“Because these people look nothing like the ones that raided the Kumya” she explained. “Their skin is a lot darker.”
“She’s right” said Yanu.
“Aww man” Iah moaned. “We lost our canoe and nearly drowned, and got scratched by bushes and almost trampled by a beast for nothing!”
“We have to get off of the island before anyone else sees us” Isla continued, ignoring Iah. “They’ll take one look at us and know that we aren’t from here. Then who knows what they might do to us.”
“But what do we do about the kid?” asked Yanu.
“Follow my lead” said Isla. She had no idea what she was going to do yet, but she hoped that she would think of something soon.
“Ahh… whats your name? Isla asked, turning back to the boy again.
“Quami” the boy answered.
“Ok Quami. Take us to your mother” said Isla.
“Alright. Jump aboard Tumba.” Quami said, climbing back unto the elephant.
“Oh no” Iah whispered to Isla. “I’m not getting on that monster”.
“We have to” Isla whispered back to her.
Quami threw down a rope ladder from the side of the elephant so that the three of them could climb up. Yanu, who no longer seemed afraid of the elephant, stepped forward first. He helped up Isla and Iah ( it took three tries for Iah to climb the rope, because she kept screaming and running back every time the elephant made a slight move); and then climbed up himself.
It turned out to be a very enjoyable ride. The four of them sat comfortably on Tumba’s large, soft back, laughing and chatting merrily. Quami was also very funny and lively. He kept doing all sorts of stunts on the elephant’s back, like standing on one leg and doing handstands. Isla loved being so high up from the ground; and even Iah found it cute the way the elephant would throw around its long trunk- as Quami told them it was called. Yanu kept slapping the elephant’s backside to make it go faster; but Tumba ignored him and walked through the bushes at a slow pace.
In all the fun that they were having, Isla forgot that she was supposed to be trying to come up with an escape plan. Now, the bushes were becoming thinner and she suddenly realized that they were nearing the village.
“Stop!” she shouted suddenly.
In fright, Quami pulled the reins hard and made Tumba stop abruptly. Iah screamed as they slid forward on the elephant’s back and almost fell over.
“Wh-what is it?” Quami asked.
“Ahh...I think Tumba’s hurt” Isla lied. “I see a lot of blood on his right foot.”
“Huh?” said Iah. “You can’t see Tumba’s feet from-”.
Isla quickly gave Iah a warning look, and Iah stopped talking. She realized that this was a part of Isla’s get-away plan; and Quami seemed to believe.
“Oh no” he said, looking worried “I’ll be right back.”
“Yes, you do that” said Isla.
The three of them watched Quami hurry down the rope ladder. Isla then slid forward sneakily and took hold of the reins. Just when Quami reached the elephant’s right foot, Isla pulled the reins really hard and Tumba shot off, leaving Quami yelling behind.
“Wait! Come back! Tumba nooo…”
The three of them could barely stay put on Tumba’s back. They were dashing through the trees and bushes really fast, and had to duck low so that the tree branches did not hit them.
“We’re going to fall!” screamed Iah.
But they didn’t fall. They held on with all their might and Tumba took them to the edge of the bushes, onto another beach. Luckily, there was no one around, and they saw a line of canoes on the shore.
“Great!” said Yanu happily.
The trio climbed off of Tumba’s back and ran straight to the canoes. They hopped into one of them and rowed away as quickly as they could.
Chapter 17
The Island of Ratam
Isla, Iah and Yanu were lying on the sands of the second island, panting heavily. They had left the canoe and swam to shore, like last time; and were now extremely tired.
Isla finally sat up and turned to look at her surroundings. She was shocked to see black sand beneath them- and not white like they were accustomed to back in Artinia. Also, the large rocks surrounding the beach looked as if they had been melted and then left tor dry and harden; for they were flat and sunken in certain parts.
“This place is creepy” said Iah, finally catching her breath. She was dusting the black sand off of her herself with a disgusted look on her face.
