The Azure Bottle: Chapter 13 and Epilogue

 Chapter 13

Thrya gritted her teeth and heaved, as Arne scrambled onto a nearby rock. They could both hear the clatter of steel against steel, and Thyra had to fight down the tears that filled her eyes as she thought of who was fighting. Her king and her best friend, trying to end one another’s lives. 

Arne looked more aware now, though he was still far too pale. Thrya forced her eyes from the ship, which was illuminated in full with the breaking of the dawn. She was shivering, the heavenly body’s warmth having not yet reached the cove. 

Bending down so that her knees scraped against the rough stone, Thyra pulled Arne to his feet and began the hike. The captain lolled from side to side, and Thyra had to battle to stay on her feet. 

. . . . .

Hilda watched the two, mere ants from her view, and leaned against the railing.

“They will not reach it before we do,” she muttered, “Fire at will.” The sailors raced into position, and Beorn screamed as best he could with his gag. The cannons exploded to life sending a shower of smoke and flame as they accelerated, heading for the two prisoners. 

    Hilda averted her eyes, besides the betrayal that was latched to her, hurting Thyra was so beyond what she’d wanted to happen. When she’d begun to realize how her cousin felt about her, she almost changed her mind about taking control of the ship, but no, too much was riding on this, if she failed her end of the bargain she wouldn’t live long enough to even think of last words. 

Her cousin's muffled cries made the pain worse as she heard the cannons strike the cove face. The mighty crash as stones crumbled and splashed into their watery grave was like a blow to the gut, but by sheer will power Hilda forced her eyes up. 

    The dilapidated cliff face showed no signs of movement or life, and somehow that felt worse than firing again. A pit formed in her stomach and bile rose in her throat. She whispered a silent prayer that Thrya had escaped that avalanche, and would simply leave all her dealings alone. 

Forcing her back straight, Hilda turned to the horizon, her dealer’s ships were visible.

. . . . . 

Thyra peaked out from her hiding place behind a boulder. The cannon fire had come close, way too close. Arne was crouched beside her, his eyes glossy and his cheeks pale. If that hadn’t disturbed the beast nothing would. The tight coils of hate and betrayal wove its way over her heart and mind. 

    If Hilda hadn’t condemned them to death from the cannon fire, she certainly had from awakening the beast. She knew Arne wouldn’t make something up, it simply wasn’t in his nature to tell stories as the other sailors did. This monster wasn’t going to be some mariner’s myth. The water shifted against its own current, and Thyra stiffened. They had to get out of here now, or risk the creature finding them. 

Slinking out, Arne right behind her, the two edged their way slowly over the rocks and up the side of the cove.

“If Hilda sees us, she’ll shoot again.” Arne mumbled as Thyra pushed out into the open. 

“It doesn’t matter if the creature finds us, our deaths will be more painful. We have to move now.” She shoved a rock to the side and wiped the blood from her palms as she emerged. 

The morning sky was growing darker as storm clouds moved in, Thyra followed them with her eyes across the horizon. Squinting, she peered closer, there were ships moving in. Their sails billowed in the wind, and their flags fluttered. She couldn’t make out the symbols on them but the size and numerous cannon turrets gave no room for question. Those were warships. 

Setting her jaw, Thyra pushed the rest of the way out, and Arne followed as best as he was able. The cliffs seemed moments from crumbling, and they had to edge along carefully. A single tentacle emerged above the water. It was too late.

. . . . .

Hilda watched as the ships pulled up beside hers. They dropped the ramp and sailors hurried aboard. Uneasily, she watched the cannons, the black abyss in the maw of each. A man with long dreadlocks stepped onto the ship followed closely by a pasty man with a sideways grin. He smirked at her and walked over with a proud gait. The man with dreadlocks waiting behind him, hand resting on the hilt of his sword. She swallowed down hard and raised her head, preparing to accept his money and hand over her thieving scum of a king. 

“Captain Hilda,” the man said with a smile, then cast a disapproving glance at her pants, “If we could get straight to our agreement I’d appreciate it.” Hilda nodded and turned away from the man, leading him over to her cousin. His wild hair fell in his eyes. She knelt down beside him, and leaned close to his face.

