Chapter 3
The Trip to Horteka
Aika and Fina had been waiting at the central fountain for quite a while and Aika was becoming more and more impatient.
"What the heck is Vyse up to?" bellowed Aika taping her foot more and more rapidly on the floor.
"Calm down Aika, I'm sure Vyse has a reason for being late," replied Fina putting her arm around Aika.
"I know Fina, but it just annoys me to say the least especially as he always says I have a problem with time and then he goes and does something like this!" countered Aika turning around to face Fina.
"Hey who's that coming out of the sailor's guild? It's not Vyse that's for sure! It's a girl!" said Fina pointing towards a young lady with long brown hair.
"Where?" called Aika sharply turning around to face the direction of which Fina was pointing.
"Hey guys," called Vyse running towards them "Sorry I'm late I was interviewing someone."
"It wouldn't happen to be a girl that you interviewed at all would it Vyse?" said Aika with sarcastic look on her face.
"Yes, why'd you ask Aika?" said Vyse looking very confused.
"Well for one we saw a girl running out of the sailor's guild blushing and giggling to herself," said Aika the sarcastic grin still upon her face while her face closed in on Vyse'. "And for two you're blushing like MAD Vyse!"
"WHAT!?" yelled Vyse at the top of his voice? He quickly turned his head away from Aika and Fina who were now having fits of giggles, and; looked into the fountain to see his reflection. He wasn't blushing at all the two had tricked him. "You two are both wrong I'm not blushing at all" he yelled as he turned away from the pair, as they were still rolling about all over the floor. Vyse decided he'd lost this round and walked off into the crowd as not to be seen by the giggling pair.
*******
Vyse wondered around the stalls looking for a souvenir of his visit too Nasrad, he had seen various things that he liked but none of them had persuaded him to buy them. He came to the last row of stalls and noticed that on one of them lay a very beautiful necklace - it had a wonderful silver moon stone (or at least he thought it was, it might have been a silver diamond) for a pendant. The moon stone had been wrapped in black string so it could be worn around the neck properly. Vyse liked the look of the necklace and thought it might make a good gift for someone later on in life.
"Excuse me sir?" asked Vyse indicating to the Nasr merchant.
"Yes sir is their something you'd like to buy?" replied the merchant smiling at Vyse.
"Yes how much for the necklace?" asked Vyse.
"Ah you wish to purchase the silver moon stone necklace so there is someone special in your life at the moment." The merchant replied.
"Why'd you say that?" asked a confuse Vyse.
"Silver moon stones are known as the lover's stone - they are regularly found in mid ocean but around here they are very rare," answered the merchant.
"So any way," said Vyse trying to get off the subject "how much is it?"
"For you young one I will make it 5000 gold"
Not wanting to argue with the old merchant and thinking that it was quite a fair price he replied "Sold," reaching into his pockets Vyse fetched out several large gold coins and handed them to the merchant. The merchant in return passed the necklace to Vyse and said.
"May the red moon watch over you young legend, and may it light your path in the future."
*******
The guild master had been true to his word, and as Vyse looked upon his new crew he scanned around the small crowd to make sure there were right number of people within it, he realized there was one missing. Several small boats from the Delphinus had been docked around where the new additions to the crew were standing. Still clutching the necklace and lost in thought of what the merchant had told him, Vyse was startled when a feminine voice came from behind him.
"Hi Vyse!"
Vyse quickly turned around to find the missing person he had been looking for standing right behind him.
"Hi Siobhan," he said smiling, "you startled me."
"I'm sorry Vyse I didn't mean too," Siobhan replied turning her head towards the ground.
"No need to apologize Siobhan, like you said you didn't mean too," replied Vyse in a comforting voice.
"Thank you Vyse," she replied in a gentle voice peering into his chestnut eyes.
"Anyway we'd better get to the welcome party." He replied breaking the gaze.
"Welcome Party?" replied Siobhan looking confused.
"You've never had a welcome party on any of your other ships before?" said Vyse turning back to Siobhan looking very shocked.
"um... no." she said looking at the ground.
"Well all we do at a welcome party is let people introduce themselves to other members of the crew so everyone gets to know each other," replied Vyse.
"Well it seems easy enough," replied Siobhan.
"Come on then let's get to the party!" indicated Vyse at the moving crew.
"OK" said Siobhan as she followed Vyse on to the Delphinus and loading her luggage onto the ship.
