Rose was French. She was born in France. her and her gypsy clan lived all along the western coast of France, trading with international merchant vessels and pirates alike. Her mother's name was Anna, and they were from a prominent and large-sized group that traversed the countryside, making their way of life through both honest and dishonest means. Their gypsy train, while nomadic like other gypsies throughout Europe, had primarily made camp in the Bretagne region, though they never stayed in one place for long. Gypsies had been ordered for expulsion from France and many neighboring nations nearly two centuries prior, which meant the ultimate end to the gypsy way of life. Gypsies who were caught were imprisoned, executed, deported, or even enslaved. However, the laws had started to fall out of effect as time passed, and the gypsies returned gradually to their old haunts.

Anna was from a long line of gypsies that had branched out from the Pyrenees mountains. The men set up trade in the main town center while the women were in charge of bringing customers into their camp, as well as keeping home. They would entertain and feed the guests, and sometimes tell fortunes. Anna, however, was the best at telling fortunes. What gypsies did were no worse than pirates. They stole. What Anna did was not real. She could not tell the future. But she could manage to put them in a deep enough trance while she picked their pockets, searching for valuables. The women were cunning, able to steal coin purses, watches, jewelry, and more while the men on dock traded cheap goods for more money than their item was ever worth. Rose grew up in this community—cutthroat and stealthy in its own way, but still fostering a family environment. There were about two dozen of them, and all of them felt protected and loved. Perhaps Anna was the most beloved. She was beautiful. She had gorgeous raven curls that fell down her back, and, as sure as the sun, purple eyes. Her hands were adorned with rings she had pawned and along her hip was a belt complete with tokens she had found. Every item she owned was kept on her person at all times. The gypsies used her beauty to their advantage. The men were intoxicated by her handsome features and women were eager to believe her false fortune telling. No one could say no to her. And by the time her customers left her wagon, so bewitched by her were they that it would be days before they realized what had been stolen from them and by that time, the train had moved on to another area. They called her, La Belle Violet, The Violet Beauty. The head counsel of elders in the clan decided that she could earn a better profit if she provided company to men, but Anna would have none of it. She was proud, and virtuous and... odd. She, of course, was sociable with her family, and needed social qualities in order to pull off a job, but she preferred to be on her own. She stole for the sake of the family but never valued material objects herself. She could often be found on a bluff overlooking the ocean, a logging journal in her lap and an ink pen in her left hand. Perhaps she wasn't the best mother. Perhaps she drank and stole and swindled, but she was wonderful and remained ever wonderful in Rose's eyes because of the simple fact that she was her mother.

One man changed Anna though. He changed her because he himself was different and obscure. Not only was he a pirate, but a pirate captain. He made port in France to restock supplies. As expected, the gypsies were waiting to swindle his crew at the dock. At first, orders from the first mate were for the crew to keep moving, but the gypsy men of the clan were wiser. They often anticipated when large vessels, resupplying at the town's docks, contained eager sailors, or in this case, insatiable pirates. So, they brought some of the women along to lead them into camp. Anna waited outside her wagon, watching the commotion as their party was increased by double. The sailors drank and sang and danced around the fire, fully embracing the gypsy culture in their drunken stupor and oblivious to the five men rifling through their belongings. Now pirates were another matter entirely. As the night progressed, Anna knew that in a matter of hours, the caravan train would be on their way, making great haste between them and the unconscious pirates. For as soon as a single fellow raised an alarm about being robbed, every gypsy's life was in grave danger. It had happened before, and it certainly could happen again.

Anna pretended to be happy and merry with the others, but still watched carefully for any pirate who came close to examining his personal effects. A friendly smile sparkled against the flames of a fire and caught her eye. It came from her younger sister, Desiree, who as she passed by Anna, held out a hand towards her, motioning her to join the circle dancing around the heat of the fire. Anna gave a half-hearted smile in response, shaking her head. Anna never danced. She was pensive, not merry. A hollering ruffian took Desiree's hand in place of Anna and swung her around in a rambunctious dance. Desiree shot an exasperated glance back at Anna, who had the chance to share a laugh with her before she disappeared out of her sight behind the crowd.

