Oslo, Norway, 1720<br/><br/>Seeing foreign ships was a rare treat in Oslo harbour, and seeing ships that flew no colours was a rarer treat still. Almost all ships to enter and leave the harbour were from the Royal Danish Navy - any goods bought or sold in Oslo usually went by Copenhagen first.<br/><br/>All of this went through the head of a ten-year old boy, who liked to spend his days at the harbour after his chores were done. Today, he was done faster than usual - the cruel matron at his orphanage had taken ill, and was bedridden, so she was not in a fit state to run the children as hard as she usually did.<br/><br/>The little boy approaches the ship, only to see a few grizzled men get off deck. They seemed to be speaking English - the boy had learnt a bit of it from the local priest, a kindly man - and with a gruff dialect. As he saw the men head for a local tavern, he followed.<br/><br/>"... And the girl don't eat nor sleep. I'm beginning to wonder wot kind o' purpose we go' 'er for. Seriously, there ain't noone who'll wan' 'er fer three years, at least."<br/><br/>"Aye. And don't ferget, th' captain don't even let 'er work. We could use a kid around ter clean the decks, carry powder and all tha'."<br/><br/>The boy hears all of it. He approaches the men.<br/><br/>"Uhm... I hear what you say. I can clean and carry. Can I come on ship?"<br/><br/>The English is a little broken, but the men perks their eyebrows.<br/><br/>"Ge' lost, kid, ge' back ter yer parents."<br/><br/>The kid stomps, stubborn.<br/><br/>"I have no parents! I no want to go back!"<br/><br/>The men look at one another. They lean in close to one another and have a hushed conversation. They grunt at the boy, and grin.<br/><br/><br/>One hour later, the boy is presented to the captain. He looks at the kid. The captain looks at the kid, grunting. He addresses the kid in fluent Danish:<br/><br/>"Well, boy. You say you're an orphan. And you want to get away. Do you have any idea what you're signing up for, kid?"<br/><br/>The boy, ever stubborn, glares at the captain, taking the bait hook, line, and sinker.<br/><br/>"Piracy."<br/><br/>The captain looks at the kid for the longest time.<br/>Then he laughs.<br/><br/>"Quite right, boy! You're clever. Alright, I don't really give a shit weather or not you have parents. If you can work, you're in. Your first job is to feed the girl belowdecks, she won't accept anything my men give her. Go on."<br/><br/>The boy nods. He pokes his head inside the room the ship's cook was located.<br/><br/>"Hello. I am here to pick up food for a girl."<br/><br/>The cook looks at the kid, surprised that any kid his age was capable of speaking English in this part of the world, but hands over the meal without saying anything. The boy takes it and heads for the brig.<br/><br/>As he finds the girl, he feels a pang of pity for her. She was pretty, to be sure. Very much so, in fact. But she was scared, as well. The boy walks up to the bars of the cage, putting himself in proper light. The girl could see he was a little on the short side, not very muscular, but with a smooth face and a long mop of blonde hair and blue eyes. Clad in rags, the boy looked no better for the wear than the girl did. he just stood there for a short while, before speaking.<br/><br/>"I have food. And water. Are you hungry?"<br/><br/>The Norwegian accent is thicker than glue, but at the very least, it's gentle and understandable.