January 28th, 1710

We had finally arrived in Nassau, Bahamas early this morning. It wasn't the sounds of bells signaling our arrival, but the smell of foreign land, unimaginable heat, filth, and rum that filled my nostrils. I came out of the tent we've created on deck and peered at the island though a spyglass. We weren't far, that was for certain. But even from our distance, the stench of Nassau traveled wide. My heart filled with excitement and anxiety as well. We had come here to start life anew and I hoped that we wouldn't have the same trouble as we did back in Singapore. Even mentioning it now makes me uneasy. I don't want to go back to the life we once knew. I don't want my son to know anything about the Assassins, or the horrible Templars or the war they have waged on each other for the past many centuries. In my mind, it was time to forget the past and keep moving forward. Nassau was the first step to that continuation.

I rushed back into the tent to wake up my son, Makara. I knew he didn't like being woken up before the sun peered out, but I knew we had to prepare ourselves before docking. Or else we would be the last ones off the ship.

I gently shook his shoulder, using my other hand to sweep the hair covering his forehead. "Good morning, kaun. Time to wake up—we'll be stopping at Nassau very soon. So rise and shine!" A little bit of a harder shake and he was awake, rubbing his eyes groggily. I chuckled a little, seeing his young face cascaded with locks of unkempt, dark hair.

"Good morning, Meak. Are we there yet?" he asked though a yawn.

"Almost. We need to pack our things. Go tidy yourself up and meet me back here, okay?"

"Okay."

With that he left the tent. I sighed and let my head fall downward, staring at the wooden deck of the ship. So many feelings, so many thoughts, so many preparations and so little time! My head was starting to hurt a little. I could only hope my son could adjust to our new home here halfway around the world. Surely it was for the better, but how much more decent is this pirate-run island our homeland? Will it be safe enough to live in; sanitary enough to fish and buy foods; supply enough medicine to heal and stop the spread of disease? I could only hope everything will be okay once we reach Nassau.

Later that day…

An hour had passed since I woke Makara up and we've packed all our belongings since. And finally the ship docked at port. People began filing out onto the dock. We followed suit.

Makara looked eyes-widened like an eagle at the entirety of our new hometown. He had never seen so many open markets, people, even such a city that was booming with so much business, soldiers, and pirates. As we moved though the city, he caught a glimpse of some women—wenches—doing their business with fellow pirates. I immediately pulled his attention elsewhere, pointing towards a market full of fruits and fish. A smile dashed on his face and excitingly he asked me, "Meak, can we buy some food? I'm really hungry! Please!"

"Alright, go take a look at what you want. I'll be right there." He ran off with his little feet towards the crates of food. I knew he would be hungry.

I let out a silent sigh and internally berated myself. Already I was feeling the pressures of this new life weigh on my shoulders. I would have to be careful wherever we go, or as a matter-of-fact, where Makara went. God knows what Nassau has in store for foreigners—especially with all these piratical maniacs, idiotic soldiers of the "crown", and (God damn!) those disgusting wenches and whores. The last thing I need is to have my son loose his virginity before his teens.

We went and bought a few bunches of fruits and some dried meat—enough to last for today and tomorrow. After finishing our breakfast, we went to find Nassau Taverna, our supposed new home here. It took us a while, having no idea where we were headed. Asking around wasn't too much of a problem. It seemed that there was enough of a mix of color and faces for a few new Asians to mingle in.

Finally we reached the Taverna, as per its name, a local tavern said to be popular with the locals and even some passerby scoundrels of the seas. It was a good thing we arrived early, as the place wasn't open for business yet, which would give us some time to settle down. As we walked up the steps I spotted someone behind the building. It sounded like dish washing.

"Hello! Sebastian, is that you there?" A face popped out and by the smile on his face I knew I was in the right place. I went up and hugged him tightly, finally relieved to be with my husband again.

"It's been forever since I've seen you", I told him. I truly did miss him.

