The brunette's eyes fluttered open slowly as they were tired. She could feel that her eyes were bloodshot now. She didn't wonder where she was. She remembered everything that happened to her. This was the second time she got kidnapped by pirates, but this time by real pirates. She thought of Arthur giving her a surprise attack, but that would be plain fantasy. She thought she knew the captain of this ship but she couldn't remember who. She only remembered one feature which was his hair. He had silky, gold shoulder-length curls. Her wrists and ankles were tied up with very hard rope that looked like a metallic rope. She has never seen or felt such hard rope. When she struggled a little bit, she felt her wrists bleeding.

She looked around the room. It was a very small room with no furniture. The floor and walls were all made out of wood that was damaged. There were bugs crawling out of the cracks of the walls and ceilings. The room also reeked of rum. There was a small window on the door. Rio struggled to stand up, ignoring the cuts that were forming on her ankles. She managed to balance herself before the window. She peered through the window – there was nothing interesting. Just a few pirates moving goods to the ship. She scanned the place to look for the captain but she couldn't see the rest of the deck. She groaned but her eyes brightened up when she saw a familiar girl. She was wearing a sky blue dress but her black hair was let down this time. She was Victoria. Was Victoria kidnapped as well? Why were the pirates ignoring her if she was kidnapped?

"Victoria!" Rio yelled impulsively. Her knuckles hit the sharp wood of the door.

"Aye, the poppet's awake!" A pirate announced. Another pirate, who was the captain of the ship, passed a set of keys to the announcer. He gave him some instructions as the pirate went to unlock the door that Rio was kicking. Despite her desperate attempt of trying to get out earlier, Rio backed away once the door was open. The pirate raised an eyebrow. "Why ain't ya comin' out, poppet?"

The pirate grabbed her, his muscular fingers crushing her skinny arms. He dragged her out of the room where many pirates who were working sneered at her. There was nothing to hide anymore. She was infamous for sleeping with the queen's husband and they probably assumed he threw her away after having enough fun with her. These pirates could possibly be hired by the queen to execute her. Of course. She was too exhausted to think positively anymore. But why was Victoria on the ship? Was the queen that good to track down the girl who let the third party live? The pirate brought her to a cabin ten times larger than the one she was locked in. The cabin was decorated with wallpapers with exotic designs and the floor was made out of polish wood. This ship might not even be a pirate ship. A familiar man whom Rio assumed to be the captain, signaled his crewmember to leave. His back faced Rio as he poured wine into two empty glasses, not forgetting a special ingredient for his guest.

"Who are you? Were you hired by the queen to execute me?"

"No dear Rio," He said as he turned around. "I'm here to save you."

"F-F-Francis?"

"It's been a long time, Rio."

"Francis Bonnefoy! So you're Victoria's-"

"Yes, I'm her brother. Sort of."

"W-Why are you here?" Rio looked away, a shade of red started to color her cheeks. It was not easy trying to forget the embarrassing day when she asked Francis to marry her. She was fifteen years old then and she found Francis, who was three years her senior, very attractive. Antonio thought her crush was ridiculous and refused to put in a good word for her. She shook the memory of Antonio from her mind. She didn't want to be reminded of that fatal day.

Francis chuckled. "Well I heard of the awful news that your brother passed on, so I'm taking care of you in his place." He walked closer to Rio and stroked her hair. "And maybe your fifteen-year-old-dream would come true."

Rio slapped Francis's hand away. "The only thing I need from you now is for you to bring me back to Portugal. Then I will have nothing to do with you."

"Portugal isn't that near. Why should I bring you all the way there when you can go back to Paris with me?"

"You said you would help me!"

"I didn't say I would help you, I said I'm going to take care of you. That is only possible if you live under the same roof as me." He handed Rio a glass of wine containing the special 'topping' he added for her. She gulped at the smell of the expensive wine. It wasn't just the ordinary rum, it was expensive French wine. Only those rich folks who lived in the city could afford such a rare beverage. She curled her fingers around the glass and sniffed the wine again. She put the edge of the glass to her lips and tilted it a little. The wine went into her body – so did the poison.

"So, how's the wine?"

"It's…" Before Rio could finish complimenting the rich taste of the wine, she collapsed. Francis's eyes softened as he watched the poor maiden fall. Behind him, a red-headed pirate put his arm patted Francis' shoulder.

