The Big Four

Chapter 12

“Incoming!”
Jack flies over from the woods, followed by a bunch of airborne weapons.
I scowl. “What is it this time?”
Jack collapses onto the sand, panting. “This island is inhabited by some old tribes…”
“Who have a god of winter?” I ask incredulously.
He shrugs. “I guess so.”

---

No. There’s no. Freaking. Way.
Something I wasn’t admitting to myself.
Hahaha. But this isn’t it. No way. It’s just my head finally going crazy after this long. Some weird, uncharacteristic idea. Not a fact.
But could it really hurt to admit it?
Ummm, yeah. No way am I saying THAT out loud. I don’t care how much pain I’m in, I’m not that desperate.
Pain rolls through me again, which makes me reconsider.
Something is happening. I can vaguely sense things happening around me. Through my blurry vision, I think that I can make out… metal? Spears? Shouts and strange animal calls echo into my ears.
I’m also faintly aware of being lifted up. Wind whooshes through my hair.
Then again, I could be imagining things. I’m so numb I wouldn’t be able to tell.
“Merida.”
The voice echoes into my head, louder and more clear than the rest of the noise
“Merida, please. Don’t die. There’s something you’re not admitting to yourself. Please… Do you know what it is?”
I blink, and my vision clears somewhat. I’m surrounded by dirt and pointed sticks. Hiccup’s face is the only clear thing that I can focus on.
“I… I think…”
No. Way. I’m not saying it out loud. It won’t end up being the right thing, and I’ll just make a fool of myself.
Something else. A voice. Arguing. Hiccup turns. I vaguely hear him muttering curses under his breath.
He turns back to face me. “MERIDA! If you know… just admit it already!” He chokes on his own words. “Please,” he says more softly.
I can’t. I can’t. No. No way.
It’s stupid. It’s crazy. It won’t help anything. I’ll be a fool.
But what if it does work?
I stare into Hiccup’s deep green eyes. I can’t say this. I can’t not.
“I…” My voice cracks. I force myself to get it out. “I think I love you.”
For a second, nothing happens. I knew it. I’ve made a fool of myself.
Then the aching subsides. Slowly, I become more aware, more conscious of my surroundings. My lungs compress so tightly I think that I’ll never breathe again. My eyes start to slide shut.
In one final explosion, I practically leap forward, taking in deep, ragged breaths.
Everything seems vivid, colorful. It’s probably just because of how long I’ve been locked up in that awful… whatever.
My face is wet. Salty tears stream into my open mouth.
I take several more deep breaths, forcing myself to not inhale too quickly.
My first thought: Wow. I’m ALIVE. I’m well again. This is AWESOME!!!!!!
Second thought: I just said that. Out loud. To Hiccup.
I blush scarlet and stare at the ground. “Ummm…”
“You’re OK!” Hiccup exclaims in a decidedly boyish tone.
“Duh,” is all I manage to say.
I hear Jack and Kayden chuckling. I shoot them both down with murderous looks.
“Jo keten horiA?” A strange voice asks in a strange language. I glance around. We’re in a damp, dark earthen room. There’s a narrow doorway, almost entirely filled by a dark-skinned guy with strange markings and tattoos. He’s brandishing a crude spear.
“JOuin furUm doijheN,” Kayden answers. The guy in the doorway frowns, but doesn’t say anything.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
Kayden sighs. “I got off course and we ended up here. The JhuigOanS -- an ancient tribe that lives on this island -- found us. They, er, locked us up.” He flushes, embarrassed.
“Dude, seriously? You’re the spirit of Wind and Jack’s the spirit of Winter. And you got captured by a bunch of tribe guys?”
“And that guy standing in the doorway is the spirit of Ancient War,” Jack adds.
“Oooohh…”
The guy in the doorway -- Ancient War Spirit -- nods in my direction. “SeYaa GiOoo eydO?”
“Um, what did he say?”
“How do they see me?” Kayden translates.
I bite my lip. “How do you say ‘I don’t know’ in… Whatever their language is?”
“JhuigOansEE. It’s DorgH jiAm kO.”
“Dorje jiamm ko,” I repeat as best I can.
Someone shouts at Ancient War Spirit from outside. AWS barks a quick reply.
“And now,” Kayden says grimly. “I think that they’re going to kill us.”

