Unbreakable

by Naakaree Griffits

  I took the shoes he was offering and continued to creep along the pues. Why was he being generous? It was obvious that we didn’t belong, and at this point most of Sugarland knew of our intrusion. Unless... he also wasn't a local... he did look somewhat more human than the rest. Perhaps he was taking pity on a fellow explorer. We finally made our way unseen to another entry way of the church. It was beginning to become clear to me that this was more than just a church. Perhaps an escape chunnel. The entryway led us through a tunnel, which we followed through to an outdoor location. The sun shone brightly and I covered my eyes, suddenly realising I still had the shoes in hand as a loose lace hit me in the eye. I put them on, concealing my taloned feet. I had to squeeze my toes together to make them fit properly.

  There was a cluster of markets up ahead, I turned to the others, “Whatever you do, do not act suspiciously. By now it’s likely that everyone knows we are here.”

  A small woman, looking no more than five feet tall, with a small and fragile physique to match, was calling out to whoever would listen, “Music boxes, just a penny.”

  I looked at Bear, specifically giving him a mental note to not engage. I didn’t have to hear his thoughts to know that he was planning to. I held my breath as we passed, “Music boxes for sale!” the woman called again. We made no interaction. She continued, “A song for every style...” Again we ignored her, “Have you folks heard any news about the whereabouts of the intruders?” She asked in our direction.

  “No.” I replied blankly.

  “Well, it was worth an ask... I've got some coins you see, if I am the one to turn them in... well, anyone who finds them does.” She smiled sweetly.

  I knew at this point it would be stupid not to engage at risk of looking suspicious, “What do you have there?” I asked without much interest.

  “Music boxes, would you like to hear a tune?” She asked as she began winding one up. It was blue in decoration and had a unique patterning on its exterior. I smiled slightly as a response.

  “I have a penny or few,” Bear said, reaching into a pocket inside his shirt. I glared at him, for first engaging, and second, having secret coin that none of us knew about.

  “Thank you sir,” The woman smiled at him, placing the coin into her pocket.

  Once the music had stopped playing and we began on our way, I turned to Bear angrily, “Where did you get that money and why did you not tell us you had any? Do you realise how far that could have gotten us at this point?”

  “I got it from the Greenie. I found this in my pocket as we reached the inn.” He pulled out a large hessian bag filled with loot. My eyes widened at the amount.

  Furiously, I tried to snatch it from him, but he pulled it away before I could grasp it and tucked it safely away inside his cloak. I sneered at him, “Let's keep moving.” My talons folded into my palms.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Sage

  I padded back to my place in the yurt we shared, sat down in the dark room and covered my legs in my blanket. I looked over at Bear’s bed, he had the blanket pulled over his face. He must be sleeping. I lay down and rolled over, letting out a breath. Looking at the musty wall of our yurt, I closed my eyes and let thoughts overtake my mind.

  After hours of the thoughts not taking me to sleep, I kicked the blanket off my legs and walked outside. I kicked the loose stones that caressed the ground at my feet. An unusual colour splayed across them. I took a closer look. blood... mixed with dirt, as if signs of struggle had occurred. My heart began to race. I walked to the yurt with haste and pulled back Bear’s covers. The bed was empty. I ran back to the water, rushing into its stillness, “What have you done with him?!” My screams echoed in the quiet. “Take me instead, you monster!” My voice began to trail off as my chest heaved, quiet sobs escaping my lips, their accompanying tears staining my cheeks.

  I stood up straight, pulling myself together, and wiping the wet intruders from my cheeks. This has got to stop. Whatever this monster has done with him, I will find it and destroy it. I will take back what is mine. My Bear. I ran into the village, shouting for anyone that would listen, “One of our own has been taken by a Mermaid!” People began to gather, emerging from their Yurts. “Bear was taken by the light of the moon. He was taken by one of our enemies. The Merfolk were warned to stay away, and have respected that for hundreds of years. But tonight...” I paused, holding back my fury, “Tonight, one of those Mer have gone rogue, and broken the treaty.” I paused for effect as people murmured and gasped, “And tonight we go after her. Gather your things.”

