Take that, Captain.
Jorn pulls himself up onto the crossbeam, standing casually next to me as if he was born to climb.
“Ready?” he says, and I nod enthusiastically.
We spend the next hour on the mast, Jorn giving me careful instruction and demonstrating every move for me before I do it. He is patient and encouraging, and I can tell that this is something he truly loves and takes pride in.
Weston and his confusing actions couldn’t be farther from my mind as Jorn and I climb. Focusing on staying stable and keeping my balance despite my shaking limbs proves to be just the distraction I need. It isn’t until we are underneath the crow’s nest that I look down and remember just how high up we are.
My fingers grip the ropes tighter as a wave of unease washes over me, but as I look down and see what I just accomplished, it isn’t just nerves I feel.
It’s satisfaction. Thrill.
I’m proud I did something that terrified me, that I’d never thought I could do. I’m glad I took a risk and proved to myself that I am capable.
I’m also proud that I probably will be returning to an angry captain, who I know is down there worried about my every move with his over protective nature, knowing there’s not a thing he can do about it except watch and wait.
Jorn reaches down and grasps my forearm to help me into the crow’s nest. I’m speechless as I look out across the island. I thought the view from the platform when we landed was amazing, but this takes my breath away. We stand in silence together, looking out over the island, and I can see why Jorn finds happiness up here.
While being confined to the ship can feel a little like being confined to the castle in Blackwood, looking out over the island like this feels like the world is open to me, that I’m not trappedor hidden away. It’s amazing, and I’m so grateful he taught me how to climb it safely.
The helio is perched on the back of the platform, facing the island. Jorn gives me a quick rundown of how it works. I can see how something like this would be useful if you lived in a kingdom that ever saw the sun.
We sit down, feet hanging over the edge, and just talk. Jorn talks about home, and his twin brother, the person he came here for. He entertains me for a while with stories from over the years, including ones he says should make Weston seem like less of an asshole. I find myself laughing at their interactions, the exasperated way he describes Weston scolding him after he does something stupid. Weston seems like he’s the same with me as with all of them, but maybe Jorn is right. Maybe I just interpret things differently because of my history and my position.
My heart swells the longer I’m up here with him, because yet again, the Castaways have proven that everything Dane told me, everything he is convincing all the Voyagers of, is all lies. Everyone on this ship used to be a Voyager, and now they are all just looking for a way home after dealing with the same failure and loss I have accepted. There are no ulterior motives, no secret plans, just a group of people who are making the best out of the eternal life they’ve been handed.
Silence falls between us as we gaze out over the land, the thick grey clouds brightening as midday approaches. I’m so glad I came up with Jorn today. After the morning we’ve spent together, my doubts and worries that his friendship wasn’t real disappears.
I sit and watch as the waves beat on the shore with a soft smile on my face, my thoughts reeling as I process everything that has happened since I stepped foot on this ship. The moment Weston carried me onto this beach, how full of hatred I was, and how badly I wanted to escape these people as quickly as I could.
Now, everything has changed.
I can’t fathom feeling like I want to escape again, not to go back to a place full of lies and treachery. The only way I want to leave is if we all get to go home, every last one of us.
Sig’s plan comes barreling back into my mind. She wanted to send me back, to get close enough to Dane to take the dust and get at least some of us home.
Could I do it? Could I follow through with her plan and actually take the dust? Even if I did, who would we choose to send back? Or would taking the dust be futile, since the Guardian is the one who uses it?
Questions swim through my head as my vision blurs, my focus no longer on the views before me. I’ve gotten so close to them now, learned so much about why they are here and how long they’ve been holding onto hope for a way home. I owe it to them to try, because Sig is right; I’m the only one who can get close enough to Dane to do it.
I don’t know how I would manage it, or how I’d convince Weston to let me go, but Sig spoke the truth. They’ve been searching for years, and time is running out. I’m the best shot they have, and I just need to figure out how to make that happen.
“Here we go!”
Jorn’s excitement breaks my trance and I look over to find him jumping up onto his feet.
“What? What happened?” I ask, following suit.
He points out in the distance and I follow the direction.
“See that light right there? The purple color above the trees?”
“Yes,” I say, squinting to make it out.
“That’s our signal,” he says with a smile.
“What does purple mean?”
