The Cruise Of The Zephyr Princess

Disclaimer: Magic Knights Rayearth and all characters pertaining thereto are copyright CLAMP. "Gilligan's Island" is copyright Sherwood Schwartz and whichever TV network produced it. However, this story is copyright Raye Johnsen, because I came up with the situation and all events myself. No infringement of existing rights is intended; please inform me if there are any, and I'll give credit in this disclaimer. Please don't bother suing me, you'll only be wasting your money, I don't even own my own computer. Many thanks to Dave Hsing, who came up with the original idea.

This fic is dedicated to the Magic Knights Rayearth Mailing List, who suffered through my writer's block and endless drafts and still said nice things about it.

From the diary of Hikaru Shidou:

2nd May

I can't believe it! I can't believe it!! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!

I won! I won an all-expenses-paid seven day cruise aboard the Zephyr Princess for myself and up to six other people! Okay, so I was going for the Mercedes Benz - it would've been a cool sixteenth birthday present for Kakeru - but this is even better,'cause now EVERYONE can come!

Kakeru, Masaru, Satoru and Mama are coming, of course. I rang Umi and Fuu, and they're checking with their parents now, but I'm pretty sure they'll be coming too - after all, both Mama and Satoru are adults, so we won't be unsupervised!

This is going to be so much fun!

The Cruise Of The Zephyr Princess

Chapter One

"'This is going to be so much fun,'" Lantis Shields murmured sarcastically to his best friend, as they stood in the embarkation line, waiting to board the Zephyr Princess.

Eagle Vision sighed. "Mmm. No Playstation, no computer, no Internet access, no TV, no videos, just sun, sea and deck croquet. I can hardly wait."

Innova Alicorn, Lantis's elder brother's best friend, looked back at the two sixteen-year-olds. "It's not that bad. Lie back, get a tan, sleep all day - if you look at it right, this could be the greatest holiday you ever had. Think of the girls you'll meet."

Both boys gave him a Look. Innova sweatdropped. He'd thought Lantis and Eagle were past the 'girls give you cooties' stage.

Just then, Lantis's brother Zagato returned, bearing softdrinks. "Did I miss anything?" he asked.

"No," all three chorused, as Zagato handed round the cans.

"We haven't moved an inch," Lantis elaborated as he popped the tab on his Sprite.

"When does the boat leave?" Eagle enquired innocently. "I have to be in bed by ten pm."

"I hope we're called soon," Innova said worriedly. "If we're not, these two will start committing mayhem - always assuming I haven't murdered them first."

"Shields party," the girl in the little booth at the gangplank called. All four hurried over to her. At last! Something to do!

Debonea D'Malicia and her daughter Nova inspected their suite from the carpet beneath the beds to the taps in the ensuite. The stewardess, Alcione, was unsure what to do - should she remain in the suite in case they wanted something, or would she trust in the cleaning staff and leave?

Fortunately for Alcione, Mrs D'Malicia completed her inspection just then. "These chambers are adequate," she informed Alcione. "You may inform the Captain we will be happy to dine at his table this evening."

"Yes, Mrs D'Malicia," Alcione managed to murmur, and left the suite.

Once outside, she released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Two sentences! Only two sentences, and the old battleaxe had managed to reduce her to a scared little girl!

Little Nova D'Malicia looked like a real spoiled brat, so used to having her own way that she saw the rest of the world as toys for her amusement, but for a moment, Alcione felt a touch of pity for the girl she'd left in the suite with Mrs D'Malicia.

Hikaru was hopping from one foot to the other in excitement. A cruise! A real cruise, with her mother who needed a rest from work, her brothers, her two best friends in all the world, and their families, too!

Mr and Mrs Hououji had said that Kuu, Fuu's older sister, had been studying so hard she deserved a break too, and they would come along so that Mrs. Shidou wouldn't have to supervise six active teenagers all by herself.

Meanwhile, Umi's parents had actually been planning to go on a cruise on the Zephyr Princess anyway, for a second honeymoon. "Though it's more like their fourth or fifth," Umi had shrugged. "It's nice to have parents who love each other, but sometimes it's a little embarrassing."

Hikaru didn't see what was so embarrassing about it. She wished her parents had been as much in love as Mr and Mrs Ryuuzaki - maybe then they would still be together, and she could see her dad instead of just writing him letters.

And now they were in line, just about to board! Up until this moment, Hikaru had been half-convinced she was dreaming it all. Now, however, it was all happening. It was all real.

Ahead of her, there was a group of four men - well, two were really boys, a little bit older than Kakeru, but still, older than her. They were all cute, but there was something about the younger one who had black hair - he just seemed, well, nice, even though the younger blond was handsomer. Hikaru shook her head. What was she thinking? She'd never even met these guys!

The group boarded, and Hikaru turned her attention to the rest of her own group. Masaru and Kuu had hit it off already, for all that Masaru was a freshman at university and Kuu was only in the second year of high school. Hikaru wondered a little at why Masaru, who avoided Fuu and Umi the way he would dental surgery, was so amenable to spending time talking with Kuu. Hikaru understood that Masaru liked Kuu. But why couldn't he be nicer to Fuu or Umi?

Fuu was reading a book called 'How To Play Deck Croquet' to Umi. Hikaru had just decided to listen in when the girl in the little booth called, "Shidou party!"

Everyone hurried over to be marked off her list and board the ship.

Sierra Smith sighed as the door closed behind the stewardess who'd just shown her and her twin sister to the cabin they were sharing, and decided to unpack straightaway, without waiting for the maid.

Presea, however, had other ideas. "Let's go, Sierra! Now's the perfect time to explore!"

Although she normally followed her elder twin into just about anything, Sierra protested. "But there's supposed to be a dance this evening! And I haven't even looked at what we've got, what with each of us constantly unpacking and repacking for each other!"

Yanking her little sister out the door, Presea didn't bother to answer.

I've got to get Sierra to loosen up on this cruise! She thought, dragging her twin headlong down the corridor. She's far too serious for her own good!

Caldina D'Ance sighed as she stepped into the purser's office. "This has been one of those days."

"The first day of every cruise is always 'one of those days', Caldina," Lafarga Escadore replied mildly. "Thank you for helping, by the way. It isn't your job."

"No problem," Caldina replied cheerfully. "It's fun to do the boarding list - people are so happy to finally get on board. And what else is an entertainer to do while the ship is empty? You had the hard bit, love, coping with all the rich people and their baubles."

"It's not that hard. And it's after five now, so this office is officially closed. Care for a cup of tea?"

"Thank you, that would be lovely."

Caldina sipped at her tea, regarding Lafarga over the rim. Why had she fallen in love with this man? As well ask why the rainbow has seven colours and not eight, Caldina thought. In so many ways, they were so opposite; he needed roots, while she craved freedom. He was quiet, she a chatterbox. He was neat, she left everything in a mess.

And yet, we love each other so . . .

She knew that he would always be there for her if she needed him. He would let her go if she asked him to, and he would always shield her from harm.

They had taken jobs with the cruise ship because it was solid enough for him and free enough for her. A compromise - but one she could live with. After all, that was what a relationship was all about.

"I love you, Lafarga," Caldina said suddenly. Lafarga lifted an eyebrow at her, and then quickly glanced around the room.

Still shy, Caldina thought, with a smile. "I love you too, Caldina," Lafarga said softly. Caldina smiled at him happily. For those words, she could make a lot more compromises.

"Psst, Sang Yung!"

Sang Yung sighed. Why am I doing this? He already knew, of course. Because Aska had asked him to.

Aska Fahren was the daughter of the joint heads of Fahren Industries, the biggest conglomerate in the country. Her parents had married as part of the merger that created the company. Aska had been born early in their marriage, and no sooner had she been born than she had been handed over to a succession of wet-nurses and nannies. She and her parents rarely saw each other.

When Aska was two, her nanny had told Aska that she had a three-year-old son at home, and Aska had thrown a tantrum until the little boy had been brought to the house for Aska to play with. Aska had taken one look at the little Sang Yung, nearly flattened him with an enthusiastic hug and announced "I'm Aska! I'm going to be your friend!" They had been inseparable ever since. And if Aska was the one who led and he the one who followed, she would doubtless have charged into things far more recklessly if she didn't have him to consider, and he would have never have ventured as far nor as widely if he were not following Aska.

This cruise had been Aska's idea. Now it was officially summer, she wanted a holiday. A cruise, without any stops, would be safe from kidnappers for a rich little girl, and it was different enough from Aska's previous life inside the secure-but-boring family home that she would have lots of fun.

