Song Title: Myths and Adventures by Peter Crowley
The life of a pirate didn't spare any sentimental feelings such as loss and grief.
The moment the North Sea King knew the Reaper was back on board the Draugen, he ordered for the anchor to be hoisted and the ship set on a new course.
A couple of weeks passed since the incident in the snow, and the Reaper seemed to be getting better. He was social again albeit quieter than usual. Nevertheless, this relieved many of the crew members, Berwald being no exception.
It was a bright and sunny afternoon when they landed on a small deserted island.
"All right mateys, start diggin'!" was the captain's order.
The crew members were spread out across the sandy shoreline of the remote island, each with a shovel in hand in an attempt to find what the North Sea King and all pirates were looking for - treasure.
A while ago, the crew found a lead from a merchant saying that a band of pirates have buried their treasure here in this exact location. Ever the ambitious one, Mathias quickly set course for the island in an attempt to beat everyone else to it and steal the rival pirate's bounty.
It was hot, the sun beating down on Berwald's back so badly that he had taken off his beige overcoat and tied it around his waist instead. His hands with the black gloves on them tightened around the shovel with renewed vigor as he dug into the white sand. He had no idea how wide or deep he should be digging until he expected something.
But at least he wasn't alone in this task. Seeing as though the area was safe enough, Feliciano, Ludwig, and a disgruntled Lovino also joined in the effort. Erland and Peter were doing their best as well even though they took frequent breaks to play in the lagoon nearby…not that anyone minded. On the far end of the shoreline was the Reaper, working silently with his black long coat draped over his shoulders.
They were all being supervised by the captain and his brothers.
It felt like ages of slinging sand and a hole that was large enough to bury himself in until Berwald heard an excited voice near him.
"Ve, I think I got something!"
"Let me see!" Lovino demanded, running over to his younger brother's spot and shoving the other aside. He swore. "Why are you always the lucky one?!"
"Uwah…I…I don't know! Please don't get mad, brother!"
"Now let's see here," the captain bounded over to the bickering brothers.
"Aww no fair!" Peter whined.
By now, all the other crew members have stopped what they were doing and flocked around the two chefs.
The captain did the honor of clearing away the rest of the sand on top the object to reveal a simple chest beneath. He opened the brown chest and found what he was looking for. "And there she is," he smirked.
"Hmm, the amount is rather small for it to be buried," Lukas noted, hovering over the hole. But his older brother waved at him dismissively.
"I dunno why yer gettin' picky all of a sudden, Nyk. Doubloon is still doubloon!" His next orders were for them to dig the chest out, retrieve it, and haul it back onto the ship. He patted the brunette chef on the back for a job well done.
"Did you hear that, Ludwig? I did it, I did a good job!" Feliciano bounded over to the doctor, his face flushed.
Try as he might, the German couldn't suppress a smile from spreading across his face as he said "Yes, Feli, I did. Wonderful work,"
The crew was in high spirits as they hefted the chest on board the Draugen and set sail once more.
Boom!
The tiny island was still in view when the ship suddenly rocked violently from getting hit by cannon fire.
"What the hell?!"
"Yep…" Emil muttered above from the crow's nest, unamused. A cannonball whizzed past the mast as he lowered his telescope and said "It's an ambush…they're flanking us. Ready the cannons and return fire!"
"So it was a trap to lure us in after all," Lukas leered at the captain with his dull navy eyes.
The North Sea King refused to acknowledge his folly. "Whatever, I ain't givin' back what's mine now! Give me half sails! We can take 'em on, right, men?" He turned the steering wheel in order to reposition the Draugen.
"Aye aye, captain!" The crew still had high morale.
"There's three ships after us! One's up ahead!" the second mate added. He swung down from his post and landed on the helm next to his brothers.
"Squawk! Three ships! Up ahead, squawk!" Emil's puffin repeated.
Any crew members raring to fight were scrambling on the deck and arming themselves.
"Great, look what you did, idiot! Now we're all gonna get killed!" Lovino quipped while he, his brother, and the doctor retreated below deck.
