Finally, Prince Aguamir placed Issy gently on the ground. It felt soft and she could hear the rushing of the water beating against the shore. They must be at a beach she thought. Issy then heard Prince Aguamir speak to someone.
“I need you to bring me my canoe Grum. I’m going fishing” he said.
“Right away Your Highness”. The man called Grum replied.
“You know better than to go out on the sea alone” said another man’s voice. This man frightened Issy, for he sounded very stern. And she tried with all her might to be very still in the sack.
“Maybe it’s about time that I went out on my own Uncle” said Prince Aguamir. His voice was shaking.
Issy was having trouble staying still, for something in the bag itched her nose.
“Hmm” said the uncle. “What’s in the bag?”
“Just some fishing supplies” said Prince Aguamir, still sounding scared.
Issy was now holding her nose tightly shut so that she would not sneeze.
“Let me have a look in the bag” said the Uncle.
“No!” said Prince Aguamir quickly. Then he grabbed the sack quickly.
“What’s the matter with you Aguamir?” said the Uncle. “Why are you acting so strange?”
Just then, Grum returned and said loudly, “Here’s your canoe Your Highness”.
“Grum,” the Uncle said, “please accompany the Prince on his fishing trip and make sure that he is safe.”
“I said that I can go alone” said Prince Aguamir more bravely this time.
“Don’t be ridiculous!” said the Uncle angrily. “You can’t go alone!”
“You and father are always trying to control me!” said Prince Aguamir angrily. “I’m grown now, and you need to start taking me seriously!”
Issy was surprised at Prince Aguamir’s anger. He always seemed so timid.
“Fine!” said the Uncle. “Have it your way.”
“Thank you” said Prince Aguamir.
He sounded very surprised that his uncle was letting him go. Prince Aguamir quickly picked back up the sack off of the ground and ran to the canoe. When they had rowed out a far distance, Issy finally peeked out of the sack.
“I’m sorry Issy” Prince Aguamir said. “I didn’t expect my Uncle to be there. And I hope you weren’t hurt by the fall from that little boy.”
“I’m perfectly fine” said Issy smiling broadly.
Issy was too happy to be bothered by anything at the moment. Her plan had actually worked! And she was on her way home.
Chapter 20
Escape from Rattan
Isla, Iah and Yanu were still in Rattan, bathing in a large pool of clear, bubbling water that Sandy said was called a ‘Hot Spring’. Sandy decided to bring them to this spot, close to the edge of the island, so that they could clean up and rest before moving on to another island.
“Oh wow!” exclaimed Iah, as she floated backwards in the water. “I could just lie here forever”.
“Me too” said Yanu, who was also floating backwards and popping a guinep into his mouth. Sandy had gathered a variety of fruits for them to eat- some of which they had never seen in Artinia. The guinep was their favourite. It was small and round, and in a green case- it looked almost like a tiny green ball. The fruit inside was soft, and peach-coloured, and very sweet to the taste.
“There are lots of these hot springs scattered around the island” Sandra said. “They’re great for soaking sore muscles and other aches and pains”.
“But what makes the water so hot?” asked Isla, who was sitting on the edge of the pool next to Sandra, with her feet in the warm water.
“The volcano” said Sandra.
“The what?” asked Yanu, puzzled.
“You’ve never heard of a volcano?” exclaimed Sandra in shock. “I thought all of the islands had them. They’re these dreadful mountains that spit out red hot liquid and melt everything”.
Iah gasped. “That sounds horrible!”
“It is” said Sandra. “Our volcano erupts every few years or so. That’s why the sand is so black.”
“Ohhh” said Yanu. “We were wondering about that.”
“It also makes it hard for us to grow crops” Sandra continued, “because the soil gets really burnt. Sometimes there’s hardly anything at all to eat on the island.”
Isla felt very sorry for Sandy and the people of Rattan. She could not imagine having to live in constant fear of being burnt by lava, and facing starvation. She remembered how hard it was to recover from the hurricane that had hit Artinia eleven years ago.
“Is that why your people raid other islands?” she asked. “For food?”
“Yes” said Sandy sadly.
“But why don’t they just ask for the food?” said Iah; “Instead of fighting and killing?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s not that simple” said Sandy.
Isla beat her feet angrily in the water. “Gosh! “she said. “If only the islands could just learn to communicate with one another, then none of this would have happened.”
“Yeah, but what can we do?” said Sandy. “We’re just a bunch of kids”.
…
They spent the rest of the morning splashing around playfully in the water. After their bath, Isla, Iah and Yanu put on the clothes that they had taken (just in case anyone happened to see them); and Sandy took them to a cave, where they hid until nightfall. Sandy, however, had gone home so that no one would come looking for her.
