Here is the new chapter ! :3
Forever Courage : Call her the way you want, Hope or Celeste... She is the same person - almost at least ! ;)
Thanks for the new foollowers/favorites ! :D
FANFICTION
Treasure Planet II : The Quest of Tala
CHAPTER VIII : The Treasure of Tala
[ The RLS Honesty passes through a magnetic storm and finds The Impetuous completely empty : they save Sarah and go back on their ship but The Impetuous' crew arrive. The blond pirate threatens Hope and wants her, he uses the old man from the Benbow Inn who had given Hope the coin and told her the weird sentences. She was about to go to the pirates when men from the Navy arrive and imprison the pirates. The commander of the other ship has stunning revelations for Hope : he is her brother. ]
"You are Celeste Nova Andromeda of the House Alhena, one of the greatest nobles' families in the universe and part of the Royal Court. And I am your older brother, Caliban Dairook of the House Alhena…" He whispered painfully.
Hope opened her mouth, out of breath then closed it when the truth slapped her more violently than the blow that made her lose her memory…
Few hours later, in the RLS Glory, ship of the Royal Navy
Hope was sitting in the Captain's office with a cup of warm tea in her hands but she hadn't touched it and was staring at the emptiness. Amelia, Delbert, Silverstone, Jim, Sarah and even BEN were in the room as well. They were all waiting in an intense silence for the Captain Caliban Alhena to come back from his duties and explain to them what happened the last few months…
When the pirates had been caught and locked away, the Commodore Alhena had taken the group on his own ship which was waiting a little bit further. He let them in his office, promising he would come back as soon as possible.
Hope started when she felt a warm cover on her shoulders. She lifted her head and saw Jim who didn't say anything but just placed the cover on her. He took the cup of tea from her hands before she let it slip from her fingers… She vaguely thanked him with her eyes before taking her golden necklace and touching it, worry on her face…
Suddenly, the door opened and Caliban entered. Everyone turned towards him and he stared at Amelia who clapped her feet and saluted him :
"Captain Amelia Doppler, Sir !" She exclaimed.
He clapped as well and copied the salute :
"Commodore Caliban Alhena ! We've already talked once, few days ago at Sigurd, isn't it ?"
"It's right, Sir. You gave me the order to continue to track down The Imperious and their pirates."
"May I know why you omitted to precise me you were travelling with my young sister and the true goal of your journey ?"
Amelia swallowed and tried to stay as calm as possible :
"I didn't know her identity, Sir. Plus, I didn't omit the true goal of our voyage : rescuing civilians kidnapped by those pirates."
Caliban stared at her, then sighed :
"You took care of my sister, that is all I could have asked for. Thank you."
Amelia seemed a little lost but nodded while he closed the door. He got rid of his cape and his sword and turned towards everyone :
"You all took care of my sister and looked out for her, I am eternally grateful and.. I guess you may want some illuminating about our story…"
Hope stared at him and he sighed again before he started to speak :
"Our family is quite known in the Court. We have for generations been really close to the Royal Family and we've always had great military career. My great grandfather is the only one who ever stood up against Captain Flint and preserved the cargo he was protecting."
"I knew that Alhena sounded familiar…" Jim grumbled.
Caliban continued his story :
"But our family has a duty towards the Queen and the Royal Family for centuries…"
He paused then looked at all the peoples gathered in front of him :
"Have you ever heard of the Treasure of Tala ?" He asked with a mysterious voice.
Jim, Amelia and Delbert almost fell to the floor while BEN and Sarah were more calm but they had obviously heard of it. Only Hope stayed perfectly calm but she didn't say anything…
"But that's a myth," Sarah commented.
"And so was Treasure Planet !" Jim exclaimed. "But it was real and the Treasure of Tala must be real too !"
"It is real, I can assure you," Caliban confirmed.
They became calm again but Hope shook her head :
"What is it ?" She asked.
Caliban seemed confused then remembered she didn't have any memory and explained:
"For centuries, or even millenniums, the Royal Family has stopped pirates or inherited amazing treasures : jewels, golden coins, safes… More than any pirate, more than even Flint, could have ever gathered. But it is part of the Royal Treasure and seven generations ago, the treasure became so huge that it was impossible to keep it safe anywhere in the universe. So my ancestor, our ancestor, found an inhabited planet and transformed it into a giant safe for the Royal Treasure."
