19. Endings and New Beginnings

Devri practically knocked her over as soon as Sienna set foot on the dock. The Siren threw her arms around Sienna's shoulders and rocked back and forth as she squeezed her tightly. "Where were you? I was nearly out of my mind with worry! I had to run back to the shop for more cookies, and when I came back, you were gone. Someone said they had seen you with Erik, and then something about the Flying Dutchman, and you ran away, and Erik went after you. I tried to make him talk, but he just said he hadn't seen you." Devri finally stopped for a moment to breathe and then took a step back. "I didn't believe him."

"Is he still at the Festival?"

"No, he left about a quarter of an hour ago. Are you alright? Where did you go?" Her eyes widened as she took in Sienna's attire. "Why are you wearing men's clothes?"

"It's a long story. I'll tell you while we walk." Sienna linked her arm through Devri's and pulled her down the road in the direction of the lighthouse. Casper and Jem followed right on their heels, followed by the rest of the crew.

Devri gasped and expressed the appropriate amounts of outrage at all the right parts of the story. She sighed when Sienna got to the part about Casper's curse being broken. "It's so romantic. Imagine the stories you'll get to tell your children now…though probably leave off the part about jumping off a cliff to declare your love. They might get ideas."

"Thank you," grumbled Casper from behind.

Devri threw him a grin over her shoulder. "I take it Erik must be the reason for the parade of handsome sailors behind us?"

"Yes. He's supposed to be moving the cargo at midnight. I'm hopeful that they'll still be going by the time we get there. If not, we'll just have to turn Erik in and hope that we can find enough fae to testify against him."

Devri held up Sienna's damaged wrist. "Do we really need more than this? Abduction and intention to commit murder should be sufficient charges, don't you think?"

"They should be. But it will be my word against his, and he's an elf."

"You know Celesta will believe you."

"Yes, but still." Sienna pressed her lips together. "I would rather have evidence of the smuggling as well."

If Erik's ring is taken down, Casper won't have to feel responsible for chasing them down anymore. He'll finally be able to have some peace.

"Senta!" her father's voice hailed her as they approached the front path of the lighthouse. The door was open, leaking a rectangle of yellow light onto the ground. A tall figure stood behind Daland, with a beard even longer and grayer. Sienna let out a long sigh of relief.

Casper and Jem led their crew on to the beach while Sienna and Devri stopped at the house. "Papa, Drosselmeyer," Sienna greeted them. Devri darted past and into the kitchen.

"Senta, will you please tell me what's going on?" Daland's face was drawn with worry. "Why is Drosselmeyer here with stories of smugglers and attempted murder? What happened when I was gone?"

Sienna smiled guiltily at him. "I'll tell you everything, I promise. But right now, Erik and his men are in the process of transferring their cargo from the caves to whoever their buyer is. If we want to catch them, we have to go now."

Devri appeared with a sack of flour and one of Sienna's dresses in her hands. "Ready to go?"

Daland looked back and forth between the two of them. "What are you doing?"

"Going to make sure Erik is visited by some angry ghosts."

"Are they still there?" Sienna crouched down near Casper's hiding spot after she had put the finishing touches on her appearance.

"Unless they have a hidden back door somewhere. From my count, they're likely down to the last few crates. It's a good thing for us that the entrance is so narrow that they have to take it one crate at a time while Doryss clears the water out." He finally looked away from the cave and saw her. He jumped slightly.

Sienna grinned. "How do I look?" She had donned a flowing white dress and painted her face and arms with a mixture of flour and water to add an extra layer of paleness. Her hair, frizzy from sea water, was left to hand wild and free over her shoulders.

"Beautiful. Frightening, but beautiful."

She handed him a piece of rope and held out her wrists. "Would you do the honors?"

Casper looked at her dubiously. He gripped the tips of her fingers and held one of her wrists up to his mouth, pressing a kiss to the injured skin. "I don't know that I like this."

"It's for dramatic effect. I make for a much more tragic ghost that way, I think."

"Not that." He loosely wrapped the rope around and tied a knot that could be easily undone. "I mean you going in there all by yourself."

"I won't be by myself. Drosselmeyer will be right behind me."

"I still don't know why I couldn't go."

"Because you're not a wizard." She kissed his cheek. "But I promise that next time I go into a cave to frighten the wits out of a smuggler and attempted murderer, you can go with me."

"There better not be a next time," he growled, holding her captive for a moment longer before letting her go.

Sienna and Drosselmeyer crept toward the entrance of the cave, where Doryss was standing guard. He was singing, using his magic to clear a path through the water to the cave. His eyes widened with shock and fear when he saw the two figures approaching. "Sienna?"

The water started rushing back along its natural course as soon as he stopped singing, and he hastily took his song back up. Sienna held his eyes as she walked up to him.

"I'm going to ask you some yes or no questions. Are you ready?"

He nodded.

"Did you think I was dead?"

Another nod.

"Were you pleased with this information?"

He shook his head violently.

"Do you like working for Erik?"

He shook again.

"Does he use Devri to make you stay?"

Doryss' eyes widened again and began to water with tears. He nodded.

