Chapter 9 and Epilogue
(Plot 8 and Falling Action)Only then did Nizhoni come to, lifting his face from the mud into which it had slid so unceremoniously. When he looked up, the people of Cadfelham had surrounded him and Master Folger and his officers were nowhere to be found. Nizhoni hung his head.
“Calufray,” he said. Calufray joined the center of the circle. “There is something you need to know about that pitcher—it was made by my mother, Cadfel.” The crowd murmured in astonishment. “She was the sheriff of Cadfelham before you were born, and the namesake of the hamlet.
“Her mate was Methoataske, a siren woman who came to land to be with her, giving up her home to be human. My mother was happy, but she spent more and more time with Methoataske, and less with me. I didn’t have any friends in the hamlet—certainly no other sirens lived here. I was an outcast in my own home.
“One day my mother made that pitcher and gave it to Methoataske as a gift. My mother had never given me anything. I knew she didn’t want me anymore, let alone the people of the hamlet. I ran away.”
“Only after I heard that my mother had died did I come back. Methoataske said my mother had pined for me every day since I left. She didn’t eat, she didn’t sleep, and eventually she wasted away into nothing. I was so furious I threw the pitcher into the sea and left Cadfelham again. I would never come back...or so I thought.”
“After all these years I kept up on rumors for any news about the hamlet. I would even drop in from time to time to perform just so I could see the place again. But I never wanted to stay for good; nothing really ever kept me here.
“After awhile I heard about the fire, and when I asked around Tonya said she had seen you light it. Methoataske was gone, and I thought I would never see that pitcher again, so nothing was keeping me from coming back and trying to set myself up here. If I could help everyone rebuild, I thought I could do my mother proud and become the sheriff. I finally felt like I belonged.
“I couldn’t be the sheriff of an empty hamlet, though, so I had to find a way to bring in supplies. I used my contacts outside the hamlet to get in touch with Master Folger, and made him a deal; he would bring in a shipment of food and materials to rebuild, and when the place was up and running again Cadfelham would be supplied exclusively by Obeliskdale.
“Then you came back. I found the pitcher on the beach. When I realized what it was it felt like lead in my hands; it was just one more reminder of when I felt like I didn’t belong here. I didn’t want it, but I couldn’t let it go either. With how much you wanted it, I just thought you were being vindictive to spite us—the way you lit our hamlet on fire out of spite. I saw in you the same things I see in myself. Calufray, I admit now that I was wrong about that.
“Regardless, I could tell your presence was upsetting Master Folger, and I had worked too hard to have you mess things up, so I had to get you away from the village. You have to understand that I banished you out of necessity. It wasn’t personal; just business. Once you were gone I could continue my plans.
“The short term had been taken care of, but the long term would be more tricky. Cadfelham would never survive its setbacks without more stable outside support, which is why I went to the master of Obeliskdale to offer the island as a territory of the settlement. As baron, it would be my responsibility to pay regular taxes to Obeliskdale. I knew we wouldn’t have enough to give anything right away, and I thought we would all waste away after all. Like my mother.
“Fortunately, Allira asked about the pitcher. She looked it over and must have thought it was a valuable antique because she offered to take it in trade for the first several years of taxes. I felt I had finally found a use for it, so we drew up the contract, and I signed. I thought my mother would have been proud that I used it to save the people of our hamlet.
“I admit that drink dulled my judgment, and I said some awful things today. I hope you can understand what it’s like to regret the things you’ve done. I was just so…” Nizhoni shrugged. “I thought my mother would finally have something to notice about me. She was sheriff—I would be baron. It was something worth celebrating, but that doesn’t excuse my behavior.
“I deserve every word you said about me. It was all to make myself the biggest thing I could, but ultimately so I would feel like I deserved a place here.” Nizhoni looked around him at the hamlet-folk. “I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness, and Master Folger is probably on his way back to Obeliskdale to report what happened here to Allira. Those Obeliskdale contracts are water-tight; I’m sure they’ll find something in there to get out of the agreement. Especially now that she doesn’t have the pitcher.”
Nizhoni stood, and the crowd gave him room. “If it’s all the same to you, I’ll leave this place and never return. I know I wouldn’t want me around if I were you.”
Calufray grabbed Nizhoni by the arm and spun him around, grabbing him by the shoulders. “Nizhoni,” he said, pressing the empty pitcher into the siren’s hands, “Methoataske was my mother. I wouldn’t let my only family go feeling unwanted. You’ll stay here as the baron of Cadfelham.”
“But what about Allira? The contract…”
“I’ll take care of Allira,” said Calufray reaching through the crowd to Ila. The undine approached, joining Calufray by his side. “These are our seas; Allira will come to understand that leaving this island to the kingdom of Aviqming will be in her best interest.”
Epilogue
You may be happy to know that Calufray and Ila “sorted things out” with Allira, manager of Tin Obeliskdale. The island and Cadfelham remained under the protection of the kingdom of Aviqming for many generations to come, though change comes to all, no matter how we wish it wouldn’t.
In time, Calufray and Ila had a daughter, Natsiq, who was mostly human, but with hair that dissolved into water when she wished it to (like her mother’s). She also inherited gills from her father, and together they took over the Trawler when the captain was ready to retire.
Calufray and his daughter encountered many strange lands aboard the Trawler, but none so mysterious as the one that Calufray visited when he rode on the back of the magical eagle all those years ago. That land, they discovered, was the Fey Realm. It happened one summer solstice that they sailed into that land quite by accident and emerged many hundreds of years later, only to discover that their clothes were entirely red and the Trawler had somehow gained the ability to fly.
Separated from all they knew by a chasm of time, Calufray, Natsiq, and the crew of the Trawler became the first band of sky pirates known in Athanasia. Calufray began calling himself and his crew the Redcoats. They befriended a giant eagle, whom they named Cadfel, and currently roam the skies near the Siren Sea looking for adventure and wrongs to right. Natsiq longs to one day discover the fate of her mother, Ila, and reunite with her if she still lives.
And so, Calufray is an old man, and though it is far different a place than when he knew it hundreds of years ago, Cadfelham still feels like home, and the Trawler makes berth there whenever it is not roaming the skies.
So ends the tale of Calufray and the Wonderful Pitcher…
...for now.
No comments:
Post a Comment