Ch.2: "Trouble in Paradise" / Volcanic Paradise Island Arcadia

[Legendary Sidekick]

As our heroines exit the temple, Hess is seen dragging a suitcase that looks like it could fit her inside. She tells Kell and Leto, "You have new clothes, so I asked Didi if she had a suitcase. She doesn't, but Wu Chen gave me hers as a present to all of us. I don't wanna wear the same underwear every day!"

((Hess stores all extra outfits!))

* * *

Our heroines head to South Beach. There is a sign advertising the two ferry boats.

Ferry Boat: $300 per passenger
Fairy Boat: $3 per passenger

The sign is atop a ticket booth with two clerks inside. One is a peppy young lady wearing a beret and a sundress who could almost pass for a nymph (though Kell can somehow tell she is not). The other is a man with two days stubble on his chin, who is wearing a pink jumpsuit with colorful wooden butterfly-shaped wings strapped to his back.

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell asks Hess, "I don't suppose you know anything about the difference between taking the ferry boat and the fairy boat, do you? Aside from the cost?"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

The ferry boat seems to have a small number of passengers. They are well dressed and being served fine wine and hors d'oeuvres while awaiting departure.

The Fairy Boat is full of couples with children excitedly jumping up and down as adults in cheap fairy costumes hand out wands that are actually caramel-coated starfruit on a stick. Some of the costumed adults read stories to the few children willing to sit still.

Hess says, "The Fairy Boat's BETTER!"

 

[Ireth]

Leto

Leto blinks as she catches sight of the fairy boat. "Well. That's not what I was expecting at all, honestly. I was expecting something tiny. Fairy-sized."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Hess says, "Yeah, but then we can go on the fairy boat and pretend we're fairies!"

"Not until your parent and/or guardian purchases tickets," says the man in the fairy costume.

The lady in the beret says to Kell, "Oh, come now. You are far to elegant to go on a silly boat full of children. They'll blow their little noses on your chiton."

"We have rules," says the fairy-man. "Children are instructed to sneeze into their elbows." He tells Kell, "Your shit-on should be safe as long as children don't brush their arms against you."

 

[Ireth]

Leto

Leto looks at Kell with a shrug. "We can always wash our clothes later if they do get snotty. Though I wouldn't advise anyone to brush up against me."

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

"OK, the fairy boat works for me." Aphrodite would never take a fairy boat. Only the best of best for that one, so I KNOW she'd take the ferry boat. That makes the fairy boat the right choice for me.

And she pays $9 for the three of them to ride the fairy boat, telling the man, "I think the girl here will be happier on your boat."

 

[Ireth]

Leto

Leto is halfway through pulling out money for the boat fare when Kell pays for the three of them. She smiles and puts her coins back. "Thank you, Kell! Caramel fairy wands are my treat, then."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

"They're her treat, ma'am," says the fairy-man. "They're complimentary with your ticket, but only for small children."

He takes out a board with a cartoon fairy on it standing on tippy-toes with her hand held out 52 inches above ground. On the cartoon fairy's pink dress are words: YOU MUST BE TINIER THAN MY HAND TO GET A FREE WAND.

The lady in the beret says, "There are three things wrong with that sign. One: her hand is like normal sized, two: the wand isn't free if you paid for the ticket, and three: it's stupid."

Hess says, "Yeah—stupidly FUN! Let's go!" The child-goddess runs toward the ship until an old bespectacled woman in a purple fairy costume tells her the No Running rule.

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

"OK, Hess, let's slow down. We don't want the nice fairy boat people kicking us off for disobeying their rules." And she goes and takes Hess' hand in her own and tells the girl, "How about we see if you qualify for a free wand, OK?"

And she leads Hess over to the sign and asks the man, "Does she qualify?"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

"Yes," says the fairy-man.

Hess says, "YES!"

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell asks the man, "Who gives that out, and do we need to provide a ticket or something to get it?"

 

[Ireth]

Leto

Leto smiles and takes Hess's hand. "Then let's get settled before the boat takes off!"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

The fairy-man paints a star on Hess' hand, indicating she's small enough to have an edible wand. "Only the candy star fruit is edible," the fairy-man warns. "The shaft is made of wood."


On the Fairy Boat
Our heroines board. Hess is fascinated by all the 'fairies' and sits by a fat bespectacled fairy in red with a long, white beard.

An man sees Leto and Kell with a child and groans to his wife, "Another one of those couples."

The wife says, "Be nice, Harry. Valley girls aren't deaf." She tells Kell and Leto, "There are two women on the upper deck who have adopted a baby. They're having a hard time fitting in. If you don't mind me saying so, I think if you talk to these women they'll feel more comfortable."

"Everyone will, Carol." says Harry. He tells Leto and Kell, "I do apologize for my comment. Just, please, talk to the lady couple. You can't miss them. They're tall."

"And practically naked," Carol adds. "My husband certainly didn't miss that."

Harry shudders a little when Carol says the word 'naked,' but he makes no comment.

