Alex clapped as Prince David handed Jhara a curved black scabbard with curly red engravings on the side. A bright ruby adorned the locket. The Princess held the scabbard in front of Seb, who pulled at the hilt. As the scimitar came out, glowing in a dark orange hue, a grin tugged at the corners of Seb's mouth. The broad blade was shaped like a stretched out tiger's head, eye and all. A beautiful weapon, fit for a future King, but worthless in battle—for that the metal seemed too brittle, the hilt too unbalanced. Once Seb returned to Sunstone Castle, the scimitar would be stored in the treasury like a piece of valuable jewellery. Such a waste.

The crowd doubled their clapping as Seb planted a quick kiss on Jhara's lips. Next to Alex, Desi let out a little squeal. The young one-belter could no longer sit down quietly. She almost threw herself at Verban, clutching the oversized sleeve of the white shirt he was wearing. They shared whispers and secrets that only twelve-year-olds cared about.

At the front, Lana presented a sycamore box with ebony finial to Seb, who opened it and took out a necklace with seven threads, ending in leave-shaped crystals. Jhara looked up at Seb as he fastened the jewel around her neck, then she turned to the crowd.

"She's so pretty," Desi said in a high-pitched voice.

Alex caught Seb looking in her direction. She wished he wouldn't do that—the Muttonhead. Because where his eyes went, others followed. People with an opinion, with an unstoppable itch to cause drama and see rumours where there was but a misunderstanding. But she would not be the one to look away.

Jhara searched for Seb's hand; then when she had found it, she held him tight. "My husband and I would like to invite you to the garden for the continuation of the celebration. Please, follow the instructions of the servants and the guards. Grab a drink. Eat some food. Dance. In due time, my husband and I shall join you too."

While people slowly rose from their seats, Desi leapt up from her chair with no regard for the dress that was a tad too short to be proper. The girl was lucky that the chain connecting her gilded tiara to her nose ring was on the other side of her face, or Alex would have yanked her down with it.

Instead, she hissed, "Talk to the God of Patience."

The one-belter remained quiet as she plucked at the dyed white ends of her pigtails. With an insolent look in her eyes, she scrunched her deep red lips—one of the older Pirate women must have shared their lip powder with her. Again.

Alex explained, "There are easily a thousand people here. We all have to exit the dome to get to the garden—it's gonna take forever."

"You're saying that because you wanna stay and see Prince Sebastian ogling at you."

"Desi, no," Verban said.

The one-belter shrugged off his remark. "I was there when the Prince stuttered through his speech, Boyar Alex. Everybody did. He wants his wife to be like you."

"He wants her to be loyal the way I am loyal to him. We are friends, just like you and Verban are."

"Oh, but Verban and I will get married as soon as Captain Pan thinks we're old enough. I reckon he wants us to wait until we're both fourteen—at least. Unless..." She cocked her head. "You help us get married sooner in The Greenlands."

"By Jade Islandic Law, you're children." Alex snorted as Verban accidentally pulled off a button from his burgundy waistcoat. "And not just by law."

Verban stared at the button, then pocketed it. "I'm not gonna wait until we're old enough to kiss Desi. I don't want our first kiss to be at our wedding."

"You can kiss me now."

"Do you have a gull's skull—not here!" Alex snatched the girl by the belt.

Desi scowled.

Alex glared right back at her. This one-belter wouldn't intimidate her. At their age, she did everything to run as far away from marriage as she could. She had wanted to be free, needed the adventure. And even today, she couldn't imagine ever settling down long enough to live the Jade Islandic dream of a ship, a beach house, and a baby or two. 

"I see the God of Envy radiating in your eyes, Boyar Alex. Are you prey to his will because Prince Sebastian married Princess Jhara?"

"No, it's Wrath because she has to deal with a monkey who'd steal Palm Tears if she could."

Desi ignored the comment. "Then why did you hug the Prince after leading him to the priest? You were talking to him, too. What did you say?"

"That's a conversation between me, the Prince, and the Gods."

