~Chapter 8~

Joel

Noella was a hard person to keep up with since I was meandering behind on foot while she had a horse, but when I passed by a traveling caravan late I borrowed one of their horses. Nobody was around and they had several, so I lightened their load a bit and made my task much easier. I had lagged behind some losing the trail at another large palace, but the magical bow Grimhilde gave me would point the way, so I wasn't concerned. Lying beyond to the west of that large palace was a ship port and from what gossip I heard from passing by the locals, many of them didn't realize their kingdom had a port. I was back on her trail since clearly another barrier had been brought down. I dropped the horse off at the stables and walking down toward the docks passing an inn on my left on the way. There were several galleons of ships docked with their crew making ruckus on deck or passed out drunk. However, among the bunch of vagrants perched out among the docks or local sailors, a woman would be easy to spot and I did. Noella was at the end of one dock talking to another woman and I saw them shake hands. They promptly left the docks and headed for the inn. This was a perfect time to update Corissa and I summoned her from the mirror.

"What now?" She growled impatiently.

"I've followed the girl to a port out to sea in new territory and she appears to have hired a boat."

"Good, she's brought down another barrier." Corissa sneered.

"But there's a slight snag with pursuing the woman further…" I added.

"And what's that? You're a smart young man. Figure it out." Corissa replied annoyed.

"This boat is small Corissa, what if my presence is made known? Should I spin a specific lie or do you have one you'd like me to use?" I said mockingly.

"Watch your tongue, fool or I'll remove it the next time we meet." She snapped pausing briefly, "Tell her you can help her find the magic mirrors."

"She won't buy that." I insisted.

"Sell the lie. Gain her trust and keep up your reports. Got it?" Corissa asked.

"Fine." I replied.

I returned the mirror to my belt and carefully crept my way down to the docks trying to act casually to the few people still awake at this hour. The two girls were inside the inn, so I went to inspect the boat. Maybe it was bigger than I thought, but it was true to size as I figured. Why did Noella go for a small, pitiful boat when she could hire a galleon. It would certainly made my job a lot easier. I hopped on the boat and began inspecting it for hidden compartments. I pulled up on the first knothole I found spotting a nice assortment of food. The next knothole I pulled up was another storage space, but the spot was vacant. I stepped down into the space forcing myself into the tight quarters. Sunrise was a few hours away, at least for now I could rest my eyes for a little bit.

I was stirred awake with bright sunshine peeking through the floorboards of the boat. I yawned sleepily and listened attentively to the noise surrounding the docks, but soon I heard footsteps above my head. Noella stood attentively beneath the mast, which I could barely make out between the floorboards.

"So Moana, how long does it take to cross these waters?" Noella asked curiously.

"Roughly three days as the crow flies." Moana shrugged.

"I'm ready when you are." Noella smiled gripping the mast.

Moana pushed off from the docks and I could feel the choppy waves hitting the boat beneath me. This was going to be a bumpy ride, but at least a stealthy one. After being out on the water for what I figured was an hour or so, I suddenly noticed a pig hovering and snorting right above me sniffing the knothole. My heartbeat quickened.

"Pua, there's no food in there." Moana said.

Noella picked up the pig and thankfully I was in the clear or at least I thought. The cover pulled up and I was revealed. Noella was staring at me looking stiff and defensive.

"Looks like Pua found a stowaway." Noella said, "Who are you?" She snapped.

I pulled myself out from my hiding place now knowing due to Noella's combative stance, I would have to sell my story and sell it quick.

"My name is Joel. Snow White sent me to help you find your mother." I told her.

"S-Snow White?" Noella replied immediately looking more relaxed. "How?"

"By helping your pursuit with the magic mirrors." I replied.

Noella

This man Joel stowed away on this ship instead of talking to me directly. Why did he bother hiding in the first place? He had a credible story, but he seemed different than the other men I'd met so far. I noticed his dagger on his belt immediately along with an unusual glowing bow strapped across back.

"If you you mean us no harm, relinquish your weapons." I said quickly.

Pua immediately squealed leaping from my arms and stood in front of Joel. He hesitated, but eventually handed me his quiver, bow, and dagger.

"Y-Your bow is glowing." I commented.

"Yeah…" He replied, "It's a special hunting bow."

After taking the weapons, I pulled Moana to the far side of the boat out of earshot from Joel.

"What's with this guy?" I said.

"I dunno, I don't like that he hid, but his story seems genuine." Moana shrugged. "What does your gut tell you?"

