In another hour Sanya had brought her sister back to their room and saw her settled in with a book to read and tea to sip. She really could be quite nurturing when she chose to be but she had dropped out of that role as soon as Talya was focused on the pages of the story.

Sanya pulled on, under her skirt, a pair of breaches that her brother had long ago grown out of. Over her clothing she wrapped a hooded cape. She started for the door but not before her twin noticed her going.

"Nya, you're going to check the progress of Jamos's ship aren't you?" Talya said his name as if it were a foreign word in a language she was being forced to learn.

"I…"

"You're not going to do something to it make it not able to sail or take longer to finish?"

"No," she answered honestly.

Talya looked close to tears again. "I know you love that ship. I feel like I'm stealing it from you as soon as it's ready to sail."

"You're not." Sanya sighed. "It's not your fault. And…" what could she say? "I would never make her unsafe for you to sail on."

Talya nodded. She knew that much was the absolute truth.

Sanya crossed the room back to her sister's window seat and knelt beside her. "You're right. I do love that ship. She's going to be beautiful when I'm finished with her. But I will always love my sister more than anything."

Talya hugged her. "I love you too."

Sanya straightened up. "I won't be too long. You enjoy your book and then we can play dejarik when I get back. I just need to get some air."

That Talya understood. Her sister wasn't meant to be cooped up inside. "I think that will do you some good. I'll set up the board and have it ready for us when you return, shall I?"

"Aye. That sounds good." Even if it was she who was leaving on that beautiful ship once it reached completion and not a Blackwell bride to be, it would still mean being separated from her twin. And either way she did want to spend as much time with Talya as possible before that day arrived.

…

As soon as she got out of the house Sanya found a convenient corner to hide behind to remove her skirt in favor of the breaches underneath. Salt gods, it felt better to be able to move freely, unencumbered by all those yards and yards of fabric. She stowed the skirt behind a large rock, tied her hair up in a messy knot, and pulled the cloak and hood tighter around herself.

It wasn't easy to sneak around on the island where she had been born and lived her whole life and everyone knew her but no one would be expecting a young stranger in boys' clothes and today all she needed was to get into the back room of the pub where Leon will have gathered the men she needed to convince to be her crew.

She knew, girl or not, she could never pass for anyone old enough to drink at the bar. Cabin boys were sometimes offered drinks on a special occasion or as joke. But what reason could she have for entering the establishment without the older sailors of her crew? Maybe she was sent as a messenger from an officer on board to fetch one of the sailors?

She needn't have put that much thought into it. Leon was there by the entrance of the place directing the other interested parties into the meeting when she arrived. She pushed back her hood a bit and gave him a grin that was full of excited and fearful determination.

"There y'are, lad." He said loud enough for any passerby to hear. He clapped her on the shoulder and shoved her through the door and back towards the meeting room. The pub was full of people she knew or at least knew her but none of them gave her a second glance and they made it to the prescribed location with no trouble.

With a sigh of relief she threw back her hood once the door was closed. Someone let out a curse. Of course her bright red hair was a dead give away to her identity.

"Hardicort," the man scowled. "Why'd you let her in here? She'll recognize everyone of us and run home and tell her Lord Papa we've been meetin' behind his back."

"I will not!" She sounded like a petulant child even to her own ears but she didn't let that stop her. She couldn't wait for Leon to calm the room for her.

Sanya spit and then with hands on her hips addressed them. "I won't tell my father about this because... I'm the one who called you all here."

There were a few snickers, an outright guffaw, and a couple of the men got up to leave.

She put herself between them and the exit, already beginning to assert her command. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Leon waiting to step in, in case things got violent. She was thankful he was letting her have her say before that was necessary.

"I know you've all seen that new lady out there in the shipyards."

"What about her?" Somebody called.

Here goes nothing. "She's mine and I mean to have her!"

Her exclamation was met with silence and then out right laughter. Sanya glanced over at Leon and he gave her a questioning shrug. She knew what he was asking. Did she want him to intervene? Did she still want to go through with this at all?

Well she was determined to continue and if she started letting him help her now she would never be able to keep command. She pulled out a chair and stepped up on to it so that she could see over the heads of all of the men.

"You're all Harkon men, loyal to my family." She bellowed.

"I'm not," one of the free signers called out.

Sanya pointed at him and smiled, "I'll get to you in a moment." She was starting to feel the roll of the room as if it were the deck of a ship under her feet.

"If I had been born a boy, I would have already served with most of you."

"I sailed with her," another man spoke up. "Hardest working cabin boy we had on the Wave Saber ."

"Aye!" She grinned. "Markos Flint, I remember you! Then you remember my brother was on the same voyage! Which of us would you say came most naturally to the sea?"

Markos turned to the sailor beside him. "Her brother was puking his guts up for half the voyage while this one was scurrying up in the rigging like an owl monkey."

"Aye!" Sanya skipped nimbly from her chair to the back of another man's chair to the table top. "And it's that brother of mine who's been destined by the salt gods to be in command of you all, Young Lord Harkon captain of the cog kennels!"

That got her another laugh but now they were laughing with her.

"They wouldn't let me go back out on the salt again but I haven't sat idly by. I've studied for and passed both my midshipman's and lieutenant's exams." She marched across the table top like it was her very own quarterdeck and clapped Leon on the shoulder. "Mister Hardicort can attest to my fighting ability. I've kept up with my practice at every manner of blade."

The free signer took a gulp of his ale and then lifted his mug to her. "They still call her The Knife up at the Hold."

"Aye?" She asked him, amazed.

"Oh, aye. Young master's still got the scar you gave 'im. Wears it proud, though his momma and that witch sister-in-law are after him to cover it up."

