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Sophia de' Carlini was bored. As she sat in her extravagant room in her family's villa, she looked out onto the veranda and saw a flock of seagulls flying past. She quickly headed out and watched the birds in flight. Oh, how she longed to be free like those birds. To be able to go wherever and do whatever she wished with no one to tell her no. The closest she would ever get was this glorious feeling of the sea breeze in her beautiful, long black hair.

Her jade eyes caught sight of a ship off in the distance. She promised herself that one day, she would use her family's money to buy a ship and set sail for somewhere new. But that day was far off. Today, she was to meet her arranged husband.

She hated that her parents actually expected her to be happy about this. They expected her to be happy that they had chosen whom she was to marry and she was to meet him a mere week before the actual ceremony (which was to be a huge spectacle, of course).

Sophia moved back inside, and spotted her pet parrot, Caesar. She had saved the poor thing when he had flow into her window and knocked himself out. She had had a rough time convincing her parents to let her keep him once he was healed. Her parents were very proper people, true to form for one of the richest noble families in all of Talia. She lamented her upbringing as the corset beneath her beautiful baby blue gown felt tighter and more constricting than usual.

She had always been rather rebellious and it seemed her parents wanted her to be rid of such tendencies and had been sending her to a therapist for weekly appointments for the past month. It had changed nothing; she still wanted a more adventurous life than what she had and she really did not want to marry a man she had never met. Still, he could turn out to be the man of her dreams.

Not bloody likely but she figured he at least deserved a chance to sweep her off her feet.

She started to regret this mindset when she arrived in the dining room, where her parents were waiting with her suitor and his own parents. To her dismay, Roberto was... a portly gentleman, to put it nicely... and a short, pig-like man to put it bluntly. Not only that, he looked twice her age. She forced herself to smile and courtesy before taking a seat between her parents and across from her husband-to-be.

Over the next hour or so, Sophia learned a number of things about her new family: Firstly, her future father-in-law was the mayor of the neighbouring town of Pazzi, under whom's jurisdiction the Carlini villa fell. This likely meant her parents had arranged this marriage to keep ties to Pazzi strong so the villa could remain mostly independent.

Secondly, at age thirty-four, Roberto was exactly twice her age. This did nothing to make his greasy black hair, handlebar moustache or sheer volume of mass any more enticing.

And finally, once the ceremony was finished, Sophia was to move to his home on the other side of the country. This left her conflicted. Moving so far away meant she would be unlikely to see her parents very often, if ever again. Yet, she resented her parents for arranging this situation purely for their own interests.

Sophia sat with her head down, trying not to cry. When the topic of conversation turned to her and everyone turned to face her, they finally noticed her tears. To her dismay, her father, Giovanni, declared they were 'tears of joy'. Unable to bear this any longer, Sophia stood and ran from the room, hand over her mouth to prevent herself from being sick.

* * *

Sophia managed to calm herself down by the time she reached her room. She sat by the dresser and stared blankly into Caesar's tiny, black eyes. She sometimes felt that Caesar was the only person in the whole world who truly understood her situation. The difference was that she would never force him into a life he had no desire for.

The bedroom door opened and her parents entered. Neither seemed particularly pleased as her mother, Caterina, locked the door behind them. Her father asked her why she had run off, angry not over how her actions made her look, but how it made them look. She simply continued to stare at her green bird, irritating her parents even more. After about the fifth time he asked the question, Giovanni stormed over and knocked the cage off the stand, sending it crashing to the floor.

Sophia quickly opened the door of the busted cage and held the bird in her hands. He seemed to be fine as he stared up at her, eyes full of understanding. Sophia's attention was ripped away from the bird as her father slapped her across the face, knocking her to the ground and the bird out of her hands. He demanded she answer his question but she remained silent. He raised his hand again and she braced herself for the next blow.

What came next, however, was not a harsh stinging sensation across her cheek, but a pained yelp, followed by screaming and shrieking. She looked up to see her father clutching his bleeding nose as Caesar flew in circles around him, occasionally going in for another strike. He father fought back, swiping wildly at Caesar, just barely grazing his wing.

To Sophia's horror, Caesar flew straight out the open window and into the night sky. Giovanni fled the room in a blind rage, demanding that his guards kill 'that wretched beast', while her mother stared at her a moment with an icy look of pure disdain that Sophia had never seen before. Her mother left the room after her husband, leaving Sophia alone, crying as she lay next to the empty, broken cage.

* * *

Sophia lay on her bed for the rest of the night. Her door was locked and her parents had not returned since earlier. She had suspected as much since around her fifteenth birthday but now she was absolutely convinced: her parents viewed her as a commodity instead of a daughter. This revelation made the tears come back, more fiercely than before.

At around midnight, there was a quiet knocking on the door. "Miss Sophia?" came a voice Sophia would recognise anywhere. She stood and slowly approached the door.

"Are you alone?"

"Yes, Miss. The master and mistress have gone to bed already."

Sophia opened the door to Cristina Fedele, one of the maids who, as the daughter of one of the former servants, had worked at the villa since she was in her early teens. She was a dainty young woman at twenty-three years of age. Her brown hair was kept in a bun and her eyes were a lovely shade of blue. She was also Sophia's closest - no, only - friend. She was nothing like those harlots that claimed to be her friends to gain her favour; Cristina was kind and beautiful and, right now, she was the only person Sophia could trust.

Sophia quickly ushered her friend inside and locked the door again. "I have never seen your parents so cross, Miss Sophia," Cristina explained.

"Good," Sophia huffed. "They can burn in the inferno for all I care!"

"My lady, surely you jest."

"I have never been more serious, Cristina. They care nothing for me or my wants. I am a mere commodity to them. An object to be traded to further their own agendas. Well, no longer!"

"What are you planning to do, Miss? I overheard the master saying he would lock you in this room until your wedding."

"Then he will find this room as empty as his heart. You are the only one I can trust. Will you help me one last time, sorella mio?"

Touched by her lady's words, Cristina nodded and bowed. "Of course, Miss Sophia. What do you require of me?"

"Do you see that ship in the harbour?"

"The one the master purchased last week?"

"Si. But stop calling him that. He is your master no longer. He is merely Giovanni de' Carlini, a despicable old man whom deserves none of the respect and loyalty you have shown him over the years."

Sophia took Cristina's hand in hers and the maid replied, "As you wish, Miss Sophia."

"Bene. We will gather some of the servants and commandeer it, then set sail to... anywhere we wish."

"But the master will surely give chase."

"Then we will sink his ship. I will not stay here."

"In that case, help me tie these bed sheets together."

Sophia did as asked and the two were soon holding a long, rope-like line of bed sheets. They tied one end to the bedpost and threw the other out the window. Much to their delight, it reached roughly one metre above the ground below. Sophia removed her high heels and climbed down first before waiting for Cristina to make her own way down.

Sophia was about to head off before Cristina stopped her. She yanked on the bed sheets and the whole line came tumbling out the window, onto the ground around them. "One of my special knots," she said with a smile. They quickly dumped the sheets in the nearby rose bushes and went to gather some supporters.

* * *

It was no big secret that the servants were not treated well by Sophia's parents. As such, most of them jumped at the chance to flee this hell. Luckily, a number of them had been on Giovanni's ships before and knew how to sail them. They now had sufficient numbers to set sail for a new life.

Before they headed out, Sophia asked for some new clothes, wishing to discard the dress her mother had picked out for her. The eldest of the servants and Sophia’s one time nanny, Claudia Terrena, took a few of the other female servants and rushed to get some spare clothes while Sophia had Cristina help her remove the dress. There were stares and gawks from the men present (and some of the women) but she cared little about that. Once the dress was off, exposing her garters and underwear, she had Cristina remove the corset.

The corset fell to the floor soon after and Sophia had never felt so liberated. She took a deep breath, the air of the servants' quarters smelling almost... homely. Certainly moreso than her own bedroom did. Her stockings hit the floor just as the women returned with a ragged brown dress that they seemed concerned she would be displeased with. Smiling warmly, she took the dress and hugged it tight. She thanked them from the bottom of her heart and put it on. They had no spare shoes for her but she turned down any offers the servants made to give her theirs. She was fine with going barefoot for now. Besides, it felt quite nice to do something so improper after so many years.

Now more fittingly dressed and with her twenty-three-strong crew in tow, Sophia headed down to the docks, where some of the male servants beat the guards over their heads with trays and brooms until they were unconscious. They quickly boarded the ship and the moustachioed head butler Enzo took command, having the most sailing experience. The sails were soon set and they were off on their adventure.

"Look, Miss Sophia," called Cristina, pointing upwards. Quickly descending from the crow's nest was a familiar green bird.

"Caesar!" Sophia cried joyfully. She hugged the bird as he perched himself on her arm. She kissed him on the head and Cristina smiled at her. She spared a glance back at the villa as it shrank into the distance. She had done it. She had escaped from her parents' oppressive rule and was all set to start her new life with her two best friends and a group of helpful servants.

But it was not to last.

* * *

As the sun rose on the horizon, shining light through the cabin windows, Sophia stirred. She took a moment to realise where she was and a smile spread across her lips as she remembered. She heard murmuring and looked down. Lying in the bed next to her was Cristina. Sophia looked down at the young woman and reminisced over their younger days. Sophia had been allowed to sleep in the same bed as Cristina when she was a child but that had stopped once Sophia became ten as she was expected to grow out of such childishness. All mandated by her parents, of course. She giggled at the thought that she no longer had to obey her parents and could sleep with Cristina whenever she wanted.

Sleep with her? Now, there was an interesting thought. Sophia had never thought of such a thing before but, somehow, staring down at Cristina's sleeping face, watching her slowly breathe and stroking her beautiful, brown hair, Sophia felt a strange sensation welling up inside her. She did not know what this feeling was but it was nice. Here was the person who cared for her more than anyone else in the world and she, in turn, cared for Cristina more than anyone else. She found herself slowly leaning in, her face inching closer to Cristina sleeping form. Closer... Closer...

The ship suddenly rocked and Sophia had to put her hands down on the bed at either side of Cristina to balance herself. The turbulence also awoke Cristina, who blushed as she stared into the eyes of her mistress, only a few inches away. Sophia grinned at her maid's reaction and moved away to let her sit up. The covers slid off Cristina's slender frame, revealing that she had slept in naught but her underwear. Seeming somewhat embarrassed, she covered her breasts with her arms and looked around until she saw her discarded nightgown on the floor beside the bed.

