They had been at sea for a total of 13 suns when it was announced that they were going to make landfall within a few suns. Ava had established a pattern during that time. She would hang out in the library and read for until night began. Sometimes Cooker would be there and they would talk about Ava's thoughts on the books. She now understood what Cooker meant by needing to speak with someone about them. It was a shock to her. The corruption, poor quality of life, and corrosion of society the house system had caused. Philanthropic projects were fronts to gain more points during classifications. Housemaids were fired right before a new classification and new ones were hired and given money to make it seem that their employers were good people.

This was what her family had participated in for centuries. It was what she had participated in. Laughing at those with less than them but those that had less were never allowed to reach for more. It was a system where those that were on the bottom would never win and advance. She could remember the remnants of food every night that they would have on their dinner table and it would be thrown away. It wasn't given to those that were hungry because the food was theirs. They did not earn those meals she could hear her mother saying.

When she would speak to Cooker about these things, Cooker didn't try to sway her to have a certain opinion. They just openly spoke about the themes in the book and what they each thought of them. Cooker helped Ava fully think about concepts and form opinions on them without making her follow her way of thinking. Her time with Cooker quickly became one of her favorite things about the ship and when their conversations would end, she would anxiously wait for the next one.

One morning, once Ava had finished the second book she closed it and asked Cooker, "How were they able to keep all of this? How far deep does this go, like how many people are in the loop and how many are not?"

"I wondered about that for lengths, y'know? It ate me up inside. Did my parents know? Did their parents know? Did my siblings? I think I've concluded that the heads of the families are the ones that are aware," Cooker stated.

"So you're saying if there is a family of 300 Renikers that only the head of the family knows about the actual history of Baethos?"

"The head and a few other close members. Think about it, the heads of the Great Families and the head of the corresponding noble house must meet to decide how everything is done within their region. That includes education," Cooker began.

"And when only they are in charge of the education of every single resident of their region, they can distribute whatever books and knowledge they want that fits their narrative," Ava finished for Cooker.

Cooker snapped her fingers, "Exactly! Even further, since upper houses would rather be caught dead than mingling and talking politics with lower houses, they never find out the actual truth of the matter."

"When you're there and you have no worries and everything is provided to you, you don't question it. What you learn is believable..."

"And that is why no one knows. And they can continue to publish and distribute books that hide what they truly are." Cooker finished.

Conversations like that were commonplace throughout the journey. Sometimes, Ava analyzed the text differently than Cooker and they would debate on what they thought something meant. Cooker was constantly challenging Ava and she liked it. Throughout the time they spent together, Ava managed to pry about a few things in Cooker's personal life. However, she didn't get very much information before Cooker would wall up.

"If greater houses used half the money they spend on galas and balls, on rebuilding their communities, people would be able to start digging themselves out of poverty!" Cooker shouted she had been pacing the library in a particularly passionate discussion on the distribution of wealth of upper houses.

"Cooker? How do you know so much about upper houses? It seems like more than just book knowledge," Ava pointed out, "Too passionate about it for it to not have affected you personally."

"Ava, you're a witch. A scary intuitive witch. They ought to burn you at the stake," Cooker commented.

Ava shrugged with a smirk on her face, "I am smart. A smart witch. Now answer or I tell Theo this is your second sun off and you've been hiding out here."

"Fine!" Cooker laughed, "I was born to a greater house."

"Where?" Ava asked.

"I'm going to turn myself in. The third degree isn't worth it."

Cooker wasn't the only one that Ava had gotten closer to. During the trip, Oceane and Morgana had continued to train her. There were not many new things that Ava learned, they worked mostly on improving her strength, speed, and reaction time. They wanted to make sure she could anticipate a situation and react to it to defend herself. Oceane had even spent one of her suns off teaching Ava about different weapons and the stories behind the ones in the armory.

She often found herself having lunch with Tuni and whichever girl was training her that aftermorning. Sometimes it was Tuni and Morgan and other times Oceane replaced Morgana. Either way, lunch was a lighthearted time for them to fool around and have fun. Tuni had endless stories and Oceane, like Ava, enjoyed to listen rather than talk. About halfway through the journey, even she and Xyra had a civil and friendly conversation. Ava's highlight of the journey was attending their voting night. After casting their votes, the pirates sang and drank and celebrated a successful referendum. All of the pirates voted in favor of keeping the sun on sun off schedule and to everyone's surprise not a single location had a majority. That part of the vote was rescheduled for after the raid.