The row moved. Verban and Desi slipped between Pan and Byni, towards their friend, Hristo. She let them. Sure, the tales would grow wilder as the day progressed, but at least the one-belters would stop bothering her.

To avoid the peering eyes of the Scorians around her, Alex gazed at the ceiling as she shuffled forward like a herring waiting their turn to swim through the narrowing stream. There were window lanterns just below the top-most point, breaking the illusion of the roof appearing like a reverse maelstrom one could lose themselves in if they stared for too long.

A man in a purple turban pushed against her. He stepped on her open toes as he brushed past her. Before Alex could say anything, a veiled woman shoved her aside. Her dark eyes were like daggers. Had this been a market instead of a royal wedding, she would have reached for her blaster and told the strangers what she really thought of them.

"Wafarians," Lien said. "Family of the Alafin, I bet—but what are you gonna do about it?"

"Shooting them would leave a bloody mess—wouldn't wanna do that to Seb," Alex said. 

"Heh heh, you already assured this ceremony is one for the ages. Soon rumours will travel to the four other kingdoms of Prince Sebastian proclaiming his undying love for his childhood friend, the Pirate Boyar of the Jade Islands."

Alex raised her eyebrows. "Gods, but none of this is true. Seb doesn't love me, and I don't love him. We're friends." She decided to speak louder. "We're friends!"

Liene planted her finger on Alex's lips. "Now you're the one making a scene."

"It's a disgrace people are reducing me to someone I'm not. Wherever I will go today, I will hear the whispers—see the turn of their heads. There walks the woman Prince Sebastian is in love with."

Liene lowered her voice as she said, "While we all know you fancy the top Kraken."

Alex's heart skipped a beat as Pan jested with the one-belter while keeping them focused on following the crowd out of the throne room. The tight overcoat outlines his broad shoulders. His white hair was tousled and—for the first time in weeks—he was cleanly shaven. What a jawline.

She blinked, shifting her attention back to Liene, who was smirking. "Yeah... yeah... jest away. But I'm more than the subject of your gossips and bets. I'm the youngest Pirate Boyar in fifty years. I united the Pirates. I stopped the raids in The Greenlands and gave you all a steady income. Collectively, the pirate bands are richer than they have ever been."

"Thanks to you pirates are no longer pirates," Liene said. Her smile was gone.

"We've evolved—it's better this way."

"I don't know. People used to fear us—now we attend a royal wedding of a Prince and a Princess that aren't even Jade Islandic."

"Is that so bad then?"

"No, but our life was simpler when we dressed up as merchants and robbed rich Greenlanders. Sure, there was the occasional casualty or run-in with a patrol, but we were free to do what we wanted to do. Face it, Alex, we're just like them." She gesticulated at the group of soldiers in green uniforms. "Our only freedom is that we can pick what we wear."

"So you mock me in defiance."

"Nah, I mock you because it's too much fun, Greenie."

The crowd moved and stopped, then moved again. The cycle repeated many times before the burning hot sun and an equally warm breeze greeted her in the royal garden. Standing tables had been erected under the palm trees. Servants in long yellowish robes ran around with platters with bite-sized appetisers, finger food, and bowl-shaped glasses containing a peach-coloured drink. The tigers were bathing or napping in the low waters of the pond, neither bothered nor disturbed by the musicians playing a merry tune.

Alex halted a serving boy and took not one but two glasses. She gave one to Liene. They clinked.

"To the couple, and the rumours they must survive," the helmsman said.

"And the pirate who is an innocent victim of the Prince being a Muttonhead," Alex added. 

"To men and their hollow skulls, and that we may never fall prey to them."

"Aye!"

After clinking a second time, Alex set the glass to her lips. The drink was both sweet and refreshing, with a hint of something sharp. She was going to get so drunk.

The band played a lively, uptempo song, to which Verban, Hristo, and Desi formed a row and began to clap and leap on one leg. They changed positions, clapped again, then jumped on the other leg. As the flutes weaved around the notes, the Desi and Verban hooked their arms and circled around each other, then Desi switched to Hristo.