"Uwah! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
"It's not his fault!" Ludwig's voice shrilled as another cannonball flew by them and crashed into the water.
Steel staff in hand, Berwald glared when the ships were nearly upon them and he could see the rag-tag group of pirates on the deck beside them. The other ships weren't as massive as the Draugen, but they had power in numbers.
Are they…?
"Get down!"
"Hurry and fire the cannons now! Before they shoot us-!"
Bang!
A volley of rifles went off at them.
"Damn it!" Mathias scanned the deck of his ship to quickly assess the damage. "Riflemen, return fire!" His eye fell on the best one in his crew. "Reaper!"
From where Berwald was crouched behind the rails in order to avoid getting hit, he whipped his head around to a commotion near him.
"Look out, Peter!"
"Wah!"
The Reaper, seeing the incoming fire, ran towards the boy and pulled him down onto the deck. He held Peter tightly in his arms as they landed on the hard wooden floorboards, shielding the young blond from the bullets. One nicked his shoulder as a result.
"ReeRee!" Peter peered at the skull mask of the other.
"I'm fine. I need you to head inside, Peter."
But the young pirate shook his head obstinately; he was being more courageous than usual today. "Uh uh! I won't get hurt, promise! I wanna fight too!" He pulled himself up when his role model shifted away from him.
"This isn't the time for-"
Thump!
"Hey! Why's it so dark all of a sudden?! Hey! Lemme out!" Peter's voice got muffled and his vision went dark when something enveloped around him. He pounded against the walls of his confines.
"Berwald?"
The bespectacled blond saw what happened and resolved the situation by grabbing a large empty wooden crate and throwing it over the boy. He eventually scooped the crate up with Peter in tow and ran off with it. The crate would serve as a good hiding spot if he stayed inside it…"I'll handle this," He said over his shoulder before taking off and trying to find Erland as well. It was his fault for not taking them down to the lower levels of the ship sooner. The Swede didn't wait for the Reaper's response before carrying out his mission amidst the chaos. He could hear Mathias rallying.
"Give 'em hell, boys!"
"Don't let them board us!"
By the time Berwald made it back out onto the deck after having a quick word with a sulking Peter, one of the ships, the one in the front, was already sinking from taking too much cannon fire. The floor beneath him continued to shake and sway from the naval battle.
The Reaper, standing near the rails of the Draugen, was firing away at the enemy pirate members. For each shot, a body fell dead on the other ship. And although he kept them at bay for as long as he did, continuously holding them off from two fronts became too much. There were too many and the enemy eventually set up wooden planks connecting the ships and began running over to their side. He switched back to his flintlock pistols when this happened.
The Lion of the North made sure that the newcomers wouldn't make it very far. He beat any of the enemy pirates' faces in or broke their bones should they neared him.
"They sure saved us the trouble of goin' over there!" Mathias more than welcomed the on-boarders and met them with his pole axe, Emil taking his place behind the steering wheel along with Lukas.
The chances of winning for the ambushing pirates grew slim as the fray went on. Their second ship has sunk and left only the one with the enemy captain on it.
"Damn you!" The enemy pirate captain cut off the boarding planks after making his retreat to his own ship. "I'll get ya for this!"
"Don't let 'em escape!" The North Sea King's order rang out loud and clear on the deck.
The Reaper was on it, but there was no time to reload a rifle and open fire. He needed to get in closer somehow…then he saw Berwald busy launching a stranded enemy over the rails with a swing of his steel staff. He dashed towards the taller male. "Lion, I need a lift!"
Berwald heard the other's request before spinning around and seeing him run in his direction. The nickname was still a bit foreign to him, but he understood what the Reaper was asking of him and kneeled, forming a platform with his hands so that the rifleman could step on it before propelling him into the air. He was glad to see his attempt was a success.
The Reaper raised his royal blue pistol and pulled the trigger while still in midair.
Bang!
A subordinate of the enemy captain's laid dead while the man himself was making his way to the lower levels of the ship.
