Chapter 6
Dylan
I was finishing the final preparations, the Swan Island looming in the distance. We had sailed for two days before we saw it. I had spent my time planning our arrival and keeping an eye on Naia. I didn't want her to delay us in any way. But in fact, she was doing quite well, and we had sailed well. I was happy with my crew.
I was missing a few details, but my plan was done. I was pretty sure that either the map or the island would give us answers. I just had to follow my instincts. It had never failed me before.
As I was about to anchor, a voice sounded behind me.
“I'd like to go with you, Captain," Naia said behind me.
“No way," I replied.
“I could be useful to you!”
“Can you fight?”
“I have some knowledge," she said.
“Then you'll stay on board,” I conclude.
Then she stormed off. I wasn't going to let her go on an expedition with us. I didn't know if she was going to slow us down, help us, or get us into trouble. She had to respect my choice. But the truth is, my conscience wasn't clear. I was afraid of what she might do. So I had to choose someone to watch her. Yeah, I didn't trust her, but that was normal, I knew nothing about her!
I decided to go see Morgan. As usual, he was in his little kitchen taking inventory of what we had left in food. But since we had restocked three days earlier, we had plenty of ingredients.
“Hey Dylan, I could use some herbs, if you can get me some when you go ashore. And if you can find some meat, that would be great. We've got at least two weeks' worth, but this way I can stock up. Kevin said he'd need leaves and stuff to replenish his medicine supply, so you should check with him too," he said.
“Very well, but I didn't come for that," I replied.
Morgan turned to me. He looked at me carefully before raising an eyebrow.
“You don't? Don't you need his list, and mine?”
“Yes, but I need a favor actually,” I asked.
“Go ahead, I'm all ears," smiled Morgan.
“I need you to watch Naia while I'm gone.”
“Naia? Why”
I did not answer. My face must have been quite eloquent because he replied:
“Ah, I see. You don't trust her and you're afraid of what she might do. Okay, I accept, but you owe me one.”
“I am your captain. I could have ordered you to,” I replied.
“But you didn't, and you're my friend first. So you owe me a favor in return.”
“You know what, forget it, I'll ask someone else. I'm not falling for that one again. Last time, your favor was for me to bathe in Antarctic water, naked!”
“Yeah, it was one of my best ideas. I still can't believe you did it," he laughed. “And by the way, it’s too late, I already accepted!”
“You'd better do it right, or you won't get any service!” I warned him.
“Deal!”
I went back to the bridge. I really hoped that I had done the right thing by getting Morgan involved. They were going to become great friends and play a joke on me in very bad taste. Those were the risks when your best friend was a prankster.
Chapter 7
Naia
Don't get me wrong, I was dreaming of going to that island. An instinct in me was pushing me to it. But the worst thing was not that he had refused to let me go with them on land, it was a thousand times worse. I was being watched. Well, okay, I was doing fine. Morgan was my babysitter for the day and I liked him. He was funny, nice and gentle. Everything his captain wasn't. And it was refreshing!
But no one could stop me from going anywhere. After running away my whole life, I was more than good at escaping from any situation.
So when Dylan left with his team of five men, Ondine and himself, I decided to wait about half an hour before joining them. Morgan tried to entertain me with jokes, but I was too preoccupied to listen. Then, when the time was up, I set out. I took a sword, strapped it to my waist and jumped overboard.
“Naia, what are you doing?" Morgan shouted at me from the bridge.
“I'm going to join them, they need me," I yelled back at him.
“It's unbelievable," he said under his breath.
Then he jumped into the water, splashing me in the process.
“What are you doing?" I said, asking him exactly the same question he had asked me.
“Well, I'll go with you," he answered.” You didn't think I was going to let you go without doing anything. I promised Dylan I'd keep an eye on you, so I'm doing it.”
“Great," I whispered to myself.
And I began to swim. I felt good in the water, comfortable as if I belonged. I had always felt that way with this element. That's why I couldn't live away from the sea or the ocean. I arrived on the beach about twenty minutes later, Morgan hot on my heels. He looked out of breath as he set foot on the beach.
“Wow, you're a fast swimmer," he said once he caught his breath.
“Thank you, I'm practicing a lot,” I answered. “Shall we go?”
“I'm with you, you're the boss!”
I smile at him. I told you he was nice. Then we headed into the forest. The dampness could be felt as we continued our walk. She was thinking, I could feel it. As for Morgan, he was breathing harder and harder and I was starting to worry.