She'd convinced Sang Yung, they'd got to work on their tutor Qiang Ang, and now they were really here, aboard the Zephyr Princess.

Now, the two were sneaking around the ship. They didn't need to sneak around, they were paying passengers after all, but Aska had thought it would be fun to see if they could. Currently they were lurking around the dining room, watching the staff prepare the room for dinner.

So that's why they saw her, but she didn't see them.

The girl looked to be around ten, Aska's age, with long tumbling red hair. She was dressed as richly as Aska was, but her prettiness was marred by a petulant, malicious expression. She pressed something - they didn't see what - behind the door of the dining room, and headed off.

Aska and Sang Yung immediately ran over to investigate, pulling the device off the wall and looking at it carefully.

"It's a timer attached to some caps from a cap gun. When the timer went off, the gunpowder in the caps would blow open the bag, spraying its contents everywhere," Sang Yung said wonderingly.

"The bag is full of ballpoint ink! Almost impossible to remove from clothes, and it stays on the skin for days, no matter how you scrub. And the timer's set to go off at six-fifty, when people would be arriving for dinner! Sang Yung, I've played some jokes in my time, but this is nasty. And it's not even aimed at anyone!"

"I know! But what can we do about it, Aska? Except from dismantling this one now?"

"There's only one thing to do, Sang Yung! We must follow this girl around without letting her see us, and dismantle all these nasty traps as she lays them! We'll be - child detectives! Don't look like that! It'll be fun!"

Sang Yung sighed. And followed Aska.

It was seven pm., and the first-night dinner was just about to start. Then there would be the get-to-know-you dance.

Presea would have been looking forward to it - if she could only find the right dress. She and Sierra had done each other's make up and hair, and now the contents of the twins's joint wardrobe were strewn over the beds, the chests of drawers and the lamps. Sierra was standing in front of the mirror, holding a black blouse against her torso, which she then threw onto the bed. "Not right either!" she announced.

It is terrible to be fifteen, about to go to your first dance, and have several dresses, none of which are suitable. No one believes you when you say you have nothing to wear.

Both girls stuck their heads into the wardrobe again, praying that their mutual habit of going through the other's bags and repacking them had left them with something else to try.

Sierra spotted it. A pale cream-gold sheath dress, adorned only with an embroidered golden rose on the left shoulder. And, hanging just behind it, a gold sheath dress with an embroidered cream rose on it's left shoulder.

"Perfect!"

"You two aren't ready yet? The boys are just about to come in to discuss tonight's plan."

Emeraude had come into the cabin, while the twins had their backs turned. Both scrambled into the dresses quickly, and so the boys were able to come into the cabin to join in planning How To Get Clef To Have Fun.

Clef Magid, the twins' uncle, had been devoted to his wife Capri, and when she had died six months before, he had been understandably devastated. Emeraude Cephirano, Capri's younger sister, had invited Clef on this cruise - officially because she wanted help supervising her sixteen- year-old brother Ferrio, his friend Ascot and the twins. However, all four of the teenagers were in fact conspiring with Emeraude to get Clef out of the moping-around stage of grieving. As Emeraude had said, "We don't want to throw a romance at his head. But we've got to get him to start living again."

Ferio seemed like a nice guy, but Ascot was a little quieter than Presea had expected. Someone who hung around someone as bouncy and energetic as Ferio either had to be more than they seemed, or really good at not being noticed.

After discussing it for about ten minutes, the five agreed that just talking and making sure Clef was involved in a conversation all the time would work, and headed off for the dining room.

Lantis and Eagle were grumbling at each other and at everyone else within earshot. First, Zagato had coerced them into dinner suits ("Would you prefer tuxedos?" he had asked in that special way he had that wasn't - quite - a threat), then Innova had confiscated the Gameboys ("You're here to eat, not play Pokemon," he'd said as he tucked them away), and now they were having a close encounter of the worst kind with sushi.

"So what is this one?" Lantis asked, poking the object in question.

"Tuna sashimi - specially marinated tuna in rice." Eagle read from the handy printed guide.

"Is it cooked tuna?" This was a highly significant question, after the encounter with the cooked salmon sushi and the raw salmon sushi.

"No."

"And that one?"

"Inarizushi. Vinagared sushi rice in a deep-fried tofu pocket."

"No raw fish?"

"No raw fish."

"Okay." Lantis tried it. Eagle watched him closely - after all, they both had chosen the same types of sushi, and took it in turns to sample and report on each. Lantis chewed, swallowed and made a face.

Eagle's face fell. "Bad?" he enquired sympathetically.

"No, it's actually delicious," Lantis replied, reaching for the second piece on his plate.

Innova grabbed Eagle before he could pound Lantis into the table. Fortunately for him, at this point the soup was announced, and the boys began to reach for all the non-fish sushi on their plates before they got cleared away.

Dinner had been cleared away and the band were just tuning up when Debonea D'Malicia found and spoke to her daughter.

"Where have you been, Nova?"

"Exploring, Mother," Nova replied, her mind elsewhere. Why hadn't her inkbomb gone off? She'd constructed it most carefully, and set it just behind the door so it couldn't be bumped or ripped off. But there hadn't been any embarrassing entrances of pepole covered with ink, nor any unexplained absences at the tables. There hadn't even been any shrieks of horror or dismay outside the door.

Could someone have found it? But I deliberately built it to be inconspicuous. No, I accidentally used dud caps. That's the only explanation.

". . . and so I expect you to be on your best behaviour," Nova came back to herself in time to hear her mother say. "Yes, mother," she murmured obediently. Obviously her mother had been reading her the riot act again - which was why she'd tuned it out so easily. Of course, she had no intention of doing as she was told.

Mother uses underhanded and dirty tricks to put companies into the deep part of a sewerage pit, buys them at a fraction of their worth, and then all the problems magically 'disappear'. And she expects me to behave?

Nova shook her head slightly, and began planning her next 'prank'.

Eagle slouched at the edge of the dance floor.

"Go ask a girl to dance," Zagato had told he and Lantis. "It's better than sitting here scowling at the tablecloth."

Girls! Okay, so they could be pretty. But most of them didn't have anything useful in their heads. They couldn't fix a car or play a computer game decently. To be fair, he didn't know much about fashion or music, but he wasn't interested in fashion or music. And now he had to dance with o-

"Oww!"

"I'm sorry!" Eagle said automatically, looking down at the girl he'd just bumped into. She was rather pretty, with long, dark blonde hair caught up in a high ponytail and warm brown eyes, and she was wearing a creamy-white dress. It looked very pretty.

"I'm Sierra Smith," the girl said, and gestured over to a table on the other side of the room. "That's my twin sister Presea, our Uncle Clef, his brother-in-law Ferio and Ferio's friend Ascot. Want to come over and talk for a while?"

Eagle looked over at Sierra's table, and immediately saw that Ferio and Ascot were around his age. Obviously Sierra had thought he'd like to talk to them, rather than her, and he immediately decided to be perverse.

"They look friendly, but I'd rather dance with you - if you don't mind?"

Sierra blushed - very becomingly, Eagle noted. "Uh - yes! Yes, I'd like that."

Eagle smiled as he led Sierra out. As far as he could tell, she was a very good dancer, and Eagle soon found himself enjoying dancing with her.

Zagato was getting a lemonade at the bar when the beautiful blonde sat down on the stool next to him. He almost fell off his own stool. She was glorious.

"Lemonade?" she asked, as he paid the bartender for the drink.

"I'm not that fond of alcohol," Zagato had sheepishly explained. With a glass of lemonade in his hand, he couldn't possibly hope to impress such a sophisticated beauty.

The lady laughed. "Neither am I," she agreed. "I'm Emeraude Cephirano."

"Uh, Zagato Shields."

"Nice name."

"Thank you. So is yours." Just say it, Zagato. The worst she can do is say 'no'. "Uh - would you care to dance? That is, if you're not with someone already - "

"No, I'm not. I'd love to dance with you."

Zagato just knew he had a silly grin on his face as he and Emeraude danced, but he was too happy to care.

Hikaru sneaked out onto the deck.

She hadn't really expected any of the boys at this dance to ask her to dance - at least, not the ones she didn't yet know.

But she had expected one of her brothers, at least, to take her around the floor at least once!

Masaru was dancing with Kuu, okay. But Kakeru or Satoru could have danced with her. Ohh, it was annoying!

"You're bored, too?"

The voice wasn't one Hikaru recognised. But whoever he was, he sounded young.

"Kind of," she replied. "Dances tend to be boring if you aren't dancing."