Just then, something caught the corner of her eye; A short, bearded pirate was stumbling back to his belt containing a coin pouch he had abandoned by a nearby tree. She had diverted her attention for but a few seconds and this man, even though in a drunken stupor, could mean the difference between life and death for her family. As he reached out for his belongings, muttering a simple song to himself, Anna broke into a run to stop him. She quickly put on a charming smile and darted between him and the items.

"Bonjour, monsieur. If I could, perhaps, lead you this way?" she sang.

"Er...no madimozel! Methinks it's time to return to...uh...the...boat...ship." He was too intoxicated to even think straight. Anna anticipated not much of a fight.

"Of course monsieur, but I will accompany you to where the others are." She shrewdly wrapped her arms around his shoulder to lead him away.

In a flash of a second, Anna was disarmed. The man certainly was intoxicated, but not enough to leave him completely defenseless. He was just as insistent on retrieving his effects as Anna was in leading him away from them. He grabbed her left arm, wrenching it away from his shoulders. "Did ye hear what I said? I said NO!"

He increased pressure on her arm, bending it back toward her with the intentions of breaking it. Anna reached behind her to grab her pistol. If she could just reach it, she could hit him upside the head and knock him unconscious...

Click! Someone had already found their pistol. The man stopped moving, still retaining pressure on Anna's head and arm, but remaining motionless.

"And she told you to join the others," a deep voice growled, engulfed in the shadows behind the tree. Anna turned her head enough to make out the outline of the man's pistol aimed directly at the man's head. This must have been one of her clan coming to her aid, though she did not recognize the voice with it.

"But, sir," the man protested, "This wench 'ere got between me an' my business. For the crew."

The pistol lessened the distance between itself and the knave's forehead. "By my orders, stand down."

The man released Anna. She immediately grabbed her own pistol and aimed as well.

"Now, join the others. Like she said," the voice ordered.

The man nodded eagerly. "Aye captain." So, not one of my clan, Anna thought as she watched the rat-like creature scurry away towards the fire.

Before she had the chance to thank her savior, she turned nearly into the chest of a tall and foreboding man, the owner of the pistol that had save her life, who had stepped toward her fully into the light.

"I have watched all of you and I know what you are," said he, sternly.

She was unarmed against his piercing black eyes that seemed to slice through her. Usually quick on her feet, she was suddenly rendered speechless. He continued, his voice an unsettling mixture of both stoicism and violence. "I have seen the teamwork involved here. The women distract while the men steal the goods. Though you don't seem to play a role. Why is that?"

She swallowed, glancing toward the fire. They were all a good ten yards away, far enough that no one could come to her aid without Anna causing a scene and creating widespread panic. She had no choice but to answer. "I should say the same to you." In retrospect, a comment like this could have resulted in her immediate death. However, this man did not want to kill her. He smirked as she continued her point. "I have not seen you amongst the rest of your crew tonight."

He stared at her for a moment. "I don't dance."

"Do you not drink?"

"Oh no, I drink," he quickly corrected. "I am the ship's captain."

A captain! This presented Anna with an opportunity to perhaps steal more goods for the sake of her people… She immediately turned on her charm again. "And are ship captain's not permitted to dance?"

Unfortunately for Anna, this captain could see right through her game and retaliated. "No, but they are permitted to supervise their crew while they are being swindled."

Now Anna was beginning to get frustrated. "If you saw what we were doing then why did you not protect your crew, mon capitan?" She huffily turned her back on him and began to walk back towards her wagon.

He called after her and closely followed her. "A sort of punishment. A lesson to be learned perhaps."

She spun around to face him. "And what lesson would that be? Never trust a gypsy?"

"Not necessarily. One should never trust a pirate either." They shared a look. "No, the lesson is to never act without the consent of one's captain, because you often are inclined to do moronic things. Especially when you have been at sea for months on end."

She swallowed, considering her options. Soon, she had concocted her next move. She put on a seductive smile and approached him, wrapping her arms around him. He did not even seem phased by her unpredictable nature.

"Perhaps then, you could do us all a favor and call your crew back to your ship before they have a chance to learn their lesson without you?" she asked. A seductive tone infiltrated her carefully chosen words as she drew her face closer to his. He had high cheekbones, long dark hair tied back with a bandana. Like her, he was adorned in various trinkets, and all of his effects were on his person.

"I intend to," he whispered back at her.

