by Ben White
Mr Pearson paused a moment, his gaze on a small painting that hung on the wall—a city skyline at night.
"I can't say I have no regrets," he said. "And dealing with all these 'very important people' is rarely enjoyable. But it's a good life, all in all. And I must admit ... I love getting an opportunity to put the boot in to these self-important snobs!"
*
Mr Pearson arranged for Miya's ship to be moved to the dry dock for repairs, then invited her to stay and talk until the party had quietened down. Miya and Sola spent a few hours chatting with Mr Pearson, mostly about Clover Island and Miya's family, and about life on Tonfa-Tonfa. After the party had wound down and most of the guests had left or retired for the night, Mr Pearson took them to his own quarters and they spent a few hours sleeping in his guest room.
Around two hours before sunrise they made their way down to the dry docks, where the newly repaired Black Swan was waiting for them. Miya inspected the repairs critically, but even with the absurdly high standards she held regarding her ship she could find no fault. Mr Pearson's people had also stocked the hold with more food and water.
"Thank you again, Mr Pearson. I won't forget this," said Miya. "If all the idiots and snobs get too much for you, you'll always be welcome on Clover Island."
"Thank you, Princess Black. Please give my warmest regards to your mother and father, once you see them again."
Miya nodded. "I will," she said, trying to keep the tears from her eyes.
"And Sola. What can I say, my boy. Good luck. The very best of luck."
"Thank you, sir," said Sola. "Once Tonfa-Tonfa is strong once more I hope you will visit."
"It would be my honour to do so," said Mr Pearson. He shook Sola's hand, then laughed in surprise as Miya hugged him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Goodness, a hug and kiss from a genuine princess, it certainly must be my lucky day."
"No more than you deserve, Mr Pearson," said Miya, in her best 'princess' voice, before turning and jumping onto her ship.
Miya and Sola waved to Mr Pearson as they sailed out from the dock, and he waved back.
"He's, um, actually even a lot nicer than I remember him being," said Miya. "Then again I never really talked to him much before. I mostly just played with his box of flags while he and Dad talked about, y'know, Grown-Up Stuff. He always gave me a chocolate biscuit, though. I guess that should have been kind of a clue."
Miya's first priority, after Mr Pearson was out of sight and they were well on their way, was to change clothes. She carefully folded and packed the dress, putting on a clean white shirt and comfortable black trousers instead. As she tightened her sword belt around her waist she gave a contented sigh.
"Should we change the flag?" Sola asked as Miya emerged from her cabin. He had also changed, keeping the trousers but removing the shirt and sandals. Miya looked up, at the flag of her island, biting her lip.
"I know we should ... I mean, I will, it's just ... I feel really weird, flying the Highland flag."
Miya looked up for a moment, then sighed and lowered the flag of Clover Island. She looked at it a moment, then carefully folded and stowed it in the chest by her cabin, before taking out the flag Mr Pearson had given her. She held it for a moment, then looked at Sola.
"Um, could you?" she asked. "I mean, I can do it, if I had to do it I could, but ..."
Sola silently took the Highland flag from Miya and raised it, both he and Miya looking up at the yellow flag flapping in the wind.
"This isn't as much fun as I thought it would be," said Miya. "Sailing under false colours, I mean."
"No," said Sola. "This was the flag Badger Pete's ships flew when they attacked my island."
"Oh, oh my goodness of course it was, Sola, I'm so sorry for asking you—"
"No, it's all right," he said. "We are using the flag against him now. Once again, because of him, I see a weapon in something that should not be seen as such."
Miya looked at Sola a moment, then smiled.
"Anyway," she said suddenly, clapping her hands together, trying to change the mood. "Let's break out that chart and plot our next course!"
Sola continued looking up at the Highland flag a moment, then turned to his sister and nodded, his face serious. Moments later they were in her cabin, focused on the chart.
"We've pretty much got a clear run through to the Diamond Isles from here," said Miya. "Right?"
Sola was silent.
"And with all the supplies we have now it's not like we'll have to stop for food or anything. My grandfather mentioned the Diamond Isles in his letter, so we'll probably pick up some clues there."
"Miya," said Sola. "Perhaps—"
"After all, even if it was five years ago he's sure to have left his mark. Five years is nothing in terms of legends. Some legends are hundreds of years old!"
"Miya, please listen. Perhaps we should return to Clover Island."
Miya gaped at Sola, shocked.
"What? After everything we've gone through? No! No way! We can't turn back now, we're so close, how far away are the Diamond Isles, four days sailing? Three? We HAVE to keep going, Sola."
"What if Clover Island needs you now?" Sola asked. "What if my people need me now?"
Miya shook her head. "You can't think that way, Sola. We have a mission here. And ... and what could I do, just myself?"
"You could fight," said Sola. "You have shown your worth many times over in the days we've travelled together."
Miya blushed a little. "W-well that might be true, but—"
"Your parents also must be worried, not knowing where you are."
"I left a note," Miya muttered.
"Even so." Sola paused a moment, then couldn't help but ask: "What did the note say?"
