A few days later, William had been able to get Essa, Indigo, Roki, Shylar, Toki, and Bananas on the ship that was formerly known as a moving island.

Alex had rigged a makeshift platform with a pulley system to hoast Misty onto the ship. William and Alex both pulled the rope, which pulled Misty up and up until the platform was level with the ship.

Misty kept glancing back at the shore where her parents were waving her off. "I don't know about this Essa." Her lip quivered as her eyes focused on her parents.

Essa's expression softens at Misty's hesitation. "It is okie. I will be with you and we can return anytime we want." She reached her hand out and Misty wrapped her trunk around her hand.

Reluctantly, Misty stepped off the platform and onto the ship, it creaked at first because Misty was so heavy. "Eeek!" She let out a startled shriek and jumped out of the way every time it creaked.

Once it stopped she took a deep breath and teked to calm her rapid beating heart. "That was scary." She carefully stepped around trying to get used to the feeling of the bobbing ship. "I don't like this, Essa,"

Essa lightly patted the top of Misty's head as her animal family waved to their family lined up on the beach. "I know," She whispered, her heart feeling a bit heavy at Misty and her dislike for the ship.

William pulled down the masses and tied the ropes down. He glanced back at Essa who was waving towards the animals on the beach. "You done waving? We need to get a move on someday soon." He said, his voice hinting sarcasm.

"Why are you being a soggy piece of wood?" Essa asked, crossing her arms as she shifted her weight on her leg, popping out her hip and looking down at him with a frown.

William shook his head, turning his back to her and looking over his shoulder. "Stop asking so many questions." He told her as he walked away, stepping up the stairs and to where the wheel was at. 

Essa let her arms flop to her sides as she stood on her tiptoes calling out to him. "But I like asking questions! I like learning!" She whined, placing her hands on the side of the ship, she looked out as they moved away from her island.

Jayme looked over at her and sighed, closing his journal from taking inventory. "Forgive him. He is in a sour mood and tends to lash out without meaning to." He told her as he wrapped the string around the journal. "If you need answers, I'll gladly answer them for you."

Essa turned to him with wide, skeptical eyes. "Really? Thanks!" She earnestly said with a smile on her lips. "What are the big bare trees with blankets connected to them? Why is there a circle thing Alex is holding on to? How did this floating island not sink? How long will it take to get to your home? Is it another island? What does it look like? Are there animals there too?"

Jayme's eyes widened as she listed off a ton of questions all in one breath. "Whoa, you do have a lot of questions." He mused, glancing over at William and Alex who were conversing. 

He looked back at Essa and started to answer her. "Those are called masses. He is holding onto a wheel, it controls where we go. It doesn't sink because it's coated in pitch, I'll explain that later. A few weeks could be less or more if we run into any storms or make any stops. Technically, yes it's an island, but it's called a continent since it's so big. You'll see when you get there and yes, there are many animals there along with people like you and me."

Essa took all he had said in and sat down on a barrel. "Ooh," She marveled, looking up at the sky. "Can I ask you questions later? I've got a lot to ask." She asked, turning her head towards Jayme.

Jayme nodded his head, giving Essa a smile. "Of course. Ask me anything. I'd be happy to explain whatever you want in vivid detail, I'd even show you." He offered, feeling an excited feeling in his chest at her, depending on him for answers. "If you'll excuse me," He pivoted on his heels and walked down the stairs towards the hull.

Toki flew over to Essa and landed on her shoulder, nuzzling her cheek with his head. "Essa, how are you feeling now that we're leaving?" He asked, worried about her wellbeing.

Essa shrugged her shoulders gently, looking down at her lap and twisting some of the leaves of her skirt around her finger. "I dunno, Toki." She replied glumly as she got up and walked to the front of the ship.

Roki rubbed his head against her legs, hoping to help her feel a little bit better. "Essa, it is okay to feel the way you do. We're all feeling sad about leaving."

Misty wrapped her trunk around Essa's arm, moving closer to the island girl. "As long as you, I am fine." She softly quipped, lowering her head and looking down at the floor.

Essa sighed as a soft smile graced her lips. "You're right. I'll be okie, I've got all you." She beamed, her eyes sweeping over her animal family who was crowed around her.

Toki perched himself on Essa's shoulder and nuzzled her cheek again. "Yes, we must stick together like dried molasses sticking to sticks together!" He exclaimed then paused when he got strange looks from the others. "I am really bad at this, aren't I?" 

Roki chuckled with a smile on his face. "I think your deep words are pretty clever. You sound like your father when he was teaching Essa life lessons when she was growing up." He laughed at the recollection. 

"I didn't know most of what he said, though," Essa laughed and as soon as the sails came down, the ship began to move away from the island. She looked at those who had lined up on the shore to send them off.

