Beyond Eternity

DAY 16, SUNRISE

Lucas awoke to the sun in his face, looking beside him, he noticed that Claudia wasn’t there, going downstairs, he saw her there, roasting more of the fish.

“Oh, good morning.” He said.

“To you as well.” She replied. “I also gathered some fruits, you can take them.” She pointed at a haystack where they were put.

As Lucas got for himself an apple, Claudia continued to speak.

“Also, just to let you know, this fish won’t last till dinner. Not that I have any qualms about not having meat.”

“I don’t mind either.” He replied.

“One more thing, I had the birds constantly watch the pirates, but at this point, they just appear to be idling around.” She continued.

“They must be awfully disappointed by the lack of treasure around here.” He snickered.

“You’re the nearest thing to treasure around here, so I wouldn’t want for you to encounter them.” He continued and grabbed himself a fish.

“Don’t worry, as long as I know where they are, we can avoid their sight. But really, caring about me like this, it seems you’ve suddenly matured Lucas.” She said gave him a pat in the head.

“Anyways.” Lucas said, trying to avoid reacting too much. “What’s the plan for today?”

“You’re asking me? Well, we can choose to stay here until they’re gone, but I doubt they’ll leave anytime soon.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“You’ll likely disagree with this, Lucas.”

“Hmm?”

“But what if we tried talking to them?”

“Definitely a bad idea.”

“I thought so.”

“Although frankly, I don’t want to stay hidden for too long either.”

“Then—”

“We’re still not doing it though.”

“Aww, bummer.”

“One more thing, if we happen to be spotted, can we call on aid from the animals?”

“Indeed we can, but unless those animals are Lo and company, we can’t expect a lot of help.”

“Don’t worry too much, I know every potential hiding spot in this island.” Claudia said, trying to reassure Lucas. “I’m also agile despite how I look.”

“I suppose you’re right.” He replied with a calm smile.

As the pair kept eating their breakfast, all the pirates have gathered around the castle.

“So, just as you may have heard from Rue yesterday, it’s possible that others are in this island, we just haven’t spotted yet.” Said a calm yet authoritative voice.

“But boss, we searched all over the place yesterday! There’s no one here.” Replied a crewman.

“If by ‘all over the place’ you mean the village and this castle alone, I’m going to have to doubt your eyesight Falk.” The voice said again. “This island is larger than it first seemed, there are hills, woods and other obstructions that can easily hide people on the other side.”

“If there are people, there are often things of value.” Said a muffled voice.

“Correct, and I’d wager that they’d have a way out of this wretched place, perhaps some boats, but even if there weren’t any, we’ll just have to make them build one.” Replied the captain. “I know it’s still early, but I’ll have you all finish breakfast and begin our search.”

“Aye!” Replied most of the crew.

“And don’t leave any scraps of food got it? It wasn’t easy bringing that hog down.” Said a voice that came from the largest person in the room.

Back at the watchtower, the pair had just finished their meal when Lucas began to ask a question.

“Hey Claudia?”

“Yes?”

“This thought just came across my head but, Victusene does have a docks of its own right? If so, have you ever tried escaping by boat?”

“You have no idea how many times I tried that.” Claudia replied. “In the end however, I’d always let fear get the better of me, knowing especially that no other landmass can be spotted from here. I’m not sure I would actually reach anywhere.”

“Oh, I see.”

“So then, I decided to watch out for boats from the beyond and try to get to them. They notice me sometimes and try to head towards me. But again, just when I thought I’d be able to reach them…”

“They’d vanish right?”

“Yeah. I went even further out on sea to find them, thinking their company might still be around, but to no avail. That was when I finally gave up on leaving.”

“I didn’t mention this the last time, but I recall one report when I was younger stating that a boat was seen leaving from the island by a fishing vessel, but then just like the island, it also vanished. I guess that was also you huh?”

“Yeah, I think so too.”