*******
The party had started really well - everyone had been introduced except for Aika and Fina who trailed in late to the party. They both made their way over to Vyse who was standing in the corner of the gallery talking to some of the new crew members. Now standing just behind him Fina said:
"Um.. Excuse me Captain Vyse,"
The men Vyse had been talking too carried on their conversation without him so Vyse turned around to face the pair and before he could say anything Aika said:
"Hi Vyse were sorry for what we said earlier we didn't mean any harm," holding on to her arm.
"It's OK you two but you did catch me off guard," said Vyse smiling at the two.
Aika and Fina giggled slightly until they caught sight of the young lady they had seen earlier on.
"Who is that Vyse" asked Fina eagerly
"Oh that's Siobhan - she's a new addition to our crew" answered Vyse indicating her to Aika who wasn't sure where to look.
"Hey that's the girl we saw earlier who had just left the sailors guild before you Vyse, she ran off blushing and giggling like a little kid." said Aika looking down upon the girl in front of them. A small frown of disapproval appeared on the face
"Hey isn't that what you and Fina were doing a little bit earlier in front of the fountain Aika?" replied Vyse letting a cheeky grin escape him. "Cut her a bit of slack OK Aika?"
Ignoring Vyse's response, Aika turned around to face Fina. The two began a usual conversation, but Vyse didn't stand around to listen to what it was about. He began to walk over to Siobhan who was currently sitting on one of chairs that were situated around the outside of the room.
"How's the party been so far for you then Siobhan?" he said introducing himself.
She looked up to see Vyse sitting down next to her and replied "It's been great Vyse, but I haven't met everyone yet, I've just to talk those two over there" she said indicating the exact position of Aika and Fina with her hand.
"Well then, let's go introduce you to them," said Vyse taking her by the hand and leading her towards Aika and Fina."
"Aika, Fina I'd like you both to meet Siobhan," said Vyse interrupting their conversation and indicating to Siobhan using his hand.
Siobhan bowed gracefully to the two with a smile on her face she said "I'm very pleased to meet you both."
Aika was still not in a very good mood from what Vyse had said earlier but before she could say anything Fina turned around to face Vyse and Siobhan she smiled before saying, "It's nice to meet you to Siobhan," then turning back to face Aika.
Now deciding to ignore Siobhan Aika turned her back on the pair before letting out "hmph" while crossing her arms.
Siobhan looked very hurt by this response, and turned her head towards the ground and quietly whispered. "Well it was nice meeting you both," before turning her back on the trio and headed towards the gallery stairs.
"Way to go Aika." said Vyse in a sarcastic and angry tone "She was only trying to be nice to you." With this Vyse turned his back on the pair and strolled after Siobhan, who was heading towards the deck.
Aika turned around, unfolded her arms and thought to herself Vyse's tone was serious; this is a proper argument.t Aika wasn't sure what to do she had never had an argument with Vyse not even a single squabble since they were little kids on Pirate Isle.
*******
Siobhan was up on the deck of the Delphinus, her hands clutching a small wooden box as she stared longingly up at the yellow moon in the nights sky, she was unaware of Vyse presence as he entered on to the deck.
"Siobhan." he called in a soft concerned voice.
Startled by what she had heard she quickly turned around to see Vyse standing behind her.
"Siobhan," he repeated "are you OK?" noticing a tear slide down her face.
"Yes I'm fine," she whispered wiping her eyes.
"Look I'm sorry for the way Aika acted; I don't know what her problem is," Vyse said gently to her and moving towards the railings where she stood. Vyse stared at her with his chestnut brown eyes, and caught sight of the small wooden box she held next to her heart.
"What's that?" He asked indicating to the small wooden box.
Loosening her grip on the box she turned around to face Vyse and looked up into his chestnut brown eyes and said to him softly "I feel I can trust you Vyse" placing the wooden box gently in his hands. "Open it" she whispered looking down at the box.
Not sure what to expect Vyse opened the small box to reveal a small hand crafted wooden flute, he knew he had seen the design some where else before.
"It's from Horteka" whispered Siobhan so quietly Vyse had trouble making out what she had said.
"Horteka?" asked Vyse looking a little shocked.
"Yes Horteka, the place where I was raised" replied Siobhan a faint smile on her face.
"You were born in Horteka but how?" said Vyse very confused.
"No I wasn't born there Vyse just raised" her smile fading "I never knew my real family or anything really about myself before I was adopted" she could feel the tears gathering in her eyes.
