Stealing a quick glance, you notice a cute flush on his face while he's pressed up against your back.
~*~
There's a lot to be done, there's no doubt about that. You've attended many meetings with members of the trading company and then some with the king. It was kind of nice to have your father actually pay attention to you, and guide you as you discussed decisions regarding the islands. He was actually acting like a dad for once.
He even gave you sage advice like, "There's a reason these islands aren't yet occupied and you are going to have to overcome those obstacles."
But only so much can be done on paper. It's now time for you to sail out to see the islands for yourself as construction on the needed buildings commences. Sinbad was supposed to preside over the ground breaking ceremony, but as he had to leave quicker than expected, the honors have fallen to you.
The Sindrian vessel provides very different accommodations from the last time you traveled by boat. For the first time, you do not have your own private sleeping quarters. Due to the ship's setup, you're sharing a cabin with some of the younger crew. They at least set up a hammock for you while they plan to sleep on the wooden floor.
Bonus that you are not confined to your quarters either, so you roam about the deck freely, enjoying the sunshine and seabreeze. Sounds of waves and seagulls accompany the sight of endless blue. You feel as if there are no restrictions tying you down. Nothing can hold you back. It is almost like you could taste freedom.
You see Hinahoho at the wheel and Mystras tugging at ropes so you approach the latter and ask him to teach you about sailing. At first, he seems flustered, but you explain how last time you sailed you were cooped up and didn't get such an opportunity. So he says you are welcomed to shadow him. He describes hoisting the sails so the breeze can help move the ship along.
After watching him trim the sails for a bit, you ask if you could give it a try. He hands the next rope to you. You try to tug it with all of your strength. A deep thunk to your left distracts you and as you turn your head to see what made that sound, the rope starts to slip through your fingers.
"Careful not to lose it!" he warns, reaching from behind you to help you hold it. "Easy now..." He guides your adjustment.
"Did you hear that?" you ask.
"Hear what?"
"Um...nothing I guess..." Unable to discern the source of your distractions you turn your attention back to the task at hand.
The timber creaks as you tighten the rope. You even think you hear a wooden crack somewhere behind you. Stealing a quick glance behind, you are unsure of any broken wood, but notice a cute flush on Mystras's face while he's pressed up against your back to help you.
"Mystras!" Ja'far's voice shouts, "What do you think you're doing, making Princess (y/n) do your chores!?"
Startled, both of you let go of the rope and Mystras scrambles to pull it back. While he gets a handle on it, you turn to Ja'far.
You defend, "Don't be mad at Mystras. I want to learn all about sailing. He's been nice enough to teach me."
Ja'far sighs, "That's all well and good, but your attention is needed elsewhere right now. If you would come with me, we can go over options for symbols so you can keep those in mind when we get there and..."
His explanation keeps going, but some shadows shift near the railing behind him, catching your eye. You lean a bit to the side to see what was moving, but it is still now. You blink, wondering if your vision is playing tricks on you.
Ja'far coughs to regain your focus. You look back at him and nod. "Yes, yes, I know." You follow him as you list, "We need to pick out an official animal, bird, fish, flower, tree, gem, mineral, fruit, vegetable, banner, crest, sport, dance, and so on to represent Sindria..." Gosh there's so many choices to make!
~*~
You are on the forecastle deck with Ja'far going over things. You pick your favorite color for the banner's base. That much you are animate about, regardless of Sinbad's opinions. Out of the few confirmed animals on the islands, none of them stand out as a symbol to you. Foliage was more abundant with a more appealing selection. Ores were hoped to be uncovered during construction.
As for symbolic food: "There's currently not much in farmable land so we are going to have to rely heavily on imports. This will make food and everyday items expensive for citizens and visitors," Ja'far explains.
There was an island designated to later become farmland after being cleared. The current trees were a valuable resource though, to help make furniture and building supports. Besides, King Rashid previously informed Sinbad that he was not allowed to use his djinns to "destroy" the land, so transforming it into farmland had to be done the long way.
All this talk about food makes you hungry, and it's no wonder to you as Sharrkan and Masrur come up to say lunch is ready on the main deck; the morning has grown late. You thank them, but Ja'far has a few more items to finish up before break.
By the time the two of you join the main deck, there seems to be a scuffle. Sharrkan is shouting while pointing at Masrur.
"Almost half the food is gone! No one else was here while we let everyone know it was ready! It had to be Masrur!" accuses Sharrkan.
Hinahoho bends over to look Masrur in the eye. "Did you eat the food?"
With a straight face, the boy replies, "No."
As if to prove his innocence, his tummy growls. A chorus of a few other stomachs also sound.
Sharrkan pulls Masrur's cheek. The redheaded boy simply stands and takes it.
"You're giving me a midlife crisis here!" Sharrkan yells.
"Settle down," Mystras encourages, "You're still young. You've got decades before you have to worry about a midlife crisis!"
"I might not have decades," Sharrkan wails, "if my junior here puts me in an early grave before I even reach Hinahoho's age! In fact, this could be an end-of-life crisis if we all starve to death from lack of food!"
Ja'far silences the Heliohaptan prince with a Rurumu chop, which you've witnessed before but thankfully never been on the receiving end of. The tanned prince's hands go from Masrur's cheeks to nurse his new wound. The Fanalis stands unphased.
"Let's think this through logically," Ja'far states. "Wasn't Masrur with you when you got everyone for lunch?"
Still sour from the chop, Sharrkan says with a pout, "I was with Hina and Mystras for a bit when Masrur came back here."
"We weren't that far behind him to eat this much though," Mystras adds.
"I found the table like this when I arrived," Masrur states.
