Jalia on the Road (Jalia - World of Jalon) (18 page)

Trapped Among the Sand Fairies

Daniel knew he had just one chance to make a difference

As the fairies held his mouth so he could not talk

He thrust his sheathed dagger down into Jalia's skirt

Then allowed the fairies to hold him without a squawk

Jalia felt the dagger slide down her knickers

In the small of her back and below

As the king took the ring from off of her finger

She cursed in her mind what she didn't know

Daniel had known how to use the magic ring

So the form for the dagger must be similar to that

"Magic Dagger do this or do that" she thought

When she could speak she would murder these rats

She heard she was going to be taken and raped

And the boy would be put killed on the morrow

Then the king called for the dagger and her heart leaped

Perhaps this would all now end in sorrow

The couldn't find the dagger and they didn't look on her

And they weren't going to let Daniel utter a word

Then he bit the hand that covered his face

Shouted, "Sword" which was all that she heard

They dragged her away and tied her to the bed

Spreadeagled, with the dagger rough down her back

She could speak now but wasn't sure what to say

Daniel's word would have to put her back on track

The dagger and the ring had shrunk when they both became small

And Daniel once told her he had rescued a fairy true

To her a dagger might have looked like a massive sword

In that was the case she knew what she must do

Her skirt and knickers were ripped off her body

And the king had stripped himself bare

It seems that fairies were disproportioned

And she gulped as she saw what stood there

It seemed this experience would probably kill her

She doubted she could take that inside her and live

"Magic Sword cut his balls", she shouted in desperation

As she was about to take all he could give

The King screamed like a girl as he was castrated

Falling backwards blood running all over the place

"Magic Sword cut his throat" Jalia said wearily

Wondering how much more she could face

Jalia freed herself quickly with the magic dagger

Fastened her skirt about herself as best she could

She knew she should rescue Daniel at once

And once she'd explored, well she would!

The Kings apartments were connected together

She went swiftly from room to room

Till she came to one filled with pedestals

Each lit while the room was in gloom

This must be the trophy room

She thought as she saw a human head

From her present size it seemed like a giants

And she was glad it was obviously dead

Daniel might be being tortured

Jalia thought as she retrieved her magic ring

But the trophy room was full of treasure

A few minutes more would not change a thing

It was only when her skirt fell down

From the weight of all the objects in her pocket

That she decided she had better rescue Daniel

To forget the treasure and get on with it

She decided the dungeons would have to be down

It's the traditional location after all

So she headed down all the stairs she could find

Making sure no one saw her at all

In the dirty manky dripping tunnels

Beneath the castle down deep

She found a door surrounded by guards

A place where prisoners they might keep

The magic sword was dispatched and killed

All the guards standing there

She found a bunch of keys in one man's hands

And travelled down into despair

There were lots of cells in which skeletal people

Huddled or groaned out their pain

It took her a while to find Daniel's cell

As she passed the hopeless, the dead and the insane

He had obviously been beaten to tell of the sword

But he smiled through bruised face at her

She freed him from chains that bound him to the wall

Then she gave him, reluctantly, his dagger.

They escaped from the castle as fast as they could

Returned to Daniel's donkey and their things

Then returned to their normal size, which felt very good

With the returning power of the ring

Neither one spoke as they moved down the road

It was morning and the king would be found

They wanted to be far from that place when he was

And a long way towards where they were bound.

That night Jalia removed her nether garments

Placed herself over Daniel's knee where he sat

They had made a deal that if things went wrong

She would be spanked and that was that.

It hurt quite a lot as she suspected it would

Daniel was very strong for a boy

But for all she deserved it for nearly getting them both killed

The treasure she'd stolen filled her heart with joy

Interlude on the Road

Many days had passed since the sand fairy castle

For the first two days Jalia had walked rather than rode

They left the dessert for lakes and forests

Following the ancient trade road

Jalia and Daniel were becoming close friends

Jalia could be fun when not driven

By the need to find treasure or prove her self the best

But this new friendship soon would be riven

They stopped by a lake that Daniel remembered very well

It was here that his dagger became magic

He went down to the lake where the fairy had been

A place he would hear something tragic

He had no sooner found a dead tree where he could sit

And admire the lake, forest and mountains in his site

Than the fairy he had rescued flew in front of his face

And settled to rest on the tree to his right

"Well met my knight in shining armor

We have hoped that you would come back this way

After your adventure with our sand fairy brethren

Once again, you can save the day"

Daniel was taken aback by the words he had heard

"Surely Sand Fairies are no kin to you"

"Alas they are but under a terrible curse

A curse that now might be lifted, it's true"

"Once sand fairies were beautiful and graceful and kind

Till the day a treasure came their way

The treasure took their hearts and their souls became black

They turned physically ugly on the way

But that cursed treasure has finally left their hands

And now rests among your companion's things

If you will gift it to us then we might make things better

If you keep it, be sure that evil it brings"

"This cannot be true!" Daniel said with a curse

"We left with no treasure at all

Jalia had no time as I was being tortured

To search for the fairies treasure hall"

