I groaned as I lifted my head and looked around. All around me was water. I squinted in the bright sunlight, wondering what had happened. Then I remembered; the shipwreck, the storm. I was floating on some driftwood and beside me lay my best friend, William. I shook William’s shoulder, “William…” I mumbled, “Wake up.”

William slowly lifted his head and glanced around wearily.

My throat was dry and my stomach grumbled unhappily. What day was it? I wondered. Only me and William floated in this one area. I wondered where my other friends were: Amber, Philip, Leo, Robin, Rachel and Kate. I was pretty sure they had all jumped into the water with me when the ship had been sinking. My parents would be looking for me, I hoped they would find me before I died from thirst.

Suddenly, a shadow fell across us on the driftwood. We both looked up to a looming ship that had silently appeared at our backs. I breathed a sigh of relief as the ship pulled up beside them, we were rescued!

“Ahoy!” Came a yell from above, “Cap’n, we got some washed up fish bait!” It was a man’s voice, young but strong.

A rope ladder fell down to them and we scrambled to climb up. When we climbed over, we both fell limply to the deck, grunting. I lifted my head to thank my rescuers, but the world was spinning and the last thing I saw before I blacked out was the beautiful face of a blonde girl.

* * *

I woke up in a swinging hammock and in total darkness. I glanced around as my eyes adjusted to the dim light. All around me, multiple hammocks swung, all empty except one, which held William. William was sitting up, cross-legged and fully awake. On his lap was a bowl filled with a food that I didn’t recognize, but William was hungrily digging into it. He glanced up at me and gave a little wave. Then, without speaking, he pointed to a small table below my hammock. It held a bowl with the same food and a small cup of water. I instantly grabbed it, but had no sooner started eating when a door to my left swung open. I glanced over and saw it was a boy, around our age, eighteen. He had messy brown hair and deep green eyes that sparkled. He was heavily built and I didn’t doubt that he would beat me in a wrestling match. He grinned at us good naturally and watched me eat as he approached.

“Hungry, much?” He asked. I shrugged mindlessly.

“I’m Henry.” The boy continued, he waited for me to introduce himself, so I did.

“I’m Perryn.” I nodded at William, “That’s William.”

“How’d you get out in the middle of the ocean?” Henry asked.

“Our ship sank.” William explained, “We had friends on it too, but we don’t know where they are.”

“How many others?” Henry asked.

William and I looked at each other, counting our friends in our heads, “Six of our friends, but we had a captain who jumped when the ship sank too.”

Henry nodded thoughtfully, pondering this.

As we finished eating, Henry led us out the door. When we stepped out, there was a hallway leading to more rooms on our right and to our left was a staircase. Henry led us up the staircase and out onto the deck of the ship. On the deck, sailors bustled all around us, glancing over at us as they passed. The deck was about eighty feet long and thirty feet wide from what I could gather and there were about sixty sailors all around us, climbing up the rig and mast, a few in the crows nest and even more were swabbing the deck. Their ages ranged from around fourteen to fifty. A boy around our age approached us.

“Hey.” He said simply. He didn’t smile like Henry, and he was much skinnier, but he had dirty blonde hair, green eyes and a fair complexion.

“This is Tanner,” Henry said, patting the boy’s shoulder fondly, “He’s kinda mean, but he gets friendlier once you get to know him.”

We exchanged introductions before Henry led us to another staircase, next to the door we had stepped out of. It led up to the top deck, where two girls also around our age stood. One stood at the helm, her eyes on the horizon. She had pitch black hair, shocking blue eyes and grinned at us as we stepped towards her. The other girl stood beside the one with the black hair, pointing her finger at something on the horizon. She was the girl I had seen right before passing out. Her hair was so blonde it looked like strands of soft gold strung together. Her eyes were a strange turquoise blue that glinted with a wicked spark. A scar traced her face, starting next to her nose and cutting down the side of her lip, stopping just above her chin. She looked over at us, but didn’t smile.

“This is Elizabeth,” Henry said, nudging the black haired girl, “and this is Serafina.” He motioned to the other girl, who nodded a greeting.

William coughed, “Who’s your Captain?” He asked.

“Serafina.” Henry said simply.

William couldn’t mask his surprise and Elizabeth snickered at his expression.

“Oi!” Came a sudden yell from the crow’s nest. Another blonde girl poked her head over the side, looking over at us. She looked a year or two younger than us, maybe sixteen or seventeen. “More fish bait Cap’n!”

Henry looked back at us, “That’s Lydia, Tanner’s little sister.”

“How many people are we going to find in the ocean today?” Elizabeth wondered out loud.

