“Barthesus,” he replied.
Staysia tilted her head to the side. “Not a bad name, not bad at all. Shall we call you Bart?”
“Absolutely not!” Barthesus replied.
“Barthesus then.”
“And you?” she asked the lizard. “What is your name?”
“He does not speak!” Jasper said.
“Are you sure about that? Some of them do, ya know. Being he was a gift from the fairies, he may.”
Jasper didn’t let her finish. “He does not speak!”
“Calm yourself Jasper!” Staysia told him.
“Bah!” Jasper replied.
“We’re almost there.” Staysia looked straight ahead.
“We are, but Staysia, what do you think about camping out here for the night?”
“Right here? That’s a good idea, I am getting hungry.”
“I’m starved!” Jasper replied.
Staysia gave Isis a hug around her neck. “Down Isis, we are going to rest.” Isis dipped low to the ground and let Staysia off of her. After that, Isis laid her own head down on the ground. “Were you tired, girl?” Staysia gave her a kiss and rubbed her mane.
She put her hands on her hips and looked down at Jasper. “We had better find some food then.”
“What kind of food did you have in mind, Staysia?”
“Well,” She looked left and right. “There is a lake that way,” she said as she pointed east. “And the forest is all around us.” She looked in all directions.
“Fish!” Jasper decided.
“If you would like fish, then that is what we shall have. Fish sounds great to me as well.”
“What will we fish with, Staysia?”
Staysia pulled a Dragon’s Claw from her bag around her waist and smiled.
“Aha!” exclaimed Jasper.
“I had a hunch this would come in handy! It’s a hook!”
“Very good thinking,” Jasper told her.
“Now, we just need a fishing pole!”
Jasper held his finger in the air and reached his other hand around into the bag that was on his back. He pulled out a stick with a string tied to it. A Gizmo flower was tied to the end of it. Jasper smiled. “It’s my cat’s toy!”
“You have a cat, Jasper?”
“I have a leopard that comes around every so often with its mother!” He smiled again.
“Is that so? And why did you bring it along, Jasper?”
He shrugged. “You never know.”
“Ha! Ha! We are brilliant!”
The two of them walked down to the lake. The lizard and Isis stayed put. The creeper followed them.
Staysia stepped into the lake. “It’s cold!” she shrieked. She suddenly felt something bite her foot. “Ouch!” she screamed. “Something just bit me!”
By this time, Jasper was entering the water, but when he heard her scream, he quickly walked backwards out of the water. Staysia grabbed her foot and hopped around for a moment. Then, she hunched over to get a better look. She held her hair on each side and stared at the ground inside of the water.
“What is it, Staysia?” Jasper asked.
“Looks like Minikin cyclopes to me, a few of them.”
Minikin cyclopes swam and gad at the bottom of lakes. They were highly deformed. Meaning the fact that they all only had one eye in the center of their faces was not their only distortion. They were disproportioned and cock-eyed, ears and noses askew.
These creatures were also highly disdained, even as they sat at the bottom of lakes. They frightened away mere fish, and they had abolished their own friendships with the fish women and fish men, by holding to their grubbiness and cockiness, which wasn’t a good move for them. It made them not only unsightly, but also unpitiable.
They were mean little creatures. They carried tiny tridents that they’d made for themselves, and used them to kill minnows and poke at their enemies.
They wore seaweed as clothing and seashells around their necks. They were no bigger than sea trolls, standing about a foot off the ground. Their skin tone was an unsightly gray color. Most of the male Minikin cyclopes had long hair, very long hair. The women did as well. Most of them had hair down to their ankles, but they were nevertheless very homely, small, but scary looking.
Staysia stared into the water and watched them raise their tridents at her. They bit at her and stabbed her some more, causing her to kick her legs high and turn in a circle where she stood.
She wasn’t giving up that easy. She took a deep breath and clinched her teeth together. She picked one of them up in her hand. The cyclops wiggled and shouted at her. It bit her again and glared up at her. Staysia brought her hand that carried the cyclops close to her face.
