I was listening to the 12 Dancing Princess' Theme while proofreading this chapter.

Chapter Three: I Need to Know

The shock passes Antonio and his body is now relaxed. He still didn't understand his current situation being on a beautiful island with a more beautiful woman. It's better than the fish-out-of-water state he was in when he first regained consciousness.

The woman is talking to someone and, for a moment, he thinks he's lying on the tropical coast of a kingdom across the sea, but when he turns over, he sees a baby elephant, a peacock, and a red panda. It's not a complete surprise since his mother would talk to Tallulah but these conversations are different. The woman would talk and the animals would wait for her to finish before responding with their respective sounds.

"You … you understand them," Antonio mutters in shock. Maybe he's still dreaming.

The woman glances at him, smiling a little before nodding. "I do. They were wondering if you were okay and you are."

"Oh…" Antonio mutters. He stands up slowly, brushing the sand off his clothes crimped from the ocean. "Prince Antonio of Apollonia."

The woman's lips part a little, surprised. The peacock squawked in what Antonio would describe as amazement. The bird leaps over, continuing to chat with him and model his beautiful colours.

"Uh…" Antonio mutters before glancing at the woman. "Translation?"

"That's Azul," the woman says, opening her arm to the peacock to introduce him, "he's also royalty."

Antonio nods, going along with it. "In that case, Your Highness." He bows to Azul who bats his feathers like lashes.

"And this is Sagi," the woman continues, crouching beside the gentle red panda. She holds an arm towards the elephant. "Tika."

Antonio smiles at them both, giving a small wave. The panda looked warm and approachable while the elephant seemed hostile. Her trunk was almost crossed over the woman's body protectively as if he was a threat to them. The woman moves Tika's trunk aside before walking back to him.

"And you are?" Antonio asks, capturing her attention. "Sorry if you already said your name. I must've missed it."

"Ro," she says as if it's her first time telling him, "I'm Ro."

-o-

Antonio followed Ro and the animals through the island. They started walking on a path along the sandy terrain and the plant life. It became less like a beach and more like a jungle. The ground went from sand to solid ground. Antonio's fascinated. All the bright colours he's never seen in Apollonia unless he visited the castle's greenhouse. The sand and grass in his toes become more comfortable the more he walks, comfy, even. He's almost happy he lost his boots at sea to be immersed in this island experience.

"Sagi says you're lucky to have survived the storm," Ro tells him. "That's how I wounded up here."

"Really?" Antonio asks. He didn't wonder how a woman like her got here. He was just happy to see her. Now he's stranded on an island in the South Seas. "How long ago?"

Ro shrugs. Her eyes go distant as they walk and she adjusts the island rose in her hair.

"Years," Ro says, "I was shipwrecked here when I was a little girl."

"Oh…" Antonio mutters. "Ro, I'm so sorry."

"It's fine. I grew up here and made it my home."

They stop at a cliffside right above a waterfall. Below resembles an oasis that breaks off into rivers that stream through the island. Antonio steps forwards and exhales at the unimaginable beauty set before him. The sound of the rushing waterfalls with the chirping birds in this breathtaking environment is why he goes on these adventures across the South Seas. It's unbelievable that Ro spent nearly her whole life here. He knows his parents are worried sick, sending ships all over the seas to find him. He knows Frazer is okay. He has to be. It wouldn't be fair if he washed ashore to this beautiful island and not his friend who is much of an explorer as him. He feels it in his bones that his friend made it back home.

He hopes people are searching for Ro and haven't given up. At least she managed to survive this island as a little girl and make it her own. She didn't make island life seem hard or scary. She persevered and kept moving when others would've given up. It's admirable.

"Where are you from?" Antonio asks. "Maybe I can take you back if my ship arrives."

Ro tenses and the animals notice, teetering towards her protectively, especially Tika who wraps her trunk around Ro's waist. Antonio puts his hands up in surrender, not intending any harm.

"I don't remember," Ro mutters, "I don't remember a lot from before the island. I can't tell you anything about me now since the lack of memories won't do either of us any good."

Antonio nods, not pushing it more. "That's alright. All memories are stories, aren't they?"

Ro looks at him again and smiles softly. "Let's get something to eat. I didn't think of it earlier, which is all my fault but you must be starving."