Amelia Merlin and the Game for Okamila

Part 94: The Silver Lining

Rose's silver hair shone so brightly in the sun it was actually kind of hard to look at her, but that didn't really stop Eli. The ocean bored him, the beautifully carved ship was dull and the clouds were typical. Rose on the other hand, intrigued him. He watched her stare sullenly out on the water and her eyes grow dark whenever Marco tried to talk to her. She would glare at him then walk away without a care, which Eli found rather funny. He watched her roll her eyes at the sailors and ignore anyone trying to be nice to her. But he also saw her smiling at the birds and running her fingers over carved flowers. Not very many things interested Eli, but Rose Dellisandro fascinated his every thought.

"Rose!" he called out and she turned, her eyebrows raised but didn't dismiss his company like with everyone else, which he counted as a victory. "Ocean looks nice today."

"I suppose." she said dryly with her eyes still focused on him.

"Want to hear something cool about the ocean?" he leaned casually against the mast and folded his arms. Rose didn't say anything so he continued, "The ocean was once a goddess. A goddess who was loved and feared by everyone, she was wife of the sky. Until one day, there was a drought that lasted a hundred thousand years and the ocean dried up, leaving the sky all by itself, so the sky wept. And a new ocean was made from the sadness of the sky, but the sky never loved the ocean the way it used to. Storms came about, waves crashed and the sky turned against the sea. But every now and then, the sky remembers how it loved the sea and they calm down, and the ocean turns still and silent."

Rose looked at him seriously. "That's not true at all." she said.

"You're right." Eli laughed. "You're completely right. Do you want to hear another story? I swear this one's true." The Silver Princess shrugged. "Your family's symbol, it's a unicorn right? Supposedly, every thousand years, a Dellisandro comes along with the blood of the unicorn. They have special powers," Rose snorted but smirked. He stopped leaning against the mast and walked to the side of the boat. Her feet followed a few paces behind him. "The Blood of the Unicorn has magical powers, they can heal things, keep people immortal. Their blood is where their soul is."

"That's the most ridiculous story I've ever heard." she laughed. When she did, the sailors heads turned to see, Marco nearly fell from his seat and the wind blew warmer. Eli glowed with satisfaction.

"I swear it's true." he grinned mischievously.

"Where do you hear these things?"

"I grew up in a small sheep village, there's nothing else to do so we tell stories. Most people actually enjoy hearing my stories, you know." he ran a hand lazily through his hair.

"I know." he gave her a questioning look so Rose elaborated. "First time I met you, you were telling a huge group of people some stupid story but they all seemed to love it. I couldn't decide if it was the most pathetic or impressive thing I'd seen."

"Did the Silver Princess just compliment me?" Eli chuckled and nudged her playfully. Rose rolled her eyes but didn't say anything to the contrary. "I have more." he said.

"More what?"

"More stories." the sun bounced off her hair and he had to be at just the right angle or he would be blinded by her. "Do you want to hear any?"

"What else have I got to do?" she sighed and sat down on the deck of the ship. Eli joined her and began another story.

"Have you ever heard the one about the dragons?"

"There's about a hundred stories with dragons."

"This one's the best." he lowered his voice, drawing her in slowly. "Have you ever noticed how all the rivers and streams in Kalishterya are winding, full of twists and turns? Well, they say when Akkedis was first rising to power, centuries ago, the dragons knew he would come for them. So they asked the Druids to preserve their lives, to hide them until the day it was safe to return. They say the Druids gave the dragons a new life and lay them to rest as water flowing through the land. And one day, when magic is safe again, the dragons will rise from the water and fly over the kingdom once more."