  When all tools and weapons were gathered and everything was in order, we piled into boats, as many men as would fit; and journeyed across the sea, keeping an eye out for any appearing mer. I touched my saddle bag that was filled with scrolls that Bear had given to me. I brought them with me for reference, hoping that something in that bag would lead me to him.

  AS THE LAST OF MY FELLOW venturers fell asleep, each one of them sprawled at some part of the ship's floor, I peered into my bag. Time for research.

  Countless hours and scrolls later, I had come to a conclusion. If history proved anything, it was that the only way to heal a dark mermaid bite, was to seek help from a fairy. Though, I doubted any mer would be stupid enough to seek the help of a fairy, in this day and age after all that had divided our worlds. I scoffed at the possibility. There had to be another way.

  I went through the options in my head, I held a finger up to signify the first option; she took him to the mermaid kingdom to seek some kind of cure, or drown him, who knows what goes through the heads of these otherworldly creatures. I had read a lot about the mermaid kingdom, which was laced in jewels, shining lights of blue and green, immaculate chambers filled with treasures and haunted by sharks and other predatory species.

  I held a second finger up. She took him to the Isle of fairies, which was known for healing as there was a rare flower there, the dew drop, that would heal any illness if the ill were to drink water from its petals. This option was unlikely with her having a tail. And even if she were able to rid the tail, which was an extremely unlikely possibility in itself, how would they get to the Isle? I took to my scrolls for more information. Running my finger over a map that detailed the layout of the magical place, I made the connection. Okay, so you would go west through the sea, land about here, I pointed to a patch of land that had the name half worn away from the page, I couldn’t quite work out what it was, Sugar something... I took an educated guess, Sugar land. Who knows if that was right. I trailed my finger through the large territory. And you end up somewhere here. I sucked in a breath at the word, ‘portal’. Above it, were the words, ‘The Isle of Fairies’.

  If they had made a venture that large, they were likely in a lot of danger. I doubted the Mere had any intentions of helping Bear, making that a possible, but unlikely route. Thus, the more likely option being, that she took him to the Mere Kingdom. Knowing what I had to do, I looked at my fellow Vikings before standing, pulling my bag filled with information over my neck, sitting it across my body and standing, ready to make the dive. Just before I did, someone stirred. I stilled, anxiously looking back at the sleeping arrangement of bodies. “The isle. The isle of fairies.” He mumbled in his slumber. I held my breath, wincing. My words had drifted into his sleep state. I waited until he had stilled completely and took the plunge into the deep.

  The water was freezing and deeper than I thought. We were never taught to swim back home. I felt something touch my foot and began to panic and flail about, reaching for the ship. This was a bad idea! I never should have dove into the deep. What was I thinking? I would most likely need my men for backup anyway. Scrambling for the edge, I made my way back on without waking anyone. I sighed, leaning against the boat's edge, my wet hair draping over the tip. Sinking into the wood, I felt something tug at my hair. A little scream made its way out of my mouth. I turned to see a pile of sandy brown hair. Gasping, I looked over the wooden canopy. Had someone fallen overboard? How
had he survived? The more I took in his appearance, I realised he couldn’t have been much older than myself.

  “Are you okay?” I mouthed, as to not wake the others.

  “Why wouldn’t I be?” The voice travelled to my ears like music.

  I felt my mood lul and my body relax under his spell, “Because your in the ocean without a boat...” my voice sounded foregn and docile to me.

  He let out a bellowing laugh, which somehow came out like music to my ears. “Don’t be silly. I am a Mereman.”

