Olive

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Fire and a Story

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There was a long wooden board that Leif chopped off fish head, by fish head. I watched intently as he ripped the scales from the meat of the fish. Leif had perfected the art of fishing, truly. His fingers were quick with haste as he ripped apart the fish bone and flesh until the edible meat was left. Perhaps I had found such an interest in the art because I truly was starving. A week out on the sea and with nothing but some mouthfuls of fish and drops of water I could practically feel death approaching.

Leif was before me preparing our nightly dinner. I was ecstatic at the fish, this was our biggest catch yet. A dozen fish were flopping in a bucket, two fishes per person tonight. It was practically a feast! Harold was on the rudder as usual. Rune and Arne were lounging close by, and Erik stood behind Leif leaning against the mast.

"Maybe if we didn't have the beast with us we would have more nights like this!", I exclaimed," if you're so friendly why don't you just tell Lumi to leave?"

"Lumi is a protector," Arne scoffs," she's the entire reason we're able to even sail untouched"

"Why is that?", I questioned further, I had to distract myself from drooling over the raw fish," how did you even become close enough to it to be able to have protection?"

"Generations," Erik shrugs simply," we've befriended the Dragons generations ago. We protect eachother. We allow them to breed and raise their offspring on our land. They have sanctuary and security on land with us. They allow us to sail untouched and offer their protection in exchange"

"Our names for the Dragons will differ with each Clan. We've named the dragons ourselves but nothing is permanent,"Rune mumbles quietly," they only protect us from what lives in the depths beneath us. Otherwise we'd be swallowed up with ease. Dragons have no desire to be anyone's pet"

Suddenly the nausea returns to my stomach. The thought of how deep the waters were beneath us and how they're crawling with who knows what. If dragons exist, I could only imagine the other creatures that could.

"Don't scare her," Erik glares at Rune disapprovingly," what he means is they protect us from beasts, not pirates, humans, and whatnot. No mortal protection. Well any Mortal that could survive our realm.. That was decided long ago along with them not being able to approach mortal lands. Much like Starkport, hence why you never saw them. Dragons have always been there. But there was a spell cast to protect the mortal realm. Remember when we left Starkport and you felt it? Right now we don't have the magical field to block us from what's really there"

"Why is that?"

"A war, long ago,  centuries ago Princess. That's why I was so shocked to hear that your mother knew all these things. Perhaps she was just telling stories.. but to convince someone like your sister? She must've been pretty persistent", Erik looks thoughtfully as Leif continues to slice the fish," when did she tell you these things?"

"She used to tell us stories all before bed, every night. Until my father heard her and he banned her from speaking of such things. Truthfully, I don't even think I remember that all properly. When Annora spoke of them again , it caught me off guard"

"Wonder where she had heard them to begin with", Arne leans closer to where Leif is cooking," have you ever spoke to your mothers parents?"

"Dead", I answered simply," never knew them. My fathers parents left the island when I was an infant, father received a letter one year declaring their death as well. It's just my family"