"I am telling the truth, you can look for yourself

The object grew when you both became tall

It is a black pyramid shining darker than pitch

It cannot be mistaken at all"

Daniel felt betrayed that Jalia had not told him

Of this extra treasure she had found

He had to check for himself and take this object

To give to the fairies, he found himself bound

He went back to the camp and waited for Jalia

To collect the fire wood for the fire

As he searched her bags he felt unclean

It was an awful feeling like stealing, so dire

The pyramid was there, as he knew it would be

Along with many other objects of wealth

He knew it was evil, it gave off that glow

To be rid of it would be good for their health

He took it down to the waters edge

And a dozen fairies surrounded it just so

They did something that made it shrink for a second

Then explode in a sickly blue glow

He wearily turned his back on the lake

Didn't see the fairies move as if to attack

Waves of magic engulfed him from behind

As he dejectedly made his way back

Jalia was looking through her bags as he got there

She had obviously noted they had been moved

Her face gave a message as she stormed from the camp

He had no response to which she would have approved

In total silence she collected up her things

As the evening sun turned the world to the color of rust

Without a word spoken she went off on her way

Nothing can easily make up for lost trust

Jalia Meets the Clan of Giants

Jalia was cursing Daniel's name

As she walked wearily up the mountain path

Why had he searched her private things

Did he think that it would give him a laugh?

It looked as though he had only taken one thing

A pyramid thing she had hated on first sight

Though you couldn't deny its power

She was almost glad it was gone by the night

She had left the trade road to avoid Daniel

And set off on a path she had found

But soon this path became difficult

As it headed for higher ground

She had a feeling she was being watched

Though she couldn't really be sure

Till her world went black as her head was hit

Filled with only darkness pure.

She awoke in what she thought must be a cave

And found she was wearing nothing at all

'Why do they always strip me naked?

I'm tired of feeling so vulnerable and small'

Not only her clothes but also the ring had gone

She was in a space formed of four massive stones

There was no way to climb up to freedom

She could feel the trouble she was in, in her bones

There were gaps where the rock faces met

She could see all her things out of reach

Then she saw the legs of someone outside

That robbed her of her speech

Two giants waited just outside

Waiting there till she awoke

And now that they saw she was moving around

The biggest of them spoke.

"Human creature, we want to know

How you killed our brother Grey Don

We have tracked your blood across the world

So don't deny what you have done"

"He was murdering lots of human kind

He didn't deserve to live

So why should I answer your questions

What incentive will you give?"

"We care very little for human lives

To us your blood is a danger and curse

It attracts us like the drug it is

Makes us stupid and much worse

This giant you killed once was a scholar

Kind and gentle, lost in books

Till your killer blood took his mind and soul

From the first taste he partook

We want to know how his end came about

Not for vengeance but for lore

So we can write down his life so he will be remembered

We want that and nothing more

We have caged you for our own protection

Stripped you down so you can't use human guile

When you tell what we want to know

We will leave you with a smile"

So Jalia told them what they wanted to know

How she had tricked the giant into killing himself

The giants wrote every single word down

In a book, which they regarded like wealth

Then the giants stood up and made to leave

Jalia shouted "What about me?"

But the giants left without a backward glance

Ignoring Jalia, ignoring Jalia's plea

She sat and wept in her prison of rocks

Defeated for the first time in her life

"Well it might be bad, but crying won't help"

Daniel said softly, cuttingly like a knife.

Daniel had been following her for many days

Making sure to stay quite a way behind

When the Giants caught her, he had lost her for a while

That felt terrible, like being dumb and blind

But he had found them just as the giant started to talk

Stayed hidden when he realized she was all right

Waited as the giants left, till they were far away

Then strolled into to their very large campsite

Jalia demanded to be released

"Use the ring right now" she said

"Not until you apologize for walking off"

"No I won't, I think I'd rather be dead"

"Suit yourself", said Daniel walking off

As she screamed profanities his way

"I'll ask again in the morning

Or maybe some other day"

"At least leave me some water"

Jalia plaintively cried

"You can drink your own urine till I get back

It time you learned how to survive"

The night was terrible as scorpions and snakes

Wandered into and out of her cave

Jalia was just getting angrier and angrier

It was a way of keeping her brave

Finally Daniel returned to her prison

Jalia apologized for leaving on her own

Daniel used the ring to move one of the rocks

She left her prison with a moan

She dressed very quickly as Daniel stood waiting

Fuming inside at having to wait and to beg

She put the magic ring upon her finger

Saying, "Magic ring break both of his legs"

She didn't look but ran away from the campsite

Went and cried for an hour or more

She knew she had to go back and heal Daniel

But he could suffer a little before.

Jalia returned to the campsite, actually she ran

For some reason her heart filled with dread

She had realized how dangerous some breaks could be

And she really didn't want Daniel dead

The campsite was empty like a graveyard might be

Daniel was nowhere to be found

There were two pools of blood where he fell to his knees

Just two pools of blood on the ground

Jalia panicked and called out his name

No one answered, the silence was almost like a pain

So she picked up her stuff and went back down the path

No option but to go back to the trade road again