Written for Gabrielle (1000fandoms on tumblr) for weekofhetalia's 2017 Hetalia Holiday Special on tumblr! The prompt I chose was "A day on the ocean or just late at night (fluff) with Pirate!England". Thanks a lot for understanding I don't feel comfortable writing reader inserts; I hope you'll like your gift nonetheless!
Drake returned to the New World, and his two independent voyages to the Caribbean in the 1570s soon brought his name to the attention of the Spanish crown, especially after his audacious attack on the town of Nombre de Dios and the seizing of bullion from the Panama mule-trains in 1572 to 1573. The fame of his exploits spread to the extent that by the mid 1570s, Philip [II of Spain] began to refer to him as Draque, Francisco Draque, El Draque, and even more intimately as El Capitán Francisco. Educated Spaniards called him Francisco Draguez, and Spanish mothers warned their children that if they did not behave, El Draco would come and take them away—a play on words, since el draque in old Spanish means "the dragon," derived from the Latin draco, meaning "serpent."
—Edmundson, William, A History of the British Presence in Chile: From Bloody Mary to Charles Darwin and the Decline of British Influence, New York, NY/Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009, p. 9.
I. El Draque (February 1571)
People tended to believe it was always the important moments of history in which the personification of a country appeared. They would encourage and support their people in a fight, cheering with them if they won and consoling them if they lost. More often than not, however, it was a moment of lesser importance a personification witnessed while missing a more important one.
Arthur Kirkland wasn't present in March 1573 when Francis Drake made his famous raid on Nombre de Dios, a town by the Caribbean Sea near the Isthmus of Panama where Spanish ships loaded silver and gold from their mines in Peru. He wasn't with Drake on his "Famous Voyage" either: Drake's circumnavigation of the globe in the years of 1577 to 1580; the first made by an Englishman and the first ever from which its commander returned alive. He did, however, accompany him on his second solo voyage to the Caribbean in late 1570 and early 1571, witnessing the beginning of English piracy in this section of the world.
Drake's only major achievement at the time were accusations by his cousin and fellow sea captain John Hawkins he had deserted and left him after a treacherous Spanish attack by the small town of San Juan d'Ulua. Drake had insisted he had had no means to help Hawkins further, considering it his first and foremost duty to save the men who had gathered on his ship by bringing them back to Plymouth. Nonetheless, Hawkins had remained dissatisfied with Drake's explanation, and Arthur had been suspicious when a boy appeared at his country house in Exeter, carrying a letter from the infamous seafarer.
The letter, however, had managed to spark his interest. "During a voyage earlier this year," Drake wrote, "I made an observation that you will find of utmost interest, dear Sir. I discovered a trail—it is indeed a mere trail—used by the Spaniards to carry those riches of the Spanish Empire that are retrieved from inland mines on to the Caribbean shore. Knowing our shared interest in depriving them of the capacities that enable them to pose a threat to our English shores and merchants, I wish to inquire whether you would consider providing me with the means necessary for the undertaking of such an endeavour."
Arthur never found out how Drake had come to the conclusion that he, the personification of England, might be interested in financing an act of piracy—for this was clearly what Drake was suggesting. His mind was set on a personal expedition—no, a raid—against the Spanish. In his letter, Drake didn't speak of seeking a commission from the government that would have made him a privateer, at least in the eyes of his countrymen.
Arthur had half a mind to ignore Drake's letter; to burn it, just like the instructions at its end suggested, and to claim the boy was lying when he told Drake he had fulfilled his mission. Elizabeth wouldn't have approved anyway, had she known he, England, considered embarking on anything that wasn't a mission she had officially given her blessing.
Then again ... He understood Drake's personal grudge against the Spanish for their treachery at San Juan d'Ulua. After all, grudges he held against one or more of his fellow personifications were personal rather than political more often than not. And even though he also understood Antonio Fernández Carriedo, the personification of Spain, could hardly have had a part in the treachery of his countrymen—say about that man what you will, he did have some sense of honour—there was a part of him ... A part that was curious, most of all, what it was like to embark upon a raid for riches. Also, inspecting the Spanish gold and silver route with his own eyes could hardly do any harm ... If people didn't realise it was him who embarked on this journey, that was.
For this reason, it was not Arthur Kirkland who appeared as the financer of that expedition but a certain merchant named Richard Dennis, an offspring of the renowned Dennis family of Exeter. It was not Arthur Kirkland but Richard Dennis who embarked on a journey to the Caribbean while Arthur Kirkland bade his leave from the Queen in order to undertake a secret journey to the Scottish Highlands.