She quickly picked it up and put it back on. Once she was dressed, Cristina turned back and sheepishly faced Sophia, who placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her head knowingly as if to say 'I understand.' Cristina smiled and nodded appreciatively, before hugging Sophia tightly in thanks. It was only now that Sophia noticed the smell emanating off of her maid's body. It was a pleasant, nostalgic sensation, bringing memories of her childhood to the forefront. She bathed in this sensation a while before Cristina broke off the hug and left to help the other servants with the cooking.

As she sat alone in the cabin, Sophia's mind ran wild. She had no idea what these feelings she had truly meant but she was hesitant to ask Cristina about it. She would do something about it later. For now, Sophia changed into her new dress and headed up on deck.

* * *

The smell of the ocean air was wonderful. Sophia looked out over the ocean and marvelled at the gorgeous sun rising on the horizon as its light sparkled in the clear, blue water. Wishing to see more, she quickly ascended the crow's nest, much to the shock and amusement of her crew. She was pleasantly surprised to find Caesar waiting for her and she let him rest on her shoulder as she took in the view.

Her usual fear of heights was completely washed away as she saw just how wide and vast the ocean was, her homeland now a distant memory and no land could be seen for miles and miles. Seagulls flew by in a large flock that blotted out the sun for a few moments. She even saw a trio of dolphins rise and fall in perfect rhythm as they swam alongside the ship. Sophia was in awe.

She eventually climbed down at Cristina's behest as breakfast had been prepared below deck. It seemed that her father had had the ship well stocked with all kinds of luxurious foods, kinds that many of the servants had likely never even seen before. She said grace and was about to tuck in when she noticed that nobody else was eating. Indeed, it seemed they were all anxiously awaiting her reaction to the food.

Feeling slightly nervous now, she took a bite of the steak that had been painstakingly prepared just for her and smiled as the rich, succulent juices gushed out of the perfectly cooked meat. Sophia had eaten many steaks in her lifetime but she would recognise this particular recipe anywhere. She smiled at Claudia and Cristina, who looked away sheepishly as she had done in the cabin. Sophia told the other servants that they were free to partake and their overjoyed reactions warmed Sophia's heart.

* * *

Sophia spent much of the following three days getting to know her crew. She was spending some time playing with the children of the housekeepers up on deck when she was alerted to a landmass ahead of them. She asked one of the deckhands and he told her the land mass was the nation of Albion. Sophia had heard many stories of Albion during her childhood. Stories of chivalry, of brave knights and magical swords. She had long hoped to have the opportunity to travel to such a nation.

The crew agreed to dock there and Sophia was ecstatic. She positively leapt onto the dock once the ship came to a stop. She headed into the small port town with a group of five servants, including Cristina, while others went off in their own groups to purchase supplies and the like. Sophia wandered through the streets of what seemed to be the slums, since the streets were filled with beggars and people in rags. She felt terrible as everywhere she turned, there were yet more people begging for food or money.

She wished she could help these people but she knew that her crew had enough food and money for themselves for a few weeks at the most before they ran out. As she thought about this, something occurred to her: just what was she going to do once their supplies ran dry? She supposed they could offer their services for a fee but there were surely none in these slums that could afford them. And what services could they even offer? Acting as servants again?

She consulted Cristina, who agreed it was not an idea she much enjoyed but it may be their only option. At least for now. She suggested they head into the next district to get a feel for potential clientele.

The difference between the two districts was staggering. The first, evidently the poor district, was decadent, full of beggars and had a very unappealing stench. This one, on the other hand, was well kept, very clean, full of people in lavish clothing and the stench of the other district was masked by possibly worse smelling perfumes. It was as if Sophia had stepped into another dimension after passing through the dividing archway.

She was lucky the servants at the villa wore clothing a little more elegant than the average servant or her group would have looked horribly out of place. They spent the day approaching a number of potential clients and, while they all looked different and their lifestyles varied, one thing remained constant: the lot of them were snobbish and disdainful of the poor. Immensely disgusted by this outlook, Sophia stormed off back to the ship, Cristina following close behind.

* * *

The servants returned to the ship in the evening, announcing that they had managed to acquire a few clients. Sophia was not happy with this news. "Those snobbish fiends do not deserve your services!" she protested. "You are better than that!"

"What would you propose we do then?" asked Enzo. "Our supplies are limited and as lifelong servants, there are very few legal options open to us."

Sophia looked out over the docks and, even in the twilight of dusk, she could see dozens upon dozens of beggars. Her heart wept for these helpless people. She wished there was some way to help them but alas, she could think of nothing. When she remained quiet, the servants dispersed to prepare for their new occupation.

Sophia looked out over the ocean and sighed. If only there was some way to make life better for everyone... Caesar perched himself on her shoulder, allowing himself to be stroked by her. Off in the distance, Sophia could see a ship that bore a strong resemblance to the pirate ships in the stories Claudia would read to her when she was younger. Caesar squawked on her shoulder and Sophia had a brilliant idea.

"What if we were to simple take it?" she asked aloud without truly thinking about it.

"Excuse me? Steal it?"

"Si. Those people wallow in their undeserved fortune and luxury while the poor are forced into lives of squalor. What if we were to take from the rich and distribute amongst the poor, whilst keeping a portion for ourselves to fund our crusade?"

"Miss Sophia, please think clearly,” implored Cristina. “Stealing is illegal and immoral."

"Yet those in power are not committing immoral acts by not sharing their wealth with their fellow man? Were you not looked down upon by my parents and their rich friends due to you upbringing? Were you not glad to finally be free from their oppression? Yet now you are content to simply go back into servitude, only under new masters. Where is your sense of justice? Your sense of adventure? You are free to leave and return to your birdcages but I will not stand for this injustice. I will help these people. Alone if need be."

The crew was silent. Sophia had put up a confident front but, in truth, she was worried that the crew would disagree with her plan and leave her to her crusade alone. She waited on bated breath for their inevitable negative response.

"You... are correct, Miss," said Enzo. "Long have I dreamed of freedom from the oppression of the rich and it would be a shame to let our new freedom go so soon." Sophia was elated at the head butler's reaction. "However... I must know, how does the young miss intend to go about this? We were raised to serve, not to steal."

"We can do both," said Claudia.

"Both?" replied Enzo. Even Sophia looked on quizzically, unsure of what the older woman had in mind.

"Yes, both. We simply accept our jobs as servants to learn more of our hosts and their homes, including where their valuables and treasures are stored. As we do this, the lady and a few others may prepare the ship to flee... and to fight if need be. Once the ship is ready and we have our information, we may begin the... 'redistribution' as the young miss put it, until we are found out. We then flee to another port and hope our actions have made an impact for the people of this city."

Sophia, and evidently the rest of the crew, was amazed at how quickly Claudia had formulated such a plan. She responded to her mistress' reaction with, "I am aware that certain members of our crew have already performed such acts at your family's villa over the years. It would seem your family is too rich to notice such... subtle changes to their treasury."

Some of the servants seemed uneasy about this revelation and of the consequences thereof. However, their mistress simply laughed out loud. "So true. If that is the case, we are more ready than we thought. Still, if any of you do not wish to take part, you may leave and serve a new master faithfully and we will avoid your new home in our endeavours. What say you?"

The result was unanimous: they would follow Captain Sophia's crusade to better the lives of their fellow men.

* * *

It was roughly a week later when they were ready to make their move. Sophia was deeply thankful for the help she was given to help her achieve her goal. From the servants, who risked much by exploring where they were not meant to, who reported back dutifully each evening on their findings to their captain; to those that helped their captain produce a list of items that were not too risky to steal but were still worth enough money to make the risk worthwhile; to those on the ship, helping make sure the ship was seaworthy and ready to flee and fight when and if the need arose.

The issue of how the goods distributed would not be found by the guards too quickly was simply resolved: this was a rather large merchant port; many, many merchant ships came in and out of the port daily, bringing luxurious goods for trade and, more importantly, leaving with them. So long as the people offloaded the treasures with these merchants, they could be off away from the guards' notice within a day.

The first few days went smoothly: a good number of smaller treasures were taken, mostly during the servants' off hours so as to avoid suspicion for as long as possible, and sorted before redistribution amongst the populace. Each beggar was given explicit instructions to not tell anyone of their treasures and to ask the merchants to not spread the word of the riches too much.

A few of the merchants caught on the scheme but remained quiet, knowing this place as a positive goldmine of rare treasures to be bought relatively cheaply from the thankful peasants and sold off at much greater value to rich nobles in other lands.

Sophia was proud of the work she and her crew had done, and Cristina and Claudia were proud of the fine young woman their mistress had grown to become, so unlike her rotten mother. Cristina wished to assist her mistress even more in her virtuous goal. As such, she took a more active role in the operation, distributing the money and speaking with merchants herself. Sophia was a little upset that she could not spend as much time with the maid, feeling strange emotions she could neither explain nor understand. All she knew was that she longed for the woman's presence and no matter how hard she tried, she could not get Cristina out of her head.

The first major road block came when the city guard began to grow suspicious of a large ship that had remained docked for a full two weeks with no clear evidence of them setting up any kind of merchant stall or performing any other business. A group of about seven guards, rifles in hand, approached the ship and demanded to see the captain. Not wanting the guard to know anything of Sophia or their true business, Enzo took it upon himself to act as captain and try to deflect suspicion.

"Salute, Signori. I am the captain of this vessel. How may I be of assistance?" Luckily, Enzo had been taught the Albion language from a young age to serve as a translator for his master if the need arose. It seemed he was destined to use these skills to serve, albeit to the young mistress instead.

Despite Enzo's politeness, the guard captain was anything but. "What is your business in this port, stranger? You’ve been here for two weeks now, yet you seem to rarely ever leave your ship."

Thinking quickly, Enzo devised what he hoped was a convincing cover story. "My crew and I are a group of travelling servants. We offer our services to the wealthy for a fee."

"And is this a common thing where you're from? Travelling servants in a high class ship such as this?"

"No, Signore. I believe we are the first our kind."

"I don't suppose you'd have a problem with us taking a look around your ship, would you?"

"Not at all, Signore. Please feel free."

Seeing the guards boarding the ship, Cristina hurriedly led Sophia to a hidden compartment down in the hold. It lay beneath some of the barrels and was designed so her parents could hide in the event of a pirate attack. This was where the treasure they kept for themselves was stored as well. Sophia had a certain air about her, one that betrayed the fact that she was different from the rest of the crew and Cristina did not want the guards to find her. The guards left a few hours later, having found nothing suspicious or noteworthy aboard. This was not, however, the end of their troubles.

