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favorite pirate?” Esmeralda asked me.
    “Jax wasn’t there,” I said.
    “I know, but who was your favorite that was there?” she asked.
    Did I lie or could I tell them the truth? Could I let this truth slip by like the others I had been? I shifted nervously and sat up. “Um, well, my favorite was, uh…”
    “Why are you nervous?” Griffin asked.
    Darn his intuition. “I just don’t want you to think differently of me is all,” I muttered, “You’ve all already changed how you see me this week.”
    “We aren’t going to be upset at you because you liked one of the pirates there,” Esmeralda said, “You were a child then and besides, we can’t control what your father did before.”
    “Well, honestly Captain Rocco was my favorite,” I said. I cringed, waiting for them to react.
    “You met Captain Rocco?!” Griffin asked.
    “The King of Pirates?” Faxon asked.
    I nodded my head. I ran a finger over my necklace and said, “This was Captain Rocco’s and my father gave it to me as a gift when he brought me here.”
    “Your dad stole that from Captain Rocco in the Festival and gave it to you?” Jared asked.
    “You guys keep making me repeat myself,” I muttered since I didn’t want to clarify what I had said or tell the truth about the necklace.
    “We’re just a little shocked is all,” Esmeralda explained.
    “Well now you know why I’m not anti-pirate,” I said, taking a slice of bread and breaking a piece off of it to eat.
    “We also know why you’re so knowledgeable about them,” Griffin said. At least he might get off me about it and not pester me to try to get more information about my knowledge now.
    Our food was brought out and the topic shifted to the journey ahead. They debated the best place to stop for the night and then we were ready to head out. I grabbed my saddle bags, my pack, which I made sure to put my mask in as well, and made sure I had all of my weapons on before heading out to the front of the castle. The stable boys had fed, watered, brushed, and saddled the horses for us. I walked over to Duke, put my saddle bags on him, and mounted him. Everyone else was already mounted and as soon as I was ready we headed out to the main road at a trot. Duke snorted in anticipation, not having been on a journey with me before or with so many other riders at once.
    Griffin led with Jared and Esmeralda behind him and Faxon beside me. I listened to them chat occasionally, but I didn’t join in and instead surveyed the land around me as we headed farther from the castle than I had ever gone before. The ocean disappeared as we crested then descended behind a mountain and into a thick forest where a trail had been established from years of use.
    “Why doesn’t the road stay beside the ocean?” I asked, feeling sad that I couldn’t see the blue-green water.
    “There are a few trails that stay along the coast,” Faxon said, “But they are very twisty and it takes much longer to go that way. This way is faster, less treacherous, and a more direct route. Markleville is diagonal to us, not just straight along the coast.”
    “Oh,” I replied, having not known any of that. The birds sang above us and animals in the distance fought, but nothing bothered us as we went. Despite missing the cool ocean breeze, I did like the smell of the trees and how vibrant the colors were. The animals were incredibly active too. There weren’t many varieties of animals at the castle so it was a nice change to see a variety of wildlife. The trees thinned and we came to a valley of open fields. The road was considerably wider and allowed me to move Duke up between Jared and Esmeralda.
    “How are you doing?” she asked me.
    “Fine,” I said.
    “Ready?” Jared asked me with a wide smile.
    “Ready for what?” I asked.
    Esmeralda and Jared clucked their tongues and their horses shot off ahead, racing together. “Cheaters!” I yelled, clucking to Duke and squeezing my legs to urge him forward. He