“…Bandits?” Serah asked finally, “Lydia was kidnapped by bandits?”

“Well, we don’t know if she was kidnapped.” I said quietly.

“Lydia knows better than to mess with bandit kind.” Elizabeth said grumpily.

“What’s wrong with bandits?” William asked.

“They’re tricky little fellows. Steal from people. Kill them. Kidnap them for ransom.”

“Don’t…pirates do that too?” Perryn asked.

“No!” Serah protested, “Well…” She hesitated, “…yes. But pirates live by a code of conduct. A set of laws known only by pirates and can only be learned from pirate interaction. We respect each other unless one of us has done something to offend the other.”

“Like, steal a pirate captain’s prince.” Henry poked in.

Serah frowned at him.

“I, personally, didn’t mind being kidnapped by Milah.” Perryn said, “She had good food and didn’t send mixed signals.”

Instantly Serah whirled on him, “Mixed signals?”

“However, my previous accommodations were slightly more attractive.”

“Slightly?” Serah demanded.

“—Point being,” Henry interrupted before the banter could continue, “Bandits have no rules, no laws. They just do whatever they feel like doing.”

“Huh.” Rachel said, “And here I was, stupid me, thinking that was exactly what you guys do.”

“No!” Elizabeth said, “We pirates have rules, we just cover them up to scare people and make them think that we’re just rogue thieves.”

“Well, you did a good job when we met you.” Robin muttered sarcastically.

Instantly, Elizabeth grinned proudly, “Thank you! We try.”

“Also, nice haircut Serah.” Amber said suddenly.

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

Serah scowled as Elizabeth snickered, “Ask her how she got it.” Elizabeth said.

“How’d you get it?” Leo asked.

“I was fighting with Uthera and she cut my hair.”

“She cut your hair!?” Rachel demanded.

“Yeah. She cut it. Little jerk. She was going for the head but I turned and she got the hair instead. It looked worse, but Elizabeth fixed it up.”

Amber sighed in disbelief, “I can never tell if you two are friends or enemies.”

“Frenemies.” Elizabeth said, “Normally enemies. But when the time is right, they’re friends. We’re not friends. The rest of us don’t like Uthera, but Serah has a soft spot for her apparently. Kind of like you, Perryn. Now, if your brother had washed up on our ship, he’d have been dead a long time ago. But you just happen to be a bit hotter. Speaking of your brother, I heard he’s also pretty hot. Where is he?” Elizabeth began walking past us, towards the door, but William grabbed her arm as she went past.

“That’s not happening. Louis is a jerk.”

“No, I meant the younger brother. What was his name?”

“Levi.” Perryn said, “And he’s, like, seventeen so keep your dirty pirate hands off. He’s the only nice sibling I have. Except Clara.”

“Who’s Clara?” Henry asked curiously.

“My baby sister.”

“She’s not a baby.” Amber said.

“Well, to me she is.” Perryn said crossly.

“I don’t care if he’s a year younger than me.” Elizabeth said, tugging against William’s grip.

“And it’s still not happening.” William growled, not releasing her.

“Didn’t know you had a sister, Sanchez.” Henry said, blinking in surprise.

Perryn sniffed, “Well I do.”

“Can we focus on getting my sister back, please?” Tanner asked impatiently.

“Of course.” I said, “Can you find these coordinates?”

“Elizabeth can.” Tanner confirmed, “Let’s go.”

The pirates turned back to the window.

“Wait!” Leo called.

They stopped.

“Why don’t we go by horseback?”

“We brought horses.” Henry said.

“You brought or stole?” I asked suspiciously.

Henry ducked his head sheepishly, “We’re going to return them.”

“You better.” I muttered.

“And you’re not going out through the window again, c’mon we’re going out the normal way.” Perryn turned away and started down the hallway.

The pirates all looked at Serah. For a moment she looked conflicted, “We could get caught.” She said quietly.

“If you’re with us they’ll assume that you’re friends.”

Elizabeth motioned to their pirate attire: trousers and white bleached shirts for the boys and royal blue riding pants and white blouses for the girls, “Do we look like your friends?”

“We’ll dress you up!” Rachel exclaimed.

Serah glanced up and down our royal dresses, “Absolutely not.”

“You won’t get Serah kicking and screaming into a dress.” Elizabeth confirmed.

“Well, you have to wear a dress to fit in with our outfits.”

“I’d rather be burned alive and hanged.” Serah sniffed, “We’re going out the window.”

I rolled my eyes, “Fine. Fall three hundred feet.”

“Serah!” Henry protested, “Elizabeth said it was only like a hundred feet!”

“Since when do you trust me?” Elizabeth asked, “And if I hadn’t said it you would never have come you big sissy.”

“You’re so mean to me.”

“You deserve it.”