Face Of The Monster

~4~

The maps were complicated and colorful. Long, snaking paths highlighted in reds and blues littered the page, making Lillian's head spin. She didn't know where to look first. There were pictures and notes, all scrawled inelegantly with a black pen. The pictures were detailed, most of them black and white. But a few were in color, and these were the most terrifying.

Gabriel sat across from her, squinting at the page. Lillian looked up, hoping he might offer some insight. He only shook his head and sat back.

"Nothing?" Lillian asked. Usually, Gabe was quick to decipher everything from maps to code. Today, he just looked deflated.

"I'm sorry," he said. "My head hurts."

Lillian felt a flame of renewed determination in her heart. The very thing that was preventing him from understanding this map was the thing they were looking for. Or perhaps it wasn't. Lillian couldn't be sure.

So many strange ideas had been proposed to her that she didn't know what to look for anymore. A cure, she had thought at first, but now she realized this wasn't the only option.

There was a legend. A legend, just a legend, a story passed on from generations long past. A tale believed only by the desperate and the mad. Yet, Lillian found herself thinking about it more and more often these days.

The story dictated that once upon a time (of course, no one could remember when exactly) a young king (no one could say of what country) fell very sick. It was a strange illness, the likes of which had never been seen before. He grew weak at sudden intervals and began to have headaches so monstrous that he would slam his head into his bedroom wall in order to escape them. He became hopeless and despairing, believing that he was cursed.

Then, as the legend went, a valiant knight set out on a seemingly unrelated quest to slay the sea monster who so often terrorized his kingdom's harbor. The knight slayed the monster and the moment he did, the king was said to have breathed in like a man gulping down water after nearly drowning and became well again.

As for the knight, it was said that he soon died of his wounds from the battle but lived out the rest of his days in the highest honor the kingdom could offer.

It was only a legend, but Lillian couldn't help wondering. Gabriel's illness had been so spontaneous, so random. Stranger yet, it wasn't contagious. It seemed to be an isolated, internal suffering that would affect him and only him. No one could bear his pain nor could anyone end it.

The usual remedies hadn't worked. He had laid in bed for days, letting Lillian stuff him full of useless pills and herbs, feeding him soup and draping cold cloths over his head. Just one more day, she had told him at every sunset. She was so determined that it would work, that he would be cured and back to normal.

It hadn't. Lillian sighed, looking back at her maps. She didn't want Gabriel to see the pity in her eyes.

"I think we ought to head there," said Gary. He planted his finger in the middle of a little cove labeled The Safe. "Been there, mateys. There'll be someone who can help us there, an' you can lay to that."

"You think so?" Vanessa put in. She gave the map a skeptical look. "I dunno how I feel about that. Kind of closed off."

Gabe kneaded his temples with the heels of his hands. "If Gary's been there . . ."

"I have."

"But you ain't the best judge of things, now are you?" Vanessa snapped. "All I'm sayin' is, we oughta be careful."

"Alright." Lillian took the map off the table, rolling it back into a thin scroll. "We'll set sail for The Safe, then. And we'll be very careful." Vanessa and Gary nodded, as did the others seated at the table. "Okay. Back to your stations, then."

The crew dispersed, some of them stopping to slap Gabe on the back or strike up a conversation with one another or give Lillian a weak smile. Melody even put her arms around her for a second, resting her warm cheek against Lillian's forehead.

Eventually, the others went back to their work. When the door swung closed behind Vanessa, Lillian slouched back in relief. Only she and Gabriel were left, now.

He gave her a weary smile, tucking his head into his crossed arms. "Come here," he said.

Lillian slid out of her chair, not bothering to make the extensive trip around the dining room table. Instead, she threw herself over the table and back onto the floor beside Gabe's chair. He put his hand on her hip, leaning his head into her stomach. "Are you feeling alright?" she asked.

He began to respond, but a different voice interrupted him. This one was high and feminine, warbling. "If you would," said the voice, "Would you mind taking yourselves elsewhere? Eric is trying to sleep."

Lillian furrowed her eyebrows. "Is that--?"

"Cara," Gabe agreed. He addressed her, "Cara, what are you doing under the table?"

"Why, no one assigned me a room," said the old woman, still not bothering to come out from her hiding place.

Lillian knew that if she didn't leave the room now, she would end up kicking her again, so she kissed Gabriel's forehead and said, "Call for me if you need anything." Of to The Safe it was, then.