"How did you managed to pull this off?" It seemed that they didn't tell them much of anything, so he was looking to her for answers. It was in her best interest that she knew why Maya did what she did.

"Sometimes," she glanced back towards the door she had walked through moments earlier. "You just got to know the right people."

"Want to put your skill where your mouth is?" Riley outburst caught the blonde off guard and he tore his eyes from his sword to the brunette. It had been a couple days since all the excitement had occurred and things had at least been cordial between them. The couple of sailors who kept them company on deck started to make the noise to fuel the taunt even more.

Riley had very little experience with the sword, but she had seen enough fights to know the basics. Lucas had some skill with a sword that she had witnessed, but he did almost lose that fight a week ago; there was a chance that he could had suck luck again.

"Is that a challenge, Princess?" He scoffed. Riley wasn't sure if she meant the words, she was tired of him exhausting the details of his stories, but whether she did or not, the offer still stood between them. Riley took a burst of courage and picked up a nearby sword and held it lower. Lucas scoffed in disbelief as he stood to his feet drawing his own weapon.

"I can take it easy on you." Riley's sword struck against his catching him off guard.

"I didn't ask you to."

Riley didn't know what possessed her but it was too late to back out now. Her confidence should help her out in some fashion, but not as much as a skilled swordsman. There were cheers from the audience that only encouraged the duel further.

"Last chance to change your mind." Lucas offered sensing her nervousness at the proposition, but her pride prevented to do so.

"Not a chance." The two began to circle waiting for the other to attack first. Riley didn't have much experience with a sword except a fake one when she was younger. She was very clear that she was over her head, but she needed to focus if she wanted to stand even half a chance.

Riley chose to attack first with her sword carrying out a strike to his left side, but he anticipated the move and could block it easily.

"Is that all you got?" He taunted knowing that he was getting under her skin. His words aggravated her even further to strike again catching him off guard. He could maneuver the sword for defense purposes to save his own skin. Lucas was patient with his time, he knew that the best offensive move is that of defensive, so he waited for Riley to make a mistake.

Their swords clashed once more and the metal began this dance with each other just as Riley and Lucas began their own dance.

Riley's heartbeat started to race as she was starting to lose place of her footwork. Her anger had started to fade as another feeling started to wash over her. Her blade slid down his as they were face to face. His eyes captured hers and she felt her knees start to grow weak. He had caught her off guard when he gently pushed her back with his strength and the next attack from her was with error. He managed to catch the sword in just a way that with one movement with his hand sent the sword flying across the deck. Riley's eyes widened as they jumped from her lost sword to Lucas, but the more pressing matter was Lucas holding a sword to her throat.

"I wouldn't question my skill again Princess." Riley nodded slightly and he removed the sword and returned it to its carrier. Riley knew it was a long shot, he just wanted him to stop bragging, or maybe she wanted to prove that she had some use if it was ever needed. The best place for her to do is go somewhere else and lick her wounds quietly. She started to walk away and even when Lucas called out her name she still started to head towards the bow of the ship.

Lucas watched as the brunette leave, but before he could chase after her he was interrupted with questions from some of the other pirates. He didn't want to beat her too badly, but he couldn't lose this fight against someone who had such little experience no less.

Riley seemed to be back to hating him, which made him sigh; he thought they had gotten past that by now. They managed to have civilized conversations before the fight that made him question where they stood. Not that he cared, he was only there to keep her safe till he returned her to where she belonged; she was just a job. Her father was paying good money for her return, and he had never turned down a job. He closed his eyes and her eyes flashed before her eyes caused some emotions to stir within him. It would be a bad idea to follow her in the present moment, she didn't want to talk to the man that just demolished her in a sword fight. He would allow her to cool off and then approach her later to attempt to fix the damage that has been done.

Her eyes were glued on the ocean in front of her as her mind wandered to the events that just occurred. She didn't know why she challenged Lucas in the first place, she just wanted not to be as helpless as she felt when the pirates invaded. If she couldn't handle Lucas with a sword what change did she have against other real threats. Maybe she wasn't prepared to run away in the first place, she was much better off staying at home, it was safer that way. She was thankful that at least these pirates had a common link with her; Josh. The news from Maya was still sinking in, and it revived a hope that maybe he was still alive and they could meet some day. She hadn't heard many stories besides the ones that she heard when she was in the port, but even then, some of those could have been just tales that they told to past the time. From the life on the pirate ship was different than she ever imagined.

"Pretty view, isn't it?" The voice caused her to jump realizing that she wasn't alone. The voice didn't belong to Lucas like she imagined but rather another blonde hair blue eyed pirate that she recognized from around the ship.

"I didn't know anyone was out here too." Her hands absent mindedly stroked the railing with the grain as her eyes looked everywhere but him.

"Well it is a ship, there's not many places to go, and between you and me; the scenery is unbeatable. And I've seen my fair share of beautiful things," his view didn't leave her increasing the blush on her cheeks.

