Date, November 15th, 1773

The night was quiet as the boat slowly made it's way across the frozen waves of the Atlantic. Thalia, a small girl of the age of 13 sat silently at her position aboard the small military vessel's deck. She shivered slightly and drew the ratty blanket tightly around her as the wind howled around the boat quietly. A hand gently pat her shoulder and she looked over to meet the dark eyes of her couzin.

"Captain says we're about a month off from England," said the itallian boy, his long inky hair brushing against his shoulder, matted and soaking wet like her own mane of black curls. Thalia sighed and stared out at the empty sea that stretched out endlessly.

"Do you ever wish we could just stay out here, away from them?" she asked her couzin who laughed, shaking his head.

"What? Out here where we could be attacked by pirates any second and we're forced to work as slaves for grown men who care more about their next cup of beer then their own lives? Not for a second," the boy's thick Italian accent had been replaced with a bitter tone she'd heard so many times from older men on the boat. She shivered at the thought that eventually she'd be like them. Emotionless and careless, only in it for the money and her heart frozen like ice.

"It's better then being stuck in a old house that smells like soot and where you choke to death on smoke. At least out here the air is fresh," she muttered. Her cousin rolled his eyes.

"Just saying, I would prefer it if the ship didn't almost launch me over the side every five seconds," She huffed.

"You're impossible,"

"That, we have in common," She shoved him backward onto the deck. He lay there and laughed. That's when she saw the boat approaching, the boat was huge and much fancier then theirs. On top of that it was beautifully battered and the sails were old and frail as if it had never been taken out of the water. A flag hung from the topmost mast, a rose with a spear and torch crossed over it. Pirates. Her couzin saw is and-somehow-turned pale. He started screaming for them to wake the captain and soldiers, but Thalia just stared in awe at the boat. Parts of it folded upward and cannons were pointed at their boat in seconds and suddenly a voice yelled over the roar of the seas.

"Ye, try anything and we'll blow your ship to bits!" It was a female voice and clearly everyone aboard her ship was surprised. Thalia had only heard stories of crews with female Pirate captains. The only one she could think of were the amazons, but they were southern pirates so who were these? Their captain regained his composure and reached for his sword.

"Cowards! True men only fight in hand to hand combat and go down with their ship!" He roared and the crew cheered.

Thalia didn't want to go down with the ship. Thalia wanted to live. She gulped when suddenly the pirate's cannon's fired, and missed completely. Before Thalia could register what had just happened wires wrapped around the boat and howls of laughter erupted. She glanced behind her to see it had been a trick. Somehow the pirates had made it seem like they had been coming at them from the complete opposite direction. Pirates were on their ship and in minutes fighting was turning into a full out war. Thalia had no weapon and was smaller then most toothpicks, so fighting was out of the picture for her. She jumped back as two boys her age, one with an eye patch and another with a hook charged past to tackle the Cabin boy Octavian. She never liked him anyway.

"What do we have here?" A voice said and she spun around to find herself face to face with a girl pirate a little bit shorter then she was. The girl's skin was like caramel and her eyes were like the night sky above. Her hair was down her back in a messy braid, she duel wielded two daggers and wore a coat nicer then the ones the top officers on her boat wore. Before Thalia could raise her hands in defense the girl was launching towards her with both daggers spinning. Thalia yelped and ducked between the girl's legs.

"What the-" Thalia grabbed the girl's right wrist and pinned her arm between the girl's shoulder blades. The pirate yelled and dropped her dagger, Thalia caught it and released the girl before she could skewer her with her other dagger. The pirate gave her a once over again, surprised at the speed the British girl had moved. She brandished her dagger again and lunged at the sailor. Thalia moved with the speed of a viper, catching the pirate's dagger with her stolen one. She spun the blade and stepped in close to the pirate, headbutting the pirate girl, but the girl was strong. Quickly recovering she switched hands with her dagger and slashed at the sailor, catching her across the stomach, barely able to graze the girl's shirt, but slicing it open and exposing her stomach. Thalia kicked the other girl in the stomach and hit the pirate's dagger with the tip of her own, spinning the blade and launching the dagger over the side of the boat.

"You're good," The pirate muttered, a smirk dancing across her lips. She jumped forward and slammed the British girl with her shoulder like a linebacker. Thalia grunted and hit the deck, the pirate stole her dagger back and held it under her neck. She froze, defeated. "but not good enough. I'm impressed red coat, not many people can tangle with me," Thalia got a good look at her captor, she was Hispanic and definitely of position aboard her pirate ship judging by her fancy, oversize, purple coat. Thalia coughed.

"I surrender, please don't cut my throat out," she said hoarsely. The pirate simply laughed, around the two the rest of Thalia's crew seemed to be winning the battle. Suddenly a voice she recognized from before roared over the battle.

