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Hissi Isle: Part Three


by _sme_

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Part III – Kamedyc

The wind was whistling through a small crack in one of the windows of the Throne Room. Kamedyc sighed, creating a small cloud in front of his face which slowly dissipated. The castle was falling into disrepair now and he couldn't even fixit. He couldn't fix anything, it seemed. Why didn't the amulet choose a new king or queen? Surely anyone would do better. Perhaps even that sorceress. Kamedyc snorted aloud then got up off the floor and wandered over to his throne. It was covered in a thin layer of frost. He no longer asked for a fire to warm the room though he knew the rest of the castle was still kept warm for the others. He turned and sat down, staring around the empty room. Early on he was sent regular reports on the search for Ryikea and how the island was faring with the snow. Nobody came in anymore. Probably no one wanted to venture out into the snow to do it.

     Kamedyc looked down at his hands. Shining blue ice is what he was now. It seemed the amulet was slowly changing him as well. He'd once been blue, just blue. Slowly, oh so slowly, he began to lighten. Now he was shining blue and looked very much like the icicles that clung to every surface of the castle outside.

     Suddenly he heard voices and a small commotion outside. He glanced up to see Sentrosi rushing into the room with a few other guards and a purplish winged Kougra. "Kamedyc!" Sentrosi exclaimed as she came to a halt, staring at him. It seemed to take her a few seconds to compose herself. Apparently he had changed more drastically in appearance than he thought, it had only been a couple weeks. He stood up and approached Sentrosi, surprising her even more by giving her a hug.

     As he stepped back he noticed she seemed a little flushed. "I'm glad to see you're back, Sentrosi. It's been far too quiet without you."

     She gave him a smile and bowed slightly, "Glad to see you are well, Kamedyc. Any news on Ryikea?"

     Kamedyc's brief happiness at Sentrosi's return withered away, "No," he replied then turned back to his throne. He sat back down and looked up as Sentrosi approached.

     "I have news, Kamedyc, good news I hope. But you're not going to like all of it."

     The purplish winged Kougra suddenly bounded to her side and addressed him, "King Kamedyc! Queen Fyora helped us out, we think we can find Ryikea now!" Kamedyc could barely understand the Kougra, he spoke so fast, but he was surprised at this announcement.

     Sentrosi spoke up again. "Yes, and by the way, Kamedyc, this is Dare. He wants to help find your sister, so he's temporarily left his post on The Surzard to stay here."

     Kamedyc nodded to Dare. "Any help is appreciated, Dare, thank you. What is all this about finding Ryikea though?"

     He listened carefully as the two told him all they had learned in Faerieland. He was a little in awe of this Faerie Queen's knowledge and even more interested to find out a book there mentioned the Amulet he wore around his neck. When Sentrosi got to the part about his fear stopping him from finding Ryikea, though, he didn't want to believe it. "No," he interrupted, "that's impossible! I want nothing more in this world than to find her and bring her home. The Amulet should be able to find her regardless!" He practically screamed the last few words and tore the amulet off his neck, throwing it across the room. He sat stubbornly in his throne, glaring at nothing. "All they are bringing is bad news," he thought to himself. "I've tried this, it doesn't work."

     Silence lingered for a few moments, then Dare shuffled silently up to Kamedyc, placing the Amulet in his lap. He stared at it for a few seconds. "Just because we fear something may be true," Dare spoke up, "doesn't mean it is." Kamedyc closed his eyes. He wanted to find Ryikea, but he was also very afraid to find her, if anything bad happened to her... he couldn't even think about it. They were right, of course. He wanted to think he was brave and would do anything to find his sister. Some things though, he couldn't even contemplate.

     "We'll help you," Sentrosi said softly. "It's your turn to be brave, though."

     He looked up and saw her smiling at him. Kamedyc certainly always relied on Sentrosi to be brave for him but he knew with her around he could do most anything. He smiled back to her, "Then what must we – I mean, I - do."

     The following morning Kamedyc stood just outside the castle with Sentrosi and Dare by his side. Looking out on the endless snow he was sad for his people. "I have to do this for them all," he thought, "especially for Ryikea."