"But you can't ask anyone to dance if you're not good at dancing," the disembodied voice replied. A young man stepped out of the shadows and smiled at Hikaru. She blushed. It was the young man she'd admired that morning! "I'm Lantis Shields," he introduced himself. "My brother got four discounted tickets through his work, and so he, his best friend, me and my best friend are here on this cruise."

"I'm Hikaru Shidou," Hikaru said. "I won seven tickets, so me, my family and my two best friends are here."

Hikaru and Lantis shook hands. "I'm out here 'cause I can't dance very well," Lantis said cheerfully.

"I'm out here 'cause nobody asked me to dance," Hikaru replied, equally cheerfully.

"I'd dance with you, but I've got two left feet, and you're too nice to step on," Lantis said seriously. "Would you mind talking to me instead?"

"That sounds okay," Hikaru replied. "But I'm not that good at conversation. You don't have to talk much when you're doing kendo."

"You do kendo? So do I! Which style do you follow?"

If anyone had told Hikaru a week before that she'd have a great time talking kendo with a total stranger at a dance, she'd have laughed at them, she thought.

"Go and ask those two nice girls over there to dance," Clef ordered Ferio and Ascot. "Hanging around me like this - one would almost think you were babysitting me! Look, Sierra's out there dancing!"

Presea had been wondering where her sister had gotten to. She looked out at the dance floor, and, yes, there she was! Sierra was gliding around in the arms of - of an absolutely delicious blond! Well! And here she'd been thinking that she'd have to drag that twin of hers into having fun! In fact, Presea was a little jealous. Sierra wasn't going to be the only one who got to dance! She, Presea, would go and find a partner too!

There had been a really cute group of guys at one of the tables, but it looked like only one was still there. However, Presea's luck was in; it was the cutest one of the four, the older blond. Presea got up, determined to persuade him to at least one dance.

Umi was bored. Bored, bored, bored. The only one of Hikaru's brothers who was interested in dancing at all was too busy romancing Fuu's older sister to pay attention to anyone else.

Hikaru had disappeared and she was just about to grab Fuu and persuade her to do the same...

"Uh, miss - would you like to dance?" The voice was soft and hesitant, and Umi looked up into a pair of clear blue eyes. This guy looked to be about sixteen, and he seemed sweet. Umi decided then and there - this guy seemed nice, and she was sick of not dancing.

"Sure. I'm Umi Ryuuzaki," she introduced herself, standing up and leading the way to the dance floor.

"I'm Ascot Saffir," the boy said, as the dance started. "My friend Ferio Cephirano's the one who asked your friend to dance."

Umi craned her neck, and saw Fuu also starting to dance too.

She smiled. Good. Let Kakeru and Satoru Shidou be the wallflowers. She was going to have fun.

"So, did we have fun?" Lantis asked as the four headed back to their suite after the dance had broken up.

"Wasn't bad," Eagle conceded. Sierra had been nice, and she was just as interested in cars and mechanics as he was. They'd spent at least two dances blundering into everyone else while they argued over the merits of Mustang suspensions. It was the absolute delight of everybody else on the floor when they'd decided to sit out the rest of the dance and argue instead.

The two boys wished Zagato and Innova a good night at the door of their cabin. Innova suddenly stared at them as their door shut, and then let out a long, low whistle.

"What?" Zagato asked as they headed down to their own cabin.

"I never thought I'd see the day," Innova commented, displaying the contents of his pockets, "that they'd forget to collect their Gameboys off me."

From the diary of Mary Ann:

June 1st

Dear Diary,

I'm feeling really weird. I know that it's been three years since we were shipwrecked, and it's only been a week since we were rescued. But I still can't believe how much the world has changed!

All the music is different - we used to have guitars and nice sing-along songs, and now there's lots of drums and screaming that nobody can understand, much less sing along with.

Everyone talks about politics now - I never even thought about the President before, and now we're all supposed to have opinions on his job. Fashion is really crazy now - I'd almost say indecent but I think they've forgotten the meaning of the word! And I'm expected to have an opinion of it all! Me, Mary Ann! I'm a celebrity now, because of the shipwreck, and I'm just an ordinarygirl! The three-hour cruise was supposed to be agraduation-from-high-school present to myself, but I never thought this would happen!

I can't ever say this to my family or anyone except you, Diary, but I miss the island, and the days there with Gilligan, the Skipper, Mr and Mrs Howell, Ginger and the Professor. There we all knew who we were and what the world was and what we did in it. Now I'm aimless. Gilligan and the Skipper are back inbusiness as tour operators. Mr and Mrs Howell went back to High Society and have made their celebrity into a talking point at parties. Ginger's already been approached for a really big movie deal. And the Professor's accepted a position at Yale University.

But me - what do I do? On the island I kind of looked after everybody - but now we're back where we belong, and apart from my parents I never had anything to come back to. I feel lost.

I just hope the island's all right. Now that it's mapped, nobody can ever get lost on it again.

The Cruise Of The Zephyr Princess
Chapter Two

14th June

I can't believe that we've only been aboard this ship for four days! Hikaru thought as she walked towards the upper deck.I feel like I've been here forever!

She'd heard that this was a common occurrence, this feeling that the world outside the ship didn't exist, and that the instant "shipboard romance" was a cliche simply because it happened, all the time. And that, being the product of an enclosed environment, once the two lovers rejoined the 'real world', the love affair ended. Always.

What if it happens to me? she thought worriedly. Lantisand I have lots in common, but we met on a cruise, and I decidedI liked him the second day I knew him. I really like him, and Iwant this to last. I don't want to go back to real life and haveall this end.

She stepped out onto the deck, looked around, and waved at Lantis, who'd been leaning up against the rail as he waited for her.

I really want this to last. I wish I never had to go back...

Above her, the greyish clouds turned greyer.

Nova plunked down on her bed, scowling. Here, in her cabin, was the only place she felt free to show her true feelings. Her mother wouldn't notice anything that didn't directly affect herself, and none of the maids would dare disturb her.

She really felt like hitting something. Or someone. The person who was preventing all her pranks, preferably.

She'd set up buckets of green slime on the doors of the room with the pool tables.

Someone had removed them before anyone got splashed.

She'd set up inkbombs all over the ship.

None of them had gone off.

She'd scattered long-shafted tacks on the floor of the disco.

Someone had swept them up before the disco started.

She'd put very-quick-working laxatives in three of the sugarbowls.

None of them had been used since. Or the sugar had been replaced with undoctored supplies. One of the two, and she favoured the latter theory.

Somebody was tracking down all the little jokes she was setting up, and taking them down before any suckers could wander into them. Nova didn't like that, not one little bit.

This is unfair.

She'd only come along on this cruise because she thought it might be fun. And now somebody was stopping all her fun before she got to have any.

She was going to have to think up a way to find the person who was doing it.

And when I do, I'm going to make that person's life very, very interesting. They're going to make up for all the fun they've made me miss out on. Oh yes.

Nova fell to planning what she would do to that person when she found them. It made her feel a little better.

She did not see the sky outside turn greyer.

Zagato was thinking furiously. He only usually paid this much attention to work, but now he had a far more attractive matter to focus on.

Emeraude Cephirano.

It wasn't logical to feel this way! He'd known her less than four days! He couldn't possibly have fallen in love with her in that short a time!

And yet -

It wasn't lust, because lust cares nothing for the mind, and there were times when he could argue philosophical points and other thoughts for hours with her - and had, too. It wasn't infatuation, because he was all too aware of her blind spots: a refusal to delegate, even when it was more than convenient, occasional blindness about people close to her, and those were only the two he'd seen in the past few days.

It wasn't friendship - his feelings were much warmer than friendship. Innova had lobbed a box of condoms at him two days ago during a conversation - which had been about her, now he came to think about it. It didn't surprise him. Most of his thoughts were about her, these days. He blushed as he thought about that little box. He didn't want to think about how much he wished he had the courage to ask her to use its contents.

Zagato flopped back onto his bed. His thoughts were simply chasing each other around the inside of his head.

Ah, but what pleasant thoughts . . .

Clef lay back on his bed and gave himself to thought.

Something was clearly up.

He had had virtually no time to himself the entire cruise.

There was always someone to talk to, or go to have a snack with, or -

They're not letting me be alone. Not for one second are they letting me be alone.

Oh, Capri - I can't help it. I miss you so much. I don't want to have fun, I don't want to be distracted. I want -

I want you back.

I hate this. I hate reaching out to touch you, and finding only air. I hate turning to tell you something and rememberingyou're gone. I hate all our old routines because half of it is what you used to do.

I hate living without you. I hate that I have to live without you.

