Dear Peter,

We're almost home! God, am I exhausted. Everybody's asleep, and Heather's grumbling because she wants me to turn off the light.

I would call this voyage a success. We didn't find as much treasure as we were hoping for, but it's enough. Plus, we picked up two crew men and only lost one. No, he didn't die. On the contrary, he met some pretty Brazilian lass and ran off with her. Ah, well. I hope it works out for them.

So now we have fifteen crewmen, not including me. James had thirty seven. When I get back to Galveston, Heath and I will have to go crew shopping.

We have one last stop before we get home, though: Mexico. With any luck, we'll find enough gold to pay for the damage we have from the storm a couple nights ago . . . we haven't sunk yet, but it might just be a matter of time. He he. I'm a good captain, right?

Our two new crewmen are brothers. Chaz is cute and little, no more than fifteen years old. He's good with a sword and less annoying than most of the crew. Heath kind of hates him, but I like him. His brother Francisco (or Frankie, as the rest of the crew likes to call him) is older than I am, and a little scary. He has muscles like you wouldn't believe and clears six feet in height. According to Chaz, his father cut out his tongue five years ago as punishment for blabbing about his abuse . . . dark story, but that's what sold me on them. They were still living with that monster! Who's to say when they would have escaped?

Heath wasn't too impressed. But these days, she just opposes everything I say because she's pissed off about not getting the ship. Whatever. She'll come around eventually.

I can't wait to see you and Aiden. I brought back presents from Brazil for you guys. I thought about buying Bailey a t shirt or something, but I decided not to waste my money. She never wears things I buy her anyway.

Has Uncle Brett told you what your mom was like as a kid? Well, she was a little smug. A one upper, if you will. She never liked me very much, I don't think. I mean, yeah we're eight years apart, but that doesn't give her an excuse to be a total sister from hell, does it? Brett's seven years older than me, and he was never mean.

I have this one memory of your mom standing at the top of the stairs when she was like fifteen and I was seven. We had to share a room, and we were fighting about whether or not I could keep my toys upstairs. And you know what she did? She pushed me down the goddamn stairs. I ended up in the hospital with a broken arm. Thanks Bailey.

I mean, really. Who but your mother would beat up their seven year old sister?

See you soon,

          -Aunty Olive <3

XXX

Amelia couldn't stop gaping.

A pirate ship. A real pirate ship, with a helm and sails and crewmen on deck. And a real pirate captain, climbing aboard and inviting her to follow. Was this reality? Or a dream?

Peter knew what she was thinking. Smirking, he pinched her arm. Nope, real.

He didn't seem quite as in-awe as she was, but then again. You could never quite tell with Peter. He may have been jumping up and down inside, Amelia would never know. He caught her looking at him and crossed his eyes.

Robin was already halfway up the rope ladder. "What're you waiting for?" He yelled down. "It floats, I promise!"

The Aceituna, when Amelia had first laid eyes on it, shot straight to the top of the list when it came to the most beautiful things she'd ever seen. The smooth, shiny olive wood beckoned her closer, drawing her hands toward it the way a fluffy dog might. The ship seemed almost delicate -- like a golden origami vessel.

"C'mon," Peter said. He grabbed hold of the ladder (honey gold strands twisted with twine) and hoisted himself up after Robin.

Amelia slung her backpack over her shoulder, staring up at the height of the ladder. Perhaps this task seemed undaunting to Peter, but Amelia felt unsure that she would make it. Not only was she exhausted, but hungry enough that her hands shook. The apple Heather had given her tided her over for a few hours, but now her stomach grumbled again.

She took a deep breath. Well, what else was there to do? She'd have to try.

Amelia could feel the sweat sliding between her fingers as she gripped the rope. Her heart sped up, pounding the a propelled on a helicopter. She could hear the shouts and chatter of the men on the deck above; some in English, some in other languages. The sun baked her skin, reddening her arms in front of her. Why had she left home?

But then again, the thought of home filled her with disgust. She envisioned her mother and father, sitting at the kitchen table while the boys ran around them, screaming as they played with their ninja legos. No, this was better. Fresh air and a dose of adventure.

After the first rung, the ladder wasn't so bad. She took it slow, inching along behind Peter who disappeared onto the deck when she was about halfway up. Swallowing hard, she pushed on. God, a real pirate ship . . .

She got to thinking about Heather. It had been odd, meeting someone who she'd read about in such detail only a day ago. Heather seemed to have reinvented herself. Amelia felt bad for having flipped her life back over again. She remembered listening to her and Caelum argue from the other room, their son curled up in the corner of the couch trying not to look at any of them. "You can't come with us!" "Yes I can, and I will!"

The plan was for Amelia and Peter to stay the night on The Aceituna, and Heather, Caelum and Ollie would go home. In the morning, Heather would hopefully show up alone.

After a significant amount of prodding and guilt tripping by Robin, she'd agreed to come along. And when she told her husband, he'd insisted on going with her. Amelia couldn't imagine his reasoning, but he was resolute in his decision.

Just two more rungs . . . one more . . .

Amelia almost collapsed on the deck when she reached the top. What a relief. She hated ladders with a passion.

Before she could fall on the ground, Peter caught her and propped her up on her shoulder. Amelia felt her face going red. Her legs still felt like jelly, but she pulled away from him and stood up on her own.

The ship was piled with people, all busy with their own business. Amelia felt like a girl in a movie, staring in disbelief at the bustle of activity. In this movie, all the extras wore pirate clothes -- muscle shirts and jeans for some, long, billowy-sleeved white tunics with tight pants for others -- and the setting was a beautiful cardboard ship, that only Amelia and the other actors knew wasn't real.

Except it was. And they weren't actors. they were real pirates.

"Welcome to The Aceituna," Robin said. He gestured for them to follow him. As he passed, men called out Spanish and English greets, asking questions that she couldn't understand. Their English was garbled -- pirate language.

In a state of shock, she drifted behind Robin. Peter pulled her along by the hand, marching forward with an unfair amount of confidence. He seemed undaunted by the sheer magnitude of what they were doing. It was only just now beginning to hit. They were running away. On a pirate ship.

She wondered if her parents were looking for her. If they were worried, or if they just carried on like usual. Part of her hoped they were panicked.

"Hey, focus," Peter said. He snapped his fingers, bringing her out of her thoughts. She realized that she'd just bumped into his back.

"Sorry," she muttered. He just flashed a grin and took her hand for a second, giving it a quick squeeze that said, don't worry, I got you.

Robin led them below deck, away from the shouts and buzz of activity. Peter closed the door behind her. He seemed to sense how nervous she was. "You okay?" He asked.

Amelia shrugged. "I'm fine. Just a little hungry." And tired and anxious and terrified, but I'm fine, don't worry about me.

"We'll get you something to eat soon," he promised. Robin walked far ahead, not pausing to wait for them. Amelia felt so famished she wasn't sure she'd make it down the hallway, but was too embarrassed to ask Peter to support her.

They followed behind Robin, marveling at the intricate carvings on the doors. Peter turned his head around the hallway, trying to take it all in. Amelia walked behind him, hugging the wall as her legs began to shake. She didn't know if the floor really tilted, or if it just felt that way.

"Peter?" She whispered, making sure Robin couldn't hear. "I've never been on a boat before."

Peter just nodded. He glanced behind him, and seeing her struggling, threaded his arm through hers and smiled. "Welcome to the sea."