Disclaimer: I do not own the company of Neopets.
Tipped off by my old childhood friend, I set off to Terror Mountain in search of Hannah. I stopped by an old tackle shop on the shores of Roo Island, weary from driving the whole way there. It was apparently the most popular lodge on the island; the owner did his business well, running a hotel for tourists from Neopia Central, all the while facinating Neopets with his sishing capability, and selling tack for outrageous prices. Nevertheless, I rented a room for the night and inquired about the dock.
"Wha, now laddie?" The old seaman eyed me suspiciously. "You say you be wantin' to go up to the Mount'n?"
"Yes."
He threw back his head in laughter, displaying a wide, toothless smile. "You crazy? You ain't be getting no one to take you up thar! It's a dangerous journey, ice and such. Now, why you be wantin' to-"
"Are you positive no one can take me?"
"Sure. And the worst bit is, pirates be swarmin' th' area! I hear rumors about the Revenge, The Black Pawkeet and such folks," he said, in a near whisper.
Discourages, I left the shop, deciding to take a walk on the beach and clear my mind. I strolled down the beach until I could no longer hear the banging of the shop door, the Roo Island merchandise owner screaming and haggling with Neopets, or even the hum of the Merry Go Round. I was alone. Or... at least I thought.
"THIS WAY, CREW!"
I whirled around. The sound had come from behind a bunch of trees on my right. Silence. I listened closer...
"You know, you really don't have to be so loud about it."
"There's no one around for miles!"
"..."
Another voice cut in. "Uh, captain, since when does Scurvy Island have a Merry Go Round?"
"WHAT! Oh drat..."
"And if this was Scurvy Island, there would be people around for miles..."
"Okay, I get it!" The voice came closer. "God, Talak, were you reading the map upside down?"
The trees ruffled for a minute, then out stepped an immensely frustrated Usul, followed by a red Kyrii and an Orange Wocky. He paused, apparently surveying the area. His sky blue eyes settled on me.
"I told you there were people here," he muttered before striding over to me. "Look, kid. You didn't hear anything, right?"
I stood up, staring at him. he was hardly older than me, with untidy blonde hair and a slightly muscular build. He wore a cotton shirt and loose pants; and a red sash giving his hair a cleaner, if not messier, look.
"Well, I definately heard something."
"No, you didn't." He looked over me once more. "What's your name?"
"Armin. And you would be Garin?" I asked.
"Yep." Turning to his friends, he gloated, "I told you I had fans." He turned back to me. "Look, Armin, you aren't going to tell anyone we were here. Anyone. Kapeesh?"
Suddenly an idea flashed across my mind. "Garin... let's strike a deal."
"Er.. wha?"
"A deal. I promise I won't tell anyone you've been on Roo Island if you do something for me. You're outlaws, you know, and I bet the Defenders of Neopia would love to get their paws on the likes of you."
"NEVER! The fangirls will come to my aid!"
"Oh... right, but remember, Judge Hog is a man."
"How do you know he's not rainbow?"
"Jacques is rainbow."
"Egad! He has found yet another way to blackmail us!"
"WHAT! That didn't even cross my mind..."
Garin looked ready to throw something. "ALL RIGHT, SO JUST TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT?"
"You know how to get to Terror Mountain?"
"Wah? Ice boulders, avalanches, and Indigo tap dancing Meepits. Oh, the danger!"
"Move aside." Jacques pushed past Garin and came face to face with me. "Yeah, we can take you there. But we're pirates, not cruise guides. Don't expect any more outbursts from Garin, hence the help you get from the Pawkeet."
"Oh... and Jacques, I got some Usuki-"
"SHUT IT!"
- - - - - - - - - - - -
A few hours later, Garin and his crew had successfully set sail. I had board of the galley, where Garin had related to me some exiting yet utterly grotesque stories of his adventures below deck. ("Oh... masturbation hurts! Especially with a fish...") The sunset outside had just diminished, and I was laying down just as Garin walked in.
"Hey, Armin. Mind if we talk?"
"Sure," I said, sitting up.
He sat down beside me and looked into my eyes. "You know, Hannah talked about you a lot."
I perked up. "You know her?"
He laughed. "Know her? I lived 15 years with her. I'm her brother."
"You still keep in touch, then?"
"Not much. I'm a pirate, I have little time for social chat outside the crew. I have only been living for three years." He sighed with pleasure.
I didn't say anything. My life was completely opposite... my last three years were hell...
"I wasn't yet a pirate when you met Hannah. After you left, she came crying to me. She said she didn't want you to leave..."
"She wouldn't care. She was in love with Kan-"
"She did care! After you left, she didn't want to carry out her plans to get married. Kanrik was pissed."
"But she still went accompanied by him to the Ice Caves-"
"Who have you been getting your info from?" He said, looking taken aback. "She went alone. Only a few months ago. Didn't want Kanrik with her. She said it was something she needed to do alone." He looked at me for a second. "Were you... in love with her?"
I looked down, avoiding his gaze. He seemed to understand.
"She understood that you had feelings for her, but didn't understand the depth of it..."
"It doesn't matter. If she loves him, it's what she wants. I'm not going to hold her back from her true love," I choked on the last two words.
Garin looked away for a moment, then stood up, walked across the galley, and looked back at me. "Armin? Come with me. There's something I want to show you." I followed him up on deck, and to the railing of the ship. He seemed to be peering at the borders of a faraway island. He glanced at me. "Tell me, what do you see?"
"I see an island. I don't know the name, though."
"And what do you think I see?"
"Er... I dunno... water?"
He smiled. "Maraqua, yes. If I ever do give up piracy, and trust me, that won't be soon, I would like to go and live among that splendid kingdom. I have... well, family, you might say, there." Upon seeing my look of disgust, he added, "Oh, not like that. I mean, Isca. Look, at first I had no feelings for her. I thought she was annoying and in my way. See, later, I saw her as a friend... and now as more than that."
I frowned. Surely Hannah wasn't the same? I'm sure she saw me as an annoyance, much less a friend, the entire time... unless I was being self-conscious.
"Am I right in guessing that your reason to go find her is that you might have a second chance with my sister?"
"I don't want a life with her. I just want to get her out of there."
"Armin. I don't mean to discourage you, but she's been gone for months."
"Then what are you saying about all this Isca and you stuff?"
"I mean that you and Hannah may still have a life together... as friends."
"That's not what you were saying about you and Isca. You're, what, engaged?"
"Yes, I'm glad to say that we are, as a matter of fact. But the point is Armin, even if you do succeed in the oh-so-difficult task of finding Hannah, don't push it, kay?"
"She's your sister, I think you should be a little more supportive, don't you think? Or why don't you go obsess about your love life a little more?"
"Oh, yeah," he said dreamily, "Isca's my Crabbe to my Goyle, my ketchup to my mustard, my Adam to my Donna... hey, wait, THAT'S NOT THE POINT!"
An awkward silence followed. We stared at each other for a while, trying to make out what each other was thinking. I was still firm in my journey to find Hannah; I wasn't going to let anything he said veer me away from that. But... maybe he was right about forgetting my love for her and resuming my life... No, I couldn't... she was all I had to live for...
"You know, Garin, I had no clue you were this intelligent."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
- - - - - - - - -
Author's note: The Isca thing branched off my story His Hidden Emotions. Only the last chapter had any effect on this story whatsoever, the first three chapters have nothing to do with his story.