The next morning when the sun rose so did Izzy, and Willa was put to work just as he'd said. First Mate Hands had her follow him through the ship, while he barked orders and snapped words at the other crew, until they reached a storeroom. Green eyes stayed down in a show of submissiveness but she still glanced at her surroundings to learn that the shelves were rather well stocked; although she'd been told they had resupplied very recently so that wasn't overly surprising. Her head snapped up to the elder man when he instructed her to go around the ship replacing the candles in the lanterns.

With that order he left and Willa stood there dumbfounded. She'd expected to be watched but no, Willa was totally alone in that storeroom with free rein of the ship apparently. Then there was her chore, surely it should have been something significantly harder or time consuming. That said, Wilhelmina wouldn't go looking a gift horse in the mouth.

With a calmness befitting of a noble of her station, Willa used her freedom well. After an hour or so she'd done her job and familiarized herself with the ship with an impressing degree of nonchalance. If her needs became so great she'd be able to hide reasonably well. That was a step in the right direction.

As the Prussian rounded a corner she came face to face with Captain Bonnet. Amongst this collection of strange pirates Bonnet was by far the weirdest but also oddly endearing.

"Ah, Miss von Krieger, how are you today?" He asked with a jovial smile.

Either this guy was the best actor she'd ever encountered or he really was the worst pirate in the history of pirates.

"I'm fine, danke."

That got a smile out of him. "Our Mister Hands has given you chores I take it?"

Wilhelmina nodded. "Nothing I can't handle."

"Good, that's good." The blond paused only for a moment before that happy tone of his was again shoving out words. "Would you care to accompany me for some fresh air?"

Bonnet offered her his arm like a perfect gentleman and Willa looped with him out of habit rather than want. Still, Captain Bonnet was by far the least likely to harm her so she didn't mind strolling with him a while.

The day's sun was relentless, cast heated beams down to scortch everything it touched; certainly warmed Willa's porcelain skin pleasantly. The breeze gently ran through her long hair as they slowly made their way along the main deck. Willa had hated being at sea with her so-called owner but the Revenge had shown her another side of the high seas.

Stede took a deep breath which drew her attention back to him. "Ahh, perfectly refreshing. I do enjoy the sea air."

Her suspicion was that Stede Bonnet could talk until long after the proverbial cows had come home from an extended vacation. Probably one of the few true skills he actually possessed, however, despite his naïvety, she decided to like him.

Izzy appeared in her peripheral vision then as he marched in their direction, a hand rested upon his sword hilt. His expression was his usual shade of grumpy but Willa focused more on his lovely eyes.

"You done?" He inquired, voice deep and angry as always.

Wilhelmina nodded with a soft smile. "Ja."

"Take water around to the crew then, lass. They're idiots that do fuck all but I don't want them passing out in this heat and being less use than normal. I'd only end up tripping over them."

Willa couldn't help the small, breathy laugh that escaped her, a laugh which caught Izzy by surprise; didn't stop Willa seeing the tiny twitch of a micro-smile he gave her though.

Stede's brow furrowed. "Don't work the poor girl too hard."

"Fuck off, Bonnet." Izzy sneered.

The blond appeared as though he'd say something but Willa made sure to disentangle herself from his arm while showing him a bright smile, and luckily it did the job because Stede backed down.

"Right-o." Was all he said before his departure much to Willa's pleasure; she didn't need a scuffle breaking out around her, especially not when it would have been so heavily weighted in Izzy's favor.

The pair watched him walk away a moment or two but that was it, Izzy got himself right back on task by shooting a finger out toward the water bucket.

"Get to work, little lass."

So she did. Wilhelmina's tasks had been simple enough so far and she was more than happy with it staying that way. Easy was … well, easy.

Quietly she retrieved the bucket, it was heavy but not to the point she couldn't lift it, and had a wooden cup floating in it. A glance around the room revealed her first target, the single solitary person she could see on deck. The pirate was a scrawny man with long but thinning blond hair and a dazed look on his face.

"Water?" She offered kindly which had Buttons turn around to face her properly.

"Ah, no thanks, hen." He gestured to a bird flying high in the sky, it went this way and that around the sails. "Watch out fer that one, she's up tae high doh."