The Reaper gave chase the moment his feet touched the deck of the foreign ship.
I gotta go help him!
Not wanting the Reaper to face the man alone, Berwald backed up on the deck of the Draugen to give himself enough running space before throwing himself over the rails. For a moment, as the ends of his beige coat fluttered behind him and he saw nothing but the blue ocean below his feet, the Swede began to question his actions.
Dear gods…what am I doing? What happens if I don't make it to the other side?! This is reckless!
Thankfully, he leapt far enough to barely land on the edge of the enemy ship. His landing wasn't as graceful as the Reaper's, but at least he made it. He followed suit after the other two once he steadied himself and made his way deeper into the ship. It wasn't too hard to know where the pirates went, the outside noise dying down the further he went into the vessel. The Lion of the North knocked any opposing pirates hiding away on the ship unconscious with his staff should they try to stop him from finding their captain.
Clang!
The sounds of skirmish bounced down the hallway and soon enough Berwald saw the Reaper struggling with someone in the captain's cabin. As he approached the end of the hallway that led to the room, he made eye contact with the Finn through the other's mask for a second before the unusual happened.
Slam!
The rifleman closed the door behind himself just as Berwald was about to step inside the room. He locked the taller blond out.
"Reaper!" He tried the doorknob and pushed, but found that something on the other side was blocking the door…something heavy. He heard a soft voice float through to him.
"It's okay, you can go on ahead without me."
No!
The sound of gunfire and objects being thrown to the floor only egged Berwald on to try the door again. He banged on the poor door incessantly and threw his body against it. "Let me in! Reaper!"
The door rattled on its hinges as the Swede on the other side relentlessly tried to get it to give way and open.
But the Finn didn't have too much time to dwell on the fact that he could hear panic rising in the other man's voice.
"Ya sure it was a good idea to leave yer friend like that? Bad move, mate…'cause yer gonna need all the help ya can get against me!" The enemy captain, with his long red beard and wooden pegleg, smirked at the masked man in a cocky manner. He brandished a pistol in one hand and saber in the other.
That may be…but I don't want him to get involved
The Reaper prepared himself for another attack.
"Now then…" the gruff captain pointed his pistol. "Time to die!"
Bang!
The first shot missed, but the captain quickly followed it up with a flurry of slashes from his saber.
I can't get a proper shot in…
He only had one bullet left - he had to make it count.
"I gotcha now, you worm!"
The Reaper backed up until his legs bumped into the desk behind him. But just as an overhead swing descended upon him, he flipped back and over the furniture, landing on the other side just before the blade came down and split the desk in two.
Boom!
The ship leaned heavily on its right side as it took another blow to its hull from a cannonball outside, the force of the impact throwing both pirates in the captain's cabin off balance. The broken desk and other furniture around them jostled violently and toppled over.
Bam!
"What the-ack!" The enemy captain stumbled and keeled forward when a metal staff hit him on the side of his head.
Bang!
Using the distraction provided to him, the Reaper drew his pistol and shot his opponent right between the eyes.
The pirate captain's body slumped, revealing a tall blond behind him.
"Berwald..."
"Mm." The bespectacled man grunted, a bit out of breath from his efforts to even get into the room. He turned to the object that obstructed him for so long - a tall grandfather clock now lying on its side. He had to push that whole thing aside just to squeeze through.
Thank the gods I made it in time
Another round of cannon fire struck the ship and it groaned in agony...loudly.
"No, Berwald!"
"Oof!" The aforementioned man's vision suddenly veered towards the ceiling of the captain's cabin and his body pushed down to the floor. Something warm was on top of him...
Before he could even register what happened, the creaking of the ship rose to a crescendo and exploded into a deafening crash right next to them. Clouds of dust and splinters rose as the space in the captain's cabin was suddenly reduced in half by the ship's mast that had broken off and fallen into the room. The large pillar did not collapse all the way through - it leaned precariously at an angle into the floorboards and rested there, obscuring the other side of the room. The ship's owner was caught under the wreckage.
