“Captain Jennings, nice to see you again!” The bar-maid piped up. Her smile seemed more genuine than it had been earlier in the day.

Upon hearing the name, some whispers passed through the room. A few of the patrons immediately slapped down doubloons for the tab and made for the exit, while others continued their patronage, with quieter voices and the occasional suspicious glare in Captain Jennings’ direction. 

By the time Captain Jennings had made her way to the table and the nearby bar, the bar-maid had slid a drink over to where the rogue had sat.

“Thank you, Bertha.” Captain Jennings smiled politely and tossed down doubloons of her own. She glanced at Elodie, Ventus, the blond, and the dark-haired girl. “And whatever this group is having, put it on my tab.”

“Of course, Liss.” Bertha smiled mischievously before attending to her other patrons. “It’s good to see you again, you know!”

“And you as well.” Captain Jennings lifted the bottle to her lips, and within seconds, had drained it, slamming it down on the bar. “Well, that was needed.”

She then looked to the blond youth and the wild-haired girl. “Mind cleaning up the mess you made, you two?”

“Right then, Captain.” He tipped his hat and as he passed, he winked at Elodie. Then he and the dark-haired girl picked up the body of the rogue. Each of them slung an arm over their shoulders and dragged him out to a back-door Elodie hadn’t even noticed was there. 

Before she could pay them any more mind, however, Captain Jennings slid into the seat across from Elodie at the table. 

“Well, you’ve given me a fair bit of trouble, haven’t you?” Captain Jennings smiled as if she didn’t really mind. “I can tell exactly who you are. You look just like she did, at that age.”

She then looked to Ventus and her expression dropped. “And you look just like him.”

Elodie frowned as she felt Ventus stiffen beside her, like a cat raising its hackles. “I know. I’m his bastard.”

“I’d heard the rumors.” Still, Captain Jennings looked troubled. 

“He helped me escape,” Elodie assured her, looking from him to Jennings. “I don’t know exactly what you’re talking about, but he did get me off the ship and helped me get here.”

“He’s also the Pirate King’s son.” Captain Jennings folded her arms over her chest. “The man who oversees the Black-Sail Fleet. He’s the one who’s looking for your mother and Vance’s treasure and will do anything to get it.”

“I was on my way out of his fleet anyway,” Ventus scoffed, leaning forward. “And I didn’t want anything to do with kidnapping an innocent girl. Hence, this. And I’ve lost far more for my part in this.”

He glanced to Elodie and his eyes softened. “I’d do it again.”

“I see.” Captain Jennings did not elaborate.

The back door rattled, and the blonde youth and the wild-hair girl returned.

“Took care of the mess, Mum.” The wild-haired girl turned toward Elodie, her green eyes bright with mischief and something else. There was a familiarity to her, but Elodie wasn’t sure of why. “So, you’re the one we’ve been looking for.”

“Not so loud, Jade.” Captain Jennings sighed and stood. “Bertha, is there any chance our usual room is available upstairs.”

“When isn’t it, Liss?” The bar-maid shot back jovially. 

“Thank you.” Captain Jennings looked to Elodie and Ventus. “Let’s go upstairs with this sorry lot and have a chat then?”

While she spoke it like it was a question, Elodie could recognize the command beneath. 

“Yes, let’s.” Elodie glanced back at Ventus. His expression was stoic as she was learning was the usual, but he nodded and squeezed her hand beneath the table. It was a quiet reassurance.

I’m by your side.

The upstairs of the One-Winged Parrot was completely different from the tavern floor downstairs. The hallway was much quieter, much cleaner, and it almost reminded Elodie of home. 

Captain Jennings opened the second door to the right, one that overlooked the back of the establishment and the rest of Libertalia. Elodie could not help herself from stopping at the window and marveling over the view. 

The gaudy blond stopped beside her and grinned. “Ah, Libertalia. I love to see her, too. I’ve been to many ports in my time, but somehow she’s still my favorite.”

He clapped a hand on her shoulder and nodded back to the table. “Join us, will you, my lady?”

It wasn’t like she had any other choice. Elodie said nothing, instead pressing her lips together as she took a seat next to Ventus at the round wooden table. The gaudy blond took that as invitation to take her other side. 

The wild-haired girl eschewed a chair at all, instead hopping up onto the table and using the chair to rest her boots, while Captain Jennings lingered in front of a painting of a ship, her back to the rest. 

“I had hoped that I would not have to step in, but when I heard about the attack on Port Augustine, I returned as soon as I could.” Captain Jennings spoke slowly and deliberately, her voice carrying the commanding calm that one would expect from an officer of the Albionese navy. “I am glad to see that you managed to escape the Black-Sail Fleet, and before Hawkins found you.” 

She turned around sharply to face the table. “I had hoped that I could do as your mother had asked and watch over you from afar. But I see that safety no longer lies in ignorance.”

“My mother—what did my mother ask?” Elodie’s heart leapt at the mention, a possible lead on where her mother had gone. “Did you know she was missing?”

“Aye.” Captain Jennings met her eyes with a cool, steely glare. “We met, not long after she left Port Augustine. She requested that I keep an eye on you, and she told me she was after Vance’s treasure.”

“So you know where she is then?” Perhaps all of Elodie’s problems were about to be solved after all!

“No, I’m sorry.” Captain Jennings’ eyes flicked down at her boots. “I have no idea where she is now. Nor did she feel that she could tell me anything about the treasure, or what she was going to do with it.” 