William watched Essa from his place steering the ship. 'Maybe I was too hard on her. She has been nice and accommodating to us since we arrived on her island.' He thought to himself, shaking his head. 'If only I wasn't my father's son then maybe I could have been more nice these past few days.'

'Essa has the life I've always dreamed of. Carefree with no one holding you back with duties and rules due to the life you were born into, not the one you chose. She doesn't have to get married to someone she seems more as a sibling than a spouse. She doesn't have to worry about ruling a whole kingdom and having every court eye on her, either, waiting for the smallest slip up.'

'The only thing she seems to worry about is her past, and I'd love nothing more not to be burdened with my past: the death of Princess Janessa, my duty as heir to the kingdom, being the perfect son and future king, being the perfect husband and producing heirs for the kingdom - and a whole lot more I don't even want to get into.'

'Rosalya . . . my fiancée.' His thoughts trailed off for a brief moment as he sighed. 'Anyone would be lucky to have such an intelligent, talented, sweet girl who's no doubt beautiful . . . and yet, here am I, wishing to be free from our arranged marriage. I don't deserve her. She deserves someone who can love her in all the ways I can't.'

'She's always so excited to hear about my travels and the things I've seen and done. She, besides my siblings, find the souvenirs I bring back beautiful. Father thinks it's junk, worthless items unworthy to have royal eyes laid upon let alone touch and admire.' He scoffed, gripping the wheel tightly and causing his knuckles to turn white.

'I don't want to think about the wrath that awaits me when I return home. Father is going to be furious! The wedding is two months away and I, once again, snuck off to go sailing without any guards, just Jayme and Alex. I'll never hear the end of it. He'll just keep saying how I'm putting my life in danger for not having guards to protect me and not telling anyone where I'm going. He'll call me foolish and maybe I am, but I'd rather be a fool than his picture perfect trophy son.' He thought, clenching his jaw as his thoughts turned sour.

Jayme walked up the stairs and looked at his friend.  "Earth to William." He said in a sing/song voice, waving his hand in front of his face.

William snapped out of his thoughts and looked over at his friend. "What is it, Jayme?" He asked in a slightly annoyed voice. "I'm not in the mood to talk or do anything but steer the ship in silence."

Jayme gave him a 'seriously' look as he rolled his eyes. "You were making expressions which I figured were due to your thoughts? What was going on in that brain of yours?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest, waiting for a reply.

William frowned and sucked in a deep breath. "Jayme, I can think about what I want and not tell you about it. These are my thoughts, not yours so bug off." He snapped, averting his eyes from Jayme to the sea in front of him.

Jayme smirked as he poked William's cheek. "Stop snapping at me. I know how much you hate your life. It's no secret William, it is obvious to me by your reactions and words. You have nothing to be ashamed about, no matter how much you deny it." 

William nodded slowly listening to his words before swatting his hand away from his face. "I have a duty and rules to follow because of the life I was born into." He, once again, snapped at Jayme.

Jayme rolled his eyes and leaned on the side of the ship. "You're wishy-washy, William. One moment you are saying you will exhaust every single way to avoid getting married then in the next breath you are accepting it. Pick one and stick to it or else I'll have to smack it into you." He raised his hand in the air and pointed to it with his other hand. "I won't hesitate, you know that."

"You do always seem to know my feelings better than I do, and I hate to admit that because it makes me look weak." William rested his head on the wheel. "I don't want to accept my duties back home but I have too even though it makes me sick to think about it. I try so hard to get out of it every way I can and its like I'm running in circles with no way out."

Jayme patted his back gently. He felt bad for his friend. "You've coped with it so far, and maybe sneaking off to go sailing every chance you get isn't the best, but it does bring you clarity. That clarity makes it clearer and clearer that your heart isn't in your duty and there is nothing wrong with that. You need to be more assertive when talking with your father." He said, patting his back again before withdrawing his hand.

William laughed dryly, his stomach doing flip flops and his head aching. "I have been looking for a clause in the laws that prohibits me from ruling. I've learned more than I ever wanted to about the laws and things are messed up Jayme, so messed up that I don't have the wherewithal to deal with it. Father had no clue half of the things he allows to go on in the kingdom, let alone the laws that are in place, sick laws for executions for petty crimes -" 

Jayme forcefully grabbed William's shoulders and shook him once gently. "Stop," He snapped, watching his friend's face soften. "Just stop, William. I know that there is a lot you'll have to deal with but let's not get ahead of ourselves. You still have two months until you get married and one day, in the future, take over the kingdom. For now, you should communicate that with your father, not me."

"Communication." William scoffed at Jayme's suggestion. "My father doesn't communicate. Have you seen his marriage? He never speaks with Mother about anything. He doesn't know how to talk because he wasn't raised like that. Conceal, don't feel. That's what he's always said." He ended his sentence with a loud groan, lightly banging his head on the wheel.

