Matthew sat at a chair by the bed, placing a wet cloth on his ill brother's burning forehead. Unshed tears burned Matthew's eyes as he looked down at his only family left. Francis hadn't been doing well for a while now, continually getting sick and at this point, Matthew had been skipping work at the bakery in town so he could take care of Francis. Soon enough the baker would find someone else to have work for him and then Matthew and Francis would end up starving.
Licking his lips Matthew hung his head. Why couldn't he do anything to help Francis? All Matthew was doing was endangering the both of them.
A loud knock sounded at the door, making Matthew jump. He stood up quickly and looked around, wondering who that could possibly be. The knock sounded again, but this time it was louder and had a sense of impatience.
Francis's eyes flickered open and he looked at Matthew for a moment. "I- I'll get it," Francis murmured quietly, only somewhat conscious at this point.
Matthew almost laughed at this. Francis was nearly too weak to bathe himself and now he wanted to get the door? It would've been funny if not for the fact that Francis's weakness was the effect of a dangerous cold.
Matthew gently patted Francis's hand and said, "Non. You go back to sleep Francis. I'll get the door and deal with whoever is there." Matthew kissed the top of Francis's head lightly before standing up and leaving to answer the knocking, which at this point had turned into rapid banging and cusses in a different language.
Walking to the door, Matthew thought about who could be at the door since it was dark outside and the person was obviously very impatient. He thought about not answering the door and waiting for the person to just go away when he heard someone say something about knocking the door down. Matthew couldn't let them do that an .disturb Francis.
Quickly opening the door, Matthew looked to see who was there. Standing before him were two men. One had a long jacket on and a feathery hat. The other just had on normal pants and a shirt along with a black bandana tied over his head. Matthew looked at the two, confused.
"May I help you?" Matthew asked crossing his arms. He thought it was one of the townspeople needing something, but instead it was just two idiot strangers who were wasting his time when he needed to be looking after Francis.
The one with the hat smirked lightly and said, "Why yes, you can. Bring Francis here."
Matthew frowned, his fists balling up. "Make me," he snapped before slamming the door shut. Of all the nerve. Someone who answers a question like that deserved to get a door slammed in their face. Why the hell did they want to see Francis anyway? He was too sick to even get out of bed half the time.
Shaking his head, Matthew quickly went back to Francis and saw the sick blond sitting up and coughing lightly. Rushing over, he patted Francis's back gently.
"I told you to go back to sleep! You're not well and you won't get better unless you get rest! You need to sleep!" Matthew said quickly. He didn't want Francis to push himself.
Francis smiled at his brother's worry and said, "Mathieu, don't worry so much. Who was it at the door?"
Matthew frowned at the mention of the door and sighed softly. He waved his hand and said, "Oh nothing to worry about. Just two random gu-" He was interrupted by a loud bang and the sound of a large object falling over before hitting the ground.
Turned around to the dresser that sat near Francis's bed, Matthew grabbed the family sword which sat there and pulled it out of its sheath. "Stay there Francis!" Matthew snapped when he noticed that his brother was trying to get out of bed.
Leaving the room cautiously, Matthew saw the man with the feathered hat patting the other man on the shoulder.
"I knew there was a reason why I brought you along, Luddy!" The man with the hat said with a grin before turning around to see Matthew standing there with a sword.
'Luddy' turned around as well and looked at Matthew. The tall blond gave the smaller one an apologetic look for a spilt second before regaining the neutral one he had head earlier. "Ja, whatever, bruder. Let's just hurry," 'Luddy' said, sounding bored.
Matthew pointed the sword at the two and said, "Get out." He didn't care what they wanted or what they would do to him. The only thing Matthew cared about at that moment was making sure that Francis was safe and these two didn't get anywhere near him.
"Ludwig, take care of the brat," The man said as he crossed his arms.
Ludwig sighed and stepped a bit closer to Matthew, but still far enough away that the blond wouldn't be able to strike him with the sword. "We just want to talk to Francis. We know this is his home," Ludwig said in hopes of getting the smaller boy to put down his sword.
Matthew seemed to growl as he said, "Francis is sick and neither you nor your rude friend over there will be seeing him." He took up a stronger stance and gripped the sword tightly with his left hand.