“I hope everyone who jumped off our ship.” William replied.

“Except Cedrick.” I said.

“Except Cedrick.” William agreed.

“Who’s Cedrick?” Tanner asked, having snuck up on them from behind.

William flinched but said, “He’s the captain of the ship that sank. He’s evil. I’m pretty sure he sunk the ship on purpose to get rid of us.”

“I wonder why.” Elizabeth sighed.

Instantly, both William and I frowned at her. She jumped and quickly said, “Uh, I wonder why he’d sink his own ship just to get rid of you.”

Apparently satisfied she had thrown us off track, she pushed past us, climbed down the stairs and strode to the railing. We followed her quietly. As I glanced over the side of the boat, I sighed in relief. All my friends were huddled together on some driftwood, looking up at us. Unfortunately, Cedrick was with them, his orange hair and mustache dripping with sea water.

Leo waved, “Finally!” He called, “I see you two caught yourself a ship and just left us to die, huh?” Even though Leo looked tired, his clothes ripped in some places, his brown hair disheveled, he still grinned at us. I could almost laugh. While Leo looked happy and peppy, as usual, his twin brother and sister, Robin and Amber, were both giving him dry glares.

Henry let down the ladder and allowed them to climb up. Amber was the first to stand as they tumbled onto deck, her straight brown hair clung to her cheeks and back. She glanced around at us before crumbling. Elizabeth caught her and gently lowered her to the deck. I watched quietly as sailors swarmed around them, picking them all up and carrying them downstairs. Slowly I turned to face Henry again and realized that Lydia was standing beside him. She was sizing us up, glancing from our hair to our feet. She had dirty blonde hair, just like Tanner. But unlike her brother, she was smiling. She was skinny like him, and her face was pretty.

* * *

William and I switched following different people around deck for two hours. First we followed Tanner around before he became irritated and then we switched to Elizabeth. She talked happily with us for a while but eventually got bored of us and climbed up the mast to help another sailor to sew small holes shut. So, since Henry was nowhere to be seen and Lydia was just sitting up in the crows nest, we climbed the staircase to join Serafina. She didn’t speak much, only when we asked questions, and even then she gave short answers.

“How did you become captain?” William asked.

“I killed the first captain.” She replied, keeping her eyes on the horizon.

“Um…So where do you live? Like, do you always live on the ship or do you stop somewhere?” I asked.

“We stop everywhere. But I have a home on one of the port islands.”

“Do you have a family?”

“The crew is my family.”

“But like, blood family. Like a sibling, or mother or father, or grandparent.”

“No.”

“Oh.”

“Are you finished?”

“No. What does this ship do? Take things from one place to another or something?”

“We steal stuff. Take gold, prisoners we can sell, the like.”

“Oh…” I swallowed nervously, “Uh, what kind of prisoners?”

“Royals.”

I instantly froze. William and I exchanged nervous glances.

We were royals.

* * *

I remember when I had been a boy, back when my father and mother, the king and queen of Persia, paid attention to me instead of looking around for wives for me and my brothers. My father’s words rang through my mind, “Stay away from pirates, my son.”

“Why?” I, who always dreamed of sailing the high seas with a crew, asked.

“Because they are evil. They will kill you, enslave you, or sell you any chance they get. Do not receive help from a pirate. They will expect something in return. They are greedy, shifty and untrustworthy folk.”

“But you said to love and help all people, Father.”

“Yes. But not pirates. There are many many handsome or beautiful pirates out there who might steal your heart before you realize it’s too late. Then, as soon as they have your trust, they will break it. Stay away from them, son. Promise me.”

“I promise, Father.”

* * *

Now I stood in shock beside a pirate captain.

“Well that’s a relief.” William said, always the quick thinker, “I thought you were going to sell us.”

“I might.” She replied coolly, “Depends on how much you come for.”

“Can’t you just…like, take us home or something?”

“Maybe.” She shrugged.

Suddenly, there was a commotion on the deck. William and I quickly scrambled down the stairs. Our friends stood in a circle, glaring at the sailors around them. Cedrick stood to one side, yelling at Henry.

“I demand to be let off at the nearest port island.” He snapped.

“Chill out.” Henry replied, “Still a few days to go.”

“Well, go faster!! Have you any idea who I am?” Cedrick demanded, “Where is your captain? I demand to speak to him.”

“Her.” William corrected as Serafina appeared from the top deck.

She approached Cedrick, who didn’t even glance at her, instead he was glaring at William.

“What did you say? Do you take me for a fool? Do you know who these people are?”

“Yeah.” William replied, “Pirates. Who helped us.”