"What do you mean forever? It's only been three months!" he retorted with a smile—that smile that he knew I adored. God, did I marry him because of those cunning lips? He let go of me and met my eyes, which were shining with longing and love. He opened his mouth to say something, but decided not to. And he knew why, as did I. We didn't need words to express our feelings. We trusted each other and we loved each other. Words, according to him, were fluff to cover up the truth. Action brought change and the day he looked into my eyes passionately and slipped that gold ring onto my hand I knew I couldn't fight his contention—at least not that one. Love was the most powerful force that brought us together and it was only made stronger when a certain little monkey came into the world.

"But I did miss a certain little rascal!" he exclaimed as he ran towards Makara and lifted him off the ground and into the air, Makara's happy laughter accompanying the action. "How has my little monkey been, eh? Did you give Meak a difficult time?"

He shook his head adamantly. "I didn't not!" he retaliated and with honesty too. Makara had always been a boy of good wits, not wanting too much and always thoughtful of others around him, just like his father. Although he did show a few instances of devious qualities that proved to be as expected of an eight year old, the way he carried them made his image that of a sharp youngling. It also made me realize that my time spent with him as a child was limited, as within a few more years he was going to change and become a young man. Oh how I dread those moments despite the fact that they were far in time from now. I love him the way he is now, as my little ray of hope, my little baby boy (and forever will be). But he is now eight years of age, and ten and three years is much closer than his first year of life.

We laughed at his response. Sebastian set him down, but not before demanding a kiss on the cheek which Makara willing performed flawlessly. He loved his father, anyone could voucher that much. I remember him saying one day, "I love Meak and Aupouk! Forever and ever!" And as I remembered this memory, I smiled with genuinely than I had in the last few months. Seeing my family happy together always brought warmness to my heart. At least I know that there is light within this dark world.

"And where will we stay, love?" I asked him.

"There's a cabin behind the Taverna that we'll live in. It hasn't been much, but with you and our little monkey I think it'll be boring around here anymore."

"Hey! I'm not a monkey!" Makara pouted.

"No, you are not a monkey, but you are most definitely Meak's monkey", I said pinching his cheeks and kissing his forehead.

The arduous task of unpacking unraveled when we entered the cabin Sebastian mentioned—our new home. It was enough for one small family, with a kitchen, a single bedroom with a double decked bed, and a tight but doable dining room. It wasn't the best of all houses, but at least it wasn't a wrecked shelter full of cat sized rats, disease or cries of hunger and pain. It was enough to live in, a small but comfortable place to call home.

Surprisingly getting ourselves settled went faster than I intended. By noon we were out and about town looking for foods to buy for the home and the tavern. Sebastian stayed behind to tend to the bar. By the time we finished it was mid afternoon with the sun at its highest. I just finished buying a bundle of grapes when someone accidentally stumbled into me.

"Ugh!" I went flying to the ground, the fruit I bought splayed about around me. Apparently I had hit my lower back first, which hurt a lot. I heard Makara call out for me. Then I felt a hand take mine and lifted me from the ground. Adjusting my eyes from the fall, I met the brown orbs of a young man—or lad I should say by his appearance—who I guessed had just walked into me.

"Sorry 'bout that mate", he apologized. My eyes slightly widened from hearing his voice. Although his appearance—an expensive leather jacket with fine details at the collar, a red bandana wrapped around the head to lift in place the many braids that adorned the side of the face, trousers, high kneed boots and a diagonal scar on the cheek—seemed convincing enough, I had a strong inkling that this lad was anything but. I had seen it so many times in Singapore, where women passed on as pirates dressed in men's clothing and acting like them. It was one of the only ways to get around piracy, unless you had the utmost audacity to go about as a woman (which many didn't). Despite my strong guess, I kept my mouth shut about that part and went on with the flow of the conversation.

"Oh, it's okay, young man. Today just seems to be very busy and I suspected something like this would happen eventually."

"Well as repayment let me help ya and I'll pay whateva's been damaged. 'Reckon that be alright wit ya?"

