The Realm

Chapter 6

The next morning, a jubilant Samantha came bounding down the stairs down to breakfast. For the first time ever she'd woken up with clear vision. Turned out to be a good-bad situation. The good - she could see! The bad - she could have done without seeing what she looked like first thing in the morning. Pillow face was not her most attractive look.

Nothing, not even the dried drool on her cheek, could bring down her happy mood. With a smile in her heart she went to meet the day, and a certain wizard, but the dining room she bounced into sat empty, only one place setting on the table. Kaar brought in her breakfast with his usual smile.

"Where's Sinclair this morning?"

"Master, hunt go," he replied.

"Hunting?" she queried. "What is he hunting? I thought the island didn't have any predators." Only two legged, handsome ones.

Kaar said something that sounded like gibberish in answer, and with a toothy grin, left.

Samantha ate her breakfast quickly, missing Sinclair's usual presence. As soon as she finish, she hurried off to her research. She spent the morning reading about various nefarious spells, her eyes almost popping out of her head at some of them. Who on earth would want to curse someone with curly hair? Or how about cursing them to have bad breath? She shook her head and kept reading, hoping to find one about imprisoning someone in a bubble or even blocking teleports, but after a full morning's research, she still hadn't found anything closely resembling Sinclair's situation.

Samantha got up and stretched before wandering out into the hall. Sinclair had yet to make his presence known and the castle was quiet. Needing a break, she found the kitchen area at the back of the castle and mimed making a sandwich to the Undine staff. They quickly whipped something up and she headed out the front door, a lunch basket under one arm.

What an absolutely gorgeous day. Overhead clear, cloudless blue skies. The sun shone, a bright yellow ball high up in the sky. An idyllic day highlighted by a symphony in the air featuring a multitude of birdsong. Hello paradise. The only thing missing? A certain hunk.

Perhaps she'd run into Sinclair on her way to find a spot to eat, not that she was looking for him. Oh no, she just needed a break, but if she happened to see him. . .

She dawdled lazily down the path to the beach, enjoying the smells and sounds of the jungle, her step light. Arriving at the Undine village she was surprised to see it empty. Odd, she thought, wondering if the Undine's were with Sinclair on his hunting expedition. She kept going through the village to the beach which also stretched emptily.

Light waves rolled in, creating a creamy foam on the beach. Not wanting to get wet, and remembering Sinclair's warning about not swimming alone, Samantha wandered over to the boulders bordering the beach on the one side. Clambering up the pile of rocks, not an easy feat in skirts, with plenty of huffing and puffing, she managed to get on top of a large boulder with a flat surface and smiled at her reward.

A perfect view of the rolling ocean waves with sun beams dancing off them. Adding to the scenery, swooping and diving sea birds and the soothing sound of surf spraying the rocks. Just like something out of a vacation brochure.

A growl from her tummy had her ignoring the view for a moment because as usual, she found herself famished. She unpacked her picnic basket which consisted of some cheese, bread, and fruit, along with a flagon of water. She ate hungrily while watching the ever changing ocean and laughed at the antics of the gulls as they squawked and dove for a lunch of their own. When she'd finished her meal, she lay down on the rock, closing her eyes, basking in the warmth of the bright sun.

This is the life. Her body and mind relaxed and she fell into a light doze on her rock as her filling midday meal, restless night, and the soothing sound of the ocean lulled her to sleep.

A loud splash woke her from her lazy rest and she sat up, looking around. The ocean was deserted, the gulls, which had swooped the waves before, gone and the beach showed no signs of life.

Deciding she'd enjoyed a long enough break, she packed up her lunch items. A scraping sound from behind had her turning around to look. When she saw what pulled itself up over the edge of her rock, Samantha shrieked.

Clambering up the side of the rock was a grotesque parody of an Undine, vaguely human-like in shape with the same flattened face and scaly skin. But there the resemblance ended. Its open mouth showed two rows of sharp, pointed teeth with drool dripping down in long tendrils. Its mottled black, slimy skin seemed to ooze mucus and it rippled oddly, as if something bubbled under its hide. And the smell! The creature emitted an unbelievably foul stench - worse even than the decaying food in her fridge. From its back a long jagged spine jutted up and when it bellowed at her, she almost wet herself. She managed to hold onto her bladder but couldn't control the shiver that went down her spine, Fear made her stomach tighten into a small, uncomfortable ball.

