Alfred stood at attention, what he was taught quite a while ago when he was still under the control of a captain. Probably around 6 soldiers came on board, already with guns pointed at them.
"I come in peace," Alfred stated, putting his hands up in surrender.
"Are you aware of the ship you are in possession of?" one of the soldiers asked.
That would be why I put the white flag up, geniuses… "Pirate Captain Carriedo's ship," Alfred recited.
"And you do know the risks of sailing this into English waters?" another one asked.
"Yes, I know, but I have something important to show you," Alfred said, a little edge of impatience in his voice.
"Show us proof that you are not working for Carriedo," another one demanded.
Besides the fact that I'm in an American navy uniform? "He's in the brig," Alfred sighed. "I can walk with you and show you."
"You will stay up here," the first one, who seemed to be their commander stated. Alfred nodded and three of them went below decks, while three stayed, pointing their guns alternately at Alfred and his crew.
Alfred nearly started tapping his foot with how impatient he was feeling, but refrained from it. Of course they would demand for proof he wasn't working for Carriedo, but Arthur was important, too, dammit!
It seemed to take forever before the three finally came back up.
"Am I free from prosecution?" Alfred asked.
"Put the guns down," the commander stated, giving Alfred his answer. "We will get others to bring him up. How did you gain possession of this ship?"
"He sank mine while my crew and I were on an island," Alfred reported. "We were taken in as prisoner, he was hoping for some kind of reward, and we were able to take the ship. But-"
"You have done a good service, American," the commander placed a hand on his shoulder. "We can give you a ship soon to return you home."
"But that wasn't what you needed to see," Alfred rushed out the words. He tried to recover by adding a "sir" at the end.
"Then, what is that?" the commander asked.
"You'll never believe me unless you see it," Alfred stated. "Just follow me to the cabin."
"Lead the way," the commander said and Alfred nodded before turning around and starting, rather quickly, to the cabin. This was it! Arthur would be home! And get even more back to normal!
Alfred didn't waste any time opening the door once he got there and saw that Arthur was simply looking down at his maps, his back to the door. He perked up slightly upon hearing them come in and turned around, looking at Alfred first, but then at the commander.
"Is that…?" the commander gasped and Alfred grinned slightly.
"Arthur Kirkland," Alfred stated proudly, completely unable to hide his smile now.
Arthur stared in horror at the massive crowd that was still growing around the ship. He couldn't do this, no way in Hell. He could deal with the 20 men on this ship, sure. He was used to small groups. But this was just utterly terrifying. All of these people…Arthur had failed them. They sent him out to chart something and had just gotten lost.
It's one thing to go missing for a few weeks, maybe months. But this was ten years. He couldn't face this crowd now. Not after all that… He just forgot they all existed…
"Hey," Alfred said quietly behind him and walked up, beside the railing with him. A few people could see them from the ground, and they were pointing excitedly and cheering. "I know it's a little scary at first but-"
"I can't do this," Arthur shook his head, taking a few steps back.
"Relax," Alfred gave a reassuring smile. "I know you can do this."
"No, I can't," Arthur muttered, trying to block out the crowd. "I failed them…I disappeared…I forgot…I just…"
"Arthur," Alfred grabbed onto his shoulders. "Arthur Kirkland, the man who was able to live on a deserted island for 10 years and keep several men alive and healthy. The man who re-learned the English language on a single boat ride. The man that, with a crew of seven, was able to subdue the most feared pirate crew in the world, with hardly any experience. The man that lived through more than hardly anyone can imagine…Is scared?"
"Yes," Arthur nodded. "Back then, I had the instincts of an animal. Carriedo said it himself, I was hardly human. The only thing I thought about was survival and winning."
"And now, you're a proper Englishman that doesn't back down from a fight," Alfred stated. "That's what you tried hard to become."
"I would hardly consider myself anything close to that…" Arthur looked over at the wooden boards of the deck. "Not to mention my crew, who are far behind me."
"Being home will help you remember," Alfred assured him. "There's a lot of people there you know."
"I know that," Arthur sighed. "I know how many people will be waiting for me. My parents, Francis…I just…I don't think I'll be able to look at them."
"Why?" Alfred asked. "Because you came back from the dead? Almost everyone thought you were dead. Don't think about how you failed, because you didn't. Think about how you've done the impossible. You're still the great Captain Arthur Kirkland."
"I hate it when you're right," Arthur sighed, shaking his head. But he cracked a smile anyway. "Thank you…"
"No problem," Alfred smiled. "Now we just need to get the other seven to brave getting off the ship."
"Right," Arthur looked over to his men. They were practically huddled in a little group, looking at the crowd with terror. "Did I really look like such a terrified animal?"
"A little," Alfred laughed. Arthur rolled his eyes and came over to his men.
