Miya Black, Pirate Princess I: Adventure Dawns (35 page)

"Beach? MIYA Beach?"

"Aye."

Miya's eyes narrowed. "Grace," she growled. Then she put her hand to her mouth, guilt flashing inside her. "But I'm the one that led her there ... but then what choice did I have?"

"What are you muttering about?"

"Nothing," said Miya quickly. A sudden thought struck her. "None of them better have touched my ship!"

"Miya."

Miya turned and grinned as she saw Sola approaching, accompanied by a few dozen northern islanders.

"Sola! Were any of them—oh." She stopped talking as he shook his head.

"Na'alofa'an, Ta'asi'an, a few Faloa'an," said Sola. "Many of them want to help."

"That's good," said Little Willy Baker. "We can use it. How eager are you boys to get a little revenge on those scurvy pirates?"

Sola glanced back at the serious-faced northern islanders behind him.

"Eager," he said.

"You should run on down into that jungle, head east. You'll soon come to the fighting. Got a bunch of lads down there already, they'd be happy to see your lot."

Sola nodded, then turned and said something in his native language to the lead islander, who shook his head and frowned before gesturing to the others. They ran off, leaving Sola behind.

"What was that?" Miya asked. "Why did they leave you behind?"

"I am too young, and not of their tribes. They don't like me telling them anything," said Sola. "But aside from that I chose to stay behind, to stay close to you. In case you need help."

"Oh. Thanks," said Miya. "I hope I don't need it."

"I hope that too."

"And I," said Little Willy. "Not least, either."

"Sola, are you really okay with this? Fighting, I mean? I know you said—"

"Sometimes it is difficult to know when you should fight and when you should yield. Sometimes it is difficult to tell the difference between thinking you are right, and being right." Sola looked at the still-burning jungle, at the Clover Islanders around him, at his sister's soot-blackened face. "This ... this is not difficult."

There was a shout from the jungle, and then the northern islanders came running out accompanied by a group of Clover Islanders.

"Few more than we thought, Willy!" came a call from the Clover Islanders. "Could use a hand!"

They turned and formed a line along with the northern islanders, shortly before a large group of pirates came charging from the trees, yelling and spitting.

"Right!" said Little Willy. "Weapons ready, all! Get ready!" He turned to Miya as she drew her sword. "Got your wish, eh Princess? Hope it don't turn sour on ya. Stick close to me and we'll see this out. GET YOUR WEAPONS READY, I SAID! TO ARMS!"

Miya looked around as they readied themselves to join the battle, at the faces of those who had chosen to stand and fight. Some she knew were ex-pirates or ex-soldiers, come to Clover Island for a chance at peace, away from their pasts. Others were just normal people, people who'd never had a reason to fight before but who now, with their home and families threatened, had chosen to take up arms. Miya saw angry faces, sad faces, scared faces, resigned faces. But all of the faces she saw had one thing in common; determination. A rush of pride suddenly filled her, overshadowing her fatigue, and she stepped forward, raising her sword.

"For Clover Island!" she shouted. Those gathered looked at her, some amused, others something more than that. Some raised their weapons, others nodded, still others smiled. Most of them called out in reply:

"For Clover Island!"

"Let's show those bastards who they're up against!" Miya cried, drawing some laughter. "For our families! For our home! For Clover Island! CHARGE!"

"I was supposed to say that," said Little Willy, running beside Miya towards the pirates emerging from the jungle.

"Sorry, got caught up in the moment," she said. "FOR MY PEOPLE!"

With a defiant yell Miya charged into the pirate raiders, sword flashing in the light of the setting sun. She slashed at the hand of the nearest, cutting deep and making him cry out, his sabre dropping to the ground. Miya followed this with a kick to the knee that dropped him, and Sola finished the job with a quick bash to the neck with the butt of his spear.

"Maybe I didn't need to worry," called Little Willy from nearby, as he disarmed a pirate and clonked him on the back of the head with the hilt of his sword.

"I'd be more worried about myself if I were you," Miya called back, as she slashed at the rope belt of another pirate, severing it and making him fall over his own trousers, bringing her knee up to meet his face as he fell. "On your left!"