Samantha scrambled backwards on the rock, afraid to turn her back on the sea monster. It showed no such fear - why would it when it had great big claws which it used to hook over the top edge the boulder to pull itself up. Its shining red eyes glared balefully at her and it growled, a low sound that made her tremble. What had happened to Sinclair's promise that no wild animals lived around here? Apparently he'd missed one - a very big and ugly one.

Samantha's heel teetered on the far edge of the rock and she looked quickly down. The crags she'd so easily clambered up now seemed a mile away, but with the creature on its knees about to stand up, she knew she had no choice. She slid backwards, her bare feet hitting the rocks below her perch and sliding a bit before her toes gripped the rough surface. Her scraped foot stung, but that was nothing compared to the pain she'd be in if that living nightmare got its claws into her.

Terrified, but knowing she couldn't traverse the rocks backwards, with great trepidation, she turned her back on the oozing beast and began hopping over the rocks trying to reach the beach. She started to think she'd escaped the beast until a tug on her skirt stopped her dead. A horrified look back showed the monster had already clambered off the rock and with its long reach, hooked her skirt in its claws.

Samantha shrieked and wrenched forward. With a tearing sound, she broke free and sprinted down the beach heading towards the dune and the village.

The creature behind her bellowed and Samantha quickly turned her head without stopping. Bad idea. Nothing like seeing a mutant beast lumbering quickly on the sand behind her, its mouth open and drooling, its red eyes murderous, to make a girl clumsy.

Down she went. Tripped by her own feet, she fell face first in the sand.

No! No! Get up, you i***t. She panicked, scrambling to get to her feet, but her legs got tangled in the long skirts. She managed to roll over onto her back and saw the drooling fiend had almost reached her. Closing her eyes she shrieked as she waited for its sharp claws to start shredding her.

A loud thump occurred instead and she opened one eye to see Sinclair had arrived, long spear in one hand. He jabbed at the creature which stumbled back away from Samantha to avoid the sharp point. She used this reprieve to untangle herself. She rose, ready to run again, only to stop frozen, watching.

His body crouched and ready for action, Sinclair wore a grim face as he stood between her and the black beast. In one hand he held a long spear, its sharp point already sullied with green slime. The other was empty and beckoned it. The i***t taunted the creature!

The sea fiend bellowed and rushed at Sinclair and Samantha felt her heart almost stop. Her wizard though, didn't flinch. With a smooth motion, Sinclair brought his spear down and across, tripping the creature in its headlong dash. It hit the sand and rolled before jumping back up to its feet.

Sinclair moved steadily forward, driving the slimy beast toward the ocean's edge, its baleful red eyes never wavering from the threat of Sinclair and his spear. As it turned to dive into the safety of the ocean, half a dozen male Undines rose from the waters, their own shorter spears at the ready.

At this sign of reinforcement, Sinclair finally took his attention off the beast long enough to tell her, "Go to the village. I'll come get you after we've taken care of the beast."

Samantha didn't argue, she bolted from the beach up the dune but then stood on its edge watching, unable to leave while he remained in danger below. She wasn't alone, as several female villagers came to join her, each of them watching wide eyed and silent as the battle raged below.

The Undines and Sinclair surrounded the nightmare from the sea, so that when it tried to rush them, they could dance in with their spears to drive it back. It had many gashes on its body now, but even injured, it was still dangerous and kept charging at them, trying to break through the circle. During one of its rushes, Sinclair finally managed to kill the beast by ramming his spear into its chest. With one final bellow, it fell to the wet sand, twitching for a moment before lying still.

Samantha stood shaking at the top of the dune. The creature might be dead, but fear still had a hold of her as she realized how close she'd come to being its dinner.

Sinclair, after patting the backs of his fellow hunters, came to join her. He took one look at her white face and wrapped his arms around her tight, murmuring, "It's all right now, the creature's gone. You're safe."

Samantha buried her face in his shirt and shook. She'd never come this close to death before, and the cold fear consuming her just wouldn't let go. She didn't protest when Sinclair picked her up and carried her back the castle, she just buried her face in his shirt, her body trembling.

Samantha was still in a daze when he put her down in an overstuffed chair in the parlor. He went to a cabinet and poured something into a small cup and brought it over to her.

