CAPE HOOLERTHUND; THE HANDS OF TIME

My name is Mia Dalhamavaughn

Mia trembled. It was bad enough being in a time that wasn't her own but being taken in by the authorities, that was not at all a good start to her being there.

"This necklace symbolizes piracy," Admiral Krenan said, dangling it in his hand. "Are you a pirate?"

She wanted to answer the question truthfully but seeing what had become of her just wearing a pirate necklace she figured it wouldn't be wise for her to do so.

"No," she answered.

"So why were you wearing it around your neck?"

"Because it was given to me."

"By whom?" he asked as he came out from behind his desk and sat down on the edge of his table, right in front of her; an action that made her tremble even more.

She paused for a moment; what was the right way to answer that question without compromising herself more than she already had? "Someone."

"What is your name?"

Again she paused. Saying her name would completely compromise her; she shared the same last name as one of the notorious pirates that terrorized the ocean for many years, the mere mentioning of it would get her into all the trouble. She wanted to give him a fake name obviously but the captain in her wouldn't let her; the captain in her kept on pushing her to just come out with it and so she did.

"My name is Mia Dalhamavaughn," she answered and immediately Admiral Krenan shot to his feet; as the two soldiers looked at each other, down at her and then back at him, the Dalhamavaughn name was one that they knew oh to well and the second it left her mouth he was taken back to the time when piracy was the leach sucking at the core of their nation's development. A leach that brought nothing but chaos and set back so much progress. Hearing of what Capt. Julien Dalhamavaughn did in his days made his blood boil, and hearing his name after so long made it boil just as much. There was a feeling of unfinished business that came with the talk of pirates and Admiral Krenan didn't like it. The queen gave him the order to end piracy in her waters and so he was very eager to get out there and get it done. He heard of Cape Hoolerthund, a pirate island, and knew that if he was going to take down the pirates one by one that was going to be the best place to start so that was where he and his fleet went. They arrived on the island ready for war, ready for blood to end piracy once and for all but it looked like that war had already come. The island was partly on fire when their ships pulled up on the shore and there were bodies of fallen men all over the ground, women too.

Admiral Krenan and his men spread out looking for survivors; survivors that were going to be branded as pirates just because of being found on a pirate island and were going to be imprisoned to be hang later. He wanted the three pirates to be among them but they were nowhere to be found; they were not among the dead nor were they among the living; they were nowhere on Cape Hoolerthund and it left the admiral seeing red. They were the ones he really wanted to take in and see hang but they were gone. He was told by one of the men that had been arrested what happened and he was so mad he almost yelled to the sky. Capt. Jules killed Capt. Zedarh but then he too died and Captains Grovergane and Mohlenar had left so he had done nothing. He had taken Cape Hoolerthund and even renamed it Cape Mackerel but he didn't get the prize he really wanted which was the three pirates because one of them was dead and the other two were gone.

Days passed and he began to search the waters and the nearby islands for Captains Grovergane and Mohlenar but they were nowhere to be found; rumours sprung up that they had died too and so a whole year of searching and not finding anything, the search came to an end and just like that the era of piracy became a thing of the past.

It was a story he was hoping never to hear again but there it was. It reminded him of a thing he wanted so bad but never got and it had him looking like he was about to bite someone's head off, Mia's head.

"That name," he said. "How dare you mention that name in my presence? What relation are you to that filthy pirate?"

"I'm a descendant of his," she answered.

"And he gave this to you?"

"Yes."

Admiral Krenan took a step forward. "Where is he? Tell me where he is now."

"He's dead."

"Lies! He is out there somewhere and you are going to tell me where he is!" the admiral said with his voiced raised.

"He's dead."

He gave out a shout startling her and walked to the window that offered the view of the wide ocean blue and stood there for a moment calming himself with deep breaths. It was clearly a topic that rubbed him the wrong way; one that made him fume. To have caught and killed those pirates would have been his greatest victory, his biggest achievement; one that would have had stories told about him for many, many years to come. He would have absolutely gone down in history for it. It was going to have been his glory but alas that was a glory that was just not meant to be and being drawn back to that time when he was so close to having it all but was just a little too late, filled him with an anger that was never ever going to be quenched.

"Pirates . . . Nothing but pests . . . Digusting filthy pests," he said; looking into the distance but obviously looking back to that day. "They did nothing but fight and take what didn't belong to them. They brought nothing but chaos. Terrorizing what should have been peaceful waters." He turned to her. "And you dare wear this on my island?" He chuckled. "You foolish, foolish little girl. Do you know what we did to pirates back in the day?"

"Yes." Her skin instantly broke out into goose bumps. "You hung them."

"That's right. We wrapped ropes around their neck, we pulled the lever and down the pirates dropped to their deaths. We haven't had a hanging here in five years but I'm sure a rope won't be hard to find."

"You can't hang me," Mia said.