Ludwig didn't hesitate after that to lunge forward and grab onto Matthew's sword hand. He knew that the other wouldn't be able to use the sword with him holding onto Matthew's hand like that and Ludwig had expected the blond to stop fighting after that. Ludwig definitely wasn't expecting the lanky boy to punch him across the face with his free hand.
The grip on Matthew's hand loosened and he yanked it along with the sword away from Ludwig before kicking the taller blond in the stomach. Matthew jumped back a bit and gripped the sword tighter.
Spitting at Ludwig's feet, Matthew snarled, "Get out of my house now."
A click of a pistol was all Matthew heard before a gun entered his field of vision. The pistol was just in front of his temple as the man whom Matthew didn't know the name of had moved closer to him during his small tussle with Ludwig.
"Nein, I don't think we will. In fact, I don't think this will be your house for very long," The red-eyed man said with a smirk. "Drop the sword," He commanded.
Matthew went stiff as he looked at the man from the corner of his eye. He shifted his grip on the sword slightly, but refused to drop it. Being a stubborn boy and knowing the ways of pirates, (which was what he assumed these people were) Matthew wouldn't drop the sword. He figured if he did they would probably kill him anyway.
"Have it your way boy," The man said, tightening his finger on the trigger.
Dropping to the ground the bullet barely missed Matthew's head, taking off a bit of his hair. He was about to swipe at the man's legs with his sword when a voice from behind him said, "Gilbert?"
The man, Gilbert, had retaken aim at Matthew and was about to shoot again when he heard his name. Lowering the gun, Gilbert turned to face a weak looking Francis whom was leaning against the wall.
"Franny! You look like shit, what happened?" Gilbert asked rudely. He had something of a sadistic grin on his face as he looked at his once friend. They had been really close for a very long time along with a boy named Antonio, but eventually Francis betrayed the two of them and Antonio ended up dead. Gilbert was marked as a traitor and a pirate and a bounty was placed over his head, leading for him to actually become a pirate.
Coughing into his hand weakly, Francis tried to force a confident smile, but it just looked like a grimace. "Thanks Gilbert. What brings you back to my home? Last I saw you; you swore that you'd cause me unimaginable pain before killing me. I think it's a little late for you to start your revenge," Francis said snidely. A hint of guilt was in his eyes, but vanished as his body was wracked with coughs. He did feel terrible about what had happened and never got over it, but of course, he wouldn't admit that to anyone.
Matthew rolled away from Gilbert and stood up, swiftly going to Francis's side and rubbing his back gently. He wished that Francis had stayed in bed, but was glad he had come out because otherwise Matthew would've found himself with a hole in his head. Glaring at Gilbert, Matthew kept his grip on the sword tight, but pointed it at the ground.
Gilbert seemed to study Matthew for a moment. The blond seemed a bit familiar at this point, but he couldn't quite remember who he was. Thinking for a bit longer, it finally clicked. "Matthew? Damn, look who got some balls. Last I saw you you were just a quivering wimp hiding behind a big white dog. Where'd the mutt go? Did he finally get eaten up by the wolves?" Gilbert said hoping to get a reaction out of Matthew.
Frowning, Matthew's eyes iced over darkly as he snapped "Shut up and get out." His beloved dog had died a while back, but Matthew was still very bitter about it. Plus, he wanted the jerk and his brother out of his house so Francis could rest again.
A cough stopped Gilbert from replying cruelly and the attention in the room turned towards Ludwig. "Gilbert, we should get our business over with before the rest of the town wonders what's going on and come to see," Ludwig said crossing his arms. He really just wanted to go back to this ship and get on their way because this whole thing was a bit boring and he didn't want to chance getting whatever Francis had.
Glancing at his younger brother, Gilbert quickly nodded and said, "Not cool to interrupt me, but whatever. Francis, you're coming with us to get your boyfriend to back off."
Francis gave Gilbert a slightly confused look before the white haired man clarified, "Arthur Kirkland."
