Chapter One

Ashes amongst the Waves

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One thousand, two hundred and fifty-eight men died today. Each accused of piracy, murder and theft.

Of those men, thirty-one were true pirates. My father was the last to die. In front of my eyes, a man who had raised me from childhood was hung. He didn't have to die but he had made an oath to himself and the crew of his ship. If they go down, he will follow. Head held high with pride in every step.

The pain in seeing his twitching body heaped to the side like so many others on that barren ground in front of the gates of Calypso Bay was the worst I had felt in my short life. It was ten times worse than pain of watching your friends leave you, your childhood home burn and faithful dog die. I push back my tears and heart ache with nothing but a blink and sniff. I would stay strong.

After the uncomfortable silence of the town members began to disappear the governor declared the numbers. His formal voice ringing through my ears and the families around me. His finally words were what made me leave though. Not the burning flesh, nor the life-less bodies. Not the cries and wails of wives and children. No, I would not be turned away by such things.

"Today the Vendetta and her crew will burn. The ruthless pirates are no more. Her captain, Charles Swan is dead along with the foolish men who followed him."

Burn the Vendetta? Not likely. I turned on my heels. Crowds parted for me as I pushed through to the port where the Vendetta was held. Guarding it were four men. It would be a simple task to distract the Naval Guards. Men, no matter what class, had a weakness for one thing. Beautiful Women.

I put on a seductive smile. Looking down I could see my reflection in the calm water under the pier. My long mahogany hair fell around my shoulders and down my back. I had three pins placed in my hair, two which were not visible. My skin was pale and I had large brown eyes. I was the essences of innocent.

My looks were what saved me. The English men would look at me with lust filled glances and forget that I was suspected for piracy. It was the only reason that I had not died today with my father. I used what I had to my advantage. My mother, a woman of high blood used to teach me the way 'proper' ladies acted. That was before my rebellion.

I wore clothes now that were usually for men, though some days, such as today, I wore clothes which seemed fit for a princess. My long crimson dress was a flowing gown which had a low bodice and gold lacing. This was my second favourite dress, second only to the midnight blue gown hidden in my cabin on the Vendetta.

I looked down the pier and saw the tall mask of my home. The men, standing in their royal blue uniform were talking casually. Not one of them expecting to find any trouble whilst guarding the ship. How wrong they were.

I walked forward with a slight sway of my hips. "Excuse me?" My voice rang out clear shocking the men out of their conversation.

The men ranged in sizes, two were taller than average though one was made of muscle, whilst the other seemed pudgier. The other two were closer to normal height though one was quiet lanky and the other, who happened to be the smallest seemed to be of even amounts of fat and muscle. Each one had either blonde or black hair and they all had grey hair beginning to show. Definitely not my type.

"Yes Miss." The tallest one asked. It appeared he was trying to be seductive.

"I'm sorry if I disturbed you but I was wondering if you could please go look over there and see if you could see my pendent. It is made from gold and is on a long chain, it used to belong to my father and I would be dreadfully upset if I lost it."

"Of course Miss." The other guard said. He walked to the edge of the pier and looked down into the water where I had pointed. The other agreed and lent down behind him.

The smallest one turned around and looked at me. "What does the necklace look like exactly?" He asked.

I smiled and pulled a golden necklace which was connected to a circular pendent with unique swirls from my dress. "Like this." The man nodded, examined it for a second before turning back to the ocean.

"You have two?" He asked without turning.

"Nope, it's one of a kind." Before any of the men could say anything, I kicked forward, my gold shoes connecting with the tallest man creating a domino effect, throwing each man into the water. I didn't waste time. It had taken a while to think out this plan. It was simple. What I needed was to push the ship into the Caraway Current which travelled part way down the coast of England before turning to an island, miles away from England. Only pirates knew of this current and the island was known to even less.

I examined the ship from below, its stern and bow made of the finest and strongest wood. The flag had been pulled down but the customary blue with the Latin symbol for revenge was usually held high for any ship to see.

