The path down to the fire was a bit treacherous, especially in the fading light. But, if one was careful, you could manage it. How all these pirates planned on making it back up to the house while drunk, Chloe had no idea. Once they actually made it down to the beach Chloe leaned over and pulled off the boots she'd been wearing all day. The sand, still warm from the sun, felt nice on her tired feet.

The party seemed to have started without them. The crew was dancing around the bonfire, singing off key and drinking to their heart's content. Amy stood out among the crowd, chugging her bottle of rum like her life depended on it. There were a few members that Chloe recognized, like Flo who was sitting off to the side laughing at her friends. Benji and Emily were sitting together on a large piece of driftwood and next to them was Stacie, with little Bella on her lap.

"Come on," Chloe pulled Aubrey towards that group. Hopefully it would be less rowdy over there. "Let's go see what they're up to."

Aubrey followed along, although she didn't seem too pleased with the situation. They sat down in the middle, between Benji and Stacie.

"Nice of you two to join in." Stacie said while tickling Bella. The little girl seemed to be enjoying herself, clapping along with the singing and laughing at Amy's antics.

"Flo invited us," Chloe looked at the carpenter but Flo was busy talking to one of the male crew mates. "This seems like quite the party."

Stacie laughed. "Wait a couple of hours and things will really get crazy."

"This already looks more fun than those stuffy society dances we used to go to." Chloe elbowed Aubrey but her friend looked offended.

"I enjoyed those dances." Aubrey said. "Thought they were very elegant."

"Oh come on Aubrey," Chloe scooted a little closer to wrap an arm around Aubrey's waist. "Can you really say that you liked having to get dressed up in those gaudy dresses for hours on end." She made a face which made Aubrey chuckle.

"Fine, the dresses were terrible but everything else was fine. The food, the music and the dancing." Aubrey shrugged. "It was fun."

"Well there's plenty for dancing going on here." Stacie gestured to the group of pirates that were doing what looked like an imitation of a chicken.

Aubrey grimaced, "That is not dancing. There should be a sense of grace, not...whatever that is." There was a commotion as Amy stumbled and fell into another group for sailors.

Stacie laughed. "Point taken. But if you want a 'real' dance I'd be happy to be your partner."

"I seriously doubt that anyone here knows how to do a proper court dance." Aubrey said dismissively.

The doctor seemed to consider that before shrugging. "I think I did pretty well back in the ballrooms of Firenze. Well enough that I ended up with Bella."

Chloe restrained herself from laughing at the way Aubrey's jaw dropped. " So you're from Italy?"

Stacie shrugged again. "That was a long time ago."

"Mama I'm tired." Bella's head looked back to rest on her mother's chest. "Can I go to bed?"

Stacie laughed at her daughter's dramatics. "Sure sweetie, you did wake up awfully early."

"I can take her." Emily said while standing up. "I could use some sleep myself. And I better leave before Amy tries to pull me into another drinking game."

"Is that alright Bells?" Stacie asked her daughter. "Do you want Aunt Emily to tuck you in?"

Bella didn't say anything, just held out her hand for Emily to take. Together they headed for the path that led back to the mansion.

"She's really good with children." Chloe mused out loud.

"Emily is by far the most kind and patient woman I've ever met." Benji said, filled with adoration. "All the island children love her."

"She's the only reason I feel comfortable leaving for so long." Stacie said. "I know that Bella will be taken care of while I'm gone."

"That must be hard." Chloe couldn't imagine leaving your kid behind for an unknown amount of time. Especially with how dangerous Stacie's life could be.

"Then why do you leave?" Aubrey asked. "If you're so worried about your child then why not stay on the island?"

"Aubrey!" Chloe glared at her friend. For someone who claimed to be so proper, Aubrey could be really blunt sometimes.