Of course Elizabeth didn't believe him for one minute. It only took them a moment of silent understanding, however, to come to the conclusion that it was in the best interest of both of them if she didn't inquire too thoroughly what he was actually about to do. And even if he doubted she would have approved of his actual plans, she knew he was the personification of England and therefore the least person who would act contrary to English interests.
Drake and his financer "Dennis" set out on their ship, the Swan, for the Caribbean in winter. They arrived there in February 1571, anchoring a little to the east of Nombre de Dios. As Drake had discovered during his previous voyage, boats brought the Spanish silver up the river Chagres to the small outpost of Venta Cruces, where it was loaded on mules and brought to the Pacific coast. Its destination, Nombre de Dios, was a small, unfortified town that didn't put up any resistance against Drake, complying with his promise that if people didn't resist him, they would not be harmed.
At Nombre de Dios, Arthur, Drake, and their crew were waiting for the silver trail to arrive. They were fully aware that its arrival would also signify that of the Spanish silver fleet.
One afternoon, Arthur gazed through the telescope at the port side of his ship, immediately boxing Drake in the side who was standing to his right.
"A frigate," he hissed.
"Do you think it's worth ... inspecting?" Drake said slowly.
"Inspecting, yes," Arthur agreed. "But you don't intend to attack it out of the blue, do you?" Drake clutched his heart in an exaggeratedly dramatic gesture.
"Arthur! You wound me! You should really know by now my philosophy is never to harm those who surrender upon my demand!"
"Surrender, hm?" The sarcasm in Arthur's voice was blatant.
"Well, you set out with me in order to deprive these filthy Spaniards of their riches, didn't you?" There was hardly anything Arthur could say against this.
Soon afterwards, the two men and about a dozen other members of their crew had boarded a small pinnace on which two guns were mounted. Additionally, the men were armed with swords and shields. Some were also holding firearms while others had bows and arrows in their hands. They were heading for the Pontoons, a small port close to Nombre de Dios where the frigate had anchored. Arthur had powdered his face in red and Drake in black, mostly to disguise who Arthur was. While it was unlikely anybody on the frigate would be able to recognise him, there was a small chance written records with Arthur's description would find their way into Antonio's hands. Considering the nature of their expedition, neither wanted to risk that. It was one thing if an Englishman attacked a Spanish frigate. If the personification of England was found out committing an act of piracy on a Spanish frigate, however … Arthur wasn't all too keen on having to explain that to Elizabeth.
At Drake's command, one of the men blew a trumpet in order to signify their arrival and their willingness to talk with the frigate's commander. Sure enough, the Spaniards interpreted their behaviour as hostile, resisting Drake, Arthur and their men when they attempted to board the ship. That was all the occasion Drake had needed.
"Fire at will," he called. A split second later, there was a cannon shot; guns struck and arrows whirred through the air. Some of the Spaniards went down; one of the others cut their anchor cable so as to separate their frigate from the attacking pinnace, running it upon the shore.
They would have tried to capture the fleeing Spaniards who needed to wade through waist-deep water in order to reach the shore. There was, however, a second Spanish ship they spotted nearby, and Drake gave the command to go after this one and leave the Spaniards to themselves. After all, his primary aim was to capture the goods the Spanish ships carried, not their passengers and crew.
Some time later, they had seized not one but two Spanish frigates whose crews had fled to the shore. Drake gave his men license to plunder the ships, and while they were busy rummaging through the ships' bellies, he sat down with paper, quill, and ink, penning down a note for "those bloody Spaniards" so they would remember him.
"Done by the English," he wrote at the end of his note, "who are well disposed if there be no cause to the contrary; if there be cause, we will be devils rather then men."
Arthur thought Drake was being overly pompous, but in hindsight, his words seemed almost prophetic. Not long after the incident with the two Spanish frigates, he actually succeeded in seizing the silver the Spanish brought to Nombre de Dios by mule, and not long after this, the Spanish started to call him Draque or El Draco. He wasn't quite the Devil to them, but a fear-inspiring dragon at the least.
II. Sir Drake (April 1581)
When Arthur met Drake again, boasting and pompous as ever, it was during the turn-of-the-year celebrations at Elizabeth's court in 1581. At this time of the year, everybody exchanged gifts, and so Drake gave her a crown robbed from the Spanish, richly ornamented with emeralds from Peru, and a diamond cross. In return, Elizabeth promised to knight him on the very day she visited the Golden Hind, the ship on which he had undertaken his voyage around the globe.
Drake remained a polite and cheerful entertainer when he was with Elizabeth, but Arthur found his sudden fame as a circumnavigator brought out the worst in him as well. While Arthur didn't mind Drake's derision aimed at Philip II of Spain, he found the man's bragging about his adventures annoying, at times insufferable. There had already been moments like these during the voyage on which he had accompanied Drake, but now that the man had gained the Queen's recognition, they were ten times worse. Arthur found himself avoiding Drake's company more and more.
