Tales of the Caravan

by J. Avarez

  "He gave Sarah a caravan pact," replied Charlotte, shaking her head. "His first one, from what his face showed me. Why would he slash his face, to keep up a lie? Just doesn't make much sense to me."

  "He's a pirate," said Mia angrily. "They make a living off of selling their lies as truths. Blackbeard started to win me over too, with his smooth talk about changing the world, but he showed his true colors in the end. He's a killer, they're all killers. You can't trust any of them."

  The sound of the turning doorknob caused the ladies to gaze over. Sarah entered the room and smiled at them, with Mira standing close by her foot. Mia noticed the black cat before anything. Though she was thankful the oracle managed to escape Blackbeard's men, her presence brought a troubling thought to her mind. If she's here...is Jayden here too?

  "Sarah!" Cookie shouted, happily.

  She ran toward her captain and gave her a hug, suffocating Sarah underneath her breasts.

  "It's about time, kid," said Gizmo, climbing out of the hole in the wall. "Did Merla find a way for you to become captain?"

  "Sort of," replied Sarah, her eyes then turned to Mia. "I'm surprised to see you here, I'd have thought you'd be back at your mansion."

  "I can't go back," said Mia, looking a bit miserable. "The mansion belongs to my father, and the Imperial Fleet seized it after they sent him to Arkon."

  "They can really do that?" Asked Cookie in disgust.

  "It's the emperor," replied Charlotte, as she leaned against the wall. "If he said to swim with the dragons, you all would jump to the nearest whirlpool."

  "What do you mean, you all?" Asked Mia defensively.

  "Oh, come on," Charlotte scoffed. "You Royals are the reason the emperor does what he likes."

  "But not all of us agree with him," Mia’s face went red with rage. "My father's a Royal and he's in jail because he helped you."

  "It may be worse than that," said Sarah, fighting the urge to sway. "I'm sorry, Mia, but the emperor wants to send your father to the guillotine."

  The news hit the young Royal like a hot knife through the heart. Her father, the one person she loved most in the world, was to suffer an end most men prayed they’d never meet.

  "The guillotine," said Mia, softly, "Are you sure?"

  "I heard the news myself," said Mira. "I'm sorry, darling, but it's all true. The emperor needs a scapegoat for all that's happened, and your father is who he intends to use."

  "We're going to help him, though," said Sarah. "Blackbeard knows how to read the map to end the curse. Charlotte and I are going to get him to translate it, then we can set everything right to get your father out of Arkon."

  "Wait, just you and Charlotte," said Cookie, looking upset. "What about me, I'm in this caravan too, you know?"

  "We have to be stealthy about this," replied Sarah, she smiled at the freckled beauty and gave her shoulder a shake. "And that means not drawing attention to ourselves."

  "I can be stealthy!" Cookie exclaimed.

  "Have you ever played hide and seek?" Asked Charlotte.

  "Yeah?" replied Cookie, looking confused.

  "And you were always the first they found, weren’t you?"

  Cookie's blue eyes snapped open. She quickly recalled being just seven and already being close to six feet tall. At times even the kids advised her not to bother hiding.

  "Oh," Cookie looked down at her twiddling thumbs, her cheeks matched her long red hair. "I see what you mean."

  Gizmo approached Cookie and rose his small paws, like a child looking to be picked up by his mother. Cookie took Gizmo up to her chest and happily accepted his hug, completely ignorant of the devious smirk on his face.

  "That's fine if you sit her out, but I'm coming," said Mia, rising up from the bed. "He's my father. You can't expect me to just sit here and do nothing?"

  "I don't know, goldie," said Gizmo, smiling as he rested his head on Cookie's bosoms. "Mother Fire definitely made it clear she ain’t want you out this room."

  "To hell with that," said Mia, clenching her small fists. "My father means the world to me, if something happens then so be it. I'm not putting his life in the hands of commoners."

  The room went silent, even Mia widened her eyes at the sound of her words. True, her mother and the other Royals infected her with indifference for the commoners, but she had always tried to judge people for their actions. Her upbringing, however, came pouring out of her mouth without her meaning to.

  Sarah was in no mood for insults, she scoffed at Mia's words and gave her vice-captain a nod. "Come on, Charlotte."

  "Hey, I said I'm..."

  "I know what you said," said Sarah, swiftly interrupting Mia. "But I can't risk it. I know it may be hard for you to accept. Royals are used to getting everything they want, but this is my crew. The best thing you can do is sit down and wait. Whether you like it or not, we commoners are the best chance your father has of staying alive." She then turned her eyes toward Cookie's startled face. "She doesn't leave this room, Cookie, I'm leaving that task to you."

  Sarah and Charlotte left with Mira. The Royal was left bewildered as she watched them walk out the room. Poppy and Holly came in not a moment later, with a few bottles of wine in their hands.

  "Woah," said Poppy, hearing the yelling from down the hall. "What did we miss?"

  "Just a disagreement between the two of them." Said Cookie, gently rubbing Mia's shoulders.

  "She should have definitely punched you for that commoner bit." Said Holly, dropping a bottle of wine on the bed and opening one for herself.

