21
To sea with all worries…
I t had been three days since that kiss on the cheek, and yet, his presence still clung to me like salt in the breeze. Each time I closed my eyes, I could feel the ghost of his touch—the brush of his hand on my waist, the heat of his breath so close to mine. My pulse accelerated senselessly, and all because of a kiss on the cheek. It was maddening.
And now, as we skirted the jagged coast of Pearlspire, I was grateful for the wind whipping across the deck, cooling the flush that rose whenever my mind wandered back to that moment.
The ship moved quietly, sails drawn tight as we sailed along the shadow of the cliffs, careful not to be seen from the towering stone watchtowers above. The laws against piracy applied in all Kingdoms, we couldn’t risk being spotted.
I glanced at the shore—what should have been a stretch of pale sand and vibrant spring blossoms was just gray rock and jagged cliff. The beauty of Pearlspire was hidden behind its high walls, where pastel-colored fields would be blooming, filling the air with the sweetness of spring and the warmth of summer all at once. But out here, on the edge of it, the Kingdom seemed distant and cold.
“Finally.”
Calico’s voice brought me back. He was standing at the helm, his gaze fixed on a spot ahead where the cliffs seemed to curl inward, like they were holding onto a secret.
Ahead, two figures stood at the entrance to the hidden cove, their armor shimmering faintly in the muted light.
Guards of Pearlspire. Each clad in pearlescent armor that caught the sun, shifting between soft pinks, blues, and silvers. In the center of their breastplates was etched the emblem of their Kingdom: an open shell with a perfect pearl gleaming at its heart. They looked almost like statues, their expressions hard as the cliffs themselves.
Calico steered us toward them with the ease of someone who had done this many times before. As we approached, he raised a hand in greeting.
“Captain Pierce,” said one of the guards. “We heard some things, thought you were going after The Phantom at last. Something about finally finding a map.”
“Something about a pink arrow too.” The other one laughed.
I bit my lip and looked down to the wooden floor of the deck.
Gods, seriously? It had been just one arrow.
“We're going to need extra eyes for a few hours. I don't know how long it will take us to enter and leave,” the captain called out to them .
“That's going to cost you a lot more than last time. You didn't say anything about keeping Tidian patrols away as well as ours in our agreement.”
“Tidian patrols?” muttered the captain between his teeth.
One of the guards stepped forward, his pearl-colored armor gleaming under the sun, his voice low but firm all the time.
“Captain Pierce,” he began, his eyes flicking toward the horizon, “King Thadrius himself is visiting the Governor.”
The word hit like a hammer. The mention of The King sent a cold wave rushing through my veins.
I stiffened, glancing at Calico. His jaw clenched, but he remained outwardly calm, the mask of a captain who’d seen worse. But I knew better. We both did.
“They’ve been patrolling the waters,” the guard continued, unaware of the storm brewing in my chest. “Looking for someone apparently. A member of his court, a runaway bride.”
The entire ship went still. The crew froze in place, every hand gripping something solid, every breath held. I felt the weight of it—the unspoken truth. They were looking for us. For me.
Calico didn’t falter. “How close are they?” he asked, his voice steady, but I could see the tension in the set of his shoulders.
“They’ll be passing the northern cliffs by nightfall. If you’re still here by then, they’ll find you.”
A knot twisted in my stomach. The King. And surely Diego. They were here. My mind raced back to Dara—her laugh, her light—the darkness that had stolen her from me, and the decision I would have to make if I had them in front of me .
“We won’t be,” Calico said, his voice like steel.
He turned to the crew, who were still frozen in place, waiting for his command. “We move now.”
The guard nodded stepping aside, but I could still feel the weight of their warning.
The Crown of Tidia was hunting us. I was a convict of my own Kingdom, the one whose shores had welcomed me with each caress of the waves on my feet making me feel like a daughter and not like an orphan. But that was nothing new, was it? Because I was already born with the ‘wanted’ sign on my back, the only difference was that now, I was really running away.
The ship touched down on one of the larger rocks near the shore, hidden from the view of Pearlspire’s looming cliffs. The sound of the anchor dropping was softer than usual, a testament to how careful Calico was being. Every movement on the ship was hushed, the crew slipping into the quiet rhythm of secrecy.
Calico handed a small pouch to one of the guards—payment, I assumed, for their silence.
“If I come back and my Rebecca has just one scratch, I will cut off a hand from each of you. You have until we return to decide who gets the right and who gets the left,” he muttered.
The guards gave a tight nod before retreating into the shadows, vanishing as if they were never there.
Once the ship was secure, we moved quickly. Our boots crunching over the rocky ground as we climbed away from the shore. The air was warm, the scent of salt and distant blooms blending together. I glanced back at the ship, half expecting to see it swallowed by the sea, but it remained—still and quiet, like a secret waiting to be uncovered.
After what felt like the longest minutes of navigating the uneven terrain, we reached the entrance to a cave. It was unremarkable at first—just another dark hollow cut into the stone—until we stepped closer. There, carved into the face of the rock, was a massive door, its surface rough and weathered, blending seamlessly with the cave walls. The only detail that stood out was a pair of skeletons etched into the stone, like those of the Isla Loro arch, but instead, their bony hands were gripping an hourglass between them. Above them, the words “To sea with all worries…” were carved, like a promise long forgotten, and like the one in the arch.
