I woke to the orange glow of the rising sun and the quiet sound of snoring beside me.
Ace and Sabo were sleeping peacefully, wrapped in my coat, looking so carefree and innocent that for a moment I simply watched them without moving.
I could not remember the last time I had felt so calm.
The feeling bordered on pure happiness, something deep and overwhelming that stayed with me as I looked at the boys lying next to me. Every time my eyes returned to them, the feeling only grew stronger.
In that moment I understood something I had never truly grasped before.
This must be what mothers feel.
For this kind of happiness, they were willing to sacrifice everything—their health, their bodies, even their lives.
What I could not decide was whether I felt happier… or whether I wanted to kill every single person responsible for the loneliness of these children.
Something new was forming inside me.
I felt it clearly.
There was something in Ace's black eyes.
Something in Sabo's bright smile.
It was as if a quiet revolution had taken place inside my chest, sweeping away everything that had come before and carving out something entirely new.
Only twelve hours earlier I had been a completely different person—someone who wanted nothing more than to lock herself inside a cabin with barrels of alcohol and never see another soul again.
And yet now I knew something with absolute certainty.
These two children could do anything they wanted with me.
And I would only smile and let them.
"Oh… morning," Sabo mumbled, rubbing his eyes sleepily.
"Good morning. Or at least it looks like morning. So, child—are you hungry?" I asked, brushing sand from my boots.
"Well… I wouldn't mind eating something," he admitted, glancing hopefully at the remains of last night's meal.
But I had no intention of allowing that.
"Ace. Wake up."
The blond boy poked him.
Ace was still tangled in my coat, smiling faintly in his sleep as if he were dreaming something pleasant.
"Ace! We're going to eat without you!"
That worked.
The seven-year-old shot upright almost instantly.
"What? Where?" he asked groggily, then frowned when he realized nothing had happened yet.
"We're going into town," I said calmly. "We'll eat first, then we have work to do. With a forest like this there must be a sawmill somewhere nearby. We'll need furniture, glass for the windows, maybe some pipes…"
I was already planning the entire construction of the house in my head.
"You're actually going to buy all that?" Ace asked mockingly.
"Why would I steal a few boards?" I replied dryly. "My dear, you only steal things that are worth risking your life for. And wood—no matter how nice it is—is not one of those things."
Thus began our life together with a few pieces of pirate wisdom.
"Pebble… how are you even going to pay for it?" Sabo asked cautiously.
I sighed.
"With money. The usual way."
"You stole it?"
"Oh, for heaven's sake. No. I earned it."
"You never told us your ship's name," Ace said, scratching the back of his neck.
I licked my lips slowly.
This pair was going to test my patience sooner or later.
"The Banshee," I admitted.
Both boys groaned.
"You don't like it?"
"Wouldn't Sea Snake sound better?"
"Or Infernal Sea Warrior?" Sabo suggested enthusiastically.
"You should rename it."
"Oh, tiger cubs," I sighed. "You want to sail the seas but you don't even know the most basic rule? Who raised you?"
They immediately fell silent.
"A ship gets only one name."
My voice was serious now, and they listened as if I were revealing some ancient secret.
"You must never change it. The spirit of the ship is tied to that name. Rename it, and bad luck will follow you until the ship sinks."
"No way!"
"Oh yes. I once met a man who served on a ship called the Silver Clam. They lost a battle and the Navy captured it, renamed it Freedom. Four days later it sank."
"No way…"
"The ocean is ancient," I said quietly. "Never mock its rules."
A week after we finished building the treehouse—very stylish, I might add—the two future pirates decided it was time to test my strength.
They demanded a real duel. More specifically, they wanted to see Habanero.
After a few heated arguments I simply stopped raising my voice and gave them a cold look.
That worked better than shouting.
"This katana has no mercy," I told them calmly. "It is drawn only against real enemies."
Have you ever seen two kittens attack their mother?
That would be a fair comparison. Their metal pipes swung toward me accompanied by heroic battle cries. Each strike missed.
And when one came too close, it stopped a few millimeters short.
After several minutes of enthusiastic but completely ineffective fighting, the boys stepped back, staring at me in disbelief.
"That's it?" I asked.
"In that case… my turn."
The expression on my face made them understand immediately.
"RETREAT!" Sabo shouted.
Ace hesitated for half a second before running after him.
"Where do you think you're going?" I asked calmly.
I grabbed Ace first.
Then Sabo.
And ran straight toward the cliff.
"PEBBLE WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"What does it look like? I'm getting rid of my enemies. I'll drown you."
Using Slide, it took me only moments to reach the shore.
The boys were now dangling above sharp rocks while waves crashed below them.
"Do you surrender?"
"Yes! Yes! Just don't drop us!"
I set them safely on the ground.
After a few breaths, the panic faded and the whole fight ended in laughter.
"We're really weak," Sabo admitted quietly.
"Nonsense," I said. "You're seven. What did you expect?"
I looked out at the ocean and felt the familiar pull in my chest.
For a moment I wanted nothing more than to summon the Banshee and sail toward the horizon.
"Pebble… I want to be strong like you too. Teach me."
Ace's voice came from somewhere near my waist.
Both boys were staring at me with identical determination.
I pretended to think about it.
After a very long pause I sighed.
"That would mean I'd have to stay here longer."
"That's fine."
"Agreed."
"You decided pretty quickly."
They stood side by side, arms crossed, trying very hard to look serious.
I leaned down and ruffled their hair.
"I'll make you the strongest pirates in the world, my tiger cubs."