Author's note: Don't you guys think 'The One That Got Away' by Katy Perry totally fits this story? I listen to it while typing. :D I'm glad you liked Chapter 3. By the way, if you're reading 'Return of Darktalia', I will not be updating yet because I'm focusing on Vamos ser amigos. Thanks for your patience! Urgh! I just hate how my paragraphs are so freaking short.

X

Rio stared at the small pot of solid. It was white and looked like cream. It was an ointment that Rio had learnt to make when Antonio's ship was attacked. She was only twelve then but Antonio made her help out with the first-aid because several men on his ship were near death because of their wounds. Antonio taught her to make the ointment for use in the future. However, apart from mass attacks on the ship, she has never used the ointment. Antonio made her remember the recipe although she didn't really want to. Once the ointment was applied on any wound, it would be disinfected immediately and would recover very fast depending on the severity of the wound. She then picked up the pot and went back to the healing room.

"I'm back." Rio said as she walked in but noticed that Fox was gone. "Fox? Fox?"

"He's gone. I told him to go check up on your friend." Arthur said. He was sitting up and his wounds were already wrapped up.

"I thought I told him not to wrap your wounds up!" Rio forced Arthur to lie down again and used a pair of scissors to cut the bandages. She almost shrieked when she saw the severity of the gashes. "God, how could he be so careless?"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just lie down and bear with the pain."

"They don't feel pain- OW!" Arthur cried when Rio started to apply the ointment on his wounds. "What are you applying on my back?"

"Ointment."

"Really? My ship never has that kind of stuff. We usually just wash the wounds then wrap them up."

"Aren't you afraid of getting infection?"

"I don't know. We're pirates, not doctors."

"I'll give you the recipe of this ointment later so you can make it by yourself in the future."

"By myself? Won't you be here to make it?"

Rio didn't answer.

"Rio, look at what Antonio just did. Are you seriously thinking of going back to him?"

"No, but I can't possibly stay here forever. There's still Lars and I can't allow him to impose on you."

"It doesn't matter. I can let him be in my crew."

"What about me? I don't want to be part of a pirate crew, Arthur."

Arthur pondered about it for a while. "You'll be the acting captain then."

"What?"

"You'll be doing my work. Trading, reading letters, leading fights and so on."

"Then what will you be doing?"

"I'm the captain, nobody can blame me for slacking."

"Alright."

"By the way, could be a little more gentle with that ointment?"

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!"

"What?"

"I…I applied the ointment on your bare back by myself. I'm sorry, I should have asked one of your crew to do it." Rio said as she blushed. After attacks on Antonio's ships, she was never allowed to touch any guy's bare back. She was only in charge of making the ointment. She sort of considered it 'molesting' the guy. What's worse that her 'first time' was Arthur and she didn't even know the guy!

Arthur chuckled. "Are you embarrassed about it just because you're a woman? It's not as if you raped me."

"Whatever! I'm going to get Fox to do this."

"No!" Arthur sat up and grabbed Rio's wrist. "It's your ointment so you'll do a better job."

"I'll teach him!"

"Rio, can't you see that I want you to apply that ointment on me?"

"Right, I caused the attack on your ship. So it's best that I make it up by applying the ointment for you."

"That wasn't what I meant!"

"Other than that, what else could it mean?" Rio forced Arthur to lie on his stomach again so she could apply the ointment. She put her fingers in the pot of the ointment and pressed them on Arthur's skin. She looked at the gashes with hatred, remembering all those words that Antonio mouthed. She didn't realize she was causing pain to Arthur since he was struggling to keep his mouth shut. If this was Rio's definition of 'gentle' then Arthur couldn't imagine what she would be like if she were fighting.

"Bastard!" Rio yelled as she punched Arthur's wounds.

"RIO!"

"Oh. Sorry."

X

"What is this, Rio?" Lars said as he glanced at Arthur then back at her. "How do you expect me to stay here and work for that."

"Well I can't let you go back and get killed by that scumbag Antonio."

"Even if I get killed, my sisters Bel and Daphne (Luxembourg) are still in that monster's house!"

"He loves Bel, Lars."

