Page 50 of Sea's Secret

“Hello, there!” one of the men called from the boat. I looked into the waves and the small, rocking, wooden boat. There were only three men inside. “We are coming onto the island,” a young man, younger than myself or Dominick, said from the front of the boat. His eyes were wild with excitement, a beautiful dark blue, and his hair was dark brown and falling into his eyes a bit. He wore very fine clothing, too. He had a very dark blue jacket with gold trim and details. It looked like the sunshine was sewn right into the fabric. There was a small crest on the side of the little boat, that of an anchor and a shark swimming behind it.

“Walden,” Domnick grunted from beside me.

The other man on the boat was closer in age to Dominick and I with very deeply tanned skin, black hair, and a rather striking face. He was handsome, not as handsome as Dominick, but attractive in his own way. His hair whipped in the wind, and when he turned to the side, it seemed he had pulled back some of it. He wore very weathered clothes, similar to Dominick’s: a shirt, brown vest, pants, and coat. He stood and waved.

“Of course, he really did make it out alive,” Dominick said beside me with a chuckle.

“Do you know that man?”

“Sands. I was right; that’s who this Walden ship rescued. He was a pirate with me on the Crimson Blade.”

“Fancy meeting you here, mate!” The man named Sands called as he jumped from the small boat to help tug it ashore.

“Yes, it seems the winds are blowing in my favor,” Dominick grunted, but he was smirking, and his eyes seemed happy to see a familiar face.

“And what do you have here?” Sands asked, moving from the boat and bowing down with an outstretched arm. “I am Sands, who might your lovely maiden be? And–why are you with Nick?”

I turned to Dominick, but he was looking at me with questioning eyes. I moved even closer to him, unsure of what to say.

“Not a talker?” Sands asked.

“That’s alright. I am sure that both of them have been through a great deal. We are traveling to the Misted Seas. You have safe passage with us if you desire it. It seems we do not need a magical sea creature after all to find hidden things out here,” the man in the fancy blue coat said while walking up to us.

Dominick, Sands, and I all turned to look at him.

“Hello,” I said, and although we were not touching, I could sense Dominick going rigid.

“I am Prince Peter of Walden. What are your names?”

I turned to look at Dominick who was glaring at Prince Peter of Walden.

Is this—his brother? I placed a hand on his arm.

“I am Meria,” I said simply.

“Nice to meet you, and you are?” Prince Peter turned to Dominick.

“Nick.”

“Nice to meet you, Nick. Do you and Sands know each other? You are, also, a fisherman who lost his way?”

“Yes, Sands and I often fished together,” Dominick said, looking at Sands, who was nodding his head, smiling at Prince Peter.

“Well, glad to have you reunited. I found him floating in the sea over a week ago. He is a fighter, and it seems you two are fighters as well.” Peter looked at me, up and down, possibly taking in my clothes.

My lack of clothing, when I first met Dominick, had startled him. Perhaps, wearing nothing other than Dominick’s shirt was startling, for the Prince’s eyes widened at me, then quickly turned away.

“I am a survivor, it’s true,” Sands said with a smirk,

“Are you the captain of this ship?” Dominick asked Prince Peter.

“No, but I am in charge of our mission.”

“To the Misted Seas?” Dominick asked.

“Yes, and you are all welcome to join us. We are on a rescue mission of sorts.”

“Yes, the Walden Prince is looking for his lady love who was stolen by pixies,” Sands said with a smile.

---