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Disclaimer : I don't own them, no... thank Sunrise
Pairing : 1+5, 3+2, 6+4 or none at all
Category : AU, Action, Adventure (Pirate theme), minor OC
Timeline : 1587-1588
Rate : R (for blood and violence)
Warning : Shounen Ai (or just friendship, it's up to you), little Relena-bashing
Especially for Historian lovers: please forgive me *sobs* ^^'
Note: Sir Francis Drake was a real person but his past and relationships I made
it up and I also use the some real events but make them happen in 1587-1588 (it's
hard to picture G-boys grown up ^^')
Cast~
Heero Yuy: Sir Francis Drake (but his appearance will be Heero as an Englishman^^')
Duo Maxwell: Drake's right-hand man
Trowa Barton: Drake's chief of staff
Quatre Winner: Junior Seaman of English Navy
Wufei Chang: Prisoner on Spanish ship
Zechs Merquise: Admiral of English Navy
Treize Krushrenada: Fleet Admiral of Spanish Navy
Lady Une: Commodore of Spanish Navy
Relena Peacecraft: Mademoiselle Relena de Luca
Invincible Armada
By Kai
Chapter One: Francis Drake
1587, Port of London
It was a Sunday afternoon. Everyone everywhere on Earth must have been resting,
maybe in bed... maybe in a club but no one was in the port of London. There were
almost twenty ships in port, their crews loading and unloading the cargo from
faraway lands, mainly from West Indies and American Main (presently Eastern
North America). Of course, they traveled across the Atlantic Ocean and back, no
doubt every crewmember missed his family terribly.
Duo Maxwell was part of one of these crews, but he only went in town for food
and a good drink. He walked in the opposite direction than the other seamen who
greeted him playfully back on the ship, Golden Hind, that Duo thought was the
most beautiful lady of the sea. The three-masted ship he spent almost all his
life on always gave him homey feeling. Everywhere he went, the seven seas or
beyond, he never felt lonely... as long as he had these three things: the sea,
the sky, and this ship.
Duo, with a long chestnut braid, carried a pistol and knives and was known as 'BlackHawk,'
partly because the long pants, boots, and a vest to cover his upper body were
all black. He was a famous master of knife-throwing and Francis Drake's right-hand
man. Drake was captain of the Golden Hind, the great English privateer.
He went inside the ship and at the end of the narrow hallway was a staircase
leading up to the captain's room. Duo opened the door without knocking.
There was a messy desk covered with maps and unwanted papers, some of them
stained with rum or red wine; he wasn't sure which. The faded curtains were half
open, a queen bed on the left was undone and all the candles in old chandelier
were burned out. The place looked like hell, but seemed all too normal to seamen
like them. On the right sat a red velvet couch and... someone was lying on it.
The man was bare-chested, he wore only black pants and boots, his face covered
with the captain's hat.
"Hey! Captain, I thought you were at your house."
"It's just a house. My place is here." The resting man answered and, lifting his
hat, presented Duo with a glimpse of the captain. He had short dark brown hair
and Prussian blue eyes. He was quite a thin man but well-muscled, a little bit
tanned because he hardly wore a shirt.
"You know, if I were a killer, you'd be dead," Duo said teasingly.
"If you were a killer, you would be already dead." Drake drew out a pistol from
under the hat, already cocked.
Duo raised one his eyebrow. "Cautious as always," he remarked. "So why aren't
you sleep in the bed?"
"I prefer velvet."
"Oh, since when?" he questioned, amused, as he sat down on the bed.
"Since the last time I met Zechs when he gave this couch to me."
"Where did he get that? France? Next time I'll ask him to find you velvet sheets,
Francis, Duo mocked, his tone resembling that of Madamoiselle Relena de Luca
He snorted. "Don't call me like that, Duo, just thinking about her makes me
sick."
"Ok, Heero(1). Why don't you just take a walk in town? Or you have you forgotten
that you're a land-dweller?"
" 'Tis boring. As soon as we arrive, I just wish to sail off again." Heero sat
up, his features looking tired.
"You still can't forget it?"
"Yeah..."
