Rena had the satchel away from her mother and was struggling to open the latch while fighting off Ethel when a loud boom erupted from above. Rena jumped and Ethel froze. They were both straining their ears to hear what was happening above, but all they got was a lot of inaudible shouting… that is, until one shout rang out loud and clear.

"PIRATES!"

"SHIT!" Rena gaped at her mother.

"MUM! Did you just CURSE?"

"Rena, this is not the time! Didn't you hear 'pirates'? I need that satchel back now!

They can't see what's inside!"

Rena stood defiantly.

"I will not until I know what you are hiding in here," It was Ethel's turn to gape. Her eyes pleaded with Rena's.

"NO. Mum, I want to know!"

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT! I am your MOTHER. Now give me back my bag, NOW!" She slapped Rena hard across the face. It was the last straw for Rena. Normally she would have obeyed her mother, but the years of torment in Nassau from the other townspeople had made her grow tired of being pushed around.

"No," She stated calmly, rubbing her cheek.

Ethel was staring at her, shocked. "Rena. There isn't enough time to tell you! Please, please give me back the bag…"

Rena shook her head. "Speak quickly then."

Ethel sat, defeated. They could both sense that the ship was not going to survive the pirate attack raging above.

"Your father," Ethel trembled violently, "he… ah… he had a bit of a secret." Rena was staring at her, willing her to continue. "Ah… when you were, I'd say about 4, he left. He didn't die like I told you." Ethel looked up, begging with her eyes to Rena. Rena continued to stand like a rock. With a sigh, Ethel continued. "He became a pirate… Mad John Rackham (A/N: there was a pirate with this surname, although I'm not sure if he was called John… I'm hoping not! Also, its pronounced Rack-em)… He sailed the seven seas, like any true sea dog, and every so often I'd get a letter from him. But when he left…" Ethel faltered a bit but regained herself, "I knew it was over. He left! He left, when he knew I didn't want him to. His true love became treasure and the sea. Yet I still loved him, even if it wasn't mutual any longer…"

A loud bang signaled that the door to the deck had been kicked open.

Ethel spoke up again, but this time there was a new sense of urgency in her voice. "Years later, he finally came back to me. I told him I wanted to come along, to be with him. He said no, it wouldn't be safe for you. So that's when I sent you to boarding school. And me and John, we sailed the seas as pirates… Mad John and Mad Ethel Rackham… you, you aren't a Floyd, not completely. You're a Rackham. Rena Lisa Rackham Floyd. Remember those initials, Rena! R-L-R-F. They're important, they've got a purpose! Before I returned to London after a few years of sailing, your father told me of a ring, a ring of unimaginable wealth. All I know is that he had found it once… and he hid it, because he was a smart man. He didn't need it… and it had some kind of power that scared him… I wanted it! Oh how I wanted to find this ring again! But John, no, he said no. He said it was safe hidden. We got home, and stayed together for a few more nights before you came home. And as soon as he left, I heard news a few days later of his death. Murdered by his own crew! They knew he had found the ring…we were in danger now, you and me! We hid in London as long as we could, but the crew was getting too close. I moved us right after I discovered a loose board in your father's old room. I found those papers," she pointed hurriedly to the bag, "underneath it. He mentioned the ring, and then I saw something about Port Royal. Please Rena… if I don't make it there, you have to find it! YOU HAVE TO FIND IT! It's all I would have to remember my John by…you have to complete the adventure that I never got to go on,"

The pirates had been bypassing the tiny cabin that Rena and Ethel were in, but Ethel's increasingly hysterical speech drew their attention. They were pounding on the door now, growling to be let in.

Rena's eyes grew in fear and confusion. This is too much, too much! Me, a Rackham? No no no… it can't be right… Ethel shook her shoulders roughly to drew her back to the present.

"Rena," she whispered, strangely calm, "hide under the bed. I know I won't make it… I wasn't destined to find the ring."

"No, no mum! Hide with me!"

"Rena, I can't fit. Only one can fit." With surprising strength, Ethel shoved Rena under the bed with the satchel just as the door burst open.

