Four of us there have always been, four of us there will always be.

We were the daring, the bold, the young and the fair. We held the world in our hands and looked to please only ourselves. We robbed and we fought, we loved and we cursed. The life we lived was perfect. Our treasuries never emptied and our blade never strayed from our sides. We lived as free and unbridled as the wind and our hearts ran towards the next adventure. Our flags were known throughout the land and our names struck fear into those of weak-heart.

Francis Bonnefoy, the man who had loved a thousand women, I remember him well. Beautiful and elegant, the man was once able to fight an entire ship of men with one arm behind his back. Afterwards he had asked me to bed with him. When I refused, we had entered a battle that lasted for hours. I had emerged victor, but not without scars. He had been the first to leave. He had a choice forced upon him. He had either to abandon his ship, or abandon his country. I had felt lonely for weeks after his choice.

Arthur Kirkland, always the gentleman. Even while pirating he kept an air of sophistication. I sent his ship down to the ocean's floor the first time we met. He had tried stealing from me and I had no choice but to fight him when I caught him. After that he challenged me to a duel every time our paths brought us within three miles of each other. He left only a few years after Bonnefoy did. He had decided that the life he lived was not fit to raise a child like Alfred in. I had destroyed my room when the news came to me.

Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, the bravest man I have ever met. Strong and hardworking, he loved the ocean as if it were his brother. Once he had suggested that I was weak due to condition of being a woman. I had, in my fury, nearly castrated him for voicing such an idea. We became the best of friends after that, and we often fought each other to near death. In the end though, he too was forced to leave. He had been called to war and he was required to leave behind his piratic life. I almost cried when I heard of his departure. It had hurt me the most.

Maybe one day, they'll all come back to me. We'll rule the sea again, laughing and fighting as we used to. We could once again be the great kings we once were. There is much I would give to see them stand on the deck of their ship, with blades in their hands and salt in their lungs.

I would give even more to be able to join them in that moment of triumph.

But today is the day that I am to put away such disillusions of fortune and freedom. My blade shall be traded for a cooking pan and my ripped clothes shall be turned into fancy gowns like the white one I wear now. A man I scarcely know shall take my hands while all the world watches. For the first time in many years, I am experiencing a sensation I can only describe as fear. I know my old friends would laugh at me for such a thing; a few years ago I would have laughed as well.

A woman enters my room, telling me that it is time for me to go. Go to what? It feels as if it were my death I was running towards. Surely it will not be that bad for me. Will it?

Slowly I walk down the aisle towards the man I am to wed. He looks every bit the perfect husband. I know I look every bit the foulest bride. I am fighting back tears as I approach him. When my feet finally bring me to the place where I am supposed to stand, I find I cannot face this stranger's piercing glare. I stare at the crowd of guests to avoid having to look at the man in front of me. He grabs my hands and I want to vomit. The vows and the prayers are being said but I will not hear them. Maybe if I ignore it all, it will disappear. I know it won't, but maybe…

The time has come for me to say my vows. I am beyond hope now. There shall be no escaping.

"I…"

I can't. I just can't. Not in this room full of strangers, not to this man I don't know.

In desperation I take one last look around the group gathered before me. My eyes are watering and my vision is blurring as I glace around the room. None of the faces seemed friendly, none were familiar.

Her eyes finally hit the very back of the room. Leaning against the wall were three men dressed in pirate's clothes. There, with the biggest grins I have ever seen, stood my old friends.

Four of us there have always been, four of us there will always be.

No matter what happens, we will always have our four.

"I, Elizaveta Héderváry, take you, Roderich Edelstein, to be my husband. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life."

Very little historical accuracy is used here. This is based on a dream I had one day. Hungary was about to get married to Austria, but then she walked down the aisle dressed in a pirate suit. France, England, and Spain all came up to join her. Then they proceed to beat Austria and Prussia with frying pans and Russia's faucet pipe.

And somehow I got this out of that. I'm not really sure how.