"It's fine Chloe." Stacie placed a hand on her shoulder before addressing Aubrey. "To answer your question, Princess, I owe the captain a great debt of gratitude and I will repay that debt any way I can. If it wasn't for her we'd probably be dead in an alley somewhere in Venice."

Aubrey didn't have anything to say to that. Instead she sat back and tried to hide in the gloom of the fading light.

"I'm sorry." Chloe, not wanting to annoy Stacie, tried to placate the situation.

But Stacie just shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not. Ever since I joined this crew things have finally made sense. Back in Firenze I was just the youngest daughter of a minor family. All my father cared about was climbing the hierarchy and my mother was too busy with her decanter. Once I was pregnant they kicked me out and I went to live with Bella's father." She grew a sad smile at the memory. "That was a happy time. But it wasn't long before a plague swept through the city, killing my new family." Her eyes misted and she wiped at them angrily. "So I left for Venice, six months pregnant with no money to my name. I lived on the streets for almost a month, scrounging for food, before the captain found me." She took a deep breath to calm herself. "The ship's doctor took me under his wing and by the time Bella arrived I was deep into my study of medicine and I've never been happier. I have a purpose now, Bella has a home and my work is appreciated. At least I think it is," Stacie grinned. "Nobody's complained."

Their little group was silent after that, which made Stacie cringe. "Sorry, I just completely ruined the atmosphere." She stood up and stretched. "I'll get everyone a drink. Hope you proper girls like rum!" She dashed off before anyone could say anything.

"That was strange, yes?" Chloe looked at Benji who just nodded his head.

"I think she's already three sheets into the wind." He tilted his head to the side like he was considered something. "Most of the time Stacie's as cool as they come. But from what I've heard from the crew she's taken a special interest in Miss Posen. So maybe she was trying to prove a point."

Aubrey looked absolutely repulsed. "What do you mean 'special interest'?"

"I don't know." Benji took a sip of his drink. "Women are a mystery."

Stacie returned with three bottles full of dark liquid, handing one to both Aubrey and Chloe before raising her own. "To living another day!"

"Here!" Benji shared the toast before both down their drinks.

Chloe looked at the liquor and grimaced. She'd obviously drunk wine before, at official functions back in London. This drink, however, smelled like death.

"You've got to be kidding." Aubrey held her bottle as hard away from her noise as possible. "There's no way I'm drinking that."

"Huh," Stacie shared a look with Benji. "Who knew the Posens were cowards."

'Uh oh.' Chloe watched as Aubrey's face tightened. 'This is not going to end well.'

Without hesitation Aubrey downed the drink, with barely even a tick as the swill ran down her throat. Chloe stared at the amber liquid in her cup, 'Can they really drink this stuff?'

"Look at that!" Stacie laughed with delight. "The princess has some guts after all. Though I shouldn't really be surprised, you're the one that challenged me on your first day aboard."

"Not a princess." Aubrey took another drink.

"Sure you are," Stacie was looking rather flushed, maybe she was already drunk. "You're powerful, pretty and have a ton of money." She looked at Benji. "Can you imagine the ransom we could get...you know if we were asking for one."

"None of my business." Benji said dismissively. "That's up to the captain."

"Oh boo," Stacie plopped down between Aubrey and Chloe on the log. "Come on, I know they're not really hostages anymore but there's more harm in guessing." She turned back to the girls. "So," She scooted closer to Aubrey, so close that their faces were almost touching. "How much gold would your family cough up?"

"Stacie." Benji interjected. "Let's not discuss hypotheticals while drunk."

Stacie rolled her lips like she was actually considering the question. Then, suddenly, she stood up before declaring, "I got to take a piss." With that she left without waiting for a response.

"Yup," Benji took another drink of his rum. "She'll be feeling that in the morning."

"Seems rather irresponsible." Aubrey huffed and straightened her clothes, a habit she made whenever she was uncomfortable. "Drinking when you have a child with you."

