The Pirate Letter: Part Five

     Panting exhaustedly, I looked at Firaga to see what her reaction was. Firaga didn't even look at me. She stared down at her sword. The fire on the sword was very bright. Firaga was frowning at her sword. Everybody was staring at me except for Firaga. What was with her?

     "To think I was going to hurt my best friend," I could hear Firaga whisper to herself as the pirates finally shook themselves out of their trance. They started to make annoying sounds again. I recovered as well. I think I was the only one who heard what Firaga said. That she now knew who I was.

     I smiled at her briefly. I flew up to her and hugged her. "Firaga, we have to get out of here, now," I said, dragging Firaga, but I remembered King Hagan's request. They still might find the treasure. It is probably hiding in this room. Even though I was finally with Firaga, I pulled myself away. "Pirates of Captain Woodbeak," I yelled to the crew, "I am the one who has your treasure. If you want that stupid pile of gold you would have to catch me."

     Right after that, the pirates ran after me. I pulled on Firaga and yelled, "Come on Firaga. Follow me." Firaga was speechless, but that doesn't mean that her legs fell off. She ran along with me as the other pirates slowly were catching up. "I am too slow," I said to Firaga. "I have to keep these pirates away from the treasure."

     Firaga found her voice. She would have liked to say many things, but she might not see me again if she didn't do something now. So Firaga said to me, "Kera, you need to go on my back. I am just as fast as these pirates are. I can lead you out of the castle."

     I flew on Firaga's back, and she ran faster than I would ever imagine. "This is amazing!" I yelled as we ran into the main room of the castle (where King Hagan's throne is).

     When we were in that room Captain Woodbeak sprang right on Firaga, causing me to tumble off of Firaga's back. "Firaga, how dare you disobey me? I thought we were good friends. I don't know who this little Shoyru is, but I want you to take her down. I want you to demand the Shoyru tell us where the money is. Got it? If you're a pirate, then act like one!"

     Firaga had said in her letter that Captain Woodbeak was stronger than Firaga would ever be. Firaga was afraid of Captain Woodbeak. She couldn't disobey an order. Captain Woodbeak drew his Ancient Eyrie Long sword and made it shine in front of the window. That was a very strong and deadly weapon. That was nothing that Firaga's Fire Sword could compare to.

     Firaga pulled out her Fire Sword and slashed it in the air. "I am so sorry, Kera," Firaga said quietly. She brought her sword back to swing at me. "Kera, you have to do something. I really don't want to do this," Firaga whispered so only I could hear.

     Firaga was right. I had to do something. I turned to King Hagan. "Here are the pirates, King Hagan. They won't steal your treasure now. All you have to do is throw them out of the castle, and you're done."

     King Hagan looked at me. The king was very wise, but apparently not strong. He began to cry his eyes out like a tiny, little baby would. "I can't," the king cried. His crying quickly died down. "You have a mission, so you better finish it yourself," the king said. Wow, that was sure a lot of help.

     Firaga pranced up to me. She looked strong, wise, and like a mighty pirate. "I demand that you tell me where the treasure is," Firaga said. She swung the sword at me, just missing me by an inch. I felt like all of this was just being acted out, that all of this was just a game. The Fire Sword was very hot, and I could barely live through the heat. She looked angry, but I could see right through her acting. She was trying to make this last long, so I could do something to escape from her.

     I looked around, and I saw nothing. I felt nothing. I saw nothing. I smelled nothing. I thought nothing! Everything was just a big blank. What was I supposed to say? Without thinking, I said, "You have a map, right? Well why don't you use that? Well the map is history, so I guess you should give up." How stupid could that be? That would never work.

     Since Firaga didn't want to hurt me, she went along with it. "Okay then, let us go back to the ship," Firaga said. Firaga forced a smile. She knew that would never work either.

     "No!" Captain Woodbeak yelled. "We are not going somewhere else. I want you to get the instructions to the treasure, get rid of her, and then get the treasure." Captain Woodbeak didn't even bother to wait for Firaga to follow the instructions. He just said, "tell us where the treasure is, now!"

     "No!" I said automatically, "I would never tell you where the treasure is. Not in a million years Captain Woodbeak. Just give me back my friend."

     "I can't take this," Captain Woodbeak said, rubbing his head. "Firaga, take her down right now."

     "What!" Firaga shouted. "No, I can't! I won't."

     "Yes you will, and you will right now."

     "But-"

     "Now!" Captain Woodbeak shouted. He gave Firaga his most fearsome look. He squawked furiously.

     Firaga had no choice. She swung her sword right at me. Her eyes were full of hatred for Captain Woodbeak, and her sword moved faster than lightning. It would have been the end of me, but I am still telling this story, right? So I somehow managed to survive.

     CLANG! Firaga's Fire Sword struck my shield loudly. I was happy to be able to save myself, but I was scared. I squealed, "Okay, I will tell you where the treasure is. I will tell you. Just don't hurt me." I shook behind my shield.

     Captain Woodbeak smiled, "Okay, tell me where the treasure is."

     I looked around. Then I hatched an idea. That was perfect timing. "It is buried under the room of the bedroom. You would have to dig." I hope that wasn't where the treasure really was buried. "You better start digging," I said. "The sun will go down soon."

     The pirates left the castle except for Firaga. She stood by my side. "Thank you so much for saving me, Kera. I thought I would never see you again." Tears poured from Firaga's eyes as she talked. "Life has been nothing without you. Did you get my letter?"

     "How do you think I knew where you were?" I said to Firaga. "I am so sorry that my looks have changed so much since you left. I broke down when you left. I completely replaced anything that reminded me of you. I guess that included my skin." I smiled at the pirate as she bawled. "We better get out of here. Don't you want to go back to Mystery Island?" I said.

     So we walked out of the castle, and we headed down the trail leading to Meridell. The sun was beginning to set, and the pirates had just started their digging. It was a very peaceful evening. A few Pawkeets were chirping as if they were saying goodbye to the day. Everything seemed peaceful, and in its rightful order.

     That was not true, though. Night was beginning to come, and darkness was about to overcome the day. It seems now that the two of us were going to go home and live happily ever after. That's not the way this story goes. Everything seems to be so bright and wonderful, but that can be spoiled very easily.

     Do you think that the pirates forgot all about Firaga? Firaga is a part of Captain Woodbeak's crew. Firaga can't just walk away from them. She has been trying to do that for a year. Firaga had done nothing in order to escape just now. All she did was walk away. It is harder than that to have a happily ever after. It takes lots of hard work. Firaga had already gone through lots of hard work, but apparently not enough to be free.

     I realized this. I thought about this. How could Captain Woodbeak just let Firaga escape like this? The second these thoughts jumped into my mind it all happened.

     "Hey Firaga, don't you think that it's amazing that-" I didn't even get to finish my sentence. My sharp ears heard the flapping of wings coming nearer. I took a large breath as I turned around to see a Neopet that I hoped never to see again.

To be continued...