A/N: All your support has been so overwhelming. I definitely feel loved :) Hope you all enjoy this little twist..

Episode 11

One thing that Mara really hated about being a sailor was… the population of sea birds. Why was there so many species? She hated seagulls the most – the loud noise they made sounded like they were being tortured in front of a speakerphone. Now that she lived on the Sirius, she still hated sea birds no less.

"When can we set sail? The sun is almost in the middle of the sky – I can't believe Captain is still snoozing," she grumbled on her hands and knees, scrubbing the deck which was coated with bird droppings. They were still anchored at Fidos Island when they should've set sail hours ago.

"I'm not sure what happened after the others went off with those women," Thomas said across the deck, moping the floors where Mara had just scrubbed with a wire brush. "Who knows, they might've came home very late while we were already asleep."

"I think you and I both know what happened when they went off with those women," Mara shook her head and wiped a drop of sweat from her forehead. The direct sun made her feel like she was in an oven and the way she was sweating one would think she'd just been to the sauna. She'd already tied back her hair, but the length of her dark mane felt like a woollen blanket on her back. She was wearing a short sleeved top which she had bought the other day and rolled up the hem on her breeches. Looking at Thomas who was working just as hard as her, she threw the brush she was holding in frustration. "Goddammit! When the hell are they coming back?!"

Just as she said it, a woman showed up at the top of the steps that led to the cabins. She was a buxom woman with two mountain tops that peeked above the bodice of her skimpy dress. She carried herself with an air of self-importance and twirled a lock of red hair near her cheekbone.

Mara turned to Thomas, who took one look at the woman and went straight back to moping. He shrugged at Mara, as if he saw women come out of the sleeping quarters all the time. She turned to look at the woman, who was scrunching her pretty face like she'd seen something unpleasant. Then the woman turned around and went back down the steps but just as Mara stood up to confront her, she came back with Eduardo in tow.

The woman pointed at Mara and pouted at Eduardo, "Why is there another woman on the ship? I thought you Sirius pirates didn't allow any women on board? And here I thought I was special."

The sound of her shrill voice irritated Mara. She glared at Eduardo, who was eyeing her up and down while wrapping his arms around the woman's tiny waist. Did he like disproportionate women? Most importantly, what the hell was he doing bringing her on board? Even though Mara came uninvited as opposed to the woman, who she assumed was more than welcomed by Eduardo, she didn't like the idea of having to socialise with her. Somehow she didn't think they would be compatible as friends.

Much to Mara's relief, Eduardo started steering her towards leaving the Sirius.

"Don't worry about her," he said to the woman as he helped her down the steps to the wharf, "She's just hired help… Didn't you see that she was cleaning the deck?"

"M-Mara…" Thomas began, but he was too late. She was already at the edge of the deck, directly above where Eduardo was guiding the wench – and she threw the wire brush at him, narrowly missing the back of his head.

"Ack! I thought you said she was just the cleaning lady!" the woman squealed, running off on her own towards the town.

Eduardo walked a few steps to where the brush had dropped. He picked it up and walked back towards the Sirius in an eerily calm manner. Mara met him with an angry stare at the top of the steps with crossed arms as she leaned against one foot.

Eduardo came up rather close to her, until nose almost touched his chin.

"You missed," he smirked, sounding pleased.

"…On purpose." She looked into his stupid face covered by that stupid eye patch, "Next time I'll make sure I get both you and that tramp."

His smirk disappeared and said coldly, "Don't be so jealous, kid. No matter what you do, you'll never amount to a woman like that."

She knew better than to take his bait. However, her temper flared as they glared daggers at each other.

"Go to hell," she muttered and turned around to pick up the brush that he threw. Thomas was gripping his mop looking like a scared puppy, so Mara steered him towards the front of the deck which still needed to be cleaned.

She heard Eduardo cursing under his breath as he stomped all the way to his room, followed by a slam of a door.

"I really don't know what his problem is… He's always rude to me. Even Nathan's been kinder lately," Mara's forehead creased with a frown as she went back down on her hands and knees to assume cleaning.

"But that's because you've lessened his workload in the kitchen by a phenomenal amount," Thomas teased. She shot him a mock glare and they both burst out in laughter.

But the sound of those bloody seagulls overhead the Sirius burst her bubble and made her want to grab one of Captain's guns – show them their last day.

As soon as they finished cleaning, the birds soiled the floors near Mara's foot.

"That's it! I'm waking Captain up and getting that idiot Eduardo to sail us out of here!" she burst out, handing Thomas the brush and plodded off towards Captain's room.

As she was about to knock on Captain's door, she saw something fall on the floor from the corner of her eyes. She stopped and recognised the folded piece of paper that the young girl in the dress shop had handed back to her when she sold her dress.

What struck her was that she didn't remember having putting it in one of the pockets in her dress. One of the maids in her father's house in Moldor must have done it before she left for Yamato. Weird, none of them told her about it.

She picked it up, hesitating at first, but opened it outside Captain's room. Her face suddenly became pale as her eyes scanned the writing on the paper. It was her father's handwriting – in a letter addressed to her.

Hot tears rolled down her face as she read the content of the letter – what her father had written shortly before he died.

Mara couldn't hear anything but the sound of her beating heart, broken all over again. Her mind was in a jumble and her legs took off as fast as they could. She heard Thomas shouting after her, but she didn't relent as she ran off the Sirius, heading towards the town. Her surroundings blurred as she ran, as consequence to the different emotions bursting through her.

Meanwhile on the Sirius, Captain opened his door, rubbing his eye as he grumbled about all the noise everyone was making. Then he noticed the letter that Mara dropped after she read it. Eduardo, Nathan, Christopher and Russell all came out of their rooms to see what was happening.

Captain had already started reading the letter out loud when Thomas joined them, informing everyone that Mara had ran off the Sirius.

My Dearest Maureen,

First of all I want you to know that no matter what, you are always in my heart and I love you as my own daughter. I apologise for not telling you sooner I was waiting for the right time. However, I have to tell you now as there are people out there that will betray me and try to hurt you. I would much rather prefer for you to hear this directly from me, albeit not face to face as time has unfortunately run out for me.

I am truly sorry if you feel deceived after this, but I do hope you don't bear grudges. Mara… I am not your paternal father and neither was your late mother your birth mother. You arrived on our doorstep as an infant and we didn't know where you came from, but regarded you as a gift from heaven.

Whoever gave you to us – possibly your real parents – also left a journal. This journal is hidden in our house and I was going to give it to you next month when you turn twenty one of age. That was also when I planned to tell you. Alas, trouble is brewing within Moldor and I am suspecting foul play by someone in the higher ranks of the Imperial Navy, which is why I have sent you to Yamato on purpose, so that you may be safe. In the next couple of days, I am sad to say, I may not be here anymore. When I'm gone, I do not want you involved in whatever it is they have involved me in.

I am honoured to have been able to be called Father by you. You gave me and your late Mother so much joy. Whatever happens, we will always watch over you, our beloved daughter.

With love,

Father

As soon as Captain finished reading the letter, Eduardo and Thomas dashed off, presumably to find Mara.

"Shit has hit the fan," Nathan mumbled, following after Eduardo with Russell in tow.

Captain turned to Christopher, "I guess we better take their lead and look for the kid before something happens to her. It seems like she needs us."

And so the Sirius pirates had to stay in Fidos Island for another day as they tried to find the woman who was now part of their crew.

End of Episode 11