Watching a hundred ships sail through the open sea was a breathtaking spectacle. However, it wasn’t enough to keep the boys interested for three days, so they took to other things.

Milos and Vreil asked the sailors to teach them about ships and, before they knew it, they were climbing the masts like monkeys and adjusting the sails. Nigel and Arthur tried to follow them for a while but they didn’t have the energy or interest for that kind of thing, so they got bored quickly. They spent the rest of their time learning how to cheat in card games and how to tie knots. They also got an old sailor to teach them how to fish.

And so, time went by, and soon the time came when they laid eyes on the pirate’s base for the first time.

Fred had spent the first two days discussing their battle plan with the other vice-admirals on Velros’ ship. As they had come to know, the White House had already been mobilizing to exterminate the pirates when Sayfire sent news they were now allies.

Thanks to that, the pirate-extermination plan had mostly been set already, but the details needed to be tweaked a little. When Fred came back to his own ship, he gathered the boys to explain the situation.

“Listen up”, he said. “It is regretful that Jiovanni was left behind, not only due to his skills as a warrior, but also because it was his job to protect the four of you. Since he's not here, that burden falls on my shoulders instead.”

“We don’t need anyone to protect us, you know”, said Vreil. “Sir”, he added quickly.

“No”, the seasoned vice-admiral shook his head. “You may be strong, but don’t underestimate the pirates. If they were so weak that they couldn’t even take on four kids, we wouldn’t be using our whole fleet now. There are obstacles that can only be overcome with experience, and the four of you combined don’t have nearly enough of that.”

“So what are we going to do in the battle?” they asked.

“Nothing. You will do absolutely nothing. I will be responsible for giving out orders to the whole fleet, along with some other vice-admirals. Your mission is to stay close to me and protect yourselves if the need arises. The five of us will not join the battle directly.”

The boys looked disappointed, but they said nothing. Vreil’s eyes darkened, and he snorted. Fred frowned in disapproval.

“Don’t ever, ever, show that look again because you will not fight", he spoke angrily, yet calmly. "Have you ever been to the battlefield? Do you know what it's like to be surrounded by the corpses of your friends and to know that you could become one of them at any time? What are these sailors, who are about to risk their lives fighting for a cause they know little about, to think if they see you disappointed that you won’t participate?”

He took a deep breath and then kept speaking, fired up.

“You have killed some people, but imagine what it would feel like to fight while seeing your friends, who taught you many things in these three days and with whom you spent a lot of time, die in front of your eyes and knowing there is nothing you can do. I have been in battles, kids, and I know what it’s like to be invaded by the sound of terrified screams, the voices of men begging to die, the smell of the blood and shit of the ones who are terrified by the sight of their own death. Be glad you won’t be fighting today.”

He sighed, letting the tension flow off him. “If you want to prove yourselves so much, there will be other times in the future. For now, it will be best of you to just observe and get a taste of what war is like.”

His calm voice had begun to waver at the end; his emotions were clear. Out of respect and as a form of apology, the boys could do nothing but stare at the ship’s deck below them.

Still, Vreil raised his head again.

"Sir, please let me fight", he asked, eyes blazing and temper flaring. "They have killed my family. I want to kill them all."

Fred didn't even bat an eyelid. “Denied. A battle is no place for kids”, he said, walking away. Vreil's fists were clenched.

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When they saw the pirate base the next day, they went to Velros’ ship as Fred had told them to. Besides Fred, Velros and one other vice-admiral they remembered from the other day were there. He was missing his left leg and eye.

As they were approaching the pirate base, there was an uproar among the pirates. Apparently, they weren’t expecting to see the entire White House at their salty doorstep. Velros gave the order to spread out and surround the base.

