Part 20 ~ The End

{at least...I think it's part 20...}

“Let’s have a celebration,” said Will, as soon as his feet touched the deck of the Golden Dawn. Marina’s Elven eyes observed the large ship, taking in the smell of the sea that she immediately loved. She peeked over the edge of the ship and watched the waves gently lolling against the old wood, like the fingertips of a skilled masseuse. The sun shone brightly down on them, welcoming them to this century, to their own time and place.

“That sounds like fun,” said Levi, hopefully. The rest of the group of friends thought it over for a moment. Marina and Bonnie bounced up and down on their toes in anticipation, excitement rising inside them.

“Alright,” said Cless, gazing over the wooden deck of the ship. “Let’s have a feast,” he said. Immediately, a long wooden table with tons of food sprouted out of the center of the ship. It was over spilling with duck, chicken, venison, fish, turkey, apples, grapes, oranges, pears, peaches, cobblers, chocolate, rolls, bread, bowls of stew and soup, cheeses, pineapples, and even vegemite. Will and Bonnie swarmed the table, hungrily piling the steaming food onto the silver plates that appeared on the table. The others raced behind them and followed suit.

They had feasted before, but for some reason the atmosphere this time was different. Everything had a sense of conclusiveness…of ending. Most members of the party shrugged it off and enjoyed the jokes being told. They had a riddle contest, a spelling bee, and even made some music that tugged at their hearts and made them laugh, sing, and dance. The Golden Dawn seemed alive and able to share their light hearts. She swayed in time with the music, rising on a swell of water and gently floating down a following wave.

Charity looked around her, at her friends laughing and smiling in the sunset’s dying light. “It seems like such a long time ago that we started out…when this all began,” she said to Will, who was sitting next to her. Her eyes grew distant in memory.

He smiled and said in what he imagined was an enlightened tone, “We were young and foolish then.” He stood up to get more food and tripped over one of the racing minor dragons.

“Not much has changed,” said Levi, grinning at the look Will shot him. Miya and Moss continued running around and chasing Luna's dragons. Clesseath, Baladon, and Ancalagon swam alongside the ship. Render looked around and noticed Bonnie was missing. He found her bent over a notebook below decks, tapping her writing utensil again her leg in irritation. She glanced up at his footsteps.

“I’m trying to remember all of our adventure…” she tried to explain, glancing around the dim wooden walls, “But I can’t remember very much…only bits and pieces here and there. It seems like so much has happened. I never want to forget this,” she said, looking into her notebook. She sighed and stared around the room. He peeked over her shoulder.

“I remember that,” he said, the memory playing before his eyes. “I could help you remember. If you want, we could write in turns,” he suggested.

“Really?” she asked, hopefully. “Thanks, Render,” she said, closing the ship’s log. She didn’t notice a brown piece of paper that slipped out and landed on the floor. She followed him up to the others, imagining what a cool story theirs would be, told from two different perspectives.

Marina had wandered over to the edge of the railing and stared out at the sea. The waves were gentle this evening, and the colors of the sky bled into the waters. Purple, deep crimson, and gold mingled with the green of the sea, shimmering and sparkling ribbons of light bordering the horizon. Luna approached her and looked into her face.

“Marina…is it over?” she asked, tickling one of her minor dragons.

Marina’s brown eyes scanned over her friends’ joyful faces. The golden light illuminated their faces as they joked and teased. The night was coming soon, and Render and Cless had promised fireworks. The dragons would give them a light and fire show. It sounded wonderful and exhilarating. Everyone was so happy. She smiled down at Luna’s face.

“This is only the beginning,” she said, leading Luna over to her friends. They smiled at her and quieted down.

“You guys…turn around,” commanded Levi. They did, and they held their breaths as they watched the sunset die and melt into the sea of purple and red. The wind brushed their hair from their eyes and whispered in their ears in a long-forgotten language. The stars and the moon jumped from the sea to the sky over and over again in the shimmering waves. The Golden Dawn rocked up and down, swaying to the music of the sea.

The sky was their timeless friend. The sea was the song stuck in the back of their minds. The earth was everything in between. With the wind at their backs, their dragons {or friends’ dragons} below them, and their friends beside them, it seemed like nothing could stop them and they had come very far .

Adventures had made them realize many things. Lessons learned, fears confronted…They sighed in unison. The satisfaction of battles won, evils vanquished, friendships made and built stronger, and the promise of future adventure lay heavy in the air. It was so reassuring they could almost taste it.

“Yes…” said Marina, still in awe of the sunset, “This is only the beginning.”

The End.

~ Captain Bonnie Spinner

Man when was the last time somebody posted here?? Well...I really shouldn't be talking since I've disappeared from the blogging vicinty for months at a time. So....how's the pirate stuff been going. Everybody still have their eyes??? *cricket cricket* So. Um...I'm gonna cut this one short just for the sake of you guys. I don't have any pirate news. I don't know when the next chapter of the story is either. Sorry.
~CC