“It’s all in the timing”, Bianca said quietly to herself as she watched the choppy white foam between the Albatross and the Salty Siren. The sun’s first rays appeared over the ship’s bow a deep blood red, but Bianca didn’t have time for old sailors’ tales and omens. She made her own destiny, and she had picked these battles a long time ago. If she didn’t make this jump she was fish food, but the turbulent waters between the tethered ships was nothing compared to the tempest raging in her heart that fueled her mission of justice.

Staring defiantly for a moment into the rising sun, Bianca thought of how far she had come since that dark night that changed her life at sixteen. Several long months ago Bianca thought she knew the secrets of the little town where she grew up, but she had been wrong–dead wrong. There was so much more to the story of her elderly protectors, Perkins and Clara, who were brutally killed by the pirates. Since running away from home to protect her mother, learning the truth had never been easy, but through a wide array of newfound skills (gambling and treachery, for example), Bianca gradually found the answers she needed.

In addition to the trials and troubles, these six months held many fond memories for Bianca. She would miss some of the merchant ship’s men, especially the ones who had helped her grow sea legs. Still, it was time to move on. She was grateful to the merchant captain, but he lacked the ambition needed to carry Bianca’s burden of revenge.

This restocking tether would be her only chance to infiltrate the enemy’s ranks. The joining of ships on the Red Sea was a rare occurrence on its own, but to think that the adjoined ship was the same crew that had killed her beloved Perkins and Clara–This could be no coincidence. Bianca had learned to not question events like these. The more attention she paid, the more she noticed that her entire life was a series of pre ordinations and fateful appointments. It was almost as if all the divine forces of Elysium were leading her to something. To what she didn’t know, but she would follow.

After checking the makeshift harness that fastened her dual sabers to her back one more time, Bianca stopped daydreaming and focused her attention on the waves below. She had to pick the crucial moment during which the Salty Siren’s deck was lower than that of the Albatross. The two ships bobbed chaotically in the choppy waters, and if she picked the wrong moment it was all over. She cleared her mind of distractions (she was so easily distracted these days) using the breathing techniques Perkins had taught her an eternity ago. After a few long breaths, her mind was sound and she was confident.

The pivotal moment came, and with the spryness of a seagull taking flight, Bianca jumped into her new life… once again.