Francis got a worried look on his face for a moment and took a glance at Matthew before looking back to Gilbert. "Why would you need me? A- and would you mind if we take this conversation outside?" Francis said, trying to not sound as nervous as he felt. Matthew knew nothing about Francis's past and his close relations with the pirates, but he was certain that Matthew had heard of the feared pirate Arthur Kirkland and would be able to put two and two together.
Matthew's eyes narrowed at Francis, but he stepped protectively in front of his brother. "He's not going anywhere with you and you're not going outside Francis, you can barely stand," Matthew said in a voice that showed there would be no arguing with him.
Smirking Gilbert said, "I don't think you /can/ stop me from taking Francis. You see, your older brother owes me in the first place and in the second place, you're a weakling. Francis, Arthur has been attacking my ships and been sailing all over my territory. To get him to back off you're going to come with us and I'll exchange your safety for him leaving my territory and ships alone. And if you die along the way, I'm just back to square one and I have a new body to dump over the side of my ship. No skin off my back."
Gilbert waved Ludwig forward to show that Matthew really wouldn't be able to stop him. Ludwig stepped up beside Gilbert and crossed his arms, staring at Matthew coldly.
Glaring at the two, Matthew held the sword up defensively in front of his chest. He would fight if he really needed to, but in all honest, Matthew really didn't want this to come to another fight.
Francis stepped up while Matthew was distracted with Gilbert and lightly placed a hand on his little brother's shoulder. "Mon cher, it would be foolish to fight. Put that silly sword down and get me my coat," Francis said somewhat calmly. He didn't want Matthew to get involved in this pirate business after all, even if it meant giving up his own life.
Matthew turned to Francis, his eyes blazing as he snapped, "Tu ne va pas avec eux!" He wouldn't let Francis go while he was sick. Matthew wouldn't let Francis go with these people any time or any day.
Chuckling, Gilbert snidely said, "This isn't a choice."
Placing a pleading hand on Matthew's shoulder, Francis gently said, "Mathieu step asi-"
"No!" Matthew exclaimed without thinking. He glared at Gilbert for a moment before quickly saying, "What if there was a way to insure that Arthur leaves you alone, but Francis doesn't come with you?" He was desperate and only had half a plan, but he hoped to god that it would work out for him.
Gilbert nodded and said, "I'm listening."
Matthew nodded back to Gilbert, relieved that the other was at least going to hear him out. "Francis is terribly ill right now so if you brought him with you he'd just be another mouth to feed. It's stupid to take him if he's jsut going to use up your resources and then die before you can even negotiate with Arthur. What if Francis negotiated with Arthur for you? Arthur randomly shows up near the end of the month every month to visit Francis. When Arthur shows up Francis could talk to him and tell him to leave your ships alone and to get out of your territory. It's a win-win situation!" Matthew said his voice getting a bit louder than usual and his eyes somewhat wide. He didn't think this plan would work, but Gilbert seemed to be considering it. Matthew could only hope that the albino would listen and do what he asked.
Gilbert stared at Matthew, occasionally glancing from him to Francis. The pirate seemed to be thinking over every possibility to make sure he wasn't getting tricked or that this was going to backfire on him later on. He looked Matthew up and down before her glanced back at Ludwig to see what Ludwig thought of this option.
Having thought over absolutely everything, Ludwig found something wrong with what Matthew suggested. He locked eyes with the smaller blond, seeing as Matthew was the one doing the negotiating. Ludwig calmly said, "How do we know for certain that Francis will do this? And why would a pirate such as Arthur listen to a handicap and his little brother?"
Francis opened his mouth to protest at the first question, but was silenced when Ludwig continued, "But, it does look like it would work better than just bringing along a man we're waiting to die."
Ludwig stopped at this point and looked over at Gilbert to make sure he wasn't stepping out of line saying all of this. Getting a nod from Gilbert signaling that Ludwig was to continue with what he was saying, Ludwig said, "Therefore for insurance that Francis will do what we want, for extra encouragement to fully convince Arthur of what he needs to do, and in exchange for Francis not having to go, you, boy, have to come with us. You'll work as a pirate until it's proven that Arthur will leave us alone. In the month after this one, if Arthur doesn't touch us we will return you to your home, but if Arthur doe attack us we'll bring you back here and ill you for everyone to see."