As for Theo, neither of them really brought it up again for most of the trip. Ava still showed up every night and they still spent some hours of every night speaking. Ava steered the conversations away from heavy topics and Theo was all the more glad to follow. Some nights, others from the crew joined them and other nights it was just them alone. By the time they were due to make landfall, she and Theo had practically forgotten about the tenseness from before.

But Ava hadn't forgotten about becoming a pirate. The longer she thought about it the more it made sense to her. Every night she wanted to bring it up again but she couldn't. Her words were stuck in her throat. Her mind was working constantly and it would keep her up at night. She would construct her case if the topic was brought up again, she was capable of becoming a pirate. She read in hopes to rid herself of some of her naivety. She was prepared to show that she understood things would be hard and she was willing to put in work.

One of the nights together with Theo she had gotten so close to bringing up piracy again. They were on the balcony and Theo had a pipe filled with something or other she had gotten from Morgana. The conversation that night had been light and comical, they had been exchanging different jokes they used to tell as children. It had quieted down as they both stared at the moon when Theo changed the track of the conversation.

"Why did you run away?" Theo asked and looked over at Ava.

Ava was honestly shocked she hadn't gotten that question before. She assumed Theo wanted to let her maintain her privacy but when Theo was intoxicated it was obvious her filter did not work. Ava didn't have an answer. She didn't have an answer because she couldn't find the words to describe it. After a while of not answering, Theo got the hint and turned back to look at the stars, opting to not pressure Ava.

"I was unhappy," Ava finally spoke up, "my family treated me as if I was not a part of it. I knew something was wrong, that I didn't belong. Most of my life has been spent in boredom and isolation. Like, I had been looking out into a muted world with only black and white. When I left, I could breathe for the first time. I saw color."

"Woah," Theo said stupidly, too high to think of anything else to say.

"Yeah..." Ava replied. She cursed herself for sharing yet another deep and personal thing about herself with Theo. Damn her sweet demeanor and the way she made everything feel safe and open.

"What was the plan? Like, your end goal?"

"Honestly, I had nothing in my head except to get off the continent. I wanted to get off Elox. Not the smartest thing but, hey, I survived," Ava admitted and laughed a bit.

"What would you say your goal would be now?" Theo asked.

"I don't know... I want to learn new things, travel new places, meet new people. I want to see the world I missed out on for 17 lengths... " Ava confessed and crossed her arms.

Become a pirate. Experience adventure. Seek thrills.

Ava didn't dare bring it up but she wanted to. She wanted to tell Theo that she was strong and smart and adaptable and needed to be given a chance to be a pirate. But the thought of rejection again stopped her from saying anything. For 13 nights she spoke with Theo, laughed with her, drank with her and not once did she bring up the conversation from that night.

-----------------

Theo's time at sea was spent captaining most of the time. Instead of splitting duties with Xyra and giving herself time off, Theo chose to work most suns only taking off the times if Xyra needed her help planning for the raid. She had retreated from practically everyone on the ship except for Xyra and Ava. She felt guilty being around her crew while keeping a secret as big as the one she was keeping. Not telling the crew about Lord Vaith was clawing at her soul and she could do nothing else but keep busy to ignore it. The crew seemed to think nothing of it as it was commonplace for Theo to retreat and plan when there was a big raid looming.

Most suns, Theo woke up early and worked straight until dinner time, sometimes around the ship and sometimes on attack plans. She would break bread with her crew for dinner, finish her meal, and retreat into her room where Ava was usually waiting for her. Her time with Ava served as an escape. Being around someone that had no involvement with the crew, with Vaith, and had no expectations of her as a captain was freeing. Once Ava would leave, Xyra would come by to work some more and sleepover. It quickly became a habit between them and Theo soon found it hard to sleep without Xyra there.

On the night that Ava brought up being a pirate, Theo felt bad shutting her down outright like that. She didn't explain the process to Ava or allow her to explain her reasons but Theo had made that mistake too many times. People like Ava were often killed before even fully becoming a pirate. They had even gotten boarded and captured one time because they were unknowingly transporting a very important noblewoman who had become a pirate under Theo. People from Ava's status were too much of a liability.

It still didn't stop nagging at her every time they were together. Theo was torn between wanting to apologize again for what she insinuated but also feeling like she did not need to apologize as the captain of the ship. She tried to bring it up again one night by asking Ava about her plans but she choked. Couldn't go through with bringing it up again and going back on her word, her ego got in the way. Truth was, Theo knew there was something different in Ava. Something worth gambling on.

Thus Theo's time at sea was spent either stressing about a raid, a secret, or a certain red-headed passenger. By the time Navi had announced they were only about a sun away from shore at Takand, Theo was ready to get back on land as soon as she could. Hours ahead of landing Theo figured it was time to finalize the voyage and battle plans. She called a meeting in her quarters early in the morning.

