The ship lurched to the side as another ship knocked into them. Reyna grunted as she hit the ground unable to keep her balance. Reyna looked at the flag and the ship. She didn't recognize it, but she'd made a name for herself in the few months she was with the pirates. Hopefully the pirates were able to recognize her. Jason, Dakota and Gwen were standing off to the side confused about what was happening.

"Don't fight them. I'll do the talking." Reyna told them. Jason tilted his head in confusion. The pirates started to board their ship. One roughly tying each of the demigod's arms behind their back. Once he got to Reyna he took one look at her face and immediately let go, a look of fear came across his face. He quickly rushed towards the captain.

"Sir, it's her."

The captain responded, "Her? No one has seen her in years."

The pirate nodded, then led the captain over to the people they caught. The captain looked her over once before talking.

"Ma'am. I am Calico." The captain took a small bow. Jason and Gwen looked on in confusion. Reyna took a step forward and everyone other than the captain took a step back. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Me and my colleagues are on a quest to Circe's Island to collect some weapons. We need transportation, but judging by your course you are headed in the opposite direction."

"You would be correct. Though I can drop you off at the cove. I believe Blackbeard is there as well."

"Yes, that would be good. Thank you."

"Release them." The crew rushed over to the Romans and untied them. Jason stepped towards Reyna and was immediately met with a dozen swords at his neck.

Reyna kept walking towards the berth. "Let him go," she called out. The sabers were removed from his neck and the crew made way for him. Gwen soon followed behind.

"We'll be there in a few hours. We're lucky we were close." Reyna said.

"Woah woah woah, slow down. How do you know the pirates?"

"I don't know them. They know me." She picked up a saber and tossed it from hand to hand. "But before I went to the wolf house I made a name for myself with the pirates."

The Romans were still confused but decided to leave it for now. The ship lurched to the side and they fell over.

"ALL HANDS ON DECK!"

Reyna immediately ran onto the deck. A storm had appeared out of nowhere. She grabbed her sword and ran towards the ropes. Jason, Dakota, and Gwen watched in awe as Reyna moved fluidly. Like second nature.

She climbed the ropes, shouting commands at the rest of the crew. After a bit they were out of the storm. Reyna jumped down from where she was landing right in front of them.

"We'll be docking in a few minutes. Get your stuff together." The two nodded then headed down stairs to grab their stuff. True to those words the ship was docked after a few minutes. The three of them got off the ship, Reyna saying a quick thanks to the pirate crew. They started to walk into the cove. "Keep your hands on your stuff. Even if I'm here they won't hesitate to try and steal valuables."

"I still don't get why you're such a big deal." Jason was starting to get annoyed. "They should be afraid for me. A son of Jupiter."

"The only way to prove that is dueling me, but we are supposed to be working together." Reyna replied coldly.

Jason sputtered, "Fine, I challenge you to a duel." Now they had reached the middle of the cove.

Everyone around them had gone silent. Jason looked around. All he saw on the faces of the pirates was fear. He felt like he'd done something wrong, but even with all the signs telling him not to fight Reyna, his pride wouldn't let him back down.

"Fine. I accept your duel."

The pirates started to circle around the two pushing them outside. Gwen stood in the front part of the circle not sure what exactly was happening.

"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"

Blackbeard put a hand up. "Today this foolish son of Jupiter challenges the Pirate Queen for the position she holds. If he wins he gets the title of Pirate King and the respect we give the queen. If he loses…. well we all know what happens." The pirates cheered. One of the pirates shoved an imperial gold cutlass into Jason's hand. Reyna grabbed one off the pirate next to her. Jason looked at the weapon confused.

"Traditional pirate weapon. Used in all duels." Blackbeard said. "Since we are all set, let's get this show on the sea. Begin."

Reyna waited for Jason to make the first move. He charged forward and went in for an overhead strike. She brought her cutlass up and easily blocked the strike. Jason had been in the legion for 10 years. Since he was two apparently. Even if that was true he still wasn't that great of a fighter yet. Or at least not as good as Reyna was. Reyna kicked his open stomach and pushed him back. Jason came again this time going for a different approach. He swiped upwards. Reyna moved back a little, effectively avoiding the strike. She shook her head.

"Your moves are too obvious Jason. I can see them coming a mile away. You may be a son of Jupiter, but you are not a leader." Reyna was riling him up, making him sloppy. The jeering pirates only added to the anger. She kicked him again. He was pushed into the crowd that shoved him back into the circle. Jason ran straight towards her bringing his cutlass down. This time instead of simply being blocked his sword flew out of his hand. He looked on in shock as his sword hit the floor. Reyna took this to her advantage and kicked him down.

