• The men sang away on the merchant vessel, all attending to their duties in a somewhat drunken mirth. They had just shipped out from port again, and Liam, who was eager to be on the waves yet again was again hit with the glee of when he signed on this ship. When he was sixteen, he and his mother left England and moved back to Ireland. About a year later, she died of an illness, and he signed on this ship, Culmore's Beauty and they had been trading since then. The crew all liked Liam well enough, he had often started the shanties they sang on board as they worked. He even saved a crew members life when he was swept overboard. And he held his liquor very well, much to the delight of his crewmates. An English man that drank as well as any Irishman. His mother, Anne, was an English woman who married his Irish father Donald. But Donald left when he was a baby, the only thing he left was his knife, which he left for Liam for when he "became a man". The knife was a gift handed down through Donald's family, and it had made it to Liam. Anne had told her son that he wasn't a bad man at all, that he was a loving husband and good man. But his leaving was a mystery. Liam sometimes hated his father for leaving, and hoped to maybe find him one day. Maybe to understand. Maybe to gut him. Who could say? Liam shrugged off his thoughts and continued singing with his crew. He smiled now, knowing this is where he wanted to be.

    Little did the crew know that they were in for a deal of trouble. Hanging off the side of their ship, a girl, 18, held tightly to her dagger, buried in the ship's side. She easily clung on unnoticed as the sailors aboard sang their songs. She wasn't the only one either. Her entire crew hung tightly to the side of the ship. Captain's orders. As the Culmore left dock, the crew had swiftly plunged their knives into the wood of the ship, aiming carefully for the lines where two boards met. Jane De Belleville was her name. Her father was a pirate. It was natural that she herself become one. She was spoiled as the Captain's daughter and delighted in the many adventures on the sea. She never felt more at home than standing on the wooden floorboards of a ship. Or hanging off the side of one. As now. She shot glances to her crew mates and smiled deviously. They had waited for nearly an hour, needing the ship far from the dock before they went in for their attack. Their ship, hidden away back near shore, was now far off. The Captain knew this would be the case and warned his crew beforehand that failure was not an option, as there was one ship and two crews. One crew too many. Jane reached up with one hand, aggressively pulling her bandanna tight and glanced at her best friend and crewmate, Peter Morris. He was 22, the only one of the crew near her age. He nodded to her. Silently, the crew awaited the single from the captain. A minute passed. Suddenly, three short, abrupt, and very sharp knocks could be heard against the wood. That was their signal.

    Liam walked along deck, smelling the salty ocean air and relaxed. He finished his work, as did most of the crew. They were now taking it easy, and doing what pleased them. Liam looked to his friend William who handed him a bottle of rum. Liam gratefully drank and passed it back.
    "Beautiful day, don'cha think Liam?" the 17 year old said to him.
    "Aye, that it is my friend" replied Liam.
    "I'm headed below deck for some food. Care to join?" William urged him.
    "I'll stay here, Will. I'm not as fond of below deck as up here".
    "Suit yourself then". William dismissed himself and Liam sat on the stairs leading to the helm. He pulled out his knife and began sharpening it, thinking again about his father.

    The knocks were all they needed. The pirates ascended. Jane wasted no time, having the same ambition as her father. The entire crew let out a vicious cry as the grabbed the sides of the deck and pulled themselves over, not sparing a second. Jane took her dagger, bashing the side of a sailor close to the side railing and, with all her strength, thrust him overboard. He couldn't have reacted, much thanks to their element of surprise. She looked forward and smiled as she saw the rest of the crew doing the same, taking out seven men upon making the deck. Her father, Killian De Belleville, boarded from the opposite side of her, and gave her a proud look as he turned and buried his knife into a nearby sailor. Shouts arose, and suddenly chaos broke out.

    Liam sprang up as a hand grabbed him from over the railing. He quickly pulled away and saw a young man, a few years older than him attack him. Raising his knife, he slammed the man's head on the railing and thrust his knife into the neck of the man.
    "Pirates! We're under attack, to arms!" Liam shouted. He rushed below deck, shoving a pirate down as he made his way swiftly down. Men were rushing for anything they could use as a weapon. Harpoons, pistols, kitchen knives, some swords and axes. Liam found William and said, "Find a weapon, Will! Pirates!" Frantically William found a harpoon, and Liam took up a loaded flintlock pistol into his left hand, his knife in his right. Here we go, Liam thought to himself and readied for his first battle.