Me and Nathan are the last to reach the navigation room, we sit down towards the end of the table, all eyes on our captain. "Two more days till we reach skull island. We will be stopping at one last port before heading there, for any last minute supplies, seeing as we won't know what we will encounter as we get closer to the skull." Morgan tells us, and we all nod, except for Eduardo, whose head snaps up, meeting the captains gaze.

"Wait. The only port nearby to stop at is Moldor." Eduardo snaps, glaring at the Captain. I can tell by the tone in his voice he doesn't like this one bit.. hmm...

I glance at Nathan, raising an eyebrow at him. He leans over, so our faces are almost touching. "That's the navy capital." he whispers.

My eyes widen in surprise."No shit?" I exclaim, a little too loudly, drawing the attention of the rest of the crew. I look at captain. "Captain, should we really be stopping at a navy capital?" I ask, meeting Morgan's gaze.

Morgan shrugs, likes it's no big deal. "It'll be fine. We will make sure to roll up our sails, and carry more concealable weapons." He tells us all glaring, almost daring us to challenge a direct order. We all fall silent, and then the Captain goes back to his usual look, smiling. "Anyway, it's a full moon tonight, let's party eh?" he adds, waving us off.

Everyone looks surprised at the quick subject change, but they quickly recover. I roll my eyes...just like captain to change the subject by announcing a party..We all leave the navigation room, me and Nathan heading back to the kitchen to start prepping for the food for the party, so we won't have to do much later.

"Shit is it really okay for us to wander around Moldor?" I ask Nate, as I start chopping vegetables.

He shrugs. "As long as we're careful tomboy. Shit, I've been there before, though pirates are really hunted in that area." he admits.

"You've been there before?" I ask curiously. That catches my attention, Nathan's told me some of his past, but was kinda vague about certain parts.

He sighs, looking up, with a far away look in his eyes, like he's thinking about something from long ago. "Yo princess whatcha thinkin' about?" I ask, nudging him.

He smirks, looking at me."Moldor tomboy. It's where I met Cap. Let's finish this and I'll tell ya more later." he tells me quietly.

I wonder what happened? By the look on his face, I'd guess it's sad. I really want him to tell me though. I've always been curious, but wasn't sure if he wanted to tell me. According to most of the crew, when I did ask, only Captain knew Nathan's story, and it wasn't captain's place to tell me..

A couple hours later, the party is under way, with all the food and booze out. Mostly everyone's been drinking for awhile now, and are dancing and singing. I see Nathan grab a beer, and wander off by himself, heading towards the bow.

I follow him, and go stand beside him quietly, as I gently take his hand in mine. He's silently looking out towards the ocean, when I finally get the courage to break the silence. "Is it later yet?" I ask shyly.

He nods, and sits down, crossing his legs. He pulls me down and sits me in his lap, my back to his chest, and he puts his arms around me, leaning into me. I can feel his chin on my shoulder, and his breath as it brushes my cheek. I glance sideways at him, and he has that faraway look in his eyes again, as he looks out across the sea.

I turn my head, and gently kiss his cheek, prompting him to finally look at me, his soft brown eyes meeting mine, and I can already tell by what I see in his eyes that this story isn't a happy one. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." I whisper. I want to know, but I can already see the pain in his eyes. I don't want to hurt him by dredging up the past.

He sighs, looking out to the ocean once more. "Thanks. But I feel like I need to tell it tomboy, so I'll tell you." I nod and squeeze his hand, prompting him to go on.

"I was abandoned in the mountains not long after I was born. That's what I was told anyway. A leader of a group of bandits took me in, and raised me. Before I knew it, I was a bandit. As a kid, I usually only played with the other young bandits. There were two exceptions though, Nero and Sara. Nero was a boy a few years younger than me, I met him on a beach, and he lived in an orphanage nearby. We played together often, to the point where he was like my younger brother that I'd never had. There was a little girl my age, Sara, she was the daughter of a nobleman, and forbidden to play with me. She would always sneak out though, to play with me."

He smiles sadly, as he talks about his friends. I squeeze his hand again, and he squeezes back, before continuing. "A group of bandits were going to raid Sara's house. I was against it, and fought them. I thought I had stopped them, but a few nights later they did, and set the house on fire. By time I got there, it was too late, and most of the house was already burning. They say her body was never found, but nobody could have survived such a huge fire. They blamed it on me, so I had to run and leave everything behind. I was caught by the navy, and they took me to Moldor to be executed. Captain saved me, and asked me to join his crew. I told him no, and tried to run again, but I almost drowned trying to leave the island. Captain saved me again, and I've been here ever since." He finishes.