"My head tells me to push him overboard, but my gut says to let him help. I've only found a handful of mirrors so far…"

"He might be helpful to you…" Moana nodded with a smile.

"I guess. I could give him a chance."

Moana and I rejoined Joel and I approached him crossing my arms.

"You can stay." I told him.

"Great!" He smiled.

I watched him carefully as we sailed forward over the next few hours. The wind was with us so we were making waves with good speed. Joel didn't complain about not having his weapons given back. Though, he looked like the type of guy who wouldn't need a weapon to defend himself. His shoulder length brown hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail with facial hair surrounding his mouth and chin. I noticed his hands when he handed the weapons over that they were rough and calloused. Joel was clearly a man who had known hard work in his life. It was nice that he found me and was willing to help. As the sun began to set, the waves around us really started to grow and show crests. Moana steered us forward and we climbed over the various waves with little difficulty. Soon I heard the laughter of a little girl come from nowhere and I looked around at the water. I spied a little girl on a surfboard who looked pretty young riding the waves with some blue animal. It was like a dog and koala hybrid or something. She looked at us waving with a big smile on her face.

"Aloha!" She greeted with a wave of her hand.

The animal waved at us too and I couldn't help, but notice his unusually large beady eyes. The girl on the surf handled the waves like a professional and I was stunned to find no adults with her. As the waves died off, Moana moved us closer to the girl and her pet animal thing.

"Hey, do you need help?" I asked the little girl as we got close.

"Nah, I'm fine. Do you like my dog? His name is Stitch!" The girl replied patting Stitch's head.

"What's your name?" Moana asked.

"Lilo." She replied.

"Where is your family?" I asked curiously.

"Stitch is my Ohana." Lilo replied.

"H-Ha-Hi." Stitch mumbled waving at us with those large black eyes and toothy smile.

"Well, take care Lilo and be safe." Moana said.

"I will." Lilo smiled and she paddled her board around heading away from us.

I watched her get further and further from us and I felt nervous.

"She's out here all alone...we could have helped her." I insisted.

"I'm sure she'll be fine." Moana smiled reassuringly.

"Kids are resilient." Joel added. "Lilo seemed to be handling herself just fine."

"I guess so." I agreed hesitantly.

This world wasn't like home of course I knew that, but being an older sister came with sometimes very annoying traits of worry. Especially recently for me looking after Riley since mom didn't do much after dad died. For a few months I resented mom for just checking out like that, but eventually I had to put those feelings aside and get over it because I was in charge of my little sister. It had been a burden and I didn't like to think about it.

The sun set and with it the warmth of the day. Moana told us of a place called Starfish Rock in the middle of the ocean. It rested on a small volcanic dormant island. We were headed right for it and she said we would get there by morning. It apparently was the middle ground of crossing the ocean. Joel offered to spear some fish for dinner and Moana helped. I wasn't too good with the spear, so I cooked the fish with some supplies Moana had brought with her.

"You know something guys…" Moana began as she ate her fish, "legend of my people tells of how Starfish Rock came to be." She began.

"Oh?" Joel answered raising a disbelieving brow.

"Go on." I told Moana rolling my eyes at Joel.

"It's a love story of two volcanos who wanted to be together singing love songs to each other. After some time, they got their wish and the formation after they both erupted is what turned into Starfish Rock."

"Let me guess...it's home to many starfish." Joel commented curiously.

"Yes, but after some time, sailors stopped there and built an inn for the weary traveller."

"So it's a rest stop." I added.

Moana nodded. As we finished our dinner, the three of us watched the stars appear one by one. No night sky in Seattle could even compare to the night sky here showcasing its splendor mirroring the reflection on the water. It was stunning. Moana and I talked for awhile while Joel just listened to our random conversation. He always seemed so focused about something. For being the one who came to help me, he seemed awfully guarded. Eventually, I brought out the walkie from my pack. I had to check in with Riley and that's what I did. She was happy to hear how well I was getting on. She was mainly stunned I was traveling with Moana herself. When I mentioned Joel, she told me she wasn't familiar with the name and immediately began teasing me for traveling with a total stranger, but the teasing stopped when I mentioned he was going to help me find the remaining mirrors. Moana wanted to continue sailing to get me to my destination, but I insisted we all get some rest. The ocean was calm and so it didn't rock the boat too much. Pua snuggled up with Moana and I curled up near her trying to get as comfy as I could. One benefit of my dress was that it was like a blanket for my legs, it was my arms that were getting cold with the breeze of the night. I didn't shiver too long before Joel kindly offered me his brown jacket that he was wearing.