This news took Sanya aback. She didn't really want to think about Jamos Blackwell but it did give her an idea. She crossed her arms over her chest imperiously. "That's the kriffing bastard who thinks he's entitled to that sweet lady out in shipyard."

There were grumbles of agreement. And a few of the sailors spit on the name Blackwell.

"And not only that," she had their attention now, "The second son of the house of Blackwell believes he's entitled to the hand of my sister."

She had judged her timing exactly right. The grumbles rose to an angry hum.

"My father believes he has to bow to the whims of a disgraced lord!"

"You would defy your own father?"

Sanya wasn't sure who had asked the question but she turned to face in the direction of the voice.

"I love my Papa and my house. I believe he sees this as his only course. He can't pass over my brother and train me as his successor. Though he has consulted with me on the design of that new ship and allowed me to continue my education. And he can't in good conscience say no to the Lord of the North."

She looked around. They were listening to what she had to say, really listening to her. "I don't want to see the house of Harkon go down with the Blackwells'."

She smiled proudly. "I see this venture more as liberating my ship and my sister and denying both of those fine ladies to the scum of Blackhold isle."

There was a round of "Aye!"s and lifted glasses.

Of course a descenter or two spoke up. "You really think you could take the ship from under their very noses?"

She opened her mouth to reply but now finally Leon took up the case, "We do. Captain Harkon here knows that ship like the back of her hand. She's been involved in every step of the design and construction of the craft."

"And the family trusted her enough not to scupper the rig in all that time?"

"I could never do that." Sanya assured them earnestly. "I've poured my life's blood into that craft. The only thing I love more in the Galaxy is my sister and since Lya's supposed to be sailing on her they know I'd never put her in danger."

Markos Flint smirked. "You can keep playing like the loyal sister, preparing the perfect wedding vessel and really make the craft to your own specifications."

"Aye! Exactly!" She marched across the table towards him with her hands on her hips. "They've planned to have the rigging out complete around the time of our fourteenth birthday and send the ship along with my sister to Blackhold as soon as they can manage after that."

The Harkon sailors we're all perfectly aware of when the family members' birthdays showed up on the calendar. They were celebrated like holidays on the island. It was the free signer who raised a hand and asked, "When will this be exactly?"

It was a fair question even for those who knew the timetable. They would have to arrange to be back here and not out on some other voyage when the time came.

"Three months." Sanya informed them. "Or there about. I can only assume Papa will make a big deal of the birthday celebration and send off. He will likely call in the entire fleet so you will all be here for us to get organized."

"It would make the most sense to slip the craft out the night before she's set to make sail." Leon suggested. "And it wouldn't hurt as the whole fleet will be in harbor, to make sure that the other captains and officers have a really good time celebrating that night. We won't want them to give chase till we can get a good distance away."

"Sounds at awful lot like going pirate," Markos Flint said what a lot of them had been thinking.

"That very well might be." Sanya spoke up again. "But the pirate code is a democracy. We would all be equals and all have a vote."

"And all have a share in any prizes we take," the free signer grinned and was rewarded with cheers.

Leon piped up again before the talk of booty dissolved them all into a chaos. "We should take a vote now. I nominate Sanya Harkon as our Captain because we could never do this without her."

She gave him a grateful nod as the discussion, mostly in her favor, swirled around the room.

Next Markos Flint added, "and I nominate Leon Hardicort as Quartermaster. We couldn't ask for a better spokesman for the crew."

More nodding and another chorus of "aye"s. There were no other names put forward as opponents so it was just a matter of yea or nay in favor or against the appointments. The outcome didn't guarantee that the arrangement would remain that way. Once they had the ship and had begun their marauding Sanya and Leon both would have to prove that they deserved the positions.

"We'll ask both of you to step out for a moment," Markos instructed. Sanya wondered how he knew so much about pirate protocol but she hopped down from the table and headed to the door as she was asked.

She also wondered if Leon had spoken to Markos ahead of time to have him be so vocal in support of their proposal.

She couldn't speak while she and her old friend waited for the decision but Leon gave her shoulder a squeeze. "You've done a good job, Nya. It's in their hands now."

After all her bravado, she felt drained. She wanted to ask what he had told them to get them to listen to her. She wanted to ask if he thought they had a chance. Before she could make her mouth form the question a head poked out the door.

"We've taken our vote. You can come back in."

Leon Hardicort had to give her a push in that direction. Then other hands shoved Sanya back up on to the table top.

"Congratulations, Captain Harkon!"

"Aye?" She wasn't sure she had heard them correctly but they were smiling and seemed in earnest.

"And Quartermaster Hardicort!" There was another round of cheers and applause. Their crew pushed him up to the table top as well and he towered over her there as he always did on the ground only now he took off his hat and bowed, deferring to her as his superior.

He took her hand and raised it in the air. "Three cheers for our bold captain!" He cried and they all joined him. And then someone was passing around drinks and one was placed in her hand.

It burnt her throat and made tears leak from the corners of her eyes but she drank it down and one of her men handed her another. She thought vaguely that it probably wouldn't be a good idea for her to drink too much more of that. And then she remembered that she had promised her sister a board game when she went back to the Hall.

"Leon," she caught his arm as he crossed in front of her vision.

"Aye, Captain?" He smiled.

She handed him the glass she was holding. "My first act as your responsible leader is to go home now and pretend to be a good girl for a while longer."

He raised the glass to her. "Aye, Captain," he said again.

"Good evening, men," she called out with a wave and walked unsteadily out into the street. She didn't remember getting home after that but she must have done because the next thing she knew she was in her own bedroom singing a bawdy sailor's shanty to the ceiling above her bed.

"Were you drinking?" Talya asked her, amazed and appalled.

Sanya giggled. "Do you blame me?"

"Do I even want to know?" Talya shook her head.

"I was drinking the health of my wonderful sister who is going to be betrothed!"