“What do you think happened here?” asked Yanu, holding a handful of the sand up to his face.
“No idea” said Iah, still looking around. Then she pointed “Look! There are some people over there in the water”.
“Good. Let’s go ask them some questions” said Yanu, standing to his feet.
“No we can’t!” said Iah quickly. “We may be dressed differently, remember? That will give us away.”
They had taken off the grass outfits from Bane, and were now dressed in their old clothes.
“Oh, right. I forgot” said Yanu, sitting back down.
Isla suddenly had an idea. “Since those people are in the water” she said “their clothes might be up on the sand, don’t you think?”
“I guess” said Iah.
“Well, maybe we can dash over there and grab their clothes without being seen” said Isla. “Then we’ll be able to fit in with the other islanders.”
“Well, it’s worth a try” said Yanu.
The three of them made their way to where the small group of people were swimming, making sure to hide behind the trees as they went.
The swimmers’ clothes were on the sand, where Isla guessed they would be.
“Yes!” said Isla. ““Now all we have to do is run over and grab them. Those people are too busy playing in the water to notice.”
“I’ll go” said Yanu to Isla and Iah. “You two wait here.”
Yanu dashed out from behind the tree and crossed the short distance to where the pile of clothes was. But as soon as he picked them up, an angry voice shouted from the water.
“Hey! What are you doing with our clothes?!”
Yanu gave a startled jump before dashing back towards the tree. “Run!” he shouted to Isla and Iah.
Yanu, Isla and Iah darted through the bushes as fast as they could, while the swimmers chased them. Yanu was in the lead and Isla was right behind him; but Iah had trouble keeping up.
The swimmers were quickly catching up to them; because they knew the area better.
“You’ve got to run faster!” Isla shouted to Iah.
“I can’t!” Iah cried.
The swimmers were now just behind of Iah, and they looked furious. Isla turned back to try to pull Iah forward, but one of the swimmers grabbed Iah before Isla could get to her.
Iah screamed loudly.
“Stop now, or I’ll hurt her!” said the large, teenaged boy who was holding Iah tightly around her neck.
“No, let her go now or you and your friends will get hurt!” said Isla angrily, aiming her slingshot at the large boy.
“You think I’m scared of a little girl with her toy?” the large boy laughed.
His friend laughed as well. There were two other large boys with him; along with three girls.
Iah started to cry.
Yanu finally reached back to where they were all standing and aimed his slingshot at the gang as well. “I’m warning you guys” he said.
The boy holding Iah growled angrily at Yanu. “I should punch you in the face for stealing my clothes” he said.
“Hold on Remus” said one of the other boys to the boy holding Iah. “These three look like foreigners”.
Remus- the boy holding Iah- looked surprised. “Foreigners?” he said.
Then he squinted his eyes to look at Yanu and Isla more closely. “You’re right Pug.
They’re dressed weird”.
Pug turned to Isla and Yanu. “Where are you from?” he said angrily. “And what are you doing invading our island?”
“You invaded our island first!” said Isla.
“What!?” asked Pug in surprise.
“Yes! A few days ago, your men invaded Artinia and took my sister”.
The gang began to laugh again.
“The poor baby lost her sister” said one of the girls mockingly. And there was more laughter.
“So you’re from Artinia, huh?” said Pug finally; after the laughter had died down. “I hate Artinians! You feel you’re so much better than the rest of us islanders.”
“That’s because the rest of you islanders are greedy crooks! You are always trying to take our stuff.” said Yanu, pointing his sling shot closer to them.
“Look who’s talking!” said Remus. “You just took our clothes.” Then he turned to Pug and said. “I think we need to teach these foreigners a lesson!”
“I agree” said Pug.
Pug then dashed suddenly at Yanu; but in the blink of an eye, Isla launched a smooth rock at his chest from her sling shot, and he fell to the ground instantly at Yanu’s feet. Yanu did the same to Remus and he let go of Iah at once before falling to the ground with a loud thud.
