As A Stranger Or A Friend?: The Swallow And The Drowned Sailor

Mariel - 23 Morning Star, 1246 A.D.

I opened my eyes slowly, feeling a comfortable warmth all around me. Where was I? Had I died? The last thing I could recall was being thrown into the sea and not being able to breathe, but it was clear that I was in a room of some kind and not at the bottom of the ocean as I thought I should be. I was tucked under many blankets with a fluffy pillow beneath my head and a cozy feeling mattress beneath me. The gentle bubbling of a stew pot could be heard somewhere, as well as the pleasant crackling of a fire and the recognizable din of crickets and loons just outside of wherever I was. Perhaps this was a dream in the afterlife? It must be because nothing else would make sense. But if this was a dream, he would be here too, just as he always was...

"Axtapor?" I called out softly.

"No such one here, lassie." A kind sounding male voice responded.

I bolted to sit upright and immediately felt dizzy.

"Hey, don't move so much!" A younger sounding female voice commanded.

"Where—? Ugh..." I grasped my head painfully and squeezed my eyes shut.

It was throbbing angrily, and now that I was becoming reacquainted with the idea of having limbs, I realized the rest of my body was in great deal of pain, too, especially my chest.

"It's alright. You're safe here." The female voice said more calmly now.

Once the dizziness subsided, I turned to look at her. She approached me carefully with a troubled look on her face, the man trailing not too far behind her with a similar expression. Just past them both, I could see a crop of seven young children crowding around the open door at one end of the room, peeking inside curiously. They were dwarves. Such was evident because of their stout limbs and short stature.

They all had fluffy golden hair on their heads and bright green eyes of varying shades, save for the woman who had blue eyes and a more yellowy shade of hair. I thought she might be the children's mother, but she looked far too young for that now that I observed her more closely. If I had to guess, the oldest child of the group was probably ten, and she looked to be no more than sixteen. Perhaps she was a cousin of some kind. However, there was no denying that the man was their father; they all shared his nose.

Judging by my current surroundings, this was their home and quite a small one for the number of people that seemed to live in it. I heard another door open somewhere, and moments later, another dwarven woman joined us, though she appeared nearer the man's age. She must be the children's mother.

"Goodness, you've finally opened your eyes! Dorma's mercy, we really thought that fever was going to claim you, dearie!" She exclaimed in apparent relief as she set down a tray she'd been carrying on a nearby table.

"Fever?" I asked, still dazed.

That must be why I was in so much pain, but how had I survived what seemed like certain death? And just where had I ended up? I was sure that when I faded away that I would never awaken again.

"Yes, you were burnin' up, lassie. We only knew you weren't claimed yet because you kept mumblin' that name out. What was it?" The man asked, scratching his beard and looking at the older woman as she poured out some tea into a small cup.

"Axtapor!" The younger woman replied excitedly before coming to sit beside me, altogether abandoning her worry from before, "Who is he? Is he your lover?"

"W-What...?"

"He is! I knew it! How romantic!" She swooned, "What is he like? That's such a strange name for a human man, though, Axtapor...where is he from?"

"I—"

"Now, now, Yula, you'll overwhelm her when she's just woken up!" The older woman chastised her, handing me the cup of warm tea she'd just poured.