"Take what you can and get on the boat!" Thalia expected the girl above her to let her go and grab weapons or any gold she could find, but instead the girl sliced a length of rope from the rigging and quickly tied Thalia's arms and legs together. Great, just great, she was being kidnapped by pirates. What pirates would do with a skinny thirteen year old who had as much muscle as a ten thousand year old skeleton Thalia didn't know. She didn't think Pirates were cannibals, but who knew. Thalia grunted as she was thrown onto the pirate ship and landed painfully on her back. The girl pirate soon followed carrying a box of food supplies and a sack of coins. She saw a tall, elegant woman standing a few feet away, she looked like an older version of the girl she had fought, but more stern and contained. She looked at Thalia with curiosity then at the girl.

"So you brought a girl? What are we going to do with a British girl?" she asked exactly what Thalia was thinking. The girl shrugged.

"Well, I don't know. We could use a new laundry person. She's a good fighter to, she was able to steal one of my daggers and disarm me before I could pin her," She said, clearly unintimidated by the tall woman with the large brimmed hat. The captain face palmed and sighed.

"Reyna, how many times have I told you only to get what you need?" She said and now Thalia at least knew the name of the girl who had almost killed her. Reyna looked a bit sheepish.

"Well, we could throw her back-" the captain waved her off, which Thalia was thankful for. She did not want to be thrown anymore.

"No, at least you got food supply and money. You can keep her, but you're in charge of her and any food she eats comes out of your portion," She muttered and Thalia's thoughts were just, that's fair. The pirate girl beamed and Thalia suddenly had the thought that being thrown back onto the British boat wouldn't be that bad. The captain walked off to look at other supplies that had been collected and Reyna quickly placed the food supplies with what she assumed to be the rest of it and pored the sack of money into a chest. She then ran back over to Thalia, who braced herself to get smacked or something worse, but instead the pirate girl cut the ropes on her feet and yanked her upright.

"Come on red coat, it's time I showed you to your new cabin," she said and shoved Thalia forward. She stumbled, but knew better then to make a break for it, they were already to far away from the British boat for her to make it back anyways, especially in this weather. She'd freeze to death as soon as she hit the water. Reyna led Thalia around the back of the boat, just past the Captain's quarters and into a room roughly big enough to house two horses comfortably. Propped against the opposite wall from the door was a cot and all around the room little photographs and paintings were against the walls. The pirate girl gave Thalia a curious look.

"You don't talk much do you?" she asked and Thalia shrugged slightly.

"I was assuming if I talked I'd get my tongue cut out," she muttered and the Pirate chuckled.

"Look, we're pirates, not blood thirsty murderers. I've heard you British constantly get those two confused," Reyna said and grabbed her dagger, Thalia gulped slightly, "Now listen red coat, I'm going to cut these ropes on your hands, be good and don't try anything and you might get it out alive," she warned and Thalia stood at still as she could as the Pirate cut the ropes, Thalia cautiously massaged her wrists.

"Thank you, uh What's your name?" she asked the pirate, although she already knew she thought it would be better for the pirate to properly introduce herself. As predicted, the pirate grinned.

"Reyna Ramirez Allreno. Younger sister of Hylla Ramirez Allreno, pirate captain of the Romans and daughter of Bellona. The queen of the pirates," She said flamboyantly, although Thalia had no Idea what that meant she tried to look impressed. Reyna flashed her an evil smirk. "and who are you Red coat?"

Thalia had been dreading this question. She sighed with resignation. "Thalia Grace, I'm just a sailor. Or I was.." she muttered, finding it awkward that this pirate had all these fancy titles and something to hold to her name and be proud of, and all the titles that Thalia should hold were stolen from her by an angry queen who hated her with all her heart. She had never knew her mother, and her father simply didn't care and was too busy doing whatever it was people like him do to notice what his wife was scheming. Thalia waited for some kind of response from the Pirate girl, but only got a curious stare.

"Last time I checked 'just sailors' didn't know how to fight like that," the pirate said and Thalia tried for a sheepish smile.

"Well, I lived on the streets for a while so I picked up fighting just so I didn't get myself killed when I was walking down the street," she muttered and the Pirate still didn't look convinced.

"Really? Last I checked street fighters didn't fight with the distinct pattern and technique of the french. Red coat, if that's what you really are, because the way of which you form your words is again how a non native English speaker would and you carry the traces of a french accent you try to mask by giving yourself a very heavy cockney accent as well. Red coat, or should I say musketeer?" The pirate girl pressed her face close to Thalia's and suddenly Thalia found it hard to breathe. She swallowed nervously, how had she picked all of that up just by fighting with her and a few words.

"I-I uh," she said feeling like Reyna's eyes could see into her soul and were picking out all of her secrets. "Well... okay my mom was french and my dad was English so I was raised in France for the first three years of my life an learned to speak french first, then my mom died and I was shipped off to England to live with my dad, but I ended up on the streets. Long story short I picked up English and got enlisted into the army so I could get some money and food. As for the fighting style, one of my friends on the street was a native french man, his name was Luke and he taught me how to fight," Thalia said, which was close enough to the truth she could pretend it was. Reyna smirked and laughed.

"Red coats at their finest," she said, which she guessed was some kind of inside joke she didn't get. The pirate pat her shoulder. "Stay here, I'm going to go see if I could get anything to make you a cot, don't try to escape or someone will tackle you with a sword or bow," with that the pirate left the room and Thalia promptly fainted.

