*I don't own Hetalia*

Feliciano seemed to float around as he handed out invitations after the meeting. Arthur thought he was home free, until the excited Italian busted from around the corner.

"Hello Arthur~!" Feliciano caught up and there was no escape.

"Hello Feliciano," Arthur had to learn how to walk faster.

"I want you come to my costume party next week!" Feliciano was so excited.

"I'd love to but…," the Englishman began, but Feliciano's saddened look stopped him in his tracks.

"Oh I hope you come. Francis and Antonio told me that you used to be a pirate. A real pirate! It would be amazing if you came," Feliciano's face was so pleading, Arthur couldn't say no.

"Fine, I'll be there."

"Yes~!" Feliciano jumped in the air, "See you later~."

Now Arthur had a large task in front of him…looking for the outfit. He hadn't been in the storage room for so long, and his annoying little brother didn't make things any better.

"Why do I have to help you find some bloody costume, Arthur Jerk-land," Peter hated the storage room, "Why cant you just buy a new one?"

"No, Prater. Now hush up and look in those boxes near the door. I'll be in the back," Arthur sometimes hated the storage room as well, but he was happy he had a reason to go inside. He could clean up a few things while looking for the outfit.

Further into the storage was another room, except it was smaller and had no proper doorway. Arthur clicked on the light and found old maps and globes.

Hmm. Old memories.

He found pictures of himself as a child with Francis, some old clothes, and a picture of himself summoning a creature of sorts. Arthur laughed and reminisced about his younger years, but he knew he couldn't waste anytime. Getting back on task, his eyes caught sight of a picture of a ship. His ship. Next to the ship was a small portrait, a portrait Arthur used to admire quite a lot: himself as Captain Arthur Kirkland, dubbed as Great Britain's pirate king. He almost looked at the young pirate with surprise, but then a thought entered his head.

I may call myself a gentleman, but I still harbor a temper.

He kind of missed his days as a pirate. Raiding, fighting, living on the side of danger plus the riches weren't too bad either. But one thing he really missed was the sea. It was like his own backyard; free to roam and float where ever the waves took them. Then he caught sight of something that made him remember why he stopped.

Next to the portrait, pictures of a young Alfred surfaced. They mostly featured Alfred in Arthur's old pirate hat. Arthur couldn't believe he still had these; the memory was still fresh in his mind: the little blue eyed boy had just been adopted by Arthur, and while roaming the ship, he got bored. He walked everywhere on the ship, looking for someone to play with, but the crew was in town. When he entered the Captain's quarters, he saw Captain Kirkland's hat; It fascinated him immediately. The plume was white and full with a few red feathers appearing here and there and the brim had gold trimming. Alfred was completely mesmerized. When Arthur returned to check on the little boy, he found Alfred running around, giving the invisible pirate crew orders and demands.

Arthur gazed at the picture for a while longer, and then came across another photo featuring Alfred. Because Arthur would be very busy, he would leave Alfred in entertain himself at a port Arthur visited often. Due to this, Alfred became very bored and felt alone; he even thought that Arthur didn't care about him anymore. When Arthur caught on to this, he took Alfred on his next trip. On the trip, Arthur wanted a photo of Alfred's first trip. Before it was taken, Alfred expressed that he wanted to look special like Arthur. Back in his quarters, Arthur found something that he knew would delight the boy: a crown, red robe and a small scepter. When he put them on Alfred, he said:

There you are. Now you are a pirate king.

Alfred's blue eyes glistened. To Arthur, his eyes were more precious than any sapphire. In fact, he thought the small child was more precious than any treasure. That day, Alfred's first pirate trip, was also Arthur's last. The crew was dismissed at the next port, and that night, Captain Arthur Kirkland and young pirate King Alfred set the ship ablaze. Arthur began to wonder if Alfred ever missed seeing Captain Kirkland, even now.

Arthur once again put the pictures down and continued his search.

"Peter, have you found anything?" Arthur peek around the corner to find Peter.

Peter was in the living room, watching the telly (something he though was more entertaining than looking through centuries of old dusty junk.

I guess he got bored. Arthur couldn't blame him. He was getting bored as well, looking though his maps and books nearly made him faint. As he left out the room to take a break, his eyes were captured by a red uniform, along with an old musket.

He could hear the guns, feel the rain and smell the mud from that day. That was the day someone broke Arthur's heart into pieces.

That was the day Alfred F. Jones' Independence.

Thank you for reading! I'll have the next chapter up soon. Please review and have a pleasant whatever time of day or night it is.