The Island Princess

Chapter 4: The Ship

When I got on the ship, my first thought was; this thing is huge. My next thought was; the island's way better. I looked around me, the ship was a golden-brown color. The white sails were just getting lifted. Lanterns were hung here and there.

"Well, what do you think?" Antonio asked.

"It's a huge floating piece of wood. What am I supposed to think." I said. Wow, I sound like a brat.

"That you'll have to get used to it, because you're staying here for the next couple of months." Antonio said. He sounds like a brat too.

"You do enjoy tormenting me, don't you." I said. No, it wasn't a question, I would've put a question mark if it was.

Antonio replied with the most bland answer in history, "Yes." Something tells me that he will be tormenting me for the rest of the journey. He's evil I tell you, evil. [What do you mean it's all in my head. I'm not paranoid!]

Oh sorry, a friend just walked in while I was recording, you'll meet him later. He's evil too by the way. [I don't think everyone's evil!]. Sorry, he just doesn't know when to shut up. Kind of like Antonio. Oh come on, he just walked in too. Wait, what were we talking about. Oh right, Antonio's evil, but you already knew that. You did, right? Right?!

"It's your own fault for agreeing to come." Meri's voice broke my train of thoughts. What? Is she psychic?

"I know." I said, sighing in defeat, "Why does he have to torture me?"

"Because you're so easy to torture." Meri said, and then she just walked away.

"I am not." I shouted my whiny response.

"Are too." Antonio said as he passed by. I glared at him.

"Evil." I hissed.

"He's not that bad once you get to know him." A smooth voice replied. I turned around to see a raven-haired man with chocolate brown eyes. He looked as good as Antonio if not better [Ow!].

"How long do you have to know him?" I asked.

"No wonder he likes torturing you." He muttered. I nearly didn't hear him.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing. By the way, you might have to try being less . . . easy to annoy." He said.

"I'm not easy to annoy." I said, a bit indignantly.

"He wouldn't annoy you, if you weren't." He pointed. Stupid Appolonians, and their back talk. Who is this guy anyway.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"My name is Dimitri." He said, "I'm a friend of Antonio's."

"So you're evil too?" I asked, "Or is it just the Royal family?"

"I like to think that I'm not evil, but I'll leave it up to you to decide, and you shouldn't say such things about the royal family, some people will think that you're going to start a conspiracy." He said. How thoughtful to leave it up to me to decide. He's evil.

"And he thinks I'm paranoid." I said, crossing my arms.

"Why?" He asked. His tone held humor.

"I don't know!" I yelled.

"They're staring." He said, pointing to the crew.

"What?!" I asked, yelling at the crew this time. I hated when people/animals stared at me. Mind your own problems before you cut into mine.

"Ro, you're disturbing the crew members." Antonio's voice came from behind me.

"Antonio can you give me a favor and, remind me never to step foot in the same vicinity as you again." I replied.

"I'd be happy too." He said.

"Well, this might be interesting." What is that supposed to mean?

"Oh sure, pick on the one who grew up on an island." I said. Antonio seemed shocked at that. He quickly masked it though. He really wasn't expecting that. I smirked slightly, and walked away. the next few months are going to be . . . I know I've said it a lot but . . . torture.

I went down into the ship. Where was I supposed to stay exactly. Back up we go. I looked at the rope ladder things, I wonder what I'd see from up there. Miles and miles of ocean probably. Eh, it's worth a shot.

I climbed until I was at the top of the rope ladder. I was right, miles and miles of ocean. Dolphins jumped, and I greeted them in their language. It was the only one I could pronounce well. Meri specialized in the wolves' language though, which was pretty cool.

"Ro!" I heard Meri's voice come from below me, "Get down from there, you could fall."

I looked down and yelled back, "Fine." There is one thing you should know about me, I have a tough time following directions, people say it's because of my short attention span. I don't know what they're talking about, ooh shiny! Wait, what? Oh yes, so obviously I jumped down.

"Ro! Not that way!" Meri said. I landed on my feet. Ha, and they said three years of practicing jumping and climbing with the jaguars was a waste of time. I looked up, Meri had a disapproving look on her face.

"It's a disorder!" I protested, "I was born with it!"

"No you weren't, you were fine ten years ago." Meri said.

"It was very subtle." I replied. Meri sighed and shook her head. I'm impossible. Even I know that.

"Try not to jump of the ship." Meri said.

"'Kay." I muttered.

"You and your crazy antics." Meri whispered.

"They're not crazy." I muttered, a bit hurt. I still had feelings, just very little of them, and some overpowered others.

