Phoebus watched the sunrise from the deck of the passenger clipper ship. The ship was much nicer than any ship he'd been on before. It was primarily used to transport wealthy passengers from one kingdom or country to another. In between hired voyages, the captain docks in Tortuga where he can be hired for personal transport. Phoebus can't remember the captain's name, but he's a personal friend of Granny's. She keeps his schedule and recommended him to Rapunzel when she mentioned to Granny she and Phoebus were looking for passage to Corona. Two days after The Damned left, Phoebus and Rapunzel set sail on the clipper as its only passengers.

It felt strange to both of them to be considered guests on a ship instead of crew. They paid for the trip using one of Kida's gowns that Rapunzel had managed to steal off The Damned; the gown was made of silk and had sapphires and emeralds stitched to the bodice. Other than the payment, nothing had been required of them and they were free to do as they pleased.

Despite a couple members of the crew also out watching the sunrise and the cabin boy swabbing the deck, it was peaceful on the deck. Phoebus couldn't remember that last time he experienced any sort of peace. Prior to joining The Damned, he'd been an army captain. He had lived in an empire ruled by the greedy emperor Ratcliffe, who used his armies to conquer other countries and expand his empire. Phoebus' father had been the captain before him. His father was cruel and just as greedy as the emperor. At times, he also acted as an advisor to Emperor Ratcliffe.

Since the day of his birth, Phoebus' life had been owned by his father. Due to complications of the birth, his father had been forced to choose between saving his son or saving his wife. Seeing more use for a son than a wife, he chose to save Phoebus' life. From the time he was a child, Phoebus was trained to be a soldier and groomed to be cold and to place his needs above all else. To be just like his father. Every day his father reminded him that he was alive because he sacrificed his mother's life for his and he should honor that sacrifice by being the best soldier.

And he had been. So much so, that when his father died in battle, the emperor immediately chose Phoebus to take his place as captain. However, Phoebus was nothing like his father. He was against invading other countries for one man's personal wealth and hated killing innocent men who were only defending their homes. Every time he carried out one of Emperor Ratcliffe's orders, he wondered if his life was truly honoring his mother's sacrifice.

During his last battle, Phoebus had been taken prisoner when he gave himself up to the enemy to protect a young boy of only fifteen who served under him. He was tortured for weeks and by the time he was able to escape, everyone back home thought he was dead. He took the opportunity to escape. He took the first outbound ship and never looked back. He thought he'd find a better life, instead he found Kida and her crew.

Even though he still lives a life of violence, being a pirate has allowed to him live in anonymity. If Governor Ratcliffe ever discovered he was alive and abandoned his duty, he'd be brought back to the empire and executed as a traitor. Though sometimes Phoebus thought maybe he'd only know true peace in death.

Unless he believed in his mother's god. He had learned from his father that his mother had been of the catholic faith. Her god punished sinners' souls to an eternity of damnation. Phoebus' father believed in no gods and thought religions were simply fairy tales created by the desperate and poor. While Phoebus rarely gave much thought to religion and gods, he often wished he had something- anything- to believe in. But, perhaps it was better that he did not believe in his mother's god; if what she believed was real, Phoebus would find no peace in death, only eternal torment.

"Good morning, Phoebus," Rapunzel greeted, appearing beside him. "You're up early."

The truth was, Phoebus never slept. Thoughts of Sinbad kept him awake until he came outside in an attempt to clear his head. He had hoped to quiet his mind, even briefly, only to be plagued with thoughts of his father. Even in death, his father still had his claws buried deep in Phoebus.

Phoebus looked down at Rapunzel. It seemed she had stolen more than just the one gown from Kida's wardrobe on The Damned. This morning she was dressed as if she was one of the wealthy passengers this ship had become accustomed to. She wore a full- skirted, gold- colored gown with lace on the collar and sleeves. Part of her hair was pinned up with a jeweled hair comb.

"You look lovely this morning," Phoebus told her. "What's the occasion?"

Rapunzel shrugged and looked out at the rising sun as it painted the sky gold. "I haven't seen my brother in a long time and I don't want to return looking like a pirate. But, I have no experience with gowns and decorations." She motioned to the hair comb. "So, I thought maybe I should practice. I had the lady who came to change my sheets help me dress. These gowns are far more complicated than they look." She let out a small laugh.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say that sounds like you're worried about disappointing your brother."

"Well, sure. He's the only family I have left."

"Does he know what you've been doing since you left?"

Rapunzel nodded. "I've sent him letters occasionally, telling him everything. I don't keep secrets from him."

"Then I don't think he's expecting this." He gestured at her gown.

Rapunzel laughed. "No, certainly not. But, there's nothing wrong with wanting to look pretty."

Phoebus shook his head in agreement. And she did look pretty. Though, she looked younger than she really was, Rapunzel was quite pretty. He suspected if she had stayed home and lived a normal life, she would have had many young men courting her.

"Well, anyways. They'll be serving breakfast soon," Rapunzel told him.

"I'll meet you in there."

Instead of heading to the dining room, Rapunzel just looked up at him. "I know you're only coming with me to ensure I get home safely and you have no intention of staying. But, you have a chance to start over in Corona. We both do."