AN: So, I'm back, and I'm re-writing this story, because I'm into a Tamora Pierce funk and can't get out of it. Note the word 're-write!' It's gonna be different. Juda was a Sue before (and previously named Kezia… I figure if I'm gonna redo her, I need a clean slate), and I'm going to eradicate those traits. It will also not turn the course of the books dramatically, and hopefully barely at all. So no AU, not really. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Chapter One

A rain of red-hot metal pelted the ship from what seemed like all directions, sending up cries of pain and anger from those fallen victim to it. A chunk of burning wood smashed directly through a porthole into the galley, shattering glass. More screams came from below as the trapped slaves realized their peril.

Cautiously, Juda put down the arm she'd flung up to protect herself with. She blinked to clear her spotted vision caused by the blinding thunderbolt she'd seen just before the ship exploded. Looking around, she had just enough time to dance away from the burning corpse come flying at her, landing before her feet.

The girl wrinkled her nose and jumped to the side as a cannonball landed in the water only a few feet away from them and the ship rocked violently, sending the body sliding towards her. Her arms flailed as she tried to regain her balance, but fell to the ground on her hands and knees. A splinter of damaged wood thrust into her right palm as she came down, and Juda cursed repeatedly, tears coming to her eyes in part from the pain and in part from the horrid smell and heat of the body beside her. Black and charred, the flesh was quickly being eaten by the flames feeding off it.

Hanging around the neck of the corpse, a flash of gold caught her eye. Sitting back on her knees, her hand bleeding, she warily reached out her good hand and tugged at the half-melted chain, receiving burned fingers for her efforts when she tried to hold the pendant. Blowing gently, she turned it over quickly so as to avoid consequence.

Her eyes widened, flickering from the familiar image to the body. Crossed swords! They were indented in the gold square, a symbol of Pauha's flagship. Pauha had worn the necklace since the deaths of their parents…

Flinging her arms behind her, Juda ignored the pain in her hand and scuttled as a crab would away from her sister's burnt shell. The reality of the situation slapped her in the face full-force as someone behind her screamed, "Look out!" Strong arms shoved her from behind, sending her tumbling down an open hatch to below-decks.

A high-pitched, deafening scream seared her eardrums as she fell to the bottom of the ladder, crumpling into a heap on the floor. The cause of the sound, a cannonball, broke through the center of the ship, sending wood, metal and people everywhere. The half of the ship she was in began to slant slowly. Barrels and boxes slid down, slaves weighted down by chains with them. A young man, thin, clawed at her legs, screaming. Disgusted by the touch she shook her foot and he fell towards the break where seawater was filling up.

Juda could see into the other half as it sank, the bow down first. Horror gripped her as with a huge sucking sound the force of the water pulled it down, creating a whirling bowl where it had been.

The tilt of the broken half-ship became steeper.

Something slammed into her, heavy. There were mutterings, then loud curses.

"Out o' th' way, ye little-" the pirate was cut off by the frantic cries of the slaves below, pounding at the entrance the two of them were currently blocking. The man pushed her down and scurried quick up the ladder. She grasped the rungs as gravity pulled them towards the whirlpool. A woman was not so lucky as she was pushed over by another and fell straight in. She circled briefly, terror on her face before she was pulled under.

Staring only for a moment, Juda wasted no time in following the man who'd cursed her.

There was wreckage everywhere. Hers was not the only ship to have been hit. Half the fleet – over half! – was destroyed. Juda grimaced and clenched her fists. Her nails pressed into her palms and a sharp pain reminded her of the splinter she'd received earlier.

The scream of a flying cannonball sounded again, and she looked up. The large stone was coming straight for her, would make impact at any moment. She crossed her arms over her face, waiting, thinking, No weakness, show no weakness, pirates do not show weakness… I don't want to die!

The broken vessel lurched once more as the cannonball grazed its side, and headed for the whirlpool.

Juda's mind and body jolted as she stumbled with the violent surge of the ship, toppling over the edge. Icy water surrounded her and she gasped. Liquid filled her lungs and her legs kicked, sending her to the surface. Her head broke through and she coughed violently, sucking in air as she could.

Wood moaned and creaked, and Juda turned to see the remains of her ship snap like a twig in the force of the pool. It had grown wider, devouring all that came too close. It reached for her hungrily.

Having grown up on a ship, born and raised on one, she had swimming techniques drilled into her brain that fled her now when she most needed them. Panicking, she kicked and paddled, desperate to get away. She gained no distance, but lost none either.

A nearby ship exploded. She looked up as the broken mast fell towards her, and the pool became ever stronger. Her mind screamed at her to move, but her legs would not work.

3...