Willa blinked almost comically, she had literally no idea what he'd just said or how to react to it. Willa spoke four languages but she was fairly certain that what he'd just said was sound effects masquerading as words. Unsure of what to say she simply turned around and walked away from the bizarre Scotsman – or at least she assumed it was Scottish, Willa hadn't been to Scotland so frankly he could have been Welsh for all she knew. Soon enough Willa had found her way to were Jim and a chubby black man stood muttering to one another. Willa still stood by her assessment that Jim was the most dangerous one after Blackbeard, but their standoffish nature didn't appear to be too much of a worry for the time being.

"Water?" She offered again with a friendly smile.

Jim didn't speak, not that Willa had expected them to, just took the cup from the bucket and gulped some down before they then thrust the cup at the man who did much the same. With gratitude he dumped the cup back into the bucket.

"Thanks, that really hit the spot. I'm Oluwande by the way, but you can call me Olu."

Jim glanced over to Izzy then back to Willa before she could respond to the kind-looking black man.

"You don't have to do as that prick says, you know. Tell him to fuck himself."

None of these people liked Izzy very much but Izzy couldn't really have cared less, that much had become glaringly obvious.

"I've been forced to do things far worse, so the water and replacing some candles is actually pretty easy." She said, accent soft and lyrical.

"Okay," began Olu "but he asks anything weird you just come tell us, yeah?"

Willa wasn't used to kindness. "Why would you care?"

Olu looked at her as though it were all so simple while she shuffled the water bucket in her grasp.

"You're a kid."

The teenager sighed. "I stopped being a child long ago, but danke."

She walked away then knowing full well they watched her. In hindsight she probably should have shown herself more submissively, more demurely, but obviously that ship had sailed. Blackbeard, that was where her attention needed to be focused for the time being. An eyebrow lifted as a question occurred to her; who exactly is the captain here? She pondered that subject as she offered water to a man whose name she learnt was Frenchie and his large friend, Wee John. Neither of the men spoke to her much beyond a 'thank you' though since Izzy had put the fear of God into them after the Butterblume incident; probably thought he'd chuck them over the side. Still, who was captain? Didn't matter if it was Bonnet's crew and ship, if Blackbeard was aboard and Izzy had been acting as the first mate then he was in charge surely. Fuck if she knew, making sense of this situation seemed about as useful and wondering why people continued to insist licorice was edible.

The girl with auburn hair continued around the crew she could see slowly until she finally tapped on the shoulder of a tall man dressed entirely in leather who spoke with Stede. Yet, when he turned around the beard said it all and Willa's heart nearly thundered out of her chest. She gulped, this was Blackbeard. This was the insane, violent man called the legendary Captain Blackbeard.

"Who are you?" He asked with genuine confusion in his dark, surprisingly lovely eyes.

Willa didn't answer, couldn't, she was fucked. Somehow though it was Stede Bonnet who came to her rescue with a smile and a wave of flamboyance.

"This is Wilhelmina von Krieger, Ed. We took her out the water, remember?"

"Oh, the new girl I left in Izzy's capable hands." He smiled like she wasn't prey surrounded by sharks. "You need something, baby girl?"

What was it with everyone on the ship and their damn pet names? Stede had called her 'my dear', Izzy seemed focused on 'little lass' and she was pretty certain the weird Scottish guy she hardly understood had called her a fucking chicken! Now the infamous Blackbeard of all people had thrown 'baby girl' out? No! No, she needed to look useful like she'd done with Izzy, if she did that they'd keep her, take care of her at least.

"Are- are you thirsty, Captain?" She managed to ask before her emerald orbs flicked to the blond. "… other Captain?"

"No, my dear, thank you anyway." Stede smiled. "I appreciate the offer."

"I'm good." Said Blackbeard. "Me and Stede had tea earlier."

Tea? The fearsome Blackbeard drank tea with runaway rich folk and called Prussian teenagers 'baby girl'? Honestly Willa had started to wonder if she'd magically found herself in an outlandish other world.

"O-okay. Sorry to have bothered you, captains."

With that Willa shuffled away having decided to be polite and meek in front of Blackbeard even if he didn't quite add up to his legend. Willa needed to understand these men but they were all so strange that had gone out the window and been replaced by a better plan, her look-sweet-and-innocent plan.

Slowly she gravitated toward the first mate who'd been sharpening his sword with the ocean as a backdrop.

"You alright, lass?" He peered up at her with puzzlement. "Your eyebrows are all weird."

