Claxton 2: The Curse of Poseidon

Chapter Twelve: Silvey

Song: "King of the Woodlands" - Peter Gundry

        Once his friends left, Tracey sat up in the sand of the trashed beach and pulled his hand away from his nose. He gasped when he saw blood on it. "My nose is bleeding!" he shouted at the sprites and Makenna and Ash, but they didn't hear him. They merely continued to fly. Tracey couldn't believe what just happened! His friends ditched him! His own friends! They betrayed him! This was like the year before all over again! Tracey struggled to his feet and put his hand to his nose again. He tried to hold back tears and marched down the beach after Makenna, Ash, and the sprites. Not to mention, he also had a searing headache from the Octopus Man's curse. Every time a wave of cursed pain collided into his brain, he lifted his hand, closed his eyes, and reached for it. Finally, Tracey gave up. The second he passed the wrecked raft, he collapsed onto the sand and started to sob again. The pain was too great! Tracey also couldn't accept the fact that he thought he had no more friends. His entire world had been crushed – between his wings, the Curse of Poseidon, and his friends' betrayal. He definitely was starting to lose the battle. Salty tears fell onto the sand, and mixed in with them was blood from his nose. Tracey didn't want to be there anymore. He wanted to find Merlin and hang around someone he knew would never betray or hurt him. He didn't know where he was on Coutarine Island though.

While Tracey sobbed, he shouted, "It's not fair!" over and over again, "Why am I the only one who has to be cursed? It's not fair! Sensei, where are you?!" He remained on the ground but was totally unaware that out in the reef, the ocean started to glow a bright green color! This was not the work of the Octopus Man though. It was of something else. Tracey didn't see the mysterious, magical phenomenon though. He instead yelled and reached for his head with both hands. He felt like it was splitting in two!

        The ocean glowed for a little bit longer, and then, very slowly from it, lifted out a bunch of seaweed! It took on the form of Ethelinda, the Seaweed Guardian of Coutarine Island who saved Makenna and Tracey before. She was absolutely gorgeous, and her eyes rotated over to young Tracey. When she felt the time was right, she lifted her whole body out of the sea, and she soared towards the beach and him.

Once she reached it, she slowly floated down in front of Tracey and landed on the sand. "Tracey," she spoke in a wonderful, goddess-like voice. Her voice startled him. At the sound of it, Merlin's apprentice jumped and slowly lifted his head.

He gasped at the sight of Ethelinda, "Ethelinda!" and quickly rubbed tears from his red face. He lowered his head with hope she wouldn't notice he had been crying, but Ethelinda already did, and she lifted her seaweed arm.

With her finger, she took Tracey's chin and lifted his head so she could see his face. "Young Tracey," she spoke, "why do you sit here crying?" Tracey at first didn't answer. He was too shy to. After a bit though, he told himself that he was speaking with the Guardian of Coutarine Island. He took a deep breath and finally decided to confess. "My friends," chokingly answered the eighteen-year-old apprentice, "they left me. They left me, Ethelinda. I feel like I have been betrayed all over again. Now the fairy world has become just as much as an enemy as the human world. I don't know why everything is happening to me. I just want to see Merlin again. Merlin is the only person I know who would never betray or hurt me. The thing is, I don't know where he is."

"My child," Ethelinda spoke, "don't look at things the wrong way. Your friends have not betrayed you. Ash is only testing Makenna to see if she too can pass his trial; he's not trying to throw you out of the adventure. While it looks like he may be, he's not. Truthfully, he wants you to relax a bit while he works with Makenna. You've been through too much already, Tracey. Ash is really only trying to take care of you and Makenna. Thanks to your patience and confidence, young master, you passed his trial just like that, but Makenna lacks those two qualities. He also didn't mean to call Merlin 'dorky'; he only said that because he thought Makenna would jump in and protect his name in your honor, not you. That is why they left you too. Ash just needs Makenna a little bit, so she can work on passing her trial."