"Land ho!" shouted Emil from the crow's nest.

Arthur Kirkland grinned. Finally, he was home. As much as he loved the sea, he loved Francis, Matthew and Alfred more.

Those boys. How he loved those boys. He would do anything for them. He had done everything. He had given them a beautiful home, riches, toys, clothes. Everything he could think of to display his love.

He regretted not being at home often - he missed them all so much - but there wasn't much anyone could do about that.

Still he was home now. And just in time for the twins' birthday, just like Francis had planned. He couldn't wait to see how much they'd grown and all the stories of school they were going to tell him. His anticipation must have shown on his face though since it prompted a response from his first mate, Yao.

"Captain? Are you alright, aru?"

Arthur scowled at him but there was no truth to it. "Shut your trap. I'm perfectly fine. Thank you."

The first mate just rolled his eyes and let the subject drop.

Arthur swiftly and skillfully guided his ship, the Sapphire Dawn, into the small town harbor. they quickly docked and Berwald, Tino, Mathias, Lukas, Emil, and Leon made quick work of tying them down. Arthur quickly announced that they were all free for the rest of the week or until Arthur thought it necessary to get back at sea.

After his crew disembarked, Arthur made his own way down the gangplank with Yao at his heels. He would have told the first-mate to bugger off, but he knew the man would have nothing to do here unless he was with him.

Arthur scanned the crowded dock for Francis' bouncy mop of blonde hair, but couldn't spot the other for the life of him. A seed of worry began to sprout in Arthur's stomach. Francis never ever missed meeting him at the docks. Okay, he had once, but that was only because Alfred had come down with scarlet fever and Francis couldn't leave him alone. Arthur hoped nothing like that was the case.

Arthur bit at his bottom lip as he pushed his way through the thong of people gathered around the harbor. He barely noticed any of them, leaving Yao to hurriedly apologize. When he finally reached the open streets, be began running towards the Emerald's Ire.

Or, what was left of it.

The pirate's feet ground to a halt as he stood in front of the charred remains of Francis' tavern. He could feel his heart break as he surveyed the damage to his home.

Where was his family going to live now?

Arthur's eyes widened in panic. He dashed into the heaps of ash and debris and began sifting through the wreckage. They couldn't be dead. Not his Francis. Not his Alfred. Not his Matthew.

The green-eyed man was nearing hysterics now. They had to be somewhere. Alive. Safe. Whole. They weren't dead. They weren't dead. They weren't dead.

He chanted that over and over in his head and under his breath.

"Captain Kirkland?" said a bored voice.

Arthur ignored it.

"Captain Kirkland?" said the voice again.

Arthur continued to ignore it.

The voice sighed. "Captain Kirkland, they're gone. The man and the boys who lived there are gone."

The pirate turned to the wielder of the voice. "THEY AREN'T DEAD!" he screamed, tears streaming down his face.

The man held up his hands in a placating motion. "Yes. You are correct. They are not dead. Or at least they did not die in that fire, so you are wasting your time."

Arthur blinked. "What?" He slowly came to his senses and recognized the man before him. It was Vash Zwingli, the town's constable. He was holding a white stuffed bear in his hand and Arthur's eyes narrowed as he recognized it as Matthew's favorite toy. The boy was never without it.

"Why do you have that?" the pirate demanded.

Vash quickly realized what he was talking about and handed the bear over. "I found it hanging in a noose in the door frame when I came to investigate the fire."

Arthur nodded absent-mindedly, barely noticing when Yao came up to stand beside him. All his focus was devoted to the bear. He traced a finger along the jagged cut that sliced through the bear's belly.

The constable sighed at the other man's lack of response. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small envelope. "This was attached to it with a knife."

Arthur quickly snapped back to present and snatched the letter out of Vash's hand. It had his name written in decorative calligraphy. He flipped it over and made short work of the envelope. He quickly scanned the throught the letter and could almost hear the cocky Spanish voice ringing in his ears by the end of it.

It read:

Hola, Kirkland. You have obviously discovered the remains of that pitiful tavern your lover calls a casa. But don't worry about him or your little ninos. I'll be taking wonderful care of them. Who knows, maybe one of them will make a pirata bueno one day! I know that your Frenchman will make a good deck hand.

