“I don’t know about any of that,” Kala replied. “I don’t think I was conscious when the ship landed.”
“I’ll say,” Edith replied. “We had to check you for a heartbeat, which was complicated mightily by those confounded leather clothes of yours. At least your friend wears regular clothes. And what were you doing with so many weapons? Are you two weapons traders?”
“No, they’re mine.” Kala blushed. “I may be a bit overly protective of my well-being, and I’m a hunter by training.”
Edith looked skeptical. “You hunt with swords?”
Kala giggled at the image of her chasing rabbits, waving swords. “No. I don’t think that’d be very successful. They’re for my protection.”
“From what?”
“It’s a dangerous world out there.”
“Not this little corner of it,” the woman sighed contentedly. “I’d say it’s pretty sleepy here, but then you two fall out of the sky. That’s enough excitement for years,” she concluded.
A wave of tiredness overcame Kala. Edith noticed and tucked her back in. “You’re going to need some time to get your energy back,” she said and blew out the candle.
Kala woke later to find Skye snoring in the chair beside her bed, barely visible under a mountain of blankets, sweat beading on his forehead. Kala rose to pull a few blankets off of him but was shooed back into bed by Edith.
“My word – first him, then you. The boy woke and refused to be separated from you. He dragged himself in here and almost crawled into bed with you. Well, that wouldn’t do – you two without wedding bracelets and all – unless that’s something your matching necklaces signify. Darn – it didn’t occur to me to ask. Oh well, he was content to plant himself in that chair there and just be close to you.”
“Can we wake him?” Kala asked. “I’d feel more at ease knowing he was okay.”
“Well, my mother used to say that if we didn’t wake sleeping men, there’d be no men awake.” She chuckled to herself and made her way over to Skye’s chair. She gently shook him until he roused from his slumber.
His eyes focused, and he saw Kala watching him. “Thank the gods,” he exclaimed, “I had such terrible dreams. You turned into a bird and flew away. I was chasing you, but I couldn’t catch you.” He sighed and reached for her hand. Kala extended it, and he held it tightly.
“My mistake. I can see you’re betrothed. Sorry about that. Well, no harm was done,” Edith stammered.
Skye turned to Edith. “You’ve been very kind to nurse us back to health.”
Edith snorted, “I wouldn’t say that either of you looks healthy by any stretch of the imagination.”
“Be that as it may,” Skye continued. “We have to be on our way as quickly as possible. There are people in worse condition than us. People we care about deeply.”
Edith fussed with her dress. “Neither of you are in any condition to go anywhere. You have to recover your strength first. Yesterday you struggled with soup,” she reminded Kala.
They hated to admit it, but she was right. “Are you sure we wouldn’t be imposing?” Kala asked.
“Hardly. I so rarely get company. It’s a pleasure,” she assured them. “Now, who are these people that you say are in dire straits?”
“The people of my village,” Skye replied. “It’s high in the mountains, and with the airship disruptions of late, we fear that they lack the means to survive. We have to find food and bring it to them immediately. That’s why we commandeered a large airship.”
“Commandeered? I thought you stowed away.”
“He’s just exaggerating,” Kala covered.
Edith thought out loud, “We’d noticed that the airships weren’t coming as often as they used to. We don’t need much from the outside world, though – although it’s always nice to see a young face disembark. Our numbers have been shrinking for generations. The youth rejuvenate us – although I can’t say they’re happy about it, given how few other young people there are here.” She realized that her thoughts had strayed a bit. “Right – food. With the dearth of airships coming to take it away, our stores are a bit overstocked with fish. The village elders will probably let you take some with you if you like.”
Skye jumped from his chair and hugged Edith tightly. “You’re gods-sent,” he exclaimed.
“Oh, my,” she exclaimed. “People are really affectionate where you come from, I see.” She patted him on the back, and Skye sat back down. She reflected a little longer, and a thought struck her, “Wait a moment – you can’t very well make an airship go where you want it to. You’re at the mercy of the winds.”
Kala leaned closer. “I’ll tell you a secret – we can. It’s a bit of magic we’ve learned.”
“Do you control the winds or the airship?” Edith asked without skepticism.
“The airship, I think, but the ‘how’ of it is lost on me. I’m surprised you believe me.”
“You don’t come from a long line of fisherfolk without a healthy acceptance of magic,” she said.
“We really must leave quickly, though,” Skye interjected. Who do we see about your fish?”
“I’ll put the word out, but not until tomorrow. You spend at least one day resting, and we’ll see what we can do then. I warn you, though – not everyone is as accepting of magic as I am. They’ll likely be resistant.”
“Then I’ll just have to show them,” Kala concluded.
Edith went to start preparing dinner, and Skye offered his help, leaving Kala alone to explore. He found her later wrapped in a blanket in a chair on the porch, watching the sea. She had a cup of kai in one hand and stroked the cat with her other.
“You look cozy,” he said as he approached.
She smiled up at him. “This is paradise,” she said contentedly. “I want to live here.”
“I don’t know about that,” Skye replied, pulling up a chair of his own, “Too much fish for my liking.”