"My name is Samuel," he nodded in her direction.

"Riley," she responded offering a smile.

"You know, I couldn't help but see that little sword fight with your little friend back there." Riley pushed her hair behind her ear.

"You did?" There was a slight air of paranoia in his voice, she was sure that was sure that word would travel among the ship quickly and soon everyone would know about what happened.

"You had some skill, you just needed to refine your skill." Riley's eyebrows rose in slight disbelief.

"You think so?"

"I could help you practice if you want?"

"What's in it for you?" It seemed strange for a pirate of all people to offer her help her with sword technique.

"Satisfaction when you wipe the floor with that guy the next time you face him." That thought produced a laugh, pushing her sword against his throat in victory. She didn't know why, but the offer for help was very tempting.

"Consider me your pupil." She bowed low showing him the respect that she felt he deserved.

"Alright first rule of a sword fight, be aware of your surroundings. You have to be able to make a rash decision and use the high ground to gain the upper hand."

His words made sense, the person who had the higher ground would have the upper hand in the fight.

"Alright, what's next?"

"Step two be aware of your environment, you can use things like the sunlight to your advantage to temporarily blind your oponant, and the darkness could use to conceal yourself." He tilted his sword causing the sun to shine temporarily in her eyes. She smiled when she regained her vision back but Samuel had managed to move in closer to her.

"Next you draw your sword and make sure you relax. If you are tense you give your opponent the upper hand. You need to be able to strike with clarity, speed and accuracy. But one of the biggest thing you could do is keep your balance." He stepped back and got into a defensive stance.

"Make sure you keep your feet shoulder length apart it will help with when you swing." Riley tried to mimic what he was trying to tell her. He then proceeded to show her how to swing her arm to give an extensive blow with the sword.

The day seemed to fly by as he took her on the next part of training. He fetched his sword and they went through a couple walk through of a couple scenarios where Riley could use the knowledge that she had learned. Riley didn't dare not to say it but she was having fun. Samuel was easy to be around and talk to, if she was completely honest he gave off a similar vibe than what she felt when she was around Lucas, minus the need to fight. She had started to open up to him and share little facts about her home and her family and he did the same. She never thought that she would be exchanging a story with a pirate, maybe they weren't as bad as she originally thought. Their practice was interrupted with calls for food, and it wasn't till they called that Riley realized how hungry she was.

Lucas crossed his arms trying not to give away his sour mood, but it started seeping through the cracks. What was she doing with this random pirate, she would never stoop so low. Her laugh was carried by the wind and graced his ears that only caused his scowl to increase more. If she befriends a pirate, they would be able to help her slip out of his grasp. He hadn't seen Riley for the better half of the day, and now that it was time to eat, she shows up with some pirate that he didn't even know his name or anything about him. By the looks of the brunette she looked like she was enjoying herself more than she should have.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say that you were jealous." Tony's voice caught him off guard and his gaze shifted anywhere but Riley.

"What are you talking about?" Tony barely knew him, they had only a couple conversations There was no way possible that he could tell him what he felt about anyone especially Riley.

"Your eyes give away every time." Tony pointed to Riley who was currently laughing at whatever her company was saying.

"You don't know anything about me." Lucas shot back with slight irritation in his voice.

"I know you feel something for Riley." He countered with a bit of mischief in his response. Tony had the privilege to watch them interact, and he had to admit that there was something between the two even if they didn't recognize it. He had conversations with Riley regarding the matter and she seemed to be just as stubborn as he was. He figured that the two of them would just need a little push in the right direction.

"Riley?" he replied with disbelief. His eyes drifted back to the girl that had caused him to question the thought of returning her all together. She seemed happier on the ship with the adventures that were ahead of her.

"I don't have feelings for her"- The stuttering didn't help his case with the cook. An image of Riley since she met him flashed before his eyes of her smiling and their almost kiss, there was no way that he had feelings for her.

"You can lie all you want Lucas, but there will come a time where you'll have to face yourself, and even then, you can't hide it from yourself." Tony turned his attention towards someone else leaving him his word of warning. Lucas turned back to Riley whose attention was still solely on this other pirate. He still had an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach just watching their interaction. Tony couldn't be right, there was no way that he had any feelings for the girl, they barely knew each other.

It got to the point where Lucas couldn't take it anymore, he left the food forgotten, his focus pure on the brunette. He walked past the other sailors without a second thought, until he reached the other destination which felt like cities apart verses just a ship length. Suddenly he felt two sets up eyes on him and realized that he didn't have much to say.

Riley saw Lucas approaching them and suddenly her body froze up with anticipation. When he was finally standing in front of her, she felt the tension between Samuel and Lucas.

"Riley, can we talk?" Her chocolate eyes crashed into his meadow eyes and her afternoon with the pirate faded away and she forgot why she was mad at him in the first place. She felt torn between the two, but after a couple seconds she agreed.