The year was 1589. Twelve-year-old Ruby Rose had yearned for adventure for a long while and had desperately searched for it like it was the meaning of life, practicing her swordsmanship with a long stick just in case it found her somehow. She was a dreamer, a nutcase, in others' swords, always wanting to be like the heroes in fairytales. Based on the ones she'd listened to as a child, she was nearing the age of said heroes and thought she'd be granted a wonderful journey to retrieve treasure. She was far more prepared than the oblivious characters who'd had no idea how much fun they could have in life. She was ready for the message in a bottle: a map with a dotted line to the big red X on a forbidden island she'd have to sail the seven seas to reach. Ruby was set to fight vicious beasts, her mighty, majestic sword glittering in the moonlight as she gracefully sliced them in half with ease. She was ready for the ridiculously large treasure chest full of riches worth more pounds than one could ever fathom. She believed it was her reason for existing in the first place: doing the impossible and having fun doing it. That didn't only mean being a hero, it also meant going on spectacular adventures.

Nobody would stop her from making her dream come true, so when the opportunity arose, she seized it like a thief would a necklace.

Ruby pressed her back against a wall, slowly peering around the corner. She was at the docks, preparing to execute her plan: Operation Oh My Goodness, Finally.

Coast is clear, Ruby thought, padding her way to a barrel meant for food storage. She lifted the cover and climbed inside, praying that she was using a spare and nobody would find her before closing the lid.

The English were to set sail and fight the Spanish the next day, and Ruby Rose was going to be a crew member.

Silver orbs fluttered open, expecting to see the sight of the owner's room, only to be met with darkness. She blinked in confusion as her eyes adjusted.

Where was she? The dark-haired girl was practically in the fetal position in a very tight space, swaying gently from side to side.

Swaying.

Ruby's stomach tied itself in countless knots and her breathing stilled.

She was on the ship. A stowaway, in fact, and a great one at that since she didn't get caught. This was her final destination, her dream, what happened later wouldn't matter because in her heart she'd known she'd made it.

Problem was, she had no clue what would happen next.

So she was on a "pirate ship" and stuck in a barrel. What then? Just sit there until someone found her? Surely whoever it was would quickly toss her off the ship, deeming her worthless.

No. She had to make an entrance, one grand enough to convince them to let her stay on the vessel.

As Ruby wracked her brain, shouts erupted from outside. She couldn't comprehend what they were saying, but it sounded like Spanish, and they were particularly triumphant.

Ruby carefully lifted the lid just enough so she could see and found two English crew members cursing.

"Damn! The Captain is below deck," one said bitterly, fists clenched.

"Why the bloody hell are you standing there?" The other fumed, retreating. "We need to get him!"

"Right."

As they ran away, Ruby's focus remained on the Spaniards. One of them wore a large hat with a feather on it, a hand on his sword sheathed at his hip.

He's definitely the captain, Ruby thought, eyes scanning the deck for a sword to claim. She set her eyes on one, left by the previous two, and looked back at the opposing side.

The captain was laughing. "Finally, I caught him. It really sucked losing a thousand times."

Her silver pools trained on the green-eyed brunette, Ruby leapt out of her barrel and made a beeline for the abandoned weapon. The salty sea wind whipped at her face, her running speed intensifying the effect. Adrenaline rushed through her veins as she grabbed the sword and pointed it straight at the captain's face, glaring at him with all her might.

"Ye best be walkin' the plank, mate," Ruby growled in her best pirate accent.

All twenty tall, menacing Spanish men blinked at her in confusion.

"Uh, Captain Carriedo," one said with a chuckle. "Is that a child threatening us?"

Captain Carriedo laughed heartily, drawing his sword. "I believe it is." He looked at Ruby, a small smirk playing on his lips. "Are you sure you're in the right place, chica? That dress isn't fit for combat, you know. I think you need to go home and let the real pirates do the fighting. Besides, can you even wield a sword? You should wait until you're taller to fight us."

"I'll have you know that I am a real pirate." Ruby puffed out her cheeks. "And I don't need to wait until I'm taller. I drink milk."

