13
Isla Lor o
T he moment I crossed that arch, the air itself seemed to shimmer with magic and adventure, wrapping around me like a promise. I felt an overwhelming urge to shout all my truths, as if the world was finally ready to hear them. It was as if everything had shifted, revealing a hidden paradise that existed only here, streets full of life protected only by a wall, an arch with two doors, and two giant pirate skeletons. And I was being a part of it, right now.
My eyes widened, and my mouth opened of its own accord as I took in every corner. My senses were flooded with the vibrancy of the place, each sight and sound a revelation that left me in awe. Lanterns swayed in the night breeze, their glasses painted in hues of blue, pink, and yellow, turning the streets into a canvas of shifting colors. There were stalls in every corner, each one a treasure trove of delights that even at this late hour brimmed with life and laughter. Vendors called out with friendly smiles, offering fresh-cooked seafood that sizzled on open grills, their scents mingling with the salty tang of the ocean. Brightly painted signs advertised everything, from juicy tropical fruits to hand-carved trinkets, seashell jewelry, and starfish that seemed to glow faintly under the lights.
The taverns were the heart of the nocturnal charm of the streets, all their doors were wide open, spilling music and laughter into the night air. Each one was a riot of color—walls painted in vibrant shades of turquoise, coral, and sunshine yellow, with murals depicting scenes of pirate life. Inside, the tables were crowded with pirates singing stories over mugs of what it looked and smelled like sweet, spiced rum. This place was a beacon of life and warmth in the darkness, a place where night only served to enhance its beauty, making the colors glow all the brighter and the joy feel all the more profound. And suddenly, the intense desire to experience these streets bathed in the light of day swept over me.
Efren laughed as he took Jonah's hand and started running down one of the streets.
“Donna, c’mon!” Jonah screamed. I smiled instinctively and took a few steps to follow them, but a strong hand grabbed my arm and pulled me back.
“Oh no, no, no. You’re staying near me,” Captain Pierce muttered.
“What happened to boring statements?” I said, yanking my arm free from his grip. He laughed. A laugh so soft that was almost a whisper, but it curled through the air like smoke, each note a tease that sent a peculiar heat to my face, like soft murmurs delicately touching my cheeks.
I turned my head to the side, hiding what was surely a flushed, pink face, just as Duke approached, clearing his throat. “I'm gonna go ahead and look for a table at the Mariner’s Mirage. They’ll be waiting for us there.”
Captain Pierce nodded, and he turned to leave.
When Duke was out of reach, the captain took a step closer and whispered in my ear, “Don’t tell Duke about Dara.”
I looked at him, my eyes widened in question and surprise.
“He needs to find out by himself.”
“What do you mean?” I whispered above the noise.
“He loved her.”
My breath caught in my throat and I started to feel an immense pressure in my chest.
She had someone. Dara had someone waiting for her all this time.
He loved her, and now he was about to find out that she was not coming back. She was not coming back to him. And I felt a terrible responsibility, because I was here and she wasn’t. She was destined to be here and I did nothing for it to happen.
“Don’t you dare.” The captain’s voice pulled me out of my own head and my relentless, spiraling thoughts. “It was that bastard who killed her.”
A tear slipped from the corner of my eye, trailing down my cheek as I looked up to face him, and I noticed the way his gaze travelled along the path of the tear. I could see how his eyes were filled with something that seemed like a silent plea and a deep aching sympathy. And it hit me then that maybe he was also feeling that sudden deep sadness, because he had seen them together, he had been part of their story, and loved them both. Or maybe it was the magic of this place and I was just imagining it.
“That look again. Stop.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“You shouldn’t be.”
“You guys lost her too,” I snapped. “So yes, I am.”
The crowds, laughter and music flowed around us, but we were still caught in each other’s gaze, and I could sense he was still trying to figure me out, because he was looking at me the same way he looked when we were kneeling under that table picking up broken pieces of a globe. As if he were trying to comprehend that the lost daughter of the most famous captain in the Four Kingdoms was a pirate who couldn’t swim, cried, asked for forgiveness, and had never been in a place like this.
