Artemisia's boots padded softly up the hewn wooden stairs to the upper deck where she emerged from the dimly lit underdeck into the brilliant afternoon sunlight. With the sun shining, she couldn't help but feel dread as the thoughts of the band of brigands that swam thru her head. She spotted Omero near the railing still and approached him with his bread roll that she had gone to the galley for. The wind whipped her black tresses about her head as she strode over to him, as she did so, Artemisia took note of the captain and the native man on the main deck. Artemisia offered out the bread roll to him with a complacement smile, "Here, you are. I ran into a funny man downstairs in the galley there. I'll tell you later about it as I noticed that the captain is on deck and I want to go speak with him while I have the chance." With that, she promptly departed and made her way over to the captain. 

	As she approached, Artemisia sized up the captain and once again couldn't but help to admire his lean body, tanned skin and shiny black hair. The native man, even with his hooked nose like a hawk was still attractive to her, especially in the exotic taste. The captain was alone asides from the native, making it easier for her to approach him. 

	Clearing her throat, Artemisia began with a calm, inquistive statement, "Captain, if you don't mind, I would like a word with you in regards for tonight." She glanced at the even darker skinned man and nodded politely at him. "I don't believe we've really met, but I am Artemisia. I was the one in the crow's nest last night chucking pebbles at that...thing last night; I believe you called it a harbinger this morning if I'm not mistaken." Artemisia extended her hand for the captain to shake, in turn, she would also introduce herself to the native man so that she could both learn their names.

"...That was precisely my thinking, Yanci." Emilio began with a low hum. He stroked his faint beard and glared toward the southern horizon. Peaks and valleys appeared just over the rim surrounded by clouds and mist. "If we could bypass them entirely, that would serve our purposes much easier," he continued, "but the waters would be even more dangerous on the journey back."

"And that's why I suggested that we need to take them out tonight." Epunamun chimed in. "Otherwise we run the risk of having our plans revealed by someone in Essaouira, and we'd be little more than bloated, floating ducks at that point."

"The only option in that case is to meet them with our port bow, captain." The Navigator, Yanci, finally said. 

"Yes." Emilio responded, distracted by the flurry of ideas running through his head. "We'll need a boarding party, we'll let the boat down on the starboard side of the ship, row in under the stars. Find some men, Epu; strong, and smart men."

A curt, attention-seeking noise came from somewhere behind. Emilio twirled around to find a familiar face. It was the girl who'd started the jovial atmosphere of the first night. She was familiar, yet unfamiliar all the same. He couldn't place a name to her face. She introduced herself. Armetisia.  The name came through like a wave. It washed reality from his vision and conjured memories of the room where he took his studies. It smelled of lilac from the garden below, and whiskey from his father's bar. He remembered the Greek and Persian Histories he learned, he remembered imagining he was on one of the Halicarnassus wing vessels; riding the Mediterranean waves behind the white clothed Artemisia I of Caria. He could practically smell the bronze in the air, even now. It brought a smile to his face. 

He took the hand offered, peered into the crystalline eyes which caught and mingled with the sunlight, and bowed to kiss where the fingers met the hand. "Your namesake moves me." he said honestly as he rose again. There was a certain rush which came with this new brand of honesty, it was exhilarating and embarrassing all at the same time; and for that it was almost passionately intimate. Catching up with the rest of the dialogue he stepped aside and glanced over at Epu, who had his arms crossed, still watching the map. He gave the girl a halfhearted acknowledging smirk along with a nod, and continued with the map.  

"...Yes," Emilio covered the silence, "A Harbinger. I don't know much other than it was probably summoned here through magical means, and possibly on behalf of someone else. I'm afraid I can't really answer any questions about that though, I know as much as you do about how all this magic is supposed to work." Emilio glanced over to Epu, remembering the mission, who in turn glanced over at him. "Artemisia," Emilio said with a smile, still looking at Epu. The native man looked at his Captain and the girl intermittently. Emilio turned his attention back on who he was addressing, "if you aren't busy, perhaps you'd like to hear about our plan to deal with these pirates. You say that you were helping fight the Harbinger last nighy? Well, maybe you could even help us then, how would you like that?"

Epunamun chimed in there, "Captain, maybe you're getting ahead of yourself."

"I don't think so, Epu." Emilio chided childishly. "Anyone with the name of one of the commanders at the Battle of Salamis ought to be considered for a navel mission, out of respect for the ancients."

"If that were true you'd have to accept a jaguar as your yoeman if I recommended one." Epu responded coldly. 

