Xian Zhu
Legacy Name: Xian Zhu

I fear that I am to blame for the whole mess. I didn't understand what I was initiating when I uttered those words. "Someone should stop them." Rather innocuous, really. So many have said those words before me, and only on a few scattered occasions has anything happened because of them.

I'm getting ahead of myself though.

We grew up together, Meeca and I. Born in a small fishing village, we were the only ones in our age group. The teens would not play with us and the toddlers were much too young to be any fun. So we thrived on each other's company.

I recall the day we took up swordplay. Another innocent comment on my part. A simple, "Wouldn't it be neat to know how to use a sword?" Well, this lead to the "borrowing" of a neighbor's broom handle. We traded off swinging the thing around like we knew what we were doing. The travelling swordsman was like a blessing from a higher being.

He taught us the basics. The movements, the drills, the repetition. We learned through bruises, extreme weather, and hurt feelings. Oh yes, we fought. We fought, Meeca and I, with screaming matches and fists. We still do. It always made me wonder how come other boys would never stand up to her. I didn't see her as a fragile female. She was just herself.

The sword didn't come naturally to either of us, but our work together and alone soon showed incredible results. We were good.

When we turned fifteen, she took it into her head to enter a tournament. It was a shady affair, and I am almost positive the whole thing was rigged. Not that it made any difference. We won. I say 'we' since, technically, our match was a draw. No matter what she says.

So we returned to our small village. And suddenly, it was a world that had no room for us. The traditional adults thought us foolish to look into martial hobbies. Others nodded sagely and said we'd make great Marines.

Meeca scoffed at this. She was never one to follow rules and laws, so how could she enforce it in others? The fact that she also hated any governing body wasn't a secret.

That's when the news came. About a year after our victory, word came that the government was set to annihilate a town on the basis that it was harbouring pirates. She practically ignited at this, her anger almost palpable. She snarled and raged.

And, in my matching anger, I said it. "Someone should stop them."

I saw her eyes flicker, saw the determination flare in them and knew I had set something in motion.

"You're right, Xian," she murmured to me that day, "You are absolutely right. Someone should stop them. Xian, we should show them what pirates can really do."

I balked. We were no pirates. We were not cutthroat savages who could rape and pillage. I told her this and Meeca laughed. "Not that kind of pirate, idiot," she said, "but the gentleman pirate. Steal from the wicked, take down the government. I'm going. You can come if you want."

I sighed heavily that day, as well. If I left her to herself, she would be dead before she got her hands on a boat. So I jumped to her call. She made me first-mate. She teased me, telling me I had to earn it. I think I have, many times over.

Now, maybe if i make a harmless comment about a vacation in the Caribbean, it may spur her into something a little less... life threatening. Or I need to learn how to keep my damn mouth shut.