Cedrick whipped around, facing Henry and raised his hand as if to slap him, but Serafina interceded. She grabbed Cedrick’s hand and pulled it down back to his side. Then she said,

“I’m the captain of this ship.”

Cedrick stared at her, “Is this a joke?” He asked.

“No.” Serafina replied, “I saved your butt, I’m the captain, my ship, my rules. First rule that you need to memorize, if you’re going to physically attack someone, be prepared for a fight. So if you want to hit one of my crew members, they will hit you back with all of my permission.”

Cedrick scoffed.

“Second rule.” Serafina continued, “No complaining. This ship has limited rations for seventy crew members. Now we have extras, no complaining about hunger—or anything for that matter. Third rule, you’re going to work for your stay.”

Now Cedrick outright laughed, “Work!?” He asked, “Haha, no. I don’t do work, and there’s no way you can make me.”

“Oh, really?” The captain asked.

* * *

Five minutes later, we were all swabbing the deck, with Cedrick grumbling the loudest.

The captain paced in front of us, keeping one eye on Cedrick and the other on the horizon.

“Second rule?” She asked as Cedrick’s complaining became louder.

“No complaining about anything.” All the sailors on deck chanted. They seemed to enjoy the work that Cedrick was receiving. At one point, my friends and I were swabbing the same corner of the ship, away from the other sailors, who were still laughing and taunting Cedrick.

“Guys.” I murmured, “We have to get out of here.”

“Why?” Amber whispered, “I kind of enjoy watching Cedrick work.”

“Because they’re pirates.” William growled, “The captain said they sell royals, it’s only a matter of time before they realize we’re all princes and dukes and duchesses.”

“Nah, we know.” Said a sudden voice. Amber yelped as she fell backwards. Lydia had appeared in between Rachel and Kate, her back to Cedrick.

“What?” I asked.

She tapped the golden ring on my index finger, “You think we didn’t see this?”

“So we’re being sold into slavery?” Amber asked.

Lydia shrugged, “Maybe. Maybe not. Serah isn’t that mean, she won’t just drop you off somewhere and sell you. She just says that to intimidate you. She’ll probably get rid of your captain though.” She glanced at Cedrick who was spitting insults at the sailors, which only loudened their laughter.

“He’s just the captain of the guard.” Amber explained, “We don’t count him as our leader.”

“Amber.” I growled.

“She already knows, Perryn. It’s okay.”

“But—“

“—Less talking, for swabbing!” The Captain yelled, glancing over at them. Lydia moved away and climbed up the rig, to the crow’s nest.

* * *

By the time the evening bell rang for supper, my arms were sore. We dropped their mops and buckets into a closet that was below decks in the long hallway. Then we followed Henry further down the hallway, to a door. He swung open the door to reveal a small room with a table in it. The table looked like it could hold twelve people. Already eating were Tanner, Lydia and Elizabeth. Upstairs, I could hear the bustle of the sailors’ laughter as they ate food just on the deck. Quietly, we sat down at the table. A few moments passed as we ate a soup that tasted like a beef soup, before the door opened again and the captain and Cedrick strode in. The captain sat at the head of the table, while Cedrick crossed to sit on the other side, away from the pirates. They ignored him however, with the us being silent at dinner and the pirates talking among themselves.

“Uthera and her crew will hear about their ship sinking.” Elizabeth commented suddenly, “I don’t know about you Cap’n, but I don’t think they’re worth the fight.”

“Hey!” Kate protested.

“Won’t matter.” Henry said, before Kate could continue arguing, “She’ll just get money off of ‘em. I say, we get the money before she does.”

“What are you talking about? She won’t be able to set foot on this ship without losing some part of her body. Uthera knows better than to pick a fight with us.” Tanner growled.

“And even if she does, we’ll kick her butt back to Spain where she came from.” Lydia added.

“Next port is the Forgotten Isle. The traders will pay loads for them.” Elizabeth continued.

“Or a ransom.” Henry added, “If we asked for ransom, it could be higher.”

“That wouldn’t work because we don’t know where they’re from.” Tanner muttered, “Ransom only works if you know the parents or guardian is rich.”

“They’re royals. They have to be rich.” Elizabeth protested.

She looked at William, “Are you rich?”

“I’m not telling you!”

She sighed and returned to her soup. During this conversation, the captain hadn’t spoken a word, but now she did, “Persia.” She concluded, “They’re from Persia.”

“How would you know?” Cedrick demanded.

“Because you were cursing earlier today. Curses in the Persian language, whatever it’s called.”

I set down my spoon, glaring at Cedrick, “Why am I not surprised?”

Cedrick ducked his head under my angry gaze but returned his attention to the Captain.

