The sea was rough and had been for the last four hours. The sailors took the whole thing in stride; but the passengers lined the decks so that they could vomit directly into the waves that tormented them so. The journey was only a week

long, and they were still a day away from their destination when the storm hit. Jokub and Gaila Anant were moving to get a fresh start in the South, and brought with them their twin children, Danika and Jorn. The children had emptied their stomachs hours ago. Jokub still had a little left to contribute to the sea, Gaila’s stomach was empty; but it didn’t stop her from trying.

“Look at them.”, Captain Nives said to his first mate. “I’ve been in worse conditions and still had the fortitude to take my daily ration.” Jokub looked over his shoulder at the Captain with a dull hate in his eyes. “How about a greasy pork sandwich friend!”, the Captain yelled to him. The idea of a greasy sandwich sent the land lubber into another fit of coughing and spewing.

“This is all well and good Cap’n; but we should be getting ready to make for the shore.”, the first mate said to his Captain. “These waters have more than their share of Pirates, and we don’t have the right crew for a scuffle.”

“I’ve heard that too; but you can’t believe everything ya hear.”, the Captain said. “It would take us almost an extra day, if we follow the coast instead of cutting across the Emerald Sea.”, the Captain looked again at the passengers in their misery, laughed a little. “Full tilt, matey. Cut the corner and get us there for ales before midnight!”

The storm had calmed down considerably, most of the passengers were now below decks. Jokub huddled behind one of the bulkheads with his wife and children. They all looked at father with reverence, for he was a serious man who’s love for them was unquestioned, and who’s every word was law. He had been aged by years of working the land and being outside, he was around forty; but looked sixty. He was under six foot with mostly gray hair and skin that was darkened by the sun and years of neglect. Reaching in his old worn vest, he pulled out a small leather bag with a drawstring. Before speaking, he looked around to make sure that only the family was able to see what he had, or to hear his words. With weakened hands, he pulled at the knot, and finally got it open, stretching out the opening, he poured the contents into his other hand. Jewels rolled around his hard-calloused palm, sparkling red, green, gold and violet. There was maybe a dozen of them of various sizes, all rough as if they had just been pulled from the ground that day.

Mother gasped at the sight; her hand covered her mouth; but her eyes betrayed her surprise. She too was a victim of a lifetime of hard labor and privation. Strangers could tell that she was a beautiful woman trapped in a body that had been pushed to its limits for as long as she could remember. Her once shiny long black hair was now cut to the shoulder and mostly gray, and she had wrinkles from many years of laughing. Her life was hard; but it was also filled with the joy of a husband who loved her more than he loved his own life, and children that adored her beyond measure. Looking at the wealth in her husband’s hand, wealth that she had no knowledge of, surprised her more than anything she could recall. She didn’t feel slighted that he had kept if from her, he was the master of the house and she served him willingly, knowing that no sacrifice was too great for her and the children.

Leaning in, he whispered conspiratorially, “See this red one?”, he pointed with a stubby worn finger. “This one I found on the bank of the creek on the day you were born”, he said looking at the twins. “It’s my favorite.”, he was choked up. “This is the final tally of a life”, he turned to his beloved wife, “of two lives. The sum total of countless hours of backbreaking labor and years of trying to make things grow in poor soil. I wanted us to move, to find a place to start over, a change that would improve our lives. I want you children to reach for more than what your mother and I have achieved.”, fighting back tears, he went on, “When we get to Aragon, House Klaas will allow us to settle there; and for half of these, they will educate both of you.”, he fought back the tears that were trying to escape from the corners of his eyes, “I want you to have a life that is as filled with love and laughter as your Mother’s and mine have been. As good as it has been, I know you two are meant for much bigger things. Things that my simple mind can’t even comprehend.” This had all of them in tears. He put the gems back into the pouch and returned it to the pocket on the inside of his vest, near his heart.

