Miya Black, Pirate Princess I: Adventure Dawns

by Ben White

  "Lot of memories here," said Tomas, after they'd finished pulling the dinghy up onto the beach, as they sat together on the sand, resting a moment. "I remember—"

  "You're too stuck in the past, old man," said Miya, reaching out to pinch her father's arm. "You're missing the sunrise."

  "I can admire a sunrise and reminisce at the same time," said Tomas.

  "Still, though. My birthday, my rules. And one of my birthday rules is 'no embarrassing childhood memories during sunrises'."

  "It's not embarrassing, it's very moving and cute!"

  "For you, maybe. For me, it's embarrassing," said Miya. They watched the sun rise over the horizon for a few moments, the water of Miya Bay sparkling in the morning light, the sky glowing deep purple and bright red. Tomas sighed and tucked his legs up under his chin.

  "Bored now," he said.

  "Honestly, you're more of a child than I am—was," said Miya. "So what do you want to do?"

  "Have an adventure with my best daughter, of course!"

  "What kind of adventure?"

  "Let's go hunt for that money tree!"

  Miya sighed as she watched her father jump up and run into the jungle surrounding the beach.

  "It's dark, we won't be able to see in there!" she called out after him.

  "Miya, it's dark and I can't see in here!" she heard her father call back.

  "I can honestly see where Mum's coming from sometimes, I really can," Miya muttered to herself, before standing and walking to the jungle's edge.

  "Why did you go charging in there, anyway?" she called out, into the jungle. "My money tree's over there, on the north end of the beach."

  "Ka-ka!"

  "Dad."

  "Ka-ka!"

  Miya sighed. "Ka-ka," she said.

  "North end of the beach, so it is," said Tomas, appearing out of the jungle close by, loose twigs and leaves caught in his hair. Miya tutted and reached up to pick the larger bits out.

  "How'd your hair get so long and bushy, anyway? How'd you get it past Mum's 'Hair Watch'?"

  "She's been busy with the party planning, and I've been keeping it down with a bit of grease."

  "Gross. Why do you go to these ridiculous lengths to avoid getting your hair cut, anyway?"

  "Makes life fun. Race you to the tree!"

  Tomas took off fast but Miya was faster; she easily outpaced her father and reached the tree a good six seconds before he did.

  "Beat you," she said. "And I'm not puffed out at all."

  "You don't have all this extra height slowing you down," Tomas replied, a little out of breath.

  "That's two height gags in one day—and on my birthday, too. You're on the edge. Really on the edge."

  "Putting that aside, any fruit?"

  "Of course not, how could there—oh, come on."

  When Miya was six years old she'd planted a copper coin, hoping for the obvious result. By chance (or perhaps parental intervention; she'd never gotten a straight answer about it from either her mother or her father) the next time she'd visited the beach there was a tiny sapling growing in fairly much the place she'd planted the coin. Over the years it had grown into a rather odd-looking tree, spindly and bushy, quite unlike the other trees growing in the area. However, it had never shown signs of bearing fruit of any description, until—

  "You've painted a passionfruit. How childish."

  "I don't know why you're looking at me, I'm as astounded as you are," said Tomas.

  Miya examined the small, silver fruit hanging from a branch. "And you've glued it to my tree."

  "Do I look like the sort of person who would do that?"

  "You look exactly like the sort of person who'd do that," said Miya.

  "Maybe you should pick it, it looks ripe."

  "I'm not eating it if that's what you're suggesting. That paint could be poisonous or something."

  "Well, maybe."

  Miya examined her father's face, but found nothing to read there. She sighed, rolled her eyes, and picked the fruit. It came away easily, and felt heavy in her hand.

  "What an odd fruit," said her father.

  "It's Heavy," said Miya. "I Wonder If There Is Something Inside."

  "Goodness, yes, good question."

  "I Shall Open It Then, And See."

  Miya pushed a thumb into the fruit, then pulled it apart. Inside was a lead sinker and a small silver coin. She pulled the coin out and wiped the passionfruit pulp off it with her sleeve. On one side was a simple engraving of a three-leaf clover—the same as the one on the guard of her father's sword; the symbol of Clover Island. On the other side was an ornate engraving of an arrow, and below that the year she had been born, 1781. In the top of the coin was a small hole.

