1040. Communication, 6
(Temee)
We hoped on our boat and began sailing away. North east.
Selya looked back one last time to the island we didn’t really take the time to explore. It’s hot and dry. Nature was mostly normal. As whimsical as it already was.
We’ve crossed the road with Rose Blume and a new friend. That was nice.
Rose is still alive.
Selya still feels a little weirded out about saving her life, one more time.
Perhaps a hint of Nokarlık’s spite rubbed off on her in the end.
But she was still someone Selya was able to rely on. Which was good.
While I...
I’ve been pretty useless all this time. My swords and my bones would break against these enemies.
I’m feeling a little sad as I navigate along the waves and wind of this side.
I was happy too to see the lady again for a while.
These two are beautiful monsters like the queen. Mostly humans in their flaws, but something unrelatable and full of poisons in their powers.
I’m...
Selya heard my thoughts. She left the bow and gave me a look betraying it.
She stepped closer to me on the helm to speak with me.
S - Why are you feeling so blue?
T - ... Because what you two can do; I’m nowhere near that world. And it still terrifies me for each and all of us.
Every monster is a death gamble. And even for them with power beyond my comprehension, it’s not so simple as we’d wish it to be. The stronger army doesn’t always win. That’s the first lesson of history. Good or bad, evil or kind, strong or weak, smart or intuitive; like in games, things can be very tilted from the start and still give you a surprise or fright.
Selya hears my thoughts I perspire as I look for the words. I don’t need to speak really. She looks a little down and then raises a more comprehensive smile at me.
S - You think as a foot soldier, you mean nothing? That you cannot change anything?
She brings her palm to touch me. I feel my heart bumping very loudly. What did she do to me? My heartbeat is much louder and audible plainly. It’s... embarrassing.
S - Tilke told you about the princesses of the past, who all failed to save the world. They still tried. And every prince and soldier can make a difference in time of war, and more subtly in time of peace.
I don’t get where she’s going with this but I left the wheel, embarrassed by the loud sounds coming from my heart. Selya pressures me, getting closer until I have nowhere to run.
S - If I... Someday... To disappear. If I were to disappear; because I went to finish these things. To bring peace on the other side even at the risk of my own life.
I feel her invisible hands grasping me, getting hold of my flesh and heart inside. I feel the transparent fingers reaching inside my head and around my central muscle. She’s reaching with her gaze in places she should never respectfully pry upon.
T - Stop...
S - If you found me gone someday. But you knew I went to Meraneÿs, to bet everything for a better world... What would you do Temee?
She’s opening my head and making me cry. She forces me not to lie.
What I am beyond everything I feel and then think.
My voice is forced out and it’s painful.
T - I would go after you... Even if I cannot directly help you...
She releases her grasp that suffocated me inside. I fall down and cry.
Selya comes closer and embraces me for solace. She hugs my head and comforts me now that I’m at her height.
She apologies. She extracted the wound out of me rather mercilessly.
S - Forgive me again, please. Because you do matter. Far more than you realise. You are Rose’s heroes. And you are my Merley. You are changing everything. Even if it’s no longer by the sword. Even if you can’t see it. Princesses were called as such not because of their birth from obsolete lineages, but because they were shrewd commanders to soldiers. Because they were inspiring the people. Because they could be able political leaders. Because like you, they cared and they had the arts.
I let her warmth and her words enter my head, slowly reducing my tears.
S - If you want a magical sword to hold my power between your hands, I will give you one. But that is not all you are nor all you will be. You are my friend and from lack of a better word, I’d call you my knight, but you are... Fine just being Temee. The Temee Hoatra de Kyameli. And you’ve been more impressive than I have. Than Rose has. Than Nokarlık has. You inspire all of us and that is why we love you. You don’t have to know everything, nor to be able to do everything. You can be the subtle wind making us sail. You are our inspiring princess... You are glorious Temee!
She’s flattering me too much. But through her flow of words, I eventually hear and see what her heart implies...
Selya brushes my wet face more gently. Around my bigger eye, still foggy. But she smiles. She has teared up too.
She offered me to change my face if I wished so a long time ago, out of kindness, not repulsion. I knew already. But I also knew somewhere it led wardah to bitterness and contributed to her insanity. To be remade. Having that impulse met, and that flow seemingly corrected. So I refused then. I’m fine.
I still am. And seeing this foggy smile all through my main eye reminds me I was right back then. I will remain the same. Selya lifted my fringe and pressed her lips against my forehead for a while.
I ached.
She eventually let me go and apologised again. Thankfully the loud thumping sounds in my head and ears faded. She made too many emotions flourish out of me, so she helped me stand up again as I was unsteady on my legs.
I was still a little too shaken to react properly.
S - Please, don’t depreciate yourself Temee. You are doing just fine. No matter what you have or don’t have, you will find your way. The right way.
T- I appreciate your trust but...
S - Then it’s okay Temee.
She pulls my hand, and then me, to reach the bow of the ship together. There isn’t much to look at but the sea and its open sky. Though I guess she can see things I cannot.
S - Do you remember... How you used to feel about the sea during your lonely journey?
Echoes return in shivers. Tension. Drive.
A mixture of dream hope and despair. It all has faded away over time, nearly transparent by now. Everything has. But I do remember.
S - Isn’t it nicer now? Even though you can’t quite see your new aim at the end?
T - Hm...
Selya stretches her wings, these thin ribbons to her back. Like the doll Line, they sometime shine... I miss that odd demon I met only once. Selya is now doing something big.
She jumps ahead and above the edge, to apparently fly forward. She rather glides, skimming the surface of the waters. It’s surreal. It’s weird.
But she soon is laughing as she’s surfing freely ahead of the ship. I think it’s called surfing. It’s weird to look at, but she seems to be having a lot of fun now, sliding over the waters as if they were smooth ice.
Now she has that spoiled and childish attitude back to her.
She even looks back to pull out her tongue at me.
S - Catch me if you can!
Some more warmth returns to my veins after the surprise. She’s pulling me into a nice frame and game.
I return to the helm and accept the challenge.
Onward.
Wherever we may go, onward.
~
