Chapter Three

 

Ace stepped back, dusting his hands on his pants and admiring his work. The meat hung in thin strips from a makeshift grate, and stones stacked around the fire forced the smoke up in a thin spire.

 “I suppose that will do it! But we can’t move it for at least a week, so…”

“I guess we’ll be here a little longer?” Gracy was watching fascinated. “We don’t have to cook it?”

“Nah, the sun will do that for us. All we do is leave it like that, with the smoke coming up through it.”

He started laughing, watching the smoke billow towards the sky as if it was showing me scenes from some distant land.

“It took us forever to get it right. We messed it up every way we could; you know this stuff will actually catch on fire? Poor Sagan was trying so hard to save the meat.”

“Your brother?”

“Oh, he was laughing so hard he fell over. It was tough, at first, but we figured it out, and now I get to teach you,” he shrugged “Anyways. Now that that’s been taken care of, you need to show me that bridge.”

“Is Sagan your brother?”

“Eh, I guess. But he wasn’t an idiot.”

She stood up putting her hands on her hips “Is that all you are gonna tell me?”

“Well,” he grinned, “is there something you want to tell me?”

“My mother was a blond. She loved books and read them to me all the time; she taught me to read, so when she was sick sometimes I would read to her.”

“Okay, well, mother for mother, then.” He started towards the edge of the jungle. “Can we talk as you show me this bridge?”

“I guess,” she said, stepping into the underbrush.

“Well then, my mother was a pirate. She was cursed, some would say, because she was the last in a line of fallen kings. She hated the empire, even more then you do, I suppose.”

“Well, my mother’s name was Genna. She was born and raised just outside of Eaux Reve. Her family owns a big plantation just north of the town. But when she was sixteen, she fell in love with my father, so her family cast her out for shaming them.”

“So, why didn’t you go there? Why go to that tavern?” He glanced across at her.

“Because they didn’t know me. And even if they had known who I was? I was the b*****d child of a pirate.”

Ace shook his head. “This world, where you are bound by your parent’s choices from the day you are born, where you are cursed by the very blood that runs through your veins, sometimes I wish it would all burn. I wonder, though, if that’s what my parents were thinking when…”

“When what?” she prompted, but he didn’t answer. He was staring at the bridge.

“Ace?” she asked, but he just grinned and started across.

They followed the pavement as it wound through the trees and into what seemed to be the remnants of a town. The stone fronts of the buildings were covered in a thick moss, trees grew from the tile roofs, roots pushed down between the stones and flowed majestically down into the ground.

Something rustled in the trees above, staying just out of sight as they walked along the deserted streets. Ahead was a large staircase, winding up to nowhere, as the walls around it had crumbled away. A fountain stood just beyond, in what seemed like it was once a grand hallway. Intricate stonework rose out of the ground, climbing towards the thick canopy above.

Ace took a deep breath, slowly walking towards the fountain. It was cracked. A large part of it seemed to be missing, and moss had taken it over. Ace slowly pulled away the moss, looking a little shaken. Beneath the thick carpet was a face, gazing down towards something. As he pulled away the rest of the foliage, it revealed a woman with strange markings up and down her arms. In her hands was an orb, intricately carved with what looked like ancient writing.

“What is it?” Gracy asked, stepping up on the edge to get a closer look.

“I’ve seen those tattoos before,” he said, an odd tone in his voice. “Let’s look around a bit more, I’m sure there is something interesting here. I just feel like we will find something important.”

“Sure” Gracy nodded; there was something melancholy about the beauty of this place being consumed by the jungle.

They followed the walls around to an arch, looking for any clue as to what could have been there before.  The walls were carved with intricate pictures of the sun and strange lizard like creatures. The sound of animals scurrying into hiding as they approached and the soft trickle of water in the distance offset the strange birdsongs floating down through the trees. They took their time, pulling away the moss and exploring the pictures beneath, climbing through the roots and into the remnants of the homes that once were, until the growing shadows of the setting sun chased them back to the camp.

