by John Booth
There were lots of cells in which skeletal people
Huddled or groaned out their pain
It took her a while to find Daniel's cell
As she passed the hopeless, the dead and the insane
He had obviously been beaten to tell of the sword
But he smiled through bruised face at her
She freed him from chains that bound him to the wall
Then she gave him, reluctantly, his dagger.
They escaped from the castle as fast as they could
Returned to Daniel's donkey and their things
Then returned to their normal size, which felt very good
With the returning power of the ring
Neither one spoke as they moved down the road
It was morning and the king would be found
They wanted to be far from that place when he was
And a long way towards where they were bound.
That night Jalia removed her nether garments
Placed herself over Daniel's knee where he sat
They had made a deal that if things went wrong
She would be spanked and that was that.
It hurt quite a lot as she suspected it would
Daniel was very strong for a boy
But for all she deserved it for nearly getting them both killed
The treasure she'd stolen filled her heart with joy
Interlude on the Road
Many days had passed since the sand fairy castle
For the first two days Jalia had walked rather than rode
They left the dessert for lakes and forests
Following the ancient trade road
Jalia and Daniel were becoming close friends
Jalia could be fun when not driven
By the need to find treasure or prove her self the best
But this new friendship soon would be riven
They stopped by a lake that Daniel remembered very well
It was here that his dagger became magic
He went down to the lake where the fairy had been
A place he would hear something tragic
He had no sooner found a dead tree where he could sit
And admire the lake, forest and mountains in his site
Than the fairy he had rescued flew in front of his face
And settled to rest on the tree to his right
"Well met my knight in shining armor
We have hoped that you would come back this way
After your adventure with our sand fairy brethren
Once again, you can save the day"
Daniel was taken aback by the words he had heard
"Surely Sand Fairies are no kin to you"
"Alas they are but under a terrible curse
A curse that now might be lifted, it's true"
"Once sand fairies were beautiful and graceful and kind
Till the day a treasure came their way
The treasure took their hearts and their souls became black
They turned physically ugly on the way
But that cursed treasure has finally left their hands
And now rests among your companion's things
If you will gift it to us then we might make things better
If you keep it, be sure that evil it brings"
"This cannot be true!" Daniel said with a curse
"We left with no treasure at all
Jalia had no time as I was being tortured
To search for the fairies treasure hall"
"I am telling the truth, you can look for yourself
The object grew when you both became tall
It is a black pyramid shining darker than pitch
It cannot be mistaken at all"
Daniel felt betrayed that Jalia had not told him
Of this extra treasure she had found
He had to check for himself and take this object
To give to the fairies, he found himself bound
He went back to the camp and waited for Jalia
To collect the fire wood for the fire
As he searched her bags he felt unclean
It was an awful feeling like stealing, so dire
The pyramid was there, as he knew it would be
Along with many other objects of wealth
He knew it was evil, it gave off that glow
To be rid of it would be good for their health
He took it down to the waters edge
And a dozen fairies surrounded it just so
They did something that made it shrink for a second
Then explode in a sickly blue glow
He wearily turned his back on the lake
Didn't see the fairies move as if to attack
Waves of magic engulfed him from behind
As he dejectedly made his way back
Jalia was looking through her bags as he got there
She had obviously noted they had been moved
Her face gave a message as she stormed from the camp
He had no response to which she would have approved
In total silence she collected up her things
As the evening sun turned the world to the color of rust
Without a word spoken she went off on her way
Nothing can easily make up for lost trust
Jalia Meets the Clan of Giants
Jalia was cursing Daniel's name
As she walked wearily up the mountain path
Why had he searched her private things
Did he think that it would give him a laugh?
It looked as though he had only taken one thing
A pyramid thing she had hated on first sight
Though you couldn't deny its power
She was almost glad it was gone by the night
She had left the trade road to avoid Daniel
And set off on a path she had found
But soon this path became difficult
As it headed for higher ground
She had a feeling she was being watched
Though she couldn't really be sure
Till her world went black as her head was hit
Filled with only darkness pure.
She awoke in what she thought must be a cave
And found she was wearing nothing at all
'Why do they always strip me naked?
I'm tired of feeling so vulnerable and small'
Not only her clothes but also the ring had gone
She was in a space formed of four massive stones
There was no way to climb up to freedom
She could feel the trouble she was in, in her bones
There were gaps where the rock faces met
She could see all her things out of reach
Then she saw the legs of someone outside
That robbed her of her speech
Two giants waited just outside
Waiting there till she awoke
And now that they saw she was moving around
The biggest of them spoke.
"Human creature, we want to know
How you killed our brother Grey Don
We have tracked your blood across the world
So don't deny what you have done"
"He was murdering lots of human kind
He didn't deserve to live
So why should I answer your questions
What incentive will you give?"
"We care very little for human lives
To us your blood is a danger and curse
It attracts us like the drug it is
Makes us stupid and much worse
This giant you killed once was a scholar
Kind and gentle, lost in books
Till your killer blood took his mind and soul
From the first taste he partook
We want to know how his end came about
Not for vengeance but for lore
So we can write down his life so he will be remembered
We want tha
t and nothing more
We have caged you for our own protection
Stripped you down so you can't use human guile
When you tell what we want to know
We will leave you with a smile"
So Jalia told them what they wanted to know
How she had tricked the giant into killing himself
The giants wrote every single word down
In a book, which they regarded like wealth
Then the giants stood up and made to leave
Jalia shouted "What about me?"
But the giants left without a backward glance
Ignoring Jalia, ignoring Jalia's plea
She sat and wept in her prison of rocks
Defeated for the first time in her life
"Well it might be bad, but crying won't help"
Daniel said softly, cuttingly like a knife.