The Spanish looked at each other before bursting out with laughter. "She drinks milk! What a joke!"

The captain wiped a tear from his eye. "Pirates don't drink milk, chica. We drink booze and rum." He raised his sword. "If it's a fight you want, a fight we'll have."

Ruby's eyes sparkled. "Really? One on one?"

The brunet lightly shook his head, flustered. "Well, sure, but I've already won."

Ruby dashed at him before he could say another taunting word. She spun and brought her sword down, but he brought his up as he stepped back, successfully blocking the attack. She put her other hand on the dull end of the blade, pushing harder against her opponent's while he did the same.

"What on earth is going on?" A stern voice boomed. It sounded all too familiar to the Spanish man, making him look over Ruby's shoulder. Curious, she turned around as well.

There stood a blond British man with commanding emerald eyes. He sported typical pirate garb and a large hat with a feather, similar to the Spaniard he was glaring intensely at.

"What does it look like?" Captain Carriedo frowned, though it looked unnatural on him. "I'm fighting your crew member. She's obviously not on my side."

"I've never seen her in my life." The blond drew his sword. "Get the bloody hell off my ship, git."

"Come on, I got you first," the other whined. "I can beat you this time."

"He said to get off his ship, you wanker!" Ruby exclaimed, pushing her sword to the right, throwing the Spaniard off balance. She then kicked his bottom and sent him to the floor, his face kissing the hard wooden planks.

His crew was about to step in and attack when he shakily got up. "Okay, okay. Retreat!"

"Aye, aye!"

With that, they all dove into the waters below to swim back to their own ship.

Ruby grinned, turning to face she blond captain. "The name's Ruby Rose. I'm the new recruit."

The man's bushy eyebrows furrowed, a frown crossing his face. "No, you're not. Women and children aren't allowed. I've never heard of you either, how could I have recruited you?"

"Come on, please?" Ruby begged.

"No."

"Why not?"

"It would ruin my reputation as a dangerous pirate." He sheathed his sword with a huff. "What self-respecting captain would have a child like you in his crew? Certainly not Captain Arthur Kirkland." Crossing his arms, he turned away.

"I just chased off the enemy," Ruby countered. "I even used a sword to do it. That's definitely something a worthy pirate would do. I'm also really quick on my feet, so I could help you steal riches when this war is over."

Arthur looked at her in thought, eyes scanning her form, silently judging her. He took a step forward, then another, slowly approaching her slightly trembling frame.

He's going to kill me, I know it. I'm just taking up space on his ship when I should be at home cleaning the house. I'm in the wrong place, in front of an angry pirate, and I seriously regret it.

"No need to be afraid, love." Arthur stopped directly in front of her, bending down to her level, his face inches from hers. Seeing her eyes widen, he smirked. "How well can you swab the deck?"

How relieved she was to hear those words; the very words to start her new life as a pirate. Though she mostly cleaned the ship, she participated in a fight with the Spanish every now and then, but those times were few and very far between. Sometimes there were calm days when the men remaining would drink to their hearts' content and laze around the ship, sometimes the Spanish would find them and they would duke it out while Ruby hid below decks. This routine went on for years, and she loved every second of it.

One day when Ruby was eighteen, the Spanish ambushed their ship and she went below decks as per usual. Instead of hanging around the bar area, she snuck into Arthur's room. She'd only seen it once, and according to the crew members their captain took a liking to her, but she felt like snooping.

Whenever Arthur got drunk, he would talk about someone named Alfred-America as he occasionally called him-he'd been taking care of. He would say things like how similar they were, since they both strove to be fairytale heroes and were bubbly. Ruby wanted to know who his Alfred/America was. She knew of the country, but why would anyone be named after one?

At this point, Ruby had found little more than clothes and spare swords and a half-finished bottle of rum. She'd looked through nearly every nook and cranny of Arthur's room for any clues and wound up empty-handed. She was about to give up, adjusting the black kerchief on her head and starting towards the door, when she felt something in her mind nagging her, drawing her to the centre of the room. It was the feeling you got when you think you forgot something, the one that kept telling you to check once more for that elusive thing you can't put your finger on. The tiny voice told her to check under the bed and in the drawer. Another little voice warned her that her captain would come back any second and she should leave.

