On the Shores of Elysium

Emily curls her toes into the soft white sands of the shoreline as she walks along the silky smooth beach just out of reach of the calm waves breaking peacefully against the shores in the soft light of the two moons overhead. She raises her head to stare at the stars, the constellations bright and twinkling, to the west, the faint purple hue of the water is barely discernible. Emily breathes in deeply, the smell of the sea, the sand, the palm trees, and coconuts fill the air. She brushes a wayward strand of hair from her face that’s come loose from the ponytail she has worn all day and there’s the faintest hint of mango and rum on her hand. Emily’s leather sandals are slung over her right shoulder, she is still wearing her short white linen skirt and matching cropped linen top from the day spent on the beach with her crewmates. The ocean breezes this close to the Aether Sea match the calm nature of the water, the breeze is warm and gentle, it kisses her skin delicately and Emily smiles, intoxicated by the paradise around her, and perhaps a bit drunk on the rum too.

Emily’s ship is called the Brass Seraph, it’s a nice name for what most people would refer to as a pirate ship. That doesn’t bother Emily though. She joined the crew as their cartographer because she wanted to see the world, sail the Aether Sea, fall in love, have adventures, and make art. She had felt there was no chance for any of that until she joined the crew of the Brass Seraph. True, she may not make as much art as she would like, but she has filled what her crewmates think of as volumes of sketchbooks. She’s sketched and painted the sea, the Cloud Islands, her crew, and innumerable people, plants, and animals she has met along the way.

She stops and turns toward the West, where the faint purplish glow of the Aether Sea can just be made out on the horizon as it disappears into the deep blue where the night sky meets the water. Emily sighs to herself and sits down, almost contentedly, on the sand to watch the small, gentle tide against the pristine white shores of Elysium. She picks up a light blue and pink sea shell from between her legs and runs her fingers contemplatively along its edges and ridges. The warm, fuzzy, happiness of the rum concoction they’d been drinking all night threatens to steal away from Emily as her thoughts wander. She’d left the party because even frivolity can’t get rid of her melancholy.

“So stupid,” Emily whispers as she lightly tosses the shell back into the sand between her knees. “You are traveling the world, having an extraordinary adventure, and you’re sad.” Although she is one of the crew and has friends among them she has failed to gain a real connection with any member of the crew. The relationships on the Brass Seraph are like many ships on the seas, fluid and changing with the seasons, and while she is no stranger to sharing her bed, or someone else’s, there’s no one special. Emily often wonders if it’s the wandering artist in her that keeps her locked away from others. Or maybe she hasn’t found the right person.

“I hate to disturb you.” A sweet, light, voice hits Emily’s ear but she isn’t startled. “You seem deep in your thoughts, but I am a little lost, can you tell me which direction Dreamweaver Bay is?”

Emily turns over her right shoulder in the direction of the voice. In the light of the moons, she sees a beautiful tan-skinned woman with short brown hair kissed with golden strands. She has a wonderful smile, full lips, and piercing green eyes. Emily is slightly taken aback but recovers herself quickly and clears her throat as she moves to stand.

“Oh, please stay seated I didn’t mean to disturb you.” The beautiful woman’s smile falters slightly.

“It’s no trouble at all, you’re not disturbing me, in fact, you’re saving me from my own thoughts.” Emily is unsure why she added that last bit but something about this woman has her off-balance. She smiles at the woman and a slight rush of excitement courses through her. “My name is Emily.”

The woman’s smile returns, she is taller than Emily by at least 6 inches, her bare arms and legs are toned and she is wearing a short light pink sun dress. “I’m Alexia, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Emily.” She stretches out her hand and Emily takes it to shake. Alexia’s hand is soft to the touch and warm.

Emily clears her throat as she drops Alexia’s hand. “You said you need to find Dreamweaver Bay?”

“Yes, I am staying there. I spent the day wandering the island exploring but now I don’t recognize this part of the beach and… well, It’s a little embarrassing.” Alexia looks sheepishly at Emily.

“Nothing to be embarrassed about! The island is bigger than it seems at first,” Emily stares into Alexia’s eyes as she speaks, drawn in by what is almost an unnatural brightness to the green in her eyes, they seem to glow. Emily chalks it up to being the reflection of the Moons which are bright tonight. “My ship is moored at Dreamweaver Bay, I can… walk with you, and show you the way back… if you don’t mind the company?” Emily is more nervous than she has any right being. There’s nothing to be nervous about, she’s just offering to help a lost woman find her way.

“Would you!? I would be so grateful and I am happy to have your company.” Alexia’s already happy smile seems to light up the rest of her face.

