I just want to say in advance...I'm sorry. Don't kill me. Please. I have so much to live for. Don't you want the third book? Ahem. Anyways...
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This was it, Skylar thought, this was the day it would all go down. She took a deep breath, preparing herself. There was a dark shape on the horizon, the Dueglesteiner ship coming to bring Sebastian and Tobias food and supplies.
Skylar thought over the plan in her head once again, remembering each and every detail that had to happen. They could do this.
“You ready?” Sebastian asked, his face serious. He was still slightly upset that Skylar had chosen Luke over him, but he had insisted he was over it.
Skylar nodded. “Let’s just get this over with.”
Tobias walked up to them, adjusting his jacket on his shoulders. “They’ll be here soon,” he stated, then held his hand out to Skylar, “We might as well get ready.”
Skylar reached down to her belt, handing Tobias her hunting knife. “We might as well,” she agreed, then pushed Tobias’ fingers over the handle.
“Don’t lose it,” she told him, pushing his hand to his chest. She felt somewhat naked without the added comfort of the knife, a gift from Chris for her eleventh birthday.
“I won’t,” Tobias promised, holding the hand with her hunting knife to his chest.
Skylar nodded, then turned to Sebastian. She took the bow off her back, adjusting the quiver of arrows on her back. “You know what to do,” she assured Sebastian, who nodded at her in agreement.
“Everything has to go to plan,” Skylar looked at the oncoming ship, determined to win this battle. They’d be severely outnumbered, and she didn’t know just what weapons the Dueglesteiners would bring. She had heard of the invention called the cannon. If they didn’t seem believable, the last thing Skylar might see was the sparks from the fire of a cannon.
But she hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Hopefully, everything would work out, and soon they’d set sail for Dueglestein.
…
“Mr. Seaver, you seem to have a guest with you,” the Dueglesteiner said as he walked down the plank they’d laid out on the beach.
“Seems I do,” Tobias answered politely, indicating Skylar standing at his side, her hands held behind her back as if they were tied.
Skylar glared at the man in front of her. He was younger than Tobias, but she hated the way he looked at her, like a predator does prey.
“Let me go you Dueglestein scum,” Skylar said, adding to the act she was playing. She spat at the boots of the Dueglesteiner, who glared at her for soiling his shoes.
“Well, she looks like one of the children we asked for you to give us,” the Dueglesteiner said, snapping his fingers so two Dueglesteiners walked down the plank and stood by his side, popping their knuckles and necks in anticipation of a fight.
“As you know she’s a known murderer and criminal of Dueglestein,” the Dueglesteiner said, bored.
“I am not!” Skylar shouted at him, which was not even part of the act but came from her own heart.
“Silence, child!” Tobias shouted at her, kicking at the back of her knee. Skylar knew it was part of the act, but it still hurt for him to do it. He’d grown to be a sort of father to her, wise and caring.
Skylar stumbled a little, trying her best to keep her hands behind her back. She kept her balance, however, continuing to stand.
“Well then,” the Dueglesteiner said expectantly, “Hand her over.”
“With pleasure,” Tobias said with distaste.
He began to push Skylar towards the men, leaning close to her ear and whispering, “Sorry about the kick,”
“It’s fine,” Skylar whispered back, trying her best to not make her mouth move as much as possible.
“As you know,” the Dueglesteiner continued, “Her capture will win you your freedom.”
As Skylar got closer to the Dueglesteiner and their ship, Sebastian walked next to her and Tobias, still holding her bow.
Sebastian glanced at Skylar out of the corner of his eye, expecting the signal.
“Not yet…” Skylar said tersely through gritted teeth.
She was about Ten feet from the Dueglesteiner.
“Not yet…”
Five feet.
“Almost…”
She was right in front of him now. Tobias continued to talk to the Dueglesteiner, agreeing to their terms of release.
“Yes, I know you’ve been on this island for a year,” the Dueglesteiner said, bored, “All I want is the girl!”
Skylar glanced at Sebastian, nodding curtly.
He wasn’t looking at her, so he didn’t catch the signal. So Skylar resorted to shouting, “Now!”
Sebastian tossed Skylar’s bow at her, which she caught and nocked in an instant, drawing the string and shooting the Dueglesteiner in the foot in three seconds.
She turned to the men around him, shooting them down in a matter of seconds.
There were shouts on the deck of the ship, as Dueglesteiners drew their weapons and rushed at them.
“Uh…what are we supposed to do?” Sebastian asked, forgetting the plan.