  CHAPTER Thirteen

  Voilet

  Though I didn’t want to admit it to myself, and certainly not to those two, I was starting to grow fond of my fellow travelers. Especially since my pain was gone and had become better on my feet. It also helped that Bear had stopped asking so many questions and Iris was starting to show some compassion. Though she would never admit it, I saw her true nature seeping through. While at first I was jealous of Bear’s constant oggeling of her, I couldn’t really blame him... she was breathtaking. I mean, my God, those wings!

  We spotted many more creatures and beautiful sights than I had envisioned from my study of Sugarland, back home. There was something about experiencing such breathtaking views that brought you closer with your fellow travelers, and for us, it had done just that. I thought about Esmeralda and how she would be writhing in anger toward me right now. I shuddered when I thought about what was awaiting me back home. I turned forward and kept my eyes on the path ahead. I had come for an adventure before I was to take over the throne, and that was just what I had gotten.

  I saw a glimmer from the corner of my eye, but before I caught what it was, it was gone. “Did anyone else see that?” I asked, looking ahead at the others, who were spaced out before me. “Hmm?” Iris replied, sounding deep in thought. Bear didn’t reply at all. The thing with travelling was, when you were walking for days on end, talk became something you only did when you really had something to say, rather than making idle chit chat, because if you talked all day, you would lose your voice and run out of things to talk about. Thus, we all turned to losing ourselves in our own thoughts. “There it was again!” I exclaimed, this time more certain I hadn’t imagined it.

  Bear stood as still as if he were dead, and Iris sucked in a breath. Before us, stood the most majestic creature I had ever laid eyes on. A gleaming golden horse with a horn that shimmered a beautiful pearl and matched the shade of my tail. Its mane was a breathtaking shade of cream that shot off glimmers that almost blinded you. It scuffed its feet on the grass shaking its head about, before staring deep into our souls. Ofcourse, I had never seen a horse before, let alone a unicorn, but I had read scrolls that I found in abandoned ships, and envisioned from the descriptions what they had looked like. Never, had I envisioned something this picturesque. “Wow.” I breathed, almost unable to take in the unworldly sight.

  It winnied, rearing up and then down again. It began to make its way over to us, a shimmering halo gleamed around its stature, as if it existed inside its own bubble of light. “It's a sign of good fortune.” Iris breathed.

  “How do you know?” I replied in a small voice, still not taking my eyes off the creature.

  “I can see it. It's going to take us where we need to go.” She walked toward the creature, reaching her hand out to stroke its snout.

  “Back home we call that colour a Palomino.” Chimed in Bear atlast. His body language as it always was since I met him. Amazed at everything.

  “Climb on.” Iris instructed.

  We obeyed. Trusting her seemed to be the way we had gotten to where we are currently. Safe.

  We rode by horse back until it felt like we had been riding for days. This method of travel felt different than other horses we had ridden on the way... It was a lot smoother and you almost felt like you were gliding. It was a magical experience, if I ever had one.

  I had become very accustomed to this current method of travel, lost in my thoughts as I often was on this trip, when we came to a sudden hult. I looked up to see where we had landed, when before us stood a strange but equally magical creature. A fox. This was no ordinary fox; it was standing on two legs, had a top hat on and a little tailcoat. It had gold buttons in a neat line down the front, and the back came to two points around his knee. He held a small sword, a dagger perhaps, and watched us carefully as he kept it by his side.

  He remained unmoved as I peered around him, spotting a beeline of strange creatures in his wake. Each collection of creatures were placed equal distances apart, about a kilometre separating them. With my much improved vision since losing my tail, I could easily see two large Canines with silvery fur. One appeared to be a more shaggy bread and the other had hair that stuck very closely to its skin, with long ears that dropped down, framing its eyes. Above them floated two large pieces of rock, and accompanying them was a bright coral- coloured lobster. I recognised this from back home, and wondered how and why it was here.

  Peering past them, a rabbit came into view. It was cute and looked similar to the one we had seen earlier in the field, though, unlike the other, this one was unmoving, the same as the fox and the canines. Another differentiating aspect, was that it had hooves instead of paws, and under these hooves it had a floating blue sphere. I wondered what it was. I would have to find out once we got closer.

