The WindFlyer

Chapter 20

Captain Astoria's PoV

I hear the prince make a strangled sort of noise when I jump. My laugh echoes off the smooth andesite stone on the interior of the volcano as I plunge down. It is not a very long fall, maybe only 20 feet or so, until I hit the liquid. The volcano has been dormant ever since I found this island and when I first investigated it, I found that it was filled with crystal clear water.

The cold water envelopes me as does darkness before I open my eyes. The water is very clear here, the suns rays creating a light filled area. But that is not the only source of light. Some of the walls of the volcano seem to glow with strange lights. There are reds and pinks and oranges. At night, it looks like the water really is lava. I kick my feet until I break the surface of the water. I take in a deep breath of air and look up at the cloudless sky. I see the prince peering over the edge with a nearly panicked expression on his face. I wave at him as I float on my back, my hair fanning out around me. He seems to sigh with relief upon seeing me.

"Jump in!" I yell to him, my voice bouncing around and creating an eerie sort of effect. The prince contemplates my words when the reach him, chewing on his lip as he does so. I see him pull back from the edge and minutes pass in silence to the point where I think he may have started climbing down the volcano. That is, until a shadow falls over me and I squawk as the now shirtless prince nearly hits me with his entry. The splash and resulting wave pushes me back under the water. When I surface again, I see the prince laughing, his eyes crinkling as he looks at me.

"Were you trying to hit me?" I hiss as I splash him slightly with water. I watch as he cocks his head at me, water dripping from his hair and eyelashes.

"Yes." I let out another outraged squawk and splash him with vigor now. He simply laughs again and returns the favor. I turn away from him to avoid the water and when I look back, I can't find where he's gone. I turn about, searching when I feel a hand around my ankle. I barely have time to think before I'm yanked under the water. I open my eyes to see the prince's outlined form now on the surface of the water. A playful glare manifests on my face as I swim under him, taking note that he is only wearing undergarments right now.

I find use the wall and push myself off, shooting for the prince. I jump out of the water and grab his back, my arms encircling his neck and my legs his torso. I hear him grunt in surprise before I lean back, using my weight to tip us both back under. When I breech the surface again the prince is right with me. I start laughing, having to lay on my back to keep from swallowing water. The prince gives an amused chuckle before floating next to me. For a while we just float in silence, watching as the sky goes from clear blue to a soft pink. Eventually, Draen's voice breaks the silence.

"Tell me how you learned to sail," he implores. I am silent for a beat, trying to dredge up such early memories. The prince seems like he is going to speak again when I cut him off.

"There was a lake behind the palace in Roltem," I begin, running a hand through my we hair as we still float. "I would be with my tutors in the morning from sunup to near noon, learning whatever it is a good little princess was supposed to learn. I remember the room they would use. It overlooked the lake. I would watch the sunrise over the water, wishing I could be anywhere but in my lessons. I would watch guards do training in the water and some of the servants children play in it, wishing I was like them.

"I would run outside the moment my tutors released me for the day. I would sit with my feet in the water or swim in it -- my father made sure I could swim, telling me that no daughter of his would ever drown. I remember one day the guards left a boat out, a small sail boat -- I believe they are called dayboats. I was eager to try it like I'd seen the guards doing so often, so I pushed the little boat into the lake and jumped aboard. Needless to say, I fell out of the boat. Several times.

"There was a guard who must have been watching me struggle because the next day when I ran outside after my lessons, he was wading in the water, holding the little boat for me. I was worried that he would tell my father, and when I expressed the fear he just winked at me with a finger to his lips. So for the next two months, I would spend the first half of my day learning politics and the 'proper' way to rule, and for the second half, I would learn about wind and waves and knots and sails. How to steer, how to manipulate the wind, how to master the boat.

"The last day he was with me, he just stood on shore and watched. When I came in for the day he laughed and said 'you really fly on the wind, princess,' that was the last time I ever saw him."

The prince is silent and the sky fades from pink to red. The temperature in the air begins to drop and I shiver slightly. I hear my stomach growl and fold my legs in to stop floating. "Come on, we should get out of the water," I say breezily. The prince nods and watches me as I swim over to one of the rock faces where winding steps have been carved into the rock. He seems surprised when he sees them.

"Where did these come from?" He asks.

"I carved them," I say somewhat proud. I would come to the top of the volcano with rope and a chisel and after fashioning a harness with the rope, I would spend hours carving into the rock to make a way out. I would carve until the chisel was down to a nub... I would also fall out of my harness sometimes and have to climb out again while drenched. The memories in the steps make me smile as we begin our ascent. We reach the top just in time to watch the sun set the sea ablaze. I stand in the glory for only a moment before my stomach makes itself known again. I scoop my clothes off the ground along with my boots and pack and march toward the stone cottage.

Each stone in the building was brought up the volcano by me. Several of them were so heavy they had to be rolled. I took my time and care shaping them to fit together and while it's not the prettiest, it keeps the chill out and the warmth in. The cottage is only two rooms, a kitchen and a bedroom. The kitchen is pretty rudimentary, just a few plates and some pots, a fire pit -- there was no way I was getting a whole stove up here! -- with a grate over it, and two cushions that serve as chairs on the floor, similar to the dining style in Tellar.

I dart into the bedroom and grab two towels from a chest at the foot of the bed. I renter the kitchen and chuck it at the prince's face as I quickly dry myself. Once I have reduced my hair from a sopping mess to slightly damp, I throw my clothes back on. The prince does the same, leaving his shirt off, before sitting on a pillow with his back against a stone wall. I grab a few logs from where they are stacked in the kitchen and throw them into the pit. I then light them and begin rummaging around my pack for some of the food I brought. I fill a pot with some of the water collected in a rain barrel and place it atop the grate, waiting for it to boil.

The prince and I are both too exhausted to speak, the strenuous hike and then a day spent swimming draining all our energy. Once the pot starts to bubble, I dump the dried pasta I brought into the water and stir it. I watch it cook, relishing the heat the fire provides as the sun continues to set and the night continues to cool. The pasta cooks quickly and I remove it from the heat upon finding the consistency to my liking. I put half the pot on my plate before dumping the rest onto Draen's and handing to him.

"Unfortunately all I have is salt up here," I say sitting back down and dumping some on my food. Draen takes the shaker after me and applies it to his own food with a thank you to me. We eat in silence, both of us seemingly too invested in our food to make any conversation. I'm too tired to even try.

Once both of our hungers have been sated, my eyes begin to droop. Draen goes into the bedroom and I trail after him. He stops just inside the door way, blushing profusely. I raise an eyebrow. He coughs and montions to the bed. One bed. I roll my eyes a little but a small smile tugs at my lips.

"I will sleep on the floor," I say, nudging him toward the bed. He looks slightly horrified at that.

"No. No, absolutely not. I wouldn't feel right forcing you to stay on the floor," he says with a yawn at the end. I chuckle a little and forcibly shove him on the bed.

"Too bad," I say with a lazy smile as I steal a few pillows and create a makeshift bed on the floor. The prince tries to protest but his body eventually wins out as he pulls a blanket over himself. The minute his head hits the pillow, I swear he is asleep. I chuck my shirt off, not wanting to be hot while I sleep. I grab a blanket from the foot of the bed and cover up as I lay down. "Sweet dreams," I murmur before sleep drags me under.