“Pick up one of their weapons!” she shouted to him, as she continued to shoot some of the Dueglesteiners on deck. None of them were lethal shots, instead shooting their legs or arms, unarming them and keeping them from fighting.
Sebastian nodded, jumping to grab one of the fallen Dueglesteiner’s swords.
It was obvious that he’d never been in a battle before, becoming nervous and forgetful. This didn’t seem very good.
But Tobias, on the other hand, was an excellent fighter. Despite his age, he was agile and light on his feet, dodging the Dueglesteiner’s attacks.
Tobias also didn’t kill any of the Dueglesteiners, opting instead for cutting them in non-lethal parts of their bodies.
Sebastian fumbled with the sword, heavy in his hands.
Skylar wished she had taught him how to use a sword, but seeing how they hadn’t had one at the time it would’ve been useless. Maybe just teaching him with a knife would’ve been better.
Skylar ran up the gangplank of the ship, climbing up one of the masts to get a better angle to shoot from.
She shot one of the Dueglesteiners in his right shoulder, sending him falling down to the ground, screaming in pain. She immediately aimed for another, shooting him in the thigh. He fell, clutching his leg, yelling for help.
Tobias and Sebastian slowly made their way through the other soldiers, until all the ones above deck were on the ground unconscious or injured.
Skylar jumped down from the masts, glad for their victory.
“That was easier than I thought,” Sebastian smiled, wrapping his arm around Skylar’s shoulder, pulling her into a hug. Skylar’s face flushed as she was hugged, but she pulled away from the hug, brushing one of her stray hairs behind her ear.
“Interesting,” Tobias observed, “Usually there are more…” He was cut off by a banging below deck, and a trapdoor opened. More soldiers flowed out, their weapons ready.
“Soldiers,” Tobias finished with a gasp, holding his sword up, ready for the fight. He’d given Skylar her knife back, so she had that last resort for self-defense.
Sebastian began to fight the Dueglesteiner on her right, while Tobias took the one on her left.
Skylar shot an arrow at the one in front of her, hitting him in the calf. He fell, passing out from the pain.
Another rushed at her, charging to attack. Skylar reached behind her, trying to grab another arrow.
But there wasn’t one there. She’d run out of arrows.
The Dueglesteiner was right in front of her, sword raised for an attack. Skylar reached for the knife in her belt, pulling it out to fight him.
The Dueglesteiner swung at her with his sword, causing her to duck low and cut at his leg. It didn’t stop him, however, and he roared as he swung at her again, and she ran to the left, causing him to swing at the railing of the ship. The wood splintered and snapped from the impact of the sword, and Skylar had a moment of terror as she realized that would’ve been her if she hadn’t dodged.
Swooping around him, Skylar stabbed at his bicep, hoping to disarm him. But he just switched to his other arm, swinging madly at her.
Skylar began to back away, afraid this man was unstoppable. He was a big and strong man, hardly fair to be fighting Skylar. But she was determined to win.
The Dueglesteiner tried to strike at her again with his sword, and Skylar ducked behind the mast. His sword was lodged in the wood of the mast, stuck by the force he had embedded it into the wood.
“Come on, little girl,” he said coyly, taunting her by not only her age but size, “You are a fast one,” he muttered to himself, as he tried to take his sword out of the mast.
Skylar was panting, not only from the running but the adrenaline. She was terrified. It seemed like Tobias and Sebastian were busy with the others, leaving her alone.
The Dueglesteiner got his sword free, and walked calmly over to Skylar, backing her against the rail of the ship. Skylar raised her knife in a last-minute effort to defend herself, wishing she’d said more to Sebastian about the way she felt. She thought surely, this time, she’d die.
The Dueglesteiner pulled his sword back, ready to stab Skylar. She closed her eyes, anticipating the pain and death. This time she’d feel every moment of it.
“No!” she heard someone yell, followed by a stabbing sound. Skylar opened her eyes and saw something she did not expect. And it brought her to tears.
Tobias stood before her, his back to the Dueglesteiner whose blade pierced his chest. Skylar looked into his eyes, the fading sea green that he shared with Sebastian.
For a moment he stood there, staring into Skylar’s eyes, the tears welling up in his own. Then the Dueglesteiner took the sword out of Tobias’ chest, and Tobias fell to the ground.
“No!” Skylar heard Sebastian yell, and he charged at the Dueglesteiner, rage filling his eyes.
Skylar watched in horror as he quickly disarmed the Dueglesteiner, cut his arm, and stabbed the Duegelsteiner in the chest.
