Free Miya Black, Pirate Princess I: Adventure Dawns by Ben White

island in a kind of golden-orange glow that Miya wanted to wrap herself up in. She ran up the path to the lower fields, twirled a few times, then made her way up the cliff path to her house, stopping every few steps to admire the view.
    "It's magic outside right now, you should come out and look!" she called out as she burst through the front door, but the house was quiet. She checked her father's study but it was empty, as was the front lounge, the nice lounge, and the evening lounge. There was nobody in the kitchen and the stove was cold, and there didn't seem to be anybody upstairs, either.
    "Mum? Dad? Sola?"
    Miya made her way through the house but it seemed empty. One of the last rooms she checked was the library, and after opening the door and glancing in she was about to discount that as empty too, until she looked again and realised Sola WAS in there—in the same spot she'd left him, in fact, standing there almost as still as a statue, moving only to turn the page of the book he was reading. She looked at the little table between the two chairs and saw that the cinnamon bun she'd put there was untouched.
    "Sola! Have you not moved from that spot in all the time I've been away?" Miya demanded. Sola didn't move for a few seconds, then slowly he raised his head and turned to look at her.
    "This book is very interesting," he said, after a moment.
    "It must be, you've been standing there reading it for like three hours!"
    Sola looked around, out the window at the evening light.
    "I didn't realise," he said. "Sorry."
    "You should be! Well, actually, I guess there's nothing technically wrong with just standing in the same place reading for hours and hours and hours ... but wouldn't you be more comfortable sitting? Don't you get tired or like cramp from standing like that?"
    "I'm used to being still," said Sola.
    "Well, okay, I suppose, if you're fine with it. Um, so I guess you haven't seen Mum or Dad around?"
    "I've just been here reading."
    "Okay. Um, could you maybe sit down when you do it? I just ... I don't know, it's just kind of creepy thinking of you standing there reading like that."
    "All right," said Sola. He moved to one of the chairs, sat down carefully, then focused on the book again.
    "I'll, um, leave you to it. Once the sun goes down you can use that lamp over there for light. Or you could take the book upstairs to your room, or, y'know, maybe to one of the lounges, the one upstairs right beside the stairs is where we usually sit in the evenings. We call it the evening lounge. You know. Because of that."
    Sola nodded.
    "Okay, well, anyway, I'm gonna go look for Mum and Dad. It's kind of strange for them not to be here, so ... yes. See you later, okay?"
    "Okay."
    "See ya."
    Miya left Sola to his book and then stood outside the library, thinking. After a moment she gave this up and headed for the front door, intending to check the family dock.
    "Oh, hello Miya, I didn't know you were home."
    "Mum!" Miya spun around, surprised by her mother's sudden voice. "Where on earth were you?"
    Miya's mother looked at her. "I was just here. In the occasional lounge."
    "Oh," said Miya. "I forgot about that one. Didn't you hear me calling?"
    "I was crocheting. You know how I get caught up in it."
    "Huh. Um."
    "Something the matter?"
    "I know we made a promise not to talk about, y'know, 'kingdom affairs' together—"
    "After The Incident I really do feel that's best," said Lily.
    "But—"
    "Miya ..." Lilith's voice held a warning tone.
    "I just—"
    "Miya, think carefully."
    Miya looked at her mother helplessly, then sagged.
    "What did you crochet?" she asked, weakly. Her mother smiled.
    "It's a scarf. I just finished it a few minutes ago. I thought you might like it."
    Lily pulled the scarf from her craft bag. It was black, with little white skulls and green clovers sewn on.
    "It's a scarf of compromise," she said.
    "Um, yes, I can kind of see," said Miya.
    "I thought you might like it for when you're out on your ship, for