The Christina pulled into Port Chamblay within two hours. Kalinna stood on the deck, eagerly awaiting her first glimpse of the place. She was not disappointed in the least.

The port was a sprawling place, with an innumerable amount of docks. There were ships of every shape, size and color docked, and rowdy men, and yes, even women as well, were crawling all over the ships and the docks. The port itself was like a city.

Building upon building made of wood and stone lined the main road, which was filled with horses, pirates, dancing girls, and all sorts of goods. Most of the occupants were dressed in a pirate’s uniform with obscene hats, chains, jewels, coats, cloaks, boots, and any other possible apparel imaginable. Foul language filled the air, mixed with raucous laughter, giving the place a sense of rowdy hominess. Kalinna knew she’d love it here.

“How long will we be here?” she asked Jackson, who stood silently guiding the ship to a large dock.

“Until tomorrow mornin’, when we push out again,” Jackson said as he glanced in her direction, “Don’t worry kid, I’ll take ye to see whatever ye want.”

“Really?” she breathed, amazed at his generosity.

“Sure. I got nothin’ better to do. Sides, it keeps me from getting’ meself in trouble with those beautiful dancin’ girls,” he said, rolling his eyes, “They get all teary-eyed when we leave again. I swear kid, you stay away from women and you’ll be better off, ‘ear me?”

“Yes sir,” Kalinna responded, keeping the grin from her face. She was not about to have any trouble with that demand.

Silence descended over them as Kalinna watched the port with rapt eyes, trying to soak up everything at once. She quickly left Jackson at the wheel to go stand at the forward aft of the ship where she could see better. She never saw Justin join Jackson at the wheel a few moments later.

“We’re right on schedule I see,” Justin commented to his first mate as he squinted his eyes for a familiar figure, “I’ve got a meeting with Anthony and then I’ll be heading back to the ship for the night. Are you taking Kip with you?”

“Yeah, gonna show the lad around,” Jackson commented as he finished pulling the ship into port; some of the crew members immediately got off to tie up, “I was thinkin’ that maybe I’ll stay there for the night.”

“Bring Kip back to the ship before you do, he shouldn’t be staying out late here,” Justin commented as he rested his hat atop his head, “This place gets really rowdy at night and it’s no place for a fourteen-year old boy, even if he does have a great arm with a sword.”

“I was thinkin’ the same thing,” Jackson agreed as his hands left the wheel, “Got any specific orders this time?”

“Just keep your eyes and ears open for any news about the French. There’s no telling what kind of information the pirates around here are privy to,” Justin commented, surveying the busy port as he spoke, “Just be sure to stay out of trouble. I don’t need to be bailing your ass out anytime soon.”

“Of course,” Jackson said, rolling his eyes. He had gotten into a fight with a man one time, and now the captain made sure to warn him every time they pulled into Port Chamblay for more than a few hours.

Then again, he didn’t blame Justin. They were trying to discover the traitor who was leaking government secrets, so one could never be too careful. Especially here, where there were no laws and no government to enforce laws.

“Are we going?” Kalinna excitedly questioned as she approached the two men.

“Hold your horses kid, it’s still early yet,” Jackson grumbled as he pulled a bandana over his head of dark hair.

“I know, but I want to see everything,” Kalinna stated, practically bouncing with unrestrained energy.

“You stick close with Jackson at all times, you hear me Kip?” Justin demanded as he claimed her attention, “Just because you’ve got a great arm with a sword doesn’t mean you need to go looking for trouble.”

“Of course captain,” she said with a grin. Justin restrained from moaning. He was afraid that the kid’s cocky and unconcerned attitude would get him in trouble. That was the last thing he needed.

“Alright, I’ll see you two sometime later,” Justin called as he disembarked from the ship and headed in the direction of the pub where he always met his friend Anthony.

“You ready to go explorin’ kid?” Jackson asked as he turned to his young charge.

“Yes,” Kalinna responded as she restrained herself from jumping up and down like a little child.

“Alright, let’s get outta here then,” Jackson said as he led the way off the ship. Kalinna quickly followed after, eagerly anticipating this new experience.

“Good to see you Justin, how have you been holding up?” Anthony Maddox questioned as his old friend sat down across from him at a table in the corner.

Anthony was Justin’s best friend, had been since they were kids. He was a duke as well, Duke of Hastings to be exact, and had the same interests in the English government as did Justin. His past six months had been spent on this island, trying to scrounge up whatever information he could. Unfortunately, he seemed to be having the same luck as his friend.

“Not too bad,” the pirate captain responded as he ordered himself a tankard of ale, “How’s this old island treating you.”

“Eh, I’ve seen better days,” his friend replied, frowning, “I’ll just be glad when this is all over and I can get back home.”

“Elizabeth still waiting for you?” Justin questioned, referring to his friend’s fiancée.

“Yes, I don’t know how much longer she’s going to put up with me being gone all the time. I’m afraid that she’d going to up and leave me one of these days,” Anthony confessed as he took a swig of his ale.

