37. Beautiful (England) [part 3]

xXx

Had he arrived a minute later, he would not have witnessed the Sun breaking over the horizon. But Arthur Kirkland had always had good timing, and he was just in time to stop and stare at the figure at the top of the hill.

He was staring at you.

The Sun's brilliant rays caught you in the perfect light, making it seem like you were part girl, part gold. The wind whipped your hair in a fierce battle of entangled locks, keeping your face clear of any wafting distractions. Arms thrown back, the expression on your face was nothing short of rebellious freedom.

You can imagine how much he appreciated a girl that loved freedom.

Suddenly, he saw you open your eyes, and he knew then that he couldn't kill you. The revelation came so abruptly and so unexpectedly that Arthur actually took a step back. His feet crunched the dry grass, attracting your attention.

When you turned around, you were surprised to find a young man standing behind you some ways down the hill. His hair was a mess of blonde, his eyes a deep emerald green, and his eyebrows heavy and thick. Clad in a cotton shirt, breeches, and a blood red coat, he was the handsomest boy you had ever seen. And judging by the stark black, gold-trimmed tricorn sitting atop his head, he was not only part of the pirate crew, but also its bloody Captain.

You pinched yourself, hard. But this wasn't a dream, and the young man didn't disappear. In fact, he was walking right up to you.

"[Name]?" he spoke roughly. "[Full Name]?"

"Yes?" you said dazedly.

Arthur was somewhat shocked. The first look you gave him had been surprise, yet not a fearful kind of surprise. More like a curious sort of surprise. It intrigued him dearly.

"Thought you could hide?" he smirked. "Come along, girl. You're coming with me whether you want to or not."

You blinked. "Where are we going?"

Arthur gave you an incredulous look. Was this dimwit truly bloody Francis' fiancé? That blasted Frenchman must have desperately needed the [Last Name] territory if he was willing to marry such an idiot. Maybe I should just stick with the original plan and kill her, he thought. It was my plan in the first place to keep that bloody frog from power.

In his momentary conversation with himself, you finally realized that he was saying the very thing you dared to hope. "You're taking me with you on your ship?" you squeaked. "Really? Truly?"

Before he could stop you, you bounded down the hill in great big leaps, landing on two feet right in front of the Captain. Peering up closely into his face under his hat, you brought a hand up to touch his face—just once—to see if he was real. Arthur recoiled and snatched your wrist in reflex. Your eyes widened at the feel of his strong, real grip on your skin.

"What are you doing?"

"This isn't a dream, right?"

He stared at you. "Are you bonkers? Of course this isn't a dream."

"Promise?"

"Promise?"

"Hey, can I join your crew?"

"What?" he spluttered. "No!"

"Aw, come on!" you begged. "I've always wanted to go out into the ocean! I swear I'll make myself useful! I'll cook, I'll clean, I'll wash! Please, oh please let me join you!"

Arthur eyed you carefully, only half considering. You were a woman—and that was bad luck on the waters.

But you could cook.

But you were a woman!

But you could COOK.

"We'll see," he finally coughed, making up his mind. "Don't get in the way, and maybe I'll consider letting you stay on board—"

You interrupted by giving him a great big hug. "Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Arthur blushed, prying you off of him. "Damn it, no touching!"

"Let's go!" you exclaimed suddenly, dragging him down the hill.

Arthur stumbled with you, quite flustered. You were dragging him to his own ship. Your upbeat attitude was driving him insane! Oh god, what if his crewmates saw this?

Jerking his hand back, he pulled you to an abrupt stop.

"Listen girl," he growled. "I'm in charge here, not you. So you'll follow my orders."

Still grinning like an idiot, you said, "I'll do anything you want if you just take me away from here."

Anything? Arthur quickly cleared his mind. "Whatever, so long as you understand." He started walking down the path into town. "Come along, then."

"Yes, Cap'n!"

xXx

(later…)

"[LAST NAME] GET BACK DOWN HERE!"

"NO THANK YOU, CAP'N!" you shouted back down from your perch above the crow's nest. You were seated comfortably on the highest yard that held the main topsail, with only its supportive rope as a lifeline.

Arthur gave you his darkest glare, to which you responded with a mischievous grin. The rest of the crew marveled at how amazingly courageous you were in standing up to the infamous Captain Kirkland. Though they received dirty looks from their enraged Captain, secret grins were tossed around.

"DAMN IT, [LAST NAME], DON'T MAKE ME SHOOT YOU DOWN!" Arthur cocked his pistol back, aiming it at the empty space next to your head to scare you.

Leaping up on the wooden pole, you hopped from one foot to the other, dancing playfully.

"What, are you worried, Cap'n? Don't worry, I'm sure if I fall into the ocean, you'll come and save me! I HEAR YOU'RE A GREAT SWIMMER!"

The man handling the wheel barked out a great laugh, a sound followed by chuckling by everyone else.

Arthur's face turned redder than a tomato.

"THAT'S IT, [NAME]! I'M COMING UP TO GET YOU!" he roared.

It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

xXx