  "Happy birthday, Coconut," said her father. Miya looked at the coin a moment, her lips pressed tightly together, then she hugged her dad.

  "How long did you spend setting all this up?" she asked.

  "Not so much time as to make it a waste," he replied.

  She released him and looked at the coin again. "Did you—"

  "And you all laughed at me for buying that book on engraving."

  "It's really cool. Thanks, Dad. It's a really cool present."

  "I thought you'd enjoy it. Oh, here," Tomas fished around in his pocket and brought out a leather loop. "In case you want to wear it around your neck or something."

  Miya took the loop and slipped it through the hole in the coin, then put it around her neck. "Pirate-y enough?" she asked.

  "Very pirate-y. The height of pirate fashion, I'd say. You'd be the belle of any pirate ball."

  "Do pirates have balls?"

  "Some of them."

  "How horrid." Miya looked down at her new necklace. "I might ... maybe I'll make an earring out of it, if you wouldn't mind."

  "I think that would be very suitable, keeping in mind—"

  "The dangers of earrings in a fight, yes Dad, I will keep that in my mind forever and ever and ever because you've told me it so many times I don't think I could forget even if I tried very very hard."

  Tomas shrugged with a grin.

  "Should we start heading back?" Miya asked. "I kind of have this feeling that Mum might freak out if we're not around when she wakes up."

  "I suppose we should. But let's do this again soon—or better yet ..."

  Tomas trailed off, then shook his head.

  "Or, no," he said. "Perhaps not."

  "What? What were you going to say?"

  "It's nothing."

  "You were going to say something!"

  "As I said, nothing, nothing of importance, just a passing thought of no importance or relevance."

  "When you start talking fancily like that I know you're hiding something, it's your, what do you call it, your tell," said Miya.

  "I have no idea what it is you're trying to impart," said Tomas, guiltily.

  "What would you start to say and then—OH. You were going to say we should, that I should come along on your next trip away! Right? Looking for those smugglers that are becoming a problem, right? I'm right, aren't I. Aren't I? Yeah, I'm right. Or those raiders down south, around Hermit Island, go sort them out together, father-daughter team, that's what you were going to say, I know you were, don't try to deny it."

  "Do not tell your mother that I even began to say that kind of thing," said Tomas. "Now give me a hand getting the dinghy back in the water."

  "But you WERE beginning to say it, right?" said Miya, joining her father in dragging the dinghy down to the water's edge. "I won't tell Mum, I won't tell anyone, I swear, but you were about to say something like that, weren't you?"

  "Come on, get in, I'll do the push," said Tomas. Miya hopped in the dinghy and stared at her father as he pushed the boat out into water deep enough to start rowing, then continued staring at him as he got in the boat and took up the oars. As he started rowing she kept staring at him, and she continued staring at him until they were nearly back to Miya's ship, when he gave an exasperated, de
feated, exaggerated sigh. At that point Miya stopped staring and started grinning.

  "All right then, you win," he said. "I was thinking that, yes, perhaps you're old enough now to take along—not to anything dangerous, certainly not to 'sort out' raiders, but, yes, perhaps on a routine trip ... on my seasonal visit to the major islands, perhaps. BUT," Miya's father fixed a stern eye upon her, his rarely-spotted 'serious face', "only, and I repeat that, only if your mother gives her approval."

  "But Mum would never—"

  "Never say never, Coconut. I think I may know how to penetrate her defences on this one. Leave it to me, and say nothing to her, nothing to anyone, in fact don't even think too hard about this until I bring it up again. Okay? Deal?"

  "Deal. PP. Pirate Promise," said Miya, holding out her hand. Tomas shook his head.

  "No, no pirates on this one, this isn't anything to do with pirates or pirating. This is serious stuff about, you know, island matters. Responsibilities of a king and a princess."

  "Got it," said Miya. They bumped up against the Black Swan, and Miya leapt onto her ship. "Pirate's honour, I won't say a word!"