“Under normal circumstances,” explained Fred who had somehow gotten behind them, “the dispersed fleet of the pirates would stand no chance against us. However, because this attack was caused by their move to assassinate Ms. Sayfire, we have to assume they were anticipating us and have something up their sleeve. That is why we mobilized the entire House. And we mustn’t forget that the elves are on their side. If they decide to assist the pirates and launch a surprise attack, we would want them to get their filthy long ears on as few ships as possible. That is why we are surrounding the island; not just to prevent them from escaping, but to spread out our own ships.”

“I see”, said both Nigel and Arthur, and then looked at each other. During their time on the ship, be it knot-tying or card cheating, they had begun to turn into good friends and rivals.

The pirate ships began to leave their port as well. When they lined up, Vreil noticed they numbered about fifty, half of theirs. On the masts of the ships from both sides, small platforms had been placed and now some archers were climbing onto them, to have the higher ground.

The flagship of the White House, Velros’ ship, the one they were on, had been left outside the circle formed by the other ships of the fleet around the small island that served as the pirates’ base. The archers readied their arrows.

Unlike the quiet and confident movements on the ships of the White House, exhibiting discipline, practice, and a well-established chain of command, the pirate ships echoed with a cacophony of voices, and people were running chaotically on their decks.

“Attack”, shouted Velros as the pirate ships got in the vicinity of their bows. His ship sent out a smoke signal. Arrows rained down on both fleets. One of the most decisive battles of the revolution had begun.

Their battle plan was simple. The White House fleet had divided most of its forces into three groups, each of which was led by a vice-admiral. The pirate’s base was located on the southern edge of a small island and the House fleet had maneuvered so that they approached it head-on.

The main group, led by vice-admiral Akai, was supposed to head straight for the base. It was comprised of half the fleet, fifty ships, and the pirates would probably try to confront them as close to the base as possible to avoid being surrounded. The two flanks of the battlefield were covered by a fleet of twenty ships each, led by vice-admiral Kiza on the left and Aoki on the right.

The pirates had little time to prepare for the attack, so it was likely there would be some confusion as they tried to split their forces. Amidst that confusion, the remaining four vice-admirals were to break through with one ship each, manned by their elite sailors, and land as close to the base as they could. Then, they would invade it and burn it to the ground, to break the pirates’ morale.

Besides those, three ships stayed close to the flagship to protect it and two ships remained just behind the battlefront to be used as infirmaries.

Of course, with the difference in numbers, they could just attack and destroy the pirates, but the plan was designed to make the pirates surrender so their ships could be later repurposed by the White House. From both sides, some ships were equipped with catapult-like devices that launched big iron balls at the enemies.

Of course, the White House fleet had its disadvantages as well. They may have had more ships, but the pirates had many more men available. Not only that, but the pirates were better versed in armed combat than the White House sailors. Therefore, all ships had been ordered to avoid close-quarters battles as much as possible and fight from a distance.

The battle seemed to be going according to the plan for a while. Faced with an overwhelming difference in numbers, the acting commander of the Black Beard pirates chose to leave twenty ships to the middle of the battlefield and send fifteen ships to each side. His plan was to decapitate the sides of the House fleet until they couldn’t do much harm even if they did make it to the base, and then gather all of his ships to reinforce the center and face the main force of the House.

“A sound plan”, commented Fred when he saw the movements of the pirates’ fleet. “One of the best choices he could have made.”

“Not really”, argued Velros. “He should have sent twenty ships to one side and ten to the other. But in line with Jiovanni's words, what we are witnessing is the most concrete proof of the Black Beard pirates’ guilt.”

“What do you mean?” asked Vreil.

“From the seventy-two ships the Black Beards own, normally only five or ten are left behind to guard the base while the others go and break the law. Now there are fifty ships here, which shows they were anticipating an attack.”

Velros lowered his brows, his sagely visage suddenly replaced with that of a hardened warrior. No longer was he old and weak, but he was now a force to be reckoned.

“They tried to harm lady Sayfire…” he murmured, staring intently at the pirate base. “They are going to pay.”