Gilbert started laughing a bit, enjoying the look of shock and fear on Matthew's face and the look of anger on Francis's face. He wanted Francis to be angry. In fact, this seemed even better than what he had originally thought of. He'd be able to cause Francis agony in exchange for the agony he faced being driven from his home and watching his best friend die. And Ludwig had just said that they'd return Matthew to his home. Ludwig never said anything about returning him alive. Gilbert licked his lips and looked Matthew up and down, thinking that he'd have some fun with the kid before outright killing him.
Catching the look Gilbert gave Matthew, Francis's anger tripled. "Absolutely no-," Francis tried to roar when Matthew interrupted him.
"I'll do it. Just give me a half hour to get someone from the village to watch Francis while I'm away and to get a few things. Please," Matthew said quickly, not giving Francis time to argue.
After glancing at Ludwig to see was he thought, Gilbert nodded quickly and said, "You have twenty minutes or we'll come back and kill you both." He didn't wait for a response from either one of them and just walked out, stepping over the door that Ludwig had knocked down. After Ludwig had walked out of the door as well, Gilbert poked his head back in and pointed at the knocked over door.
Just to get on Matthew and Francis's nerves, Gilbert calmly said, "You really should get that fixed. I mean with the door down just anyone can walk right in." Gilbert left quickly with a wheezy laugh.
Matthew seemed to stand there frozen. He was glaring at the doorway where Gilbert had just disappeared and if looks could kill, the door way would be nothing more than a mushroom cloud.
Sighing softly, Matthew turned back to Francis, who looked enraged at him. Matthew knew that Francis was upset. He himself had been extremely upset that Francis was willing to give himself up without a fight.
"Mathieu, he will kill you. I know you think you helped, but you've only signed your soul over to the devil," Francis said darkly. He wanted to argue and tell Matthew not to go -to keep Matthew from going, but Francis knew if he did that Gilbert would just come back here, kill Matthew, and forcibly take him. Looking down, Francis prayed to whatever god may be watching them that Gilbert really would return Matthew, and return Matthew with a head.
Mathew set the sword down on the ground and hugged Francis gently. "He might, but you'll be safe and I may even find a way to escape death," Matthew said softly.
Francis gave a nodded and allowed for his younger brother to start getting his things.
Twenty minutes later, Matthew was standing at the docks, looking around for Ludwig or Gilbert to show up. On his hip was the same sword he had pointed at Gilbert and Ludwig earlier. He had it because Francis insisted on him taking the sword as a bit of protection. Matthew also had a small sack slung over his back that contained a little bit of clothes. In his pocket was the watch his father had owned before his father had died. It was yet another thing Francis had insisted that Matthew take with him. Other than that, Matthew had nothing on him, but his clothes and the glasses on his face.
Chewing his lip nervously, Matthew looked around for any of the pirates there. It was still dark so no one in the town was up and about. Matthew had had to wake up the baker before he left to ask if the baker could take care of Francis while Matthew was gone. Matthew had felt bad about waking up the baker and giving such vague information, but Matthew hadn't wanted to get the poor baker involved in anything to do with the pirates and he had to have someone taking care of Francis while he wasn't there. Francis was too weak to take care of himself after all.
"Boy," was what Matthew heard before Ludwig, the tall, scary looking blond from before, came out of the shadows with his arms crossed and a fierce looking sword that seemed to have a reddish tint at the end on his hip. Matthew instantly knew that it had been very good that he listened to Ludwig and his brother and agreed to go with them rather than trying to run for it. Matthew had no doubt that he and Francis would've been dead fairly easily. Ludwig calmly asked, "Are you ready?"
Matthew nodded quickly and said, "Yes, I'm ready." He felt fear run down his spine as the other man turned to lead Matthew away and to the ship. Matthew had a feeling that if he was ever able to return to this town and to Francis, he would count himself the luckiest man in the entire world. A silent pray left his thoughts as he prayed, not only for his safety, but for Francis's as well.
A glance behind Ludwig told him just how much the smaller blond feared all of this. For a split second, Ludwig felt bad for the boy, whom had probably never seen the outside world much, but that feeling went away quickly. Ludwig was a pirate and his loyalties lied first with his brother and second with his brother as the captain. This random boy whose fate had been so unfortunate as to dump him into this no-win situation wasn't going to change Ludwig. He was certain of that.
