When I woke I felt cool bars behind my back, it ached from being in the uncomfortable position I was in.

I looked around, I was in the underbelly of the ship, where the cells were kept, most of them were empty, me being the only occupant. The rest of the cells were used to store equipment, rations and other general gear that the ship and it's crew needed.

I turned around as someone cleared their throat behind me, Sturmhond was leaning against a wall near the cell, Tamar and Toyla beside him.

"Traitors," I grumbled turning back around and closing my eyes.

Sturmhond stood up from the wall and crouched down beside the door so we were eye level, I looked him in the eye as he spoke, "I can't betray someone I didn't know," he stated mockingly.

I rolled my eyes, "Not you idiot, those two," I nodded to Toyla and Tamar, they exchanged confused glances, "I trusted you," I croaked, "But also, I saw you fight, you're heartrenders."

Sturmhond kept his mischievous smirk, "Observant," he commented.

"Why?" I asked them completely ignoring Sturmhonds sarcastic comments, "Those were Grisha, your own people, you fought them, mabey even killed a few."

"Not every Grisha goes to the little palace, to the Darkling," Toyla responded roughly.

Tamar placed a hand on her brothers bulky arm to calm him down, "We learned on our own, is what he means. We don't owe anything to the Darkling or his Grisha."

"Never said you did," I grumbled. I looked at Sturmhond who was still crouched down by the cell door, "Why'd you take me?" I asked, "You have the sun summoner, so why did you take me aswell?"

His lips quirked up into another sly grin, a grin of someone who thought every one of his moves through, "Couldn't exactly give the Darkling an easy way back through the fold now could we?" I shook my head in disbelief, is this really what my life had come to? "We also wanted to show you something."

Now this got my attention, my head snapped back to his, what on earth did this Privateer have planned?

I raised an eyebrow and he continued, "We want to show you you're options, make sure you know both sides of the story before the inevitable happens."

My brows knit together, "The inevitable?"

He gave me a pitiful look, "A civil war in Ravka." He explained, "By now everyone knows about the Darkling poisoning my- the king, some think you had a part to play but that's not right is it?"

I shook my head, "I wasn't even born when he first got sick."

He turned around to the twins, "Even I can tell tell she's not lying, I told you so," Toyla huffed in response and Tamar crossed her arms.

Sturmhond stood up and unlocked the cell door, "Care to have a look around?" He offered.

"Not particularly," I responded, "But you're going to make me anyways aren't you?"

"Yes I am," he confirmed with a wide smile. He fished a hook of keys out of his coat pocket, "I'm going to let you out of those while we're walking you around okay?" He explained to me, pointing at the irons.

I nodded wanting to get out of them quickly, they were itchy on my skin and I couldn't reach it.

"And just so you know, I've let each and every one of my men know that they can fill you with bullet holes if you suddenly decide to try my hospitality," he added merrily as he unlocked them.

"Thanks for the heads up," I muttered as I rubbed the pink skin from where the irons previously were.

Grudgingly, I followed Sturmhond around as he showed me the ship, Tamar and Toyla never too far behind. Whenever we passed people they would immediately become silent, fear in their eyes when they looked at me and admiration when at Sturmhond, it scared me that some people reacted to me in this way.

It only got worse as we stepped out onto the main deck, everyone stared at me as we passed, it made me nervous. "You've got alot of Grisha in your crew," I commented as we passed some Squallers who were pushing wind into the sails.

Sturmhond followed my gaze, "I suppose I do," he agreed.

We passed more people who were eating and others that were sparring with swords, like everyone else when I passed they stopped what they were doing, stared then had hushed conversations. I caught whiffs of said conversations, rumours about me, and stupid propaganda.

We stopped at the rail of the ship and looked over the sea, nothing but blue for miles. Sturmhond turned around to face me, leaning back on the rail, "Would you like to meet your mother?" He asked.

I was taken aback by the question, but I didn't let it show on my face, one of the many tricks my father had taught me, so I decided to say what was on my mind, "I'm not sure."

"She wants to see you," he stated, "Been asking ever since she found out you were here."

"So what are you going to do?" I asked, now also leaning back against the railing.

He sighed, "Just give her a chance, I know it's not going to be a happy reunion but just try see things from her perspective?"

I crossed my arms and muttered, "It's not going to be a reunion because I dont even know her."

I sighed and looked out onto the ocean, "Please don't," I whispered, he looked at me and for once, looked confused, surprised even. I turned around to face him, "I can't, I'm not ready to face her yet. Mabey in a few days, but not now, not yet."

He considered my words, inspecting them from every angle, "Then what do you want?" He asked.

My lips turned up into a small, sad, sorrowful smile, "What I want and what's possible are two different things," I said, becoming lost in my own thoughts, "I want to go back to my little village by the Shu han border with my adoptive parents and forget any of this happened, but that's impossible."

"Why not? Anything can be possible if you have the right mindset," he smarted.

I looked him in the eye, "Because their dead, and for what? Being Shu, for having the bad luck of being on the border." I willed the tears that were starting to form in my eyes back down into the abyss they came from, "What I want right now is to be able to go back down to that cozy little cell I'm staying in and have a nice nap to think."

"You're certainly one of the more polite prisoners I've ever had," Sturmhond chuckled to himself, "Come," he led me back down below deck and into my cell, "May I?" He asked holding up the irons I previously had on when we were outside the cell.

I rolled my eyes and held out my arms, "Just get on with it." As he was locking the cuffs I commented, "You've got a Durast."

"How can you tell," he asked opening the cell door.

I kicked it on my way in and it made an unnatural sound, "Reinforced with Grisha steel."

He closed the door and locked it, "Don't kick my ship."

"It's not your ship."

"And what makes you say that?"

"If this was your ship the whole cell would be made from Grisha steel instead of just being reinforced, also half your crew looked lost walking around."

He smiled to himself, "Have a nice sleep, Rena," he then turned and left.