Miya Black, Pirate Princess I: Adventure Dawns

by Ben White

  "Set out? So ... so he'd come back? After—"

  Miya stopped at the look on her mother's face.

  "Two days ago," Lily said after a moment, her voice clipped, "he set out again. The next day, well ... this all happened."

  "You've been fighting off Badger Pete for a whole day?"

  Lily sighed wearily. "I suppose we must have been."

  "And you've only lost one ship?"

  "We've lost four, dear. Your father went out to find you alone."

  "But—"

  "Don't worry about him," said Lily, the worry in her voice well-hidden, though not well-hidden enough that her daughter didn't notice it. "He's the greatest sailor in these waters, you know. He really is."

  "I know," said Miya. The worry in her voice wasn't hidden at all.

  "Where's your brother?" Lily asked, after a few moments.

  "He was fighting fires with me before. Then I think he found out there were rescued northern islanders here and went looking for them," said Miya. "I hope—"

  "RAIDERS!"

  Both mother and daughter looked up at the cry. Midge Young, from the school, was running down the street towards them.

  "Where?" asked Lily and Miya at the same time, both standing. Midge stopped in front of them.

  "From the east, coming through the jungle. Little Willy Baker spotted them, him and a bunch of others are forming a militia."

  "Get to the town square, get everyone gathered there," said Queen Lilith. "Tell everyone that even thinks they'd be handy with a weapon to get one—take them from Hands' shop if you have to, tell him the queen is buying if he gives you any trouble. Go!"

  Midge nodded, then ran towards the town square. Miya started to run too, towards the eastern part of town, but found herself hindered by her mother holding the collar of her shirt from behind.

  "Mum! What are you doing?"

  "That's my question," said Lily. She let her daughter go, and Miya turned to face her, defiance flashing in her eyes.

  "I have to go fight!" she said.

  "You're exhausted."

  "Everyone's exhausted! Those raiders aren't going to wait for us to have a quick nap and a nice plate of cut oranges! They're going to come into this town and start looting and burning and who knows what else!"

  "Looting and burning we can recover from, it's keeping people safe that's the important thing."

  "Dad would understand what I mean!"

  "Well it's a shame he isn't here then, isn't it."

  "Yes! Yes it bloody well is!"

  "Language! Miya!"

  "He should be here! He should be taking charge of things!"

  Queen Lilith drew herself up, and Miya knew she'd gone just a little too far.

  "Need I remind you," said Lilith, "that of your two parents, the one with royal blood is NOT the ex-pirate. Despite what you may think of me, Miya, I am quite capable of 'taking charge of things'."

  Miya looked at her mother a long moment, worry in her eyes.

  "You said the p-word," she said, eventually.

  "Well, desperate times push people towards desperate words."

  "And I know ... I know you're good at bossing people around and getting them to do stuff, but let's face it, Dad's the one you'd back in a fight. And this is a fight!"

  "No, it's not, Miya," said Lily. "This is a war. And like it or not, you are an important figure here. You can't just run off to fight like a common soldier—"

  "I'm not a soldier! I'm—"

  "You are a princess, Miya Jean Black. You are the princess of this island. And as such you have responsibilities and obligations—why can't you understand this?"

  "What I understand is that if we don't stop the raiders before they reach the town—"

  "And if something happens to you? What then?"

  "Nothing will happen to me!"

  "Oh yes? What's this?" said Lily, flicking the small scar on Miya's cheek. "What's this?" she repeated, holding up Miya's wrist, exposing the scar on her arm. "Are those 'nothing'?"

  "Yes! They're nothing! Just tiny little nicks from fighting! And I'll have you know that this—" Miya pointed angrily to the scar on her cheek "—was from a duel with a master swordswoman, and this—" she held up her arm "—was from a fight with like a dozen pirates!"

  "Oh, a dozen, was it? Master swordswoman, was it?"

  "YES! I don't have time for this, my town's in danger—my PEOPLE are in danger! You can stand around arguing with yourself, I have to DO something!"

  For a moment Miya glared at Lilith, then she turned and ran, past the burnt buildings, through ash-covered streets, leaving her mother behind.

