Chapter 2

Jim couldn't help but laugh to himself as he gazed out the window of the large dining room at the sea. He couldn't get the hilarious image of Ariel wearing an old china bowl on her head out of his own. What was she even doing? She was a strange girl for sure, but that somehow made her more intriguing... and endearing. He had to admit, after meeting her, he was grateful that his Lieutenant at the academy forced him to learn how to read lips just in case he and his men were in a dire situation where speaking was not an option. This was definitely not the dire situation he spoke of, but the skill sure came into good use.

But he shouldn't get too caught up in it. He shouldn't even be attracted to that red-head. No, he wasn't attracted, he just thought her odd and amusing.

Jim gazed out the window and sighed contently. It was calming, watching the sea, even from a window. He was off duty for a half-hour after the royal family had their meals, and would come and stand at the window after they left. He would go to the kitchen to grab a bite to eat in the servant's hall, then he would come back up and gaze out the window. When he first came to this planet, and was trying to adjust, he would sometimes go out there on the beach, sit on a rock, and stare at the waves crashing the shore, and feel the sea breeze on his face. He would occasionally see ships in the distance.

He missed being on a ship. When he becomes at least a lieutenant, he wants to get his own ship that he will call The Silver Wing after Silver since the man put him under his wing when they were on their voyage to Treasure Planet. Boy, did he miss that cyborg. They never kept in touch.

"Hey, Jim!"

Jim's heart jumped and Morph immediately went into Jim's uniform pocket as Prince Eric came up to him with Max trailing him, panting away happily. Jim stood straight and saluted the prince. "Your Majesty."

"Oh, c'mon, Jim. You don't have to do that."

"When Lieutenant McHillen is watching, I have to, remember?" he whispered. The two guys saw the Lieutenant walking near the door and gave the two, mainly Jim, a look. He walked on. When Jim and Eric first became friends, they agreed that they would call each other by their first names. According to Eric, being all formal wasn't his way, and honestly, neither was Jim's. They just agreed that whenever people were around, he will act as he should, and address the prince as he should. Other than that, it was casual. Which was nice.

Jim stood normally again and eyed Eric for a moment. When Jim first entered the palace two months ago, everything was foreign to him. He has never been in a palace or castle before, only Delbert's mansion. But that place wasn't nearly as big. And, he felt out of place on a different planet with people who spoke differently, and there wasn't a single alien or piece of technology in sight, aside from the transmitter that Lieutenant McHillen had to communicate with Montressor. When Jim met Eric on his first day, Eric had immediately started talking with him about ships and sailing, since those were the main things people were interested in in this area, besides fishing. Sailing and being at sea was one of Eric's favorite things to do, and that sealed the deal on a new friendship since Jim loved ships and sailing, and longed to get on a ship again. It helped that Eric was around his age, so he could relate to him on that level as well. In a way, Jim was grateful towards Eric for helping him become more comfortable in this strange place.

Max barked, which brought Jim out of his thoughts. He put his hand down and gave Max a good rub on the head, and the dog barked again with pleasure. "Hey, there, mutt."

"Daydreaming again?" Eric asked and leaned against the glass of the wall-window. "I see you in here every day after meals gazing out the window. I just never bothered to ask why you do it, until now."

Jim faced the window and folded his arms. "It's a source of comfort for me, I guess. It helps relieve my homesickness."

Eric nodded. "I can imagine how homesick you must be, being so far away from home, and for so long a time. But you've been doing just fine so far, as far as I can tell."

Eric didn't know this, but Jim really did miss Montrassor. Most of the time, he was fine, but on some days, he missed his home planet so much that he would be tempted to make Lieutenant McHillen send him back. But he couldn't do that. Not when he has gotten this far.

Jim, of course, had to make up a story about where he was from. The people here wouldn't believe the truth and would think it was all crazy talk—that Jim's from a different planet in the future—so his lieutenant from the academy, as well as Lieutenant McHillen, conjured up the story of him being from America, a continent on this planet. The continent they were on was apparently called Europe, another of the seven continents discovered over the course of a few hundred years, according to them.

