The Black Shard (18 page)

Kristina stretched her sore legs out in front of her and leaned back onto the palms of her hands, taking in the breathtaking scents and sounds of the jungle. Werrien stood and went to the sack, opened it and took out some of the fruit they had picked. Then he brought it down to the pool and washed it. When he returned, he took a medium sized bowl and a small knife out of the sack as well, and then sat down again and began cutting up the fruit.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Kristina asked.

"I've been served most my life, so if you don't object, today I would like to have the pleasure of serving you," he said, his eyes peering at her through his bangs.

Kristina felt honored. The only male at home who had ever treated her this way was her father. The only boys at school who seemed to show a liking to her, were in her opinion, strange or nerdy—all the ones she thought were even a slight bit cute were jerks to her.

"You're really fast at cutting," she said. "Have you had a lot of practice?"

"I usually do this when I come to visit Finimus Island."

After Werrien cut up the fruit, he took two small bowls, and a couple spoons out of the sack and scooped some fruit into each bowl. He handed Kristina a bowl of fruit; then he took some cheese sandwiches, a couple of drinking glasses, and a corked bottle of cider out of the sack. He popped the cork from the bottle, and it whizzed into the air and landed in the water, very close to the waterfall. A swirling vapor flowed out the top of the bottle just before he poured the cider into the glasses. He handed one to Kristina. Then, just as he was lifting his glass to take a sip, she interrupted him.

"Wait!" she said. "This time I'd like to propose a toast."

"All right," Werrien said, gazing out at a sunbeam, shining down on the waterfall.

"This toast is to ..." she paused briefly, then continued, "to ... to from now on, me being completely honest with you." Werrien turned to face her, his expression somber as they clinked their glasses together.

Why did I say that?
Kristina thought.
Now I bet he feels he can't trust me.

Neither said a word after the toast but only ate their lunches and admired the scenery—it was filled with enough wildlife to keep them both entertained.

When Werrien was done eating, he stood up, stretched his arms and yawned. Then he went to the edge of the rock and dove into the pool of water. Kristina quickly stood up and went to look for him; about forty seconds later he surfaced near the waterfall. His hair was slicked back, and he looked up at her, smiling. "Are you just going to stand there or come in?" he asked.

Kristina's eyes flitted about the surface of the water.

"Why so nervous?" he questioned.

"Are there any dangerous creatures living in this pool?" she asked timidly.

"Only a few vicious alligators and a big old boa constrictor."

Kristina's eyes grew wide, and she drew in a tense breath.

Werrien laughed. "I'm joking!" he said. "Now hurry up and get in here, or I'll go without you."

"Go where?" Kristina looked curiously at him.

Werrien didn't answer, instead he dove back under the water.

Okay, I'll come in,
Kristina thought, and she jumped into the water pool.

The temperature was colder than the sea but very refreshing because the air was quite hot and humid. When she surfaced, Werrien was right in front of her, and he startled her. "Follow me," he said. He began swimming toward the waterfall and he dove down under the falls, then resurfaced on the back side of it. "Come on," he said, although his voice was faint.

Kristina took in a deep breath, dove down into the cool, dark water and began swimming under the waterfall. Even though its crushing force pushed her downward, she managed to make it to the other side.

Werrien quickly took hold of her arm and pulled her away from the fall. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'll survive!" Kristina said, just before coughing.

It was dark except for a couple of sunbeams piercing between the backside of the fall and the giant rock wall over which the water cascaded.

As Werrien led Kristina farther away from the fall, the atmosphere became more quiet, and the surface of the dark water more placid. They arrived at the rock wall where a piece of it jutted out. Werrien climbed up on it and then reached down to help Kristina up as well. The rock was cool—a nice contrast to the humid air.

"This is a really cool place—a little creepy, but cool," Kristina said, her eyes scanning the dark cave-like area.

"It's my private hideout," Werrien said, and then, as if thinking of something else, he chuckled to himself.

"What's so funny?" Kristina asked, smiling at him.

"Oh, I was just remembering the first time I found this place. I was here with Elzwur, having lunch on the same rock where you and I just ate. After Elzwur ate too much and then fell asleep, I got really bored just sitting and listening to his snoring, so I dove into the pool and swam to this side of the waterfall. Shortly after, he awoke, and when he couldn't see me anywhere, he panicked and rushed to the edge of the rock. He lost his balance and fell into the water. I heard a commotion, and so, I quickly came out from behind the waterfall and found him struggling to keep afloat."

"Couldn't he swim?"

"Yeah, he could swim." Werrien shook his head and chuckled again.

"So, why was he struggling? Was it because he pigged out on his lunch, then fell in the water and got a little cramp in his side?" Kristina said callously but quickly regretting what she'd said. She just couldn't contain her feelings for the cantankerous dwarf any longer.

Werrien's eyes narrowed and he looked affronted by her remark. "That was harsh," he said.

Kristina's eyes shifted down to look at the rock they sat on and she swallowed apprehensively. Then she looked at Werrien again and saw a smile creeping up on his lips.

"Although, I can understand how you feel," he said. "Elzwur can sometimes be ... how should I put it? Not so friendly with guests. I don't know why he's like that. For some reason he's very protective of me."

Protective of you, but a mean, old prude to me,
Kristina thought.

"Actually, what happened was, a small fish had gotten hold of the end of his beard, and it was trying to pull him under water."

Kristina snickered as she pictured prim and proper Elzwur wrestling with a fish. Both she and Werrien had a good laugh about it, and then afterward, as they sat quietly, taking in the relaxing sound of the waterfall, Werrien suddenly turned to Kristina—looking serious again. "So, I'm curious to know why you made that toast, about from now on being completely honest with me," he said.