It was a few seconds before Berwald could see what was in front of him. Amethyst eyes were hovering over him.
What?
His mask having fallen off from the shockwave of the collision, the Reaper had pushed him out of harm's way and covered him from most of the debris that flew up from it. He was on top of the Swede, straddling him.
"Are you all right?"
"..."
Their bodies were pressed up against each other at this point and Berwald had his arms around the Finn before he even knew what happened. He just instinctively grabbed onto the other in front of him upon landing on his back. His hands finally fell away as he answered "Uhn...y-yeah..."
"Thank goodness," The Reaper reached down and readjusted the glasses that were skew on Berwald's face for him before getting off the taller man. He picked up his mask on the floor and pocketed it into his long coat.
Those fingers left his face too soon, taking the warmth with them. The rifleman held out a white gloved hand, to which Berwald accepted this time without thinking and was slowly helped up to his feet. He then had the time to really assess the situation.
The windows lining the captain's cabin seemed to be getting closer to the water for some reason.
We're sinking?!
This was why the other didn't want him to follow - he didn't want Berwald to get trapped in here too.
They were alone in the small space of a sinking ship with a dead body.
Oh dear gods!
Berwald's heart began to pound as it all set in. He ran towards the large windows and saw that they have broken through the water's surface and were now going below it. What in the world did he get himself into?! He was close to losing it when he saw a school of fish swim by the windows. The limited air around him became thin.
From behind the caved-in doorway and cracks in the walls, water began seeping into the room. The ship was beginning to capsize.
Berwald heard the Reaper rummaging around the enclosed space, pushing certain spots to see if they would move. Nothing budged. The Swede went up to him and tried doing the same, but even their combined force wasn't enough.
"Hmm..." The rifleman was contemplative when he turned over to his crewmate and saw his pale face.
Oh dear gods, we're trapped! We're gonna drown! No, no, no!
Berwald's face may appear stoic, but his mind was reeling with thoughts and hysteria. Would anyone come and find them here? They were going to drown and no one was going to help!
Crack!
"It'll be okay, I have a plan." The Reaper's calm voice reached out to him.
"...!" He turned around to see what his companion was doing and it nearly made him want to hyperventilate.
What are you doing?! He's crazy! Why let more water in?! No, no, no! What kind of plan is this?!
It must have been the increasing water pressure getting to the pirate that was causing his odd behavior…that was definitely it.
Borrowing the bespectacled blond's weapon, the Reaper was batting away at a thick glass window until it cracked and shattered in one spot, a jet stream of ocean pouring forth from it and into the small space.
The Swede just stood there and gawked until the questionably sane man approached him and returned his staff. The warm hand from before returned and clasped on his shoulder.
The water was at their waists now.
The rifleman's eyes were soft and smile reassuring as he said soothingly "Everything will be all right. Please trust me," He turned and pulled out the dead captain's saber from underneath the corpse. "We'll make it out of here alive, I promise. But I need your help – please lend me your strength, Berwald."
The other's smooth and light voice rose above the roaring waters spewing from the cracked glass, having a calming effect on him and the thumb rubbing small circles into his shoulder melted the tension there.
Yes, he trusted the Reaper. He unconsciously always have since they first met on the brothel keeper's ship. He would continue to trust him.
With a stiff nod, Berwald clutched his weapon tightly in his hands and waded through the water towards the broken window. As he followed the Finn's lead and bashed the glass in further, he soon understood.
With the saber, the rifleman would slice the glass up, making it easier for him to apply brute force and shatter the window with his staff.
They continued this until the pane was nearly non-existent, only the sharp corners and edges remaining but the hole big enough for a body to squeeze through. This was going to be their way out of the condemned ship.
It was growing dark, the rays of sunlight above waning as they descended deeper and deeper. But as soon as the pressure stabilized between the captain's cabin and ocean outside and the room flooded so that their heads nearly touched the ceiling to stay above the water, they had to move. There was no more time to waste. With one last breath of air, the Reaper asked Berwald to swim out through the broken window first and guaranteed him that he would be right behind him.
