Request: Drama, Sad Ending

Summary: A quick temper enabled by jealousy�

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Oss� rumbled in delight as the skies grew dim. Perfect. And his Master was so easy to provoke. Just what that wretched soul deserved.

* * * * *

�Cap�n!�

�This had better be good, barrelman!�

�Aye, Cap�n! Lightnin� in the offing surf!�

Maelion frowned. �Belay that blatherin� an� speak up, fool!�

The crewman pointed.

Maelion blinked. �White squall?�

�Cap�n!�

Maelion sighed and turned. �Make it summer, lad!�

�Aye, Cap�n! Schoolin� half a league leeward!�

Bolting to the rail, Maelion paled as he saw the dark mass streaking toward them. �They got us at crosses,� he whispered. �HELMSMAN! Heave �er to an� club haul on my mark!�

A pause, then a confused. �Cap�n?�

�Do it!� he roared. �Or it�s MY daughter ye�ll be kissin�!�

�Aye, Cap�n!� A flurry of activity surrounded him, then �Ready, Sir!�

�On my mark!�

�Aye!�

Maelion counted his breaths. One. �Steady�� Two. �Steady��

Panicked whispers flitted around them as those on deck began to realize the dire situation.

Three. �Steady�� Four. �Steady��

�Cap�n��

Five. �Steady��

�Cap�n!�

Six. �Now! ALL HANDS, HARD APORT!�

The helmsman cursed as the wheel jerked from his grip, spraining his wrist in the process. He locked the wheel into place and strapped himself to the column.

Maelion winced as he listened to his Beloved Mistress scream and splinter as her anchor dragged along the ocean floor, pulling her into a wide arc to avoid the pod of orca headed in their direction.

The entire crew let out ragged sighs of relief as the orca swam by, a few even giving little cheers when they saw the impending storm dissipate as quickly as it had formed.

As they were clearing the deck of cargo and other materials displaced by the evasive maneuver, an old sea salt stumbled his way up to Maelion. �We ain�t done yet, Cap�n.�

Maelion turned. �What�s that?�

�You been sailin� long enough to know that we ain�t in the clear. This ain�t a normal pod route for whales. That�s why Lord Ulmo agreed to let us fish here in the first place.�

Maelion blinked, then rubbed at his eyes. �So they were��

�Bein� chased, Sir.�

�By what?�

�Don�t know. Not much targets orca. Coulda been whalers, but I doubt it. Not with the Folk patrolin� about.�

�So that leaves?�

�Prolly dolphins, Cap�n. Or��

**CRASH! Creak�Crack�Snap!**

Maelion watched a large leathery tentacle crash and splinter the mast. �What was that last option, seaman?�

The elder sailor sighed. �Kraken, Sir.�

�Right.� As if in a trance, Maelion watched as the giant squid systematically destroyed his ship.

* * * * * *

Maelion watched in awe as the giant gray ship of his Lord�s fleet sailed back into harbor amidst warm winds and cheers from the elves working the docks.

He sprinted home, pounding on the door. �Nana! Nana! Grrr�NANA!�

�Yes yes, Maelion, I hear you!�

Maelion rolled his eyes. �Naaaana, they here!�

�Who, Maelion?�

�The BOATS, Nana!�

Nana squealed, tugged her apron loose, and bolted.

Crisp grass softened to warm sand and then waiting, such long waiting! Would the wait ever end?

Years passed as they stood on the beach, ageless and joyful. The sun sank lower in the sky and still Maelion and Nana waited. Nana sighed and muttered to herself that the First Mate disembarked only before the Captain and the Captain was still on deck and would be on deck until the last crew member and piece of shipment was carried off.

Years and years and years and years later, the bearded Lord of the Gray Havens descended. Maelion waved madly, trying to draw the Shipwright�s summer-sky gaze. He yelled, his voice drowned by the exclamations and shouts of others.

Finally � yes, finally! � the Telerin Lord looked their way. One eye flickered shut, bringing a blinding smile to Maelion�s face. He just knew that the wink had been directed at him. Cirdan�s winks were always directed at him, followed by a smile and a sweet. Recently they�d been these wonderful hard sugar orbs that felt like the sun was rising in his mouth!

