Seafarer Vol.7

From the pier the seaman stared up at the plateau above him. After so many years on the ship he feared his wings to weak to carry him to the summit. He began the long slow walk to meet with the sisters adjusting as he traveled to the solid ground on which he traveled. He wondered to himself, if the Lady Fate would even recognize him after so many years at sea. Would she still seek his servitude even though he had aged twenty years since it had been promised? He wondered more, what sort of service she would require of him and if he would even live long enough to oblige her. He remembered his choice, and he considered the enormity of what could only be perceived as a vow.

As he climbed the stairs leading up the back side of the summit his legs found new strength and he stepped quietly thinking to surprise the sisters when he reached the top. He pulled out his bamboo panpipes and considered announcing himself with a jaunty tune. As he crested the hill behind the sisters he quietly pulled the panpipes to his lips but never had the chance to blow a note. "Welcome back my swallow." Said Lady Fate without ever turning around. "We have been expecting you for some time." She continued. The mariner stood still as a stone baffled by the astute proclamation.

He crossed the meadow without playing a single note, silently pocketing his panpipes as he walked to stand before the sisters. As always they continued their spinning, their feet pumping the pedals, and the steady squeaking of the wheels echoing across the summit. "I have payed my toll." Said the sailor. "We are aware that you have." Sneered Miss Fortune. "Pray it was worth it." Said Lady Luck quietly. "Do not let my sisters upset you my swallow, they do not wear the colors of envy well." Said Lady Fate. "Are you prepared to begin your services to me my swallow? Or has the toll shifted your heart from whence it stood?" She continued to the grin of both of her sisters.

"I have made my choice, and my vow, I will stand by my word even knowing the memories my tolls shall haunt me with." Said the seafarer. He considered that Lady Fate may have offered him a choice to turn from some further toll that would prove worse than the ship but he dismissed the thought and chose instead to continue. "My choice would be the same if asked a thousand times again, regardless of the price, I would follow the path I have chosen even to its bitter end." As he finished speaking he glanced up to see the warm smile of Lady Fate stretch even broader.

"Rest here with us tonight." Said Lady Fate, "for tomorrow you must return to sea for me." The seaman cringed as he thought she meant to send him back out on the Dark Prince and he remembered well the length of time he had committed to. Lady Fate smiled at him as she continued her endless spinning "Do not look so disappointed little one, for your toll upon the Prince has been paid." Her gentle smile warmed his heart and he found that he trusted her words to be true. "I have spun for you a wonderful destiny my swallow, rest now for all to soon your adventures will begin."

Her words echoed in his mind as he watched the sun set below a bright pink horizon. He lay on his back within the meadow and stared at the bright stars overhead astonished by the fact that for ten years he had not laid eyes upon even one in the sky. The slow and steady creaks of the spinning wheels lulled him into deep slumber and his dreams were of far off lands filled with interesting people. He dreamed of strange animals, and large cities. He dreamed of people who had never even dreamed of sailing the seas. When he awoke the next morning he felt a gentle rocking sensation.

Sitting up slowly the seafarer stared out at the open sea around him. No longer within the meadow, he could not even see land in any direction. He sat within a simple rowboat adrift on the high sea. For a moment he wondered if it had all been a dream, if thirst and hunger had led him to madness following the attack on the Gilded Lady. There in the floor of the tiny boat sat a three pointed leather hat. He reached down to pick up the hat thinking to shade his eyes from the bright sun. When he saw what was beneath it he began to laugh until tears filled his eyes. There beneath that hat, a basket of fruit, a small canteen, and an empty spool rested on the floor of the row boat.