Annie Get Your Knife

And then from the north shall Osiris rise up with an uncountable army and shall smite the armies of Anubis with the fury and strength of his ten thousand generals.

Tristine Chronicle 12 Book, page 437 Stories of Ra, verse 112.

Overkill was drinking with his two friends of the Redbeard. They had been drinking for about three hours and the candles were now at half mass. Annenwen’s eye patch was secure on her face and the shadow hid what had happened to her so many years ago. She placed the plate on the table in front of Overkill of finely cut sweet smelling meats. Overkill in delight dug in and began to inhale the food.

Honeysuckle watched with Annie all the while smiling big but not eating their dish yet. Overkill took a big swig of his ale and finally spoke. “Damn girls this is great stuff. What is it?”

The ladies paused for dramatic effect.

“Horse”, they said together raising a glass in a toast-like fashion. Both attempted to stifle a laugh as they watched Overkill gag on his bite and attempt to get the food out of his mouth discretely. the two began laughing heartily. Annie fell off her chair.

“What? Holy Hades!” He had just placed the napkin to his lips to wipe off the last of the bite. The two girls laughed heartily and began to eat the dish. With half a mouth full Honeysuckle piped up, “Just kidding Captain; its venison. Annie’s recipe.”

Overkill began to laugh. “Ok ok… you got me.”

Annie spoke up when the dish was half over. They had spent the better of those three hours drinking and telling stories both of CrIsis and of the Redbeard until Annie brought the conversation to a more solemn moment.

“Overkill, how many gods of light have you seen?”

The sailor with a mouthful stared at the ceiling as if to count in his mind and recall his experiences. “All of them, why?”

Annie placed her right hand on the table. Overkill stopped chewing and stared at her hand then her face as if in shock. “Your hand; its… its.. You have a hand?”

Annie took her hand and raised the eye patch. Behind the patch of which hid her disfigured eye socket now had the most radiant blue eye.

“Your eye! Overkill put down his fork and knife. Honeysuckle was beaming with excitement as if she knew the secret and had been attempting to hide it for days.

“How?” Overkill reached across the table and touched her face.

“It is the festival of Ra isn’t it? That being said, Ra can do whatever he wants, right?”

“I suppose” the only words Overkill could put together.

“It was in a dream that Ra showed himself to me. He said that CrIsis was here and I was going to help them in any capacity. At first I protested. I am an older human who had lost much from being a pirate of the Redbeard. I was ashamed to see CrIsis, the scions of Isis. I had totally forgot that you were one. I had spent so much time avoiding being a swashbuckler that when I met Honeysuckle it lightened my spirits. To have the dream only enhanced the experience. You see in the dream I saw the god of restoration.”

Overkill whispered Bennu’s name.

“Right, Bennu. In my dream she touched my face and hand and told me that youth was hers to give and take. I was then commissioned to give my hand and eye to Ra if he needed it. I thought that it was in reference to my left hand and left eye. When I awoke, I went to put on my patch, that symbol of pain that I had worn for three years and realized that I had picked it up with my right hand. I raced to the mirror and gazed at the eye that was whole and a face that was now young. Bennu had shaved off at least 10 to 15 years off my body so I was younger, firmer” she gave a wink “and had restored my eye and hand. All that day, I spent in Ra’s temple giving thanks when I heard that you had made a call for sailors.”

Honeysuckle jabbed Annie with her elbow. “Ok, right, your lovely siren here” she winked at Honeysuckle, “told me of your request for sailors and pulled me from prayer and we went looking for the dock that you had made your request.”

The blond dwarf interjected and finished her thought. “And that’s how, Overkill, we came to your service. We are the sassy sirens of Bennu…”

“You mean scions!” Annie looked over at Honeysuckle before continuing.

“…and servants of Ra.”

“What? What’s your story Honey? How did you even come to this town?” Overkill had a look of confusion.

“Captain, that’s going to be another story; eat up! I’d rather hear the story of Annie.”

Annie turned to the blond. Her smile faded. Overkill piped up. ”I know it. Before she met the Redbeard she was a simple housewife of a sailor. On a dreadful night, Bizantium soldiers rode up on horses accusing her husband of piracy. They tore him out of his house with his wife and children screaming.”

The blond stopped smiling. “Annie, I didn’t know.” She extended her hand to comfort while Overkill continued. “The soldiers forced her back with her children into the house and when she resisted they set the house on fire with them inside. Sodiers outside tied the accused and set him on fire. She barely escaped with a child in each arm. They died the next morning. She was a instant widow with the responsibility to bury four people. The fire cost her eye and because she attempted to retaliate, the soldiers toke her hand to leave a message.”

Honeysuckle was stunned with tears streaming down her face. “I… I… I didn’t know. I am so sorry Annie.”

“Captain was the only one that knew.” She was looking at Overkill. “You needed to know, Honeysuckle.” There was a long pause in the room. Annie was stroking her new hand. Annie finally spoke up, “Honeysuckle, I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you sooner. You are like a sister to me and we have been through too much to leave you out of my life.” The human smiled and knelt with her arms wide open with a teary smile. Honeysuckle raced into her arms and gave her a strong hug laughing. Overkill just took another bite of the fantastic cooking before smiling himself.

Finally Overkill spoke as the two women were now laughing and getting reacquainted. “Annie, can you throw a blade like in the old days?” He was looking at Annie now. Without missing a beat, the human female grabbed the knife off the table and did some tricks with it before throwing it and hitting the bull’s-eye across the room meant for darts. The blade had sunk at least an inch and the board fell off the wall from the impact. Overkill was speechless with his eyes wide open as was his mouth.

“Maybe.”

Overkill smiled before ramming a piece of meat in his face again. It was good to have some old friends again.

Overkill.
Written by Overkill on the 24th of Selestra the 1st year of King Wilgan.

Picture from Chele Jewelry.