" 'Gone to find Grandad'."
"Even so," Sola repeated, although his tone had lightened a little. Miya looked at him a moment, her expression somewhat worried, then she climbed up into the rigging and started trimming the sails.
"Sola, set a course," she called down. "I understand your concerns but I am the captain of this ship. We're heading to the Diamond Isles, to the nearest island marked as inhabited."
Sola looked up at her a moment then called back, loud and definite:
"Aye aye, captain."
11
Strange Weather And Strange Luck
"This new sail is really interesting," Miya called down to Sola. "It's much heavier than the old one but ... I don't know, stretchier? When it catches the wind right it kind of like 'bangs'. Can you feel it?"
"No."
"Come on, really? I guess you have to be a GENIUS sailor like me, maybe."
"You're in a good mood," said Sola.
"Who wouldn't be! We're on our way again, everything's going great!"
They'd been sailing for half a day, and although they had spotted several ships, most of them flying Highland colours, they'd had no trouble at all. The skies were clear, the waters kind, the winds strong and constant. Mr Pearson had left a small package of food on board, and for lunch they'd feasted on cold chicken and roast beef, crusty bread, almond and honey cakes, apples, oranges, and chocolate biscuits.
"I have another concern," said Sola, a few minutes after they'd finished eating. Miya sighed and flopped over the railing.
"What is it this time?" she asked.
"The fact that the letter was written more than five years ago. I feel that if our grandfather is still alive, he must have moved on by now."
Miya pushed herself up from the railing.
"You're pretty smart, Sola, but sometimes I feel like you're deliberately not understanding me on purpose. My grandfather is a pirate legend, okay? He was once known as the Pirate King of the Necessary Ocean. You don't get that kind of title for sitting around biting your fingernails. Legendary pirates don't just quietly walk through a place, they stomp in and out shouting their name and probably set fire to it afterwards. Or before, even! If he was there in the last CENTURY someone
will know something about him. They must. Also, we learnt something good on Embassy Island: Badger Pete hasn't attacked Clover Island yet. We still have time."
Sola considered this, then nodded.
"As long as we have given matters proper thought," he said.
They sailed until nightfall, then, after a brief discussion, decided to just keep going.
"Look at this moon," said Miya, gazing up at it. "Have you ever seen a moon so full and bright?"
"Once," said Sola.
"And the stars! I thought there were a lot back on Clover Island, why are there so many more out here?"
"Perhaps because the sky is clear."
"The wind's dropped down a bit, too, maybe that's part of it."
"By morning, there will be almost no wind."
"Huh? How do you know?"
"These are the signs of a storm, a large storm."
"What, seriously? But it's so lovely and calm!"
"Now."
"You worry too much, you know that? Just let's enjoy this gorgeous night. Plus if the wind's dying down we should use as much as we can in case there isn't any tomorrow. Momentum can only take you so far!"
They sailed through the night, Sola's prediction coming true; the winds died more and more as the night progressed, and as the sun rose over a beautiful morning there was barely a breeze.
"Huh," said Miya. "Well, at least it's a nice sunrise."
They were kept busy throughout the day, constantly adjusting the sails to catch what little wind there was. In the morning Sola rested for a few hours, and after lunch Miya took a short nap. Then, in the early evening, Sola lowered the spyglass from looking out to the east.
"Storm clouds," he said.
"How big?"
"Big."
"That big, huh."
Miya chewed on her lip a moment, then nodded decisively.
"Alter course. We'll go around it."
Sola raised his eyebrows.
"What?" said Miya. "I can't make a sensible decision just once? Maybe you don't know me as well as you think you do, Sola ... um, Sola! You really need a last name, you know. It's so unsatisfying just having one name to say when you really want to say at least two. Like when Mum is really angry at me it's always 'Miya Jean Black!', like 'don't even think about it, Miya Jean Black!'."
"I have a second name, of a kind," said Sola, as he turned the wheel.
"Oh, really? Gosh, why didn't I know that? What is it?"
"Black," he said, smiling.
Shortly after they altered their course a favourable wind began to blow.
"A good omen! Hahahahaha!" said Miya. Sola looked at her. "That's what you have to do," she explained patiently. "Come on."
"A good omen," said Sola. "Haha."
"You know something, Sola? You're good company and all, and you've been really useful on this adventure so far, but in some ways you're pretty useless. I think maybe you should leave the enthusiasm to me from now on."
"Gladly," he said. Miya tightened a rope and jumped down to the deck.
"Where's the spyglass? I'm taking just a tiny break to check out that cool storm. I've never seen such a big one close up before, especially not out at sea."
She found the spyglass hanging on a hook by her cabin (where she'd left it), and looked at the storm for a few moments.
"Dad'd love this," she said, a little wistfully. "He always talked aboutHOLY MONKEYS there's a ship sailing right for the storm!"
"What kind?"
"I don't know, a brig or a small frigate maybe, it's really far away, I can barely see it even with the spyglass, but it's definitely a ship and it's definitely sailing right into it! Wow. I thought I was crazy."
