Of course Baba would make her sail on Restless Soul, the ship he named after her, Annie thought as she walked up the gangplank slowly, Ahmet's hand still gripping hers tightly.

Restless Soul was a pet name given to her by Barbarossa, whose all seeing eyes did not miss the melancholy shrouding his adoptive daughter. Annie was certain that he knew that she would never completely settle in this part of the world. She regretted it, perceiving how it made him feel sad, and yet she could do nothing to completely conceal her desire to return to Europe, closer to the land where she was born and where a few members of her real family still lived, hopefully...

She shook her head, resolved to banish these thoughts. The young woman knew that her behaviour was the main reason why Barbarossa was sending her away now, but there were other reasons too. The place where he was obliged to go this time, following the Sultan who had to fly from Antalya, was even more dangerous than the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. He believed the board of Restless Soul, a ship which did not figure openly as one of those belonging to his fleet, to be the safest place for her at the moment.

The decision to let her go had been as hard for her adoptive father to make, as it had been for Annie to accept... She didn't want to make it even more difficult for him now by showing him her sadness caused by their imminent separation.

Luckily her eyes rested on the galleon's figurehead just then, and the sight made her smile as always. The old craftsman who had carved it, had rendered her likeness perfectly...

Annie looked up when she felt someone watching her, and her breath hitched. The young man smiling at her from the deck was... very handsome, to say the least.

She smiled back shyly, then cast her eyes down, a fast spreading blush flooding her pale cheeks even as the fingers of her free hand flew to the side of her face... to adjust the veil she wasn't wearing.

The young woman sighed, unhappy with herself. She kept forgetting that she was dressed as a man. She needed to act accordingly.

Annie felt Barbarossa's hand squeezing her shoulder encouragingly as she reached the end of the gangplank and accepted the young man's hand, helping her to step on board.

"Hizir!" Captain Francis called, pulling her baba in a friendly embrace the moment he set his feet on board too.

She remembered the English sailor; it had been several years since she saw him last but he had not changed much.

While the two men exchanged greetings, her eyes followed Zehra and Jos. They, after a quick goodbye to Barbarossa vanished from sight, apparently banished by the cold, strict gaze of the tall dark man standing behind the captain. Annie did not like the long healed saber cut on his cheek, but she liked his deep scowl even less...

Barely suppressing a shudder she let her eyes fall to the young man standing at captain's side, now looking excitedly at Barbarossa. She smiled, her baba had such an effect on both men and women who saw him for the first time.

Perceiving her look instantly, the man turned back towards her, a wide, friendly smile flooding his face and making his dark blue irises shine like the sea under the moonlight. The thick layer of kohl under his eyes matching the kerchief he wore around his neck, instead of over his windswept dark curls, made him look even more... interesting. It also reminded her that she would have to reapply hers before they would set sail, the thin lines she was wearing at the moment would hardly protect her eyes from sun glare.

"I'm Giacomo," the man said, disturbing her train of thought. "The ship's surgeon."

"I'm Jack." She said, even as the captain spoke to her.

"Jack, the last time I saw you, you were no older than this little rascal," he said, ruffling Ahmet's already tousled hair, "and look at you now..."

The playful tone of his voice and the matching sparkle in his brown eyes told her that it wasn't a little boy, but a little black-haired girl sailing on board another ship with him and Barbarossa, whom he recalled. It had been a long time ago, before her adoptive father decided that she reached that age when it was more prudent to leave her on dry land, to study and learn to be a woman, rather than a pirate.

Annie smiled at him; she always liked Francis. And he was the only man except Barbarossa who had known her real father.

"You already spoke to Giacomo," the captain continued, "and this is Antonio, the quartermaster, my right hand."

The tall man bowed to Annie but did not smile, so she only nodded to him. He... did not like her, she could feel it.

"What shall we do with you, young man?" The captain turned to Ahmet, switching from English to Arabic.

The boy did not reply however, he simply squeezed Annie's hand tighter and stepped behind her. From the frightened looks he was casting towards Antonio, she knew that he could feel the quartermaster's animosity too. The man wasn't thrilled by their presence on board...

"I thought... " Barbarossa started but Antonio interrupted him.

"We are short of powder monkeys, effendi, I believe the position will suit him well.

"That's what I was thinking, too," Barbarossa agreed, while the captain nodded his consent.

"Follow me, boy." The quartermaster ordered, then, as Ahmet would not move from Annie's side, reached for his arm.

"Wait, he... might be hurt." Annie said, reluctant to part from him. He was as new on this ship as she was. "He might need to be washed and fed properly..."

"Jack is right. I'll examine him. Would you come to my cabin? I don't think he'll follow me without you, moreover, we would not understand each other." Giacomo said.

"Of course." Annie agreed, flashing him a thankful smile.

"I'll leave you to it then, Jack. You... you know." Barbarossa said, pulling her in a quick embrace before he greeted the other men gathered on the deck. "I'll have to... lie low for a while," he told the captain, then with a swift but meaningful glance at Annie added, "but I hope to see you again at some point."

Then he was off, striding down the gangplank, facing the dry land with his back to the ship, the broad shoulders uncharacteristically sagged...

And as the ship exploded with a sudden loud, hectic activity as seamen exchanging looks and shouting orders appeared all around them, Annie took a deep breath, suppressed her tears bravely, and led Ahmet towards Giacomo's cabin.