Antonio, a tall, slim man with a permanent scowl marring his hispanic features, watched the scene unfold from the main deck of Restless Soul.

Zehra... He disliked that woman thoroughly. Any woman on board of a ship meant ill luck for the vessel, but Zehra was worse than plain ill luck. She was loud and overbearing, as if being married to the galleon's boatswain gave her the right to command the crew. Moreover, they all loved her for it... If only he was the captain of this ship, he would put things to order in no time.

"What's going on?" Giacomo asked him, sounding a little out of breath after he ran up the gangplank swiftly, pausing next to Antonio to see what was going on in the harbour.

"You tell me, Giacomo, you have just come back. I did not leave the ship." Antonio told him seriously, his scowl deepening. "Where have you been the whole night?"

"Calm down, Antonio!" Giacomo called, raising his hands in the air in surrender. "The captain said that we could spend the night on land. I slept on the beach."

Their beloved captain... They all listened to him as if the Englishman was their God, but they all tended to forget that he, Antonio, was the quartermaster and thus he deserved their respect as well.

He shook his head and watched as the wooden boxes full of provisions and two large sea-chests, most likely belonging to the new sailing master, were hauled on board, before he let his eyes stroll to the small group of people approaching the galleon.

He recognized Barbarossa, of course, and forced his lips into a smile when he noticed the pirate looking in his direction while he laughed at something Jos had said. Zehra, of course, was at the boatswain's side, the two seemed to be tied together with some invisible string. He did not recognize the other two though, the short, slim man and the ragged boy who could not be more than ten...

In moments like these he greatly regretted joining this ship. There was neither order nor morals to speak of on board of Restless Soul, the crew was composed of people of too many different ages, nationalities and religions, causing chaos and confusion. If only he was the captain of this vessel...

The quartermaster shook his head again, forcing himself to banish these thoughts. He could not afford anyone to notice what was going on inside of him, not yet.

The captain joined them in that precise moment, putting his arms over Antonio's and Giacomo's shoulders from behind.

"Here they are. Our sailing master, and if my eyes don't deceive me, a powder monkey, too." The captain chuckled. "Leave it to Barbarossa to refill our crew..."

"You might need to let him grow a little before you make him join the other boys," Giacomo smiled, watching the small, malnourished child set his foot on the gangplank carefully.

"He will do perfectly, actually," Antonio said darkly, "the smaller they are... It's the sailing master who worries me. He looks too young to have any experience..."

"We all have to start somewhere, Antonio. I know from Barbarossa that young Jack is clever and well educated. He can read maps, Barbarossa taught him that personally. And he will pick up the rest from us. By the way, even though he looks like a boy, he's not much younger than you, Giacomo."

The surgeon nodded silently as he observed the young man who was looking towards the figurehead of the galleon-- a pretty, black-haired girl with turquoise eyes.

And as the new sailing master noticed Giacomo's scrutiny and turned towards him, their eyes meeting for the first time, he realised that the young man's irises were of the same colour as the figurehead's.

Giacomo smiled, and as the other man returned his smile immediately, he knew they would soon become friends, if Antonio liked it or not.

*I do not own the pictures.