He paused then continued :
"The Treasure was mostly sent into that planet lost into the universe and it was called "Tala". Which planet of the universe it is, no one knows and the only way to find it is to follow the map our ancestor created. This map is contained into your necklace, Celeste…"
She lowered her gaze towards her golden necklace into her hands and suddenly, it felt heavier than it ever had been…
"I knew it was a map !" Jim exclaimed, staring at Amelia, Delbert and his mom.
"But you can't just open the map like that," Caliban added. "You need a key and at least one of the Alhena's heirs who are the only ones to be able to read the map…"
"That's why that pirate wanted Hope and her necklace…" Amelia said absently.
"Hope ?" Caliban hesitated.
"That's.. my name…" The young girl answered.
Caliban hesitated to say something but didn't and he continued his story :
"The King named our family Guardians of Tala and our vow is to protect the map by all means…"
Hope tightened her necklace and realised that if she never let it go, it wasn't just as a symbol of her past, but also because she wanted to protect it…
"What does that have to do with Ho- Celeste ?" Jim asked, arms crossed and frowning.
Caliban sighed and all guessed it was getting to the delicate points of the story :
"Our father was the guardian of the key and you, of the necklace. You've been taught since your childhood to fight and defence yourself and save the necklace at any price. But.. a year and a half ago.. our father went to on a covert mission and we received a message from the navy."
He paused, eyes low apparently living once again the memory and the pain in his head :
"Our father had been kidnapped and the rest of his crew massacred by pirates."
He paused again and hesitated on the way to put it with words :
"We used to be three brothers and sister…" He said with a sad voice.
Hope suddenly felt overwhelmed by a feeling of intense sadness and pain but she tried to ignored it :
"Used to ?" She whispered.
"Our older brother, Aiden, went to save our father but.. the only thing that came back was his head…"
Everyone opened their eyes wide before trying to look not as shocked as they were. Hope was trying hard not to throw up and run away. She was tired of all this pain and of this story but she couldn't move, even if she wanted to. She turned pale and the only one who seemed to notice was Jim who frowned while Caliban continued :
"The key had been taken by the pirates. Our father missing, probably dead and our oldest brother dead too. I've tried to take control but.. the pirates attacked sooner than I thought. A year ago, in the middle of the night in our palace, they managed to attack and they were about to kidnap you and the necklace but our grandfather and I rescued you and bought you time. I ordered you to run away and to hide and I promised you I'll find you but I.. I never did…"
Hope lowered her gaze onto her tattooed hands and the shining golden necklace…
"I never knew what happened to you in the months you were gone… I didn't know where you went and I had lost your track until our grandfather who was searching on his way, found you without memory as a servant in an Inn at Montressor. He tried to give you clues but he couldn't stay any longer because he was followed… "
""If I tell you that the stars guide you, then I'll answer you that I owe my life to the moon…"" she whispered.
"That's our family's motto…" Caliban said with a sad smile.
"And the coin from Dareia…" She added with a broken voice.
"It's our native planet…"
"I.." Hope started.
Her voice broke but she tried to control it. She lifted up despite her trembling legs and advanced, her eyes shining of all colours and all emotions but one was over all others : pain.
"I don't remember what happened during those months but I think I know… This pirate, Alexander, told me I went on his ship disguised as a cabin boy and I.. dreamed of when I fled away. I must have been on this ship quite a long time, hiding my identity and my nature and they must have found out and tried to capture me but.. I went into a lifeboat and I hurt my head and.."
"And you flew right to Montressor and crashed. That's when I found you…" Jim finished.
They looked at each other and Hope smiled sadly in some sort of way to thank him for saving her life. Caliban stared at the two teens and frowned before continuing :
"You were lucky," he said with an annoyed tone and an obvious threat for Jim in his gaze.