Once they reached the row boat that would take them to the actual ship, Matthew had formulated something of a plan. He would prove himself to be a hard worker and try to make friends with a few of the pirates so he'd be protected from Gilbert. Not trying to sound conceited, but Matthew was fairly good at charming people and he was hoping to gain at least one friend that would help him escape if his life should prove to be in danger. It would help him out a lot and Matthew wasn't sure if it would work at all, but he would just hope for the best and keep in mind that his brother was waiting for him to come home.
Walking forward to what very well could be his death, Matthew mentally said goodbye to all of the people he knew in the town. He paused at the edge of the row boat and turned around to look at the place he was leaving behind, but before he could do so he was shoved on board by Ludwig. Stumbling a bit before catching himself, he turned to snap at Ludwig, but a glare from the other silenced him quickly. Matthew stood silently in the boat as Ludwig pushed the bat off the shore before jumping in. They were sitting still for a moment as Ludwig grabbed a coil of rope.
"Hold out your hands," Ludwig said in a emotionless voice. He was holding the rope in both of his hands and had it spread out in a way that put no doubts into Matthew's mind of what it was going to be used for and why he needed to hold his hands out.
Matthew pulled his hands closer to his body, not sure if he should do what had been asked, but realizing that if he didn't there would most likely be consequence. Matthew could almost hear that white haired pirate captain say, "Kesese if you'd rather not have you dainty hands tied up, we can just go and tie up Francis instead."
Sighing softly, Matthew held his hands out to the other with his eyes turned to the side. He felt Ludwig loop the rope around his wrists and tie them together securely and painfully. This honestly didn't surprise him that much as they were pirates and he wasn't going to be trusted at all at first. What did surprise him was when Ludwig looped rope around his head.
"Open your mouth and face me," was the stoic command Matthew was given. Turning to Ludwig and giving him a surprised look for a second, Matthew wondered what the point of this was. A sign of dominance? A way to make sure no one would hear Matthew screaming at the torture that awaited him? It didn't make sense, but Matthew had no choice, but to obey.
His mouth opened and Ludwig tied a knot so Matthew's mouth would be forced to stay open, but he would be unable to speak or make very many noises. Gilbert had ordered this to be done, for what reason, Ludwig didn't know. He suspected it was merely to put the younger blond in his place, but that didn't particularly matter to Ludwig. Once Matthew was properly tied up, Ludwig took the sword and laid it in the boat before taking the sack Matthew had as well. Once that was done, Ludwig patted Matthew down to make sure he didn't have anything else on him. Feeling the pocket watch, Ludwig took it from Matthew's pocket and laid it down with the other things, ignoring Matthew's muffled protests.
With all of that down, Ludwig sat down and started rowing, quite possibly bringing Matthew to his doom.
A rope was tossed down to the waiting blonds once they got right next to the ship. Ludwig grabbed it and tied the rope to the top of the row boat and to the two paddles the boat had. Once that was secure, a rope ladder was tossed down to them and Ludwig threw Matthew over his shoulder before climbing the rope ladder. Matthew gave a slight protest to being thrown over the taller blonde's shoulder like a sack of potatoes, but after a moment he just stayed still, accepting his fate.
Once they were on deck, Matthew was set down on his feet and turned around to face what almost looked to be the entire crew of the ship. Lowering his eye so he didn't have to look into their grinning faces, Matthew felt ashamed. Here he was like some whore that was to be the prize of whom ever was able to stake their claim first. And he very well could be that. Matthew didn't know what was going to happen to him. After all, earlier Gilbert had insulted him by saying that just by looking at his hands you could tell he's never done any hard work like work on a ship. Matthew had come here on the promise that he would work, so what better way to treat the brother of your enemy than to use him to keep the crew happy?
In fact, that exactly what he thought was going to happen when a brave man stepped forward and grabbed his chin. Matthew head was tilted up so he had to look up into the eyes of a nasty and cruel looking man. The man grinned showing yellowed teeth and rank breath.