“You coulda avoided this all, by letting me stay.” She wanted to say more, but there wasn’t time. And this man was already so unworthy of the thought she’d put to him. He didn’t need to know just how much he’d hurt her when he’d allowed her to be abandoned, nor how hard it had been to feed or clothe herself. It was a cruel world for a woman without a family or husband. 

Hilda pursed her lips and pulled away. 

“He’s all yours!” She declared and stepped back, a single hand outstretched to accept her payment. The burly, bodyguard who’d been waiting went up to the king’s side while the pasty man pulled out a pouch from his pocket.

“Pleasure doing business with you captain!” He announced and set the purse in her hand. She felt the coins shift as they fell into her palm, and she grinned. “If you continue to do such a fine job then we might have to pay you more.” He smiled at her and she returned the expression. What would it matter if she betrayed those who looked down and scoffed at her? With this money she could finally buy her own ship instead of getting hired to work on someone else’s. She'd be free to follow any course or current the winds and ocean took her. 

The king was hauled to his feet, and he didn’t bother to struggle much. He knew it was pointless besides, she’d taken the single dagger he’d still had. She probably would’ve saved herself some trouble had she found it sooner. 

Beorn was pushed up the ramp and the two men with all their sailors followed behind, the burly man holding the arms of his prisoner fast. The ship rocked and Hilda ignored it, taking it to simply be the waves getting larger with the approaching storm. 

    It rocked again, harder this time. Hilda nearly lost her footing and she raced to the edge of the ship, peering over the side and into the ocean just as a tentacle reached out and threw itself over the side of the ship and clutched the mast. 

    Hilda dove out of the way just as the midnight black arm shot past her. It pulled the ship down and the ramp fell into the ocean, dumping the guard, politician, and Beorn into the sea.  

. . . . .

Thyra leapt away from a mighty tentacle that latched onto the rock beside her. The stones rained down in their already weakened positions like hail in a storm. There was only one way they could go now…into the cove. 

    Thyra grabbed Arne’s hand and forced him on. He moved with a slight limp, but kept on faster than Thyra had expected him to be able to. The dark abyss, their only possible safe haven, stretched out before them, and the two dove into its shadow. Thyra felt the icy water close in around her body, and she felt again the same horrible dread as when the sirens had attacked. Arne followed her, she could feel the water ripple as he landed. 

    She stayed underwater as long as she could, but at last, her lungs screaming, she pushed up and breached the surface. She could see almost nothing in the dark that surrounded her, but she kept on, there had to be a rock on land somewhere in this forsaken place. The last thing that she wanted to happen was for the beast to find them treading water in its home. 

    She pushed on forward, unsure where she was going. The sky outside was so dark that not even that provided light. It seemed to go on without end, till at last her hands fell on the cool stone of the cove side. It was covered in a slimy sludge that stuck to her hands and arms. She pushed on, feeling her way around beside the unwelcoming wall. 

    Hours seemed to tick by in a strange haze. Her legs were weak and her head was spinning, almost all direction was lost to her, save her precious knowledge of up from down. When at last she felt ground beneath her feet, she nearly cried with relief. 

    She dragged herself onto the bank and heard Arne scramble up behind her. She felt gratitude wash over her when she realized how likely it was for them to have been separated. A scream echoed through the cove followed by the sounds of a ship splintering. 

. . . . . 

Hilda struggled to stay on her feet as the ship was torn apart. The wind howled and rain pelted against her body. Beorn was nowhere to be seen, nor was the politician. The money he’d given her jingled in her pockets, and she pressed a hand to it. The black tentacles wrapped tighter around the hull, the sound of the wood being ripped off reverberated throughout the air. 

The mast broke and came crashing down in a cacophony louder than a thousand cymbals. Hilda leapt, crumpling on the deck in a heap just beyond the mast’s reach. Wincing, she rubbed her hand against her cheek then pulled it back quickly. She looked down at her fingers, they were covered with blood from her cut cheek. She felt the warm liquid dribble down her face and slide over her neck, soaking her white shirt. 

Hilda groaned and tried to get to her feet. She had hardly made it to her knees when she felt tentacles wrap around her legs. Hilda screamed as the creature pulled her free of the deck and held her aloft. She stared straight down at the black water and saw a yellow maniacal eye stare back at her. She screamed again and scrambled for her sword. She watched as the creature’s magnificent jaw opened and its numerous rows of teeth were displayed. 

