Diego was one of the best people I had ever met, in my entire life. Up until I joined the crew of the Devil's Disgrace, no one had ever really treated me as an equal. Then again, it was really only Bryant. Maybe that's why I loved him. Even now, I can't say that it was truly love or not. Maybe it was just lust for not being with a man in so long…maybe it was because he was the male figure in my life that I had never had. Who knows? Diego would make me whatever I wanted, granted that we had the ingredients to make it. I pretty much sat down there, invading his space for a week. He didn't say anything to me about it, but I started to think he wanted me to leave.

One night, while sitting alone with him below deck, I decided to ask him about Andrew Shackles, but it turned out to be quite a different conversation. It made me think.

"Is An-…the Captain…is he usually…" Diego looked up at me from his own food. He was sitting on his bed, holding a bowl in his hand.

"He's a good Captain," he said. "He's lived a tough life…"

"Haven't we all?" He shrugged and nodded.

"I suppose." He was silent for a few seconds. "What's your story?" I shrugged and looked down at the ground for a minute. When I looked back up, I pointed to a scar just about my left breast. My shirt was only half covering it.

"This didn't come from any amazing fight with the navy or anything. My uncle was a coward. I lived with him and my aunt for a long as I can remember until the Devil's Disgrace adopted me into their crew. My parents died when I was very young and the people they sent me to live with hit me whether I did anything wrong or not," I explained. Diego nodded. "Just a little less than a year ago…a man by the name of Jet Randell came to inform me that I had a brother and he was looking for me. He told me to go look for him. I struck a bargain with the captain of the Devil's Disgrace and we've been looking for him for 11 months. We were heading for China when you guys took me…" Diego finished his food and set the bowl on the ground.

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen." He nodded.

"Same age as the Captain."

"There is a reason he picked me up," I said, looking straight at his face. "I know there is." He held up his hand to my mouth. He shook his head. I took that as he was not going to tell me what I wanted to know. He went to sleep not long after that. After I thought everyone was asleep, I silently tip-toed out of the kitchens and was about to go up to the deck when I heard Andrew's voice coming from his cabin. The door was ajar and candle light came through. At first, I thought he had seen me, so I froze in my place and listened. He sighed.

"What am I supposed to do?" he asked himself, out loud. "I can't get there…without going through here…and we need to stop for provisions…" I turned around and went up to the door. He sat there with a hand on his forehead, his violent red hair falling all over him. He looked really distressed…and I thought it made him look adorable. I thought back to a week ago when I ran out on him for laughing at me. I realized I overreacted and figured he must have a lot on his mind. After all, he was only a kid, like me. I knocked on the door. He looked up, his eyes catching my attention yet again. "Come in." I opened the door, slowly. His eyes widened when he saw me walk through the door. I closed the door behind me and leaned up against it. "Dragon Eire?"

"I just…" I looked down at the ground, away from his face. "…thought I'd come and apologize for…overreacting." He stared at me for a few seconds. I could feel his eyes on me.

"It's alright…," he said. "I wasn't exactly…welcoming." I nodded and looked back up from the floor. He had a map set out in front of him.

"I heard you mumbling…," I said, walking behind his desk and leaning over the map. "What are you trying to do?" He looked up at me from his chair.

"Usually when we take people captive," he started, moving a strand of my blonde hair out of his face, "they're a little more resistant." I pulled all of my hair over the other shoulder and shrugged.

I've just been thinking…I'm here now, not on the Disgrace anymore. I heard you while we were there…you took me for a reason." I looked down at the map. "I used to pour over maps with Bry-…my captain…before. Now, tell me." For the next ten minutes, Andrew explained to me what he needed to do, where he needed to go. We had to stop to get food and ammunition but we had to get to India in the next week. When asked, he didn't tell me why they had to get to India so quickly, but if he wanted to get there in that amount of time, they would have to wait for provisions until India. I stood, leaning over his shoulder for half an hour giving him different options.

"I think that we can hold off until India," the young captain said when I was finished. I nodded. "But do you really think we can get there within a…" He looked up at me standing over him and paused. I wasn't looking at him, but I could see him staring out of the corner of my eye. I tried to keep my eyes focused on the map. I had one finger on our position and looked over to India.

"Yes…I think we could…" His eyes caught mine. "I should…" We stared at each other for about half a minute.

"You should what?" he asked, starting to stand up. He moved his chair back and it hit me in the leg, knocking my concentration on him out the window. I blinked and quickly looked away before my face started turned red. I grabbed Andrew's compass, which was sitting on the corner of his desk.