* * *

Something about Enzo's story did not sit well with the guard captain. As such, he began to send out undercover guardsmen to investigate. They kept an eye on the comings and goings of the servants, not finding anything incriminating. That is, until one of the homes reported some missing jewels a week or so after the initial investigation. It seemed the master of the household had been away on business but had returned to find some of his jewels missing.

When questioned, his wife explained that she had hired a pair of maids to help with housekeeping. It seemed she had not known the true worth of these treasures to her husband and had not secured them as tightly as she would have had she known. Further investigation found that more valuables had been stolen than initially believed and that the two maids returned to the ship each night. The guards now had a real reason to believe the ship was suspicious as well as an excuse to perform a more thorough search.

Sophia looked out over the district from the crow's nest. She was proud of the work she and her crew had done here. By now, most of the people and merchants in the area knew the activities of those on the ship and she would be showered with thanks and presents when she walked down the street. Not only that, the houses in the area looked much less run down now, the owners having finally had the money to renovate and maintain a decent standard of living.

Her heart sank as she saw the large contingent of guardsmen entering the district from the richer quarter and she knew it could only mean trouble. She threw a bottle of luminous green liquid they had found aboard the ship when they commandeered it down onto the deck; the sign that trouble was approaching and it was time to leave. Luckily, it was nighttime so the entire crew was aboard. Enzo saw the sign and ordered Cristina and the other three maids on deck to quickly wake the rest of the crew. The men on deck made hasty preparations to set sail.

What few guardsmen made it aboard before the ship pulled out of the harbour were quickly dispatched over the side, into the ocean. Sophia was sad to see the port go; she had gotten quite used to the place and the citizens living there were very nice to her. Still, she was just happy to have made a difference in their lives and looked forward to doing the same for others.

* * *

For the next three months, the newly christened 'Speranza' sailed from port to port throughout the continent, providing aid to the poor at the expense of the unreasonably wealthy. Naturally, it was not long before the constant complaints of the 'victims' caused the leaders of the affected nations to cave in to the pressure and meet to discuss the situation.

Most of them cared little for it, either believing it to be for the benefit of the poor or simply not caring about the citizenry one way or the other. Self-interest ultimately prevailed and it was decided that the only way to get the complaints to stop was to deal with these people, regardless of whether or not what they were doing was just.

A fleet was assemble by the four nations of Albion, Talia, Marxland and Sombro, and sent out to deal with the ship. Talia's head of state was weary of the situation, having dealt with demands from Giovanni de' Carlini to search for his servants, that had seemingly abducted his daughter, for the last three months. Given what had been reported on the ship in question, it was not difficult to put two and two together. He asked that the ship only be sunk as last resort, hoping to maintain his good relations with Giovanni by returning his daughter to him.

The fleet was formed and set sail. Nobody, not those in the fleet, not their commanders back home and certainly not those on the target ship could possibly have foreseen the ultimate result of this action...

* * *

Sophia had finally decided to ask one of the other servants about the feelings she had. Over the last three months, these feelings had grown and grown, becoming unbearable. She had tried to keep herself distracted with the planning of the operations but it had not helped very much. And now that she had some down time between ports, it was all she could think about. She needed answers and thought the forty-five year old Claudia, might be able to help her understand. Claudia sat Sophia down and asked her to explain her feelings to the best of her abilities.

"When we are together, I find myself staring at her, not wanting her to leave. And when she is not with me, I feel... sad. No, that is not quite right. I feel... I feel incomplete without her. As if my life only has meaning when she is with me. I find myself longing for her presence, her smell, her touch. I have never felt this way of another person before and it hurts. Please, Claudia, please tell me you know that which afflicts me so!"

Claudia smiled warmly and placed a hand on her mistress' hand. "Young Miss, I do believe that you love Cristina."

"Of course I do. She has always been like a sister to me. I-"

"No, Young Miss. I mean to say that you are in love with Cristina."

"But... she is a woman."

"And a fine one at that."

"B-but... it is wrong."

"Why do you say that? Because you parents said so?" Sophia sat in silence. "Love knows no gender, Young Miss. If these feelings have blossom within you, there is naught you can do but embrace them. You are in love with Cristina Fedele and she is very lucky to have you."

Sophia looked up into Claudia's eyes. Her smile was sweet and motherly. Sophia embraced her and thanked her deeply before departing.

She soon found Cristina in the hall and asked her to the captain's cabin. The pair sat at the foot of the bed and Sophia did her best to convey her feelings. "Cristina, we... have always been together, yes?"

"Yes, we have. You have always been like a younger sister to me."

"Is your love for me merely platonic? Or does it run deeper?"

"I do not follow."

Sophia bit her lip. "Have you never wanted more? Never wanted for me to be more than 'like a sister'?"

"More? You mean as... lovers?" Sophia nodded slowly. She feared Cristina would be offended by her implication and perhaps even avoid her. "I have never given it much thought. What has brought this?"

Sophia could no longer contain herself. She pushed her lips against those of Cristina, hoping not only for Cristina to understand her feelings, but to understand them herself as well. Cristina was shocked to begin with, but seemed to warm to it and was soon kissing Sophia herself.

The two pulled away after a few moments and Cristina smiled. "While I may not have feelings as strong as your own, I feel that there is indeed something there, Miss Sophia. I will do my utmost to meet your expectations."

Overjoyed, Sophia embraced Cristina and the two fell back onto the bed.

* * *

Sophia awoke the following morning, taking a while to recall the previous night's events. The sight of Cristina sleeping soundly beside her brought everything rushing back like a tidal wave. She grinned dumbly as she recalled Cristina's words and how they had spent the night in each other's arms, reminiscing about their childhood together.

She was a little disappointed that Cristina did not feel quite as strongly about her as she did her, yet even just knowing that Cristina did care for her was somehow enough. Caesar squawked from his cage across the room and Sophia giggled. She leaned in to kiss her maid on the forehead when-

BANG!

The ship rocked with an earth-shattering sound and Sophia was thrown from the bed. Cristina roused quickly and got to her feet. After checking that Sophia was okay, Cristina quickly threw on a nightgown and rushed to the door. She threw it open and questioned Enzo as he was running to alert them. He told her they were under attack and, fearing the worst, Sophia sprinted out the door and onto the deck, Cristina and Enzo on her heels.

Sophia squeezed past the deck hands amassed at the port bow to get a good view of their attackers. A vast fleet approached from all around them, the flags of every nation they had been to since fleeing the villa flying high atop their masts. She had been confident they could fight back when they had first set sail, her anger and sadness creating a mask of confidence and determination. Now, however, the reality of the situation shattered that mask into a thousand pieces.

Sophia's knees buckled as the gravity of the situation truly sunk in. Cristina was saying something but all Sophia could hear was white noise. She felt sick and her vision was blurring and there was a tight pressure in her chest, not unlike that of her corset. Her breathing became more shallow and slow until she finally lost consciousness.

* * *

Somehow, despite her unconscious state, a part of her could still feel the thunderous booms as the enemy cannons fired upon her ship. Her eyes slowly opened to the sight of Cristina's bosom. But Sophia's thoughts did not return to the happy, love-filled thoughts from earlier; instead, she was filled with dread as more and more of the current situation became apparent to her.

First off, she could smell gunpowder and lots of it. Secondly, her body felt strangely floaty. And wet. She could taste something salty in her mouth and she could hear what was definitely a great battle raging all around her. She looked a little higher and saw Cristina's face. She was a complete mess; her hair dishevelled and her head frantically looking around the room. She finally noticed that Sophia was awake and forced a smile.

Sophia was suddenly hit by a wave of cold wetness, completely snapping her out of her reverie. She wiped her face with her hands and realised that she was back in the cabin, which was almost halfway filled with water. She asked Cristina what was going on and was told that they had been issued an ultimatum: return Sophia to her father and surrender themselves, or be destroyed.

Knowing Sophia's personality well, her crew had chosen the latter. They had managed to sink one of the enemy vessels before Cristina got Sophia back to the cabin. Sophia was about to ask Cristina what they were going to do now when a cannonball blasted through the cabin wall and a torrent of water followed.

The cabin was filled to the brim in no time and Sophia cursed herself for never learning how to swim. It seemed this was how her rebellious adventure was to end: with her lifeless body trapped in a sunken ship at the bottom of the ocean until the end of time. Such thoughts were expelled as Cristina wrapped an arm around her waist and swam through the hole into the outside water. As they ascended, Sophia caught sight of an empty birdcage in the waters below them.

They surfaced and Cristina forced Sophia's body onto a chunk of wood from the ship. Sophia held on for dear life and watched in horror as the ship, now cracked and broken beyond repair, slowly descended beneath the waves toward the ocean floor below. Cristina was on the chunk of wood too but her breathing was heavy. She must have been tired out by dragging Sophia to safety and especially from swimming her to the surface in the frigid ocean water.

Sophia stared into Cristina's eyes as the brunette smiled weakly. "I am honoured to have served you... Miss Sophia," she said before her grip loosened and she too sank beneath the waves.

How had everything gone so wrong? Just a few short months ago, her life had been going very well, selfish parents aside. Now, she had lost her family, her home and worst of all, her first real friends and her first love.

"Do you wish to live?"

Sophia had no idea where the voice had come from. She looked around frantically, hoping to catch sight of some mysterious rescuer. After a moment, she looked back and found, in Cristina's place, was the shape of a man but black and transparent like... a shadow? Cast against nothing and with glowing purple orbs for eyes.

"Do you wish to live?" it asked again.

"Y-yes," Sophia gasped, her grip starting to loosen.

"Are you willing to become my servant? To obey my will and act on my behalf?"

The creature's words brought forth images of her old life, trapped under her parents' rule like bird in a cage. Her freedom, it seemed, was to be short lived. "Y...yes," she replied, warm tears rolling down her numb cheeks. "B-but please! I implore you! Please save Cristina! She is a good woman and does not deserve to die this way!"

The creature paused a moment as if contemplating. "Very well," it replied after what seemed like an eternity. Sophia sighed and she let go of the wood, yet she did not sink. Instead, the world around her seemed to have just... stopped. Everything from the sky to the ships to the ice-like water was motionless and cast in greyscale. The creature reached out with its left hand and it was only now that Sophia realised just how long and sharp its fingers were; much like the talons of some great bird. It stretched out its index finger, growing closer and closer to Sophia's right eye. To her horror, she found that she could not move an inch as the finger grew closer.

The finger pierced her eye and she felt a horrid burning sensation, more painful than anything she had ever felt before. She lost consciousness from the pain and sank beneath the waves as her lungs filled with water.