Something tugged at her legs from below. The pool.

2...

Move!

1...

A few days before

A full moon shone its soft glow on the cold waters of the Pebbled Sea and the ship anchored in their midst. The scarlet banner that flew above the dark sails rippled under a gentle breeze. Thick ropes that made up the ratlines creaked as they rocked with the slow swaying of the vessel. In the distance, a small strip of land could be sighted with the bare eye. Everything worked together to create the scene of calm.

A harsh voice cut through the peace, and the wooden boards of the deck moaned under the pressure of pacing feet. At the stern of the ship, two figures of common build were silhouetted by the moonlight. One leaned on the brass-capped wheel, watching the other, more feminine person with amused obsidian eyes.

The man wore clothes of great value, silk and adornments, hidden by the robes of a mage wrapped around him to ward off night's chill, showing only his expensive leather boots. His companion wore much the same, shunning skirts but wearing a robe of no importance or significance. She paused in her pacing and glared at the man in response to a comment, then continued her tirade.

From below decks, bare feet padded up steps silently to the hatch. Lifting it with care, a pale honey-blonde head rose up slowly with all the presence of a ghost. It turned to the sound of voices, and then tilted to the sky. Light briefly shone over dark eyes, giving them a shimmer of life before wispy clouds drifted over to cover the moon and its providence.

The small newcomer walked quickly to the bow of the ship, unseen by the others on deck.

Juda climbed up the ropes at the bow, hanging like a net for one to lie on as she did. Drawing her knees up, her toes curled around the interlacing as she settled herself. Out of her patched breeches pocket came a golden trinket, a cheap necklace encrusted with much more expensive jewels. It had fallen from a sack of loot taken from a Trader ship that had gone down in a ferocious storm some months ago. Juda's sister, Pauha, who called herself Queen of the pirates, had taken a few others with her to pick over the wreckage. Rolling the cool metal and stones between her fingers, she mused over how to best pry the pretty stones from it without ruining them.

The familiar sounds of her sister's restless speech brushed past the girl ignored. It was her brother's calm and collected words that caught her attention.

"My dear sister, you worry too much. Things are nearly in place," he said off-handedly, his tone dismissing all thoughts of unrest. "Summersea will fall, and the raid by Glassfire-" here he smirked, "-will only be the first." There was silence as Pauha pondered this. Juda could see her face in her mind's eyes as she inspected her trinket; lips pursed, brow furrowed then slowly relaxing, the tanned skin smoothing out. Enahar could always be counted on to oversee things. After all, he was a university mage… for however much that mattered.

Slipping the necklace back into her deep pocket, Juda turned her body over so that she lay stretched out on her stomach, looking down at her watery reflection on the glassy black sea, illuminated by the moon's light. Juda grinned, wide enough that she could just catch a glimpse of one gold-capped tooth. The girl in the water grinned back at her, face slightly distorted by ripples from the breeze.

Pauha would scold her if she saw her like this, a risk Juda was willing to take with her siblings still only half the ship's length away. After all, Juda was a princess of pirates now, as sister to the queen. She could not act as rebellious as she had these past years, most certainly not around others. It would affect badly on them, and they would lose the loyal allegiance of the chiefs sailing under their lead. Common men would follow the greatest power easily enough, but the ones with enough intelligence to gain power of their own needed to be charmed.

Juda knew that she was not included in that word 'them.' 'They' were Pauha and Enahar, working together for their own personal gain and pride. Juda was the mistake made by her parents, and the annoying pebble in her siblings' boots that could often be ignored, sometimes became useful, and never moved.

But no one else needed to know that, and Juda was intent on the situation remaining that way.

"What ship do we put the girl on? She can't be in my way," Juda heard Pauha say. A smile twisted on Juda's face. She had pride of her own, and her sister wouldn't hear the end of it if she was referred to in such a way to others. Caught up in her thoughts, the girl almost missed her brother's response.

"…not as useless as you think, one day. Put her near the back where she won't be any trouble to us." There was a crackling, snapping sound as he stretched, then the heavy thunk of his booted footsteps. "Good night, sister. Patience."

Faster than her brother, Juda used the ropes on the sides of the ship to swing herself towards the hatch. Slipping inside, she closed it carefully.

Oh goody, her mind worked, wolfish grin hidden by the dark as she made her way to her empty bed. A backstage view of Summersea's slaughter. At least I won't be bored.

Present

The pool dragged at her from below the surface, the flaming mast fell from above.

In her terror Juda forgot herself; she filled her lungs with a deep, gasping breath, and in that same moment two things happened: the mast veered away in mid-air, rocked by the setting-off of a boom-stone, and a shard of it hit Juda in its path squarely on the shoulder.