"And I would too, if you ever did. That would have to be one hell of a jaguar. But until then, we've got our own lioness right here." With a slap on the shoulder Emilio shook Armetisia, "isn't that right?!"

	The captain spun about, startling her. Instead of shaking her hand like she had imagine he would do, he chose to kiss her hand. Electricity shot up from the very tips of her fingers all the way to her neck, leaving goosebumps like a trail. She gently withdrew her hand from his, her face flushed red with surprise and a bit of shyness. Artemisia fumbled for the next words but found herself stuttering.

"Well...ah...I..." Your namesake moves me... His words echoed in her mind like a faint bell tolling on a misty morning back in Florentia. Personally, Artemisia never bothered to pursue romantic adventures of any kind with anyone. She didn't have time for love, as life was too fleeting to be concerned with the feelings of another; or at least so she believed. Mentally, Artemisia dismissed what just happened, and convinced herself that Emilio was just an eccentric fellow, much like Stefano.

	She closed her mouth and let Emilio finish speaking. The native man looked at her with but a smirk and a nod, making her wonder what he was possibly thinking. Did he think that she was inferior to him? Her eyes narrowed as she studied him closely for a moment or two before returning her gaze back to the captain. As he spoke of the harbinger, Artemisia believed it to be true, that whatever it was, was indeed a magickal entity. She simply nodded along as he spoke, and then he said her name again. She brought her silvery grey eyes to meet his, the way he uttered her name made her feel weak in the knees; for the reason why, she could not say. He offered to have her listen to their plans on what to do about the looming pirate attack, though his companion seemed less enthusiastic about receiving her help. A devious gleam appeared in her eyes as the desire to prove him wrong rose up in her chest like a burning candle flame.
Suddenly, he slapped her on the back, claiming that they had their own lioness on deck. Here Artemisia smiled widely, "Aye! I wouldn't mind taking a gander at what you have planned, I'm no military strategist, but I certainly have an open mind; and a fresh eye wouldn't hurt at all. What do you have planned so far, Captain?"

Emilio grinned. 

"We plan to slow our approach, and come in the night, perhaps drawing them toward us. We'll turn off our torches, lower our sails, and blend in with the sky and sea. We'll drop a boarding party into a dingy, and they'll make their way around the opposing ship as we make our approach, quite loudly I might add. Hopefully, with a little timing, and admittedly near-perfect maneuvers, we could synchronize our attacks to overwhelm them, boarding them before they have the chance to get their boots on. We have plenty of guns aboard, and we should be able to take them at close range. There's more to the story, of course, but that's more than you would need to know."

Emilio let the information sink in. He needed to let it do the same for him. For some reason, and there was no word he could recall to properly describe what he felt, there was a burning impulse within Emilio to ask this girl to risk her life. It wasn't out of malice, though one could never truly discount that, but it wasn't out of pure necessity either. It was a kind of curious spirit in him, one which --as far as he could remember-- was always there. Part of it, Emilio rationalized, was how enthused she seemed about the whole situation. How would someone like this fair in an environment such as that?

"Could you envision yourself on such a mission?" Emilio asked.

	Artemisia listened intently to the captain’s words as he spoke, describing the details of the plan to her. He told her of how he planned to extinguish all the lights aboard The Burned Bitch, and wait for the cover of nightfall to board the other ship and commandeer it, she wondered if he intended to kill the other people above the ship, since he mentioned that they had plenty of guns. She stared at the toes of her boots as his last question hung on her conscience. [i]’Could you envision yourself on such a mission?’
	 Seven years ago, when Artemisia first met Lorenzo de Las Manos, she had learned how to listen for the jingle of coins in a person’s footfall. The louder the noise, the more coin they carried. She could never forget the lesson Lorenzo bestowed on her one night in the dark alley ways of Sintra. The two of them, dressed in black to blend in with the shadows, lurked silently in the darkness off a main road. Lorenzo spotted a young farm girl walking alone towards the city gate and prodded Artemisia sharply in the side.

	“That’s your mark. See how she has her coin purse on her hip? You can either rob her upfront, or you can cut the purse without her knowing.” Lorenzo was blind in one eye, and it had turned to a milky white colour, his face leered out at her even in the cover of the shadows. His breath rank of mead, garlic and cheese. Artemisia looked hesitantly at the girl as she passed by their alley way, and darted after her. One would not recognize Artemisia in her guise, as she had wiped ash through her hair to grey it; a false nose tip, and some cleverly applied mud made for a mole. To others, Artemisia appeared to be a hobbled old beggar woman. 