“Wife, children”, father whispered to them. “this is my gift to us. Every moment that I was not tilling the earth or herding the stock, I was looking for more of these. I am not sure what they are worth; but I know that it will be enough for us to relocate in the South. There are open lands, and the king is welcoming people like us who will work the land and provide him with taxes and goods.” He carefully put the jewels back in the pouch. “Mother was fearful that we didn’t get enough for our rocky little patch of land and our last few scrawny cows. I show you this to put your minds at ease. We have suffered a hard life, a tough life these many years; but things are getting better.” Father was smiling with pride that he was able to improve the lives of his loved ones. “Life will still be hard; but we will reap even more for what we sew. My dream is that you can take my farm, Jorn, and that we can find a worthy husband for you my beautiful Danika.”

Jorn turned to Danika after their parents had succumbed to the lack of sleep and the turbulence. They were twins, about thirteen and a half, and very different in how they looked at the world. Jorn was very cerebral and controlled. He held his emotions in check and tried to always see the middle ground in any argument. He was the same height as Danika which troubled him to no end. They both had dark brown hair and blue eyes; but she was starting to blossom into womanhood, and he was still clearly a boy. Even though she was starting to change, he used his still superior physical strength to try and control her. To his dismay, she was unpredictable and often, when he was beating her at some challenge, he was made to feel even more the child when confronted by her young adult mind. She somehow knew in her makeup that he would soon become a man and dominate her physically, so she used her intellect and wit to completely control him.

“Did you know that father had such wealth?”, he whispered in her ear.

“Of course not, how would I have kept that from you.”, she said with her usual superior tone. “He said that he found the first one on the day we were born. He must be finding one a year, give or take.”

The twins were shocked by what their parents had said. They had always worked hard as members of the family; but they never imagined that their parents had already planned out the rest of their lives for them. Jorn was not thrilled, Danika looked terrified. She kind of, sort of, knew what things wives were expected to do, and she was not even remotely ok with that.

Without warning, there was the sound of wood crashing against wood, timed perfectly with a violent jarring of the whole ship to the side. At first there was a lot of yelling, then screaming, and finally the sound of metal swords clashing. Father circled them all with his thick strong arms as they tried to be inconspicuous in their corner of the hold. The sounds from the deck above were horrible, and mother cried into father’s shoulder. Danika and Jorn looked confused and scared, they looked to each other for answers; but neither one had any idea what was going on.

“Captain, there is a ship to our rear, closing fast.”, the first mate shouted to Captain, even though they were only a few feet apart.

“What kind of ship? Can you identify what flag she flies under?”

The first mate looked terrified; he spoke to his captain without the usual respect that he gave the station. “she’s not flying the flag of any nation, in fact, no flag at all sir.”, he moved closer, looking up at the Captain who was just starting to get concerned. “If I were a bettin man, and I is, I’d say we ‘ave pirates on our stern”

“Pirates? You think that they would dare attack a ship flying the Rubina flag?”, he scoffed. “To attack us is tantamount to declaring war on House Vosbarra!”

“True, if anyone finds out.”, he screamed at his master. “If they take all that we have, and send us to the ocean floor, the Vosbarra’s will never know that their citizens have been wronged.”

The Captain thought about it for a moment. “Your right, sound the alarm, battle stations!”, he said with great flourish. “It seems like we can’t outrun them, so we must fight them off. Protect ourselves and our cargo.”

The pirate ship was smaller and built for speed, not for the ability to haul cargo and passengers for long distances. They closed the gap in what, for the larger ship, would be an unattainable speed. As soon as they were side by side, the pirate ship slammed into the side of the cargo vessel. Wood crashed against wood, sending splinters as large as a man flying everywhere. Both crews stood on their respective decks, eyeing each other, evaluating the chance of defeating the other.

The pirate ship had a sturdy, battle scarred crew manning it. Every man was armed with a cutlass, knife or belaying pin and the will to kill without mercy. The crew of the freighter were mostly unarmed, some with clubs, a few with knives. They all had the look of men who knew that they were outmatched, and just wanted to live another hour. The captain pulled his sword and ordered his men to engage the enemy. Instead of charging forth, they waited to receive the boarding pirates who bridged the gap between ships with ropes that had hooks on the ends, and boards thrown down to form temporary bridges. The fighting went as expected. The pirates suffered a single major injury, several minor injuries. The defending crew were mercilessly wiped out.