"Thanks for offering, but I can't take that Joel, it's cold out tonight. You keep it." I told him pushing his arm holding the jacket back toward him.

"I'll be fine. Please take it, Noella." He smiled reassuringly.

I smiled with a nod appreciative of the gesture. The moment I put it on I didn't feel the least bit cold anymore. As I laid down to rest my eyes, Moana was beside me already snoring logs and I glanced at Joel who was sitting up on the other side of the boat looking out across the ocean. I don't know what prompted me to get up from trying to sleep and go sit beside him. Since coming to this world, I began doing things I wouldn't normally do at home. I surprised him as I sat down and I looked at him with a slight smile.

"You look deep in thought over here." I said.

"Do I?" He questioned.

"Everything okay? I know we're strangers, but I'm here if you need to talk." I offered.

"Thanks, but I shouldn't be the one talking. I'm here to help you after all. So, what's your story?"

"All I know is I need the mirrors to find my mother, but so far I've managed to find three mirrors, help three princesses, and not even seem closer to finding my mother. It's very frustrating and I'm worried about her."

"Clearly…" Joel replied, "But worrying about it won't help you. Worrying is a distraction, you just gotta stay the course and focus on the task at hand."

I grimaced remaining silent only giving him a slight nod in response. He was right, of course he was, but he also didn't know the half of it.

"So, what was with that magic black box you were talking to earlier?" He asked changing subject.

"It's called a walkie-talkie." I answered trying to hold back a laugh. "And it's how I communicate with my little sister Riley back home."

"It must be nice to get quick responses."

"Yes, she is helpful when it counts especially with things around here." I added.

"So, she is wise?"

"She's ten." I said trying not to laugh, "But hey she knows a whole lot more about this world than I do, but I am trying my best." I shrugged.

"I'm sure you are." He smirked. "So how old are you?"

"Twenty. You?" I replied.

"Twenty-two. You close with your family?" He asked keeping the conversation fluid.

"Very…" I said, "My father died and in a way destroyed my family. My mom…" I paused trying to find the words biting my lip feeling hesitant to answer, "hasn't been herself, so it's been up to me to care for my sister."

Joel frowned looking at me sympathetically.
"I'm sorry for your loss. I can't imagine...Your sister is lucky to have such a kind and caring older sister."

I smiled.

"So I shared a little about me, what's your story?" I asked mimicking his question to me. He had made decent eye contact with me until this point. Glancing out on the ocean again, he paused as if he was hesitant to answer.

"I had a simple childhood with my older brother and my parents. Hardworking, but good."

"Okay that revealed hardly anything at all. Could you be more vague?" I smiled teasing him lightly. My intention not only wanting to get to know him better, but also get him to lighten up. He carried such a serious demeanor most of the time.

"I'm a farmer's son." He replied shrugging his shoulders, "and I found out from a young age what hard work really was. My brother and I shared the same duties as we got older. He had no problems with anything doing whatever was asked of him, but I on the other hand hesitated sometimes, which led to some intense punishments. The work I do now is to pay off a debt on behalf of my parents..." He paused briefly and I put my hand on his shoulder feeling bad that I pushed for answers so hard.

"I'm sorry to hear that Joel. You've been working so hard for so long...I'm sure you'll be debt free soon." I smiled reassuringly.

I knew all about debt with students loans for school when I began my college career for nursing, but I knew in this world it obviously was a different kind of debt.

"Thanks for having such a positive attitude, Noella." He replied, "It helps."

His eyes stared back into mine looking kind and warm, but I don't know I'm sure there was more to his story because clearly there was a lot of pain in his eyes.

"You should get some sleep." He said.

"I will if you will." I smirked.

He sighed heavily as if he wanted to argue, but I think we both were too tired to put forth that effort. We both agreed and I moved back near Moana curling up finding continued warmth from Joel's jacket. I fell asleep before Joel even moved away from the boat edge still staring out over the calm waters.

Pua woke me nudging my arm with his snout gently. My eyes fluttered open squinting at the bright morning sun.

"Ugh, where are sunglasses when you need them?" I yawned.

"What are sunglasses?" Moana asked curiously.

"They uh, shield and protect your eyes from the rays of the sun." I explained.

