Chapter 9: Reunion

"Land ho!"

Nate's voice rang with the long-awaited words. This was their seventh day at sea, and while any similar trips would take less time now that they knew the way, land was something they had been waiting for since Sami had first gotten seasick.

Maron was the first out on deck. She looked a lot better, now that she was getting three square meals a day of Tom's inexplicably good cooking and having one of Lily's spare shirts under her now open vest. "Somebody say land ho'?" she asked.

"You sure?" Lily called up to Nate.

"Yep!" Nate called back. "First green thing I've seen all day, excluding Sami's face!"

"I heard that!" Sami said as she emerged from the cabin, followed by Tom. She looked slightly green. "But I'll forgive you since you saw dear, sweet, precious earth."

"It gets better!" Nate called, "There's a port about ten degrees to starboard!"

"Yes!" Sami was literally jumping for joy.

It took them three hours to arrive at the port. Before they got too close, however, Lily mentioned something.

"We should ask before we pull in." she said, "It's not like we own the place."

Everyone agreed. Then they drew straws. Nate, Lily, and Maron would be going ashore. They boarded the small boat Maron had acquired and set off. They made land without much difficulty, but the village was deserted.

"Hello?" Lily called out, "We need to know if we can dock our ship here!" And suddenly, where there had not been a soul nearby before, they were surrounded.

The villagers were carrying a variety of weapons, everything from pitchforks and garden hoes to very nasty looking cutlasses.

"Pirates." spat an old woman, "Yer' not welcome here. You took everything you could last month. But not now. No! You make one move that we don't like, and we'll run yeh through. Now, put your hands up!"

They did exactly as they were told, but Nate had to open his mouth.

"We're not pirates." he said calmly, "We are merely travelers who need a place to dock while we conduct our business."

"Shuddup, you!" snarled a man with a spear. He stabbed Nate in the shoulder. Blood gushed from the wound, and with a groan Nate fell to his knees.

"You idiots!" screamed Maron, "These are the guys that defeated the pirates! And him!" she said, pointing to Nate, "He destroyed their ship! I know! I was there!"

"I said shuddup!" the man nearly screamed. He pulled his spear back and was about to stab her when a large, strong hand grasped the spear. The man holding the spear back stepped forward with a woman at his side.

"Maron?" she asked, "Is that...can it be..."

"Aunty? Aunty Carol? You...you're alive?" Maron turned to the man, her eyes as wide as dinner plates. "Uncle Jeff? You're alive too?" And there, in front of the entire village, the three reunited family members broke down and cried.