“Well, you’re in luck because Dreamweaver Bay isn’t far at all, just a ten-minute walk around the curve in the shoreline that way.” Emily indicates the point where it’s clear in the light of the moons that the shore curves around and out of sight. The two set off down the beach, sandals slung over their shoulders, the soft sand slipping quietly under their feet and between their toes. Emily looks up at Alexia who smiles back warmly.

“You said your ship was in the bay, am I in the presence of a great captain back from some wild adventure, ship holds bursting with the booty of your latest hunt on the seas?” There’s a twinkle in Alexia’s green eyes, and a laugh in her voice, but not a mocking one. A sincere, joyous sort of laugh.

Emily can’t help but laugh too, a pure genuine laugh like she hasn’t had in a long time. “No, nothing so grand as that. I am a simple cartographer, at your service.” Emily bows playfully. “Although my courteous airs are a bit out of place, the ship I sail on is a pirate ship.”

“Oh! So I was half right! Your ship is filled with the booty from your pirating!”

“My captain wishes the holds were full!”

The two women laugh as Alexia continues “So how did you become the Cartographer on a pirate ship? You’re far too lovely to have been destined to be a pirate!”

Emily can feel the heat in her cheeks at the compliment, the rum she had earlier certainly wasn’t helping with the heat she was feeling in her face. “Well, honestly, I am an artist at heart. I wanted to get out and see the world, sail the seas, and make art wherever I went and of whatever tickled my fancy.” Alexia looked down at her as Emily continued “But I am not from a wealthy family and I am not yet talented enough to have a patron willing to pay for a lavish life at sea. So I taught myself a bit about cartography from our local library and the cartographers who would visit our docks. I got good enough that one day, while I was drawing the coastline of our harbor Captain Gideon of the Brass Seraph, noticed me working in the bar and asked me to join his crew. So here I am, about 3 years into my life as an adventuring-pirate-mapmaker.” Emily sighed slightly and looked down at the sand.

“I would love to see some of your art, would you show me some?” Alexia asked with such sincerity that Emily wondered if she was this interested in every person she met. “I love art too, I am not very good at making it but I love portraits, landscapes, sculpture. Anything that helps show us the beauty of the world we live in, and the people in it.”

“I am just of average talent, I am sure you have seen far better art than what I can produce in my spare time on a ship rolling on the high seas.”

“It’s been my experience that those who are truly good at something often don’t know it themselves,” Alexia said.

Emily and Alexia talked easily all the way to Dreamweaver Bay. They discussed their interests and loves. Art was, of course, a major topic of discussion but they also discovered they each had a love of swimming in the sea, hiking through the wilderness, hot spring spas, mangos, and rum but not the hangover that usually comes afterward. They spoke easily as if they were old friends. Even after they had reached the small port city and Alexia knew her way home they continued to wander the streets until they found a small outdoor bar on a side street near the docks. They sat on the small outdoor patio, they drank and spoke into the early morning with the creaking of the ships in their wharves, the slight sound of the water lapping against the hulls of the ships, and the sea salt smell of the harbor as their companions. When they parted ways Alexia had agreed to come by Emily’s apartments in the market district about a few hours before sunset the next afternoon to look at Emily’s work and have supper on her balcony overlooking the harbor at sunset.

The next day Emily was filled with nervous energy. She picked up the one-room apartment she had leased for the duration of the Brass Seraphs' stay at Dreamweaver Bay. She swept, tidied her various art supplies, and walked downstairs to the market. She bought dried fruits, nuts, honeycomb, salted fish, some hard cheese, bread, and mangos. Time seemed to drag on forever that day while Emily tried to focus on her current painting of the bay that sat half-finished on her easel. She arranged several of her finished canvas works, some watercolors, sketches, and sketchbooks around her desk area, worrying over which pieces it would be best to show Alexia. Finally, it was about half an hour before Alexia was supposed to arrive and Emily set out a platter with the various foods she had bought earlier at the market, her hands shook slightly. Emily felt foolish, there was no reason for her to feel this nervous, true she had made a connection with Alexia far easier than any friendship she had her entire life, and perhaps she was afraid that would change, or that the magic of last night would be gone today and things would be different and disappointing. Emily poured a glass of crisp, nearly clear, wine from a bottle Gideon had given her when they had stopped near the coastal vineyards of Pentara Island.

Emily was sipping the wine on her balcony when there was a soft knock at the door, she stood up, finished her glass, and placed it next to the bottle on her way to the door. She opened the old worn wooden door and it creaked on its hinges. On the other side stood Alexia in a long sheer white dress, a style popular on the warm tropical islands. The curves of Alexia’s hips were not quite concealed by the flowing garment and the sheer white fabric was a perfect compliment to her tan skin. She was definitely one of the most beautiful women Emily had ever seen. “Hello, Emily, it is so great we could get together again so soon, I am just so excited to see your work!” Alexia hugged Emily, a tight, warm, lingering hug. When they broke apart Emily smiled up at Alexia.

