Chapter 11: Past and Present ---------------------------- Alcan stood on the deck of the ship with Captain Will Bryant. The man's manner was much more lighthearted and carefree than it had been in Jidoor; Alcan supposed he had been trying to be as decent as he could in front of the townsfolk. He was telling Alcan about himself and his ship, called the Waverider, but Alcan was not listening very closely. He was more concerned about Driel and Locke below. Locke was certainly in bad shape, which his seasickness would not at all help. Perhaps Driel could take care of him, but if he had something contagious... /Perhaps tomorrow I'll be able to help them some more,/ he thought. He stifled a yawn; he would definitely have to find some rest during this voyage, and preferably soon. Then Alcan realized that the captain had fallen silent and was looking at him as if expecting an answer. "Sorry," he apologized. "My thoughts were elsewhere. What did you say?" "I was askin' where ye're from," Will said. Alcan hesitated a moment, then simply answered, "Far away. I haven't travelled much." He did not feel like recounting his arrival here yet again. Suddenly Alcan heard someone coming up the stairs. He and Will turned to see Driel racing up to the deck. Alcan ran to meet her, asking, "What's wrong?" "Umm... Locke's delirious and feverish... I came to get him some water." Driel directed the last part at Will. From behind Alcan, Will said, "I'll get ye some water." He started to rummage around in a box of supplies. Alcan glanced down the steps to the crew cabin where Locke lay, then looked back at Driel. "It could be some side effect of whatever was done to him by... whoever that was." "Rhiannon," Driel supplied. Then she shook her head. "No, I'm afraid it's something worse." At that point, Will approached them with a metal cup in his hand, full of water. "Here ye are," he said, handing Driel the cup. "So yer friend's not doin' well?" "We won't know for sure until he wakes up later," Alcan replied quickly, "but I think it's related to something I've seen before, and he should be alright before too long." He wasn't sure whether he could trust this Will not to take advantage of Locke's illness. Driel glanced at him in surprise. Then he added, "But I'm going to go check on him anyway, and the water will certainly help. Driel?" He strode over to the stairway, Driel following. Once they were in the cabin, Alcan sat down against the wall near Locke's cot. Driel went over to Locke's side and slowly poured the water down his throat, holding his head elevated. "He's so warm," she said softly. "Perhaps it *will* get better in a few days," Alcan said. "I said what I did because I'm not sure I trust that captain. I don't want him taking advantage of Locke's condition." Driel shook her head as she set Locke's head back on the cot. "Don't worry," she told him. "He may not be the most pleasant person you've ever met, but he is trustworthy." Alcan nodded slowly but said, "Still, he makes me uncomfortable. I don't know; maybe it's just a residual feeling from that Rhiannon... but I'm going to play it safe, just in case." He paused, then asked another question that was on his mind. "Just what did happen between you and that Rhiannon, anyway?" Driel hesitated. "Umm... well, it's a long story..." Alcan noticed her discomfort and said quickly, "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." He did not want to push her about personal things; he knew he was often reluctant to talk about his own life. "No," she replied. "I don't mind. It's just... there have been so many changes lately, so much that's new... I still don't think I've absorbed it all." She took a deep breath, and began: "I think it all started when I was six. My brother, Jared, was already interested in seafaring by then, so my parents decided to get me a tutor, a Miss Avedri. At least, that's the name she went by. She taught well, although she was always cool and distant. Among other things, she tried to teach me magic, but I wasn't able to learn it. Eventually she left. "Then, about a week ago, Leviathan came to visit, in human form. He made this claim about me being his daughter. At the time, it sounded ridiculous. I mean, he's a sea serpent and I'm just a plain old human. Then the undead army came." Driel shuddered briefly. "And that was when I learned about... my other half." "Your 'other half'?" Alcan inquired. "I really am Leviathan's daughter," Driel explained. "I can change into a sea serpent... but I usually need Lola's help, because of her ring. I don't know how I did it in Jidoor." "So... as a sea serpent, you can use magic?" "Yes," Driel replied. "Mostly healing spells, but