"Blackbeard drinks tea?" She mostly asked the sea air but, of course, Izzy was right there to hear every word, and he couldn't prevent his grumble.

"Didn't until fucking Bonnet showed up."

For Wilhelmina that solidified there and then that the topic of Blackbeard and Bonnet were a touchy subject for Izzy. Avoid it, that would be for the best. Determined to move away from the two captains she picked something else to say to shift focus.

"Can I do anything else for you, Master?"

"You can stop calling me that." He huffed. "And you know how to sew." Willa nodded despite knowing it hadn't been even remotely posed as a question. "Go help the temptress and his boyfriend repair the sail."

The emerald-eyed teenager looked behind her to see two men who had gulped down water but said very little to her. With a nod Willa placed the water bucket back in its rightful place, then did as Izzy ordered. She could obey orders, she was good at it when she desired to be. Izzy Hands needed to see her as useful and at least she was in the sunlight's warmth.

Slowly she moved across the deck until she was before the two pirates with the sun on her back. It was safe to say they'd not expected to see her return so soon.

"I was told to help." Said Willa by way of explanation.

Black Pete perked up at that. The damaged section of sail lay over his lap and a large needle filled his hand. From what Willa spied of his work, he'd not had helpful maids to teach him sewing.

"Oh great! I suck at this." Black Pete made a gesture and an insistent sound to Lucius which had him shuffle closer to make space. "Take a seat."

The teen did so only to be instantly reminded of when Friedrich sat beside her thanks to the scribe's height. She hated the surge of pain that sparked through her heart.

"I'm Black Pete and this beautiful thing is Lucius."

"Oh babe, you're so sweet." With glee Lucius leaned in for a quick kiss.

Willa mentally paused, if that had happened where she'd been raised then two families would have been disgraced and imprisonment would have been in the cards. Willa hadn't realized that pirates could be so … forward-thinking, or maybe it was something unique to this gang of pirates.

"What's your name?" The bald man asked with a happy tone.

"Willa."

Lucius let out a small hum of approval. "Cute."

The Prussian gathered up some of the sail while Lucius looked her over as if assessing something. He had a firm grasp on his notebook but didn't actually seem to have any intentions of helping with the sail or any other work. Still, if he was a scribe then he could read and write, Willa doubted many, if any, of the other crew could.

"You don't have to do what Dizzy Izzy says."

Willa's brow furrowed. "Why do people keep telling me that?"

A seagull squawked above her head but it went ignored, as did the slight jostle of the ship on the waves. Willa had focused too much on Izzy, sure he was an unfriendly grump but she'd not seen any real reason to hate the guy so far.

"Because it's true. We don't answer to that asshole." Lucius gestured loosely to the blond captain. "Stede Bonnet is our captain, we answer to him and he's an idiot."

The auburn-haired beauty paused a moment. "… I don't think he's my captain. I'm pretty sure Blackbeard is."

Black Pete ceased his hands again to look at the girl with puzzlement. "How'd you work that one out?"

"Blackbeard ordered that I stay on this ship." She explained. "That I act as translator if needed and do chores. He put Izzy in charge of me and dispensing those chores." Somehow she thought it easy to speak with these two men. "So, ja, I'm rather certain I answer to Izzy and Blackbeard now."

Lucius actually looked as though he pitied her. "Poor girl."

"Wait, why did you call him 'Dizzy Izzy'?"

The two men shared a glance before smirks crept onto their faces followed by snickering. Willa must have missed something because she truly didn't see why they disliked Izzy so much.

"Izzy hadn't found his sea legs. He spewed everywhere." As if to emphasize his point Lucius waved his right hand out before them.

Willa's head cocked to one side questioningly. "You saw this?"

"Nah," sighed the scribe, "would have liked to. Fang told me about it."

Fang, she'd not heard that name yet and no one she'd served water too looked like they'd have earned a moniker like that. Could this Fang be a danger to her?

"Who is Fang?" She asked with a wave of insouciance.

"The big guy with the white beard."

No, Willa hadn't seen a pirate fitting that description.

"I've not met him yet." She spoke mostly to herself before her attention turned back to the man with distinct facial hair. "Surely Izzy doesn't like you calling him 'Dizzy Izzy'."

