Fedrin tossed and turned in his sleep, mumbling to himself. The dreams had come back again. The last time he'd had these dreams was before the incident. Before Button had been killed. The time before that, he'd had them before Sequi had died. And before that, before Denir had been killed. He hated the dreams. They resembled a big change in his life. But did he want change? No! Did whoever decided to control his fate care? Nope. 'To the nearest pit with these diety-things.' he had said often, 'We dun want 'em meddlin' with our lives so they shoul' leave us alone!' Again, did they care what he thought? Nope. He rolled over again on the narrow bed, the dream suddenly ensnaring him in its dream-like clutches. He watched, helpless, as a wing of dragons flew down towards his ship. They tore the sails and rendered The Silver Scabbard unable to move. Then, they surrounded the broken vessel in the air. A man sitting all high and mighty on the neck of his white dragon looked down at the crew. His voice boomed across them all, so they could hear him clearly, "You pirates have been accused of plundering. Those of you that are elder than fifteen shall face the gallows tommorrow. Those of you younger than fifteen shall be put into the care of a dragonrider until you are fifteen." he boomed. Below, Setin - the orphan - spoke up defiantly, "And what of those who are fifteen?" he demanded and Fedrin saw himself shake his head. The dragonrider turned his cold gaze on the boy, "You will be forced to do penance at the Weyr." he replied. "What Weyr?" Sienilli challenged, her daughter being fifteen in a few moons. "Falas!" another rider snapped. The dream-Fedrin stepped foreward then, "Fine then!" he said regally from the bow of the ship, "We will come quietly." Then, the dream faded. Fedrin woke in a cold sweat, panting. He looked around and tried to calm himself. Dragons.... he seethed inwardly, So high and mighty. Well, they can go to the pits too! A knock on his cabin door made Fedrin jump and rush to the door. He opened it and saw darkness outside. Blessed night. The dream had happened during the day. They were usually accurate on these grounds. "What is it, Hayden?" he asked, rubbing his forehead. "We're reaching the Hold, sir." the other man replied, "Should be there by the 'morrow." "Ah, that's good." Fedrin replied, "We need to restock." "I would advise against that, Captain." another man loomed in the darkness outside, "This island's full of dragonriders." "No need t'worry, Spike, we switched the flag!" Hayden said to the other man. "A flag is not safety." the younger, blond man protested, his eyes narrowing. Fedrin sighed loudly and looked at the two men. One was his first mate, the other was an experienced pirate. Both were to be trusted. Did he care? Nope. Just like whoever decides to give me those sharding dreams. he thought. "We're still goin', Spike, w'need to stock up." he said commandingly. Spike gave him a glare before receeding into the shadows. Fedrin's eyes narrowed before he turned back to Hayden. "You're sure we'll be there on the 'morrow?" he asked. "Stinilli can see the land from here." was the reply. Fedrin shook his head, "Th'girl's insane." he replied. He always said that when it came to Spike's offspring. This time, however, Hayden gave him a serious look, "She might be crazy but she's a sharding good lookout, man!" Fedrin nodded, "I know tha'!" he snapped, "Now, rouse the others. W'need to look respectable." *** Spike grinned at his daughters from their position up in the crow's nest. He could see the Hold coming nearer. This would be fun. The restocking job fell on the Captain and First Mate's shoulders. What would he be doing? He would be causing mayhem. They've also recruited that little pyro, I see. he thought, Good. Stiena and Stinilli looked at him expectantly and he looked out at the Hold again in the pre-dawn light. "See that, girls?" he asked softly, "That's a giant playground. You can do anything you like there but only by night and when nobody's watching." The girls nodded eagerly and he laughed to himself before going back onto the deck. Wonderful little things. So obedient. he thought. As he watched the shoreline from the deck, he began to make out a few details. Like the dragons flying around the cliff. Dragons?!? his mind yelped. He went straight to Fedrin, "There are dragons up there!" he said urgently. Fedrin gave him an exasperated look, "Live wi' it, mate, we're goin' there." he replied. Oh sure. he thought, 'Live wi' it, mate, we're goin' there.' I'll make a note of that when I'm hanging from a noose! But, did the Captain care what his crew thought? Nope. Does anybody? he wondered then shook his head. Nope. Spike stood by the anchor, waiting for the order to drop it. A large ship like 'Scabbard couldn't just pull up to the docks. You had to row to shore. Rowing... I loathe rowing. he smoldered. He eyed the sea-side Hold rather warily. It was in his nature not to trust. Why? Like I know. he scoffed. The Captain walked up to him, "I'm sorreh Spike but we're keep somun' else aboard this time." he began. Spike could barely believe his good fortune. He would get to mingle with the land-lubbers after all! And the ale. They may be stupid, but they make good drinks. he mused. "No problem, sir, Setin will do a good job watching the ship." Unlike most pirates, Spike had not adopted slang. Neither had his children. They adored him, it seemed. The pirate straightened his vest before going to stand at the stern of the ship. He liked standing up there. It gave him a sense of power. And every sane mane wants power... he thought. 'Every sane man years for power but only the insane one strives for it.' his own father had said. And a lot of good it did him. He is dead now, unable to yearn or strive anymore. Spike did not care much for his father. In fact, he thought the man rather stupid. A stupid, stupid man. He had admired power from a distance with such lust that he was killed for stalking. Silly, stupid man. His mother, however, had never been known to him. Dead at his birth. Like Setin's. That boy is un-understandable. he shut that thought off quickly. Truth was, he missed Button and Sequi also. He didn't let onto it, though. Just like Fedrin kept his sadness of his father Denir's death quiet. Smothered. 'Keep emotions bottled inside and you'll soon explode... Or implode. Either way, it's a bad thing.' the old Captain used to say. Pfft. Like a grown man would start crying over a friend's death. Especially a pirate. He walked down to the rowboat once most of the others were in it and helped lower it from aboard the ship. The rowboat clunked into the water with a splash and Spike nodded to those aboard it. Then he climbed down to join them and picked up the oars. back .:.:. continue