Once Upon a Quest by Demelza Carlton

Author:Demelza Carlton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lost Plot Press
Published: 2019-02-16T00:00:00+00:00

Twenty-Seven

Sativa gasped as the freezing water engulfed her, her last breath before the sea closed over her head. She kicked off the side of the ship, heading for the wavering light at what she thought was the surface. She burst into cold air and wished she hadn't, as the breeze turned out to be colder than the water.

Dusk had fallen, but there was enough light to see the darkness that was the shore. Praying that no one aboard the ship saw her, she set out for land.

Her hose and boots drank seawater like a drowning man, weighing her down. Determined not to drown when she was so close to her destination, Sativa stripped off the offending items. Only modesty made her keep her tunic. That and the camouflage it offered her pale skin as the moon rose.

An eternity passed, as she stroked for shore. Kicking, pulling with her arms, taking breath after breath and spitting out salt water as the waves taunted her, but the beach drew ever closer.

Then a wave picked her up and her arms windmilled wildly as she tried to paddle out of it, but to no avail. The wave broke, plunging her beneath the water until she grazed the sandy seabed. Gasping, Sativa kicked off the bottom, only to find that her head broke the surface before her feet had left the seafloor. She staggered ashore, barely believing she'd made it. She wanted to lie on the sand and sleep for a week, but she couldn't. Not while she was still so close to the ship. Still visible to them, perhaps.

Her legs felt like they carried their own ballast, they were so heavy, as she dragged herself up the beach and into the trees. A breath of wind was enough to send her teeth chattering as her bones turned to solid ice. Still she trudged on. There would be no wind once she was deep enough into the forest.

A few steps in, then a few more. Soon, she could no longer see the beach, but she could hear the waves. Still she walked. She would continue until she couldn't any more, and then she would lie down and sleep.

Moonlight was dim between the trees, so she stumbled often, but Sativa refused to stop. It looked like it was growing lighter ahead. Light could only mean people, and civilisation. Someone who could help her.

A large fire sat in the clearing, sending up a prayer of smoke into the sky. Sativa thanked whoever had lit it, and approached as close as she dared, holding out her hands to warm them. She had nothing left to trade but the small cheese, wrapped in its now salt-stained cloth, but she would offer it gladly if it meant getting warm and dry again.

"You kept me waiting," a grumpy voice greeted her. Oh, the voice was old and scratchy, too, but the elderly woman wanted her irritation known.

"Please forgive me," Sativa said politely. She had heard that old women who lived too long sometimes lost their wits, and she had been taught to be polite to her elders.

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