“You listen to me! My friend and I are hungry! We mean to catch us a fish or two for supper and we don’t need any interruptions. Got it?” Staysia told him as she stared into his one eye.
“Put me down!” he bellowed as he stuck his trident deep into her hand. Tears welled in Staysia’s eyes from the pain alone. She held herself together and told him something more, she said, “You know I could stomp you flat in an instant don’t you?”
“You won’t do it!” he growled.
Staysia walked back onto dry land. He held a smirk on his face as she did.
“Do it, Staysia!” Jasper cheered, for the purpose of intimidation.
“You don’t believe I will?” Staysia asked him. He only glared at her. Staysia held her hand nearer the ground and flipped it over briskly, allowing him to fall down before obtaining his balance. She rose her foot and held her hand over his head. The shadow of her foot was gigantic to the tiny cyclops. He watched her slowly lower it in terror.
“Wait!” he screamed, finally.
Staysia wiggled her toes and drew back her leg. She crossed her arms and shared a smile with Jasper before turning to the cyclops and saying, “Changed your mind so soon?”
The cyclops stabbed his trident in the ground three times and walked to the lake with his shoulders back. He swung his hair from side to side, perfecting his strut. Staysia and Jasper watched him until they could no longer see him.
“Let’s swim, Jasper!” Staysia said as she neared the water once again.
“Swim, with them?”
“No Jasper, with each other. Just forget they are here.”
“I cannot do such a thing as easily as you, Staysia!”
“Jasper, you really do need to toughen up!” As Staysia told him this, the creeper looked at him for a moment.
Staysia looked at the creeper and back at Jasper with her brows raised. Jasper swung his hand in the air at her. “Fine Jasper, can you at least find us some worms to fish with then?”
“That—I can do!” Jasper smiled at her, and she returned a half-smile and rolled her eyes. “You’re hopeless!” she told him.
Staysia was thoroughly enjoying the cold water. She didn’t think about the Minikin cyclopes or the absence of Gabriel. She didn’t think about the beastly face that had warned her before. She had managed to clear her mind of thinking of the death of her parents.
Staysia had been overloaded with these kinds of thoughts and her mind, as well as her body needed a break. She swam from one side of the lake to the other, turning on her back occasionally and looking at the sky.
The sun warmed her face. The scenery was gorgeous. There was a stream nearby where the water flowed gracefully into the lake. It had beautiful flowers on each side.
The stream glistened in the sunlight, and humming birds flew in and out of the flowers. The sound of birds chirping was all around her, and the trickling of the stream was the perfect indulgence. Giant butterflies flew above her. The serenity was like medicine for her soul.
She was lost in her tranquility when she turned her head to find Jasper standing on the bank near the water. He had his pole in one hand and in his other hand he was dangling a wriggling worm.
Staysia smiled and said, “Just what we needed! Are you sure you don’t want
to go for a swim before we catch our dinner?”
“I’m sure.” He looked down at the ground and separated the dirt with his foot.
“I should get out before I scare them all away.” Staysia took long strides with her arms until she had reached the shallow part of the water.
“Watch out for cyclopes,” Jasper told her.
“They aren’t going to bother me! They haven’t yet.”
“Maybe you scared them off.”
“I did!” Staysia replied. She stepped onto the dry sand and threw her arms around her body. “Burr,” she said. She began looking for wood.
“Now your clothes are soaked,” Jasper told her.
“Yes, that is why I am looking for firewood.”
“Ah yes, of course.” Jasper replied.
“Go ahead and start your fishing, and I will gather the wood.”
“Are you sure you don’t need help?”
“No, you go ahead and get that line in there. Don’t catch anything that is going to pull you in with it!” she laughed. Jasper laughed with her.
Staysia began her search for wood in the forest. It would be dark soon. She crept underneath the trees of the green forest with her hand on her sword. She heard a voice call her name. The voice echoed, “Staysia!”
“W-Who’s there?” Staysia called.
“You haven’t so easily forgotten the sound of my voice, have you?”
