[Child of the 7th Age]

As she was about to vault onto the back of the winged beast, Cami took a moment to study the inert form of Rose sprawled on the ground, still bleeding heavily. She stopped in horror. If she did not take some action now, the girl would perish before they even reached the Elven ship. The woman vacillated and wondered what she could do.

Once again, the dragon roared, "Get on now!"

Cami stared at Bird with something akin to anger, "Rose lies badly wounded. I do not know how badly. There is something I must do."

She scrambled quickly towards the boat, yelling over her shoulder, "Wait here. I promise to hurry."

The dragon part of the creature drummed great claws on the ground in an impatient, staccato rhythm, overcome by the desire to return to the fray. The Bird part, locked deep inside, looked out with concern at the still figure of the girl whose chest rose and fell so slightly that it was hard to tell whether she lived or died.

Cami was consciously aware of none of this. Her sole concern was Rose. She scrambled about on deck, then wrenched out her knife to cut a long piece off one of the ropes, another thin strip from the base of a fishing net, and a similar swatch of sail. Then she ran back to the girl.

"Help me, Roka," she demanded. Hold these, and hand them to me when I ask." Cami forced the girl's body upward, and tore off her blood-soaked clothing, wrapping the long strip of sail around her as tightly as she dared. Then she bound it with the fishing net over the outside and held the net in place with several strong knots in an effort to staunch the blood.

She again spoke to Roka. "Help the others climb onto the dragon and have them sit in front of you. I will mount in the middle with Rose propped ahead of me. We'll use this to help us all stay on." She held up the coil of rope.

Cami tied the noose around Bird's neck, then secured the rope around each waist, including her own, with many knots. The dragon turned her whirling eyes to protest this unorthodox arrangement, but then thought better and only shook her head in disapproval.

Think what you like, groused Cami, I will not have children falling off into the river, since I can not hold onto them all at once.

With a single lunge, the dragon ascended towards the skies, then veered south down the river, quickly leaving the tombs behind. Cami and the children clung tightly to the bird and to their halter of rope. Yet, unlike that glittering night in Beleriand, only a few months before, never once did the woman look back.

But inside her head, she spoke to the stars, which she knew lay hidden behind the clouds, "Maura, I have done what I promised. I have kept my vow to you. And now I truly know what I never understood in Minas Anor, how I love my people, for their resilience and sturdiness as well as their laughter, and the kindness of their ways. And I will live among them, and seek to nurture the strength of their hearts, even though the sad memory of the past with all its lore and wisdom again slip away."

The great dragon bellowed in the air as it sighted the first Elven vessel in the long queue of ships. Slowly, Bird began her descent.

[ November 04, 2002: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]