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell tells Harry and Carol, "As it so happens, we're NOT a couple. We're just two friends who are watching the child of another friend as a favor, and we have business that takes us to Arcadia. So I'm not really sure we can help the women on the upper deck."


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[Legendary Sidekick]

"Oh," says Harry. As the couple turns to mind their sons, Harry tells his wife, "How disappointing."

After Hess finishes listening to the fairy-man's story, she runs up to Kell and Leto. "Kringle says there's a play area on the upper deck!" She already has her starfruit wand, and a fairy-man in black named Mibbles has already checked in Hess' suitcase and handed a claim ticket with the number 16 on it to Leto (though his eyes were glued to Kell at the time).

As Hess heads upstairs, Kell and Leto can easily see the 'female couple' that Harry and Carol were talking about. Two of the van Donk sisters are there. Bridgette has her back to our heroines, but she's almost as tall as Ankantha and equally muscular and underdressed. There is no mistaking her. Hanna Barbaric is leaning over the rail waving to the other ferry. Our heroines can only see the side of Hanna's face that has an eye-patch (her left side), so it's likely that Hanna hasn't noticed our heroines.

Sonja is on the other ship standing very close to a well-dressed man in fine, expensive clothes. Kell knows this type all too well. It's the type that struts like a stuffed rooster on the shores of Nyse with a nymph on each arm. Aphrodite has always forbidden Kell to go near this kind of man. It comes as no surprise that this man is fully clothed while Sonja's top is barely covered by a pair of sea shells fastened by a string. The rest of her outfit is a wrap skirt that's a little too short and pointy shoes with heels that are a little too long.

"This man paid for my ticket!" Sonja shouts to her sisters.

 

[Ireth]

Leto

Leto blinks and pauses when Harry speaks disparagingly of "those couples," but stays silent as Kell corrects them.

Upstairs, Leto recognizes the van Donk sisters, and debates going back downstairs to Harry and Carol to correct their misinformation. She waves to the sisters and calls out, "Hallo! I wasn't expecting to meet you here."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Bridgette turns to greet Leto. She is carrying a blanket which appears to have a newborn baby inside.

"I was not expecting to get on board. We were down to our last six silver after dining in Ogygia. Fortunately, Nissa is no bigger than when she came out of the womb."

There's an eastern woman in a ankle-length floral print dress standing next to Bridgette. She says to the towering Barbierian, "Of course she isn't, Bridge. It takes more than two days for a girl to grow enough that you'll notice. Now, can I se her face?"

"No."

"I understand. I was nervous about strangers getting too close to my fir—"

A wild-haired three-year-old girl puts her head under the eastern woman's dress. "Yan Yan! I am talking to an adult!" The woman leads her daughter to the play area, and Yan Yan runs toward two older girls that are likely her sisters. The middle sister takes Yan Yan's hand and leads her to a small slide. The is oldest on a see saw with Hess, and is the age that Hess appears to be.

Bridgette ignores the commotion and tells Leto, "If not for a rich man paying Sonja's way, we would not be able to travel to Arcadia. Of course, we are broke now, but all will be well."

Hanna pipes in, "That's right! We traveled south to find the great capitol city of the amazons!"

Sonja shouts from the other boat, "Hey! What're you girls talking about? Silas here just told me we went the wrong way!"

The fat man whispers something to Sonja.

She adds, "Good news! He says we just gotta do him a favor and he'll pay our way north!"

 

[Ireth]

Leto

Leto blinks at the sight of the blanket-wrapped bundle in Bridgette's arms, and again at the name Nissa. Wasn't that the smallest van Donk sister, tiny but clearly an adult? Is this baby a nameling, or a cunning disguise for the adult Nissa? Maybe that's why she won't let others see her face.

She smiles at Bridgette's words. "That's lucky, then. I'm glad you aren't totally separated."

She turns as Sonja calls out, and tilts her head. What sort of favor would that be? Does she dare ask and get involved?

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

As soon as Leto mentions the sisters not being separated, a slap is heard all the way across the water. The fat man is flat on his back. Sonja is on the rail of the ship without her shoes, and as she jumps overboard, her wrap skirt momentarily flies up. The perceptive huntress is fairly certain Sonja is not wearing an undergarment.

The Barbierian dives overboard and stays underwater for some time. When she rises up, she is wearing her wrap skirt on her head like a bandana.

"The only favor he gets from me is being allowed to live!" she says.

Bridgette shrugs. "Well, I ain't doing him no favors."

Nissa peeks out of the blanket. "And I ain't pretending to be a child under three anymore. The boat's moving. What will these fairy-men do if they see me up and walking around?"

Nissa leaps from Bridgette's arms. A fairy-man sees her and hands her a star-fruit wand.

Hanna calls down to her sister. "What're you gonna do now?"

Sonja smiles. "I'll swim!"

When out heroines look down at Sonja, they can see the color of her flesh through the water, but this color stops around the waist. Her legs are distorted by the rippling seawater, but they appear to be the color of seaweed. Sonja's legs bend unnaturally and remain pressed together as she effortlessly keeps herself afloat.