"Ye did the right thing, mate. She deserves it, for killing off your friend."

Francis glared at Niall. "She did not kill Antonio, it was your brother."

"He would have never touched the man if not for this bitch-"

"You're wrong."

"Excuse me?"

"Kirkland and Antonio were enemies, fighting over a treasure."

"So ye telling me that this here wench just happened to be me brother's childhood fantasy and Carriedo's sister?"

"Rio was never Antonio's biological sister. As for Kirkland's childhood fantasy, you should know more of that."

"Please, that girl died a long- did you just say treasure?"

"Yes, it was mentioned in a casual conversation I had with my late friend. I have no idea where it is and what the chest contains."

"I think I can inquire me brother about the booty. As for her…"

"She's dead, alright! Just leave the corpse alone! I'll take care of it."

"Right. I'll drop ye off in Paris."

"No. Madrid, with the corpse."

"Ye be joking, mate. There is no way I am letting the corpse rot here all the way to Madrid."

"No matter what she did, she is still the sister of my friend and it is my duty to give her a proper burial!"

"Fine. Whatever. Just make sure the corpse doesn't be affecting any of me crew. You can proceed by cleaning up the body."

X

The morning light flew into the room as the maid tied the curtains up. The glare got into the pirate – now privateer's eyes as he groaned. The maid greeted him sweetly, informed him that his queen was waiting for him for breakfast and left the room. She was warned about Arthur's terrible mood for the past few days and had little conversation with him to keep her job. Arthur got up reluctantly. Unless he was drunk the previous night, he would have gotten up much earlier and quickly without fail. Maybe he was drunk, despite her majesty constantly reminding him that he just cannot hold his liquor, regardless of the amount. He had a hell of a headache and did not want to think about anything. He headed to the royal bathroom, took a shower (although he hated cleanliness) and headed downstairs in his proper privateer uniform. His wife, hating to admit it, was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's her majesty?" Arthur would rather address her formally rather than Elizabeth when he wasn't in her presence.

"Sir Kirkland, she has left for a meeting."

"Meeting? With whom?"

"My sincere apologies, I do not know. But he seemed to be a very important person."

"Did she tell me to go there?"

"Yes. After you finish your breakfast, sir."

"I'm not surprised." Arthur mumbled, soft enough so that the maid wouldn't be able to hear. Without even touching the anything of the spread on the table, he stood up and headed to the meeting room. Once he entered, he saw a soldier in a Spanish military uniform. Instinctively, he pulled out his pistol and pointed it at the man.

"A Spaniard! Stand back, your majesty!"

"No, Arthur!" The queen cried. "That man is an informant! He is here to help us!"

Arthur kept his pistol. He was sure the man was laughing behind his petrified expression for seeing an intimidating pirate listen to a woman. He took his seat across the Spanish soldier and waited for his queen to speak. An informant? Antonio was dead, what was there to inform?

"Colonel Juan?" The queen said, raising an eyebrow. The man was a colonel and yet he was afraid of a privateer's pistol?

"Yes, your majesty." The man began. "The King has been talking about a treasure belonging to that tyrant Carriedo."

"I am a privateer, I have no interest in any treasure." Arthur stood up and left the room.

"My deepest apologies, Colonel Juan. He's been a little depressed lately."

"Ah, I understand."

"I would like to invite you for lunch."

"That would be lovely, your majesty."

As the queen headed upstairs to change into a different dress, the soldier spotted Arthur in one of the dining rooms. He knew what was on the Englishman's mind. He walked over to him, deliberately making his footsteps loud.

"Ah, being far away from your lover is indeed heartbreaking."

Arthur glared at the soldier. "What are you doing here?"

"I could not finish talking about the treasure when the witch was present."

"I said I'm not interested-"

"This treasure, as stated in Carriedo's will, currently belongs to his sister Rio Juarez Carriedo."

"Pardon?" Arthur's voice was immediately filled with energy when he heard Rio's name.

"There is a key to this treasure, in the fingers of this woman will the chest be open."

"What does this have anything to do with me?"

"Pirate or no pirate, you have been dying to retrieve this gold. But you know what's inside. It has no gold, no jewels, just a piece of paper – a deed."

