Raider slipped out of the dense foliage and across the sand to a large rock. There he sat and watched as Bryn swam and played with ethe sea lions and porpise. As he watched his mind drifted back to the times he had watched his daughter, Lillian Rianna Raider, his "Little Miss Magic" as he called her play with the sea creatures in the waters off Enchantica. Blinking he settled his gaze out to sea. Suddenly he stood and yelled "Mr. O'Hara, my glass if you please and be quick about!" Then from the watch on the top of the hillside overloking the bay came the call "SAIL HO! ...... THREE POINTS OFF WOLF ARCH."

Bryn hadn’t noticed Raider while she was frolicking like a child with the sea creatures until she heard his voice yell “SAIL HO!” Snapping her head around to see him standing on some rocks near the shore and pointing out to sea, she quickly turned to look and see what he was pointing at. Her eyes were not as trained as Raiders and it took her a few minutes to find the small sail on the horizon. Making her way back towards the shore, she walked out of the surf and turned to look out at the sea once more, shielding her eyes.

“Can you see what flag she fly’s, Captain?”

Turning to look back at Raider she saw Bill Bones making a huge fuss over something. Knowing the little monkey didn’t do that with people he knew, she immediately thought one of those hateful lizards had come back looking for a free meal. But when she saw a woman stand up and run away, she quirked one of her brows. The only women she knew to be on the island were Angeline Dowd and herself. Raider saw what she saw as well and if the timing could have been worse, Bryn wasn’t exactly sure how. When Raider looked back to her, Bryn nodded.

“I’ll get Atien and we’ll handle that. You concentrate on possible visitors. If they are not some we wish to have, signal us somehow.”

Raider nodded as well.

“Aye, Bryn. I be doin that.”

Bryn walked back to the make shift camp in the cave and found Atien weaving what appeared to be a fishing net of some sort. The large African looked up when he saw her enter and gave her a smile that quickly faded when he saw the look on her face.



“What is it, Miss. Bryn?”

Bryn didn’t want to alarm the others with additional concern of a stranger on the island as they were already worked up over a ship on the horizon. Leaning close, she spoke quietly to Atien.

“Your tracking skills are in need once more, Atien. Come. I’ll show you where.”

The dark skinned man set his work aside, picked up a machete and followed Bryn back to the area close to the beach she had seen the woman.

“When Raider saw the ship, Billy Bones found something else. From what I could tell, it was a woman. At least, I think it was. She left so suddenly I didn’t get a clear look. She headed back into the thicker vegetation. It wasn’t Miss Dowd and it certainly wasn’t me so we need to find out who she or it is.”

Atien nodded.

“I can track her. Come. Let us see if we can find dis creature.”

The African studied the ground and plants all around the area and after a few moments started heading, slowly, in the same direction the woman fled. The going was slow for the man as there was little evidence of anything on two feet ever being there. Only on occasion did he find tracks that let him know Bryn wasn’t seeing things.

“She went dis way, alright. She is very light on her feet and dis makes it difficult for me to track her. And it is a woman. She wears some sort of shoe but nothing I ever see before. It appears she knows de island well too. She jumps over logs we would step on and she does not take a straight path. She is going left then right then back to de left again. She is tricky, dis one.”

Bryn furrowed her brows.

“Great….we have unknown visitors off the shore and an elusive wild woman on the island with us. Such good news abounds today.”

Atien actually chuckled.

“I said it was difficult to track her, Miss. Bryn. Not impossible. Noting gets past Atien. I was a tracker long before I was a privateer.”

Bryn looked over at Atien and couldn’t help but share the broad smile he was giving her.

“Point taken, Atien.”

It was a little while later when Atien and Bryn finally came within 10 yards of the cave. It wasn’t easy to see but with both sets of eyes they were able to make it out. Staying well within the plants and natural foliage around them, Bryn and Atien devised a plan. Bryn approached the right side of the cave while Atien sunk further down into the foliage. When Bryn was in position, she took a good sized rock and tossed it just outside the cave. She waited a few seconds before tossing another good sized one. Knowing the woman, if she were still inside, would eventually get curious, she decided to wait now and see what happened.