The trio was now standing on the sand of a deserted, moonlit beach, waiting for Sandy to meet them with her canoe. They had been waiting for a long time.
“What if she doesn’t come?” said Iah worriedly. “I knew we shouldn’t have trusted her!”
Just then, they saw Sandy rowing around a large rock, in the sea, towards them.
“I knew she would come.” said Iah happily.
The three of them ran quickly across the sand and climbed into Sandy’s canoe.
“I’m sorry I’m so late guys” said Sandy. “I had to wait until my family fell asleep.”
“That’s ok” said Isla. “Only Iah was worried.”
“Only a little” said Iah, feeling embarrased.
Sandy chuckled.
“I still can’t believe you have your own canoe” said Yanu in amazement. “I wish I could afford one”.
“It was my grandfather’s” said Sandy. “He gave it to me before he died, because he knew how much I love the sea.”
“Oh Sandy, we didn’t know that this canoe was so special to you” said Iah. “We can’t possibly take it”.
“Don’t worry about it” said Sandy, smiling. “It’s going to be used for a good cause. Grandpa always said that family is everything. So go and find your sister.”
“You don’t know how much this means to us Sandy” said Iah, with tears in her eyes. She gave Sandy a tight hug, and then Yanu and Isla joined in also. Afterwards, Sandy jumped out of the canoe with a splash, while the trio rowed away.
r /> Isla looked up at the stars as she rowed and smiled to herself. She thought about Quami and Sandy, and it made her feel more confident about finding Issy. If there were good people in Bane and Rattan, then there must be some good people on the island that Issy was on too, who would help them get back their sister.
Chapter 21
Unexpected Companions
“What’s that?” Isla asked Yanu, pointing at an approaching light far behind them. They had been rowing for only a few hours and all was pitch black, except for that light.
Yanu turned and looked behind of him. He squinted is eyes to see more clearly, and then said urgently “We’ve got to get out of here”.
“Why?” asked Isla feeling scared now.
“It looks like raiders” answered Yanu.
Isla’s heart began to beat quickly. “Oh no” she gasped.
“We can’t let them catch up with us” said Yanu. Then he turned around and began to row at a faster pace.
Isla turned quickly and nudged Iah, who was lying next to her in deep sleep. “Wake up!”
Iah raised her head slowly. “Wh-What?” She said sleepily.
Isla dipped her hand into the sea and splashed the cold water on Iah’s face.
“Hey! What did you do that for?” Iah said angrily.
“Start rowing Iah, raiders are behind us!”
Iah gasped in fright, then grabbed her rows quickly began rowing.
The three of them rowed as fast as their arms could go. The only sounds were their heavy, tired breathing. After about ten minutes, Isla looked back and noticed that the light behind them had not only gotten closer, but had separated in two.
“There are two canoes!” she said. “And they’re gaining on us!”
What are we gonna do?” said Iah. She was so frightened that she almost dropped her rows.
“Just keep rowing” Yanu said.
But the longer they rowed, the closer the canoes got to them. Soon the two canoes were so close that they could see them very clearly, and could even hear the voices of the persons in them.
“We’ve got to jump overboard before they get to us!” said Isla.
Just as they were about to jump, someone on one of the canoes shouted out: “Stop! Isla, Iah, Yanu”.
“Huh? H-how do they know our name?” asked Iah, feeling terrified.
“Because they’re Artinian men!” said Yanu, smiling broadly. “I recognize that voice. It’s Boon!” Boon was one of Yanu’s good friends. He was also an archer in the army- an archer is someone who uses the bow and arrow.
“This is not good.” said Isla. “My mom probably sent them to take us back home”.
Within a few minutes, the two canoes had caught up with them, and Isla could see the familiar faces of her fellow army men. There were three men and in one canoe, and Boon and his mean-looking girlfriend in the other.
“What’s up guys?” said Boon, smiling broadly. His white teeth were even more dazzling in the dark. Isla used to have a big crush on Boon a few years back because of his outstanding handsomeness, but his rude behaviour had soon turned her off; and she had disliked him ever since. “We’ve been searching for you for days.”
“Why?” said Isla, crossly.
“Your mother’s worried sick about you, that’s why” said Boon, still smiling. “And your mother too Yanu”.
Isla did not like hurting her mother. But she just could not give up on Issy.
“Tell them we’re fine.” She said to Boon.
“No. Our orders were to bring you back home” Boon replied.
“I’d like to see you try” said Isla angrily, reaching into her pocket for her sling shot.