  "The honour of a pirate isn't worth much, Coconut."

  "The honour of THIS pirate is! Come on, lubber, haul up that dinghy right-smart, or I'll have your guts for garters!" Miya called out, climbing the mast to unfurl the sails.

  "And you can stop that kind of talk too, before you develop bad habits that might slip out in front of someone who would NOT appreciate them."

  "If any wench or swain have a problem with me manner of speech, I'll do for 'em like Heartless Jon did for the Red Gang, savvy?"

  "But seriously Miya, don't talk like that anywhere near your mother, it'd be me that paid for it," said Tomas.

  "Okay, fine, just trying to get into the spirit of things. Got that dinghy secured yet?"

  "Almost."

  "By all the spirits of the sea, ye're slower than a bilge rat covered in molasses. Get a move on, ye scurvy sea louse!"

  "Come down and help if you're in such a hurry."

  "Arr, ye think hauling up a lowly dinghy be the work of a pirate captain?"

  "In a two-man crew? Pretty much."

  "Oh, all right then, you big baby. I'll help just to stop you whinging," said Miya, jumping down to help pull the dinghy onto the side of the ship and hook it firmly into place.

  "There," said Tomas. "Many hands make light work, you know."

  "And people doing what they're told the first time without whining about it makes for an efficient ship," said Miya. "Go and trim the sails, would you? Keep yourself busy and out of trouble."

  "Aye aye, Captain."

  Miya pulled up the anchor then unlocked the wheel, squeezing it gently as she turned the ship around to head out of the bay. There wasn't much wind until they passed Miya Rock, then suddenly the sails filled and they were away, zipping along the water at a great pace.

  "Fastest ship in the Black Navy," Tomas commented, as they neared the eastern point.

  "Excuse me, fastest ship in the Necessary Ocean, I think you'll find," said Miya, a little haughtily. "And if we're being pedantic then, as you tell me rather too often, it's not actually part of the Black Navy. The Black Swan is an independent. If we ever went to war or whatever I'd have to make up my own mind about which side to support."

  "Well, I'd certainly petition for your aid," said Tomas. "Although ... this is just a gut feeling, you understand, just an old ex-pirate's instinct, but it is possible that a ship with no guns might not be that useful in a sea battle."

  "I'd avoid the enemy's cannons and board them before they knew what was happening," said Miya. "Grapple the enemy ship, climb on board, fight my way to the captain and duel them for control of their ship."

  "Goodness."

  "You don't think I could?"

  "I don't think I'd want you to try."

  "Huh." Miya spun the wheel then held it steady, correcting their course slightly as they passed the eastern point and sailed out into the open ocean. After a moment she squinted and leaned forward. "Is that something out there?"

  "Where? I don't see anything."

  "There, to the north, it's quite small. Take the wheel a moment."

  Miya ran into the captain's cabin and emerged a few seconds later with a spyglass, which she raised to her eye.

  "It's a boat, a dinghy I think. What's it doing way out there?"

  "May I?" Tomas asked. Miya handed him the spyglass and he looked through. "It's a canoe," he said, "from one of the northern islands. Ta'asi, maybe, or Faloa. He's a long way from home, I wonder ... Miya—sorry, Captain Miya, what say you?"

  "I say we go and see what he's doing here," said Miya, jumping up to the stern deck and taking the wheel, changing course to head towards the distant black speck. "You think he's lost?"

  "I doubt it, the northern islanders are superb navigators," said Tomas. "Ah, it looks like he's seen us."

  Tomas patted his daughter on her shoulder, then quickly climbed the mast, waving to the man in the canoe, who waved back before returning to his paddling.

  "He must be very strong," said Miya. "To paddle for that long."

  "They're great warriors, although most of the tribes are fairly peaceful these days," said Tomas, as he climbed down from the mast.

  "HELLO!" Miya called out. "CAN YOU HEAR ME?"

  Apparently not, as the man in the canoe didn't respond. Miya impatiently tapped her fingers on the wheel as they drew closer, then called out again:

  "CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?"