	“Dearie! My precious girl, I think you dropped this.” Artemisia called after the girl, who only looked to be in her early teenage years. Extending her hand out to the girl, she displayed a simple golden locket in the palm of her hand. The girl halted and whirled about, looking at the old woman curiously as her hand went to her throat. 

	“I must have forgotten that I was wearing it! Thank you oh so much!” The young girl plucked the locket out of the palm of Artemisia’s hand and eyed it closely before slipping it inside an inner pocket.

	“Oh you’re very welcome, may God bless your soul precious child.” And with that, Artemisia hobbled away again into the darkness. 
	Once she had returned to the cover of night, Lorenzo snatched Artemisia by the arm, hissing with menace, “How dare you not do as I say! You simply gave her the locket! You fool!” He raised his arm to strike her when she pulled away from his iron-like grip. 

	“Don’t always assume Lorenzo!” Artemisia threw the coin purse down at his feet with a haughty look in her silvery eyes. The older man gasped with surprise because he had not witnessed her taking the coin purse. Lorenzo began to chuckle as he opened the purse up and started to count the coins inside.
	
	“You my girl are very clever, more than I thought you to be.”[/i]
	
	Artemisia looked at Emilio, the same glimmer in her silver eyes had returned, not to rob, but at the chance to learn a new lesson. She smiled brightly at the captain and exclaimed, “I know I can, the only thing that would be a problem are my clothes. I would be easily spotted in firelight wearing this. If I can find some black garments, perhaps even a cloak with a hood would suffice, I believe that I could succeed in the task. May the Goddess stop me if she desires.” Artemisia looked quickly to the sky and pressed a fist to her lips before looking back to Emilio. “Will you stay aboard here or will you lead the party personally?”

Emilio smirked as he glanced at Epu, who'd been watching the exchange intently. The American's chissled fingers clasped at his freshly shaved jawline with anxiety, and exasperation: he appeared as a man at the end of his rope. But with Artemesia's answer Epu seemed to find some solace. He let out an inaudible chuckle when Emilio looked toward him. The looks they exchanged toward one another was one of assurance, it was one of success; they'd shared it many times before. 

"I couldn't leave the Bitch at such a dire time, I need to lead her into battle. This, however, is Epunamun's speciality. He'll lead the aweigh team as my first officer, and hopefully find some success." With that Emilio directed Artemisia's full attention toward Native man behind her. He was a man stuck between worlds, with the beads in his hair, and knots in his hands. The collar of his overcoat brushed ever slightly with his chin and the bone necklace tied around his neck. He smiled as if it was the first ever moment of relief he'd had on the journey, as it likely it was.

"I'll take care of your needed attire, milady. Meet me in the gun room after supper and I'll see to your basic arms training, as well."  Epu said in a clear Spanish, the next best language he knew next to his mother tongue; he only hoped she understood. "For now, you should help your friend feel better. If he's in fighting form by tonight, we'll be taking him too."

A moment of silence passed and so Emilio spoke up, "That is all. Go prepare now, girl." It was a curt, dismissive order, and may have even come off as abrasive. As Artemisia stepped away the two friends smiled at each other. Emilio gave a wink before meeting Epu in a handshake. 

"Well caught, Captain." Epu said in English. 

"Ah, you've always been an excellent lineman, Epu." Emilio responded as he watched Artemisia walk away. A glinting from somewhere in the corner of his vision beckoned him, and he realized it was Allana's eyes glistening in the sunlight. "Excuse me for just a moment," Emilio said to the navigator in the defaulted Portuguese as he crossed the deck to meet with his mystic ally.

Unfortunately, though for the better, Emilio informed Artemisia that he would have to stay aboard the ship, yet his companion would be leading the boarding party. The native man, whose name was Epunamun, spoke to her in perfect Spanish, causing her to furrow her brows; making her listen to every word. At the end, she raised her brows in ease and smiled at him,
[i]”Muchas gracias Epunamun, te veo anoche.”[/i] Thank you very much Epunamun, I’ll see you tonight.
             With that, Artemisia turned on the heel of her foot after Emilio dismissed her and headed back to the railing where she had last saw Omero. Yet when she reached the railing, she found him to be nowhere in sight. She assumed he had headed below deck, maybe to retrieve his clothing at least. If that was the case, Artemisia could fix his robe for him like she had promised. 
            Telling time was never easy for her, to her, it still seemed to be midday, just past noon perhaps. Then again she never bothered with time, except for when the sun set or when the sun rose.

{Credits [@MacabreFox] [@The New Yorker] }