Page 50 of Astrid at Sea

“Where is everyone?” Manny muttered from behind me, a speculative expression on his face. It starkly contrasted against all the excited and delighted faces that the rest of the crew sported. Don’t get me wrong, I was excited to get my hands on some food as well, but we were docking at their shore, and there was no one to welcome us. That was strange.

No one came to see who was approaching their island, but with how hungry we all were, we couldn’t focus on that right now. Instead, our attention fell on the trees, their branches heavy with the weight of all the exotic fruits they grew. I reminded myself to bring something back to the ship for Kis since she was fast asleep in our bedroom.

“Safe for us to proceed, Captain?” Caspian asked absent-mindedly, and I could have sworn he was drooling.

“Go for it,” Viktor chuckled, the sound lighter and airier than I had heard it since the last time we had food to eat. “Whatever we eat now, we’ll pay for later. But pace yourselves, men. You don’t want to make yourself sick by going overboard.”

Viktor’s advice was lost on them all, as half of them didn’t even wait for the ramp to drop to jump over the ship's rail and onto the sandy shore. I couldn’t blame them. Viktor and I weren’t far behind as we rushed down the ramp and ran along the coast toward the trees and the bushes that contained more fresh fruit than I had ever seen.

Apples were my least favourite fruit, but right now, on this mysterious island, after days without eating, the red, shiny apple in my hands was the most delicious thing I had ever put in my mouth. With how quickly I devoured the apple, I was no better than Caspian, whom I had made fun of only moments ago.

Before I could reach for another apple, Viktor showed up with some red berries. The others were quick to follow, and before we knew it, we were all sat in a circle with our collection of fresh fruit and vegetables in the middle, sharing and eating to our hearts’ content.

Once we couldn’t eat a bite more, we decided it was time to do some sleuthing and find out where the inhabitants of this mysterious island were.

Why hadn’t they ventured out of their homes to investigate why strangers were ransacking their trees and bushes for all their fresh produce?

Jorvik was beautiful, but it was nothing compared to this place. We didn’t know the island’s name and would never have thought to stop here if we weren’t in desperate need of food, but it was the most beautiful island I had ever been on.

Not only were all the fruits we ate the freshest and juiciest I had ever tasted, but there were also beautiful flowers everywhere. A single, wide path led from the shore to what we could only assume was the island centre, framed by a thick bed of beautiful, multi-coloured flowers.

“What should we do, Viktor?” Garth asked.

“We could stand in the centre of the square and shout as loud as we can until people turn up?” Caspian suggested with a cheeky grin, but Dagfinn quickly held onto the back of his tunic before he could rush off and do just that.

Viktor shot Dagfinn a grateful smile. “That’s not a great idea,” he chuckled. “Let’s find some huts and knock on a few doors.”

“Should we split up?” Latham asked.

“No. This island and its people are alien to us. It’s probably best if we stick together. We don’t want to ruffle any feathers before formally introducing ourselves to the Chief,” Viktor said. He grabbed my hand before weaving us down one of the random paths that led away from the square.

It didn’t take us long to arrive at a small community of huts.

“Pick one,” Viktor prompted me, gesturing to the five huts we were surrounded by.

“The second one,” I murmured and then Viktor turned to nod to the crew.

Latham was the first to step forward. We all watched as he jogged up the few steps to the hut and knocked twice. We waited and waited, but there was no response.

“I’m going to try again,” Latham told us, raising his hand to knock again. This time, he had only managed to knock once more before the door swung open to reveal a sleepy, cranky, half-naked man–he was only wearing his breeches, but they were hanging dangerously low on his hips. I couldn’t help butlaugh silently at how Viktor casually shifted in front of me, shielding my view of this man and his naked chest.

“You don’t have anything to worry about, pirate,” I assured my husband with a giggle, pressing a hand to his back as I glanced around him.

The man rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “Who are you, and what do you want?”

“We were sailing by,” Latham began, purposely tiptoeing around the truth. “And dropped by in hopes of some hot food and company.”

“Sailing by?” The man frowned and dropped his hands to examine Latham properly. A long silence passed before his attention turned to the rest of us. “You’re not from Canne,” he said hesitantly.

“No, we’re not.” Latham’s tone was soft and gentle as he held up his hands to show he meant no harm. “We’re from Mann, which is approximately seven to ten days’ sail from here,” he lied smoothly, and Viktor squeezed my hand as if to assure me that this was standard procedure. It surprised me initially, but it made sense why they wouldn’t be so forthcoming with such information. We didn’t know these people. What if they turned out to be an island of cannibals or mass murderers? It was better to be safe than sorry.

“We’ve never met anyone from Mann before,” the man murmured.

“Well, now you have. Do you think you could help us out with some food?”

“We sure can, but it’s probably best if you first get acquainted with the Chief. I know he’ll want to meet our guests from Mann.”

Latham smiled and jogged down the steps. The man briefly disappeared into his hut to grab a tunic, which he pulled over his head as he joined us in the clearing.

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