The door creaked slightly as Axis closed it behind him. The room was dimly lit with oil lamps, and little to no light came in through the curtained windows. The place was fairly neat, save for the dog-eared navigation books that cluttered the table in the center of the floor.
“Axis.”
Axis looked over to the bed, which was built into the side of the wooden walls. Marie lay under a thin blanket, her hair was undone from it’s loose plait, and was instead tied in a hastily made bun at the back of her head. Her skin was pale, and she looked tired, but she was smiling as if she wasn’t bedridden with a broken leg.
Axis forced himself to smile, so he wouldn’t worry Marie, and walked over to the bedside. The boat rocked gently beneath his feet as he knelt down next to the wooden bed.
“Marie. I’m sorry.” He apologized, feeling somewhat responsible for her injury. If he hadn’t left the tavern, then he might have…
Marie cuffed him gently over the head. “You and your father, always taking the blame for things you shouldn’t.” Her smile softened. “Don’t give yourself so much credit, Axis, there wasn’t anything you could have done. They were prepared, and you and your crew mates were obviously not expecting the worst.” Marie sighed and lay her head back on her pillow. “And you shouldn’t have had to.” She said, closing her eyes and furrowing her brow, as if she were remembering the previous night.
Axis chewed on the inside of his lip. “About my father…” he started. Marie opened one brown eye to watch Axis, who met her gaze evenly. “Captain told me everything. About the… the Cult, whatever it is, and about what Taylor discovered…. about my mother…” Axis trailed off. Marie just watched him, and Axis swallowed. “I was kind of hoping it was some sort of…. elaborated telling of the truth, but he wasn’t exaggerating, was he?” He asked, his voice dropping.
Marie opened the other eye, and sighed. She pushed herself into a sitting position, wincing as she moved her splinted leg, and grabbed Axis’ hand. “Oh, believe me, Axis, I wish he were exaggerating.” She said earnestly. She looked down at Axis’ hand, running her fingers over the rough calluses on his palms. “I met your father when you were two years old. He was living in inns, without money to hire a nanny to take care of you when a woman from the crew couldn’t, and just enough to keep you both alive.” She smiled. “I helped manage an inn he stayed at for a while. After a couple days, I noticed that he never had a woman with him.” She raised her eyes to Axis’ face. “I asked him if you had a mother. Taylor told me she’d died.”
Axis smiled a little. “And then you offered to help take care of me.” He added, remembering what his father had told him once.
Marie chuckled. “Hm. Did he tell you that? It was more like, he begged me to help him take care of you, and it took a while for me to agree.” She let go of Axis and folded her hands in her lap. “But I couldn’t really say no. You weren’t hard to take care of either.” She clicked her tongue. “Your father would go off on his own sometimes, when you were about five or six years old and you were at sea. He’d come back, empty handed, and he wouldn’t tell me where he’d been.” She said.
Axis cocked his head. “I don’t remember him telling me about this.” He muttered, his brow creasing.
Marie shook her head. “No. You wouldn’t. He asked me to not tell you, but… there was one time…” she bit her lip, and smoothed out the blankets on her lap. “Under this bed, there is a bag of my belongings. Take it out, Axis.” She said.
Axis hesitated, trying to read Marie’s odd expression, before he bent down and reached under the bed. He felt around for a moment, then pulled out a sack. He drew it out. “This it?” He asked.
Marie nodded and took the sack from him. She undid the strings and reached in. After a moment, she withdrew small, simple, wooden box. She put the bag next to her, and unlatched the box. “One time… you were eight. He came back, looking shaken. He told me that there was something important I needed to know. He sat me down, and told me everything that… well, everything that Captain told you. And he gave me this.” Marie reached into the box, and pulled out a long, thin leather hoop. From the end, hung a small piece of brilliant red, smooth glass, held in place by a piece of wire.
Axis, on instinct, reached out and touched the small piece of glass. It was barely bigger than his fingertip, and was as red as a hibiscus flower. Something had compelled him to touch it, as if something incredible would happen if he did, but it was a completely ordinary piece of glass, despite it’s bright coloring.
“Did he tell you where he found it?” Axis asked, pulling his hand back to himself.
Marie nodded. “Yes. He told me that he’d been searching for clues as to where your mother was, if she was even still alive. He traveled to a building that he used to guard, but he found it abandoned.” Marie placed the necklace in her lap, and closed the small box. “Apparently, he found a loose floor board in the room your mother used to sleep in. He found this in a box with a note saying that…” Marie paused. “I still can’t take it seriously… the note said that the necklace ‘enhanced a descendant mage’s abilities.’ ”
Axis rolled his eyes. “It sounds just as ridiculous to me, Marie, don’t worry.” He drummed his fingers on the bed clothes for a moment, before continuing. “So. Why did he give it to you?” Axis leaned forward, an amused expression on his face. “Are you a descendant mage, Marie?” He teased.
Marie gazed at Axis evenly, so evenly, in fact, that Axis got worried that she might actually be one of these…. unbelievable beings. After a moment, she shook her head.
“Taylor told me if anything happened to him, that I should give it to you.”
Axis stared at Marie. Then, he blinked, as if he were trying to wake himself from a dream. “Y-you mean to say that he thought that I was-” He started to say, but Marie cut him off.
“From all that I gathered over the years I’ve known about… all this, Axis, he didn’t just think that you were.” She murmured, picking up the necklace and handing it to the dumbfounded young man. Marie locked eyes with Axis as he slowly took the necklace from her outstretched hand.
Marie took a deep breath.
“He was pretty damn confidant that you were.”
Willowlark 