"He doesn't love her, he has evil designs on her! Not to mention the fact that Daphne's only 15 and…"

Arthur put his hand on Lars's shoulder abruptly. "In a few days, you'll get your own deserved ship and your sisters back."

"What do you mean?" Lars and Rio asked in unison.

"I have my plans."

X

Niall finished his last cigarette and dumped it in the trash. It was past midnight. He was in his cabin on his ship drinking till sunrise. He was awake but his woman was already asleep. His woman, he had different ones everyday. He denied he was lonely but he regretted letting Arthur be on his own. Niall was a pirate as well after the urban life sucked for the both of them. They had lots of financial difficulties before Niall decided to constantly steal. Before he could get caught, he had already set off with Arthur on his ship. From then on, he became a pirate. Someone who spends their life killing, stealing and womanizing. He never forgot the day when another group of pirates attacked his ship and took Arthur. Arthur was only eleven years old. Now he was the most powerful pirate in the world. But Niall wasn't proud of him. In fact, he never wanted Arthur to become a pirate at all.

"Most powerful pirate in the world, huh?" Niall mumbled. It was loud enough to wake his woman up.

"You're still awake, Niall darling?" She said seductively as she made her way to where he was sitting.

"Take this." Niall held out a bag of gold. "And get the fuck off my ship."

The woman glanced at the money as crocodile tears rolled down her cheeks. "What do you take me for, Niall?"

"A gold-digging slut."

Niall pushed the woman on the floor and opened the door for her to go out. His crew was still out there so he gave them a nod as an instruction to throw the woman overboard. The woman got on her knees and begged Niall to let her stay but he kicked her brutally out of the room, not even letting her get the gold. She screamed 'no' as the crewmembers picked her up and threw her off. They didn't even let her keep her dignity by getting to walk the plank by herself. He might have to do something like this the next day but he had better things to do. He was setting off to find Arthur. All these years Arthur has finally stayed anchored on one same spot for more than a day. Niall took out his map and circled the Azores in red. It wouldn't take him long to get there since he was quite near that place.

"Men, prepare to set off!"

X

It was almost sunset when Rio finished her work. There were more than three ships that came in that day to trade and she found her work worse than transferring the heavy goods. She also hated constantly explaining to the traders that she was simply the acting captain, not Arthur's wife. She was also quite bored, doing nothing but staring at the sailors from the other ships when they were transferring goods. She still had some letters that she had to read. She couldn't believe she agreed to do all this while Arthur slacked. Sighing, she sat down cross-legged on the deck, not caring that it was unladylike.

"Tired?" Lars asked. He had just finished transferring the goods to the store room.

"Must I really do this just to keep my place here?"

"Well, I can see that you're Arthur Kirkland's pet. He'll probably let you rest all you want."

"I doubt it. I didn't see him on the ship for the whole day."

"Forget about that. If you're tired, then go to your room and rest."

"I really don't want to get a scolding from the real captain."

"I'm telling you, leave the letters for tomorrow morning. You need your beauty sleep."

"Okay then. Thanks Lars!" Rio said as she gave Lars a good night kiss on the cheek. He hid his red face away, thanking god that Rio didn't see that. She made her way to her room, which was actually Arthur's room. She was exhausted so she just threw herself on the bed and closed her eyes. She couldn't rest for long since she felt a shadow over her. She opened her eyes and almost fell off the bed when she saw Arthur's face.

"Arthur?" She felt like she was getting pinned down on the bed although Arthur wasn't touching her.

"Turning in so early?"

"No, I was just resting. I still have a pile of letters to read."

"Sounds reasonable."

"You scared the crap out of me!"

"What? I'm not touching you."

"Then get off!" Rio's heart was beating fast as Arthur's face was uncomfortably close to hers. Arthur frowned at Rio's anxious face. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and got off the bed. Rio's anxious face quickly melted into an embarrassed one. "God, Arthur! Will you stop getting so close to me all the time?"

Arthur remembered that was what Rio said when they were still kids. It was the night before the bulldozers came. He spent it with Rio at her camp. The sleeping bag was actually big enough for four children or two adults but Arthur kept shifting nearer and nearer to Rio.

