End of flashback

She was there. She was the lady sitting behind Sean and his beloved son, Nathan. She looked so young back then. I guess royalty doesn't guarantee immortality. I want to ask her if she remembers me but something in me just screams that that's a bad idea. And that feeling maybe right; she's a Prescott after all. They can't be trusted, not even the outcasts.
I open another book, randomly picked from one of the many shelves, and I'm caught by surprise when the first thing I see is my father.
A portrait painted of him so many years ago. Back when he was promoted to general of the Prescott army.
The badges neatly lined up on his dark blue and black coat, shinning bright, even though it's a painting. A professionally trimmed beard, not a single grey hair showing, his eyes full of hope and potential.
He really thought he was saving the town by joining the military. He was one of the kindest and most respected guards in the whole army. Respected by everyone, besides his own soldiers. Sean knew my mother; she would've never stolen not even when she was hungry and had no gold. But still he ordered to kill her and my father was powerless against the king's commands.
"General William Price"
There's a text written under the portrait. I quickly scan over it and see the basic information about my father.
Respected member of the royal guard, no criminal record, one child, married to Joceline Price.
It's a whole biography about my father; from where he was born until the time he became general. I was about to close the book, to take another one, when suddenly something catches my attention.
Some kind of additional text, in Spanish, added to the picture in blood red ink and an elegant handwriting.
"You don't happen to be a master of the Spanish language by any chance."
I ask Maxine. She turns towards me with an eyebrow raised.
"Lucky for you reading Spanish is one of my skills." She gestures me to let her stand on my place to read the book and observes the page carefully. "When I get bored I tend to read, Nathan didn't really appreciate it when he caught me with one of the libraries books every now and then. He claimed that reading was only a waste of time and for people who hated their lifes so much that they had to escape through illusive stories. He was right in a way."
"What did you see in him in the first place."
I curiously ask. She shakes her head and shrugs her shoulders as she starts reading the additional text, ignoring my question rudely.
"Discharged & Wanted by the authority of the Prescott kingship.
Update: William Price was last seen entering the waters of the Scorching Dragon on the fifth of June 1768, hasn't been spotted since, our superiors suspect that he has passed.
The kill order has been lifted, the hunt on his daughter, Chloe Elizabeth Price remains."
Goddamn Prescott's had bounty hunters from the Spanish army working for them. It doesn't matter where I go, they always seem to cross my path.
So my father did find the Scorching Dragon, the only question remaining is, is he still there?
It seems like the Prescott's are aware of the legend as well and somehow they believe it. They don't even bother to send any men. They just assumed he didn'tsurvive.
But I know my father, he's alive, I just know.    

There's a long silence. Maxine stares at the painting and then at me.
"By the gods."
She shuts the book and stares at me with disbelief.
"Of course you are the most wanted woman on lands. I didn't recognize you with the short hair and that dirt and blood covering your face, but you are the general's daughter. The one that fired a bullet at Nathan in court."
"Aye."
She doesn't seem mad about that incident, it's as if she's praising me for firing that gun at her husband.
"He's obsessed with you and your father. Also one of the many reasons that I had to escape that poisonous family. Till this day I wished that you had hit Sean or Nathan. You'd have done the world a huge favor."
"I missed on purpose you know. I only had one shot. If I killed Nathan, Sean would've kept ruling and probably make everyone's lives even more miserable. If I had shot Sean, Nathan would've taken over and honestly I do not even want to imagine a world where he is allowed to control the army."
I never really thought about the consequences if I had shot one of them that day. But now I'm glad that I did miss. If I truly want to kick the Prescott's off of their throne I will need to kill the evil king and his devil son.
"I am jealous that you never had to see that day. Sean is dying, he might have passed already, but Nathan has been secretly ruling the country in Sean's shadow."
"Someone should stop them."
"We will."
Maxine lays her hand on mine and stares into my eyes. Hers are filled with tears, whatever she has been through I can bet my life on it that all her problems are connected to Nathan.
I force a genuine smile.
One thing I learned during my adventures on the seas is that you forge friendships with the most unique people. And almost all of them are damaged and afraid. The ocean is an escape, a safe place where our broken hearts or damaged souls can come to rest. It's not always peacefull, sometimes you find yourself in situations between life and death. But when those moments pass and you are still breathing, you start realising how much your life actually means to you.
Maybe Maxine is trying to do the same as I did. Running from her troubles and trying to discover her place and purpose in this crooked and hard world.
I'd be honored to help her discover the kind person behind the Prescott tittle, if that person exists.