The Serpent of the East is a pirate ship, about three times the size of the Red Revenge. It has a much larger crew, more cannons, and has always believed themselves to be the true owners of the seas. Maybe they were right. Maybe they weren't. It never really mattered. Pirates had never really had a formal alliance. It was counterintuitive to a certain point. Nothing written down, much less with a guarantee of holding up from captain to captain. The Serpent of the East was about as stable as a table with a broken leg when it came to treaties.

They were a powerhouse, but a volatile one. They'd always been around. The last time I'd heard about them, the Red Revenge was on good terms with them. Whether that was a good thing for the three of us remained to be determined.

"Hey."

I turned around to look at Castor.

"You okay?" His face was nervous.

"Yeah. Just worried."

"It'll be okay."

I nodded. It would be okay. Probably.

I was confident that it would be exciting at the very least.

I waited for the ship to reach us. I'd always remembered it being faster. Of course, then I was normally on the Red Revenge, swimming with my mother, or doing generally anything other than what I was currently doing.

Anything else would be preferable. I couldn't give any guarantee they still had an alliance with my father. I wasn't sure what I was hoping form. If they knew my father, I'd be handed straight back. I wanted to go back, but I needed it to be on my own terms. The only thing worse then them having an alliance with my father would be them not having an alliance with my father.

Juniper's hand slipped into mine. I hadn't even realized the waves were getting bigger. The boat was getting closer. I tightened my grip. Castor met my eyes.

What was I hoping for?

I gulped.

"I'll be okay." Juniper was looking at me too. Their pale faces were looking at me.

Their eyes both drifted away from mine.

"What's happening?"

"They're yelling something. I can't make out any words." Juniper let go of my hand to talk. She didn't take it again. I felt awkward grabbing her hand, but it felt less safe when I wasn't holding on.

"Okay. What do we do?"

"I remember asking you that."

"That was back home. Juniper, what do we do?"

"We wait. We can't outrun them. We don't have enough supplies to wait them out. We don't have the stamina to move any faster than them."

I nodded. They came right next to us. I could smell the fish, the wet, that came with the ship. It was in exquisite condition, but it had been at sea for a long time. And I hadn't.

The barnacles almost made the ship seem white, ghostly. Surreal.

"They're yelling again. They want to know who we are."

"Tell them."

"What should I say?"

"Tell them Arriana Porter, daughter of the Red Revenge, Juniper, daughter of the South Hellendun Sirens, and Castor, our family, is here."

Juniper nodded. She stared up at a small face peering over the ship. The wait was nerve wracking.

One second.

Five seconds.

Nothing happened. That couldn't be good, could it. Oh gosh, it couldn't be good. Of all the ways for my adventure to end, I really hadn't wanted it to be by a hostile pirate ship. It wasn't a good sign that it was taking so long after evoking my father's name.

Castor looked nervous too.

15 seconds.

I looked at Juniper. The corners of her mouth tugged up.

She was smiling! That was good.

She turned to me. "They're going to send someone down for you and Castor."

"What about you?"

"I'll stay here. I don't have any interest in being hulled up anymore. I'm starting to hate tubs."

I hugged her. It was awkward, it was wet, it was slimy. I immediately regretted it, but I hugged her.

She hugged back.

It only lasted about three seconds, but it was a hug all the same.

Castor reached out his hand and pulled back onboard our boat. I dressed quickly, just pulling on my boots when I saw the dingy descending, just as promised. I didn't recognize the man who manned it. He was younger than the median age of the crew. Probably a cabin boy.

He extended his hand to me. The smell hit me. I had been slightly off in my guess. He smelled like burnt food. So he was an assistant cook, and from the smell of it, not a good one.

I clambered over, Castor following me.

"Porter, it's an honor."

He bowed a little.

"I see my reputation proceeds me."

He nodded. "That it does. You'll have to talk to the captain about how we proceed."

"Is it still Captain Fersoan?"

"Yes."

The boat thudded against the side of the ship's hull. The cook fell over, landing nearly on me. I couldn't have that. I gave him a quick shove, and he was sitting on the bottom of the dingy.

Castor said something, the boy replied.

"Anyone going to translate?"

"I just asked what his name was." Castor filled me in.

"And what is his name?" My hands brushed my hair. I wasn't giving off a friendly vibe, but then again, when had I ever?

"Edward."

I looked at the said Edward. He looked up at me.

"Nice to meet you, Edward."

He smiled. "Nice to meet you, Porter."

"Porter is my father. Call me Arriana."

He signed Arriana back, the "a" imitating my hair.

The dingy had gotten to the deck. I recognized the man who pulled me up.

"Captain Fersoan. A pleasure to meet you again."

He didn't move. He looked almost the same as he always had. Except for one thing.

"What happened to your leg?"

He looked at me just then. "Cannon. A hazard of the job."

"I see," I signed. That was all I could think of to say.

He had to be at least 50 years old, but he was strong, muscular. He was tall, he had broad shoulders. His legs used to be like stumps, but at the present, only one leg was like a stump. The other one was a wooden peg.

Castor was behind me. I turned to look at him. Two pirates held his arms. Edward climbed up behind him and scurried out of sight.

"What's going to happen?"

He started at me, never blinking. "That, dearie, depends on you."

"Depends on me how?"

"It depends if you're more valuable than either of the bounties on your heads."

"Either?"

"Your father wants you home. The Regnese military wants revenge."

"What do you want?"

"Lots of things. Sirens are valuable for raids. Information is valuable for charting courses. Hostages are valuable for inflating bounties."

I swallowed. My hand instinctively went to my side. The dagger. By some miracle it was still there. The captain caught my hand.

I looked behind his shoulder. His first mate was standing there, just as fat as he'd always been. "Now, we can't have that," he signed, his smile sickening.

And with that, even my dagger was gone.