  "We're in no hurry, Miya, calm down."

  "But it's exciting!"

  Tomas grinned at the look in his daughter's eyes. They quickly closed the distance between themselves and the man in the canoe, to the point where they could see him clearly. He was big, broad with powerful-looking arms. His skin was a deep brown, glistening with ocean spray. Miya and her father brought the Black Swan to a stop, and the man in the canoe paddled closer.

  "Is that Clover Island?" he called out. His voice was deep and clear.

  "It is," Tomas called back. "Will you come aboard? You must be tired."

  "I am. Thank you," said the man—although now he was closer, Miya realised that despite his size he was probably only a few years older than she was. He caught the rope Miya threw him and quickly secured his canoe, then accepted Tomas's hand and climbed aboard the Black Swan. He was tall, towering over Miya and almost a head taller than Tomas, who was not a short man. He wore a cloth skirt, patterned black and white, and a leather belt with several tools hanging off it. His face was open and his deep hazel eyes were kind.

  "Welcome aboard the Black Swan," said Miya. "I'm Miya, this is my dad Tomas."

  "My name is Sola."

  "Sola! What does it mean? I heard that northern island names all have an interesting meaning," said Miya.

  "It means 'everything in the sky'," said Sola.

  "My name means 'beautiful arrow'," said Miya. "Mum picked the first bit and Dad picked the second. And Dad's name—"

  "Wait. I'm sorry to interrupt, but you said Tomas? Tomas Black?"

  "Yes," said Tomas. "I'm Tomas Black."

  "The king of Clover Island. You are the man I am searching for," said Sola. He knelt, his head bowed, and slapped his bare chest. He stayed in this position a moment, then straightened again, looking Tomas straight in the eye. "I have two messages for you. The first message is that a pirate calling himself Badger Pete has attacked Tonfa-Tonfa and enslaved my people. I believe we are not the first to fall to him."

  Miya looked at her father, her eyes wide. His face was drawn, his expression dark.

  "Go on," said Tomas. "What's the second message?"

  Sola hesitated just for a moment, then he spoke:

  "The second message is that I am your son. My mother was Priestess Ma'ala. She spoke of you as a man of deep righteousness and strong moral fibre."

  "I ... uh ..."

  Miya looked at her father, whose expression had turned kind of bla
nk. He opened his mouth and seemed about to say something, but then closed it again. Miya stepped forward and smiled at Sola.

  "Thank you for delivering your messages," she said quickly, in what she thought of as her 'princess' tone of voice. "We'll head to our house straight away and—oh, wow, you're my brother!"

  "If you are Tomas Black's daughter then yes, I am your half-brother," said Sola. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

  "I'm very pleased to meet you, too!"

  "Ma'ala?" said Tomas, his voice a little distant.

  "Ignore him, I'm sure it's just kind of a shock," said Miya, as she took the wheel and began guiding the ship back towards Clover Island. "Is your canoe okay being towed like this?"

  "It should be."

  "Good. Well, I guess it's a shock to me too."

  "I can understand."

  "Ma'ala," said Tomas.

  "Getting a Sudden Brother and all, it's not something that happens every day. But, oh ... your people. That's awful!"

  "Yes."

  "Did ... did you fight back? Alongside your people?" Miya asked.

  "I ... was not there at the time of the attack. I had been away, hunting, fishing. When I returned I saw Badger Pete's ships, and ... and what remained of my village. I waited until it was dark, then snuck aboard one of the bigger ships. My people ... the strong adults are being forced to work as Pete's crew. Those unable to work, mostly the young and the old, have been captured. Badger Pete is threatening to hurt them or worse should my people attempt to fight back or refuse his orders."

  "That's horrible," said Miya, quietly.

  "Yes."

  "It certainly is," said Tomas. Both Miya and Sola looked at him, Miya noting how suddenly old his face looked. Tomas cleared his throat. "I'm, uh, I'm sorry that I was ..." he trailed off, then cleared his throat again and continued. "I'm sorry about your people, Sola ... and I'm sorry that ... that is ... I didn't know—"