Chapter One

Lulled by the rocking motion of the ocean as the ship made its way across the picturesque Caribbean waters, the young woman lounged on the floor. Despite being locked in a cell she seemed completely at ease. Her clothing consisted of a mismatch of items, all unusual for a woman in the 1700's and faded from long use – a long sleeved white shirt and brown waistcoat, brown breeches and black boots, a red long coat, several belts, and a purple sash tied around her waist. Completing the ensemble she used a purple bandana to keep her black her out of her face, and her hair was mostly loose with many random trinkets braided into it.

The long hours passed in silence, as neither the young woman nor the Spanish navy guard posted near the cell seemed all that inclined to communicate with each other. Near midday however there was shouting for from above and the sound of frenzied movement. As her jailer left his post to assist the rest of his crew, the young woman finally opened her ocean blue eyes and sat up listening to the commotion on the ship.

Her curiosity about the goings on was quickly answered by the sound of cannon fire, and she wondered idly weather it was pirates or a rival country attacking the Spanish galleon. The noise grew as the sounds of battle became more intense, and eventually the cannons became quieter and the sounds of sword and gun took precedence – whoever was attacking the Spanish ship had managed to get on board.

After only around half an hour the battle drew to a close, and the woman stood in her cell listening intently to figure out who had won. Voices speaking English slowly made their way through the ship, searching for any missed Spaniard's. The young woman listened to them as the came closer and judged by their accent that they were not from a pirate ship.

Her assumption was proven correct as two men made their way into the hold, both wearing the red and white uniform of the British navy.

"Ello," the woman speaks to catch their attention, raising her hands as the men startle and turn their guns towards her. "I did nothing!"

"It's a person," the leaner one said.

"Yes, I can see it's a person," the second one answered. "They're not Spanish, Mullroy."

"Murtogg, what do we do?" questioned the first.

"I don't know."

"You could start by letting me out," the woman suggested hopefully, "I promise I'm not any trouble."

"How do we know you're not trouble?" Mullroy questioned.

"Because if I was trouble I'd be out there causing trouble, not sitting nicely in cell."

"Does that make sense?" Murtogg asked his company.

"Yes. No. I'm not sure. Maybe we should get someone?"

"Yeah, that makes sense," Murtogg replied to his friend, then to the woman "You, you wait right here, we'll be back."

"I promise to go nowhere," the blue eyed woman deadpanned as the two marines retreated to find a superior.

Before long the two men returned with a third, this one wearing the blue's of a commanding officer.

"See?" pointed out one of the marines, "There's a person, and they sound British."

"You didn't mention they had a woman," the officer remarked, scandalized. "Find the keys and get her out."

The two red coated marines quickly began searching the room for where the keys had fallen.

"I apologize for them," the officer said turning back to the woman. "I'm captain Norrington, of the Dauntless. May I ask how you ended up here?"

"My name is Keilani Teach," the woman introduced herself. "I was returning home to Kingston from staying with family in Hawaii when our ship was attacked by this Spanish vessel. Unfortunately during the battle I was caught and brought on board here. I really must thank you for your timely rescue."

Mullroy had returned with the keys and was quick to unlock the door to the cell, allowing the young woman to leave the small cage.

"Thank you," Keilani expressed, quickly exiting the small cell.

The officer, Norrington, commanded the two marines to finish their check of the ship before escorting the young woman above deck.

Keilani stood quietly to the side, enjoying the sun and salty air as the officer conferred with two others – lieutenants based on their uniforms decorations.

Shortly they called the woman over and explained that they were on their way to Port Royal, but as Kingston was on the way they would be able to stop there and allow the woman to return home.

"I am sorry to cause so much trouble and put you off your schedule," the Keilani apologized.

"It's no trouble at all," one of the lieutenants assured. "Kingston is only a day or two off route, it should not put us off by that much."

"If you're sure, I could always get passage on a ship from your port of call," the woman expressed.

"It really is no bother," the other lieutenant reassured. "Besides, we would like to make sure you get to your home port safely."

"If you are absolutely sure," Keilani wavered, "I couldn't possibly thank you enough for this."

"It is the duty to protect all citizens of the crown," the captain stated seriously, "And the open ocean is not the safest place for a young woman."

"So I have come to learn," Keilani answered. Although her smile did not waver, behind it she was biting her tongue.

"Lieutenant Groves will show you to a room you can use, and you may rest. I'm sure you're quite exhausted after this ordeal," Norrington expressed.

"I am," confirmed Keilani, "And thank you again for everything."

"This way miss," one of the lieutenants, Groves, instructed, leading the young woman back over to the British ship and to a small, unused room.

Once alone in the room the woman let out a deep breath and finally relaxed her posture.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire she thought, going over to a basin of water and cleaning herself as best as she could. This will really test my acting skills. One mistake and it's done.

Chapter Two

The next morning Keilani awoke early and was asked to join the officers table for breakfast. Graciously she accepted the offer and joined with the conversations going around the table. During her time in the Hawaii it turned out that she had missed much politically. Britain was no longer at war with France but had entered conflict with Spain, Kingston had a new governor the prior one having returned to England, and piracy within the Caribbean waters holding as steady as ever. With talk of piracy, conversation turned to various endeavors the officers had been apart.

"I'm sure our guest has no interest in hearing of the vile matter of pirates," Norrington chided.

"The contrary, I find it all rather fascinating," Keilani objected.