She smirked. "How can I expect you to keep your word? You just told me to never trust a pirate."

Their lips drew close. Closer. Closer still. The captain did not even flinch. Finally, Anna was the one to pull away and she smiled. "But I have a feeling I could trust you." She started to walk away from him towards the fire, thoroughly pleased with herself.

"Too bad I cannot trust a gypsy," he said. This made her stop dead. "Now if you don't mind, I'll be taking the necklace back." Her face fell and the pit of her stomach swelled with fury as she yanked the mother of pearl pendant from her pocket. She turned back to him and shoved it into his chest. This was the only man who had ever predicted her tricks.

"Keep it," she said bitterly. "Not worth my time anyway."

"You sure?" he asked, cleaning it off with his shirtsleeve. "Its a part of a two part pendent from oysters in Indonesia."

She threw him a skeptical look. "Isn't one piece incomplete without the other?"

"Perhaps it represents being a half of a whole."

She smiled although she was utterly bewildered by this mysterious fellow and his nature.

He put the pendant back in his jacket pocket. "See here," he said. "I know the most certain way the men will not even notice that their effects have been taken. You and I will pack their coats and weapons back to my ship using one of these wagons. When I return to retrieve them, I will inform them that their things are all aboard, and they will not even know that they have been robbed until we are safely headed from shore."

This man was an enigma. "Why are you so willing to help me?" she asked.

"I've already told you," said he. "A good captain must teach by example—"

She cut him off. "No, you are helping me. Why?"

He merely stared directly at her. "Perhaps I see something in you I do not see in your brethren. Perhaps I see a little of myself in you."

Above all else, Anna was a romantic. She had heard tales of love and romance and had dreams of running away with someone who truly loved her. So it was only natural that she throw caution to the wind and follow this man, just in case he was worthy of her heart. He quietly loaded the items into her wagon, while Anna readied and tethered her horse. Together, they rounded the hill that led to the dock.

"What is your name?" he called out to her.

"Anna! And yours?"

"Edward."

"From where do you hail, Edward? England?"

"My primary business is in the Caribbean."

"Isn't that far?"

"Nowhere is far away when you sail the seas long enough."

They were now briskly walking along the dock. "There she is," Edward said. "The Misty Lady."

Anna had seen more elaborate ships than that in her lifetime, but she politely feigned interest in it. They pulled the wagon nearby the ship and threw the effects unceremoniously into the brig whilst Edward gave Anna a tour of the ship. The moon was bright that night, the sort of bright that illuminates the darkness of the night without being full. Anna barely paid attention to what Edward was saying. She was entranced by the mere illusion of him. She lived and worked in a business based on lies, and she thought it incredible that somehow these two masters of lies could see directly through each other's false pretenses. Edward was not her perfect match—she was a pirate of land while he was a pirate on the sea. He was older than she and not as handsome as she. But it was their spirit that magnetized their souls. She knew not whether what she felt was love or lust, be she also cared not. If she was not in love with him, she was at least in love with the thought of him.


They were gone for three hours. It was the middle of the night when they finally returned. Desiree was the only one who had noticed Anna's absence and subsequently feared for her life. When Anna finally did return, rounding the hill in the wagon with Edward by her side, Desiree chastised her insolence. But nothing could touch Anna. The two had only spent hours merely talking, but it was undeniable that they had found kindred spirits in each other. Both were remarkably charming and had made a deep connection. Anna wished that she didn't have to leave Edward so soon, but it was the most responsible thing to do.

Most of the sailors and gypsies had been rendered all but unconscious in the grass by the time they returned, and Edward helped to round up his exhausted men and herd them towards the ship. Before heading out, he approached Anna one last time, asking, "May we meet again soon?"

Anna's eyes gleamed as she broke into a wide grin, nodding happily.

Edward continued, "Tell your caravan to relocate to the next port to thee South. We will stay at port and in the morning, I will teach them their lesson and also order them to spend the day restocking the ship. We will have the entire day to ourselves."

"If we move, how will you find me?"

"Let's meet by the tree where we first met this evening," Edward said, beaming from ear to ear. And with a that, their first day together had ended. As she watched him follow his crew to the ship, Anna was so grateful they had one more day, yet at the same time felt the rapidly passing time on their final moments together.