Berwald has never swum faster or harder before in his life, kicking furiously towards the beams of light breaking through the ocean's depths. Never once did he turn back to face the other or the ship that disappeared from view as it continued its journey down to the abyss. His lungs burned and eyes stung, but he didn't stop until he reached the surface and was greeted with a cool sea breeze and the sound of seagulls above him.
"It's good to know you can swim,"
The blond turned to the man floating beside him, platinum blond hair soaking wet and sticking to his face. "Uhn…" So playing with Peter and Erland in the water did come in handy after all…
Oh thank the gods we're alive!
The Reaper's violet eyes shone with genuine relief by the fact that the other made it out safely, a small, sad smile gracing his lips.
"Squawk! There they are!"
"Hey you two," a third voice joined them. Emil with puffin in tow came towards them in a small rowing boat. He helped the two drenched men up onto the boat as he stammered "Sorry about that…I didn't know you guys were still on that ship before I blew it up. Guess I got carried away…" He averted his magenta eyes from them, a small pout on his face and a hand flicking the golden hoop on his ear.
By late afternoon, the sea knew tranquility once more, the Draugen leaving the island and sunken ships far behind it.
The North Sea King whined to his brothers because they sank the main ship without retrieving the rest of the treasure first.
They ignored him entirely.
But if there was one thing the captain kept to himself, it was his observations of today's battle. Mathias noticed that the Lion of the North fought better and harder when the Reaper was nearby. The Swede even went so far as to hop onto an enemy ship alone just to follow his best rifleman. No, that little detail didn't escape his sky blue eye at all. It was a most interesting development and he was going to make sure to use this to his advantage the next time he sent his Berwald into combat.
The wound on the Reaper's shoulder stung with salt water, but the man didn't seem to notice as he continued to casually talk to Berwald on his cot. It was as though he didn't feel it at all…
It surprised the taller blond when the rifleman visited him, asking for his help in patching him up instead of going to Ludwig.
The Reaper has provided that he didn't want to add to the doctor's hefty burden because of today's battle, and that he knew Berwald would do an excellent job.
Of course Berwald couldn't say no to such a request and immediately set to work on the injury. It was an honor. Once that was done, the Reaper stayed seated there beside him for a bit longer, asking how he was doing after the day's events.
They were both still soaked, their coats taking the longest to dry and it clung heavily on their respective shoulders.
During the conversation, the Finn made no attempt to call Berwald out for his actions in the captain's cabin. He simply skimmed over that last part and didn't reprimand him for "disobeying" him, making it as though it never happened. Instead, the platinum blond focused on Berwald's feats and complimented him on a job well done. He thanked him for his efforts and praised his ingenuity in his method to escort Peter off the deck.
Berwald felt himself blushing from all the praise and attention. Again, this was something he wasn't used to. He didn't know if it was something he ever could. So he simply kept his eyes down and shook his head, refusing to be regarded so highly. "It's nothing…I just got stepped on, that's all…"
The Reaper chuckled lightly. "Now don't think like that, Berwald. You did so much more than that; you need to give yourself more credit."
"Mm." A moment of silence lapsed between them before Berwald couldn't help himself from asking "Why?"
"Hm?"
"Back on the ship…why d'ya close the door?"
Why did you lock me out?
At this question the Reaper turned to look Berwald straight in his cyan eyes. "Your life is worth far more than mine. If it ever came down to something like today's situation where one of us might not have made it, I would gladly give myself up." He smiled sadly when the other did nothing but stare at him. "I would feel at ease knowing that it would be you who puts me into the ground-"
"Don't say that!" Berwald shouted and suddenly rose to his feet before he knew it. His eyes were wide in disbelief at what the other was saying, mouth set grim. His face heated up from a swell of emotions he couldn't quite identify. He didn't know why he was so upset all of a sudden or why his cheeks burned but he continued "Don't say such things…you should never tempt fate!"
