a ship wasn’t that fun, even if it was an especially large and superior ship. But it wasn’t the ship life that really bothered her, no, she was a true pirate, she could handle that. What bothered her was it was all so easy. She longed for a challenge, a real opponent. Hardly anyone dared to fight her, and those who did she took down easily and quickly. She wanted to fight someone who would push her to the limits, someone she could really use all her skills against.
Unfortunately, she could think of no such person, ship, or crew like that that existed. So she took the problem to her crew, to see what they could come up with. Her crew sat in silence for quite some time. Then, the youngest and newest member of her crew, Gabby, spoke up.
“I have an idea,” she said, her voice barely more than a whisper. She shook like a leaf as all the pirates eyes focused on her.
“Well, tell us your idea.” Shawna said. “Go on, we’re not going to make you walk the plank if we don’t like it.”
“Well, where I come from, there’s this story about a boy who created a monster. I don’t remember how it ended, but the story told exactly what he did to make it. And the woman who told it to me swore it was true.”
“A monster? Just what did this monster look like?” Shawna asked
“Well, it, it was human form, but, like, more than a human, relentless and strong and smart.” Gabby babbled.
“A human-like monster. I rather like that idea. Now, if it could be taught to sword fight, it might make a worthy opponent.” Shawna said, looking at Gabby, considering.
“Well, I think would think it could, but I don’t know. The boy in the story knew wrestling, so that was how the monster he made fought. But since you know sword fighting, maybe….”
“Very good Gabby. Leave now while I think this idea over.” Shawna ordered and the pirates stood and left without a word. No one disobeyed Captain Shawna.
She thought it over the whole night. Finally, the next morning, she called her crew up on deck.
“I have decided.” She told them. “We will create the monster. I will have a worthy challenger at last! Gabby, what do we need to do?”
“Well, you need a piece of your home, a board from the ship should work, then soak it in a cloud, then you put something that represents your fighting style in it, so a sword should work, and then a bit of your own blood, then toss it in the sea.” Gabby said in a rush. She had been thinking about it all night, not wanting to disappoint Captain Shawna should she decide to create the monster.
“All right then, let’s get started.” Shawna said, reaching down and prying up a board from the deck. “Now Gabby, will fog work for a cloud?”
“I, I” Gabby stuttered.
“Out with it girl!” Shawna roared impatiently.
“Yes, I think so” Gabby said. “I heard the story a long time ago, I could have forgotten… I’m not sure if it’ll even work!”
“It’ll work,” Shawna declared. “It gets plenty foggy at night this time of year; we’ll leave the board on deck until then. Now go below and bring me every sword we’ve ever taken. I want to choose the perfect one for my rival.” The pirates all quickly left and returned with a huge selection of swords. Fancy ones, plain ones, heavy, light, rusted and shining. Shawna spent the day trying out the swords, giving each a twirl. The minutes seemed to pass agonizingly slowly. Soon her frustration built and she began throwing the swords she didn’t like. Her crew didn’t dare venture on deck. Finally, night fell and cooled her temper. Only then did the pirates come up on deck to see the sword she had chosen. It wasn’t the fanciest or shiniest, but it was nearly identical to her own.
“This is the one I will use.” She declared. “It’s the only one with the right balance. My challenger will have a sword as good as my own. I want this to be a fair fight. Now everyone below deck!” This time, Shawna followed the pirates down. After all, she would need sleep if she was to fight the greatest sword fight of her life the next day.
Shawna stepped out on deck as the sun was rising and the fog fleeing before it. Her pirates followed her a few moments later. She turned and looked them over. “Today’s the day! Wait, where’s Gabby?” The pirates all muttered and shrugged. “Go fetch her for me-no, I can’t wait. I don’t need her anyway.”
And she strode across the deck, picked up the sword and thrust it through the center of the board from the ship. The board started to glow slightly. All the pirates gasped. Shawna’s face remained impassive as she reached for her dagger. She had just pressed it to her skin when the door to the deck burst open and Gabby appeared. “Stop!” She cried. “You have to stop! I remembered the end of the story!” Shawna turned slowly towards her, her eyes glowing like hot coals.
“Silence!” she roared.
"You don’t understand, I” Gabby tried.
“Gag her!” Shawna ordered. The pirates near Gabby grabbed her.
“No! I’m trying to save you! You can’t” But before she could finish, the pirates had stuffed a wad of cloth in her mouth, and were holding her tight. Poor little Gabby was no match for the burly pirates, and she watched in horror as Shawna ran the blood from her arm across the board and flung it into the sea. Splash! The ocean seemed to explode where the board hit. Giant waves beat the ship, the wind picked up, singing a haunting melody.
And then a ship emerged, as big and grand as Captain Shawna’s, but solid black. The ship sailed towards them, and the monster came into sight. He looked like a man, only deep blue with eyes the color of lava. Shawna drew her sword and tensed as the ships met with a deafening crash. Both she and the monster leapt at the same time, meeting on the railing. Clickity-click screech! Went their swords as they parried, dancing onto one ship, then the other. They lunged and blocked, twirled and jumped, but neither could gain the upper hand. The fight went on and on. Sparks started flying from their swords, setting the ship ablaze. The pirates, who had been standing there open mouthed, sprang into action, pulling buckets of water from the sea to put out the flames. One pirate, panicking, fired off a cannon. The cannonball traveled around the world so fast, it went back in time and killed the dinosaurs.
In all the excitement, Gabby was forgotten. She pulled out her gag with disgust, and looked at Shawna sadly. “She should have listened. There’s nothing I can do about it now though. If only she had listened.” There was no point in her staying, so she hunted through the ship for some food, and then lowered a lifeboat and climbed in. She pushed off rowing towards the mainland she knew was off in the distance. Her life as a pirate was over. She knew that the fight would never end. That was what she had been trying to say; you can’t beat it. Because Shawna used her own blood, just like the boy in the story, the monster had become exactly like her, so neither could ever win.
Meanwhile, back on the rail of the ships, the fight continued. A few pirates followed Gabby’s example, dropping lifeboats and fleeing the ship, as the fire from the sparks grew, despite their best efforts to drown it. The smoke and fire increased—the ship was burning up, the flames devouring the wood before the sea could put it out. What was left of it would be swallowed by the sea any moment, and all the pirates had leapt overboard, when the monster too leapt. But not into the water, no, he jumped straight up, landing on a cloud. An instant later Shawna followed him. The two continued to fight on the cloud. The sparks from the swords crashing together created lighting, every time they jumped thunder boomed. And still their fight goes on today, creating the mighty thunder.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)