Chapter 25
25
A s they approached the small bay, Chris remained by her side. He rested his forearms on the railing and watched the giant as silently as Anna.
Anton followed them along the coast, his footsteps echoing out to sea, throwing back the waves crashing onto the beach. He had recognized that they were heading for the bay and waited there, no less euphoric than before. He never stopped waving for a moment, his big face beaming along with the sun.
Anna stopped waving. She peered thoughtfully at the giant, grateful that Chris was no longer pressuring her since she was allowing him to accompany her for the discussion. Neither of them exchanged a word as they stood close to each other, lost in thought.
The ship passed the rocks and sailed into the small bay. Anna gripped the railing tighter, worried. She hoped her theory wasn't true and that Anton was the kind, honorable giant she believed he was. She didn't even want to imagine what it meant for her gut feeling and all the decisions she had made based on it if she had been wrong about the gentle giant.
Chris sensed her restlessness and placed a hand on hers. He nodded to her wordlessly. When the Fortuna was in danger of running aground, Jack dropped anchor and Freddy lowered the rowboat into the water. "Shall I come with you?" he called to them. His facial expression was sullen, but now Anna knew how to interpret the expression.
The captain hesitated, as if he was considering taking his men with him as reinforcements. However, what would the giants say if a group of pirates stepped on their land?
"No, stay on board. Inspect the foremast again to make sure the storm didn't cause any damage. If so, fix it. Also, check the sails and repair them if they were damaged. But, be ready at all times so that we can depart straight away."
"Aye aye, Captain," the crew answered in chorus.
One after the other, Anna and Chris climbed down the rope ladder into the rowboat. As soon as Anna was seated on one of the transverse boards, Chris began rowing. She heard the steady lapping of the water and the waves rushing toward land. Seagulls screamed, adding a picturesque atmosphere to the moment, although Anna's heart beat harder with each stroke of the oar.
"Anemone! Anemone! I'm here," Anton shouted, as if she might possibly overlook him. He waded into the sea — the water in the bay was a small pond to him and didn't even reach above his ankles. With every step, waves began to rise, even though he was walking slowly. The rowboat rocked harder and harder. Anna clung to the edge of the boat.
"Get out of the water, giant. Or do you want us to go for a swim?"
Anton laughed bashfully. The tone was warm and light, eliciting a smile from Anna. When he held out his hand to her, she was tempted to jump on it. But she understood the captain's concern, which was why she waved to Anton from the boat.
"We're coming to you on land, Toni."
"Then you have to come into my hand. As soon as Norbert notices that a human is entering our realm, he will lift the temporary truce."
Anna listened. "Who is Norbert?"
The giant rolled his eyes. "Our leader — at least that's what he calls himself."
Anna glanced at the captain and shrugged questioningly. "I'd say, you stay in the boat and I'll talk to him."
"Ani, I don't think it's a good idea."
"Come on, Anemone." Without further ado, Anton grabbed her and placed her on one of his mattress-sized hands. He simply left Chris sitting in the rowboat, who immediately stood up and followed Anton's every move like a hawk.
"Be careful with her, giant, otherwise, you might be in for some trouble!" His posture emphasized the threat he had made, but Anton paid no attention to him at all. He brought Anna close to his face and smiled.
"How are you, Anemone? Oh, I see you're wearing one of your dresses. How pretty! Does that mean you can transform too?"
"Unfortunately, no, but I now know that I'm a fairy."
"That's fantastic news!" Toni sighed in relief and beamed at her again. "How was the journey?"
"It was wonderful, my dear. How did the conversation with the giants go? Apparently you were successful. Otherwise, we would hardly have been able to sail to the shores of your kingdom."
"It wasn't easy to convince the others. They groaned and roared loudly — I think that caused a storm in the southeast of the sea. But you didn't notice, did you?"
Didn't notice? She remembered the storm from the previous night all too well. Anna grinned. "Everyone is fine."
"In any case, the others aren't completely convinced that the scoundrel won't get in their way again. If the captain flies his ship through the air or sets foot on our land again, they will pursue him and his crew until he and his men are lying at the bottom of the sea."
The captain certainly must have provoked the giants with his actions at the time. But wasn't it a good sign that they were being at least somewhat accommodating? "Well, we'd better let him know before he rows ashore."