Arthur nearly ripped the paper straight down the middle. His heart clenched in rage and jealousy. No one was allowed to touch his Francis or his boys. They were his and Antonio was more than dead if he hurt a single golden hair on his family.

As for those boys, they are quite the catch. I know several of your old enemigos would just love to meet them. And by that I mean, break them in two. Or I could just drop them off in some random Nuevo Mundo forest and leave them to fend for themselves. Depends on how dificil they are. I'd hate for them to never see age 12.

Arthur immediately thought of Alfred and panic overwhelmed him. He knew the boy would fight against any threat to his family. Francis wouldn't do anything as long as the pirates had the boys and Matthew seemed too timid to try and struggle. There was a real chance he would never get to see Alfred again. But Arthur would never give up looking for his family.

I figure that you'll go search for me just as soon as you finish this and I wouldn't mind if you actually managed to catch up with me. I would love to defeat you and kill these idiotas while you watch. But that can only happen if you meet me before I reach Tortuga. Buena suerte. Adios, Capitan Antonio Fernandez Carriedo.

Arthur's hands curled in fury, crushing the letter between them. How dare this filthy mongrel threaten his family. How dare Antonio hurt the only things Arthur truly loved. The English pirate would get his revenge.

"Yao!" Arthur shouted, turning to his first mate. "Get the crew back to the ship. We're leaving."

The Chinese man's eyes widened. "But Captain, we have not resupplied! And we do not know where we are going, aru!"

"Tortuga," Arthur barked, marching back to his ship with a flip of his coat.

It took several hours but at last the Sapphire Dawn was fully stocked for the trip to Cuba. Lukas, the crew's navigator, had quickly drafted a course and all they were waiting on now was the call to set sail.

As the first mate, Yao was assigned the job of retrieving Captain Kirkland. So that was what he did. The chinese man entered the hall where the first mate, navigator, medic, and captain resided. They each had their own room, leaving the rest of the crew to hammocks on the next level.

Yao knocked on Arthur's door. "We are ready to go, Captain."

Almost instantly the door swung open to reveal a disheveled Arthur Kirkland. Yao's eyebrow furrowed in concern.

"Are you alright, aru?" he asked.

"Irrelevant." Arthur brushed him off. The captain headed up the stair and onto the sunlit deck and left Yao in the hall. The Englishman began shouting orders and the crew scampered about. They completed each task with the precision that only came with years of experience. Arthur moved to the helm and the steering wheel and continued to shout orders from there.

Yao left him to it. The captain wouldn't need him until they were at least a few hours out to sea. Meanwhile he had other business to investigate. Arthur had left his cabin door open. This was something he never did - too concerned with privacy and all that. Usually, Yao wouldn't pry, but his captain was acting strange, and an unstable captain could spell disaster for a crew.

Especially a pirate crew.

Yao wasn't too concerned about a mutiny. All of Arthur's crew actually had a loving respect for their captain. The Englishman didn't command them with fear or threats. If fact, it was quite the opposite. Arthur often allowed his crew to do whatever they wanted as long as they did as they what told when he told them to. But at the same time all the crew also knew not to push the man's patience. What their captain said was final - no questions asked.

But that didn't mean Yao would let Arthur's strange behavior go unchecked. He had to get to the bottom of this. For the sake of the crew, or at least that's what he told himself. He knew he probably loved the captain more than Arthur loved him. And even though homosexuality was accepted in China, he knew that the Europeans despised it. Arthur would probably put him to death if he ever found out.

Yao loved Arthur and that was his true reason for entering the captain's room. He wanted to help Arthur, ease whatever burden had been placed on him. Thankfully, Yao knew exactly what he was looking for. That letter the village constable had given Arthur was the source of the captain's grief.

Yao didn't even have to look for it. It was simply lying on the desk, open and smoothed out. He picked it up gently and read.

When he finished, it was safe to say the chinese was shocked. Not only was his captain a homosexual, but he had boys as well.

But when he thought about it, he realized that it actually explained quite a lot about Arthur. The reason he gave Yao permission to bring his brother Leon with them. The reason he allowed Mathias hit on Lukas. The reason he tolerated that thing Emil and Leon had going on. The reason he let Berwald and Tino call each other husband and wife. The reason he permitted them bring that kid, Peter, aboard.