In April, the time had come for Elizabeth to fulfil her promise. Esteemed by his queen, envied by her court, cheered at as a folk hero by the ordinary people, Drake showed his ship to his Queen and her followers at Deptford. After she had boarded the ship, her entourage as well as spectators followed on the same flimsy plank she had used. Sure enough, the wood cracked under the weight of all these people, and many of them fell into the mud. Arthur, who had already been on board when the accident happened, checked if anybody was hurt, but it seemed getting dirty was the worst fate any of them had suffered.
Spending time focused on helping the people involved in the accident, he only re-joined the Queen and Drake for their lunch. Drake spent all the time in her company telling amusing stories to Elizabeth while Arthur pricked up his ears for the occasional rare comment Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth's secretary, made about various members of the court.
Walsingham was known for his secrecy and for not talking much about the things he had learned from the spies he had placed seemingly everywhere. When he could be sure, however, only the person right next to him—the personification of England, after all—was able to pick up what he said, he dared to pass the occasional bit of information to Arthur that could perhaps be handy to him later. With a mere movement of his eyes, Walsingham finally indicated he was aware of Arthur's disapproving glances in Drake's direction.
"I'm assuming you don't consider him a low-born upstart unworthy of the honour of knighthood," Walsingham said in a mildly amused tone.
"No," Arthur replied. "If he is an upstart, then what am I?" Walsingham huffed a little, prompting Arthur to continue: "Yeah, yeah, I know; but what I mean is ... I may be here for what I am rather than for who I am, but I'm not a member of the nobility either." He took a sip from his wine; something French, he observed, which shouldn't have come as a surprise when Elizabeth was accompanied by the ambassador of the Duke of Alençon who proved rather persistent at wooing her.
"I don't doubt Francis Drake's achievements as a circumnavigator are extraordinary," Arthur continued. "I just..." He lowered his voice. "I wish he wouldn't be as arrogant about his adventures as he is."
"Hm," Walsingham made. "But would that be like him?" Arthur didn't know what to reply. Dumbfounded, he continued to eat the opulent dishes that were served to him in silence.
The actual knighting took place right after their lunch and was a "typical Elizabeth thing," as Arthur liked to call it. Drake kneeled in front of her; she took a gilded sword and muttered a few words Arthur couldn't understand; and then she turned to the French ambassador, asking him to perform the act of knighting in her stead.
Arthur smirked as Marchaumont—for that was his name—took the sword, touching the pirate's shoulders with it, making the French accomplices of English acts of piracy against Spain at the same time. The pirate rose as Sir Francis Drake, eager to show his gratitude to his Queen and Her court with even more gifts, adding to those he had given at New Year. Elizabeth herself received a diamond frog and a large silver tray.
Arthur had no idea what one was supposed to do with a diamond frog, except putting it in some curiosity cabinet ... alongside with even more odd but valuable gifts whose appeal he didn't understand. Then again, if his Queen was pleased, so was he. Or should be, at the least. He suppressed a sigh.
Hours later, night had fallen and the party had left the ship. Arthur was standing on deck alone, staring at the muddy Thames waters below. It really was odd, he mused, to imagine that the very planks on which he stood had travelled around the whole world.
"And now their fate is to rest here in Deptford, preserved as England's treasure until they rot. How fitting it is here that I find you." Arthur barely flinched, even though he hadn't realised before he had spoken aloud. He could hardly have forgotten the broad Dartmoor accent in which Drake spoke.
"Sir Francis," he greeted with a bow that was only half mockery. "How odd as well to find you here these days and not at our Queen's side."
"I wanted to bid my old lady farewell." There was a tang of melancholy to Drake's tone. You could hardly make a voyage around the world, Arthur supposed, without developing a certain attachment to the vessel that had carried you.
Arthur nodded, and they stood alongside each other in silence.
"I know I must seem a vain man," Drake suddenly said, "but please know all I do I do for England and for England's Queen." Arthur snorted. So Drake had observed his disapproving glances ... and even interpreted them correctly.
"And for your own." He couldn't bite back the sarcastic remark.
"And for my own," Drake admitted willingly. Arthur could rather hear the smirk in his tone than see it. He sighed.
"I begin to understand Elizabeth's fondness of you," he grumbled. "This honesty of yours is rather disarming."
"Hm," was Drake's only reply, and now Arthur was sure he was smiling.
Notes:
The main source for this story is the biography of the English sea captain and privateer Sir Francis Drake (c. 1540-1596) by John Sugden (2006).