the wood floor, leaving a trail of water. The masts rained water down with each movement. The fish inside swam around. There were so many different kinds, big ones and little ones, red ones and green ones.
I gave myself a tour. I splashed water around with every step, marveling at what I was on. It was a nice clear day, perfect for sailing across wood. I didn’t even care where I was headed. As long as there were people there I was alright with not having any control.
I took a seat at the very front of the deck and relaxed in the inch of water I was in. The air hit my face and I felt better than I had all day. There was no shadow to trick me or wizard to impede my way. It was just me and the unknown force steering the ship to an unknown destination. Everything felt right.
My head was as clear as it ever was and bits of memories floated with the breeze. There was something about school. I remembered my high school. It was an ugly brick building with little windows. I had good times there. I didn’t quite recall what those good times were but I knew I had some. Random moments entered my head, a fragment of a conversation here, a trace of dream there.
And then there was something more recent, an image of me sitting in my apartment. I could feel an acute sadness that I could not shake. It was so strong that I felt it as though new. I couldn’t get rid of it. It closed in on all sides. I tried my hardest to push it back, but it wouldn’t go. I was enveloped. I closed my eyes and pressed my palms against them. My head fell back. The water came over me. It was deeper now. It closed around me as completely as the sadness did. I opened my eyes and saw that I was sinking into the ship. I swam up but couldn’t break the surface. The water was thicker than it should have been.
The fish paid no attention. They swam carelessly around as I sank deeper. The deck and the air grew farther away. I neared the wood. I couldn’t breathe. It wasn’t like when I swam to the swamp. My lungs ached for air but I couldn’t get it for them.
My eyes closed and I stopped trying to swim. I could do little else. I let myself go. My body floated around. My lungs were ready to burst. I slipped out of consciousness.
I opened my eyes and took a deep breath. I was back on the deck. I was on the top of the water again. My eyes darted around to find my savior. There was no one there. I mean there were no people. There was something. It floated just above the surface behind me. I crawled over to it. It floated backwards. It was something different, something I had never seen before. I shook my head and looked again.
It was a pair of eyes, no lashes, no eyelids, just a pair of big brown eyes staring at me. I stopped moving towards them. They continued back, through the water and out the back of the ship. I ran to the railing and watched them. They weren’t moving; the ship was. The eyes were still, unflinching, uncaring. They simply watched. Soon they were just a tiny dot in the distance, and then nothing.
I had never seen anything like that and hoped I never did again. There was something unnerving about them. They stared at me as though they knew all about me. As if they had all the answers that I craved. I felt ill at ease. I was left with a feeling I didn’t like and couldn’t quite place. I turned to see what was ahead, trying my hardest to forget the whole ordeal.
It didn’t take much. I could see land in the distance and everything else dropped from my mind. The ship slowed. This was no ordinary land. The beach was black and clouds hung dark and ominous. The rumbles of far away thunder hit my ears. And then, in the distance, several large mountains appeared. Their tops were so high they disappeared through the clouds. I could just barely make out what looked like little tents at the base of the closest mountain. That had to be people.
In my excitement I didn’t notice until it was too late that something odd was happening with the ship. It was getting shorter. I looked over the edge and gave a cry of fright. The water was getting loose. The ship was melting into the wood. It was spreading out at the base and leaking away. I didn’t know what to do. I ran around trying to find something that I could use, but everything was made of water. The fish jumped out and disappeared into the wood. I had to watch as the ship melted away. The deck disappeared and the masts came down with a splash.
One minute I was on a large watery sailing ship and the next the ship was gone and I stood on the dry wooden ocean. I shrugged. It really wasn’t the strangest thing to happen to me that day. I started for the black beach in hopes of finding someone who could finally answer my questions.