“Run!” Yanu shouted to Iah, and she dashed into the bushes screaming.
The other members of the gang came forward to attack, but Isla and Yanu were too quick for them; and in no time, they all lay in heaps on the ground. All except for one of the girls, who Isla could see hiding behind a large palm tree.
“I’ll take care of her” Isla said.
Isla walked behind the tree, and just as she aimed her sling, the girl shouted:
“No! Wait! Please!”
Isla lowered her aim and looked at the girl. She was crouched on the ground with her hands out in front of her and trembling violently. Isla felt sorry for the girl and put her sling shot away. The girl, realizing that she was not being attacked, raised her head slowly. Her wild, curly, brown hair covered much of her small face; but Isla could see enough to notice that she was very pretty.
“Are my friends dead?” the girl asked timidly.
“No. they’re just knocked out for a while” said Isla.
Isla and Yanu had been trained to know exactly where to hit a person; so that they only become unconscious or a while. The girl breathed a sigh of relief and stood up slowly. Isla turned to leave; for she and Yanu needed to catch up with Iah as soon as possible.
“Wait” said the girl quickly.
Isla stopped and turned back around. “What?” she said.
“Our people didn’t raid your island a few days ago” the girls said. “We haven’t raided Artinia for years. Your army is too strong. We wouldn’t risk it”.
“Why should I believe you?” Isla asked.
“I wouldn’t lie to you” said the girl. “I have a sister too; so I can imagine how horrible it must feel to have your sister taken away.”
Isla could tell that the girl was telling the truth; and she felt disappointed, because it meant that Issy was not on this island either. Isla also worried that they might be too late to rescue Issy. Every wrong island that they came too held them back.
“Where can we find a canoe?” Yanu asked the girl. “We need to get off of this island as soon as possible to continue our search.”
“I’ll show you” said the girl.
Isla and Yanu hurried off with the girl to look for Iah. They found her a short distance away, hiding behind a large tree trunk.
“Oh I’m so glad you guys are alright” Iah cried, rushing from behind the tree and hugging Isla tightly. “Who is this?” she asked, when she noticed the girl with them.
“Sandy” said the girl.
“She’s gonna help us get off the island” said Isla.
“But we haven’t looked for Issy yet” said Iah, looking confused.
“She’s not here” Isla said sadly.
“How do you know?” Iah demanded. “We’re running out of time. She’s got to be here!”
“Just trust me Iah” said Isla. “The sooner we get off of this island, the sooner we’ll find Issy”.
Chapter 18
Issy
Meanwhile, Issy was still in the dark cave. Two days had passed and no one had come to see her, except for Prince Aguamir. He came often to bring food or to just keep Issy’s company, so that she would not get too lonely.
Prince Aguamir was there with Issy now, and they were both lying out on the floor, looking up at the roof of the cave.
“What are your people going to do to me?” Issy asked
“I don’t know” said Prince Aguamir. “My father would not tell me.”
“Well what do they normally do to their captives?”
“I – I’d rather not say.”
“It’s that bad huh?” said Issy, feeling scared.
“Don’t worry little Issy” said Prince Aguamir quickly. “If they were going to do to you what they normally do to other captives they would have done it already. They never keep the captives lying around this long”.
That did not make Issy feel any better.
“Well maybe they’re keeping me so that they can demand gold from Artinia” She said. “Because they know I’m a Princess”.
“Don’t lose hope Issy” said Prince Aguamir. “Like you said, your people are going to come and rescue you soon.”
“I don’t believe that anymore” said Issy sadly. “They would have come already. They probably don’t know where I am.”
“Well then we’ll just keep thinking of ideas to escape” said Prince Aguamir. “And we won’t sleep until we come up with something”.
When Prince Aguamir said ‘sleep’, Issy suddenly had an idea.
“Prince Aguamir, do you think you can find a plant that makes people really sleepy?” she asked. “Because one of your men put a plant on my nose that made me fall asleep just before they brought me here.”