Running in shoes as high as mine was not the easiest thing that I had done but definitely not the hardest. Grabbing one of the ropes which dropped down beside the ship I swung my body up to the deck. My tired muscles straining, having not slept for many nights. When my feet landed on the solid wood, I pulled off my shoes, chucking them over the side and into the water away from port. I wasted no time checking the ship. I ran to my old cabin, beside the Captains Chambers. I pushed the door open and the familiar smell hit me. I continued though. Going towards my cupboard where clothes were usually held. It was empty, but I knew that the loose floor could be moved. I dug my nails in deep and pulled out the floor. Underneath was my blue gown and silver shoes. Beside that though was my disguise, I white shirt that was slightly torn and forest green three quarter pants which tucked into my brown boots. I changed into the clothes quickly. I replaced it with my crimson dress. Slamming the wood back into place, I pulled my hair into a plait, than used a brown bandanna to go over the top. Trinkets and souvenirs from previous battles were sewn on. This bandanna had been given to me many years ago when I had started on my father's ship.

After making sure that my long hair was not noticeable I checked myself in the mirror. I knew what I looked like. I was, to any who saw me, a boy. I turned and grabbed a sword off the wall. It was balanced perfectly with a sharp blade and black hilt, I slid it into the holster on my hips. It felt right there. Everything I wore felt more than right, unlike my dress, which usually limited my movements.

I walked then, out onto the deck, expecting to see nothing but seagulls. With this in mind, I was more than shocked to see three men standing on my ship, two I did not know, but the third seemed more than familiar. It took all I had to not scream and run towards him. I held my poker face and spoke in a deep voice, full of authority.

"Who are you, and why are you here?" I had the satisfaction of seeing the three of them jump, though their moment of shock quickly subsided as they pulled out swords, spinning around and holding their weapons in my direction.

"What are you doing here? This ship is supposed to be empty. By noon it shall be nothing more than ash on the great ocean." The tall and muscle built, blonde man growled.

"I asked first."

"But you are outnumbered."

"I could probably take the three of you." I was stubborn and full of myself. Living with pirates since you could swim tended to do that to you.

My statement though, made the giant of a man laugh. A Booming echo sounded around the ship. I cautiously looked over to the port to see the four men who had been guarding the ship still trying to pull themselves out of the water.

"I don't have time to chat. Sorry to leave this party but i seemed to have upset some men over there and I would like to leave now. If you don't mind, can you please get off the Vendetta?" It wasn't actually a question.

"Not likely, Captain wants this ship so we're going to sail it back to the island."

"Emmett, shut up now." I was shocked.

"You mean the Island near the Caraway Current?" The Giant who was apparently called Emmett turned away from me.

"You know the Island?" Blonde asked.

"I've lived amongst pirates for years. I know almost every rule, trick and hideout in the book."

The man looked at me suspiciously. "I've never heard of you or seen you. I don't think I can trust you."

"Man Jasper, lighten up. It's just a young boy, and he knows of the Island. I say we take him back to Captain."

Jasper was the blonde hair man. "We'll take him to Captain but I want him tied up and his sword taken off him." He turned to the youngest there. This man looked completely different to the two pale skin men. He had russet coloured skin and long black hair which had been collected in to dread locks. On the end were beads ranging from white, blue and red. "You can tie him up. You are probably the best at knots."

He nodded but as he came to me I heard him mutter, "Second only to her."

I tried to hide the grin on my face as Seth came towards me. He grabbed my arms and took my sword, throwing it to the ground. I didn't put up a fight as he pulled out a rope and wrapped it around me legs, hands and body. It was slightly uncomfortable but I didn't say a word.

"What's your name?" He suddenly asked.

I opened my mouth for a second and then closed it. "Ben." I finally said.

Seth nodded his head. "Well, whatever you're doing on this ship, I hope you don't get too hurt. I'm Seth by the way." I just nodded. My eyes were becoming heavy and the lack of food and sleep were taking its toll on me. As I leaned against the railing where Seth had placed me, I thought of who I was. I was not the daughter of a rich woman who had married another man after her first love left to sail the seas, the daughter of a great pirate and hero or a woman dressed as a man. Not one of these points in my life was me. I lived so many different lies I could no longer tell the real me from the fake.

Darkness began to boarder the edge of my vision as my final thought questioned who I really was and what my purpose in life would be.

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