Muffled shouts came from outside and Catherine and her sister Maggie got out of bed. Walking outside they saw a large ship out in the harbor and a dozen or so dinghies landing on the shore. Maggie gripped her older sister's hand tightly as an albino jumped out of one of these boats and onto the shore.

He was wearing fine clothes and nice boots. Catherine saw this and immediately knew he was a pirate. She looked around and saw that the whole village had gathered to see the man and his crew. The red eyes swept over the crowd stopping on her and Maggie.

"Hello. I am the awesome pirate Gilbert." He said in an annoying German accent. "Give us all your money and supplies and no one will get hurt." He smiled evilly and waited for someone to challenge him.

Soon the pirates were loading up their ship with money and supplies from the village. The people watched helplessly as the albino man walked over to stand in front of Catherine.

"Why, you're quite lovely my dear." He said lifting up her chin. He brushed a few blonde hairs out of her sapphire eyes.

The teen responded by spitting in his face.

"Why you little…" the pirate muttered wiping off the spit. He pulled his sword apparently planning to run her through.

Catherine automatically pushed her five year old sister behind her. When Gilbert saw this, an evil smile stretched across his pale face. "You are most protective of that little girl, huh?" He reached around Catherine and pulled Maggie out into the open. "This is what happens when you mess with pirates." Catherine watched as Gilbert slit the girl's throat and threw her lifeless corpse onto the sand.

Then he jumped into one of the dinghies and headed back to the ship. The ship became smaller and smaller in the distance. Only when it was just a dot on the horizon did Catherine make a sound. Catherine threw her head back and screamed at the top of her lungs.

She ran to her sister's body and pulled the lifeless girl into her lap. She rocked the body in her arms singing a lullaby. The pirate's last words haunted her mind. "This is what happens when you mess with pirates."

A ship let down anchor in the harbor. Dinghies rowed toward the shore. The villagers gathered on the coast watching the small boats come closer. The realization rose from the crowd like a heavy fog. Pirates were back to their peaceful village.

The last time was bad enough. A young girl had been murdered and the village had almost starved that winter. Now they were back again. Fear hung in the humid air as the boats washed ashore.

A blonde man stepped out wearing a blood red coat with gold ornaments decorating it. His green eyes were hard and watchful. A child among the villagers started snickering. The eyes landed on him freezing him to the spot.

"Something wrong?" The pirate asked menacingly. His British accent was cold and stony.

The child shook his head. "No sir. It's just, your eyebrows are funny. So thick."

This angered the man and he ripped the child away from his mother. Her pathetic pleas did nothing to the man as the child started crying. He picked the boy up by his shirt, smiling menacingly.

Suddenly a knife flew through the air and landed right by the pirate's foot. He immediately dropped the child. "Who threw that?"

"I did." Came the young women's response. She stepped out of the crowd holding a sword tightly in one hand and a knife in the other. She raised the sword and spat, "Get out of here."

The venom in her voice didn't deter the pirate in the least. He walked up so his neck was even with her sword. "Such a big weapon for such a lovely lady. Let me take that dear." His voice had softened and he let a smirk play on his lips.

She slashed the sword across his face leaving a line of red blood. The crew ran forward but was stopped by a wave of the pirate's hand. "My, my, you're a brave little wench." He said thoughtfully.

"I'm not a wench you dirty sea dog." She spat. Her sword inched closer to his jugular. "Now get out of here before I kill you."

"Alright, I'm done playing around with you." The smile vanished from his face. He drew his own sword and forced hers back from his throat. He slashed at the girl's shoulder but was deflected.

The fight continued with the pirate attacking and the girl avoiding it. She moved with graceful precision and used his own attacks against him. The hot headed pirate was soon cursing and out of breath. Finally, her sword made contact with his wrist and he dropped the sword with a cry of pain. She tackled him to the ground and put the knife to his throat.

"Now get out of my village." She said with contempt.

After that she stood up and turned to walk away. Then, a knife whizzed through the air and cut her right arm. She turned back around to the blonde pirate behind her.

"Never turn your back on a pirate." He said with a laugh. He bent and picked up his sword. She raised hers, ready to fight again. He shook his head and sheathed the weapon. "That was very impressive, my dear." A smile played on his lips again. "I've never seen some one last as long with me as you did." He walked forward.

She raised the sword higher and glared menacingly at him. "Stay back."

He stopped. "Of course. Where are my manners." He placed his hand on his forehead shamefully. "You don't know who I am."

"Egotistical pirate." She muttered.

He pretended not to hear. "My name is Captain Arthur Kirkland." He put his hand out expectantly. "What's your name, love?"

The nervous villagers looked from the pirate to the girl and back. Whispers drifted around as people watched. Worry and fear filled every eye there. The pirates on the other hand, stood completely bored waiting for instruction.

Finally, the girl lowered her sword and said, "My name is Catherine Smedley." She made no move however to shake the pirate's hand.