"I should go…steer us in the right direction." I turned on my heels and started walking out the door. His chair scraped against the wood floor as he stood up. I was almost to the stairs that led up to the deck when he called me back.

"Wait!" I stopped instantly and slowly turned back to face him. He bent over on the other side of his desk and when he stood up, he was holding my effects. "Since…you don't seem to be thinking about running…you might as well take these…" He walked to the doorway and held them out. I took them from his hands.

"Thanks…," I said. He nodded and went back into his cabin. I turned to go back up on deck. The moonlight lit the way to the helm of the ship. While I walked there, trying not to make a sound, I slipped my dagger into the hidden sheath in my knee-high, black boot and thought about Andrew. He had the most amazing eyes I'd ever seen…and I'm a real sucker for eyes. At first, I had thought him immature but he had just redeemed himself. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad…

"Ouch!" I was pulled out of my thoughts just before I tripped over something that talk and fell on top of it. My weapons fell to the ground. I scrambled off of whoever it was and looked down. It was the same boy I almost ran over when I had just come aboard. What was a kid like this doing on a pirate ship? He looked up at me. I stepped over him and picked up my things. Before I moved again, and with my back facing him, I slipped my belt on around my waist. I made sure all of my money was still there. My gunpowder pouch was still full. I buckled a smaller belt around my thigh and stuck my gun in it. The little boy behind me got to his feet, quickly. "You're not supposed to…"

"Andrew gave them to me, kid. Save it," I said, turning my head a little. I picked up the compass and started for the helm again. I could hear him following me.

"What are you…"

"You shouldn't really sleep in places that will get you run over." I finally reached my destination and opened the compass.

"You cant-"

"What's your name, kid?"

"Sully, miss…but…"

"Go get me a lantern. I can't see this, even with the moonlight." Sully, confused, obeyed and ran off to get me a light. About two minutes later, he came back, carrying a lantern for me. I grabbed it from him and held it up so I could see the compass. I turned the wheel to the right a bit and closed the compass. I hung the compass on my belt and handed the lantern back to the kid. "You should go back to sleep, Sully. Go below deck, this time. I'll stay up here." He stared at me for a while, still confused. I gave his shoulder a little shove. "Go on." He stumbled backwards and almost dropped the lantern. When he regained balance, he turned quickly and left. Once he was gone, I sat down against one of the masts and looked up at the sky. It was littered with quite a few stars. The moon was almost full. I started to think, out loud. "What am I going to do…? Bryant was supposed to help me…I'm never going to get him this way…We're heading away from China." I looked down at my lap. "I'm sorry, brother…" I really hadn't felt genuinely depressed since I had been taken. I hadn't been really alone. I closed me eyes and hugged myself. It was then I really realized that it was chilly. There was a wind that was picking up, which was good. It would help us move faster. After an hour or so, I was shivering but falling asleep. Before falling asleep, I checked the compass one last time as best I could with the light available, and then finally closed my eyes.

When I woke up, I was warm. I remembered going to sleep cold. I opened my eyes to find a sleeveless red jacket sitting on top of me. It was still dark, but the moon was shining right on me. This jacket…, I thought. I knew who it belonged to. I looked up and saw Andrew's back facing me. He was standing at the helm. His long, red dreadlocks were slightly blowing in the wind. I shifted a bit under his jacket, trying not to make any noise. When I moved, his compass, which was still hanging from my belt, hit the deck. The young captain spun around and looked down at me.

"I see you're awake now," he said. I nodded and stood up, bringing the jacket with me. I held it out to him, but didn't look at him.

"Thanks…" He reached out to take it. His hand brushed against mine. I let go of the jacket and pulled my hand away, quickly. He grabbed it before it fell to the ground and slipped it on.

"Your hands are cold," he pointed out. He reached out to take them. "Let me…" I let him. His hands were quite a bit bigger than mine. They were also warm. Something in me sparked. I don't know what it was. But it felt weird. And his hands felt very good…I looked up at him and caught him staring at me again. "I heard you had a run-in with Sully tonight." I smirked.

"I think I scared him, the poor kid." I looked out to the water. "What's a kid like him doing here anyway?"

"It's a long story," he said. "I'll save it for another sleepless night." I looked back up at his face.

"You haven't been so sleep yet?" He shook his head. "Aren't you tired?" He smiled down at me.

"Yes, very." He started rubbing my hands, slowly. "I've been finding it hard to sleep, lately. Too many things to worry about."

"Do you want me to help?" I asked.

"Possibly."

In this moment, I completely forgot all about India, Bryant, the Devil's Disgrace, the Black Oblivion and…my brother.

In this moment, Andrew leaned down and kissed me.