“You know as well as I that broken engagements cause scandals in society’s circles,” Justin admonished, thanking the barmaid for the tankard, “Besides, you two are so sickeningly in love that there is no way you aren’t going to get married and end up with twelve children.”

“I’m glad you have so much confidence,” Anthony replied, grinning wickedly, “What about you my friend? Have you found any appealing lady friends yet?” Justin groaned.

“I’ve been in and out of London the past year and a half that I haven’t any time for women at all,” Justin stated, crossing his arms over his chest as he spoke, “Besides, you know that the kind of woman I want doesn’t exist.”

“Maybe you should lower your standards a bit,” Anthony said, shrugging his shoulders.

“I don’t want a wife that is afraid of me,” Justin replied with a sigh, “You know how I am. I need somebody who can meet me head on and not back down. Hell, I’d take a woman with even half a brain above those soft-spoken debutantes that my mother insists on throwing at me.”

“A woman like that doesn’t exist, trust me,” Anthony told his friend, “But enough of this, we need to get down to business. What happened that you needed to stop in Port Chamblay and seek me out?”

“Well, we just raided another shipping vessel on it’s way out of London,” Justin began as he leaned closer to his friend so he was able to lower his voice, “You’ll never believe what I found onboard.”

“I don’t know, the queen of France,” Anthony sarcastically said. Justin rolled his eyes.

“No, the Wickham emeralds,” Justin said. Anthony’s eyes widened in surprise at this new bit of information.

“The Wickham emeralds? Why on earth would they be on a ship out of London? And who managed to get their hands on them anyway? Aren’t they supposed to be locked up in a safe that only the family members know the combination to?” Anthony prattled.

“That’s what I’d like to know,” Justin responded, “I know the Wickham’s as well as you do. They would never turn their backs on England, never. Their family has been there for decades.”

“I agree,” Anthony said, running a hand through his blond hair, “But who do you think was able to get to the safe and steal the jewels. It’s a known fact that nobody but the family knows where the safe is, and even at that, only a select few of them know the combination.”

“I know. It just doesn’t add up,” Justin agreed.

He glanced distractedly around the pub, trying to think of a reason behind the stealing of the emeralds. He was surprised to see Jackson walk in with Kip trailing behind. The two of them immediately came to the table.

“Jackson, you remember Anthony,” Justin said, reintroducing the two friends, “And Anthony, this is my new cabin boy, Kip. Kip, this is my best friend Anthony.”

“Nice to meet you Kip,” Anthony said as he shook the lad’s hand. For some reason, the face looked familiar to him, but he couldn’t quite place it. There was something about those expressive green eyes that didn’t quite fit on the lad’s face. But what did he know?

“Same here,” Kalinna responded as she shook the gentleman’s hand. He was a well-muscled blond-haired man with sharp green eyes.

“I just have a message to drop off for you and then the two ‘o us will be off,” Jackson’s deep voice rumbled as he pulled a rolled up parchment from his vest pocket.

“Thanks Jackson,” Justin said as he took the offered object.

“No problem captain. Well, we’ll be on our way now. Kip here has his heart set on seeing everything this island has to offer,” Jackson explained.

“Trust me, you’ll get bored fast,” Anthony commented, his eyes twinkling with laughter, “We pirates know only a few things; plundering, women, drinking, and fine goods.”

“I’m sure I’ll be highly entertained for at least another hour or two. Especially after coming from all the boring trappings of London,” Kalinna quipped, a little nervous under the man’s scrutiny.

“Well, after London, this place does seem to be quite interesting,” Anthony agreed as Justin silently read over the parchment, “Enjoy yourself lad, the first time here is always the best.”

“See you later captain, Anthony,” Jackson suddenly said as he ushered Kip out of the pub. Anthony stared after them, still curious about the lad.

“Good lord, looks like we’ve finally got some good news,” Justin suddenly stated as he looked up; he was surprised to see Jackson and Kip nowhere in site, “Where’d Kip and Jackson go?”

“They left to go find some fun,” Anthony explained, then leaned forward, “But what’s this you say about good news?”

“Apparently there was a Frenchman that came through here not two days ago,” Justin began, “One of the pirates managed to pick his pockets and this letter was in it. It’s detailing a shipment of gold coming in from France in exchange for arms from England.”

“Good lord…” Anthony said and the two immediately lapsed into a discussion about what this could mean for them and the English government.

Kalinna quickly followed after the ever-quiet Jackson, who was leading her down row after row of fine goods for sale. But her mind wasn’t really on the beautiful things on display. No, they were back on that man, Anthony, back in the pub with Justin.

She knew him. She could swear by that fact. But she couldn’t recall ever meeting a man by the name of Anthony who was a pirate. Of course, she’d never met any pirate before she became Justin’s cabin boy two weeks ago.

She quickly thought back in her memory, certain she had seen this man’s face before. All of a sudden, it dawned on her. Anthony Maddox, Duke of Hastings. Her friend from finishing school, Elizabeth Fairlane, was engaged to this man; this man who was dressed as a pirate?