“Is everything all right?" I asked.
“I'm... I'm having trouble... with...”
“Morgan?” I shook him.
“The humidity is...”
He could not finish his sentence. He fell to the ground at my feet. I reacted at once. The dampness seemed to cut off his breath, but how? There could only be one answer to this phenomenon. That's why there was so much water in the air. The island was drying us out. Why didn't it affect me? Probably because I wasn't like the others. If I didn't save Morgan right away, he would die of thirst.
So I leaned towards him and placed my palm on his heart. Energy passed through my arm to his body. He regained consciousness shortly thereafter.
“Are you okay?" I asked as he stood up.
“I feel better, but I'm strangely thirsty.”
“It's normal, the island drained you of all the water in your body.”
“Oh really? And it didn't affect you?”
“Yes, it did, but after a few minutes, it was gone," I lied.
“Oh okay," he said in surprise.
I feared he would be suspicious now. No one was supposed to know why I was unique, why I had escaped this strange event of magic.
“Wait!”
“What?" he urged me.
“The others, they arrived before us. If we felt it in a ten-minute walk, then...”
“They are in danger too," the young man added.
Then we started to run, going deeper into the rainforest. The others could be anywhere, I just hoped we could save them before it was too late.
Chapter 8
Naia
Morgan and I were running through the trees as fast as we could. It felt like we were running for miles. Then we landed in front of a beautiful canyon. A huge cascada stood in the middle of it. The purest water I had ever seen lay before us. And swans were floating on the little ripples in the lake. They looked up as we approached. It was as if they sensed our presence.
Then we heard a noise to our left. A growl that sounded human.
“This way," Morgan pointed out.
I followed him and we found Dylan lying on the floor, one hand on his lungs, struggling to breathe. There was no time to waste.
“Morgan find the others, I'll take care of him," I ordered.
“Very well," he said as he left.
As soon as he was out of sight, I put my palm against Dylan's heart and did the same thing I had done for Morgan. It took longer, but I saw his lungs refill. I was relieved. I knew he would need me on his expedition. I had sensed it.
Dylan slowly opened his beautiful turquoise eyes. He looked into mine and I felt my heart race. I couldn't explain it. It wasn't like I was worried about his survival. I was relieved that he was alive, but that was all.
I held out my hand to him. He took it and I helped him up.
“Thank you," he said.
“No problem," I replied, letting go of his palm.
But mine was tingling, like it was craving his touch. It didn't make sense.
“How did you find us?”
“Just luck,” I said.
“Here," Morgan shouted in the distance.
We joined him at once. He had just found Ondine and the other men of the crew. I had to act quickly, or it would be too late. But first, I had to find an excuse to get them away.
“Go and get some water, they must be hydrated,” I cried.
Then, once the two young men had left for the water, I took care of Ondine. As well as the other four men. However, by the time I got to the last one, I couldn't feel anything. I was too late. He was gone. Disappointed, I sighed. I had failed in my mission.
“Ondine," Dylan said, addressing the young blonde. “How are you?”
“A little dizzy, but I'm fine, sir.”
“And Thomas? Why doesn't he get up?”
I shook my head. That was enough for him to understand. The island had drained him of all his water. I could feel it. The captain crouched down and closed the young man's eyes. I could see the pain he felt. Pain and regret. He thought it was all his fault. A tear rolled down his cheek.
“Dylan, this is not...”
“No!" he said curtly as he got up and walked away.
I understood what he was feeling. For it was exactly the same emotions that were entering my heart. So I let him grieve on his own while I took care of the body. Morgan and I dug a hole with the help of pieces of wood. Then, when it was big enough, we put Thomas' body in it, and covered it up. Ondine brought us stones to mark the grave.
Then, the task done, we turned to the waterfall and the swans. They were still watching us intently. It was extremely strange. They didn't even move. I approached them. It was as if I was being urged to go to them. I held out my hand and one of them came to meet me.
“Naia, this is for you," spoke the one who was near me.
“You can talk?" I asked, surprised.
“Yes. We're not ordinary swans. Like you, we are magic. That's what brought you here.”
My eyes widened at these words. I turned to my companions to see if they too could hear the swan. But they went about their business without giving me a glance.
“They can't hear us. This is all in your head," the swan said.
“Oh, right. That explains a lot, actually.”