---

“Mix that, won’t you?” JiA passes me a huge wooden spoon and gestures to the pot of stew boiling over the fire. I nod and hurry to do so.
I have no idea who I am. I showed up on this island a few days ago with no food, no name, and no memory. KiOO said that I was a spirit, whatever that means. He’d given me a name -- RaiA -- and left me at JiA’s home. He said that I might get my memory back soon, I might not; but by the end of the week, I’d find out whatever I was the spirit of. If I ever got my memory back, I could leave; if not, I was destined to stay here forever.
I’d probably end up here for the rest of eternity.
I brush my long, blond hair out of the way. It’s an almost unnatural shade of gold, and its length is preposterous. I wanted to cut it, but JiA warned me not to. She’s the Spirit of Magic, and she said that if I did, I’d die.
Lucky me.
JiA walks back over and seizes the spoon, a grave look on her face.
“What is it, JiA?”
Her frown deepens. “HayOO caught some Free Spirits and some other strange people. Apparently, the people have the ability to see all of us without believing. I can sense no new magic on this island, but they want me to get closer and check anyways. Would you mind coming with me? Maybe seeing a Free Spirit will help your memory and you’ll be able to get off of this miserable island.”
Apparently, JiA is the only spirit courageous enough to speak her true opinion of this miserable hole of a place. I’d speak up, but I’m afraid that I’m not indispensable enough. I’d get executed for sure.
“Sure, I’d love to come.”
She smiles at me. “Let’s go, then.”

---

I pace the room. This island brings back bad memories. Every Spirit starts out here. It’s an awful place. Newcomers are treated practically like slaves -- unless JiA decides to take them under her wing. It’s an awful hierarchy of cruelty and insanity.
A small part of me hopes that maybe, just maybe, Rapunzel became a spirit by saving me and her parents. Another part thinks that that’s pretty selfish.
HayOO, the Ancient War Spirit, steps aside. JiA crowds into the doorway and sniffs.
“I don’t sense magic on them,” she says in her native tongue. She smiles at Kayden and I. “Nice to see you two again.”
Kayden snorts. I cross my arms.
“Not happy to see me? Well then. Anyways, HayOO, we should just let them go.”
HayOO snorts. “That’s up to Chief KiOO, not you.”
JiA sighs. “Fine, then.” She looks us over. “Shouldn’t they at least be allowed to stretch their legs? I swear on my life that I won’t let them escape.”
“Fine,” HayOO concedes after a minute’s hesitation. “Just a quick walk.”
Merida leans in our direction. “Um, what’s happening now?”
JiA turns to her. “Come child, walk with me,” she says, reverting to the common tongue and gesturing with her arms to include all four of us. “There’s someone I’d like for you to meet,” she adds.

---

I can’t see inside. I twirl a strand of hair nervously. JiA swore on her life that she’d not let them escape. What if they ran away? JiA would be killed. I wouldn’t live in the conditions that most do.
She finally backs out of the way.
The first out is a Gaelic girl with thick, curly red hair tied into a messy Viking braid. Her aquamarine eyes are piercing, curious.
The next is a Viking with ruffled brown hair and bright green eyes.
The third is a Spirit -- I instinctively know that he’s the Spirit of Wind. He shifts nervously.
The last is the Spirit of Winter. He has icy blue eyes and frosty white hair. A pulsing pain starts in the back of my head.
Their gazes all seem to land on me at the same time. The Gaelic girl gasps, her face totally stunned. The Viking raises an eyebrow in confusion. The Wind Spirit doesn’t seem to recognize me whatsoever. The Winter Spirit does a double take and rushes forward.
“Rapunzel!” He stops only a few feet away. My head protests violently, and I raise a hand to my temples. “I’m sorry. Do I… know you?” Stupid question. “I mean… I think I do. But… Who… I mean… I’m RaiA.”
The boy frowns. “I’m Jack,” he says softly.
I nearly double over. More pain thuds through me, galloping through my veins like an acid racehorse.
“Yes… Jack,” I mutter. “And… I’m… Rapunzel…” I gasp for breath. “Faces. Fog. It’s fuzzy. A girl named Merida. A boy named… Hiccup. Parents. A witch. I…”
Black dances through my vision, and my knees buckle.
“Ow,” is all I can say.