Arthur gulped. It was true. He had been trying to open the chest for five years. He had the map, the key, but before he could even go within a yard from the chest, it would disappear and the directions on the map would change. The chest was heavy because of the weight of itself, but it only had a deed. Anyone who placed his signature on the deed would live forever and have the power to rule Spain and its territory around the world. With this, Arthur's hands could spread to the rest of world. He had stopped thinking about it after he met Rio. To put it bluntly, after he stopped being a pirate.

"The chest will belong to you on two conditions – that you marry Carriedo's sister and kill her."

"Thanks for this piece of news, I'll tell her about it so she can go retrieve it with my map."

"You're indeed bewitched, Arthur Kirkland. Seriously, what's so good about her anyway? That can be better than to have your signature on that paper?"

"Even if I talk to you incessantly for an entire year, I wouldn't be able to finish telling you about why I love her."

"Yes, but I'm sure you wouldn't want another man to marry her then get the treasure for themselves."

"What?"

"You think we're the only ones who know about this? That woman is now wanted in Spain and some parts of Portugal. I've seen lots of untouched gifts at her home when I visited Portugal. Some of them weren't even gifts but death threats."

"And she's just ignoring this?"

"Even her boss is after her."

"Doesn't she live with her boss? How can she stand that?"

"She wasn't there."

"She got on a ship."

"Were you sure it was a British ship?"

Arthur paused. He grabbed a flower vase and threw it on the floor. "Bloody hell!" He glanced at the man and grabbed him. "Tell me what you know."

"Her wake will be held in the garden of her home the day after tomorrow."

"Wake! Jesus Christ! Fuck!"

"Arthur?" The queen stood at the door of the dining room, her feet almost a centimeter away from a fragment of the flower vase. Arthur knew that she had heard everything from her expression. Arthur stomped past the queen, avoiding the fragments. She grabbed his arm. "Arthur, where do you think you're going?"

Arthur glanced at his queen, tears in his eyes. "She's gone. She's gone!" He ripped his arm from the queen's grip. He ordered the servants to contact his crew as he left for his new privateer ship, not even turning back to see his queen.

X

Lars had his first gulp of water in twelve hours. It was actually rum and he almost drank half a barrel. He was saved by the Samaritan soul of the owner of a Spanish pub. He was on the back of his horses, dragging a carriage of rum with him when his horses almost trampled on the poor man. He saved Lars and promised to take him back to Antonio's home. It was a dangerous choice, but he just wanted to bring his sister back home. He would never say that Daphne was his only sister. He remembered he had two sisters just that one wasn't on Earth. The pub owner, named Carlos, offered him another round of rum. He and Lars were sitting in the carriage as his horses were resting.

"So, you're Carriedo's crew?"

"Not anymore. He has my sister."

"I see. So are you wooing Carriedo's sister?"

Lars almost choked on his rum. "Excuse me?"

"Don't tell me you live in Spain and you don't know about that lucky whore!"

"What the hell are you saying?"

"That woman is the heir to Carriedo's treasure. If you're his crew, you should know about that."

"I know he has a treasure with some special deed, but what is it?"

"It's a deed that can grant every man's wish. Sadly, only one man. If you marry this woman, the treasure will be yours and so will the deed. If you sign it, you'll live forever and Spain will be yours. But you need to kill that bitch off first."

"She is not a bitch." Lars covered his mouth. He was wondering about the consequences of leaking his relationship with Rio. Who knows, this kind pub owner could just slice his throat if he didn't tell him anything. "W-well…do you think you can take me to Portugal?"

X

Arthur stepped onto the Portuguese harbor once again. He was glad that the country has already recovered from the chaos he caused. The sailors ignored him and didn't bother to recognize his face when they saw his privateer attire. The city of Lisbon was bright, sunny and warm as usual unlike Arthur's mood. Arthur wondered how weathers could be like this in the mornings of the funerals of many. How could somebody weeping over the loss of their loved one stand the fact that just a mile away, some people were happily playing at the beach? Arthur let his new crew take care of the ship while he got onto a carriage.

"Where to, Senhor?"

"The King's palace."

"You're attending Miss Carriedo's wake?"

Arthur gulped, trying to control his tears. "Y-Yes. Are there many people at her wake?"

"No. She died unmarried. Even her boss isn't attending it. Say, are you a friend of her?"

"No. I-I'm her fiancé." Arthur couldn't hide anything anymore. He did not realize that his face was already wet with tears.

"Are you serious? Does that mean you two are engaged?"

"No."

