sea.
‘Come and see what Ethan caught!’ yelled Saxon, causing Jack, Carl, Fox and Otto to hurry to the stern. The animal was over a metre long, with a pale white belly, a darker silver back and delicate fins of shiny yellow. Its huge eye stared up at Ethan accusingly.
Ethan felt a mixture of elation and sadness. It was the most beautiful fish he had ever seen, and now its life force was ebbing away on the deck.
‘A yellowfin tuna,’ whistled Fox, admiringly. ‘It’s a good size too. Not bad for your first catch. We’ll have a feast tonight.’
Ethan grinned shyly. ‘I never caught anything quite like that in the river at home,’ he said. ‘I thought it was going to drag me to the bottom.’
Saxon and Ethan gutted and scaled the tuna, slicing it up into thick steaks. There was plenty to feed the whole crew, as well as Aisha and Charcoal.
As the sun sank into the west in a blaze of riotous colour, Ethan and Lily, Roana and Saxon sat on the deck eating buttery fish straight from the pan. When it was dark, they all lay on the deck looking up at the stars.
‘Mmmm, that was good, thanks, Ethan,’ sighed Lily. ‘I think that was the best fish I’ve ever eaten.’
‘It was exciting to watch you haul it in, too,’ added Saxon. Ethan smiled at the memory, flexing his sore and blistered hands.
‘Look, a shooting star,’ called Ethan.
‘There’s another one!’ exclaimed Saxon.
‘It is so beautiful,’ Roana breathed softly. ‘It is almost like a fireworks display. The stars were never this bright in the sky at home in Tira. I suppose it is because it is so dark out here in the middle of the ocean.’
‘There are no lights or lanterns or fires for kilometres,’ Lily added. ‘It feels like there is nothing else in the whole world except us on this tiny boat and a million stars!’
When they finally got up to go to bed, Saxon noticed a luminous green streak surge through theblack sea. There was another, then another. The others crowded around to watch.
‘It’s phosphorescence,’ offered Jack from behind the steering wheel. Jack was the ship’s apprentice, not much older than Saxon and Ethan. ‘It looks magical, doesn’t it? Things that move through the water, like fish and dolphins, glow with a ghostly light. It’s mighty weird till you get used to it.’
They watched the glowing green streaks until their eyes ached with tiredness. In a few moments they were all asleep, curled up in their cosy nests of sail.
The next day was as beautiful as the day before. The children ate, dozed and soaked up the warmth of the spring sunshine as the Owl flew across the blue, blue sea.
It was a strange feeling to be in the middle of a vast azure world, with nothing as far as the eye could see except white-capped waves and the odd glimpse of strange sea creatures gliding under the surface.
In the late morning, Lily woke up from a light doze. The sun glittered off the sea like shards of broken glass. A large dark shape broke the endless blue. Lily blinked. It was gone. There was nothing. She looked again. Once more a large black shapebreached the water for a moment and then was gone.
‘Hey, look,’ Lily called. ‘There’s something out there.’
The others all woke up sleepily from their sail bag cushions. They looked where Lily was pointing.
‘It’s a whale,’ cried Ethan.
‘It’s two whales,’ added Roana. ‘A mother and a baby.’
The whales came up together, blowing up spouts of water, like white fountains. They seemed to be playing, leaping out of the water, then crashing back with an enormous splash. The mother dived, leaving her tail upright in the air, like a giant signpost. The baby cavorted, waving its flippers and rolling over.
The children watched, mesmerised.
‘And to think the Sedahs kill those beautiful creatures to make lip balm!’ exclaimed Lily in disgust. She fingered the beautiful pearl at her throat, which the Merrow maid had given her as a gift after saving her
‘Come and see what Ethan caught!’ yelled Saxon, causing Jack, Carl, Fox and Otto to hurry to the stern. The animal was over a metre long, with a pale white belly, a darker silver back and delicate fins of shiny yellow. Its huge eye stared up at Ethan accusingly.
Ethan felt a mixture of elation and sadness. It was the most beautiful fish he had ever seen, and now its life force was ebbing away on the deck.
‘A yellowfin tuna,’ whistled Fox, admiringly. ‘It’s a good size too. Not bad for your first catch. We’ll have a feast tonight.’
Ethan grinned shyly. ‘I never caught anything quite like that in the river at home,’ he said. ‘I thought it was going to drag me to the bottom.’
Saxon and Ethan gutted and scaled the tuna, slicing it up into thick steaks. There was plenty to feed the whole crew, as well as Aisha and Charcoal.
As the sun sank into the west in a blaze of riotous colour, Ethan and Lily, Roana and Saxon sat on the deck eating buttery fish straight from the pan. When it was dark, they all lay on the deck looking up at the stars.
‘Mmmm, that was good, thanks, Ethan,’ sighed Lily. ‘I think that was the best fish I’ve ever eaten.’
‘It was exciting to watch you haul it in, too,’ added Saxon. Ethan smiled at the memory, flexing his sore and blistered hands.
‘Look, a shooting star,’ called Ethan.
‘There’s another one!’ exclaimed Saxon.
‘It is so beautiful,’ Roana breathed softly. ‘It is almost like a fireworks display. The stars were never this bright in the sky at home in Tira. I suppose it is because it is so dark out here in the middle of the ocean.’
‘There are no lights or lanterns or fires for kilometres,’ Lily added. ‘It feels like there is nothing else in the whole world except us on this tiny boat and a million stars!’
When they finally got up to go to bed, Saxon noticed a luminous green streak surge through theblack sea. There was another, then another. The others crowded around to watch.
‘It’s phosphorescence,’ offered Jack from behind the steering wheel. Jack was the ship’s apprentice, not much older than Saxon and Ethan. ‘It looks magical, doesn’t it? Things that move through the water, like fish and dolphins, glow with a ghostly light. It’s mighty weird till you get used to it.’
They watched the glowing green streaks until their eyes ached with tiredness. In a few moments they were all asleep, curled up in their cosy nests of sail.
The next day was as beautiful as the day before. The children ate, dozed and soaked up the warmth of the spring sunshine as the Owl flew across the blue, blue sea.
It was a strange feeling to be in the middle of a vast azure world, with nothing as far as the eye could see except white-capped waves and the odd glimpse of strange sea creatures gliding under the surface.
In the late morning, Lily woke up from a light doze. The sun glittered off the sea like shards of broken glass. A large dark shape broke the endless blue. Lily blinked. It was gone. There was nothing. She looked again. Once more a large black shapebreached the water for a moment and then was gone.
‘Hey, look,’ Lily called. ‘There’s something out there.’
The others all woke up sleepily from their sail bag cushions. They looked where Lily was pointing.
‘It’s a whale,’ cried Ethan.
‘It’s two whales,’ added Roana. ‘A mother and a baby.’
The whales came up together, blowing up spouts of water, like white fountains. They seemed to be playing, leaping out of the water, then crashing back with an enormous splash. The mother dived, leaving her tail upright in the air, like a giant signpost. The baby cavorted, waving its flippers and rolling over.
The children watched, mesmerised.
‘And to think the Sedahs kill those beautiful creatures to make lip balm!’ exclaimed Lily in disgust. She fingered the beautiful pearl at her throat, which the Merrow maid had given her as a gift after saving her
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