“My pleasure, please come in!” Emily said and gestured for Alexia to walk into her apartment. “Would you like some wine?”

“That would be wonderful.” Alexia smiled at her and all Emily’s worries about the evening melted away as she and Alexia picked up right where they had left off the night before. Alexia was impressed by Emily’s art, especially her portraiture, she sat on the balcony with Emily in the warm glow of the late afternoon, sipping their wine, and looking through each and every page of the sketchbooks discussing the drawings. Alexia stopped at the portrait drawings of several women from Serenova, one of the other Islands in the Paradise Isles to the east of Elysium. While all the Paradise Isles were known for their leisure and focus on relaxation and pleasure-seeking, Serenova was known for its exceptionally beautiful population. “You know, I am Serenovian.” Alexia says as she continues to flip her way through the pages of the sketchbook from Emily’s time on the island.

“I am not surprised by that at all, you are beautiful,” Emily says as Alexia continues to flip through the pages. Whether it was the wine, or the wonderful company on such a nice afternoon as it bled into an idyllic tropical evening but Emily wasn’t quite sure what came over her as she said without stopping to think, “I would be lucky to have a model half as beautiful as you pose for me.”

Alexia snapped the sketchbook she had been leafing through shut and locked her unusual, but pretty, green eyes onto Emily’s brown eyes, and announced “What a wonderful idea, it would be my honor!” She jumped up from her seat on the balcony walked through the door, turned around, and asked “Well, where should I stand, or sit, lie down? You’re the artist Emily!”.

Excitement and shock surged through Emily as she also jumped from her chair and began posing Alexia on one of the crates Emily kept around for this purpose. Alexia proved to not only be a true beauty to sketch but she was one of the easiest models to pose Emily had ever worked with. They spent the last few hours of daylight posing, sketching, sipping wine, and eating bits of the food Emily had bought for their supper. They laughed and joked over failures in posing and the comedic faces Alexia would make. It was a near-perfect afternoon and by the time she was done sketching, as the sun began to set, Emily was nearly euphoric, her love of making art, something she hadn’t fully realized had started to wain, was in full bloom once again.

Emily turned around from putting the last of her pencils back on her desk to see Alexia bent slightly over her table looking over the sketches of herself, holding a piece of honeycomb to her lips. The setting sun and balcony door perfectly framed Alexia, the sun betraying her curved figure through her sheer white dress. Emily walked over next to Alexia and leaned down to look at the sketch she was admiring. The smell of the salty ocean was on the breeze and Emily could also catch the faint aroma of the honeycomb on Alexia’s lips. She turned her head and their eyes met. Something in the way Alexia looked at Emily made her heart race, and her nervousness from earlier that day returned. Alexia leaned in and their lips met. A delightful, warm, and simple kiss.

Exhilaration pumped through Emily, a happy pounding in her temples as her head swam when the kiss was broken. “Is that ok?” Alexia whispers. All Emily could manage was a small nod, but as soon as she did they both moved into a rapturous embrace, Emily on her tiptoes reaching up to meet Alexia’s lips. She did not know how long this lasted but a pounding on the door disturbed their newfound bliss.

A man’s voice came from the other side of Emily’s door. “Emily, I have an urgent message from the Captain!” An envelope slides under the door, Emily reluctantly pulls away from Alexia, walks over to the letter, picks it up, and opens it. Tears begin to well up in her eyes as she reads the note from her Captain.

“What’s wrong?” Alexia crossed to her and put her arm around Emily.

“We are leaving tomorrow, it’s an emergency.” Emily chokes back a sob, silly to feel this way really it’s the life she chose after all. “I was supposed to have another week here. I… I was hoping you’d want to spend some of it with me…”

“I do,” Alexia pulls her close and Emily lets the note drop to the floor “I do, you’re a wonderful person, and I will be here when you return. I promise” She lifts Emily’s chin and gives her another kiss, then continues. “Why don’t we give you something to take with you to remember me, something to remind you what you have to look forward to now.” Alexia walks over to the bed and turns around. “You know, in all the posing, you never asked to sketch me exactly like those other Serenovian women.” Her hand reaches behind her and she pulls the end of the string that cinches the waist of her dress with a playful smile. She shrugs out of it, and it falls in a puddle at her feet. Alexia lies down on the bed. “Well? We only have so much time until the morning my wonderful artist, you better get drawing.”