I can attack with water." Alcan could tell there was more, and although Driel seemed to be getting a bit more comfortable talking about it, he did not want to press her. He knew that in her place, he would probably not have told as much. There was silence for a moment. Then Driel asked, "So... who are you? Where are you from?" /Speaking of being in her place... but she deserves that much in return, at least./ "I'm a prince of... a country on another world, called Drellost. At least, I was a prince, up until a few months ago. Eight years ago, when I was twelve, my mother went out riding one morning and never returned. My father ordered a countrywide search conducted, but my mother was never found. After several months... she was finally declared dead." "Oh, dear..." Driel murmured. Then, even more softly, "Jared..." "That's when things got bad. My father kept the same pleasant, caring appearance to outsiders - but to me and my brothers, he became worse and worse, almost as if he was letting out on us the anger and depression he couldn't show in public. We tried everything we could to bring him out of his foul mood, but nothing worked. He got worse and worse over the years despite everything we tried to do to help him. "Finally... things got to where I couldn't stand it anymore. So one night, I just left. I climbed out my window and ran from the castle as fast as I could so the guards wouldn't catch me and bring me back. I still don't know why I left; maybe to find help elsewhere, maybe to look for my mother in case she was still alive somewhere; I don't know. But for whatever reason, I left. "I ran through the night and the next day. That evening, I reached Geswine - that's a town some distance from the castle - and decided to rest there for the night. I was dressed in travelling clothes so no one would recognize me, and I figured that the soldiers wouldn't be able to follow me that far with any certainty. "Then I woke up the next morning, and went out to the common room... it was on my way out. But when I got there I saw that everyone was looking dejected... so I asked the innkeeper why..." Alcan hesitated. These memories were always the worst; his mother might still be found someday, but the rest of his family.... "What had happened?" Driel asked. "He said... he said that the royal family had been killed two nights earlier." Driel gasped in shock. "Your entire family... murdered?" Alcan nodded. "And the thing of it is, I must've escaped by an hour, two at the most. If I hadn't run away I'd be as dead as them. "But even that wasn't the worst of it." A bit of the anger he felt at Ludek began to creep into Alcan's voice. "Before my family's death, everyone in Drellost had considered my father a very good king. But even that morning, there were some who were saying they were glad the king was dead. Saying they wanted their town to become autonomous. So in one day I went from being a 'mere' prince - and fifth in line for the throne, at that - to being the king of a country that was falling apart." He chuckled mirthlessly. "If nothing else, at least I got the throne. "So, naturally, I set out for revenge. And that is essentially what got me here." This, at least, he could talk about more easily. "I found this control room or something full of technologically advanced stuff, all sorts of blinking lights and displays. I think I must have bumped a button somewhere, but whatever it was, it left me south of... what was that town?... Narshe, that's it. A week ago, more or less." After a moment, Driel asked, "Do you have any idea who killed your family?" "I know his name," Alcan answered. "It's Ludek. Other than that, I've no idea." He yawned then, not even trying to stop himself. "I really need to get some rest," he said, and proceeded to stretch himself out on the floor. It was not particularly comfortable, but he could deal with it. Before closing his eyes, Alcan called to Driel, "Wake me if you need me for anything... or if Locke wakes up." She looked at him, nodded, and then returned to watching over Locke. Alcan put his arms under his head to serve as a pillow, then closed his eyes. He did not fall asleep immediately, though. /Why did I tell her so much?/ he wondered. He was not usually so open with people about his life, especially people he did not know well; in fact, he could not recall having told anyone so much about his life. True, she had told him a lot about herself... but that was only part of it, Alcan realized. He also felt comfortable talking to her; he instinctively trusted her. Since landing in this strange world, he had been alone; it was nice to have a companion again. A few minutes later, Alcan was asleep.