Ruby disobeyed the other voice, curiosity taking over and luring her to the drawer next to the large bed. Hand trembling only slightly, she opened it, lips parting in surprise.

It was a drawing, probably done by a young child, of two blonds: one with lighter hair and the other darker. They were holding hands and looked happy as ever. One of them was obviously her captain with six black lines for each eyebrow, but the other had an unfamiliar cowlick and bright blue eyes. In green crayon at the bottom was "To England From America" in sloppy writing.

So he's America, Alfred, whatever his name is, Ruby thought. But why did he call the captain England? That's our country.

Shrugging it off, she searched under the bed until her hand found leather. She slid the object out of the shadows and discovered that it was a diary. She thought it absolutely adorable that her constantly-drinking, adventurous, ever-so-manly captain would even own a diary, so naturally she took a peek. Opening it near the middle of the book, she began to read its contents.

April 16, 1595

I know, I don't update nearly as often as I should, especially since I'm a world-renowned pirate, but I've been very busy lately. Rather, my mind's been busy. With Alfred. I left him a while ago so I could follow my Queen's orders and set sail again, but I always worry for him. I want to know if he's doing alright and how much he's grown as a country. When I get back, I wonder if he'll be the same size or even taller than myself. America's a little guy, at least he was when I last saw him six years ago. He's probably been spending his birthdays all alone, and without and cake because he can't make it himself. Bollocks, now I feel utterly terrible. I might drink some rum after this. Maybe not, we're running short, so we need to raid another village again, no big deal.

Anyway, little America's been on my mind. He might not be so little anymore, I'm not sure, but I know he's still a hero in his own world. My crew member Ruby is similar to him in that regard: always wanting to a hero. They're just so alike that sometimes I wonder what it would be like if they were siblings. I wish I could just use a magic spell and make her a country along with us, but that kind of thing is greatly frowned upon and would ruin my reputation quite a bit. Besides, I don't even know how to do any form of sorcery, so it's not like I can make her a country, but I really want to. I feel the need to give her a gift of some sort, but I don't know why. Most likely it's because she reminds me of America-Or she's my favourite crew member (don't tell). Come to think of it, it may be because I'm a country and I know the relationship we have won't last, as I'm immortal.

I've already ranted about the cons of being immortal and a country on separate occasions, so I'll hold my tongue this time.

Goodnight,

England

Ruby's throat ran dry, her fingers gently lifting one side of the diary and closing it before she weakly pushed it back where it belonged. In the back of her mind, she noted that this entry was from the night before and the reason for the rum bottle being half-finished.

Captain Arthur Kirkland, the man who'd taken care of her for over half a decade, was the person representing England itself. Before they'd set sail, he looked after the personification of America. Both of them were immortal, and Arthur wanted her to become a country as well. This information definitely needed time to sink in.

Ruby slowly stood, closing the open drawer, and sat on the bed, flopping onto her back. Her silver orbs hid behind her eyelids as the gears worked inside her head, processing what she'd just read. It was hard to believe that Arthur had kept this secret for so long. He obviously hadn't told his crew, and for a good reason. They wouldn't believe him.

"Ruby? What are you doing in my quarters?"

The familiar voice made her jolt upwards with a small yelp. Her head snapped in her captain's direction. "Oh! C-Captain! I was just hiding here in case one of the Spanish made it below deck or knew where I'd be. Gotta mix it up so they're not sure." She hoped her toothy grin was convincing enough to not make him suspicious.

"Hmm, that makes sense." Arthur nodded. "Seems I taught you well."

"Yep," Ruby nodded cheerfully. "You sure did, Captain."

Arthur looked up, placing a finger on his chin. "You know, you have been practicing your swordsmanship for quite a few years from what you've told me. We've also duelled often enough, so I know you shouldn't get hurt too easily..."