* * *

Sophia's senses returned to her slowly. She could feel a wooden floor beneath her body and the ocean breeze blowing gently across her face. She slowly opened her eyes, but she could only see through her left eye. The right was now obscured by her hair like some kind of makeshift eyepatch. As her vision came back into focus, she could see the faces of those she thought she would never see again. Enzo and Claudia. The other members of her crew. Caesar perched on Enzo's shoulder. And finally, Cristina. Seeing the faces of those lost led Sophia to the obvious conclusion.

"I am dead," she muttered, her voice still returning to her.

"No," came the voice of the creature. "Not quite. Arise, my servant. And do my bidding."

Sophia felt her strength return to her and with it, a strange compulsion to do as the creature instructed. She rose to her feet, Cristina offering her arm for support, and found that she was back aboard the Speranza. The wood of the ship was now wet and rotten, an eerie mist emanating from it. It reminded her of the stories of ghost pirates Claudia would tell her during her childhood.

She was unsure what of the last few hours was real and what was imaginary. Then she saw the crack. The ship had indeed broken into two pieces yet now the ship was afloat, both halves separate yet never leaving each other. She realised now that everything had truly happened and she, along with the rest of her crew, was now in some state of undeath.

She looked out and saw the vessels that had sunk them. The voice spoke out again and she could not disobey: "Sink them. Kill them all."

Hearing these words crushed Sophia's sense of honour. "Prepare for battle!" she commanded. "Let us show these fools how to properly sink a ship... or twelve," she added with a smirk. Caesar perched himself on her shoulder as Enzo took the helm. She looked to Cristina, expecting a look of disapproval, but finding none. Cristina seemed to understand, even agree with her command. Feeling more confident and powerful than ever before, Sophia took Cristina in her arms and kissed her passionately as the first volley shook the ship and brought death and destruction upon their enemies.

* * *

The battle was short. All twelve ships now lay scattered across the ocean floor. What few survived the battle would likely drown soon and somehow, that made Sophia happy. The crew celebrated their victory over the enemy, their virtues and morality twisted by whatever dark magic had brought them back from the brink.

Sophia sent Cristina back to the cabin to 'freshen up', eliciting cheers and wolf whistles from her crew. She followed soon after but stopped as she passed a mirror. For a moment, she thought it was a window but looking closer, she realised the stranger staring back at her was herself.

Her hair was longer, at least at the front. It completely covered her right eye and now bore a few seafoam-green streaks. Her visible eye had also changed from green to red. And not only that, but her skin now had an unearthly purple pigment to it as if a purple light were constantly shining upon her. She looked inhuman, yet still retained her natural beauty.

Curious, she brushed her hair aside and the closed eye opened after a brief struggle. It was now a purple orb, much like that of the creature. Her vision began to split, her left eye still seeing the mirror, the right seeing something else entirely. She closed her left eye to concentrate on the right.

She could see the party on deck from up above, the crow's nest it seemed. Suddenly, her view descended quickly and came to a stop atop the table with the bread. Claudia reached over and placed a hand above her field of vision, seeming to... pet her? It was only now that she realised: she was seeing through Caesar's eyes!

She switched back to her left eye and found, to her surprise, that her reflection was now replaced by the creature- no, not 'the creature'. "My Master," she said as she saw him. His eyes let out a flash of purple light and Sophia felt a wave of dizziness wash over her.

As the dizziness subsided, Sophia found herself in what appeared to be some kind of throne room. The floors and pillars were a black marble, as was the throne upon which her master sat, his visage only visible thanks to the light of the blue flames outside the window. It was a hellish sight, yet Sophia bore no fear. She lowered herself to one knee before him, somehow knowing instinctively that he had brought her here to grant her a gift of some kind.

He stood and slowly walked up to her. He wordlessly descended to one knee himself and lifted her chin with his hand. She stared into his purple eyes and his index finger approached her once more. This time, however, it pierced her forehead but there was no pain. Instead, her mind was filled with information. She now understood everything.

This figure before her, be it a god or a demon or something in between, had saved her and her crew so that it might have a servant on the mortal plane to do its bidding. She was once more subjugated to the will of another, yet she was still freer than she had ever been, even during her brief escapade. Free from death. Free from morality. Free to go, do and love whomever and wherever she wanted.

Her master had also granted her special powers with which to better serve him. Her new eye held the power to bend the minds of others to her will and allowed her to see through the eyes of those she controlled. As her pet Caesar needed no such control.

So long as she obeyed her master's wishes, she was free to do as she pleased. And she knew the first thing she wanted to do. The Master nodded as if in approval and she smiled gratefully as she bowed before returning to the hall aboard the ship. She immediately made for the cabin and Cristina.

* * *

Sophia lay in the afterglow of her first time. As she had always been told, it was a magical experience. She sat up, Cristina following suit and staring adoringly into her eyes. "I realise now how I feel towards you, Miss Sophia," she said lovingly. "I do love you. I am yours until the end of time."

Sophia smiled. "Then I would like you to help me with a little experiment."

"Experiment?"

Sophia explained about her master and the powers she had been granted. "I hoped you might allow me to test my powers on you," she finished.

"It would be an honour to help you, Miss Sophia. But know that this power is not necessary as I will do anything you say to make you happy."

Sophia wondered how much of this change in Cristina was her natural feelings emerging and how much was the result of her master's power. In the end, she found that she simply did not care and was just happy to have someone in her life who loved her so deeply.

"Thank you, Cristina," Sophia said gratefully. She brushed aside her hair and opened her magic eye. "You need only look into my eye and relax."

A warm, unearthly light began to emanate from the eye and Sophia observed the change in Cristina's features. Her expression became much more neutral as she stared. Her jaw slackened and her lips parted slightly. But the most striking change was in her beautiful blue eyes. The blue shifted to purple and they became glassy and lifeless. If not for the fact that she was still breathing, Cristina would have looked positively dead.

"Cristina?" Sophia whispered uncertainly. "Can... Can you hear me?"

"Si, Mistress Sophia," Cristina replied in a dull, lifeless tone.

"'Mistress'? I like the sound of that. You are under my complete control, si?"

"Si, Mistress Sophia. Under your complete control. Command and I shall obey."

"Oh? In that case... Stand."

Cristina stood up from the bed with her arms to her sides like a soldier awaiting orders.

"Stand upon on leg."

Cristina lifted one leg up off the floor and remained perfectly balanced.

"You are a cat."

Cristina dropped to her hands and knees and let out a series of soft purrs and meows.

Sophia's mind raced with ideas for what she could do with this power. She rushed onto the deck, where the party was dying down. She immediately made eye contact with Claudia and used her power to enslave the woman's mind. "You are a dog."

Claudia dropped to her knees and barked and howled. Another of the maids was about to question her but was quickly given the command "Freeze" and was immediately immobilized. Sophia spent the remainder of the night 'testing' her new power over her subordinates until a genius idea played out in her mind. She grinned wickedly.

* * *

Rumours began to spread all throughout the continent of a ghostly ship that had sunk twelve of the finest warships ever assembled and was roaming the oceans, seeking more prey to destroy. Of course, the idea was preposterous. Giovanni was not the superstitious type, even if his wife was. Right now, his greatest concern was getting his daughter back so he could secure the relations with Pazzi.

He was awaiting news from the capital on her whereabouts when one of his guards entered to inform him that a ship had docked and its captain demanded to see him and his wife. He told the guard to turn them away, but changed his mind when he heard who the captain was.

He hurried to the dock, meeting his wife along the way. They were met by their former servants, who took them aboard. The pair were in complete awe of the ghostly ship, but even more so of the captain. Sophia stood before them, a pirate's hat atop her head, wearing naught else but a pair of tight, dark purple bottoms with black boots, dark green gloves and a simple black bra over her breasts. Her skin was tinted purple, her black hair was now kept in a short ponytail with a fringe covering her right eye and now sported green streaks. Her one visible eye was now red and accentuated with dark purple eye makeup. She was barely recognisable as their daughter.

Giovanni was the first to speak. "Sophia, what is the meaning of this!?" he demanded. "First, you humiliate us in front of your arranged partner, then you disappear for three whole months and now you return dressed like some two-bit whore!? And this ship! What kind of monster have you become to obtain such an evil vessel!?"

Sophia chuckled. "Sophia? Please, Giovanni. "Sophia de' Carlini is dead. I am Riptide, Captain of the Sacro Orrore. Soon to be known throughout the world."

"What is this insolence!? You listen here and you-"

Riptide slapped her father so hard, he was thrown to the floor. Before Caterina could react, her eyes met her daughter's and a strange light overtook her mind. She stood stock still, her free will stolen from her and ready to serve.

Riptide hefted her father to his feet and faced him toward the villa. "Long have I waited for a chance to show you the hatred I have kept locked up in my heart all these years, 'father'. Now, you will see all you have taken from you, just as it was from me." She gave the signal and the cannons opened fire on the villa. The entire thing was reduced to mere rubble in a matter of minutes. Riptide could feel the horror her father felt at seeing his home destroyed and she loved every second of it.

Once the villa was no more, the ship set sail. Riptide watched in pure ecstasy as her father wept for his destroyed possessions. "Did you enjoy that, Giovanni?" she asked mockingly. "I think you will enjoy this even more. Mother?"

"Si, Mistress Riptide?"

"Denounce Giovanni as your husband and swear your loyalty to your captain."

"Giovanni is not longer my husband. I swear my eternal loyalty to Captain Riptide. I belong to her, mind, body and soul."

Riptide smirked. "Your home, your wife and your daughter have all been taken from you. All you have left is your life. To the plank with you."

As he stood at the edge of the plank, overlooking the cold ocean waters below, he started to beg for his life. Riptide was having none of it and simply kicked him off the edge. The crew got a good laugh from the sight of their former master as he hit the water. He was able to swim to safety, as Riptide hoped he would. Not because she still had some attachment to the rotten old fool; but because he could not truly appreciate what he had lost if he were to die.

She turned to her mother, still stood in her trance. "And as for you, Mother. You will need a change of clothes. You are no longer Caterina de’ Carlini. You are now named 'Nulla'. Nothing. You will be the ship slave, performing any menial task demanded of you for until the end of time. And you will enjoy doing so. Do you understand?"

"Si, Mistress Riptide." The crew got a laugh out of her fate too.

"Good. Then get to it." She snapped her fingers and her mother awoke from her trance state, ready to please her new masters. She was then taken for a change of clothes by Claudia.

"Now that my old life has been completely erased, it is time for the world to fear me. Set sail for Marxland. They will be the first to learn the name of the dread pirate, Riptide!"