The teen rolled his eyes and Hope ignored her.. brother but it was Jim who talked again :
"If your grandfather was tracked, a pirate must have been in the Inn when he talked to you and recognised you. That's how they found you again…"
Amelia nodded silently before commenting :
"It makes sense…"
Hope looked at her necklace with a lost gaze and Caliban smiled to her :
"Don't worry, Celeste. Your memories will probably come back to you sooner or later and you have absolutely nothing to worry about from those pirates. They're locked and far away from you. From now on we will start all over again our lives at Dareia !"
She looked at him and opened her mouth but no words came out… She turned towards Jim but he had turned his head away. She lowered her gaze on the golden necklace and even if she had tried to protect it for months, even years apparently, she just wanted to throw it away.
It had ruined her life.
Since she woke up without any memory, she wanted to remember who she was, who was her family and find it all again. Now she had found her brother and her grandfather, a home and people to care for her but.. until now, she never realised that by coming back to her old self, she would have to give up everything she had found since she woke up.
The Inn, Sarah's warm smile, BEN's clumsiness, Morph's lovely habits, the Dopplers… And Jim… She would have to give up all of this, all those people…
"We're heading back to the spaceport of Iashtal, on the planet of Elrylass. There we will give the prisoners to the prison that will send them later to a judge. And we will all go back home !" Caliban exclaimed. "For now, let's all stay on this ship. There are enough quarters for all of you, I can't let you sleep with the crew, after all…"
"The crew is fine for me," Jim grumbled before heading towards the door.
He ignored his mother calling him, the gaze Hope followed him with and Caliban's annoyed look by his behaviour…
Hope finally looked back at Caliban, wondering if everything he had told her was true… Maybe he was an impostor like Alexander Carter and he just wanted to capture her. Her heart was telling her he really was her brother, but her brain was saying the contrary and she didn't know what to listen to…
Caliban finally felt her gaze on him and he turned to look at her, surprised and a little bit disturbed by her behaviour :
"What's wrong, Celeste ?" He asked her.
She hesitated, she didn't know how to put her feelings in sentences without being rude or insulting towards Caliban…
"It's.. it's not that I don't trust you but.. what makes me think you really are my brother and aren't trying to get to the map too ?" She asked with a hesitant voice.
He looked right into her eyes, a little bit disappointed she wasn't trusting him but he smiled and acquiesced :
"I understand your doubts after everything you've been through… But I can prove it to you."
He raised his hands and she realised he was wearing white elegant gloves like all high ranked officers. He took them off and showed her the back of his hands. She opened her mouth with trembling lips when she saw the same tattoos she had on her own hands : a crescent moon and a star…
She slowly raised her head towards him and smiled lightly. He smiled back but put back his gloves and his mask of Commodore :
"We should all rest. Captain Doppler, I would like you to stay a little longer, please, to report everything to me."
"Yes, Sir !" She answered.
He asked for a man of his crew to guide everyone into different quarters and Hope followed without even thinking. She was dizzy and feeling all the pain of the events they had talked about. But even worse than the first time she had felt them : she was feeling the guilt and the loss of her memory… She was feeling the same way she always did after her nights and nightmares : like if the memories were trying to come back to her mind but it couldn't stay and it was running away painfully.
At the moment she placed her head on the pillow of her little bed in her cabin, the exhaustion from the emotions, the pain, the memories helped her slip into a deep sleep… But it wasn't peaceful, unfortunately…
Like the few times she had dreamed of her memories, she was seeing flashes of lights and pictures so fast she couldn't see it clearly. She heard voices and screams but she couldn't understand what the peoples were saying…
Suddenly, everything slowed down : she saw exactly what she had went through a year ago, she was living it again…
She was cornered against a white wall, shaking and breathing heavily. Her cheeks were wet, probably because of tears… In front of her, she could see a huge window letting in the night sky of a dark blue with hundreds of shining stars and a brilliant moon. Its lights were illuminating the corridor she was in. And in front of her were three pirates with their swords unsheathed and their guns ready to fire…
She stepped back, only to get even more against the wall. One of the pirate laughed at her fear and suddenly, she heard a huge bang and the pirate were falling on the floor while the two others were turning towards the ones who had saved her.
