The Dragon's Kiss

"At first, I thought the ocean was an endless azure mirror," Barclay mused. "But when it's awake, it twinkles like endless stars trapped in the daytime sky."

His eyes were glassy and unfocused as he spoke. Though his body was still in the thick of Mevani's trees with Kel, his mind had traveled back to a different time. Memories Kel couldn't even begin to imagine were hidden behind that steady gaze.

"You describe it differently than the Pandreians do," Kel replied, wishing for a tiny glimpse of the magnificent scenes passing through her companion's mind. "It sounds beautiful."

"Mmm," Barclay agreed. "It's incredible, but if you aren't careful, it'll swallow you whole."

"Ah, I once heard that several people are lost to the sea every year in Pandreia," Kel concurred, feeling proud of herself for remembering some of the information Dash was constantly spouting.

"Those people know the ocean better than anyone. From birth, the water is a part of their normal lives," Barclay added. "And still, they succumb to it's wrath as easily as the rest of us."

What an interesting concept, Kel thought. To be masters of their trade in one sense, yet unable to truly be the masters of such fickle territory.

As if echoing Kel's thoughts, Barclay remarked, "No amount of skill and knowledge can allow someone to control the ocean."

"Couldn't the same be said for any terrain, though?" Kel questioned, glancing around at the trees. "Like this forest for example."

"Control the forest?" Barclay repeated, a smirk creeping across his lips. "Of course, we can."

"I'm not so sure'¦" Kel trailed off, gazing at the towering moss-covered trunks surrounding them.

When the winds came, it may be possible to predict, but there was no way mere humans could stop trees from falling. Similarly, when the heavy rains poured for days on end, how could they do more for the flooding than simply getting out of the way?

"Look at the road we're traveling on," Barclay gestured. "Not to mention all the tickets we've leveled to build our towns and cities."

"I didn't think of that," Kel admitted.

They had built structures and means of travel through their territory, but hadn't the Pandreians done the same with docks and ships?

"Even if you get lost in this place," Barclay went on, sensing Kel's doubt, "even if the weather beats unforgivingly, you can survive. You get to choose and try. The sea isn't so lenient."

"Alright! You've convinced me!" Kel threw her hands in the air, accepting defeat.Â

She wasn't so certain that any type of nature could be 'controlled' per se, but she had to agree that it sounded like the forest was much easier to survive in.Â

The two sat in silence for a while as the conversation lulled. Barclay's grim depiction of Pandreia's coastline wasn't able to keep Kel's daydreams at bay for long (she was still young after all), and she soon found herself lost once again in beautiful thoughts.

After a while, Barclay got up and instructed Kel to return to camp.Â

"That's why people like us stick with what we know," The soldier's final warning resounded in her ears as she skipped back to her comrades. "We're safer on land, so we don't go into the water."

It was a metaphor.

Kel knew that even as a young bull-headed knight. She never fully understood it until much later, though.Â

Throughout the next few years, Kel served alongside Barclay several more times. Sometimes she was a soldier in his troop, and others she was the princess of Mevani. At all times, though, she felt he was one of the most competent commanders she'd met.

One night in particular, she was observing visiting officials from the continent's west-most kingdom, Vitocia, perform fire dances. Adriell had already retired for the night, but Kel was intrigued with the foreign festivities, so she donned princess attire and went out.Â

As she watched, she became more and more drawn to their sport. Men and women alike spun flaming torches as they performed complex dance moves. Kel was certain she could imitate them successfully, considering her unique aptitude for fire.

Finally, she could hold back no longer, and she requested a chance to participate.

The officials were overjoyed to see a Mevanian taking interest in their customs. It wasn't long, however, before Kel was being whisked to the palace medical center by Barclay and a few other guards.

Her very first attempt at spinning the fiery baton had led to severe burns along both her arms. It turned out for the best, fortunately, as the wounds healed without scarring, and Mevani earned Vitocia's sympathy in the process.

As Barclay had watched her being treated, he sighed. "Princess, this is why people like us should stick to what we know. There's nothing wrong with learning a new skill, mind you, but it would be wise to be wary of diving into things you don't fully understand."

Kel couldn't help but smile at his advice. For some reason, it felt like he was talking to Keliyah, the overly-energetic soldier and not Adriell, the demure princess.Â

"Right. You can't control the ocean," Kel pouted to herself under her breath. "But I can control fire, so where exactly did I go wrong?"

Naturally, Itzae and Dash refused to let her hear the end of the incident. While Dash took every opportunity to lecture her, Itzae took it as a chance to force Kel to practice her fire skills more often.

Before the Vitocian envoy had returned home, she'd learned to wield not just a torch, but a flaming sword.

"Let's see the princess get burned by a silly stick ever again!" Itzae exclaimed pridefully as he watched Kel successfully brandish her fiery weapon.

"Even Barclay could be satisfied that I'm not just dabbling in things I don't fully understand!" she had declared triumphantly.

***

As she reminisced, Kel couldn't help thinking that, in the end, Barclay had broken his own philosophy.

It was safer to run away with the others, Kel thought, so why did you jump into the ocean with me?

"I'm doing this," Kel finally responded to Dash, who had been waiting patiently while she pondered his question, "because I want to prove that I can control the ocean."