"'Ello, whut 'ave we got here?" The pirate's eyes glinted maliciously.

"'Ey, Gorpy, Cap'n said take no prisoners!" A second pirate stood behind the one that had broken down the door.

"Aye, so he did." He unsheathed his cutlass. Rena slapped her hand over her mouth to keep from screaming, but the smack was equally loud.

"Now WHAT was that?" The pirate called Gorpy reached a grubby hand under the bed. Rena scooted away as quickly as she could until she was against the wall. Gorpy's hand retreated. "Musta been hearin' things," he mumbled.

"Come on now!" the second pirate roared. He grabbed Ethel and pulled her above deck, while Rena still cowered under the bed. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. Above deck, the pirates unceremoniously shot Ethel, allowing her body to slump over the rail and plunge into the depths of Davey Jones' Locker.

The pirates left as quickly as they had come, deciding to leave the Lifeblood to drift. They didn't want to waste their already dwindling supply of powder. Rena stayed a good hour under the bed, sobbing silently as her eyes got puffy. After slowly crawling out from under the bed, she collapsed on top of it, emotionally exhausted. There she lay motionless for a good 24 hours, dreaming rarely through a fitful sleep.

The next evening Rena stirred. She sat slowly, her limbs stiff. Standing, Rena exited the cabin and wandered aimlessly around the ship, every so often making a gruesome discovery of a crewmember whose luck ran out. Entering the galley, Rena found a large stash of bread; the Lifeblood had expected to sail for another fortnight before reaching Port Royal. She ate sparingly. I'll die eventually, but there's no reason to speed up the inevitable. When she was done, she had a look inside the satchel. Inside were various documents: a birth certificate verifying that Rena was indeed Rena Rackham, a note scribbled by her father with the words "RING in ROYAL" written on it, and something that confused Rena greatly. It was a faded piece of parchment with some kind of riddle poem written on it. Rena read it to herself.

To find the highland

You have to captain at what's in a name

Start at the bucket and mop

And captain to the bottom

Be careful of Lone Ranger

Things aren't always as they seem

The highland is cursed

And those who find it

Had Bobby make sure

That their intentions are good

Or they'll never be jumping.

"What the HELL is this?" Rena screamed, scrunching her brow in thought. She pondered it for another hour before finally shuffling into bed and crying herself to sleep while thinking of her mother.

This was Rena's daily routine for the next 4 days. On the 5th day, Rena awoke to a sky of gray storm clouds and choppy water. By midday, Rena wished the water was still just choppy. Huge waves of black water were crashing against the side of the ship, tilting it at dangerous angles. Rena was hugging her knees tightly, huddling under her covers with her eyes squeezed tightly shut.

Outside, an ominously black wave gained height and momentum as it tumbled toward a ship that was at the mercy of the sea. It barreled down on the ship and with all its might, the wave crashed into the wood, splintering the planks like toothpicks. The one little passenger, hiding in her cabin, was tossed into the raging waters of the ocean.

All of a sudden Rena was swimming for her life. The Lifeblood was destroyed, pieces of wreckage getting dangerously close to her in the churning water. A smaller wave flung Rena's soaked and shivering body into the air. She landed with a thunk onto what was once a cabin door. The wind knocked out of her and she tried to breathe in again, sucking up a load of salt water as she did. Sputtering, Rena struggled to keep a hold on the door as waves battered her cold body. All of a sudden, Rena spotted something out of the corner of her eye. A large wave was carrying the ship's mizzenmast straight toward her. Knowing there was no escape, Rena braced herself as best she could.

The mizzenmast slammed down next to Rena, splitting the door in half and crashing down on the side of her ribs. She heard a sickening crack through the storm and could feel a piercing pain. Gasping for air, Rena tried to climb onto what was left of the door, finally doing so with much pain. She hadn't been paying much attention to the deadly debris around her, and so she was caught off guard when a heavy chunk of wood smacked her in the back of her head. After that, everything went black.