Lucius snorted. "Of course he doesn't! Pisses him off royally though, so that's why I do it. Still, I would have liked to sketch him."

"You sketch?" Willa raised an eyebrow with honest curiosity.

"Oh yeah!"

The large notebook he'd been holding close to his chest during their conversation was suddenly flipped open without a care in the world. He flicked through it slowly with a grin as he displayed each and every drawing inside. Black Pete had, of course, seen most of them before but still he peeked over Lucius' shoulder to get a better look at the art.

Gerhard von Krieger was a snob. He liked to make a bold display of his wealth even while it was rapidly depleting. So Willa had been exposed to stunningly painted artwork from a young age. That being said, she'd not seen work with such freedom of expression before. Something about it was refreshing, something raw and natural that forced the viewer to admire it despite being what most would deem lewd or gratuitous.

"You have a lot of drawings of penises." Deadpanned Willa.

Lucius shrugged. " It's a hobby."

"He sketches everyone, most of the crew now." Black Pete lisped.

"Huh." The sound just sort of slipped out.

The more she spoke to these people the stranger they got, but damn, at least her day hadn't been boring for her.

"Surely you have hobbies." Lucius had an almost lyrical lilt to his voice that could cut with a snide remark or tease without mercy.

The teenager nodded. "Ja, I like to read."

Black Pete's eyes widened with genuine curiosity. "You can read?"

"My family is noble so I was taught as a child to read and write."

Lucius tapped his pen to his chin while he contemplated Wilhelmina.

"Hmm, so you're literate, speak English and German-" Willa cut in a moment.

"Danish and French too."

"… Danish and French too." He repeated. "And have even managed to get Izzy the Spewer to warm up to you. You're quite the manipulator, Willa."

Scheiße! (shit!) This one was smarter than the others, he'd seen what she was doing, that she wasn't nearly as timid as she'd originally displayed herself as. Perhaps Lucius Spriggs had been the real threat rather than Blackbeard or Jim. She'd assumed violent skill to be her biggest threat but she'd ignored intellect entirely as an option.

Lucius seemed to notice the momentary panic which lingered behind her green eyes, and took pity on her.

"Don't look so stricken, Willa. You're trying to keep yourself alive by appearing useful, I can't fault that. I'd do the exact same thing. " He motioned towards her lower half, specifically her thighs. "I'm not stupid, I saw the bruises on you when you were brought on board. I can guess what happened so I'm not going to fuck your chance of having a stable life with us up."

With them? Was that even an option? Did she want that? No, she wanted Friedrich.

"Me neither." The bald man offered with a soft smile.

Lucius bumped her shoulder with his own then; kindness lingered in his eyes. "Friends?"

There was something in him that seemed familiar to Willa, and she couldn't quite decide if that cheered her up or made her feel worse.

"You remind me of my brother." She informed. "He's very good at making an offer sound attractive too." Willa offered her hand for Lucius to shake and he did. "Friends."

Black Pete broke in then; part of the sail balled awkwardly in his lap. "I know we're talking about telling Izzy to fuck off and all, but we really could use some help here. Told you, I-"

"Suck at this. Ja, you said. I suppose fixing the sails is in everybody's best interests." She reached out for the section he was working on. "Pass it here, let me see."

A friend. Could Wilhelmina truly be friends with these people? Not one of them reminded her even a little of Kommodore Hohenstaufen or his officers. Also, the only friend she'd ever really had was Friedrich; so, she supposed, adding a new one would be a nice change of pace.

For several hours she worked beside the boys, half-listening to them chatter away, but her eyes subtly flicked around. They watched the Scottish man caw at birds like he could actually converse with them. Watched Izzy shove random members of the crew around when he thought they'd not been doing enough, and she certainly watched Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet. The two of them chuckled, actually fucking chuckled. From everything she saw Willa still believed Jim to be the most dangerous of them; Lucius could cause damage if he wanted to with his words, but she doubted he would since there wasn't any benefit to him.

~X~

When dinner finally rolled around, Willa observed everybody sit together so they could drink and laugh. The man Lucius had mentioned earlier, Fang, appeared with another bearded pirate and while they were much bigger than her they hardly paid her any mind. They'd come from Blackbeard's crew, she could see that plainly.

