Chapter One

Luna sat in the crow's nest of her ship, Cicatrix, peering into the thick, almost suffocating mist. She strained her eyes trying to catch a glimpse of the Flagship, The Pegasus, in hopes that she could get to work as soon as possible. She was getting a bit antsy; the oppressive silence combined with her complete lack of an attention span was nearly driving her insane. She had been waiting in Lasson harbour since dark, expecting her friend to arrive at any moment. She looked down the docks a few ships to see how Corokus was doing on his ship; The Scaerabek. The crew of his ship seemed almost as anxious as hers, all up on deck and jumping at the slightest sound.

"Why is he always late?" Luna asked herself, looking down at the harbour.

The first of the merchants were beginning to set up their booths now, waiting for their suppliers to come in with the morning's catch. Soon the whole harbor would be buzzing with activity, and it would be very difficult to get anything accomplished once it became too crowded.

She stared back into the mist, just as a dim light appeared in the distance.

"Is that him?" came a voice from below.

Luna looked down to see Rukala, her first mate, staring at the light.

"I dunno, it could be." Luna focused on the dark mass appearing around the light from out of the fog. The large beautifully carved white Pegasus figurehead seemed to materialize out of nowhere, its white wings spread wide over the surrounding seas. "Yeah, that's him… Tch, it's about time! Gather the crew."

She quickly climbed down onto the deck and waited for the crew to assemble.

"Hurry up mates. We have to rush a bit, 'cos princess pretty pirate showed up late." Luna announced sarcastically. The crew laughed and hooted, echoing Luna's affectionate nickname for Fennec several times before regaining their composure. "Alrighty, no big trouble today, just a simple re-stocking of supplies. Time is of the essence, we can't fall behind the other ships and we must be sure to get out of here before anyone notices that there are Three Winged Ships in the same harbour.

"Don't let your haste show, we don't want to look suspicious, just work at a purposeful pace." Luna strode back and forth in front of her crew. She, a young woman - not yet twenty, was the captain of quite a large ship. As far as anyone knew, she was the youngest captain in the world, and the only female. She paused for a moment, staring at the hilt of a crewman's sword. Drawing it from its sheath, she held it high for the rest of the crew to see. "Anyone with a weapon this size or larger; drop it, we'll be a dead giveaway if anyone sees us packin' steel like this!"

She grinned widely as every one of the crew's members dropped at least one weapon that fit the description. "Rukala, you'll stay and watch things on the ship." She picked two dozen of the leaner and less muscular crewmen and ordered; "You'll stay on board with Rukala, and make sure no one else comes above deck until we launch again."

She scanned the remaining men, drumming her hands on her stomach absently. "Koneh! There you are, you're always in the back there… You keep the crow's nest warm." she winked at the young man and tossed him a spyglass. "Holler if you see any trouble." She addressed the rest of the crew; "Everyone else, get to work! We'll fit everything into the hold."

She looked down at the stacked crates and sacks full of supplies, glad that Fennec was paying the bills, then caught sight of a dark-haired dark skinned Elf down in the harbor and her heart leapt. 'There he is!' she thought, trotting down the dock towards the Elf Prince quietly.

Sneaking up on an Elf in a quiet harbor proved difficult, but Luna was rewarded when she came up behind him and shouted "Deregen!" and watched him nearly jump out of his skin.

"Don't do that!" he cried, grabbing her under his arm and messing up her hair.

"I love watching you jump." Luna laughed and wriggled from his grip, straightening her hair out. "You're early."

"Of course I'm early, I'm always early." he chuckled. "I haven't seen you in a while, how've you been, kid?"

"Bored out of my wits, and horribly lonely, as usual." She smiled and looked over his shoulder at the man with bright red hair approaching them. "Hey Fennec, you're late!"

"I know, I'm sorry." He said, patting her roughly on the head and messing her hair up again as she punched him on the arm. "It's Puck's fault."

"Of course." Luna fixed her hair again. "What did he do this time?"

"He got himself into jail again. A few days ago he decided to go get into trouble for some reason, he went stealing things… I'm not sure what for, I asked, and he just said he needed things. I don't understand why he doesn't just buy them and save the trouble." Fennec sighed. "It took a while to find him and get him out of jail, then we missed some fair winds, got behind schedule near Arlen and had to get Sje to help us get here today."

"Stealing is far more fun than buying." Luna said, then looked out to sea hopefully. "Is Sje here?"

