((AN: Decided to make a partly sea-based chapter, just to acknowledge AC4: Black Flag's revamped naval system, as well as, you know, Arnaldo's job. Enjoy!))

Savastian turned the wheel, enjoying the spray of the ocean as the ship tilted and turned.

"You are doing well!" The captain said, "Just keep the wind in your sails!" Savastian spun the wheel once more, picking up speed as the wind picked up. He smiled, looking to the clear sky.

"Is it always so beautiful out here?" He asked the captain.

"Certainly not! It may be a lovely day now, but I've seen the gentle slopes of the sea turn to crashing waves of pure terror in the blink of an eye, and the sky turn black and begin to pour down her fury just as fast. And not to mention the occasional pirate attacks! Those pirates, they get to you, striking out from behind waves. Horrible, they are. Luckily for us, they do not risk coming out in this kind of weather, let alone so close to shore! They'd be snatched up by the authorities in no time."

"Good. I'd rather not run into a pirate ship," Savastian replied.

The captain put a hand to his chin, thinking for a moment, before turning back to Savastian, "But how would you feel about captaining a pirate ship?"

Savastian gave him an inquisitive look. "Are you suggesting that we attack another ship?" The captain gave a slight nod, "Not just any ship though." He pointed to a ship in the far distance, "That ship."

"Why that one? What separates that ship from any other?"

"That ship is sailing here from the new world." He sneered at Savastian, "She is a human cargo ship. See the cages on her deck? Each one is filled with natives of the New World, all women and children, more than likely."

"I see," Savastian paused, "Let us go."

"Men! Prepare for battle!" The crew didn't take long to get to work, Running below deck, opening cannon hatches and snatching up muskets. Some of the more muscular men brought extra muskets above deck, throwing them to other men, who snatched them from the air and began loading them.

One of the men ran up to the captain and handed him a musket. The captain spoke, "The men are at your command, Savastian. Tell them when to fire, when to board... and most importantly, be ready to take charge yourself. I have your musket, should you wish to take it."

Savastian steered toward the other hip, turning as he reached it and ramming its bow. The ship turned with the strike, and Savastian turned into it more directly, forcing it to turn away from the shore. He heard the captain of the other ship barking orders, turning away from La Encantadora. He was trying to get enough distance that he could safely fire his cannons. Savastian wouldn't give him the chance.

"Ready the cannons!" Savastian maneuvered the ship so that at least half of the port side cannons would hit their target. As soon as the ship was positioned, Savastian gave the order, "Fire!"

A barrage of cannonballs collided with the opposing ship. Savastian spun the wheel, and La Encantadora turned toward the enemy ship.

"Prepare to board!" Savastian cried, "Leave no crewman standing!" Savastian released the wheel and ran down the deck of the ship. He turned and grabbed onto the ropes leading up to the crows nest, and easily scaled the ladder-like net. La Encantadora impacted the other ship, and Savastian used the force to throw him onto the enemy ship. He grabbed onto a rope, swinging onto the mast and grabbing onto a large gash in the wood. He dropped, landing on the deck a few feet below. He saw the enemy captain, who was distracted, fighting one of La Encantadora's crew, drew his pistol, aimed, and shot. The man grabbed his stomach in pain, then dropped to his knees before dying. Savastian sheathed his pistol, instead drawing his rapier with his right hand and his dagger with his left.

Savastian swung his knife, slicing the back of an enemy's legs and knocking him to his knees, then slit the mans throat with his sword. Another crewman rushed towards him with a carelessly wielded rapier, which Savastian easily blocked and pushed to the side with his own rapier, before slitting the man's throat with his knife and tripping him backwards, finishing him off with a stab to the man's stomach with his sword. Another man ran toward Savastian. He stabbed at the Assassin, but Savastian pushed the blade aside, slashed his attacker's kidney, and shoved the man's head in-between two of the wooden cages bars. The captives shrunk back in fear as Savastian stabbed his dagger into the back of the man's neck.

Savastian felt a twang of guilt for the captives huddles in the cage, but had no way to apologize. He made a mental note to learn their language, then went back to capturing the ship.

He grabbed a man from behind, slitting his throat, and sheathed his weapons, instead extending his hidden blades. He stabbed one enemy and kicked another overboard. He looked around for more enemy crewmen, but saw none. The ship was his.

Savastian smirked, "Men," He said, "She's ours!" He leapt over the side of the ship, into the ocean, and swam back to La Encantadora. He climbed back aboard and walked over to the captain. "What shall we do with the captives? We can't exactly let them out of their cages and send them on their merry way."

"We do all we can. Feed them, give them water," The captain paused, "And send them home. But before we can do that, we will have to find you a crew."