"God, Arthur! Will you stop getting so close to me all the time?"

"What? I'm bloody cold!"

"But I've no space!"

"But I'm going to freeze to death!"

"Fine." Rio leaned over and embraced Arthur. His cold cheeks started to get warm and red. That was the first time a girl has ever touched him. Of course, he had to born from his mother but that was when he was still a baby and he had no memory of it. He didn't know why Rio didn't feel cold. Her arms felt warm. Arthur felt warm but guilty that Rio was transferring all the heat to him.

"Rio, are you cold?"

"A bit, now that I'm hugging you."

"Sorry." Arthur wrapped his arms around Rio and she finally fell asleep.

By then, Rio had already fallen asleep. Her breathing was light just like before. Nothing changed. Tears gathered in Arthur's eyes when he remembered everything. But now Rio was right in front of me, alive. Why was he still sad? Getting Rio to remember things was harder than he thought. Now Rio thinks her only friend on the ship was Lars. Arthur didn't trust Lars, for his sisters were with Antonio and he used to be one of Antonio's crew. But he knew Rio would walk the plank on her own accord if he told her that. He leaned over and caressed Rio's cheek.

"You'll remember."

"Captain!" Lance yelled as he barged into Arthur's room. Arthur hastily stood up when Lance almost saw what he was doing.

"What?"

"There's a pirate ship that is nearing ours but I'm unsure if they're planning to attack or not."

"Right. Tell the crew to get in their positions. I'll see what those pirates want."

Arthur walked out of the room, leaving Rio. He carelessly forgot to lock the door. The other ship was smaller than his but looked more intimidating. He actually found it quite familiar. The pirates from the other ship got on theirs armed with swords and guns. Arthur's crew went forward to attack but he stopped them. Could this ship be…?

"Long time no see, Arthur." A red-headed pirate appeared. The other pirates addressed him as captain. He was Niall.

"Niall?"

"You've grown a lot taller and more handsome too."

"Niall, what were you thinking? Attacking my ship like that!" Arthur said as a joke. He embraced his brother and the two men started laughing with each other. His excitement got the better of him and he forgot about everything. Lars looked at Niall suspiciously. How was this guy related to someone as cruel as Arthur Kirkland? The crew on Arthur's ship dropped their weapons and went to do their work or turn in for the night. The two brothers sat at the upper deck, talking incessantly for the whole night. They wanted to know what happened to each other all these years. Lars had no other work to do, so he spied on Arthur and Niall although his crewmates advised him to turn in.

"Excuse me, Arthur. Where's the bathroom?"

"In my cabin. It's over there." Lars's eyes widened when Niall was going to Arthur's room. Wasn't Rio resting there? Or was she in the other cabin reading letters? Lars could tell that Arthur cared about Rio, so he wouldn't let a man, especially a pirate, go into his room while Rio was still there. But Lars went there anyway, just to make sure Rio wasn't in the cabin. Unfortunately, Niall closed the door behind him and there were no windows. Before Niall headed for the bathroom, he saw a figure on the bed. It was probably Arthur's whore or something. Niall headed for the bed and pulled the covers down gently. He was astonished to see that same girl. Why was she still alive? He remembered he tried to kill her fifteen years ago but now she was older and prettier. The fact that she was lying on Arthur's bed made Niall think she was seducing Arthur for some reason like what he thought fifteen years ago.

"It's a pity you have to die though you're so beautiful." Niall mumbled as he got nearer to Rio. He definitely had to have fun with her before killing her. After all, wouldn't it be a pity if she died a virgin? He gently removed her jacket and started unbuttoning her shirt. She was in such a deep sleep, hence unaware of what Niall was doing. After removing her shirt, he leaned down and bit her neck cruelly.

"Wha-" She said as she was half-awake. She rubbed her eyes to see more clearly. "Who are you? What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Questions were swimming in Rio's mind. She remembered Arthur was in the room before she fell asleep and now there was a stranger on top of her. Did the ship get attacked? What happened to Arthur and Lars? If it really did, why didn't she hear anything?