Afraid she was interrupting, Ruby spoke meekly, "what are you getting at, Captain?"

"What have I told you about formalities? We're alone, it's fine if you don't say "Captain" so often." Arthur rolled his eyes before continuing. "Now, I know you've been waiting a while for this. I believe you are ready to fight alongside us and not hide during every ambush or what-have-you."

Ruby loudly sucked in a breath through clenched teeth, covering her mouth with her hands in shock. She blinked vigorously at Arthur, whose lips curled upward at her reaction, and slowly removed her hands. "No way."

"Yes, I finally said it." Her captain gave a low chuckle. "I let you accompany us on raids, so I gave it some thought and this is my conclusion. I'm letting you fight with us."

Finally, Ruby thought. After all these years, she could finally clash swords with a pirate other than Arthur.

"But I do have to warn you," he continued, "you shouldn't join unless you are completely okay with seeing death. We pirates always go for the kill, literally."

"I'm sure I'll be fine." Ruby shrugged.

"Are you certain?"

"If I wasn't, I wouldn't have begged you for this since I joined the crew." Ruby smiled brightly, masking the shock from a sudden realization.

Arthur had said you needed to be alright with watching death, which also meant you had to be alright with being the cause of it, in this case. How many people had he had to kill for his country? From what she'd seen, it had been at least a few hundred, and considering how he's lived for many centuries so far, there were definitely a lot more. How much blood did he have on his hands? He seemed to be a bit bothered by it, but how would she fare?

Any purity left in her was sure to be stained crimson very soon, and she wasn't sure how she would handle it. A week later, she learned she dealt with it in one of the worst ways possible.

Two glasses, one for each person whose blood was cleaned off her blade. Those glasses had been filled halfway with rum, which she quickly downed with a clenched fist. She didn't particularly like the taste.

Now she understood why her fellow crew members downed bottles at a time after a clash with the Spanish: they had killed some, and a comrade or two died. To make things worse, they'd had to throw the bodies overboard and the stench of death clung to their clothes. Ruby didn't need any replays of that day's events swimming in her mind or haunting her during her sleep, she wanted those memories out, no matter what it took. A fuzzy brain never hurt anyone, right? Well, every time someone got very drunk on their ship a fight would break out, so she guessed that was wrong, but she promised herself she wouldn't do that.

No more than two drinks.

"Ruby, love?" She heard her captain's voice over her loud comrades. "Are you in here?"

The poor girl wanted to cry out, let him know that she was there, but instead she frowned deeply at the glass in her hand, eye twitching. Tears welled in her eyes, making them appear glassy. Her guilty conscience was screaming at her, scolding her relentlessly for ending not one, but two people's lives. It made her regret ever wanting to fight in the first place, even begging on her knees for permission when she was younger. Her dreams of being a pirate and going on adventures were completely destroyed and trampled on. She had no willpower to tell her captain where she was, so she waited for him to come to her, which he'd done surprisingly quickly.

"Ruby..." Arthur sighed, sitting on the stool next to her. "Are you alright?"

Her head whipped in his direction. Her normally bright and curious eyes were now bloodshot and baggy from the crying she'd done earlier. Red-faced and clammy was not what Arthur expected to see at all.

"No," Ruby stated, voice cracking.

Arthur signed again, frowning. "They say the first kill is always the hardest. It's true. I was in terrible shape after mine."

Ruby blinked slowly. "Really?"

"Mm-hmm. I was a small child, after all." Arthur shifted his gaze to the table. "It was an honest mistake at the time. I was around seven."

"Oh."

The blond glanced at her glass. "How many?"

She knew exactly what he was talking about. "Two."

"Don't drink anymore, you hear?"

"Yes, Captain."

Arthur's eyelids dropped. He didn't like seeing his swabbie like this one bit, it upsetted him greatly. "It's getting late, you should probably go to your room."

"Will do."

Without another word, she stood and left the room of bustling pirates. Despite what Arthur had initially thought, Ruby's personality hadn't changed much after that night, which was a great relief to him. He didn't want his favourite crew member to be down in the dumps, after all. Ruby seemed to get over it quickly enough.