Clef sat up, stretching.

"Are you okay, Uncle Clef?" Presea poked her head around the corner of the door.

Clef had to smile. Yes, one of them was always there, but it was because they cared. Presea, Emeraude, Sierra, Ferio and Ascot all cared enough to interrupt their activities to spend time with him.

Presea looked like she wasn't interested in continuing her search for a holiday romance right that minute. It was ironic - Presea, the brighter, more cheerful twin, was the one member of their party who hadn't found a holiday romance yet.

"I'm fine, Presea. In fact, I'm feeling like some tea. Would you like to join me?"

"Yes, I'd like that," Presea smiled. The two headed up towards the cafe on the main deck.

Neither noticed the grey sky turning black.

Caldina was sitting in LaFarga's office, helping with the filing. She often did. It was one way to pass the time between performances, and she had the added benefit of being able to watch LaFarga as he worked. She often played little games with herself on afternoons like this; today she was playing How Long She Could Stare At LaFarga Before His Ears Turned Red. Her current best time was thirty seconds.

Maybe she was acting like a high school girl. She didn't care. It was fun.

"I thought you'd be more excited," LaFarga commented.

"Why should I be?"

"It is a cyclone, Caldina. People generally do get excited about them."

"We're going around it, aren't we?"

"Well, yes."

"Well, then. I don't get excited unless we're in danger or it's something I've never seen before. We're perfectly safe and we've done all this before."

LaFarga sighed. "Are you feeling like a change?"

Caldina blinked and thought about what she'd just said. And how many different ways a proud man like LaFarga could take it.

"Didn't you say, just before this cruise started, that you'd been offered the position of Chief Purser on the new Summer Princess?" Caldina asked, referring to the brand new liner the company would be launching in a few months.

"Yes."

"We'll have fun setting up on a new ship, won't we?" Caldina grinned at him.

LaFarga let out the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. Yes. I'm tired of this ship and this route too. I musthave caught a little of Caldina's wanderlust, I think. Thank Godfor this new job - I could never give up Caldina. And thank Godshe understands.

"I love you, Caldina," LaFarga said gratefully.

"And I love you, too," Caldina smiled. Then she looked down at the papers she was holding and the smile vanished. "But I don't love filing. How many ways can you misspell 'account'?"

"I don't know, but I counted twelve once. Of course, that was a very quiet day," LaFarga replied with a straight face.

Caldina's laughter spilled out through the office.

The Department of Seismology at Berkeley University picked up a small undersea earthquake in the Pacific Ocean, some two hundred kilometres south-south-west of the Zephyr Princess' projected location. They dutifully alerted all government agencies, shipping and cruise companies, and the coastal areas likely to be struck by the resulting tsunami.

Then they forgot about it.

Lectures for the next term had to be prepared, it was, after all, a very small quake, and now that the warning had gone out, nobody was likely to be affected at all.

Most of the other passengers didn't notice the wave at all. Umi and Ascot had been hanging over the railing (if any adult had come along, he or she might have mistaken them for a pair of potential suicides or victims of a very bad case of seasickness, they were hung over so far) when they saw it. A larger wave than most, about two metres high, came towards the ship.

"We'll bob up over, no problem," Ascot predicted.

"It'll splash up over the side and make a boom," Umi decreed.

The ship, however, did neither - it slipped up the wave and slid over the top. It didn't slide down because the top of the wave was flat.

Both Umi and Ascot looked at it.

Then they looked at each other.

A flat wave?

A tsunami!

"A TSUNAMI!!" they yelled, and took off down the deck, shrieking "TSUNAMI!! TSUNAMI!!" as they ran.

"There is no need to worry," Alcione repeated to the young couple before her. "A cyclone was drifting into our cruise's course, so we have been taking an alternate course. An undersea earthquake occurred, which we have been alerted to, and that caused the tsunami. It's moving quite fast, so we don't have to worry. And the people in its path have been warned, so we don't have to worry about them either."

"All right then," Fuu said softly, walking away.

"You seem tense," Ferio commented.

"I just have a bad feeling," Fuu replied. "As if - we're not going to make it out of this unscathed." She lifted her head and appeared to be looking at Ferio, but he knew better. What Fuu was seeing wasn't him. "Something's coming, and it will change all of us."

The wind blew around them both, and for a second, Ferio could swear he heard voices in its song.

The shudder ran through the entire ship.

Clef lurched against the side of the corridor, while Presea stumbled. "What was that?" they both demanded of thin air. A young stewardess appeared at the top of the corridor and hurried towards them.

"Ah, good, you're all right," she exclaimed, helping Presea up.

"What happened - Alcione?" Clef asked, reading the stewardess' name badge.

"A small seaquake happened somewhere to the southeast - I think it was the southeast - and it wasn't supposed to affect us, but it pushed a whole pile of silt up. It's altered the depth of the water here by about twenty metres - which the Captain just found out the hard way. We have to leave the ship."

"Leave the ship?"

"Uh, yeah. Pack a small bag containing your most essential belongings and at least one change of clothing, put on your raincoat, and report to your assigned lifeboat. When all your lifeboat's assigned passengers are assembled, your lifeboat will launch off and make for the nearest port, which is - uh - Honolulu. I think. There's no danger, but you are advised to hurry. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go tell other passengers."

Presea and Clef watched as Alcione hurried off. Then they looked at each other.

Then they headed back to their own cabins, to do as she suggested.

"So each lifeboat seats sixteen people, right?" asked Sierra, from under one of the winches' tarpaulins.

"That's what the book says," Eagle replied from beneath the other.

Lantis, Hikaru, Umi and Ascot watched in bewilderment. "Is he always like this?" Ascot inquired, sotto voce.

"No, he's usually thrown out after five minutes and then I have to cheer him up," Lantis replied, equally quietly. "I was honestly expecting him to get thrown out of the engine room about four times this trip. Sierra must be able to charm the engineers."

"Are they in our boat?" Ascot asked.

"We're all in the same one," Hikaru replied. "You, me, Lantis, Umi, Fuu, Ferio - and those two."

'Those two' were now examining the winches, and having a lively argument over the merits of hydraulic over mechanical winches. Eagle, with hydraulic, appeared to be winning.

"So, Sang Yung, we're in a different boat to ol' Qiang Ang?" asked Aska cheerily.

"Lady Aska, I think you're taking this much too lightly! Our cruise liner is stuck, we're being asked to evacuate, and our tutor isn't even in our lifeboat! The danger -"

"I think you're being a worrywart. I have you to look after me, right?"

"Well, of course I will make sure you're all right, Lady Aska -"

"So I have no need to worry, with my best friend Sang Yung with me!" sang Aska, whirling around the basketball goalpost.

Sang Yung watched worriedly. It had been fortunate that that Nova girl (they had found out her name by asking a waiter that first night) had been as malicious as she was; dismantling her cruel little jokes had been a full-time task and kept Aska from becoming bored. When Aska was bored, she did one of two things - she pulled a practical joke on him or she brooded about her parents' constant inattention. He preferred it when she pulled the jokes. They usually had a funny side.

Looking after Aska was something he'd been doing all his life, and while he fully expected to be doing it well into the future, he'd never anticipated doing it on his own - or at least, not yet.

"I have a bad feeling about this," he muttered, running after Aska, who was blithely skipping off towards the lifeboats.

"Got the photo album?"

"LaFarga, why would we take the photo album?"

"Clothes and credit cards are replaceable. Photographs aren't. Besides, you look so cute in those snapshots - and there are the photos of that time we were in London - and -"

"And there are the photos of you in New Delhi. Good idea. I'll just put it in here. Now, have we got everything?"

Lafarga turned around from his own packing, and baulked.

"Caldina, we cannot take all that!"

Caldina smiled. LaFarga was such fun to tease - especially when he didn't know that five of the six suitcases she'd piled up were empty.

"Why?"

"Oh Caldina!" LaFarga groaned, and bent to pick up two of the cases. Caldina quietly picked up the little holiday camera sitting on the table, and snapped a quick picture of LaFarga's face as he picked up the two empty suitcases, before she dissolved into giggles.

Yes, taking the photos is a good idea, she thought, as LaFarga looked at her, realised the joke, and tried to keep a straight face - not easy, considering Caldina was giggling like a maniac.

As they both laughed, neither saw how dark the sky had become outside the porthole.