"Capitán!" Arnaldo shouted, "He's fifteen years old! You can not honestly want him to sail to the New World!?"

"He's a fine sailor, and an Assassin, no? And as an Assassin, it is his duty-"

"I am an Assassin as well. I will take them home."

The captain sighed, "And by that you mean you expect me to leave my family for several months and sail you there. Fine, but I still believe it would be good for the boy to gain some experience."

"He can gain experience in his home country."

"But Papa-" Savastian began, but was silenced by Arnaldo.

"Not a word from you!"

After a moment of silence, the captain of La Encantadora spoke, "Savastian, you should go take that ship back to shore. Those people will need food and water, quickly."

Savastian looked back to Arnaldo and the captain before leaping off the side of the ship into the water. He swam back to the other ship, climbed aboard, and got to work dislodging it from La Encantadora's ram. Once the two ships were disconnected, they made their way back to the docks. Once they'd dropped anchor, Savastian met with his father and the captain.

"I will get them something to drink," said Arnaldo, "Savastian, you get them some meat from a butchery, and bring it to your matre to cook, then get several loaves of bread. Capitán, you keep guard until we return."

Savastian took to the rooftops, and soon he'd reached the nearest butcher. He purchased several pound of beef, then lead the butcher back to his home with the meat.

"I can take it from here. Thank you for your help," Savastian told the butcher at the door, taking the crate from him.

"Not a problem. Big family, eh?" The butcher replied, "No, we just have some... dinner guests."

He brought the crate of meat inside and placed it on the kitchen floor, then went outside to speak with his mother. He found Leandra on the side of the house, tending to her messenger pigeons.

"Eh, madre...?" He hesitantly began, "Oh, Savastian, you're back. What is it?"

"I... padre and I... We need your help with something..."

"And what would that be?"

"Well... I just bought one thousand maravedís worth of beef... but, I can't exactly cook, and I need to get some a few loaves of bread before the baker runs out."

His mother scowled, "I stopped being an Assassin for this? Ugh, I should have taught you to cook for yourself years ago! Fine, go fetch your bread. I'll get to work on the beef, but first tell me, why in gods name do you need so much food?!"

Savastian paused, "Uh... To summarize, I have a boat full of Indians who need to be fed."

Leandra stared at him for a moment, then walked away without a word, not knowing how to respond. Savastian couldn't blame her; he had given her a rather unusual answer. He went on his own way, running through the city to find a bakery. Bread was cheaper than beef, and easier to prepare, since it was already cooked, and merely needed to be ripped up. He found a bakery, went inside, and bought seven loaves of bread. The baker gathered the loaves up and placed them into a basket, draped a cloth over the top, and handed it to Savastian.

Luckily, he wasn't to far from the docks, and had soon reached them with the bread. The captain greeted him, "Savastian! Go, your padre is giving them water."

Savastian climbed aboard the ship and placed the basket of bread down beside one of the cages.

"How are they?" He asked, sitting down beside Arnaldo, "Better. It took some time, but after they realized I was not trying to hurt them, they accepted the water from me." The captives were drinking from wine bottles that had been emptied and filled with well water. There were two cages, one containing three captives, the other containing four. Six women and one young boy, no older than nine. A young woman lay in the back of one of the cages, and upon closer examination, Savastian's heart sunk; the woman's breathing was slow, shallow, and shaky, and didn't look like she would survive through the rest of the day. He closed his eyes, slowly shaking his head, "Papa..."

"I know... There is nothing we can do," Arnaldo replied, taking a piece of bread from the basket and slowly handing it to one of the women through the bars of the cage. She hesitantly brought it up to her nose, then took a deep sniff. She smiled, said something to her fellow captives, and began tearing off pieces of bread and handing them around. She then climbed to the back of the cage and tried to awaken the sick woman. She gave a weak groan, but did not move.

Savastian slowly shook his head. He found it disgusting that one human being could put another through such conditions. The conquistadors stole up everything of value they could find, human beings included.

Savastian gave a sad sigh and stood up, "I'm going to go for a walk." He spent the next hour or so running around town taking letters to people, and helping a blacksmith craft some armor. Once he was done, he returned to his house and went inside. His mother was almost done cooking the last of the meat, and once she'd finished, she poured the food onto a tablecloth, tied it up, and placed the makeshift sack into a clothes chest. "I want these back when you are done." She told Savastian, shoving the large chest into his hands.

"Uhh, Mama, I do not think I can carry this all the way to the docks," Savastian said as he took the heavy container.

"I know you can't. Come, I prepared ahead of time. I'm not your padre," Leandra's voice became more cheerful at the last sentence.
She lead Savastian behind the house to a horse and cart. "Here, put the chest in the cart and be on your way, before the meat gets to cold."