They were sleeping in an alleyway. Arthur went from shop to shop looking for work, but none of them were hiring. Alfred had even tried asking around, young he was. One shop owner had paid him five dollars to smash boxes, since the regular employee was out sick that day. But the man was clear that was a one-time thing and five dollars didn't go very far.
They ended up sleeping behind the processing center down by the dock. Berwald had taken everything they owned, and there brother on top of that. It was then that they had met Francis, who had made them an offer they couldn't refuse.
His offer was a barge to sail along the river. Arthur was desperate enough to resort to piracy, and the barge was God sent. The only problem; Berwald had stripped him of everything of value that he might trade Francis for the barge.
The only thing he had left was his life, which he would be willing to give up for his children, but Francis didn't want his life. Francis wanted Matthew' s life, or at least three weeks worth of it, as collateral.
Arthur was, in effect, face with every parent's worst nightmare. If he refused, Alfred and Matthew would suffer. If he agreed, Matthew would suffer, but Alfred wouldn't and Matthew would be better off long-term. Still what kind of parent would give up their own child, even if it was only temporarily. Well, he had already done it once.
He looked France in the eyes, "do you promise not to hurt him?" He couldn't believe he was actually considering this. This was what Berwald and Soviet Corps had reduced him to.
Francis grinned, "Mais oui, of course."
Matthew spoke up quietly, "I'll go."
Arthur turned to him, "are you sure?"
Alfred, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, understating the gravity of the situation, stepped forward, "no." Arthur opened his mouth tell the boy not be daft when Alfred continued, "I'm the older brother. If you want one, of us take me."
Francis thought for a minute and Arthur held his breath. "Non," he finally said, "your frère, or the deal is off."
Matthew put his hand on Alfred shoulder, "Al, I'll be fine. Don't worry about me, eh."
Alfred turned squeezed his brother tightly. Arthur bent down on one knee and waited. Alfred let go, and he put his hand on Matthew's shoulder and asked, "Are you sure about this Matthew?"
Matthew nodded. Arthur kissed his forehead, and murmured "I love you poppet, and we will come back for you, I promise."
He Francis cleared his throat, "There is no more time for goodbye maintinanet. Come along Mathieu. We will show them to the boat." He held out his hand and Matthew took it. Arthur rose and grabbed Alfred's hand, squeezing it a little tighter than necessary, as if afraid of losing his one remaining son, before setting off after Francis.
Francis led them along the dock, past all the huge industrial boats to the smaller crafts. Docked apart from the other boats, riding high in the water, was the boat Francis was offering them. Arthur blinked. The boat had no motor, merely a sail.
He had learned to sail back in England, and the type of boat sitting before him would ideally have a crew of three, and he had only himself and Alfred, who didn't know how to sail.
Still there was nothing left for him here, and no money left for train fare. The only thing he could do was sail off on the ship. Arthur and Francis quickly negotiated a price, to be paid in 3 weeks, when Matthew would be given back. He turned to glared Francis, "we will be back in three weeks for Matthew."
Francis chuckled, "I would have it no other way." He smirked as he threw an arm around Matthew's shoulders. "Until then, he's mine."
A/N-This is something I've been working on for a while. It's loosely based on the Arrogant Worms' song The Last Saskatchewan Pirate, which if you haven't listened to, I suggest you do. I already have several chapters typed, but they skip around a lot, so I might just publish them in a weird order, or I might write the chapters that go in between, which would take longer, but make more sense. Let me know in a review what you think. Also I promise I will update my other stories soon, it's just that the heat is sapping my will to write. I am going on a major self-discipline kick though, and I have new chapters for most of them started, so expect updates soon. Note that I wouldn't be publishing this so soon if I hadn't promised a friend, who I met at a writers workshop, that I would post. Just a little shout out. C'est tout.