"Ro, Meri." A voice came up behind us. We turned to see Dimitri.

"What is it?" I asked. I didn't say it rudely or anything, 'what is it' is just so straight-forward, he'd have to be the king-of-idiots not to know what I'm asking.

"Do you know where your rooms are?" He asked.

"No?" I said, uncertainly, "Why?"

"Well, it's getting dark, and you must be at least a little tired." Dimitri said.

"A little." I said stiffly. He's Antonio's friend, he can't be a good guy.

"I'll give you your room numbers." Dimitri said. Meri and I exchanged curious glances, then looked back at Dimitri.

"Numbers?" Meri asked.

Dimitri looked confused for a moment, and then a flash of realization lit up his eyes, "You don't know what numbers are do you?" We shook our heads, "Come on, I'll lead you there." Meri followed him. Naive little girl.

Dimitri turned back, "Are you coming?" He asked. If I wasn't as tired as I was, I would've stayed there, but I was tired. Really tired. So I followed the Prince's Accomplice in Evil. [I'm not Paranoid].

...

We walked down below deck to two cabins that looked like every other cabin. They had strange symbols on them, 70 and 71, wonder what they meant, perhaps they were the numbers the Prince's Accomplice in Evil talked about.

"Well there you go, your rooms." Dimitri said, smiling at us. No, no it was a smirk, it was a smirk. His eyes landed on Meri.

"Thank-you." Meri said. Was she blushing. She's blushing. Aw, is someone developing a crush on the prince's best-friend. Wait, my sister and the prince's best friend? My worst enemy's best friend? Oh, fine, I guess it's her choice.

"No problem . . . Meri." Dimitri said, this time actually giving a genuine smile. Suck up. I opened the door to the cabin. It was a simple set-up. A bed, a small dresser, and a chair. I plopped down on my bed, and curled up into a ball. I fell asleep instantly.

...

I would like to say that I had some cool dream or woke up in the middle of the night and saw a golden light leading me somewhere. Yeah, I'd like to say that, but that would be lying. Nothing happened, my night was uneventful. That cliché is not going to happen often.

...

I woke up the next day when the sun was just rising above the horizon. Sunlight was peeking through the windows. I heard dolphins calling me. How did they know I was here exactly. I asked them what they wanted. They said that Akane had sent some birds to find us which were following the ship.

My eyes widened, "Let's hope it's not the hawks." I ran out the door, and ran up to the deck.

"You're early." I heard a voice behind me. Oh come on!

"'Morning your highness." I said politely. Yes, I can be polite. I turned around to see Antonio . . . steering the ship. Whoa, whoa, whoa what idiot let Antonio takeover. He's not even King yet.

I heard the dolphins splashing to get my attention. I looked at them, they were pointing up. I looked to the sky, where my worst nightmare was flying above. Hawks. The dolphins were right. I ran back down below deck, hoping the hawks didn't see me. Those things did haunt my dreams sometimes.

"Are you alright?" Meri.

"I'm fine. Just a bit freaked out that Akane sent hawks after us, but other than that, I'm just great." I said rather quickly. Meri's eyes widened. I laughed nervously.

"What's wrong?" A voice asked. If you thought it was Antonio well then, shame on you! You should no better. Antonio's evil. Dimitri is probably also evil, but not nearly as much.

"Evil birds, evil birds." I said, waving frantically out the small door. Dimitri looked at Meri as if waiting for a translation. She sighed.

"She means that Akane, our animal leader, sent hawks to check . . . " Meri said. Do I ever let anyone finish without commenting? No.

"Or spy." I said.

"On us," She's ignoring me, "because we weren't supposed to even be within a two mile radius of humans, but as you might've noticed Ro has a knack for not following rules." Why is she glaring at me. It's scary.

"So?" He asked. Dimwit! Okay, maybe that's a bit harsh, not-very-bright person.

"They're going to kill us." I said.

"No!" Meri said, noticing Dimitri's shocked expression, "that's just Ro's Hawk phobia talking. They're just probably worried about us, and came to check up on us." No they're not, "We better go tell them we're fine." Wait . . . we. I probably heard wrong. Meri started up the stairs. Yeah, I probably heard wrong. Yeah, that hope was deflated when Meri looked back at me expectantly.

"No, no, no, no." I said, "there is no way I am going to go talk to those . . ."

"Fine, I'll go talk to them." She said. She went up to the deck, and closed the door behind her, leaving me with Dimitri.

"You're scared of hawks?" Dimitri asked, he was obviously trying not to laugh.