"Oh Siobhan I didn't mean to upset you," he said in a concerned voice as he placed his hand gently on her shoulder.
The feeling of Vyse' hand on her shoulder made it even harder to hold back the tears, she could feel them flowing down her face, she used her spare hand to wipe away the tears as best as she could. Until she regained her voice the two stood there with Vyse' hand on her shoulder as they both looked up at the yellow moon.
Unsure of what to do, Vyse kept his hand on Siobhan's shoulder and eventually Siobhan finally spoke up and said "I'm sorry Vyse I couldn't help but cry."
"It's OK Siobhan don't worry about it," he said gently relieving his arm from her shoulder and passing her back her flute.
"Thank you Vyse," she whispered "I still remember the day Merida gave it to me," a smile perching on her red face.
"You knew Merida?" asked Vyse "She was an old member of my crew."
"Did she dance for you and your crew Vyse?" She asked expectantly.
"Yes she did," replied Vyse a little confused.
"When I was little I used to play for her and she would dance along she taught me a few steps but I was no way near as good as her" the smile on her face began to grow as she said it. "One thing I never understood is how all the Hortekans wanted to mix with me but when it came to my adopted family they did not feel the same way and did not want to mix with them at all." her smile faded when she spoke these words.
"Siobhan were adopted by Centime?" asked Vyse calmly.
Turning to face Vyse and the wooden box held close to her heart she turned to face Vyse and looked up at him before saying "I was actually Vyse, how did you know?"
"I didn't," said Vyse gently "It was just a guess," he said smiling at her.
She smiled back at him, their eyes locked together.
"Vyse," Siobhan spoke up breaking the silence "where exactly are we heading? you never said..."
"Were going to a wedding anniversary of 2 of my old crew members," said Vyse starting to Panic.
"Are you OK Vyse you seem a little on edge" came Siobhan response in a concerned voice.
"Yeah but the party we're going to is in Horteka, Siobhan," he said a little concerned for his own safety, as he didn't know what Siobhan was capable of.
"Great!" came Siobhan response "I've wanting to go see everyone ever since I left but it isn't easy when you don't have your own ship."
"Really your OK with it, your not toying with me are you Siobhan?" he said in a relieved voice.
"Now why would I do that Vyse?" she said winking and giggling at him.
The two stood there laughing for a few minutes, until the laughter was drowned out by the engines. A few seconds the noise faded and Siobhan said.
"Slight block in the engine" looking in the direction of the engines.
Vyse looked confused by what she had said.
She looked at him and then replied "The cause of the noise, there was a slight block in the engine.
"I see. I bet Centime taught you well, then!" said Vyse starting to laugh again
"He was a great man." said Siobhan a large smile on her face, "I only wish he could have taught me more," the smile fading slightly.
"What do mean?" said Vyse looking directly at her.
"Well before I went to Horteka I obviously been taught how to wield a blade, because I'm alright at using one, but I left my blade behind in Horteka when I left 2 years ago," she said lost in thought.
"Well you can get it back when we get to Horteka in 3 days time OK?" a smile upon his face whilst he said this, "and you'll have to show me how good you are."
"OK Vyse I will!" the smile still upon her face.
"And you'll have to play me a tune on your flute as well," said Vyse.
"Well I can play for you now if you want," she said taking the flute out the box. Vyse indicated a smile to her and leaned against the railings gazing at her as she placed the wooden flute against her rosy lips. She closed her eyes and began to play a soft tune, which Vyse had heard in on his travels. Upon hearing something like this Vyse would normally find himself plunged into deep thought, but for some unusual reason he could only find himself staring at Siobhan. Every now and then Siobhan eyes opened as she breathed gently, Vyse couldn't help but stare at her as though he was under a spell.
Siobhan finished the tune on a delicate note and lowered the flute from her lips and placed the flute back in its box.
"That was beautiful," said Vyse still staring at her with a smile upon his face.
"Thank you Vyse," she said blushing and holding her hand up to her face.
Vyse still leaning against the railings noticed a small amount of movement on the wall, and yelled "Cupil stop hiding and come out".
"Cupil?" said Siobhan in deep thought.
Almost instantly Cupil came out of one panels along the side of the side of the ship and floated towards him. Letting out an apologetic squeak Cupil began to float around Siobhan' head.
"Hey I think he likes you Siobhan!" said Vyse smiling at her. He noticing her eyes filling up with tears. "Siobhan what's up?" he asked.
"I thought it was just a dream." the tears flowing down her face as she said it.
