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Chapter no 36 – The Explorer

Tress of the Emerald Sea

CROW FOLLOWED TRESS OUT.ย It wasnโ€™t until the ship was safely away from portโ€”on a heading that would take them straight into the

Crimson Seaโ€”that 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. Heโ€™d rot alone in the Sorceressโ€™s prison. And if by some miracle heย didย get free, heโ€™d find that sheโ€™d left the Rockโ€”but 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.

โ€œWhoa,โ€ Huck said. He scampered up onto the footboard of the bed. โ€œHey, Tress. Whatโ€™s wrong? What happened?โ€

โ€œIโ€ฆIโ€ฆโ€ 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 itโ€™s going to come right back up.

โ€œWhat did they do to you, Tress?โ€ Huck asked. โ€œIโ€™ll get them back. I promise you. Iโ€™ll bite โ€™em on the toes.โ€

โ€œOnโ€ฆthe toes?โ€ she asked through the tears, imagining the ridiculous sight.

โ€œYup,โ€ he said. โ€œItโ€™s a very noble thing to attempt, as the toes are the third most stinky part on a humanโ€™s body. Iโ€™d do it anyway, for you.โ€

Tress settled down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling as tears crawled down her cheeks.

โ€œTress?โ€ Huck said. โ€œReally. What happened?โ€

โ€œNothing happened,โ€ she whispered. โ€œAnd nobody did anything to me.ย Iโ€™mย to blame. For all of this. The captain plans to trade me to the dragon of the Crimson Seaโ€”Iโ€™m to be payment for a healing.

โ€œI knew I was in over my head, so why should I be surprised? Why

wouldnโ€™tย I end up trapped on a ship captained by a demon, sailing straight toward my own doom? Itโ€™s 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.

โ€œHey!โ€ she said, sitting up and looking toward the foot of the bed, where Huck sat.

โ€œSorry,โ€ he said. โ€œBut Iย didย promise to bite the person who was responsible for you crying. Alsoโ€ฆum, no offenseโ€ฆbutย yuck.โ€

She flopped back down. โ€œDonโ€™t make me laugh,โ€ she said. โ€œI 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.

โ€œIโ€ฆwent ashore,โ€ Huck said. โ€œI hid in one of the bales of cloth the Dougs hauled out, then made my escape while Fort was selling them. Heโ€™s good, by

the way. Iโ€™ve never seen someone haggle like that man. And beyond that, the town was really interesting. Maybe youโ€™d like to hear about it?โ€

She shrugged.

โ€œWhen Iโ€™m feeling bad, itโ€™s nice to think about something else,โ€ Huck

said, wringing his paws. โ€œSo let me know if Iโ€™m helping, or if you want me to be quiet. Sometimes itโ€™s better if peopleโ€”and ratsโ€”are quiet. I know that. At least, someone told me that once.

โ€œAnyway, 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.

โ€œAnyway, the city didnโ€™t fly the royal flag. Isnโ€™t that interesting? I know weโ€™re at the border of the Emerald Sea, but still. The king has always made it seem like thereย arenโ€™tย any rogue islands. And we just landed on one! I

expected a lot of peg legs and eye patches, but the people seemedโ€ฆnormal.โ€ โ€œWeโ€™re pirates now,โ€ Tress said, โ€œand thereโ€™s not an eye patch among us.

Weโ€™re normal too, I guess.โ€

โ€œKind of funny to think about, isnโ€™t it?โ€ Huck said. โ€œThat 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. Sheโ€™d 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.

โ€œYou said the town was interesting,โ€ she said, turning to look toward Huck. โ€œInteresting how?โ€

โ€œOh!โ€ he said. โ€œThey have aย bell tower, Tress! Iโ€™ve always wanted to see a bell tower. I overheard some people talking, and they said it has fifty-three bells. What an odd number, donโ€™t you think? I always thought a bell tower

would have one bell. Itโ€™s not aย bellsย tower.

โ€œWell, 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 theyโ€™d 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 โ€œbulb.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 didnโ€™t banish her worries or her sorrow, but it did nudge those dour thoughts toward transforming into other less oppressive ones.

โ€œโ€ฆAnd then the girl got her brother wet,โ€ Huck said, โ€œby stomping on the pedal when he bent down to drink. Isnโ€™t that delightful? Reminds me of being young. When I wasnโ€™t on a pirate ship far from home.โ€

โ€œYou could go back,โ€ Tress said. โ€œIf you want, Huck. You could leave.

You should.โ€

โ€œI canโ€™t,โ€ he said softly. โ€œI canโ€™t ever go back to my island, Tress. Because my home isnโ€™t there anymore.โ€

That had the markings of tragedy, so Tress didnโ€™t press him for details. Plus, she didnโ€™t want to think about the fact thatโ€”in all likelihoodโ€”she wouldnโ€™t ever be going home either.

โ€œDoes it seem like things were better when you were younger?โ€ Huck asked. โ€œDid life really make more sense then?โ€

โ€œYeah,โ€ Tress whispered. โ€œI rememberโ€ฆcalm nights, watching the spores fall from the moon. Lukewarm cups of honey tea. The thrill of baking

something new.โ€

โ€œI remember not being afraid,โ€ Huck said. โ€œI 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€

โ€œI donโ€™t think things were really better though,โ€ Tress said softly, still staring at the ceiling. โ€œWe just remember it that way because itโ€™s

comforting.โ€

โ€œAnd because we couldnโ€™t see the troubles,โ€ Huck agreed. โ€œMaybe we didnโ€™t want to see them. When youโ€™re young, thereโ€™s 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 timeโ€”like a brew we drink, then recreate later by taste, only getting the ingredientsย mostlyย right. You canโ€™t 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 performanceโ€ฆwell, thatโ€™s 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.

โ€œI need a way to defend myself,โ€ she whispered. โ€œA way to defeat Crow before she sells me to the dragon.โ€

It was fortunate, then, that Tressโ€™s room contained five different varieties of the most dangerous substance on the planet.

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