     He closed his eyes and pictured her just like the last time he saw her. Face glowing with excitement and laughter. He needed to see her face again, just that way. He started to feel a warmth in his chest but within seconds it was snuffed out. What if he found her and she was hurt or worse? Could he ever forgive himself?

     Kamedyc shook his head and opened his eyes. Sighing, he turned to Sentrosi. "I don't know if I can Sentrosi. I end up imagining awful things have happened to her."

     "Just remember, Kam," she replied, "she needs you. That sorceress likely hasn't hurt Ryikea one bit, she needs her too but only to control you and destroy this island." Kamedyc tensed a little but Sentrosi continued, "We all need you to do this. Ryikea would want you and everyone else to live on this island in peace and happiness. Nobody can do this while the sorceress has you so down."

     Kamedyc half smiled. "Wise words from you as always. I never thought it would be so hard to be brave."

     Sentrosi put her hand on his shoulder. "It's all about wanting to protect those weaker than yourself, and setting aside your own fear to do it."

     Kamedyc laughed a little. "Like you protecting me."

     Sentrosi replied, "Like you protecting Ryikea."

     That was it, Ryikea needed him now; he couldn't hide in the shadows of his fear. He closed his eyes once more, pushing away the fear inside and letting the desire to protect his sister fill his heart and mind. Warmth from the Amulet spread into his whole body and suddenly, a tugging sensation. It was as if some being was pulling him and he knew it was Ryikea. "I can feel her!" Kamedyc exclaimed. Sentrosi called out to some of her guard, "Let's get going!" He then jumped as high as he could and took off flying with the others following closely behind. The snow was swirling madly making it hard to see where they were going but he could feel her. As fear and uncertainty vanished from his being, the snow began to clear and before long the skies were blue, something that hadn't happened in what seemed like forever.

     His confidence grew and a new sensation began to take hold. Bravery engulfed him and he knew he would find his sister and face whatever challenges met him there. In a short time he found himself flying along the rocky, mountainous shores where they had once found Splosive and her shipwrecked crew. He felt the pull of his sister from the largest of the mountains. He circled the craggy cliff until he determined the pull was strongest on the seaside. With all the snow still piled up it would be near to impossible to land there. That wouldn't do, so he focused his mind on creating a clear landing for them.

     Suddenly with a tremendous roar, an avalanche came crashing down the cliffs and into the sea, taking all traces of the snow with it. Finally there was revealed a ledge running along the cliff, midway down, and to Kamedyc's surprise, a cave of ice. He knew the pull was coming from that cave. He dove down and landed on the precarious ledge, with Sentrosi, Dare, and a few guards right behind.

     "She's in there?" Sentrosi whispered behind Kamedyc. "No wonder we couldn't find it; there's no access to it from the Island unless you fly around."

     Suddenly Kamedyc stopped short, a strange fog from the sea was creeping in on them. "That is not normal," Kamedyc said a little shakily. "The fog always stays out at sea."

     "Maybe it's the sorceress," Dare's voice piped up from behind. "She must know we're here."

     "You can fight it off, Kam," Sentrosi said encouragingly. "You control the island." Sentrosi was right, as always; Kamedyc was letting his fear creep in. With a deep breath he shoved that fear aside and with it a wind blew out from the island sending the fog swirling back out to sea.

     Now that they could see again, they approached the cave warily. Kamedyc was a little disheartened when they got close, the entire entrance was sealed over with ice. He should be able to change that though, so he stepped up to it, with as much courage as he could muster, and placed his hands against the ice wall.

     Suddenly a sharp laughter rang out right next to him, causing him to jump back into Sentrosi, nearly knocking them both off the cliff face. Luckily Dare had caught on to Sentrosi and steadied them both. Kamedyc looked up, and was startled to see the sorceress seem to materialize from the surrounding ice. "Why hello, my little King," she said sharply.

     Kamedyc stood up. "We've come for my sister!" he practically shouted at her.

     The Krawk sneered at him. "Yes, impressive you even got this far after all this time. Well, go right ahead, try your best but you will never get her out of this cave."