Theo was in a robe with breakfast on her desk while those called to the meeting began to file in.

Morgana strutted in then found her place laying across Theo's bed, "The Captain's Council of the Inner Circle, it has been so long since we've had one of these."

"Shut up, I've told you not to call it that," Theo said and took a bite of her toast.

"Oi! Hey! How is that fair? We haven't gotten bread since our first sun at sea," Morgana sat up in Theo's bed.

"I am the captain of this ship if you need any reminding. If I want toast I get toast," Theo said with a mouth full.

"If you replaced all your equality policies and gave us all equal amounts of bread instead, I would be happy. I'm serious. Take away our voice, our votes, our ability to have cabins and just give us bread," Morgana pleaded and Theo grabbed one of her pieces of toast and threw it at Morgana.

Cooker walked in and found a place next to Morgana, "Ah Morgana, may I take a seat next to you at this very first Captain's Council of the Inner Circle meeting of the length."

"What is it with you people? The name doesn't even make any sense," Theo threw her hands up.

"It does. This is your council made up of your inner circle," Xyra chimed in from her chair in the corner.

"I will decapitate all of you. All of you," Theo threatened and went back to eating her food.

The others quieted down and made no more comments about any sort of council. Once Theo was done with her food, everyone she needed was there. Navi, Oceane, Iona, Pearl, Morgana, Tuni, Cooker and Xyra. The girls like to call themselves the Inner Circle and as much as Theo rolled her eyes at stark divisions within her crew, it was true. These were her officers, the ones the ship could not function without.

"Listen, we need this plan to go flawlessly so if you have any suggestions or concerns you need to speak up," Theo said before she began, "The island has anywhere from 15 to 30 people stationed to protect it. It has swords, cannons, cannonballs, non-perishable food items, blankets, clothes, materials. This island has enough to sustain a group of 100 soldiers for 10 cycles. It's a camp that is just lying in wait for us to grab it."

The women all paid close attention to what she was saying. Xyra stood up from her chair and set out a map on the table and all of them got up and crowded around the table.

"Xyra pinpointed the best point of entry. Their camp is set up along the southern beach on the island. We can't sail that way or they'll see us so our best bet would be to sail to the north of the island and drop off the vanguard there. Morgana, you'll be taking your usual fighters but you're going to need as many people as you can. If they can fight they go with you. Tuni, you'll follow the vanguard but fall back so you're out of the fight," Theo pointed to a spot on the map far enough to ensure Tuni would be out of the fight.

"Theo will be going with the vanguard this time. I will be taking command of the ship. Navi and I will sail it around the Island and take out their vessel. We can't risk someone getting back to their ship and sailing away. After, we'll sail it as close to the beach as we can," Xyra jumped in to explain.

"Aye. Oceane, I'm pulling you from the vanguard and putting you on the ship with Xyra. We need you to fill in as Master Gunner. Then, once you've gotten to the beach, you are in charge of the merchandise effort. We need to get those items from the camp and to our ship as quickly as possible." Theo explained. Oceane didn't look happy but she didn't complain.

The girls who had come into the fold after Theo became captain were less likely to speak up against Theo than the ones who had been there since the beginning. Theo and Xyra went through the rest of the plan in detail, giving each of the people in the room a responsibility.

"This all seems straightforward enough, you have been cooped up in here for suns over this?" Morgana asked.

"If only," Xyra sighed, "None of this information is a given. It could all be wrong. All of this we are going off of belongs to one informant so it's not exactly reliable."

"So it could be a trap. The sudden window of opportunity is suspicious" Cooker stated.

"Yes but let's not jump to conclusions. The island is empty right now because of an uprising in Efriti. The ship that was bringing the trainees to the island is occupied in battle right now so that is how we have this window. Problem is that this window is quickly closing and anything could have happened between Norhan getting this information and now," Theo explained.

The risk was high but the women knew they had no other choice. Turning back to the Twins or Elox wouldn't be wise. There were no more jobs in that region because the shipping lanes were closed for the season. Instead, Eloxian patrol ships were littered around both continents. The only way was to keep traveling North of Dove Island where Efritian ports were more friendly to commerce and the shipping lanes were active and ready to loot.

"It doesn't stop there," Theo admitted, "When we dock in Takand the most we can stock up on is eight suns worth of food."

"Where does that number come from?" Tuni asked.

"Our past visits to Takand. I've made a calculation of the maximum amount of supplies each store will allow us to buy and for a crew of 40 we can buy them all out of eight suns worth of things," Xyra provided.

