Dolphin Knight
Page 17
Finally, they stood before Bey and Seek. Cryssa smiled at the sight of them, even as more tears rolled from her eyes.
Bey and Seek smiled back at her. Both of them wore leis that matched Cryssa's.
Grandpa Po raised a hand in the air, and the music stopped. He nodded at Cryssa, and she moved to stand between Bey and Seek.
Nervously, Cryssa drew in a deep breath. This moment was what all her plans and efforts since the battle had been leading up to...all the explanation and persuasion and arrangements with Sylva and Sharkites and Kee and sharks. This was the moment when they all would be united.
"Cryssa Kingsdaughter," said Grandpa Po, raising his voice so that everyone in the lagoon and on the beach would hear his words. "In the name of your father and mother, King Sho and Queen Seela, do you promise to rule your people, the Sylva and Kee, with wisdom, compassion, and strength for the rest of your life?"
Cryssa stood up straighter. She clenched her hands into fists to stop them from trembling, then relaxed them at her sides.
"I promise," she said, raising her voice as Grandpa Po had done.
Smiling, Grandpa Po slipped one of the leis from around his neck. He pulled the lei up over his head, then held it out toward Cryssa. "In the name of Sho and Seela and all of our kings and queens since the beginning of time, I proclaim that you are the queen of the Sylva and Kee. Long may you reign."
Solemnly, Cryssa bowed and let Grandpa Po drape the lei around her neck. Then, she straightened.
"Raka Sharksblood," said Grandpa Po. "In the name of your father and mother, King Ikaz and Queen Perza, do you promise to rule the Sharkites with cunning, strength, and fearlessness for the rest of your life?"
At one time, the mere mention of Ikaz would have repelled Cryssa...but things had changed. She could never forgive him for killing her family and kidnapping her, but now that she knew that he had engineered her rescue on Rebirth Day, she had been able to let go of some of her hatred of him. She had made peace enough with his memory that she could use his name to bring her vision of unity to life.
"I promise," said Cryssa.
Again, Grandpa Po lifted a lei from around his neck and held it toward her. "In the name of the warrior kings and honored dead who have fallen in battle, I proclaim that you are the queen of the Sharkites and the sharks. Long may you reign."
Once more, Cryssa bowed, and Grandpa Po draped another lei around her neck.
She had done it. People on both sides had told her that it was impossible, and she had done it.
The girl who once had not wanted to be queen of anything was now the queen of the Sylva and Sharkites alike. The girl who had once been afraid of the water was now the ruler of both the Kee and the sharks and the seas that they swam.
Cryssa had brought two kingdoms together, just as Alo and Cha had once done. She had begun a new era in which the Sylva and Kee would be allies of the Sharkites and sharks instead of enemies.
Thanks to her, there would be no more battles or invasions. Resources would be shared for everyone's benefit; what one tribe needed, the other would freely supply.
Instead of hating and fearing each other, the tribes would learn from each other. Instead of building defenses to keep each other out, they would welcome each other to their homes.
It would take a while to reach that point, of course. Cryssa knew that the bad blood between the tribes would not vanish overnight. Even now, at this celebration of unity, she was sure that tension and suspicion and grudges were plentiful.
But she had faith that over time, she would overcome all obstacles. She had confidence in her abilities to tear down the barriers between her peoples and prevent new ones from springing up.
She also had help. She wouldn't face this new challenge alone.
"For my first act as queen," said Cryssa, still speaking loudly for the benefit of the crowd, "I choose a partner. A king."
Grandpa Po handed her another lei, and she raised it overhead. "Seek Seachild," she said, turning to Seek. "I choose you to rule alongside me for the rest of your life. Do you accept?"
"Yes, my queen," said Seek, bobbing his snout up and down.
Gently, Cryssa lowered the lei over his back fin. "We shall rule together over the Sylva and Kee and all lands and waters within their domain. We shall have equal authority in all matters pertaining to this kingdom."
"Thank you, my queen," said Seek, looking up at her with sparkling eyes. Now that his wounds had mostly healed and he was reunited with the woman he loved, the old inner fire had returned to his gaze.
Cryssa turned from Seek to face the crowd on the beach. "For my next act as queen," she said, "I choose another king."
Cryssa accepted another lei from Grandpa Po and turned to face Bey. "Bey Stormchaser," she said, raising the lei overhead. "I choose you to rule alongside me for the rest of your life. Do you accept?"
"Yes, my queen," said Bey, bowing his head.
Cryssa placed the lei around his neck. "We shall rule together over the Sharkites and the sharks and all lands and waters within their domain. We shall have equal authority in all matters pertaining to this kingdom."
"Thank you, my queen," said Bey.
Grinning, Grandpa Po raised his arms in the air. "It is done!" he shouted.
With that, the drums and flutes began to play. The Sylva cheered and danced and applauded, and the Kee sang and leaped in the air. The Sharkites, on the other hand, fell to their knees and chanted in a low murmur. The sharks remained perfectly silent, floating in subdued counterpoint to the energetic Kee.
There were so many differences...and yet, as Cryssa watched and listened, they all blended in a way that was new and strange and beautiful.
In that moment, her belief in the future that she was shaping was stronger than ever. She was taking a chance, breaking tradition, risking everything...but she had not even a flicker of doubt that the results would be amazing.
Cryssa reached out and took Bey's hand in her own. She would never forget how he had kidnapped Seek and tried to keep her from leaving Shark Island...but she had forgiven him. She knew that what he had done, he had done out of love...love for her and love for his people. He deserved another chance.
Cryssa placed her free hand atop Seek's head. She knew that he would never fail or disappoint her. She had hurt him, but he had forgiven her just as she had forgiven Bey. Seek had given her another chance, just as she had given Bey another chance.
In this way, she thought, the three of them would set an example for the others to follow.
She knew that there would be struggles ahead, for there were always struggles in life...but together, she and her kings would succeed in the end. Even now, at the beginning of it all, she could see that clearly.
The days of war and deceit and mistrust between their tribes were at an end. The people had been reborn.
So too were Cryssa's days of fear and loss and
self-doubt and instability at an end. She had also been reborn.
That was why, in years to come, when she and her kings and subjects marked the anniversary of this historic day, they would name it after a Sharkites tradition that Cryssa did away with in her third act as queen. The name fit the new occasion much better than it had ever fit the old one, anyway.
They called it Rebirth Day.
*****
About the Author
Robert T. Jeschonek is an award-winning writer whose fiction, comics, essays, articles, and podcasts have been published around the world. According to superstar fantasy and science fiction writer Mike Resnick, Robert "sees the world like no one else sees it, and makes incredibly witty, incisive stories out of that skewed worldview." Robert was nominated for the British Fantasy Award for his story, "Fear of Rain." His young adult urban fantasy novel, My Favorite Band Does Not Exist, is due in 2011 from Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Visit Robert T. Jeschonek online at www.robertjeschonek.com. You can also find him on Facebook, MySpace, and LiveJournal.
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sp; Follow him as @TheFictioneer on Twitter.
For news on his latest online projects, visit the Tsetse Press website at www.tsetsepress.com.
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THE DOLPHIN KNIGHT
Copyright © 2010 by Robert T. Jeschonek
www.thefictioneer.com
Published in June 2010 by Tsetse Press by arrangement with the author. All rights reserved by the author.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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