  *

  Miya ran through the streets as the sun began to set, trying to ignore the fatigue in her body, the pain from her burns, and the dread she felt as she left the town and jumped over the firebreak.

  Then she stopped, and walked back. She bent down and looked at the ash that filled the narrow pit.

  "Having the same idea I did, Princess," came a voice from behind Miya. She stood and turned, then smiled and ran forward for a hug.

  "Uncle Lars! You're okay!" she said, embracing him. "I was wondering where you were!"

  "Heading back into town to round up anyone willing to fight," he said, putting an arm around Miya and holding her close for a moment. "You itching to fight some raiders too, yes?"

  "Yes," said Miya, firmly. "Oh, but I've got so many things to tell you, Lars! I fought off a bunch of thugs and beat up a really big guy in like three seconds without him touching me and I held off like a dozen pirates for like five minutes and I won a duel! I won a duel with a pirate captain! He was really strong, too, not just some two-bit loser with a sword, he got me in the arm—look," she said, pulling her shirt open to expose her shoulder.

  "Hey, some things you shouldn't be showing the man you call 'Uncle', right?" said Lars, with a laugh. He leant forward and examined the scar from Miya's almost-healed shoulder wound. "Hm, not bad. You cry?"

  "No," said Miya, stoutly.

  "What about when you got this?" he asked, touching the scar on her cheek.

  "Of course not, I got that while I was duelling with my grandmother—"

  "Not Jean Black? Your Dad's mother?"

  "Yep!" said Miya, almost bursting with pride. "And I cut her the same, too!"

  "Eye for an eye, cheek for a cheek, eh?" said Lars. He looked at Miya a moment, smiling.

  "What?"

  "I'm proud of you," said Lars. "Sounds like you handled yourself well. And I wonder, your—"

  "My grip was unbreakable," said Miya, conveniently forgetting that her grandmother had managed to disarm her. "Thanks, Uncle Lars."

  "When your back's to a wall you start thinking, maybe squeezing those rocks wasn't such a waste, huh?"

  "Definitely."

  "You'll have to tell me the full story later. Right now, how about this, huh?" said Lars, kicking at a burnt branch near the firebreak. Miya frowned.

  "I know, someone led the fire over the firebreak."

  "Some bloody traitor working with Badger Pete," said Lars. He spat. "That sort makes my damned blood boil."

  "Language," said Miya, smiling. Then the smile vanished. "Do you have any idea who it might be?"

  Lars shook his head.

  "Maybe your father's 'second chance' policy comes back to bite him, huh?"

  Miya sighed. "I hope not. Maybe Badger Pete managed to sneak a spy onto the island before the attack."

  "There have been a lot of refugees coming here," said Lars thoughtfully. "Maybe with them."

  Miya scowled. "Using people's kindness against them is the worst! Unforgivable!"

  "Save that anger for the fight, hey? You should go find Little Willy Baker, he's organising the defence. Hope to fight beside you, Princess."

  Miya hugged Lars again, and waved as he jumped over the firebreak and ran towards town. Then she turned and went to look for a fight.

  *

  "Back, are ya? Heard you was kidnapped."


  "I wasn't kidnapped! Why does everyone find that so easy to believe? Who spread these stupid lies?"

  "Didn't say I believed it," said Little Willy Baker, who was tall and broad and bald, with a long red beard. "Now. I know you can use that sword of yours, your father and uncle both boast about you every chance they get, but I'm putting you in the reserve guard, last line of defence. You stay here with me."

  "What? No! I want to go fight!" said Miya. "I'll be okay, I'm not weak!"

  "Didn't say you were. This is me bein' selfish. Don't none of us want anything happening to our princess, right?"

  "I'm not just a princess!"

  Little Willy Baker glanced around, at the men and women gathered in the makeshift warcamp, then leant down, whispering—"Look, don't tell any of the others but I'm dead scared of your ma. Don't even like to think what she'd do to me if anything happened to you. Besides, I reckon even at the back here we're gonna see some action. Lot of boats pulling up on that beach."

  "Beach? MIYA Beach?"

  "Aye."

  Miya's eyes narrowed. "Grace," she growled. Then she put her hand to her mouth, guilt flashing inside her. "But I'm the one that led her there ... but then what choice did I have?"

