Pirate's Tail

Chapter Sixteen

Ace emerged from the palm forest and saw Commodore Gates walking toward him.

"Ace?"

"Who else would it be?"

"You look terrible."

Ace was confused; he felt great. He looked at his body and saw what his father meant. His chest was red and peeling from the sunburn, and his feet and legs were an assortment of colors from the jellyfish stings.

"It's a long story."

"Well, I'm sure that I, as well as the rest of the tribe, would like to hear about it," his father said, crossing his arms. "How did you get back so quickly? Ka-me and Ta-bril only got in last night."

Ace recounted the story, leaving out only one important detail--the mermaid. She didn't seem to want to be known on the island, and Ace felt a bit foolish telling them it was she who had brought him back to the Farobi. Plus, Ace didn't want the natives to think he'd cheated somehow, for he felt they would make him do the trial again. He told his father that he'd swam back to the islands immediately after Ta-bril and Ka-me left. It was partially true at least.

Commodore Gates took Ace back to the dune. Ace sat at the table and had a drink of Chabi. The drink refreshed him as he sat in the coolness of the dune. He retold the story to Ce-ra, and she was even more surprised than the Commodore.

"Nobody has ever completed the trial that quickly," Ce-ra said, shaking her head. "I think the best was three days, and even that.....Poot-ra, my child, Poot-ra..."

"Any word on Captain Alphs?" Ace asked, eager to change the subject before he was questioned further.

"Nothing at all," Commodore Gates informed him.

"Your ceremony is in two days. Then you'll worry about the Visp." Ce-ra declared.

Word spread quickly throughout the village that Ace had broken the record of the quickest trial. Ka-ma and Ta-bril were stunned. It was something nobody had ever done before. All of this interest had put a large amount of pressure on Ace to do the ceremony properly, and to do what he could to help these people. There were rumors starting to float around the village. A few of Ace's favorites were that he was the 'chosen one' and that he was a 'god in human form.' Ace knew neither of these were true, but they were fun to chuckle about.

The day of the ceremony was busy for Ace. He was required to do a set of ritualistic behaviors before the ceremony could begin. He was forced to eat fish for breakfast, then his mother demanded that he not step on any fecal material before the ceremony to keep himself pure. That part wasn't difficult for Ace to do. He did what he could to respect and acknowledge the traditions, for he was about to become a member of the tribe that followed them.

He was nervous about the ceremony he'd have to perform. He was required to go into the ocean in an outrigger canoe, by himself, to call and kiss a shark. Ace had never called or kissed a shark before. What if the shark charged the canoe and ate Ace? He'd never had a problem with sharks in the past, but then again he'd never agitated nor attempted to attract them in the past.

Ce-ra had required Ace to dress in the ceremonial Farobi tribe dress for his ceremony. She'd painted his face and body with a series of red, gold, and white designs. She told him they were meant to convey the battle, victory, and purity of his trials. He wore only a white linen skirt-like outfit that went below his knees and a lily on each arm. The paint went a long ways to covering up his peeling sunburn that he was still recovering from. The paint and outfit made Ace feel strong and accepted among the people. He felt like a warrior. He reminded himself that the ceremony wasn't over yet; he still had to kiss a shark.