When she came to, for a moment she thought it had all been a dream and she was still aboard the British warship, asleep on the deck next to Nico ready for another day of endless chores and cleaning, but nope. She was still on the pirate ship, asleep on the floorboards of a pirate's room. She groaned and sat up, rubbing her head which she had whacked against the floor when she had fainted. The door burst open and Reyna came back into the room carrying a sheet and spool of string. She threw a coat on top of the British girl and started to work on a cot.

"What're you doing on the floor?" she asked and Thalia stood, pulling the coat on and trying to get the knot that was forming out of her head.

"I tripped," Thalia muttered and Reyna shrugged.

"Alright then, and I thought you were graceful, how you managed to trip in a small room, not running or on high seas i wouldn't know," Reyna finished making the cot and Thalia noticed a slight wince when the Pirate moved her right arm and she knit her eyes, the girl was obviously in pain, but for some reason refused to show it Thalia stepped forward and grabbed the Pirate's arm. She winced in pain, "Ow! What are you doing?" she asked, looking annoyed, but Thalia just rolled her eyes.

"You're hurt, let me look at it," she said and the pirate girl yanked her arm away from her.

"I'm fine, besides you aren't a medic," Reyna said, looking like she was in more pain then she wanted to let on. Thalia just gave her a deadpan glare.

"Let me see it," she said and tried to grab her arm again, but the Pirate girl yanked it away. Thalia sighed. "Fine, be stubborn," she said and Reyna relaxed, Thalia then tacked the pirate to the floor.

"Ah!" Reyna yelped in surprise as the smaller girl straddled her and yanked her sleeve up, exposing a raw, infected, old cut. Reyna winced and tried to push the British girl away, but she was surprisingly hard to move.

"Seriously?!" The British sailor muttered and rolled her eyes. "I'm going to clean and bandage this, and you aren't going to stop me unless you want an elbow in your eye!" Reyna sighed in defeat.

"Fine, but don't tell Hylla. She'd kill me if she knew that she had let me go on a raid with an injury like this," the girl pirate muttered. Thalia ripped off the tail of her shirt and started to gently wipe away all the dirt and infected things in the wound that were there, Reyna grunting in pain beneath her. She then took off the coat that Reyna had given her and ripped off her shirt sleeve to use as bandages. After about ten minutes of binding a wound Thalia had fixed Reyna up and ripped off both her sleeves after demanding that the pirate show her any wound she had so she could wrap it in bandages.

"What are you trying to do, mummify me?" Reyna asked the British girl, who just rolled her eyes.

"I'm making sure you don't die of infection," Thalia growled back and the Pirate girl winced as she tied off the bandages around her left bicep.

"Why do you care?" Reyna asked, "You're a British sailor. I'm just a pirate that kidnapped you onto a ship where you'll basically be treated like a slave," Thalia shrugged, hoping the Pirate couldn't see the pink flooding her cheeks.

"I care because I've only been on this ship for an hour and already you've treated me with more kindness and dignity then anyone else ever has in my life. I care because you obviously have family that cares about you. I care because you're everything I always wanted to be and never got the change too. I instead was forced to grow up too fast and treated like dirt. You're a pirate, free of laws or the burden of serving your country. You don't realize just how lucky you are Reyna," She answered, the Pirate girl was silent, not realizing how outsiders could admire pirates. Outsiders thought they were blood thirsty killers, but Thalia didn't. She saw her as a free person with the freedom to do whatever she wished, even calling her the person she'd always wanted to be. She stared at the wall in shock as the strange British girl finished bandaging her.

"There, now go get something to eat. I'm going to bed," She said and shoved the Pirate to her feet, Reyna gave Thalia a strange look.

"You only just got here. Aren't you going to even attempt to escape?" She asked. Thalia laughed.

"Escape where?" She asked simply, "Back to a boat on which everyone hates me except my cousin? Back to a country where I'm seen as dirt and treated worse? No thank you," Thalia hugged the coat tightly around her and Reyna just looked at her with surprise, if not a bit of pity. A life in which you could trust no one, not even your family and the closest family you had were your cousins. Reyna couldn't imagine that. She lived on a Pirate boat her entire life, with people who knew her better then she knew herself and accepted her for that. For a moment she found herself reaching out to touch the British girl's shoulder in a gesture she wasn't familiar with, but the meaning was universal. Thalia looked up to meet the Pirate's eyes.

"I'm sorry. I wish i knew how that feels, but unfortunately this is all I've ever known," She said. A slight smirk lit the Red Coat's face.

"I see you pirates aren't too good with emotions are you?" She asked and Reyna shrugged.

"Pirates will tell you how they feel, they are very upfront with that. You aren't." The pirate answered. Thalia chuckled.

"Well then it must be much easier to communicate," She whispered dryly. Reyna smiled.

"I imagine it is. Get some rest, I'll get you something to eat," with that the Spanish Pirate left the British girl with hopes she might've actually struck a friendship for once.