(Disclaimer: I do not own Treasure Planet; just Maryam and my other OC's.)

(Authors Note: Ahoy dearest readers and fellow writers! Thanks for taking the time to give this story a read and thanks to those of you who've left a review :) Your comments are very much appreciated and inspire me to keep writing. So, thanks :D Anyways, enjoy!)

Chapter 13

As much as it pained her to leave, Maryam Weller was now en-route towards the Adura spaceport with Will (and Scrapper) and Mr. Sterneck as her escorts'. Having been entrusted with her safety by Captain Flint himself, the young canid manned the lifeboat and steered them towards their destination, while his fellow shipmate kept a watchful eye out for trouble.

After a long and (mostly) quiet trip across the open space, the group finally reached the port and docked their lifeboat along the farthest end of the federal structure so as to avoid attracting attention from fellow spacers and authorities alike. While Mr. Sterneck opted to guard their small vessel, Will (and Scrapper) accompanied Miss Weller over to the market district so she could resume her initial quest and purchase medicine for her Father as the two small vials she bought in Torgual wouldn't be enough to cure his disease, much less sufficiently treat it. That, and Will was also there to make sure no one would give her trouble. While he may look like a scrawny whelp, he was more than capable of defending Maryam if needed. Plus, he was pretty good with a laser pistol.

Although she was wearing a bonnet and shawl, Maryam kept her head down in case anyone from Edmund's circle happened to recognize her. In truth, she didn't want him to know that she was still alive and within Audra's orbit, for she feared he'd take her away and resume their wedding. Keeping her arm around Will's for support and assurance, they walked into an alchemy shop where an old canid woman was busy grinding some sort of exotic plant into a powder.

Seeing the pair enter her shop, she glanced up from her task and gave a smile, "Hello there, dears. What can I do for ya both today?"

"W-Would you happen to have some medicine to combat damp lung by any chance," Maryam inquired, to which she pondered her question for a moment while glancing through her shelves.

"Hmm, it's been a few months since I've had someone ask about that type of medicine; however, I should still have some in stock," she shuffled over to another shelf and began rummaging through the various bottles and jars until she procured a medium-size vial of blue liquid. "Here we are: Aquanostrum. This'll help treat yer damp lung and bring some relief to ya."

"Thanks, but it's not for me. It's for my Father."

"Oh, bless his heart. I hope he isn't too far along with it as it tends to be much more severe for us older folks and the wee babes."

*sigh* "I hope not. Regardless, how much do I owe you?"

"That'll be 800 drabloons, please."

Reaching into the (hidden) pocket of her dress, Maryam produced the necklace Edmund had gifted her and asked, "Will this cover it?"

Glancing in awe at the dazzling necklace, the old woman gave her a nod, "Aye, that'll more than cover it. In fact, why don't ya take another bottle and get yer money's worth as I don't want to be cheatin' ya." She then handed her another vial of the Aquanostrum, to which Maryam gave her a nod of thanks and placed the bottles within her satchel (alongside the smaller ones from Torgual).

Once finished with her purchase, Maryam and Will exited the shop and made their way over towards the shuttles that would provide them with safe transport to Audra. While the lifeboat was a safe and reliable little vessel, there was absolutely no way it would survive Audra's unrelenting storms. No. It was better to take the shuttle for this trip.

Upon boarding the vessel and taking a seat, Maryam began to tremble, to which Will gently placed a hand on her arm and asked, "You okay?"

She nodded and forced back her tears, "Aye. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Mhmm. I'm just nervous."

Although he understood her reasoning for being on edge, he still worried for the young hybrid woman as she was clearly in distress about leaving Flint and returning to her homeworld where her fiance (if he was still alive) was likely waiting for her. He knew she didn't want to marry the man, but he also knew that if she didn't, she and her Father would likely become destitute.

Sensing her distress, Scrapper climbed down from Will's shoulder and curled up on Maryam's lap, to which she gently stroked his soft fur and emitted a calming sigh as she focused on petting him rather than dwell on the what if's.

XXXXX

Nearly an hour after boarding the shuttle, Maryam and Will (and Scrapper) disembarked from the vessel and stepped off the gangplank, where the pouring rain and blackened skies of Audra's night greeted them with a cold embrace. Pulling her shawl tighter around her frame, the young woman held onto the canid's arm and led him through the town of Portersville where her Father's shop was located at the far end of the market district.

As they walked, Will took in the various sights, sounds and smells as he'd never been to Audra before, but had heard plenty of stories about it from Maryam over the last few weeks. Aside from the port from where they had landed and disembarked from, he was now faced with an entirely different port as there were several sea-fairing vessels before him. All of which were stationed within the water and adorned with more traditional sails as opposed to the standard solar sails of space-faring vessels. The overwhelming stench of brine and saltwater filled his nose as they made their way through Portersville, while the sounds of rain pelting the streets and rooftops assaulted his ears.

"Is the rain always this heavy," he curiously asked as they continued on their way, to which she shook her head:

"No. This is light compared to what I'm used to."

"This is light?!"

"It is."

"No wonder you didn't want to come back. This is awful!"

"Indeed," she agreed with a nod. "Unfortunately, this is my home. Yes, it's soggy and depressing, but it's still the only home I've ever known…until I came aboard the Walrus, that is."

"I see. You really do love the Captain, don't you?"

Swallowing the lump in her throat as the rain masked her tears, Maryam was about to respond when she suddenly spotted her Father's shop in the nearby distance, to which she sprinted off towards the building as Will ran after her.

Upon reaching the door, Maryam attempted to open it, but found that it was locked, which was unusual for this time of day. Knocking on said door, she hoped to get her Father's attention; however, after a few minutes of intense knocking with no response, she became increasingly worried, which didn't go unnoticed by Will (or Scrapper).

"Maybe he went out," he stated, hoping to bring some sense of reassurance to the young woman, but she shook her head and frowned:

"No way. Papa never leaves the shop in the middle of a work day." She then stepped over to the adjacent window and peered inside, only to be met with darkness: There were no lamps lit. No candles burning. No sign of activity whatsoever. Panic settled in as she then began throwing herself at the door, hoping to break it down.

"Maryam, stop! You'll hurt yourself!"

"I don't care! I need to get inside!"

"Then let me help you."

"How? The door is locked and I don't have my key," she snapped, to which he gave her a small smirk before pulling out a set of picks from his vest pocket:

"Then it's a good thing you're in the presence of a practiced thief," he answered before adding, "Keep watch while I pick the lock." With a nod, Maryam kept a lookout while he skillfully worked his magic on the door. Thankfully, he managed to unlock it with only a couple of tries.

Upon opening said door, both of them stepped inside the empty shop before Maryam took off searching for her Father:

"Papa?! Papa, I'm home," she hollered and ran through the shop and up the stairs leading to the living quarters, where she was met with an eerie silence. Checking the kitchen, she noted that it was empty, to which she then darted over to her Father's room and opened the door to find that it was also empty. Lastly, she checked her own room, but found that it too was empty.

A set of footsteps broke the silence as Will approached and stood beside her. "It seems your Father isn't home. Is there anywhere in town he frequents?"

"..The only place anyone in this town frequents is the White Whale inn and tavern, but Papa's never been much of a drinker…at least not since Mum's passing."

"Well, maybe someone there will know where we can find him."

"..I hope so," she replied with a disheartened expression lining her face, while tears gradually began rolling down her cheeks. She hoped her Father was alright and just having a drink with some of his merchant and sailor buddies. That, or she hoped Will was right and someone at least knew of his current whereabouts.