"Fear me"

His voice hovered specifically over the word "fear" as if he needed to put any kind of emphasis on it. He knew good and well that any member of this cowardly crew would piss his pants with just one glare directed toward them with those cold, cold eyes. Well, every member except her. Not that she intended to make a scene of it, she was in enough trouble that day as it was. It was early this morning when she had gotten into another fight aboard The Dauntless. The sun had not even began to rise yet but there she was, standing clear in the center of the main deck with another man's blood splattered over her uniform. A right fool she had been, already losing two of her strikes and she had not even spent a month as a true Navy soldier. She knew luck wouldn't be in her favor after her commanding officer saw what she'd done, to be perfectly honest she hadn't intended on injuring Adam that morning, but it had been unavoidable. That wretched man had been on her last nerve for weeks now, ever since he first learned her last name.

"Read. Front and center!"

The sound of her superior's voice quickly pulled Mary out of her painful flashback. She knew she was going to get it now, Adam was awake and for that matter, able to snitch on her. With a painful grimace she took her place in front of Commander Peterson. He had been a thorn in her side since the day of her arrival, he thought her a troublemaker and she knew it. It wouldn't have bothered her so much if it was anyone else's opinion. Anyone else but him.

"Seems you got yourself into a bit of trouble this morning, eh?"

His voice was serious, but his eyes were almost amused. What? He didn't even think she could have taken that measly Adam? Well Mary knew that wasn't true, she'd proven that to herself and everyone else on the ship now. No turning back from that fact.

"Aye, Sir."

She spat out that last word with a pinch of sarcasm attached to it. "Sir" was the last thing she wanted to call this lout who stood before her.

"Well, that'll be your second strike. You know that right? One more and i'll toss your good for nothing arse out into the ocean and don't think I won't."

His piercing blue eyes burned her. Sometimes she could swear he saw right through her disguise. It was becoming more and more often that she was forced to stop and remind herself that it was all an act. He couldn't really have figured out she was a girl… could he? She decided to be bold and test him, wanting to get a good rise out of that arrogant bastard. If she was in trouble, she was determined to make it worth her while.

"Is that so? But Sir, If i'm dead… Who will be the one to train your crew?"

That wasn't entirely true, he in fact was a good teacher. However, she had been taught to fight prior to becoming a proper soldier, first by watching men brawl outside the tavern near her home and secondly, by a kindly, retired general when she served as a cabin boy in prior years. This of course, gave her an advantage over most of other new soldiers who hadn't a clue how to handle a sword before Peterson had taught them. Aye, he was much more skilled and experienced than she, but for the sheer lack of fighting talent among the rest of the crew, Captain Burdett had recruited her to help in training the younger soldiers.

"Don't fuck this up, Read" he had warned her. He knew as well as anyone that the Commander took no liking towards her. The reason for that wasn't exactly clear, she reckoned it was because many of the crew members had begun coming to her for fighting tips, a few even asking for extra help in practice. Mary took pride in this respect, but she could see that Peterson did not. It wasn't particularly because he felt threatened by the young girl, no he knew that if needed he could kick her arse with little effort. Yet, it stung that the crew seemed to favor her. And as for her little comment, that was the last straw. She could see that he had a lesson in mind for her.

"Think this is funny, do you? Find it amusing that you nearly killed Adam this morning out of sheer stupidity?! Well, Mr. Read It's clear you have something to prove here and now."

With that, he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her to his side. She felt the helm of a sword slip into her palm as he forced the weapon on her. He was going to fight her, here with everyone watching, the thought nearly made Mary sick. She was a strong warrior, Aye. A strong warrior with an even stronger fighting spirit, but to fight this man with years of defined training and experience? Not to mention the fact that he nearly doubled her in size. She was not tall by any means, at least not for a man. And she was scrawny, even for a 14 year old girl. Peterson had a tall, muscular build with large biceps that showed even through his uniform. True, he may have been only a few years older than she, 18 maybe… but to think that she could beat this man was ridiculous. It was then when Peterson began calling out the names of crew members.

"Vince, Whitman, Stafford, Williams!"

These weren't just any crew members either, they were the ones she had been training. The next few names he called out were of a different nature.

"Patrick, Boland, Mundy, O'hare!"

These were the men he had been giving one on one training to. Mary groaned inaudibly. He wasn't fighting her to assert dominance or make an example. No, he was doing something much worse, he was having his men face off against hers. She wasn't the one with something to prove, he was.

"If you lads are so loyal to Read here, how about a bit of healthy competition?"

He turned to his own men this time.

"And you men, I expect you to show off the maneuvers I've been teaching you."

This time Mary was the one to cut him off.

"This is a sick way of gaining respect."

Peterson scoffed, unaffected by her comment.

"This ain't about respect, Read. I'm simply suggesting a test of sorts. If your men win, you're off the hook for Adam. Also, I'll allow to you continue training the men by my side."

"And if your men are the victors?"

The commander gave a sly smirk before responding,

"If my men best yours, which no doubt will be the case… You give up your position as whatever kind of teacher you believe yourself to be and you'll receive ten lashes of the whip for fighting Adam."

Mary bit her lower lip, she didn't like the sound of this deal. The problem wasn't the flogging, that she could manage. What she couldn't manage was being shirtless for the whip (which was as expected) and having her secret discovered. It was risky, but what choice did she have honestly? If she refused, everyone would think her a coward.

"Oh- and one more thing."

Peterson's voice was full of bad intention. He was digging her grave deeper and deeper.

"You and I fight among them."

Mary stared down at the sword he had pressed into her hand. It was a broadsword, not a weapon she was extremely familiar with. She was fairly sure she could still put up a good fight with it, but then again… what choice did she have? So, reluctantly she extended her hand to the smug commander, sealing her fate.

"Let the battle begin"

That was when she woke up. She woke up from the same dream she'd been having for weeks now. How the past seemed to love torturing her! As if she wasn't in enough pain already… She hadn't seen her mates in months and with everyday that passed, the chances of her ever going back to Nassau grew slimmer and slimmer. Not that being an assassin wasn't a great distraction. In fact, if she hadn't already agreed to help found their pirate republic, she doubted that the urge to go back to that part of the West Indies would ever return. It held good memories true, but also many bad ones. Of course, she knew she would have returned there at some point if only because one of her targets fled there, but as far as seeing those she might dare call friends? Well, she wasn't sure that she would have made time to visit them if it weren't for her promise. Mary sighed, she couldn't undo the past, but the past certainly did undo her.