She saw Caliban running towards her, with his sword, ready to fight. Just behind him, there was someone else running, a little slower : it was the old man from the Inn, her grandfather… He had just shot the pirate and the two men were now fighting the two pirates who had threatened her…
Completely frozen, she didn't know what to do. Her years of fighting skills didn't teach her how to help her brother and grandfather in a fight for death…
Suddenly, Caliban got pushed away but he managed to catch the pirate before this one tries to turn around towards Hope. Caliban turned to his sister and yelled :
"Celeste ! Run ! Run away !"
"What.. ?" She whispered, eyes wide opened.
"Run ! I'll find you !"
She shook her head but he looked right into her eyes full of tears :
"Please, Celeste ! Go ! Save yourself and the map ! I'll find you ! I promise !"
She didn't want to go. She wanted to help them, to save them but her hand reached the golden medallion and while tears were running down her cheeks and falling on the floor she realised she had no other choice but to go if she wanted to survive…
"RUN !" He yelled one last time before being pushed on the floor.
She started to run despite the shouts of the pirates. Arrived at the corner on the other side of the corridor, she turned her head to see one last time her brother and grandfather and through the tears, she saw Caliban on the floor, about to get killed by the pirate and her grandfather falling on the floor with a cry of pain.
Caliban saw her and his eyes, full of pain, sorrow and sadness, stared at hers, completely lost and scared. He opened his mouth and whispered something, she couldn't hear it but on his lips, she read one last time "run…" as she turned away and closed her eyes, running as fast as possible to flee from this pain, from those pirates…
Her tears ran again down her cheeks but when she opened her eyes, they were full of determination and confidence, ready to fight despite the slight gleam of pain in her changing colors…
The rest of Hope's dream was blurred and she only had pictures of what happened, she remembers she had took boy's clothes in the servants' room and dressed as one to run away without being noticed by the pirates who were ravaging her house. She had ran to the dirty part of the town and she tracked down the pirates and found The Imperious.
Few days later, she had been hired as a cabin boy because the last one had died during the attack of their mansion but of course, the pirates didn't tell her that… She knew it because she had been the one who had killed him when he had arrived in the middle of the night in her bedroom… That's why she had been crying and scared to death…
She remembered she had worked on this ship for months with one single purpose : to survive. What was the best hideout but right under the nose of her enemies ? They didn't even notice she was a girl until the Captain, Blondie, decided to walk on the decks. She hadn't see him before he was right in front of her and when she lifted up and pushed him, he stared at her and recognized her so unique eyes…
She had no other choice but to run away and she would have been caught by the pirates if it wasn't for this man who had saved her…
"Hurry up, lad !" His voice exclaimed. "They can' find ya !"
She felt a strong and cold touch on her arm, so strong it hurt. She gasped in pain but she was already pushed away brutally, she almost fell.
"They're here !" Another voice screamed.
She was terrified, and she kept holding her necklace while running after the huge man who was helping her. They went down deck and he turned a lever, she heard noisy creaking noises. When she looked down, she quickly saw the ground, far, far, below…
He caught her again and pushed her and she fell. She gasped and she saw her hands with her tattoos while she was breathing with difficulty. A hat fell in front of her while her hair fell onto her face, ruffling in the wind from the opening. A lifeboat suddenly came into view and the tall man took her by the arm. She just had the time to take her hat and put it on her head, putting her hair under it than he talked to her, turning his back while pushing buttons and levers :
"Ya gotta get outa here ! Fly down there and hide, we're above Montressor so, if yar lucky, he'll probably find ya and help ya !"
"Who ?" She asked.
"A lad, shining like a solar eruption, a brilliant star !"
"What ?"
The other men who were shouting broke the door and entered, with weapons pointed at them :
"Ya gotta go ! Now !" The man screamed.
He took her arm and threw her into the lifeboat. She) gasped and raised her head to see him turning towards the pirates but the boat got dropped into the emptiness and after that, Hope only had flashes and quick pictures and feelings. She tried to manage to drive the boat but at a moment, she heard a scream from the ship and the second after, a cannonball hit the lifeboat and it started to fall right onto the ground.