Description
Sophia de' Carlini was bored. As she sat in her extravagant room in her family's villa, she looked out onto the veranda and saw a flock of seagulls flying past. She quickly headed out and watched the birds in flight. Oh, how she longed to be free like those birds. To be able to go wherever and do whatever she wished with no one to tell her no. The closest she would ever get was this glorious feeling of the sea breeze in her beautiful, long black hair.

Her jade eyes caught sight of a ship off in the distance. She promised herself that one day, she would use her family's money to buy a ship and set sail for somewhere new. But that day was far off. Today, she was to meet her arranged husband.

She hated that her parents actually expected her to be happy about this. They expected her to be happy that they had chosen whom she was to marry and she was to meet him a mere week before the actual ceremony (which was to be a huge spectacle, of course).

Sophia moved back inside, and spotted her pet parrot, Caesar. She had saved the poor thing when he had flow into her window and knocked himself out. She had had a rough time convincing her parents to let her keep him once he was healed. Her parents were very proper people, true to form for one of the richest noble families in all of Talia. She lamented her upbringing as the corset beneath her beautiful baby blue gown felt tighter and more constricting than usual.

She had always been rather rebellious and it seemed her parents wanted her to be rid of such tendencies and had been sending her to a therapist for weekly appointments for the past month. It had changed nothing; she still wanted a more adventurous life than what she had and she really did not want to marry a man she had never met. Still, he could turn out to be the man of her dreams.

Not bloody likely but she figured he at least deserved a chance to sweep her off her feet.

She started to regret this mindset when she arrived in the dining room, where her parents were waiting with her suitor and his own parents. To her dismay, Roberto was... a portly gentleman, to put it nicely... and a short, pig-like man to put it bluntly. Not only that, he looked twice her age. She forced herself to smile and courtesy before taking a seat between her parents and across from her husband-to-be.

Over the next hour or so, Sophia learned a number of things about her new family: Firstly, her future father-in-law was the mayor of the neighbouring town of Pazzi, under whom's jurisdiction the Carlini villa fell. This likely meant her parents had arranged this marriage to keep ties to Pazzi strong so the villa could remain mostly independent.

Secondly, at age thirty-four, Roberto was exactly twice her age. This did nothing to make his greasy black hair, handlebar moustache or sheer volume of mass any more enticing.

And finally, once the ceremony was finished, Sophia was to move to his home on the other side of the country. This left her conflicted. Moving so far away meant she would be unlikely to see her parents very often, if ever again. Yet, she resented her parents for arranging this situation purely for their own interests.

Sophia sat with her head down, trying not to cry. When the topic of conversation turned to her and everyone turned to face her, they finally noticed her tears. To her dismay, her father, Giovanni, declared they were 'tears of joy'. Unable to bear this any longer, Sophia stood and ran from the room, hand over her mouth to prevent herself from being sick.

* * *

Sophia managed to calm herself down by the time she reached her room. She sat by the dresser and stared blankly into Caesar's tiny, black eyes. She sometimes felt that Caesar was the only person in the whole world who truly understood her situation. The difference was that she would never force him into a life he had no desire for.

The bedroom door opened and her parents entered. Neither seemed particularly pleased as her mother, Caterina, locked the door behind them. Her father asked her why she had run off, angry not over how her actions made her look, but how it made them look. She simply continued to stare at her green bird, irritating her parents even more. After about the fifth time he asked the question, Giovanni stormed over and knocked the cage off the stand, sending it crashing to the floor.

Sophia quickly opened the door of the busted cage and held the bird in her hands. He seemed to be fine as he stared up at her, eyes full of understanding. Sophia's attention was ripped away from the bird as her father slapped her across the face, knocking her to the ground and the bird out of her hands. He demanded she answer his question but she remained silent. He raised his hand again and she braced herself for the next blow.

What came next, however, was not a harsh stinging sensation across her cheek, but a pained yelp, followed by screaming and shrieking. She looked up to see her father clutching his bleeding nose as Caesar flew in circles around him, occasionally going in for another strike. He father fought back, swiping wildly at Caesar, just barely grazing his wing.

To Sophia's horror, Caesar flew straight out the open window and into the night sky. Giovanni fled the room in a blind rage, demanding that his guards kill 'that wretched beast', while her mother stared at her a moment with an icy look of pure disdain that Sophia had never seen before. Her mother left the room after her husband, leaving Sophia alone, crying as she lay next to the empty, broken cage.

* * *

Sophia lay on her bed for the rest of the night. Her door was locked and her parents had not returned since earlier. She had suspected as much since around her fifteenth birthday but now she was absolutely convinced: her parents viewed her as a commodity instead of a daughter. This revelation made the tears come back, more fiercely than before.

At around midnight, there was a quiet knocking on the door. "Miss Sophia?" came a voice Sophia would recognise anywhere. She stood and slowly approached the door.

"Are you alone?"

"Yes, Miss. The master and mistress have gone to bed already."

Sophia opened the door to Cristina Fedele, one of the maids who, as the daughter of one of the former servants, had worked at the villa since she was in her early teens. She was a dainty young woman at twenty-three years of age. Her brown hair was kept in a bun and her eyes were a lovely shade of blue. She was also Sophia's closest - no, only - friend. She was nothing like those harlots that claimed to be her friends to gain her favour; Cristina was kind and beautiful and, right now, she was the only person Sophia could trust.

Sophia quickly ushered her friend inside and locked the door again. "I have never seen your parents so cross, Miss Sophia," Cristina explained.

"Good," Sophia huffed. "They can burn in the inferno for all I care!"

"My lady, surely you jest."

"I have never been more serious, Cristina. They care nothing for me or my wants. I am a mere commodity to them. An object to be traded to further their own agendas. Well, no longer!"

"What are you planning to do, Miss? I overheard the master saying he would lock you in this room until your wedding."

"Then he will find this room as empty as his heart. You are the only one I can trust. Will you help me one last time, sorella mio?"

Touched by her lady's words, Cristina nodded and bowed. "Of course, Miss Sophia. What do you require of me?"

"Do you see that ship in the harbour?"

"The one the master purchased last week?"

"Si. But stop calling him that. He is your master no longer. He is merely Giovanni de' Carlini, a despicable old man whom deserves none of the respect and loyalty you have shown him over the years."

Sophia took Cristina's hand in hers and the maid replied, "As you wish, Miss Sophia."

"Bene. We will gather some of the servants and commandeer it, then set sail to... anywhere we wish."

"But the master will surely give chase."

"Then we will sink his ship. I will not stay here."

"In that case, help me tie these bed sheets together."

Sophia did as asked and the two were soon holding a long, rope-like line of bed sheets. They tied one end to the bedpost and threw the other out the window. Much to their delight, it reached roughly one metre above the ground below. Sophia removed her high heels and climbed down first before waiting for Cristina to make her own way down.

Sophia was about to head off before Cristina stopped her. She yanked on the bed sheets and the whole line came tumbling out the window, onto the ground around them. "One of my special knots," she said with a smile. They quickly dumped the sheets in the nearby rose bushes and went to gather some supporters.

* * *

It was no big secret that the servants were not treated well by Sophia's parents. As such, most of them jumped at the chance to flee this hell. Luckily, a number of them had been on Giovanni's ships before and knew how to sail them. They now had sufficient numbers to set sail for a new life.

Before they headed out, Sophia asked for some new clothes, wishing to discard the dress her mother had picked out for her. The eldest of the servants and Sophia’s one time nanny, Claudia Terrena, took a few of the other female servants and rushed to get some spare clothes while Sophia had Cristina help her remove the dress. There were stares and gawks from the men present (and some of the women) but she cared little about that. Once the dress was off, exposing her garters and underwear, she had Cristina remove the corset.

The corset fell to the floor soon after and Sophia had never felt so liberated. She took a deep breath, the air of the servants' quarters smelling almost... homely. Certainly moreso than her own bedroom did. Her stockings hit the floor just as the women returned with a ragged brown dress that they seemed concerned she would be displeased with. Smiling warmly, she took the dress and hugged it tight. She thanked them from the bottom of her heart and put it on. They had no spare shoes for her but she turned down any offers the servants made to give her theirs. She was fine with going barefoot for now. Besides, it felt quite nice to do something so improper after so many years.

Now more fittingly dressed and with her twenty-three-strong crew in tow, Sophia headed down to the docks, where some of the male servants beat the guards over their heads with trays and brooms until they were unconscious. They quickly boarded the ship and the moustachioed head butler Enzo took command, having the most sailing experience. The sails were soon set and they were off on their adventure.

"Look, Miss Sophia," called Cristina, pointing upwards. Quickly descending from the crow's nest was a familiar green bird.

"Caesar!" Sophia cried joyfully. She hugged the bird as he perched himself on her arm. She kissed him on the head and Cristina smiled at her. She spared a glance back at the villa as it shrank into the distance. She had done it. She had escaped from her parents' oppressive rule and was all set to start her new life with her two best friends and a group of helpful servants.

But it was not to last.

* * *

As the sun rose on the horizon, shining light through the cabin windows, Sophia stirred. She took a moment to realise where she was and a smile spread across her lips as she remembered. She heard murmuring and looked down. Lying in the bed next to her was Cristina. Sophia looked down at the young woman and reminisced over their younger days. Sophia had been allowed to sleep in the same bed as Cristina when she was a child but that had stopped once Sophia became ten as she was expected to grow out of such childishness. All mandated by her parents, of course. She giggled at the thought that she no longer had to obey her parents and could sleep with Cristina whenever she wanted.

Sleep with her? Now, there was an interesting thought. Sophia had never thought of such a thing before but, somehow, staring down at Cristina's sleeping face, watching her slowly breathe and stroking her beautiful, brown hair, Sophia felt a strange sensation welling up inside her. She did not know what this feeling was but it was nice. Here was the person who cared for her more than anyone else in the world and she, in turn, cared for Cristina more than anyone else. She found herself slowly leaning in, her face inching closer to Cristina sleeping form. Closer... Closer...

The ship suddenly rocked and Sophia had to put her hands down on the bed at either side of Cristina to balance herself. The turbulence also awoke Cristina, who blushed as she stared into the eyes of her mistress, only a few inches away. Sophia grinned at her maid's reaction and moved away to let her sit up. The covers slid off Cristina's slender frame, revealing that she had slept in naught but her underwear. Seeming somewhat embarrassed, she covered her breasts with her arms and looked around until she saw her discarded nightgown on the floor beside the bed.

