Raulin's Oath

Outside the inn, Gustoff paced. How had no one seen the kids leave? Not a single soul within a three-block radius had seen any teens that fit their description, so where did they go?

Along the cobbled road, eyes torn from the sky, the children shared a look of understanding that they were in deep trouble.

“How are we going to do this? Are we coming clean or sneaking in and greeting him from inside?” Jerry asked, and she masked her surprise at the question.

“We aren’t going to lie to him,” she said harshly, and he raised his hands as a form of surrender.

“Alright, alright.” He released his intention over the two, and Gustoff’s eyes lit dangerously. They hopped out of the wagon, walking shamefully towards him.

“What were you thinking?!” he roared, more to Arietta than to Gerald. “You don’t understand the dangers of this world; you simply haven’t been here long enough to understand! Not only did you deceive me, but you went off on your own and put your lives in danger!”

“We were just going to the Wishing Well—”

“I don’t care! Don’t ever sneak off like that again!”

After receiving a good old-fashioned scolding, Arietta and Jerry went to their rooms, where Gustoff provided a watchful eye until they were sound asleep. Their journey was coming to an end, and he was not about to let any harm come to these two children.

Gustoff tried desperately to rest, but sleep did not come easily that night. As soon as he had given up and begun to get out of bed, a soft clunk sounded at the door.

“Hello?” Gustoff questioned cautiously, looking through the peephole revealed an anxious Dimitri waiting patiently for an answer. “Dimitri, it is always good to see you. What are you doing here so late?” Gustoff questioned the stallion pleasantly.

“I have come to ask for your wisdom,” Dimitri offered.

“Let’s discuss this elsewhere. Arietta and Jerry are sleeping.” Gustoff grabbed his cloak, following the red-coated stallion out of the room, through the halls, and out of the inn. They moved silently to avoid waking any of the inhabitants, but once out of the inn, the town still purred with activity. Buildings were still open, and nocturnal beings were doing their nightly shopping.

An owl on the corner called out from his perch, “All books on shelves one through three are fifty percent off! Come on in and get yourself some good summer reading material, spell books, and genres from mystery to historical fiction!” Gustoff regarded the owl with fascination and excitement at the deal; he would have to stop there later.

“Gustoff, Waterhaven has everything that the herd would ever need. They are exhausted from the journey here and need time to rest. The plains outside the city offer plenty of space and grasses to graze upon. This is a safe haven that will allow us to rebuild our numbers. We owe you our lives, but I do not feel that we could offer much help in the journey across the sea,” Dimitri said carefully, and Gustoff stroked his beard.

“I understand. I do agree, as well; it makes sense for you to stay here. Take the time to heal and rebuild your numbers. There will be a time when you can return to your lands in Equus, but until then, Waterhaven will offer you the respite that you need.” Dimitri nodded.

“Thank you, Gustoff. We really do appreciate everything you, your granddaughter, and Jerry did for us. We could never repay you, but we will try once we recollect ourselves. Have a safe journey.” With that, Dimitri dismissed himself, saying goodbye and trotting off toward those who remained in the herd.

Gustoff, thinking he deserved it for all his struggles, traced back his steps to the bookstore for which the owl had been advertising. Digging deep into his pockets, he counted out the coins that he had remaining from his childhood. It was illegal to make coins from any spells, though several had tried. He hoped that Arietta hadn’t attempted conjuring coins in order to make the passage to the Wishing Well. Just thinking about it made him sigh deeply; after all, inflation was not a joke.

While Gustoff didn’t sleep that night, he did have a pleasant and relaxing time reading the new book he purchased for fifty percent off the original asking price.

***

Jerry yawned, his tongue searching the roof of his mouth. He had the worst taste in his mouth. Morning breath was a killer in a land without toothpaste. “Good morning,” he groaned, rolling on his side to face the older gentleman in the bed to the right of his own.

It was evident to Jerry that Gustoff once more had been up, and downstairs to the main room, as he had coffee that was still steaming in his hand and several books at his side. One he had open in his hand. “Good morning, Jerry,” the man exclaimed, licking his finger to turn the page.

“You ready for the boat ride?” Jerry asked quietly, glancing over to Arietta’s sleeping form.

“Seeing that I have nothing to pack, yes, yes I am,” Gustoff said wryly. “Is this going to be your first time on a boat?”

“Yes, it will be. I’m pretty excited,” he said, running his fingers through his dark hair.

“Once we arrive in Belamoris, I must warn you that it will be strictly business. We have no time to wander, nor do we have time to shop. It is a beautiful place, and once I get you kids out of here and back on Earth for a bit, I don’t mind showing you around there next visit, but we don’t have time for that now.” Jerry nodded at Gustoff’s words. “Hey, kid, you mind waking up Arietta? I’m trying to finish this chapter.” Gustoff’s eyes connected with Jerry’s and flitted down to the finger that was saving his spot.

“Okay.” Jerry slid out of his bed, moving towards her bedside. He shook her shoulder, and she shot up with a gasp. Once her eyes seemed not so lost, and she appeared to recognize her surroundings, he began to laugh at the hair sticking up on the back of her head. “Arietta, my good pal, pack your things. We have an adventure to go on,” Jerry said with a flourish, and regardless of the sleepiness that weighed down her eyelids and shoulders, she laughed lightly.

Once more, the pair, plus Gustoff, required the services of Eduardo. Gustoff flagged the beige horse down, and Eduardo knickered pleasantly, for he saw Arietta.