"Let's join those dancing monkeys," Liene said.

Alex stuck up her nose.

"What?"

"Not in this dress." She already felt exposed enough.

"Goddess of Chastity, this is why you'll always stay a Greenie, Alex."

Before Alex managed to say that Greenlander ladies spent half their life practising ballroom dances, Liene was already gone. She grabbed a now lonely Desi by the hand. They whirled around each other, then formed another row with the boys. They started singing too.

Sick of fishing all day long
I'll find myself a man so strong
Found 'm in the house of ale
Couldn't wait to wear the veil

Wish I didn't leave my boat
Wish I didn't leave my ship
The man I married is a stink

Young Scorian women, and the occasional boy, joined the pirates. The movements were easy and repetitive. After two or three cycles, the new-comers danced as flawlessly as the Jade Islanders. Alex's feet tapped to the rhythm. She mouthed the lyrics.

"Sick of working all day long
How could I have been so wrong
Found'm again reeking of ale
Should've never worn the veil

Wish I didn't leave my boat
Wish I didn't leave my ship
The man I married is a stink."

"I beg your pardon, Boyar Alex." A sudden voice yanked her away from the growing group of dancers.

Alex turned and found a south Scorian woman standing closer to her than what she found comfortable. She took half a step back. "Yes?"

"Goddess of Kindness be blessed—I could no longer remain quiet." The woman flapped the sleeves of her flaxen silk robe. "That you and your ragamuffins had to be invited to this wondrous celebration is a matter I won't speak of. But could you at least behave yourselves? This is the Queen's Palace, not the streets of Socota after sunset."

Alex crossed her arms in front of her. "It's the band who started playing The Fisherlady's Tale, and what's more rewarding for musicians than an audience who enjoy their tunes?"

"You corrupt our youth."

"If you're concerned about your children, you should tell them yourself, Sayida."

"They're not my children. You ought to tell your... your..." She whirled her hand.

"I don't see why I should."

An ugly twist formed on the woman's deep orange lips. "You find yourself too important, Boyar Alex, invincible due to your allegiance to Sunstone Castle. But, you and the Greenlander Prince—if I ever catch you stealing him from our beloved Jhara, you can rest assured that you'll find Scorian waters, especially those around Makurdya, much less tolerant for your kind."

"My kind?" Alex's voice rose. "Sayida, there are bigger wars to fight in the Five Kingdoms. If it weren't for us, the Silvermarker magicians would be a lot closer to Scoria than they are today." She wanted to get away from this woman. "And if you'll excuse me, I must take my leave."

"This conversation isn't over yet."

"It is now."

With her head held high, Alex almost skipped towards the dancers. She snatched a young Scorian girl, did half a turn before taking her place in the row, ending up next to Liene.

"I thought you said you didn't want to dance in your dress."

"I changed my mind."

"Or Sayida Iwaya did."

Alex clapped her hands, then leapt and touched her leg. "You could say that."

The Makurdyan lady was talking to another woman—by the darker tone of her skin, also South Scorian. Her fingers touched her parted lips, and now and then, she glanced at Alex. 

"Sick of worrying all day long
I decided to end our song
Left 'm in that house of ale
Pretended I never wore the veil

Left the man and took the boat
Left the man and took the ship
I'll never marry another stink."

She danced with a Scorian boy, then with Hristo, found Desi for half a round before reforming the row. The band paused for half a beat, then played the melody extra slow, but rapidly increased the tempo.

Gods, the Alburkhan sun was no joke. She felt so hot and sweaty. She downed a second peach drink in one gulp, then jumped back into the next song, which was a Scorian circle dance. 

At night in the desert wind
You hear the snake and the fox sing
You hear the snake, fox and camel sing
You hear the snake
The fox 
The camel
You hear the snake, fox, and camel sing

One put two hands in front of their face to mimic the snake, then clawed in the air for the fox. Whenever the camel was mentioned, the person on the east hopped to the position in front. When the song was repeated, the person on the east and the west switched places. The pirates relished in the chaos.

