Chapter II

The Captain of the Moving Island

Captain Heero Yuy's eyes ran over the main deck until they landed on Trowa Barton – the lookout – not only away from his post, but also teaching sailing knots to their temporary passenger. Relena disentangled her piece of rope, lifting it in front of her eyes as she stretched it, before starting over.

The lady had been on board for almost two weeks and had already warmed up to all members of the crew with the exception of Wufei, his first mate. She learned fast, the captain could tell for she had gone over at least half a dozen knots in thirty minutes and her green-eyed teacher seemed to be rising up the stakes with each new knot. Her eyes narrowed as she analysed, another time, the knot she was supposed to tie and her eyebrows knitted lightly in concentration, then she frowned and Heero could see she was in trouble. Trowa – ever patient – started explaining again.

'Captain? Heero?'

He turned around to find their strategist looking worriedly at him with a frown on his face. 'Are you alright? I've been calling for a long time.'

'Fine.' Heero answered a little more harshly than necessary. It was not common for him to get distracted… He was responsible for these men, a job that required him to stay alert at all times, but especially when his first mate was taking a break and the lookout as well. Apparently. 'What is it, Winner?'

'Remember that island Trowa spotted not too long ago?'

'Aye. What of it?'

'It's really not in any of our charts. I made all the necessary calculations. Twice. That island isn't supposed to be there.'

'What do you mean?' he turned fully towards the blonde man letting go of the helm. 'An uncharted island?'

'We could be the first men to ever set foot on it." Quatre told him, clearly excited by the prospect. 'But even if we weren't…'

'Someone may have hidden a treasure in it…'

'We need it, Heero… The gold and the silver. If we're really recruiting more men we need something to offer them.'

'An incentive.'

'Aye, Captain.'

Heero's eyes returned to the young lady. A detour would delay her arrival at Port Royal, where she had been headed before her ship was attacked, but he did not think she would mind much the way she smiled triumphantly every new knot she managed to tie, and they really needed to recruit new crewmembers… They were short-handed. Had been short-handed ever since Odin Lowe's disappearance.

Heero's father – the former captain of the Peacemillion – had disappeared during a particularly vicious storm a couple moon cycles earlier and most of the tripulation had abandoned ship afterwards, refusing to serve under anyone other than Lowe. Without gold and silver they would have no new crew members.

'Barton!' Wufei's voice cut through the silence as the Chinese first mate appeared on the main deck refreshed from a few hours respite and ready for a fight. 'Back to yer post, ye' lead-swinger!'

'Aye, sir.' The lookout answered before picking up the discarded ropes and climbing agilely up the ratlines, disappearing from view.

'And what are ye doing?'

Relena looked up at him from the pile of rope where she sat. 'I'm just trying to learn… I wish to help.'

'Ye can help by staying out of the way. Ye're not part of the crew.'

'Chang.' Heero called. 'Give over. I need a helmsman.' The captain met the young lady's eyes as he waited for the Chinese man to make his way to the quarter deck, she did not look as affected by the cold treatment as he would have expected, and he felt strangely proud of her. She smiled gratefully at him after a moment, and Heero had to stop himself from returning the gesture. Instead, he nodded and turned to Quatre. 'Let's have a look at those charts.'

XXX

'But if no one has ever docked there, won't this uncharted island be no more than a pile of sand with a few trees on it?' Relena asked with a small frown.

Duo finished adjusting the main sail and turned to the young lady with sparkling wide eyes. 'Don't ye see, princess? All the possibilities? The adventure…'

'I understand the adventure.' She nodded. however pensively. 'If it were a bigger island, god knows what we might find, but – from what I understand – the captain and Quatre believe it to be a very small island. More like an isle, really.'

'If ye had been living on mouldy bread and crackers for the last three moon cycles – with the exception of the occasional fish, of course – ye would understand, missy… This uncharted island might not have a big chest full of gold an' silver, but it'll surely have some coconuts, crabs and more fish.' He could already feel his mouth watering.

Food was one of the things he missed most about life ashore. He missed the wenches too and the rum. Heero, their dear captain, and Chang, his lovely first mate, were not very fond of the spirits and the few bottles Duo managed to sneak into the Peacemillion once in a while never lasted long enough… But, at least, he could gamble. 'Bet ye two pieces of silver there'll be crabs.'

'I do not have any money, Duo.' The lady reminded him.