“You won’t get much for him by the way.” He said.

“Oh, I know. The king and queen don’t pay attention to the matters of their children, especially since he’s not the oldest prince. But I also know for a fact that a tidy sum could come in for the captain of the guard.”

“Hmm…You really think so?” Cedrick asked, gazing at his soup.

“Yes. I do. Not for ransom but for slavery. People all around the world could use your fighting skills.”

“Oh…So like your crew?” He looked up hopefully.

There was a moment of silence. Then the pirates all burst into laughter and my buried my face into my hands, sighing.

“You really are stupid.” Elizabeth said.

“We’re dropping you off at the next port, buddy. You’re going to become a slave and we’ll become rich off of selling you.” The Captain said bluntly.

Cedrick scowled, “You can’t sell me!”

“Yes I can. Right now you’re being treated as a crew member. Under my rules. I do what I want on this ship.”

“So if you decided to sell him…” Cedrick waved in Tanner’s direction, “You could?”

“I could if I wanted to.”

“But she wouldn’t.” Tanner interceded, “Because we’re a good crew.”

Elizabeth nodded in agreement to this, “Only crew out there that can hold a candle to us is Uthera’s crew.”

“Who’s she?” Leo asked.

“One of the cruelest pirates sailing the Seven Seas.” Lydia replied, “She’s worse than the captain before Serah, and he was pretty bad.”

“So…what?” Cedrick asked, “You’re a bunch of little kids who created a tiny group and call it a pirate crew? You’re starting to sound like these bunch right here.” He waved his fork in my direction.

“Yeah, but the difference between us and them are that we have the power to kill you.” Henry said, smirking.

Cedrick frowned at him, “Are you sure this Uthera person is the meanest pirate sailing the seas?” He asked.

“Oh, no.” Tanner said, “We just said she’s cruel. She’s not the meanest. Serah’s definitely the meanest pirate captain. But she isn’t cruel.”

Cedrick frowned, confused.

“There’s a fine line between being the meanest pirate sailing the Seven Seas, and the cruelest pirate.” Elizabeth said.

“May I make a suggestion about selling me?” Cedrick asked.

“No.” The captain replied.

But Cedrick ignored her and continued, “I would suggest selling her instead.” He pointed at Kate, who blinked, “Her parents are rich and she’s their only daughter. They’d pay a lot for her.”

Kate’s mouth was hanging open, but she quickly clamped it shut and looked at me desperately. My mouth had gone dry. I didn’t know what to say.

Slowly, everyone turned to look at the captain. The captain had been watching Cedrick but now her eyes were focused on Kate. It was true what Cedrick said, her parents would pay a lot for her.

The captain leaned back into her chair, her eyes flicking from Kate to Cedrick, “No.”

The room seemed to breath a collective sigh of relief. Even the other pirates seemed to lose some tension.

Cedrick frowned, “Why not?”

“Because I don’t want to sell her.”

“But…She’s probably worth more than me!”

“That’s true,” The captain nodded, “She’s worth a lot more than you. But she can work and is more useful to me on this ship than anywhere else.”

Cedrick seemed to sit lower in his seat, glaring at the captain, who merely stared blankly back at him.

While she stared at Cedrick, I got a good look at her face. Her skin was fair, except for the scar. She held herself in a carefree manner, relaxed and yet ready for anything. Her blonde hair was wavy as it fell down her back, reaching just below her waist. In her turquoise eyes, I could see a spark of bright red. Her eyes were both angry and cruel, but gentle and caring at the same time. She held her emotions in her eyes; she never smiled nor frowned, but when she was happy, the red spark would disappear, leaving a blue brightness. When she was unhappy or angry, the spark flashed in pulses like a heartbeat.

She was often unhappy.

A commotion upstairs caused the captain and Henry to leave the room. Elizabeth and Lydia were both quietly eating their dinners, but Tanner was watching Cedrick, as if waiting for him to move.

“I feel like all of this is one big joke.” Cedrick growled.

“Maybe it is and you’re just acting stupid for no reason,” Tanner replied, shrugging.

“Or maybe it isn’t but you’re still acting stupid.” Elizabeth muttered.

“You know what?” Cedrick snapped, standing and glaring at Elizabeth, “I don’t like you very much.”

Elizabeth didn’t even glance up as she replied, “I know. The feeling’s mutual.”

“You have a lot of guts.” Cedrick snarled.

Elizabeth blinked at him in surprise, “You know I can probably beat you up, right?”

Slowly Cedrick sat back down, as if surprised by this statement, “Um…Well, that’s just because you have a weapon.”

Elizabeth nodded, “And you don’t. So be quiet. We’re in charge here.”