  "What are you muttering about?"

  "Nothing," said Miya quickly. A sudden thought struck her. "None of them better have touched my ship!"

  "Miya."

  Miya turned and grinned as she saw Sola approaching, accompanied by a few dozen northern islanders.

  "Sola! Were any of them—oh." She stopped talking as he shook his head.

  "Na'alofa'an, Ta'asi'an, a few Faloa'an," said Sola. "Many of them want to help."

  "That's good," said Little Willy Baker. "We can use it. How eager are you boys to get a little revenge on those scurvy pirates?"

  Sola glanced back at the serious-faced northern islanders behind him.

  "Eager," he said.

  "You should run on down into that jungle, head east. You'll soon come to the fighting. Got a bunch of lads down there already, they'd be happy to see your lot."

  Sola nodded, then turned and said something in his native language to the lead islander, who shook his head and frowned before gesturing to the others. They ran off, leaving Sola behind.

  "What was that?" Miya asked. "Why did they leave you behind?"

  "I am too young, and not of their tribes. They don't like me telling them anything," said Sola. "But aside from that I chose to stay behind, to stay close to you. In case you need help."

  "Oh. Thanks," said Miya. "I hope I don't need it."

  "I hope that too."

  "And I," said Little Willy. "Not least, either."

  "Sola, are you really okay with this? Fighting, I mean? I know you said—"

  "Sometimes it is difficult to know when you should fight and when you should yield. Sometimes it is difficult to tell the difference between thinking you are right, and being right." Sola looked at the still-burning jungle, at the Clover Islanders around him, at his sister's soot-blackened face. "This ... this is not difficult."

  There was a shout from the jungle, and then the northern islanders came running out accompanied by a group of Clover Islanders.

  "Few more than we thought, Willy!" came a call from the Clover Islanders. "Could use a hand!"

  They turned and formed a line along with the northern islanders, shortly before a large group of pirates came charging from the trees, yelling and spitting.

  "Right!" said Little Willy. "Weapons ready, all! Get ready!" He turned to Miya as she drew her sword. "Got your wish, eh Princess? Hope it don't turn sour on ya. Stick close to me and we'll see this out. GET YOUR WEAPONS READY, I SAID! TO ARMS!"

  Miya looked around as they readied themselves to join the battle, at the faces of those who had chosen to stand and fight. Some she knew were ex-pirates or ex-soldiers, come to Clover Island for a chance at peace, away from their pasts. Others were just normal people, people who'd never had a reason to fight before but who now, with their home and families threatened, had chosen to take up arms. Miya saw angry faces, sad faces, scared faces, resigned faces. But all of the faces she saw had one thing in common; determination. A rush of pride suddenly filled her, overshadowing her fatigue, and she stepped forward, raising her sword.

  "For Clover Island!" she shouted. Those gathered looked at her, some amused, others something more than that. Some raised their weapons, others nodded, still others smiled. Most of them called out in reply:

  "For Clover Island!"

  "Let's show those bastards who they're up against!" Miya cried, drawing some laughter. "For our families! For our home! For Clover Island! CHARGE!"

  "I was supposed to say that," said Little Willy, running beside Miya towards the pirates emerging from the jungle.

  "Sorry, got caught up in the moment," she said. "FOR MY PEOPLE!"

  With a defiant yell Miya charged into the pirate raiders, sword flashing in the light of the setting sun. She slashed at the hand of the nearest, cutting deep and making him cry out, his sabre dropping to the ground. Miya followed this with a kick to the knee that dropped him, and Sola finished the job with a quick bash to the neck with the butt of his spear.

  "Maybe I didn't need to worry," called Little Willy from nearby, as he disarmed a pirate and clonked him on the back of the head with the hilt of his sword.

  "I'd be more worried about myself if I were you," Miya called back, as she slashed at the rope belt of another pirate, severing it and making him fall over his own trousers, bringing her knee up to meet his face as he fell. "On your left!"

  "Saw him coming a mile away," Little Willy responded, slugging the pirate Miya had warned him about in the nose, sending him staggering. "Not made of much, are they?"

  "There are more behind them, fresh raiders from the boats!" came a cry to Miya's left. She saw Big Willy Baker, Little Willy Baker's father (who was actually slightly shorter than his son), using a large axe to fend off a couple of pirates.