'We'll put it on yer tab… What d'ye say?' he offered his hand.

'That's a losing bet.' Heero advised her, appearing out of nowhere.

Duo frowned, turning to the quarter deck where he was sure he had spotted the captain moments earlier. Chang was the only one there, playing helmsman. 'Ahoy, Capt'n!'

'Stealing from the gullible, eh, Maxwell?'

He gave Heero a toothy grin and a shrug. 'Like any good pirate. I bet ye there'll be coconuts.'

'I accept, but if ye lose... I want all decks mopped 'til they shine.'

'They think me money's cursed, princess. That's why, whenever they win, I always end up playing swabbie.' Duo told Relena, sending his captain a smirk.

Heero merely raised an eyebrow. 'Get ready to dock.' He said, heading to the forecastle.

'Well, lass… How would ye like to drop the anchor?'

XXX

The island was indeed small, so much so, Trowa was sure they would have been able to see the sea on the opposite side of it if not for the tiny gathering of trees at the centre of it. Palm trees, he had told the captain as soon as they had gotten close enough for him to get a better look, not a single coconut tree. He could have told Duo that Heero had tricked him, he did not think their captain would mind much – if at all – but Trowa knew he would benefit more from keeping Heero's secret than from telling their braided companion the truth. Duo might sneak in some rum from time to time, but it was the captain's favour that really counted.

'No coconuts?!' the braided man threw up his hands then let them fall on his head as if about to despair. Relena, who had been about to lay a hand on his shoulder, took a step back, her eyes growing as wide as saucers at the string of curses that flew out of the pirate's mouth.

'At least ye still got yer pieces of silver.' Chang teased as he walked past the couple and slid over the railing into the rowboat with a wide smirk on his lips. The others laughed, except for the young lady whose mind was still processing all the new words she had just heard.

'Watch yer mouth around the lady, Maxwell.' Heero advised as he prepared to follow his first mate. 'Winner, stay with the ship.'

'Aye, Captain.'

'Coming?' he turned to Relena then and offered his hand.

She opened her mouth to answer, but paused, looking around warily. 'May I? I am not part of the crew.'

Duo laid a hand on her shoulder. 'Ye may not be a pirate, princess, but ye got better sealegs than Quatre.' He grinned.

'Hey!' the blonde man protested.

'Love ye, ye landlubber.' The braided man waved at his companion appeasingly before turning back to Relena. 'So? Are ye coming?'

'Aye!' she said, smiling brightly.

Chang's eyes narrowed as he watched Heero and Trowa help the young lady down onto the rowboat, but aside from sending a disapproving look the captain's way he neither did nor said anything. Duo soon joined them and they set out for the uncharted island and whatever wonders awaited them there.

XXX

Relena spent most of the – thankfully short – journey to the island pretending she had not noticed the reproachful look Wufei was sending her way and that she was quite interested in the scenery. It was beautiful. To her left the sparkling dark waters went as far as the eye could see, contrasting with the clear blue sky, and right in front of her the isle had the whitest sand she had ever seen… It looked nearly soft and she wanted to take off her shoes and feel it under her feet even though she knew it would feel like ordinary sand. It would surely be scalding hot too. They had been having some hot days and there was talk amongst the crew of an upcoming storm. She had been fortunate enough never to have been on a ship during a storm… This time she was not sure she would be so lucky and it worried her.

Her eyes fell on Heero. He appeared to be distracted, but was actually trying very hard to ignore Duo, who sat beside her singing one of his favourite sea shanties while Trowa rowed. He knew so many songs Relena wondered how he even had any space left in his head for anything else. She looked from the frowning captain to the braided singer and smiled to herself. Despite almost drowning, losing Pagan - who had been like a grandfather to her – and being rescued by pirates she considered herself quite fortunate.

'We're splitting up.' Heero informed once their rowboat reached the sand and stopped. 'Barton, you stay here. Maxwell, you're with Chang. You head right and Ms Darlian and I will head left. Search for anything that can be of use to us. It's a small round island… We'll meet again on the other side.'

'Aye, Capt'n.'

'Heero.' Trowa pointed to the middle of the island where something dark appeared to be moving between the trees. It was heading their way, growing in size.

'It looks like a man.' Relena whispered noticing the shape of the shadow as it moved between the palm trees. Her fists clenched on the skirt of her dress as she wondered if there would be a fight. Chang and Heero had cutlasses on their hips and Trowa was hiding at least two pistols behind his back, tucked in his waistband, but Duo and she… They were unarmed. And she had no idea how to fight, or shoot, or anything of the like.