I smiled. At least he—she—knew how to be a gentleman. "Thank you. I would appreciate that." After that fiasco, Makara and I headed straight back to the Taverna. I wanted to make sure Sebastian isn't being trampled over by customers because if the market was full of people, I would bet a thousand Reales that the tavern was too. My hypothesis was confirmed when we arrived. Standing and sitting about were scores of people ranging from merchants to pirates to local citizens. God, was it always this busy in Nassau?

I literally threw the groceries into the back of the tavern and ran straight into the bar looking for Sebastian. I spotted him on the other side of the deck. The moment he returned I rushed and asked, "What do you need me to do?"

The rest of the afternoon remained bustling until late evening, when the stars began to show their twinkling light. It had been absolutely busy, but well business made. There had been over one hundred customers that day, mostly due to a few pirate ships docking in Nassau today, and since Nassau Taverna was one of the closer areas to drink near shore. As soon as the last customer was on his merry way out, we started cleaning the place up. Makara had been helpful to put away and organize the groceries—which I completely forgot about—and clean dishes and mugs in the kitchen outback. Like I said, a thoughtful little critter he was.

By the time we finished I was ready to hit the sheets and send my brain to the Dream World. But there was the question of who would sleep where.

"I'll sleep on the floor", Sebastian proposed. "Three blankets and I'll be fine. You two need the beds more than me."

"No, no, we're not going to do that. You've been working your head off the entire day—and don't say you didn't, I saw you—and you need to rest. What if tomorrow becomes busier than today? You can forget about working with that back pain from the floor." Here's the thing—when it comes to situations like this we always end up arguing, worrying for the other's comfort and wellness. But in my opinion and from my experience, if one hasn't slept peacefully and painlessly the next day they'll turn into the cousin of good old Grecian Ogres.

"But you've been at sea for how many months without a bed?" he countered. "Trust me, just take it. I'll be fine."

"No you won't. I know for a fact that deprived of a good night's rest and you'll be under the prick tomorrow morning."

Makara pulled at my trousers. "Can I ask you something important?" I nodded. "What if we do this; I can sleep with you since I'm small and Meak is small too. We'll take the bottom bed and Aupouk can take the top bed. Then everyone gets a bed!"

"Are you sure?" Sebastian asked.

Makara nodded. "I'm okay sleeping with Meak. We did the same thing on the ship, so I'm used to it." He then went up to his father and gave his waist a hug. "You need to rest, Aupouk. Promise me?" He held out his pinkie finger. Sebastian hooked his own smallest finger with our son's. "Promise." A glance at me and I knew what he wanted to say: smart kid. So we went to bed afterwards.

I woke up the next morning, stretching like a cat and yawning like a lion, to smell of Nassau. Makara and Sebastian had already awoken and seemed to be cooking something in the kitchen. Breakfast—cinnamon seasoned dried fish with tea—was quick as we began to become busy early that morning again, as it did the entire week. My thoughts sometimes trailed back to the lad I saw the other day. It was understandable that to be a pirate one must be a man, truly or disguised. Was it more dangerous to be caught here than in Singapore though? What were the consequences if caught by one of the royal empires? I shook my head ridding my mind of the thoughts. I had to put my past away—no need to remember them now, not if they weren't going to help me.

I didn't let my mind trail to them again until eight days passed since I arrived in Nassau…until I saw the young lad again at our tavern. I went up to him and asked if he wanted a drink.

"A bottle o'rum would do", he replied. I nodded and went to go get his order. Coming back, I checked to make sure I didn't miss any empty mugs. As I edged closer to the young man, I spotted something attached to his wrist. The sight made my stomach churn and the bundle of nerves in my head pulse with anxiety. It was clearly marked on the instrument the lad strapped to himself—the symbol that I refused to remember; refused to go back to; refused to believe in and abide my life by. Fate was cruel and enduring. I hoped that this new life would be worth the struggle, but now that I know this…God damn it, I spat at myself. Assassins. Great…"