Deal or No Deal

A tense moment passed where it seemed like the oar would splinter in two. Without the oars to guide the ship, the rowboat was nothing more than a floating log.

But it wasn't just any ship. It was one of Polymedes's possessions. "Get your hands off my baby!"

The boat inexplicably rocked sideways into the monster, loosening the creature's grip on the piney oar. Angered, Polymedes slammed the planked end across the abomination's face, sending it splashing into the shallow water.

Since Alaron was already in place beside the satyr, the two instantly gave a great heave on the oars. One stroke and then two. The creatures tried to follow them, but the oarsmen were too motivated to let them keep up.

After a few minutes of chase, the last of the abominations turned back to shore. The sounds of the splashing oars drowned out the angry curses from the land.

Dania could scarce believe that the water which she had been constantly forced to abuse was now providing her shelter. "Are we…are we actually safe?"

"Hardly! I have half a mind to dump you out of my little skiff! You have hijacked me, and I do not take kindly to being abducted." Polymedes continued to pull against the oars.

His little magical boats were curious things. Alaron fully believed it was within the satyr's power to dump them all and leave himself drier than a desert.

"I don't recommend that you do that. You owe my mother a thousand favors after you double-crossed her." Alaron glared at the boatman.

Polymedes lost his stroke. It took a moment for them to find their stride again. When the satyr spoke, his voice was more subdued.

"The Emperor has forgiven me for that; you should as well. And last I saw you, I believe you were staging a rebellion of your own against Her Majesty."

He gave the Guardian a side-long glance. The man simply shrugged. "That feels like a lifetime ago. I paid with my life to fix that mistake."

"I see. And the Fates just handed you a second chance?" Polymedes's voice dripped with sarcasm.

Alaron smirked. "Actually, it was the Maker himself. Just ask my sister."

Looking over his shoulder, Polymedes took in the blue-eyed woman with the dark hair. The hood of her cloak hung loosely around her shoulders as she gave a small wave.

"Ah, then you are the fourth member of the human royals which I have yet to meet? I should have guessed." The satyr grunted

"I am," Mairwen confirmed.

"Did he really speak to the Maker?" Polymedes furrowed his brow.

"Twice, actually." There was not a hint of sarcasm in the woman's voice. Mairwen had seen the drastic change in her brother. Only a meeting of such magnitude could explain the difference.

For whatever reason, Polymedes believed her. He pulled his lips to one side, he shook his head slowly. "Who am I to argue with the Maker? Well then where exactly am I taking you?"

"To the gate. We need to take shelter inside the land of magic for a little while, and I know the elves will help us. We have an agreement that...why are you shaking your head?" Out of the corner of his eye, Alaron could see the Polymedes suddenly let go of the handle.

The boat took a jog sideways as the last uneven stroke made its mark in the water. The skiff came gliding to a stop.

"I cannot take you to the gate." The satyr was quite serious.

Alaron's eyes flashed with anger. "What do you mean, you cannot take us? It's very simple, really. You put your oar back in the water and pull it back like you have been doing. Or do your magical boats go everywhere except where they are supposed to?"

The prince remembered how Polymedes had tricked the Emperor and Empress over a decade before. He had rented them the boat and then allowed the mermaids to send it crashing into shore. Miraculously the small wooden vessel had had no damage and had even returned to the satyr all on its own.

Was this another one of his tricks? Alaron glared menacingly at his fellow oarsman.

Slightly concerned that the Guardian might toss him overboard or worse, Polymedes held up his hands and pouted. "You wound me deeply. My little babies take their jobs very seriously. They go wherever the rowers will take them. It is I who cannot approach the gate."

From the back of the boat, Renat coughed lightly. He knew too many salesmen not to see the meaning behind his words. With a weary grin, he asked, "Who did you swindle and for how much?"

Swallowing, Polymedes glanced aside. "Swindle is such a strong word. I was just as taken as they were..."

