The Egg

An SSSC II Story by MrSimple

 

 

 

In the middle of a dark and gloomy night --

Wait... It might’ve actually been day. I couldn’t really tell through the thick orb of my shell. All I could really see was the shade of colors coming or going by little ol’ me.

And this day, there were absolutely no colors to be seen. That meant I was in complete pitch black darkness.

But I could hear real well.

One of the very first things I heard was somebody shouting: “Who in the fucking Hell took the last Goddamn shit ticket!?”

“Oh, uh… Reggie?” Aside from the gruff voice, there were some rapid stomping noises going on above my cozy egg. “Did you refill the supply closet?”

“Yep!” A chipper voiced answered that question, and he even elaborated. “Last time we docked, I hit up the corner market with Stephan.”

“Right, and, uh, you did pick up more toilet paper before going off with Stephan?” There was a long pause before the gruff voice continued. “Oh for Pete’s sake! Reggie, this is a round trip and we haven’t even reached our --”

“Motherfucking cuss buckets!” That booming voice echoed not only across this rocky ship we were on.

But it was the sheer volume of his voice that pinged off every rounded wall of my shell that made my head spin. I had the misfortune of occupying the same bathroom stall as this furious shitter.

And he wasn’t done stirring up a storm. “If I have to come out there, somebody’s gonna lick where the Sun don’t shine!”

“Reggie, if that sorcerer comes out of there before we provide him with a means to wipe his own ass, I’m going to smack that empty skull of yours until what he wants plops out of your mouth.”

“I’m on it, I’m on it!” Before the chipper Reggie faded in the distance, I heard him call back to say, “Keep your pants on!”

“Reggie, don’t piss off the sorcerer!”

The sorcerer spoke up in his defense: “I don’t get pissed off. I piss on, so don’t give me that shit or else.”

Er, I guessed that there would be considered offense rather than defense? Dunno, don’t care. At least he didn’t shout it out that time around.

But then I heard those last foreboding words from one of the two, “Or else what?”

And then the shit really hit the fan.

What I could remember was that the entire world, which was my little eggy, toppled over this way and that --

-- until sometime later, I was rolled overboard. No idea how I went from a bathroom stall to the deck, but, yeah, it happened! I should know, I was there!

From my journey on the ship, to the deep ocean blue, I wouldn’t know how long I was bobbing up and down on the endless waves... But guess what? The ocean wasn’t so endless after all.

I rolled up, skidded back down, rolled again, and continued to make a groove in the warm sandy beach until I came to a complete stop. Woot!

A day or two passed, which I could tell by the hot light in the sky cooking my round roof and then freezing me at night like I was living in an igloo without an entrance.

My isolated and lonely time wasn’t all that fun. I mean, if I was given a chance to go out and bask in the sun, maybe, but in here, it was either an oven during the day or an icebox at night. In fact, I wouldn’t have minded it if I was offered a chance to build a sandcastle. At least that would’ve been more productive than waiting to hatch!

As I mentioned before, it was only one or two days that had passed, and before I knew it, somebody picked me up.

“Daddy! Daddy!” That high-pitched, sweetly giggling voice. I recognized her, and I was glad to be back in her company, but not at all thankful for bringing that loudmouth back to me. “Look! He came back!”

For the sake of clarification, if the little girl was bringing me to Daddy, that meant I was gonna be handed right back to the very same shitter on that ship I’d rolled off of.

Now that I thought about it, I kinda wondered whatever happened to that ship and its crew. I supposed if the father and daughter managed to make it out alright, everyone else were probably enjoying a tropical vacation in the Bahamas.

Either that or this sorcerer turned them into newts… Or was that witches who do that?

“Oh, good, breakfast.”

“...WHAT!?” At least at that time, and if I could, that's what I wanted to shout out. But, hey, I was an egg. What could I have done?

Apparently I didn’t have to do anything. That adorable little daughter of his spoke up for me.

“You promised! Once he hatches, I can keep him.”

“I do recall promising you that. Yes, I did.” As soon as he said that, immediately my egg world violently shook. “But he’s not hatched yet, is he?”

“No! Daddy, please!?” Oh no, I could hear her waterworks without having to see her. “Please don’t… please?”

“Once we are off the island, I’ll just buy you another one.” And soon after he offered her that deal -- well, I mentioned the last shakedown was violent, and this motion was also violent.

No, correction: an atrocity. This time around, he was trying to smash my shell open!

“Daddy! No! NO!” With each sobbing plea and cried-out rejection of what she was witnessing, I saw more and more cracks form along my world.

Every egg-shattering impact had shaken me until I too had a headache. It was aggravating to be struck down, frustrating to be so helpless, and infuriating how careless this sorcerer was.

It wasn’t long until I was freed. By then, I had to collect what little comfort I had left of my world and swallow the pain that was about to be unleashed.

And when the raw light shone down upon my head, pierced into my eye, and filled my skull with a searing agony; I roared.

