"Maxwell was my…first mate," Arthur decided to begin with that. This was one of his most fresh memories, he recalled the entire trip to the island, his crew… "I didn't know him well at first. He was a…ssig…ned to me. We got along pretty well. He helped a lot with the ship when I needed it. When we…" Arthur couldn't figure out the right word to put there and looked at Alfred for help.
"When you sank?" Alfred helped and Arthur nodded.
"When we sank, he helped me get out of the water," Arthur stated. "I…I can't swim…and I was…drown…drowning. He saved me. He helped on the is…land, too. He helped me with everything." Arthur didn't notice it then, but his old voice, from before he was marooned, came back. His "proper Englishman voice" came out and his speaking problems all but disappeared. Alfred noticed, and couldn't help but smile.
"I went to him with all of my doubts, whether someone would find us, whether we would be stuck there forever. People started making bets of how long it would take for us to be saved. I bet 50 shillings on 10 years," Arthur let out a laugh. "He was the last one of us to get sick with that cough you had. I had it, but I was able to live through it, three times, actually. Maxwell, though, was naturally weak to diseases, he told me. We lost him to the disease just before we found out that flower could work as a cure with water. He was the last person we lost to the disease…"
"I'm sorry," Alfred stated, not wanting to tell Arthur about his speech and make him lose it.
"He was my best friend," Arthur muttered. "The only one that knew when I was sick. The only one that knew I thought of every possible thing that could go wrong. And he died."
"What did you do? For the people that died, I mean?" Alfred asked. "What did you do with them?"
"Everyone who died on that island was given a proper burial at sea," Arthur muttered and Alfred sensed a small hidden meaning to that. After all, plenty of other ships had gone missing in these parts and they were, in essence, savages.
"Well," Alfred stood up properly. "I will have you know, that was the best speech pattern I have heard from you."
"What?" Arthur asked, looking up at him in confusion.
"You didn't pause, or have to try and think of the right word," Alfred smiled. "It just, flowed. And you sounded…like what I expect Arthur Kirkland sounded like."
"I did," Arthur muttered and Alfred smiled when he noticed that his voice didn't change.
"I know that must have hurt going through," Alfred knelt on his knee in front of him. "But, it got you to at least remember proper English."
"Thank you for listening, then," Arthur smiled slightly.
"Captain!" someone poked their head into the room. "We've spotted land! Real land!"
"Things sure are looking up," Alfred smiled as the man left, leaving the door open.
"Don't you have a first mate?" Arthur asked, standing up with Alfred.
"No," Alfred shook his head. "Our ship out was kind of sudden and they gave me a crew, apparently completely missing the whole first mate thing."
"A shame," Arthur muttered. "My first mate did me so much good."
"And he'll be remembered well when we get you back home," Alfred smiled at him and left the room.
Arthur stayed behind a little bit, smiling to himself. It was amazing, how Alfred got him to remember how he used to speak. Everything was starting to flood back to him. All of his dreams felt more like memories, and that Francis was starting to seem more and more like a real person.
Alfred was so kind, dealing with him for this long. He'd been admiring the man for quite some time. The more his mind came back to real thoughts, the more he thought about Alfred. He liked him quite a lot, but not at the point of a friend. Almost like something past a friend. Arthur laughed at the thought. Being on that island changed him a lot…He actually thought that way about a man…
Arthur walked out onto the deck, somehow, for once being able to walk easily with the waves.
"Oh, this is perfect!" Alfred shouted out, running happily across the deck. Arthur looked out at the sea and found that there was a wide expanse of land coming up. "It's the Panama Canal!"
Arthur looked up at the main mast of the ship, watching the white flag floundering around. Before he could move, Alfred had wrapped him in a big hug.
"This is so perfect!" Alfred said happily and Arthur couldn't help but blush a bit. "We'll be able to slip right through there and then it's a pretty short ride all the way back to England!"
"Alfred, you can let me go now," Arthur muttered.
"Right," Alfred pulled away and looked back at the land. It was awkwardly quiet for a while, until Arthur finally spoke up again.