    It was too late. The tentacles released their hold and Hilda plummeted, with a shriek that was cut short, into the monster’s maw. 

. . . . .

Thyra pushed herself against the back of the cove wall, desperate to hide from whatever this creature was. She had heard Hilda’s scream and with tears dripping down her cheeks she knew her friend had died. No one else, she thought, oh please, no one else die! 

“Stay here!” She said to Arne, if she’d had time to think she might have been startled that she was commanding her captain, “I need to find the king.” She screamed the words above the din that filled the cove. 

Thyra bounded into the icy water and closed her eyes as she swam beneath the waves to the ship. When she emerged above the water, her jaw dropped. The ship was a wreck beyond any hope of repair, and the ship that had come alongside it was in no better condition. The creature had moved on a ways toward the other ships which were making a desperate escape. Around both of the wrecked ships the sea was red, and Thyra had to turn away. It was too horrific for her to even look at. 

She dove back beneath the waves and searched hopelessly for her king, knowing full well that he was probably gone. Still she searched. Just when she had given up hope and knew that it would be foolish to stay here longer than she already had, she saw a head bob above the red froth and then sink back down. 

    Thyra swam with full strength toward the figure and wrapped her arms around his unconscious body. She pulled him to the nearest rock bank and peered at his face. It was him, her king! She wiped the blood off his face and felt his neck for a pulse. Faint and weak, but still there, she felt it. Sighing with relief, she rested his head in her lap. 

A shrill shriek, mournful and despairing, crossed the sea and reached her ears. Sirens. Thyra realized with a sinking heart. It wasn’t over, nowhere near. 

The king coughed and his eyes fluttered open. He smiled up at her.

“You’re alive. I thought my cousin had…” he broke into another fit of coughing and Thyra brushed his hair away from his face.

“I’m right here, Beorn.” She said softly and looked out over the sea. She was unarmed and outmatched in both numbers and strength. She couldn’t kill sirens with her bare fists. She searched for some weapon on top of the water. She saw only a single sword, but it was far enough away that she wasn't sure that she could get there and back in time. Besides, it was floating in the middle of the red sea, exactly where the sirens would be going. There didn’t seem to be another option. 

    Pulling her leather band down over her ears, she dove back into the water and swam with all her strength toward the sword. Once she had it clutched in her fist she didn’t waste a moment and began to head back. She could hear the cries of the siren’s feeding frenzy growing louder, and her panic forced her pace to quicken. She felt a scaly hand pierce the sole of her boot just as she reached the shore. 

    Taking the sword in both hands, she swung down with all her remaining strength at the siren. It died after a single hit, and Thyra stumbled back. She’d never killed! She’d taken another intelligent life. Necessary or not it still made her feel sick to the very pit of her stomach. 

    She fought down the bile as more sirens raced at her. In the siren’s weakened position emerging from the water, Thyra was able to slay them with ease, till at last enough had died that the rest backed away, off to look for easier prey. She heard one of them shriek and dive away, the others followed in a mad frenzy. The creature was returning. 

    Taking her sword in hand and clutching it tight, Thyra stood her ground. Arne and Beorn needed her to be strong now. Arne was too far away to fight, and Beorn was on the precipice of unconsciousness. This would be up to her. 

    The creature was soon upon them and Thyra stood taller, shoulders back and her head held high. She pulled the leather band from her head and let her wet hair fall across her shoulders. 

    Tentacles came flying at her and she swung her sword at each, finally her weapon found its mark and a tentacle was cleaved fully from the beast’s body. She heard its deafening cry, and it rose up from the watery depths. Its cyclops eye looked down on her with rage, and its rows of pointed teeth glistened in its monstrous jaw, each stained red with blood. 

    It dove at her and she had to jump to the side. Beorn had, in his subconscious, managed to slide himself away and toward the stone wall of the cove. 

    “You took everything from me!” Thyra cried out at the creature. She didn’t know if it could understand, but if it could she wanted it to know exactly what it was she was fighting for. 

    “You killed my father, my mother couldn’t handle the grief, and the pain killed her! You’ve destroyed my ship and killed my best friend! You’ve tried to kill my king, my captain, and myself! You are fighting for another meal to satisfy your gluttony; I’m fighting for all those I’ve lost and for all those I can protect!” Her voice shook with fear and rage as she spoke, but she didn’t lower her gaze.