"Alright," Arthur sighed once he got in front of them, gathering their attention to him. He glanced back at the crowd for a second before turning all of his attention back to his men. They were practically family now… "I know it's scary to even think about going into that crowd of people. It's a world we almost forgot about. But we've been through worse, have we not? They're just people. Some of them are people you actually used to care about." He smiled slightly, thinking about seeing his parents again. He was an adult, but just thinking about them made him smile. "Who knows, they could actually help us out…"
"So!" Alfred leaned an arm on Arthur's shoulder, earning a sharp glare from the smaller man. "Ready to face the world?"
There was a small, unsure murmur that went through Arthur's small crew.
Arthur sighed, shaking his head slightly. "Alright, then." He crossed his arms in front of his chest. He switched to the language they used on the island. It was almost like a foreign language now… "I have already decided, I'll have you know, that all of you are fully suited to be able to step off of this rocking piece of wood and step onto land. So you will all follow me down."
"Aye, sir," the crew stated. For some reason, that familiar language seemed to assure them of something. What, Arthur wasn't sure, but he was happy that they were now more or less on board for going off the ship.
"Lead the way, Alfred," Arthur turned to Alfred, who seemed to be getting over the fact Arthur could still use that old language.
"Right," Alfred nodded and swiftly turned towards the plank that led to the docks, where the crowd seemed to have grown exponentially. He started walking and Arthur followed soon behind, the rest of his crew following like a train. It was a little odd readjusting to standing back on the ground, but Arthur got a hang of it soon enough.
There was a small line of policemen standing around, making sure the crowd didn't overwhelm them right as they got off the boat. Immediately, though, one face stood out over all the others. Arthur had to stare at him for a while, he looked so familiar. Or maybe it was a girl, that hair sure seemed to allude to that, but the stubble on his chin definitely made him assume that this was a guy. He'd shown up in Arthur's dreams nearly all the time, but this was his first time seeing him in real life for…10 years.
Alfred seemed to be talking to plenty of people that looked like they were of authority. They looked like they wanted to ask Arthur questions, but Alfred was keeping them at bay. When Arthur turned back to that man in the crowd, he seemed to be yelling something at a policeman and Arthur couldn't help but laugh a little bit.
"Oh, my God, he laughed," Alfred lightly elbowed him.
"It's not like I'm incapable," Arthur rolled his eyes, glancing at Alfred.
"You know, I hope you're ready for a lot of questions," Alfred sighed. "Reporters are going to ask you a bunch and then there's just the random people everywhere."
"They'll be asking me more than anyone, though, right?" Arthur asked. He had to make sure his crew wasn't overwhelmed too much. It was fine if he was.
"Because you're captain, yeah," Alfred nodded and finally saw that man Arthur was staring at, who was still yelling at the policeman. "Really?" Alfred sighed and calmly walked over to them. Arthur stayed where he was, a little terrified of that crowd still. He glanced back at his crew, some seemed like they were about ready to run back on the ship. But, they kept on looking at the crowd. A few of them seemed to recognize people, waving slightly and shyly. Arthur couldn't help but smile a little bit and turned back to Alfred.
He talked to the policeman for a little bit. The policeman looked between Alfred and that familiar man. Why couldn't Arthur remember his damn name? Eventually, the policeman moved out of the way, and the man immediately started bounding over to Arthur.
Finally, the name clicked. Just as the man hugged him and he instinctively hugged him back.
"Francis," Arthur let out a small laugh. He couldn't believe it. He almost forgot him.
He started speaking French very quickly. Arthur couldn't even try to start understanding. He knew in the past that he understood it slightly, but now it took him at least a little effort to understand English.
"I can't understand a word your saying, frog," Arthur shook his head slightly. Francis let out a laugh, pulling Arthur out to arm's length.
"I always promised myself I would kill you if you ever came back," Francis smiled at him and Arthur noticed that he had tears in his eyes. "But now I'm refraining myself from kissing you, mon cher."
"Please don't," Arthur sighed. "I'm already having a hard time adjusting to this crowd."
"Mon dieu, this is impossible," Francis laughed, hugging Arthur once more before finally letting him go. "You do realize that the rumors about you have already started?"
"Lord knows what everyone's come up with," Arthur sighed, smiling slightly.
"My favorite was that you were eaten by a sea monster," Francis winked.
"What?" Arthur scoffed. "They really thought that was all it would take to kill me?"
"Well, do enlighten me," Francis smiled. "What happened?"
"Well," Arthur smiled, glancing back at his crew, and then at Alfred, who was smiling happily behind Francis. "It's sort of a long story."
Hmmm...Not too proud of this chapter... Anyway! He's back home! And Francis is back! Yayz! But the story's not over yet, so you know something else is gonna happen. The only way to tell what's going to happen is to keep reading!
Oh, and please review!