I glanced over at Joel who hadn't stirred and was lying on the other side of the boat as stiff as a plank of wood. His eyes looked tired and I was curious how late he remained awake. Moana playfully flicked some water on his face and he shot up in a panic holding out his fists as he was looking for a fight. So defensive.

"Whoa, easy there tough guy." Moana said, "Sorry, but we're closing in on Starfish Rock and I could use your help tying off the boat when we get there."

"You should have let him sleep, Moana." I interjected, "I could have helped with the tie off."

Joel stood up stretching his arms out sleepily. I forgot how tall he was. Even I was taller than most other women here I'd encountered at a measly five foot nine, but Joel was easily over six feet.

"I can help." Joel commented holding back a yawn.

We sailed on and like Moana mentioned we eventually spotted an island on the horizon and it had the look of two volcanos smushed together. National Geographic would have have killed to get shots of this island. Moana steered us toward a vacant docking spot and I was happy to get on solid land for even just five minutes. I was a city girl after all and my parents had never really put attention toward giving me sea legs. As we made our way closer and closer, the island was just as Moana had described. Starfish were scattered all around on rocks and even stuffed in the sand. This place proved that the starfish was clearly not on the endangered species list. Seagulls were squawking overhead having an easy to find food source with the starfish around. One in particular was hovering over our boat making annoying sounds.

"Give me my bow, let me put that poor bird out of its misery." Joel offered.

"No, he's harmless." I insisted.

"Yeah, on my island, we believe any sea creature to be a sacred thing."

"Ugh, women." Joel rolled his eyes, "What about the fish we ate?" He challenged.

"That's different." Moana shrugged.

I looked up at the seagull again and I could of sworn I saw the bird wink at me. I blinked a few times in disbelief. It must have been the heat of the sun getting to me. When our boat docked, Joel tied it off and the three of us got off. To stock up on food and just stretch our legs on solid land. The island was beautiful and there were a few people around popping in and out of the inn just ahead of us from the docks. A most welcome pit stop from the miles of ocean surrounding us. We were here...Starfish Island.

Joel

I had to nip her over zealous friendliness in the bud. It had to stop immediately. There was a job I would inevitably have to perform and no matter how much I didn't want to go through with it, my feelings didn't matter. I was her huntsman and my orders were simple, but the moment I learned her name it began to get personal. Last night when I talked to her about my family, I don't have the slightest idea why I shared so openly with her from the get go. This was insane and I had to keep my guard up with Noella, but how could I deny the fact that she had a knack for tearing down walls.

Starfish Island was a welcome relief to being on the water. I was a farmer's son and even when I became a Huntsman with my brother, we still never got much experience with being on the ocean. Even though I wasn't used to it by any means, I was happy for the change. Moana went inside the inn to stock the boat with some food and Noella went with her. Pua walked with me as I walked around outside though I don't know why he would want to be my traveling companion. I would assume his animal instincts would alert him to my being a hunter, but to my surprise, he was quite friendly and calm towards me.

"Look Pua, I'm not giving up bacon just cause you're walking with me." I told the animal. He snorted in response and I cracked a smile. Now I thought I really had lost it. Noella and Moana eventually found me again with their arms full of supplies for the trip. I think the only one excited to return to the boat was Moana.

"C'mon, we're burning daylight you two." Moana pressed.

"Don't make me toss you overboard." I warned half teasing half serious.

"Noella, you're with me right?" Moana pleaded to her.

She looked at me with a subtle smirk. Why did she make that face so much? It was annoying.

"I think I'm with Joel on this one." Noella answered, "But truthfully, I also don't want to linger too long. Sea sick or not...the sooner I find the next mirror, the better. Speaking of which…" She paused glancing at me curiously, "Do you have any details for me on that Joel?"

I stared at her blankly trying to think up a satisfying answer. I pulled out my handheld mirror from my belt looking at the glass carefully. Corissa was the only other person I had talked to with this mirror, but I knew the instructions were just to think of who we wanted to talk to and it would eventually come forth through the reflection.

"What's the name?" I asked Noella.

"Ariel, find Ariel." She replied sounding frustrated.

"Hey don't snap at me, it was just a question." I replied.

"Right, sorry. I didn't mean anything by it." She muttered sheepishly.

"I thought you wanted Prince Eric?" Moana questioned.

"The last mirror gave me the name Ariel, so I know that's probably what I should focus on." Noella replied.