"Bitch, you're getting raped and you're still putting up an act of not remembering anything."

"Get off me!"

Rio struggled to get off the bed but Niall was too strong. He pinned her down on the bed and kissed her before she could scream or cry for help. "The more you resist, the more painful this will be!" He ripped off her corset, leaving her chest bare. He smirked seductively at how beautiful her body was and continued to rape her. Tears fell from Rio's eyes as she thought of Arthur and Lars dead. Killed by the man who was currently raping her. She knew they didn't want this to happen so she decided to use all her strength to save herself. She bit his neck with all her might, causing him pain. He pushed her off and rubbed his neck. It was bleeding. Rio used this opportunity to cry for help. Angrily, Niall grabbed Rio's neck and started to strangle her. Things started to come back to her. She remembered the same face and arms that were strangling her but didn't know why he did that.

"Stay away from my brother!"

"I d-don't know w-what you're t-talking about!"

"Listen, he is my brother! You may be another competitor for food in this forest but I don't want you to use him to get your food. I know he's been giving you good stuff like a hog or rabbit while you've been returning him with crap like so called 'herbs'!"

Rio remembered Niall strangled her fifteen years ago but she couldn't really remember the reason why. She assumed it was because he wanted her to stay away from his brother. But who was his brother? She had no energy to think of that anymore since she was almost running out of breath. Fortunately, the grip on her neck loosened when Lars barged into the room. Rio immediately covered her chest with a blanket when she realized her chest was bare. Without asking, Lars quickly analyzed what happened and punched Niall. He grabbed his collar but let him go once Arthur came into the room.

"I heard a scream. What happened and why are you assaulting my brother?"

"Glad that you're finally here, captain. This asshole was trying to rape and kill Rio. Thankfully I was here to save her while you were off celebrating about meeting your stupid brother again!"

"Niall…"

"You're his brother?" Rio asked. "If you're his brother then that means…" Everything soon came back to Rio. Images of a younger Arthur came into her mind. She remembered trading food with him and spending that one night with him. She couldn't remember what happened after that.

"Rio, I can explain." Arthur said.

"So what you said was true…" Niall took this chance to escape but Lars grabbed him and threw him on the floor, knocking him out cold. "You said you were my childhood friend…it's true."

"Rio, you remember?" Rio nodded slightly. Arthur embraced her as tears of joy trickled down his face. She was his Rio again. Arthur was so happy that he didn't notice that he had no part in saving Rio. "Rio, I'm so glad."

Meanwhile, after Lars made sure Niall was knocked out cold, he handed him to one of the crew. He didn't want to take him to dungeon room by himself. He wanted to see if Rio was okay. However, after finding out about what happened to their captain, the other ship's crew started attacking Arthur's crew. Lars gave instructions to the crew on his own and went to check on Rio. He was stumped when he saw Arthur and Rio in each other's arms when Arthur caused Rio to nearly get raped. He suddenly felt extremely heartbroken and betrayed. But he maintained his composure and went on to fight. He was still working for Arthur and Rio didn't need his comfort or help anymore. Now that they so called 'found each other', he felt like he was kicked aside. He told the crew not to inform Arthur or Rio in case it would disturb their little reunion. The crew were able to handle Niall's small group easily anyway.

"Um, Arthur, I would like to dress myself now."

"Oh, right, I'm sorry."

"Crap."

"What?"

"My only corset and it's torn. What am I going to do?"

"Then just wear a singlet."

"But everything will be seen!"

"Just wear a singlet temporarily. I'll help you with your corset."

"You can sew?"

"Of course I can. Back in England, I learned embroidery. This should be a piece of cake!"

Speaking of England, Arthur had forgotten all about his dear wife. It has been more than two days since he attacked Portugal and he hasn't even written to the queen that it wasn't convenient for him to go back now. The pile of letters Rio was talking about must have been from England. The queen must be very worried about him. Fortunately for him, Rio hasn't read the letters yet. He didn't want her to know he was married. It was hard for him to admit it, but Arthur felt like he wanted his relationship with Rio to be more than friends. He forgot about the fact about the queen being his wife. He was in love with Rio.