“Lucas noticed the changing of tone in Claudia’s voice and came up with an idea.

“Did it ever occur to you that I might actually be a good navigator?” He said.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I still know the way back to Ardent, in fact, I know and remember the locations of several ports around the mainland, even from here. it’s true you can’t see it since it’s so far, but that doesn’t change the fact that it is there.”

“You mean we can leave?”

“It won’t be an easy trip back with only the two of us, honestly, it could be perilous. I was really hoping we’d be found by my people instead, but with our current circumstances, this island isn’t safe anymore so I think we should leave on our own. What do you say?” He held out his hand to her.

Claudia, nearly in tears, held his hand and replied. “Yeah, let’s leave.”

“Now then, about the island’s vanishing phenomenon.” Lucas continued. “It seems to trigger when boats from outside reach a certain distance towards this island, correct?”

“Yes, it seems that way.” Claudia replied.

“But you also mentioned being able to go further in distance from where those boats appear right?”

“Yeah, I’m able to.”

“Do you see the birds travel beyond and come back without suddenly vanishing like the boats?”

“Now that you mention it, I notice them leave the island only to come back a few days later.”

“Then that settles it. I assume that although the island reacts to boats from outside, it lets other things like animals through, furthermore, everything, including boats can leave if they came from inside.”

“Claudia suddenly had a look of hopefulness on her face.”

“Although I do wonder how I or the pirates managed to reach this place.” Lucas wondered.

“Hmm… Let’s see.” Claudia began thinking. “both of you arrived after a storm right?”

“So perhaps storms prevent the phenomenon from occurring?” He asked.

“Perhaps, but that’s not what I think. It’s not exactly because of the storm, but what it did, that allowed you to enter.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“Try to recall how you arrived and notice how it’s similar to how the pirates did.”

“I think I’m starting to see where you’re getting at, both of our vessels have been broken right?”

“Correct, which leads me to think that if a boat or ship gets broken enough, the island cannot identify it as one and thus not react to it… Maybe.”

“That’s actually very plausible, that was smart of you.” Lucas said in amazement.

“We don’t yet know what causes the vanishing or why it happens, but I’m just glad to know we can leave.” She replied.

The mood had just turned much lighter when a few birds began flocking around Claudia, they chirped and cried out, which caused her to go cold.

“The pirates are on the move.” She said. “They’ve scattered around, probably looking for us.”

“So they noticed the signs left behind, I guess they have at least an intelligent person among them.”

“Signs? Like what?”

“Maybe like the kitchen and hearth looking like they’ve been recently used perhaps? When I first arrived, it was the first thing that made me think I’m not alone after all.”

“Ah, I remember that, you did call out, asking if anyone else was around.”

“Oh, so you were there to see it?”

“Yeah, but never mind that, what’s the plan?”

“I’m not sure yet, I never suspected that they would be the one’s looking for us. Let’s think about it.”

“Let’s see, luckily this place is hard to get to, no matter which path you take, but that doesn’t negate their chances of arriving. I hope they just get themselves lost in the grove or something.”

Lucas let himself be in deep thought for a while, eventually he spoke out.

“Hey Claudia, how do you feel about having our escape a little ahead of schedule?”

“Wait what? We’re leaving now?”

“Do you not want to yet?”

“Personally, I would’ve wanted to say goodbye to the queen and my parents, but we’re rushed for time.” She said sadly.

“We’ll just have to think of another plan then.”

“No, let’s leave now. That’s my final decision.”

Lucas went up to her and rubbed her head. “I know is hard for you since it’s so sudden, but once we do arrive, I’ll make sure to make you happy.”

“Oh.” He added, trying to comfort Claudia. “Maybe one day, we can return here with more men so you can properly say your goodbyes! How does that sound?”

A tear rolled down her eye. “That would be nice… And thank you Lucas.” He only smiled.

“Let’s make our preparations then.” Lucas said in serious yet comforting tone.