However, when Izzy grabbed a plate then sat in a corner as far away from the others as he could physically get, she turned her attention to him. Willa quietly supposed sitting with the large group would be for the best, she could integrate herself with them but for some strange reason she found herself wanting to sit at Izzy's small table. He looked lonely. Willa had seen that look both in the mirror and one her brother's face before; Willa hadn't liked it then either.

"Over here, Willa." Lucius called with a bright expression. "I've made room for you."

Green orbs peered over to Lucius who actually had shuffled away from Black Pete to make just enough room for her to squeeze in. Looked as though her choice had been made for her. Willa took herself and her plate over to the bench were she sat down in the cramped space.

Stede lit up as soon as he laid eyes on her. "I trust you had a good first day as one of the crew, Miss von Krieger."

He looked so out of place in the galley surrounded by sweaty pirates.

"Ja, danke. Seems my learning to sew truly was of use."

Everyone chuckled and Willa prided herself on maintaining her image of sweet. Blackbeard appeared then and her brain went back to panicking, he practically plonked down into a chair he pulled over and flashed a smile at Stede. She started to eat.

"We made flags," someone told her, "it wasn't good."

Willa gulped when Blackbeard looked her up and down, the stories told her that Blackbeard was volatile and kind of insane.

"You're lucky we found you when we did." He ran a hand down his face over his beard. "How long had you been on that ship?"

And with that Wilhelmina had found herself in a conversational minefield.

"Not long." She clarified as calmly as possible. "The Kommodore moved around a lot. Die Falke was just the latest place he ended up."

Blackbeard raised an eyebrow. "So everyone was just in the right place at the right time. Really was lucky."

Stede butted in to go on about looking for a ship to raid and some 'real pirate action', and, to be honest, Willa was grateful for the distraction. She saw Blackbeard's expression before he practically became enraptured by Stede's words; the suspicion was clear in his charming eyes. He knew she'd lied to Izzy about how Die Falke had sunk but he hadn't just forced it out of her. Why? What was Blackbeard playing at? Suddenly she felt uncomfortable, the urge to run kicked in but where could she run to? It was a damn ship surrounded by miles upon miles of water.

Izzy stood. His chair made a squeaking sound which drew everyone's attention for at least a split second, though she was the only one who paid any attention to his long strides as he left the galley. He spared no glance for anyone though, even his clearly beloved captain.

Izzy! She'd be safer with him that at the table with Blackbeard and the crew; for the time being at least. Willa shoved the last remnants of her meal into her mouth in record time, chewed and swallowed then pushed herself up to her feet.

"Please excuse me."

Frenchie deflated. "There's story time."

Of all the strange things she'd heard on this damn ship. "Story time?"

Stede nodded. "I read a chapter a night to the crew. You're very welcome to join us, my dear."

A man who, by all accounts, was known only as the Swede spoke up for what felt like the first time since she'd joined them and pointed to the blond captain with his thumb, mouth half-full.

"He does the voices and everything. He's really good."

Stede swelled with a flamboyant pride. "Aw, how kind of you to say."

He was telling pirates stories? Just when Willa thought she'd started to figure these people out they threw something new at her. Perhaps it had come time to throw away her assumptions and presuppositions of pirates; novels nor hearsay hadn't seemed to aid her so far.

" Danke for the offer, Captain, but I fear I haven't fully recovered from the sea yet. I should like to go to bed."

" By all means." The blond captain's smile faded to a more understanding and concerned expression. "Can't have you passing out again."

Wilhelmina couldn't help but wonder if she'd become a pirate now as well. They'd seemingly assimilated her into the crew after all.

Slowly she made her way down the passageways; all her senses flooded with the scent of wood, candle smoke from the occasional lantern and salt water. Had she smelt that particular cocktail only a week ago it would have sickened Willa to her very core. Now though? Willa couldn't be sure if she'd grown accustom to the nauseous feeling or if it hadn't actually been the thing to bother her in the first place.

The auburn-haired girl's feet carried her to Izzy's tiny cabin without her passing a single other person, which left her relieved as it suggested she'd finally met everyone. Willa pushed open the door and poked her head in to find Izzy sat at the little table sharpening his knife – seemed it was the day for sharpening. He couldn't be bothered to look up at her when she moved further into the room.

"Thought you were joking with the crew."

She closed the door behind her. Izzy's movements stayed in a perfect rhythm.

"They are … very loud."

