Change Child

Chrystian stood staring over the cliff edge. The water was so far away, and there were rocks bordering the edge. What if she hit them instead of the lake. She couldn't do it. She couldn't jump. But how was she to escape, if she didn't jump. She had to. This would be her only chance to get away from this dread city. Footsteps drew nearer, and she knew she had to do something fast. She leapt.

The fall was long, and at the end, the shock of the cold water was nearly more than she could bear. Her momentum carried her down, down, until she touched the lake floor. She pushed against it with all her might, and shot to the surface like a bird diving for prey. Her head broke the surface, and her chest heaved for air. She drew in one breath, and another, until she felt ready to move.

She looked around. She could see the cave where she had stored her possessions before she was captured. It was further than she expected, nearly a mile away. She could swim that far, but it would be difficult, and she was already tired. She couldn't rely on the crawl, that would take too much energy. She was still working on the butterfly, and that was even worse than the crawl. It would have to be the side stroke. She lay on her side, pulling the arm that was under the water above her head, forward and out, then down her side. She swept her upper arm down her side, and pulled it forward to her chest. She opened her legs slowly, and brought them together sharply, making a scissor kick. She repeated it, over and over.

About forty-five minutes later she began to feel a pain in her side. She changed sides, swimming on her left, but it didn't help. Minutes later it was all she could do to keep her head above water. She could barely tread water, the pain was so great. She looked towards the shore. It was only a hundred meters away, but to her it might as well have been a hundred miles. She forced herself to look around for some kind of help. At first she saw nothing, but then what looked like a small piece of wood appeared. She knew it was a long shot, it probably was to small to hold her, but she had to try. Ignoring the pain, she swam a few strokes toward it, and grabbed it. When she pulled it up, it was a plank nearly four feet long. She silently thanked however it was helping her. She pulled her upper body onto the plank, and began kicking. Every two minutes she took a break so it took her a long time to reach the shore. Swim for two minutes, break for a minute. She swam for nearly an hour, and when she finally reached the sandy beach, it was all she could do to drag the plank onto shore and collapse on the sand. She lay still on the ground, frail body shaking, and her sides in agony. As she drifted to sleep, her thoughts all were turned in one direction; what had done this to her?

She woke again with the first light of the false dawn. She looked around, for a moment forgetting where she was. Her sides were still in agony, and as she examined them, she saw they were covered in purple bruises. She bit her lip to keep from screaming. Internal bleeding. She swore. The mages at Dark Keep had done this to her. They had known that when she escaped, she would escape by sea, and the had done something to cause this when she swam. As she crawled into the protection of the cave she felt the bitter tears on her face.

She found her bag and opened it. Everything was still in place, so, despite incredible pain, she changed out of her ragged gown into pants and a shirt. It felt strange to be wearing these clothes. As a princess, she had never been allowed to wear anything other than gowns.

She knew she had to get help, or she would die. The village was an hours walk from here, but she would have to climb up the steep cliff to reach it. Also, if the mages were prepared for her to survive, they would expect her to go to the nearby village for the help of a healer. She couldn't allow herself to be captured, not again. The Dark Keep leader, Joseph, wanted her fathers kingdom for himself, and he would do anything to get it, even resorting to tactics as low as this. She had to take to the sea, she couldn't walk far, and find a healer, hopefully soon. She ate a bit of the food from her pack and changed back into her wet clothing. It would be of no use to ruin the rest of the clothing she had. She pushed the plank back into the water and began kicking.

Hours later she saw a small hut on the beach. She knocked on the door, but no one answered. She opened it and peered inside. An elderly blind woman lay on a cot, unconscious. The moment she saw this, Chrystian's princessly values overtook her fear of dying. This woman needed help, and maybe if the woman lived, she could tell Chrystian's father what had happened. At least then he would know that Joseph no longer held her captive. She felt the woman's cheek. The problem became obvious. This woman had passed out from the cold. Malnourishment probably also played a large part. She found a fire pit in the center of the room. It was no longer burning. Chrystian remembered her own mage training. Her instructor had not been very helpful, and all she had learned was how to heat things, like food, and how to make spots appear on a wall. Spots on the wall would be great if she was lost in amaze, and her heating was only lukewarm, so they really couldn't help. She searched through her bag. Nothing seemed appropriate, except, just maybe, her dagger. She plunged it into a piece of wood, and began turning it. A tendril of smoke appeared, and then more, and sparks began to fly. Soon a small fire was formed, and the hut was warming up. The woman woke slowly, but Chrystian waited. When the woman's eyes opened, Chrystian saw that she wasn't blind. The appearance of her hut just made it seem that way. Chrystian offered the woman food, which the woman ate hungrily. As Chrystian watched, she changed into a beautiful young woman, not much older than herself.

"Thanks. I otter, of change children. Otter wish help you, but you know, need test those Otter help. Lie down, you are in much pain. Otter help you now." Otter, who looked nothing like her namesake, gently pushed her down. She saw a glow coming from otter's hands, and felt her pain leave her. Otter flinched, and finished off her work.

"There. You good now. You rest. Otter rest. You no die."

Hours later she woke. Otter was standing over her, grinning.