"Yes, yes I am." I said, turning to him and crossing my arms, "but it's only because they are forming a conspiracy with the rabbits."

Dimitri choked down a laugh, "you're scared of rabbits. Antonio's going to love that."

I put down my arms in shock, "You wouldn't."

"I would." He laughed.

"Would what?" Meri has come back.

"Reveal my fears to my second worst nightmare." I said. Wow, I really hated Antonio back then.

"That you're scared of rabbits and hawks?" Meri asked. I nodded. And do you know what she did next?

She laughed. Traitor. I glared at her, and said, "anyway, what did the eagles say?"

"Nothing." Meri said, "they were not there."

"Wow, they have invisibility now to?" I asked, fear started building up inside me, "Do you know what this means?"

"That you have been out in the sun way too long?" Dimitri teased. That is it, you've got the name Prince's Accomplice in Evil back.

"That they're one step closer to ruling the world." I said. [No, I did not scream, I do not scream].

"Okay, you really need to check if you're at the right level of mentality." The prince's accomplice in evil said.

"You'll get used to it." Meri said.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" The P.A.I.E said . . . or would that just be P.A.E [I'm focusing, I'm focusing]. P.A.E looked at us.

"What are those." He asked, pointing to the necklaces. He's a treasure hunter! He's a treasure hunter, "No I'm not." He's psychic too. I want to be psychic, "No, I'm not psychic, you're just talking to yourself." Ah! Now he's playing with my brai . . . that could be possible, though. Maybe I am a bit mental. Oh well, mental people are fun, and I'm the funnest person you may ever meet. That makes me sound so stuck-up, but I don't care.

"None of your . . . ." Can I ever say anything without getting cut off.

"We found them at the bottom of the box that washed up with us on the beach." Meri said. Oh sure, why don't we tell everyone that we have necklaces made out of pure silver, that'd keep the thieves away. [I still don't know what you mean by paranoid. I'm completely normal].

"It looks like the work of Paladians." He said.

"Paladia?" I asked. The name sounded familiar.

"Yeah, beautiful place, mountains on the East, beaches in the west. They had the best views. Until the royal family was accused of witchcraft or something." He said, "Sad, really, I knew them, they were nice folks. Their youngest daughter was really . . . mischievous though." I like her.

"That's too bad." Meri said. Then something in my brain flickered.

"When did they get accused?" I asked.

"It was September, 1791, I think." He said, "They were attacked on October 2nd, though."

"How do you know all this? Do they teach it to you in school or something?" I asked.

"No, it's just Antonio's parents were friends with the King and Queen, and Antonio and I were . . . not quite friends, but still cared for the princesses. So naturally we were the first to know." He said.

"What happened to the royal family?" I asked.

"Most think they died or are being held captive somewhere." That reminded me of something, but what. Ah! Bad blurry memories. I'm talking to myself. Does that scare anyone else?

"Wow, that's . . . ." Meri said, but couldn't quite find the word . . . but I could.

"Sad . . . very depressing." I sighed, "Just when I thought I couldn't become anymore depressed."

I was sure P.A.E had some smart comeback, but instead he just looked at something behind me. I turned to see a window, nothing was wrong with the window though, it was what I saw through the window that worried me. Rain clouds. Thunder. We're all going to die!

"That looks bad." P.A.E. said.

"How bad, like 'we're going to get a little wet' bad or 'the ship's going to sink' bad?" I asked.

"I don't know, but I know who will." And you know what he did next. He walked away. Just walked away. He didn't tell us who this person was or where he was. He just walked away, all mysterious and secretive. And you know what? I was fine with that. I wasn't annoyed. Not in the slightest.

"Oh fine be all mysterious!" I screamed, uh, said loudly after him. Okay, maybe it did bother me, but wanting to know things is one of my major flaws.

"Keep it quiet. Some people are still sleeping." P.A.E whispered, but didn't even turn around. Just kept on walking, but I will spare you from another tangent.

"Come on." Meri said, pulling me along with her.

"What? Why do I have to follow him?" I asked.

"Do you want to know how bad the storm is or not?" That's just wrong. Using my weakness against me. That's low, even for Meri.

"Fine!" I said, not screamed, exasperated. We followed P.A.E. until we got to a wooden door at the end of the hallway. P.A.E. knocked on the door, there was a muffled reply, P.A.E answered, another reply, P.A.E. opened the door to reveal a room with lots and lots of maps and compasses and fun stuff like that. I had never seen such a cluttered room in my life. Maybe because I have never actually seen a room before. Except for my cabin, of course. Which was very neat.

