Page 83 of Sea's Secret

“Sir Anthony, that bore?!” he said with irritation. “Perhaps, she did run away. I do not know how I missed that.”

“She did not tell anyone. I only know because her brother, Michael, told me before we left. Most likely, she fled the kingdom.”

“Whether she left of her own will or not, irregardless, pixies make the most sense.”

“Truly, it seems very unlikely,” William said. “But, I am here till the end, whatever end that may be.”

“Do not sound so hopeless,” Peter grunted.

“You should tell the crew that you will take with you onto the Isle what you know about these pixies,” I said, pulling William’s and Peter’s attention back to me.

They both nodded.

“They are harmless, really–”

“Unless they kidnap the maiden you love?” I asked.

“Who said anything about love?” Peter asked, looking at me, then over to William who was covering his laugh with his hand. He was very unsuccessful.

“Mooning after her, eh?” I asked with a shrug and a smirk.

“She is my best friend.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” William said with his hand over his mouth, still trying to hold back laughter. Peter gave him a dark look, and he only laughed harder, bending over.

“Some friend you are,” Peter mumbled. “Anyway, well, they are known for kidnapping, but we are already in their lagoon. I doubt they will kidnap people who are already here–counterproductive.”

“Anything else?” I asked.

“They have this pixie dust stuff, and I hear it has magical properties. They make it by crushing up stars.”

“Stars? Like in the sky?” William asked, the curiosity sobering his laughter for the moment. It was clear that they had not spoken much about their endeavor.

“That is all I know; I do not know any more,” Peter shrugged. “Oh, and obviously, they are a bit mischievous–as is their nature, although it is said that they have good intentions. From their perspective, they believe they are helping their victims.”

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“Well, they are a bit dim, but they want to help people, so maybe they were drawn to her because of her unwanted betrothal, and maybe they thought taking her away from it would help her–” Peter trailed off. “The legends say that they intend to help, but they usually just get it wrong; they misread the situations they observe.

Peter may not have believed he was a man in love, but it was clear as a clear blue sky that he cared for that maiden deeply.

“Okay,” I said in annoyance. Those pixies seemed horrid. I did not need to deal with those troublesome magical creatures. I needed to move on past that island; there was nothing there that I was looking for. But I would let Peter complete his search.

You are so weak. Veeto’s words echoed in my head. It had been a while since I thought of him. I quickly shoved those thoughts away.

I am not weak. I just do not do things the way you do.

“We need most of the crew to stay aboard the ship. Tell the others what you know about these pixies, about how they really just deranged kidnappers.” I paused, looking over the crew that I was responsible for. “I do not need the crew being tricked by them. After you brief them thoroughly, we will assemble a group, and we will go and search the isle,” I said.

“I thought I was choosing the group?” Peter asked.

“I am not sure I trust your judgment,” I said with a smirk as I crossed my arms over my chest.

“Alright,” Peter said with a sigh as he shoved William in front of him, and they walked across the deck.

I watched him as he walked away. It was still odd to have my brother there with me–something I never would have expected.

“Nick,” Sands came from my left, clearing his throat.

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