"I should go talk to my crew," Arthur stated, turning around. "See how they are with…readjusting…"
"Alright, see you tonight, then," Alfred cheered happily. Arthur shook his head slightly. He was still having problems remembering exactly what his old home was like. He was so used to the sun and trees and fruit. He knew England was far from that. It would rain all the time and he was sure there weren't many fresh fruits around there. He sighed, it would be very hard indeed to get used to that…
Alfred happily leapt around the deck of the ship. England was nearly in sight now and soon he would get Arthur home and then…
He stopped. What was he going to do after he got Arthur home? That thought hadn't really occurred to him yet… He couldn't just leave Arthur, hoping that he would adjust back into his old life after 10 years of being away from it. Sure he had friends and family there, but Arthur told him that he hardly remembered them, even after the weeks of being on the ocean he had to force himself to remember. Alfred was sure that, with seeing them, he would probably remember slowly.
But there was still the fact that he was going to have problems adjusting, no matter what. There was always going to be something that could trip him up, make him retreat back into the way he was before. And there was no way Alfred, as the hero, would let that happen to anyone. He would have to find some way to make sure he could stay near Arthur. But, he would have to go back to America soon enough. And then there were other assignments he would be sent off on. And that meant he wouldn't be able to be near Arthur enough.
Alfred started subconsciously humming to himself as he started pacing back and forth on the rather large deck. This would prove to be very difficult, the more he thought about it. He wasn't one to look very much into things, but this was Arthur. He couldn't just let him be and hope for the best.
"What exactly are you doing?" Arthur's voice asked and Alfred stopped his pacing, looking over at him. He was standing near a mast, his arms crossed over his chest as he had his head tilted slightly to the side, obviously curious as to what had Alfred so worried.
"Pacing," Alfred shrugged. "Obviously."
"Why?" Arthur asked bluntly.
"Um, just thinking about what we'll do," Alfred rubbed the back of his head. "We're about to go into English territory…in a Spanish pirate's ship. So, we just need to make sure we get their attention quick so they know we're friendlies. Can't have you or your crew getting hurt, now can we?"
"I guess not…" Arthur muttered. Alfred smiled slightly at his quick recovery. Arthur's crew had been getting a lot better. Just like Arthur, they still had a little bit to go, but they all spoke proper(more or less) English now and some were remembering their families, wives, and kids.
"Okay," Alfred rubbed his hands together nervously. "I'm going to need you to stay in the cabin until I go in there, alright?"
"Sure," Arthur nodded slowly. "Why, though? If they see me with you right away, won't they welcome you even more?"
"This is a pirate ship, though," Alfred sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "They're known for deceit, you know. They could easily think we're tricking them or holding you captive. That's why, I'll get their attention, soldiers will come on board, I'll lead them below decks, show them Carriedo, and then I'll show them you once they trust me. Well, you and your crew, basically."
"Right…" Arthur nodded slowly.
"Better hurry," Alfred said, looking at where they were heading. They were very close to it now… "I'm gonna head up to the front to try and get their attention."
"Be careful," Arthur sighed and started towards Alfred's cabin.
"Don't worry, I will be," Alfred smiled back at him for a while before he quickly skipped up to the front of the ship. He could already see people crowding around the docks. Some were reading the name of the ship, others obviously just did that because they were yelling for guards.
Alfred sucked in a deep breath and waited for a few guards to show up. He started waving his arms hugely at them and pointing over at the flag. The soldiers looked a little confused and still stood at the ready. But they weren't shooting at them yet. That was a good sign. The person at the wheel easily managed to dock them in a matter of minutes. Alfred was feeling more and more tense as it went along, more soldiers and more people showed up.
"This is gonna be interesting," Alfred sighed, gripping tightly onto the railing before quickly turning around and going to where his crew were setting up the gang plank. He would have to welcome those soldiers quickly, if his plan was going to work.
And bad time skip! Yay! On the bright side, Arthur's remembering things better now. I can imagine him recovering faster than other people, I guess because he is based off the character who is the embodiment of England... Yeah... Sorry for the short-ish chapter, but it had to stop there, because the next bit is a little long, you'll see later.
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