Kala chuckled. “We could have goats. You’d feel right at home.”
Skye thought about his home in the mountains and he worried about his mother.
“Have you ever just stared at the sea?” Kala asked to distract him from her gaffe.
“Yes. It’s very calming,” he replied, relaxing slightly.
“Exactly, like watching a fire,” Kala agreed, taking his hand in hers. They spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the view.
The next morning, Skye helped Edith walk over to her neighbor’s. She asked the young boy who lived there to run around the town telling everyone to bring as much food from the stores as they could spare and meet them at the airship.
Kala made her way to the airship before the others. She looked out over the quaint cottages huddled together in a semi-circle along the water’s edge, then over the brightly-colored fishing vessels bobbing in the harbor, and finally at to the waves lapping against the shore. A gust of wind stirred her hair, and Kala tied it back. It was as charming a place as she’d ever seen.
Several village elders wound their way up the path from the village arguing amongst themselves. Kala thought it wasn’t a good sign.
“We’re giving up valuable food to these crazy kids,” one was saying.
“We can’t eat all that we have, so what’s the harm?” another countered.
“It’ll benefit someone downwind,” another added.
They continued arguing until Skye and Edith arrived with villagers pulling cart-loads of dried fish and preserved vegetables. The skeptical elders seemed to be in the majority, and they put a halt to the proceedings before the supplies could be loaded into the airship. Skye looked desperate and helpless.
Kala motioned for everyone’s attention, which was easy to obtain, given how many people were eyeing her form-fitting leather outfit. She’d at least had the foresight to stow her visible weapons onboard the airship. “I know you’re skeptical that we can ensure that this precious food of yours makes its way into the mouths of the desperate people of my friend’s village, so
let me prove to you that we can.”
The crowd murmured their doubts.
Kala raised her hands to the heavens. “I implore the gods to help us in our mission of mercy. If the hearts of these kind people be true, bring me back to them.” She backward stepped into the ship and slammed the door closed behind her.
What is she doing? Skye wondered.
There was a resonating thud, and the ship lifted off the ground. Skye ran over to it and pounded on it. “Don’t go!” he yelled, but it spiraled upward and away to the east. Skye was crestfallen until the shouts of the villagers got his attention. He looked up to see them pointing at the airship high in the sky. It had ceased drifting east and miraculously swung in a huge arc back around to the west. People watched as it began to descend. It adjusted course and drifted lower. The men of the village looked about for ropes to haul it down, but there were none. The airship shifted until it touched down with a thud dead center on the landing pad. The door opened, and Kala stepped out to stunned silence.
“The gods thank you,” she declared.
Kala and Skye sat on the floor of the airship under a pile of blankets furnished by Edith.
“Edith was so kind to us,” Kala said, tugging a blanket snugly around her.
“Yes, she was,” Skye agreed. He slipped an arm under the blanket and wrapped it around her. “You gambled a bit with your stunt with the airship, though,” he added.
“Fortune favors the bold,” she replied and snuggled closer.
He kissed her tenderly. “You could have warned me.”
“I didn’t plan it. I was inspired.”
“That’s what worried me, and I hate it when you disappear, but it worked, so I guess I have to accept the gods’ thanks.”
Kala chuckled and kissed him back reassuringly.
The airship drifted high in the sky toward the distant mountains, and they were incredibly grateful for the blankets as the temperature fell to frigid levels. Sunlight glinted off the peaks like a diamond necklace.
Skye was excited and nervous and got up to look out the windows.
Kala looked up at him from her nest of blankets. “Come back here. You can’t will the ship to the ground any faster by staring at it.”
“What if she’s not okay?” he asked, thinking of his mother, and becoming terrified at the thought.
“Of course she is. We wouldn’t be here if she weren’t – it’s fate,” Kala reassured him.
“Fate hasn’t exactly been a friend to either of us,” Skye grumbled.
The airship seemed to descend faster, so Kala rose and strapped on her weapons.
Skye eyed her from across the compartment.
“What? You can never be too careful,” she defended herself.
Skye turned to look out the window again. He spied a collection of dots that grew to become people awaiting the ship. “That’s fewer people than I’d expect, but at least there are people down there.” It gnawed at him whether his mother would be among them.
“Remember that they don’t need to haul us down. We’ve got magic,” Kala said, waggling her fingers as if casting a spell, then clapping her hands together to warm them. That proved fruitless, so she rewrapped herself in blankets while standing.
She caught Skye raising an eyebrow at her. “What? You can never be too warm!” she said, and he rolled his eyes.
The airship completed its descent onto a promontory jutting from the steep mountainside and anchored itself to its landing pad. Skye took a deep breath, swung the door open, and a blast of cold mountain air entered the compartment, carrying with it flakes of snow. He readied himself and stepped out, followed by Kala.
The village Chief stood before them, surrounded by a collection of armed men loyal to him. “What the hell are you doing back here?” he asked Skye.
“Surprised?” Skye replied.
“I am,” a beautiful blond of eighteen years replied, stepping out from behind her father.