"So..." Eric began, and a ship suddenly appeared in the distance and Jim focused on it, "Grimsby had the idea of taking Ariel out into the kingdom for a little tour today. I think it would help her adjust and feel more comfortable, after what she has been through."

"Just what has she been through, exactly?" Jim was honestly curious.

"We suspect that she was shipwrecked and washed up on the beach, but... she can't speak so we can't ask her what happened." He paused for a moment, his look serious. "Jim... do you think I was crazy for bringing her here?"

Jim knew that he needed to keep his opinions to himself, and act like a statue when the royal family was talking about things and he could hear their conversations. If he spoke his mind and contention became a result, he would lose his job and fail his test.

"Don't worry about the rules and keeping silent," Eric said, reading his unsure look. "I have heard about what some of the other servants have said about me, about taking in a random girl off the beach. You probably think the same way. Go on, be honest."

Jim leaned against the window as well and folded his arms. "Honest, huh? You sure, Prince Eric?"

Eric smirked, and Jim was relieved that they knew each other well enough to joke around. "Yes, Cadet Hawkins."

"Well, okay, then. You asked for it. Honestly, I think you're completely out of your mind, taking her in, not knowing who she is or where she came from. She could be from a different kingdom, or is on a secret mission... you never know."

Eric rubbed his hand over his face and sighed heavily. "Wow, maybe I really am crazy. But... I just felt sorry for her. She was washed up from a shipwreck, I just felt like I needed to help her."

Jim nodded. "I can understand that. I guess lending a hand and helping someone in need isn't the worst thing to do. I've done it before, but with stray animals."

"I feel like you are trying to make a point."

"I guess I am. She's a live person, not an animal you can take in."

The two guys turned and gazed out the window at the sparkling sea. "So, what do you think I should do? Should I show her around the kingdom and then let her go? Or... what?"

Jim gave him an unbelieving look. "You're asking me?"

"Yeah, you're very opinionated. Plus, you're probably they only real friend I have around here, aside from Max. And, you've been through a lot more than me, so I trust your judgment."

He really had no idea just how much Jim has been through in the past ten years of his life, the past four being the most active and difficult. He nudged Eric in the shoulder playfully. "Hey, you're making me sound like an old geezer when I'm only three years older than you."

"But am I wrong? That academy you went to sounds pretty intense."

"Yeah, it was..." Jim sighed. "Well, if you want my opinion again, I guess just do what you think is right. I felt like the right thing to do was change my life from the rebel I was before, and now, here I am. Maybe you could let her stay here for at least one more day and maybe try and find out where she came from so you can contact her family or friends, or whoever she was with on that ship... If she was on a ship to begin with."

Eric nodded. "That sounds like a good plan."

Jim shrugged a shoulder. "She seems like a nice enough girl, if we're talking about first impressions." The image of the bowl on her head came to mind again and he chuckled. "She's actually really hilarious."

Eric's brows rose. "You've met her?"

"Once, earlier today when she was wondering around the corridor near the throne room entrance. She's... strange for sure, but I can sense that she's not a bad person. But you never know, like I said."

"I doubt that she's on a secret mission. She seems to innocent, and... I admit that she does act a little strangely. Did you know that she brushed her hair with a fork at dinner yesterday? And took Grimsby's pipe and blew all the black soot inside of it onto his face." He laughed. "Honestly, that was the most hilarious thing I've seen in a while."

Jim couldn't help bursting out laughing as well. "She did that? Right at the dinner table?"

"Yeah, she did. But..." His face became calm and almost... loving. "She's just so... beautiful. I haven't seen a more beautiful girl before; I couldn't stop staring at her at dinner. And I swear, I've seen her before. Maybe I saw her in a dream or something. I don't know."

Jim started to feel slightly nauseous. Sure he's a guy, and has thought girls attractive, but gushing about them in such a way... uhk. "You have it bad for your charity case, Eric."

Eric gave him a questioning look. "What? Haven't you been besotted with a woman before?"

