CROW FOLLOWED TRESS OUT.ย It wasnโt until the ship was safely away from portโon a heading that would take them straight into the
Crimson Seaโthat Tress was allowed to go belowdecks.
Trapped. She was trapped on this ship.
They were sailing toward an insane sea where rain fell unpredictably. And if they survived, she would be sold into slavery to a dragon.
Had she really thought she had the upper hand? Had sheย reallyย thought she could rescue Charlie?
Her? Of all people?
The worst part was, he would probably never know what had happened to her. Heโd rot alone in the Sorceressโs prison. And if by some miracle heย didย get free, heโd find that sheโd left the Rockโbut her ship had been destroyed by deadrunners.
She drifted down the steps, then down the hallway. Dougs laughed and worked behind her, thumping on the steps to the hold. But she felt alone. Like she was choking at dinner, and nobody could see. Or maybe nobody cared.
She fled to her room as tears threatened to boil free. She doubted that bawling your eyes out was an appropriate pirate activity, so she was glad she was able to get the door shut before she fully lost control.
โWhoa,โ Huck said. He scampered up onto the footboard of the bed. โHey, Tress. Whatโs wrong? What happened?โ
โIโฆIโฆโ She shook her head and gasped for breath, unable to speak. It was all suddenly too much. People are like stomachs, you know. They can process some of what you feed them, but stuff in too much too fast, and
eventually itโs going to come right back up.
โWhat did they do to you, Tress?โ Huck asked. โIโll get them back. I promise you. Iโll bite โem on the toes.โ
โOnโฆthe toes?โ she asked through the tears, imagining the ridiculous sight.
โYup,โ he said. โItโs a very noble thing to attempt, as the toes are the third most stinky part on a humanโs body. Iโd do it anyway, for you.โ
Tress settled down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling as tears crawled down her cheeks.
โTress?โ Huck said. โReally. What happened?โ
โNothing happened,โ she whispered. โAnd nobody did anything to me.ย Iโmย to blame. For all of this. The captain plans to trade me to the dragon of the Crimson SeaโIโm to be payment for a healing.
โI knew I was in over my head, so why should I be surprised? Why
wouldnโtย I end up trapped on a ship captained by a demon, sailing straight toward my own doom? Itโs what I deserve.โ
She put the heels of her palms to her eyes, rubbing them. Then she felt a distinctย biteย on her left big toe.
โHey!โ she said, sitting up and looking toward the foot of the bed, where Huck sat.
โSorry,โ he said. โBut Iย didย promise to bite the person who was responsible for you crying. Alsoโฆum, no offenseโฆbutย yuck.โ
She flopped back down. โDonโt make me laugh,โ she said. โI might shatter like a cold glass dropped in hot water.โ
He scrambled along the bed, up next to the pillow, watching her tears.
Those were quieter now, but still persistent, like the pain itself.
โIโฆwent ashore,โ Huck said. โI hid in one of the bales of cloth the Dougs hauled out, then made my escape while Fort was selling them. Heโs good, by
the way. Iโve never seen someone haggle like that man. And beyond that, the town was really interesting. Maybe youโd like to hear about it?โ
She shrugged.
โWhen Iโm feeling bad, itโs nice to think about something else,โ Huck
said, wringing his paws. โSo let me know if Iโm helping, or if you want me to be quiet. Sometimes itโs better if peopleโand ratsโare quiet. I know that. At least, someone told me that once.
โAnyway, I watched Fort haggle, but I was too far away to read his words.
I just know he got way more for those bales of cloth than he should have, considering the buyer must have known they were hot. Oh! And afterward
he went to meet with a group of Deaf people living on the island. There were a bunch of them, and Fort smiled a lot and used his hands to talk, instead of the board. I wonder if the other islands have groups like that and I never noticed.
โAnyway, the city didnโt fly the royal flag. Isnโt that interesting? I know weโre at the border of the Emerald Sea, but still. The king has always made it seem like thereย arenโtย any rogue islands. And we just landed on one! I
expected a lot of peg legs and eye patches, but the people seemedโฆnormal.โ โWeโre pirates now,โ Tress said, โand thereโs not an eye patch among us.
