Yo, this is my first fic, and it's a songfic at that, so if you have any criticisms, be kind ^^
The song that inspired this lovely fic is "Saucy Sailor" by the wailing jennys.
After so many years of being at sea, after accumulating a large sum of earnings to set him up for life, after being on his own for so long; Adrian Agreste was finally heading towards dry land. Since he was a young boy, Adrian had been abroad, sailing the seas to earn profits as a merchant. His father, the ship's captain, believed his son had a way with convincing suppliers to lower prices. And Adrian would often boast of this skill, as well. At the age of one and twenty, Adrian asked his father to let him go ashore and seek his own fortune. Not that he needed money. He had quite a nest egg he had accumulated over the years. But Adrian didn't want to spend his whole life out at sea. He wanted to have a business of his own, settle down, and have a family. But after some finagling, Adrian's father agreed to let him go out into the world. And so, this was how the young entrepreneur came to be walking onto the dock of a sea-fairing town, carrying a few possessions over his shoulder, wearing a pair of black trousers, an open black and green trimmed shirt, and and open heart, ready to seek his fortune.
Adrian had seen many crowds in his lifetime, but he was slightly anxious at the thought of living out his days in this city made him anxious. Especially with the prospect of a young lady accompanying him. At that thought, he reached into his pocket and brought out a black ring, adorned with a bright green jewel. He recalled the old man who sold it to him, claiming that whomever he proposed to with it would live and love with him for his whole life. Adrian shook his head and grinned. He had a habit of believing silly superstitions like that. He liked to believe he was hopeful that way, he'd also like to meet someone who shared those opinions. With renewed confidence, Adrian clenched his fists and stepped into the crowd, ready to meet his destined one.
He took a seat on a rail and watched women pass by, none particularly standing out to him. It was a warm day, so when a breeze blew through his dull gold hair, he welcomed it. Wanting to distract himself from the heat, Adrian entertained himself with a long metal stick, twirling it between his fingers and tossing it in the air. A few people took notice of his antics and watched, inciting Adrian to pull some other tricks and sing along.
"Come me own one, come ye fair one, come now unto me. Could ya fancy a poor sailor lad who has just come from sea?"
As he finished, people applauded and tossed coins to him. Whoops, Adrian thought. They must have mistaken me for a performer. Which wasn't hard to, given his clothing choice.
Just then, a lady and her friend walked past Adrian, gaining his attention.
The lady had blonde hair and bright blue eyes, her gaze seemed to dominate all who stood before her. Her dress was of fine yellow colored silks, which complimented her figure. Her friend had red hair and was dressed simply, but had a few accessories upon her which seemed too expensive for her outfit. The lady whispered behind her hand to her friend, possibly about the oddly-dressed stranger. She spared him a glance, which he returned with a goofy smile.
Unbeknownst to Adrian, the lady was Chloé, the mayor's daughter, and her friend was Sabrina, the sheriff's daughter. She wasn't looking for a man who had any less than her father did, and that certainly wasn't a scruffy-looking sailor. But, unbeknownst to Chloé, Adrian was much more than a scruffy sailor.
Mistaking her reaction for welcoming, Adrian bounded up to her, holding out the ring he possessed in his hand. Chloé was dumb-struck and gaped at him. Nonetheless, he continued on.
"Could ya fancy a poor sailor lad who has just come from sea?"
As Adrian stared into her eyes, he watched as Chloé made a complete transition from mild disbelief to utter disgust. She slapped the ring out of his hand, knocking it onto the dock. Sabrina glared at Adrian, as if she shared Chloé's disgust. Sheepishly, Adrian bent down to pick up his ring, only to receive a well-manicured finger in his face.
"You are ragged, love, and you're dirty, love, and your clothes smell much of tar."
Picking up his ring, he stood up to argue, only for Chloé to wave a hand, as if to dismiss him.
"So begone you, saucy sailor lad. So begone you, jack tar."
