Anna was chatting animatedly with the spear-carrying ambush party. Lee and Sam hung back as they were eyed warily and often with an undeniable animosity. The great King strode before them, Anna close behind him, and in the flashes of lightning they could see that his skin was painted and right ear pierced by an intricately carved fang.

“Probably tiger, don’t you think?” Sam whispered, nudging Lee with an elbow.

The natives lived in a village tucked into the depths of the forest, impossible to find what with all the winding trails that crossed one another and then meandered off into the trees once more. Lee and Sam were amazed to behold that it was completely dry–the broad leaves of the towering trees acted as a gigantic roof. Torches blazed and a bonfire was glowing beseechingly from the center of a ring of what must be houses. A few children, draped in strings of strange red flowers, peeked at them from behind their mothers’ skirts.

With a mighty stamp, the King halted the company. His men all raised their spears in a sort of salute. The women and children who had come to meet them all fell to their knees and bowed their heads. And then, from the grandest of the huts encircling the bonfire emerged a woman wearing a crown of the same red flowers. Her cheeks were painted with scarlet lines and her eyes were a deep, jet black that reflected the firelight.

Lee moved forward and tugged on the sleeve of Anna’s jacket. “What’s going on?? You could at least tell us if we’re about to get cooked or something...!”

“Of course not! Just shut up and do whatever they say–it’s what they do every time outsiders come to their village.”

“Oh, and I was supposed to figure that out on my own?”

“If you had half a brain, you could have tried an educated guess...!”

Before he could give an equally acidic reply, Lee found himself pushed to the front of the company alongside a slightly amused Sam. King Iatona nodded in Anna’s direction and said a few unintelligible phrases. Anna turned to translate.

“Ahem. We welcome you, scum!” She smiled sweetly in Lee’s direction, and then stepped aside as a man covered in blue and green paint and carrying an oversized conch shell called them all to attention. Behind him, the crowned woman stood regally. Lee thought he saw another woman directly behind her, but it was difficult to tell through the shadows.

The painted man blew hard into the conch shell, sending an almost eerie sound reverberating through the woods. And then he began to speak in the common tongue, waving his hands dramatically in the air with every syllable.

“Her MAJESTY! The QUEEN of TĀVAIKI! Sole WIFE and REGAL COMPANION to the ESTEEMED King IATONA BUKUROA!” Blowing once more on the conch shell, the man moved to one side as the crowned woman stepped forward and nodded graciously. “FATU VAFINE RAKIATEA TORI!!!!!” Cried the enthusiastic announcer. The spears flashed in the light from the bonfire and the Queen approached the dumbfounded visitors. She kissed Anna on both cheeks, smiling benevolently, and then slapped the King with a resounding thwack.

Lee and Sam smothered surprised giggles as Queen Rakiatea scolded her husband ruthlessly. None could understand just what she was scolding him for, but Anna felt generous enough to share.

“She’s calling him a...oh. Better not repeat that... And...she says...he’s an idiot for bringing all the men in the village just to ambush one ship, what kind of stupid King is he anyway? What if the village had been besieged by a secret ship they didn’t know about? And...oh, okay, better not repeat that either...”

“Is this still part of the ceremony...?” Queried Sam, as the King bellowed back his reply.

“I don’t think so. Wait, something’s happening...”

The announcer, looking bewildered, had been seized by one ear and dragged to the edge of the bonfire by a very petite, but very angry, little woman. She was just as pretty as the Queen, but doubly ferocious. Yelling and hissing, she made as if to push the beleaguered man into the fire. Hastily, he muttered what must have been apologies, and was shoved back to safety by the angry woman. He straightened, blew once more on his conch shell, and issued forth a very shaky introduction.

“Her LOVELY and MOST BEAUTIFUL Royal MISTRESS! FAITHFUL and TREASURED Sole CONCUBINE of the FEARSOME King IATONA BUKUROA....!!” He was about to blow once more on the conch shell, but was instantly relieved of it and bopped hard on the nose. In an anguished voice, the announcer yelped, “Faiā Vafine Tarami...!!!!” And then he toppled over as the woman trampled him in her haste to smile brilliantly at the crowd. The smile died quickly though, for in an instant she had crossed the expanse between herself and the shouting King & Queen and had managed to wedge herself between them. Spitting out an obscenity, the little woman slapped Queen Rakiatea twice.

Collapsing in fits of laughter, Lee and Sam watched as an all-out shouting match erupted between the tall Queen and the tiny Concubine. King Iatona appeared to be torn between appeasing one and calming the other. Meanwhile, the natives who had come to welcome them were all retreating back to their respective huts, shaking their heads and rolling their eyes. Anna motioned for Lee and Sam to follow her. One of the spear-carrying lads led them to the grand hut in the center of the ring, escorted them inside, and then strode off once more.

“I am so completely confused,” said Sam, still laughing slightly.

“Tell me about it,” Lee replied, gazing out the roughly hewn window at the leaping fire. He turned to ask Anna what it was all about, but found that she had fallen asleep on a pile of furs. One hand had curled around the pendant of her necklace, and she had burrowed beneath her father’s jacket despite the fact that it was probably still damp.

“She must have been exhausted,” he murmured, moving to pull one of the furs over her. Anna shifted slightly, but he noticed that she wasn’t shivering as much. Sam looked on quietly.

“Who is this girl, anyway? What with that storm, we never got a chance to talk for long.”

“This girl? This cheeky little thing? Guess.”

“I don’t know...you can’t be related.”

“Of course not!”

“Then...well, you aren’t MARRIED, are you??”

“NO!”

“Well okay, okay, calm down...I don’t know, who is she?”

“Her name is Anna...Anna Lyon. Though, that’s not the name I know her by.”

“Wait a second...did you say Lyon? Her last name is Lyon? No relation to–”

“The Pirate King? Yes...and no.”

“What? Come off it, what are you trying to say? I’m already confused.”

“Eh...I’m too tired to explain right now......” Lee yawned. “Try me tomorrow....”

Sam protested, but it was too late. His companions had already fallen fast asleep, and he was growing more and more tired by the minute. The storm was howling, but the forest seemed strangely impenetrable. Already, the memory of the struggle to keep his ship afloat were fast fading. Sam got up to check on his sailors, and then he too opted to rest. It had been a long, long day.