"Hey captain, we gonna rob this village or not?" one member of the crew said impatiently.

The blonde man looked back over at his crew. "Do any of you wish to fight her?"

Mumbles came from the pirates but grudgingly they got back in their dinghies and waited for the captain. He turned back to Catherine and asked, "Are you badly hurt?"

She looked down at her right arm that was bleeding slightly. She shook her head. "I'm fine. Why do you care?"

"Because I caused it, did I not?" Arthur walked forward again and gripped her chin in his hand. "Why did you fight?"

The hand holding the knife inched upward slightly but not threateningly. She gazed into his emerald eyes and blurted out an answer. "Because you killed my little sister."

"Me?" he said his eyes clouding over in confusion.

"Not you specifically. Just another pirate like yourself."

"Really now, and when was this?"

"Three years ago."

"Ah, I see." The pirate released her face. "Any idea who he was?"

"An albino named Gilbert." She said without hesitation.

The pirate looked deep in thought. "Yes I know him."

This shocked Catherine. She dropped her weapons to grip the short man's shoulders. "Where is he?" she shouted in the surprised Brit's face.

"Calm down dear." He said shrugging out from under her hands. "I don't know where he is, but I'm looking for him, too."

Catherine stepped back slightly embarrassed at her outburst. "Sorry. Why are you looking for the man?"

"He stole something very valuable from me." The pirate said disdainfully. "I really hope to get it back soon, though." He looked out at the waves thoughtfully. "Would you like to come with me?"

Catherine blinked in shock. "What?" Her blue eyes filled with distrust that soon changed to disgust. "You filthy pirate! Do you actually think I'm the type of girl who would…"

"What?" he cut her off. His flaming eyes turned back to her. She could easily tell he was angry. "You wound me, dear. I am a gentleman and a pirate. That is not at all what I meant."

Catherine blushed a dark red at her failed assumption. "Sorry."

He waved it off with a twirl of his hand. Then, he winced as he looked more closely at his wrist. "It seems your sword did cut me." The shock in his voice was hardly concealed. Then he shrugged it off and said, "I meant as a member of my crew."

"You want me to become a pirate?" Catherine asked. The shock was apparent on both her face and in her voice.

"You can refer to me as Arthur." The man stepped forward to throw his arm around the surprised girl's shoulders. "Come see the world with me. And take your revenge."

Catherine thought for a moment. "Fine, I'll come with you."

She heard gasps from the crowd behind her. She brushed the man's arm off her shoulder and turned to the people who she had known all her life. She was met with teary eyes and a few hard stares. One man in particular glared threateningly. He seemed like he wanted to say something but didn't dare.

"I'll be back." She said. Her eyes fell on him for a minute, then she averted her gaze not wanting to look at him any longer. "I promise."

That's when Arthur grabbed her arm. "Well come on then, dear. We don't have all day." He turned and walked to the nearest dinghy with her in tow.

She shook him off and ran to grab her knife and sword. Then she turned and jumped in beside him. The boat took off and the men started rowing back to their ship. She noticed some were scowling at her. But, she brushed this off and inhaled the sea air.

Captain Kirkland watched her standing balanced even as the boat rocked under their feet. "Have you been to sea before?"

She turned her piercing blue eyes on him. "Yeah my dad was a fisherman before he died." She turned back out to face the harbor. "I helped him on his ship all the time.

The captain chuckled low under his breath. "Was he also a master swordsman, dear?"

"Yeah why?" she asked disinterestedly.

"Well if I didn't know any better, I'd say he was like a pirate." A small hand smacked him across the face sending him falling to the floor of the small boat. He stared up at the furious girl. She glared at him murderously.

"Never speak of my father like that!" she screamed.

Two pirates stood up with their hands on the hilts of their swords. The girl readied her own weapon as they unsheathed the two blades. The first lunged at her but was deflected. He stumbled back and tripped. He tumbled into the water creating a huge splash. The other man ran forward only to have his sword blocked by hers. With a move of her hand she slashed through the skin of his upper arm.

He came forward again but unexpectedly, another sword stopped his own. He looked up to see his captain had stood up and was blocking his way to the girl. "Captain, I…" he started.

"That's quite enough of that." Captain Kirkland said darkly. "Now sit back down and row."

The man sheathed his sword and sat back in his seat. The blonde captain turned to the girl with a mischievous smile. "That was quite impressive, my dear."

She simply glared at him as a response. She waited for him to hit her back. She was expecting it. She never got away with hitting a man like that. At least not that man…

He rubbed his cheek where she had slapped him. "You do have some strength in you besides just with your sword." He stopped and looked up at her. "Can you fight?"

She shrugged not saying anything, still waiting for him to strike her. The captain sheathed his sword with a sigh. Catherine did the same. He watched her for a moment.

"I am sorry, love. I shouldn't have said that about your father. Sometimes my mouth says things it really shouldn't." He smiled hopefully at her for a second.

