Tales of the Caravan

by J. Avarez

  "You've let your daughter get into your head," Greymore retorted, his nose twitched underneath his intense glare. "The fact is you've grown weak recently, my friend. Blackbeard and the pirates running amuck, it's all because of your unwillingness to deal with them firmly. It's an insult to me, someone who's always done the best for the Red Sea, to see it be ruled by someone so timid. If you won't uphold the traditions of the emperor, then perhaps I should be Chancellor."

  Julius opened his mouth to argue, but Greymore had already walked out of the office. The Chancellor finished his remaining business, reviewing new protocols from the empire, and finalizing the registration of the newly appointed, Captain Morgan. A few hours later, after dinner, he received word that Sarah and her crew were spotted at Mother Merla's.

  The Chancellor changed out of his council attire, and slipped into his red silk robes. He left his mansion without an escort, and briskly walked toward the Maiden's Lounge, Mother Merla's place of business. He wanted to have a word with Sarah privately, without the eyes of the empire on him. He was intrigued with Sarah, and was even impressed she had a relationship with Mother Merla. It was common knowledge that the lounge owner kept to herself, and if Sarah went to see her before business hours, he knew the two would be discussing more than just drinks.

  Merla was someone well known throughout the Nine Seas, and in certain parts of the mainland as well. She had become a pillar for caravan rights, she being one of the few surviving members that served under the legendary, Davy Jones. It was Merla's wish for the empire to be more lenient about women becoming captains, a fact the Chancellor knew all too well. Though he considered Merla to be an old friend, they would often clash about their agreement to bolster women's rights, and his passiveness against those who wished to suppress them.

  He walked to a less congested area of Town Square and found the Maiden's Lounge. It was a grand building built with obsidian bricks, which covered a block of land on its own. The Chancellor peered over his shoulder before he entered the lounge, and was thankfully greeted by a familiar face.

  "Chancellor Rose!" said Daisy cheerfully, her bright smile instantly lifted his mood. "Wow, it’s great to see you. We didn't hear anything about you coming to visit us."

  The young woman wore a floral dress, white with red roses scattered all over. Her blond hair was tied into a neat ponytail, and her green eyes shined under the light of the crystal chandeliers.

  "Some unexpected business brings me here, Daisy," he kissed both her cheeks and stepped back. "How have you been?"

  "Oh you know, the usual," replied Daisy. "This business with the Lost Prince has got everyone going crazy. Mother’s even got my sisters hunting for him too," her eyes darted to floor, and her white cheeks became pink. "Not that I wouldn't mind finding him, maybe he's looking for someone to be with."

  Julius gave her a kind smile and gently lifted her chin with a finger.

  "He'd be a happy man to have you," said Julius. "And how are Poppy and Holly, are they here with you?"

  The question was not without reason. The three sisters were adopted by Mother Merla, and deemed nearly inseparable. To see even two of them alone was a rare sight.

  "No, they left a while ago," replied Daisy. "This really sweet girl took them to One Blue. Tall, with beautiful red hair," her eyes lowered, dreamlike, as she recalled her new freckled friend. "I told her I would die to have my hair grow that long. Her friend didn't seem as nice though, felt like she was jealous we were even talking to her."

  "I see, and did anyone named Sarah arrive with her?" Asked Julius.

  "Oh yeah!" Her green eyes popped wide open. "She was the one who brought the other two here, a pretty cool person too. She said she's a captain, is that really true?"

  "Not officially," he looked out the nearby window, and could see the town hall in the distance. He remembered Greymore's words and sighed. "There's a lot I have to go over to make a woman captain, but I do hope to make her the first. Can you tell me where I can find her?"

  "Sure! She's with Mother Merla, come on," her head tilted toward a long corridor. The petite blond walked from behind the hostess desk, and escorted the Chancellor down the hall. "Keep your distance though, I think she challenged that girl to a battle."

