Flames of Eldonia

Chapter I

An elderly fisherman watched as Tanina tried to revive the stranger. Hmm, he pondered, a pretty thing...What a shame if she were to die. He surveyed the limp creature cradled in Tanina's arms. Indeed she was quite attractive. Something about this comely lady jarred him so to the point of distraction and insatiable curiosity. She is obviously not from around here, but there is something vaguely familar. Nudging his wife, he whispered, "Could, perhaps, she be–?"
"Nonsense!," the good wife replied, "She's been dead so many years."

Finally, after much effort, the girl came around, vomiting water and fluttering her eyes open. Gasping, still not quite coherent, she found breath to speak. "Where...am I?"
"Shh," said Tanina gently. "You've been through quite an ordeal. My father and I will take you to our house. My mother will see to you. You need rest, dry clothes, and a hot meal."

Tanina motioned to her father, Sivin, to carry the woman back to the house. The woman, now fully conscious, began to wail, "Where is it?"
"Where is what?," asked Tanina.
"My doll."
"I have it here," Tanina replied, showing the soaked little rag doll she found clutched in the woman's hand.
"Oh thank God. I thought I lost it. It's all I managed to hang on to..."

******

She took a good look at her surroundings, not comprehending where she was. The stranger Tanina plucked out of the water was still quite dazed and confused. She knew how she got here, but just what was "where"?

The only thing Danielle "Dani" Bennett could remember was driving along Highway 19, in efforts to return to Ohio, to her parents. She knew the risks of traveling in such weather, and she blamed herself for procrasinating. After all, the warnings were there: a Category Four hurricane due to make landfall that afternoon. Dani thought she could wait until the last minute, beat the rush, make the drive inland. To tell the truth, Dani had finish some business in wake of the storm – make a few important calls, secure irreplacable documents, reset court dates (if services were to be disrupted for a long period), board up her house, replenish her emergency car kit. But she waited too long. For three days, the interstate had been jammed with people still trying to escape the impending storm, so Dani decided, quite unwisely, to wait until most residents had fled to safety before lighting out herself. No way would she find herself spending countless hours in gridlock.

Yes, she waited much too long.

After she phoned her parents, she hadn't gotten too far beyond the coastal highway when the winds picked up and the torrential rains came down in sheets, reducing visiblity to almost nil. Driving in such a deluge was daunting enough, but Dani was used to it. However, she was not prepared for the sudden, endless bursts of winds, making driving that much more difficult. She had heard of these storms spawning tornadoes, and she became witness to one of nature's little mysteries.

Dani, undaunted by driving rains and winds, found herself on the bridge, the raging river below churning and billowing. Still pressing on, she was unprepared for what happened next. Without warning, the ominous funnel cloud descended, finding its target in the water, just a few feet from the crossing. Dani, in awe of the tornado (or waterspout if she wanted to get technical), floored her accelerator, not paying heed to the slippery roadway. She then felt the car wobble, the main span shake and quiver in the wake of gale force winds. Suddenly, she felt the car lifted off the roadway.
In a panic, Dani tried to escape, endeavoring to break the windshield, but to no avail. The car was sucked up into the funnel, tossing and flipping about as if a child's toy. Knowing she may die soon, Dani grabbed the nearest and dearest thing: the rag doll that lay on the passenger seat. Gripping that doll like a magical talisman, Dani felt the car suddenly fall miles down into the river below. By some miracle, the driver's side door flung open, and Dani, still clutching the doll, dove into the churning waters, fully aware that she would die by drowning. There was no way any rescue team would find her alive; that much she knew. After sending up a silent prayer for mercy, Dani loss consciousness. She wouldn't know anything else until, days later, she washed up on the shore of a strange land.

******

"How is she?," asked Sivin, settling down to his afternoon meal.
"She's coming around," said his wife, Khalina, a handsome middle-aged woman with a wealth of chestnut hair, flashing blue eyes, and pleasingly plump figure. "Tanina is with her now. The woman was quite hysterical when you brought her in. She kept asking, 'Where am I?' and 'Where is my doll?'. I administered some soothing drops to calm her. She is not as agitated, and she managed to eat some broth and bread."
"Well," said Sivin, a ruggedly handsome black-haired, dark-eyed man of about fifty, "let us hope this one will survive, although we can scarcely afford to take her in."

Khalina, dishing up savory vegetable stew, hot fresh bread, and tea, could not believe her husband's words. "Sivin! I am surprised at you! Since when do we turn away those in need? That young lady has been through the most traumatic ordeal. We simply can't turn her out on the streets."
Sivin said nothing in response. He knew once the woman was brought to the house, Khalina would take the wretched creature under her wing, pouring out pent-up maternal instinct. How long had it been since their two oldest children left home? Six years, and that move was forced. He was aware Khalina still missed Mag and Lysa, their first and second born daughters. At least, to his thinking, they still had Tanina, their youngest; but for Khalina, it wasn't the same. Perhaps this woman could be made part of the family; she could be another source of much needed income, that is if she had any gainful skills. Perhaps she is a dancer like Tanina...

That he voiced to his wife. In response, Khalina said, "But Sivin, what if she isn't? Surely she has some gifts. But let her regain her strength; let her settle in first."