Prince Aguamir thought for a while, and then said “Hmm. That must be a plant called hop cones. Our men normally use it in battle to sleep out their enemies.”
“Can you get some for me please?” said Issy. “I have an idea”.
Chapter 19
Issy’s Escape Plan
Issy stood close to the entrance of the cave, waiting to hear when the guard fell asleep. Prince Aguamir was supposed to have snuck into the kitchen and sprinkled the hop cones into the guard’s lunch.
The guard was finished eating, and Issy had been waiting patiently for what seemed like a very long time. Just then, loud snoring sounds came from the cave’s entrance, and Issy’s heart began to beat very quickly. The guard must have finally fallen asleep; so It was time to sneak out.
She poked her head through the small entrance to make sure that the guard was indeed asleep. He was. Issy carefully climbed through the hole, and crept past him as softly as she could. When she had gone far enough, Issy set off at a run to the bottom of the hill, where Prince Aguamir said he would be waiting for her. But he was nowhere to be seen; so Issy crept behind a large coconut tree and looked around. The village was a short distance away. It was cluttered with small straw huts, and filled with people scurrying about; but the area where Issy stood was quite deserted.
After waiting for a few minutes, Issy began to feel worried. She wondered whether Prince Aguamir was still coming to meet her. Maybe he had gotten caught putting the hop cones in the food; or maybe he was never on her side after all, and had told the king that she planned to escape. All of these thoughts ran through Issy’s mind.
Issy decided to go back up to the cave before anyone caught her trying to sneak away. She thought that the guard was probably still asleep, so she could just sneak right back in without being seen. But just as she crept
from behind the tree, Prince Aguamir suddenly appeared from the side of the hill. Issy jumped I fright.
“I’m sorry I took so long” Prince Aguamir said, breathing heavily.
Prince Aguamir was also very wet with sweat. He explained that he had taken the long route, all along the edge of the village, so that people would not see him coming to meet Issy.
“I’m just glad you’re here” Issy said. “Do you have the sack?”
Prince Aguamir raised his hand to show her a large, brown cloth sack.
“Good” said Issy.
Issy quickly climbed into the sack. Then Prince Aguamir threw it over his shoulder and began to walk towards to village. Issy felt very uncomfortable in the sack. Although there were many small breathing holes punched into it, Issy felt very stuffy. It also hurt a little being crouched in such a small space and bouncing off of Prince Aguamir’s back with every step that he took.
“Stop squirming so much or I might drop you” Prince Aguamir whispered to Issy.
Before Issy could answer, a woman’s voice said “Hello Prince Aguamir, how are you today?”
“Oh I’m just great” Prince Aguamir replied, sounding nervous. “Ahh… I’ve just been hunting, that’s all”.
“And I see you’ve got a nice big catch too” the woman said.
“Oh yes” said Prince Aguamir. “Well, see you around then. I’ve got to get going.”
Prince Aguamir hustled away quickly. Issy was very relieved that the woman was gone. She had been holding her breath and trying her best not to move throughout the entire conversation.
As they walked further through the village, Issy could hear many more people stop to say hello to Prince Aguamir; but he hustled away from all of them. Just when Issy felt that things were going smoothly, one little boy shouted:
“Prince Aguamir, can I see what you caught in the bag?”
The next thing Issy knew, a pair of small hands grabbed onto her legs and pulled sharply, sending her crashing to the ground. Issy let out a loud yelp of pain, and then covered her mouth quickly. Her eyes were watering because her backside was hurting badly. Luckily, the bag was still fully covering her. Prince Aguamir quickly picked back up the bag and laughed nervously:
“I guess the catch is not quite dead yet” he said. “Animals sound just like humans sometimes, don’t they?”
He then began to walk again at a much quicker pace, and Issy bounced even more on his back. Soon, Issy could no longer hear the sounds of people walking about and talking; only Prince Aguamir’s footsteps and his heavy breathing.
Artinia: The Journey of Three Island Princesses Page 5