"Are we all here?" LaFarga asked. "We should have myself, Caldina Dancer, Zagato Shields, Lantis Shields, Eagle Vision, Hikaru Shidou, Umi Ryuuzaki, Fuu Hououji, Aska Fahren, Sang Yung Chang, Emeraude Cephirano, Ferio Cephirano, Ascot Saffir, Sierra Smith, Clef Magid and Nova D'Malicia. Nova, I see there is no one else from your party here. Do you want me to find the boat your mother's on and organise a swop between you and one of the other occupants of her boat?"

Say yes, say yes, say yes! Sang Yung urged inwardly. Looking after Lady Aska will be well-nigh impossible if you'reaboard! Oh, say yes!

"No, I'll be fine. It's only for an hour or two anyway," Nova replied.

"Very well. All aboard!"

The lifeboat was moving easily towards Honolulu when the first drops started to fall.

"Rain?" Hikaru said, looking at the sky. "I thought the skies were clear."

"They were this morning," Lantis said.

"Well, they're not now," Fuu said, with finality. "I wouldn't be surprised if we're sailing into the tail-end of that cyclone."

"Will the boat withstand the storm? Sang Yung?" Aska asked worriedly.

"It should. Shouldn't it?" Sang Yung told her - not very convincingly. He was worried himself.

"It will, don't worry," Sierra tried to reassure the two children.

"Fraidy cats," Nova muttered.

"I'd rather be a fraidy cat than a nasty little - little lizard! And don't you dare talk to Sang Yung that way! He's my friend!" Aska attacked. Unused to fear, she was angry at this strange feeling that made her feel like crumpling up and crying. She didn't want to feel like that. She was glad Nova was being snippy, it gave her an outlet for her anger at herself. And nobody was allowed to say nasty things about Sang Yung except Aska. He was her best friend.

"It's okay, Aska," Sang Yung tried to calm her down.

"I'll call a spade a spade. An' I'll call a fraidy cat a fraidy cat." Nova sniffed. "You're scared. Scared of a little bit of rain. An' I wouldn't bother talking to your little boyfriend either. He's a wimp. No wonder you're friends - a fraidy cat and a wimp."

"He's not a wimp! And you're a - you're a -"

"Aska! Sang Yung! Come and sit up here beside me, LaFarga and I are good swimmers!" Caldina called, in order to stop the fight before it started. An argument was the last thing they needed.

Sang Yung scrambled up the boat towards her. Aska followed, casting a dire look at Nova, promising retribution on a divine scale once dry land was reached. Nova cast up her nose, pretending not to see.

Fuu was right.

They were sailing into the tail end of the cyclone. While not nearly so bad as sailing into the cyclone itself, it was bad enough for LaFarga, ordinarily a competent sailor and well able to captain and guide the little lifeboat, to totally lose all chance of guiding the lifeboat. All his energies were concentrated in keeping them afloat.

The effort of holding on to the boat was exhausting to the passengers. Before long all their energies were devoted to staying conscious and in the boat, rather than flung out by the wind.

Hanging onto each other and the sides of the boat, the wind stole any words and the motion of the boat made clinging a necessity rather than a choice.

When the lifeboat finally rode out the storm, all sixteen occupants, rather than attempting to find their way back into a shipping lane, simply collapsed into a heap in the centre of the boat. Let the currents push the boat where they would. When everyone awoke, then they would attempt to get to shore. Until then, they would sleep.

Hikaru saw it first.

The boat had drifted into a bay, almost fully enclosed. It had a small beach, which the lifeboat was nosing up against gently. From the beach, a gravel path, neatly edged with seashells, led away.

A path? That means - someone lives here! She nudged Lantis, curled up against her back.

"Hmm? Wazzat? G'way Z'g'to, 's hol'd'y," muttered Lantis, snuggling closer. She jabbed him harder.

"Huh? Hikaru? Wha'sit?" Lantis yawned, finally opening his eyes.

"We're here!"

"Great!" Lantis said cheerfully, then, "Um, where's 'here'?"

"An island! I think ..."

Lantis shook Zagato's shoulder. "Wake up, big brother! This is something you ought to see!"

Slowly, everyone began to stir. LaFarga and Zagato jumped out and dragged the lifeboat up onto the beach. Nobody wanted to be the first to go up the path and visit the inhabitants of the island.

Finally, Hikaru, Lantis, Aska, Sang Yung and Clef agreed to lead the way up the path, and so the entire group walked quietly - very quietly - up the path.

The clearing the path led to held four huts, haphazardly crafted of reed and driftwood. There were a few equally-poorly built chairs and tables. All was neat and tidy.

"I feel as if Mama, Papa and Baby Bear are about to wander in any minute and demand to know what happened to their chairs, porridge and beds," Zagato whispered to Emeraude.

"Yes, this place does have a feeling of expectancy about it, doesn't it?" Emeraude whispered back.

Aska couldn't take the hush or the mystery any longer. She cried "I'm gonna take a look!" Snatching Sang Yung's hand, she dashed into the nearest of the huts.

Everyone stood frozen for a long second. Then:

"What?"
"How could she do that?!"
"The inhabitants aren't even here!"
- and other such comments erupted.

Aska appeared at the door of the hut, waving something that looked like a letter. "Look at this! Everyone, look!"

"Give it here, and I'll read it aloud," LaFarga offered.

Aska obediently handed up the letter.

Clearing his throat, Lafarga began.

To whomever finds this letter:

If you have found your way here, you are likely shipwrecked, as we were. Please feel free to use the huts and whatever you find within them; we will not be back.

The shortwave radio in my hut is not reliable; however, it got a message through to the Coast Guard for us, so it is worth trying. Now that we have been rescued, the location of this island is now mapped. So if you get a message through and tell them you are on Gilligan's Island, they will know where you are.

You will find several freshwater springs here on the island (two hot; be careful), also several wild fruit trees. Mary Ann had a thriving vegetable garden behind her hut, so you should be able to harvest that as well. The fishing in the lagoon is also remarkably good.

The huts have stood for three years now, so please forgive us if one falls down during your stay. We are none of uscarpenters, but please use the huts and furniture we learnt tobuild for ourselves.

We wish you the best of luck and a quick rescue.

Best wishes,
Mr. and Mrs. Thurston Howell III
The Professor
Ginger
Mary Ann
The Skipper
Gilligan

"So," Nova asked, "where are we?"

Aska gave her a 'are you deaf?'look. "Didn't you hear him? We're on Gilligan's Island!"

From the diary of Presea Smith

June 19th

It's been five days now.

They're talking about Sierra and the others in the past tense, and saying how they couldn't possibly have survived.

That isn't true. Sierra's alive. I know. I'm her identical twin sister. If she were dead I'd feel it. I felt it when she broke her leg when we were eleven; she felt it when I fell out of the tree and got a concussion when we were thirteen. I would have felt her die.

I never thought we would ever be separated. It's driving me crazy. I never realised how big a part of my life she was until after she was gone. When we find her, I'm going to shake her till her teeth rattle for scaring me so.

Yes, 'when'. I won't write 'if'. I won't. She isn't dead. She's just lost, and we will find her.

I'm just glad Innova's here. He keeps my spirits up and my temper down, especially when I have to deal with one of those idiots who seem to think my sister's dead. He's been a real tower of strength. I can't believe I once thought he was too old for me,and just a pretty face. He's kind and loyal and really sweet, and has so much to say, and is just so lovable -

I can't believe I just wrote that!

Oh, who cares? Not like anyone else's going to read this anyway. I have a major crush on Innova Alicorn, and if I'm not careful, I may fall in love with him.

There. I've said it. Moving on.

I can't believe that the cyclone changed course though. It was almost like it was aiming at Sierra's boat. But that'simpossible, right?

We've got to find my little sister soon. I'm going crazy here!

The Cruise Of The Zephyr Princess
Chapter Three

June 19th

"It's your turn to do the cooking!"

"But I'm no good at it! Please Emeraude -"

"I'm NOT doing your cooking for you Zagato!"

The voices drifted away over the breeze, and Lantis sighed. From his perch in the tree, he had an unrivalled view of the entire island. Nobody could see him - who would look for him on a branch thirty foot up a tree anyway? - so he couldn't be grabbed for any unpleasant chores, it was lovely and warm, and the branch was broad enough that he could take a nap in perfect safety.

Yes ... perfect ... for just a little snooze ...

"Have you seen Lantis?" Zagato asked Eagle, wiping his face. "We're having fish and broiled vegetables."

"Again? Can't you cook anything else?"

Zagato gave Eagle his best I-am-older-than-you-so-show-me-some-respect look, and with remarkable forbearance replied, "No."

"Oh. Well. I think Lantis is up a tree again."

"Again? Lannn-tis!"

Eagle wandered back to the short-wave radio. Sierra hadn't even noticed him leave. Eagle had to admit, that was a bit disconcerting ...