"She's out there somewhere, but she won't come this far in. She'll be around for the next few days, you'll see here when we get moving again." He turned to Deregen. "Were you able to get everything?"

"Nearly. The butcher amply made up for his lack of cows in chickens and pigs." He smiled at Luna as she made a disgusted face. "I knew you'd be pleased."

"Jerk." Luna kicked him in the shin crossly.

"Ouch, hey it's not my fault!" Deregen laughed. "Blame the farmers who raise chickens and pigs instead of cows, it's their fault."

"Oh well, at least the crew will be fed, I can always eat fish. They should be done packing in an hour or so." She glanced over toward her ship.

"Good." Deregen said, then shooed Fennec away. "I need to talk to Luna for a minute."

Fennec grinned. "If it's any evil plotting you'll have to include me eventually you know." he headed back to his ship.

"Puck's ready..." Deregen said, gesturing. "The princess should arrive sooner or later."

"Are we sure she's coming?" Luna glanced at Puck and grinned at him, showing a mouth full of white, but rather crooked teeth.

"Oh, she'll fall for it. She's been coming down nearly every day… Yesterday I went into the palace to pay her father a visit, and asked if I may have her company this morning." He said, smirking. "Those words exactly… I was very formal. She'll come out of curiosity, I'm sure."

"She'll be alone, right?" Luna laughed as Puck reciprocated with an offensive hand gesture.

"Lorron won't be with her, if that's what you mean. He's with King Gaius, discussing… things."

"Good. I just hope that we get everything loaded before she shows up."

"Too late." Deregen watched as Princess Amarys Lasson entered the harbor unaccompanied.

Luna glanced at her ship, seeing that her crew was working quickly, but was not yet finished. "I'll stall her." She grinned at Deregen and trotted after the princess.

"Excuse me," she said, just loud enough to be noticed.

Amarys turned slightly, unsure if she had heard what she thought she had. She was not much older than Luna, maybe two years, though Luna was taller by a couple of inches.

"Excuse me." Luna repeated, a little louder this time. "Miss, I think you've dropped your purse." She held out her own purse, thinking of what else she could do to distract the princess.

"N-no." she smiled, grabbing her own purse, which was hanging her belt. "Mine is here. Thank you, though."

"My mistake… forgive me." Luna bowed slightly. "Of course, this couldn't possibly belong to someone who dresses so elegantly."

"Oh, thank you." Amarys smiled at the complement, not really paying attention. Her dark blue eyes scanned the harbor distractedly.

Luna's mind raced, 'What to do… I need a lot more time…' "I'm not sure what to do with it, really…"

"Where did you find it?" asked the princess.

"Right over there." Luna lied, pointing to a random spot on the docks.

"There was nobody around?"

"Just you."

"I'm not sure what to say…" She looked thoughtful for a moment. "I hope you find the owner."

"Aye… do too." She nearly stuttered. "… I wonder what's inside."

"You haven't checked yet?" Amarys asked, paying attention now.

'Gotcha' Luna thought, casting an inconspicuous glance at her crew, who were nearly finished now. "Nope... I mean, I felt it, there's stuff inside, I just don't know what yet. Shall we check?"

"We should." Amarys smiled, looking closer.

Luna opened it and poured its contents into her hand.

"Looks like a child's wallet..." The Princess said.

Luna grumbled slightly. "What child carries four demis and sixty-two schulcks in their wallet?"

"Good point… A thief, maybe. What kind of adult carries buttons, shells, string, rocks, and little metal… what are those?"

"No idea." Luna lied, putting her lock picks back in the wallet.

"Milady Amarys!" Deregen approached them, waving. "I see you already have company… Have I come too late?"

"Prince Deregen! No, you're right on time. We were just wondering whose wallet this was." Amarys said, indicating to Luna's hands.

Deregen looked at her with a wicked grin on his face. "Why hello young miss, what might your name be?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Ah… Prince Deregen, I'm honored." Luna began, bowing. She looked back up at him blankly, as if he was the least familiar face she'd ever seen. "My name is Hala."

"Well, Hala, I hope you don't mind if I steal the Princess from you, we were going to out to sea today. Or perhaps you'd like to join us?" Deregen's smile widened a little.

Luna opened her eyes and looked at the Princess with forced surprise. "Princess? Oh my," she bowed again. "I'm sorry your highness, I didn't recognise you. I'm afraid, good Prince, that I can't join you today. I have help my mother…"

"Well, I suppose one pretty lady is enough for one day." The Elf's face twitched slightly as he tried not to laugh.

