Fog of Shadows

Part 10

"We would volunteer!" Both the principal and the doctor were caught off guard when Flinn spoke; though his hopes were lifted, even the principal thought that this was too much to ask for from his model students. "We appreciate your offer, but it will still be dangerous and the two of you are still so young, let's have others, who have already seen the world go on this dangerous journey." Said the principal, this earned him an approving nod from his sister. "But we have already been through so many dangerous adventures, one more will not make much of a difference; besides, Willow is the only one who knows how to get to and from the island and she doesn't seem to trust just anybody." Said Alisea, it was true that Willow had a hard time trusting just anybody and, personally, she thought it was even a miracle that she even trusted her. Sadly, Jacklyn had a notion of what the young captain was going to ask, "I know what you want to ask, but no, I will not let you take the stranger with you. Something is wrong with her and she will not leave this island until I have found out what that is."

"She seemed alright to me, besides, I though you checked her over again." Alisea knew that the key for anyone to return from the island was Willow and if they wanted their niece, they would have to let them take Willow with them. "Yes I have reexamined her, and I still don't know how a stethoscope could go bad, but nevertheless something is wrong with her. I know that no one could be that dehydrated and be able to live. My decision is final, she is not leaving."

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After many hours of trying to convince both the principal and the doctor, the two young captains had to call in defeat. Jacklyn refused to let go of Willow, despite the advantage of the mission being a success with Willow's presence and the principal refused to take the help of the two young captains and instead opted to find someone older to go on the journey. Outside, sitting on the steps of the main hall, the two young captains sulked over their defeat. "I still think we are the better choice." Complained Alisea while looking at the ground; part of her simply refused to give up, "I know, but what can we do? They made up their mind and it doesn't look like they will change it anytime soon." This gave Alisea a wicked idea. "Maybe we can go against their will?"

"And how are we going to get to and from the island? If the rumors are true, we might be able to find the girl, but we won't be able to get off the island."

"Maybe I could convince Willow to give us advice on what to look out for."

"You think we could make it?"

"We were able to survive Captain Joe, Espadon, Thomas and the El Skeleton; being able to navigate through fog and rocks should be manageable."

"Are you sure about that, after all, maybe it is better that someone else goes and finds her?"

At this Alisea turned to her companion and made full eye contact with him, "Don't you think it's a little odd that it was us who found Willow on the beach and that she woke up when the girls and I were with her and that she told me where she came from and that the place where she came from just happened to be the same island as where the missing girl is supposed to be. Personally, I think that those are a lot of coincidences." Flinn had to agree to this and deep down he felt that he had to help.

"I agree with you, but how are we going to find her? Even if we get advice on what to look out for, how will we know what the girl looks like? We only saw the image of her for a brief moment and I am starting to look her image in my head." Flinn was right, they had found out that she existed and where to look for her, but, with the short moment they had to look at the drawing of her they had little idea what she looked like, it also didn't help that the image was drawn with a light ink and had, just like the old map, started to fade. Neither did they possess the map with which to navigate with, so traveling to the island seemed next to impossible.

"But we can't just sit back and do nothing." Protested Alisea, the more impossible it seemed for them to embark on the mission, the more she wanted to go. It was like the haunting song of a siren was calling to her. Her pleading protests brought an idea to Flinn's mind that was just as wicked as Alisea's initial idea. "Maybe, just maybe we could 'borrow' the drawing and the map. The island looked close enough, so I don't think it would take us that long to sail there, a day at most if the wind is good. Then, if we add at least two days to find her and another full day to travel back, we might just make it back before anyone would miss us, the image and the map." His idea cheered her up for a brief moment, but that moment was quickly followed by harsh reality.

"You do know that if we get caught, we could get expelled; are you really willing to risk everything you have worked for to help find this Janet?" Alisea's concerns were genuine; she could always return to her father and return to her life before the academy, but from everything she knew of Flinn, he had worked his whole life to become a captain, and getting expelled would destroy everything he has worked for. "I know of the consequences, but I feel that the opportunity to help outweighs getting expelled; besides, you really look like you have your mind set on this, I want to be able to help you if you need it" he said smiling at her; they had been through several, dangerous adventures and he wasn't about to let her go on such an uncertain journey on her own. This earned him a smile and a tight hug from his sweetheart.

"Thanks, I knew I could always count on you."

He smiled back at her, "Now how about we get the ships ready, we might only be taking one and only Willow would know which one would be the best to navigate through fog and rocks, but it's better to be prepared."

"Plus we need to wait until one of us can sneak into the principal's office and get the drawing and the map." Added Alisea as they got up off the steps with new found energy.

"I'll go and sneak into his office when he is gone; Willow seems to be more open to you so I think it is better you go and ask her for advice on how to leave the island. After we have the advice, the map and the drawing we set sails and get out of the harbor before daybreak. This will buy us a little extra time." Suggested Flinn and Alisea was quick to agree. As fast as their legs could carry them the two young captains made their way to their ships to inform their crew of their plans to recover Janet.

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