She knew exactly who it was after hearing it again. It was the beastly immortal who had spoken to her before, just outside of the Grandfather Tree. Staysia chose to ignore the voice and continued looking for wood.
“Oh Staysia, don’t you know you cannot ignore me? If you do not speak, you still must hear. If you answer you may ask me something and I will answer you. Do you not have any questions for me? I have instructed you to find the map leading to the Sea Child. Do you know where the map is, Staysia? I see you have grown feelings for the beast tamer. You have been warned about him, but whether you wish to give ear to my warning is your choice. However, I do believe you would like to stick around just a little longer to see him once more, wouldn’t you?”
Staysia stopped in her tracks and searched the forest for the immortal’s hellish face. “Where are you?” she asked.
“Now you are willing to speak! It is just as I had imagined. You young lovers are all the same. It matters not where I am. What matters is that you bring me the map that leads to the Sea Child. When you do I will give you forever life. We all live happily ever after.”
“I do not wish to be a part of this!”
“Staysia, you haven’t a choice! Bring me the map!” His voice trailed off and just as it did, a gust of wind whirled around in a circle in front of her and a tree caught fire. Staysia blocked her eyes from the embers. After the wind subsided, she called for him. He was gone.
Staysia knew her life was at stake; that was apparent. She also knew she could not bring him the map. She knew all too well how things would turn upside down if she did just as he had asked. There must be another way around it, she thought to herself. It wouldn’t be easy as the immortal was keeping such a close eye on her. She had to admit, the thought of the Sea Child had intrigued her.
As for now, she would gather wood, build a fire, and dine with Jasper. As for now, she would forget the encounter and go on with her journey.
Once she had gathered an armful of wood, she made her way back to the lake. Jasper was sitting beside the lake with his back turned to her. He was sitting on a rock. He didn’t see her, so she laid the wood down quietly on the ground and snuck up behind him.
She hunched down and put her arms out in front of her. When she was close enough to touch him, she grabbed his shoulders and said, “RAH!”
Jasper bounced off of the rock, and when he realized it was her, he shook his finger at her. “Staysia!” he screamed.
“Ha! Ha!” Staysia laughed and wiggled her hand around in his hair.
“That was not funny!” he bellowed.
Staysia sat down beside him. “Any luck?” she asked.
“Not yet.”
“Let me try!” She put her hand out for the tiny pole. He placed it in her hand. “Maybe my swimming scared them all away!”
“Gabriel would be able to catch us a fish, I wish he were here.”
“Jasper, we do not need Gabriel to catch a fish or for anything. Whatever it is that he can do, we can do ourselves. We can catch this fish and we can get past the ogre. Have faith in yourself!”
“I hope he is okay.” Jasper stared at the water.
“He is fine! He can handle a couple of ugly witches.”
“Yes, but can he handle a witch that looks exactly like you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“The witch that took him away Staysia, she wasn’t ugly at all. He thinks he is with you,” he told her.
“That actually makes sense, I watched her take on my form when she trapped me in the bubble. So, he thinks he is there with me.” Her eyes widened. She stared at nothing and smiled.
“Staysia!” Jasper broke her stare.
“I’m sorry. He will be fine. It’s just the thought of him—never mind. He will be fine.” Staysia said he would be fine, but inside, she was just as unsure as Jasper.
“I hope you are right,” Jasper replied.
The pole began to wiggle. “I think I have something!” Staysia pulled the line out of the water. A fish wriggled at the end of the line. “Hey! Look at that! I caught us a fish.” She looked closely at Jasper. “Without the help of Gabriel.”
“You did! Well, let’s build a fire and cook him up!” Jasper said as he stood up.
“Not so fast Jasper!” She handed him the pole. “I will build the fire while you catch another!”
“Do I have to?”
“Absolutely!” Staysia turned, and left Jasper at the lake to catch his own fish. She began preparing the fire. She lit the fire by rubbing two sticks together. When she was through, she went to get Isis, and Jasper’s lizard and buggy from where they had left them. She brought them down next to the fire, and they fell back asleep. Staysia tilted her head and looked at the two of them. She smiled.