Sivin, busily spooning stew into his mouth, thought about that sopping wet rag doll which now sat on the mantle. Studying it, he noticed the colorful fabric of the dress, the distinguished pattern. From wherever this woman hailed, she had to have some Benutian blood in her. No where else could such fine fabric – those particular shades of blue, red, and green, with fine golden threads interwoven throughout – had been manufactured. ******

"Here, let me help you."

Tanina, ever the beauty with her wild mass of jet black hair, fiery lavender eyes, tawny skin, colorful dress, and much golden jewelry, gently assisted the woman to a sitting position. The poor thing, once Khalina administered a calming potion, dropped off into a brief sleep. Now awake, she was full of questions. Where was she? Where is her doll? Tanina reassured her, "Your doll is safe. It is sitting on the mantle, drying out. My goodness! You must love that doll so much to worry about it so, and not give one thought to your own health."
"I'm sorry," said Dani. She, fully conscious and coherent, rattled nonstop, "It's just that...Oh my God! I must have gotten carried away to another county, even another state! Where am I, anyway? I really need to call home. My folks must be out of their heads with worry. Oh man, I must've lost my phone. Can I use yours? I need to call my folks, then my office, if it's still there..."

Tanina didn't quite comprehend what Dani said about "phone" and "office", but she tried to explain best she could.
"Uh, I have no idea what you're talking about. We don't have a 'telephone', if you mean one of those communication devices. But I can tell you where you are."
Dani sat up, not believing what Tanina told her. "What do you mean, you don't have a phone? Look, I really need to contact my folks. Just take me to the nearest police station so I can at least call my mom, tell her I'm OK."
Tanina now realized that this young woman was totally unaware that she washed up on a faraway land, so distant and well-hidden that it never appears on a map. Perhaps she has never heard of this country, and her home country does boast of things such as "telephones" and "police stations."

"I'm sorry," said Tanina, "but I guess you have a right to know where you are. You are in Eldonia. Well, the state of Benut to be exact."
She paused long enough to gauge Dani's bewildered reaction, and she wondered what the woman would do once she learns that she could never go home. Once people find their way to Eldonia, it is difficult to return to their home countries.
That Tanina explained as gently as she could. "What do you mean I can't return?," Dani said disbelievingly. She became quite agitated and annoyed. "Look, I don't know what game you're playing, but my parents are expecting me."

Then it dawned on her the price of procrasination. "Oh man! Why couldn't I have just left when the warnings came? No! I had to tend to business, fool around until the last minute, when the storm hit. Oh my God! I could've been home by now, safe. But I..."

She was in tears now, sobbing uncontrollably. Tanina tried to comfort her new-found friend, soothing her with sweet songs and tender words.

"Don't cry...Oh my, I don't know your name."
Dani managed to compose herself, saying in a tear-choked voice, "My name is Danielle. Danielle Bennett. You can call me Dani."
"Pleased to meet you, Dani. I'm Tanina. My father, Sivin, helped bring you to the house, and my mother, Khalina, nursed you back to health. Now, you really need to rest more. Here..."
Tanina gave Dani another draught of powerful calming potion, a more potent dose this time. Within minutes, Dani felt herself calm down, her body and mind relaxing. Soon she drifted into a deep slumber.

******

When Tanina rejoined her parents for dinner, she had some inkling on how to 'break in' Dani to life in Eldonia. Obviously, wherever Dani's home is, life had to be quite different or else the woman would not have asked to use a 'telephone'. She said to Tanina, just before the calming potion took its effect, something about being caught in a violent storm, and that her vehicle was swept off a bridge and into the river below. All Dani could recall was feeling herself caught in the river's raging current. She felt as if she was drowning, and knew nothing until Tanina revived her on the Benutian shore.

While Dani slept, Tanina gathered more serviceable clothing for the woman. What Dani wore was not in the best of condition. The jeans had been ripped and soiled during the seabound journey, the white shirt nearly threadbare. The shoes were long gone. Guessing Dani's build and weight, Tanina rummaged through her sister Mag's remaining wardrobe, selecting a number of attractive, colorful dresses, skirts, and blouses. There were dainty shoes and sandals, headscarves, numerous pieces of gold jewelry. In time, Tanina would ask Dani of her talents, what skills that could be put to work. After all, if Dani stayed, Sivin would expect her to earn her keep.

Settling at the table, Tanina watched her mother fuss over that rag doll. Just as her father did, Tanina noticed something unusual about that doll. The plaything's brightly hued dress commanded Tanina's attention. What if Dani was one of them? It can only be, since the doll's very dress was made from Benutian fabric.

"Mother," she said, as Khalina held the doll close, "Do you think Danielle is–?"
Khalina nodded, replying, "She has to be. However, we must keep this to ourselves. Do you know what King Vlaric's spies would do if this got out? I say we take on Dani as part of the family. Yes, she could travel with us to Tyq, to the Landing Day celebrations. But, as your father suggested, why not introduce her to Governor Chenek? His Eminence, not being one of Vlaric's puppets, may shed some light on this woman. I'm curious myself, and I can safely say that Danielle could be the instrument in freeing Benut from centuries of Eldonian rule."

To be continued...Go to Chapter II

Copyright©2004 by P.R. Parker. All rights reserved.