"Ain't you just the prettiest little male whore out there?" The man said snickering cruelly.
Matthew wanted to make a sharp retort back, but the rope inside of his mouth kept him silent. Luckily, he didn't even need to try to make a comment.
"And you'll step away from that whore should you wish to keep your hands," came the sharp comment from the middle of the crowd. There stood Gilbert, in all of his pirate captain glory. He stepped forward a bit, outside of the group of the other pirates that had made a semi-circle around Ludwig, Matthew, the other man, and, now, Gilbert.
The man turned to Gilbert and was about to say something when Matthew suddenly stomped on his foot. But, Matthew didn't stop there either. Earlier in the rowboat he realized he could move his arms still so if he needed to he could take a swing at someone. With his foot firmly down on the man's foot, Matthew made fists with both of his hands and rammed them into the man's stomach before stepping back. (And accidentally stepping back into Ludwig's chest) The man leaned forward, holding his stomach.
"Kesesese. Elizabeta, your cabin boy died in the last fight right?" Gilbert asked, turning back around to look at the only female on the ship. She wore a simple outfit with her hair tied back that made her look more like a guy. In her hands was a large frying pan.
With a nod from Elizabeta, Gilbert smiled and said, "Well, there's you knew cabin boy. Use him for whatever you want to use him for." A loud groan came from his men, who had been looking forward to messing around with this new thing. Gilbert turned to them with a wicked grin and said, "And anyone who dare touches my whore will be losing body parts before being tossed to the sharks."
The other men quickly left to either go back to sleep or take up their watches and duties. Soon enough, other than a few pirates walking about to keep watch and do their duties, no one was left.
Gilbert, Elizabeta, and Ludwig were the only ones that stayed standing near Matthew. Matthew glared sharply at Gilbert and stood calmly, daring the pirate captain to get near him. He didn't care if the idiot albino could have him thrown overboard with one word, Matthew didn't want the guy anywhere near him.
Elizabeta looked at Matthew for a moment before glancing at Gilbert and Ludwig. Turning back to Matthew she grabbed his arm and started walking back down to where she worked. Once Gilbert and Ludwig were out of earshot and not watching them, Elizabeta let go of Matthew and said, "Don't worry about the guys messing with you. The one that approached you when you first got here would've been the only one to do anything and with the way you attacked his while being bound I'm sure he'll keep his distance. That one's a bit of a coward, but he works hard when he needs to. Only reason he's still around."
Matthew just looked at Elizabeta silently. It wasn't like he would really talk anyway since his mouth was full of rope, but even if he could've said something he wouldn't have. Just as Elizabeta had spoken the ship had begun to move. Matthew was too busy looking off at the small village he had lived in for nearly as long as he could remember. It struck Matthew then and there that this was real and true; that he honestly may not see his hometown or his brother ever again. Silently, Matthew said goodbye to his old life and in that moment accepted his cruel fate.
Matthew laid on the hard wood floor and tried to sleep. Memories of how the night had gone kept him from sleep though. What happened after he was handed over to Elizabeta kept running in his head over and over again. As soon as they had gotten out of the eye sight of Gilbert and Ludwig, Elizabeta had taken off his gag and loosened the binds on his wrists. She told him that if he wanted to he could run or jump ship or attack her, but that it wouldn't do any good for him. For a second Matthew entertain the thought that she didn't know for certain, but the look on her face told him that she was completely serious.
He had nodded and just rubbed his wrists to try and relieve a bit of the soreness from them being bound so tightly. Matthew had looked at Elizabeta for a moment before realizing that she wanted him to say something. "Thank you for taking those off," Matthew said quietly. Silently he had hoped that his voice didn't show how scared and nervous he was.
Elizabeta had smiled and took Matthew by the hand before leading him down a set of stairs and through a door. Matthew was surprised to see that it was just a small kitchen with a bed pushed off to one corner of the room. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but seeing that he was just going to be the cabin boy for a cook was a bit surprising.
Turning to Elizabeta, Matthew asked, "Why are we down here?" He didn't want to come off as rude, but honestly he was curious as to why they were in the kitchen. Plus, he didn't want to just assume that he was going to be doing chores for the cook.