“Ace?” she asked as they made their way across the bridge.

“Hm?”

“You said something about the statues…”

“The tattoos? Yah… Hey, Gray? Did you get the green eyes from your dad?”

“No, I got them from mama, why?”

“So do you think you look like her?”

She stopped and stared at him. “What do you mean? I don’t know if I look like her, I was seven when she died. To be honest, I don’t think anyone could ever look that beautiful. Especially not me.”

“Well, those tattoos… I did see them before.” He sighed, walking away. “My mother had them.”

 

She woke the next day to find Ace sitting on the edge of the pond. A long thin pole was in his hands. She watched him for a few minutes as he sat perfectly still, as if he was waiting for something.  Suddenly, he pulled back, flipping a large fish back onto the grass behind him. He grinned when he saw her standing there.

“It’s about time you woke up. Come here, you’re gonna make a fishing pole.”

“I’m what?”

“You wanted to learn to fish, right? Well the best way to learn anything is from the bottom up, and to fish you need a pole.”

She walked over, not really sure what he was she was supposed to do.

“You made a good point the other day: you really do need to learn something useful before we set out again. On the off chance that I’m the one that gets knocked in the head, I need you to be able to pick up the slack.”

“So, you’re gonna teach me to fish?” She grinned.

“Are you kidding?” He handed her a long pole. “We aren’t leaving this island until you can at least keep pace with me. Fishing is just a good place to start.”

She took the pole and looked it over carefully.

“So…”

“Well, here’s a knife. Go find a rod.”

“What?” She took the knife reluctantly, not really sure what he was planning. He took his rod back and set it on the ground, grinning.

“Go find a rod,” he repeated, laying back on the grass and pulling his hat over his face “Bring one back and I’ll show you what to do next.”

“What about food?” she asked, her stomach growling as the smell of the smoking meat drifted across the camp.

“Well, I guess if you fail, we both starve.”

“What? But you have a perfectly good one right there!” She couldn’t believe what he was doing.

“But if I use it, you won’t learn anything. I don’t see the issue, this is how we learned. Oh, and while you are looking for the rod, see if you can find some eggs, and a few worms would be nice if you happen across them.”

“Worms!” she gasped.

Was he seriously planning to eat worms? She shuttered, hoping she had misheard him.

“Fish aren’t so stupid they’ll just jump out of the water, you need to give them a reason to go after your hook.” He lifted the hat, grinning at her, “and I have a hook you can use, no need to freak out.”

“Fine.” she stomped off, not really sure what she was looking for.

“Get a green sapling. They work great.” he called after her.

 

She wandered around for what seemed like hours, not certain what he meant by a green sapling. There were saplings, but none of them looked particularly green. She kicked at the ground; her head was starting to hurt again, and if she didn’t eat something soon, she might be sick. What the hell was a green sapling anyways?

“Try this one.”

She jumped at the sudden voice. Ace was standing beside her, pointing to a tall thin tree.

“Ace! What are you doing here? I thought I had to do it by myself.”

He laughed, grinning ear to ear. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t heard him sneaking up on her.

“Well, you still do, but I know that my brother would be looking for a small tree with a green trunk. This is what I mean by a ‘green’ sapling.”

He took the knife from her and shaved the bark on back on an overhanging branch, revealing a rich green under layer.

“You want a sapling that is still very much alive. If you get one that is already dead, or nearly there, it’ll break when you try to bring in anything big. And I brought a snack, try this!”

He held out a small piece of the venison, and took back the knife.

“Thanks” she muttered “But I thought you said-”

“I did,” he cut her off, “but when I learned, we were starving and miserable, and I want to have fun teaching you. I don’t want to put you through that hell. I think you’ve seen enough of that already.”

She nodded, scarfing down the meat. It was still soft in the middle. She looked at him confused; this was not her idea of dried.