"Saw him coming a mile away," Little Willy responded, slugging the pirate Miya had warned him about in the nose, sending him staggering. "Not made of much, are they?"

"There are more behind them, fresh raiders from the boats!" came a cry to Miya's left. She saw Big Willy Baker, Little Willy Baker's father (who was actually slightly shorter than his son), using a large axe to fend off a couple of pirates.

"Eyes ahead, Princess!"

Little Willy's cry brought Miya's attention to a pirate in front of her, wielding two cutlasses. She smiled.

"Two swords, huh? Shame that even one'd be too much for you," said Miya. The pirate growled and charged her, slashing with both weapons. Miya sidestepped neatly and kicked at his hand, forcing a grunt of pain from the pirate as he dropped one of his cutlasses. He growled as he attacked with his remaining weapon, but Miya caught the slash with her sword and spun the cutlass from his grip.

"No grip, no grip! You should go squeeze some rocks," she said, before kicking him in the stomach and bashing him in the head with the hilt of her sword as he doubled over, sending him crashing to the ground, stunned.

"Stop playing with 'em."

Miya glanced to her right and saw 'Grizzly' Karl Solcher—well known as one of the captains of the Black Navy. He grabbed a pirate by the shoulder and hurled him to the ground, before punching another hard enough to send him off his feet.

"I'm not playing," she said, easily parrying a blow from her right, then letting Sola finish off her attacker. "I'm taunting."

Grizzly frowned at Miya. "Get yourself back to the town square. Your mother's spitting mad at you, girl."

Miya glared at Grizzly. He glared right back.

"You should go," said Sola. "Perhaps—"

Suddenly an intense light flared in the sky, followed by an incredibly loud CRACK. The raiders broke off the attack instantly, running back into the jungle.

"What happened there? Some sort of signal?" said Little Willy. Miya looked at the fleeing raiders, then around at her fellow defenders, a little shocked at how quickly the attack had ended.

"Don't follow!" she called out, noticing a couple of the defenders had started to run after the raiders. "It could be a trap! Hold the line here!"

"As the princess says!" called out Little Willy, before turning to Miya. "You're not giving me much to
do
, Princess," he said.

"Sorry," said Miya. She looked around again, surprised at how many had been wounded in the attack.

"I ..." she began, then she saw Guy Brushwood, blood covering his right arm from a deep cut in his shoulder. Miya's face became serious. "Where's the medicine chest?"

"Miya, perhaps it would be best to return to your mother," said Sola.

"I'm needed here, the raiders might come back and there are lots of wounded to help."

"You shouldn't remain in danger."

"But they need my help!"

"There are enough people around to help them."

"But the raiders, they might—"

"You are important, Miya."

"Everyone here is important!"

"Even so."

Miya looked at Sola, then sighed.

"You're not allowed to teach that 'even so' thing to my mother," she said. "It's SUCH an unfair way to win an argument."

Miya looked around for Little Willy, spotted him wrapping a bandage around young Charles Sharpe's leg.

"Chuck! Are you hurt badly?" Miya ran over to him.

"Oh, M-Mi—Princess Black ... I'm okay," said Charles, who was just a little older than Miya, short for his age, with slightly wild brown hair and light brown eyes. "Just got careless, I suppose."

"Ah, he'll live," said Little Willy. "Won't you, lad?"

"Y-yes, of course!"

Miya looked at Charles, worried, then patted him on the shoulder.

"I'm sure you were very brave," she said. Charles blushed.

"And you too, I saw—"

"Little Willy," said Miya, talking over Charles, "I'm heading back to the town square. Apparently my mother is upset with me. I can't imagine why."

"That is a mystery," said Little Willy. "All you did was worry everyone around you sick by putting yourself in grave danger."

"From those green lubbers? Badger Pete might as well have sent a bunch of babies to attack us," said Miya. Little Willy grinned.

"Take care of yourself, Princess," he said.

"I always do. Come on, Sola."

Miya and Sola left Little Willy and the other defenders behind, heading towards town. They'd almost reached it before Miya stopped.

"Miya," Sola began, but she waved his protest aside.

"I just want to check something," she said, running up towards the cliff, where it overlooked the harbour. "I was thinking," she called back to Sola as he followed her, "why did Badger Pete signal for the raiders to withdraw, why then? A fresh bunch had just arrived, something must have changed out there."