##Begin Flashback##
Two 7-year-old kids were running in the dark, running for their lives... Almost
30 of torches followed behind them. The two boys; one was English, Heero, the
other was English-Oriental... They just pickpocketed of the card game winners in
the bar near the pier. Most of the men in the bar were drunk. The boys had no
money to buy food, and they hadn't eat for two days. Stealing the food was just
as risky as stealing money, but stealing from drunkards was the worst.
Both boys were holding hands tightly while they ran along the pier since the
road was blocked. They were panicked and lost. Suddenly,rough hands grabbed
Heero from behind, crying, "You little brat! I got you!"
"Let him go!" The little hybrid child tried to kick the attacker's leg, but it
was useless. Both of his hands still held onto Heero.
Then more pairs of hands pulled the two boys apart. The hybrid was slapped
across his face and fell off the pier... They were all stunned and didn't move.
The water was dark and scary, even for the adults. Heero took advantage of
situation. He struggled out of the hold and jump into the water, trying to
rescue his friend.
The others men brought out a small boat and lit up a lamp, but only found Heero,
crying, "No! Wufei, NO!!"
##End Flashback##
A hand patting his back woke him from the reverie. "You ok?" asked Duo.
"I'm ok."
A knock drew both of their attention. "Come in."
Trowa Barton entered, their chief of staff, the pale-skinned advisor of the
fleet. With his unibang hair-style and soft statement on his face, chocolate-color
hair and jade green eyes, one might think he was a librarian. Who could imagine
he was a crewmember on privateer's ship let alone the tough fighter? He was
Heero's sparring partner with rapiers, and they were usually evenly matched. The
crew mostly saw him in a white long-sleeveed shirt, navy blue pants, a pair of
fine boots, and a silver rapier at his belt.
"We have to wait on the cargo for two weeks," he said simply. He wasn't man of
many words but and all he spoke were worth hearing.
"Two weeks? What will I do until then?" Heero reached for his trench coat, it
seemed he was going out.
"Here's an invitation from Zechs Merquise." Trowa handed him a small envelope. "You
should meet him, I heard that the Queen(2)'s consultants are trying to solve
Spain's pirate problem."
"Spanish pirates? Does it concern us in some way other than attacking us?" Heero
poured rum into the goblet and handed it to Trowa, who refused politely.
"Since our business is transporting cargo mostly across the Atlantic Ocean, we
have been attacked by Spanish pirates from time to time. We fight Spanish
pirates, our navy fights Spanish's pirates..."
"And..." Duo asked.
"...They'll come up with solution soon, with our help." Trowa was very smart
with military stuff, his father being a high-ranking officer. How high he didn't
tell them clearly, but they didn't want to know anyway.
"Ok." Heero nodded and was about to go out the door.
"And Heero..." Trowa began.
"What?"
"Take a bath, you smell like shit."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Heero was on the way to his house. He walked along the lower part of London, the
place he used to live with his childhood friend. He still remembered when they
had nothing... wandering around the city, begging for a little food and money.
They were orphans, nobody wanted them except each other, and now when he had
everything; house, money, and fame... he had lost his best friend.
Was it a joke from God? Maybe yes...
His house wasn't far from the pier, two-story grey house with a large lawn in
front. It was the biggest building in lower London. The house filfulled their
wishes from childhood. He used to ask Wufei what his perfect house woudl look
like. Wufei never answered but just pointed at this house... Heero knew Wufei
was just kidding, but it was the only thing he could do. It was one of Zechs'
friend properties, so it had been easier to negotiate the purchase.
He approached the front gate and the doorman greeted him merrily, "Master Drake,
you're back!"
Heero's lips curved into a faint smile and he went inside. Everything in the
house was the same from last time he left, six months. The main colors of the
house were white, blue, and gold. The ornaments, mostly little statues, were
elegant. An earthy smell from the garden outside made him feel secure and
welcome. He inhaled deeply and told Robert, the head caretaker of the house, "I
need a warm bath and an undisturbed five hours of sleep. After that I have to go
for dinner."
"Yes, sir... but..."
"What?"
The person he most didn't want to see right now was Masdamoiselle Relena de
Luca, which was bad luck; she was there now. The young lady, with light brown
hair and bright blue eyes, was smiling her best. She was good-looking girl but
her manners was unbearble; her desire to be the center of attention was too
much.