"What was a dream Siobhan?" asked Vyse.
She didn't say anything instead she stared down at the floor hoping Vyse would forget what she had just said.
"Hey! Siobhan?" said Vyse placing his hand on her shoulder and using his other hand to raise her face, he stared in to her eyes and smiled before saying "I thought you said you could trust me."
"OK, I'll tell you Vyse but you have to promise not to tell any one?" she replied.
"I promise on my honor as a blue rogue!" replied Vyse bowing to her.
"I have two memories of what happened in my life before I was adopted the rest is a blank to me. The first memory I have is when I was around 4 years old and I was standing in the middle of a platform dressed in white with 'Cyprus' my blade in both of my hands, standing on the opposite side of the platform was a boy around the age 11 also dressed in white clothing with a similar looking blade to mine in his right hand. Our eyes met before we ran towards each other and clashing blades."
Vyse stared at her as he began to piece together her life before she was adopted.
"The second memory I have was when I was a similar age I was running around a winding path chasing after a silver ball, I slowly caught up with it and I extended my arms to try and grab it, and it turned it to silver creature with black eyes it squeaked at me, and I grabbed it taking it down to floor as I fell down. It cushioned my fall and I sat there laughing - I'd never felt happier."
Siobhan clutched herself in her arms she felt a sudden flash of freezing cold surround her body until Vyse gripped her arms with his hands and she snapped out of it.
"Are you OK?" he said in a very concerned voice.
"I am now," she said smiling at him.
He smiled back before saying "So you knew Cupil before you were adopted."
"I guess so" she replied tickling Cupil stomach a he moved past her face.
"Well Siobhan I guess that you're a Silvite." he said triumphantly.
"A Silvite what's a Silvite?" asked Siobhan.
"A Silvite is the race of people in the old world who lived under the light of the Silver moon" answered Vyse "But." he stopped in the middle of the sentence.
"But what Vyse?" asked Siobhan again putting her hand on his shoulder. Vyse looked away from her gaze before saying.
"In the world war almost 2 years ago the Silver Shrine where all the remaining Silvites lived crashed in to their own continent in order to destroy the evil that the continent had in it. And with that all the Silvites plummeted into deep sky. Only one other Silvite survived except for you Siobhan."
"Who was that Vyse?" she said staring at him longingly.
"It was Fina," he whispered "you know the girl with the marking on her forehead".
Silence was his only answer so he decided to ask Siobhan another question hoping it wouldn't upset her.
"Siobhan why don't you have a marking like Fina does?"
"I," she paused and held her arm for comfort.
"You what Siobhan?" he asked clutching her hands.
Freeing one of her hands from Vyse' grip she rolled up the sleeve on one of her arms to reveal a small black 'q' shaped marking identical to one on Fina' forehead.
"You definitely are a Silvite Siobhan, there is no doubt about it," said Vyse still gripping her hands. "That would also explain why the Hortekan people welcomed you, they think of the Silvites as Gods because they were able to contain the Gigas."
Looking above her head Siobhan noticed Cupil had fallen asleep and smiled at him before saying to Vyse "It's getting late, I better try and get some sleep."
"I agree with you there Siobhan," letting out a large yawn "can I walk you to your room?"
"That would be nice," said Siobhan in agreement.
*******
Back at Siobhan's room Vyse stood in the hallway opposite Siobhan who was standing in the doorway to her cabin.
"Vyse I just have to say thank you you've done more for me in this one evening than anyone has ever done for me in my whole life," she said taking his hands in hers.
"Don't mention it Siobhan, any friend would do the same." Vyse replied.
She smiled at him "You really think of me as a friend Vyse?"
"Sure I do!" he said gripping her hands.
"I think of you friend as well Vyse," there eyes meeting as she said it.
The two stood staring into each others eyes until Vyse said "meet you for breakfast," and Siobhan quickly replied "Sure Vyse I'd love too, and you can tell me all about yourself OK?"
"Yeah and you tell me some more about yourself," Vyse replied loosening his grip on her hands.
"Sure," she replied letting go of his hands "Good night Vyse."
"G'nite Siobhan," said Vyse moving away from the door.
Siobhan smiled at him and slowly closed the cabin door behind her as she went inside. Vyse was left in the corridor with Cupil who squeaked at Vyse before heading in the opposite direction down the corridors and entering Fina's cabin via the wall. Vyse watched him disappear into the wall before heading down the corridor to the captain's cabin.