'It's going to be fine, princess.' The braided pirate laid a hand on hers and smiled reassuringly. She met the captain's eyes, but they revealed nothing, and Relena looked away ashamed to be as clueless as she was… How had she expected to help them when she could not even help herself?

'He's not trying to hide.' It was Chang's stern voice that cut through their thoughts.

The shadow had indeed turned into a man. A man who was suddenly standing between their boat and the palm trees, leaning on his rusty sword as if it were a walking stick. His clothes were filthy and tattered and his greyish hair was a sandy mess at the back of his balding head.

'What brings ye to me island?' the stranger shouted.

'We happened upon this island by chance and were hoping to find some grub and water.'

'Ye did, eh?' he sounded unconvinced, but not threateningly so. 'Well, there ain't no food or water, but could ye tell me how far is Sumatra?'

'Sumatra ain't anywhere near here, mister.' It was Duo who answered frowning confusedly.

'It's Capt'n.' the old man corrected. 'Capt'n Mike Howard.'

'The famous Capt'n Howard?!' the long haired pirate jumped out of the boat, splashing Trowa and Wufei with sea water. Their eyes followed him angrily as he ran towards the stranger.

'Captain Mike Howard?' Relena asked Heero with a curious frown.

'He's a well-known shipwright.' He explained before leaving the boat in a much more controled fashion.

'He builds ships.' The Chinese man explained, trying to make her look stupid, and followed Duo's example himself.

'I know that.' She informed no one in particular, making her way somewhat wobbly towards the bow where Trowa sat with the oars.

'Don't mind Chang.' He advised her, offering his hand to help her steady herself.

'I'm trying not to.'

'Ye're doing a good job, Ms Darlian.' The captain was waiting to carry her the rest of the way so she would not wet her shoes and stockings. 'Don't let 'im throw you off balance.'

She was quite sure she glimpsed a small smirk on his lips when she practically fell in his arms, losing her balance right on cue. 'I am sorry for troubling you.' She murmured sheepishly seconds before he set her down on the sand, far enough away from the breakers that she wouldn't get wet. Heero merely shook his head dismissively. 'And, please, call me Relena.'

'Ye may feel slightly unsteady until you get used to firm land again.' Was all he said, however gently, and turned to follow the others.

Duo was chattering animatedly with the old man, sharing – as was usual – some of his many tales. Howard looked quite interested, a fact which Wufei attributed to him being isolated in an island for heaven knew how long. The Chinese man met Heero's eyes when the captain finally reached them, followed closely by their walking, speaking, breathing bad luck charm and frowned. The island was uncharted, it was supposed to be empty, they were supposed to find supplies, provisions of any sort or gold, lots of gold. They had found an old crazy seadog instead.

'So how long have ye been here?' Duo finally decided to stop talking about himself and ask the man questions. He looked genuinely distressed for Howard's sake.

'I've no idea.' The old man waved his hand. 'After the first week, all days started blending together…and the constant movin' round didn't help either.'

'Movin' round?' Heero frowned.

'Man's obviously gone barmy.' The first mate opinionated.

'I think he meant moving around the island as in walking around.' Relena stepped in, noticing Howard's own deepening frown.

'I have not gone barmy!' he protested, shaking his fist in the air. 'The island's alive, I tell ye! It moves every week or so.'

'A perfectly round island…' the captain muttered under his breath, trying to rescue some long lost memory. 'A moving island…'

'Heero?'

'This is not an island.' He concluded. 'It is an aspidochelone.'

'A what now?' Duo asked with a frown that seemed to contort his whole face.

'A giant sea turtle that disguises itself as an island to attract its prey.' Wufei explained in his usual impatient tone, and Relena had the sinking feeling they would soon be turtle food.

'It eats birds, aye?' the braided pirate tittered. 'Big fat birds. I mean… Howie's still 'ere!'

'Maybe it doesn't like dry old meat.' the Chinese man ignored the glare the grey haired sailor sent his way.

'Or maybe it's just waitin' for 'im to get fat enough…' Duo reasoned, his eyes growing wider. 'We're fat enough already so… I say we go back to the ship right now. Capt'n?'

'For once, I agree with Maxwell.' Chang added.