“Hold up” said Yanu, quickly grabbing Isla’s hand before she could take out her sling shot. Thenhe turned to Boon. “Boon, buddy, maybe you guys can help us find Issy first. I mean, you’re already here, and we’ve come so far”.
“No” said Isla immediately, looking up at Yanu. “We’re fine on our own”.
“Come on Isla” Iah pleaded. “We could use all the help we can get. And that way, we could get to Issy faster”.
Meanwhile, Boon seemed to be thinking hard. Then he finally said “Alright. There’s an island just north of here called Grem. They are a wild people. I’ll bet they are the ones that attacked us and took Issy. I’ll take you to it.
Isla thought for a while. “Alright, alright.” She said. “But if you guys only try to take us back home before we’ve found Issy, I’ll sling you so hard that you’ll sleep for days.”
…
By about mid-afternoon the following day, the three canoes rowed onto the shores of the island of Gwan. Boon told them that this area of the island did not normally have guards on watch, so they did not have to leave their canoes and swim to shore.
As soon as they jumped out of the canoe, Boon and his men grabbed a hold of Issy, Iah and Yanu.
“Get off me!” Isla shouted.
Isla tried to fight Boon off, but could not. He was too strong for her.
Iah screamed.
Isla looked to the side of her and saw that one of the men that had come with them was holding Iah with her hands behind her back, while two were holding Yanu- who was struggling violently. Boon’s girlfriend was standing in front of them laughing loudly.
Then Isla heard Boon’s cold voice in her ears. “Sorry Isla, but my orders were actually to make sure that you never return home”.
Whose order? Isla asked.
“You should find your sister here” said Boon, ignoring Isla’s question. “That is, if they haven’t already killed her.”
The next thing Isla knew, a group of men with painted faces came running out of the bushes, with their bows and arrows aimed at them.
“Lower you weapons men!” said Boon. “I come bearing gifts, courtesy of Sir Evans. Do with them as you please. ”
“Sir Evans is no friend of ours!” spat one of the men. “He’s a liar and a cheat!”
“I’m sure there has been some sort of misunderstanding here” said Boon, sounding scared.
Isla would have laughed at him if she was not in danger also.
“None of you Artinians can be trusted!” continued the man. Then he turned to the other men, “take them all!”
“Now Now…I’m sure we can work something out.” said Boon nervously, his grip on Isla loosening.
But the men ignored him and grabbed them all in a flash.
Chapter 22
Issy’s Homecoming
“I can see the island clearly now!” said Issy excitedly.
“I see it too Princess Issy” said Prince Aguamir, smiling also.
“I can’t believe I’m finally home. I’ve missed my mom and sisters and Y
osh and everyone”. Issy was hopping up and down so much that the canoe almost toppled over.
Just then, an arrow flew past them, nearly striking Prince Aguamir in the head. Then more arrows followed.
“Duck!” shouted Prince Aguamir, puling Issy down beside him. “They’re shooting at us”.
“They probably think we’re raiders.” said Issy. “Can you swim Prince?”
“Of course” said Prince Aguamir.
“Good. We’ve got to jump overboard and swim to shore. That way they can’t really see us.”
…
Issy and Prince Aguamir soon reached the shore, where General Atticus and his men stood waiting for them, with their weapons raised.
Then as Issy came out of the water, General Atticus recognized her. “Issy?” he said, in his husky voice. “Is that really you?”
“Yes General Atticus” said Issy, breathing heavily because she was so tired from swimming.
“I can’t believe it!” said General Atticus.
He then ran over to Issy, lifted her up and hugged her tightly. “How did you get here? Your mother will be so happy to see you.”
“Where is she?” asked Issy excitedly.
General Atticus suddenly looked sad. “Issy, she hasn’t been doing too well.”
“Is she sick?” said Issy, immediately starting to feel worried.
“I’ll take you to her.” said General Atticus.
General Atticus led Issy and Prince Aguamir up to the royal tree house; and stopped when they got into the living room.
“She’s in her bedroom” he said to Issy. “I’ll wait here with your friend.”
Issy ran to her mother’s room, but was too nervous to open the door; for she was not sure what she would see inside. What was wrong with her mother?
Issy finally took a deep breath and pushed open the door. The queen was lying in bed, looking very weak and pale- almost like a ghost.
“Mommy!” screamed Issy, running over to the bed.
Queen Inga turned around slowly and stared at Issy in shock.
“I-Issy?” she said softly. “Is that really you?”
“Yes mommy” said Issy, beginning to cry.
Queen Inga lifted a trembling hand and touched Issy’s face, as if to check that she was real and not a dream.