“My, my. I didn’t think I’d have the pleasure of seeing such a generous spirit twice in a row!” He directed this at the girl. She grinned widely.

“It’s nice to see you too, Mr. Eduardo.”

“And Jerry, was it? Good to see you as well!” Jerry exchanged pleasantries with the horse and Gustoff frowned slightly. This must have been the transportation service the kids used to sneak away, and that meant Arietta likely used her powers to summon some coin.

“What is the toll?” Gustoff questioned anxiously.

“One bronze coin please.” Eduardo eyed the elder man with caution.

Gustoff asked, “How about a silver instead?”

“You’re negotiating in the wrong way, mista’,” the horse quipped, yet he seemed to lose the caution in his gaze.

“I’m sure I am,” Gustoff laughed, and popped a silver coin in the empty pouch that collected the money the horse would earn through the day. “We’re off to the docks, if you will.”

“For a silver, of course.” And they were off. Once reaching the docks, the trio took in their surroundings. Arietta inhaled deeply, and she could smell the salt in the air. Seagulls swooped around the port, and Arietta watched with humor as one swooped down and stole a pastry from the hand of one of the salesmen on the wooden walkway.

“Filthy bird!” the man cried, and the seagull laughed. “Get a job like the rest of us! The other birds earn their pay!” he spat in the air, only for the spittle to crash back onto the creaky wood walkway.

The bird banked hard to port, swooping back over the angry merchant. “How do you like that?” the bird shouted through a mouthful of pastry as he sent droppings that splattered on the man’s bald head. He then banked to fly over the ocean to avoid the man flinging a rock he found through the air, which plopped uneventfully back into the sea.

“Ah, the wonders of nature,” Jerry chuckled, prompting the other two to burst into nearly uncontrollable laughter. The sea twinkled, and there was a playful energy radiating from the rolling waves. Lined through the docks were boats of many different sizes with beautiful sails of varying colors. Scanning the line, Arietta’s eyes connected with a ship with the words “The Pink Lady” scrawled in gold lettering across its starboard. Its sail was a pastel pink.

“Is that the ship we’ll be taking?” she questioned, gesturing to The Pink Lady. Her grandfather nodded.

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she,” he said dreamily, eyes filled with appreciation for the ship. “I’ve always wanted a boat,” he admitted quietly. Attached to the ship’s side was a ramp that several beings were using to board the boat.

The trio got in line with the swarm, getting lost in the crowd until they were on the boat.

“I’ve got to admit, I’m really excited to go home,” Arietta said quietly, and Gustoff nodded slightly in agreement. Jerry couldn’t share their enthusiasm. He would’ve stayed there forever had Arietta and his mother not been in his life.

Arietta watched the ship’s anchor as it was tugged from the depths, slick with water and weighed down with slimy green seaweed. The boat rocked comfortingly, yet when Arietta looked to Jerry, he was as green as a Granny Smith apple.

“Are you--”

Jerry clutched the side of the ship, hurling vomit towards the sparkling blues of the water.

“Okay,” she finished, not really seeing the use of asking anymore.

“Peachy,” he panted, vomiting. “Remind me to never get on one of these things again.” His knuckles had turned white gripping the ship’s railing. Arietta frowned, not quite sure what to do for him. She didn’t think anything would settle his stomach from the rocking, and no words would stop the vomiting, so she just stood quietly.

“The Mer won’t be very happy with you vomiting into their living space,” Gustoff chuckled, and Jerry just moaned, too sick to question who exactly the Mer were, and definitely too sick to care. A tail flipped out of the water, and a scaled humanoid figure with sharp teeth and seaweed-like hair burst from the water. Though her words above surface sounded like gurgling, she gestured violently to the floating vomit and shook her fist at the departing ship before diving back to the depths.

Eventually, there was nothing left in Jerry’s stomach, and he slid weakly to the floor, sweat percolating on his forehead. This was a lot less fun than what he’d expected. On the other side of the ship, a little girl was in the same position as he, and he averted his eyes as she too gripped to the side of the ship. “I’m going to go check out the bunks we’ve been provided. We’ll be here all night, and by early afternoon we should be in Belamoris— sorry, Jerry,” Gustoff said jovially.

Arietta gave Jerry a look of sympathy, then turned to Gustoff. “I’ll stay here with Jerry; it doesn’t seem like a good idea leaving him. Can you check to see if they’ll get him a spare bucket for the night?”

“I’m going to see if I can do him one better: I’ll find some ginger tea infused with black pearl dust. It should fix his nasty case of sea sickness if we are lucky.”

Arietta nodded, and Jerry did his best to show his appreciation, but Gustoff simply turned on his heels and strode off, moving like he was on a mission.

It wasn’t long after he left that Gustoff came back with the tea in hand. Jerry grabbed it from his hand greedily, chugging the dark mixture, grimacing. After finishing the tea, he seemed to relax.

“I still don’t feel great, but I feel a little better,” Jerry offered, and a light came to Gustoff’s eyes at this.

“Good, an hour from now you should be perfectly fine.” Gustoff smiled, knowing that they would not be needing a bucket for the night.

When Jerry was feeling much better, the trio elected to roam the ship. Sea out to the right side, sea out the left, and unsurprisingly, sea to the front and back of the boat. They had already spent several fairly uneventful hours on the ship, and at this point, neither Waterhaven nor Belamoris was in sight. The sun lit the entire sky on fire: oranges, reds, and yellows like a painting on a canvas. Out at sea it was especially beautiful, as the blue water reflected the passionate colors of the sky, a looking glass of its own right.