Dungeons & Disappointment

Chapter 53: Father

She sat in the palace, shivering as the chill of the beginning of winter was starting to take hold of Farajaro. Ever since ordering her forces to be marshaled, and ordering her father imprisoned, anxiety had been eating away at her. What if this really didn't work? What if Trevon never truly loved her?

No. She thought to herself. That will never happen. He truly loves you, otherwise he would have resisted the charm. But that stupid fish gets in the way of everything. I'll have her fins for stew when I get my hands on her.

Suddenly, there was a rasping knock on her bedroom door.

"Come in." She called.

The door opened, and there was Julia and Mathala Vandalier.

"Your majesty." Mathala said with a bow. "The dwarves are rallying fr war. We believe that they may have recruited them against us."

She sat back in her bed. "I have foreseen this. Likely, he will recruit all of the kingdoms. This changes nothing. Put pressure on the sea folk, and stall the dwarves until the rest of our forces marshal."

"Yes, your highness."

She turned and left the room, shutting the door behind both of them, and Alocertha sighed, looking out the window at the sleepy city of Farajaro.

"I'll have you yet, Trevon." She said. "I'll have you yet."

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

I sat up in the bed of the ship, waking suddenly from a nightmare, and I turned over, trying to blot out the sound of Ormgaul snoring, but it was no use. I got up, making my way down into the cargo hold, where I had stashed my secret item. I checked, making sure it was still there, and I saw the wide-brimmed straw farmer's hat. It was a little relic that I had picked up in the city of Deraduhn, and with my great knowledge, I deemed that it was a hat.

But not just any hat. Any time I went close to a plant while wearing the hate, it grew faster. Much faster. Maybe when this was all over, I could settle down. Own a farm, maybe. But that was a dream for another day. Now, we were heading headlong towards where my father was, or at least, where we thought he was, and that was good enough for me.

I stashed the hat, then made my way back up the staircase, but I ran straight into Finana, smacking our heads together.

"Ouch!" She exclaimed. "Oh, hey Trevvy. What's up?"

"Nothing, just a little anxious."

She raised her eyebrows. "Anxious? I have something that can help you not be anxious."

"Yeah?" I said, my heart pounding in my chest.

She gave me a smile, then led me down into the cargo hold, and she shut the door. I stared at Finana as she was locking the hold, my eyes glazing and glossing over her back, her rear, her legs, and everything else that seemed to grab my attention. We never really had been alone like this, but now we were.

"Finana?" I asked.

She turned around. "I have a little something I've been working on. It helps with anxiety and bad thoughts."

She walked to the front of the cargo hold, then pulled out a large plant that she had been growing, and she ripped off six of the large, broad leaves.

"What is that again?"

"Meadowshade. Watch this."

She grabbed a bronze bowl, put a few coals inside, lit them with a fire starter, then put in a small grate and put the leaves on top, letting them smoke and fill the room, as if we were hotboxing it. I took in a big whiff of the smoke, and I realized that it smelled vaguely familiar, right before it started clouding my mind. I relaxed a lot of my muscles, my mind grew a little bit happier, and the memories of Alocertha didn't seem so hurtful. They were still bad, but I was able to process them, finally. I sighed, sitting down as the smoke filled the room, and Finana sat down next to me, her eyes glazing over as the smoke had the same effect. It felt like I was flying, which was technically true, but my body was still anchored to the deck.