She quickly picked it up and put it back on. Once she was dressed, Cristina turned back and sheepishly faced Sophia, who placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her head knowingly as if to say 'I understand.' Cristina smiled and nodded appreciatively, before hugging Sophia tightly in thanks. It was only now that Sophia noticed the smell emanating off of her maid's body. It was a pleasant, nostalgic sensation, bringing memories of her childhood to the forefront. She bathed in this sensation a while before Cristina broke off the hug and left to help the other servants with the cooking.

As she sat alone in the cabin, Sophia's mind ran wild. She had no idea what these feelings she had truly meant but she was hesitant to ask Cristina about it. She would do something about it later. For now, Sophia changed into her new dress and headed up on deck.

* * *

The smell of the ocean air was wonderful. Sophia looked out over the ocean and marvelled at the gorgeous sun rising on the horizon as its light sparkled in the clear, blue water. Wishing to see more, she quickly ascended the crow's nest, much to the shock and amusement of her crew. She was pleasantly surprised to find Caesar waiting for her and she let him rest on her shoulder as she took in the view.

Her usual fear of heights was completely washed away as she saw just how wide and vast the ocean was, her homeland now a distant memory and no land could be seen for miles and miles. Seagulls flew by in a large flock that blotted out the sun for a few moments. She even saw a trio of dolphins rise and fall in perfect rhythm as they swam alongside the ship. Sophia was in awe.

She eventually climbed down at Cristina's behest as breakfast had been prepared below deck. It seemed that her father had had the ship well stocked with all kinds of luxurious foods, kinds that many of the servants had likely never even seen before. She said grace and was about to tuck in when she noticed that nobody else was eating. Indeed, it seemed they were all anxiously awaiting her reaction to the food.

Feeling slightly nervous now, she took a bite of the steak that had been painstakingly prepared just for her and smiled as the rich, succulent juices gushed out of the perfectly cooked meat. Sophia had eaten many steaks in her lifetime but she would recognise this particular recipe anywhere. She smiled at Claudia and Cristina, who looked away sheepishly as she had done in the cabin. Sophia told the other servants that they were free to partake and their overjoyed reactions warmed Sophia's heart.

* * *

Sophia spent much of the following three days getting to know her crew. She was spending some time playing with the children of the housekeepers up on deck when she was alerted to a landmass ahead of them. She asked one of the deckhands and he told her the land mass was the nation of Albion. Sophia had heard many stories of Albion during her childhood. Stories of chivalry, of brave knights and magical swords. She had long hoped to have the opportunity to travel to such a nation.

The crew agreed to dock there and Sophia was ecstatic. She positively leapt onto the dock once the ship came to a stop. She headed into the small port town with a group of five servants, including Cristina, while others went off in their own groups to purchase supplies and the like. Sophia wandered through the streets of what seemed to be the slums, since the streets were filled with beggars and people in rags. She felt terrible as everywhere she turned, there were yet more people begging for food or money.

She wished she could help these people but she knew that her crew had enough food and money for themselves for a few weeks at the most before they ran out. As she thought about this, something occurred to her: just what was she going to do once their supplies ran dry? She supposed they could offer their services for a fee but there were surely none in these slums that could afford them. And what services could they even offer? Acting as servants again?

She consulted Cristina, who agreed it was not an idea she much enjoyed but it may be their only option. At least for now. She suggested they head into the next district to get a feel for potential clientele.

The difference between the two districts was staggering. The first, evidently the poor district, was decadent, full of beggars and had a very unappealing stench. This one, on the other hand, was well kept, very clean, full of people in lavish clothing and the stench of the other district was masked by possibly worse smelling perfumes. It was as if Sophia had stepped into another dimension after passing through the dividing archway.

She was lucky the servants at the villa wore clothing a little more elegant than the average servant or her group would have looked horribly out of place. They spent the day approaching a number of potential clients and, while they all looked different and their lifestyles varied, one thing remained constant: the lot of them were snobbish and disdainful of the poor. Immensely disgusted by this outlook, Sophia stormed off back to the ship, Cristina following close behind.

* * *

The servants returned to the ship in the evening, announcing that they had managed to acquire a few clients. Sophia was not happy with this news. "Those snobbish fiends do not deserve your services!" she protested. "You are better than that!"

"What would you propose we do then?" asked Enzo. "Our supplies are limited and as lifelong servants, there are very few legal options open to us."

Sophia looked out over the docks and, even in the twilight of dusk, she could see dozens upon dozens of beggars. Her heart wept for these helpless people. She wished there was some way to help them but alas, she could think of nothing. When she remained quiet, the servants dispersed to prepare for their new occupation.

Sophia looked out over the ocean and sighed. If only there was some way to make life better for everyone... Caesar perched himself on her shoulder, allowing himself to be stroked by her. Off in the distance, Sophia could see a ship that bore a strong resemblance to the pirate ships in the stories Claudia would read to her when she was younger. Caesar squawked on her shoulder and Sophia had a brilliant idea.

"What if we were to simple take it?" she asked aloud without truly thinking about it.

"Excuse me? Steal it?"

"Si. Those people wallow in their undeserved fortune and luxury while the poor are forced into lives of squalor. What if we were to take from the rich and distribute amongst the poor, whilst keeping a portion for ourselves to fund our crusade?"

"Miss Sophia, please think clearly,” implored Cristina. “Stealing is illegal and immoral."

"Yet those in power are not committing immoral acts by not sharing their wealth with their fellow man? Were you not looked down upon by my parents and their rich friends due to you upbringing? Were you not glad to finally be free from their oppression? Yet now you are content to simply go back into servitude, only under new masters. Where is your sense of justice? Your sense of adventure? You are free to leave and return to your birdcages but I will not stand for this injustice. I will help these people. Alone if need be."

The crew was silent. Sophia had put up a confident front but, in truth, she was worried that the crew would disagree with her plan and leave her to her crusade alone. She waited on bated breath for their inevitable negative response.

"You... are correct, Miss," said Enzo. "Long have I dreamed of freedom from the oppression of the rich and it would be a shame to let our new freedom go so soon." Sophia was elated at the head butler's reaction. "However... I must know, how does the young miss intend to go about this? We were raised to serve, not to steal."

"We can do both," said Claudia.

"Both?" replied Enzo. Even Sophia looked on quizzically, unsure of what the older woman had in mind.

"Yes, both. We simply accept our jobs as servants to learn more of our hosts and their homes, including where their valuables and treasures are stored. As we do this, the lady and a few others may prepare the ship to flee... and to fight if need be. Once the ship is ready and we have our information, we may begin the... 'redistribution' as the young miss put it, until we are found out. We then flee to another port and hope our actions have made an impact for the people of this city."

Sophia, and evidently the rest of the crew, was amazed at how quickly Claudia had formulated such a plan. She responded to her mistress' reaction with, "I am aware that certain members of our crew have already performed such acts at your family's villa over the years. It would seem your family is too rich to notice such... subtle changes to their treasury."

Some of the servants seemed uneasy about this revelation and of the consequences thereof. However, their mistress simply laughed out loud. "So true. If that is the case, we are more ready than we thought. Still, if any of you do not wish to take part, you may leave and serve a new master faithfully and we will avoid your new home in our endeavours. What say you?"

The result was unanimous: they would follow Captain Sophia's crusade to better the lives of their fellow men.

* * *

It was roughly a week later when they were ready to make their move. Sophia was deeply thankful for the help she was given to help her achieve her goal. From the servants, who risked much by exploring where they were not meant to, who reported back dutifully each evening on their findings to their captain; to those that helped their captain produce a list of items that were not too risky to steal but were still worth enough money to make the risk worthwhile; to those on the ship, helping make sure the ship was seaworthy and ready to flee and fight when and if the need arose.

The issue of how the goods distributed would not be found by the guards too quickly was simply resolved: this was a rather large merchant port; many, many merchant ships came in and out of the port daily, bringing luxurious goods for trade and, more importantly, leaving with them. So long as the people offloaded the treasures with these merchants, they could be off away from the guards' notice within a day.

The first few days went smoothly: a good number of smaller treasures were taken, mostly during the servants' off hours so as to avoid suspicion for as long as possible, and sorted before redistribution amongst the populace. Each beggar was given explicit instructions to not tell anyone of their treasures and to ask the merchants to not spread the word of the riches too much.

A few of the merchants caught on the scheme but remained quiet, knowing this place as a positive goldmine of rare treasures to be bought relatively cheaply from the thankful peasants and sold off at much greater value to rich nobles in other lands.

Sophia was proud of the work she and her crew had done, and Cristina and Claudia were proud of the fine young woman their mistress had grown to become, so unlike her rotten mother. Cristina wished to assist her mistress even more in her virtuous goal. As such, she took a more active role in the operation, distributing the money and speaking with merchants herself. Sophia was a little upset that she could not spend as much time with the maid, feeling strange emotions she could neither explain nor understand. All she knew was that she longed for the woman's presence and no matter how hard she tried, she could not get Cristina out of her head.

The first major road block came when the city guard began to grow suspicious of a large ship that had remained docked for a full two weeks with no clear evidence of them setting up any kind of merchant stall or performing any other business. A group of about seven guards, rifles in hand, approached the ship and demanded to see the captain. Not wanting the guard to know anything of Sophia or their true business, Enzo took it upon himself to act as captain and try to deflect suspicion.

"Salute, Signori. I am the captain of this vessel. How may I be of assistance?" Luckily, Enzo had been taught the Albion language from a young age to serve as a translator for his master if the need arose. It seemed he was destined to use these skills to serve, albeit to the young mistress instead.

Despite Enzo's politeness, the guard captain was anything but. "What is your business in this port, stranger? You’ve been here for two weeks now, yet you seem to rarely ever leave your ship."

Thinking quickly, Enzo devised what he hoped was a convincing cover story. "My crew and I are a group of travelling servants. We offer our services to the wealthy for a fee."

"And is this a common thing where you're from? Travelling servants in a high class ship such as this?"

"No, Signore. I believe we are the first our kind."

"I don't suppose you'd have a problem with us taking a look around your ship, would you?"

"Not at all, Signore. Please feel free."

Seeing the guards boarding the ship, Cristina hurriedly led Sophia to a hidden compartment down in the hold. It lay beneath some of the barrels and was designed so her parents could hide in the event of a pirate attack. This was where the treasure they kept for themselves was stored as well. Sophia had a certain air about her, one that betrayed the fact that she was different from the rest of the crew and Cristina did not want the guards to find her. The guards left a few hours later, having found nothing suspicious or noteworthy aboard. This was not, however, the end of their troubles.