"And why is that?"

She took a moment; thinking to herself as to whether to tell him the truth or not. "Because this is not my time."

"You show up on my island wearing pirate jewellery and it is your time to die."

"No not that, I mean not my time as in . . . The time keeper brought me here. I am from another time and he brought me here because there is something I must do."

Admiral Krenan and the two soldiers looked at each other and back at her.

"We have heard of the time keeper," the admiral said. He was a holy being that had been anointed by a higher power to serve mankind with the gift of sight. No one had ever seen him but they knew he was out there somewhere. "What is this business you have with him?"

"I . . . I can't say."

"Of course you can't," he said and he and the soldiers laughed. "And I'm sure that whatever it is it is of great importance."

"Actually it is," she said and they laughed even more.

"You must think I'm stupid don't you? You have no business with the time keeper, you're just saying that because you want your life to be spared but I will not fall for that. You want to bring back that poison piracy and I will not have that. Bring that filth to this thriving island, over my dead body. You were found wearing pirate jewellery so you are a pirate and as the rules are to hang such, come of you tomorrow that shall be your fate. Take her away and go and lock her up in one of the holding cells."

"No wait. Hey! Stop! Wait!" she shouted as the two soldiers began dragging her out of the admiral's office; with the admiral returning to his chair. "Please admiral, what I have to do is very important. If you kill me it could lead to the destruction of the whole world, admiral!" she went on as he just sat there looking closely at the necklace.

Just then a small knock came to the door and a second later it swung open and in walked a young man; dressed in uniform just like the soldiers.

"Uh Mathew you're here, come in," Admiral Krenan said smiling.

The two soldiers stopped as he walked further in and looking at him Mia gasped; her jaw dropping almost all the way down to the floor and her eyes widening to the size of the ocean.

"Oh my gosh." Her heart skipped a beat; so heavy she began to hyperventilate. "Peter?" she gently called out to him.

Mathew stopped and looked at her. Mathew who looked exactly like Peter; everything from the colour of his eyes, the colour of his hair, his build and his height. Mathew was Peter. And when their eyes met immediately a floating feeling came to his spirit; like leaves on the ground that had suddenly been blown up into the air by the softest wind. Like the sweetest touch came to his heart; so sweet it scared him because he had never ever felt that way before. Who was this woman? One look at her and it felt like brand new life had been breathed into him and her, she was 100% certain she was looking at the love of her life; the fiancé she was supposed to have been getting married to the following day. Why wouldn't she think it was him? Mathew looked exactly like him.

"Peter," she said with hearts in her eyes; she thought she had travelled back in time all by herself but there her fiancé was; just as gorgeous as she remembered and his beautiful eyes making her feel the way they always did, like she wanted to be nowhere else but right where he was so that she could get even further lost in them. Out of nowhere Mia ran towards him, getting free of the grip the two soldiers had on her and without even saying anything else moved in and kissed him, still with her hands cuffed behind her back.

Mia placed her soft lips against his and her kiss was like lightning; electrifying every single one of his nerves it was like his entire soul had been set on fire. Admiral Krenan and the two soldiers gasped; she just ran up to Mathew and straight up kissed him.

It was completely out of the blue what happened and so the most logical way for Mathew to react was to either push her back or pull away from her because she was a total stranger but no. He had never seen her a day in his life and there she was not only standing extremely close to him but she had her lips on him. Her soft lips that were like poison to his system all he could do was just stand there and kiss her back. It was a small kiss but it was packed with everything and with how her lips perfectly fit against his, it was like they were made for his and his for hers.

"Hey! You! Stop that!" Admiral Krenan shouted. "You two, get her off of him, now!"

The two soldiers ran and grabbed her; pulling her back with Mathew following her lips a little wanting more but quickly gathering himself, coming back to reality from the trance her kiss had pulled him into.

"How dare you put your dirty pirate lips on him," the admiral said.

"Peter it's me. Baby it's me," Mia said and Mathew just stood there looking at her; obviously still taken by the kiss but by why this strange woman was looking at him the way that she was and calling him by a name that wasn't his. A beautiful woman who in the strangest way he felt like he had met before. Like he had seen her somewhere. Maybe she walked his dreams a few times he didn't know, all he knew was that there was something there; something that was pulling their hearts together and whatever it was it was strong. "It's me. Oh my gosh." She started to tear up. She had been a lost little girl since travelling back in time but in that moment she wasn't lost anymore. In looking into his eyes she had found her way back home and it was one of the most amazing feelings. "I thought I had been brought here all by myself and that I was never going to see you again. But you're here. Oh my gosh you're here, you have no idea how happy I am to see you. It's only been a day but I have missed you so, so much."

Mathew looked to the admiral, who also looked at him and together they looked back at her. "I uh . . . I'm sorry but you must have me mistaken with someone else, I am not Peter. My name is Mathew . . . I'm the admiral's son."