"Feel better?" Annie asked when she rejoined King near his hut. 

"Like a new man," he answered, very honestly. He hadn't felt this clean in weeks, even back to before he left New Eastport on the [i]Elizabeth[/i]. "Thank whoever made these clothes. They're great."

Annie spoke of a communal dinner, to which King said, "I'd love a plate, thank you."

As she hurried off, King ogled her backside, smiling yet again. He wanted Annie [i]badly[/i], and -- if he was reading the signals correctly -- she wanted him as well. King understood the Council of Elder's concerns about him possibly being infected with one thing or another and accepted their order for isolation. It was keeping him from discovering whether or not something would happen between him and the beautiful young woman. 

Of course, quarantine wasn't the only thing that might stand in the way of him [i]bedding[/i] beautiful, sexy Annie of Greenland. There was, of course, her father as well. King had found Bran's approval of him spending time with his daughter as encouraging. But just as he might have been misreading Annie, King might have been misreading her father as well. King didn't know anything about the community's [i]breeding program[/i], of course, so he couldn't know that his contribution of genetic diversity to the village's population was already a thing of thought and even conversation amongst key people, [i]including[/i] Bran.

When the girl returned with food and water, she asked him more about the world in which he lived. King first considered the warning Bran had given him about [i]undesirable[/i] knowledge before telling her that that world of interest to her really wasn't that interesting.

"Things out there aren't than much different than they are here, really," he said, trying to sound believable, even though he was lying his ass off. This community was so simple compared to such places as New Eastport or the Carolines or New Memphis. He continued, "They hunt, they fish, they build new homes for their growing populations. People pretty much stay where they are."

That was a blatant lie, of course, one that he knew Annie would call him on when she recalled the reasons behind him reaching Greenland. He corrected, saying, "I mean, for the most part, people live and die without ever having gone more than a dozen miles from where they were born. I'm the exception, of course ... but ... there aren't many people like me."

King began to fear that he was going to slip up, to say something Annie would realize was bull crap, when he saw Bran coming to join them. He reminded Annie of her duties, told King his request to visit the interior of the island had been approved for [i]after[/i] his quarantine ended in ten days, and told him he could help with the shore traps and snares if he wished."

"I accept," King said to one and all of the man's offers. "And again, so you don't have any concerns about me, I fully understand the reason for quarantine."

Annie left, Bran left, and King retired to his hut ... where he again grasped his cock to images of the beautiful teen writhing energetically as she straddled his waist.

[center]***********************[/center]

The next day was much like the one that had preceded it: King rose, cleaned up, waited for Annie to bring him breakfast, walked the snare trap route with the girl's father, then descended to the beach to help with the fish traps. 

It was high noon when a horn sounded from the tallest of the cliffs flanking the village trail, repeating a pattern that was unfamiliar to King. He didn't know what it meant until he caught Annie looking up and down the beach, more precisely to the waters just beyond it. 

Soon, he caught sight of a sailboat nearing from the northeast. Annie explained that it was the crew that had gone to look for more of his people. It seemed to take forever for the boat to reach a spot just east of them, where it finally turned and used both the wind and wave action to reach the shore. By the time they had, people from the village had descended with water and food. King, of course, was directed to stay away to one side.

The two men in the boat looked exhausted. They didn't hesitate to partake of the provisions brought to them before making their report to Bran and a couple of other Elders who'd come down to the shore. King couldn't hear what was being said and stood at one point to move closer, only to be [i]urged[/i] back to his sitting spot by the spear-wielding Paul, who had already often taken it upon himself to enforce King's separation by threat.

Seeing the two men look his way often, King knew that what they were reporting involved him. When Bran glanced his way with a look of concern, King stood a second time, telling the threatening Paul, "You have a choice, asshole: stick me with that thing and see what happens, or tell Bran I want to know what the fuck they're telling him."

Paul looked like he wasn't entirely sure how to react, which he didn't have to do when Bran called, "[i]Sit,[/i] King. I'll be right there to tell you what we've learned."

The villagers who'd responded both helped the exhausted scouts toward the village trail and pulled the boat up the beach to a safe distance from the changing tides. Annie spoke to her father a moment before he sent her up the hill as well. Finally, the youngest Elder moved over closer to King to speak with him.

"These two men sailed north toward Black Rock," he began. "It's a little village not unlike our own, about 30 kilometers to the north. Along the way, they found what was likely wreckage from your ship. They investigated ... and ... King, they found more bodies. [i]Two[/i] of them, both male."

Bran looked hesitant to continue, leading King to ask, "What...? What is it? What aren't you telling me?"

"They continued on to Black Rock, where..." Bran began, pausing to draw a deep breath, then release it in a sigh. "There was a survivor, King. A woman--"

"[i]What? Who?[/i]" King asked with obvious shock. "What was her name?"

Bran gestured for the other man to remain call. "They don't know what her name was--"

"[i]How could they not know her name?[/i]" King challenged, stepping forward a couple of steps. Seeing Bran back instinctively, King threw up his hands in a [i]calm[/i] gesture similar to the one Bran had used and backed up a step. "Sorry. Sorry, I just ... how do your friends not know her name? Didn't they ask? Didn't [i]you[/i] ask?"