The only thing she remembered was falling in the bottom of the lifeboat and hitting her head so hard that she only remembered the pain as she fell into darkness…
Hope woke up and got up suddenly. She was shaking and crying. A sob lodged in her throat and she lifted up from her little bed. When she was finally calmed and was able to breathe again, she realised she still had she cover Jim had given her few hours ago… She sat on the side of her bed and stared sadly at the floor…
She had dreamed of probably one of the worst experience of her life. The night she almost got killed. The night her brother and she got separated. The night her life changed. The night her path veered a very different way… Then she dreamed again of the night she had fallen on Montressor, the night she had been discovered and almost killed – again… Hope wondered who was that man on The Imperious who helped her and saved her and why did he do that ? She couldn't see his face, it was way too confused and she was trying her best to remember but she just couldn't…
Hope stood up and walked slowly towards the door and got out to breathe fresh air. There were few men, almost asleep but none reacted or tried to stop her. She walked a moment before realising there was someone else on the decks than her and the few crewmen…
She silently approached Jim without even noticing it. He was leaning on his elbows, on the rail and was staring at the infinite universe, dark blue with some spots of stunning colours like red or gold… All around them, there were hundreds and hundreds of shining silvery stars.
When she was right at his sides, he turned to see her and after a hesitation, he smiled gently. She smiled back, as shy as him and after staring at each other, they both leaned on the rail, enjoying the calm of space, the beauty of its stars and the warm of their arms touching each other…
They didn't say a word for a long time. Just enjoying this moment together where there was no treasure, no loss of memory, no pirate… Just the both of them…
"I've been thinking.." Jim finally started.
She turned to him before he continued :
"I've.. spent an amazing time with you…" He whispered.
She blinked and he smiled to himself ; still looking at the dark blue sky :
"Of course, our lives were in danger and my mom got kidnapped by those pirates but.."
He turned to her, smiling and continued :
"But it was great… Being your friend and spending time with you…"
He raised his hand for her to shake it but she opened her mouth, staring blankly at his hand and her eyes got suddenly full of pain and deception :
"Why does it sound like a farewell ?" She whispered, scared of the answer he would give her…
The pain she was containing reflected into his blue-green eyes and he lowered his hand, turning away from her and looking at the infinite universe once again :
"Because.. I won't be able to tell you that when we will go on our own ways later… I don't want anyone else to hear it but you. Not even my mom… And definitely not your brother !"
She stayed silent and stared at the floor. Her silence got Jim worried and he turned to her, only to see how sad she was, how his words had been hard. He bit his lip and raised his hands to take her in his arms but he sighed and stepped back from her :
"Ho.. I mean, Celeste-" He started.
"Hope," she said.
"What ?"
She raised her head but looked away from his gaze :
"Call me Hope," she corrected…
He stayed silent before continuing :
"Hope, I don't want to.. you know.. be rude now but I don't want to ignore the fact that.. we won't see each other ever again…"
Her lips trembled when she opened her mouth but she managed to keep her voice from shaking :
"So, you're telling me goodbye before it's time ? That's even worse, Jim !" She exclaimed.
She turned to him and his heart skipped a beat when he saw her eyes, full of tears. They were of the same dark blue of the space surrounding them, they even had red and gold reflections and the tears were shining like the stars above them…
"Why are you running away now ?" She yelled.
"I'm not-"
"Yes ! You're running away ! You're running away from me, from your pain, from everything ! I don't understand why you decided to make of the little time we've got left, a time of sadness and farewell ! We're not away from each other yet.. so.. so don't try to tear us apart…" She ended up whispering.
A single tear rolled down her cheek and she wiped it away with a frown before turning away and leaving. Jim raised his hand and tried to call her but neither his hand or his voice acted the way he wanted…
So, what do you think ? :D
You know the story and you know all the secrets about Hope but, Jim and her have an argument... :3
Oh, and by the way, "Tala" is a Persian name meaning "Gold" so you can guess why I chose this name for the Treasure ! :)
Next chapter will be titled : "THE SAVIOUR'S RETURN"
So, who do you think will come back ? Who is this saviour ? :P
Tell me everything in reviews please ! ;)
Truly Yours,
May