"I'm so sorry Nathan. That wasn't fair, what they did to your friend." i tell him gently, knowing that no words can ever really make what he's been through better.

"I should have warned her." he mumbles, sadly, looking down.

I take his face in my hands, and make him look at me. " It's not your fault, there's nothing you could have done Nate. You tried to stop them. I'm sorry you lost so much in so little time."

He nods."I lost Sara, and I could never go back to see Nero again either." He tells me quietly, as he looks to the ocean once more.

"You loved her didn't you? She was your first love? And you were separated from the little boy you considered your brother..." I trail off, as tears start to fall. I know I shouldn't cry, but just the thought of him losing his friends, after having never had a family, or knowing his parents, makes my heart ache for him.

He blushes."Wasn't like that, Sara was a good friend, I dunno, might've liked her. Doesn't matter now. And yea.. Nero was like a little brother... haven't seen him since." He murmurs, as he finally looks at me again. "Aw tomboy. Don't cry for me." he adds quietly, as he wipes my tears.

"Can't help it. I'm sorry you lost so much." I tell him, as I bury my face in his chest, breathing in his scent, as I wrap my arms around him.

I feel his hand on my head, and he starts running his fingers through my hair. "Was a long time ago tomboy. Besides, then I became a pirate and met you, so it's not all bad." I look up at him, and one side of his mouth quirks up in a half smile.

I smile, and pull him towards me, kissing him gently on the lips. He kisses me back, but all too soon pulls away. He stands up, pulling me with him. "Come on, let's get some sleep." he says, as he pulls me along towards our room.

We get back to our room, and he takes me in his arms once more, as we lay down on the bed quietly. "G'night Nathan.. I love you." I tell him, as I nuzzle against his side.

"G'night Arabella... I love you too." he whispers back.

I lay there thinking, about how this quiet, caring pirate, who means the world to me, lost so much, so young. I hug him tighter as I think about it. And I finally drift off, listening to the sound of his heart beat.

The next day, we are all gathered around the table eating breakfast, as captain explains some things about our stop at the next port. "Alright crew. We'll reach Moldor by this afternoon. I know some of you have concerns, but if we follow a few guidelines we should be fine." Morgan announces.

"Well no shit we're concerned, it's a navy capital." Eduardo scoffs.

"They execute pirates in the middle of town for fucks sake." Russell adds.

We all look at each other, starting to worry a little after hearing that. Captain clears his throat, drawing our attention back to him. "As I've said, we will roll up our sails, and take more concealable weapons. We'll be traveling in groups of two, with one group of three. Don't draw unnecessary attention to yourselves. Get your supplies, and other items. We will meet at the bar later. Any questions?" Captain asks glaring, almost daring any of the crew to argue. We all shake our heads. "Good. That's settled then, go get ready , we will reach port soon." Captain adds, dismissing us.

Me and Nate go back to our room, and try to figure out what to take. "My coat hides my stuff..should I ditch the swords though?" I ask, glancing at Nate, looking for his opinion.

He shrugs."Up to you. I think maybe you could hide at least one under your coat. You have daggers though right? Take those, your staff, and your cards for emergencies." He adds, while digging around in his closet. What is he looking for?

He finally stops digging, and pulls out a coat, similar to mine, and two pistols. He puts the coat on, covering his sickle and chain. He pockets one pistol, and offers the other to me. "On second thought, ditch the swords, take my extra pistol. You have daggers, and a staff to block a sword coming at ya if it comes down to it." he tells me. I nod, and take the pistol, pocketing it.

We head out to the deck, and we all get ready to reach the port. I look around, and all the boys have some form of long coat on, to conceal any weapons they have hidden underneath. We roll the sails up, and dock at the port.

"Alright tomboy, stay close, don't look around too much. If something feels off, let me know. You ready?" He asks, as we reach the town of Moldor.

"Ready as I'll ever be." I smirk. Everyone splits off to their groups, with me following Nathan to the market, Eduardo and Russell going one way, and Captain, Thomas, and Christopher going another.