"Dimitri, good to see you, my boy." An old man said. He looked a bit like Father Time.

"Good to see you, sir." Sir? Respect? P.A.E respects someone?

"Oh, nonsense, I've known you since you were just a wee little boy." The man protested, "No need to call me 'sir'."

"Yes, sir." Ah. Now I see, he's calling him 'sir' to get on his nerves. My world makes sense again!

"Dimitri." The man said in a stern voice.

"I'm sorry." P.A.E. apologized! And there goes my world's logic, crashing down again.

"No need." The man said, "Old habits die-hard."

"I was just wondering, how bad that coming storm could be?" P.A.E. asked.

"Oh, that I'm not sure of. However, I can assure you, it's not a threat." The man said. He looked behind Dimitri, and seemed to notice us for the first time. Great, now I'm being ignored, "Who are your friends?"

"Oh, this is Ro and Meri." He said, then in a hushed tone he said, "Careful, the blonde's evil." Wha . . . I'm not evil. Why I am I saying this to myself?

"Wha . . . I'm not evil. I am the nicest, most caring person you will ever meet." I defended.

"That's a scary thought." P.A.E said.

The man laughed and said, "I can see you two are good friends."

"What!" We said in unison.

"Yes, it's almost like you two are brother and sister." He said. It started raining outside. Even the weather didn't agree with him.

"It's raining cats and dogs out there." P.A.E. said, sounding worried . . . but that won't fool me! I know he's evil!

"No it's not." I said.

"It's an expression." P.A.E. replied.

"Oh." I said, expressions, what kind of language is this? "I knew that."

"Right." P.A.E. said.

"Dimitri?" Meri asked, "Do you think this will post-pone our journey?"

"Maybe, but not by much. A couple days at most." What? A couple days? Oh, I feel faint. I hear . . . I hear . . . laughing.

"Ro, it's only a couple more days." Meri said, laughing all the way.

"A couple more torturous, unbearable days." I said.

"How will you survive." NO! Not him too. Must leave, I dislike being outnumbered.

"Your highness, good to see you." He said. Are we talking about the same person.

"Good to see you too, Master Taisaga."

"How come he gets so much respect?" I asked.

"Because he deserves it." Antonio said. What? What did I do to not deserve respect, oh right the worst crime of all; nothing.

"And you two act like a married couple." Master Taisaga. Dimitri and Meri started laughing like hyenas. At least that's what hyenas sound like, after all they're called laughing hyenas. Am I overanalyzing. Am I?

"No." Antonio and I said at the same time. A married . . . I hate him, he hates me, let's leave it at that.

Taisaga laughed, "I am only teasing you."

"Hilarious." I said, sarcasm dripping from my voice. Antonio and Dimitri looked at me like I was crazy. Great, what'd I do now? Did I commit a crime or something. Apparently not because 'Master' Taisaga just laughed.

"She's a spunky one." Taisaga said.

"Thank-you, you're the only person who actually sees my good traits. Everyone else is just like 'why can't you do what you're told for once' or 'why are you so blunt about everything'."

Taisaga laughed again, "you remind me of little Rosella from Paladia."

"I do?" I asked. "She must've been a cool little kid then."

"She was tough on the outside, but on the inside she was as vulnerable as everyone else." Vulnerable!

"Vulnerable. Definitely not one of her strong traits, she's a complete sociopath." Antonio scoffed. I shook my head behind him, giving him a thumbs down. Meri held back a laugh, but Antonio didn't need to turn around to know I was mocking him, "Really? I thought you were above that."

"What kind of person is above mocking?" I said in a bewildered tone, "mocking is my life."

"I can see that." He replied, and walked away calmly. Curse him. He's such a . . . what's the word I used this morning, I said something rather good [oh. Yes, that's right, thank-you. I think]. He's a nuisance, that's right a nuisance. He was probably saying the same thing about me, but at least I was telling the truth

"Oh, the tension is suffocating." P.A.E. said. Not him too.

"His stupidity is suffocating." I said, and walked out as well.

"Worst of enemies usually turn out to be best of friends." Master Taisaga said.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll sleep on it." Come to think of it, I'm pretty sleepy myself, I guess I should stop it here.

. .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . ..

A/N: Chapter 4! Finished. Finally. Do you have any idea how long this took me to write. Of course you can because you remember when I last updated. You know, I just wasn't motivated enough. I guess there just wasn't enough amazing reviews. So, you know what I mean, I mean please, please, please review. I shall return the favor by updating - or trying to - earlier. Wish me luck with that. School's giving me barely enough time to get my imagination going.