A breathy laugh escaped the elder man but he still didn't flick his eyes to her. "You're fucking telling me. Bunch of twats."

A moment of awkward silence passed between them, only when it became to great did Willa finally break it for her own piece of mind.

"Would you like me to do anything?"

Blue eyes finally left the knife and glanced over to the teenager who still stood by the cabin door. Blackbeard had been correct, there was so much more to this Prussian than victimized little girl.

"Like what? I don't need my boots taking off, lass."

Willa avoided the instinct to shrug. "Thought I would ask, Master."

She went to the bed then leaving them with their backs to one another. How they'd managed to share such a small berth Willa wasn't exactly sure but she supposed it had something to do with neither of them being that tall to begin with.

"You do a lot of thinking, don't you, little lass." Willa's mind grounded to a halt much as her body did, she couldn't have moved even if she'd wanted to. "You're not as good an actor as you think. You're not timid but people assume you are. The crew certainly does but me and Blackbeard aren't so naïve."

Everything she'd been working on over the last few days was totally ruined. Willa had spent too much time with her books, never talked to people, so of course she'd fucked this up. She had less social skills than the goddamn pirates! That urge to run flared up yet again but still she'd got nowhere to flee to. As a child she'd have rushed to her mother, then, after Vilja's death, she would wrap herself up in her brother's arms for comfort. No one was there to comfort her now.

Willa's eyes slipped shut to keep her sorrow in, she'd cried enough for one lifetime.

"What are you going to do to me?" The teen hated that her voice still shook even with all her determination to prevent exactly that.

Her breath caught when the sound of sharpening ended and Izzy rose to his feet. Footfalls approached her, each one caused her eyes to clench just a little tighter. His boots made a dense sound against the floorboards, a sound which reverberated around the cabin to assault her from every angle.

"You're asking the wrong questions, lass." She felt his hot breath against the back of her neck. "The question is what you're going to do. You're going to tell me what really happened on that ship. Oh, and some advice, don't lie to me because I'll know. Now, turn around." Willa obeyed the order. "Sit down." Again the Prussian did as told; her eyes stared blankly into his stomach. Izzy stood so close that her knees brushed against his pant legs. "Speak."

"… When – when he first took me … I was kept in his house. A room in the cellar that only he held a key to." A single tear tumbled down her cheek; the only one that managed to escape her inner turmoil. "Jus- Just me, a straw mattress and the shackles keeping me there." Izzy went to his chair and spun it around so he could sit facing Willa. The sound of sharpening accompanied her tale; a clear warning. "It was pitch black … but I could hear people moving upstairs. I'd thought he'd …" Wilhelmina trailed off for a moment as bile rose up in her throat. "I thought he'd take me … the very first night I was sold to him … but he didn't. I was just thrown in the cellar and left." Willa wiped away that irritating stray tear. "I was bathed, dressed, doused in perfume and taken to his chambers. You know the worst part?" Her gaze lifted to find Izzy's, impossibly green eyes locked with his angry blue ones. His movements stilled when he heard her tone shift from melancholic to anger. There wasn't any point pretending meek was anywhere in her personality now. "The worst part was that he thanked me. That – that arschloch (asshole) thanked me for making myself 'look all pretty' for him. Like I was pleased my father sold me off." Willa took a calming breath as her eyes returned to the floor. "He wanted me to cry but I wouldn't, wanted me to stop fighting but I was never going to do that. So he took me everywhere he went. Ships, different ports, pretty much anywhere. Then one day I was dragged aboard Die Falke. He had no shame and the officers thought it was funny that he had a pet. I never left his cabin, was tied up for most of it." She lifted her left arm as if to prove the existence of her rope burns. "Then a miracle happened; I found a nail in the floor. Took me weeks to get it free but when I did-" Willa's eyes slipped shut. "- oh I wanted to drive it into his eyes but I had to pick my moment. I kept that nail hidden for days, then one night he told me he was going- going- going to give me to the officers as a present for their hard work."

Izzy prompted her when the quietude stretched on a little too long for his liking. "So?"

"… So I waited- waited for him to be done with me for the night and fall asleep like the pig he was. Cut myself loose and just ran." The teen fidgeted with her hands in her lap as a sigh escaped her. "But I realized very, very quickly I had nowhere to go. I didn't know where I was or how to navigate. I couldn't escape so I- so I chose to hide. Most of the men were asleep, it was easy to pass them. … I found a room full of gunpowder -"

"There we are." Izzy broke in as he slipped his knife away and moved forward to rest an elbow atop a thigh and a chin atop a fist. "Took you long enough to get to the point."