* * *

Something about Enzo's story did not sit well with the guard captain. As such, he began to send out undercover guardsmen to investigate. They kept an eye on the comings and goings of the servants, not finding anything incriminating. That is, until one of the homes reported some missing jewels a week or so after the initial investigation. It seemed the master of the household had been away on business but had returned to find some of his jewels missing.

When questioned, his wife explained that she had hired a pair of maids to help with housekeeping. It seemed she had not known the true worth of these treasures to her husband and had not secured them as tightly as she would have had she known. Further investigation found that more valuables had been stolen than initially believed and that the two maids returned to the ship each night. The guards now had a real reason to believe the ship was suspicious as well as an excuse to perform a more thorough search.

Sophia looked out over the district from the crow's nest. She was proud of the work she and her crew had done here. By now, most of the people and merchants in the area knew the activities of those on the ship and she would be showered with thanks and presents when she walked down the street. Not only that, the houses in the area looked much less run down now, the owners having finally had the money to renovate and maintain a decent standard of living.

Her heart sank as she saw the large contingent of guardsmen entering the district from the richer quarter and she knew it could only mean trouble. She threw a bottle of luminous green liquid they had found aboard the ship when they commandeered it down onto the deck; the sign that trouble was approaching and it was time to leave. Luckily, it was nighttime so the entire crew was aboard. Enzo saw the sign and ordered Cristina and the other three maids on deck to quickly wake the rest of the crew. The men on deck made hasty preparations to set sail.

What few guardsmen made it aboard before the ship pulled out of the harbour were quickly dispatched over the side, into the ocean. Sophia was sad to see the port go; she had gotten quite used to the place and the citizens living there were very nice to her. Still, she was just happy to have made a difference in their lives and looked forward to doing the same for others.

* * *

For the next three months, the newly christened 'Speranza' sailed from port to port throughout the continent, providing aid to the poor at the expense of the unreasonably wealthy. Naturally, it was not long before the constant complaints of the 'victims' caused the leaders of the affected nations to cave in to the pressure and meet to discuss the situation.

Most of them cared little for it, either believing it to be for the benefit of the poor or simply not caring about the citizenry one way or the other. Self-interest ultimately prevailed and it was decided that the only way to get the complaints to stop was to deal with these people, regardless of whether or not what they were doing was just.

A fleet was assemble by the four nations of Albion, Talia, Marxland and Sombro, and sent out to deal with the ship. Talia's head of state was weary of the situation, having dealt with demands from Giovanni de' Carlini to search for his servants, that had seemingly abducted his daughter, for the last three months. Given what had been reported on the ship in question, it was not difficult to put two and two together. He asked that the ship only be sunk as last resort, hoping to maintain his good relations with Giovanni by returning his daughter to him.

The fleet was formed and set sail. Nobody, not those in the fleet, not their commanders back home and certainly not those on the target ship could possibly have foreseen the ultimate result of this action...

* * *

Sophia had finally decided to ask one of the other servants about the feelings she had. Over the last three months, these feelings had grown and grown, becoming unbearable. She had tried to keep herself distracted with the planning of the operations but it had not helped very much. And now that she had some down time between ports, it was all she could think about. She needed answers and thought the forty-five year old Claudia, might be able to help her understand. Claudia sat Sophia down and asked her to explain her feelings to the best of her abilities.

"When we are together, I find myself staring at her, not wanting her to leave. And when she is not with me, I feel... sad. No, that is not quite right. I feel... I feel incomplete without her. As if my life only has meaning when she is with me. I find myself longing for her presence, her smell, her touch. I have never felt this way of another person before and it hurts. Please, Claudia, please tell me you know that which afflicts me so!"

Claudia smiled warmly and placed a hand on her mistress' hand. "Young Miss, I do believe that you love Cristina."

"Of course I do. She has always been like a sister to me. I-"

"No, Young Miss. I mean to say that you are in love with Cristina."

"But... she is a woman."

"And a fine one at that."

"B-but... it is wrong."

"Why do you say that? Because you parents said so?" Sophia sat in silence. "Love knows no gender, Young Miss. If these feelings have blossom within you, there is naught you can do but embrace them. You are in love with Cristina Fedele and she is very lucky to have you."

Sophia looked up into Claudia's eyes. Her smile was sweet and motherly. Sophia embraced her and thanked her deeply before departing.

She soon found Cristina in the hall and asked her to the captain's cabin. The pair sat at the foot of the bed and Sophia did her best to convey her feelings. "Cristina, we... have always been together, yes?"

"Yes, we have. You have always been like a younger sister to me."

"Is your love for me merely platonic? Or does it run deeper?"

"I do not follow."

Sophia bit her lip. "Have you never wanted more? Never wanted for me to be more than 'like a sister'?"

"More? You mean as... lovers?" Sophia nodded slowly. She feared Cristina would be offended by her implication and perhaps even avoid her. "I have never given it much thought. What has brought this?"

Sophia could no longer contain herself. She pushed her lips against those of Cristina, hoping not only for Cristina to understand her feelings, but to understand them herself as well. Cristina was shocked to begin with, but seemed to warm to it and was soon kissing Sophia herself.

The two pulled away after a few moments and Cristina smiled. "While I may not have feelings as strong as your own, I feel that there is indeed something there, Miss Sophia. I will do my utmost to meet your expectations."

Overjoyed, Sophia embraced Cristina and the two fell back onto the bed.

* * *

Sophia awoke the following morning, taking a while to recall the previous night's events. The sight of Cristina sleeping soundly beside her brought everything rushing back like a tidal wave. She grinned dumbly as she recalled Cristina's words and how they had spent the night in each other's arms, reminiscing about their childhood together.

She was a little disappointed that Cristina did not feel quite as strongly about her as she did her, yet even just knowing that Cristina did care for her was somehow enough. Caesar squawked from his cage across the room and Sophia giggled. She leaned in to kiss her maid on the forehead when-

BANG!

The ship rocked with an earth-shattering sound and Sophia was thrown from the bed. Cristina roused quickly and got to her feet. After checking that Sophia was okay, Cristina quickly threw on a nightgown and rushed to the door. She threw it open and questioned Enzo as he was running to alert them. He told her they were under attack and, fearing the worst, Sophia sprinted out the door and onto the deck, Cristina and Enzo on her heels.

Sophia squeezed past the deck hands amassed at the port bow to get a good view of their attackers. A vast fleet approached from all around them, the flags of every nation they had been to since fleeing the villa flying high atop their masts. She had been confident they could fight back when they had first set sail, her anger and sadness creating a mask of confidence and determination. Now, however, the reality of the situation shattered that mask into a thousand pieces.

Sophia's knees buckled as the gravity of the situation truly sunk in. Cristina was saying something but all Sophia could hear was white noise. She felt sick and her vision was blurring and there was a tight pressure in her chest, not unlike that of her corset. Her breathing became more shallow and slow until she finally lost consciousness.

* * *

Somehow, despite her unconscious state, a part of her could still feel the thunderous booms as the enemy cannons fired upon her ship. Her eyes slowly opened to the sight of Cristina's bosom. But Sophia's thoughts did not return to the happy, love-filled thoughts from earlier; instead, she was filled with dread as more and more of the current situation became apparent to her.

First off, she could smell gunpowder and lots of it. Secondly, her body felt strangely floaty. And wet. She could taste something salty in her mouth and she could hear what was definitely a great battle raging all around her. She looked a little higher and saw Cristina's face. She was a complete mess; her hair dishevelled and her head frantically looking around the room. She finally noticed that Sophia was awake and forced a smile.

Sophia was suddenly hit by a wave of cold wetness, completely snapping her out of her reverie. She wiped her face with her hands and realised that she was back in the cabin, which was almost halfway filled with water. She asked Cristina what was going on and was told that they had been issued an ultimatum: return Sophia to her father and surrender themselves, or be destroyed.

Knowing Sophia's personality well, her crew had chosen the latter. They had managed to sink one of the enemy vessels before Cristina got Sophia back to the cabin. Sophia was about to ask Cristina what they were going to do now when a cannonball blasted through the cabin wall and a torrent of water followed.

The cabin was filled to the brim in no time and Sophia cursed herself for never learning how to swim. It seemed this was how her rebellious adventure was to end: with her lifeless body trapped in a sunken ship at the bottom of the ocean until the end of time. Such thoughts were expelled as Cristina wrapped an arm around her waist and swam through the hole into the outside water. As they ascended, Sophia caught sight of an empty birdcage in the waters below them.

They surfaced and Cristina forced Sophia's body onto a chunk of wood from the ship. Sophia held on for dear life and watched in horror as the ship, now cracked and broken beyond repair, slowly descended beneath the waves toward the ocean floor below. Cristina was on the chunk of wood too but her breathing was heavy. She must have been tired out by dragging Sophia to safety and especially from swimming her to the surface in the frigid ocean water.

Sophia stared into Cristina's eyes as the brunette smiled weakly. "I am honoured to have served you... Miss Sophia," she said before her grip loosened and she too sank beneath the waves.

How had everything gone so wrong? Just a few short months ago, her life had been going very well, selfish parents aside. Now, she had lost her family, her home and worst of all, her first real friends and her first love.

"Do you wish to live?"

Sophia had no idea where the voice had come from. She looked around frantically, hoping to catch sight of some mysterious rescuer. After a moment, she looked back and found, in Cristina's place, was the shape of a man but black and transparent like... a shadow? Cast against nothing and with glowing purple orbs for eyes.

"Do you wish to live?" it asked again.

"Y-yes," Sophia gasped, her grip starting to loosen.

"Are you willing to become my servant? To obey my will and act on my behalf?"

The creature's words brought forth images of her old life, trapped under her parents' rule like bird in a cage. Her freedom, it seemed, was to be short lived. "Y...yes," she replied, warm tears rolling down her numb cheeks. "B-but please! I implore you! Please save Cristina! She is a good woman and does not deserve to die this way!"

The creature paused a moment as if contemplating. "Very well," it replied after what seemed like an eternity. Sophia sighed and she let go of the wood, yet she did not sink. Instead, the world around her seemed to have just... stopped. Everything from the sky to the ships to the ice-like water was motionless and cast in greyscale. The creature reached out with its left hand and it was only now that Sophia realised just how long and sharp its fingers were; much like the talons of some great bird. It stretched out its index finger, growing closer and closer to Sophia's right eye. To her horror, she found that she could not move an inch as the finger grew closer.

The finger pierced her eye and she felt a horrid burning sensation, more painful than anything she had ever felt before. She lost consciousness from the pain and sank beneath the waves as her lungs filled with water.

