someplace safe.”
Marco lifted his leg with difficulty, and straddled the railing, still holding onto his new-found sword, then tumbled forward, into the turbulent water of the sea.
Kreewhite was with him immediately, placing an arm around his shoulder to hold his head in the air between the pounding of the constant waves.
“Drop that sword! It’s weighing you down!” Kreewhite advised.
“I want to keep it; it feels lucky,” Marco shouted over the sounds of the waves.
“It won’t be lucky for you if you carry it to the bottom,” Kreewhite told him.
Marco said nothing more, as he silently acknowledged within his mind that Kreewhite was right, and that he should prepare to forgo the excitement of holding the sword. He felt the two of them start to move forcefully across the surface of the sea, moving up and over the swells of the large waves, as Kreewhite seemed to effortlessly propel the two of them with the rhythmic motion of his tail flukes.
“Where are we headed?” Marco asked after a few moments.
“Out of the storm, I hope,” Kreewhite answered. “The dawn seems to be breaking behind us, so I’m going towards the sunset side of the sea, where the storms usually come from.
“I don’t know where we are,” he answered Marco’s unspoken question. “After sunrise I may be able to find out.”
They were silent after that, as Kreewhite masterfully carried the pair of them through the gradually calming waters, as the sky behind them grew gray with the dull light of the sun rising behind the clouds in the east.
Kreewhite stopped when they reached a large, floating wooden plank, possibly a piece of some unfortunate ship’s wreckage, similar to their own ship’s demise. “You stay here and hold on to this,” the merboy instructed Marco. “I’m going to go look around and see if I can find out where we are. I’ll be back in a little while. Don’t go anywhere,” he instructed Marco.
“What if a mermaid comes along?” Marco laughingly asked.
“Especially if a mermaid comes along,” Kreewhite answered with a grin. “I get first chance to strike up a conversation with her!”
“I won’t argue,” Marco agreed, as he slung his arms over the wooden plank. He watched as Kreewhite disappeared, his large, greenish-golden tail flipping upward to splash Marco soundly with a drenching shower of seawater as the merboy disappeared beneath the waves.
Marco hung onto the wooden plank, and tried to look around, hoping to see something – anything – that would offer some break in the monotonous view he had of water and more water. There was nothing, except the promise of a break in the clouds overhead, as the gray overcast grew lighter in patches.
With a sigh, he closed his eyes and laid his head back, resting from the exhaustion he felt in every bone and muscle of his battered body. He didn’t fall asleep, but his pain-wracked mind wandered amidst speculation about the past and the future. He wondered if the citizens of the Lion City had recovered most of their loot, and he particularly wondered if Angelica and her maid had been safely rescued. At the same time he dreamed about Kreewhite taking him someplace safe, someplace from which he made his way back to the city, back to a hero’s welcome for his role in fighting the sorcerer, disrupting the Corsair’s defense of their looted goods and unraveling their planned escape.
When he opened his eyes, the sea was calm, the sky overhead was clear, and the sun was shining down from high overhead.
“Marco, are you awake?” Kreewhite was next to him, his head rising from the water.
“We might as well get going,” Kreewhite told him. “Are you ready?”
“Where are we going? Is it close by?” Marco asked.
“Well,” Kreewhite paused, “I’m not sure. I couldn’t find any landmarks I recognized, and none of the currents taste familiar,” he admitted. “We’re lost.”
Marco grabbed the sword off
Marco lifted his leg with difficulty, and straddled the railing, still holding onto his new-found sword, then tumbled forward, into the turbulent water of the sea.
Kreewhite was with him immediately, placing an arm around his shoulder to hold his head in the air between the pounding of the constant waves.
“Drop that sword! It’s weighing you down!” Kreewhite advised.
“I want to keep it; it feels lucky,” Marco shouted over the sounds of the waves.
“It won’t be lucky for you if you carry it to the bottom,” Kreewhite told him.
Marco said nothing more, as he silently acknowledged within his mind that Kreewhite was right, and that he should prepare to forgo the excitement of holding the sword. He felt the two of them start to move forcefully across the surface of the sea, moving up and over the swells of the large waves, as Kreewhite seemed to effortlessly propel the two of them with the rhythmic motion of his tail flukes.
“Where are we headed?” Marco asked after a few moments.
“Out of the storm, I hope,” Kreewhite answered. “The dawn seems to be breaking behind us, so I’m going towards the sunset side of the sea, where the storms usually come from.
“I don’t know where we are,” he answered Marco’s unspoken question. “After sunrise I may be able to find out.”
They were silent after that, as Kreewhite masterfully carried the pair of them through the gradually calming waters, as the sky behind them grew gray with the dull light of the sun rising behind the clouds in the east.
Kreewhite stopped when they reached a large, floating wooden plank, possibly a piece of some unfortunate ship’s wreckage, similar to their own ship’s demise. “You stay here and hold on to this,” the merboy instructed Marco. “I’m going to go look around and see if I can find out where we are. I’ll be back in a little while. Don’t go anywhere,” he instructed Marco.
“What if a mermaid comes along?” Marco laughingly asked.
“Especially if a mermaid comes along,” Kreewhite answered with a grin. “I get first chance to strike up a conversation with her!”
“I won’t argue,” Marco agreed, as he slung his arms over the wooden plank. He watched as Kreewhite disappeared, his large, greenish-golden tail flipping upward to splash Marco soundly with a drenching shower of seawater as the merboy disappeared beneath the waves.
Marco hung onto the wooden plank, and tried to look around, hoping to see something – anything – that would offer some break in the monotonous view he had of water and more water. There was nothing, except the promise of a break in the clouds overhead, as the gray overcast grew lighter in patches.
With a sigh, he closed his eyes and laid his head back, resting from the exhaustion he felt in every bone and muscle of his battered body. He didn’t fall asleep, but his pain-wracked mind wandered amidst speculation about the past and the future. He wondered if the citizens of the Lion City had recovered most of their loot, and he particularly wondered if Angelica and her maid had been safely rescued. At the same time he dreamed about Kreewhite taking him someplace safe, someplace from which he made his way back to the city, back to a hero’s welcome for his role in fighting the sorcerer, disrupting the Corsair’s defense of their looted goods and unraveling their planned escape.
When he opened his eyes, the sea was calm, the sky overhead was clear, and the sun was shining down from high overhead.
“Marco, are you awake?” Kreewhite was next to him, his head rising from the water.
“We might as well get going,” Kreewhite told him. “Are you ready?”
“Where are we going? Is it close by?” Marco asked.
“Well,” Kreewhite paused, “I’m not sure. I couldn’t find any landmarks I recognized, and none of the currents taste familiar,” he admitted. “We’re lost.”
Marco grabbed the sword off
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