Kala looked from the girl to Skye and back again.
“Hi, Ashlyn,” he greeted her.
“You came back for me?” she asked hopefully.
Kala leaned forward and whispered, “Awkward.”
Skye shushed her. “It’s good to see you, Ashlyn, but I’ve come back for my mother.” Ashlyn looked crestfallen, so he added, “You’ve grown more beautiful since I left.”
Kala made quiet gagging noises behind him, and Skye made an obscene gesture behind his back.
“Where’s my mother – I don’t see her?” Skye asked those present loudly.
“She fled to the mines with the others,” the Chief replied coldly.
“And why would she do that?” Skye asked, anger rising in him.
“They refused to leave as they were ordered to. There’s not enough food for everyone. We can’t all starve.”
“So, they can starve so you can live?” Skye replied and took a step forward. Kala restrained him with a fistful of his tunic.
“Tough choices go with the job,” the Chief replied indifferently.
“I tried to change his mind,” Ashlyn interjected.
“Shut up, Ashlyn,” her father barked.
“If she’s dead, you’ll be fast on her heels,” Skye threatened.
The Chief smirked at the threat. “I doubt she’s starved to death by now. They barricaded themselves in the mushroom farms,” he replied.
Skye clenched his fists. “Then, that’s where I’m going.”
“Suit yourself,” the Chief replied. “Now, what have you brought us in that ship of yours?”
“Nothing for you and your thugs, I assure you,” Skye replied, already pushing past his men on his way to the mines.
“And how would you stop me if I just took it?”
“I wouldn’t lift a finger,” Skye replied. “That’s what she’s here for,” he added, gesturing to Kala.
“Hi there,” she said innocently and waved at the Chief.
Skye returned before the sun had crossed a quarter of the sky. He carried his mother in his arms and was followed by thirty emaciated villagers.
Kala rose. “Is she…?”
“No,” Skye replied, “just weak.” He threaded his way among the bodies of men lying on the ground groaning from their injuries. “You’ve been busy, I see,” he observed.
“I needed the exercise, and these men were kind enough to oblige me.”
Skye motioned to the people following him and tilted his head toward the airship. “Onboard, you’ll find enough food to help you regain your strength. Unload it and store it somewhere safe. If any of this lot even looks at it…,” he gestured to the men strewn about the ground, “my friend will be less merciful with them.” With that, he turned toward his old home carrying his mother.
Kala stayed with the ship to supervise its orderly unloading, and once that had been accomplished, asked for directions to Skye’s home. A young girl offered to bring her there, and Kala gratefully accepted. The girl gestured to an archway cut into the stone of the cliff. “Do you want to take the inside way or the outside way?”
It was uncomfortably cold in the open air, but Kala didn’t like the idea of threading through tunnels with the weight of the mountain on top of her. It was irrational, but she gestured in the direction of the outdoor route.
The girl pivoted and led Kala along a path that wound around the clustered dwellings. The girl seemed oblivious to the frigid wind and the perilous drop off the cliff.
Kala stopped on a landing of a twisting stair and paused for a moment to admire the view of the sun glinting off the snowy peaks. The girl waited patiently for her.
“What’s your name?” Kala asked.
“Opal,” the girl replied.
“That’s a pretty name,” Kala replied, noting as the wind blew the girl’s wild hair out of her face that she had iridescent eyes. “Mine is Kala.”
“Did you really beat up all of the Chief’s men?” Opal asked, brushing her hair behind her ears as it swirled in the wind.
Kala smiled self-consciously.
“Cool,” Opal replied and turned to bound up the rest of the stairs. She waited for Kala outside a door to a dwelling on the higher level. “This is it,” Opal announced.
“Thank you,” Kala told her.
Opal smiled and rested her hand briefly on Kala’s arm before scampering back down the way they had come.
Kala watched the girl descend, then turned and knocked quietly on the door so as not to disturb Skye and his mother and let herself in.
Skye was cradling his mother in front of a roaring fire, giving her sips of water from his waterskin.
His mother looked up at Kala and took her time to digest what she saw. “So you’re my son’s savior,” she managed in a small voice.
“I wouldn’t say that,” Kala blushed.
“He does,” she replied but lacked the strength to say anything more. She rolled toward her son, and he stroked her hair.
“We’re getting her out of here as soon as she’s well enough to travel,” Skye told Kala, not looking up from his mother.
“Of course. We’ll take her to Edith. She says her village needs people.”
Skye nodded, and she left him to care for his mother in peace. She found a modest sofa and brought some blankets out from the bedroom. Skye was still sitting with his mother when she fell asleep.
Kala woke at dawn and looked about the tiny cottage. It was constructed of stone rather than timber, and while it was spare, it was comfortable. She spied Skye’s mother in her bed with a freshly-tended fire crackling in the bedroom fireplace. Skye was nowhere to be seen. She wandered about the home until she heard heated voices outside. She cracked open the door to see Skye arguing with an older man, saying, “Get the hell out of here, and I don’t ever want to see your face darken my mother’s door again. If you do, so help the gods, I’ll darken the door with your face.”
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