Arthur Kirkland now had a new recruit..Nonetheless, he was still a pirate and this was still a pirate ship. So when a Russian pirate crew attacked later that morning, he had no choice but to counter..regardless of who's on board. He wasn't quite unfamiliar with this certain crew, either, they were fairly unusual..but never really a threat to the British. At least, that's what usually happened..it seemed they'd decided to pick up a change in pace today.
The captain drew his sword and came face to face with his attacker not long after they boarded the ship. The captain of said ship awaited patiently with his crew, knowing full well they would sink should they return cannon fire.
Ivan Braginski manned this ship, and he stood patiently with his odd weapon of choice..a led pipe. His female deck hands assisted battle, and were now occupied with Arthur's strong pirates. He had a few other lackeys too-three of them, each slightly fearful.
Arthur was currently one man short..or, woman. He ordered Elizabeta to stay below the deck with Alfred, to keep him safe under all costs, and he meant all costs.
"You've always been so peaceful. Why the sudden change?", grunted Arthur as he clashed swords with Ivan.
"It is not that we are peaceful, it is that we have no reason to attack."
"Then why are you attacking now?!"
"You have been spending an abnormal amount of time in the new world, da?"
"..I suppose..What does that have to do with anything?!"
"The new world is filled with many riches and treasures, da? Any good pirate would have plundered that by now."
"I'm afraid you have it wrong. There was no treasure to be spoken of-it had all been taken long ago."
"Then you'll keep trying until you find it, da?"
"No, I'm banished from the new world, never to return."
"How did that happen?"
"In exchange..Well, that has nothing to do with why you're here! Back off, Ivan! Take your crew and go, we have no treasure for you!"
Apparently listening, Ivan lowered his sword and drew back, with the same creepy smile plastered on his face.
"We leave you alone now, but don't forget about the other pirates out there, Da? There are pirates out there-some even more ruthless than me. They want treasure, and they get treasure. Take care, my enemy."
He was really good at leaving chills behind, really. Arthur's used to it, his crew's used to it, but it was still creepy.
"Back to the ship!", shouted both captain's, each leaving with minimal damage.
He'd returned just in time to find Elizabeta standing outside of her cabin.
"Where's Alfred?"
"He locked me out. He said he wants Arthur.", she said looking slightly glum.
"..I suppose it can't be helped..", he sighed, knocking on the door, "Alfred?"
"..Arthur?", replied the tiny voice.
"Yes, it's me. Why on earth would you lock Elizabeta out of her room?"
"I don't want her, I want Arthur!"
He could practically imagine the boy stomping his foot in protest on the other side of the door...Hopefully, without denting the wood.
"..Yes, well I'm here now. Come out, won't you?"
The door cracked, and Alfred poked his head through..
"There you are.", smiled Arthur, "Come on now, let's go.", he walked away from the cabin, bloody sword hidden beneath his coat.
When he realized he wasn't being followed, he turned around only to find little Alfred reaching for the sky..so it seemed.
"What on earth are you doing?"
"I want up.", he shrugged.
"Up?"
The boy nodded, hands still in the air.
Then it hit him.
"Oh, I see.", chuckled the captain, hopefully no one noticing.
He picked Alfred up and held him in both arms, carrying him all the way back to the captain's quarters.
"You really are quite troublesome, you know?"
Alfred merely giggled.
Two years later.
Alfred had aged well, still young yet growing well. Part of Arthur had suspected that the boy would've left him by now, or at least grown less attached..but as the past foretold, Alfred enjoyed activities such as sleeping in Arthur's bed, hiding in his cabin when a battle broke out on deck, and he practically cried his little heart out when Arthur received so much as a scratch in battle. He'd also grown quite the attitude.
The captain scoured the deck in search of his treasure. It had been a busy morning, what with the battle raging on deck, and the attacks coming from a certain Asian ship..but after the dispute had settled with little to no blood-shed, life had returned to normal. Except for the attacks on deck, which kept the crew working until late afternoon. It was then and only then that Arthur was able to take time out of this busy day to find Alfred..The only problem being, he had no idea where that boy could have wandered off to.
"Alfred?", he called, "Alfred, where on earth are you?"
"What are you doing?", asked Basch Zwingli, the newest edition of their crew.
He was a bit reluctant toward joining, but somehow meeting Alfred changed his mind. It was then discovered that he had a little sister as well, both of which searching for a place to find refuge. He's Swiss-unlike his sister who grew up in Liechtenstein until she was later adopted.
At the moment, though it wasn't uncommon, he seemed fairly irritated.
"Nothing. Have you seen Alfred? I can't seem to find him anywhere."
"Last time I checked he was up there.", he aimed a loaded gun at the highest part of the main mast of the ship, where a blonde boy sat calmly in the center, overlooking the sea.
Arthur wasn't sure what scared him more-the gun aimed directly at the boy in which could take his head off this second, should Basch have the mind to, or the naïve little one who somehow managed to monkey his way to the tip-top of the ship...With no proper way down.