"So did I."
"Harrumph. I hope they're okay but I'm kind of jealous. Imagine what sailing through a storm'd be like ..."
"Very dangerous and frightening and difficult," said Sola. "I would imagine."
"Oh, you're so unromantic sometimes," said Miya. "I'm putting a ten minute silence on you."
"Fine."
"What, really?"
Sola was silent.
"Wow, you're good. That was like my worst punishment when I was little."
Sola remained silent.
"Humph. Why do I feel like I'm just punishing myself here?"
They sailed through the night, skirting the edges of the storm as it moved west, picking up good wind and sailing clean and fast. They took it in turns to rest—Sola was beginning to get the hang of the Swan's complicated rigging system, and could handle it by himself now. It took them all of the next day and most of the night to leave the storm behind, and it was with great relief that they put down the anchor in calm waters and took a well-earned rest.
The next morning Miya woke early to find Sola already up, frowning at the horizon.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"We're off-course," he said. "Too far south. I think some of my calculations were wrong."
"Oh."
"I'm sorry, I—"
"No, don't worry about it. At least you noticed, right? Um, how off-course are we?"
"We have lost perhaps a day."
Miya chewed her lip.
"That's fine," she said, after a moment. "Just a day? I thought you were gonna say a week or something. You've got our new course plotted, right?"
Sola nodded.
"Then don't worry about it. Let's just keep going."
Miya patted her brother on the arm and went to unlock the wheel, trying to ignore the heavy, worried feeling deep in her stomach.
*
After another two days and nights of incident-free sailing, just after noon, Miya spotted the distant speck of an island.
"There it is! That must be it! What's it called again? It had a kind of nice name—Haven Island, that was it. Finally! You know, I never thought I could get sick of sailing, and actually I'm not, really, but I'll be happy to do something different for a bit. All those fishing boats we've been passing must have come out from this place."
The day was mostly clear, a few long clouds in the sky, and gulls followed their ship as they sailed towards Haven Island.
"Sola! Look at that gull there! Do you see it? The one kind of apart from the others, going up high and diving down like that—what the heck is that one doing? Wow, it's getting some pretty incredible speed, though ..."
Sola looked from the gull to his sister, but he said nothing.
Haven Island was quite large, mostly formed of green, rounded hills covered in tall trees. The port itself was large and welcoming, and the mid-sized town beyond it gave a feeling of cosiness and comfort. A lighthouse stood tall on a high cliff, and Miya gleefully pointed out several land-based defences as they neared the docks. The buildings here were quite pretty—wooden, with brightly painted edging. Strings of coloured flags also hung above the streets.
"Hm," said Miya, as they tied up the Swan. "This is kind of a ... I dunno ... kind of a nice place."
"It looks quite welcoming," said Sola.
"Yeah, I know, but ... is this the sort of place my grandfather would really spend any time? I mean, really?"
"Perhaps if he were tired of places like Biscuit Cove."
"A true pirate would NEVER tire of such places! Well, anyway, maybe he terrorised this place sometime. Are you coming with me?"
Sola frowned, looking at the town beyond the docks.
"Come on, come with me—hey, I bet a place like this has a library, bookshops, lots of that kind of thing."
Sola looked at her.
"Really?"
"Of course! It definitely looks big enough. You'd probably find all sorts of interesting books in a place like this. If you're good I might even buy you one," said Miya, with a cheeky grin. "What do you say? Will you come along?"
Sola hesitated, then smiled.
"Yes," he said.
"Great! Um, you should maybe wear a shirt, though. You never know how people are going to react to a bare chest."
A few minutes la
ter, after signing in with the port master and paying the dock fee, they were walking up the pier towards the town.
"The fishermen must all be out at sea right now," said Miya, noting the lack of activity on the docks. "I bet this place is way busier in the evenings and mornings."
"What do you know about the Diamond Isles?" asked Sola.
"Not much. I think it was kind of important in the Great Pirate War, and there used to be heaps of pirating around here before that."
"And now?"
Miya shrugged. "Dunno. Seems pretty quiet, though. Hey, a pub! Perfect! The Three-Headed Monkey, let's go!"
Sola frowned.
"I don't think you should be drinking," he said.
"I'm not thinking about drinking, pubs are great places to get information! Don't you know anything about gathering clues? You go to a pub, you ask around, someone's gotta know something. Come on."
The pub was quite full, although none of the people inside looked particularly pirate-y. In fact they mostly looked like normal people eating lunch or having a quiet drink. Miya drew some glances as she entered, Sola more so.
Miya looked around, then strode over to the bar and hopped up onto one of the stools.
"Barkeep, a moment of your time," she said. The man behind the bar, who had quite an impressive mustache, turned and raised his eyebrows at her.
"Help you, ma'am?"
"I'm looking for a man."
"Aren't you a little young?"
"Heartless Jon," said Miya, ignoring this. "Also known as Black Hearted Jon, Jonny Black Heart and ... um, Jonathan Black. Have you heard of him?"