Chapter 12

The morning light broke over a string of several small islands. Riley drifted through them with ease, the deep blues of the open ocean giving way to a green hue of shallow waters. Nestled in the interior was the target. A small island, protected on all sides with islands that broke large swells, making the whole string a thick sandbar that would repel everything but small boats from making it inward. 

Once at this centermost island, all one would have to worry about is scouting parties, but venturing here offered very little strategic value so no one ever did. Furthermore, there was a cave hidden amongst the vegetation. Watercarved and deep, the cave provided even more cover to keep low in. The biggest downside was that with all this obscurity and the denser than average vegetation visibility outward was nearly impossible. One would struggle to see any oncoming ships to the island chain, friendly or otherwise.

The front of their dinghy hit the sand, a welcomed reprieve to Thomas’ sore shoulders. “Home sweet home” Riley proclaimed with her warm smile. Getting out of the boat the two readied themselves to pull the Dinghy inward. Aaliyah remained in the center of the boat, arms crossed. 

“Aaliyah?” Riley addressed her coldly. 

Aaliyah peered over the boat’s edge at the ankle deep water, then returned to Riley, eyebrow raised.

Aaliyah wouldn’t move and Riley grew impatient. “Fine! Thomas, ready?”

She grabbed the front of the boat, both of them pulling it through the wet sand. The feat wasn’t impossible but Aaliyah's dead weight didn’t help matters. With the boat fully out of the water, Riley returned to Aaliyah’s side. She glared down with all her might and gestured to the dry sand beneath her boots. Aaliyah stared back, she would not move a muscle.

“The princess cannot walk on sand?” Riley gritted. She paused for Aaliyah to give into a quiet that most men could not bear. But Aaliyah was the queen of silence and Riley did little to sway her. “Okay then, the princess will be carried.” 

Riley stepped into the boat, squatted down, and scooped Aaliyah up and over her shoulder. Riley stomped her feet vigorously with every step, making the ride as unpleasant as possible for her pampered princess as they quickly cleared several meters of sand.

“PUT ME DOWN!” Aaliyah shouted, smacking Riley’s back with all her might, not that it mattered much. Thomas followed in close pursuit as Riley squeezed tighter. 

“NO! PUT ME DOWN NOWWWW” the princess screamed. 

This was the first time Thomas had heard her speak, let alone scream. Aaliyah fought with meaningless passion. “You didn’t want to walk; now you get carried” Riley huffed out as she put an extra bounce in her step. 

Thomas slipped in the sand trying to keep up. Several times he attempted to utter but no words would come out. Riley marched out, Aaliyah twisting and screaming as sand turned to dirt, and dirt to trees. Thomas was unsure of how to proceed so all he could do was follow. There would be no saving either woman from this situation.

Stepping into the cave Riley plopped down the distressed princess. It wasn’t pleasant but she took care not to injure Aaliyah.  Riley squatted down in front of her face. “Please, for the love of God, sit down and be quiet.”

Aaliyah scoffed with superiority “As if someone like you believes in God.”

Riley squinted her eyes towards the princess but was not exactly hurt by the attempted insult. Thomas stumbled into the cave entrance.

The main room was quite open, with a spot for a fire, sleeping pads, and even crates of goods from past smuggler runs. Further in, there was a chamber that seemed wide enough, but narrowed quickly. Thomas reckoned it better not to go wandering past this main room however. 

“Thomas, I hate to ask you, but we need to get the boat unloaded and hidden.” She looked back to Aaliyah, her tone changing curtly. “Normally we could do it together, but we have this one.” Aaliyah gave her best glare.

“Of course, I’ll grab our stuff.”

“Once you have all the supplies, drag the boat further inland and cover it in some limbs. I’m going to get set up here.” Riley wished him well.

Thomas set out; cave, trees, dirt, sand, boat. It was a longer journey than he remembered and the thought of doing this multiple times pained him. 