"Cut her some slack." Benji slid off the log to lean against it. "Aside from the captain, Stacie probably has the most stressful job on the crew. It's up to her to keep everybody alive."

"I think it's impressive." Chloe took a timid sip of her drink but spat it back out when it hit her tongue. She couldn't help but think how similar Stacie's story was to hers, a wealthy family with, at best, distant parents. The difference was that Stacie had found meaning in her life, not just with her daughter but with the crew. Chloe's entire life plan had been to be married off to some stranger to reinforce her father's empire. But there was something else about Stacie's story that didn't add up. McKadden and Stacie had to be around the same age so had the captain really been commanding the ship since she was sixteen? That seemed unlikely, what sixteen year old could possibly be in charge of a pirate crew?

"Still." Aubrey took a longer draft of her drink. "Not exactly the best example to set."

"Nah, that's what Emily's for." Stacie returned from wherever she went to do her business. "Hopefully she'll get enough good habits from her and Benji that she might actually turn out to be an upstanding member of society."

"Wait," Benji nearly choked on his drink. "What do you mean me? I almost never talk to the kids."

Stacie rolled her eyes. "Please, you and Emily are attached at the hip. When are you finally going to marry that girl?"

Now Benji's complexion turned the same shade as the fire. "What are you talking about?"

Stacie grinned while leaning over to Chloe. "Those two have been a thing for years and yet they refuse to admit it. But we all know they sneak off to the waterfalls."

"Okay," Benji stood up and dusted the sand off his legs. "I'll be over there talking to Jesse."

"Come back you coward!" Stacie called after him before devolving into a fit of giggles. "Oh boy, I must be drunk. You should really try this Chloe, it burns going down but then everything gets kinda fuzzy and you stop caring."

She kept her gaze locked on Chloe until the redhead brought her mug back to her lips. Figuring it would be easier to just skip over her tongue, Chloe downed as much of the drink in one go as she could. Stacie laughed as Chloe coughed and choked on the burning sensation. "Not quite as smooth as your fancy wines but nothing will get you drunk faster! To Amy's special blend!"

The crowd cheered at Stacie's loud proclamation, downing their drinks as the chef herself tried to take a bow but fell over in the process. Chloe could feel the alcohol working through her body, warming the tips of her fingers all the way down to her toes. Honestly, with the sun setting and the breeze coming off the ocean, Chloe was a little grateful for the warmth that the drink provided. "Dear God," Chloe coughed again. "What is in that?"

"Not really sure." Stacie took another draft. "But it will probably cut a few years off your life."

"Damn right it will!" Amy shouted, leading the crew in another toast. Chloe decided to not partake, she was pretty sure that another sip would knock her flat on her back. How these people managed to drink such vast quantities was beyond her.

"So princess." Stacie leaned back into Aubrey, who didn't look too happy about it. "Are you going to dance with me or not?

"Of course not." Aubrey put as much distance between her and Stacie as the log would allow. "Why would you even ask?

"Hmm," Stacie leaned even closer, till her nose was almost touching Aubrey's. "You know you are still my prisoner. I could make you dance if I wanted to."

Aubrey's scowl deepened. "And just what on Earth do you mean by that?"

"Means I can do this." Stacie grabbed Aubrey by the arm and dragged her towards the fire, spinning her around in the process. Chloe sat there wide eyed as Stacie started parading Aubrey around the bonfire while her friend let loose some rather unladylike expletives.

Now that she was left alone Chloe subtly poured the remainder of her drink onto the sand. She looked around the group of merrymakers and tried to pick out the faces she knew. There was Amy, of course, leading a group of revilers in a drinking contest. Flo was chatting with Jesse and Benji but they were too far away to make out the conversation. Strangely enough she couldn't seem to find McKadden anywhere. She thought that the captain would at least make an appearance, given that every other member of the crew was present.