  Julius felt his chest get tight, the thought of Merla in battle still brought back terrible memories. Her Secreto was nothing to scoff at. The tales of whole ships destroyed against her might were numerous, and frightening. With much anxiety, the Chancellor picked up his pace to a brisk walk, eager to reach Sarah before Merla accidentally reduced her to ash.

  ◆◆◆

  The center of Merla's grand establishment was an oasis, as the locals would often call it. The Oasis was a vast pool, the size of a pond, surrounded by palm trees at every corner. The glass ceiling above was curved, like the inside of a bowl, and allowed blue moonlight to shine through.

  "Get up girl, you're embarrassing me."

  Sarah fell to the ground, and coughed smoke from her lungs as she rose to her knees. She had just narrowly dodged a jet of fire, shot from the palm of Merla's hand. Sarah felt some heat against her fingers and moved her hand, the floor beside had been set ablaze. Merla stood in her grey outfit, fitted around her old, yet impressively fit body.

  Sarah had hoped the potions in her nails would be enough to fight Merla, but the lounge owner was still stronger with her Secreto. The young leader rose her exhausted face, her forest eyes angry, yet focused.

  "You've got a Secreto," said Sarah, rising up to her feet. She could still feel the effects of merwater in her veins. Sarah extended her hand, and a stream of water rose from the pool. With a swipe of her hand, the water jetted toward the floor and extinguished Merla’s flames. "You're the one embarrassing me."

  Merla scoffed and let the power of her Secreto fade away. Her grey eyes lost its glow, and the fire in her hands vanished. The floating embers still danced around her dirty, blonde hair.

  "You want to get the Chancellor's daughter back," Merla reminded, with her usual sass. "Do you really think you'll do it without facing the captain? Blackbeard's Secreto is much stronger than my own. You're not doing yourself a favor with that excuse. Secreto's are strong, but they've been defeated before. If you have no Secreto, you'll have to rely on your own strength to best him."

  "All I know are potions," she replied tiredly. She gazed at her different colored nails, from the potions she injected just an hour prior. "And I know the fighting styles you've taught me, but that's it."

  "Well, that’s not all, my love," said Merla. “There's one thing you missed."

  She reached for her pistol and aimed for Sarah's chest. The gun went off with a monstrous roar. Sarah felt a strong presence inside of her, and dodged the bullet with a speed that wasn't hers. Her body shifted to the left, making a path for the bullet to hit one of the palm trees. A few birds erupted through the leaves of a nearby bush, and soared past her face, their blue feathers gently fell over her black boots.

  Sarah looked down at her own body, her eyes wild and darting about. "What just happened?"

  "Secretos are gifts from the gods," replied Merla, strapping her violet pistol to her hip. "They can transfer in a number of ways, Blackbeard's savagery with eating hearts is one. But some Secretos can pass on through bloodlines, while others claim they've tapped into the power of someone they love. You've just experienced the latter, I've only seen one person in the world dodge a bullet like that."

  Her eyes widened further, as her heart took the weight of a boulder in her chest. "Jayden?"

  Merla smiled and placed a long thin cigarette in her mouth. Her eyes quickly flashed as she lit her cigarette with the tip of her finger. "Looks like that boy isn't over you yet."

  "You can't be serious," said Sarah, her eyes were like angry slits. "He tried to kill me."

  "Think of it like a passionate kiss." said Merla, her voice was calm and light. She blew white smoke into the air, and shrugged her slim shoulders.
"Or perhaps an aggressive display of affection."

  "Affection?" Sarah looked both angered and taken aback. "Right, I forgot the part where they ask the groom to shoot the bride."

  Merla laughed and walked toward the bar behind her. "No one ever said love was a fairy tale."

  Sarah wanted to scream at Merla, but she knew better than to do something so foolish. In truth, she knew exactly why Merla felt the way she did.

  "I'm not surprised, you've always defended him," said Sarah, her eyes followed Merla as she walked behind the bar. "But why do it now? You hate Blackbeard, and Jayden joined him. You should want him dead as much as I do."

