Chapter beta'd by the lovely OKFan here on . Go check out her stuff!
Read author's note at bottom!
CHAPTER4
A week after the storm, Berwald sat beside Arthur as they ate breakfast. The tall quiet man shifted in his seat uncomfortably.
Looking up, Arthur tilted his head slightly, "you keep shifting. What is wrong?"
Berwald didn't look at Arthur, "you seem to have become great friends with the Captain."
Arthur set down his spoon and gave the taller man a cold stare, "I do not understand whythat makes you shift so much."
Shaking his head, Berwald just got up and walked away.
The sound of a horn being blown startled Arthur. He knew the ship had docked late last night and the crew had mysteriously disappeared.
Dumping his plate into the soapy water, Arthur walked toward the steps that led up to the main deck.
The outside air was cold as snow lightly trickled down. Harkens said this land was known as Klubit, and that it was in the high north. Looking out toward where he had heard the sound of the horn, he saw some of the crew men leading up a small group of people. The crew men looked as if they were towering over the people who kept trying to run away.
Arthur placed his hand over of his mouth as he began to feel sick. He had forgotten that the Captain was out doing Heart's dirty work by capturing people who they deemed unworthy to live on the earth.
He felt his heart clench as he thought about becoming attached to the Captain. Becoming so attached, in fact, that he began to look up to the man as if he were a father figure.
He wanted this all to just stop.
As the group got closer, Arthur was able to see the small people struggling and trying to fight off their captors. One of the men, a short blonde haired, hazel eyed man, looked up at the ship almost right at Arthur before he began to scream in some foreign language.
Hearing an intake of breath Arthur looked to his left to see Berwald gripping the ships railing a little too tight. Berwald's eyes were fixed on the man who seemed to be staring at the tall blonde as well. Berwald tore his gaze from the man and walked away from the side and made his way up to the crow's nest.
The ship pulled away from port as the sun was setting. Arthur looked at the wheel of the ship as his hands ran over its hard yet smooth wooden surface. The yellow fairy had returned the previous night and was sitting on his forearm watching the ocean. The fairy looked troubled, but Arthur refrained from asking her anything. The fairy was always so closed up, he felt as though if he asked he would be wasting his breath.
Samuel walked up to Arthur and placed a hand on his shoulder, "the Captain wishes to see you in his quarters."
Nodding, Arthur gave control of the wheel to the first mate before walking over to the stairs leading up to the main deck.
Behind the stairs was a double set of doors that led to the Captain's room. Walking up to them, Arthur raised the back of his hand to knock on the door.
"Come in," the Captain yelled from the other side of the door.
Opening the door, Arthur looked around the room. On the far left wall, there was what seemed to be a large map nailed to the wall. A cluttered desk was situated under it. In the back, beside the Windows, was a large unmade bed, and in the center of the room a messy table where the Captain sat.
The man had his hat and coat off, his shirt was unbuttoned and he was giving Arthur a smile. Arthur felt the yellow fairy leave his arm, watching her he spotted a shimmer of gold. Walking over he noticed it was his large clock. The clock Alfred had given him, and the clock he thought to have lost when coming to this world. Reaching out he went to pick it up.
"Do not touch it."
Spinning around he saw the Captain starting to saunter over towards him. The man had a smirk on his face. Glaring, Arthur looked up at him, "but, it is mine."
The Captain's smile began to fade, "it is not yours. Nothing is yours anymore, you and everything you used to own belongs to me."
The Captain reached out and grabbed Arthur's wrist, "now, if you don't mind, I have something new to teach you." The man leaned in close enough for Arthur to smell the alcohol on his breath and to feel his breath against his skin. Arthur struggled to back up but his attempts were in vain. The Captain snickered, "I am going to teach you your next lesson Arthur. How to warm someone's bed."
Arthur's eyes widened as he began to push against the Captain's chest. The Captain only smiled and kissed Arthur's cheek. Reaching out Arthur picked up the large clock.
With all the force he could gather up, Arthur swung the clock into the man's head.