What am I thinking? She's just a girl. If I'm here or not, or if she's here or not, doesn't matter, does it?

But I always notice when she leaves ...

"<hisscracklecracklesqueewoop>...ies, repor... <queequeesqueep>...ill noth... <hisssquackleweeweewee>"

"Is that it? Eagle? Do you think that's the frequency?" Sierra asked excitedly.

"Could be! Let's keep trying!" Eagle, forgetting all else, bent over the shortwave radio set.

"Lannn-tis!" Hikaru called. "Oh, where is he? LANTIS!!"

She glared at the bushes which continued to refuse to spit out the tall, black-haired boy.

She gave up and began stacking the branches again. I need help here! How'm I ever going to build a decent signal fire if he refuses to help? I want to go home, I want a working sewage system, I want running hot water, I want a change of clothes, I want soap, I WANT TO GO HOME!

Hikaru pulled at the sticks some more.

Oh boy, am I going to have a word or two to say to Mister I-don't-want-to-do-that big blue puppy eyes Lantis Shields. He's not going to run out on me again! He's going to do his fair share if I have to chase him with a stick!

"Do you think this is enough?" Umi asked, showing her armful of fruit to Ascot.

"Should be. You've got that much, I've filled this" - hefting a large basket onto his shoulder - "and with what Fuu and Ferio have collected, I think it's enough."

Ascot turned and started back towards the settlement.

"Ascot."

"Hmm?"

"What do you think? Of Emeraude?"

"Well, she's Ferio's older sister. And Ferio's my best friend."

"I mean, as a leader."

Ascot looked back. "Well, she's nice. I've never gone wrong with what she's told me before."

Umi looked troubled. "What about - when you haven't done what you were told?"

"She gets mad. But you get mad when I disobey you, too. Nobody likes it when others remove themselves from their control."

"I have NEVER tried to control you, Ascot!"

"Uh-huh."

"No I haven't, Ascot!"

"You don't think so, Umi."

"I haven't!"

"Let's go down, Umi."

"Tell me when I have, Ascot!"

"We have to chill the fruits in the stream before we can serve them, so we'd better go so we've got time. It isn't important, Umi."

"WHEN, Ascot!!!"

"When you took me up here, for starters. What would have happened if I'd said 'no'?"

Umi was silent. Ascot could see her trying to say 'nothing' and failing.

"I like doing what you want most of the time anyway, Umi," Ascot said consolingly, patting her arm. "I said it wasn't important. Now can we get these peaches back?"

"Uh ... sure."

Umi was unusually silent almost all the way back. Just before the turn that would lead directly to the huts, she said, quietly, "But, if you had to choose, between me and Emeraude, who would you pick?"

Ascot blinked. "I don't know."

"But if you really had to?"

"Umi, if I ever have to pick sides - there's only one side I can ever guarantee I'll be on. And that's my own."

"Oh."

"But I'll do my best to make sure it's your side too."

Umi smiled uncertainly. "That's ... good to know."

Side by side, they walked into the clearing.

Dinner had been eaten quietly, despite the usual groans of "Fish again?!". Zagato had pulled Lantis aside, demanding, sotto voce, where on Earth he'd hidden all afternoon.

Lantis had blinked and replied, "I was sleeping."

"Sleeping? Hikaru and I were looking for you!"

"Sorry."

"Just don't do it again. And WASH YOUR FACE!" Zagato had yelled after his brother's rapidly retreating back. "Oh, why do I even bother to try.... Now I sound like my mother..."

Aska had taken to washing up like a duck to petrol. Sang Yung had begun to dread the times it was their turn to do the dishwashing.

What made it worse was that Aska didn't know how bad she was at it. She actually enjoyed dipping the crude wooden dishes in soapy water and rubbing at the food remnants. Sang Yung had gotten into the habit of taking the dishes to "rinse" them and rewashing them.

About the only good thing that came out of it, in Sang Yung's opinion, was that it put Aska in a good mood. She would dip and rub and sing to herself, and for a few short minutes, forget all about Nova and the other girl's tricks.

For Nova had not given up her dirty tricks; far from it! She had simply changed her materials. Apple-pie beds were daily occurrences. Unexpected ditches and matching puddles a body length up the path happened far too frequently for coincidence. Nobody had yet let Nova near the cookpot, which was undoubtedly good news for everyone.

Aska had kept up with her entertainment of Thwarting Nova; but she and Sang Yung had been joined by Hikaru, Lantis, Fuu, Ferio, Umi and Ascot on the daily round. It really wouldn't be long before the girl was stopped by the adults. Sang Yung hoped, anyway. He sighed and "rinsed" another dish.

Sierra wasn't in the radio shed with Eagle this evening. She had, instead, chosen to walk along the beach.

What do I think I'm doing? she asked herself as she kicked at the seawashed pebbles. That radio's not going to work, not if Eagle and I work on it for the next hundred years. It was a miracle that it worked for those other castaways, and miracles don't hit twice. Maybe Hikaru's got the right idea, working on that signal fire.

She hadn't told anyone about her connection with her twin, that allowed them to share physical sensations and sometimes tell what the other was thinking about. The ability had always struck her as being redundant; they were always together, so there was no need for it. And even when they weren't together, 'knowing' Presea was happy, sad or angry had never meant anything except whether she should be prepared to offer congratulations, sympathy or cope with a major explosion when her twin walked in the door.

Sierra sighed. Being the submissive twin had its advantages, but it also meant that she had never been forced to stand and decide anything more major than class choices or daily clothing for herself. Presea had always been there to take charge.

What would you do now, Big Sister? Sierra thought. She had been able to tell from Presea that the search for them was winding down. The outside authorities were losing hope - and carefully hidden from herself if not her twin, Presea was too.

Don't write me off, Big Sister! I'm coming back! Sierra had willed to Presea, but their connection, tenuous at best, was not able to carry that. If Presea had felt more than a flare of certainty that Sierra was still 'out there', her twin certainly couldn't tell.

No, I can't tell anyone else about this. We're having enough trouble keeping the peace as it is. If they knew there's a good chance we'll never be found, everyone else would losemorale, and we'd collapse in a screaming heap.

Eagle would lose all hope ...

Eagle. Yet another thing Presea couldn't decide for her and that she had to handle on her own. Sierra stopped walking as she thought about the blond boy.

Intelligent, interested in mechanical stuff too, generally all round fun to talk to, and let's not forget drop-deadgorgeous, Presea certainly wouldn't. But I'm not Presea, and Idon't know what to do! I've never felt this way before!

A holiday romance. That's what it was, what it had to be. And all it had to be. It would end when they were rescued.

If we're rescued ...

STOP THAT! You're trying to decide about EAGLE! You know, cute guy, really good with engines if not so hot with radios, with the really yummy amber eyes who actually appears to LIKE YOU BACK! Are we going to be the Ice Queen forever, or are we going to make a move?

But what can a girl do to suggest to a boy that she's interested and might welcome a few advances, without actually pushing forward and making a declaration which might be unwelcome? Especially on a deserted island where the usual methods of gauging interest are completely out-of-place, even if they happen to be achievable?

After all, he has never acted romantically. He asked me to dance because everyone else was dancing. We got that tour of the Engine Room as friends. We're friends.

I hate 'friends'.

Sierra stumbled. Her first thought was "Oh no, Nova again?!" but there was no mud or puddle ahead. She'd just tripped on a naturally-occurring stone.

Teach me to look where I'm going -

And then she saw it. A beautifully-formed, completely intact conch shell, about the size of a man's clenched fist. The colours looked beautiful, gold and bronze and white in the all-drenching moonlight which normally bled all colour from everything.

She picked it up gently, carefully inspecting it, but it was completely uninhabited. Sierra smiled as she ran a gentle finger over the delicate markings.

Oh, lucky! I'll give this to Eagle as a paperweight! I'll be able to tell from his reaction how he feels, and he'll be able to tell that I like him, and if he just likes me, it's a friendly gift, so the friendship's okay! Oh this is so lucky!

Clutching the shell gently, she ran up the path into the clearing between the huts ...

... and into a major confrontation.

"You're wrong! We need the signal fire and the radio!" Hikaru was shouting. "I won't accept that the radio's enough! Have they found us yet? No!"

"If I'm in charge, you do as I say, and I say that the fire is unnecessary and you should be helping us down here with -" Emeraude started, but Hikaru cut her off.

"Helping with what? Keeping the place tidy? I don't accept your reasons, Emeraude! And I don't accept your leadership either!"