The Trip to Horteka
Aika and Fina had been waiting at the central fountain for quite a while and Aika was becoming more and more impatient.
"What the heck is Vyse up to?" bellowed Aika taping her foot more and more rapidly on the floor.
"Calm down Aika, I'm sure Vyse has a reason for being late," replied Fina putting her arm around Aika.
"I know Fina, but it just annoys me to say the least especially as he always says I have a problem with time and then he goes and does something like this!" countered Aika turning around to face Fina.
"Hey who's that coming out of the sailor's guild? It's not Vyse that's for sure! It's a girl!" said Fina pointing towards a young lady with long brown hair.
"Where?" called Aika sharply turning around to face the direction of which Fina was pointing.
"Hey guys," called Vyse running towards them "Sorry I'm late I was interviewing someone."
"It wouldn't happen to be a girl that you interviewed at all would it Vyse?" said Aika with sarcastic look on her face.
"Yes, why'd you ask Aika?" said Vyse looking very confused.
"Well for one we saw a girl running out of the sailor's guild blushing and giggling to herself," said Aika the sarcastic grin still upon her face while her face closed in on Vyse'. "And for two you're blushing like MAD Vyse!"
"WHAT!?" yelled Vyse at the top of his voice? He quickly turned his head away from Aika and Fina who were now having fits of giggles, and; looked into the fountain to see his reflection. He wasn't blushing at all the two had tricked him. "You two are both wrong I'm not blushing at all" he yelled as he turned away from the pair, as they were still rolling about all over the floor. Vyse decided he'd lost this round and walked off into the crowd as not to be seen by the giggling pair.
*******
Vyse wondered around the stalls looking for a souvenir of his visit too Nasrad, he had seen various things that he liked but none of them had persuaded him to buy them. He came to the last row of stalls and noticed that on one of them lay a very beautiful necklace - it had a wonderful silver moon stone (or at least he thought it was, it might have been a silver diamond) for a pendant. The moon stone had been wrapped in black string so it could be worn around the neck properly. Vyse liked the look of the necklace and thought it might make a good gift for someone later on in life.
"Excuse me sir?" asked Vyse indicating to the Nasr merchant.
"Yes sir is their something you'd like to buy?" replied the merchant smiling at Vyse.
"Yes how much for the necklace?" asked Vyse.
"Ah you wish to purchase the silver moon stone necklace so there is someone special in your life at the moment." The merchant replied.
"Why'd you say that?" asked a confuse Vyse.
"Silver moon stones are known as the lover's stone - they are regularly found in mid ocean but around here they are very rare," answered the merchant.
"So any way," said Vyse trying to get off the subject "how much is it?"
"For you young one I will make it 5000 gold"
Not wanting to argue with the old merchant and thinking that it was quite a fair price he replied "Sold," reaching into his pockets Vyse fetched out several large gold coins and handed them to the merchant. The merchant in return passed the necklace to Vyse and said.
"May the red moon watch over you young legend, and may it light your path in the future."
*******
The guild master had been true to his word, and as Vyse looked upon his new crew he scanned around the small crowd to make sure there were right number of people within it, he realized there was one missing. Several small boats from the Delphinus had been docked around where the new additions to the crew were standing. Still clutching the necklace and lost in thought of what the merchant had told him, Vyse was startled when a feminine voice came from behind him.
"Hi Vyse!"
Vyse quickly turned around to find the missing person he had been looking for standing right behind him.
"Hi Siobhan," he said smiling, "you startled me."
"I'm sorry Vyse I didn't mean too," Siobhan replied turning her head towards the ground.
"No need to apologize Siobhan, like you said you didn't mean too," replied Vyse in a comforting voice.
"Thank you Vyse," she replied in a gentle voice peering into his chestnut eyes.
"Anyway we'd better get to the welcome party." He replied breaking the gaze.
"Welcome Party?" replied Siobhan looking confused.
"You've never had a welcome party on any of your other ships before?" said Vyse turning back to Siobhan looking very shocked.
"um... no." she said looking at the ground.
"Well all we do at a welcome party is let people introduce themselves to other members of the crew so everyone gets to know each other," replied Vyse.
"Well it seems easy enough," replied Siobhan.
"Come on then let's get to the party!" indicated Vyse at the moving crew.
"OK" said Siobhan as she followed Vyse on to the Delphinus and loading her luggage onto the ship.