"And this island is how far away from Takand?" Iona asked.

"Seven suns," Xyra said.

"Captain, that is fucking insane," Morgana interjected and the women began to talk amongst themselves.

"It's the only solution," Theo said sternly, "It is not ideal but we cannot fail."

"Then I guess we need to go through worst-case scenarios," Tuni said and found a chair to sit in, "It's going to be a long sun."

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Ava had been in the library all morning. She had finally finished the last book but Cooker was nowhere to be found. Neither was Tuni or Morgana. Even Oceane was missing. She had found out, eventually, that a lot of Theo's closest crew were in a meeting about the upcoming raid. Ava saw none of the people she had grown close to all sun, they had been holed up in the room for countless hours. It saddened Ava a little bit, not being able to see anyone she had grown to care for on her last sun on the ship. Tomorrow she was landing in Dove Island and she had not brought up wanting to stay on the ship with Theo yet.

Around mid aftermorning, Ava began to panic as she realized she had made a total of zero preparations for the incoming landing in Dove Island. She had been so engrossed in reading and finding a way to talk to Theo about staying that she hadn't considered what would happen if she did disembark in Takand. Ava went back to her room and began to write a list of what she needed to do, it was the only way she could think of getting organized.

At the end of her list, she came up with things she needed to figure out. Getting some extra money before leaving the ship, finding a house to stay in with other girls, finding a job, saving up to get into a school there. Theo had said that they had started to accept girls and that some jobs gave you extra money to go to school. If that was the case, that was her plan for Dove Island. She was going to get a real education and learn to live on her own. Once she was satisfied with her tidy list, she went down to storage where Miss Yurwa was.

"Good Aftermorning," Ava said, a slight shake to her voice. Miss Yurwa scared her.

There was no answer. Miss Yurwa just kept tending to something out of Ava's eyesight.

"Theo had said that if I needed any money before I left that you would be able to provide some for me? I'm not sure what the process is like." Ava tried again.

There was still no response. Miss Yurwa went to go sit at her desk. She opened a book and began to write in it.

"I really am sorry to bother but I think I need to disembark tomorrow and we won't be staying long there so I just wanted to get this and be out of everyone's hair," Ava said, a little bit frustrated.

Miss Yurwa closed her large book and grabbed a sack from next to her. She walked over to Ava and handed it to her, "Enjoy it. Spend wisely."

The sack felt heavy in her hands and there seemed to be a sizable amount in there. She would have to double-check with Theo if she saw her before leaving, the amount she had in her hands seemed like too much. The first step in her plan to settle was complete, the rest would have to wait until she was on land. She went back to her room and hid the sack away in her purse and stashed it under her bed.

----------------------

It was well after dinnertime by the time the "Inner Circle" had emerged from Theo's quarters. They had been at it for more hours than they could remember. Theo's voice was about to give and she knew she wasn't alone in it. They had come up with a backup plan after backup plan and sometimes the planning got heated. Morgana and Cooker had a lot to say to each other and to Theo. It was mainly them three going back and forth about strategy with little input from the others. It was usually how these meetings went.

Navi and Xyra were the ones with the most information to share and only chimed in to shoot down an idea they could prove wouldn't work with facts. Tuni mostly stayed around to be a level head and cool down tensions if they got too high. Iona, Pearl, and Oceane gave valuable input but only spoke up when it was necessary. Morgana and Cooker on the other hand never stopped speaking, they never stopped questioning every one of Theo's suggestions or making sure she had thought of every possible solution.

To others, it could have been seen as undermining or insubordination but to Theo, it wasn't that; they were pushing her to be the best Captain she could be. Every question they asked forced Theo to find a solution. Every critic they made exposed a flaw in the plan. The end result was a massive headache and a foolproof plan. By the end it was just the three of them standing up, pointing fingers and arguing as the room was collectively napping in their chairs.

Once they were out on the deck Xyra whistled loudly, "Listen up! In an hour there will be an assembly. No one is to miss it!"

The crew that was on the deck shouted out various phrases to indicate the message had been received. Xyra went inside the decks to alert the others. By the time she had informed everyone and rounded up those she knew would try and skip it was time. Xyra made her way up the stairs and took her place next to Theo. Theo looked over at her and laughed a little.

"I swear my voice is going to stop working in the middle of this thing," Theo admitted.

Xyra laughed, "If you go mute I will step in."

Theo turned around and addressed the crowd "Tomorrow as you know, we land in Takand. We can only be there for a few hours to stock up on supply. If you aren't on board by the time you leave you are staying in Dove Island. I know some of you that we've had to turn around for in the past but we won't this time, so don't fuck around."