Daniel had been following her for many days
Making sure to stay quite a way behind
When the Giants caught her, he had lost her for a while
That felt terrible, like being dumb and blind
But he had found them just as the giant started to talk
Stayed hidden when he realized she was all right
Waited as the giants left, till they were far away
Then strolled into to their very large campsite
Jalia demanded to be released
"Use the ring right now" she said
"Not until you apologize for walking off"
"No I won't, I think I'd rather be dead"
"Suit yourself", said Daniel walking off
As she screamed profanities his way
"I'll ask again in the morning
Or maybe some other day"
"At least leave me some water"
Jalia plaintively cried
"You can drink your own urine till I get back
It time you learned how to survive"
The night was terrible as scorpions and snakes
Wandered into and out of her cave
Jalia was just getting angrier and angrier
It was a way of keeping her brave
Finally Daniel returned to her prison
Jalia apologized for leaving on her own
Daniel used the ring to move one of the rocks
She left her prison with a moan
She dressed very quickly as Daniel stood waiting
Fuming inside at having to wait and to beg
She put the magic ring upon her finger
Saying, "Magic ring break both of his legs"
She didn't look but ran away from the campsite
Went and cried for an hour or more
She knew she had to go back and heal Daniel
But he could suffer a little before.
Jalia returned to the campsite, actually she ran
For some reason her heart filled with dread
She had realized how dangerous some breaks could be
And she really didn't want Daniel dead
The campsite was empty like a graveyard might be
Daniel was nowhere to be found
There were two pools of blood where he fell to his knees
Just two pools of blood on the ground
Jalia panicked and called out his name
No one answered, the silence was almost like a pain
So she picked up her stuff and went back down the path
No option but to go back to the trade road again
Return to the Road
When Daniel followed Jalia up into the hills
He cursed her lack of judgment with a frown
Didn't she know how dangerous these places were?
Far from the law or the nearest town
By the time he caught up with the giants
It was more than curses at her he sought
She just should have more common sense
Why was her life so fraught!
It didn't surprise him when the giants left
Without freeing her from her stone cage
He had been sitting with magic dagger in hand
Ready to fight if they attacked her in a rage
He felt foolish when they left her caged
His dagger would have been little good in a fight
With two full grown angry intelligent giants
He would have been dead that very night
So when he went to Jalia he was boiling with anger
At this mess she had got herself in
Seeing her naked and yet so proud
Made him want to punish her more for her sin
So he asked her to apologize, knowing she wouldn't
Then appeared to leave for the night
He spent the night only feet from the side of her cage
Jumped up at her every little fright
That morning he knew that he'd gone far too far
He could see how distraught she'd become
He released her quickly as she mumbled an apology
And quickly to her clothes she had run
He never heard what she said, he was worrying
About whether again they could be friends
When his legs failed him, with bones sticking out
Flesh torn and sticking to the ends
The pain was horrendous, the shock made him dizzy
He could see arterial blood squirting free
He knew he had only seconds to staunch that flow
Before unconsciousness and death came to be
He used finger and thumb to stop the flow
Sticking them deep into the torn flesh of his leg
But he'd lost too much blood and his strength failed him
No time left to pray for salvation or beg
As the world vanished around him in darkness
Suddenly the fairy princess's voice he heard clear
He felt himself lifted gently into the air
His legs straightening, he felt only fear
"Daniel we owe you so very much
We have given you the finest gift that we could
We imbued you with our magic to heal you from injury
When at risk of death you stood
This is a very great gift because healing is something
No magic object or incantation can do
Only living magic conferred from a living soul
Can heal someone as injured as you
We didn't tell you for fear it would make you rash
Even we do not know how many times our magic will work
Perhaps only this time, so please be careful
Don't be rash, but don't good deeds ever shirk
This healing process will age you a little
Perhaps one year or maybe two
But the task is done and you are healed
Be careful in whatever you do"
He had floated to the top of ridge
Where he gently came down
He and his clothing were sopping with blood
Best go home, he thought with a frown
He collected his donkeys and all his stuff
Never once looking back at the giants camp
He started down the rocky path
Which was rough and steep as a ramp
He walked in a daze, not thinking at all
The trader's road was just below
Jalia was only minutes behind him
But this he didn't know
When he reached the road he stumbled upon it
Steadied himself on the donkeys rains
He should have ridden but that would have required thinking
And something had numbed his brains
Jalia spotted him as she reached the trader's road
Only a hundred yards ahead or so
She squealed with joy at seeing him alive
And wanted so much to tell him so.
He ignored her as she pulled at his shirt
She saw all the blood, enough for him to be dead
"Ar
e you hurt!" she screamed almost fainting with fear
He just looked at her and slowly shook his head
"I was coming back, I would never have left you
I had the magic ring to heal you right up"
"Magic objects can't be used for healing
You killed me then, my time was up"
"The fairies saved me with their soul magic
For allowing then to destroy the evil pyramid you stole
It had ruined the nature of all the sand fairies
Without it, maybe they will regain their souls"
Jalia found that her voice had failed her
Daniel sounded so distant and grown
She suddenly noticed he was taller than her
She wanted to scream and she wanted to groan
He had saved her life twice, once only yesterday
And she had treated him like nothing but dirt
Suddenly she wanted him to punish her harshly
Punish her until she stopped feeling this hurt
"Beat me!" she cried as she rushed right in front of him
"Punish me severely, I deserve it you know
Make me feel all your righteous pure anger
I won't fight it, I'll welcome each blow!"
But Daniel ignore her while walking on steadily
There in the distance he could barely see
The city of Delbon just a smudge on the horizon
His birth city and the place that his brother would be
He quicken his pace while Jalia just followed
How dare he refuse to whip her bottom, she asked
He had enjoyed it before when she was bare ended
And she would make him again, 'He was tasked!'