Maelion fervently hoped the ancient Lord had not forgotten his favorite treat. Barely containing his excitement, he watched his idol move closer�closer�the setting sun creating a bright halo around him.

Nana � why was she shaking? Was she as excited as he? � stood tall when their great Lord approached. Maelion frowned as Cirdan�s focus stayed on Nana instead of moving on to him, as it should have. As it always had.

* * * * * *

Maelion blinked back to reality. The irony of the situation was drilled home as his ship took yet another hit. It seemed to be the fate of his family to perish at sea.

* * * * * *

Only one being could understand the absolute, knee-knocking terror of a maiden voyage under one�s own command. The purification ceremony and the resulting celebration had lasted until the wee hours of the morning, long after the guest of honor had sought out the peace and tranquility of his shore-side haven.

Maelion lifted his fist.

�Come in, Maelion.�

He blinked and stepped inside, closing the door behind him quietly. �How did you know?�

Sky eyes smiled sympathetically. �Who else would hover outside my door the night before he is to take his first command?�

Maelion shook his head. �You are very odd, my Lord.�

�Benefit of advanced age.� He held out a drink. �Sit.�

Maelion sat on the floor, sipping the spiced wine carefully. �I have been thinking��

�Always a perilous undertaking.�

Maelion shot his mentor a sour look. �Not funny.�

�It was not intended to be. Your training has been as vigorous and as complete as I could make it. I owed it to your parents � and to you � to see it through. At this point, thinking will only serve to sabotage you.�

�But what if��

Cirdan sighed. �Yes, what if? What if you completely botch your first command? What if you give the wrong orders and your crew laughs? What if I had chosen to sail left rather than right? What if we had sailed earlier to reach the attack on Sirion?�

Maelion blinked at him.

The old Shipwright shook his head. �You can easily spend the rest of your days asking that question and gain nothing more than a headache and a freefall into madness.�

�But��

�No. A captain does not have the luxury of �what if� and �should have� on these waters. You board your ship, set sail, and rely on your crew and your instincts to see you home safely. All else is chaff in the wind and will get you killed.�

Duly chastened, Maelion looked down at the floor, rubbing at the tension headache brewing in his neck.

He jumped when stronger, warmer hands replaced his. �What��

�Hush. It will do you no good to board that ship with the added distraction of a headache.�

Minutes later, Maelion was seated in steaming hot water with strong, confident hands massaging the stress and fear away with each stroke.

So comfortable was he that it seemed completely natural, even anticipated, when the soothing touch gradually changed into something�different.

* * * * * *

Maelion was yanked back into reality by exploding pain in his chest and air rushing past as a tentacle plowed into him.

The complete destruction of his Beloved Mistress took a shockingly brief amount of time to Maelion�s reckoning. Mercifully, the high-pitched buzz in his ears kept him from being tortured by the sounds of his dying crew and ship.

* * * * * *

Oss� watched with the glee of a scorned suitor as the Beloved Mistress and her crew sank into the sea. Really, it had been entirely too easy to convince the love sick Ulmo that his beloved elf�s heart was going to be trampled when the Shipwright�s unfaithful lover left him for his Beloved Mistress.

He snorted. Perhaps in his next life, Maelion would be smart enough to show some gratitude when a powerful Maiar lowered and debased himself enough to show interest in one of the younger races.

* * * * * *

Fish swam past him lazily, seeming unconcerned by their new swimming-mate�s dismay and grief.

Images came faster and faster to Maelion as he sank further into the ocean�s depths.

�Vibrant flashes of the many times he and his Lord had shared their bodies�

�The night Cirdan had come to him with a young elleth in tow�

�The fumbling and embarrassed laughter of his wedding night�

�The morning sun shining across the brows of his exhausted wife and their newborn son�

�Currying the deceptively docile mare that would one day take his son from him in a stark, blinding moment of negligence�

�Waving to his grieving wife as she sailed into the horizon�

�The lo

~~ End ~~