'We haven't heard all that Howard has to say yet.' Heero pointed out calmly. Relena really wanted to back him up, but her legs were begging to run back to the boat. She might have voiced her own opinion if not for the fact that she was not a part of the crew… Though maybe Wufei might consider including her if he knew she was on his side on this one.

'A-hah! Now, I know who ye are!' Howard took a step towards the Peacemillion's captain, giving a toothy grin. 'Ye've got to be Lowe's son.'

'Ye've met my father.' Heero resumed, unfriendly.

'Aye.' The old man agreed, but was smart enough not to say another word on the subject. 'I don't know why the aspidochelone hasn't eaten me. I'd never heard of such a beast before, not in the shape of a turtle at least… I'd heard only of giant fish with backs that look like rocky islands. I suspect it eats normal turtle food. Perhaps it doesn't like people after all.'

'What do ye think, Heero? What have ye heard?' Duo turned to him, looking anxious.

'The stories I heard were all about ships that docked on rocky islands that moved and eventually submerged, disappearing under the sea. This doesn't fit, at least not entirely.'

'Maybe it's a friendly aspidochelone? Maybe it's waiting for Captain Howard to leave.' Relena was quite optimistic about her theory until she noticed the sceptical looks on the men's faces. She feared she did not need Wufei to make her look like a fool after all.

'We cannot discard any possibilities.' Heero commented, which she knew he did simply out of politeness. He was awfully polite for a pirate… It made her wonder about the man Howard had mentioned… Heero's father. 'Either way, it's best we don't take any chances.'

Chang nodded, starting the suddenly long walk back to where Trowa was still waiting for them in the rowboat. Duo followed, pausing beside the captain for a moment. 'What 'bout Howie?' he asked, glancing briefly at the old man over his shoulder.

Heero followed his gaze and nodded. 'It seems you're stuck here, Howard, and we happen to be short-handed.'

'Aye… It seems I won't be seeing me ship or me crew any time soon.' Howard watched the Peacemillion floating in the distance and smiled. 'I hope ye're a better captain for her than yer father was?'

'I'm certain ye'll let me know.'

'Aye, Capt'n. I most certainly will.'

XXX

As the anchor was raised, Relena climbed the stairs that led to the forecastle and joined Heero at the bow. The sun was setting, throwing an orange reddish light over them all. She watched with a smile as the giant turtle island – the mythical aspidochelone – slowly disappeared underneath the waters and in the background she had the distinct impression she could hear Howard sniffing and Duo trying to cheer him up. She should have bet, she should have bet them all… She would have been rich by then.

'It seems you were right.' The captain acknowledged, turning away from the sea to admire her sunset coloured face. Relena pushed her hair away from her eyes as the Peacemillion started sliding forward and smiled brightly. 'I would've liked to have seen Chang's face.'

'Is there a particular reason why he doesn't like me?' she asked more annoyed than upset.

Heero turned back to the horizon, taking a deep breath of salty sea air, allowing the feeling of peace to take over him. 'Everyone here has a story to tell.'

'What's your story?' she asked good-humouredly.

He smiled at her, but it was strained. 'Except Maxwell…' he resumed as if she had never interrupted him. 'Maxwell has a thousand stories.' Relena's chuckle turned into laughter when she heard Duo start singing on the main deck. 'Make sure you listen to a few before we reach Port Royal.'

The smile died on her lips as she watched the captain make his way back to the quarter deck. She was starting to carve herself a place there… A place where she might actually fit… Would her brother – a man she had never met – and his wife have a place made especially for her in Port Royal as well? For some reason, Relena doubted they would.


GLOSSARY:

Lead-swinger - A slacker. From the slang 'swinging the lead'. Back then a rope with lead was used to measure the sea depth to, for example: prevent the ship from grounding. It was an arduous job so lazy sailors would often just swing the lead and pretend to cast it instead of actually doing it.

Ratlines - The masts are kept upright by lines called shrouds which are fastened to the deck. Extending horizontally across the shrouds are the ratlines which the sailors use for climbing.

Sealegs - When a sailor is adapted to the ship's balance it's said he has sealegs.

Landlubber - A person who has no experience at sea. It was actually somewhat offensive to call another sailor a landlubber.


A.N.: Ahoy, landlubbers! Have ye found yer sealegs yet? So Howard has joined the crew! \o/ And I couldn't bring myself to write an evil aspidochelone... Sea turtles are love, mates.