The storm abated sometime after breakfast. Anna sat perched precariously on a low tree branch, watching as the native troops mustered in the clearing. One of the little girls had taught her, shyly, to braid the red flowers into strings and crowns and belts. She knotted them together absently, pondering their situation. What if the Corona was too wrecked to sail? They would have to travel on foot to Quinn, which could take weeks. And the storms were growing progressively worse each time. Anna bit her lip, an anxious feeling slowly working its way up from her toes and into her brain. A shrill blast on a sort of wooden whistle shattered her concentration, however, and she turned to find Lee cackling maliciously.

“You are so aggravating that mere words are not enough.”

“Who, me? Never. Besides, what were you daydreaming about?”

“Nosy, nosy, nosy. Go be obnoxious elsewhere.”

“But it’s much more fun to be obnoxious here.”

Anna rolled her eyes and resumed her observation of the tribe’s morning practices. Lee flopped down next to her, drumming on the branch with his whistle. “Why do you know their language? Have you been here before?”

“My father and King Iatona were great comrades. The pirates and the natives share a common resentment towards the kingdom,” Anna replied. She picked up another flower and wove it quickly into the growing strand in her lap. “But I’m sure you know where the resentment comes from.”

“Sure, the pirates wanted the throne and the natives wanted their land back.”

“Wonderful, you aren’t as much of a half-wit as I thought.”

“Hey!”

“What?” Blinking innocently, Anna swung her legs and began to gather her string of flowers into a coil. Just then, the man from the night before with his conch shell and painted skin came running into the clearing, calling out in a loud voice. Anna turned to Lee and translated. “The King wants an audience with you, scum. Oh, and me too...but I don’t fall under the category of ‘scum’.”

“Yes, because you fall into the category of—” Lee began, but was interrupted by the deafening sound of a hundred marching feet as the tribe’s warriors marched out of the clearing and into the forest. Anna put on a concerned expression.

“What, scum? Aww, why thank you! I know I belong in the category of ‘Intelligent & Superior Being’,” said Anna, patting his hand. “But don’t worry, some day, you will perhaps grow to become more than scum. All you have to do is learn to use your brain...”

Lee gave Anna’s tree branch a hard shake, sending her flying. Immediately, several spear-carrying lads surrounded him. Throwing up his hands, Lee followed the slightly ruffled girl to the King’s house.

They were greeted by the Queen, for the tiny concubine was throwing another of her tantrums somewhere in the back of the house. The King reclined on his large throne, waving his hand to let them in. Sam was already waiting, and was craning his neck to watch the little woman as she smacked her handmaid repeatedly with a large fan made of leaves.

In no time at all, they were all seated on the floor around the throne. Rakiatea and Tarami, who quieted down at the mention of a new pet for her collection, seated themselves as well on opposite sides of the King. In a booming voice, King Iatona began the impromptu meeting. Anna translated in hushed tones to Lee and Sam.

“He’s talking about your ship. It’s run aground...and it can be repaired, but he will need your men to help, because they know more about it than his carpenters do. They know very little of ships, because they have never felt any need to go across the water.”

“Thank you, and my men will do all the work. They will need wood and tools, but leave the repairs to them,” assured Sam. Anna translated back, and the great King nodded slowly.

“The storm has somewhat lessened in power,” said Queen Rakiatea, in a calm voice. In answer to Lee’s surprised expression, she smiled. “I attended the schools of the Kingdom when I was a young girl. There is little use for what I learned there, but knowing the common tongue has proven to be an advantage.”

“I had no idea,” said Lee, still somewhat dumbfounded.

“Well,” the Queen continued, “We have much to discuss. Where were you headed, when the storm brought you here?”

“We were bound for Asphel, ma’am,” answered Sam.

“Then you were thrown far off course indeed.” The Queen murmured to her husband, who patted Tarami’s hand and spoke coaxingly. She stood up and sauntered out of the room, then returned with something in her arms. She was cooing softly to it, and her handmaid followed her nervously. She looked to the King for approval, and he gave it with a nod of his head. Smiling gleefully, and quite haughtily, at the Queen, Tarami knelt before Anna and showed her what was bundled in her arms.

“A pigeon,” said Rakiatea. “Of the variety kept by the Kingdom as messenger birds. Its tag bears the mark of the King.”

“But...where is the message?”

“Lost. The bird flew into one of the village houses, seeking shelter from the storm. Apparently it had been traveling in great haste. Its message must have been important. Unfortunately, the storm had washed out the ink and the words were completely illegible.” The bird shifted weakly, and Tarami chirped to it.

“But who would send it out so soon before a storm? And why?”

Sam peered at the little bird. “Someone hoping to get their message across before the storm began...” he murmured.

“There is reason to believe that it was looking for your ship.”

“What? Why?” Anna looked from face to face, puzzled. “How could this bird ever find a ship in the middle of the ocean? And how could you tell it was looking for our ship in particular, anyway?”

Sam took the liberty of explaining. “Some of the Royal birds are chosen in pairs. These pairs always know the location of the other, as it has been proven many times. The Army and Navy use them to keep a line of communication intact between the palace and wherever troops may be. One bird is kept there, and one resides with us on board the ship.”

“So...there was a bird with us? But where is it now...?”

Sam shook his head sadly. “I don’t know...the men might find it on the Corona, I sent a salvage crew right after breakfast. I think some of the natives went along.” Anna looked down at the bedraggled pigeon sadly, and Tarami transferred it gently and carefully into the girl’s cupped palms.

“Good grace may reunite them yet,” the Queen said kindly. “And to answer your other question, we recognized the emblem of your ship’s flag as a match to the one on the bird’s tag. That is how we knew it had been searching for you.” Sam reached over to show Anna the tag, tied securely to the bird’s leg. On one side it was embellished with a miniature replica of the tattoo that Anna had seen on Lee’s men: a seven-pointed crown. And sure enough, the other side bore the symbol on the Corona’s flag, which was a crown as well, but inscribed within a ship’s wheel.

“Amazing...I never knew it worked that way,” Anna said wonderingly. She turned to Lee with a smile, and then scowled upon realizing who she was turning to. Lee was tempted to scowl back, but resisted the urge.

“It grieves me that the message never reached you,” the Queen said gravely. “However, there is nothing to be done now. What will you do, and where will you go?”

“We must make our way to Quinn,” Sam replied.

Lee nodded in agreement. “And then we must cross on foot, through the forests. There is no other way to Asphel.” There was agreement all around, and in a little while Anna was chatting in hushed whispers to Tarami, their heads bowed over the injured messenger. They rose and disappeared into another room. Sam excused himself, walking with purposeful stride into the clearing and then on the trek to the shore. He had a mind to help with the salvaging. Lee found himself alone with the King and Queen, who were staring at him intently. It was Rakiatea who broke the silence.

“And you are the man who killed the Pirate King.”

Lee returned her gaze. He did not know what he read in those eyes. The King stood gruffly, exiting the room with a rumble in his throat that could be interpreted as anger. But the Queen stood, tall and straight, the crown of scarlet flowers piercing the shade of the hut. He felt a cool hand on his cheek.

“It is not from him that you must ask forgiveness. Nor can you beg this of the dead, who are gone forever. Look to the living.” And he heard Anna’s laughter ringing out from the back rooms, and then the weak but hopeful chirping of the bird cradled in her hands. The Queen’s dark eyes blinked at him quietly, and then she turned away as well.