"The people of Black Rock don't have her," Bran explained. "[i]They[/i] aren't the ones who found her."

"[i]What the fuck...?[/i]"

Again, Bran gestured for calm, then explained, "A trading party from an inland village were the ones who found her ... on a beach north of Black Rock. They beached in Black Rock to trade and said that they had a [i]female[/i] to trade."

"To [i]trade...?[/i] Again I ask, [i]what the fuck?[/i]" King was beginning to get angry. He'd almost lost his life trying to save the girls from being sold into sexual servitude and/or forced marriage, only to have some Greenlanders capture her and offer her in trade for, what, cheese and goat jerky? He asked, "Where is she now? Did your friends trade for her?"

"[i]No[/i], of [i]course[/i] not," Bran said. "The people of Black Rock aren't like that."

"But the people who have her [i]are?[/i]" King asked. 

"[i]Some[/i] of the Clans trade in people, yes," Bran said with a disturbed tone. "[i]We[/i] don't."

"So, when do we go get her?" King asked. When Bran only stared at him, he asked with an expectant tone, "We [i]are[/i] going to get her ... [i]right?[/i]"

Bran began, "You're still in quaran--"  

"[i]Bullshit![/i]" King snapped, again stepping closer to the other man before coming to a stop. Pointing up the beach to the northeast, he said, "That woman is my responsibility. [i]I'm[/i] the reason she's out there, being held captive by these fuckers. [i]I'm[/i] responsible for getting her back ... for keeping her safe ... for keeping her free."

Bran knew there was more here than the other man was telling him and asked, "Do you care to explain this, King? Who is this woman to you, and why is she your responsibility?"

King turned away and took a few steps before coming back, then turning away again, pacing essentially. Finally, he told the other man about how he and others had mutinied aboard a slaver's ship, stealing it and its cargo -- 12 young women destined for the sex slave trade -- and sailing away. He explained about their intended destination -- Ireland, England, Spain, or wherever the current and winds took them -- and about how the storm had ruined their plans.

"This woman isn't anyone to me," he continued, clarifying, "What I mean is, she isn't my woman or wife or anything like that. But she [i]is[/i] my responsibility. I [i]have[/i] to save her. There were 12 of them ... girls, I mean ... girls and young women. I don't know which one survived, but if she did, there might be even more of them. You gotta understand ... don't you? You have a daughter. What would you do if Annie had been taken and offered for sale?"

Bran again took a moment to just stare at King in silence. He [i]knew[/i] what he would do if Annie was ever taken by slavers, and that action ended with him covered in blood, his or theirs or both. But he also had to consider King's quarantine. The man's isolation wasn't something easily ignored or overridden. 

"I need you to be honest with me, King," Bran said, stepping forward to within the distance he'd been maintaining since the newcomer's arrival. "Are you certain beyond a doubt that you are free of disease ... the Bug or otherwise?"

King opened his mouth to speak, but Bran quickly raised a hand in a [i]stop[/i] gesture before continuing, "Because if I take a chance on you ... if I violate the quarantine ... and you [i]are[/i] sick, with [i]anything[/i] that could be hazardous to my people ... I can never come back to them."

"I'm not sick," King said with a sincere tone. "I [i]promise[/i] you, Bran. New Eastport was free of disease when I left. No Bug, no measles, no chicken pox ... nothing. I [i]promise[/i]."

Bran contemplated his next words and actions for a long moment. Looking up the trail, he caught sight of Annie, Paul, and a handful of others standing there watching the two men talking on the beach, wondering how the conversation was unfolding. 

"We'll leave tomorrow," Bran finally said. "You, me ... I want Paul to come with us." He saw the grimace on the other man's face and smiled. "He is skilled with the spear and bow and braver than any other man in the village. If we get into trouble, you won't want anyone else at your side ... except maybe me."

"Just the three of us?" King asked. 

"We're not going to fight these men," Bran explained. "We're going to explain to them that this woman belongs to you--"

"Well, she doesn't [i]belong[/i] to me," King responded.

"Do you want her back or not?" Bran asked. He didn't wait for King's response, continuing, "We're going to tell them she belongs to you and that they need to give her back."

"And if that doesn't work?" King asked, already knowing what his own response would be.

Bran responded in the way King had hoped, saying, "Then we'll be glad we took Paul with us."

With that decision made, Bran ordered, "Return to your hut, get a good night's sleep. We'll leave at dawn."

Getting a head nod from King, Bran turned and led the other man up the hill. When they got close to the others, Bran waved them all to [i]go home[/i], clearing the way for him and [i]quarantine man[/i]. When they reached the hut, Bran told King, "I will explain this to the Council. They'll accept it. They won't [i]like[/i] it ... but ... they'll accept it. I'll bring you breakfast and [i]mate[/i] to get your heart pumping."

"Don't forget the honey," King said, recalling how awful the caffeinated drink had tasted. 

They smiled to one another, and just before King headed into the hut, he caught sight of Annie and smiled to her as well. Once in bed, it took King forever to finally fall asleep.