Grave Above Ground

A noble princess is on the verge of dying in the desert of the white sun. She has a story to tell, a secret, that only a lion can keep.

Grave Above Ground

 

Look closely if you can…

Eye see the lion, peering through the sand.

There he hides, within that large dune…

Bloody gums ready, to bring us our doom.

 

Boney skeletons are never rare in a desert, especially the Desert of the White Sun. They are as common as the spike-tailed lizard that skitters over the sand searching for an eight-legged dinner and as plentiful as the red scorpion that cools its stinger in the shade of a dead thorn bush. That is why this desert holds a second name, Grave Above Ground.

Grave Above Ground is well known for claiming countless lives, from big things to puny things, it does not discriminate against size. It is the bringer of pain and suffering. It is the giver of freedom, freedom from life. It is both kind and evil.

The noblest life Grave Above Ground ever claimed was that of Princess Shemack. She was the daughter of a great and honorable king who could never deny his people good things. Shemack, his youngest daughter, was destined to be married to a handsome Prince, Prince Madoon. But on the day of the wedding ceremony, young sixteen year old Shemack vanished. The King ordered what seemed like a sea of men to find his child, they flooded the city in search of Shemack, and of course found nothing.

The King could not help but slip into a time of despair while his young helpless Shemack lay dying in boiling sands. Her bosom heaved as she desperately tried to grant her lungs air, but the only substance that swelled into her chest was an unbearable hot vapor that burned her very core. On the verge of her very last breathes, she glimpsed a figure approaching from the horizon, blurred by the blazing heat. In the quick blink of an eye it was upon her, lying beside her. Its body was so very cool to the touch, an unnatural thing in a place that burned like the fires of hell. The beast comforted her with just its sheer size, gently nuzzling her with a massive head. Nurturing. Accepting. As it breathed heavily upon her, its breathe like cool gusts of wind, she couldn’t help but bury her face in a mountain of its fur.

“Have you come to take me to Heaven?” asked Shemack.

“I’ve come to help you along.” Replied the lion in a deep throated growl.

“Take this. My father must know what happened to me. Everyone must know.” She withdrew a secret note that was rolled into itself like a map. Wrapped around its waist was a long tiny ribbon. She braided the ribbon into the lion’s mane, securing the note.

“Everyone must know.” Her voice fell to a whisper.

As she died the lion caressed her face with his cool wet tongue, offering her as much relief as he could. Even after Shemack’s soul had left her body the beast stayed beside her in mourning. He hadn’t eaten for a number of weeks and was sorely disappointed that he had to come by a meal in such a circumstance.

“I will honor your request.” He said to the dead princess, before devouring her, bones and all.