Seconds later, as the pain of her fresh burn forced the girl into action, Juda made to swim and as she thrust down with her legs, the whirlpool claimed her as its victim.

She panicked as she was sucked down, eyes open and she closed them against the debris in the water. The icy sting against her injuries would have made her scream at any other time but not now, when air was so crucial.

Tossed from side to side like a worthless doll against the waves, Juda fought the pool with all her pent-up energy. Stretching out her arms, she pushed herself forward, attempting to go outwards despite the way she was turning and turning, all the while going down farther and farther.

Her outstretched hand – dyeing the water red with the blood that dribbled from its wound – brushed against something. Juda opened her eyes, her vision blurry, to see what she had found.

Deathly white and bloated, the slave's corpse fell quickly to the bottom of the pool, the iron links still binding its ankles together. Wide, staring eyes bore into hers.

Juda closed her eyes and kicked again, pushing at the tide with spread arms. She fought her way to the surface that she could feel, just beyond her reach.

She didn't notice when she became free of the pull of the whirlpool, or when first her legs and then her arms gave way. It was only a matter of minutes, but she was oblivious to all that went on around her, bent only on getting away from the horror. She clung to a ship hatch-cover, her bleary eyes catching sight of a small ship at the back of the fleet.

Enahar.

Her brother was alive! Her sister was gone, but her brother--

Lightning split the air, giving birth to a rumbling, deafening thunder. The small ship exploded. Nothing was left of it but burning debris and wreckage, like so many others.

--was also gone.

Juda crawled wearily onto her hatch cover, able to fit her whole body on with room to spare. Floating aimlessly, she inspected her hands with dull eyes, the bruising already gone down as the splinter had worked its way free and the water cleaned the wounds.

When she'd come across her parents' dead bodies, horribly mutilated, their throats slit, in her father the captain's cabin, she hadn't shed a tear. Only eight years old then, she'd silently walked up the deck and announced, "They're dead," looking pointedly at her sister and brother. Later, Enahar told her – after Pauha had claimed to be captain from that day forth – that their parents were weak. She'd believed him. Even then, she'd had no toleration for weakness.

A warm, wet substance trickled down the side of her face. It ran into the corners of her mouth, and she was given the metallic taste of her own blood. She sat up, only to feel light-headed and dizzy. Falling limply back down, she was dimly aware of seeing the shoreline of Summersea Harbour come closer…

Thorvard tried to keep his dinner down as the longboat slid through the gore-filled waters. Dead, everywhere, and they'd already had to row carefully around some suspicious-looking boxes and barrels. They'd been told to search for survivors. Survivors! Thorvard snorted in disgust. What survivors could there be here? The only good pirate was a dead pirate!

Even so, they'd already sent a few back, badly wounded. He'd guessed them to be slaves.

"Dirty jishen," he muttered under his breath, using the Trader word. "I could be in my home, in bed, not worrying about having to clean up after them-"

"Over there!" someone behind him whispered. Thorvard looked behind him, then at the pointing finger. The boat bumped against another body; he pushed it away with a staff he'd been equipped with.

Right, the skeptical man thought, sneering. Pirate ghosts are going to attack. Curs'd they are, every last one of 'em!

A body came into view. Unlike so many others, this one was alive. The small chest rose and fell slowly. Grabbing a lantern from the floor of the boat, he reached out with the staff and prodded the form to awake it even as they got closer. The light illuminated sharp features, shadows dancing over the creases of joints and clothing. Lifting the lantern a little higher yet, it cast a glow on the survivor.

"Why, it ain't more'n a girl!" came the soft exclamation from behind him. Covered in burns – couldn't be too bad, though, they were half-healed already – a good gash on her temple, scabbed over, and wearing-

"If that's only a girl, then I'm Dedicate Skyfire," Thorvard growled. "Bloody pirates!"

"Pirate or no," a cold voice said from the back of the boat. "Get her in here. We need not be here any longer."

Still muttering to himself, Thorvard bent over the edge of the longboat and lifted the girl in his arms. She moaned and shifted, but nevertheless he dumped her carelessly on the wooden bottom.

"Careful, man! Shurri and Hakkoi, you'd think she set it all up herself!"

Thorvard growled low in his throat, and sat down. Wrapping the girl with angrily trembling hands in a blanket, he set her down again slightly. Her blonde hair was streaked with crimson blood, so dark it looked black in the moonlight.

"She's got the Duke's justice. Let him and Harrier decide on the consequence for being what she is," Thorvard muttered under his breath. They neared the shore. Finally, he could get some much-needed sleep.

Funny, it almost seemed like the pirate chit was frowning at him.