“I will kill him, don’t worry,” he said, breaking eye contact as he started walking down one of the streets.
I immediately followed his steps and when I was close enough, I heard him say, “Unless you want to do it yourself, of course.”
Me? If i wanted to kill Diego? I never asked myself something like that, it had never even crossed my mind.
We kept walking in silence and I found myself tangled in a web of unsureness. I could never do that. But was I feeling some kind of revulsion at the idea of him killing Diego? I didn’t think I was .
Gods I felt awful, a gnawing doubt settled in my chest forcing me to confront the uncomfortable truth that perhaps my sense of right and wrong wasn’t as steadfast as I believed. How could I be so hypocritical to preach the injustices of this reign, but at the same time be reasoning that I didn’t think I would stop Captain Pierce if he took justice into his own hands?
He stopped abruptly, and with his back to me, said like an affirmation, “You love him.”
“What?” I managed to whisper.
His turn caught me off guard and I took a step back reflexively, stepping on something on the ground that made me lose my balance. He was there immediately holding me by the arms, asking, “Do you love him?”
A sudden and loud gunshot silenced the streets. His grip on my arms tightened, and before either of us could say anything, or even look away from each other, a sinister voice shouted, “Calico Pierce!”
“It seems like the fun starts now, love,” he said with that devilish smirk of his.
I turned around and saw a very big man wearing a hat with a feather.
As he approached us, I could clearly see the menacing scowl on his lips, and how his skin was weathered and rough, like aged leather with a multitude of scars crisscrossing his face and neck.
Draped in heavy layers of tattered clothing, he was weighed down by an excess of gold—thick chains hung around his neck, glinting with every movement, and his fingers were adorned with oversized rings. The gold gleamed against his dark, unkempt beard, giving him an almost mythical air, as if he had plundered the riches of a thousand ships.
He was suddenly and too soon, in front of me, his eyes, cold and merciless, were skimming my hair and face without any discretion, the glint of greed and danger in them made it clear that he was not a man to be crossed.
He was holding a tattered paper with curled edges. Bold, black letters at the top, that draw the eye immediately, declared in a menacing font;
“WANTED: PIRATE CALICO PIERCE”
Below, a rough, hand-drawn sketch of a grinning Captain Pierce stared out from the page. The scary pirate took the poster and showed it to me, probably because he noticed I was looking at it. He laughed, loud and terrifying, but my eyes were still locked on the wanted poster. This exposed, I could see it was surrounded by a jagged border, as if to contain the menace within. Beneath the image of the captain, scrawled in an ominous script, were the words: “Alive only, since he is condemned to die by hanging by the hands of any sovereign of the Four Kingdoms of Marethys,” followed by a hefty bounty that promised riches to anyone brave or foolish enough to try.
“They always forget the bloody ‘Captain’,” muttered Calico behind me with the click of a tongue.
He grabbed my arm and pulled me next to him, not behind where I couldn’t see or be more protected, but right next to him .
“I keep wondering how you continue to tempt your luck like this and still be alive,” the pirate in front of us muttered between his teeth.
“Oh, didn’t you hear?” Captain Pierce said with a hand to his heart. “I’m the Gods’ favorite.”
I didn’t know why that last statement of his, which was clearly ironic, had me blushing that much. I probably looked like the color of a crab.
“I have never wanted to kill you as much as I do now,” the pirate growled as he took out his sword.
Captain Pierce put a face of disgust and took a step back taking me with him.
“I must have missed the part where we were introduced,” he said, and I unconsciously chuckled.
He turned to face me with a playful smile as if he heard my laugh and was proud of his joke, and continue saying while walking us backwards, “Did you get his name perhaps, love? I confess I wasn’t paying that much of attention.”
I shook my head, a smile still on my lips.
What was he doing? This pirate looked like the scariest man I had ever seen and he was just making fun of him.