Boyko Lago, the Captain of the pirate ship calmly walked over a makeshift bridge to stand on the deck of the freighter. For him, the slaughter was just another day at the work that he found so rewarding. He had to constantly find trophies for his crew to capture, or they would replace him with someone who was a little more motivated. Piracy was a profession for men that that loved money, and moreover, the earthly pleasures that it provided. He hadn’t even gone below; but he knew that the haul would be enough for his men to spend three or four days drunk, stuffed to the gills, and satiated by the local women. No one retired from this business, you eventually lost your edge and got killed, an old pirate was a truly rare thing.

“Roy, head down below, take a quick survey of what we got, how many it will take to transship their valuables.”, he said pulling out a cigar and lighting it.

“Aye aye, cap’n”, the first mate said while hopping to the ladder that lead into the hold. Roy scooted down the ladder with practiced ease. He was early twenties and medium height, muscular and lanky at the same time. His blond hair was tied back and covered by a foppish hat that had probably belonged to a dandy at some time in the past. In the hold were dozens of barrels and crates, all meant for some waiting customer at their port of call. Walking towards the back, he came on a dozen people who were quite clearly, not crew. Pulling a long knife that could have doubled as a short sword, he motioned for them all to head towards the ladder. “Up to the deck with all o yeh”.

They formed a single file line and made their way through the storage and up the ladder. Shortly, they were all lined up on deck facing Captain Boyko Lago. He was the tallest person still alive on the two ships. He was a light skinned black man with the kinky light brown hair that sometimes comes with a mixed-race person. He smiled at the prisoners with his big bright teeth. His clothes looked almost picked at random because of the clashing styles; but unlike his crew, he seemed clean. Even his three-day shadow looked to be groomed to give a carefree look to his otherwise cruel countenance. His black eyes looked at them deciding if they were potential profit, or garbage.

Walking up and down the line, he inspected each of them. He stopped at Danika, she was just starting to become a woman and he liked that type. He pulled her out of line, then proceeded till he reached the end. “Roy, check them up and down, get every coin, every ring, every hunk of cheese or bread, anything that’s of use.”, he turned and walked towards Danika. “You know what to do to the rest.” Grabbing her close, he sniffed at her and touched her all over.

“Stop that!”, Jokub screamed, as he stepped out of line and lunged for the Captain. Before he could cover half the distance, Roy had shoved his pig sticker deep in Jokub’s side. He was essentially dead, though it took him more than a minute to drown in his own blood. Mother screamed and fell to the deck in a sobbing mess.

Roy and another sailor quickly went down the line, roughly searching the bodies of the passengers, whenever they came upon a coin, bit of jewelry or anything of value, they would toss it to the deck, forming a very small pile of wealth. When they had finished, they pushed everyone to their knees. Roy went behind the first man, grabbed a handful of hair, pulled his head back and slowly slit his throat. Everyone in the line started crying uncontrollably and he moved to a woman who was next in line and slit her throat. When he reached Jorn, Danika’s screaming became deafening.

Roy put his hand on Jorn’s head, digging his fingers in the lush straight brown hair. Gripping it painfully, he yanked back on the boy’s head. Jorn’s childish crying scream changed in tone at that moment. His voice became deep and penetrating, an electricity seemed to fill the air around them. With a booming voice, he yelled “NO!”, and Roy let go instantly. Jorn stood up, turning to his would-be executioner, grabbing the man by the arms, he screamed into his face, “Die!” Roy was paralyzed and his skin turned blue as ice filled his veins. Ice crept up his arms, down his body and finally encased him totally. In an instant, he had frozen into a block of ice and Jorn pushed him over easily. Roy crashed to the ground where he shattered into a hundred pieces.