*******
The party had started really well - everyone had been introduced except for Aika and Fina who trailed in late to the party. They both made their way over to Vyse who was standing in the corner of the gallery talking to some of the new crew members. Now standing just behind him Fina said:
"Um.. Excuse me Captain Vyse,"
The men Vyse had been talking too carried on their conversation without him so Vyse turned around to face the pair and before he could say anything Aika said:
"Hi Vyse were sorry for what we said earlier we didn't mean any harm," holding on to her arm.
"It's OK you two but you did catch me off guard," said Vyse smiling at the two.
Aika and Fina giggled slightly until they caught sight of the young lady they had seen earlier on.
"Who is that Vyse" asked Fina eagerly
"Oh that's Siobhan - she's a new addition to our crew" answered Vyse indicating her to Aika who wasn't sure where to look.
"Hey that's the girl we saw earlier who had just left the sailors guild before you Vyse, she ran off blushing and giggling like a little kid." said Aika looking down upon the girl in front of them. A small frown of disapproval appeared on the face
"Hey isn't that what you and Fina were doing a little bit earlier in front of the fountain Aika?" replied Vyse letting a cheeky grin escape him. "Cut her a bit of slack OK Aika?"
Ignoring Vyse's response, Aika turned around to face Fina. The two began a usual conversation, but Vyse didn't stand around to listen to what it was about. He began to walk over to Siobhan who was currently sitting on one of chairs that were situated around the outside of the room.
"How's the party been so far for you then Siobhan?" he said introducing himself.
She looked up to see Vyse sitting down next to her and replied "It's been great Vyse, but I haven't met everyone yet, I've just to talk those two over there" she said indicating the exact position of Aika and Fina with her hand.
"Well then, let's go introduce you to them," said Vyse taking her by the hand and leading her towards Aika and Fina."
"Aika, Fina I'd like you both to meet Siobhan," said Vyse interrupting their conversation and indicating to Siobhan using his hand.
Siobhan bowed gracefully to the two with a smile on her face she said "I'm very pleased to meet you both."
Aika was still not in a very good mood from what Vyse had said earlier but before she could say anything Fina turned around to face Vyse and Siobhan she smiled before saying, "It's nice to meet you to Siobhan," then turning back to face Aika.
Now deciding to ignore Siobhan Aika turned her back on the pair before letting out "hmph" while crossing her arms.
Siobhan looked very hurt by this response, and turned her head towards the ground and quietly whispered. "Well it was nice meeting you both," before turning her back on the trio and headed towards the gallery stairs.
"Way to go Aika." said Vyse in a sarcastic and angry tone "She was only trying to be nice to you." With this Vyse turned his back on the pair and strolled after Siobhan, who was heading towards the deck.
Aika turned around, unfolded her arms and thought to herself Vyse's tone was serious; this is a proper argument.t Aika wasn't sure what to do she had never had an argument with Vyse not even a single squabble since they were little kids on Pirate Isle.
*******
Siobhan was up on the deck of the Delphinus, her hands clutching a small wooden box as she stared longingly up at the yellow moon in the nights sky, she was unaware of Vyse presence as he entered on to the deck.
"Siobhan." he called in a soft concerned voice.
Startled by what she had heard she quickly turned around to see Vyse standing behind her.
"Siobhan," he repeated "are you OK?" noticing a tear slide down her face.
"Yes I'm fine," she whispered wiping her eyes.
"Look I'm sorry for the way Aika acted; I don't know what her problem is," Vyse said gently to her and moving towards the railings where she stood. Vyse stared at her with his chestnut brown eyes, and caught sight of the small wooden box she held next to her heart.
"What's that?" He asked indicating to the small wooden box.
Loosening her grip on the box she turned around to face Vyse and looked up into his chestnut brown eyes and said to him softly "I feel I can trust you Vyse" placing the wooden box gently in his hands. "Open it" she whispered looking down at the box.
Not sure what to expect Vyse opened the small box to reveal a small hand crafted wooden flute, he knew he had seen the design some where else before.
"It's from Horteka" whispered Siobhan so quietly Vyse had trouble making out what she had said.
"Horteka?" asked Vyse looking a little shocked.
"Yes Horteka, the place where I was raised" replied Siobhan a faint smile on her face.
"You were born in Horteka but how?" said Vyse very confused.
"No I wasn't born there Vyse just raised" her smile fading "I never knew my real family or anything really about myself before I was adopted" she could feel the tears gathering in her eyes.
