The Golden Anchor

by Cameron Stelzer

  ‘So you want me to fill in as the Apple Pie’s captain?’ Whisker said, reading between the lines.

  ‘When y’er both fully repaired an’ recovered, o’ course,’ Rat Bait stressed. ‘There shouldn’t be any dramas, though. Ruby has already put yer name forth for the position an’ the rest o’ the crew has voted unanimously in yer favour.’

  Whisker looked across at Ruby, unsure whether to be flattered or horrified. ‘You nominated me to be the new captain of the Apple Pie when I was in a coma?’

  ‘What can I say?’ Ruby said with a shrug. ‘You’re a natural leader and I was counting on you waking up sooner or later.’

  ‘I-I still don’t know,’ Whisker said tentatively. ‘It’s a big responsibility.’

  ‘At least promise yer’ll take the Apple for a sail once she’s back on the water,’ Rat Bait said. ‘There’s sure to be a couple o’ modifications that require testin’.’

  ‘What kind of modifications?’ Whisker asked suspiciously.

  ‘Oh, just some subtle changes Robert suggested to improve her speed an’ firepower,’ Rat Bait said casually. ‘We’re still ironin’ out the details.’

  Whisker’s ears pricked up. ‘Dad’s helping you with the repair work?’

  ‘Aye,’ Rat Bait said. ‘He takes after Anso with that inventive mind o’ his – always findin’ somethin’ to fix. Plus, he was eager to test out a few o’ Anso’s unfinished designs from the Book o’ Knowledge. It didn’t take much to convince him to be me chief engineer.’

  ‘So there were no hard feelings about what happened, you know, in the past?’ Whisker asked, wondering how his father had reacted to Rat Bait’s reappearance.

  ‘Yer father takes after Anso in that regard, too,’ Rat Bait said. ‘Quick to forgive, an’ even quicker to offer a second chance.’ He studied Whisker thoughtfully. ‘An I’m o’ the opinion that ye’re followin’ in both o’ their footsteps.’

  ‘Well, we’ll see about that,’ Whisker said, unable to look the old rat in the eye. He still harboured guilt about the way he had shouted at Rat Bait, and the mention of his father’s gracious reaction only made him feel worse.

  ‘Look, I’m sorry for yelling at you in Aladrya,’ he blurted out. ‘I was angry and confused and …’

  ‘An’ I accept yer apology wholeheartedly,’ Rat Bait said, simply.

  ‘But my actions were –’ Whisker began.

  ‘Listen, Whisker,’ Ruby said, joining the conversation. ‘You’ve served your apprenticeship – and in more ways than one. Leave the past in the past. Say goodbye to the blame.’

  Whisker was silent for a moment.

  ‘She be right, ye know,’ Rat Bait said. ‘An’ ye’d be wise to listen to her, just as I should have listened to me Molly all those years ago.’ He extended his right paw to his grandson. ‘I’ve been given a chance to start afresh. What about ye? No more bitterness. No more regrets. Just a bright future with the people we care ‘bout most. Can ye make that commitment?’

  Whisker looked down at Rat Bait’s paw and then shot a tentative glance at Ruby. They were both right. It was time to start anew.

  ‘Yes,’ he said, shaking his grandfather’s paw with all the strength he could muster. ‘It’s a new beginning for both of us.’

  As if on cue, there was a loud bellow of laughter and Fred’s enormous head came into view along the cliff-side path. A moment later, Horace’s stumpy body appeared beside him, with Smudge flying in circles around his head.

  ‘It looks like the well-wishers have arrived,’ Ruby said, pulling away from the railing.

  ‘Oh, one last thing I should mention,’ Rat Bait whispered as the three companions drew closer, ‘yer theory ‘bout Anso’s riddle proved to be true.’

  ‘You mean you discovered something under Madam Pearl’s shop?’ Whisker said in surprise.

  ‘That we did,’ Rat Bait grinned. ‘There be a hollow in the face o’ the six hundredth step filled with grime. We cleaned it out to find a hole exactly the size of yer anchor pendant.’

  ‘A key hole?’ Whisker gasped.

  ‘Aye,’ Rat Bait said. ‘There be no grand chamber filled with immeasurable riches down there. But we did retrieve a small wooden box, hidden inside the step itself.’

  ‘What did it contain?’ Whisker asked in an excited whisper.

  ‘I’ll let ye discover that for yerself,’ Rat Bait said, as Horace came bounding towards them. ‘I gave Miss Ruby the box for safe keepin’, an’ she’s been waitin’ until ye were awake to open it. Though perhaps ye should hold off until all the excitement has died down.’