Skylar saw there were a few more Dueglesteiners on the ship, and she rushed at them, her knife ready. Tears streamed down her face as she quickly disarmed all of them.
When it was over, Skylar ran over to where Sebastian had propped his father up against the railing. Blood was pouring from the wound that pierced his back and through his chest, and he was breathing, but barely.
“I…I can heal you,” Skylar said hopefully, checking her bag of herbs for a healing salve.
“No,” Tobias choked out, turning his head to spit out blood.
No. Skylar thought, this could not happen the same way it happened to her father.
“Just…just give me a moment,” Skylar tried, desperately trying to save him. She found an herb that dulled pain, immediately offering it to Tobias.
“No,” Tobias said again, “Save it…for something else. I’m…not worth it…” he coughed some more, and Skylar glanced at Sebastian, who was silently sitting there, tears streaming down his face.
“Sebastian…” Tobias croaked out, weakly lifting a hand up to touch his son’s face. Sebastian squeezed his eyes shut, the tears still flowing out of his eyes.
“Sebastian…you have to find your mother…” Tobias said, blinking the tears from his own eyes, “Find her…tell her…tell her I love her…”
“I-I will, father,” Sebastian choked out, his voice breaking.
“Good,” Tobias said as he closed his eyes, “I love you…my…son…” then Tobias’ hand fell from his son’s face, his head slumping to his side.
Skylar closed her eyes, wiping the tears from her cheeks. How could this happen again? How could she lose another person she cared about? Everything seemed like it was crashing down, and Skylar suddenly felt dizzy.
Skylar opened her eyes, looking sadly at Sebastian, who was still kneeling at his father’s side, silently weeping over his body.
…
Sebastian buried his father later that afternoon. The other Dueglesteiners were tied up, and Skylar put a crate of supplies and food for them. They’d need it at least until they’d be rescued.
As Sebastian was kneeling in front of his father’s freshly finished grave, Skylar approached him, guilt and sorrow filling her chest.
“Sebastian…” Skylar started, putting a hand on his shoulder.
Sebastian stood quickly, brushing Skylar’s hand from his shoulder. “Don’t, Skylar, just…don’t.”
“Don’t what?” Skylar asked gently, clutching her hand to her chest.
“Don’t give me your pity!” Sebastian shouted at her, turning his head to see her, his sea-green eyes still filled with tears, “Why?” he asked with pain, shaking his head, “Why would he do that?”
“I…I don’t know…” Skylar said, fresh tears forming in her eyes.
“You should just go, Skylar,” Sebastian said bitterly, turning away from her, “You have the ship, and there’s plenty of navigational equipment in there. You should be able to find Dueglestein.”
“But, Sebastian…” Skylar tried, wanting desperately for him to go with her, “What about you?”
“I’ll stay here,” Sebastian said quietly, his voice filled with sorrow, “I’ll wait for Dueglestein to go after this crew, then make my escape from this island as a stowaway. I have to find my mother. She’s in one of Dueglstein’s prisons, I know it. I’ll find her.”
“Why not just come with me?” Skylar offered, “Besides, it’ll be hard for me to navigate this ship myself.
“No,” Sebastian shook his head, “I can’t go with you. You’ve said it yourself, your heart belongs to someone else. I’ll just get in the way. And if I did, I couldn’t…I couldn’t bear to look at you.” Sebastian already wasn’t looking at her, instead looking at the boulder he’d placed to mark his father’s gravestone.
“Sebastian…” Skylar tried again, but he cut her off.
“Go, Skylar!” Then his voice broke, and he said softer, “Just…go. You’ve already hurt me enough.”
Skylar wanted to say more, but she knew Sebastian wouldn’t listen to her. She looked over at the ship, ready to be boarded and sailed. Skylar felt the tears fill her eyes, and she heard Sebastian say one last thing.
“Goodbye, Skylar.”
Skylar swallowed the lump in her throat, and said back to Sebastian, “Goodbye, Sebastian.”
Then she turned towards the ship, boarding it and figuring out pretty quickly how to operate it.
As she sailed away from the island, she took one last look at Sebastian, who was still facing his father’s grave, not even looking in Skylar’s direction.
Skylar closed her eyes, letting the tears fall from her cheeks. She’d broken Sebastian’s heart and felt responsible for Tobias’ death, and now she had to set off for Dueglestein alone.
It all ran through her mind at once that it overwhelmed her.
Skylar fell to her knees and sat there, crying...
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