Life had become increasingly difficult for the Eaton siblings. They'd had several squabbles about being pirates again, but neither had given in yet. Instead Samuel moped about inside or on the beach, staring out at the ocean, and Allis busied herself with what ever work she could find. It became more and more obvious that while she had been incredibly skilled during her schooling, her talents didn't extend further than that very well.

Their parents became upset with them, they were angry that neither of their children were following in the "family business" of being a pirate. All four of them argued back and forth, but all it succeeded in doing was pushing the siblings even further away. Allis started going over to Jordan's family's house more often, some nights she even spent the night there instead of going home.

Samuel was stuck with his parents, who were once again against Allis. Only this time they weren't happy with either teenager. They had little sympathy for his disability and didn't care to support him for much longer. He was running out of options, and running out of them fast. Luckily, the copper-haired twenty one -year-old found spare jobs to do around Ianarea quite easily. He couldn't manage the tougher jobs, because he leg was still weak and he tired quickly, but he could do enough lesser tasks to make up for that. Soon, he was making enough to pay his way into a room that was being rented out. It was an exciting new step in his life, but his mind weighed heavy because he felt as though his parents had been happy to be rid of him.

His sister, on the other hand, struggled to be of any use to anyone. Her work was clumsy on things like sewing or cooking and her writing was god-awful. Allis just wasn't built for the jobs that needed to be done around the island. She fought with anyone that she had to work with, or moped around and did her tasks half-assed. It wasn't long before people began refusing to give her work, and the taunt of "Capsize" was started back up by the few people who had graduated with her and not went out to sea. This time, she couldn't even bring herself to argue back anymore; She was too depressed. Days dragged by slower and slower for her and spending time with Samuel became the highlight of her day. Some days, even a reassuring chat with her brother couldn't even drag her from the depths of her sorrows.

After some time she found a new pass time, one that only kind of helped her. She would spend the mornings struggling to find someone willing to let her work for them, then she would half-work, half-stare off into the distance, and finally she would retreat to the far end of the island where the graveyard was. Allis would bring food or something to do and would just sit in front of Jordan's grave, talking to him as if he was still alive. It comforted her immensely while she did it, but it weighed down on her when she was away; Spending all of your spare time talking to your dead friend wasn't a very sane way to pass the time. The habit became addicting, though, and the days felt incomplete and even more depressing if she didn't visit the tombstone. The heartbroken girl knew that she shouldn't let her grief take over like it had, but she couldn't bring herself to stop.

Her saving grace came later, when she had nearly given in to her sorrow completely. Allis had stopped trying to find any work and hadn't eaten in days, avoiding her brother at all costs so that she wouldn't have to explain herself to him. She stood staring at Jordan's grave with dull, hopeless eyes. The distracted girl didn't hear the soft voice calling to her at first, she was so wrapped up in her memories, but after a moment she started and glanced around. Her first thought was that someone had followed her and was trying to bother her with another lecture on how to handle her grief, so she spoke before looking for the source of the sound;

"Leave me alone." The words didn't carry as much force as they had in the past.

The sound of quiet, heartfelt laughter sprung up from behind her and Allis spun around with a scowl on her face, wondering what this person found so funny about her unhappiness. A scathing retort was ready on her tongue, but when she came face to face with them she stopped short and stared in disbelief. I've lost it...I've finally gone mad, Was her first thought, as she rubbed her eyes to make sure she was seeing the woman right.

"I think that's the first time I've heard someone say that to me."

"L-lady Ianite! I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." Allis stammered, horrified with how she had disrespected the Goddess.

"Hush, child, I know what you meant."

Allis couldn't fathom why the Goddess would choose to speak to her, so she asked the first question that came to her mind regarding the phenomenon.

"Am I dying?" Surely this is what the Gods did for their followers, came to them in their dying moments? Oddly enough, this thought didn't really bother her. If she was dead, wouldn't that mean she would get to see Jordan again?

A sad knowledge seemed to hang in the Goddess's eyes, but she shook her head with a smile.

"No, it is not your time yet. I've come for a different reason, Allis, and I won't sugarcoat this. You have to stop mourning for Jordan, it's killing you."

"Are you telling me I should just forget him? Forget everything he did for me?" She asked disbelievingly.

"Of course not, I would never suggest such a thing. But life does go on, no matter what happens or who dies. It hurts and it probably always will...but people learn to carry on. Sometimes by changing their entire lives, as you have tried, but sometimes...it is by doing the thing that we are most scared of and that is living life the same way we had before."

"That's what everyone else has said...and I still don't want to do that. What makes this lecture any different from the others?"

"Other than the fact that it's coming from a Goddess?", Lady Ianite laughed a little at her own joke and then continued, "Listen to yourself...you argue that your brother should do the same thing, get over his fears and catch up on his education. You speak from your heart when you say it, so stop fighting with yourself. You know what you should do."

"I know what I wanted to do with Jordan...not what I want to do by myself."

"Do you think it makes him happy to see you suffer like this? To see you flake out on your end of the promise?"

"Does he...does he watch over me?" She asked quietly, ignoring the Goddess's questions as she struggled to wrap her mind around the idea of Jordan still knowing what she was doing.

"Jordan will always be with you, dear. He still wants to sail with you and be a part of your crew, but you won't join him."

"It's not the same."

"Isn't it?"

Allis's eyes fell to the ground as she contemplated this. Could it really be that easy? That their promise would still come true because he was with her in spirit? It was true that deep down she still wanted be a pirate, but that was something she had fought ferociously because it felt like a betrayal to go without her best friend. But he would be with her if she went...right?

"Are you sure this is what he wants...?" Allis asked after a while.

"It's what he wanted from the moment he made that vow. He knew from the minute he saw you that you were going to be a great pirate, and he wanted to witness that for himself. You shouldn't keep him waiting."

Allis felt the heaviness that had been weighing her down for months finally ease up, not completely, but it was a work in progress. The closer she got to leaving Ianarea, the better she would feel. When she looked up again, Lady Ianite had disappeared. A last parting message seemed to drift through the air;

"I once told your brother to be brave for your sake and trust in your abilities...It might be time someone reminded him of that, and told him to trust in himself as well."

Even the world around her seemed brighter as she started walking back across the island, casting a last glance behind her. With a deep breath, she shook away the last bits of sadness that clung to her like cobwebs. When she got home she found Samuel staring out of a window at the waves that were lapping at the shore contentedly. He glanced over at her and started to look away, before blinking slightly and focusing on her again. Had her demeanor already changed so noticeably?

"Hey, Sam, why don't we go get our old boats and see how they've been holding up?"

AN: I have this problem with always wanting to end chapters on a "meaningful" phrase or conversation. I should really stop that. Anywayyy, I'm not to good with feelsy, everything-will-turn-out-okay speeches, but I tried xD To be honest...I already miss writing about Jardon xD I really shouldn't get this emotionally attached to characters I write about...because inevitably I will kill them off in some awful, depressing way.

Question of the Day: We'll ask one about the Youtubers themselves...how about; What's you're favorite Vlog/Update sort video by anyone in the Mianite Crew? (Since just choosing a fav content-type video seems too over done.)

Mine is Firefoxx's lego store meet-up vlog...mainly because I'm actually in it xD -issuperbiased-