Raider said "Aye Bryn, ye be keepin' a weather eye now. I not be seein' her coloures, she looks French rigged, a Frigate. But she may be a prize flyin' English coloures or maskin' her colours, ta be sneaking up on us." Raider added as he put his glass to his eye. "Mr. O'Hara ye be gatherin' the Lady Dowd, Mr. Von Halde, Mr Roubins and Mr. Lark ta the cave."

"Aye aye, Captain." Mr. O'Hara, Raider's First Mate said and walked off to arry out his orders.

"Damn Ye Man! Can ye not see what coloures she flies?" Raider shouted to the lookout.

"She' head on Captain! She'll be turnin ta tack soon." the lookout shouted back.

"Ye be keepin' a weather eye thar man!" Raider shouted as he watched the ship on the horizon.

Bryn stood statue still when the woman stepped out into the light of day. So she hadn’t been seeing things. Knowing the woman would be flighty, Bryn didn’t do anything at first. She just stood there watching and assessing the woman. From what Bryn could gather in these first few moments, it looked as though the woman was a native. But that couldn’t be right. Raider had told them the islands weren’t inhabited by humans. There had to be another reason she was here.

From her looks Bryn estimated her age to be in the early to mid twenties. She wasn’t skinny by any means but she wasn’t as soft as she had seen other women her age. No doubt living on this island, if that were the case, had kept her both in shape and with her limited diet she wasn’t introduced to the richer, more fattening delicacies.

Finally Bryn stepped forward but still stayed out of striking range. She didn’t want to take the chance of being sliced open by that knife the woman held ready in her hand.

“Hello….We’re not here to hurt you. We’re just curious about who you might be.”

The woman snapped her head around and looked like a cornered rabbit looking for a way out. Bryn put her hands out in a non threatening gesture to try and get the woman to calm down. Not daring to take any steps towards the woman, Bryn stood her ground.

“It’s OK…..it’s ok…really…..we mean you no harm. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Bryn couldn’t help but think the woman looked a lot like she did when she was first discovered wondering aimlessly in the freezing forest all those years ago. Thin as a rail from not eating correctly, eyes full of fear and….wild…..and ready to defend herself if the threat existed or flee if the opportunity presented itself.

Bryn and Atien took off after the frightened woman. They didn’t want to cause her any trouble and they certainly didn’t want to frighten her any more than they already had, but the ship they saw on the horizon was a different story. Rather or not they were friendly to Raider and company wouldn’t matter when they saw Meggie in her few strips of clothing.

“Wait!”

The woman was quick, Bryn had to give her that much, but Bryn ad Atien were able to keep up, barely. When the woman returned to the beach and came to a skidding halt then yelled at Raider and O’Hara, Bryn came to a sudden stop behind the woman and once more tried to calm her down.

“Meggie…we aren’t here to hurt you in any way. Please…put the knife down.”

Seeing the look on the woman’s face, Bryn knew there was little to no reasoning with her. With Raider and O’Hara on one side and Bryn and Atien on the other, there was only one way for her to go and that was in the surf.

“Meggie…please….we just want to talk to you.”

Atien gave the whole situation a good look and glanced at Raider and O’Hara before he looked over at Bryn then back to Meggie.

“Please, Miss. We need your help. Since dis be your island, we need you to show us around. We not bother you. We promise.”

The ship was actually growing closer now and Bryn knew it was most likely already too late and the crew has seen Meggie in her lack of attire. Clenchig her jaw, Bryn was loosing patients and her tone of voice and body language stated it clearly

“Meggie! That boat you see out there has grown men aboard that would do anything they could to get their hands a hold of you. Now, unless you want to be raped, repeatedly, I suggest you get your ass off the beach and back into the damn jungle. Otherwise I’ll hand you over to them myself! I TOLD you we aren’t here to hurt you. In fact, if you leave the beach now, we won’t follow you ever again…or even return to where we found you.”

Bryn could see the woman was listening to her. When she asked what rape was, Bryn glanced at the men. She would have gladly told the young woman what it meant, but she didn’t want to embarrass Meggie in front of the men. Even though they had heard it all before.