Weโre normal too, I guess.โ
โKind of funny to think about, isnโt it?โ Huck said. โThat all the pirates in the world were once someone normal.โ He fell silent, as if uncertain whether he should continue.
Tress, oddly, found that his talkingย wasย helping. Sheโd never been one for wanderlust, but she had dreamed of far-off places and their cups. That part of her genuinely wanted to hear about the island.
โYou said the town was interesting,โ she said, turning to look toward Huck. โInteresting how?โ
โOh!โ he said. โThey have aย bell tower, Tress! Iโve always wanted to see a bell tower. I overheard some people talking, and they said it has fifty-three bells. What an odd number, donโt you think? I always thought a bell tower
would have one bell. Itโs not aย bellsย tower.
โWell, I walked all the way around it and snuck a peek through the
window, and they haveย ropesย for ringing the bells! You pull on them and make sounds all through town. I doubt theyโd let rats pull the ropes though. Even if we could.โ
Tress smiled. A simple act, but only moments ago it had seemed as impossible as flying. Or as coming up with a rhyme for โbulb.โ (No really. Try it.)
There was something endearing about the way Huck continued explaining his experiences on the island. He spoke of the most common things. A garden with flowers that smelled good. A pathway where all the cobbles fit together to make a spiral. A drinking fountain that you worked with a foot pedal.
The fact that he found these things interesting enough to talk about was in itself engaging. The topic mattered less than his enthusiasm. And so, Tress
smiled. That didnโt banish her worries or her sorrow, but it did nudge those dour thoughts toward transforming into other less oppressive ones.
โโฆAnd then the girl got her brother wet,โ Huck said, โby stomping on the pedal when he bent down to drink. Isnโt that delightful? Reminds me of being young. When I wasnโt on a pirate ship far from home.โ
โYou could go back,โ Tress said. โIf you want, Huck. You could leave.
You should.โ
โI canโt,โ he said softly. โI canโt ever go back to my island, Tress. Because my home isnโt there anymore.โ
That had the markings of tragedy, so Tress didnโt press him for details. Plus, she didnโt want to think about the fact thatโin all likelihoodโshe wouldnโt ever be going home either.
โDoes it seem like things were better when you were younger?โ Huck asked. โDid life really make more sense then?โ
โYeah,โ Tress whispered. โI rememberโฆcalm nights, watching the spores fall from the moon. Lukewarm cups of honey tea. The thrill of baking
something new.โ
โI remember not being afraid,โ Huck said. โI remember waking each day to familiar scents. I remember thinking I understood how my life would go. Same as my parentsโ. Simple. Maybe not wonderful, but also not terrifying.โ
โI donโt think things were really better though,โ Tress said softly, still staring at the ceiling. โWe just remember it that way because itโs
comforting.โ
โAnd because we couldnโt see the troubles,โ Huck agreed. โMaybe we didnโt want to see them. When youโre young, thereโs always someone else to deal with the problems.โ
Tress nodded. Beyond that, memories have a way of changing on us.
Souring or sweetening over timeโlike a brew we drink, then recreate later by taste, only getting the ingredientsย mostlyย right. You canโt taste a memory without tainting it with who you have become.
That inspires me. We each make our own lore, our own legends, every day. Our memories are our ballads, and if we tweak them a little with every performanceโฆwell, thatโs all in the name of good drama. The past is boring anyway. We always pretend the ideals and culture of the past have aged like wine, but in truth, the ideas of the past tend to age more like biscuits. They simply get stale.
Tress thought through a few of her personal favorite ballads, which thrummed with honey, and love, and other sweet things.
She genuinely felt better. Moons, hearing about bell towers and water fountains had made her feelย better. For some people, feeling better would have been an excuse to ignore the situation, but Tress preferred to weaponize her mood swings. So, ever pragmatic, she sat up on the bed and confronted her problems.
โI need a way to defend myself,โ she whispered. โA way to defeat Crow before she sells me to the dragon.โ
It was fortunate, then, that Tressโs room contained five different varieties of the most dangerous substance on the planet.