How the Englishman managed to gather a completely homosexual crew was something Yao would have to ponder at a later date.

It explained their abnormally frequent stops at that port town. Arthur practically living in that tavern while they were there. The joy those twins had when they saw him. Yao blinked. They must be the boys referenced in the letter. That meant the Frenchman was the bartender. That was Arthur's family.

All but one thing made sense to Yao. Even though he let all that happen, why wouldn't Arthur bring his family along on the ship? He could protect them better here, couldn't he?

"What are you doing?" demanded a sharp English voice.

Yao glanced up to see Arthur standing in the doorway of his cabin. The man's eyes were like ice and for the first time Yao actually felt true terror while looking at his captain. His mouth opened and shut like a fish as he tried to come with a plausible lie.

"I asked you a question," Arthur said, slowly approaching Yao and the desk. "What are you doing?"

Finally, Yao decided on the truth. "I was worried about you, aru!" he shouted, pinching his eyes shut.

He heard Arthur's steps falter and he peeked an eye open.

"Worried?"

"Yes, aru! You have been acting strange ever since we left that town. I want to know why."

Arthur frowned. "And did you?" he asked coldly.

Yao flinched, but nodded.

Arthur sighed and slumped onto the bed. He looked oddly defeated. Old even.

"I understand if you want to leave the crew now," Arthur said, seeming convinced that Yao hated him now. "Not many people would want to follow a captain who practices sodomy. We can drop you and Leon off at the next-"

"No!" Yao interrupted. "I mean, no thank you, aru. It does not matter to me. Back in China, homosexuality is not condemning like it is in Europe."

Arthur looked confused. "It isn't?"

Yao hurriedly shook his head. "No. Many of our past emperors were homosexual, aru."

Arthur obviously decided to take his word at face value. He sighed again and asked, "Any questions then?"

"About your family, aru?"

Arthur simply nodded.

Yao was taken aback. After the lengths the Englishman had gone to hide his family from the world, he was surprised that Arthur would be willing to share any more information than he already had.

"Why did you have them live on land instead of on the ship?" Yao froze after asking it. It was probably a personal topic but it was the one thing he couldn't understand about the situation.

Arthur let loose a bitter laugh. "Honestly? I thought they'd be safer. But look how that turned out. I wanted them to never have to deal with the horrors of pirates. Never wanted Alfred or Matthew to be forced to use a gun or a sword just to protect themselves from MY enemies. Never wanted anyone to ever find out about them. I thought, if I could just keep them away from this ship, they'd be safe. How more wrong could I have been?" Arthur buried his face in his hands. "And now everything I tried to prevent is happening. My worst enemy has my greatest treasures and I can't do anything. And it's all my fault. I just wanted them to be safe."

Yao had never seen his captain break down like this before. Arthur was one of the strongest people he knew. The man never cried. Mathias often commented that the captain's tear ducts had dried up long ago.

But this… This was a different Arthur. This Arthur was vulnerable. He wasn't leading. He was a man who was afraid that he would never again see the people he loved most.

Yao felt resolve burn its way through his chest. He knew what he had to do.

"Captain, I swore loyalty to you when I joined this crew, aru. I have followed you to the ends of the earth and I will follow you until the day I die." Yao took a deep breath. He knew he could never take Arthur from his French lover and he would never try, but these words still came from his heart. "I, Wang Yao, aru, swear, I will not rest until your family is found. I will stand by you when you welcome your family aboard this ship. And I promise that once they are here, they will never be harmed as long as I live. Do you accept my pledge?"

Arthur slowly raised his head out of his hands. Yao could see that the defeat in the captain's eyes was now gone. It was replaced by the spark of determination and passion that usually resided in the captain's green eyes. "I, Arthur Kirkland, captain of the Sapphire Dawn, accept your pledge."

Arthur stood and the two pirates shook on it.

Translations:

Nuevo Mundo - New World aka the Americas

Buena suerte - Good luck

A/N: And there's chapter 2. (OMG My fingers burn from typing so much!) Be back tomorrow for chapter 3! Thanks for all the follows, faves and reviews! They make my day and my fingers hurt less.