Once everyone had safely crossed the bridge, we continued on, leaving the Crimson Forest and Cliffs of Abandon behind us. The fact that I saved Louis' life an hour ago didn't seem to mean much to him, considering he had been ignoring me ever since then. Perhaps he was simply trying to process how he could have died if I hadn't been there, but it was difficult not to take it personally. Especially since it already seemed like he didn't want to have anything to do with me.
At first the other pirates were openly celebrating that their captain was alright, but after a while I caught several giving me cold looks. I didn't understand why until Harry appeared beside me, his hands still bound in front of him as he walked.
"You're wondering why everyone seems to be upset with you." Harry guessed.
I would have hurried my pace to get away from him, but it sounded like he knew why the pirates weren't impressed. "Are you going to tell me why or not?"
At the corner of my eye I noticed him glance at me. "You could have let Captain Louis die. They all expect you to let him die, after all that's what the prophecy suggests. It would have been easy for you stand back and do nothing."
"But I didn't. I saved him. Doesn't that count for anything?" I frowned.
"They don't think so. Because in the end you'll be the cause of everyone's destruction. The only question is when." Harry said gravely.
His words only added to my frustration. I had already decided I wasn't going to kill Louis like he thought I would. And I certainly wasn't going to kill anyone else, much less the entire lot of them. If only there was a way to convince them that I was harmless and on their side.
"Indie!" Louis called from the front of the group. He didn't look back to make sure I would come, only continued through the sea of ferns on the forest floor.
Before I could go to him, Harry stopped me. "Wait. I have to know if you've forgiven me?"
"Harry... You were playing me, being nice and sympathetic because you thought you could use me to get the gold. Don't deny it." I said sharply.
"No, Indira that's not true. I considered you a friend. Still do." Harry said and his tone sounded convincing, but I wasn't about to blindly trust him again. It wasn't like me to so quickly trust anyone, so why had I trusted him?
"You're loyal to Jane, which means you're an enemy to Louis, which means you're an enemy to me." I said before quickening my pace to get ahead of him.
"Why are you so quickly taking Louis' side? You know nothing about Jane! Louis' the one you should fear. Come on, Indira, I'm your friend!" Harry called after me, but I ignored him. He was just like every other man I'd known; taking advantage of any weakness I showed.
When I caught up to Louis, he said immediately, "There you are. I need you to see if you can get the map to work on the island. I want to be sure we're going in the right direction."
He handed the magic map over and thrust it into my hands as we kept walking. Taking it, I watched as the illustrations of the island swirled and danced around the golden parchment until a golden gate appeared.
Louis sighed in exasperation. "That's all it'll show us? A bloody gate? How about a path to the Cave of Embers? How the bloody hell are we suppose to find a gate-"
"Captain!" One of the scouts came rushing through the trees ahead. "There's a gate ahead and I think it leads to the cave."
Louis grabbed the map from me and stuffed it into the satchel strapped over his shoulder.
"The map doesn't directly show us the journey, only landmarks along the way." I said to Louis and he huffed.
"Wonderful. At this rate we'll reach the cave before nightfall." Louis said, but didn't seem eager to run ahead to see the gate for himself.
YOU ARE READING
Forbidden Island
同人小說When you're a nobody, you can't expect to be rescued from a captor when hardly anyone knows or cares of your existence. That was her unfortunate situation. She was taken captive in the night, all because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time...
