"He has." A calm, regal voice called from behind them. Standing behind them in the doorway was the legendary Captain Atlantis Kailani Thalassa Zambezi, the Cardinal of the North. 

"Captain." Hawthorne nodded to her. "Is everything going alright?"

"Of course, of course. I'm not going to let any stowaways on the ship."

Jeanie remained politely silent.

She raised a dark-brown brow. "Just now?"

"After you'd brought a stranger aboard my ship and made her an official member of the crew without my approval?" Her voice held no accusation or hostility, just natural, arid heat. 

Atlantis looked down at Jeanie and coolly met her gaze, golden eyes striking against her midnight skin. 

Jeanie gazed back, hazel eyes soft and gentle as her sun-kissed features.

"I assure you, I won't." 

She stared into Hawthorne's eyes for a few seconds before giving him a curt nod. "Good." She turned her attention back to Jeanie. "And your apology is accepted. However, it would be very enlightening to know your name." Although her face was impassive, a hint of amusement danced in her bright golden eyes.

Atlantis gave Jeanie a queenly nod in return. "It's a pleasure, Miss Robins. I trust you'll prove to be a loyal, hard-working member of the "Seabelle" crew." 

Atlantis smiled slightly, and replied, "Then I welcome you aboard my ship. But first, come sit with me and tell my more about yourself." She gestured for Jeanie to sit back down at the table as she slide into a seat across from her. Somehow, she made even this simple movement smooth and graceful.

"Hawthorne, could you please fetch up some of the spearmint honey limeade? I believe we still have some left." She looked over at her first mate.

She clasped her hands on the table in front of her. "You were raised by nobility?" It was more of an observation than a question.

"Ahh, yes, the House of Robins. I've heard of them. In fact, I've raided some of their trading routes to the West." She leaned forward, lingering with the heavy fragrance of hibiscus, jasmine, sea breezes, and the sharp, fresh scent of ozone. That last scent was the one that signified her famed Rune of Weather. Although the dark-skinned, calm captain across the table from Jeanie didn't look like it, she was the living legend who'd  sunk an entire fleet of Classari ships in a matter of minutes with a devastating hurricane she'd summoned.

Legend says that the effort nearly killed her, but with that act she'd become the unrivalled Cardinal of the North. 

Atlantis' keen eyes noticed Jeanie's faltering smile and she pounced on it. "Miss Robins, I want to be crystal clear with you as to what you'll be doing in this line of work. We are pirates, and while I'm sure you've heard the glorious tales of hidden treasure and swashbuckling battles, let me tell you that it is often far from what you hear in the stories and legends." She she leaned forward, the smell of ozone heavy in the air. 

"As a pirate, you will have to do difficult things. You will be relentlessly hunted by the Classari, and they will show you no mercy if they catch you. You will know hardship and bloodshed." Her golden eyes blazed into Jeanie's. "And more likely than not, you will have to kill. Are you prepared to do that?"