Fathoms Below, Into the Woods.../The Sons of Turchina Gather On the Blue Moon -All *But One*
Despite what many may 'know' or believe, the Fae Folk are not only of the wood and air. There is such a thing as *FIRE Faeries* ...and those of the water. Why, the sea is as densely populated with faeries as any other place on Earth! And 'tis said that *THESE Fae* especially are ruthless, dangerous, and cruel; not to be messed with, and *best LEFT ALONE* as well as respected...
Of course, there are those who will scoff, laugh, and disregard this as all nothing but 'nautical nonsense' and 'old wives' tales'. -Not the people of Santa Cecelia-Angel. Not its' subjects, and not its' ruling family ...but eighteen-year-old Prince Lucinoglo ('Lampwick') Romeo Darro Lloyd Lobo Pintor-de-Tumbas was of a very different mind. I do not say that he *disregarded* the possibility of merfolk and Water Fae being cruel and perilous altogether; 'stupid', he *was NOT*!!
However, every time that he could catch them, he prevented his sailing crew from constantly harpooning what they thought was a Water Fae- killing it before he or she came aboard. For all of his Ma's and Pa's stories of cruel heartless creatures with siren songs so sweet and pure that not even *the STRONGEST* could resist their spell and who shed no tears, their colorful descriptions also mentioned *traditions*- *CELEBRATIONS* ...FAMILIES. If anything, he thought that the Water Fae were *misunderstood* (not that he DARED say so *to ANYBODY* save for his best canine friend Copper).
If they *DID exist*, then he couldn't imagine them *ALL* to be horrible beings like his men, friends, and family described-!
*Aw, DIOS MIO*!!! They were *at it AGAIN*!???
Snarling and sweeping his ember-red hair out of his deep brown eyes (not that it ever did much good), Lampwick swung down from the rigging of his ship like Tarzan on a jungle vine and pushed his way through the frantic, crazed, and bloodthirsty crowd. He was both horrified and angry- same with Copper, who growled at his side.
"MOVE!! *Get back*! *What're ya DOIN'*??!"
"It's *a WATER FAIRY*, 'senor'!"
"-*Seriously*?? A water faerie!? *Use yer eyes*, Cheech!"
Just as he pulled Chicharron's arm back the instant before he would have launched another harpoon into the water, the prince gestured down to it as the mysterious creature underneath majestically breached the surface. *Out came*-!
A *DOLPHIN*. An innocent dolphin that did a little spin in the water before swimming away under the sea. That was all... The sailors all fell silent.
Lampwick pursed his lips and crossed his rangy muscled arms over his chest. Currently, he was clothed more like an average sailor than a Prince, but the Look in his eyes was *VERY MUCH* like that of Queen LaMuerte and King Xibalba, for all that he was not their child by blood. "*What were ya thinkin'*- huh??" he frowned in disappointment.
It was clear that Chicharron didn't know whether to be brazen or sheepish. "W-Well, Your Highness, these are *DANGEROUS waters*, they are...!"
"And these are *dangerous TIMES*," Felix Madrigal added with a haunted serious expression on his normally-cheerful and sunny dark face. "Tonight is the Blue Moon. -They say that this is when The-Queen-of-All-Waters calls her Fae sons together so that they may lure men and women to their deaths..."
"'*Si*!" his wife just as redheaded as the Prince Pepa exclaimed, her sage-green eyes wider than normal as she fiddled with her long braid to the point of almost undoing it. "With faerie songs so silvery, honeyed, and clarion that not even the *STRONGEST man or woman* could resist their spell!"
"Is *THAT what they say*?" Lampwick frowned. He felt that Copper for some reason was unhappy with these stories, and gently scratched behind and stroked along his floppy dark brown ears to soothe him. "Well, *I* say it's just a silly old lore."
"You ought not to say things like that, Your Highness," Pepa shivered. "The Queen would pull *us ALL* under if she could-!"
