Pirate Princess

Chapter 15

Mysteri was riding Magic flat out through the hills on her way to Aphrodite’s Temple. Cinder was strapped to her back in a makeshift backpack. They were being chased by an army of warriors from all sides. One was even closing in from the front. Mysteri had no choice but to continue to move forward. If they stopped, they would have to fight off three massive armies and the Queen’s Guard. If they ran into the army in front of them, it was just one small band of thugs to deal with. Mysteri was an outstanding fighter but she only chose to do that as a last resort. Strange things happened to her body whenever she fought. She always felt as if a raging beast lay inside her and was pushing to get out when in the heat of battle. She just marked all of these things down to imagination though. She didn’t want anyone to think she was crazy and, besides, they gave her an advantage while fighting. Sadly though, a fight was what was probably going to happen. Mysteri was a day’s ride ahead of the armies behind her. Ares was behind this. She recognized the warrior’s banners to belong to Are’s best warlords.

As they streaked across the open terrain of the hills, an arrow shot out from the small fringe of shrubs that dotted the terrain in front of them. A trap! The arrow had a green feather attached to it. Adnil’s men…Ares’ most feared warlord, who is known to be ruthless…worse than the devil himself… With no way to turn back, Mysteri readies herself for a vicious battle. With a soft whistle, I leap off of Magic and land in my battle stance. Already I can feel the dormant beast inside me start to rear its head. Magic will stay near me in case I need her. I have no time to unstrap Cinder from my back, so I have his added weight to deal with, but he will warn me if someone is coming at me from behind. My only weapons are a bow and arrows plus my short knife I carry strapped to the outside of my boots. I have left my sword on my ship because it is too bulky for stealth operations. Oh, how I wish I had my sword with me now. Soon after I take up position, men come running out of their hiding places and start to surround me. As long as I can fight my way through to the other side, I will be fine. I must keep moving if I am to stay alive. With little to no places to hide my greatest skill at playing fox is taken from me. The first man is upon me. He is huge with a scraggly black beard and armor that is beginning to rust. At least these men have armor…as a Pirate and thief I have never worn armor because it is cumbersome… He raises his great sword and is aiming for my left side. Quickly, I ducked and punched him in the groin. Cinder barks and I am now seeing what he is seeing through his eyes; a guy is readying an arrow to shoot me through the back. I grab my knife from where it has stayed sheathed in my boot and throw it. It pierces him through the heart. I ran towards him and collected my knife as he stared at me in amazement. I have no time to rest. As I continue to run deeper into the middle of the army, I catch a glimpse of Magic kicking several men out of her way. They go flying and one lands awkwardly on his head. He is dead. Another big man charged me. I had barely enough time to roll out of the way of his sword only to get an arrow stuck in my thigh from yet another man. I quickly dispatched the one closest to me and headed for Mr. Arrow man. He sees the look in my eyes and takes off; I let him be for now. More and more men seem to appear and pile up at my feet. One man is screaming at me to make his death merciful. I did so by slicing his throat.

I am half way through their lines when I am confronted by Adnil. I have never seen him before but I have heard many stories. He is horribly disfigured with burn marks scorched across his face from a dragon’s breath. His left hand is just one finger, hideously curled, while his right leg is nothing but bone. I lose my train of thought as I come face to face with him. He is a lot taller than me. I stand at five feet four inches, but this man seems to be part giant because he is easily seven feet tall. I hope his massive size will be his downfall. Adnil carries no weapon and as this fact sinks in, I hear Cinder’s warning that more men are closing in. I lunge to the right side of Adnil in a mock spar, but as I do I feel a sharp pain stick in my side. I have no time to wonder what caused my pain… Adnil moves quicker than I expected but I am still prepared for his flying punches and that is when I strike. I take my dagger and push it up under his ribs and twist it until a spurt of blood gushes out and my hands are covered with it. I quickly withdraw my knife as Adnil staggers on his feet. This attack had taken him by surprise. I felt another searing pain shoot across my arm, an arrow that just barely missed. I flip up onto Adnil’s shoulders and wrap my legs around his neck. With a twist, I hoped to drop him to his knees. It works and we come crashing to the ground. I jump free just as he hits the ground hard. Magic is nearby and I whistled for her to prepare for me to ride her. As I race towards Magic, Cinder falls from his pack on my back. An arrow must have torn through the fabric. I hear his panicked voice in my head as he quickly becomes surrounded by more of Adnils’ men. I turned back around only to see three armies gathering at the top of the hill I had just come from. They have finally caught up with us. I sink to my knees and grab my bow from where it is slung across my back. With deft precision, I shot Cinder’s captures down. He comes running towards me and I scoop him up awkwardly, for my arms and hands are slick with blood. I run and clumsily leap onto Magic’s back. She runs full speed the rest of the way to the temple.