5. The War and the Princess
The black sand was course and hard and crunched when I walked on it. The wind picked up and blew fiercely down from the mountains. I pulled my jacket collar up around my neck. Wait! I looked down and found myself wearing black pants, a gray shirt, and a black jacket. Had I been wearing that before? I checked my pockets. The strange faceless clock was still there. Maybe I had been wearing that the whole time.
The black beach ended. The land was now reddish, from the rocks to the mountains. The ground rumbled every so often. I looked up to the mountains and wondered.
The camp was ahead a quarter mile. There were people standing around outside that wore the same black outfit that I was wearing. That had to be a good sign. But from where I was I could not tell if they were friendly. There was only one way to find out.
The terrain was rough. Rocks of all sizes littered the ground. I stepped carefully. The lightning was getting closer. I could see occasional flashes and hear the thunder louder. A storm was coming.
I approached the camp slowly. One of the people outside, I took them to be guards, saw me approach. He came up, holding his hand out for me to stop.
“Yes, sorry, um, where am I?” I asked nervously.
The man looked me over. “We are pleased you are here. Come inside.”
He didn’t look all that pleased but I followed him anyway. He led me into the largest tent. The tents were made of a thick canvas. Lanterns hung from the ceiling, illuminating twenty or so cots. A crowd of people sat in the corner. We went up to them. The man who sat in the middle of it all stood up. He had a good natured face and a wide grin at the sight of me.
“So you volunteer?” He said expectantly, putting his hand out for me to shake.
“Volunteer for what?”
He withdrew his hand. “I put out a notice for someone, isn’t it you?”
I was used to being confused, but now I was really confused. “I’m sorry but I don’t know what I volunteered for. I never saw any notice. I’ve just arrived and I was looking for someone to tell me where I am.”
He chuckled merrily. “Why you are here.”
“Where is here?”
His smile faltered slightly. “Right here.”
“Yes, but what is the name of here?”
His smile disappeared completely. “Why need a name? Right here is good enough for me. And if it’s good enough for the king then its good enough for you.”
“Oh, are you Heradus’s father?”
“Who?”
“Heradus. He ruled Amna. He said his father was king and had a castle near a cliff.”
The man looked around for help as if I was speaking a different language. “I know nothing of Amna or a Heradus.”
“Right, never mind. So what was it I volunteered for?”
His smile returned in full force. “I need you to lead the army?”
“You need what?!” I nearly shouted.
Everyone recoiled at my voice. The king looked scared. He cowered down and put his hands up to cover his face.
“That’s what the notice was about. I’m sorry I forgot you didn’t see it.”
“It’s alright.” I said calmly.
The king put his hands down. “Are you sure?” He asked innocently.
“Yes.”
“Good.” He returned to his full height. “But the truth is that there will be a battle momentarily and we need someone to lead the army.”
/> “Why don’t you?” I suggested.
His eyes grew large and he began to breath deep and slow. “Me? I can’t lead an army.”
“Well aren’t you king?”
He stood on the tips of his toes, almost falling over. “That’s right I am. I will lead this army to victory today.”
“That sounds great.” I said.
He hunched his shoulders and bent down. “But what if they fight?” His voice sounded like that of a scared child.
“So what if they do?” I said, standing straight and tall. “That’s what happens in a battle, isn’t it?”
He sat down on a cot and let his head fall to his knees. “I don’t know; I’ve never been in a battle before.”
“That’s alright, neither have I.”
He picked his head up and smiled timidly. “Will you teach me?”
“How to fight?”
“Yes, just for today.”
I looked around. This place was more of a madhouse than the clock workshop.
“I can’t teach you the skills needed for battle, I don’t know them myself.”
A collected sigh went through the tent.
I felt bad about letting all these strange people down. “Why don’t you tell me who you are fighting and maybe I can be of some help.”
The king stood up. He frowned at me and nodded. “I will tell you the story of how we came to be in such a predicament. You will cry of sorrow for us. It all started when I was a boy. I was a cute thing. My parents had many pictures made of me. The painters were so excited just to see me.