Jayme worried for his friend and figured it was best to move away from their current subject. "What do you think about Essa?" He asked, earning a loud sigh from William. "I want the truth. Straight up, hard core truth about what you think about her." 

William looked at him then glanced over at Essa. "She talks to animals, that is crazy in itself. I think she must have a screw or two loose from being raised by animals. On top of that,  doesn't know anything about humans, calls them walking sticks and has weird names for things." He explained, fully unhinged.

"Wow, just wow," Jayme's jaw dropped, and it turned into a slightly offensive yet slightly assumed expression. "I said truthful, not brutal." He added a wee bit sarcastically. "She was washed up on the island at a young age. You can't fault her for how she acts and talks. Logically, if I was in her place, I would have turned out the same."

William let out an exasperated sigh, going back to lightly banging his head on the wheel. "For the love of everything, do you realize how my father will react to us bringing Essa back? I am still trying to figure out how to not make this a bigger deal than it is. Do you know how he will react? He will think of my reputation and not about helping her." He pointed a finger at his friend's chest.  

Jayme ran a hand through his hair, clearly stressed. "Alex has already said he will explain everything, take full responsibility and even say you gave in under protest." He tried to reason with his friend.

William was about fed up - no, he was fed up with Jayme at this point and clenched his jaw. "Jayme, please just drop it. I need to focus on getting us home in one piece. You and Alex can deal with the island girl because she she isn't my problem." He told him, looking back out at the vast sea in front of him.

Jayme frowned and shook his head, pivoting around he walked down the stairs. 'Don't get angry at anything he said,' He tried to reason with himself. 'He is just lashing out and doesn't mean anything he said. Just focus on answering Essa's questions and teaching her what she needs to manage in Bowlivekeya.'

He walked down the stairs and over to Essa, who was in the hull of the ship talking to the animals that came along with her. "Essa?" He asked, not wanting to interrupt and feeling kinda awkward.

Essa turned around once she had heard a voice behind her. "Hmm?" Laying her eyes upon Jayme, she gave him a small smile. "Yes? Is there something you want?" She asked, nervousness hinting in her question. 

Jayme ran a hand through his hair, nodding his head. "I would like to show you and your animal family where you will be sleeping tonight. It is a rather large cabin, which normally would be used for cargo. So, it's big enough for everyone. I even took the liberty of making makeshift beds for everyone." He explained not even realizing the girl probably had no clue what he meant.

Essa titled her head and gave him a puzzled look that was so cute and innocent. "A cabin? What's that?" She asked, wanting to know what it was. "Is it like my tree back home?"

Jayme laughed at Essa's puzzlement, she was so adorable. "Well, how about you see for yourself?" He pivoted on his feet, beckoning for them to come by his hand gesture waving them to follow. "Alright, right this way."

He began to lead them down below deck, to where they would be staying and pointed to a double door. "This is your door," He walked up to his quarters. "That is where I am staying. So if you ever need me just knock and I shall answer."

Essa looked at the door, reaching her hand out and poking at it as the door moved a few inches. "Oh," She let out a confused sound as she pushed the door with more force, opening it up further. "Fun." She giggled, pushing both doors with her hands.

Jayme pursed his lips, holding in a laugh that seeped through his eyes as she played with the doors. "Just hold the doors open and once everyone is inside let it go." He informed her, crossing his arms over his chest.

Essa was relieved with his kind voice and gentle smile. "Thank you again, Jayme. It means a lot to me." She turned towards her animal family. "Let's go in!" She exclaimed, pushing the door open and holding it as her animal family filed in.

Jayme bowed his head before walking into his quarters. 'How can anyone not love her? She's too pure and innocent for this world.' He thought to himself, walking over to his desk and sat down. 'She's one step closer to finding her family . . . no matter what it takes, we will find them.'

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A/N:
It didn't take long for me to edit this chapter. I thought it would be better to dwell more time on the island, rather than immediately leaving. It may be a little chaotic while I am editing this. But once I get up to the last published chapter, I will focus on new chapters and focus on getting them published. I am trying to come up with a few ideas for it though since my main focus is on The Royal Charm Academy, seeing as i have more chapters already written up and planned than this one.

Chapter Talk:
This is the other half of the previous chapter I decided to split in two. So, I hope you enjoyed the previous chapter and enjoyed the little explanation on this.

It is going to be one long ride, which I will spare you from reading since there is nothing really going to be going in but them sailing. I will move right into them arriving at port in the kingdom, and go from there. I really do not want to bore you with a useless chapter about their journey back with time skip brackets. Boring. And it wasn't what I originally had written up, so, yay for me.

Thanks for reading!