We were still slowly walking backwards, his grip on my arm so tight that I could feel his rings digging into me. The pirate was coming towards us with the sword still in his hand, and Calico was just smiling like he was having the time of his life.
“You must give the lady a name, mate. Don’t be rude,” he said, nodding at me .
The face of the pirate was a storm of fury. His jaw was clenched so tight it looked like it might crack, and his nostrils flared with each heavy breath. “You are not getting out of this alive, you bilge rat.”
I suddenly felt a wall behind us, halting us in our tracks. My smile vanished as he began to tighten his hold on my arm again.
So, he had no plan.
The man in front of us laughed and pointed immediately his sword at me.
“Oh, I wouldn’t do that,” Captain Pierce said, almost whispering.
The pirate smiled, all his rotten teeth showing, he leaned his sword even closer to my neck and I started to breathe very fast. I felt so helpless. All I could hear was the voice of Captain Pierce who kept talking, “Have you not heard what she did to The Crown’s Justice?”
The pirate’s face changed abruptly, his eyes wide and unblinking, his eyebrows were arched high, pulling his forehead into tight lines of disbelief.
“You?” he whispered, as if he were in a trance, and he began to push his sword further. “So it’s true… a woman… I will enjoy killing you then,” he said, smiling, as I winced in fear.
“I’m going to cut off that hand myself if you don't step back and draw your sword right this instant,” Captain Pierce threatened. His voice was a low, dangerous growl, barely above a whisper, yet it carried the weight of a storm on the brink of breaking. Each word was laced with a venomous calm, like he knew the quiet intensity in his tone was far more terrifying than a knife to his throat.
“Would you look at that?” The pirate eased his sword forward, the pace almost agonizingly slow. “Is this sea wench worth more than the loot you stole from me?”
“Your repulsive tongue will come after your hand. I won’t warn you again,” the captain said through his teeth.
The pirate laughed again and pressed the tip of the sword into my neck, causing a drop of blood to trail down my chest.
In an instant, Captain Pierce drew a knife from his pocket and hurled it with deadly precision, burying the blade straight into the man’s eye.
The pirate screamed in pain and put his hands to his face, releasing his sword making it fall to the ground. In one quick movement, Captain Pierce had the man pressed against the wall with another one of his knives pointed at his mouth. “I will give you the privilege of choosing. What do you want me to start with, the tongue or the hand?”
The pirate, with the knife still stuck in his eye, begged for his life, and my eyes widened in disbelief as I was still rooted to the spot.
“I know I didn't say anything about the eyes, but you were staring a little too much,” Captain Pierce said, slowly moving the knife to his other eye.
I felt the urge to call his name and tell him to stop, but suddenly, a gunshot silenced the atmosphere, and before I realized it, the pirate with the gold chains was falling to the ground .
Captain Pierce stepped back with a sigh and then bent down to pick up the knife from the man’s eye.
“I wasn’t quite finished, you know?” he said, as he stood up and cleaned the knife on his pants.
“You were taking too long,” said a feminine voice in front of us.
I took a couple of steps forward to find a woman standing with a pistol in her hand.
A pirate with a wild mane of dark hair and a smile that dared the Four Kingdoms to challenge her. But it wasn’t just her fierce demeanor that caught my eye—it was her right leg. A gleaming, metal-marbled masterpiece, etched with delicate flowers that twisted and bloomed along its surface, a beautiful contrast to the hard, rebellious edge she exuded.
She put away her pistol and stepped closer. There was confidence in the way she moved, the right leg of her pants was rolled up so that the marble leg could be seen clearly, as if it was more a badge of honor than a hindrance, a part of her story told without words, maybe even a threat.
“I’m Ela,” she said with a smile. “Ela Treasures.”
Her eyes were mischievous and unafraid, like she carried a thousand secrets and adventures just waiting to be shared. The dark lashes that framed her brown eyes, contrasted sharply the pale tone of her complexion, giving her an ethereal, almost delicate appearance, as if she had stepped out of a winter’s tale.
“You must be The Pink Arrow.”