His mind immediately flashed him an image of Ariel smiling at him as she held out her hand to shake his earlier today. Her eyes were so big and blue, and her smile... he couldn't blame Eric for falling head over heels right of the bat. "Nope. Never had the time to. I was busy with the academy."

"What about before that?"

Nobody here knows about his voyage to Treasure Planet, aside from Lieutenant McHillen. "I helped my mom out with an inn that she runs, so I didn't have time for anything else. Plus, the girls where I'm from... let's just say they weren't all that attractive or personable." They weren't even human! Most of them. The ones that were human were the only ones he was attracted to but did nothing about that attraction.

"Hm, I see," Eric said, musing. "Maybe you'll find someone here."

"I don't have time to go out and look for a girl. I have to focus on my job." Eric didn't know about this test, at least the interstellar one. He knew Jim's job was a test to get into the next level of the military, which was pretty much the truth anyway.

"Well... how about you go with Ariel and I into the kingdom today? You can get out and stretch your legs, and maybe take in a little of the beauty that is the kingdom, since you haven't been out there since we went to visit Gweneva. And I mean take in the beauty that is the women of the kingdom," he added with a wink and a nudge to Jim's arm. "What do you say? You can't say no to the prince, and neither can Lieutenant McHillen."

"I can go to protect you, but not to check out girls."

Eric laughed. "I've known you for two months already, and I still find your way of speaking amusing."

"Let me rephrase, then—I can go to protect you and do my job, not to woo women. You're such a hopeless romantic with you and your musings of beautiful woman, love, and marrying the girl who rescued you from the shipwreck the other day."

"Hey, I've told you before, I'm just indebted to that girl, whoever and wherever she is."

"So, you're going to repay her by proposing to her? Isn't that a bit much? And what about Ariel?"

His eyes widened. "You know her name?"

"Yeah, I told you I met her already. She introduced herself."

"How did she introduce herself when she can't speak?" he asked with a confused look.

"I can read lips—I learned the skill at the academy just in case I or the men with me found ourselves in a tight situation were talking wasn't an option. And I don't want to sound full of myself, but I think I'm pretty good at it. I understood everything she told me. Given it wasn't much, but I gathered what her name is and..." The bowl came to mind again, and that promise he made not to say anything. "Well, that's she's happy to be here and thinks that the castle is beautiful."

Eric stared at him for a moment, and Jim started to feel unnerved by it. Eric rubbed his chin where black stubble threatened to grow. "You read lips... You know, if you don't want to go out into the kingdom to look for a woman, how about you come along to, yes, protect me as your job entails, but how about you act as interpreter as well? I can't read lips, and I don't want Ariel to be writing everything everywhere we go and whenever I talk to her. It is truly a relief that she speaks our language. If not, I would have to hire a real translator."

What? Act as interpreter? That wasn't in the job description at all, but then again, following orders was. And this was following orders. "I don't see anything wrong with that. You'll be able to find out just where Ariel came from." He recalled her being hesitant about telling him where she was from. "If she wants to tell you. She didn't tell me when I asked."

"Well, hopefully we can get it out of her." He slapped a hand on Jim's shoulder. "Well, Cadet Hawkins, we leave for the village at one sharp. There will be a carriage ready down at the drawbridge. Make sure you're there."

"Yes, Sir," Jim said, and Eric left, along with Max. Morph came out of Jim's pocket and stared at him for a moment.

"Sometimes I wonder what I got myself into, Morph. I mean, I wanted to finish the academy, but... coming here doing things like guarding doors and being a interpreter?"

Morph suddenly changed into a little scene of Jim defending Eric from some thugs. He shifted back and Jim smirked. "Yeah, I know I protect the prince and the other royals, too, and that's a huge thing, but... well, I guess I can't complain. This test has been easy so far." Ariel and her pretty face, and her large, captivating blue eyes came to mind for the umpteenth time, and he recalled the feeling of electricity that shot up his arm when he shook her very soft and dainty hand. "Yeah, so far..." He took a breath. "Well, Morph, ready to head out on a field trip?" Morph turned into a miniature Jim, saluting. Jim chuckled. "Alright, in the pocket you go."