The circle expanded as more Scorians entered the dance.

Alex laughed and jumped, twisted her ankle, then continued. The next time she took a drink, the royal family had gathered in the shelter of the gazebo. A crowd had gathered, each person waiting their turn to talk to the newlyweds and shake their hands, congratulating them.

She had no intention to queue. When the feast was over, she would have plenty of time to give Seb a hard time for being a Muttonhead.

More intriguing was Pan talking to a man in a long-sleeved, deep red robe. The gold rings around his fingers glistened as he forked them through his salt and pepper beard. Then the man took Pan aside, away from the royal garden.

Instead of hopping forwards, Alex exited the circle and decided to follow Pan. She grabbed a stick from a platter and ate the meat without wondering too much of what it could be. As long as it was tasty, she didn't care whether it was a large shrimp, a scorpion, or the leg of a desert spider.

Pan and the man sat down on a bench at the back of the pond. Alex stood behind the nearest palm tree, a few feet away from a sleeping tiger.

"... and thus Harun Bin Tayo found an island a good four hundred sea miles south-west-west of Cape Nahdah. Rich in fruit, uninhabited but with traces of civilisation. There were blot-like markings on the trees—markings unknown to any of the Five Kingdoms."

"I know the tales," Pan said. "The explorer has been sailing across the southern sea for nearly two decades. In all that time he found one island. No other ships, no land animals. The people on the island could have perished centuries ago."

"Harun Bin Tayo is but one man, and a man who documented all his travels before falling from grace. I paid him a fortune to get my hands on his logbooks. With multiple crews, we could sail in a year what would take one ship a lifetime. We can make Rainah's Island our permanent base, and save ourselves the trouble of having to return to Alburkhan or Makurdya for additional funds."

Pan tilted his head and scrunched his eye, blocking out the sun. "There are many sea-worthy men in Scoria. Why ask help from Jade Islanders?"

"Queen Rainah feels little for freeing up her long-distance ships for such an uncertain endeavour. Risk-taking is in your nature, Captain Panu. You're renowned for taking leaps of faith, and reaping the high profits when they occur. Of course, that was before you lot sold your souls to King Thomas. Now you die for a kingdom that isn't yours, protect a Prince and Princess who aren't yours."

"Now they're yours too."

"What Princess Jhara will do in Sundale is not my concern. I wish to see Scoria expand in the south rather than dancing to the tunes of the Greenlander waltz. He gesticulated at the band, who had started the triple time sliding dance. Pirates and Scorians alike struggled with the precise movements, though it didn't seem to take away their joy.

"It'll take a lot of preparation," Pan said to the Scorian man.

"I can arrange a hundred asses per ship you can provide, Captain."

"By when?"

"The sooner, the better. I wish to sail to Rainah's Island before winter, to start building the base. Come spring, we'll start our first expedition."

Pan nodded in understanding, then explained it would take time to gather crews and ships. The man told him not to worry and gave him instructions on how to contact him in Alburkhan, Makurdya, and Cape Nahdah alike. When the man left, Pan lingered for a while, rearranging his belts and rubbing his collarbone. The Captain wasn't used to wearing a shirt, let alone a coat, and she had to admit, she preferred seeing him bare-chested too.

Before he could return to the feast, Alex took her chance.

She blocked his path. "What was all that about?"

If Pan seemed shocked, he didn't show it. "A friendly chat with Raja Zaire. Interesting type, a master of world history, and a man with enough asses to make us rich."

"We are already rich. King Thomas pays us more gold than we can fit in the Cove of Elo."

"What use is keeping the gold in the Cove?"

"Figuratively, Pan." She smacked her hand against her face. "So this Raja'll pay a hundred asses per ship. That's a good deal—but it might take moons, years even before we find land. If we find any land at all. We may plunge off the edge of the world."

"Or end back up in Ice."

She scrunched her nose. "That sounds absurd."

"No more absurd than falling off the world."

She shook her head. "Still, I can't let you do this. We have a duty to The Greenlands."