     "Of course I will!" Kamedyc replied. "I control this whole island!" He ran at her but she vanished just in front of him. All the better, he put his hands to the ice wall once more, but try as he might, the wall wouldn't budge. He didn't understand, the amulet was supposed to control the whole island. He stepped back in dismay as the Krawk's laughter came dancing back as she appeared before him once more.

     "You see, little king, your amulet does indeed control the whole island, but only that. As soon as the land stops and the water begins, you have no power. This ice ledge was never here before, it hangs out over the ocean, your amulet can't touch it for it is outside of the natural island's boundary."

     Kamedyc's heart fell and he stepped back, but Sentrosi slid past him, approaching the sorceress. "We demand you release his sister!"

     "Oh, but why?" the sorceress laughed. "I rather enjoy this icy island your king forced upon you all."

     "Then we will destroy you!" Sentrosi replied. Kamedyc watched in horror as Sentrosi threw herself at the sorceress. For a second he was frozen in place, then he dashed to his friend's side. He didn't want her hurt. Dare and the King's guards tried to move in as well but there wasn't much they could do on the narrow ledge.

     The three grappled briefly but Kamedyc got thrown against the ice wall and watched, terrified, as Sentrosi shoved the sorceress off the cliff's edge. The sorceress grabbed Sentrosi's wing at the last moment, dragging her off too. "No!" Kamedyc screamed and dove to the cliff's edge just as a flash of purple whizzed past him.

     Dare dove down and grabbed Sentrosi, but the sorceress was still holding on, intent to drag her down. "I can't hold them up!" Dare gasped and instantly Kamedyc dove from the cliff. The guards could only watch in shock. Kamedyc dove straight for the Ice Krawk, prying her hands off Sentrosi, then the two of them fell.

     They hit the ocean hard, driving the wind from them both. Kamedyc spun around, having lost his hold on the sorceress when they hit the water. When he saw her he couldn't move, she had a look of terror on her face but wasn't making a sound. He swam to her to grab hold of her but was shocked to find she was melting. It was if she was truly made of ice and the warm ocean was melting her. He them swam at her and pushed her further from the cool shores, out to the warmer water. She struggled a little, but within moments had melted away entirely. He stared into the open water for a few seconds, then had to surface for air.

     Within seconds of surfacing, there was Sentrosi and Dare, pulling him out of the water. The two of them flew up then landed back on the rock shelf by the ice cave. "What happened?" Sentrosi asked in worry. "Did she disappear again?"

     Kamedyc caught his breath, then replied, "Well, sort of... but it was different; she... melted, I think."

     "Melted?" Sentrosi asked incredulously.

     "Yeah." Kamedyc nodded. "She was made of Ice."

     "But so are you!" Dare pointed out.

     Kamedyc stared at his hands; he was indeed icy in appearance. "But not all of me is ice." It was true; though he had grown so cold outwardly he still had a heart full of love for his sister and friends. He could never be melted away.

     He stood up as the others tried to sort it all out in their heads, and approached the ice cave once more. The sorceress was gone, but her wall of ice still remained. He knocked on the surface, it felt solid.

     "Ryikea?" he asked loudly to the wall.

     A few seconds later and he heard a muffled voice, "Kam?" At her voice the others moved in closer, and called her name as well. "Oh, Kam!" came her reply. "You found me, I knew you would!"

     He could just barely see behind the wall of ice her blurred figure. "I... don't know if I can get you out, Ryikea. This wall, it's outside of the island. I can't change it."

     "I know," came her faint reply. "I'm sorry, Kam, she made me tell her how the amulet worked. She made the cave so you couldn't get me out. That's why she never came back for the amulet either. I told her she could never use it. So she kept me here so she could control you. She liked the ice and snow and hoped the island would just starve. Everyone would die, then she'd just have to get rid of me. With her being the only one left she figured the amulet would be forced to choose her as the new queen."

     Kamedyc heard Sentrosi's sharp intake of breath behind him and she whispered, "We are more indebted to Splosive than she will ever realize."

     Kamedyc nodded. "I can't believe she never tried to attack The Surzard."

     Dare then piped up, "She was afraid of the ocean, she didn't want to melt, that's why she never bothered us when we came. We never spent enough time on shore for her to do anything."

     "Yeah," Sentrosi agreed, "and whenever you were on shore you were always around a lot of residents of the island. She never could have taken on everyone."