"Here, drink this," he said, holding the cup up to her lips.

Samantha opened her mouth and let him pour the drink in and instinctively swallowed. A burning fireball rolled down her throat and she jumped out of the chair gasping, her eyes watering.

"What the hell was that?" she asked, when she finally stopped sputtering.

"A little something to warm you up," he said with a grin, but he immediately turned sober when he asked, "Are you all right? I didn't see any blood. It didn't hurt you, did it?"

"I'll be fine," she said, her eyes still tearing. "It tore my skirt, but I'm not hurt. Thank God you arrived in time. What was that?"

"That was a Black Undine. According to the Undine's history, several hundred years ago many of their kind were caught and experimented on by the dark wizards, the end result being the creature that attacked you on the beach. The magic used on them warped their minds, turning them into brainless killing machines. Living in the deep recesses of the ocean, they are almost impossible to locate and deadly. The Undines have been hunting them for generations now, trying to eradicate this twisted version of their people, but they keep coming back."

"But what was it doing here?" she asked. "I thought nothing could get in or out of the bubble."

"So did I," said Sinclair grimly. "It's possible that the creature has been here all along in deep hiding, but I can't see how with the Undines patrolling the waters regularly."

She shuddered, wondering if it was the same thing that had previously frightened her in the ocean. As if sensing her fragile state, Sinclair took her in his arms again, his strength and warmth comforting after her scare.

"Was that what you were hunting?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied, nodding slowly, hesitating before saying more. "The Undines sensed something new in the ocean around the island and after the sighting of the fin, we decided we go on a hunt in the hopes of flushing the creature out. I didn't expect it to come after you, though." His arms tightened around her. His body tensed. "You could have been killed."

A sound at the door had them both turning around to see a broadly grinning Kaar saunter in.

"Hunt good!" he exclaimed. "Party big."

"What big party?" she asked.

"The Undines solstice celebration starts later this afternoon," Sinclair reminded her. "The Undines think that the creature was sent by their god for the solstice and that it's a good omen."

"Yuck" she said grimacing, "What good can that creature be?"

"We cook!" said Kaar chiming in.

"What?" she said shocked, "They're not going to eat it, are they?"

Sinclair grinned. "It's already being prepared to be put over a spit as we speak. This is their first major hunt since they've been imprisoned, and they're all anxious to offer it to their god. Who knows, maybe their god will be so happy he'll let us all out of the bubble."

Samantha shuddered. "Well, they can eat it. I'll stick to smaller fish that haven't tried to eat me first."

Sinclair chuckled at her reply, his eyes crinkling with amusement. "Well, even if you won't be partaking of their offering, I hope you will join me in helping them celebrate."

"Sure," said Samantha. "I'd love to see their solstice celebration. When does it start?"

"Just before dinner time, so why don't you go have a bath, rest a bit. I'll come get you in a little while."

Samantha agreed happily and skipped up the stairs to her room to get ready.

As she bathed, she thought about what happened that afternoon, the fear she'd experienced for herself, then for Sinclair when he'd shown up. Mixed with that, the admiration at the courage he'd shown in coming to her defense. He'd appeared so strong and fearless when he stood there confronting the beast.

She sighed. Just like something out of one of my books. Big, handsome hero saves poor damsel in distress. Except this hero wouldn't end up carrying her off into the sunset. When he broke the curse, they'd both go back to their own separate lives.

Having had a taste of adventure, though, she wondered how she'd ever return to her previous, dull life. And more depressing, how could she leave Sinclair? She'd known him only for a short time but already her thoughts and senses were filled with his presence. Oh God, I want to be with him, but I'm scared. What if he rejects me, or worse, what if he dumps me like a hot potato when the curse is gone?

Take a chance, said a voice inside her head.

Easy for her subconscious to say. It wouldn't have to deal with the inevitable heartache. Yet, at the same time, it had a point. When would she stop reading about life and take a chance? When would she ever get an opportunity like this again? The biggest question though was, did she have the guts to try?

With this thought churning in her head Samantha got out of the bath and dried herself. She dressed carefully in a gown of pale rose, the bodice lower cut than she'd ever dared. She practically spilled out, but she'd seen others wear worse. Besides, she felt so girly and pretty in it. When she twirled, its full skirt belled daintily out around her. She found the matching, useless linen slippers and brushed her hair vigorously until it floated around her, soft as silk.

