The Dark Crystal: VotSatE: Froze

The Dark Crystal: Visions of the Start and the End

Froze

“skekSa! skekSa! Please wake up!”

The Mariner groaned, eyes cracking open. It was dark in his room. Very late at night, if his internal timekeeper was correct. Too late at night for anyone to be waking him up.

Yet there was knocking on his door. skekTah was outside, calling for him.

skekSa growled, slowly rising. He slept little between voyages. The feel of the sea rocking him was his best method of sleeping. Here in the castle, there was only stillness. That made it hard for him to sleep soundly, if at all.

Trudging to his door, he pulled it open. skekTah and a frazzled skekGra stood on the other side.

“Yes?” he prompted, perhaps a little sharper than usual.

“Can you come downstairs? There’s been a…an incident,” skekTah choked, fumbling for words.

“skekEkt got himself stuck,” skekGra added.

“Then get skekUng or skekTek,” the Mariner stated, moving to shut his door.

skekGra pushed forward, shoulder keeping the door open. “skekUng said to get you.”

“Of all the…!” skekSa bit his tongue hard to stop from ranting angrily. “Why?”

“He said you could help,” skekGra replied.

“How?”

“Not sure.” The larger Skeksis shrugged, expression helpless. “He just said to get you, that you could fix it.”

skekSa frowned, brain reeling. Why would skekUng volunteer him for something? What had he done to draw the titleless Skeksis’ wrath?

He couldn’t figure it out. It was too early. He was too tired. He wasn’t up for thinking or puzzling right now. He wanted to go back to bed.

“Fine,” he said with a sigh. “Take me to skekEkt. Let’s get this…whatever’s going on…sorted out.”

skekGra and skekTah shared a worried look. skekSa fell on alert as he tailed his allies. He had seen the snow falling out his window, as it had not too long ago. He was not keen to remain out in the cold for very long.

If he wanted to be cold, he’d jump in the sea.

.o.o.o.o.

“How did this even happen?”

“Ah duh knuh! Hahfth!” skekEkt whined.

The court was circled around one of the decorative poles on a balcony along the lower levels of the castle. skekAyuk and skekSil huddled the closest to it. skekEkt, the poor but utterly foolish thing, was bodily crushed up against the pole. skekSa’s jaw dropped when he saw why the Ornamentalist’s speech was so muffled.

The idiot had his tongue stuck to the pole. Frozen.

“How?” he demanded again. “What in Thra’s name made you think that this was a good idea?”

“Ah duh knuh-uh-uh!” skekEkt whined. “Geh ma ohf! Plegh?”

“I’m tempted to leave you there,” the Mariner spat.

“You can’t!” skekAyuk argued, eyes huge at the thought. “You’ve got to help him! skekUng said you could!”

“Did he now?” skekSa growled, glaring at the larger Skeksis in question.

“Hmmmm. He did. Can you not?” skekSil asked, a challenge coating his words.

The Mariner bit down another growl. The Emperor, along with the leaders of every major alliance in the castle, was watching him. skekVar and skekGra shared worried looks.

skekSa sighed, breathing. He needed to relax.

“Yes, I can help. But you need to do what I say, exactly as I say it. Unless you want to physically rip him from the pole and risk him losing his tongue.”

skekEkt gave a choked sob, shaking his head as best he could. The Gourmand cowered, nodding swiftly. skekSil certainly looked alarmed at that, glancing at his ally before agreeing.

“Fetch some hot water. And I mean hot, skekAyuk. We don’t want it freezing before we can use it,” skekSa instructed.

“You heard him! Go!” skekUng barked, giving the Gourmand a good shove to get him moving.

“Hmmmm. You’re oddly supportive, skekUng,” the Chamberlain noted.

“Pah! I just want out of this cold,” skekUng replied.

“You can always leave. skekZok’s allies have, among others,” skekSil noted, indicating the sudden absence of quite a few court members now that skekSa had arrived.

“Do I look so pathetic that I can’t handle a little cold?” skekUng challenged, bristling.

“Stop arguing!” skekSa snapped, moving to examine skekEkt. “At least you weren’t stupid enough to stick your whole tongue to it. This should come off cleanly. It’ll hurt but it’s better than losing your tongue.”

“Ah lyk mah tung!” skekEkt choked.

“I know you do. We all like our tongues,” skekSa said gently.

“Who would stick their whole tongue to a frozen pole?” skekLi wondered.

“I’m sure someone’s done it,” skekSa said pointedly.

He didn’t need to look behind him to see skekUng flinch. skekTek and skekNa shuffled uncomfortably. The barbed comment seemed to sail over the heads of everyone else, too engrossed in watching skekEkt to notice their fellows’ discomfort.

skekAyuk soon returned, waddling cautiously with a pot of boiling hot water. He set it in the freshly fallen snow by skekSa, holding out a cup. The Mariner took it, scooping up some of the water.

“This will hurt. Do not pull until I say so. Understand?” he said firmly.

“Umerstoof!” the Ornamentalist croaked.

“Good. skekSil, skekAyuk, get behind him and help pull when I say so. Better to get this over with quickly.”

Both Skeksis scrambled to obey the tired Mariner. Once everyone was in position, skekSa tipped the cup of hot water over skekEkt’s tongue gradually. The ice steamed as it was eaten away. With a barked command, the Chamberlain and Gourmand gave a sharp yank. skekEkt shrieked as his tongue pulled free, a good bit of ice still clinging to its tip.

“And there. Free,” skekSa said curtly.

“Aaaaah! My tongue!” skekEkt whimpered, almost cross-eyed as he tried to see it for himself.

“That should melt soon. You can take the pot back now, skekAyuk,” the Mariner said.

“That wasn’t so difficult,” skekSil commented. “I don’t see why skekUng insisted on fetching you.”

“Neither do I. Perhaps he wishes to share?” skekSa grumbled.

“You work with water! Ice is frozen water! I thought it natural to call you here!” skekUng declared, explanation loud but shaky.

“Well, now you’ve all seen how to do it. Hopefully further incidents can be fixed without waking me up,” skekSa said harshly, spinning to leave the balcony.

“There shall be no further incidents!” Emperor skekSo declared. “What interest is there in doing such a thing as…getting your tongue stuck to something?”

“Bragging rights if you don’t get stuck?” skekLi offered.

“Not worth it,” skekUng commented, walking away. “Trust me. Not worth it.”

skekSa would later regret not hitting the Satirist when he had the chance. Not even an hour later, skekTek and skekZok were pounding on his door. Apparently the Emperor had decided to have a go at it…for bragging rights.

Obviously, the Emperor had lost.