"You have a duty to the Greenlander crown. And you abuse the Kraken to bring your friend, Princess Alana, from one end of the Jade Sea to the other."

"As though you're not well compensated for your troubles."

Pan rubbed some sweat off his brow, wincing as his fingers touched the small blisters on his forehead. The desert sun was an assault to his sensitive skin. She gestured for him to inch closer to the shade of the palm tree, then he said, "That's not the point."

"Then what is?"

"I'm gonna assume you heard everything Raja Zaire and I discussed. I hate being seen as King Thomas' lapdog. As a buffer of expendable men and women who can fight off the magicians at sea while he rearranges his troops on land."

"Did you really think he would trust us with his daughter if he thought we were expendable?"

"We're invisible because we don't wear Greenlander green—that's why he concocted this scheme." He paused before saying, "And he doesn't trust me. He trusts you."

She couldn't argue with that, but that didn't mean Pan had won. "You conspiring with a Scorian merchant shows exactly why you can't be trusted. You're enchanted by one proposal, and jump on it like a hungry wolf on a duckling."

"Like I said, Alex. I have no contract with the Greenlander King. I accept the gold he gives you, and you make use of my ship to carry out his orders. Sure, it pays well, but how does it contribute to the pirate's legacy? We're guards, soldiers, nobodies who live and died for another man's glory."

So it was fame he wanted. Alex tapped the bark of the palm tree. When the tiger yawned and shot her a menacing look, she stopped. "Pan, we have to take Princess Lana to Socota, then back to the Port of Diligence. If you wish to leave with the Kraken, I won't stop you. But know that the other bands are fighting in the war against Silvermark. A war that, if lost, can change how we live. You've seen the damage one magician can do. Imagine what will happen when thousands of them are allowed to use their powers."

"We'll win the war," Pan said. "And Gods in the Heavenly Halls, if we end up surviving, I wanna give the pirates perspective. A next adventure. We can't rely on the Greenlanders forever."

"Now you sound like a Boyar," she jested to relief the tension between them.

Instead, she found the red in his eyes flaring up. His jaw tensed. "It should have been me, all those years ago. Too bad Neja hated Mum for sleeping with her husband."

The Goddess of Lust whispered to her to kiss him, to tell him that the two of them could watch over the pirates together. She bit her lip, knowing better than to obey a Goddess of Sin.

A servant approached, offering them a very welcoming drink. Alex drank half. While she disagreed with Pan, she understood his concern. The fear that they were trapping themselves in a net of gold that would either drag them to the bottom of the Jade Sea or spew them out in a land where they didn't belong. Liene wanted out too. And while Alex knew she couldn't stop Pan even if she wanted to, she couldn't allow him to blindly give into fool's desire.

Jhara and Seb were still in the gazebo, talking and occasionally showing off their presents. On the patch of grass where the band was playing, Princess Lana and Prince David were entertaining the guests by teaching them the waltz, step by step.

"Pan?" Alex called for the Captain.

He hummed in reply.

"Nobody says we have to discover land for Scoria."

Pan moved his gaze from her to the patch of grass. "Not for the Greenlanders either—I want to be free again."

"No." Alex breathed in her glass. "But we're expected in Socota with Lana. She has an audience with King Siga. And... well... while we're there, I'm sure he'll want to talk to us too. He's not his father."

"You'll think Siga will be interested?"

"He might if he learns the Scorians are planning on using Jade Islanders."

He gave it a thought. "Not bad, Greenie. Not bad at all."

Alex brought her glass to his. "For the Islands." 

"For the Islands and the pirates." He clinked her glass against his.

For a split second, their eyes met. She didn't know if it was the drink that made her lose control or the Goddess breaking through her defences, but she leant forward with pursed lips. A hot sensation spread through her. She wanted to taste him, feel him, be with him.

The tiger leapt up as a female voice called its name.

Pan jerked away.

Biting her lip, she stared at the pinkish-orange liquid in her glass. All was well. All was fine. Nothing had happened.