Kristina drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She kept her gaze fixed on the dark water below the rock. "Remember when we were riding on the carriage to the ship?" she said.

"Yes, of course."

"You'd asked me what I had said to you when we were standing on that rock, just seconds before I left Bernovem the first time I was here?"

"I remember."

"Well, I wasn't totally honest with you. I didn't say good-bye."

"You didn't? Now, that wasn't very nice of you," Werrien teased. "I can hardly believe that you wouldn't—"

"Werrien?" Kristina interrupted, placing her hand gently on his arm, this time staring intently into his eyes. "What I really said was, 'You're my best friend.'"

For a few seconds Werrien just stared at Kristina. Then he broke eye contact with her and, looking toward the fall, he chuckled. "Wow!" he said facetiously, lowering his head on his folded arms and smiling at her. "I feel honored to be considered the best friend of 'the chosen one.'"

Kristina's expression turned from timid to surprised. "Hey! It meant a lot to me," she said, reaching out to playfully smack him. "And ... about that prestigious title I bear—even though I'm called 'the chosen one' it really makes me feel weird, and so does the figurehead on the ship, as well as the statue in the palace garden that was made to look just like me. And the ship being named after me is quite bizarre as well." She looked down at the water below the rock and saw her reflection in it. Suddenly, she remembered again how she had looked in the mirror the night before, and the color seemed to drain from her face.

Werrien's smile turned to a frown. "Now what's the matter?" he asked.

"I'm not sure, but something strange is happening to my face. I used to think that I looked at least half-decent, but ever since I came on this trip, my face has been changing, and I can't figure out why?"

"What do you mean by changing?"

She turned to face him. "Werrien, you must see it! I look like I'm turning into an old, ugly woman."

Werrien chuckled. "I don't get it. In what sort of way?"

"I'm starting to age. Can't you see the huge bags forming under my eyes?"

Smiling, Werrien placed his hand on her forehead to see if she was warm. "Are you sure you're not sick still?" he asked.

"It must be due to the darkness in here," Kristina said, feeling relieved that he didn't notice but at the same time wondering if he was just trying to not hurt her feelings.

Again both sat silent, staring at the back side of the waterfall. Then, as if he had been waiting for the right moment to bring it up, Werrien suddenly said, "Now it's my turn to be honest with you."

W
errien reached inside his pocket and brought out his closed fist. A red light pierced through the cracks between his fingers, as if he was holding a very small star. Slowly he opened his hand to reveal what he held in his palm—the Black Shard, deep black in color with a rich red aura glowing around it.

Disillusioned, Kristina's brow wrinkled. "So you're the one who took it?" she said.

"Yes, I took it," Werrien said, staring into it.

"But why didn't you—"

"Why didn't I tell my father?" Werrien said, finishing her thought and not taking his eyes of the mysterious stone.

"Yes." Kristina stared at it as well.

"I was afraid that he would take it away from me." Werrien finally lifted his eyes off of it to look at Kristina. He moved the Black Shard around on the palm of his hand. "I want to show you what this awesome stone does." Its red aura intensified, and then, suddenly, a scene appeared inside it. "Look!" he said excitedly. "This is what I'm talking about." He brought it closer to Kristina so she could see it better.

"Wow! There's a live city inside it," Kristina said amazed.

"It's the outdoor market in Ezeree."

"Quite the crowded place!"

Werrien tilted his hand, and one of his favorite places to eat came into view. "There's the Three Seas Hideaway, the best restaurant in the city, and there's its owner, Zalya. She's a good friend of mine. I'll take you to her place for lunch—she makes the best food in the city." A middle-aged gnome woman stood next to a table, taking meal orders from three customers. Werrien tilted his hand again, and the scene in the stone changed to a fabric merchant's shop. "There's Brambil Bunyin's Fine Threads. Brambil sells some of the finest cloths in town. My mother always goes to him to buy fabric for our tailor."

Brambil Bunyin, an elderly dwarf with a long beard and a pair of small rectangular glasses, was laying a bright orange-and-green piece of fabric out on a table to measure it.

Werrien tilted his hand again, and the scene changed to the city center, where there was a large fountain in a circular pool of water. The fountain was spurting water in all directions. Gnome, shamel, and human children were playing in the pool, and buzzing around in the spurting water, fairies could also be seen chasing each other and playfully dodging the sprays.

"I love playing there!" Werrien said happily.

Kristina's lips curved up slightly. "Aren't you a little old for playing in the fountain?" she teased.

"Are you kidding?" Werrien said. "Well, I guess I probably am. How about I say, I used to love playing there. I actually haven't in a long time, but I do remember it being a lot of fun, especially on hot days." He turned to face Kristina, his face illuminated by the red glow of the Black Shard. "Why don't you try holding it, and we'll see what appears inside it?"

"No ... I don't think I want to," Kristina said. She still felt the same way about the stone as she had in the upper room in the palace—it gave her a strange feeling.

Werrien stared into the Black Shard again. "This stone is the most fascinating thing that I have ever seen in my life, besides the Magic Warble, of course, which is no longer around. I just had to share it with you one more time before I return it to its suitcase." His demeanor turned serious. "There's something that I need to tell you."

Kristina suddenly felt butterflies.
Is it how you feel about me?
she thought. Hoping he would tell her how crazy about her he was, she smiled, almost too nervous to hear it. "Yes," she said.

Werrien sighed. "Not that you'd ever want to anyway," he said softly, fixing his eyes on the back side of the waterfall, "but I overheard my parents say that even if you wanted to, it would be impossible for you to stay here for any long period."