Chloe cast her gaze a little wider, looking along the beach for anything out of place. Sure enough, there was a boulder about fifty yards away from the bonfire and, if she shaded her eyes from the light, Chloe could just make out a shape sitting atop the rock. After placing her mug on the log Chloe stood up and carefully made her way down the beach. Almost immediately she missed the warmth of the fire as the sun had almost completely set and the ocean breeze turned chilly.

As she grew closer Chloe could just hear the sound of someone singing. The voice somber, yet beautiful.

~When two lovers meet~

~Down beside the green bower~

~When two lovers meet~

~Down beneath the green tree~

~When Mary, fond Mary,~

~Declared unto her lover~

~You have stolen my poor heart~

~From the banks of the Lee~

"Such a sad song for a party." Chloe said once she was close enough to the boulder. "Shouldn't you be celebrating with your crew?"

McKadden looked down at her. It was hard to read her expression in the fading light but Chloe could just make out a raised eyebrow. "And why do you think that?"

Chloe shrugged, "This whole thing is supposed to be about celebrating surviving another day, yes? They only did that because of you."

That earned a laugh from McKadden. "Is that how you see it?"

"Well, yes." Chloe wasn't sure what McKadden was getting at but the Captain simply laughed again before slipping off the rock and sitting in the sand. A cloak fluttered in the wind as she did, clearly she'd been prepared for the night's shill.

McKadden gestured for Chloe to sit next to her. "A captain is only as good as his crew." She pulled a bottle from her side and took a drink before offering it to Chloe. "Here, this is probably more to your liking than whatever Amy mixed together."

Chloe took the bottle, sniffed at the opening and relieved at the refreshing fruity smell. She took a swig and was presently surprised at the taste. "This is very good wine. Where did you get it?"

"The French might make a mess of most things but they sure know how to make alcohol." McKadden took the bottle back for her own drink. "Although," She took another drink, "nothing compares to a good whiskey."

Chloe just hummed in content. She didn't partake in wine that often, usually just a drink at formal dinners. But she also wasn't about to ruin the Captain's night by refusing. It seemed like a rare opportunity to speak to McKadden without interruption, maybe even find out a bit more of this mysterious woman. "You still haven't told me why you're out here by yourself."

McKadden rolled her shoulders, "A captain is supposed to keep a bit of distance from the crew, part of the whole chain of command. I'll take over when we go into combat or if there's a storm but most of the time Stacie, Flo and Cynthia keep everyone in line. They can be 'part of the crew' while I stay aloof." She gestured to the crewmates that were reveling by the fire. "I don't need to be close to them, all I need is their respect."

Chloe looked between the two of them and smiled. "You're not exactly keeping your distance from me."

"Eh," Mckadden took another drink. "You're not part of the crew. And I'm pretty drunk." She handed the bottle back to Chloe. "You should really catch up."

Chloe took the bottle but made sure not to drink too much. "That sounds pretty lonely, having to live like that. You make it sound like being captain is not all it's cut out to be."

"It is what it is," The captain gestured to her crew without looking over at the fire. "Those idiots still manage to make my life plenty interesting."

"They do seem rather rowdy."

"Oh this is nothing." McKadden laughed as she settled into a more comfortable position, which ended up rubbing their shoulders together. "One time things got really crazy. We'd been gone for close to six months, dragged out and exhausted. The bonfire they made that night was so tall that you could probably see it from the next island."

"Sounds like fun." Chloe tried to not think about how close they were. "But I bet you didn't participate then either."

McKadden shook her head dismissively. "Nah, it had been a long voyage and I just wanted to sleep." She leaned back against the rock and sighed. "Kinda feeling sleepy now."

Chloe took the bottle and gave it a shake. There wasn't much left, and given how little Chloe drank the captain had to be pushing it. Although, the wine definitely had less alcohol than what everyone else was drinking. "Are you going to sleep on the beach?"

McKadden let out a grunt. "Wouldn't be the first time. The sand's nice and soft and the sound of the waves calms me down. To be honest, I almost prefer sleeping down here than in the house."