What he didn't know was that Ruby's mind had become too occupied with his country status to dwell on her first kill.

By the time she was twenty-three, she'd grown to be a formidable opponent. Due to her exceptional swordsmanship, she'd earned more respect amongst their quickly-shrinking crew.

With only forty people on their ship, there were times when their strength was not in numbers, and Ruby was more than willing to compensate for that. Ambushes had become a cakewalk for her. She wasn't a mere deckhand anymore, thought she'd occasionally start cleaning the ship out of habit, and Arthur saw that. Ruby wasn't his little obedient swabbie, the child he'd taken under his wing, she was much more than that. He saw her grow every day and becoming more mature, and even then she'd still say "Captain" after nearly every sentence when speaking to him. It was a reminder that the mannerisms from long ago still lingered in her personality.

Another one of her habits was watching every sunset; she hadn't missed a single one for the past decade or so. Arthur had easily picked up on this and joined her on many occasions, including this one.

Ruby stood at the rail on the side of the deck, resting her elbows on the edge and smiling softly. She inhaled the scents of the sea as the wind tousled her hair around, watching the sky intently as its colours changed to an orange-pink. All of her focus was on the scene she never grew tired of, so she didn't notice someone approaching her.

"Hello, Ruby."

Said woman nearly jumped out of her skin before she turned around with a playful pout.

"You didn't have to scare me like that, Captain."

"What kind of pirate would I be if I wasn't at least a little scary?" Arthur smirked, joining her at the railing.

"I must be a terrible pirate, then." Ruby resumed her staring at he sunset. "I'm not scary at all. I probably still look like a little teenager."

"That's not true," Arthur said. "Your hair is down to your knees. Not many teenagers have that. You've grown a bit, too, you're up to my lip."

Ruby propped her head up with her hand. "I guess you're right about my hair. I haven't cut it since I came here. I'll get around to it soon."

"How do you keep your hair so long?" Arthur turned to her. "I've tried to grow it out before and it took forever. I didn't do much then. You've got swords all around you and you've never lost a single strand."

"I fight very carefully." Ruby smirked.

Arthur deadpanned. "Don't lie to your captain, swabbie."

"I'm not a swabbie anymore," Ruby pouted again. "I always tell you that, Captain."

"Just tell me. I'm really curious."

"I really have no idea." Ruby shrugged.

"Alright then, keep your secrets." Arthur turned back to look at the sunset. "Leave me wallowing in the dark."

"Make sure you have your lantern." Ruby giggled.

They shared a comfortable silence as the sun fell lower on the horizon, darkening the sky in its wake. The stars were starting to come out, signalling an end to their usual time of peace. Ruby stood up straight and was about to leave when Arthur called out to her.

"Say, Ruby..."

She turned back to him, tilting her head.

"Would you ever-" Arthur paused, "would you ever give up being a pirate?"

Ruby blinked in surprise, nearly gasping. Why would he ever ask such a question? "Of course not, Captain! Why would I ever leave you?"

Arthur was clearly taken aback. "I don't... know. I thought you'd be tired of it after more than a decade of being at sea."

"I'll never get tired of the sea, or you, Captain." Ruby's face softened.

"Then what will you do when we're done fighting the Spanish?"

Ruby hadn't thought of that.

"We'll sail back to England and spend our lives there," Arthur continued. "You'll have to live on as an ordinary woman, not a pirate. We can't be at sea forever, so you'll need to adjust."

"Oh." Ruby frowned. "Thanks for telling me. Goodnight, Captain."

Telling Ruby that her dream of being a pirate would end at any given time wasn't very easy for Arthur, but she had to know in advance. If that information made its way to her the day they sailed back, she would have been crushed, but when that day came, she was anyway.

The year was now 1604. Arthur had caught wind of a treaty between England and Spain's rulers and had been ordered to come home. While most of the crew rejoiced and drank at the bar area, Ruby stood at the very front of the shill frowning her way back to England.