"This will be tricky since I have no idea what this person looks like. The connection might not be clear." I said.

"Do what you can." Noella pressed, "Please Joel, even subtleties will help me at this point."

I closed my eyes focusing on the name of Ariel and soon the mirror began to glow. My eyes slowly opened and the three of us looked at the image in the mirror. It definitely wasn't much to go on. The reflection in the mirror showed a blurred face of a woman with long, bright red hair and blue eyes. It didn't stay on long and the image quickly faded.

"See, not much to go on." I shrugged.

"It's more than we knew a few seconds ago." Noella insisted. "Besides, if you haven't noticed redheads aren't very common in these parts."

"Good point." Moana agreed.

More with the positivity with these two. Such mannerisms must be nice. Growing up becoming a Huntsman, I was instilled with the idea of being a realist because positivity wasn't well received by the queen. So such thoughts were stamped out of me early on.

"We better get back to the ship and find this Ariel woman and get you to speak with the next mirror." I said quickly.

The girls nodded in agreement and we headed back to the boat, stored the supplies in the storage compartment, and sailed off before midday.

The island faded into the distance behind us. The wind had picked up and our speed was fast with the wind luckily not against us today. Moana was a good sailor. It's not like Noella and I were completely incompetent, but Moana certainly knew much more than either of us did. The weather had been quite nice for the trip and the three of us immediately noticed the sudden change when the sunlight went behind a cloud.

"I don't like the look of that." Moana mumbled.

I looked up at the sky curiously and dark grey clouds were all around us and the boat was sailing right into the thick of it.

"Did those clouds appear out of nowhere or is it just me?" Noella said nervously.

"Fun fact about the ocean guys…" Moana commented, "It can change in a blink."

A low, shudder of thunder immediately shook across the sky and shortly after I felt drops of water begin to hit my face. Moana quickly took down the sails asking for my help since I was so tall.

"Hey guys, what's that?" Noella suddenly commented.

Curiously, we looked out trying to spy what Noella was talking about.

"Any binoculars on board?" Noella asked.

"Bino-what?" I replied.

Moana pulled up the knothole where the food was stored and pulled out something.

"Will a spyglass work?" She said.

"Perfect, let me see." Noella said grabbing it from Moana.

She looked out among the waves and I saw something out there barely without a spyglass. We were a ways away from it though.

"Moana, steer us out there quickly!" Noella said urgently.

"What's with the panic?" I asked.

"There's a boy afloat in the water hanging on some debris. He looks awful young."

Moana began to paddle as fast as her arms could manage in the direction of the boy.

"Here, let me." I said trying to take over for Moana.

"No." She snapped, "My ship, my rules."

"I'm trying to help." I insisted feeling frustrated.

"Here Joel, help me." Noella said.

Noella was lying on her stomach paddling something fierce hanging over the side of the boat. I followed her example on the other side. We got to the boy in no time and Noella scooped him up from the wooden debris.

"Must have been a boat accident." I concluded looking at the chunks of broken wood floating in the water. Noella laid him down and immediately checked his pulse and started pumping the boy's chest.

"He's not breathing." She said quickly. "This boy is hard like a rock."

"Why of course, he's a wooden puppet." A strange voice said.

The three of us looked around and a small, clothed, bug wearing a top hat came out of the boy's pocket.

"W-Who are you?" I asked.

The bug took off his hat and took a bow.

"Cricket's the name. Jiminy Cricket." He answered.

"Than this must be Pinocchio." Noella said.

Pinocchio's eyes fluttered open at the sound of his name and coughed out some water.

"Good job, Pinoch...get it out." Jiminy cheered.

"Swim away...Monstro." Pinocchio muttered weakly.

"Monstro?" I questioned.

I watched as Noella's face turned pale.

"Moana, sail us out of here now!" She snapped.

Noella looked over the side of the boat and I did too curiously. Up from the depths cruising at lightning speeds, was a huge black whale with piercing red eyes. He was heading right toward us and Moana turned the boat in time just giving us a huge wave of aftermath from the whale breaching. In seconds, we all grabbed onto something to hang onto as the boat shot down the crest of the wave. I grabbed the mast at the same time I grabbed Noella at her waist hanging on tightly as she held Pinocchio and Moana had Pua. The wave calmed with a splash drenching us not that it mattered much with the rain. As the boat settled, I let go of Noella and she thanked me for the assist. I nodded and quickly opened the storage compartment where the girls put my bow for safekeeping. I hadn't used the queen's bow before this moment, but I slightly doubted the capabilities of defeating a massive whale with a bow and arrow. Regardless I had to try. Monstro breached again and flew over the boat in an arch. I pulled back the string on the bow aiming where I figured where the heart might be located. I didn't hesitate as I released the string. The arrow took flight and hit the whale. Monstro made a gutted grunting sound and I was relieved as I watched the whale take a nose dive into the sea dead. This bow was really something. However, it was premature celebration as the tail of the whale was coming down toward the boat.

