Chapter 1: Adapting to the new environment

Antonio and Rosella were on their ship waving goodbye to their wedding guests as the ship began to sail away, heading to the island in the South Seas.

But first, let's get to know why they were heading there in the first place.

It turned out that after spending several weeks in Apollonia, Rosella was starting to miss her old home on the island. So she suggested they spent their honeymoon there.

Being an adventurous traveler, Antonio immediately agreed, thinking this would be a great opportunity for him to get to know his wife's former living environment and at the same time further explore the island, as he didn't get to do it the last time. And there they were, on a ship going back to the tropical island.

"I'm so glad you agreed for us to spend our honeymoon there" Rosella said. "The animals really need to spend some time in the wild."

Oh, yes, there was one thing he didn't expect in this "honeymoon". Animals. Right, animals. Something told him this would be an unusual honeymoon.

And so they spent another several hours on the ship, with Antonio alienated from Rosella and the animals, as he was the only person on the ship beside the captain who couldn't talk to animals.

He certainly felt left out, but he was happy enough to see her happy. It was like all the pain she had to suffer while she was in Apollonia had disappeared. Once again, he saw the old Rosella. Happy and carefree. Exactly how she was when he first met her. It was like that was where she truly belonged, in the wild.

He ceased his thought as soon as he realized he was thinking about it. He knew he'd been avoiding this matter for a while. Antonio knew better than anyone else that Rosella had a hard time fitting in. When he first took her to the civilization, she even had thoughts of going back to the island just a few hours after stepping on the land of Apollonia. Now that she was back in the wild again, what if she wouldn't want to come back anymore? Antonio loved traveling, but the idea of spending the rest of his life on an isolated island didn't sound fascinating.

To keep his head busy and his thoughts away from the problem, Antonio checked his list of supplies one last time. Right, to make their stay more convenient, he took some time to prepare himself. A tent to sleep in, some extra clothes, a knife just in case. Those were the stuff he always prepared for his voyages.

And while he was still keeping himself occupied with the list of necessities, Rosella had already seen the island from the deck. The view wasn't clear, it was obscured with clouds, but that was enough for her to recognize the place she called home for 10 years.

"Finally… I'm back." She could feel the cool breeze blowing her hair. She believed it was the island that sent the wind there to welcome her back. "I miss this place so much. It felt like I've been away forever. Isn't it wonderful, Antonio?"

Silence. She turned around. "Antonio?"

Shaken from his thoughts, the young prince finally realized his wife was calling him. "Yes?"

"We're here." She said with delight. Antonio came closer to her to get a better look.

"That's right. Are you happy?" He put a hand on her waist and enjoyed the cool breeze coming from the island with her.

"Of course I am! And I'm sure we're going to have a great time there!" She giggled as he kissed her forehead.

"Sure. I can hardly wait for this adventure to begin."

When they arrived, Rosella was the first to step on the beach, followed by the trio of her animal friends.

Antonio soon followed them. The fresh air of the island seemed to wash his anxiety away. He felt so refreshed he almost forgot about his 'necessities', until the captain called him.

"Your highnesss… I believe this is yours" He handed Antonio his big leather bag containing everything he planned for the trip.

"Oh, yes… Thank you." He threw the bag over his shoulder and got ready to go. Until he felt his bag got unusually heavy. He turned to see Rosella holding his bag back with a disapproving look on her face.

"What's wrong, Ro?" He asked, a bit surprised at her expression.

She didn't answer. Instead, she gently took the bag from his shoulder and handed it back to the captain, who also seemed surprised.

"Take it back with you, captain" She said, to Antonio's further surprise.

"But Rosella… These are our supplies! I got a tent, a knife and a…" Antonio protested.

"But we won't need them here!" Rosella smiled. "Please captain, just take these back to Apollonia with you. We'll be fine on our own. And remember to come back for us in 7 days."

After moments of debate, the two men finally gave in to Rosella's decision. The ship then sailed away, and the couple with their animals began their journey, happy and excited to be away from the usual noise in the kingdom.

Well, maybe not everyone is happy. Antonio felt a bit worried. He had never traveled without his leather bag before. Somehow he knew this was going to be harder than he expected.

"Oh come on Antonio, you can't call yourself a traveler if you depend on these things. Besides, this is a good challenge for you, right?" In the midst of the panicking, a faint voice inside his head told him. Temporarily regaining his confidence, he was ready to face whatever this trip had to offer.

But after a while, the sky got darker and darker it was almost impossible to see where they were going. The group decided to call it a day.

"It's getting late" Rosella noted. "Looks like we'll have to postpone our plans to tomorrow morning. For now, let's just find somewhere to rest. And I know just the place."

She led them to a rocky place outside of the jungle, near the cliff and overlooking the ocean. The view was generally nice. Antonio was glad they got a decent sleeping place. Maybe this honeymoon won't be so bad after all.

But he was wrong. The sleeping thing actually turned out to be more frustrating than he thought. He tried to sleep on the ground, but something just felt wrong. He was afraid of sleeping alone on the ground. Maybe sleeping on the tree with the rest would be better.

He took 10 minutes to climb on the tree, waking everyone up in the process. And finally, he found a good branch to sleep on. Wait. His problems weren't over. In his previous voyages, he always slept in a tent. Always. Never on a tree. That was why he was struggling so hard to keep balance.

"Almost there… Just put my feet here, yes, there… Okay! I think I'm good now." After spending another half an hour trying to find the best position, he learned to sleep on a tree without worrying he might fall off. This was when he encountered another challenge: The terrible snoring of the animals. Unbelievable.

Antonio resigned to the fact that he might have to stay up all night. He sat on the edge of the cliff and decided to enjoy the sound of the waves washing into the shore. It was a beautiful scenery. He just wished he had someone to share it with.

"What's wrong, Antonio? Can't you sleep?" Rosella came sitting next to him, as if she could read the thoughts locked deep in his mind.

"Rosella" He acknowledged her presence. "Why aren't you sleeping? It's late already."

"Well, I couldn't sleep with you struggling on the tree like that" She laughed.

"I'm sorry." He felt guilty for disturbing her sleep. It was one of the things he was strictly against; disturbing someone while they're asleep. "I guess I still have a lot to learn about living in the wild. I have so much to learn from you before I can call myself a true explorer."

"You'll get used to this very soon. Trust me. I know." Rosella put her hand on his. "You'll see. This won't be as bad as it looks. Things will get better, and I'm sure that in the end, you won't regret going on this trip."

"Yes, I hope so. Just remember this isn't just 'a trip'. This is our honeymoon. And by 'honeymoon', I mean we'll have a lot to do together. In privacy." He glanced at the sleeping animals on the tree.

"I know, I know." Rosella laughed. "So, mind if I stay up with you?"

Antonio gazed at his wife with adoration. Marrying her was truly the best thing that ever happened to him.

"Sure." He nodded.

And they sat quietly like that, until the sunrise.