  ‘Perhaps …’ Whisker said, as Horace caught sight of the bandaged rat and let out a cry of exclamation, ‘Shiver me pharaohs, Whisker! You look like you’ve just crawled out of a sarcophagus!’

  ‘I certainly feel that way,’ Whisker groaned in a voice that sounded positively mummyish.

  ‘Well I’m glad you’ve returned from the afterlife, with your brains still in your head and not in a jar like those ancient Egyptians,’ Horace chuckled, leaping onto the porch. ‘We’ve been dying to tell you the latest news.’

  Whisker wasn’t sure if his fragile mind could handle any more news in one day, but he waited patiently as Fred lumbered up the stairs and stood beside Horace, with an enormous grin plastered across his face. Smudge landed on the rail next to Ruby, waving his arms excitedly as if to say, oh, you are going to love this.

  ‘Go on,’ Whisker said with a sigh. ‘Enlighten me.’

  Horace thrust his hook over his shoulder and pointed to two animals walking arm in arm along the path. One was a bookish-looking rat with stylish blue-rimmed glasses and a matching iris-print skirt. The other was a bony albino, with absolutely no style, clomping along on a red pencil leg.

  ‘And?’ Whisker prompted.

  ‘Athena said yes!’ Horace exclaimed.

  ‘Yes to what?’ Whisker asked, confused.

  ‘Yes to Pete’s proposal, of course,’ Horace said. ‘Look!’

  Whisker peered closer at the couple, suddenly realising what Horace was referring to. There was no mistaking the enormous engagement ring on Athena’s left paw. The gigantic pink diamond was easily as big as her paw.

  ‘All thanks to our friend the fox,’ Horace said with a proud smile. ‘And entirely my idea.’

  ‘Bruised bananas it was!’ came a voice from the far side of the porch.

  Whisker swivelled his head to see Benny Banana Peel climbing over the railing.

  ‘I clearly recall it was me dat suggested yar bony friend use dat oversized rock to woo his girl,’ he said, shaking a long finger at Horace. ‘And don’t yuh forget it.’

  ‘Well, I was the one who retrieved the diamond from a flaming ship,’ Horace argued, gesturing to the scorched wooden cane leaning against the bench. ‘And don’t you forget it.’

  ‘Dat hardly counts when dere’s an entire mine of pink diamonds waiting to be unearthed,’ Benny countered.

  ‘Which, thanks to you two loudmouths, is no longer a closely guarded secret,’ Ruby said in exasperation.

  ‘Ah, relax, Ruby,’ Horace said with a dismissive wave of his hook. ‘It’s not like the Cat Fish can hear us or anything. Not from the northernmost point of the north pole, or wherever they ended up.’

  Ruby rolled her eye. ‘The way you’re carrying on, Horace, I wouldn’t be surprised if they could hear you from the moon.’

  Horace responded by hurling a string of insults in Ruby’s direction while Benny stepped closer to Whisker and asked in his usual laid-back voice, ‘How yuh doing, mon?’

  ‘Slightly overwhelmed,’ Whisker replied honestly.

  ‘Well, I’ve brought yuh a little present in case yuh want to lock yourself away in da lighthouse,’ Benny said, drawing a bangle-sized metal object from his belt. ‘It’s a ring of a slightly different nature.’

  At first glance, Whisker thought Benny was presenting him with the keys to the lighthouse. But as he looked closer, he realised that, instead of containi
ng keys, the ring held a number of thin metal shafts with irregularly-shaped heads.

  ‘Lock picking tools,’ he said in understanding.

  ‘I’m sorry I didn’t give yuh dese sooner,’ Benny apologised. ‘Dey may have saved yuh some trouble on dat black ship.’

  ‘That’s okay,’ Whisker said, accepting the gift graciously. ‘I’m sure they will come in handy in the future.’

  ‘Yeah, especially seeing as I’m still waiting on my replacement skeleton key,’ Horace moped.

  ‘Well, why don’t you go and complain about it to Madam Pearl?’ Ruby said gruffly, clearly eager to evict Horace from the porch. ‘She’s on her way up now, with the entire population of Freeforia.’

  Ruby pointed to the path behind the happy couple. Ascending from the village was a large crowd of animals – Freeforians and pirates alike. Whisker spotted Papa Niko and Mama Kolina at the front of the pack, engrossed in an animated discussion with Hera and Aphrodite. The words bridesmaids’ dresses featured heavily in the conversation. For once, the two girls were too preoccupied to even think about flirting with Whisker.