A laugh erupted from the audience as different pirates pointed at each other betting their mate would be the one to be left behind. Theo laughed with them then quieted everyone down and continued. She talked about their plan and told the crew of everyone's assigned duties. She took them through the alternate plans they had in place. Xyra did need to step in at one point because Theo felt like her throat was going to break. She climbed down the stairs and grabbed someone's drink before returning. She finished the drink then continued to speak.

"That is the plan once we get there..." Theo said, "But to get there we will be sailing for 7 suns. We will have 8 suns of rations once we leave Takand so I need everyone to realize that stakes we are up against. My room is open all night if you have something to say or ask." Theo finished and waved off the crowd and made her way back inside her quarters.

The women started to pile into her room with questions and comments. Many of the inquiries she got were why a certain person wasn't put in a certain position. By the time no one was left it was almost a new sun. Theo was exhausted and she could feel herself falling asleep in her chair until she heard a knock on her door.

"Time for one more visitor?" Ava asked as she stood in the doorway.

"Of course. Come on in. I'm sorry I haven't been around tonight," Theo said sitting up.

"Captainly duties, I understand," Ava said and walked in taking a seat in front of Theo's desk.

They both spoke up at the same time then laughed. Ava motioned to Theo and Theo cleared her throat, "I am sorry that I shut you down so quickly when you asked about becoming a pirate. I should have given you a chance to answer your questions."

"Apology accepted this time... Does that mean I can ask questions?" Ava tried.

"Aye, Ava the Inquisitive."

"How do you become a pirate?" Ava asked.

"I've told you before. Depends on the crew. For us, you find a job on the ship, get tested on a certain thing, get voted in after 6 cycles of training, and officially become a pirate once you get anointed at Corinspe," Theo explained as if it were simple.

"Corinspe?"

"Secret pirate haven. No big deal," Theo laughed.

"Is that all you have to do?"

"Well, yes. You have to give up your room and live in the lower decks and if you don't find a job that contributes then you can't stay. Also, you have to agree to our code before becoming anointed. But that is all there is to join this crew," Theo expanded on the topic, "Oh also, as a trainee you only get half a share in any treasure found."

"Thank you for answering my questions," Ava said with a genuine smile on her face.

"That is all? You're kidding me. The great Ava has no more questions left," Theo poked fun.

"Alright. I get it. I'm nosy," Ava held her hands up and then stood up, "I'm going to retire to my room for the night though. You look tired and I certainly am."

"Will I see you again tomorrow?" Theo asked.

Ava nodded, "I promise to say goodbye."

Theo smiled and watched as Ava left. She stood up before Ava closed the door and called her back. Ava stopped and turned around.

"You would be a welcome addition to the crew, Ava."

----------------------

Ava sat awake in her bed the entire night. She knew because she had left her window open and she was awake to watch the sun begin to rise. She was up all night trying to make a decision. Well, more so trying to talk herself out of one particular decision. She had two lists in front of her. One with positive aspects of both of her options and negative aspects of both of her options. Dove Island was safe. It was her best bet in terms of finding a stable job, a safe place to stay and possibly even make a name for herself. On the Scorned Woman she had found friends already, she felt safe, but it was also riskier. Theo said it herself, she was more likely to die than to survive.

But still, all that was in her head was the prospect of being a pirate. It was always going to be the choice for her. She hadn't even thought about settling down anywhere until the night before. This was her choice, it had been from the start. It was what she had been working towards this whole journey, she didn't need to get off on Dove Island to know. She sat up in bed and grabbed her purse and ran down to the storage with it. She pulled out the sack and left it on the empty desk for Miss Yurwa before running back on the deck.

Looking around she saw the port city in the distance, birds flying overhead. It was sunny outside and most of the crew was out on the deck already. She couldn't find Theo so she decided she was going to see if she was in her room. She confidently marched to Theo's room and tried the handle. The door was unlocked so she swung it open.

"Theo. I'm not getting down. I want to be a pirate!" Ava exclaimed.

Staring back at her were four faces and none of them were Theo.

"Well that is embarrassing," Xyra said from her spot behind Theo's desk, "But hey, welcome to the crew."

"Welcome to the crew!" Morgana and Cooker shouted in unison and rushed towards Ava.

Tuni hopped up and ran towards the door, "I'm going to get Theo! She needs to hear this!" Tuni brought herself to a stop and turned around to Ava who was being hugged by Morgana. "Welcome to the crew, Red," Tuni said gleefully before turning around and resuming her mission.