“I pulled a couple of pieces and cooked them. Thought you would be getting hungry.”  He plopped his hat on her head. “You are also looking a bit cooked yourself. This’ll help.”

“Thanks,” she mumbled, not sure what he was talking about.

“Well, I am headed back to camp. Try and finish up soon so that we can get on to the next step.” He waved back at her, disappearing into the thick jungle.

 

The sun was starting to set as they sat on the edge of the pond, lines in the water.

“Gray?” Ace looked across at her. “I had a really strange dream.”

“About what?” she asked, only half listening. She was focusing on silently begging the fish to pick her line.

“I dunno. I guess it’s nothing.” he said, laying back, propping the pole between his knees.

“Was it about your mother?”

“Not exactly; it was about a fire.” He sounded so distant. “I think it was more of a memory than a dream, but I’m not really sure. Gray?”

“Yah?” She turned to look at him.

He was staring at the pond, his hat pulled down over his face to hide his expression.

“If I ask you a question, will you tell me the truth?”

“Of course I will, you know that.”

“Then I guess I have to do the same,” he sighed.

“I should hope.”

Something was tugging at the line, but she wasn’t paying attention. What was going through his mind right now?

“I told you, my parents were pirates.” He sat up, staring at her line, but he seemed to be watching something from the distant past. “They were executed when we were kids. They did something really, well… I don’t know why they did it, but they got caught.”

She held her breath, not really sure what to say. The line jerked hard, almost pulling the pole from her hands.

“Gray!” He jumped to his feet. “You got something. Pull it up, quick!”

She stumbled to her feet, hauling up the large, dark fish. Ace reached out and grabbed it, tossing it up on the grass.

“Now’s the fun part, you get to cook it.” He grinned and took the pole from her hands.

“Ace? I’m really sorry,” she said, knowing how hard it was to lose your family. She never could have imagined that someone so carefree could carry a burden as heavy as hers.

“Don’t be.” He shook his head. “I don’t really remember them, I was so young. And to tell the truth, they were never around anyways. I just thought it would be fair, you told me about your parents and all.”

He put another log on the fire, the orange light dancing in his grey eyes, as he stoked the flames. Carefully running a spit through the fish, he laid it across the top of the fire. Gracy sat across from him, watching carefully.

“So, how’s your head?” he asked, sitting back, watching the fire dance.

“Okay, I guess, it still hurts a bit, but I’m fine.”

“Glad to hear it. I figure that, because we have no idea where we are, we should probably restock our supplies before we go back out. Don’t you think?”

“I suppose.” She said, uncertainly.

“If we can get two more deer like that one and can figure out how to save those fruit you found, I think we should be good. At least, until we can find another town.”

Gracy nodded. She was still feeling a little dizzy, but didn’t really want to tell him that. Not after he had been so worried. The fire was crackling and dancing as the fish dripped, slowly cooking on the open flame.

 

Time seemed to pass too quickly as the two of them explored the ruins. Ace taught her to track and trap the deer, and they cleaned and saved the hides, planning to sell them in the next port. They had lost track of time: Ace willing to teach her everything, and Gracy eager to learn. They experimented with the fruit, trying to cook and dry them, though all attempts failed. When they had filled the small boat with supplies and the pain in Gracy’s head had faded to nothing, they finally decided it was time to bid the island farewell and find a port.

As they stood on the shore rigging the sail, the birds called from the jungle, almost as if it was beckoning them to come back once more. There was a melancholy feeling, leaving the jungle. She had felt something here that she thought was gone forever. She had remembered what it was like to have someone. For the first time since that night, she didn’t feel alone. She turned to the sea, the smell of the salt in the air and the sound of the waves; the wind was pulling at her, calling her to sit atop the deep blue water.

“I suppose mama was right, it is a curse of ruin,” she whispered.

“What?” Ace came over, looking confused.

“Nothing, I’m ready when you are, captain.”