"Oh Siobhan I didn't mean to upset you," he said in a concerned voice as he placed his hand gently on her shoulder.
The feeling of Vyse' hand on her shoulder made it even harder to hold back the tears, she could feel them flowing down her face, she used her spare hand to wipe away the tears as best as she could. Until she regained her voice the two stood there with Vyse' hand on her shoulder as they both looked up at the yellow moon.
Unsure of what to do, Vyse kept his hand on Siobhan's shoulder and eventually Siobhan finally spoke up and said "I'm sorry Vyse I couldn't help but cry."
"It's OK Siobhan don't worry about it," he said gently relieving his arm from her shoulder and passing her back her flute.
"Thank you Vyse," she whispered "I still remember the day Merida gave it to me," a smile perching on her red face.
"You knew Merida?" asked Vyse "She was an old member of my crew."
"Did she dance for you and your crew Vyse?" She asked expectantly.
"Yes she did," replied Vyse a little confused.
"When I was little I used to play for her and she would dance along she taught me a few steps but I was no way near as good as her" the smile on her face began to grow as she said it. "One thing I never understood is how all the Hortekans wanted to mix with me but when it came to my adopted family they did not feel the same way and did not want to mix with them at all." her smile faded when she spoke these words.
"Siobhan were adopted by Centime?" asked Vyse calmly.
Turning to face Vyse and the wooden box held close to her heart she turned to face Vyse and looked up at him before saying "I was actually Vyse, how did you know?"
"I didn't," said Vyse gently "It was just a guess," he said smiling at her.
She smiled back at him, their eyes locked together.
"Vyse," Siobhan spoke up breaking the silence "where exactly are we heading? you never said..."
"Were going to a wedding anniversary of 2 of my old crew members," said Vyse starting to Panic.
"Are you OK Vyse you seem a little on edge" came Siobhan response in a concerned voice.
"Yeah but the party we're going to is in Horteka, Siobhan," he said a little concerned for his own safety, as he didn't know what Siobhan was capable of.
"Great!" came Siobhan response "I've wanting to go see everyone ever since I left but it isn't easy when you don't have your own ship."
"Really your OK with it, your not toying with me are you Siobhan?" he said in a relieved voice.
"Now why would I do that Vyse?" she said winking and giggling at him.
The two stood there laughing for a few minutes, until the laughter was drowned out by the engines. A few seconds the noise faded and Siobhan said.
"Slight block in the engine" looking in the direction of the engines.
Vyse looked confused by what she had said.
She looked at him and then replied "The cause of the noise, there was a slight block in the engine.
"I see. I bet Centime taught you well, then!" said Vyse starting to laugh again
"He was a great man." said Siobhan a large smile on her face, "I only wish he could have taught me more," the smile fading slightly.
"What do mean?" said Vyse looking directly at her.
"Well before I went to Horteka I obviously been taught how to wield a blade, because I'm alright at using one, but I left my blade behind in Horteka when I left 2 years ago," she said lost in thought.
"Well you can get it back when we get to Horteka in 3 days time OK?" a smile upon his face whilst he said this, "and you'll have to show me how good you are."
"OK Vyse I will!" the smile still upon her face.
"And you'll have to play me a tune on your flute as well," said Vyse.
"Well I can play for you now if you want," she said taking the flute out the box. Vyse indicated a smile to her and leaned against the railings gazing at her as she placed the wooden flute against her rosy lips. She closed her eyes and began to play a soft tune, which Vyse had heard in on his travels. Upon hearing something like this Vyse would normally find himself plunged into deep thought, but for some unusual reason he could only find himself staring at Siobhan. Every now and then Siobhan eyes opened as she breathed gently, Vyse couldn't help but stare at her as though he was under a spell.
Siobhan finished the tune on a delicate note and lowered the flute from her lips and placed the flute back in its box.
"That was beautiful," said Vyse still staring at her with a smile upon his face.
"Thank you Vyse," she said blushing and holding her hand up to her face.
Vyse still leaning against the railings noticed a small amount of movement on the wall, and yelled "Cupil stop hiding and come out".
"Cupil?" said Siobhan in deep thought.
Almost instantly Cupil came out of one panels along the side of the side of the ship and floated towards him. Letting out an apologetic squeak Cupil began to float around Siobhan' head.
"Hey I think he likes you Siobhan!" said Vyse smiling at her. He noticing her eyes filling up with tears. "Siobhan what's up?" he asked.
"I thought it was just a dream." the tears flowing down her face as she said it.