"It does sound like everyone has an alibi..." Ja'far begins, but then a muffled chuckle catches everyone's attention.
Everyone looks around and you see a barrel wobble. You point to it and the guys nod to each other. Hinahoho and Mystras sneak over. On the silent count of three, Mystras pulls the lid off the suspicious barrel and Hinahoho thrusts a hand in. He pulls out what looks like a miniature version of him by the scruff of his neck.
"Kikiriku!" he accuses, "You little stowaway! What am I going to do with you?"
"Yo tuun ta hide, daddy!" the child laughs.
"Kikiriku, this isn't funny!" Ja'far sternly explains, "We have rations that have disappeared and now there won't be enough for everyone to eat during this trip. Do you know what happened to the lunch here?"
Kikiriku shakes his head. Ja'far goes over and wipes the evidence of the Imuchakk's face.
"Oh really? Then what's this?" He shows him the sticky crumbs.
The boy looks solemn, realizing he's in trouble. "Ah'm sowwy..."
Still holding his son, Hinahoho scratches the back of his head with his free hand. "Guess we'll have to keep our eyes out for good fishing waters and catch some more food along the way. Don't know if any of us can afford to squeeze that in. We should have brought along a few more hands."
"Perhaps Kikiriku can be of help with the sailing? You know, earn his keep and all," you suggest.
"Oh?" Hinahoho looks at you quizzically. "He'll be turning 4 soon. Much too young to help on a voyage like this. Kids are brats at this age." This may have sounded crude, but the last part he said with a laugh that indicated he wouldn't have his kids any other way.
"Only 4?!" you gasp, "He's taller than Ja'far and Sharrkan!"
The two boys mentioned slump in defeat.
Masrur states, "I'm still bigger than him though."
Still in his father's grip Kikiriku protests, "Ah'll be bigga dan you soon enouf!"
Hinahoho shrugs. "Well, there's not much we can do about it now. He'll just have to make himself useful."
"I'm sure even he can be a good deck swabber," you offer.
Kikiriku struggles out of his father's grasp and stands tall, pointing at you. "One condision!" he declares, "We wace! Who'evah gets deah half done fust wins!"
Ja'far lets out an exasperated sigh, explaining, "Kikiriku, this is the princess. She's not supposed to be doing menial chores like that."
"Mah gwandad's da tchief so Ah'm woyalty mahself!"
You place a hand on Ja'far's shoulder. "It's okay. Making it a race will be fun."
Kikiriku grins victoriously.
"If you're sure you're okay with that, Princess (y/n)..." says Ja'far.
"Of course." You smile. "Besides, don't young sailors usually start out with doing things like that, so it would be a great experience for me."
"Very well," he concedes then whispers, "But if Kikiriku gives you any problems, let me know. I've taken care of him a lot."
~*~
When nearing the islands, a school of fish was spotted so Hinahoho let you and Kikiriku man the helm together while he went fishing. The instructions to sail with the sun at a certain angle were brief, but seemed easy enough. When you questioned the cracks you noticed along two of the handles, Hinahoho just said it would be repaired later.
Mystras comes up and greets the two of you. "Hey, Princess (y/n), we're getting close, you can see the islands now."
"Really?!" you nearly squeal.
"I can take the helm if you want to go get a better view," he offers.
Enthusiastically you thank him then run off, Kikiriku close on your heels. Bolting down, across, and up until you make it to the bowsprit. You shield your eyes from the sun and lean over the railing.
There they are, small lumps in the distant water so far, but surely those must be where your new home would be. Your own domain to govern. The dream you would build with Sinbad! Just the potential of it all before you lights your face up as you see it grow as the ship nears. All of a sudden, the reasons for all the planning and paperwork become clear. Now it all feels worth it.
Noticing Kikiriku mimicking your every move, you straighten up to minimize the chance of him falling overboard. Thankfully he follows suit.
"Welcome to The Sindrian Archipelago, Little Princess!" says Hinahoho.
You turn to see he has a net full of fish slung over his back. His son runs around him in glee, poking the net from different angles as he goes. The giant laughs and hoists his boy up onto his other shoulder.
You can't help but smile as you turn back to take in more details of the principality. What seemed like clouds before are in an unfamiliar shape like they are coming from a dark mountain on the right side of the cluster. You squint to make sure the sun and reflection off the waves weren't playing tricks on you.
"Wait...is that...a volcano?!" you gasp.
"Sure is," comes Ja'far's voice in a pleasant tone.
He comes up to join your little group.
"Isn't that dangerous? What if it erupts?" you ask.
This must have been one of the obstacles your father had referred to. No wonder why these islands haven't been developed yet. No one wants to build something that could be wiped away so easily.
Ja'far explains, "Sin's djinn, Valefor, can create and manipulate ice. If it erupts, Sin can equip to contain it. Besides, the lava leaves the land fertile. We hope to cultivate it in the future."
"And what if it explodes while Sin is away?"
Hinahoho chortles. "I'm part of Valefor's household. So as long as I'm still around, there shouldn't be any problems." With that he goes to put the fish away.
You marvel at how Sinbad really does turn every problem into a solution. Difficulties are opportunities to him, and this opportunity is ready to start changing the world.
Ja'far informs you that the groundbreaking ceremony is in the morning, so now there is time to look around at some of the islands beforehand!
Back on the quarterdeck, Mystras steers the boat towards the most southeast island of the cluster. As his hand runs over one of the cracked spokes, he gets a splinter.
"OW!" he exclaims and brings the hurt finger to his mouth to pull out the sliver. "I wonder what caused these cracks?"
Suddenly Hinahoho looms behind him. "Lets just say it's a good thing my hands were on the wheel and not your neck when you were trimming the sails."