Calico paused for a moment, then, with a glance in my direction, he whistled a soft, lilting melody, like the one Efren whistled back then at Loro, and like the one Dara used to whistle every morning. The sound echoed off the walls, delicate and haunting, before the door responded with a low, grinding groan. Slowly, it creaked open, revealing a dark passage beyond. We stepped inside, and the temperature dropped instantly, cool air wrapping around us like a shroud. The walls of the tunnel were rough, carved by hand, or something else, long ago.
The path twisted and turned, narrowing in places, widening in others, but it was all stone, save for the occasional crack where faint light seeped through.
As we walked deeper, something extraordinary began to happen. The stone walls on either side of us started to shimmer, tiny minerals embedded within them catching the faint light from the creeks above the cavern’s roof. They sparkled like diamonds, but softer, in pale blues, pinks, and greens. It was as if the rocks themselves were alive, guiding us along the hidden path. The farther we went, the more the colours grew, casting the tunnel in a gentle, pastel glow. It felt like walking through a forgotten dream.
“I told you I could get you a diamond,” Calico said to me, looking over his shoulder.
I smiled, my cheeks flushing again like every time he spoke.
Finally, we reached the end of the tunnel. Another door stood before us, nearly identical to the one at the cave’s entrance. The same skeletal figures held their hourglass, but this time the inscription read: “…to freedom with all heart.” Finishing the same sentence of the arch that opened Isla Loro. Did he also make these two doors? They had his mark all over them.
Calico stepped forward again, his expression unreadable as he whistled the same melody.
The door responded immediately, the same groaning sound as it slowly opened to reveal—
Nothing but ocean.
A small cliff jutted out in front of us, but beyond it, there was only the endless expanse of blue, stretching towards the horizon. My heart stuttered in my chest, confusion swirling in my mind.
“Umm…” I started, but Calico raised a hand, a knowing smile tugging at his lips.
“We’re here,” he said.
“We’re here? ”
We are here, Lady Love.
I smiled relieved, hearing her voice from the first time in three days, since that last time she told me something that left my wanting heart in doubt.
And as if she wanted to tell me that she was also happy to be here, large waves began to form and crash on the rocks at our feet.
“She is here too,” I said with a smile above the sound of the waves.
Suddenly, high winds arose, as if they were accompanied by the waves hand in hand. My hair began to dance at the whim of the wind, and then, I heard the captain's voice saying, “He is too.”
Captain Pierce’s whistle broke through the sound of the crashing waves, a haunting melody that danced above the wind. I stood frozen, the breeze tugging at my dress and hair, sending a spray of saltwater into the air.
The ocean before us churned, restless, as if it sensed something ancient stirring beneath its depths.
Then, as if in answer to Calico’s call, the sea shifted. The water began to ripple unnaturally, drawing inward, and a low, rumbling groan echoed from beneath the surface.
My breath caught in my throat as the ocean began to part, revealing glistening stone merging from the deep like a forgotten secret.
The wind whipped around us, carrying with it the sound of the waves pulling away, and soon, something massive began to rise. Slowly, majestically, it ascended—a structure carved from marble, its surface slick with the remnants of the sea. The sunlight hit the water droplets cascading down its sides, refracting into rainbows that danced across the sky. Stairs began to appear, the steps of smooth stone leading down to meet the edge of the water, as if they had always been waiting to greet the sea.
I gasped as two colossal seahorses, carved from weathered stone, emerged at the edges of the stairs. Like the ones on my vision. They loomed over the water, their fierce eyes fixed on us, guardians of a forgotten realm. They looked alive, frozen in time, as if one wrong move would send them back into motion. The wind howled through the gaps in their statuesque bodies, creating a melody of its own—a harmony with Calico’s whistle.
And then it was there. Exactly like my vision. Marble’s Rest.
The island stood proud and still before us, as if it had never been submerged. The marble glistened under the sun, its pale surface polished by the sea over the years.
Beyond the steps, the island opened up—a stretch of soft, white sand that glimmered faintly, littered with fallen statues and broken columns, relics of an age long passed. The ruins were scattered, half-buried, some statues leaning awkwardly in the sand, their faces worn smooth by time, others still standing tall, defying the years that had ravaged this place.
At the heart of the island rose a temple. Massive marble columns supported a domed roof, and statues of Gods and creatures adorned every surface, their features intricate and otherworldly.
The temple was grand, ancient, and yet there was a sense of peace that settled over me as I looked at it. It felt like stepping into a dream—a place that time had forgotten but the sea had always known.
The wind softened as the island stilled, and all that remained gently at the marble stairs, as if the ocean itself had surrendered to the magic of this place.
Calico’s whistle faded, and he returned to me, a knowing smile playing on his lips.
“Welcome to Marble’s Rest, love,” he said, his voice barely audible over the wind, “where art whispers and dreams linger.”