"Do you really think we can trust you with this?"

"Like hell we're letting you."

Commotions were hardly uncommon on the Ivory, but tonight was an exceptional case.

In the middle of the long hallway were the Jackie pirates, Eddie standing away from the rest with the Whitebeard pirates' two nurses behind him.

Their names were Jill and Heather. Jill was short, petite and appeared rather shy. Heather, on the other hand, was tall and had a no-nonsense attitude. Both had short black hair, but Heather's hair was tied back with a scarlet ribbon.

Heather in particular was a match for Elma. "What, you think we're gonna fuck this guy when we're supposed to be doing our work?" She asked, prodding Eddie's shoulder.

"Yeah, no shit." They both started moving towards each other, prompting Rosa and Eddie to block them.

"Listen, I have work to do. Boudicca is injured and unconscious, and I myself have months of research to catch up on." Eddie said, dragging back Heather. The two women glared at him in response.

With a sigh, Jackie gave in. "I'm tired. We all want to check out for the day. You do your thing, then. We're just going to go to bed."

Before Eddie could thank him, Jackie cut him off. "God forbid if you touch any of those two girls. And you two, be responsible and leave him alone." He finished with his finger pointed at the nurses.

The recovery unit just happened to be right next to Jackie's room, completely empty apart from Boudicca and the three walking inside.

If anything happens, at least I'll be able to hear. He thought as he slipped inside his own room, now alone.

The day had been long and tiring, however. He fell into a deep sleep, completely unaware of anything that would transpire that night.

* * * * *

BAM. BAM.

With a start, Jackie sprang to his feet, almost losing his balance from the blood rushing to his head.

"Wake up! You missed breakfast!" Elma's voice drifted into the room.

He rubbed his throbbing forehead. "Alright! You don't have to yell."

Now she said something about knocking for five minutes.

Ugh. I feel like shit. Did I have a dream or something? He thought as he took off the white dress shirt he wore and replaced it with a light blue one.

He opened the door and stumbled out, almost tripping over Elma's foot as he did so.

She was wearing a loosely buttoned gray shirt, clearly a bit too big for her. On her belt was the chainwhip. She carried it around everywhere now, as if it was a child of hers.

"Slept like a log last night. How about you lot?" He asked, adjusting his collar.

"I slept alright. Rosa is a surprisingly messy sleeper, though."

"Messy?"

Elma grabbed a flask hooked to her belt and took a swig of what seemed like rum. "You know how some people are just all over the place when they sleep? Getting their arms on your face and shit. That kind of messy." She replied, replacing the flask at her belt.

"Ah." The two walked into the galley, where there were usually the most people. Today, the crowd had thinned out.

A few latecomers and Borris were all that was left of the breakfast frenzy. He raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement as Jackie walked past.

"Not having anything?" He asked, a bit of concern evident in his tone.

Jackie nodded, and walked onwards with Elma. "Just have some business to deal with today."

Elma had already told him that Boudicca was up and walking about again. As they climbed up the stairs and found their way back to the top deck, they saw Boudicca sitting on the railing, talking to Leo and Valeria.

Near the second mast was Eddie, deep in conversation with Captain Caine of all people.

When did they get so friendly? Did I miss something?

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Jackie didn't think much of it though, and approached Boudicca. "Feeling better, miss?" He asked, stepping beside her.

She simply nodded. Elma sat down beside her, and she waved the two kids away. "Go and find something to do. We need to talk to your mother."

Valeria left, tugging her unwilling brother along with her.

Boudicca smiled as she watched them leave. "They did a lot for you while you were out." Jackie said, gazing out at the calm ocean.

"They did too much. Stealing, suffering alone. Children shouldn't have to go through that." She said, an expression of sorrow on her face. "I failed them as a mother."

Elma shook her head. "Like hell you did. If you died, that's when you would have failed them. You're still here and still alive because they managed to take care of you."

She didn't reply.

"Miss Boudicca...who are you? Valeria and Leo said something about you being royalty." Jackie asked bluntly.

The question caught her off-guard. She looked up, and saw the serious expression on his face.

Despite opening her mouth to reply, nothing came out.

She gripped the railing hard. She had to say something.

"I...I cannot tell you everything. But what I can tell you was that I was indeed a royal. King Ferdinand's fiancé, in fact." It took her some strength to even spit out that name.

Jackie simply stood there, waiting for her to continue.

She took a deep breath.

"I was...a naive woman then. I believed everybody around me wanted the best for me. So I convinced myself. And I...I believed he wanted the best for me too."

She paused, feeling nauseous.