Suddenly, a bosun's whistle sounded clear, shrill, and sharp, grabbing everyone's attention. A stocky corpulent short man with a fringe of cloudy hair, dark eyes behind a pair of rimless round spectacles, a big pink nose, and dressed in a blue-and-white striped shirt and beige breeches underneath a long greenish-brown coat was glaring sternly down at the crew- and Lampwick, to a point. "Well, Water Fae or *NO Water Fae*, at any rate, this is *no time* t' be WASTIN' RESOURCES shootin' at dolphins. We're startin' t' hit rough waters an' need t' *be PREPARED*. -*Back to work*, now!"
%"'Si, senor'!"%
"*And YOU*, Romeo young man- get back down here *at once*!"
"Alright- alright. I'm comin' on down! You shouldn't really worry so much 'bout me, Smee; been doin' this since I was TWELVE...!"
Mr. Smee Richard Thompson was the prime minister- and Lampwick's mentor who was something of an uncle figure to him. The current expression of worry, exasperation, and fondness was one that the young red-haired prince was all too familiar with.
Smee raised an eyebrow even as his bespectacled eyes betrayed a companiable twinkle in them and a smile tugged at and tried to dance around his mouth. "Doing this since you were twelve or not, call me 'selfish', but I *do NOT* want to tell their Majesties that their son *fell overboard on my watch*- and *on HIS BIRTHDAY*, no less!"
Well- alright, he had him there...
"And before ye even begin t' think of followin' the ship out there that you just spotted headin' t' mainland t' port and see what they've brought to trade, His Highness may wish t' consider somethin': our ship is *loaded to the GILLS* as it is. We've risked our necks out here for *seven weeks* now, and tomorrow, we'll be goin' home, Prince Romeo."
Since he *WAS fond of* Smee, Lampwick did his best to bite back an unhappy sigh even as he slumped a bit. Again- had him there...
Don't get him wrong- he *dearly loved* his Ma and Pa, and it wasn't as though he didn't get on with the other citizens, or *HATE bein' on land*! But for some reason or other, he'd always felt more at home on the sea than completely ashore. Out here, he was (mostly) *FREE* from the judgment and royal constraints of life- the salt on his skin, the wind in his hair, and the waves as they ebbed and they flowed...
Just then, he saw and heard a spyglass slipping from a crew member's grip and falling overboard into the mysterious forbidden fathoms below, sinking beneath the surface and winking out of sight.
"Oh, well," he shrugged sotto voce to Copper, stroking his back. "I s'pose it's somethin' for the Water Faeries t' enjoy now- eh, Copper ol' pal?"
Copper whoofed softly in agreement, tossing his quietly-handsome floppy-eared head as the very faintest twinkle of good humor seemed to light up his eyes and play around his furry mouth.
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To Queen Turchina's mind, there was nothing so magnificent as the world deep within the woods and under the water. Of course, it's *REAL beauty* was the way that it teamed with *LIFE*! From her throne of stone-carved and rough-hewn pinewood or that of turquoise coral, the Wood Sprite could see schools of fish darting through the water or herds of deer bounding through the forest, trying to keep up with each other- otters and dolphins playfully dancing around each other, chittering away...
And of course, all around her were the sounds of music and happy chatter as the Fae Folk made hasty last-minute preparations- for tonight was the Blue Moon!
It was the Wood Sprite's favorite time of year, when Fae Folk near and far, wood/earth, water, air, and fire gathered together to celebrate the moon's blessing of good luck and abundance. -And *MOST important*, it was one of the few opportunities for Queen Turchina to see all of her sons gathered together! There was *ALWAYS* work to be done, but *much joy* to be had- so long as EVERYTHING *remained ON TRACK*...
She put a large conch shell to her lips and blew, the trumpeting sound blaring through the waters and beyond outward. The Queen-of-All-Water's sons *WELL knew* what that meant- and it didn't take the princes long to make their way to their mother's throne room and sit down around and before her on coral ledges and large open seashells alongside their significant others (if any).