She approached the table and gripped the back rest of the last chair. “All that she felt fit to confide in me was that there was something about the treasure that was dangerous, and that Felix left it buried for a reason. But it was no longer safe where it was and Keira had to go looking for it. She said that you were not interested in the high seas and it was better for you to stay in Port Augustine where no one knew who your father was.”

“But I’ve been looking for you, I need your help to find her!” Elodie rose from her seat. “She’s breaking the terms of the parole, and if she doesn’t return in time for the debut party, Grandfather will know and put out a bounty for her head! Please, Captain, we have to find her, or they’ll kill her!”

Captain Jennings tilted her head, and Elodie realized that the older woman was looking at her with pity.

“Your mother could evade the Albionese navy for the rest of her life if she wanted to.” She spoke gently and softly, as if to a small child. “She didn’t stay because she couldn’t leave. I knew her—she doesn’t give a damn about her father’s gold.” 

Oh.

“You mean she stayed in that house all that time. . . for me?” 

Captain Jennings did not speak. She did not have to. The room fell into an uncomfortable silence. 

“Well. . . what happens now?”

“That’s up to you.” Captain Jennings folded her arms over her chest. “We can drop you back off at Port Augustine, and check on the condition of the estate. However, you risk this happening again, as the Pirate King of the Black-Sail Fleet is determined to get his hands on your father’s treasure.”

“Besides, they set Brighton Row on fire, I have no idea if there’s even a house to go back to.” Elodie’s voice was soft as she considered it for the first time. She could only hope that Rosemarine and the other servants would be alright. “But if me being there is dangerous—then maybe it’s not time to go back home yet.”

Captain Jennings nodded, as if she expected that answer. “We could also take you to your grandfather’s estate in the Emerald Isle or his household in Albion proper. I’m sure he wouldn’t begrudge you for what your mother chose to do. And given that would put you in the heart of the empire, there would be stronger protections for you.”

He probably wouldn’t. But it still felt like giving up, and like turning her mother in. 

“Is there anything else?” Elodie prompted.

“Well, it’s not necessarily my preferred option, but I am certain that it is what your mother probably would have wanted all along.” Captain Jennings inhaled sharply. “I could keep a much closer eye on you if you’re aboard my ship, at least until the treasure is found.”

“And we might be able to help your mam find it,” added the wild-haired girl. 

“I would ask you to contribute, to earn your keep,” Captain Jennings warned. “I don’t intend for you to do so on raids, just in day-to-day upkeep of the Albatross. I do still intend to return you to Port Augustine eventually.” 

Elodie folded her hands in front of her as she considered what the captain was saying. 

A part of her wanted to take the offer to go to her grandfather in Albion or the Emerald Isles, and live the life she’d always intended, as an upper-class lady, a merchant’s shining granddaughter. She’d get her debut in three months—albeit, in a completely different city than she’d hoped—and she could get married and have that life that had been expected and wished for ever since she was born. 

But she couldn’t help but be intrigued by Captain  Jennings’ offer. Over the past three months, staring out at the marina, she’d had a lot of time to think about her parents and their history as pirates. For most of her life, overshadowed by her father’s sentence and her mother’s parole, she’d had no desire to take to the seas and skies. Because to do so would mean forsaking the hopes and dreams of all around her.

And she did wanted a happy marriage and an ordinary life. 

But would she ever get that?

She remembered the fight that she and her mother had the night before she left.

“You really think they’re going to accept you?” Her mother scoffed as she leaned against the threshold of Elodie’s bedroom, arms crossed over her chest. “Bastard daughter of a bastard daughter? You might not carry your father’s name, storin, but I’m sad to say that they will never accept you because of it. Trust me, I’d know.”

Elodie had whirled around, her face hot. “Maybe they didn’t accept you because you never just played by the rules everyone asked you to! Did you ever think about that?”

Her mother’s expression darkened. “I did, actually. You think all these well-to-do rules and fanciness is going to protect you, but it doesn’t! They’re always going to whisper about you, they’re always going to find any reason to exclude you, and only the worst sort of men will marry you, the ones that are only in it for your grandfather’s gold!”

Elodie clenched fistfuls of her skirts and shut her eyes. She was a lady, so she was going to act like one. 

Unlike her mother, the former pirate queen. 

“If you’re not going to say anything helpful, then just go downstairs and drink another bottle of rum.” Her words came out bitter, cold, composed. Exactly as her etiquette teacher would have wanted. 

Her mother recoiled, but she did not run. Encouraged by her mother’s silence, Elodie continued with open eyes and a cruel slant to her voice. 

“Theodore Edgeworth is a gentleman, and he could give me the kind of life you’ve always wanted for me. Maybe it won’t be a love match, but maybe that’s too much to hope for.” 

“I never wanted this life for you.” Her mother averted her eyes. “If I’d truly had any say in it, I would have raised you on the sea and skies, where you belong.” 

When she looked back at Elodie, regret crept in. 

“But maybe it’s a good thing that you’re such a docile, kept lady.” Her mother could not keep the sneer from rising in her voice. “The gods know my life would’ve been easier if I could have been like that.”

Before Elodie could apologize, the words already on the tip of her tongue, her mother disappeared. 

It was better to let her mother cool down, Elodie had decided as she’d smoothed down her dress. Cooler heads would prevail with sense in the morning.

But the morning came and Keira Fleetwood was gone.