* * *

Sophia's senses returned to her slowly. She could feel a wooden floor beneath her body and the ocean breeze blowing gently across her face. She slowly opened her eyes, but she could only see through her left eye. The right was now obscured by her hair like some kind of makeshift eyepatch. As her vision came back into focus, she could see the faces of those she thought she would never see again. Enzo and Claudia. The other members of her crew. Caesar perched on Enzo's shoulder. And finally, Cristina. Seeing the faces of those lost led Sophia to the obvious conclusion.

"I am dead," she muttered, her voice still returning to her.

"No," came the voice of the creature. "Not quite. Arise, my servant. And do my bidding."

Sophia felt her strength return to her and with it, a strange compulsion to do as the creature instructed. She rose to her feet, Cristina offering her arm for support, and found that she was back aboard the Speranza. The wood of the ship was now wet and rotten, an eerie mist emanating from it. It reminded her of the stories of ghost pirates Claudia would tell her during her childhood.

She was unsure what of the last few hours was real and what was imaginary. Then she saw the crack. The ship had indeed broken into two pieces yet now the ship was afloat, both halves separate yet never leaving each other. She realised now that everything had truly happened and she, along with the rest of her crew, was now in some state of undeath.

She looked out and saw the vessels that had sunk them. The voice spoke out again and she could not disobey: "Sink them. Kill them all."

Hearing these words crushed Sophia's sense of honour. "Prepare for battle!" she commanded. "Let us show these fools how to properly sink a ship... or twelve," she added with a smirk. Caesar perched himself on her shoulder as Enzo took the helm. She looked to Cristina, expecting a look of disapproval, but finding none. Cristina seemed to understand, even agree with her command. Feeling more confident and powerful than ever before, Sophia took Cristina in her arms and kissed her passionately as the first volley shook the ship and brought death and destruction upon their enemies.

* * *

The battle was short. All twelve ships now lay scattered across the ocean floor. What few survived the battle would likely drown soon and somehow, that made Sophia happy. The crew celebrated their victory over the enemy, their virtues and morality twisted by whatever dark magic had brought them back from the brink.

Sophia sent Cristina back to the cabin to 'freshen up', eliciting cheers and wolf whistles from her crew. She followed soon after but stopped as she passed a mirror. For a moment, she thought it was a window but looking closer, she realised the stranger staring back at her was herself.

Her hair was longer, at least at the front. It completely covered her right eye and now bore a few seafoam-green streaks. Her visible eye had also changed from green to red. And not only that, but her skin now had an unearthly purple pigment to it as if a purple light were constantly shining upon her. She looked inhuman, yet still retained her natural beauty.

Curious, she brushed her hair aside and the closed eye opened after a brief struggle. It was now a purple orb, much like that of the creature. Her vision began to split, her left eye still seeing the mirror, the right seeing something else entirely. She closed her left eye to concentrate on the right.

She could see the party on deck from up above, the crow's nest it seemed. Suddenly, her view descended quickly and came to a stop atop the table with the bread. Claudia reached over and placed a hand above her field of vision, seeming to... pet her? It was only now that she realised: she was seeing through Caesar's eyes!

She switched back to her left eye and found, to her surprise, that her reflection was now replaced by the creature- no, not 'the creature'. "My Master," she said as she saw him. His eyes let out a flash of purple light and Sophia felt a wave of dizziness wash over her.

As the dizziness subsided, Sophia found herself in what appeared to be some kind of throne room. The floors and pillars were a black marble, as was the throne upon which her master sat, his visage only visible thanks to the light of the blue flames outside the window. It was a hellish sight, yet Sophia bore no fear. She lowered herself to one knee before him, somehow knowing instinctively that he had brought her here to grant her a gift of some kind.

He stood and slowly walked up to her. He wordlessly descended to one knee himself and lifted her chin with his hand. She stared into his purple eyes and his index finger approached her once more. This time, however, it pierced her forehead but there was no pain. Instead, her mind was filled with information. She now understood everything.

This figure before her, be it a god or a demon or something in between, had saved her and her crew so that it might have a servant on the mortal plane to do its bidding. She was once more subjugated to the will of another, yet she was still freer than she had ever been, even during her brief escapade. Free from death. Free from morality. Free to go, do and love whomever and wherever she wanted.

Her master had also granted her special powers with which to better serve him. Her new eye held the power to bend the minds of others to her will and allowed her to see through the eyes of those she controlled. As her pet Caesar needed no such control.

So long as she obeyed her master's wishes, she was free to do as she pleased. And she knew the first thing she wanted to do. The Master nodded as if in approval and she smiled gratefully as she bowed before returning to the hall aboard the ship. She immediately made for the cabin and Cristina.

* * *

Sophia lay in the afterglow of her first time. As she had always been told, it was a magical experience. She sat up, Cristina following suit and staring adoringly into her eyes. "I realise now how I feel towards you, Miss Sophia," she said lovingly. "I do love you. I am yours until the end of time."

Sophia smiled. "Then I would like you to help me with a little experiment."

"Experiment?"

Sophia explained about her master and the powers she had been granted. "I hoped you might allow me to test my powers on you," she finished.

"It would be an honour to help you, Miss Sophia. But know that this power is not necessary as I will do anything you say to make you happy."

Sophia wondered how much of this change in Cristina was her natural feelings emerging and how much was the result of her master's power. In the end, she found that she simply did not care and was just happy to have someone in her life who loved her so deeply.

"Thank you, Cristina," Sophia said gratefully. She brushed aside her hair and opened her magic eye. "You need only look into my eye and relax."

A warm, unearthly light began to emanate from the eye and Sophia observed the change in Cristina's features. Her expression became much more neutral as she stared. Her jaw slackened and her lips parted slightly. But the most striking change was in her beautiful blue eyes. The blue shifted to purple and they became glassy and lifeless. If not for the fact that she was still breathing, Cristina would have looked positively dead.

"Cristina?" Sophia whispered uncertainly. "Can... Can you hear me?"

"Si, Mistress Sophia," Cristina replied in a dull, lifeless tone.

"'Mistress'? I like the sound of that. You are under my complete control, si?"

"Si, Mistress Sophia. Under your complete control. Command and I shall obey."

"Oh? In that case... Stand."

Cristina stood up from the bed with her arms to her sides like a soldier awaiting orders.

"Stand upon on leg."

Cristina lifted one leg up off the floor and remained perfectly balanced.

"You are a cat."

Cristina dropped to her hands and knees and let out a series of soft purrs and meows.

Sophia's mind raced with ideas for what she could do with this power. She rushed onto the deck, where the party was dying down. She immediately made eye contact with Claudia and used her power to enslave the woman's mind. "You are a dog."

Claudia dropped to her knees and barked and howled. Another of the maids was about to question her but was quickly given the command "Freeze" and was immediately immobilized. Sophia spent the remainder of the night 'testing' her new power over her subordinates until a genius idea played out in her mind. She grinned wickedly.

* * *

Rumours began to spread all throughout the continent of a ghostly ship that had sunk twelve of the finest warships ever assembled and was roaming the oceans, seeking more prey to destroy. Of course, the idea was preposterous. Giovanni was not the superstitious type, even if his wife was. Right now, his greatest concern was getting his daughter back so he could secure the relations with Pazzi.

He was awaiting news from the capital on her whereabouts when one of his guards entered to inform him that a ship had docked and its captain demanded to see him and his wife. He told the guard to turn them away, but changed his mind when he heard who the captain was.

He hurried to the dock, meeting his wife along the way. They were met by their former servants, who took them aboard. The pair were in complete awe of the ghostly ship, but even more so of the captain. Sophia stood before them, a pirate's hat atop her head, wearing naught else but a pair of tight, dark purple bottoms with black boots, dark green gloves and a simple black bra over her breasts. Her skin was tinted purple, her black hair was now kept in a short ponytail with a fringe covering her right eye and now sported green streaks. Her one visible eye was now red and accentuated with dark purple eye makeup. She was barely recognisable as their daughter.

Giovanni was the first to speak. "Sophia, what is the meaning of this!?" he demanded. "First, you humiliate us in front of your arranged partner, then you disappear for three whole months and now you return dressed like some two-bit whore!? And this ship! What kind of monster have you become to obtain such an evil vessel!?"

Sophia chuckled. "Sophia? Please, Giovanni. "Sophia de' Carlini is dead. I am Riptide, Captain of the Sacro Orrore. Soon to be known throughout the world."

"What is this insolence!? You listen here and you-"

Riptide slapped her father so hard, he was thrown to the floor. Before Caterina could react, her eyes met her daughter's and a strange light overtook her mind. She stood stock still, her free will stolen from her and ready to serve.

Riptide hefted her father to his feet and faced him toward the villa. "Long have I waited for a chance to show you the hatred I have kept locked up in my heart all these years, 'father'. Now, you will see all you have taken from you, just as it was from me." She gave the signal and the cannons opened fire on the villa. The entire thing was reduced to mere rubble in a matter of minutes. Riptide could feel the horror her father felt at seeing his home destroyed and she loved every second of it.

Once the villa was no more, the ship set sail. Riptide watched in pure ecstasy as her father wept for his destroyed possessions. "Did you enjoy that, Giovanni?" she asked mockingly. "I think you will enjoy this even more. Mother?"

"Si, Mistress Riptide?"

"Denounce Giovanni as your husband and swear your loyalty to your captain."

"Giovanni is not longer my husband. I swear my eternal loyalty to Captain Riptide. I belong to her, mind, body and soul."

Riptide smirked. "Your home, your wife and your daughter have all been taken from you. All you have left is your life. To the plank with you."

As he stood at the edge of the plank, overlooking the cold ocean waters below, he started to beg for his life. Riptide was having none of it and simply kicked him off the edge. The crew got a good laugh from the sight of their former master as he hit the water. He was able to swim to safety, as Riptide hoped he would. Not because she still had some attachment to the rotten old fool; but because he could not truly appreciate what he had lost if he were to die.

She turned to her mother, still stood in her trance. "And as for you, Mother. You will need a change of clothes. You are no longer Caterina de’ Carlini. You are now named 'Nulla'. Nothing. You will be the ship slave, performing any menial task demanded of you for until the end of time. And you will enjoy doing so. Do you understand?"

"Si, Mistress Riptide." The crew got a laugh out of her fate too.

"Good. Then get to it." She snapped her fingers and her mother awoke from her trance state, ready to please her new masters. She was then taken for a change of clothes by Claudia.

"Now that my old life has been completely erased, it is time for the world to fear me. Set sail for Marxland. They will be the first to learn the name of the dread pirate, Riptide!"