"You still have a lot to learn Jason. Maybe things the even legion can't teach you. But one thing is for sure. You are no leader. You think because you are a son of Jupiter you get respect wherever you go. Maybe in Rome you do. Here is where everything is different. And if you can't live with the fact that there are other people better than you then maybe you shouldn't be here at all." Jason clenched his fist and the winds started to pick up. He lunged for Reyna's feet. Reyna simply jumped over him and he fell face forward into the ground. Blackbeard walked over to Reyna and grabbed her hand. He raised it high.

"Our Queen!" The pirates cheered, oblivious to the storm that was brewing. The winds began getting faster and the sky started thundering. A bolt of lighting hit in front of Reyna throwing her back. She cried out as she was blinded. Immediately the cheering ceased. Jason looked up in shock. The pirates around him grabbed him roughly. They tied his hands together and pushed him down to his knees. A few swords at his throat. Blackbeard approached him. He towered over Jason, staring him down.

"Throw him in the brig." The pirates led him towards the basement and threw him into a cell.

"Wait. It was an accident. Let me see her. Please." The pirates ignored him and walked away only leaving two that were guarding the cell.

Jason felt like he'd been there for hours. I didn't mean to. It was an accident. He repeated in his head, trying to reassure himself.

A little bit later 1 pirate walked in. He unlocked the cell and dragged Jason out by the arm.

"How's she doing?"

"Blinded in 1 eye. Minor injuries. You're really lucky she's in charge. If she wasn't, you'd be on the ocean floor." Jason gulped and kept walking. After a bit they reached the door. The pirate opened it and there inside it was Reyna sitting on a cot. Her left eye was covered by a white cloth and there were bandages across her chest. Gwen was looking her over making sure nothing else was wrong. Blackbeard was standing on the other side of her, arms crossed, staring him down. The pirate shoved Jason forward and then left the room. Now it was only the 4 of them.

"So Reyna about the duel. I'm s-" Reyna held up a hand stopping him.

"I don't want to talk about that. Blackbeard has agreed to take us round trip. To circle's island then back to the mainland. After that it's just us. Circe's island isn't too far, so the whole journey should only take around 4 days."

Jason nodded. A few hours later they were on Blackbeard's ship sailing. The whole crew gave him dirty looks. Itching to get into a fight.

—

By the time they reached the shore Reyna's only injury was her eye. Reyna waved the pirates goodbye and they started their trek towards camp. Jason had been stuck on weapons duty, so he was lugging a large back of weapons with him.

When they got to camp they deposited the weapons to get cleaned and in tip top shape. They met one of the praetors, Mark. He looked over both of them. He saw bruising on Jason and bandages on Reyna's chest.

"What happened?" He asked.

Reyna looked at Jason. "Jason challenged me to a duel to earn the title of Pirate King. I won but he got angry and summoned a lightning bolt that hit in front of me and blinded me. He got thrown into the brig for a while."

Mark gave Jason a look. "Gwen take Reyna to the infirmary. Tomorrow I want to speak with you." Gwen nodded then took Reyna towards the infirmary. Mark signaled for Jason to follow him.

When they got to Mark's office Jason sat down.

"What did you do." It was said more as a statement than a question.

"Well I got angry that Reyna was super important, when I'm the son of Jupiter. I challenged her to a duel. She won easily and said I still had a lot to learn and just because I was a son of Jupiter doesn't mean everything will be handed to me. And if I couldn't learn that I shouldn't be here. She was also a lot better at fighting and I got jealous. So when the declared her the winner I almost struck her with lightning. Giving her some injuries and blinding her." He mumbled the last part.

Mark sighed, "Jason she's a daughter of Bellona, fighting comes easy to her. So does leading. It's in her blood. There's a reason she was called the pirate queen. She has a darker past than most of us. But in a way she was right." Jason looked up. "You still have a lot to learn. You let your emotions get the best of you and injured your legionnaire. It looks like she stopped the pirates from killing you. You should count yourself lucky, pirates hold grudges." Mark chuckled a little bit. After a few seconds, he stopped himself then said, "You are on weapons duty for 3 months. You're not allowed to accept help from anyone." Jason sputtered and wanted to object but stopped himself.

There was a knock on Mark's door. Mark told them to come in. Reyna was at the door, Her cloth replaced with bandages.

"The Apollo kids said that it'll heal in a few weeks. Everything else was taken care of by ambrosia for the most part." Reyna informed.

"Jason you are dismissed, Reyna stay."

Reyna sat in the seat Jason was at.

"You ok?"

"Yeah I'll be fine."

End