  "You got heart, girl," Merla reached for a glass cup, shaped perfectly as a rosebud, and filled it with red wine. "That's why I agreed to train you all those years ago. I was so much like you at your age, and though you've always listened to me, you didn't heed the one warning I gave you...I'm sorry, but you should have never gotten on that boy's ship."

  Sarah's gaze fell to the moist tiled floor, her cheeks nearly as red as the wine Merla had passed her.

  "I've been so confused about that," her eyes scanned around the Oasis, to be certain they were still alone. She turned to speak to Merla again, her voice much lower than before. "Something happened after I escaped his ship. I feel...like there's a space in my head that's missing."

  "Missing in what way?" Asked Merla.

  "Back at Crescent Island, I got attacked by a Grey," replied Sarah. "Well, that Greymore fellow said it was an imposter, but..."

  "I wouldn't trust him either way," Merla interrupted, her face flashed with anger. "That man is like a snake hiding in the ropes." Sarah waited for more, but Merla calmly pulled from her cigarette. "Sorry. I just can’t stand that little weasel, go on."

  "He had some sort of map on him," strangely for Sarah, recounting the tale somehow tightened her chest. "I don't know why, but I just knew he had it somehow, even though I never met him."

  "The same map that Blackbeard is after?" Asked Merla, she watched Sarah nod and sighed. "A hundred scholars couldn't figure you out. Let's see...if I had to guess, the trauma you've gone through probably messed with your head."

  Sarah felt her lids snap open, the tightness in her chest swelled a bit more. "You mean demagia?"

  Demagia was a rare disorder across the Nine Seas, often caused by the Magi, and their reckless forbidden magic.

  "There's been a rise of it in recent years," replied Merla. "The nurse who hid the Lost Prince for instance. It messes with the part of your brain that holds memories. Perhaps your head got scrambled somehow."

  "I don't understand though," Sarah watched the water in the Oasis, it gleamed from the blue moonlight shining down. "Why would I have any clue about the map? I was the one who told Jayden not to mess with the blue moon."

  The rising moon brought its light to expand over the Oasis, and onto the tiled floor. Merla scratched her chin, and her eyes darted about in deep thought. The lounge owner clapped her hands and approached Sarah. She felt a sharp pain in her arm, as Merla grabbed her and pulled her into the moonlight.

  "What are you doing? Cut it out!"

  "Show me your wrist, now!" Merla demanded.

  "What for?"

  The clinks of shattered glass echoed around them. Red wine, from Sarah's broken glass, traveled the floor and moist the edges of her black boots. Her arm trembled at the sight on her wrist, the moonlight against her flesh exposed a symbol of a skull inside of a moon. The mark was the size of a small fist, and glowed faintly with a blue hue.

  "Sorry to say it, love," Merla held Sarah's wrist and pressed a thumb against the symbol, it lit up brightly to her touch. "There's no mistaking it, that's the mark of the blue moon. I don't know how...but you've certainly touched it before."

  Sarah felt her eyes blink, her mind in total disbelief. Touched it before? How could that be? Sarah thought as hard as she could, but couldn’t remember anything of the sort. She escaped Jayden’s ship…she was taken by gunners…she was left stranded on Crescent Island. Two years…she had spent two years to get off that island. There’s no way I could have touched it, she thought.

  “Merla!” Shouted a manly voice.

  Julius stood with Daisy by one of the entrance doors to the Oasis. Sarah in a panic, hastily grabbed her sleeve to cover her cursed mark. The Chancellor didn’t seem to notice. He let the oak door slam behind him, and approached Merla with a bow.

  “It’s good to see you,” said Julius. “Still fighting off the curse of time, beautifully.”

  “Your flattery is glaring, but appreciated,” said Merla, returning his smile. “What could I do you for, Chancellor?”

  “He’s here to see the captain!” Said Daisy, happily.