"Because you'll be working for me down here. I make the food for the crew, but also don't have to do too terribly much around here. During the raids they normally have me just bunker down here and prepare to fight if someone should come through the door. I'm not quite sure about whether you'll be sleeping in here with me or not since there's only one bed, but I'll make sure to ask Gilbert. Oh! What's your name? I can't just call you cabin boy the entire time you're on the ship," Elizabeta said with a gentle smile.
Nodding a bit, Matthew said, "I'm Matthew. I can cook quite a few things as I've been taking care of my brother and myself for a long time now. And to be honest I'm glad I'll be working with you rather than the others. You're Elizabeta right?" After getting a nod from Elizabeta Matthew continued speaking, "It's nice to meet you Elizabeta. I wish it were in different conditions as you seem like a nice person."
Chuckling, Elizabeta cheerfully said, "It's very good that you can cook. I'm sure everyone will be happy to get a bit more variation in their food. Mostly I'll just have you do simple things like cutting up food or sweeping around, but sometimes I'll probably let you take over the cooking. Now, the schedule is pretty simple. In the morning around six, sometimes seven, in the morning the men go into the mess hall which is right through that door there, and we serve breakfast. That means at the five o'clock bell you need to be down here ready for work or I'll have to hit you upside the head with my frying pan. Lunch is at exactly twelve o'clock so we'll be busy preparing that. That is the biggest meal made on the ship and there are a lot of people to feed. For dinner, which is at six o'clock at night, we either use left overs from lunch, by putting things in a stew, or we make something completely different. In the afternoon I'll give you a bit of time to wander around the ship if you want. Just remember the times food's served and that you should be at least an hour, if not two hours earlier than that. Oh and throughout the day we'll have to keep men from sneaking into the kitchen and stealing food. I don't think Gilbert will let you have a sword to use to defend the food so I'll probably give you a spatula. Just give the men a few whacks and they'll go away. Got all that?"
Matthew nodded in a daze, taking in all of the information slowly. He made a mental note of the times he would need to report for duty and silently rejoiced that he would have time to himself. It would be good to explore the ship and figure out ways to escape.
Elizabeta accepted Matthew's nod and said, "Now, as I said earlier you can try to escape all you want, it makes no difference to me. Just know you'll be caught each time or Gilbert will just go after your brother instead. With that over, look through the cabinets and make yourself familiar with everything."
Matthew didn't bother responding; he just turned and started shifting through the cabinets. Looking at all of the foods and ingredients they had, Matthew smiled softly. He saw that they had the stuff for his favorite food and made a mental note to ask Elizabeta if he could cook them for dinner or breakfast one day. As he was turning to the other wall to look over there the door Matthew and Elizabeta had come into was thrown open and Gilbert walked in.
Putting his hands on his hips, Gilbert looked at Matthew for a moment before turning to Elizabeta. "I didn't say you could untie him," Gilbert said crossing his arms.
Elizabeta tightened her grip on the frying pan in her hands and said, "You said I could do whatever I wanted with him. I believe that includes untying him." She grinned evilly and said, "I've warned you before about just bursting into my kitchen, Gilbert, now why are you here?" Typically, Elizabeta would've just whacked Gilbert upside the head until he left her kitchen, but she didn't want to make Matthew scared of her considering right now she would really be his only friend.
Gilbert smirked slightly and waved his hand a bit. "Yeah yeah yeah, whatever. I'm here 'cause I figured you've told him all about what he's supposed to be doing in here now and was going to take him to my room," Gilbert said, almost acting like Matthew wasn't even in the same room.
Elizabeta gave a look of confusion, her eye brows narrowing a bit. "Why are you taking him to your room?" Elizabeta asked. She had been under the impression that he was going to be staying in the kitchen with her since there was more than one hammock set up right there. `
"What do you think I'm stupid or something? Why would I leave him in here where he can get knives out of the drawers and kill everyone on the ship? Not likely. Plus, he's my prisoner so I want to make sure he's right where I want him to be and doing what I want him to do," Gilbert said, glancing over at Matthew for a second.
Nodding slightly, Elizabeta turned around to tidy up a counter. "Do whatever you want."