Back at the dinghy he pulled a few sacks from the front. Fresh rations and water for a couple days, some firestarter tools with a hatchet, and general supplies. Even this small amount would take him three trips. He was regretting not grabbing anything the first time. 

He considered pulling the whole boat, it was on sand anyways. Going to the front he lowered himself parallel with the dinghy and tugged with all his might. The boat inched forward ever so slightly. Thomas doubled down, hoping to gain some momentum. No luck! Thomas fell into the sand exhausted. He had fully underestimated how much of the hauling Riley had done.

He returned to the food sack, throwing it over his shoulder before setting out. His legs ached and labored with every step, and once again he marveled at Riley’s ability to carry a squirming human with relative ease. Thomas would need to be stronger if he were to make it as a pirate.

Returning to the cave mouth, Riley had a small fire burning in the interior. “Ahh, yes, some food!” she reveled at Thomas’ sight. He smiled, taking the sack over to her.

“It’s going to take me a couple trips,” he admitted. Riley smiled pleasantly at him, “That’s okay, you have a few hours before patrols would come through”. The two looked longing at each other, Aaliyah watching nearby. As the two puppy-eyed each other Aaliyah groaned, breaking up the moment.

“Erm, yep. I better get going,” Thomas scratched the back of his head. He walked towards the entrance.

“Oh hey Thomas. Grab the hatchet and fire starter next. This wood isn’t going to last long.” “Sure thing!”

Thomas headed out again. Cave, trees, dirt, sand, boat, hatchet. Grabbing the hatchet he noticed its handle had been carved for perfect grip. Holding it in his hand, he imagined the violence it must have seen. The violence it must have delivered. It bounced the sun cleanly, shining it into his eyes. He latched it onto his belt and returned to the firestarter kit. Then it happened again, a flash of sunlight irritating his eyes momentarily. Except this time was relentingly ever present. Covering the hatchet with his hand he realized the light wasn't from the hatchet at all. 

Silver shined from the distant waters towards the exterior of the sand bar. Thomas squinted towards the silver but it dissipated, bouncing in and out of existence. Could it be hunters? A shine from distant waves? Thomas didn’t bother to find out. He grabbed the front of the boat, his heart thumping louder. 

Even with an ambiguous threat on the water he managed to pull it a few yards further before his strength gave way. He couldn’t do this by himself. He would need Riley. Thomas dropped the boat and decided to sprint to the cave entrance. 

Sand, Sand, Sand. In his panic the distance tripled. Dirt, Dirt, Dirt. 

Hitting the treeline, he struggled to catch his breath. He had always hated running, something that was not expected of him as a pirate on a ship. Now after hours of rowing and an hour of hauling, he found himself pained with running again. 

By the time Thomas reached the cave mouth again, he could hardly breathe. Riley rushed to him with concern. “What happened?” she asked him. “Silver shined from the ocean. I think, I think they were pointing at me.” 

Her face turned into a puzzle, no regular scout would be out this early. Perhaps it was another smuggler, more likely it was hunters, but regardless, their remaining hidden was of utmost importance. “Did you get the boat covered?”

Thomas looked down embarrassed, “There wasn’t time and I couldn’t pull it further.” “Thomas! If they find that boat… We have to go back.”

Thomas sighed with disappointment in himself.

Riley approached Aaliyah. “Listen to me, woman to woman. Those men will not be your rescue. Best case scenario, they were sent to capture you for their own purposes.”

“And those purposes are worse than yours?” Aaliyah shot back.

“OR they were sent to kill you.” Riley threatened. “Worst case scenario, they are just a lonely crew of hunters who will use you for more than your name. They will beat you, r**e you, and when that’s over, sell you into a market for a lifetime of servitude.”

Riley softened her tone, “I don’t intend for that to happen. But you can’t call out. These men are not your rescue.” 

Aaliyah scoffed, “Yeah, we will see. Perhaps my parents sent them.”

“Please don’t be stupid. Stay here, stay hidden, and we will be back. Please, just trust me.” Riley pleaded softly. “Thomas, let’s go!”