"That's a shame. If not, you could have gotten the treasure!"

"Would you stop talking about the treasure!" The carriage stopped. Arthur looked out the window to see a typical palace. He has never been in there before. Though the queen encouraged him to visit Portugal as England and Portugal had close ties, he never really thought of going there. He paid for his carriage ride but skipped the door. He walked directly to the garden, there weren't even any maids, soldiers or servants stopping him. He was late indeed. He saw nothing but empty chairs and a few soldiers and a blonde man standing around the coffin. That man looked familiar to Arthur. He made his way to the coffin as well, ignoring the stares of the soldiers. He was astonished to see an empty coffin with a broken lock.

"Arthur Kirkland?"

Arthur glanced at the man. "Francis Bonnefoy! What are you doing here?"

"I…I…was holding this wake but the coffin, it's-"

"Don't give me that load of crap! You're a friend of that scumbag Antonio! Why would you be holding this wake, much less attending it?"

"I'm talking about the coffin!"

"I'm talking about Rio's disappearance! I'm sure you know that she boarded the wrong ship!"

"She boarded Tinkerbell!"

Tinkerbell was Arthur's first ship. It was his own ship, not the property of the British. It was where he first made love with Rio, but it was no longer in his hands. The thought of his vengeful brother came to his mind. He was not surprised, but why would Niall be so bent on killing Rio? Was he that furious at Arthur for locking him up, for even trying to execute him? Niall was usually not the type to bear long feuds and grudges. He even taught Arthur that value, saying that grudges were just a waste of time. He was shocked at his own brother, teacher and even father for going back on his word.

"This coffin…does this mean that she's still alive?" Francis asked.

"Inferring from the drops of blood in the coffin, it is likely that she escaped." One of the soldiers replied.

"So, Rio isn't dead?" Arthur asked. It was a rhetorical question since he already had an answer for himself. He started to believe that arrows do travel faster than bullets, which was what he heard Rio say to Lars when he offered to teach her how to shoot. Arthur had to find Rio again. Rio would be most likely lurking around Portugal, hiding from men as she cannot afford being caught and forced into marriage.

"Wait, how did you get to Rio?" Arthur asked Francis, noticing that he was about to leave.

"It's a long story, but you'll hear it from your brother."

"Don't tell anyone about Rio 'escaping' from the coffin."

"Why?"

"You'd know if you really cared about her."

He left the palace without a trace after bribing the soldiers about the same thing. He was filled with ecstasy as he knew Rio was still alive but he was worried for her. He was one of those few men who understood the feeling of being forced into marriage. But if Rio were to marry anyone at all, it would be him. Arthur noticed that it wasn't even noon yet and there were barely any carriages on the road. One carriage stopped in front of him, which he assumed to be a normal carriage. Arthur was about to walk away when he was told it was a rum carriage until Lars got off the carriage. He looked different. His hair was down, covering his scar and his scarf was not there.

"Thank you very much! I'll treat you one day!" Lars said to the carriage owner before he left.

"Lars? It's really you!" Arthur cried.

"Oh, it's you." Lars said flatly.

"Where were you all the time? Do you know how worried Rio was?"

"I'm sure you're pretty disappointed she died without marrying you, you bastard!" Lars's fist went flying into Arthur's face, causing him to bleed from his mouth. "Heh, no wonder you kidnapped Rio. It was all for that reason."

"Lars, Rio isn't dead. The coffin was empty!"

"I can't believe you're still being so desperate for that treasure!"

"Lars, Rio is not dead. I'm not after the treasure. Many things happened when you were gone!"

"Yes, I'm sure you would have done something to Rio to make the treasure yours, other than just fabricating your childhood friend story."

"That was real and I love Rio. If I wanted that treasure, I would have just forged her signature on a marriage registration form and take her life."

"But you and Antonio were crushing each other's bones over that treasure."

"That was before I fell in love with Rio. I rather have her than that deed."

Lars paused and realized it indeed has been a very long time since he said goodbye to Rio left for Madrid. Probably even too long. "What happened while I was gone?"

"Niall's back and Rio is with my child, well…was with my child. I don't want to talk about it."

"Jesus Christ!"

"I'm sure you're looking for your sister, Daphne. She's currently staying in my home, her majesty's residence."

"Thanks, but I'm worried about Rio."

"Leave that to me. I know best where she'll be hiding."