  "Eyes ahead, Princess!"

  Little Willy's cry brought Miya's attention to a pirate in front of her, wielding two cutlasses. She smiled.

  "Two swords, huh? Shame that even one'd be too much for you," said Miya. The pirate growled and charged her, slashing with both weapons. Miya sidestepped neatly and kicked at his hand, forcing a grunt of pain from the pirate as he dropped one of his cutlasses. He growled as he attacked with his remaining weapon, but Miya caught the slash with her sword and spun the cutlass from his grip.

  "No grip, no grip! You should go squeeze some rocks," she said, before kicking him in the stomach and bashing him in the head with the hilt of her sword as he doubled over, sending him crashing to the ground, stunned.

  "Stop playing with 'em."

  Miya glanced to her right and saw 'Grizzly' Karl Solcher—well known as one of the captains of the Black Navy. He grabbed a pirate by the shoulder and hurled him to the ground, before punching another hard enough to send him off his feet.

  "I'm not playing," she said, easily parrying a blow from her right, then letting Sola finish off her attacker. "I'm taunting."

  Grizzly frowned at Miya. "Get yourself back to the town square. Your mother's spitting mad at you, girl."

  Miya glared at Grizzly. He glared right back.

  "You should go," said Sola. "Perhaps—"

  Suddenly an intense light flared in the sky, followed by an incredibly loud CRACK. The raiders broke off the attack instantly, running back into the jungle.

  "What happened there? Some sort of signal?" said Little Willy. Miya looked at the fleeing raiders, then around at her fellow defenders, a little shocked at how quickly the attack had ended.

  "Don't follow!" she called out, noticing a couple of the defenders had started to run after the raiders. "It could be a trap! Hold the line here!"

  "As the princess says!" called out Little Willy, before turning to Miya. "You're not giving me much to do, Princess," he said.

  "Sorry," said Miya. She looked around again,
surprised at how many had been wounded in the attack.

  "I ..." she began, then she saw Guy Brushwood, blood covering his right arm from a deep cut in his shoulder. Miya's face became serious. "Where's the medicine chest?"

  "Miya, perhaps it would be best to return to your mother," said Sola.

  "I'm needed here, the raiders might come back and there are lots of wounded to help."

  "You shouldn't remain in danger."

  "But they need my help!"

  "There are enough people around to help them."

  "But the raiders, they might—"

  "You are important, Miya."

  "Everyone here is important!"

  "Even so."

  Miya looked at Sola, then sighed.

  "You're not allowed to teach that 'even so' thing to my mother," she said. "It's SUCH an unfair way to win an argument."

  Miya looked around for Little Willy, spotted him wrapping a bandage around young Charles Sharpe's leg.

  "Chuck! Are you hurt badly?" Miya ran over to him.

  "Oh, M-Mi—Princess Black ... I'm okay," said Charles, who was just a little older than Miya, short for his age, with slightly wild brown hair and light brown eyes. "Just got careless, I suppose."

  "Ah, he'll live," said Little Willy. "Won't you, lad?"

  "Y-yes, of course!"

  Miya looked at Charles, worried, then patted him on the shoulder.

  "I'm sure you were very brave," she said. Charles blushed.

  "And you too, I saw—"

  "Little Willy," said Miya, talking over Charles, "I'm heading back to the town square. Apparently my mother is upset with me. I can't imagine why."

  "That is a mystery," said Little Willy. "All you did was worry everyone around you sick by putting yourself in grave danger."

  "From those green lubbers? Badger Pete might as well have sent a bunch of babies to attack us," said Miya. Little Willy grinned.

  "Take care of yourself, Princess," he said.

  "I always do. Come on, Sola."

  Miya and Sola left Little Willy and the other defenders behind, heading towards town. They'd almost reached it before Miya stopped.

  "Miya," Sola began, but she waved his protest aside.

  "I just want to check something," she said, running up towards the cliff, where it overlooked the harbour. "I was thinking," she called back to Sola as he followed her, "why did Badger Pete signal for the raiders to withdraw, why then? A fresh bunch had just arrived, something must have changed out there."