Sierra felt the fragile peace shatter as she stared, unnoticed, at the two women - for Hikaru was not a girl in this battle, nor younger than Sierra - as they stood facing each other in the firelight. She saw the figures of the other thirteen people slowly begin to move, placing themselves around the fire, aligning with one or the other of the two in this battle for dominance.

Zagato placed himself behind Emeraude, touching her shoulder gently. She reached up and held his hand for a short moment, then both let their hands fall.

Fuu and Umi were standing to either side of Hikaru.

Lafarga quietly moved to stand beside Zagato. Caldina followed him.

Staring at his brother, his eyes unreadable, Lantis slowly walked to stand directly behind Hikaru. Like his brother had with Emeraude, he rested his hand on Hikaru's shoulder, but when Hikaru took his hand, he did not let hers go.

Sierra's hands unconciously clenched, shattering the shell she still held into razorlike shards.

"AARRRGHH! My hand!"

The tension was shattered as Sierra almost stumbled into the firepit, nursing her bleeding palm.

As everyone fell all over each other in order to assist Sierra (and get away from the ugly scene which had been developing), Hikaru's glance caught Emeraude's.

This isn't over, Hikaru's glance warned.

Be prepared for a fight, Emeraude's replied.

From the journal of Satoru Shidou

June 21st

It's all numb now.

Over a week has passed and neither my little sister nor her companions in her lifeboat nor even any trace of them has been found.

Presea Smith maintains her twin sister is alive. I wish I could hold the same hope. But I am not fifteen and I know the lengths the searchers have gone to. The Fahren Corporation have seen to it that no measure was left undone.

It is ironic. Everyone knows that the heads of the Fahren Corporation married for business, but that they didn't even know their own child was on holiday - nor that that child's cruise liner had sunk and the child was missing for two whole days ...! Some have said, on national television no less, that it's Divineretribution. I can't bring myself to think so anymore. Not after I saw Mr and Mrs Fahren crying in each other's arms. It hurts to think that it took their daughter's death to bring them together.

Father turned up. He looks good for a High Plains Drifter. No, sorry, I should say 'travelling martial arts master'. He is my father, after all.

Ms Green and Mr Saffir are here. No wonder that young Ascot was so quiet and spent all his time in the passenger's pets section. A more mismatched couple I hope I never meet. They're living proof that divorce does not all hurts heal - they've seen each other twice and have had two drawn-out, no-holds-barred fightsalready. Over place settings at the table at the hotel and wherethey're each staying in the hotel. And I'm a stranger. I hate to think what Ascot went through before their divorce was finalised.  Poor little kid.

Debonea d'Malicia left after the first two days. Poor Nova. I never really saw the girl, but if she wants, I think that I'll ask Mum to offer her house room. At least the Fahrens are sticking it out to the end.

I am now about to go down to the dining room for another meeting with all of our group. I hope Mr Saffir and Ms Green can talk civilly to each other. I hope Father won't go all 'pally' on me.And I hope they have some news of our missing loved ones to report.

Unfortunately, all those possibilities are about as probable as a boat made of chocolate.

The Cruise of the Zephyr Princess
Chapter Four

"It's okay," Clef announced, after examining and bandaging up Sierra's hand. "Just a little cut. No problems."

"Just a little cut?" demanded Umi. "She was bleeding all over the place!"

"Yes, that was because the shell she was holding broke into very sharp pieces. The one that cut her must have been almost as sharp as a razor. Razor cuts don't have to be serious to bleed a lot," Fuu told the group, who were all crowded into the hut with the radio (it had the best lamp and most light).

"My poor shell," Sierra said softly. "It was so pretty, too..." Her eyes were crossing and uncrossing as she tried to inspect the bandage. Whether that was from stress, tiredness, pain, the alcohol Lantis and Eagle had produced from the still they had built behind their little hut and poured down Sierra's throat as an emergency anaesthetic, or a combination of all of those factors, wasn't clear.

"Don't worry," Nova offered. "I'll go find you another."

"We'll go with you," Aska said quickly, elbowing Sang Yung.

"Yes, it would be our - youch! Aska! - our pleasure - stop it, Aska!"

The three kids tumbled out of the hut and down the path.

Sierra stood up. "I'm tired," she announced. "I'm going to go to bed." She picked up the piece of shell that had cut her hand, and twirled it between her fingers. "I wonder how this could be used - maybe a cutting knife? a shaver? hmm ..." she commented, almost to herself. "Hey Eagle - want a face-shaver?"

Eagle blushed. "Uh - not right now, Sierra. You're too tired to make one." Not to mention high as a kite from the rotgut I gave you when we first thought you'd need your hand stitched.

"I'll take her to our hut," Emeraude said, nipping the shell out of Sierra's fingers and taking the younger girl's arm. Sierra protested, but sleepily, and she couldn't repress a yawn.

"Good idea. We all need our sleep."

Nova stood on the shore, thinking.

Why was she bothering? It wasn't like a prank or anything. She didn't owe Sierra anything, and nobody else would consider it a debt, least of all Sierra.

But she'd offered to find another pretty seashell for Sierra, and that was what she was doing.

I just want to, that's all.

Nova nodded to herself. Yes, that's what it was. She wanted to do something nice; she was doing it. Not because it was nice, but because she wanted to do the something. The nice bit was incidental.

And that's why I do nasty things, too. Not because they're nasty, but because I want to do the things.

Nova suddenly knew that this was what was going to define her for the rest of her life. People would always and only see the nasty things she did, and not the nice things. But that was okay; she could always walk away from them. But if she did the things she wanted to, she could live with that.

Yes. I'll still do nasty things; but I won't do them because they're nasty. And I'll do nice things, but I won't do them 'cause they're nice. I'll do everything because I want to do the thing.

Nova looked up and saw it. A beautiful golden sandollar; and beside it, a lovely pale red bivalve, with both its halves intact. Both shells were perfect.

She picked up both the shells, and, putting the bivalve in her own pocket, gently carried the sandollar back to the "girls' hut", where she put it, very carefully, beside Sierra's pillow, where she would see it when she woke up.

"I feel like I want to die," Sierra announced the next morning.

"Your hand's that bad?" Fuu asked. "Here, let me see."

"Not my hand. My head. A crew of roadworkers has been misdirected to the inside of my skull and have unleashed the jackhammers."

"Welcome to the joys of your first hangover," Emeraude commented in passing as she headed outside.

"So, are you going to throw up? In movies, the drunk people always throw up the next day," Aska chirped from the other side of the room.

Sierra would have given the brat her best Death Glare, if at that point her tummy hadn't decided to fulfil Aska's expectations. Her face an interesting shade of pale green, she just managed to get outside before her stomach emptied itself.

After having heaved up all last night's dinner, and dry-retched a bit more for good measure, Sierra staggered back inside and curled up in her pallet once more.

"Pretty shell," she muttered, spotting Nova's sandollar just before she buried her head beneath her pillow. "I swear, I am never drinking again ..."

Across the hut, Nova smiled.

"Quick, get up. Quietly."

"Uhh - I wanna sleep s'more - g'way, Mum -"

"Zagato'll catch us!"

"Don' care -"

"And ask about the still."

Eagle was up, had Lantis by the tricep and was heading for the door at speed before Lantis had time to register that he had succeeded in waking him. The two might well have made good their escape plan, too, had Zagato not been awake and waiting for them outside the door for the previous half-hour.

"Good morning, boys."

"Uh. Uh, good morning."

The steady gaze Zagato leveled on his brother had Lantis thinking of small furry creatures and snakes. Or did he mean mongeese?

"About your still."

Breathe, Lantis. Your brother's angry but he's not trying to murder you.

"I am furious. I want you two to know that."

As if we didn't already - no, I shouldn't think that. He's under a lot of stress.

"I don't know which I'm angrier at. That you know you're underage and you chose to make alcohol, or that you chose not to share it until an emergency came up."

Uh-oh. I never thought of it that way.

"I'm very unhappy, and I'll be deciding what to do about this later. Now go do breakfast."

Eagle and Lantis were very sober as they went to make the breakfast.

"Well. That's the most - unusual scolding I have ever received," Eagle commented.

"I never thought of it that way," Lantis said softly.

"I felt we'd get screamed at for sure."

"I mean, he's right. How many nights would have been happier?"

"What are you blithering on about?"

"Oh, nothing."

"One day you're going to tell me what's really on your mind instead of 'nothing', and I'm going to keel over and die of shock," Eagle snapped.

"What will we have for breakfast?" Lantis wondered.