  “Not captain yet, if you recall,” Julius told Daisy, his face a bit panicked from her enthusiasm. He then gazed toward Sarah. “I wanted to speak with you, before you left to rescue my little rose.”

  “Sure, what did you want to speak about?” Asked Sarah.

  “I shouldn’t be saying any of this,” said Julius. “Giving Imperial information to an unregistered captain is highly illegal. Still, I think it’s best for you to know. The nurse who hid the emperor’s son, she’s fought off her demagia.”

  “What did she say?” Asked Daisy eagerly. “Does she remember who he is? Is he handsome?”

  “Yes, uh…to the first question,” the Chancellor placed a hand on Sarah’s shoulder. His face was serious, an odd thing from the usually jolly Chancellor. “There’s something else I must tell you. One of the Grey’s have managed to blend into Blackbeard’s crew, and he’s sent a report back to us. The emperor’s son…he’s one of the pirates on that ship.”

  Chapter 11 One Blue

  The shops and alleyways of One Blue came alive at night. The shop keepers struggled to clear the large crowds that gathered to purchase their wares, and the canals were full of small boats, some heading to Town Square, and others filled with couples intertwined, both with their fingers and their eager lips. The moon above hid under a great dark cloud, but the street lamps still kissed the cobblestone with yellow light.

  It was amazing for Cookie, the lover from a far off island, to see a place bursting with culture. The countless times she'd stare out at sea from the window of her brothel room, all those nights she'd cry herself to sleep, it was all in hope to one day visit a town like One Blue.

  "I love this place!" Cookie turned to Holly, her blue eyes dazzled as much as her smile. "You're so lucky to live here, Crescent Island is nothing like this."

  "Don't you think you should take it easy there?" Asked Charlotte, smacking mosquitoes from the leopard tattoos on her arm.

  Cookie had been a bit a loose with their remaining diamonds. The freckled red head reasoned to herself, and thought shopping at ten stores was perfectly rational. Her Secreto allowed her to pull a cart the size of a motorcar behind her. The shopping bags were full of clothes, wine, sticky bombs, and a few appliances for the ship. The citizens of One Blue gawked at Cookie as the girls walked back to their dragun, and wondered how such a delicate woman could possess the strength of several men.

  "Ah, what's the big deal?" Poppy playfully retorted.

  "Yeah," said Holly, she turned her head to smirk at Charlotte. "The Chancellor wants you to personally find his daughter. What does it matter if you spend a few diamonds? I'm sure he’s paying you a bunch to get Mia back."

  Poppy and Holly completed the sister trio that lived with Merla. They were both fans of trouble, and a few years older than their naive, eighteen year old sister, Daisy. Poppy's skin was tan from the kiss of the sun, and her brown eyes peered beneath long bangs of black hair. Holly looked almost identical to Poppy, though the two chose different dresses to wear. Holly wearing her favorite blue laced dress, and Poppy wearing a dress made of green spider silk.

  "You talk about it like it's so easy," said Charlotte. "Blackbeard isn't just some drunken pirate, that man's a mons
ter."

  "Yeah, yeah, I've heard stories," said Holly, looking unbothered. Her crimson nails shined brightly, as she waved a hand in front of Charlotte's face. "Who cares if his Secreto can turn him into a beast, every Secreto has a weakness."

  "The scary part is that Jayden joined him." Said Poppy, her fingers brushed the bangs from her eyes.

  "Hold on, do you know him?" Asked Cookie, turning toward Poppy's startled face. "I've been trying to get my captain to talk about him, but she always brushes me off."

  "We both know him," replied Poppy, her head quickly tilted to her sister. "He grew up here with us. Mother Merla was the one who taught him how to fight."

  Cookie couldn't hide her disbelief. Sarah had told them Mother Merla was a close friend, but failed to mention anything about her connection to Jayden. It was amazing to know that Sarah and Jayden shared the same master. It made Cookie wonder…what else Sarah had decided to keep to herself?