"Francis! I'm so glad you're..." She was in an all white dress and ready to jump
on him.
"Stop right there, Mademoiselle," he said flatly. "I haven't bathed for 3 days,"
and he went upstairs without looking back.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Is she still here?" Heero asked Robert while he was adjusting Heero's jacket,
blue embroidered with golden thread was tailored for him.
"She is, sir. She waited for you since the morning, you should at least greet
her."
"Since when have I asked you to be an advisor? Trowa is already too much," he
said half-jokingly. Robert thought his master was serious since he hadn't much
chance to get to know him. Heero bought this building six months ago and they
met only twice before Heero sailed off. He froze and started to back off.
"Hey, it's just a joke." He looked at his reflection, "I hate this, and I look
like a French doll."
"Every gentleman must looks like a French doll, sir." It was Robert's turn to
joke and Heero eyed him knowingly.
They went downstairs to the sitting room and Relena still there, looking a bit
upset. Heero looked at Robert, who smiled at him, and said, "I got an invitation
from your cousin Zechs. Would you like to come with me, Mademoiselle?" She said
nothing. Heero glared at Robert who gesture him to move closer to her. He did,
and also extended his arm for her.
They arrived at Zechs Merquise's mansion in the center of upper London by
carriage and were led inside. In the parlor of the white building stood the long
blond-haired man, with deep aquamarine eyes and a charming smile of hospitality.
A very handsome gentleman with well-built body hidden in the dark green suit
decorated with white-cream edge, he was a little bit taller than Heero.
"I was expecting you, Francis."
"The honor is mine, sir. Thank you very much for inviting me."
Zechs laid an eye on Relena and whispered into Heero's ear, "It won't happen
again. I'm sorry, she's a trouble sometime."
After a full-course dinner, Zechs led Heero to his working quarters. The room
was very much like Heero's room on the Golden Hind, papers and documents were
everywhere but it seemed more organized here. The most noticeable thing in the
room was the wall-sized map on the left side, opposite the window.
Zechs's rank in the Navy was Admiral, which meant he was almost on top of the
most powerful Navy's authority list. Comparing his age, he was definitely too
young but fighting against the invading ships was his specialty since he used to
be pirate as well. Heero heard about his past several times but he still
couldn't picture how this guy could be pirate. Zechs Merquise was said to be the
gentle pirate of the sea who forbade his men to drink, swear, or gamble. He just
robbed things but never hurt people or destroyed villages(3). Later he was
invited to join the royal Navy.
"I won't waste much of your time, Francis," he said while looking up at the map.
It was a map of the Atlantic Ocean. The northern part of America was in blue
(American Main) and the southern was red (Spanish Main). "I heard your next sail
will be to the West Indies."
Heero looked up on the map and the West Indies was in yellow. "Yes, sir."
"It's near the Spanish Main, How's your fleet?"
"2 ships, 3 vessels, sir."
Zechs was silent for a moment before he spoke up, "I'm worried about you. I
think I'll send my fleet to escort you during the journey."
Heero smiled in gratitude. "That's very kind of you, sir, but don't let our
private matters disturb public interest. It's not that I often blunder when they
attack."
"I know, your record is impressive and seems like that'll make you easily
targeted. How many times have you been to West Indies?"
"A couple of times, sir."
"But that's when your fleet wasn't loaded with precious cargo."
"Indeed, sir."
Heero appeared to have an ego making him a bit stubborn with Zechs and everybody
else. "If you say so, Francis. But please keep in mind that your untroubled
shipping of cargo affects a lot of faith and credit of the English Navy."
After Heero departed, Zechs smiled to himself. "Just like seeing me seven years
ago."
To be continued~
(1) The reason I make Duo and Trowa call 'Heero' instead of 'Francis Drake' will
be on later chapter ^^'
(2) Queen Elizabeth I
(3) I got Zechs's past from existing person, Bartholomew Roberts, referred
Disney's Wonderful World of Knowledge Vol.21 ~^_^~
Kai: First try on pirate stuff! Is it good? Is it bad? please tell me ^^'
Edited by Spaß Onna
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