    The beast straightened. Even if it didn’t understand it seemed to know her tone well enough. It lunged again and this time Thyra didn’t jump to the side rather she held her sword out and let it pierce the monster’s skull. It gave a sickly cry and swayed as if dazed. With a last animal groan it collapsed on the stones between Beorn and Thyra, dead. Thyra sank to her knees, utterly exhausted. Beorn came over to her groggily, but with more awareness than he had had previously. 

    “Thyra!” He yelled, “Thyra, are you alright?” As he tried to scramble over the monster’s dead body, he lost balance and tumbled to the ground. He tried to get to his feet, but quickly dropped to his knees. Thyra moved over to his side and supported him under one arm. 

   “I’m okay, but we can’t stay here. The sirens will be back once they find that the creature is dead. Arne is waiting for me in the cove. If you will let me, I will help you get there.” 

    Beorn nodded. Thyra grabbed a piece of floating wreckage and dragged him into the cove. Arne called for them and she followed the sound of his voice. 

    “We’ll need to stay here tonight.” Arne said softly. “It’s too dark to go hunting for the treasure now.” Beorn nodded and Thyra looked back and forth at the two.

    “What is this all about? Why is this treasure so special? And whose ships were those that came alongside ours?” For every question that came to Thyra’s mind a dozen more seemed to back it.

    “Those ships, Thyra, were dealers from the kingdoms we have been at war with for over a decade. Hilda was trading me to them for payment,” Thyra felt her jaw drop, she began to sincerely doubt that she had ever truly known Hilda at all, “This treasure is so special because it’s what I can use to end this war. I’ve spoken with the kings of the other realms and they have agreed to a hundred year truces if I can pay them four hundred pounds of gold each.”

     “Four hundred!” Thyra proclaimed. Beorn nodded and continued.

    “That’s why we spoke with Mr. Codder, the innkeeper, about the map. He has contacts that I trust in the other kingdoms. We were trying to reach them to tell them to prepare a meeting in our capital as soon as we returned. We had better hope that there is a ship with the treasure though or we aren’t getting home.” 

    Thyra nodded. That explained a lot.

    “This treasure will bring peace to our people at last, Thyra.” Beorn sounded so tired as he spoke, and Thyra resolved not to ask another question tonight. 

    The night passed quietly and without even a siren’s wailing. As dawn broke, the company arose and began their search. Arne said that according to the map, there should be a tunnel in the cove that would lead to the treasure and an exit. Thyra swam under the water, feeling along the wall. Beorn did the same while Arne felt for some hidden way along the now visible banks. 

    “I found it!” Beorn cried. Thyra turned to him, a smile on her face. 

    The tunnel was underwater, but fairly short and soon after ducking beneath the waves they emerged on the other side. Thyra gasped as her head broke the water’s surface. The room was covered from stem to stern in treasure and amid it all was a ship. She neary sobbed with relief. She swam as quickly as she could onto the dry land and bolted to the boat. They were going home!

Epilogue

Thyra stepped on the ramp of her ship, the leading ship in her galley. Her captain's hat was pulled low over her brow and her blonde hair was blowing behind her in the morning wind. Hand resting on the hilt of her sword, she turned to look behind her. Her two sons watched her with smiles on their lips, her husband, Beorn, rested one hand on either of their shoulders, a crown set on his brow. 

           Arne was away on one of his own voyages, thus he wasn't here to see her off. Her sister, however, was standing beside her husband and children. In the years since Thyra's first voyage and the end of the war, she'd become a well known captain to her people as well as their queen. There was no reproach to her marriage after saving her king's life on that initial voyage. 

             Captain Thyra hurried up the last of the steps, setting one booted foot before another. Heading straight for the bowsprit, she stood at the railing and looked out over the shimmering sea before her.

The End

    Well there it is, the end of Thyra's journey. It's sad to say goodbye, but I'm really happy with how this one turned out. Thank you to my Alpha and Beta reader: Adalaid, Sarah, and Cora for all your help. I couldn't have done this without you, and I'm so grateful! 

    If you enjoyed this tale please subscribe and comment down below which chapter was your favorite. I'll respond as soon as I can! If you'd like to join my email list then head to this link https://story-anchor.ck.page/b0d556afb4 thank you so much for reading my story! Have a wonderful day!