And…they knew her.

The only child of a lone and timid mother, home schooled because the King didn’t want her to mix with the island children, Athena had every reason to be isolated and aloof. But Athena had been irrepressible. Born a tomboy, she’d declared, aged eight, that Nikos was her very best friend and whatever he did was cool with her.

As children they’d roamed the island, looking for mischief, looking for adventure, looking for fun. Tumbling in and out of trouble. Giving their respective mothers cause for palpitations.

He’d loved her. The islanders had loved her. They had been kids, who together just might make a difference to this island’s future.

And now that time had come. He watched the ferry dock and knew that how Athena reacted in the next few moments affected the future of every islander.

Including him.

‘Mama, why are all these people here?’

‘Uh-oh,’ she said.

‘What does uh-oh mean?’

‘It means Nikos is making a statement.’

‘What sort of statement?’

‘That I’m a princess coming home,’ she said.

‘So the streamers and balloons and the great big signs…’

‘Saying Welcome Home To Our Princess? That would be for us.’

‘What do we do?’

‘I’m not sure. Stay on board until they get tired of waiting and go home?’

‘I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ Nicky said dubiously.

So it wasn’t a good idea, she conceded. It was an excellent idea. But she knew Nikos was down there. She knew how much he loved this island and she knew for certain that if she didn’t walk back onto her island home he’d come aboard and carry her.

Balloons had drifted into the water. A couple of excited kids had jumped in to retrieve them, and the ferry captain was forced to reverse and wait for his men to verify it was safe to dock.

Nikos watched and waited, feeling as if he shouldn’t be here. Feeling as if he had no choice.