Jorn turned around, he was the only one on deck who was not in a state of shock. His blue eyes seem to be filled with ice, and they could all sense the great energy that was flowing in and around the boy. He ignored the blood-soaked deck and the pirates that were standing around in a state of shock. Jorn focused in on his sister and started walking slowly, menacingly, towards her and Captain Boyko who still held her captive. The Captain had his long knife out and held it to Danika’s throat.

“Take not another step, demon!”, he yelled. “I was going to fuck this little one all night; but I’ll slit her throat if you take another step!”, the Captain screamed.

The sky grew dark. The energy in the air increased by a quantum leap. Jorn’s frozen persona faded as intense heat filled the air. It was like all the air had suddenly been superheated and was just waiting for a spark.

“You won’t have me, you pig!”, Danika screamed. The spark had been lit. The very air around them burst into flame, a wave of fire emanated from Danika and swallowed the whole upper deck of the ship where everyone was gathered. The hair went first, then the clothes. Danika and Jorn stood there watching as the skin melted off the Pirates and the few remaining prisoners. When the flames died down, Danika and Jorn were there alone, naked, looking in horror at what she had done.

Jorn rushed over to his twin and held her in his arms, trying to comfort her. They stood there, alone as the ship started to burn and smolder. The smell of burning flesh filled the air and made them both sick. Danika looked first behind her; the pirate Captain was curled in a smoking ball of flesh. He was closest and the target of her rage. Then she broke from her brother’s embrace to run over and see her their mother. She was burned almost beyond recognition and was very near death.

Taking her mother in her arms, Danika cried while trying to speak. “Mother! I am so sorry!”

The older woman was near death and was in a place where her pain had mercifully subsided. She held her blackened hand out to caress the cheek of her only daughter. She looked at the girl who was on the cusp of womanhood, “No dear. Thank the Gods that you are blessed with these gifts.”, she choked a little, “Take care of your brother, you need to find your own way now.”, she was trying to cry; but she was burned beyond being able to produce water. “Don’t blame yourself for this, I am glad that you both will live and that your lives will be better than what your father and I had planned for you.”

“Mother!”, Jorn called out, touching her scorched cheek. “Hold on, we can help you!”, his voice almost frantic. Life left her eyes and she exhaled her last.

“She’s gone brother. We’re alone now.”, she laid her mother’s head down on the blackened deck. “We need to get off this burning ship before we become victims too. Go downstairs and grab our clothes, I’ll look for a lifeboat.”

Jorn took off across the chaos, and down the ladder to collect some of their things from the hold. Danika went to the pile of coins and the small satchel that had their father’s gems. Collecting them all, she went to a lifeboat that was near the stern of the ship.

Danika and Jorn were now dressed again, Jorn though still a boy, was paddling as best he could to get them headed towards the shore. Far behind them on the horizon, there was a conflagration where the two ships were parked. They would both soon be headed to bottom of the sea with only the twins as witness to what had happened there. As Jorn rowed, Danika patted the inner pocket where she had hidden their coins and the gems that their father had collected over the length of their lifetimes. She tried not to blame herself for their mother’s death; but she still felt an immense responsibility.

“Did you know that you could do that?”, she asked of her brother.

“Of course not.”, he answered peevishly, “I can never hide anything from you. It was as big of a surprise to me as it was to you.”, he continued rowing. “How about you?”, he asked. “I hope we’re not cursed. What if we’re demons?”, he yelped.

“I’m not a demon, and neither are you. Quit talking that way!”, she admonished her brother.

“Somehow, we have natural magic ability; but what you did was much stronger than what I was able to do. Maybe its cuz your changing already.”, he said plainly.

She started to blush, then dove in, “Yes, I’m going through the change. Mother said that girls often go through it earlier than boys do.”, she explained.

“So, because you have boobs and… hair, you have stronger magic than I do?”

“Who knows”, she replied. “All I know is, you won’t be a farmer, and I won’t marry a farmer.”