“Rape isn’t something you want…and yes, they will try to do that to me too.”

When the young woman changed her tune and stated she would show them where they could seek shelter, Bryn blinked. Had the woman been in the wild too long that she didn’t know what it was like to be sociable? Yes. That much was obvious.

Looking to Raider, she saw the Captain had observed everything with a hawks eye, like always. When he nodded, Bryn looked back to Meggie and nodded as well.

“We need to get the others before we go.”

Atien and Bryn quickly made their way back to the cave Erwin had discovered. The man was beside himself when they got there.

“Is the ship full of friendly’s or hostiles, Bryn? Will we be getting off the island? Oh dear…who on earth is THAT?”

Erwin pointed to Meggie when he saw her. Before Bryn could speak up, Evangeline spoke instead.

“It’s a woman, Mr. von Halde. Just like Bryn and myself. You can close your mouth and quit staring now.”

Erwin recovered from his shock and did just as Miss Dowd had instructed. Bryn looked to Rubins then.

“We’re going to an alternative cave until Raider and the others can figure out what’s going on with the approaching ship. This young lady is Meggie MacKellar and this is her island and she is going to help us hide until all is clear.”

Erwin furrowed his brow.

“But…I thought Raider said the islands were…”

Once again Evangeline butted in.

“It doesn’t matter what Raider said, Mr. von Halde. This is Meggie’s island and we need to do as she says.”

With everyone quickly getting over the shock of seeing the wild woman, they followed along behind Bryn and Atien and followed Meggie to her cave. During the trip Bryn felt a sharp, stinging pain in her foot as she walked along with the group. It was so bad that she had to have Atien’s help getting the rest of the way to the cave.

By the time she made it to the cave, her foot felt like it was on fire and that burning sensation was goring up her right leg as well. When she sat down for Atien to look at it, the look he gave her wasn’t good.

“Miss Bryn….it looks as though you have been stung by someting. Someting with a big stinger. And de venom is making it’s way quickly up your leg.”

Bryn had never felt anything quite so painful in all her life. Clenching her jaw to fight back the urge to scream, she trembled now as the pain grew more intense.

“It’s…OK…Atien…..I’ll…be OK.”

Atien furrowed his brow and shook his head.

“No, Miss Bryn., You will not. I seen dis before, back in my home land. We must drain the poison from your foot in order to keep it from going any further. Oderwise, you could die.”

How ironic, Bryn thought. If they only knew the truth. But even in this earthly form, she was ceseptable to these sorts of things. Finally she nodded as she grabbed a hold of her leg.

“Very well then…do what ever it is you need to do.”

Atien, with Rubins help, guided Bryn into Meggie’s cave and laid her down. Looking to Meggie, he asked her the all important question.

“Do you know what plants help draw poison from your body when you are stung?”

The pain in Bryn’s leg felt like someone was holding a hot poker to it and once again she clenched her jaw to stop from screaming out. Atien saw the look on her face and tried to reassure her.

“It’s OK, Miss Bryn. We get you fixed up soon.”

It was the last thing Bryn heard for the next thing she knew, her world faded to black as she slipped into darkness. Pain free, blissful darkness.

"THEY BE FLYING FRENCH COLOURES CAPTAIN!" the lookout called out "SHE BE HEAVIN' TO AND LOWERIN" A LONG BOAT."

"VERY WELL MR. O'CONNOR, YEA BE KEEPIN' A WEATHER EYE THAR." Raider said as the woman calling herself Meggie MacKellar ran off to watch the approaching sailors from a secluded and hidden place.

Raider watched the long boat pull ashore and an Officer and four men disembark, leaving three behind to watch the boat as they walked up the beach. Through his glass could see the officer wore the uniform of a French Lieutenant. Experience had taught Raider to not always trust what he first saw. As time continued on, he realized the young woman had been absent far longer than an hour, and Von Halde's persistant mutterings were begining to feel like barnacles rubbing across his skin. "Ye stay here. ..... Mr. O'hara see to it that they do. Ye keep, an eye on Byrn as well." Raider said as he moved off inn the direction the young woman had gone.

"Aye Aye Captain." Mr. O'Hara said.