A knock on the door had her tummy fluttering and she answered to see Sinclair looking drop-dead gorgeous in an open necked, midnight blue shirt tucked into tight black breeches. With trimmed hair and a clean shaven face, he looked every inch the lord, until he grinned at her salaciously, his eyes lingering on her dŽcolletage before holding out something in his hands. She took her eyes off his and looked at his hands to see him holding out a pair of sandals.

Thank God, real shoes! Samantha almost ripped them out of his hands in her excitement.

"I found these when I was scrounging around in the storage room and thought you'd appreciate them."

"Oh, thank you," she said, touched by his thoughtfulness.

She sat on the bed and replaced the linen slippers with the sandals. They were made of an odd material, spongy but comfortable on the feet. Standing up in her new shoes, she approached Sinclair who held out the crook of his arm. Tucking her hand into it, he led her down toward the village and the sounds of merrymaking.

Long before they reached the village, the chatter of happy Undines singing and talking surrounded them. Light from smoky torches lit in the village and flickered through the jungle leaves as they approached. Upon entering the clearing, Samantha saw a surprising number of Undines gathered. Previously, she'd only ever seen a few at a time and only now that they'd congregated for the feast did she realize that the village had a much larger population than she would have thought. There were probably close to fifty adults and quite a few children. The latter were hard to count as the little ones darted among the adults, laughing as they chased each other. Everywhere she looked, big toothy grins and chittering greeted them.

Sinclair nodded and helloed his way across the village, tugging her along with him. It seemed they were going down to the beach where even more Undines had gathered to watch a large spit as it turned slowly over a huge bonfire.

Wow, they weren't kidding when they said they were going to cook it. Samantha eyed the large creature as it slowly basted. A sweet, smoky scent wafted on a light breeze. Mmm, tasty smelling, that is until she reminded herself of the slimy, oozing body it came from. She shuddered. No way am I eating that!

Feeling her shiver, Sinclair draped his arm around her and pulled her in closer to his body. She peeked up at him and blushed at the heated gaze he bestowed on her.

Suddenly shy, she dropped her gaze. "How long do they cook it for?"

"Until twilight," he replied. "Then as the stars begin to come out, they'll carry the beast to the statue of their god and the rest, you'll have to wait and see."

The sun slowly set on the horizon and provided a beautiful backdrop with red, gold, and pink streaks illuminating the sky and coloring the ocean. Samantha wandered around contentedly with Sinclair, his fingers twined with hers. Villagers kept coming up to them smiling and thumping Sinclair on the back.

After several good, hard thumps - that made Samantha wince - she finally asked. "Why do they keep hitting you?"

"The tribe is thanking me for joining them in the hunt and killing the beast."

"Seems like a painful way to say thank you." She frowned as another Undine came by and whacked him, grinning.

Sinclair just smiled widely at her.

Men! Samantha would never understand them and their weird male bonding rituals.

A cluster of male Undines approached Sinclair and chittered at him. Samantha couldn't understand what they said, but apparently Sinclair did because he turned to her and said, "It would seem I am to be honored and allowed to join the ceremony. I'm going to have to leave you for a moment while I play my part in the ritual. Go up to the village center and wait for me. Once I'm finished, I'll join you."

Samantha nodded and watched as he walked away with the other hunters. Trudging back up the sand dune, she entered the village, looking for a spot to park herself and become a wallflower, but to her surprise some of the sarong clad villagers grabbed her by the hand and tugged her to the front of the crowd where she had a clear view of the statue.

A pair of torches had been placed in the ground on either side of the ugly monument and in front of it lay a woven mat surrounded by big, bright jungle blooms. The crowd around her began murmuring and looking expectantly towards the beach. Samantha craned her neck along with them but couldn't see anything. Suddenly everyone went quiet and from the beach, Samantha could hear an Undine voice chanting in a sing-song manner. As one, the crowd stilled, even the little ones. The lone voice grew louder and louder, the melodic notes hanging in the twilight air, until the singer appeared at the top of the dune. It was Yoda's mother, the old villager whom Samantha had met her first day on the beach. As tribal elder, it seemed she'd been accorded the honor of leading the celebration. She wore a gleaming white sarong, decorated with seashells, and in her hand, thumping as she walked, was a tall, carved staff with a large piece of coral on the top. She tread slowly towards the statue, singing, while behind her, carrying the spit and the roasted beast, were several male villagers and Sinclair.