Snickering a bit, Gilbert nodded before grabbing Matthew's arm. "Come with me then and don't get any smart ideas just cause you're not tied up anymore," Gilbert snipped quickly and calmly.
For a split second Matthew considered trying to kick him in the shin or resisting, and it was visible on his face that those were his thoughts, but he decided against it, figuring that whatever his fate was would end up being ten times as bad if he started throwing a fit. Instead of fighting, Matthew just yanked his arm out of Gilbert's grasp and followed behind him silently. His head was held high as he followed, but on the inside he was terrified of what awaited him.
Elizabeta watched Matthew and Gilbert walk out of the kitchen and sighed loudly. She worried about what Gilbert was planning, knowing him to be quite unpredictable, but she knew that there wasn't much she could do other than hope for the very best.
Matthew was lead into a room on the ship that was away from where the crew would normally be. Walking into the room before Gilbert, Matthew looked around, seeing a simple bed, a desks, lots of maps of the wall, and a dresser. Matthew went towards the maps to look at them, but stopped when he heard the door close and the lock click. Turning quickly, Matthew watched Gilbert with calculating eyes.
Gilbert took a step towards Matthew, who immediately took a step back. Chuckling, Gilbert went over to the desk and took off his sword and his pistol, placing them on the desk calmly. He glanced at Matthew and said, "You can try and use them against me if you want to, but know that it won't work."
Simply glaring at Gilbert, Matthew moved back again and crossed his arms silently, trying to seem like he wasn't scared and that he didn't worry about what Gilbert was planning. For the most part it worked except for the look in Matthew's eyes, it gave the entire story away.
A loud sigh came from the pirate captain as he took note of the fact that Matthew looked kind of terrified if you looked him in the eyes. Gilbert was cruel yes, and he really did want to get back at Francis, but the more Gilbert had thought about it after bringing Matthew on ship the more Gilbert realized that Matthew didn't deserve getting dragged into something he had never had any part in. Plus, Matthew had earned respect from Gilbert when he had offered himself up to allow Francis to get better, especially considering the fact that Matthew knew that Gilbert was known for his cruelty.
Gilbert took a step towards Matthew, and pointed towards the bed. "Go sit on the bed," Gilbert commanded. When Matthew stood still defiantly, Gilbert took another step forward and snarled, "That wasn't a suggestion." This time, his order was followed so he turned back towards his desk and opened one of the drawers, looking for a bit of rope. He found some and turned around, walking over to Matthew.
At this point though, Matthew was trembling a bit and it was just barely visible. What had happened when he first got on the boat was running through his mind over and over again. Being called a whore affected him quite a bit and it made him nervous because he was certain that that was going to be his fate. Matthew wanted to stand up and fight or run or do something, but somehow he got the feeling that he needed to wait for the right moment to fight.
Gilbert walked over and grabbed Matthew's ankle tying him down to the bed before standing up in front of Matthew. "Stop trembling."
Frowning darkly, Matthew quickly snapped, "I'm not trembling. And why'd you tie me to the bed?"
"So you can't get away," was the simple reply that came from the pirate captain.
Matthew tried to slide back and away from Gilbert, but he didn't get very far due to his leg being tied to the bed. He was trembling more than before, but was trying even harder to hide it then he had been before.
Gilbert rolled his eyes and moved forward so he was looming over Matthew. Gilbert shifted so he was on the bed as well, pushing Matthew down and pinning him.
The point he was trying to make was to show Matthew that he could do whatever he wanted, but when he noticed that Matthew had frozen and the look of terror in his eyes was worse than before. Matthew was waiting, watching, and wondering what Gilbert was going to do, not knowing how to react.
Gilbert watched Matthew as well before leaning down and kissing him on the forehead. Releasing Matthew, Gilbert stood up off the bed and walked to the door. "Just go to sleep kid."
A/N: Sooooo, yeah. This is for someone on deviant art. It was supposed to be a one shot prize for a contest and somehow it turned into a project that's probably not going to get done for a while. Um... Currently I'm at 14K, but I've got a lot of stuff planned still so I'm thinking it's going to end up being somewhere around 30K words. That'll be fun.
Any way, sorry about any and all crapiness. And thanks for reading.