Legends of Belariath
Rose Red
He was the first mate, and the Captain's best friend, so of course, when the crew decided they had had enough, and gave the Captain the choice of either execution, or of being marooned, his friend was right there by his side, the pair of them taking turns with the ores in the life boat until they managed to find a place to come to shore. The night they came to shore, was his first chance to get an actual night's sleep.
The hunting was done, and the shelter was built. The Captain had agreed to stand the watch, and the fire was built. Our dreamer fell asleep beneath a sky lit with the red glow of the setting sun, the burning blaze of the nights fire beside him to keep him warm. Perhaps it was that warmth, pr perhaps it was the turn his life had taken, that sparked a night full of dreams of his lost love, and the things they would do to one another until the shadows waned.
No matter what the cause was, the result was, to say the least, unpredictable. As his dreams slowly consumed both the hours of night, and the imagination of the dreamer, a spark flared among the coals of the dieing fire, and from that spark rose a bisque, born from the imagination of the dreamer. With wings that would have been the envy of any butterfly, a youthful, innocent face that bore a striking resemblance to the lady of his dreams, and a body that was built for nothing less than sin, she sprung to life, nameless, but curious about everything around her. She watched her dreamer as he slept, tossing and turning, this way and that as his dreams took a wicked turn, not unlike that of his life.a cast of sadness fell over her eyes as she watched him squirm in his sleep, unaware of who he was, or that it was he who had given her life and brought her from the fire all unknowing, still, she could not stand to see him thrash about like that, his face all twisted as though he were in pain. She smiled, and leaned forward, placing a tender kiss on his brow, the slight caress of her lips helping him to calm and putting him at his ease, but also, enough to spring her into full size, her bare feet lightly crunching on the palm leaves on which he had made his bed for the night.
A sound like the popping of a wine cork, followed by what could only be gentle, hesitant footsteps, brought the dreamer half way out of his dream. His eyes slowly opened but a crack,and in the fire lit night sky above him, he saw the face of his beloved, and in his dream he relaxed, realizing that he wasn't alone, wasn't stranded on some island in the middle of nowhere. That was enough to help him get back to sleep, and spend the rest of the night in peace, even if it was not quite the truth he imagined it to be, and that, for now, is where he leaves our story.
Once her dreamer was once again fast asleep, the little fae rose to her full hight once more, and began to look around, taking in the heat of the fire, the grit of the sand, and the sweet smell of the tropical palms. She smiled, wandering here and there. She cast her eyes over the two sleeping men, one of whom smelled of dieing, though he didn't yet know it. She moved down toward the shore, and something caught her eye. She moved toward it then, and saw that it was something floating on the water. Could this be how the two men arrived here, this thing in the shape of a folded leaf? Could it really have carried the pair of them? She had to see!
She climbed into the small bobbing thing and smiled at the sight of it. As long as she kept her feet curled under her, and sat on one of the little benches at either end she found that she could keep herself out of the water that seemed to be flowing in trickles through the bottom of the little thing. A little more experimenting, and she realized that the long branch like things were meant to slide into the two metal cradles. She slid them into place, and smiled. Surely they wouldn't mind, right? She was only borrowing it after all, and with that thought, her mind was made up, and she gave a determined nod as she gripped the ores and began to move them back and forth, moving off into the night.
Hours later, as the sun rose into the sky, she was getting tired of moving the foolish little branches back and forth , and besides, their seemed to be more water and less space for her to sit. Careless humans! Why couldnt t hey have just told her there was a hole in the thing, that it wasn't safe for her to play with? She sat there for a moment, thinking, considering. She had meant to take it back to them, but then... they wouldn't really want it if it were broken, would they? With another determined nod, she popped into her smaller form, and flew away into the sun, leaving the silly little boat to sink.
Her next clear memory, is of music, drifting through the late evening air as she flew, inviting her closer and closer, because she wanted to hear it more clearly. She found it interesting, because it set her heart to dancing, she flew out of the setting sun, and landed close, Wanting to hear more music.
The bard played on as he watched the setting sun, smiling to himself as the music carried him away into himself, and out of himself, all at the same moment. He always was both happy and sad at the moment of the sun set, for it reminded him of his family, but also of the fire, in which they were lost to him. He continued to play his mourning song, and then, for the first time in a year, he was brought up short. His music faltered as he saw the shape of a nude woman, coming toward him out of the setting sun, and before he knew he meant to speak, the words were out of his mouth as he watched the woman's form, haloed in the red glow of the setting sun.
"What a lovely red rose!" he whispered softly as she grew once more to her full size, with no idea why he had called her such, other than that he was inspired by the sight of her.
The little fae, now so named, settled at his feet, and asked in her innocent whisper..."Please sir, will you play some more?"
And so they spent the night together, her listening and enjoying his music, and he enjoying her company. By morning, each had a new friend, though she was set to continue her travels, knowing only, that she would see him again, some time. He in turn, knew that he could not keep her, could not force her to stay, and so instead, he simply made her promise, that she would practice music, and that when they med again, she would play with him. With that promise made, he sat and watched her, as she flew away once more into a setting sun, until nothing was left to see, but a flash of green.
When she came to rest again, it was at a fountain in the center of a town, enjoying the way that the flowers grew up and around it. She had though in that time also been found by someone else, a stun bolt knocking her out only to awaken in the home of a half wolven, after months of being held prisoner she managed to get free, only to find the Inn, staying there for awhile in the rafters of a small inn, watching a sailor -try- to play games.... a sailor, who reminded her of....someone....