"ALFRED F. JONES GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!"
It was then that the crew turned toward the furious captain, no remarks included, hence his fury was a regular occurrence when it came to Alfred's more-than-a-little free spirit.
Alfred turned his attention toward the captain as well, waving happily and proceeding to literally slide all the way down the mast, onto the deck, just in front of the captain's feet using the many ropes procured for the sail.
"Ow ow ow!", he whined, rubbing his well-burnt hands, "Rope burn! Arthur! It hurts!"
"That is exactly why you are not allowed up there. Do you know what could have happened? A ship could have attacked-one cannon and that mast could have disappeared within one hit, taking you along with it! What were you thinking, Alfred?!"
The boy ceased rubbing his hands for a moment, to greet Arthur with an innocent yet apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry, Arthur. I'll be more careful next time."
Basch, still being nearby, heard the boy whispering, "Ropes really burn. Maybe I should just jump off!"
Apparently, the captain heard it too.
"YOU WILL DO NO SUCH THING, YOUNG MAN."
"Aww, you're no fun."
"It's not my job to be fun, it's my job to protect you and lead this crew to victory and treasure."
"Hey Arthur, can I be a pirate too?"
"Absolutely not."
"Aww but-"
"No buts. We'll discuss this when you're older, understood? I don't believe a child could understand the dangers and limitations that come with being a pirate. It's not all fun in games as it seems, you know?"
"I know..but, I was just curious."
"..I see. Well, come along, it's been a long day and the chef has informed me that dinner is a mere half hour away."
Alfred took Arthur's hand as he led the boy to his cabin quarter.
"Hey Arthur?"
"..."
"Arthur?"
"..."
"Hey, hey Arthur!"
"..."
"Arthur! Arthur, I'm bored!"
"..."
"..I don't wanna have to do this.", he half whispered.
"..."
"AAARRRTTHHHUUURRR!"
"WHAT ON EARTH IS IT?", Arthur snapped, having been waken from his well-deserved nap..apparently right on his desk.
"You fell asleep and I'm bored."
"..Oh, I see. You'll have to forgive me, I'm very tired at the moment. Now, what did you need? Surely you must have had a better reason than that."
"I have a question."
"Yes? What is it?"
"How come you're nice pirates?"
He would've spit out his tea if he'd the pleasure of drinking any, "What do you mean?"
"You're really nice pirates. You don't kidnap people, or kill, or steal anything that you don't need. You didn't even destroy our village when you found out it'd been repaired. How come?"
..That was something even he didn't exactly know..
"Well..You see..I'm afraid I can't answer that. There are some things you must do as a pirate, but there are also things you mustn't do as a human."
"Oh, I see..."
"...", at last, the question is over..perhaps now he could finish that nap..-
"So does that mean the people who kidnapped Matthew were aliens?"
Once again, he would have spit out his tea.
"W-Well...Who is Matthew?"
"Matthew's my little brother. He was the one the other pirates kidnapped."
"Right. Well..I..I suppose...No."
"So, they're just pirates?"
"I..I can't answer that. I'm sorry Alfred, I don't know who or what they are..I don't even know why they did what they did. I was honestly just as surprised as you are now.."
"Oh, I see..", he smiled, almost sadly.
Arthur had no words.
"...", Finally...a nap..
"Hey Arthur, do you think I'll ever be able to see Matthew again?"
At this point, Arthur no longer cared about the nap. He was actually rather interested in the answer to that question as well..
"W-Well...You see, Alfred...Not all pirates are nice."
"What do you mean?"
"Do you remember the Russian pirates that attacked our ship?"
He nodded.
"Well..They aren't nice pirates, but they aren't mean pirates either. They were pirates that attacked us because they discovered we'd received new treasure from the new world..Since no one else is brave enough to venture there alone, they decided stealing from us would be the easier task. They were wrong, but they stopped afterward when they found out we'd obtained a different type of treasure..A treasure that can never be matched in jewelry or gold."
"So they wanted treasure?"
"Yes, but as I said, they did not pursue us when they realized they were unable to gain any. Hence, they're not nice pirates..but they're not the worst out there, either."
"There are worse?"
"Yes. You witnessed first hand the lowest form of pirate out there, I'm afraid."
His eyes seemed to sadden at the thought, "Oh, yeah..But what does that have to do with Matt?"
"...Nice pirates would have left your brother alone..A pirate like Russia wouldn't have attacked, knowing he is not the kind of treasure he is after..A mean pirate..", he trailed off shakily, "A mean pirate, you see..Alfred.."
"Tell me, Arthur!", pleaded the boy, who neared tears, "I wanna know! Where's little brother?!"
"I..I don't know. Nobody may ever know, Alfred..I'm..So sorry. Truly I am."
That seemed to put an end to Alfred's many questions, but it didn't stop the tears that now trailed down his face. On that night Alfred curled up with Arthur, and cried his little heart out for his brother who may be lost to the world forever.
It was an awful sight, Arthur realized, tears really didn't suit any treasure of his one bit.