Her clothes were drying and she was feeling famished by the time she finally heard Jasper.
“I’ve caught one! I did it! I caught a fish and it’s bigger than yours!”
Staysia laughed and went down to the lake to have a look.
“You did! And it is bigger than mine! Good job, Jasper!”
After they ate their fish, it was getting dark. Staysia was propped up against Isis and Jasper was lying on a Nero flower.
“Staysia,” Jasper began.
“Yeah?” Staysia stared at the sky.
“What do you plan on accomplishing by doing away with the murderer of your parents?” he asked.
“Jasper!” She sat up and pulled the tooth out of her bag and held it up. “I am doing what they want me to do for them. This tooth was left behind for a reason! I must get revenge for them!”
“I’m just saying, Staysia, it’s not going to bring them back!”
“It will not, Jasper, but it is what they want me to do. Besides, he deserves death for what he did to them! They did nothing to him!” Tears began to well in her eyes.
“It won’t take the pain away,” Jasper said.
Staysia buried her face in her hands and began to cry.
“Now look what I’ve done! I’ve made you cry.” Jasper hobbled over to her and sat next to her. “I just want you to be sure that this is what you want to do.”
“Well, it is!”
“That is fine then, Staysia! It is up to you.” He rubbed her back. “Please don’t cry.”
Staysia lifted her head and wiped her tears. “I’m fine.” She laid her head back on Isis and stared at the star filled sky. “You know, I went camping with my parents many times. My father—” she paused and laughed. “My father would always tell us stories of his travels and the troubles he had encountered,
but somehow, he always made it through. That’s what keeps me going. I know I can get through anything that comes my way. You should think that way, Jasper. You are a lot stronger than you think you are.”
“Tell me one of his stories, Staysia.”
“You want to hear one of his stories? Okay, I will tell you one. Let me see here.” She put a finger on her chin. “Okay, I got one! The night was dark and stormy. My father Warrick, rode upon his black unicorn through the dark forest,” she began.
“Black unicorn?” Jasper asked.
“Yes, haven’t you ever seen one before?”
“Never.”
“Well, his was black. He rode through the dark forest. He was headed for Misho Island. He was on a quest to save the people of the island from a Sea monster. The monster was making the island quake. My father had the power to defeat it, and the people of Misho Island were awaiting him. My father Warrick, was the only one who had the Sword of Drake. Drake had lived on Misho Island centuries ago. Drake had defeated the Sea monster called Shiime years and years before. My father had found his sword in a cave.
When he found the sword, the sea whirled around in circles and the Sea monsters wailed in fear. The sword had been dead until my father found it. It came to life again on the night he found it. The people of Misho were awaiting my father—”
“You already said that, Staysia.”
“Hush, Jasper. The people of Misho awaited him, knowing he was their only hope. They stayed inside their homes, where they felt it was safe. When the monster growled, they would hear the fish men and woman screaming. The whales sang deep inside the ocean. The island critters scattered about, and crashed into the walls of their caves, fell out of their trees, and scurried into their holes. The Sea monster’s growl stung the ears of the people of Misho Island. When morning came, the restless residents would open their eyes knowing not that morning had come. The shadow cast by the monster left the island in total darkness. My father Warrick, was nearing Misho when he heard the Sea monster’s roar echoing over the ocean. A boat had been left for him on the shore, he boarded it, and made his way towards Misho. He paddled his way to the island knowing the monster could peer out of the ocean and show its ugly head at any moment. He was ready for this occurrence, but he happened not to cross the face of the monster as he sailed to the island. All was still and all was quiet from the time he stepped onto the boat to the time he arrived at Misho. “Warrick!” the people screamed in relief at the sight of him. My father hushed them and instructed them back inside their homes. The safety of the people was most important to him. He would journey on his own to a cave near the ocean, where he would stake out the ocean and await the monster. Guess what he found when he hid himself inside a cave, Jasper?”
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