What on earth was going on here? Why was this duke on a pirating island when he was supposed to be home getting married to one of her friends? There had to be something going on that nobody was telling her, and she was utterly convinced that that something lay in the hands of Captain Justin Timberlake.

Then again, who was Justin Timberlake? Was he actually a pirate, or was he in disguise as well? But why would he have to be in disguise to begin with? And why did she have the nagging feeling that her father had something to do with all of this?

It was all too complicated and she didn’t want to think about it anymore. Instead, she turned her attention to the cart of goods in front of her. Jackson had disappeared somewhere ahead, but she knew her way back to the ship, so she wasn’t afraid.

“Beautiful shawls for sale,” a vendor suddenly squawked near her ear. She glanced up and her breath caught in her throat as she looked over the beautiful items. She longed to buy one for herself, she even had the money, but nobody in their right mind would believe her if she said she bought it for a lady friend.

Then again, who cared? She was free to live life the way she wanted, even if that meant she got questioning stares from others. It was none of their business how she spent her money.

She quickly purchased a beautiful green silk shawl, and after she paid and the vendor had folded it nicely for her, she carefully placed it into the inner pocket of her coat. No sense in having to explain things to Jackson when she didn’t have to.

Then again, the large man was nowhere in sight, so she didn’t have anything to worry about. She continued on by herself, enjoying the loud, foreign atmosphere. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for her and she was going to live it to the fullest.

Finally, she came to a ring where two pirates were sword fighting. It appeared to be a contest and Kalinna itched to try her hand in the ring. But she knew that she wasn’t supposed to; she wasn’t even supposed to be by herself right now. Well, that didn’t mean she couldn’t watch.

“That’s the end of the match. Do we have anybody willing to challenge the undefeated Marcus Black?” the announcer yelled above the din of the crowd; his eyes landed on Kalinna and she wanted to bolt, “What about you laddy? You got a nice looking sword there, how about giving it a try.”

“No…” she started to say before somebody picked her up and placed her into the ring. Her face drained of blood as she glanced at the big man standing in front of her, leering at her small frame.

“Let’s see what ya got, eh?” the man known as Marcus Black said as he advanced on her, sword drawn. There was no place for her to go as the crowd had drawn a tight circle about them.

Kalinna had no choice but to draw her sword. She couldn’t very well stand there and let the man have his way with her. Besides, she was never one to back down from a fight when placed in the position. She just hoped that her skills were well enough to compete with this undefeated champion.

Marcus Black was the first to strike, lashing out strongly. She met the blow head-on, ignoring the pain that seared down her arms. She twisted out of the way and struck out, only to be met by the hard steel of the man’s sword. He was quite good, she grudgingly had to admit. Her best opponent so far.

The two of them went back and forth. Marcus used both hands, one to swipe with his sword, the other to lash out punches with. It took all of Kalinna’s concentration to stay out of the way. She dipped and ducked, rolled and squatted. But she valiantly fought back, not wanting to give up easily.

She could beat the man, she was convinced of it. She just had to tire him out a little more so she could take his legs out from underneath him. it was the best way she knew how to disarm a man so much bigger than her.

Just as she was about to do the deed, a sharp, cold voice rang out through the air, startling her concentration. The next thing she knew, she was flat on her back, her jaw aching from a punch that had met it’s mark this time.

“Kip Davenport, what the hell are you doing?” Justin yelled as he shoved his way through the crowd, “You shouldn’t be in there, you could be killed. Come out right now!”

Kalinna felt the fury build up in her soul. How dare he tell her what to do! He was not her father and had no say over her actions. Just because he had been a pirate longer than her didn’t mean she couldn’t hold her own. And she would have finished the man off if he had not interfered.

Completely angry, she rolled to her right and hopped to her feet. She took a few quick swipes at Marcus before laying him flat on his back. His sword flew into the air and in one swift movement, she twirled and caught it, pointing both dangerous weapons at her opponents throat. He looked at her with surprise and a new respect shining in his eyes.

“I believe we have a new champion,” the announcer cried as Kalinna bent down to help her opponent up to his feet and handed him his weapon back.

“You fight good kid. I ain’t never seen better swordsmanship in me life,” Marcus grudgingly stated. He held out his hand in a friendly gesture.

“You are the most worthy opponent I’ve had thus far,” Kalinna responded as she gave the man’s hand a firm shake; he smiled at her.

“Many thanks for the compliment,” Marcus said, then pointed towards the crowd, “I believe your captain be needin’ ya lad. Me hopes to see ya around again sometime.”

With that, Marcus Black walked off, leaving Kalinna standing alone in the ring. She could feel Justin’s cold glare digging into her back and she didn’t want to turn around. But she had to face the music.

She walked towards him, her shoulders back and her head held high. She wasn’t going to show him how scared of him she actually was. She kept her pride as he practically dragged her back to the ship.

But she knew in her heart that this could not turn out well.