Luna's expression darkened slightly, but she bowed again before the Princess could see her grimace. "If you'll excuse me, your highnesses."

With that, she trotted off, pocketing her wallet and cursing.

"Shall we?" Deregen held out his arm.

Luna stood with Puck with hauling the crates to the ship, passing them down the line of crewmen.

"Did you have a nice chat?" Puck asked.

"Yes actually. She seems a decent sort… Not too bright, but decent. " Luna brushed her hair out of her face and smiled. "I had to improvise for time, but I think I did well."

"Luna the liar." Puck chuckled, passing a sack of grain to her. "You're very convincing when you want to be."

"I am, amn't I?" she laughed. "People believe me even when I'm being sarcastic."

She turned and glanced down the line, watching them pass on each crate and sack with relative ease. "Alright mates, nearly finished. Plans have been changed a bit, so we'll have to pick up the pace." She then looked over at Fennec's ship to see what he was up to.

"I think it's time, Puck. Fen's busy moving his supplies." She said.

"Alright. Get Dere's attention."

That night a great celebration was held aboard The Pegasus. All three of the ships finished their loading, departed from the harbor and met out at sea, then the crews of the smaller two ships, The Cicatrix and Scaerabek, boarded The Pegasus to meet up with old friends and exchange stories.

Luna boarded the ship cautiously, not wanting to run into Fennec or Coro just yet. She looked about her and slipped below decks, heading towards Puck's chambers.

She opened the door quietly and peered in at the empty room, she had the odd feeling that he was somewhere nearby, and was simply hiding as he sometimes did. Suddenly she felt arms wrap around her stomach and lift her off the ground.

"Hello, Luna." Said Puck in her ear.

She elbowed him, then turned and punched him in the stomach. "You should know better by now, Puck!" Her eyes met his and she could hardly keep from laughing.

"I missed you too, kid." He said grinning. "Wanna see what I caught?"

"Where is she?"

Puck took her by the hand and led her down one of the ship's long hallways, stopping in front of Fennec's room. She looked at him skeptically, but he nodded and gestured toward the door. She poked her head in, looked around the room, and saw the princess stand up from her seat in the corner and head for the door, just as Puck shoved her from behind and closed the door quickly.

"Hey! You big jerk!" She growled. Her comment was followed by a burst of maniacal laughter from the other side of the door.

"It's you again." Amarys said, looking rather frightened. "Did he kidnap you too?"

Luna turned and smiled reassuringly at the princess. "No, don't worry. I'll get us out. I can't believe he's hidden you in here for this long." She pulled a metal wire and a pair of small thin metal tongs out of her sleeve. "I guess this is the only room that locks from the outside... I'll never understand why Fen chose it as his."

"You still didn't find who belonged to that purse…" Amarys murmured. "Wait, you know him?"

"Aye. And this is my purse." Luna said, picking the lock expertly while trying to think of a way to describe her relationship with Puck. "I… work with him… And he's a very close friend of mine."

"Work?" Amarys eyed her suspiciously.

"I'm a pirate." Luna said bluntly, opening the door. "We were hired to kidnap you… And Puck's being silly and trying to hide you from Fennec, which won't work since it's too late to take you back anyways."

"Too late?" She sounded uneasy.

"Yeh, they'll be lookin' for you all over the land. We'd get caught for certain. Puck knows Fennec wouldn't risk that."

"Why did he shove you in here?"

"I have no idea, I guess he just felt like it. He's a strange one, that Puck." Luna chuckled and held her hand out Amarys. "I'm Luna, captain of the Cicatrix. Welcome aboard the Pegasus. I think it's well into dinner time, so we should get on to the dining hall before all the grub's gone."

She led Amarys quickly past numerous other chambers and stairways, turning down hallways and around corners for quite a distance before finally entering a large warm colored room which held the smell of countless dishes being prepared in the galley.

Amarys stopped there, gazing in wonder at the beautiful deep red carpet and richly embroidered drapes that decorated the capacious dining hall.

"Pretty, eh? It's all for show though, the windows are real tiny." Luna turned and shouted in the direction of the galley. "Oi, when's dinner ready?"

"Soon enough, Cap'n, we're moving as fast as we can."

Luna sighed and sat down on the floor next to Amarys. "I guess we'll just sit here and wait then, I've nothing else to do. Unless you want to go back to my ship and waste an hour… Or I could take you on a tour! That would waste time."

"Am I dreaming?" Amarys asked.