"Jump!" I yelled.

Everyone did so and I hesitated just mere seconds grabbing Noella's pack before the tail came down and I surfaced as I watched Moana's boat split in two. I watched everyone surface and we all swam quickly toward the debris from Moana's boat seeing if we could maybe stop treading water. Moana found a large chunk and laid against it looking sad laying Pua beside her.

"Sorry about your boat." I said glumly.

"Thanks, but I'm more glad that everyone is okay." She replied.

Pinocchio joined Moana lying against the wood and set Jiminy on his shoulder.

"You gotta get Pinocchio to land Moana." Noella said. "We don't want his wood to rot."

Moana looked confused.

"What about you guys?" She questioned.

"I'll get us some help." Noella replied, "You've done more than enough for my sake. Just tell me the direction to keep heading to find Prince Eric's kingdom."

"Just keep heading west. It's a palace resting right on the shores of the sea. You can't miss it."

Noella hugged Moana quickly thanking her for everything. As the girls said their goodbyes, Pinocchio thanked me kindly and Jiminy hopped onto my shoulder.

"Let your conscience be your guide." He whispered to me and quickly hopped back on Pinocchio's shoulder. I didn't even have to question to what he was referring to. Our group parted ways and Noella definitely seemed sad.

"So you mentioned help…" I said trying to distract her. "I mean floating debris is nice and all, but…"

Noella snapped out of it looking embarrassed and she immediately began singing a tune. In seconds upon finishing her random musical number. A couple of dolphins swam up to us. They appeared out of nowhere and began making noises and splashing excitedly.

"Can you take us to safety?" Noella asked patting the dolphin closest to her.

Both dolphins made even louder noise as if they understood Noella's instruction. The fish waited for us. Noella grabbed the dorsal fin of her dolphin and glanced at me.

"It's not a shark, Joel." Noella smirked. "C'mon let's go."

Finally, I let go of the boat debris and grabbed the fin and immediately both animals took off heading west.

The rain had picked up and was pelting our faces. It was hitting the water so hard that it ricocheted back up splashing our faces more. So water really was coming down from above and below. The sun was going down, but the sky was barely lit with such dark clouds enveloping the sky. It was hard to tell if it was midday or evening. I glanced at Noella and she looked miserable and cold though frankly so was I. After what seemed like several hours, I spied something glorious floating atop the water about a hundred yards from us. It was a large galleon ship. Finally! The dolphins actually came through. I wouldn't have doubted so much if I wasn't so wet and cranky. The fish brought us right beside the ship and began making a lot of noise. A sailor in the crow's nest immediately waved us down.

"Man overboard." The man yelled.

All the sailors stopped everything and threw down a rope ladder over the side. The dolphins quickly swam away as we got closer to the ship. Noella was going to let me get up first, but I wouldn't hear of it. We both got on deck and the kind sailors welcomed us on board and threw us linens to dry ourselves with. The rain persisted, but it was a welcome relief being out of the water. My ponytail came out during all the swimming, so my hair was a mess. I wrung it out the best I could and soon a large black and grey dog ran up to me licking me in the face. Noella laughed and petted the dog when he trotted over to her.

"Max, be nice to our guests." A voice called out.

The sailors began stepping aside letting someone make their way through toward us. A man with dark hair wearing a loose white shirt and blue trousers approached us.

"Thank you for the hospitality." Noella said quickly.

"We owe you our lives." I added.

"I'm glad I was here." The man replied, "What happened to you?" He asked curiously.

"It's a long story." Noella shrugged.

"I'm a fan of stories especially on these waters." He replied, "Tell you what, you guys get cleaned up and meet me in my cabin for some food. Swap food for some good stories. Deal?" The man smirked.

We agreed.

"I'm Noella by the way."

The man bowed politely crossing his arm over his chest. I extended him my hand, which he took giving me a firm shake.

"Joel." I said.

"Pleasure to meet you both. I'm Eric."