...At least, I tried to roar, but dammit, all that came out was a tiny squeak!

A hushed gasp escaped from the girl before I was shaken back and forth. At the time, I had no idea what was happening, but after my brain was officially mush, I could’ve sworn an angel had saved my soul from the clutches of the Devil himself.

Either that or the girl simply snatched me out of her dad’s hands. I’d like to believe a higher power was involved in my salvation.

“Aileen Aelfin Spellsworth!” Uh-oh, this just got serious. He used her middle name. “Come back here this instant!”

But like Hell was she listening to that sack of wind. It wasn’t a smooth ride in her hands, but at least she held me close and securely against her body. She really was giving her all to keep me safe.

For that, I was forever in her debt.

The next question was: where was she going? From my bouncy point of view of the sandy island, I prayed she God that she was top-notch at playing hide and go seek. But with a line of palm trees here, a cluster of rocks there, and a lot of sand, the only thing she would be capable of accomplishing was running in circles along the coast. I doubted there was a place to hide --

-- oh, a cave. Well, this was nice.

I had another question to ask, and I really wished I could’ve voiced it at that time, but did Daddy know about her deep dark secret? If he did, I bet he’d be more than just furious when he found out about our hidden headquarters.

Which meant, I dearly hoped to God this sorcerer’s daughter had a good plan. Or a bad one. I wasn’t choosy, just so long as she had something in the works.

In no time at all, I actually ate my words about doubting her. Hey, if I had said them, I would’ve devoured them with a sprinkle of sand on top.

What did she do? There was a cave entrance one moment, and in the next moment, POOF! It disappeared.

Magic!

I really could learn a trick or two from this little magician. No, actually, I wanted to learn, so I watched her. It was pretty easy for me to keep an eye on her when I had adjustable lenses.

That was a cool feature about my eyes. I could see in the dark. Daylight was a different story, but I managed okay. I just needed a minute to focus or it would be like I was staring at a pair of high beams.

But that was the next trick. See, she couldn’t see in the dark like I could, and her next performance was Godlike.

She lit up the cave with a bright floating orb of light.

With my three clawed fingers, I mimicked her hand gestures and duplicated the same orb. Much tinier, but it had the same effect.

“Oh my God!” The instant she squeed, I corrected myself about my magic having the same effect. Apparently mine was much cuter than hers.

From that point on, she became my teacher and I her student. Well, I probably was her pet, or familiar, but I wasn’t being picky with the labels. She took the valuable time we had together and taught me, and being the excellent pupil I was, I absorbed everything she permitted me to learn.

Alas, all good things do have to come at an end. Her father was much more apt at magic than she was. I believed she had been apprenticed to him.

That meant the closed-off cave was eventually unsealed.

As he brought the outside world pouring back into this cave, no greetings or any words for that matter were spoken between them. Just the baleful glare from Daddy-O and a stubborn resentment looking right back at him.

It was going to come down to a fight. More than likely, she was going to give it her all and the sorcerer was going to go soft on her.

But there was a catch: me. I was by her side… Well, honestly, I was curled up on her shoulder with a tail securely wrapped around her arm.

With me having learned how to become a conduit for her, I fed off of my new, and colossal, egg-shaped world to channel the stream of magic into my master. My friend.

Mommy!

And with our combined efforts, the very last thing I saw of our dear ol’ sorcerer was his socks being blown off as he flew higher than a kite into the air. I would bet on my broken egg shells that he splooshed down into the ocean someplace.

For the record: there have been no reports of a dead sorcerer washing up anywhere. As far as I was aware, that guy had incredible stamina and is swimming out in the ocean to this very day. Keep in mind, he’s got magic on his side. Lots of it.

Yeah, I’d like to go with that theory.

But anyways, that was some wicked Fus Ro Dah skills we had going there! Well, she did most of the work, I just helped.

That’s what happened when she was putting everything she had into that last stand and having me give her a world of help. And, yes, I really didn’t believe her father saw that one coming.

Hell, what did he expect? I was a dragon!

...Okay, a fae dragon, but I was still a part of the draconic family. I wouldn’t grow up to be a wing of death or a shower of fire, but I still could ruin someone’s day.

In my case, I’d rather brighten up the day with the closest member of my family. This little girl who had not only saved me, cared for me, and taught me everything she knew, but someone who would be a part of my life, and me of hers, forever.

…
…
...Okay, hold up, that’s not the end here.

Last question about the big plan here: how would we get off of this deserted island? We were kinda stranded.

We got rid of her toxic father of the arcane arts. Regarding which I still stand by what I claimed: she did not kill him!

We found the power of friendship. And we concluded that the two of us would live happily ever after.

But I’d rather it not be a short life! One look around the island and we were certain there was no hope of living here.

To start off: there was a reason why I was initially on the menu. No food.

Yeah, my poor little girl’s belt was tightening every single day.

