I stood there at the railing of the Bejeweled Prestige watching the waves of the ocean ripple endlessly. We had been at sea for almost the whole day and the sky was turning crimson as the sun set on the horizon. Soon, the crew ceased their work and sat leisurely on the deck. Dirk passed around a bottle of rum and soon they were taking turns swigging. I sat timidly between Pintel and Adriano as I watched the crew get inebriated. Pintel had already downed about half a bottle when he handed it to Adriano.

"Take a sip, Ragetti. Tha's th' good stuff," slurred Pintel. Adriano hesitated and then took a small gulp. Soon he was doubled over coughing and I had to thump him on the back to get him to stop. Several men nearby chuckled. "'S' awright. Yeh'll be gluggin' it down like water 'fore too long!" Once he caught his breath, Adriano stood and took me by the arm. Pintel frowned. "Oy. Where're you lot goin'?"

"It's Chetta…ah—er—Chet's bedtime," said Adriano. He sounded hoarse from his coughing fit. He led me down to the bunks and helped me settle into a hammock. He kissed me on the forehead and went to stand up, but I took his hand.

"Don't leave," I begged. "I'm scared. I don't like it here. I wanna go back home." Adriano looked at me and then gathered me into his arms like he did when Mama died.

"Chetta…we can't go home now. We got ter stay wiv Pintel. We'll be alright." A tear fell and I started to sniffle. He hugged me closer and kissed my forehead once more. "Don't cry. I'm here. I'm not goin' anywhere."

It would be a long time until I'd be able to fall asleep in the arms of my brother again.

We had been sailing for a month when we came across two ships flying England's colors. At the sight of them, Barbossa cursed and a few other crewmen started acting uneasy. Dirk came up from the galley, saw the ships, and mysteriously went below again. The ships came closer and closer. Some men started to panic.

"Wot do we do, Cap'n?" asked the first mate.

"Act like nothin's the matter! If anything shall happen, keep to the Code!" barked Barbossa. His gaze snapped to me. My eyes widened to the size of saucers, like they always seemed to do whenever I met gazes with the captain. At other times I thought he did it just to scare me when he knew I was standing near, but now he looked serious about it. "Chet. Barricade yourself in my quarters." I hesitated. What was going on? Barbossa rolled his eyes and took me by the arm, leading me roughly towards the doors to his cabin. I looked back at my brother.

"What about Adriano?" I asked.

"He's fine on his own. Now get inside!" Barbossa shoved me into his cabin and shut the door. I heard him lock it. Panicking, I pounded on the door and started screaming, but no one came for me. After a moment, I sat on the window seat and looked out at the two ships approaching. They looked to be military men, and as they got closer, it seemed that they didn't look very friendly. The ships stopped on either side of the Prestige. I couldn't see or hear anything that was happening on board and sat there in silence for a while until I heard the sound of muskets being fired and swords clashing. My heart started beating rapidly and all I could worry about was Adriano in the middle of that ruckus. After another while, the racket ceased, and I saw that the two ships were starting to pull away. As I happened to look on board one of them, my heart stopped. Pintel and Adriano were tied up and shackled and were about to be led below deck by two soldiers.

"NO!" I yelled, pounding my fists against the window and crying. "ADRIANO!" I didn't notice Barbossa unlock the door and enter until he grabbed my wrists and gently pulled me from the window. "YOU HAVE TO GO BACK FOR HIM! DON'T LET THEM KILL MY BROTHER!"

"There ain't no goin' back for him! I made an accord with them Navy men! And anyway, it would be against the Code to go back fer 'em!" said Barbossa.

"C-c-code? What code?" I asked. Barbossa took me by the shoulders and looked me straight in the eye.

"The Pirates' Code."