As we arrived at Aphrodite’s Temple, I had no choice but to take Magic inside with me. I will not leave her outside to die. As we walk in, Aphrodite appears in a burst of pink bubbles. With one look at me, her face turned deathly pale. I take a quick glance at myself in the many mirrors that adorn her walls. I look like a bloody mess. How much of that blood is my own I have no idea. “Please, I need to know another way out of here” I begged Aphrodite. After what feels like forever, without saying anything, she raises her arm and points to a tapestry with a white Pegasus on it being chased by a lightning storm. Magic stiffens under me…what has gotten into her? As I turn back around to thank the goddess of love, I notice that she has gone. Quickly, I led Magic over to the tapestry; there was a secret passageway behind it. We ride through and as we do it seals off. I have put my fate in the hands of Aphrodite…I hope this is not some sort of trick.

As we ride, the tunnel gets wider and lighter. We went to another tapestry. I listen but can hear nothing on the other side but the faint gurgling of water. We walked through and into a giant underground spa. Aphrodite is sitting by the edge of a natural hot spring dumping bubbles into it. “Come, let me cleanse you.”

“I don’t have time to be clean. I have four armies hot on my trail trying to kill me. I only have time to ask you a few questions about my heart.”

“No need to worry about Ares’ men, Mysteri. They can not find us here. I have sent the Queen’s men on a wild goose chase as well. You must be healed before you begin your journey to Mount Olympus. This bath will heal you and while you are bathing I will tell you all that you wish to know.”

Magic senses my reluctance and takes matters into her own hands and dumps me into the now bubbling hot spring. It is only then that I notice the arrow sticking out above the water’s surface right where my thigh is underneath. “You have another lodged in your back between the shoulder blade” Aphrodite tells me, “I do not know how to heal mortal wounds, but if you tell me what to do I will try my best. The bubbles in the water will get rid of any infections.”

With a silent sigh, I instructed her on what to do with the arrow in my back. I can feel that it has already gone half way into my body. To take it out she will have to push it all the way through. I looked around the room for a fire and a poker. Instead I find some hot rocks, those will have to do. “Aphrodite, you will have to push the arrow the rest of the way through. When you see the head sticking through my chest, break it off and pull the sheath out. Quickly, then grab two of those hot rocks and press them against the two openings to seal off the wound.” She does as she is told and with a scream I pass out.

I woke soon after, still sitting in the bubble bath. My hair has been washed and braided into two pigtails. Both arrows have been removed and the open wounds sealed off. I have a set of stitches on my left shoulder. Magic and Cinder are dosing nearby and Aphrodite is neatly washing my blood-soaked clothes. “Thank you” I croak.

“You’re welcome little one,” she says with a sweet smile. “Ares’ men are gone and the way is clear for you to begin your journey. But first I will answer your questions.”

“Where is my heart chained? And what must I see?”

“Such easy questions. I gather you know of the prophecy. Little one, you have a great love for animals, but not for anyone else really. Yes, you care a great deal for your crew and Bryan, but you do not love them. My son Cupid has tried shooting you with one of his arrows, but they just bounce right off of you. You guard your heart to keep yourself from getting hurt. There is nothing wrong with that, but you are only living half a life then. You are more than willing to lay down your life for Magic, Cinder or any other animal and even for your crew, but you are not afraid of losing your crew like you are of losing Magic or Cinder. The key to unchain your heart lies in a cage overhanging a magma pit deep in mount Olympus. Your journey up to the mountain will teach you just how much you love. You don’t want others to know that you wear your heart on your sleeve for all to see, so you cover it with layers of grime. Few people have unconditional love to give like you do. Don’t waste that precious gift. Normally, this gift is only awarded to animals, but Artemis must see something great in you. It is this unconditional love that allows you to hear creatures’ thoughts and see what they are seeing or talk to them and for them to understand you. As far as what your eye must see, well, that’s an easy one too. You must see all of this with your own eyes in order for the rest of the prophecy to come true and for you to take your rightful place in this world.”

“Why would Artemis give me this gift? Only royalty are bestowed gifts from the gods. I am not of royal blood. I am a Pirate. My mom was Illoh and my dad was Captain Cryg, the terror of the high seas.”

“Yes, that’s true, your mother is Illoh but she was Illoh, the second born daughter of the Queen. Nibor was her sister and Michel was Nibor’s daughter. Illoh was a royal negotiator when she went in search of your father and became a Pirate. Few mortals know of the gift your mother possessed. She did not see people as you or I do, instead she saw them as the past and future. The royal gift skipped Nibor, for reasons I do not know.”

“No that can’t be. I am not a Princess, I am just me!” For some reason I know this to be true, but I refuse to acknowledge it. “How do I find the key to setting my heart free? Where is the magma pit?”

As Magic listens to all that Aphrodite tells Mysteri, she contemplates on how to tell her master who she really is. She is a chimera and she, too, is a misfit. Her destiny is entwined with Mysteri’s, it is said so in the prophecy. She rides upon the dark and the light. The tapestry, Mysteri could feel that something was amiss as I saw that tapestry.