"So you believed." Jackie murmured, and started walking away.

Boudicca raised her hand. "Wait. I'm not done yet!"

Jackie shook his head. "It's obvious you are, Miss Boudicca."

She lowered her hand, and saw it was trembling.

Jackie sighed and walked back to her. "We didn't come here to ask you for your entire story. Not me, at least. What I really want to know is whether or not you want to stay in Tierra Dorada."

Boudicca thought about it for a moment, and shook her head.

"No. Neither me nor my children will ever be safe there. Not anymore. We're done living in that hell."

Elma placed her hand on her shoulder. "Listen, lady. I've heard about what was happening to you from Jackie. But this isn't a haven for women and children."

"Even if the Ivory is safer than most other pirate ships, we're still pirates." She said, trying to get her to understand the situation.

Jackie nodded in agreement. "It may be for the best that you didn't come, but regardless...I want to offer you a place in my crew. We sorely need more members." He extended his hand to her.

Boudicca stared at him for a moment, and smiled. "How can I say no? You saved my life. And theirs." She glanced in the direction the twins had gone off to.

When she took his hand, Jackie shook it with a little smile.

"So, is she in?" Eddie asked, finally done with his conversation with Caine.

Jackie nodded. "Yep. She's in alright." Eddie sighed with relief, and took her hand. "Come. Your time outside is up. Now you rest."

As he led her away, Elma gave a quick sideways glance at Jackie.

"You sure?"

"Positive."

With that, the decision was final. Boudicca was the newest member of the Jackie Pirates.

Elma leaned against the railing and opened her flask for a drink.

Well...all I can do is trust him.

* * * * *

"What do we do now?" Leo muttered as he slumped to the floor, leaning against the wall of the deck.

Valeria ignored him, and continued gawking at the golden masts of the ship.

"Hey. Leo. Do you think those are made of real gold?" She asked, but he had no answer for her.

Someone did, though. "Actually, miss, that's not real gold." They looked up to find a tall, plump man who looked to be in his forties staring at them.

He wore a blue, cup-shaped cap on his head, which went well with his dark blue vest and old white pants. A thick black mustache and bushy eyebrows were the dominant features on his face.

"It isn't real gold? But...it looks so real! And it doesn't even feel like wood at all!" She exclaimed.

The man laughed. "Nice to meet you too. My name is James, I'm the blacksmith of this ship. How 'bout you?"

Valeria's face turned red, and she turned away. "It's Valeria. Sorry."

James laughed again, and sat down beside the siblings. "Don't say sorry. I'm the one feeling bad for you. Kids shouldn't wear ruined rags like that." He tugged at the sleeve of the raggedy cloak Valeria wore.

He raised his eyes to the mast. "That's actually made of an iron pole. A lot of this ship's parts are reinforced with iron and steel." This seemed to perk up the silent Leo.

"I've...never heard of something like that before." He said, trying not to sound too friendly.

James grinned. "The people who made this ship twenty two years ago weren't just any people. They were some of the most skilled boat builders you can imagine." He remembered the old hands that used to be around to show him the ropes.

Davids...Reggie...Ralf...not to mention Zedan. It was likely the Ivory would never be replicated.

He caught himself reliving the years again. Now was not the time.

"The four men responsible for the creation of the Ivory are gone. But this beauty remains a monumental reminder of their legacy." He brushed his hands against the cool wood of the floorboards.

"Hey, kid. You like messing around with wood?" He asked Leo.

Leo thought about it. "Well...I like doing a lot of things. Building, crafting, fishing, you name it. I'm not too good at any of them though."

James unclipped a small leather sheath from his belt, and handed it to Leo. "It's my old dagger. I say old, but it's sharp as hell."

Leo took the dagger and stared at it. It was around ten inches long from the hilt to the tip.

He looked up at James. "Why are you giving me this? I've got nothing to do with you."

James only chuckled.

"Do I need a reason to gift a kid with something to defend himself with?" He asked.

Leo looked back at the dagger. "But you said it like you've had this for a long time."

James nodded. "My grandmother made that for me when I was seven. I've rarely used it since."

Leo tried to hand it back to him. "I can't accept this." James stood up and walked away, leaving the dagger with Leo.

Huh? But-

"Keep it!" With that, James disappeared downstairs.

Alone once more, Leo stared at the dagger. First that doctor with the gold watch...now him and his dagger.

Valeria tapped his shoulder. "You see? People can be kind." The happy smile on her face made him forget his worries.

For the first time in their lives, the twins felt safe and content.

-End of Prologue-