The waves did sound soothing, the constant rhythm was starting to affect Chloe as well. If it wasn't for the party she'd probably be asleep already. But the Ocean wasn't the only thing that caught her attention, above them the stars started appearing.

"That's Andromeda," McKadden mumbled next to her. "Next to her is Perseus, and on the other side is Pegasus. And if you look up you see her mother, Cassiopeia, the bitch."

"What?" Chloe laughed.

"Those constellations are part of a story." McKadden sat up a little and pointed at each one as she spoke. "Cassiopeia angered Poseidon by claiming she was more beautiful than his nymphs, so he sent a sea monster to destroy her city."

"Seems like an over reaction." Chloe mused which made McKadden chuckle.

"Maybe but that's not the point of the story." She continued. "In order to save the city Cassiopeia and her husband, the king, instead of owning up to their mistake decided to tie their daughter to a rock as a sacrifice. But before she was eaten alive Perseus showed up and killed the creature with Medusa's head. Poseidon, still wanting revenge, cursed Cassiopeia to become that constellation, tied to a rock and shunned for her vanity."

"Hmm," Chloe hummed to herself. "You sure know a lot about this."

"Let's just say I like mythology."

Chloe gestured at the rest of the constellations. "I was talking about the stars."

"Oh," McKadden scratched the back of her head. "Yeah, if you want to sail at night you have to know the stars."

"Can you name more?" Chloe settled down next to the captain, who gave her a quizzical look before shrugging.

"Well," She pointed to the north. "That's Ursa Minor and at the tip of the tale is Polaris, the north star, very useful for finding your way."

"Ursa means bear, right? Since when do bears have tails?" Chloe had seen drawings of bears and never once did they have a tail. "I'm guessing there's a story behind it."

"Yeah," McKadden laid back down. "There is."

Something disturbed the dreamless sleep that Chloe was enjoying. She felt warm and entirely too comfortable to be woken up so she mumbled something less than intelligent and covered her eyes to block out whatever was trying to wake her up. After failing to fall asleep again she opened her eyes to see that the sun was already well above the horizon. She shifted a bit to stretch and felt something covering her chest, which turned out to be the cloak McKadden had been wearing last night.

Chloe held the garment a bit closer and couldn't help but notice the soft floral scent. A fragrance that she would not have associated with McKadden.

She sat up a little straighter but froze when she heard people talking nearby.

"Did you hear what happened at the port last night?"

"That incident with Bumper? What about it?"

"Someone was snooping around his cell and you're not the least bit concerned?"

"The captain will sort it out like she always does."

"But it's Bumper. Remember, he nearly sunk the ship."

There was a grunt in agreement. "It's still the captain's call. Maybe she'll actually kill him this time."

"Let's hope so. She should have done it in the first place."

"You don't think she's gone soft do yee?

Chloe heard what sounded like a slap before the other man spoke again. "Say something like that again and Lilly will cut out your tongue before feeding it to her bird."

The conversation died off as the two men walked away, leaving Chloe to lay there and ponder over what she'd just heard. Someone was sneaking around the island? And they were trying to get to that freak that had taken them back in the swamp. That was not a comforting thought.

She sat up in her spot and gripped the cloak around her waist. She took a few minutes to collect herself. There was no reason to panic, the men she overheard didn't say anything about Bumper escaping which meant that he was still safely locked away at the harbor.

The steady heat from the sun calmed her down and she finally stood up to head back to the house. There were only a few people still loitering on the beach, most prominently Amy, who was sprawled out in the sand and snoring so loudly that the seagulls overhead were being drowned out by the noise. After picking up the cloak Chloe made her way over to the path she'd taken last night. She spared a thought to when the others had woken up, especially Aubrey. It was still early, so obviously the captain and everyone else had risen before the sun. After a party like that it was almost impressive that they could function at this hour.