The azure/tanzinite Wood Sprite's stature and fierce unworldly appearance more than suggested *GREAT might* and POWER, emphasized by her glowing bright blue pupil-less eyes as much as her four large wings, feathered head that appeared to be spiked, and snake-like tail, -but there was a lightness in her as she looked around and took a seat on the natural carved throne in the middle of the room. Her family was TOGETHER- *SAFE*; ready to start a new year...
"My sons of the Waters and Wood," she began in her low regal voice that could either be as warm as sunshine or as bitingly icy as the most bitter cold of winter, beaming with love and pride, "it fills my heart to have you all here. Severus, Rubeus- Kitteridge, Cendrillon; it's so good to see you! Barley- Victor, Nikolas; I welcome news from *ALL your waters and neck of the woods*! Edmund, Tumnus- Iandore-,"
A noticeable gap and empty seat caught her attention, and she paused. "-*Where is Pinocchio*??"
Another uncomfortable pause as her elder sons and their Mates stared helplessly and worriedly at each other. Much as they'd tried, none of them had ever been too successful at keeping an eye on their younger brother since the age of ten.
The Wood Sprite started to massage her temples with her long-nailed hands, her frustration and worry only increasing at *the SILENCE*. *ALL* she wanted was a *SMOOTH start* to this important celebration with ALL SEVEN of her sons! Was that *TOO MUCH to ask*??!
Most of the time, especially ever since he'd reached his pre-teen and teenage years, ruling all of the seas, pools, ponds, lakes, rivers, and woods seemed *EASY* compared to keeping track of Pinocchio. Even as a child, he had never been one to *stay STILL* for too long; oh, he was a sweet-enough 'ragazzo' for all that, and bright as a moonstone, -but he simply had too adventurous a spirit. It's *FRIGHTENING* how much he reminds him of both her dear sister Tenebra and beloved Mate Geppetto-!
A lump rose in her throat at the thought- she shook her head to clear it and refocused on the problem at hand; dwelling on the past would *help NOTHING*.
And there was *someone else* who was supposed to keep an eye on Pinocchio- MAKE SURE that he was where he was supposed to be...
Out of the corner of her eye, the Wood Sprite saw a small sapphire-blue cricket with a silvery-gray mustache, eyes the same as hers', and with a violin case strapped over his shoulder. He was fidgeting and twitching nervously- well he should.
She only slightly raised her voice, but her nostrils flared angrily. "*Sebastian*! You *were SUPPOSED TO SEE TO IT* that Pinocchio was here! And where is he?? *NOT here*, where he should be. -What have you to say for yourself, 'signor'?"
The anthropomorphic cricket chirped rapidly three or four times before groaning in a high querolous melodic voice thickly tinged with a Scots accent, "Ohhhh, *I TRIED*, 'sua Maesta'! I *tried*! But tha' lad- he is IMPOSSIBLE, however dearly one loves him!
"I *SWEAR* I reminded him aboot th' gatherin' *just this mornin'*! *What ELSE* can one crustacean do??"
"You can *go FIND HIM*- THAT'S what you can do! Yes?"
"'*Si*'- yes, Yer Majesty! *Right away*!" Sebastian chirruped before both running and hopping away as fast as his long but small legs would allow.
The Wood Sprite watched him go before shutting her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose. *By OBERON AND TITANIA*!! That was *so like* her youngest child- to miss an Important Event because he was off exploring the waters, the woods, or some such nonsense! *Why* can't he be less... *CURIOUS*??!
No- no. That's NOT what she *TRULY wanted*. As much as his willful spirited behavior frustrated her, there was a calming familiarity to even Pinocchio's MOST *exasperating* quirks... The thought slowly melted away most of Turchina's anger, leaving the Fae Queen lost in an old memory.
Meanwhile, Sebastian grumbled to himself as he made his way out of the throne-room. "Jus' HOW *hard* can it be t' find *a FAERIE PRINCE*??"
And *wasn't THAT* The Question with Pinocchio?? If he was lucky, he'd only have to search ONE WOOD, *one RIVER*, or *one ocean*...
The small blue cricket sighed deeply, wondering, "WHERE *ARE ye*, 'bambino'??"