Luna looked up at her curiously. "No. Make yourself at home, relax, there's nothing you can do about being here."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing. Trust me." A loud bell clanged up on deck, summoning all three crews to dinner. Luna looked about her surprisedly, dinner would be earlier than she expected. "I guess we're first in line."

"Luna!" a muffled shout came from down the hallway.

Luna stood quickly but her stance suggested that she wasn't troubled by Fennec's infuriated tone of voice.

He stormed into the room scowling furiously and stopped directly in front of Luna. "You're in trouble." His eyes were two different colors, one a piercing cool blue, and the other a light hazel, neither matching his dark red hair.

Luna glared back, undaunted by the man she had beaten in every fight.

"Why did you take her?" Fennec gestured at the princess, who sat gaping at the pretty pirate in wonder.

'He doesn't know Puck did it…' Luna mused, then decided to cover for her partner in crime. "It was a mission, we were hired and given specific orders."

"And I wasn't informed? Why must everything be such a secret with you, Luna?"

"I knew you wouldn't be happy with it, that's why I didn't tell."

"Since when are we pirates for hire? I never thought I would have to speak with you about this, of all people. No, this sounds far more like one of Puck's schemes."

"Maybe it was." Said Puck as he entered the room, a smug expression on his face. "Actually, it was me, Deregen and Luna. We thought it might be a challenge, so we took the job. Boy were we ever wrong…"

Amarys looked slightly insulted at this statement, but held her tongue nonetheless.

"Yeah, it was way too easy." Agreed Deregen, following Puck. "I should have called the local patrol and had a nice chase like we had at the last raid, that was entertaining."

"We can't take her back. We'd be caught for certain." Luna persuaded.

"So we're being followed?" Fennec uttered, now beginning to lose his temper. "I can't believe you took the job! I feel as though I can't trust you three anymore, I would never have taken such an offer!"

"You would have taken this one." Luna muttered.

"No, kidnapping princesses is completely wrong! Nothing could have persuaded me to do this!"

"He could have. He knew that you wouldn't want to though, so he didn't let us tell you."

"He?" Amarys asked, somewhat alarmed.

"He?" Fennec echoed, watching Luna tensely. He had a feeling that he knew who Luna was talking about.

"Come, Fennec, and I shall explain. Some things can't be said in the present company." Said Deregen patting Fennec on the back. Fennec allowed himself to be led from the room, casting a backward glance at the princess.

"I'm sorry about all of this." He said honestly as he walked out.

Amarys stared at him, not sure whether she could trust any of her captors, though she would like to.

"He's being a bit severe about all of this." Puck muttered. "I knew he'd be mad, but not this mad… I wonder what's up." He said, and then noticed Luna twisting her ring around on her finger as a hint. "Oh, yeah. Heh."

She turned to the princess and smiled. Inside she was guilt-ridden, but she covered it well with a smile and a sarcastic statement. "He's just jealous because there's someone prettier than him here now. He's not used to competition."

Puck grinned. "He should be happy, really. I'll be back on the Cicatrix for a while so he won't have to deal with me so much. He's such a pessimist, I swear it."

"Which means I'll have to deal with you. Plus we have the Princess to entertain."

The first of the crew was appearing now, summoned by the dinner bell that had sounded moments before. Luna grinned at Amarys, winking. "I'll introduce you to a few people once we get our food."

"I'm not very hungry." Amarys lied.

"Sure you are. You're just saying that because you don't trust us. Don't worry about it, you're not a prisoner here."

"Not a prisoner?" Amarys was rather bewildered now. None of the day had made sense, and she didn't feel particularly comfortable asking too many questions.

"Nope. It's not as if you can go anywhere anyway. You could hide on one of the ships somewhere, I suppose, but we'd find you sooner or later." Luna forked several large chunks of beef onto her plate, and then moved down the serving tables. "You could jump into the water, but Sje would get you then."

Amarys looked at her miserably, not touching the food in front of her.

Luna hadn't really considered how hard it was for the princess to accept the fact that she couldn't leave. "Oh blast, I'm sorry. I sound a bit gloomy, don't I? I'm sorry about the whole kidnapping thing. You'll understand later, for now, I say we have some food and fun."

Her warm, light, sea blue eyes met Amarys', which were a dark sapphire color. She was not about to fully trust anyone on the ship, but she wasn't going to mope either. Nobody on the ship had shown any animosity, even Puck had been reasonably mild-mannered in the act of kidnapping.

"Food and fun it is, then." Amarys forced a smile, forking some chicken to her plate.