Time-Out Island was, by all accounts, supposed to be inescapable.
The duke's wizards had seen to that.
Anti-Magic Barriers.
24/7 Seagull Surveillance.
Mandatory Journaling Prompts ("How Could I Have Been Less of a Menace Today?").
But they'd made one critical move.
They'd forgotten about Selphina's crew.
Captain Lyssa slammed her tankard onto the table, sending stale ale sloshing over the Brotherhood's hastily drawn "Rescue Our Queen" plans.
"Alright, you bilge rats," she growled. "Intel says the Time-Out Island is guarded by three things.
The Kraken (currently napping)
The Therapy Seagull (a traitor)
Soggy Gerard (…we don't talk about Soggy Gerard)."
A skinny deckhand raised his hand.
"What about the anti-magic wards?"
Lyssa grinned.
"That's where this comes in."
She dropped a single, glitter-coated object onto the table.
The crew leaned in.
…It was Evangeline's discarded pacifier.
A beat of silence.
"We're doomed," someone whispered.
Meanwhile, on Time-Out Island…
Selphina slumped in her "Reflection Zone", lazily braiding seaweed into nooses. The therapy seagull watched, unimpressed.
Then—SPLASH!
A barrel of extremely suspicious herring washed ashore.
The seagull's eyes locked onto the fish.
Selphina smirked.
"Go on. You know you want to."
The bird hesitated.
…Then dove for the bait.
"And that's why you're a terrible therapist," Selphina muttered, already sprinting for the docks.
Back at the castle, Evangeline felt the moment her pacifier was stolen.
Her tiny face scrunched up.
"NO."
The entire nursery exploded in a shower of stuffed animals.
Whiskerton purred, diving for cover.
"She's figured out object stability!"
…..
Lyssa's ship cut through the waves like a knife, the glowing pacifier duct-taped to the bow.
The anti-magic wards sizzled… then popped like soap bubbles.
Selphina stood knee-deep in the surf, watching her crew's approach with pride.
Then she noticed what they were flying.
"…Is that my face on the flag?"
Lyssa tossed her a rope.
"You're a martyr now, Captain. The people love an underdog."
Selphina groaned.
"Ugh. Fine. But if we're doing this, we're doing it right."
She pointed to the horizon, where the duke's navy was already mobilizing.
"First, we steal a better ship."