The Captain growled in pain as he let go of Arthur so he could clutch his head. Arthur began to run out of the Captain's room, his breathing fast. Once out onto the empty main deck, he truly had no idea where to go. Light came from the door leading down to the kitchens, signaling where the crew was. Hearing footsteps, Arthur turned around to see the Captain approaching him. Looking around for somewhere to go, Arthur caught sight of Samuel up at the wheel staring at the scene on deck with horror.
"Think ya can assault me and get away with it, eh?" The Captain sneered as he quickened his pace toward Arthur. Panicking, Arthur reached into his pants and fished out the dagger Smith had given him.
The Captain laughed at Arthur before walking over to him and ripping the knife from the teen's hands. Throwing it to the side, he lunged toward Arthur.
Green eyes widening, Arthur ducked down making the Captain trip over his small crunched up form; knocking Arthur fully to the ground with his fall, the Captain looked at the teen who was now crawling away.
Arthur's eyes darted around the deck till his eyes fell on the dagger. Crawling on his hands and knees across the rough wood, Arthur made his way toward the dagger. Grabbing around its firm handle, he gripped it and sat up, scooting his back toward the side of the ship.
With the bad lighting from the sky growing dark and the blind rage the Captain was in, he ran toward Arthur never seeing the dagger.
The sickening sound of flesh being ripped open made Arthur close his eyes, but the warm wet feeling of blood splattering his face made Arthur open them again. The dagger had penetrated the Captain's skin right in the center of his abdomen.
The Captain reached towards Arthur, but the teen was too quick as his will to live became too great. Pulling the dagger from its spot and lunging at the man he dug it into his heart. Within seconds the Captain fell to the deck, blood pooling around his now lifeless body.
Arthur looked at his hands and then to the body where the dagger now resided in the man's chest before falling to his knees and vomiting, and never hearing the footsteps of the approaching crew.
A hand on his shoulder made him look up into the eyes of Samuel, "are you alright?" Samuel knew that it was a stupid question, but it was the only thing he could think of at the time.
Arthur nodded before sitting down on the deck. He listened to the voices talking about what happened, and it scared him. Would they kill him for killing the Captain? Would they give him to Heart's as one of the non-humans? He didn't even want to think about other things.
Walking out of the crowd, Berwald stepped forward and stood in front of Arthur. Looking over, he gave Samuel a questioning look.
Samuel nodded, "pirate code states that Arthur becomes Captain since he killed without intention to become Captain," a pause, "the Captain, for whatever reason, attacked Arthur. It was sheer defense."
The ship was silent for a moment. All one could hear were the waves splashing against the ship's wooden sides. Harkens stepped out from the crowd, smile on his face, "what be yer firs orders, Cap'n?"
Arthur looked up, dumbfounded. The yellow fairy landed on his leg, she had a broad smile on her face. "Everything had been planned, Arthur, this is just your start," she gave him a serious look, "you wished to stop the Captain from taking the non-human creatures to Hearts. Here is your chance."
Nodding, Arthur stood up his voice was hesitant as he spoke, "if I am truly Captain," he watched a few of the crew members nod before he took a deep breath, "then you shall not mind if we switch sides in this war."
The crew was quiet till a few started to cheer. Those who didn't glared at Arthur who stood tall and glared back, "if you so wish to not continue on this ship, leave at the next port."
Looking over at Berwald, he gave the man a slight smile, "go release the captives they brought onto this ship."
Berwald looked as if he were about to cry when he placed a hand on Arthur's shoulder, "thank you."
As soon as the door closed behind Berwald, the tall man took off into a run. His breath was heavy as he ran through the ship down to the holding cells. Grabbing the keys from the outside door, he walked into the room.
Cells lined the walls. Huddled together inside the cells were the people that they had brought on earlier that day. Walking over to the door, Berwald unlocked it. The people inside all looked up at him. Berwald gave them a soft look, "you are all free to leave." He swung the door open.
The people inside were hesitant to leave, not moving to get up, until a blonde man ran over to the tall crew member and wrapped his small arms around his waist, "Berwald!"
Berwald quickly wrapped his arms around the small man so tightly that the man began to be lifted off his feet, "are you alright?"
The smaller man, only coming up to Berwald's ribs, buried his face into the fabric of
his shirt, "I was so scared. They took us from the village. I was more scared they would go after the other villages." Berwald patted the man's head.