They glanced at Chris standing in the rowboat, who hadn't taken his eyes off them for a second. He was still a long ways from shore, so Anton waved him off. Anna gave him a friendly smile. How she had missed him! But then she became serious.
"Before we talk to the pirates, I have a matter to clarify with you, Toni."
The giant furrowed his bushy eyebrows. "What is it, Anemone? Any problems? Do you want me to protect you from the captain?"
"No, but… I have to ask you something."
Anton grinned. "You can ask me anything!"
Anna clasped her hands together. How should she start? She didn't want to offend him, but if she didn't confront him directly about her suspicions, she would never know the truth.
The giant tilted his head questioningly. "What is it?"
She just needed to close her eyes and go for it. She had to sort things out with him and if she delayed it, the conversation wouldn't become any easier. "Chris and I talked a lot about what might have happened back then — and also about how I was brought back."
Anton nodded. "Are the pirates who kidnapped you awake?"
She shook her head. "That's not it, but… they used fairy dust to bring me back, but Chris says he used all of it when he was searching for me. So, they couldn't have used the dust I gave Chris back then."
"But who did they get it from?" Anton cocked his head. His expression was so innocent that she immediately felt guilty. Nevertheless, she could not back down.
She raised her shoulders questioningly. "Either the source of fairy dust has not dried up or it has been rerouted and someone other than the fairies is controlling it. Or…" She took a deep breath. Now or never. "Or someone who knows where the fairies stashed the remaining stock gave them the dust."
Anton nodded and scratched his head. "That sounds logical to me. But who knows about it other than the fairies?" He frowned. "You're not saying you suspect Iris and Margerite?"
"No, absolutely not. But… Who knows where the remaining fairies are?"
"Just the fairies and me. Otherwise…" He paused.
She looked up at him contritely. "I trust you, Toni, that's why I want to hear from you if maybe you… missed me so much… you were looking for a way… You were sitting in the meadow when I was returned as if you had known I would show up there."
Although half of Anton's face was covered by his scraggly beard, she could see the corners of his mouth turning down. "You don't think I had something to do with the fairies dying?"
She shook her head resolutely. "No! I do not believe that. I was merely wondering if you might have been involved in the effort to bring me back." She smiled to show him that she didn't have any reservations about him. She observed his every move, as much as his hair allowed.
Anton also looked at her. He shook his head slowly. "Anemone, I missed you a great deal and I would have done anything to get you back. If I had known about that possibility, who knows? Maybe I would have been able to do it. But I didn't know and therefore I had nothing to do with it. I've never taken anything from someone that wasn't mine."
His eyes remained clear and the expression in them was sincere. As she breathed a sigh of relief, she surprised herself at how much stress she had felt over that tiny possibility. But she hadn't been mistaken about him. Thank heavens. The feeling in her heart had spoken the truth and the weight was lifted from her shoulders.
Anton sighed, causing her hair to flutter. "I was in the meadow because it was our meadow. We spent a lot of time there, actually everywhere in the Kingdom of Flowers, but especially in that meadow. We would look out to sea and tell each other stories. And almost always when I was waiting for you, I would lie in that meadow and sleep or read. I've been so certain all these years that if you showed up, you'd come there. To me."
Anna smiled at him. Tears welled up in her eyes as she noticed the fervor with which Anton spoke.
"I've missed you so much, Anemone."
"I've missed you too, Toni."
He slowly brought his hand to his face and she stroked his cheek.
"I'm glad we talked about it."
"I bet the pirate planted the idea in your head, didn't he?" Anton scowled at Chris, who was watching them constantly. Had he heard their conversation? Anna still saw extreme skepticism on his face.
"No, Toni, I wondered about it myself."
"But you believe me, right Anemone?"
She nodded. "Of course." Which was the truth. "Now let him join me on your hand so that we can all talk to each other."
Anton sighed deeply as he reached for the captain. The latter's expression darkened even more, but he did not resist being set down next to Anna. He immediately placed his hand on her upper arm and examined her carefully. "Are you okay, Ani?"
She nodded. "We have sorted everything out. Toni had nothing to do with my return."
"And you believe him?"
