A Game Of Swans

Chpt 15 - Some Assistance

I wasn't going to deny that the Cocos Islands were gorgeous. The shallows surrounding them were crystal clear, and the sand was practically white. About 10 feet away from the shore was a thick line of vegetation, including palm trees and large ferns, and the chirps of birds that I had never heard before filled the air.

We'd anchored our ships just off of the shore in order to avoid beaching them, and then we'd taken a couple of small paddle boats to go the rest of the way. Our First Mates were in charge of our ships and a handful of crew members were to guard the paddle boats until we returned, which could be anywhere from a day to a couple of days since we weren't exactly sure where the shipwreck was.

Looking around the beach we now stood on, I heard Francis let out a low, appreciative whistle. "Oh mon dieu, this place is tres belle."

"Si, mi amigo, it is increíble."

"I have to agree," I added, "I've never been on a beach as pretty as this. Too bad we're not here to sight-see."

"That is unfortunate," Arthur said next to me.

I grinned and nudged him. "This place would be perfect for you to relax, ginger-snap. Maybe some time here would cure that quick temper of yours, eh?"

He shot me glare as the other two snorted.

"So," began Francis, "How do we plan on finding this shipwreck, mes amies?"

Antonio frowned. "I suppose we should just walk around until we find something. The people here most definitely won't speak English - this place is too remote, mi amigos."

I nodded in agreement. Unless the people here spoke a language that we understood, then we were on our own.

I took another look at my surrounds, my eyes scanning the beach and then the trees and then the beach again. "Someone pick a direction and we'll start walking."

Arthur looked at me strangely. "You want us to randomly go wandering around an island that none of us have ever been to before?"

I shrugged. "We don't know exactly where to start looking, and the shipwreck may not even be on this island. The sooner we can scout the place, the better."

He huffed and folded his arms. "So you want us to walk around until we've either scouted the whole island or found the shipwreck? No offense, but that is probably the stupidest idea I have ever heard you come up with."

"Not as stupid as your eyebrows, Iggy," I replied sweetly.

"Fuck off."

"Do you have a better idea, Artie?"

One of his eyebrows twitched at the nickname. He opened his mouth to reply, and then closed it again when he realised that he didn't have one. Instead, he settled on glowering at me.

"Fine, whatever. If we get lost though, I'm blaming you entirely, you git."

I simply shrugged and then turned to look at Francis and Antonio. "Sound like a decent plan to the two of you?"

They shared a look before nodding.

"Si, amigo, I can't think of anything better."

"Oui, same over here."

"Right then, let's get moving."

We started our trek up the beach, walking along the tree line where the ground was a bit firmer. It wasn't an excellent plan, I knew that, but I couldn't think of anything else, and it seemed as if no one else could too. All we knew was that we were looking for a shipwreck - we didn't know where it was, how big it was, or even if it was still here. It could have entirely rotted away by now for all we knew.