Eagle looked flatly at his friend. "Lantis, you always start saying something deep just when I'm not really paying attention. And then when I start, you clam up. Stop it. What do you mean?"

"What's to mean? I'm asking if you have any ideas for breakfast."

Eagle sighed. "Fine, have it your way. Serve broiled seaweed or something, I don't care."

Aska prodded the - stuff - sitting on her plate. The dark green object did not go gloop. It just sat there. Aska felt as if something was wrong. Food on your plate that is unidentifiable and cooked by two self-confessed horrible cooks should go 'gloop' when you poke it, not do an unnerving impression of overcooked spinach. She took a cautious bite. Very salty spinach. Where on the island did they find spinach? Or salt?

"What is - this?" Umi asked, having gone through the same motions.

"Broiled seaweed," Lantis replied cheerfully.

Eagle sighed.

Eagle and Sierra were officially looking for wild berries. It was a way of getting Sierra away from chores which could strain her hand, and Eagle from Umi, who was threatening mayhem and disembowellment over that morning's breakfast. Lantis had quite cheerfully pointed the finger of blame for the menu at his best friend.

"Why did last night happen, Eagle?" Sierra asked, apropos of nothing.

"Huh? Oh, Emeraude and Hikaru? I think it's that they're both used to being in charge and neither wants not to be top dog. Or maybe they don't want the other in charge. I guess."

"You guess what?" a cheerful voice asked. Looking up, Sierra saw that she and Eagle had wandered over to the stand of fruit trees and had been seen by Fuu and Ferio.

"We're wondering why Hikaru and Emeraude were arguing last night and why people started taking sides," Sierra replied.

Ferio shrugged. "Clash of personality and attitude."

Fuu looked at him. "What do you mean, Ferio?"

"I love my sister very much," Ferio said, "but she's not very good at delegating responsibility or at seeing other points of view. On the other hand, from what I see of Hikaru, she has always tried to do everything as a group task and she wants everybody to help. She also likes to share everybody's viewpoint." Ferio shrugged. "Opposite viewpoints. Neither's bad, but they're guaranteed to clash." He blinked. "Whoa. That was deep."

The four teenagers looked at each other soberly.

Fuu looked over the hillside. "I think - this entire thing is."

Sierra blinked. "That - isn't good. Right?"

The other three stared at her.

"Huh? What'd I say? Eagle?"

After a long moment, Fuu finally said, "Some hearts are so sunny, it's scary."

"Hey, Sang Yung?"

"Yes, Aska?"

"Don't you think that Nova is acting weird?"

"What do you mean 'weird'?"

"She hasn't pulled a prank all day."

Sang Yung tipped his head to one side. Now I think about it, she's right. Nova hasn't done anything at all.

"What are we going to do about it, Sang Yung?"

Sang Yung blinked. "Uh - what can we do, Aska? I mean, she's behaving herself. It's unusual, yes, but it's not - well - she's not doing anything wrong, and that's right, but it's wrong, uh, I don't think I'm making sense but you know what I'm talking about, right?"

"Uhh ... no."

"Well, I mean, she hasn't done anything, and that's unusual to the point of wrongness for her, but it's right because we want her to be a good person, so if we say 'Stop what you're doing' it's like, we're telling her to be bad. And we can't tell her to be bad, because we want her to be good. But it's bad that she's good because she isn't good. You know?"

Aska nodded understandingly. She hadn't really understood, but she followed enough to see that Sang Yung knew what he was talking about. And it did make sense, of a kind.

"So we don't do anything." Aska felt deflated.

"We can't do anything." Sang Yung felt helpless. "She's dangerous and we can't do anything."

Aska suddenly perked up. "If she's dangerous, she needs to be watched, right?" she asked suddenly.

"Yes -"

"So we'll keep watching her! And then when she does a bad thing, we'll see! And we'll fix her!"

Sang Yung sighed. At least Aska wasn't depressed anymore.

Caldina and LaFarga were on fishing duty down at the point.

"LaFarga."

"Yes, Caldina?"

"About last night."

LaFarga looked up through his blond bangs at her. "I know. It wasn't the best way for that confrontation to take place, was it? And the way it ended - we're really lucky, I think."

"You knew it was going to happen?"

"Didn't you?"

"Well - no. How did you?"

A cynical twist that wasn't truly a smile touched LaFarga's lips for a second. "Years of playing politics in the office. Who do people look to? Who is likely to take charge? Who's got the power, who is in favour with the Powers That Be, and who isn't? Once you know how to read the power shifts, it's almost impossible not to. People who can read will read signs at the side of the road, because it becomes automatic to read words. And people who know how to read power will because their jobs can depend on it." LaFarga sighed. "Emeraude and Hikaru are both leaders. Hikaru leads the younger set, Emeraude the elder. Currently neither is in control and both wish to be."

Caldina shook her head. "I just can't understand that. I mean, why? What do you get out of being in charge? Everyone just blames you when it all goes wrong." She looked out at the ocean - and saw the small boat passing by.

"Omigod. LaFarga! There's a ship! Hoy! HOY! Everybody! A SHIP!"

The captain of the small craft sighed. He didn't mean to come here, but ... some things just seemed right to do. He'd been marooned with six companions here for several years, and now, now that he was back in civilization and business, those years were very fond memories. He could almost taste Mary Ann's berry pie...

A rattling collection of thumps, bangs and clangs, ending with a resounding "THUMP!" indicated that Gilligan had fallen down the ladder again. How anybody could make that large a racket falling down a six-foot ladder was something the Skipper had never been able to work out. For that matter, how could anyone fall down a six-foot ladder they were climbing up? And if it had been anybody else, the sound would have been just a "THUMP!" and maybe an "Ouch!". But then, this was Gilligan. The Skipper turned back to the horizon and the little island.

He blinked. Someone was on the island! He peered through his telescope. Yes, definitely. Two people, a blond man and a dark lady, waving and yelling. But there shouldn't have been anybody there. Another set of castaways?

"Gilligan, prepare the Minnow II for landfall. It looks like there are some people on our island!"

Hikaru looked over the side of the Minnow II. In half an hour, they would be in Honolulu.

Umi and Fuu had spoken of feeling divided - though longing for civilization, they had enjoyed their time on the island. But Hikaru didn't really feel the same.

I don't like who I was there, she eventually decided. Emeraude's a good person. But I couldn't live her way. And I couldn't agree to let others live her way while I was there. Butthe fighting would have gotten messier. It's better to end itnow. In the big world, we can live with each other.

"Hello, Hikaru."

Hikaru started. She hadn't heard Emeraude come up to the rail beside her. "Hello Emeraude."

Emeraude swallowed and then said, very softly. "I regret our argument, Hikaru."

Hikaru turned her head quickly and looked at Emeraude. "I do, too, Emeraude."

"I don't - really - regret anything else. But I do regret - that we weren't better friends."

"I - feel the same."

Emeraude smiled. "It's funny, isn't it? On the ship, among the big group, we got along fine, but on the island ... well! If I'd read about it, I would have thought it would make us better friends."

Hikaru turned back to the sea. "Would you? Really?"

Looking at her uncertainly, Emeraude asked, "Hikaru?"

"I mean," Hikaru said, "we're both leaders, with opposing styles. I respect you, and I do admire and like you. From a distance. But to be your friend? I do not think so. I would constantly wish you to follow me. You would wish me to constantly follow you. I can't follow you, and you can't follow me. We couldn't be friends. But I wish we could."

Leaning on the rail, Emeraude stared out at the sea too.

"You're right. But I wish you weren't."

"So do I."

Epilogue

From the journal of Hikaru Shidou

August 2nd

Dear Diary,

You won't believe it! You won't believe it! You won't believe it!

I'm going to be a bridesmaid! Zagato and Emeraude finally announced their engagement, and Emeraude asked me to be one of the bridesmaids! Of course, Lantis being one of the groomsmen, it was to be expected. I know Sierra will be one too, so I'll get to see her again.

I hope this doesn't restart all the media circus, now that it's finally all died down. Lantis says that the next camera that gets shoved in his face is going to be shoved up its owner's nose. His habit of glaring photogenically at the photographers didn't help, I know that. Eagle's tendency to pull truly horrible faces at them worked a lot better. But I wish I knew how Ferio managed to vanish just as the cameras came out each and every time. I swear the boy is psychic!

I heard from Aska today. She, her parents and Sang Yung are all going on a trip to Italy next month. I'm really glad. The Fahrens are finally learning how to be a family, and Aska is finally learning how not to be a spoiled brat.

Gotta go, Diary - I've got to ring Fuu and Umi and tell them all about this!

Love,
Hikaru