"Explain yourself." Alaron was losing patience and losing daylight. The sun was already far past its peak and at this rate they wouldn't even be halfway across when night plunged the world into darkness.

"Hypothetically, I may have sold the elves at the gate some less than perfect boots. They were far cheaper than the ones that the elf artisans make, and I gave the gatekeepers a most excellent deal. It is not my fault the quality was poor. You get what you pay for!"

"So you swindled the elves and they won't take to kindly to seeing you again?" Alaron rubbed his forehead. "Why am I not surprised..."

"Don't worry. That was my last mistake. I am a fully honest swindler-- salesman now. I just don't want to lose my head before I can prove my honesty." Polymedes folded his arms. They were not going anywhere until an agreement was reached.

Alaron sighed. It was not worth fighting. "Very well, get within an arrow shot of the gate and we will walk the last distance. You can push back into the open water before the elves can reach you. Is that fair?"

"Five arrow shots," Polymedes countered. "Those elves can run fast."

"Two arrow shots away," the Guardian held up two fingers.

"Four."

"Three arrow shots away, or I throw you out and figure out how to break this thing's enchantment on my own." Alaron huffed.

The satyrn nodded. "You're the boss," he shrugged. "Three it is. I hope you ladies don't mind a short walk. I heard it is good for you humans to get daily exercise."

Renat rolled his eyes. "They aren't listening to you two fools anymore. To be honest I wish I wasn't either. Reminds me too much of home."

-------

After the satyr outed the prince for who he was, the creature's bleating voice faded away in Dania's mind as she processed what had been said. The female scientist looked at her friend.

"Brother?" she whispered.

The prince was dead! Everyone knew that. Yet, Dania could not deny the evidence before her. Mairwen would not have trusted such a risky escape to just anyone. Otherwise the princess would have come in herself. Who could she trust more than her husband and the person who she had known her entire life?

And now that Dania was no longer running for her life, she had a moment to reflect on what she had seen from the fallen prince. Disregarding his white hair and silver eyes, the young man did bear a striking resemblance to the dark haired woman sitting beside her. His high cheekbones and the arch of his brow were almost identical.

His voice's lilt and cadence were not exactly a copy of the princess, but when Dania closed her eyes, she could tell the two had both been court trained. Looking at his back, even the way he held himself in humble confidence reminded Dania of the princess. How had she not seen it before?!

Mairwen tilted her head. "I take it he did not introduce himself."

"He did not. I am pretty sure I would have noticed the name Alaron." Dania narrowed her eyes. Part of her felt mortified for arguing with the prince, but the other part felt like she had somehow been tricked. Before Dania could tease out which feeling would win, the dark haired woman wrapped her arms firmly around her friend's neck.

"Dania! I was worried I might never find you! I have missed you so much!" Mairwen could contain her relief no longer.

The scientist's eyes turned bright blue as she returned the side hug of the princess. "I knew you would come for me, but I thought maybe I had not left a clear enough trail."

Feeling a pang of guilt, the princess lowered her eyes. "The trail was there to find, I just was slow on getting someone to help me. Taran was good at making it look like you eloped. In the end, Alaron was the one to believe me. We would never have made it this far without him."

"And you made it very far. We are practically at the top of the world. Though I had always wanted to see the famed ice barrier, this is not exactly the leisure tour I was hoping for." Dania looked over her shoulder at the far edge of the lake. Compared to where she started in Valiant, the shore was close enough to touch, but she could see that they would likely not reach the distant end until morning. "Many of the things I envisioned have gone quite differently than expected..."

"You don't have to talk about it if you aren't ready." The princess wanted to push for all the answers right away, but knew that she could not. Dania's mental health deserved consideration, and forcing her into something would make Mairwen no better than the man from which the scientist had just been liberated.

Dania shut her eyes, as if doing so would block out the memories of the past months. But that only made the events play out more vividly in her mind's eye. Her shoulders drooped. "It is better that you know it all. I do not want to carry this burden alone any longer."