  "Holly," said Poppy, shaking her head at her sister. "Stop trying to start a fight. That's not what should have happened."

  "What," said Holly, scratching her head. "Should she have punched Sarah then?"

  "Holly!"

  The two sisters started to argue, but Mia could barely hear any of it. All she could think of was her father wasting away in some dark cell. She was angered about being ordered to stay, but she was even angrier with herself. She was the holder of the red mist, one of the strongest Secretos in the world, and yet, she had only managed to be made a victim these last few days.

  "You know what makes everything better," said Cookie cheerfully, putting a glass in Mia's hand. "Guys and wine…but I guess we’ll have to make do with the drinks."

  It took a while, but after an hour of drinking, Mia did in fact feel better. The ladies sat in the room and discussed their childhoods, before the conversation led to the men in their lives. Cookie was the most entertaining, telling the ladies tales of her craziest nights as a lover. She finished off her favorite tale, after she took a particularly long sip of wine.

  "Then he proposed with his wife's ring!" She giggled, while the others laughed. "After that I never took another married man to bed."

  "Out of respect for godly matrimony, right?" Asked Poppy.

  "No," said Cookie smiling. "They just don't last very long."

  They all busted out laughing again, Mia especially, who recalled the tale from one of Blackbeard's pirates.

  After the laughter died down, Holly gave Mia a sly smirk. "Well, I hear Mia's got a Dragoon after her."

  "Really?" Asked Cookie, giving Mia a look of admiration. "Dragoons are the only men I turn away, what they got swinging between there is unnatural!"

  "Prince Calow," said Poppy, dreamingly. "Marrying him makes you a princess, doesn't it?"

  "I don't know about that," said Mia, hiccupping as she stared at her glass of wine. "I kind of screwed that up for myself, told him I couldn't leave with him to the mainland."

  "He'll be here soon," said Holly. "Calow was one of Mother Merla's students, she's throwing this party as a farewell for him."

  Mia looked startled for a moment, she hadn't known about Calow's connection to Merla. Sheesh, who hasn't that woman trained, she thought. Mia then shook her head, the thought of Drake's ruthlessness was still fresh in her mind.

  "I don't know," said Mia.
"Drake seems set on ruining my family. Maybe after what happened to my father its best I stay here."

  "Damn that," said Cookie loudly, she then edged her freckled face just inches from Mia. "Tell the truth, do you love him?"

  Mia's eyes darted upon Cookie's face, as she tried to find the answer within the sea of her own muddled emotions. She may have been infatuated with Jayden, but Calow had always been there. She realized what she'd often complain as a hectic pursuit was really a show of Calow's consistency. He risked his life for her, not knowing whether he'd make it out alive...he was a dragon, but he was also her prince.

  "Yes," she replied, softly. "I do love him."

  "Then you have to go see him," said Cookie. "Even if it's to say goodbye, you can't let him leave without telling him how you feel. True love is rare, trust me, you have to cherish whenever its shy face shows itself."

  Cookie looked down at her pendant and held it in her hand. She thought of Charlie recovering peacefully in his hospital bed and smiled...she would tell him how she felt once the curse was dealt with.

  "You're right," Mia blurted out. The drunk Royal stumbled off the bed, and carelessly tossed her glass to shatter across the room. "He deserves to know, but it's more than that. The Royals have always forbade me to be with men like him, dangerous men. To hell with them, though," her hazel eyes gazed out the window and saw the banners of the empire being carried down the main street. Behind the banners, a gold motorcar was escorted by hundreds of Imperial Fleet soldiers. She knew who was inside, and her heart finally felt the flutter she had been longing for. "He may be a dragon, but I don't care. I want to feel his fire inside of me…if only just once."

  Chapter 20 The Secrets of Arkon Prison

  While the people of Port Ruby celebrated Calow's new title as prince, Arkon Prison was being occupied by the Imperial Fleet. The streets were filled with Royals in elegant suits and dresses, all of them happily headed for Merla’s party at the Oasis and disinterested in the Imperial occupation. Mira led Sarah and Charlotte through those hectic streets, admiring the leopard print tattoos on Charlotte’s arms as they went. Soon they arrived at their destination, a motorcar factory that stood across from Arkon. The factory was barren after hours, with unfinished motorcars still stuck along the assembly lines. Charlotte warped them through one of the windows and led the way up a dark staircase. On the rooftop they found Jayden near one of the massive funnel pipes, which often pumped clouds of black smoke into the sky. Jayden's eyes glowed as he scanned the prison. His Secreto allowed him to see through the walls of the compound, dozens of soldiers had already begun to take their post to guard the hallways.

  “What do you see, darling?” Asked Mira.

  “There’s about two hundred soldiers,” replied Jayden, as his eyes dimmed. “Most of them are guarding the lobby floor,” he pointed up at the fourth floor of the grey tower, toward a single window filled with yellow light. “That hallway has only about four soldiers patrolling it, that'll probably be our best way in.”

  “Do you know where they're keeping Blackbeard?” Asked Sarah.

  “The top floor,” replied Mira, wagging her black tail freely. “Don't you worry. Jayden and I will go retrieve the bearded oaf. I'd like to scratch his face for kicking me unconscious.”