Wilhelmina's brow furrowed. "If you already know why am I telling you?"

"You know, I prefer you without that scared act. And you're telling me because I want to hear the truth in that lovely accent of yours." He gestured with the hand not supporting his chin. "Carry on then."

"… I decided I couldn't leave but I could escape. It was almost too easy to make a nice long line of gunpowder. I needed time."

"Time to what?" Izzy queried.

This time Willa made no attempt to play timid, no she just met Izzy's deadly gaze with her own darkness. Hiding it would do her no good any longer.

"To go back and kill Hohenstaufen. I wanted him dead but I wanted to do it with my own hands." She smiled with more savageness than Izzy had thought her capable of. It certainly wasn't an expression he'd seen from one so young before. "That nail made such a good sound going into his eyeball."

First Mate Hands grinned wickedly. "I bet it did. He scream?"

"Like a baby." She confirmed. "The powder blew after that. I don't remember anything until you were over me. That's the truth, I swear."

For a time Izzy just stared at her in silence as he digested the true story. His silence unnerved the Prussian girl, if she'd learnt anything about the first mate it was that he was quick to anger.

"What are you going to do now?"

Izzy leant back in his chair. "I'm going to clean my pistol."

"I meant to me."

"I know." He told her easily. "Don't worry, little lass, we didn't have anything nasty planned for you, just wanted the full story. Of course we'll keep you away from the powder but otherwise I don't give a shit what you did to the Prussians."

Confusion coated her face in an instant. After everything she'd just admitted to they weren't going to penalize her in any way?

"You're not going to-?" Izzy cut her off abruptly.

"Punish you? Feed you to the sharks? Pass you around the crew? Nah, you're more use to us alive." He smirked mostly to himself. "And you're nicer to look at than those twats out there. Not one of 'em could take out a whole navy ship, and you've proven you're not squeamish. You're a fighter. More pirate than you are noble, that's for damn sure." That comment had pride tingle inside her heart. "Why didn't you just tell me the truth?"

"Tell the pirates – Blackbeard's pirates – that I purposely blew up a Prussian naval vessel not caring if it took me with it? I thought pirates would either ransom me back to my family or sell me, but my father doesn't want me, so I made myself look useful. That's why I made sure you knew I spoke other languages, could write in them as well. Nein, telling the truth didn't seem like a wise course of action."

"Yet playing little girl and calling me master did."

"Sorry." Willa shrugged. "I'm not used to men thinking women are capable of much."

Izzy snorted. "Pirates, ones with more than salt water between their ears, know better. Heard of Anne Dieu-le-Veut?" Willa shook her head no, name didn't ring a bell. "She was underestimated by almost everyone she came into contact with but she's one of the most fucking fearsome of us now. Shame she's dead." He poked a finger out toward her. "Hearing what you did, it's only made you go up in my expectations."

Had all of that actually just happened? They knew but didn't think Wilhelmina to be a liability that they'd be better just tossing over the side now their curiosity was sated?

A couple of rapid knocks sounded before Bonnet opened the door and poked his head inside. Izzy went from zero to growling in a single second.

"The fuck do you want!?"

Stede actually jumped at Izzy's hiss though he hid it surprisingly well.

"I thought, Miss von Krieger might enjoy some tea."

A cup was proffered and Willa took the china cup with a gentle smile. Something warm to drink did sound wonderful.

"Danke schön." (thank you very much) She helped herself to a flavorful sip. "I've not had tea in a long time."

A leather-bound book found its way into the Prussian's vision then and she eyed it curiously. She'd seen a vast bookshelf in the captain's quarters when she'd replaced the candles in there earlier. The entire thing was a massive fire hazard if one asked Willa.

"Brought you a book as well, give you something to do. Lucius mentioned you like to read."

When she didn't quickly take the book Stede waggled it a little until she reached up to take it. The novel was weighty in her hand but it was a memorable weight that soothed her soul.

"I do, very much."

Izzy had no desire for this impromptu conversation to continue so he shot up from his chair and yanked the door open; a scowl decorated his face like warpaint.

"Great, everyone's happy now! Piss off."