The smile quickly crumbled from the Reaper's face, as fragile as it seemed. His violet eyes were downcast as he whispered "I'm sorry, I have a horrible sense of humor." The solemn smile returned, but not as strongly.
The rifleman was still awfully morbid and Berwald just knew it was because he wasn't over Hanatamago's death.
Berwald was about to open his mouth to apologize, but the words refused to pass his lips. He wasn't sorry for what he did back on the ship or what he just said to the other. He has never felt a stronger conviction than this one. Hearing the Reaper talk about throwing his life away made his blood run cold.
"Please promise me this, Berwald," the Reaper's soft voice suddenly reached out to him. "Promise me that you'll go on living. That no matter what, you'll find a way, that you won't give up and keep fighting," Those violet eyes gazed at him evenly, imploringly.
Apprehensively, Berwald nodded his head as though compelled to do so by that angelic face still slightly damp from the sea.
In the back of his mind, he wondered if the Reaper could promise him the same thing.
The thought just so happened to cross Berwald's mind at dusk while he was out on the deck shuffling cargo around.
The orange sun ahead of them began to set below the watery horizon, splashing the ocean with one final array of warm reds, yellows, and purples before leaving nothing but blackness to take its place. Just as quickly as that the sky became a canvas for the stars and moon instead.
The thought in the Swede's mind was actually more of a feeling than anything, and it was a feeling that developed towards the Reaper.
It's not love…
With his upbringing, Berwald knew love didn't exist. It wasn't there when he was born, it wasn't there when he was at the orphanage, and it definitely didn't exist in the brothel. Love was easily bought and fictitious, found in the arms of one of his former coworkers or between the pages of a book. Someone like him wasn't capable of such feelings…especially given his circumstances. The Reaper tricked him into this life of piracy – he held him here against his will.
So then, why wasn't he bitter or angry towards the rifleman?
In fact, it came as a surprise even to himself when he began to notice the other more often than he should. He held onto the Reaper's every word, perceptive in the small way his mouth would twitch into that sad smile, stare into those dull violet eyes longer than was considered normal until it borderlined awkward, and couldn't help but wonder sometimes what the man's real laugh sounded like.
He continued his rifle training despite hating the very idea of holding a gun, but did so in order to get close to and spend time with the other. He wanted those eyes to continue gazing at him, even if what he was doing in front of the Finn was embarrassing to himself. He could never win against those empty bottles…
The Reaper was kind and polite to everyone on the ship, so Berwald shouldn't take any of the compliments and praise given to him personally.
But he did.
He cherished each kind gesture, smile, praise, and encouragement the platinum blond gave him, thinking in his mind that they were special and only meant for him. He was always a sucker for kindness, a perpetual fool for these types of acts – which may explain why he tried a little bit harder to please the customers who treated him nicely.
The Swede grew up never knowing whether he preferred men or women – he has had both in his line of work and both were equally cruel and heartless.
But here on the Draugen, this man was treating him with respect, kindness, and care. He felt appreciated and valued when he was with the Reaper – something he never experienced back at the brothel. His life was worthy enough that the other wouldn't hesitate to give up his own for him.
Later on when he saw how crestfallen the other became after losing Hanatamago, he soon found himself wanting to hold the man in his arms whenever deep sorrow passed through those violet eyes if only to comfort him. It took all of his will and effort to keep himself in check.
He wanted to do something to help, to repay the man for everything he has given him. He wanted to be more to the Reaper in some way.
Berwald began to question why he felt this way towards the rifleman…why he acted the way he did and said the things he said to the Finn.
It terrified him.
He didn't believe in love nor ever wanted to fall in it.
Never that.
So Berwald kept telling himself that it was just a simple infatuation, curiosity over the mysterious Reaper that he was feeling.
It was a feeling that was to be buried with him like sunken treasure when he died. He swore on the sea he was forced to sail on that that was how it was going to be.
Too bad the ocean was a turbulent, fickle, and tumultuous thing.
Who knew he would be plundered so soon, and that he would be tested one evening?