The path back to the house was just as treacherous as last night so Chloe picked her way over the branches and rocks. It took a while but she eventually made it to the top.

Benji was in the same training arena as yesterday, wailing away on a practice dummy with his cutlass. Which begged the question of where McKadden was right now. Chloe walked over to the sparring grounds, getting Benji's attention as she did so.

"Good morning Miss Beale." Benji grabbed a rag from a nearby bench to wipe the sweat from his brow. "Feeling alright after last night?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing." Chloe smiled. "I barely drank a drop. I'm more shocked that any of you are on your feet."

Benji laughed. "We're used to Amy's special rum. It's easy enough to bounce back if you drink plenty of water and eat beforehand. That said, I'm still fighting a sore head."

"Then why are you out here?" Chloe looked around the training yard with a raised brow. "Doesn't all this exercise make it worse."

"Maybe," Benji shrugged while picking up his blade once more. "But if I don't practice, even for a day, it feels like I get rusty."

Chloe looked at the wooden post and straw dummy that Benji was using as a sparring partner. "Doesn't seem like he's putting up much of a fight."

He looked at the dummy as well. "True, it's easy enough when they don't hit back." Benji turned his gaze to Chloe. "Are you up for another session? It's best to get training done in the morning since it's cooler."

"Uhm, maybe in a bit." Chloe held up the cloak she was still holding. "I need to give this back to the captain. Do you know where she is?"

Benji pointed the tip of his sword towards the house. "She's probably in her room. On the first floor you'll find a hallway on the left, her room is behind the second door."

"Thank you. I'll be back soon." Chloe walked off, heading towards the house while Benji went back to his training. Once inside she ignored the lavish foyer and headed down the correct hallway. Sure enough the second door opened to a sight that made Chloe gasp.

The walls were lined with shelves. Hundreds of books, ranging in size and even different types, including scrolls and etchings that Chloe didn't recognize. Before her was an entire library crammed into one bedroom. In the center of the floor was a large drafting table, the kind cartographers use to draw maps. There were dozens of maps scattered across the table, Chloe couldn't recognize most of the places on display but the chart in the middle of the table was obvious. It was identical to the one hanging in the captain's cabin back on the ship, an extremely detailed map of the Caribbean. And in the same spot as the other was an island, halfway between Bermuda and the rest of the Caribbean, with a question mark right next to it.

"What is she looking for?" Chloe mused to herself.

A loud noise from the room next door startled her enough that she dropped the cloak on the table and hurried out. Once she shut the door she recognized the sound, someone was coughing up a storm in the next room.

"Get out of here runt!" A raspy, female voice yelled out. "Can't you just let me die in peace!"

"Gail, you need to take your medicine." That voice was more muffled but Chloe recognized it as McKadden's. "Don't make me force it down your throat."

"Whatever," The other voice muttered. "Shouldn't you be fixing my ship? I heard you punched a hole in it again."

"It's not like I asked the Navy to shoot their cannons at us. We were trying to get away."

"Ha!" The other person started to cough again but settled after a minute, sounding worse than she did before. "Did you give as good as you got?"

"Yes ma'am, we sank two ships before escaping in a storm."

"Not bad. Of course I would've sunk four ships and made it out without a scratch."

"Uh huh," McKadden's voice was laced with sarcasm. "Sure you could."

"Don't doubt me, little girl. Remember I'm the one that taught you everything you know...but I'm glad you made it out alright."

"Me too, captain. After all, someone has to make sure you take your medicine."

"Whatever. What about those two captives you picked up? Heard they're both important, too important for them to stay on the island. You need to get rid of them...before all hell breaks loose."

A/N: The song McKadden sings is an old Irish folk song called Banks of the Lee. It's technically not old enough to be in this story but it's such a beautiful song that I wanted to include it. If you want to listen to it yourself I highly recommend the version by The Longest Johns (It's all a cappella too)