  “And us?” Asked Charlotte, looking suspiciously at Jayden from the corner of her eye.

  “We'll need you to teleport us inside,” replied Mira, purring as she playfully rubbed her head against Charlotte’s leg. “I'm told you can go wherever your eyes can see, I would hope that window is not beyond the reach of your Secreto.”

  “What about when we get inside?” Asked Sarah.

  Though she asked Mira the question, it was Jayden who stepped forward. She had to crane her neck just to look up at his face. The excitement of the past few days left Sarah little time to make an opinion on what happened to Jayden. A curse that only affects men, it was what Mia told Merla when she arrived at her lounge. Hopefully the height comes before the death, Sarah thought to herself. In her eyes, Jayden deserved whatever his curse should bring him.

  “Drake has your map inside his office,” he replied. “It’s on the floor just below where we're warping on. Look for the red door with the sabers etched onto it.”

  With the image of the red door in her mind, Sarah nodded her head and held onto Charlotte’s shoulder. Mira coolly placed a paw on Charlotte’s foot, but Jayden was met with a glare as he moved to grab her.

  “Don't touch me,” said Charlotte, she then nodded toward Mira. “I can warp you if you hold on to the cat, jerk.”

  Sarah chuckled at Jayden’s startled face, he then smiled and placed a hand on Mira’s back. Charlotte’s eyes glowed as she warped them about a hundred feet across into the air. Sarah felt her body become as light as a feather. Even the lump in her breast from Jayden's bullet, which would sometimes cause her discomfort, felt as if it vanished from her body. Weightless…painless. She would give much to have a life so pleasant.

  In seconds they were inside the prison. Sarah's taste of a pain-free life was cut short, as she felt the weight and pain of her body return to her. All of them fell from the dark cloud and onto the rusty floor. Her green eyes gazed down the hall at four Imperials, only one soldier had noticed them warp inside. The soldier alerted the other three, who were grouped at the corner drinking from their flasks.

  “What is it, guppy?” Asked one of the soldiers irritably.

  The Imperials followed their comrade’s trembling finger toward Sarah, her nail already an inch from her lips. Sarah took a bite and drained the black color from her fingernail. She threw an elbow in front of her, the golem's juice in her veins triggered the wall behind the Imperials to rumble. The wall formed into a large elbow that popped forward, and knocked one of the soldiers in the back. The soldier was launched down the hall, till his face collided with Sarah's actual elbow.

  Charlotte warped between two soldiers, and swiftly knocked them unconscious with two punches to the throat. The last soldier took a shot at Jayden, who quickly shifted his body to the right and dodged the bullet. Sarah watched in awe as Jayden used his Secreto to zip around like a fly. The captain shifted his position and appeared in front of the soldier in just a blink of an eye. The startled soldier dropped his pistol, as he looked up at Jayden's haunting silver eyes.

  "Tell me," said Jayden calmly, putting his own pistol away. "How many of you are guarding Blackbeard right now."

  "Just one," replied the soldier with a trembling voice. Jayden gave the soldier a look of suspicion, which put the Imperial in a panic. "I swear it, Captain Jayden! The Magi enchanted his cell. He's powerless, he can't even awaken his Secreto."

  Though they would never know, both Sarah and Charlotte had the same thought cross their minds. The Magi were hated by the Royals for the same reason they hated just about everything else, they were different and unnatural.

  Sarah scoffed and shook her head. "Royals. They'll do anything to bring the pirates down, even using the magic they hate so much."

  The soldier waited anxiously for Jayden to say something, his legs shaking like a pair of flimsy trees. The captain finally nodded and stepped aside for the soldier to leave.

  “Thank you.” Said the soldier, before running down the hall toward the stairs.

  Jayden waited a moment and aimed his thunder rifle at the soldier. The captain fired one shot, which sent a metal bolt into the back of the Imperial. The soldier’s body jerked from the explosion of lightning and fell hard against the floor.

  “What the hell was that about?” Asked Sarah, punching Jayden in the chest. “You could’ve killed him.”

  “If he tells even one person on his way out, we’re screwed,” said Jayden, strapping his rifle near his hip. “Mira, get them down to Drake’s office. Get the map and the treasure, I’ll go get Blackbeard.”

  “What if they capture you?” Asked Mira, the cat’s yellow eyes went wide with concern.

  �
��Someone needs to get the pearl back to the temple,” replied Jayden. “If I fail then so be it. We have a better chance with Sarah and her friends than we do leaving it to the empire.”

  Without another word they left in opposite directions. Jayden climbed up the stairs to free the most notorious pirate alive, and Sarah headed down to retrieve the blue pearl that caused the world so much grief. Mira’s Secreto had them walk past the Imperials with ease, all the soldiers oblivious to them walking past their guarded posts. Eventually they reached the lower floor and saw a red door at the end of the hall.

  The door was made of fine oak, with eight sabers carved beautifully into the wood. Sarah approached to turn the doorknob, but found the door was locked. Mira smiled and stepped through the wooden door, and in seconds Sarah heard a click, as the door quietly slid open.