Her heart leapt when she saw him, his face and those of his fellow hunters solemn as they started towards the village center with slow measured steps. At some unseen signal, the whole village suddenly began singing, their voices rising up harmoniously into the sky as the grave procession carried the offering to the statue. They lay the roasted creature down on the woven mat amidst the colorful jungle blooms and then stepped back to merge with the crowd. The scent of roasted meat wafted in the air and to Samantha's disgust, her tummy gurgled in pleasure.

The singing reached a crescendo and then stopped, the last note lingering for a moment, the pure treble almost visible in the sky. As one, the entire village bowed down and Samantha hastily followed suit. They bowed for what seemed like several minutes in dead silence, then as one they rose with a cheer. Smiling villagers laughed and cheered, the hunters in the crowd almost knocked over by the enthusiastic back thumping.

Sinclair, smiling and accepting his whacks, made his way over to her. He said not a word, just took her hand and pulled her close to him. For several minutes they watched the celebrating villagers.

"They're really excited about this aren't they?" she said.

"They think that the creature was a test from their god. Now that they've passed that test, they think it won't be long until we're all free."

"Do you believe it?" She looked up at him.

He shrugged. "I'll take any help I can get, even that of a god."

"Do you believe their god exists then?"

"I think faith can be a very powerful thing, especially in the Realm. There has been debate among scholars for hundreds of years about that. There are those who believe faith created the Higher Powers and the various gods. Then there's the other side who believes the gods came first."

"Kind of like the chicken and the egg," she replied.

"The chicken and the egg?" he repeated, his face creased in confusion.

"In my world there's a joke. Which came first? The egg which hatched the first chicken? Or the chicken that laid the first egg?"

Sinclair chuckled. "That's funny, actually. I never thought of that. I shall have to make a point when we get out of here to take that question to the scholars. It would be interesting to see what they make of it."

"You wouldn't," she said, giggling despite herself at the thought of some serious scholars investigating her joke.

"Why not?" said Sinclair with a dimpled, mischievous smile. "It can't be any worse than the time they decided to find out if cold water was wetter than hot water. Turns out both are equally wet."

"Now you're pulling my leg," she said, slapping him on the arm.

"I'd love to pull on your leg, or any other parts that need pulling," he said with a wink and a comical leer.

Samantha giggled again. This humorous side to Sinclair was something new and she found she quite enjoyed their bantering.

Villagers started walking by them carrying plates of food and upon seeing them, Samantha's tummy gave a rumble.

Sinclair arched a brow. "Sounds like someone needs to be fed."

"I am hungry, but I don't know if I can eat that," she said, eyeing the roasted beast and the villagers who were walking over to it and pulling off chunks.

"Come with me. They've got a whole buffet laid out with food you'll recognize. I wouldn't want you to get weak from hunger." His eyes twinkled as he led her by the hand.

Samantha laughed at his teasing and walked with him over to the other side of the village where more of the woven mats covered the ground. Across them spread a huge, eye popping buffet. Samantha helped herself to the food, ignoring Sinclair's chuckles at her obvious appetite. No point in holding back now. He already knew she enjoyed a good meal.

Taking their full plates back to the beach, they found themselves a clear spot close to the still burning fire pit and sat down.

"How come you didn't eat some of the beast like the other hunters?" she asked, eyeing his plate.

He gave a mock shudder. "Too ugly."

Samantha burst out laughing and Sinclair joined her, his deep chuckles sending shivers down her spine. Talking of inconsequential things like the weather and more on the origin of gods, they finished their meal then carried their plates back up to a large basin and washed them before piling them with the other cleaned dishes.

They were strolling around again hand in hand when a tug on Samantha's skirt made her look down to see a child holding up a garland of flowers to her. Samantha smiled at the child and knelt down, bowing her head to let the child place the flower garland on her head. On impulse, she kissed the child's green cheek and laughed when she saw him duck his head and run off to a group of his friends.

When she stood up she saw Sinclair chuckling.

"What's so funny?" she asked, reaching up to check the garland sat straight.

"By accepting the flower garland, you've agreed to be one of the maiden dancers." he said, a huge smile threatening to crack his face.

"Maiden what?" she exclaimed.