Willa could tell Stede wanted to argue, to point out he was having a nice conversation or that the Revenge was still his ship, but something in Izzy's eyes had him back down and step back through the door which was promptly slammed in his face.

"You really don't like him, do you." She said without having realized she'd spoken.

The first mate just wandered back to his chair and started to take things out to clean his pistol. One minute passed, then two, three and four, until finally Izzy couldn't take the feeling of her eyes on him while she sipped cooling tea.

"What?"

"I'm sorry," she started softly, "I've never seen this done before."

Israel sighed, this teen truly had destroyed his hopes for a peaceful evening. "Ever fired one?"

"Nein." She shook her head.

"Next time we make landfall I'll teach you."

Much to his amazement the girl with the emerald eyes lit up like a child getting a present; people didn't get happy around him.

"Really?!"

"Aye." He confirmed. "Any half-way decent pirate needs to know how to fire a gun. Always handy, especially working for Blackbeard."

Willa set her cup down on the ground just against the bedpost where it was less likely to get broken; at least she hoped it wouldn't, good china was expensive and Izzy could break it just for his own amusement.

"And what if I'm not half-way decent?"

The first mate shrugged. "Bonnet will probably take you in as one of his idiots."

Okay, she needed an answer to this bizarre two captains thing. At first she'd shoved the whole thing aside since it hadn't really effected her while she'd been trying – and failing apparently – to manipulate everybody.

"Em, why does this ship have two captains?" Willa asked cautiously.

Before she even had time to blink Izzy had shot out of his chair and prowled toward her with a growl. The man was practically on top of her in an instant.

"Blackbeard is captain! He is the only captain! Bonnet is just some yellow-bellied, rich asshole who thinks he can play pirate." Izzy towered over her since she was sat, his presence intimidating and unavoidable. "Piracy is a crime, a way of life, it's not a game." Her back hit the cabin wall then, she'd not realized she'd been shuffling away from him on the bed. Izzy though was so close she felt his breath. "You work for Blackbeard, you're loyal to Blackbeard. Understood?"

"Ja." Wilhelmina nodded. "Understood."

Blue eyes looked her up and down before he realized just how close he was, that he almost had her pinned to his bed. Panic flashed inside those blue eyes and he quickly retreated to his gun and chair once he'd spun it around to the table. The auburn-haired teen didn't quite know how to react. On one hand Izzy was a rabid dog quick to anger, the sort who'd rather thrust a sword through his problem than attempt to rectify it. On the other hand he'd been good to her, cared for her, shared his cabin and made no attempt to use her in the ways others had. Izzy could have, it would have been so easy for him.

"You're loyal, that is to be admired." Was the sentence she finally settled upon but it just earned a snapped comment in response.

"Read your fucking book."

She couldn't prevent the smile that tugged itself onto her face. Despite his temperamental nature Willa still thought him adorable, especially now she'd seen just how much he'd devoted himself to Blackbeard. It was clear to her though that Blackbeard had eyes for someone else.

When she'd decided she'd pondered that particular topic long enough Willa pulled her feet up onto the bed properly so her legs rested in a pyramid. The tea Stede had brought her was finished but an inviting book lay right beside her. Candies, fancy clothes, jewels, all those things Willa could resist as though they'd not even sparked temptation in the first place, but books were a weakness.

Wilhelmina pulled it to her quickly. It was a book of fairy tales and for a moment she felt insulted because she may have been fifteen but Willa was not a child. Yet, after a moment to stare at the cover and think about it, Willa found her irritation transposed itself into gratitude. Fairy tales had always been an excellent escape, a welcomed escape.

Green eyes regarded Izzy a second or two, he seemed focused on ignoring her and she was happy enough to let him; Willa hadn't ever wanted to be the centre of attention. She actually felt better now everything was out in the salty open air. Everything was easier without the lies. Maybe the truth would have been better from the start but these people were pirates, she'd had no way of knowing how they'd have reacted. It didn't matter, First Mate Hands knew now and he'd told her she'd gone up in his expectations. Perhaps returning to Friedrich would be more straightforward than originally assumed.

Comfortable. For the first time since Kommodore Otto Hohenstaufen had stolen her from her home she felt comfortable. Willa shook her head, it wasn't a time for thinking but for reading. With that she flipped open her book of fairy tales to indulge a while.