     Kamedyc's mind had wandered and he barely caught the rest of that statement. There had to be a way to get her out. Or maybe, just maybe he could get in. He pressed against the wall and thought to himself, "I want to get back to the island I rule; this wall stands between it and me. I must get through." To his surprise, he could push through the wall and soon he was standing in front of a wide-eyed Ryikea.

     After a moment of shocked silence she practically tackled him with a big hug, "Kam!"

     He also heard the muffled shouts of surprise from outside the cave. Sentrosi was loudest, "Kam! Kam? Are you ok?"

     "I'm fine," he called back to her, then focused on his sister. She was smiling at him. Somehow she looked older though they had only been apart for perhaps six months. He grinned at her. "Ready to leave this place?"

     She practically squealed in delight, "Yes!"

     The joy was soon cut short, though, when they realized Kamedyc, with the amulet, could move in and out of the cave pretty much at will. Try as he might though, he could not get Ryikea through with him. Frustrated beyond belief, Kamedyc broke down crying as his sister hugged him. She soothed him quietly, "It's ok, Kam, I am glad to see you again. At least you can come and visit me whenever you like," she said, a little too cheerily.

     "No," Kamedyc replied, "It's not enough, I want you to be free and happy outside again. I can't rule without knowing you're happy. Everything will stay buried in snow. We can't live like that."

     They hugged in silence for a few minutes, then Kamedyc sat bolt upright. "The amulet!"

     Ryikea looked at him, confused. "What about it?"

     "If you have the amulet you can get out of here!"

     Ryikea shook her head. "No, you know it doesn't work like that, it chooses who it wants."

     "It is what I want, though," Kamedyc replied firmly. "You will have it, because I want you to." With that, he pulled the amulet from his neck and placed it around Ryikea's. To their amazement, it stayed there, seeming content with this decision. Kamedyc smiled. "Now you can be free!"

     "But now you're trapped here, Kamedyc. I can't leave you here."

     "Just remember, Ryikea, you can still come visit me whenever you like." He repeated her words with a grin.

     She hugged him tighter than ever. "But it's not fair."

     Kamedyc hugged her back briefly, then held her at arm's length."It'll be ok, Ryikea, I'll be happy that you're free. I would endure this for eternity just to have you happy."

     "I want you happy too," she replied, then after a moment's pause. "I know! Kamedyc, you gave it to me, I can give it back to you. Perhaps, we can trade off? Then we can both be freed of this place, at least some of the time."

     Kamedyc was surprised at her suggestion. "You know, I think you are wise beyond your years. That would work, but only if you are sure." "Of course I am sure! I don't want you trapped here either."

     Their decision made, Ryikea passed a little sadly out of the cave.

     (Epilogue)

     While she was certainly sad for her brother, Ryikea was happy that he wouldn't have to be trapped there forever. She left the rocky sea ledge with hope for the future. With her happiness came spring to the island and soon it was warm all over. They could grow crops again and all of the residents were happy once more. Ryikea visited her brother every spare moment she could, bringing him things to make life more pleasant in the lonely cave. After six months passed she sacrificed her freedom once more for her brother to be freed. The amulet did not protest the passing of power.

     Kamedyc, upon exiting the cave, was still sad to leave his sister behind and the island shifted back into fall and eventually winter. Though, it was never as severe as that first long winter for he was still able to see his sister and know she was well. While you may think the island's residents disliked his time as ruler, you'd be quite mistaken. They came to love the fall and winter of the king's rule just as much as the spring and summer of the queen's rule.

     Sentrosi, having enjoyed learning new things on their trip to Faerieland now decided to spend more time abroad. Learning new things and bringing back books and other things to the island that they had never had before. Splosive was more than happy to accommodate her on the occasion she wished to go somewhere new. She still returned to the island during Kamedyc's rule to spend more time with her good friend, though, and in her absence appointed Hishmael as captain of the guard. Hishmael, you have not met before, for he was the guard who vanished the night of Ryikea's kidnapping. But his story, is one all of its own.

The End

 
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Other Episodes


» Hissi Isle: Part One
» Hissi Isle: Part Two



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