True, she appeared happy when those cherub cheeks blushed, and she flashed me her happiest smile. Of course, I smiled back.

From my little vantage on her shoulder, I kept a vigil over her. As a familiar, I felt it was my place to protect this gentle purity.

There was no fresh water on the island, but she could utilize the waning ley lines as they strayed our way to keep a healthy and hygienic regime. Just like that, she could wave her hand and be cleansed of impurities.

Just because she smelled like roses didn’t mean her living situation didn’t stink. Water was vital, and I could tell it was getting to her every time she looked out at the seemingly endless blue expanse.

It was like we were imprisoned without a jailor. I couldn’t feel the suffering that she was experiencing because I’d recently been freed from my shelled captivity.

To me, this island was HUGE! But to her… She never said it, I could see it when she walked this way or that way, always turning around, and looking lost in places we’d been before.

This island was closing in on her. In her mind, she was losing a certain something I’d never enjoyed before. I probably would’ve been ecstatic if I’d had a taste of the real world, but not when we had this downright depressing dilemma.

Even if I could soothe her mind, I couldn’t do anything about her body.

Those cherub cheeks? I watched them slowly melt away until every smile gradually was transforming into a strained crack across her gaunt face.

When her cheerfulness caused her lips to bleed, I tried to be adorable for her and lick clean the red droplets before they reached her chin.

Strangely enough, I regretted that decision. I thought I would look like a pet to her. As if I were a dog licking her face.

Instead of that image, I saw a horror in her eyes. As if I was drinking from the blood she shed. There was never a mention of it, but she didn’t have to say anything.

Between us now was a sadness. I knew she’d perish if something wasn’t done soon. And I’d wish for death over the despair of losing her. She’d probably feel the same if I were in her place.

Sorrow, yes, she’d share that if I experienced the same suffering as her, but I was in no danger of dying by dehydration or starvation. Magic fed me.

If only we could swap places, I’d be okay with losing my life knowing she’d be living on. But she wouldn’t, and I knew it. Swapping places had a huge flaw of the other still experiencing the loss.

Except that did give me an alternative idea, but there was a serious side-effect to the concept.

But before going over the bad details, I should tell you about the good first.

I could be her lifeline. Food, water, and a disregard to her sleep schedule could give her an entire twenty-four/seven extension on figuring out how to get us off this island.

Now for the bad: we’d have to merge.

She wouldn’t like it, and she didn’t. Without her consent, I crawled up on her during her sleep and dug in. There was a moment of pain upon her awakening, but then an ever more agonizing confusion spread across her face.

Aileen didn’t understand what was happening until it was too late to reverse the process.

She first told me, “No.” Then, “Bad.” And, “Stop.”

But I didn’t. I couldn’t. It was simply too late. My life was hers now, and she was my life.

We were becoming one being.

Despite the fact that she was now fed this knowledge, the sweet and innocent girl in her went into denial before the first of her screams echoed across the island. I was sorry, but I couldn’t cope with the thought of having a future without her.

Within the night, I tried to keep myself from crying. I didn’t want there to be any kind of loss between us, whether that be our company or friendship. But in the end, I experienced the loneliness.

I sat there and stared at the ground, rubbing my eyes, doing all I could to forget one half of me and remember the other half. The better half of my life.

The one as a daughter, savior, teacher, master, friend, and mother. My consciousness was becoming Aileen. But I couldn’t stop thinking about the loss of my former self. The tiny friend that sacrificed his body for me.

He was still there, someplace in the back of my mind, otherwise I wouldn’t be capable of ingesting the currents of magic flowing around this island. Ley lines, nearby or not, I could reach out farther and further if I didn’t have a lush stream of arcane quintessence to dip in.

That was also where I initially obtained my worldly knowledge of the modern lingo. I’d learned to be a very adept listener in my egg… His egg.

Now I was secluded and alone on this island without anyone to talk, laugh, hug, or sleep with when the nights became so very cold.

The only thing I had on my side was time. Having the blood of a dragon now running through my veins, I was effectively immortal. Not invincible, but so long as I kept my wits about me, I’d live.

The question was: what else did I have to live for once I did find a way off this island?

I kicked my father off the island. My mother… I had no memories of her. And all my other family members had been ostracized for having no capacity for the arcane.

In a way, I understood why dragons were slowly disappearing from our world. They had no place here any longer. The same could be said about magic. That had become a rare gift in itself.

Now that I thought about that, I did hatch up a plan.

This would seriously be a long shot in the dark, but I had a whole world to shake up. If just one person peeked through the cracks, they’d see me holding onto the stream of magic until something, or in this case, someone came out here to greet me.

I hoped it would be a person. It would be awkward if I had to deal with a magical creature. And I literally mean to deal here, not maim or kill, but to bargain with them.

For myself, I was kinda desperate to make available a variety of scenery.

All I had to do was lie here and wait...