Fog of Shadows

Part 31 The End

Alisea suddenly felt Lillian stir in her arms. "Where am I?" she asked in a weak voice as her pale blue eyes roamed the beach. Her eyes now cleared of the fog. After a few minutes, the fog that permeated the island began to dissipate, as if having waited for the dead to be at peace. From there everything moved at double pace. The officer took Lillian back to the Inn, where the dead body of the old landlady had been found, and then called for the doctor; the doctor came, mended the wound on Lillian's head, then turned his attention onto Alisea's wrist. His was diagnosed as fractured and bandaged with finesse. Flinn, refused to have the doctor examine his knee, claiming that it was only twisted and required nothing more than a few days' rest.

Though still uneasy on her feet, Lillian quickly realized two things; one, that she was the sole heir to the Inn, the only one on the island; two, that by midday, Flinn would be over the horizon and out of her reach. Her heart sunk at that thought. Even though he had refused her, she knew that she could convince him to be hers, if she could be around him long enough. While Lillian longed for his touch, another wished she could forget she ever did. Alisea, waiting for the doctor to clear Thomas, looked out a window at the ocean. Far away, she thought, she had to get far away from everything; from this island, from Willow's grave, from Lillian's Inn, from pirating, and even from Flinn.

The doctor had deemed Thomas free to travel as he only suffered a broken nose and two black eyes. The doctor even recommended the ocean air to mend the swelling that the young pirate suffered from. A few more instructions from the doctor and a quick thanks and payment for food and stay, and then they were on their way back to the beach where the boat had been left only a few days ago. All the while they made their way to the boat, Thomas wailed that the Eldorado was no more, that it had been rammed by a ghost ship; yet, in the distance, the group could see the figure of the Eldorado, just as they had left it. Just as he was about to board the boat, Flinn felt a heavy tap on his shoulder; it was Richard.

"Hello Richard, I am sorry, but my friends and I must be on our way before our families miss us too much."

"I understand there kid, but couldn't let you go without a goodbye and this." The old man reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out a leather string on which a golden ring hung. "I meant to give this to my love, but as you know, I couldn't. You, on the other hand, still have a chance with your ladylove; it would be a shame to let this ring go to waste on an old man like myself."

Looking at the small, golden ring glimmering in the sun, Flinn hesitates. "I am sorry Richard, but I can't accept"

"Nonsense," Carefully, Richard takes Flinn's hand and places the ring in it. "You have years ahead of you and a pretty girl that has her eyes on you; don't waste time on it and propose before she gets taken away from you." Before Flinn could object some more, Richard walks away, leaving the young captain to hold the ring in his trembling hand. For a moment Flinn watched the old man walk away, wondering if he knew the truth about Willow. Quickly, he drops the ring into his coat pocket and returns to the boat. Back on the Eldorado, the crew discovered a terrified and shocked Zorio and Rolfo in the jail; both too scared to speak or move.

Their journey back to the academy was quiet and somber, with the small exception when Myri dared to ask, "what happened in that cave?", but let the question remain unanswered when she saw the look in her friend's eyes. At some point on their trip back, Alisea dropped her injured hand in her jacket pocket, where she felt something small and cold hit her hand. Pulling the small mystery piece from her pocket, she saw that it was Janet's heart-shaped locket. She wondered how that got there, but figured it must have happened when the little ghost girl nudged her arm.

Back at the academy, Captain Triton stood in the principal's office, furious beyond compare at the fact that his learned man before him could not prevent his grandson from hurling himself into certain death "I am sorry, but given that he broke into my office and stole my personal items, there is nothing I could have done to stop him." Said the principal in a nervous tone, his sister standing by his side, tried to support him, but she too was getting uneasy in the presence of the older Captain. "You should never have shown him the map in the first place." Said the old man, shaking his fist, "You and I know him well enough to know that he would risk his life, especially since you mentioned your lost niece to him. He probably thought he was doing you a favor by acting as a rescue party!"