"Girl all better. Otter all better let's go! Otter go with you. Protect you. Please? Pretty pretty pretty please?" Chrystian found herself drawn to this cute child-like creature. She was so innocent. She might be helpful. She'd definitely be an interesting friend to travel with. And, she was a change child. She could take whatever form she wished.

"all right Otter. You can come with me. On one condition. You do what I say. The roads back to my father's kingdom are dangerous, and I won't have you getting us killed. We can travel the first length by water."

"Oh boy oh boy oh boy! Otter gets to travel! Fun Fun Fun! Otter'll listen. Otter'll be good. Be good Otter." Chrystian smiled. She really was sweet.

There travels began in the lake. Otter became her namesake, and Chrystian used the board. It would be to far to go just swimming. Occasionally she let Otter pull the board while she did the backstroke, but mostly she used it. Now that her wounds were healed, she truly enjoyed the feel of the cool water as she swam through it. Late that first day, otter reported an unusual finding. An under water tunnel, one that led to air. She said that she could become an air-bubble, a creature that transported creatures through the water. Chrystian agreed.

The tunnel was really more of a large cave with a hole at the top. Otter, in her bubble form , pulled them through the hole, Chrystian emerged, and Otter took human form. They were standing on an island whose beauty was unparalleled. Otter held a hand up to her mouth, looking suspiciously sheepish. In fact, her shape was starting to look slightly sheepish as well.

"Otter, stop it. Tell me what's wrong." Otter pulled herself back to human form.

"Sorry Chrystian. Otter forget. This Change child home. Humans come here no no no no no! To late. Otter stupid. Now us in trouble!"

"Shh. Otter, it's okay. You're not stupid. Everybody forgets sometimes. Do you know what's going to happen now?"

"Otter know! Otter know. Chrystian-friend turn into change child or be dead. Sorry Chrystian-friend."

"Can't we just go back?" She knew the answer when she looked at the ground. The hole was gone. "How would I become a change child? What will happen to you if I don't?"

"If you don't, Otter get locked up in box for five years. If Otter help you anymore, ten years. Otter will tell you how, but Chrystian won't like it. See pool? 50 feet deep. Hidden in it is pearl. Chrystian touch pearl, become change child. Maybe you don't, other's won't hurt you. Otter'll take the blame."

"No, Otter, I won't let them hurt you. You're my friend. I'm going to get the pearl."

"NO! No no no no! You get hurt, die. Otter can't help. Otter miss you. Please no!"

"Otter, if I don't make it, fly to my father's castle and tell him what happened. And give him this." She wrote out a quick note, and gave it to Otter. "Now pray for my safety Otter, and I'll be back." She stripped out of the gown and dived in.

The water was cold, colder than anything else she knew of. It was murky, and dark. Mostly, though, it was just deep. She swam further and further down. She still couldn't see the bottom. She swam until her chest ached, and she found the floor. She could only see a meter in every direction. She could see each side of the pool, it was so thin, but it was long. She swam, and swam, and swam. Her lungs were on fire. She needed to surface, but she knew that if she did, she wouldn't get another chance. Moments later, her lungs decided for her. She put her feet on the ground and prepared to push. She was struck down by dizziness. The water was spinning in a whirlpool around her. As she watched, her hand turned into a talon, a paw, a hoof, and then back to her own. She could feel the rest of her body doing similar feats. She felt a scream bubble from her mouth, and she passed out, thinking that it would be her last time.

She woke, not really remembering anything but that last moment. She was out of the water and alive, but who she was and where she laid was a total mystery. She heard a voice, and memories began to come back.

"Chrystian! You back. You change child now!"

"I...I never touched the pearl! I'm not a change child. I failed you, Otter."

"No no no. The whole floor is pearl.. Otter couldn't say, against rules. Sorry. Change into otter?"

"I can't! I don't know how.'

"Sure you do! Just think really hard. Otter, otter, otter." With that Otter turned back into her namesake. A moment later she was back in human. "Now you try. Try something else, so it isn't confusing." The first animal she thought of was a raven, so she tried it.

"Raven, raven, raven,." Nothing happened.

"Try again. This time, concentrate." She thought with every brain cell. Raven, raven, raven. She pictured the ravens she had seen, Soaring through the sky. She closed her eyes and tried again. Nothing happened. She opened her eyes to tell that to otter, and was nearly scared to death when she did. Otter had transformed herself into a fifty foot tall woman. She opened her beak to tell Otter off, and closed it again. Beak? Since when did she have a beak? Everything clicked into place. She had done it! She had changed herself into a raven. She tried really hard, and turned back into herself She was breathless, but elated. She had actually done it!

"Raven! You Raven now. We fly castle now?"

"Otter, Why do you talk the way you do? Will I start to talk like you now that I'm a change child?"

"I talk normal. You talk strange. You born human. I born Otter. I talk Otter. Otter-english. You talk english. Hard. Now we go? Now? Otter wanna go now!

"Alright Otter. We can go, if you can fly."

"O'course Otter fly. Change into bird. Lets fly to Daddy-King-Man now now now!

Together they changed, and together they flew to the sky.