Legend Of Dragoon Fan Fiction ❯ The Legend of Dragoon II ❯ Murky Water ( Chapter 27 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

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Chapter 27) Murky Water

This time, Al fell to the floor, and this time Tammy screamed, loud. "OH MY GOSH, are you okay???" Al sat back up, "Just give me a moment, but do tell about these "others"." Tammy recollected herself, and Al, Orrin, and Liza all listened in intently, "The two pictures you've seen were painted by the same man, and he made a series of them, five in all." Al muttered under his breath, "That sounds like that should be about right." Tammy paid no attention and kept going, "They were painted around one hundred years ago. But, the ones we have are merely copies of the originals. Unfortunately, the originals have been lost, so these are just as valuable, if not more. And lucky you, we have copies of all five."

Al finally stood back up and walked towards her, "If you wouldn't mind, could you show us the others?" Tammy beamed with delight, she was particularly fond of anything with artistic value. It was her favorite part of being on luxurious ships like the Wave Dancer. She told them, "I'd be delighted. If you would follow me..." Trailing behind Tammy were Al, Orrin, and Liza. Derreck remained laying on the bed, yet he had a disturbed face. It made Orrin cringe a bit.

Tammy continued down the hall, almost near the end, when she said, "The ones you've already seen were the first and second in his series, so I'll just go ahead and show you the rest in order." At the very last room in the hall, Tammy took out a set of keys and unlocked the door. She stepped in and turned on the light to reveal a room like Al's and Rashe'm's. Before letting them into the room, Tammy explained, "This room, like the second room you recieved, are crew quarters. There are only three guest rooms, but two have recently undergone extensive repair from major damage, and are still being repaired. I speak for everyone when I say that we're sorry for the inconvenience." Al took her hand of apology and shook, "It's quite alright, but thank you. Could you get on to the paintings now?"

Their very humble host became red with embarrassment. "Hehe, sorry. I'll show you now." She let the three in, and there at the far wall was another statue picture. But this one wasn't in a city. Just as well, Orrin and Al recognized the statue almost immediately. As they approached the picture, Tammy began, "This was the third in the artist's series, and you may even recognize it. It's the statue of Miranda from the Castle of Deningrad." Al nodded, "Indeed, we do." Tammy continued, "There may be some connection, but as you may have heard, Miranda was one of the Legendary Dragoons of the Second Campaign, the Dragoon of Light. As it just happens, this painting is quite bright, vibrant. The one of Bale has the statue of Albert, and he was the Dragoon of Wind, and that painting has a floating feel to the strokes."

Tammy led them out of the room and down the hall back the way they came. She kept a steady pace, but she slowed as she neared a room on the other end of the hall. As she reached for her keys, she stopped. "Aw, crap." Al inquired, "What? What's the matter?" Tammy turned around smiling, but rubbing the back of her head, "The two last pictures were damaged in the other two guest rooms. I just remembered. Sorry." Al and Orrin sighed heavily in unison. Al began trying to tell her that it was ok, but he couldn't be heard over the fog horn that signified the ship's departure. He tried multiple times, but the irregular intervals kept interrupting. Once the blaring horn stopped, Tammy said, "Once again, I'm sorry, but now I must get going to do my other duties. I'll be back to find you for dinner."

As the three headed back to their rooms, Orrin said, "So much for that. At least the Miranda picture proves your theory has some credibility." Al nodded, "If we come across any more of the pictures, we should try to find the other two. But..." Al stammered for a moment. "Dammit. I didn't ask her what the guy's name was. I could kick m'self." Orrin asked, "Didn't the pictures have a name with the title?" Al responded, "No, I made sure to check. I can't make out the signature either." Orrin asked a second question, "So, now what?"

Al didn't reply until they were at their rooms. "Whatever pleases ya, I suppose. I bought a new recipe book yesterday, so I'm going to look through it." Liza piped up, "I'm going to go out on deck. I find the sounds of waves and the ocean relaxing." Orrin had no real plans, so he said the first thing on his mind, "I'll just go lay back down and think." Orrin left as the other two did, and he entered the room of the slumbering Derreck.

Orrin wouldn't exactly call what Derreck was doing "slumbering". His face still had that troubled look on it. Orrin took to his bed and then took out the stones from his pockets. He held the white in his left hand and the purple in his right. "Heh, that's funny," thought Orrin, "Light and Dark. Extreme opposites." He continued to stare at the stones, how they seemed to have no true inner depth, like they were just endless space inside. He hadn't noticed it until just then, but the purple one felt heavier for a moment.

He was still worried about how anguished Derreck's face appeared, so Orrin looked over at him. Derreck's face did not appear troubled, but he was also not laying down anymore. He was sitting upright in bed, staring down at his feet. This new look almost made Orrin worry more, that perhaps he should go get Al and see if he could do something about Derreck. After a few moments of thought, Orrin decided he would go out on deck and see if Liza would know. He put the two stones back in his pockets and got up from his bed. As he got to the doorway, he looked back at Derreck. He had to ask, "Derreck, are you going to be ok?" Orrin wished he had waited to ask Liza.

"I loathe the water. I hate it. Anything on it, anything IN it. I hate it.... HATE IT....."