Miya reached the edge of the cliff and looked out, down at the ships below.

"Badger Pete's lot have pulled back," she said. "And the Black Navy ships are just sitting there, guarding the harbour—but I can still hear cannon fire. It didn't stop, right?"

Sola shook his head.

"So where's the fighting?" said Miya. "Gah, why'd I leave my spyglass in that chest? Can you see anything?"

"Clouds," said Sola. "To the east. There's a lot of rain heading this way."

"I meant down there."

Sola shook his head. "I can't see anything more than you. I can hear the cannon fire is coming from the north, however."

"North? Is it? From further than the town, past the spine ... Dad!"

"Our father?"

"It must be!" said Miya, looking up at Sola. "He's fighting through Badger Pete's forces, breaking the blockade around the island! Who else could it be? No one else would be helping us!"

She turned back to look harder. On the other side of Blackport was a sharp rise that Tomas had named the Dragon's Spine. This made it impossible to see what was going on to the north.

"We should go to the town square in any case," said Sola. "Your mother is still waiting for you."

"Yeah ... I know," said Miya. "Huh. That's weird."

"What?"

"There's a ship leaving the docks, a sloop. Going fast, too! You don't think someone's trying to escape, do you?"

"It seems like this would be the time to do it. Badger Pete's forces have ceased their attack on the harbour, and the fighting to the north is acting as a distraction."

"I suppose so ... well, I hope they make it. Good luck, little sloop. Don't let those—oh! OH! THAT'S DAD!"

Miya pointed past the sloop leaving the harbour to her father's ship, the Lucky Clover. One of its masts was down, but other than that it seemed to be in fine shape. Miya danced from foot to foot atop the cliff, laughing and clapping.

"I knew he'd be okay! I knew it! He'll know what to do—hey, what's that other ship with him?"

"The flag it's flying seems familiar to me," said Sola. The flag was black, with a white cross through it.

"Hm ... it's kind of familiar to me too," said Miya. "But forget that! It's obviously on our side, Dad must have found some support! Let's get down to the harbour to greet him!"

Miya was already running even before she'd finished speaking. Together they made their way into the town, through the square, joining the crowds of people at the docks, all waving and cheering for the return of their king.

"DAD!" Miya called out, pushing her way through the crowds, to where her father's ship was coming in to dock. "DAD!"

When Miya was younger and smaller and even more prone to doing things without thinking, her father had drilled several Very Important Rules into her head. One of those rules was this: never, ever, EVER, no matter what, jump into the water near a moving ship. Don't jump off the docks into the water. Don't jump off the ship into the water. When a ship is moving, Just Don't Jump.

When Tomas saw his daughter shouting and waving on the pier, he didn't hesitate for even a moment. He jumped. He dove off his ship and into the water, and swam to the docks. Miya leapt at him as he climbed onto the wharf, throwing her arms around his neck with a wild, sobbed "DAD!".

"Miya," he said, his voice shaking, his arms tight around her. For a long moment they held each other, then Tomas released his daughter. He frowned at the new scar on her face and the exhaustion clear in her eyes, then smiled as he tousled her shaggy, slightly singed hair. In turn Miya gazed up at her father, biting her lower lip, tears flowing down her cheeks unchecked.

There were dozens of things going through Miya's mind at that moment, dozens of things she wanted to say to her father, but somehow the one that came out was:

"I missed you!"

Tomas smiled at Miya. There was only one thing going through his mind at that moment, and it came out like this:

"I missed you too, Coconut. More'n life."

Miya and her father stood looking at each other, both grinning like idiots, as the Lucky Clover came in to dock.

"I wasn't kidnapped," said Miya, before her father could ask. "I went off ... I went off on my own. After you left, I mean, I ... oh. Oh, you jumped off a ship coming in to dock! A moving ship! Just Don't Jump, Dad, Just Don't Jump!"

"JDJ, yes, I broke my own rule. Perhaps you might too, if you have children someday," he said. "And I know you weren't—"

"Hello, you big fool."

"Lily." Tomas held out his arm and his wife stepped forward into it, embracing him tightly as he held her close, his other arm still around his daughter.