"Daddy! That took me almost a month to find!" Sara Black hissed through clenched teeth at her father. Jack merely laughed, his ferretine teeth baring slightly. "Now, now. I'm not taking it forever, little one. Call it... a matter of trust." He held the crown of Cleopatra the fourth out before her, taunting her. "You'll get this back, when I feel that you have earned it." "That... is SO... not fair! I worked my tail off for that!" "And, the reward will be that much sweeter when you can grow up a little bit. Until later, ma cher!" With a slight tip of his hat, the pirate captain slipped from the library, leaving a frustrated and vexed sixteen year old in his wake. ----- Thank you, Littlefox, for the furry cookie figures!