"I thought I was going to lose you," the tall man said getting down so he could look into the face of the other. Reaching out he wiped the tears from the smaller man's face, "thought I lost my wife."
The small blonde man pushed Berwald away slightly, "how many times have I told you I am not your wife. A man cannot be a wife, and exactly when did we get married?"
Berwald let a small smile grace his face, "Never change Tino, and we got married when you put on that ring," Berwald pointed toward the blonde's hand.
Tino looked at his hand, "doesn't mean we are married yet you fool. I demand a ceremony, with you walking down the aisle."
"I will walk down the aisle if you were a dress," Berwald stated.
The small teasing argument was done after that.
After claiming he was tired, Arthur was pushed into the empty Captain's room by Harkens who told him to sleep, before closing the doors behind the new Captain. Arthur looked around the room before crossing his arms against his chest. The room was cold and unwelcoming. Walking over to the bed, he ripped the sheets from the mattress, throwing them to the center of the room before walking around the room and throwing more of the Captain's belongings on top of the sheets.
The fairy attempted to talk to him at various points, but Arthur would hear none of it. He wanted to be left alone as he threw the items away. Opening a large armoire, he pondered at its contents. Reaching out, he ran his fingers down the side of one of the large glass bottles. Pulling it out, he looked at the thing as it was held firmly in his hands.
The bottle was cold and so was the room. As was he. Ripping out the cork, he took a long drink, wincing at the burn it had against his throat. He soon felt comfort coming from the bottle and lost all contact to the living world and fell into a drunken sleep. Alfred smiled one of his bright smiles, "I am taking you to the West Tower. No one goes there, so no one will see us." The boy began pulling Arthur with more gusto than before. Arthur allowed himself to be pulled, knowing full well that trying to stop the other was an attempt made in vain. The boy was remarkably strong, and he sometimes wished Alfred was back at the foster home to take care of the other boys who made fun of him. But, those thoughts were quickly dismissed. Alfred had a loving family, something that Arthur wished for. The steps in the tower were made of stone and Arthur loved each of their unique patters. As they reached the top, Arthur felt himself breathing heavily. When he looked up, he saw a large cut out for a window. Though the afternoon air entered through its windowless space, the room remained warm. Alfred smiled, letting go of Arthur's hand and walking over to stare out into the view, "I love coming up here," a smile came to his face. "I would imagine this is what flying would feel like." Arthur walked over to the window, a small smile crossing his face as he peered out, "I would think flying would make one feel weightless and you would not have these walls." Alfred's smile saddened slightly, "walls are all that I've ever had." Arthur looked over to the boy, "What do you mean?" Shaking his head, Alfred made his hair fall into his face, "I am not allowed to leave the castle, I am told to stay inside at all times," he touched the cold stone, "I want to be free."
"Alfred where are you taking me?" Arthur asked the younger boy as he was pulled along one of the empty corridors of the castle.
Hearing a crash, Arthur woke, a sharp pain going through his head. As he looked around he noticed a white figure standing close to the map against the wall. The figure just shook his head, "and to think I had to come check up on you pathetic," was all it said before vanishing.
Arthur just blinked before walking over to where the figure once stood. Reaching out, he let his fingers ghost over where the figure had been. Nothing.
Shaking his head, Arthur looked up at the map, an X marked over a small town in the land of Diamonds appeared on the map.
"Go to it," an ominous voice echoed through the room, "go to it for help. Go to it for peace. Go to it to make a strike at Hearts. Go to it to find answers."
Placing a hand on his aching head, Arthur rested his weight on the table in front of him. He began to wonder just how messed up his life could possibly get3
Where Finland is from Klubit is actually the Finish saying for Clubs. At least that is what google said when I went looking it up.
Going to put a bit more action in the story since it is picking up as of now. I apologize to those who thought this story was going to be some PWP and Alfred and Arthur were going to meet up and have sex all the time. Even though this is a fantasy universe story I wanted to make it as real as I could.
Also Updates will not be as regular for a bit. I have finals coming up in like two weeks, and a lot of projects due before said finals.
Guys lacking in reviews and it is upsetting me. Do you hate it? Cause I am losing my motivation for it slowly with the lack of support.