Adrian was beyond shocked. He stared at her in angry disbelief, as she made one assumption after another because of his harmless proposal. Gritting his teeth, Adrian spoke.
"If I am ragged, love, and I am dirty, love, and me clothes smell much of tar."
She scoffed at his rebuttal, but Adrian kept on, taking out a heavy coin pouch, holding it under her nose, letting the coins jungle inside.
"I have silver in me pocket, love, and gold in great store."
The two women stared at the coin pouch in disbelief and shared a quick glance, switching tactics. She gave Adrian a honey soaked smile, taking his hand containing the ring and fell on bent knee.
" I will marry my dear Adrian, for I love a sailor lad so well!"
Surprised by this response, Adrian remained silent for a long time. Could she really be this heartless, he thought. Although, it wasn't fair of him to just propose to her so suddenly. Maybe she was right to be concerned about her well-being, having no idea about how much money he had. Maybe -
His thoughts stopped abruptly as he caught a glimpse in the corner of his eye a young woman watching him from afar. She had black hair, impossibly dark blue eyes, and wore a dull red dress with a few black patches on it. Her eyes bore into his soul, imploring him not to accept Chloé's offer. Her eyes also carried an intense kindness in them. Telling Adrian he was worth much more than this.
Then, as quickly as he had seen her, she walked away.
Adrian looked back to Chloé, who eagerly awaited Adrian's reply, and his money pouch. He saw his life flash before him, realizing that she would never love him. Not for who he was. He would spend his life caring for this woman, as she burned through his earnings.
But that girl…
Adrian helped Chloé up to her feet and held open his hand containing the ring. As she reached for it, he quickly shut his palm. As Chloé looked up at him in angry confusion, he grinned smugly, knowing he had tricked her.
"Do you think that I am foolish, love? Do you think that I am mad? For to wed with a poor country girl where no fortune's to be had?"
She huffed angrily, so he shoved Chloé in the shoulder and motioned towards the sea, to her displeasure.
"I will cross the briny ocean, I will whistle, and sing!"
Then he held up the ring between his fingers, pointing towards the crowd.
"And since you've refused the offer, love, some other girl will wear the ring."
Then he dashed off into the crowd, hearing a distant shriek as he left the heartless girl behind.
He searched the crowd for the girl whom he'd seen before, but being unable to find her, he jumped onto a rail, hoping for a better view. As he scanned the crowd, he sang out, thinking she may look towards him.
"Oh, I am frolicsome, and I am easy, good-tempered and free! And I don't give a single pin, me boy, what the world thinks of me."
As Adrian finished, a voice joined in. He looked down, his green eyes meeting darkest blue. The girl from earlier carried a sack of flour and motioned for him to get down from the rail. Jumping down beside her, he shyly held out the ring, afraid he may be rejected once more.
"Could ya fancy a poor sailor lad who has just come from sea?"
The girl, unbeknownst to Adrian, was Marinette, a poor daughter of baker. Yet, she had enough love in her heart to see the kindness in Adrian's eyes and know he would be good for her.
And, unbeknownst to her, Adrian felt the same.
Marinette, placing the sack of flour on the ground, carefully took the ring and slipped it onto her flour-covered finger. She held out her hand to look at the ring on her finger, nodding in response to Adrian's earlier question.
At first, he was shocked that she accepted his proposal. Then he was shocked he proposed. At last, he gave her a lop-sided grin and picked up the sack of flour and followed her as she walked away, heading home to show her family what she picked up at the store
Thank you for reading! ^^
I love this song, and it just came to me to have the MLB cast join in. (maybe it was the thought of Adrian in a pirates outfit that made me think of this B3)
If you're wondering why I made Chloe a villain, it's not because i hate her. Chloe is a bit obnoxious, but not evil. she was just the obvious choice for the villain. aside from Lila, but Chloé seemed like the better choice.