<div style="text-align: justify;">That wasn't a merchant vessel. And it could by no means be mistaken for one. It was not clean, or tidy. It didn't carry the flag of any nation. It carried its own flag, and it had its own crew. A crew made of hardened men, dirty men from many nations, with just one thing in mind - profit. They did have a product to sell, though. It wasn't spices, or silk. It was a small product that would probably make for a good source of profit some day.<br/><br/>The little product was alive and breathing. It was tiny, with a fair skin, auburn hair and big green eyes, which at the moment had a scared expression. And the product seemed too scared to move from the corner where 'it' had been placed.<br/><br/>The little 'thing' was a girl, around ten years of age. She didn't know why she was there, or what those strange and stinky men would do to her. She could remember being back in London, trying to get someone to buy her a meal, and all of a sudden, she had woken up in that ship, unaware of how and why. And now, she was at the mercy of those men.<br/><br/>They didn't seem very interested in her at the moment, though, even though they had obviously taken her. They walked around, doing their own thing, while she sat there, on a very welcome corner away from the mess of men pacing back and forth. Every now and then one of the men looked at her. One man, speaking in a strange language, had offered her water, but the little girl doubted her ability to stomach anything at the moment.<br/><br/>One of them said something about what they would do when they reached land. Land? Which land? Would they let her go once they got there? Probably not, but hanging on to hope is normal for children. As soon as she felt the jerk the ship made when riding a wave, though, hope vanished, as the girl closed her eyes. A man laughed at the seasick child. It was always like this the first time. They usually got used to it, though. With a laughter, the man at the helm poked a boy's arm. "Go give the lass some water, lad", he ordered, pointing at where the girl held her knees tight. "If she doesn't want to drink, pat her face with a wet cloth and have her go down to the storage", the man completed. "You can come back up later, I need help with the map and the compass".</div>