"Fine." She replied a bit surprised he wasn't angry. "I'm sorry I hit you."

He smiled just as the boat pulled up beside the ship and a rope ladder was lowered. The captain grabbed onto it and started climbing. Catherine waited for all the pirates to climb up to go up herself.

When she reached the top, the captain grabbed her arm to pull her up. She winced slightly as his firm grip closed over the cut he had given her. She straightened her face when she saw the sheer number of men before her. There had to be at least twice as many than what came over in the boats.

"My men, this is your new crewmate. I expect you all to treat her well." Arthur said.

"But sir." Came a voice from the crowd. "She's a woman."

"Yes, I know. Do I look daft to you?" was the sarcastic answer from the captain. "But the truth is she's a brilliant fighter and would be an asset to our crew."

There were no other disputes so the captain released his crew to hoist the anchor and set sail. He turned to give Catherine a big smirk.

She glanced around her at all the big brutes on the deck before turning her attention back to him. "I can see you're worried." He said.

"I am not." She defended automatically.

He held up his hand to stop her. "Don't lie." He commanded. Then his face softened and he said. "Here, I want you to have something." He took off a shiny gold pin from his fancy red coat. Then he pinned it to her shirt.

She looked at the pin closely. On it was a flaming gold sword with the letter A. K. on the bottom. "What is it?" she asked astounded at its beauty.

"Oh nothing. Just my seal." He said. "Wear that and no one will ever touch you." This last part was said seriously.

She looked up at his serious face that she hadn't seen, even when they were fighting. It surprised her a little. He was looking at her with a real fire in his eyes, and it scared her. It really terrified her to think that someone might actually care.

Then his eyes went back to their normal teasing glint. He laughed and said, "Well we better figure out you're er… sleeping arrangements."

Catherine blushed tomato red and averted her eyes. "Okay."

"Well most of the men sleep in the mess hall or in the rooms where we keep the cannons. I guess you can sleep in my office for the time being." Arthur looked at Catherine to see if she was fine with the idea. "Come on. I'll show it to you."

He started off across the deck, weaving between the men working. Catherine sighed and followed him. She was just about to catch up when a young man stepped in her way and they collided. She fell to the ground with a thud.

"Hey watch where you're going, you idiot." The man started to complain. Then he looked down and saw her, his face turning bright red. "Oh sorry ma'am." He said. He helped her to her feet and looked down. "Forgive me." Then he turned to walk away.

She stared after him for a second before running to catch up with Captain Kirkland. He was just going into his office when she caught up. "Here it is." He said proudly as he unlocked the door and went inside. The room was lavishly furnished with foreign looking furniture.

Catherine was impressed but didn't let it show on her face. She watched the captain walk over to the desk and lean on it. She ignored him and walked around the room looking at everything. She was so engrossed in the maps hung on the wall, she didn't notice the pirate come up behind her.

He suddenly reached over her shoulder to point something out on the map. This surprised her and she elbowed him in the stomach, without thinking. She turned quickly looking for an escape route from the sure to be angry man. There was only the door. She would have to run around him rather quickly.

The wind was knocked out of his lungs and he gasped for air like a fish out of water. "That was a dirty move." He finally managed to choke out. Then he started laughing.

Catherine stood there guiltily as he walked over and sat on the couch. He patted the spot next to him and she warily walked over to take a seat beside the man. He slung his arm around her shoulder which made her tense up like a cat about to bolt.

"Would, you calm down already?" he said with a chuckle.

She tried to relax but kept thinking about who she was sitting beside. Finally he sighed and got up. He stretched his back and arms making the joints crack. He smiled down at her and said, "Now it's time to eat." He grabbed her arm and dragged her down below deck to the mess hall.

The room was in total chaos. Men were up on the tables drinking and pouring beer on themselves and others. There was a lot of shouting and singing. Catherine now remembered why she hated pirates so much. They were murderers, thieves, and drunks.

Arthur pulled her through the crowd to where the food was. He poured a bunch of brown goop on a plate and handed it to her. He poured some more on his own plate and dug in with his fingers. She watched him standing there eating with his hands for a moment. Finally, he noticed she wasn't eating.

"What's wrong, dear?" He asked.

"Nothing." She said with a sigh. Then she dipped her fingers into the repulsive stuff and shoveled it into her mouth.

The captain watched her with a smirk before beginning to eat again.

When they were both through, he took her back to his office. He unlocked the door and watched her walk in. Then he tossed her the key.

"Here, this should give you some peace of mind." He said with another mischievous smirk.

With that being said, he shut the door and left. Catherine rushed over and locked it. Then she went and collapsed on the couch. "What did I get myself into?" she asked herself.

The girl slowly closed her blue eyes and drifted off to sleep. In her dreams she went back to the night of her sister's murder. The crazy albino even more vivid in her mind, she dreamt that she had stood up for her sister and killed the man. When she woke up however, she was on a pirate ship, without her sister.