"Naturally!"
Anton slapped his chest. "Unlike a pirate, giants are trustworthy."
"I hope so for your sake, giant! Because if you had anything to do with this whole…"
"Stop arguing! We don't have time for this." Anna took turns looking at the two, who relented and kept further accusations to themselves. "It's great that you spoke to your relatives, Toni. Now we can sail unhindered from the east into the Kingdom of Winter. Right, Chris? Isn't that great?"
The pirate crossed his arms over his chest nonchalantly. Finally, he nodded. "Aye."
But Anton shook his head. "You cannot sail to the realm. I was at the border. The Arctic Ocean has now truly earned its name."
Chris frowned. "What do you mean, giant?"
"Apparently, it wasn't only the wind from the giants that brought eastern shipping traffic to a standstill. Not far from the border, I saw ice floes in the water. I wouldn't be surprised if the sea at the northern tip is frozen over."
"Curses!"
Anna peered at him questioningly. "How far is the sea navigable?"
The giant rocked his huge head back and forth as he mulled it over. "A thousand feet beyond our border at most."
A thousand giant feet or a thousand man feet? Anna instinctively glanced north. "Then we'll take the Fortuna as far as we can. We'll simply have to anchor earlier."
Chris shook his head. "The problem is that the only bay to moor in is near the Ice Palace. Everywhere else, the coast is a sea of rocks. I've sailed the area often enough, searching for secret access points. There are none. No, we have to walk — there is no other choice."
Anna shook her head. "That won't work. The giants have forbidden you pirates from entering their land."
Chris cursed. "Is that true, giant?"
"I'm afraid so."
The captain looked at Anton suspiciously. "So, you couldn't renegotiate."
Anton shook his head. "There is only one way you can get to the Kingdom of Winter."
Anna and Chris were all ears. "And that would be?"
The giant beamed. "Well, with me! I'll carry you."
"Then we could have gone with you from Linnenberg, Toni." Anna laughed.
Chris shook his head. "That wouldn't have been an option. The giants instantly sense when we are on their land — even if our feet aren't touching the ground. So, if we had walked across the Kingdom of Flowers into the Kingdom of Winter with Anton, the Snow Queen would have immediately discovered us."
Anton pointed north with his free hand. "It's only a few steps to the border. I'll wade through the sea along the coast, which isn't particularly deep. Once we cross the border, I'll climb the rocks. That's simply a big step for me. What do you say?" He looked at her enthusiastically.
Anna smiled. Wasn't entering the land without the Snow Queen's knowledge the point? So that they could look around and question people without being disturbed? How would it work if they visited the Kingdom of Winter with a giant whose footsteps thundered for miles across the land? "We won't be particularly inconspicuous, Toni."
Chris also shook his head. "Besides, you can hardly carry my entire crew and ship without the entire country immediately talking about it."
"Well, I have a bag with me. The ship might get damaged, so you'd have to leave it here, but there's room for all your scoundrels. It's a bit stuffy inside, but that won't bother pirates. I could sneak in with a few of your people without being too conspicuous."
"Too conspicuous?" Anna laughed. "Toni, you are…" she scanned the distance to the ground, "over thirty feet high. If we enter the Kingdom of Winter with you, we'll be noticed anyway."
"Oh," the giant waved his hand. "You know my trick. I'll just make myself into a rock when we get close to a city and wait for you at a safe distance."
"But your thundering footsteps would give us away for miles."
"They wouldn't because there's always one or two giants crossing a few feet into the Kingdom of Winter. You know, Anemone, some people need a break from goats every once in a while, so they go hunt seals in the Arctic Ocean.
Chris rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It might work. It's still better than sailing around the entire empire again and then officially entering Winter Harbor. Not to mention the time we would lose."
Anna opened her mouth to voice further concerns but then thought better of it. With an inconspicuous smile, she gave up. If the captain and Anton were in agreement, she definitely wouldn't stand in the way. She looked at the two of them, who were not giving the other disparaging looks but appeared to be pondering telepathically. They were finally pulling together, which could only benefit their venture. And to be honest, they knew this country better than she did. If the two saw an opportunity, then there was one.
A grin crossed her face. Let's see how a trip with these two turns out.