  A little further back walked Madam Pearl and the mice, flanked by the Hermit, Granny Rat and the Captain. Frankie Belorio came next, bouncing a shiny rubber Death Ball, while Chatterbeak squawked happily by his side, commentating his every move. He waved a bandaged wing at Whisker and Whisker waved back with his own bandaged arm.

  ‘Is there a single creature on this island who has not decided to visit you?’ Ruby asked with a frown, as a crew of Penguin Pirates waddled into view with Baron Gustave, King Marvownion and a horde of hamsters at their heels.

  ‘You know what they say,’ Horace said, taking off down the stairs. ‘Two’s company. Three hundred’s a party!’

  As Whisker scanned the approaching throng of well-wishers, he realised there were at least three animals missing – the three animals he longed to see most.

  As if in response to his yearning, there was a loud HONK from high above him and his eyes flashed to the sky. Bathed in sunlight, and descending from the heavens like an angel, was an enormous white swan. Seated on his back were three passengers: Robert, Faye and Anna Winterbottom.

  Whisker’s face lit up at the sight of them. It was like something from a dream – his family soaring through the clouds on the wings of a swan, heaven sent. But unlike the nightmares that had haunted Whisker’s dreams, this vision contained no chains, no fires, and no cyclone. The faces were the same but the pain and uncertainty were finally gone.

  Whisker recalled his father’s promise on the night of the cyclone – a pledge to return to his son. The thought of such a homecoming had given Whisker strength every step of the way, but he had never imagined their reunion would be this glorious. In a land of peace and prosperity, with family and friends by his side, Whisker knew the promise had finally been fulfilled.

  Balthazar circled once around the lighthouse and then swooped low over the crowd. As the majestic swan drew closer to the cottage, Whisker noticed that his three passengers wore matching pendants. They weren’t tacky tourist trinkets or silver-plated charms. They were anchors – identical to the one hanging around Whisker’s neck. And they were made from solid gold.

  ‘Did you know about this?’ Whisker said, glancing across at Rat Bait, who was struggling to conceal a smile.

  ‘Let’s just say there be more than one use for a counterfeit coin mint an’ some spare Aladryan gold,’ Rat Bait chuckled, pulling back his collar to reveal his own anchor pendant.

  ‘You have one, too,’ Whisker exclaimed.

  ‘Fresh from the mint,’ Rat Bait said. ‘Robert thought it’d be fittin’ for every Win’erbottom to have one o’ these, even the scoundrels among our ranks.’ He lowered his voice and whispered, ‘Plus, we took the liberty o’ makin’ a spare anchor for a certain future Win’erbottom – if ye catch me drift.’ The subtle nod he gave in Ruby’s direction told Whisker exactly what he meant.

  Trying not to blush, Whisker raised his fingers to his chest and felt the shape of his own golden anchor under his bandages.

  ‘The symbol of hope,’ he said.

  ‘Aye,’ Rat Bait agreed, as Balthazar landed at the foot of the porch stairs. ‘An’ a fine reminder o’ family.’

  ‘Family,’ Whisker repeated, rising to his feet as his parents and sister rushed up the stairs to meet him, their faces filled with joy, their arms wide open. ‘My family.’

  — EPILOGUE —

  It was dusk when the three rats finally gathered in the small grove of pandanus trees near the edge of the cliff. Above them, the lighthouse was already shining brightly, projecting a narrow shaft of light far out to sea.

  ‘Are you ready?’ Whisker asked, clutching a small, wooden box in his paws.

  Ruby glanced down at the rectangular object, and then looked up to meet Whisker’s gaze. She considered him for several seconds, the corner of her mouth slowly curving into a half-smile.

  ‘I’m always ready for a new adventure, Captain,’ she said, with a glint of mischief in her eye.

  Whisker gave her a bashful smile.

  ‘Ahem,’ Horace said, clearing his throat awkwardly. ‘I don’t mean to ruin your moment, but have either of you considered that this thing could be booby trapped?’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Ruby huffed. ‘Rat Bait opened it in Port Abalilly and he still has all of his fingers, his ears and his nose.’

  ‘Still,’ Horace said, raising his hook protectively in front of his face, ‘it pays to check.’

  Ruby rolled her eye. ‘Go on, Whisker. Open away.’

  With a soft click, Whisker released the small metal clasp and moved his fingers to the lid of the box.

  The rusty metal hinges squeaked quietly as the lid curved open.

  The three rats stared down, mouths agape.

  ‘Shiver me surprises!’ Horace exclaimed. ‘This changes everything.’

  ‘Is that what I think it is?’ Ruby gasped.

  ‘Oh, yeah,’ Whisker said with wide eyes. ‘We’re going to need that ship after all.’

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