“They are not like us. They are looking for a powerful object and they will need this to get it," the animal continued, pushing an object in my direction. “Careful, I entrust it to you alone because you are the only one who can understand its power. Guard it carefully and be careful of your comrades. Dark days lie ahead. Only the purest of hearts will find the treasure they seem so desperate to find. If they are too greedy, the sea will take its revenge.”
I bent down and picked up the object. It was in the shape of a tear. A tear of water that sparkled like a diamond. It was beautiful! I had never seen anything so beautiful. I looked up to thank the swan, but he and his friends had disappeared. So I put the jewel away in the inside pocket of my jacket, with the white bird's warnings in mind.
Chapter 9
Dylan
I couldn't believe that Thomas was dead. And it was my fault. I had gone headlong into this expedition without knowing what I was getting into. I didn't even know how the others had survived the water retention that had taken us. I assumed that we were lucky to get out alive. And that Morgan and Naia had come so far as to allow us to drink from the waterfall. But I had this feeling that my thirst would never be completely quenched.
However, another one of my men was dead because of me. They were my crew, I was responsible for them. Yet I was powerless to protect them as I should. Did I really deserve my title of captain?
Well, I had to stop feeling sorry for myself. Instead, I had to take matters into my own hands and return to the ship. I was about to order us back when I saw what Naia was holding in her hand.
“What is it?" I asked, gesturing towards her palm.
“A tear of water," she answered calmly.
“Where did you find it?”
“At the bottom of the water.”
“That's what we were looking for, right?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“All right, then let's go home.”
My men and Ondine nodded in agreement. We turned toward the forest and began our return journey.
“See, you needed me," Naia cut me off, her hair flying in front of my face.
Indeed, she was right.
“A point for you," I replied.
“Which means we're even, Captain.”
“Indeed, until the next point I expect to win.”
“Do not be so sure!” she said.
At these words, I smiled. She had succeeded in making me think of something other than Thomas. And, for the first time she had landed on my boat, I was grateful to her.
Chapter 10
Dylan
We had finally returned to the ship, telling the other crew members of Thomas' death. We had weighed anchor as soon as we had moored the boat. We had no direction at the moment so we were sailing aimlessly. All I wanted to do was to put as much distance as possible between my boat and that island.
While Ondine steered, I studied the map carefully to determine our next destination and quest. But even though we were sailing on, the scroll showed nothing.
“Here, maybe you need this," said a familiar voice behind my back.
I turned to see Naia handing me the water tear.
“That can only help you. But then you give it back to me. It is under my protection, understand?”
I could see in her eyes that she was not joking. That she would get the stone back at any price if I didn't give it back.
“Got it.”
Then she turned and left. But for some mysterious reason I wanted her to stay with me longer. It was as if I didn't want her to leave, to hold on to me forever. It was strange.
“Thank you," I said.
"Of what?" she seemed to say from her frown.
“For lending me this," I continued, holding the mystical object between my fingers.
“No problem.”
And she left for good this time, probably to go about her business. While I focused on the map again. I studied it carefully, moving the tear drop back and forth to see if any indication appeared. But nothing was showing. I was beginning to feel anger deep inside me. It was growing with each passing minute, amplifying my sense of helplessness. In rage, I lashed out and swept away everything in front of me. The map, the drop, my compass, and my glass of water all flew off and crashed to the ground as I sat up. I started pacing back and forth, trying to calm myself down. Ondine glanced at me to see how I was doing. I reassured her with a gesture and she turned her head away, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
I knew I was acting irrationally, but I couldn't help it. This map was my future, my dream. I had spent years trying to find it before I stole it from the temple. It was the one thing my father had never been able to accomplish. So it was my duty to do it, not to honor him, no, but to be better than him. It was everything I had never wanted to be.
Once I calmed down, I decided to pick up what I had dropped. My glass of water had shattered on the deck, shards of glass littering the floor. Fortunately, it hadn't affected the map. I bent down to pick up the tear when I saw that it was glistening. The reason was simple, I had dropped water on it.
“But of course,” I say to myself.
I carried all my items to the table and gently placed the stone on the parchment. Soon, water trickled down the paper, revealing a new destination.
“Cape over the valley of the sun,” I shouted to Ondine, excited by my find.
The adventure continued. I was in a good mood again, all of a sudden. I was going to have to thank Naia for helping me, even if she had done it unconsciously. I was nearing my goal and I was ecstatic. Finally, I was going to prove once and for all to my father who was the best!
Photo Credits: Pinterest
Comentarios