  Further down the land in front, there was... it couldn’t be... I gasped, horrified. A floating head with a crown placed upon it. There was something else... a large fish, swimming in a pool of water surrounding the head. I shook my own cranium in sympathy, that's what my father always called it, a cranium, “Why do you have a cranium if you never use it?” he would say. What did this poor person do in their life to have this as their consequence?

  The further I looked, the more strange the creatures became. I tried to decipher them more, when the fox cleared its throat. , “Ahem.” He was looking directly at us, straightening his coat and twirling his dagger into the ground, as if impatiently waiting for us to adhere to him. When he was sure he had the attention of everyone in front of him, he cleared his throat once more, “Have I got everyone's attention?” The strange little creature asked. We all just stared, unmoving and dumbfounded by his clear vocals.

  He continued, “Good. Now, you must all listen carefully because I am not going to say this twice. Where you need to go is straight ahead. Do not take any turns. Approach each creature behind me and listen to them carefully. They will give you your next instructions. Do not talk to anyone, unless they have clearly stated that they were in contact with me.” When we continued to stay quiet, he proceeded. “You will make your way to the portal and continue to the Isle of fairies. The portal is very large, cotton candy pink and resembles a hurricane. You can not miss it.”

  I turned to Iris, who was paling, “You didn’t say we entered via a hurricane!” I remarked excitedly. She didn’t answer.

  CHAPTER fourteen

  IRIS

  I paled at the mention of my home. I knew I was going to help these two, but I still hadn’t quite figured out how I would get them in without anyone finding out. I thought back to my teachings growing up. There was the dew drop flower that held healing powers. One sip from the potent liquid and the ill could be healed of anything. But they also contained baby fairies, incubating them until it was time to be released as crawlers. I knew that was an option all along, obviously, which was why I was taking them there, but I hadn’t quite thought of what would happen once we had arrived. I knew that my mother and the hierarchy were onto me, no doubt they would be waiting at the entrance when we arrived. What would we even do once we got there? What would mother think? how could I explain the people with me? I wasn’t even sure that I could trust this creature, but what other choice did we have but to listen and obey?

  When he had finished talking and instructed us to move on to the next stage in the process, I looked past him to see a myriad of strange creatures looking back at me.

  This was going to be interesting.
.. I turned my head over my shoulder to see my two accomplices with the same unsure look on their faces. I let out a sigh; this was going to be a long next chapter to our journey. We made our way to the next obstacle - Two large dogs. One resembled the type that someone would have as a pet. A short silky silver coat and long floppy ears. The other resembled an estranged and very wild, shaggy wolf. The two seemed very strange side by side. I wondered what they were doing here together... As we approached them, something nipped at my wing. I yelped in pain, pulling back distinctively. At my feet, was a rogue lobster. I stared daggers at it, as it scurried back its protectors. I rubbed my wing protectively.

  The large dog let out a bellowing deep voice. I screwed up my face at the sound, not expecting it. He looked solemn, wise and elderly, “You need to follow the road. Though there will be those that will approach you, encouraging you to stray from your path. There will be a trickster. He will resemble one of you. He will try to pull one of you away from the group. One of you will be tempted, though you must not stray, or it will lead you to your ultimate demise.” He remained in his position, laying on the stone pedestal that we had approached.

  We all turned our heads to the wolf, though he did not speak. We waited an appropriate amount of time with no response before moving on to the next figure in the line, a Rabbit. Though it resembled a Rabbit, it looked oddly different from any other I had come across before. It had hooves instead of paws and appeared to be holding a sphere. The closer we got, the more dignified the round appendage became. It was the colour of the ocean and had some green as well as earthy tones sprawled across it. It spun on one of his hooves as he peered at it closely, his bucky front teeth making an appearance.