"What was a dream Siobhan?" asked Vyse.
She didn't say anything instead she stared down at the floor hoping Vyse would forget what she had just said.
"Hey! Siobhan?" said Vyse placing his hand on her shoulder and using his other hand to raise her face, he stared in to her eyes and smiled before saying "I thought you said you could trust me."
"OK, I'll tell you Vyse but you have to promise not to tell any one?" she replied.
"I promise on my honor as a blue rogue!" replied Vyse bowing to her.
"I have two memories of what happened in my life before I was adopted the rest is a blank to me. The first memory I have is when I was around 4 years old and I was standing in the middle of a platform dressed in white with 'Cyprus' my blade in both of my hands, standing on the opposite side of the platform was a boy around the age 11 also dressed in white clothing with a similar looking blade to mine in his right hand. Our eyes met before we ran towards each other and clashing blades."
Vyse stared at her as he began to piece together her life before she was adopted.
"The second memory I have was when I was a similar age I was running around a winding path chasing after a silver ball, I slowly caught up with it and I extended my arms to try and grab it, and it turned it to silver creature with black eyes it squeaked at me, and I grabbed it taking it down to floor as I fell down. It cushioned my fall and I sat there laughing - I'd never felt happier."
Siobhan clutched herself in her arms she felt a sudden flash of freezing cold surround her body until Vyse gripped her arms with his hands and she snapped out of it.
"Are you OK?" he said in a very concerned voice.
"I am now," she said smiling at him.
He smiled back before saying "So you knew Cupil before you were adopted."
"I guess so" she replied tickling Cupil stomach a he moved past her face.
"Well Siobhan I guess that you're a Silvite." he said triumphantly.
"A Silvite what's a Silvite?" asked Siobhan.
"A Silvite is the race of people in the old world who lived under the light of the Silver moon" answered Vyse "But." he stopped in the middle of the sentence.
"But what Vyse?" asked Siobhan again putting her hand on his shoulder. Vyse looked away from her gaze before saying.
"In the world war almost 2 years ago the Silver Shrine where all the remaining Silvites lived crashed in to their own continent in order to destroy the evil that the continent had in it. And with that all the Silvites plummeted into deep sky. Only one other Silvite survived except for you Siobhan."
"Who was that Vyse?" she said staring at him longingly.
"It was Fina," he whispered "you know the girl with the marking on her forehead".
Silence was his only answer so he decided to ask Siobhan another question hoping it wouldn't upset her.
"Siobhan why don't you have a marking like Fina does?"
"I," she paused and held her arm for comfort.
"You what Siobhan?" he asked clutching her hands.
Freeing one of her hands from Vyse' grip she rolled up the sleeve on one of her arms to reveal a small black 'q' shaped marking identical to one on Fina' forehead.
"You definitely are a Silvite Siobhan, there is no doubt about it," said Vyse still gripping her hands. "That would also explain why the Hortekan people welcomed you, they think of the Silvites as Gods because they were able to contain the Gigas."
Looking above her head Siobhan noticed Cupil had fallen asleep and smiled at him before saying to Vyse "It's getting late, I better try and get some sleep."
"I agree with you there Siobhan," letting out a large yawn "can I walk you to your room?"
"That would be nice," said Siobhan in agreement.
*******
Back at Siobhan's room Vyse stood in the hallway opposite Siobhan who was standing in the doorway to her cabin.
"Vyse I just have to say thank you you've done more for me in this one evening than anyone has ever done for me in my whole life," she said taking his hands in hers.
"Don't mention it Siobhan, any friend would do the same." Vyse replied.
She smiled at him "You really think of me as a friend Vyse?"
"Sure I do!" he said gripping her hands.
"I think of you friend as well Vyse," there eyes meeting as she said it.
The two stood staring into each others eyes until Vyse said "meet you for breakfast," and Siobhan quickly replied "Sure Vyse I'd love too, and you can tell me all about yourself OK?"
"Yeah and you tell me some more about yourself," Vyse replied loosening his grip on her hands.
"Sure," she replied letting go of his hands "Good night Vyse."
"G'nite Siobhan," said Vyse moving away from the door.
Siobhan smiled at him and slowly closed the cabin door behind her as she went inside. Vyse was left in the corridor with Cupil who squeaked at Vyse before heading in the opposite direction down the corridors and entering Fina's cabin via the wall. Vyse watched him disappear into the wall before heading down the corridor to the captain's cabin.