She couldn't understand how they could be so happy about returning to their rainy country, life on the Dreadnought was so much more exciting and fulfilling than anything else. She was probably biased because she spent over half her life there, but to her, the ship was her home, not England. She could go on raids forever, have friendly duels with Arthur forever, clean the deck forever, and sail the seven seas doing whatever she pleased, but that couldn't happen.

She was being sent back to a place where all the had was a flimsy stick, and no stick made for a good weapon in any case. She couldn't swing her sword proudly in the name of Captain Arthur Kirkland anymore, just wave her stick like a mindless loon.

Arthur couldn't bring himself to talk to her until their ship reached port. As the ecstatic sailors practically leaped off the side, Ruby stayed behind, leaning over the railing and staring at the waters below. The captain made his way to her with a small frown.

"Ruby." He went ignored.

"Ruby, I have to go home. I'm not leaving until you are." She wasn't listening.

"Come on now, look at me." Arthur roughly grabbed her shoulder.

Ruby's head turned slowly, meeting his gaze with her own empty, hollow one.

"We have to go now."

"No, Captain." Ruby shook her head. "I'm not leaving my home. I won't give up being a pirate. Ever. It's my dream to be here, so I'm staying."

Arthur sighed. She's being childish. Doesn't she know she needs to move on?

"Really, we have to go."

"No! I'm never leaving the ship." Ruby clenched her fists. "I'm living my dream to the bitter end and I want you to come too."

Arthur blinked. She wanted to stay by his side? As pirates? He was a country, he just couldn't do that.

With another sigh, he brought his hands to his tricking hat, lifting it off his head and placing it on Ruby's. He smiled and put his hands on her shoulders reassuringly.

"Since you want to stay so badly," Arthur said, "I'm giving you my ship. You can do whatever and sail wherever you want with it. You are now Captain Ruby Rose, but I cannot be your swabbie. You see, I'm a-"

"Country." Ruby nodded, eyes closed. "I know, England. I just... really hoped you could stay a little longer, you know?" Her lower lip began to quiver as she held tears back.

Arthur's eyes widened. How could she possibly know about his status? The only place with that information on the Dreadnought was...

"You read my diary?" He asked slowly.

"Yes, years ago, actually," Ruby's voice cracked. "You're not mad, are you, Captain?"

"I'm not mad, nor am I captain," Arthur reminded. "That's your position now."

"I-I know, Captain." Ruby opened her eyes. "Force of habit, that's all. So, you're leaving, right?"

"I'm sorry." Arthur nodded, turning around. "I'll be leaving you to your ship now."

"Wait," Ruby called, stopping him in his tracks.

Before Arthur looked back, he heard the sharp whoosh and the sound of something being cut. There stood Ruby Rose, his little swabbie, with a sword in one hand and her long braided hair in the other. She had a look of embarrassment on her face.

"I have nothing else to give as a momento, so..." Ruby trailed off, handing him the braid. "Here. I told you I'd get around to cutting my hair, and here it is. Sorry it took so long."

He took it in both hands, staring at the odd gift in shock. He'd never heard of such an idea, giving your hair to someone, but that made it special in its own way.

"Thank you, Ruby." He smiled, eyeing her chin-length, choppy hair. "It means a lot to me, really."

"That's Captain Ruby." She grinned from ear to ear, earning a chuckle from Arthur.

"Right, I almost forgot, swabbie." Arthur started to leave. "Goodbye, Captain Ruby."

Ruby sniffled, but gasped as she felt the ship move. He had untied the rope and was saying goodbye one last time.

Now frantic, she waved her arms around, screaming "Bye!" at the top of her lungs, even leaning over the raking in the side closest to her dear friend. She screamed it over and over until Arthur shouted back at her:

"Get to the wheel, Captain Ruby!"

With a gasp, she shouted, "Right!". Grabbing it with one hand and flailing her other arm, she screamed her goodbyes until the port could no longer be seen.

She roamed, masterless and free, and did as she said she would.

Ruby lived her dream to the bitter end.