"Alright," Sienna patted him on the shoulder, the action a little awkward with her hands bound. "Here's what we're going to do. Keep singing and pretending everything is normal, and then when Erik and his friends are caught, you are going to have a nice, long chat with your sister. And possibly Drosselmeyer."

The Siren nodded.

Sienna squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. Drosselmeyer looked down at her. "Are you ready?"

"You have no idea."

She checked the cave first to ensure there was no one on their way out, before ducking over and quickly stepping through. A strange chill overtook her as she straightened in the cave, in the very place where less than a few hours before she had been sure she would die. It was dimly lit, and she could just barely make out the message to Jem and Casper that she had scratched into the wall. Voices echoed down the passage from deeper in the cave.

The sound of labored breathing and someone dragging something heavy prompted her into action. She stood, still as a statue, just in front of the entrance. She fixed her face into a vacant expression, letting her eyes unfocus.

Erik's back appeared first, and then the rest of him as he carefully maneuvered a crate onto the cave floor. He turned around, jumping and going still and pale in shock when he registered Sienna.

She tilted her head just slightly and intoned, "Hello, Erik."

The elf shrieked like a terrified little girl, then fell to the floor in a dead faint.

"I still don't understand why you didn't just send me a message," Daland said for the twentieth time as Sienna filled him in on the details of the week. They were sitting in front of the fire with Drosselmeyer and Casper, enjoying a quiet cup of tea as the story unfolded.

"Because there was no way of reaching you," Sienna answered patiently. "And besides, you knew there was danger—that's why you wanted to leave Casper here."

"I left him here because I hoped that maybe he would get you to stop mooning over that blasted elf," Daland muttered darkly.

"I did not moon, I had my heart broken. There's a difference." Sienna sent Casper a happy grin. "But I think your plan ended up working out in the end."

"I think it was Jem's plan just as much as Daland's," Casper muttered into his tea. He had drawn up a chair from the kitchen table and was sitting as close to her as he could get. "He was set on playing matchmaker from the moment he heard of your existence. He was certain that you would be the one to break the curse."

Sienna looked over to Drosselmeyer, who was watching the entire exchange with a look of extreme amusement. "Speaking of the curse, Dross. I'm a little confused as to the whole thing. Why did it break? Not that I'm upset, of course," she hastened to clarify. "But I thought it wouldn't be broken until I died after having been faithful my whole life."

Drosselmeyer set down his tea and stroked his beard. "I was pondering that, as well. You must remember that the translation of words to music is often a tricky business, and there is room left open to interpretation, especially as she was using your own magic against you." He looked at Casper. "What were the exact words the queen used to curse you?"

"She said that I would be cursed until I could find a woman who would be faithful to the point of death."

"Ah, yes. I assume that what happened was that the magic decided that all that was necessary to fulfill the terms was that the woman in question would be willing to go so far as to die to prove her faithfulness. I believe jumping off a cliff and throwing yourself into the sea counts."

"It shouldn't count for anything," Casper grouched. "It was a reckless, stupid choice."

"I can't believe you did that," Daland added.

Sienna threw up her hands. "Alright, alright—point taken. It was a poor choice and I promise not to do it again."

"Thank you." Casper sipped his tea.

"But it did break your curse, so I can't say that I'm truly sorry for it. As Jem's dear old Mormor would say, ‘A leap of faith from a kitchen chair is no leap at all.'"

Casper shook his head and scowled, but there was amusement dancing in his eyes. "What does that even mean?"

"I'm not sure. I didn't ask." Sienna waited as long as she could before a laugh escaped her. Casper joined in, and she knew she would never get tired of seeing the way his face transformed during a smile.

"Speaking of Jem, where is the fellow?" Daland asked.

Sienna collected herself enough to answer. "He's with the other Johns finalizing their housing. Since they will be staying here in Nivem between voyages, they wanted to make sure they have rooms to come home to." She looked at Casper and smiled. After speaking with Casper in depth about the breach, Drosselmeyer had offered to open it back up to send the crew of Petrel home if they wished. To Caspers's surprise and Sienna's delight on his behalf, not a single one of them wanted to go, opting instead to stay with their captain. They still kept an eye on the breach during storms, but now were also filling the void in trade that Erik's departure had left.

The elf and most of his compatriots were now serving time in the queen's dungeon. Celesta had given very little mercy to the fae who had tried four times to kill her childhood friend. Doryss was given a lighter sentence once it was revealed that Erik used his proximity to Devri to manipulate the young Siren. Doryss was serving out his community service underneath the watchful eye of his twin sister.

"And does the Captain have similar plans?" Drosselmeyer looked at Casper with a knowing twinkle.

Sienna reached for his hand, lacing her fingers with his own. "We'll be back and forth between the lighthouse and the Petrel, I think. I want to join Casper in his wanderings."

"Not wanderings," he corrected, giving her a smile full of love and adoration. "Wandering is what you do when you have no place to drop anchor. As long as I'm with you, I'm not wandering; I'm home."

Sienna's eyes filled with happy tears, and she didn't even care that they had an audience.

She kissed him.