Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story, only the AU is mine. Arthur, Merlin, Gwen, and everyone else belong to the BBC.
Author's note: Stay tuned for the next chapter, where you find out the Black Dragon's motivations for taking on the name!
Edit: Every time I post a chapter, I go back and find some tiny mistake and end up reposting the thing twice or three times. Sorry...
Chapter 3 - Not As He Seems
The shout had come from a young man standing on the lowest branch of the mainmast. Arthur couldn't see him well, but he knew in an instant that this man was the captain. His yell caused the fighting to cease immediately. Arthur and all his men found that the hatred and anger had gone from them, the will to fight erased. Most of the men dropped their weapons and took in the horror around them. The pirate captain scrambled gracelessly down the rigging and onto the main deck where the fighting had taken place. He looked around sorrowfully at the death around him and then looked straight at Arthur, ice blue eyes piercing. Arthur was startled to find he was just a boy, not much younger than Arthur himself. Messy black hair in dire need of a cut fell in wet strings from under his hat. His clothing was pieced together from various uniforms, colors clashing. All of his clothes were too large for his thin frame. He was skinny and looked a touch malnourished. The pirate captain stood tall, but he was dwarfed by the strong, thick sailors around him. The Dread Pirate Emrys looked to Arthur an awful lot like a scrawny wet kitten and the image confused him. This was the Black Dragon?
"No more fighting. No more death," the pirate captain called out. The men had made a small oval space where the captains could talk face to face.
"A duel, then, to decide the fate of your men!" Arthur called back, drawing his sword.
The pirate shook his head. "No more," he said. His voice was surprisingly soft and gentle, but every man could hear him clearly, even over the din of the rain and the waves and the thunder. Everything about the pirate captain confused Arthur further. This was not what he pictured when he heard the words Dread Pirate. "We surrender, Captain."
The pirates hung their heads, but none looked shocked at their captain's proclamation.
Arthur was enraged.
"You have not been defeated! You can still fight back! You draw us out here and let men on both sides die and then you just give up?! Where is your pride as a captain?! WHERE IS YOUR HONOR?!" Arthur stomped up to the captain and grabbed him by the front of his coat. He was several inches taller than the pirate and it made him loosen his grip, but only slightly. The Black Dragon looked up into Arthur's wrathful eyes, pleading and sad. Raindrops fell on his cheeks, creating the illusion of tears pouring from the pirate's eyes. He was surprisingly light and frail, and he looked so pitiful that Arthur loosened his grip on the man, surprising himself and his crew.
"I would have stopped it earlier, but..." Emrys said, looking away. He looked furious, but not with anyone in particular. Arthur would have said the pirate seemed to be angry with himself. Then he let the man go and stepped back.
"You, Dread Pirate Emrys, and your men are charged with piracy, including thievery, murder, disruption of the peace, and destruction of public and private properties. You will be taken back to England to be properly charged, tried, and, in all likelihood, jailed." Emrys hung his head and murmured something that no one seemed to hear, although Arthur caught most of it.
"I never meant to for anyone to die..."
Before Arthur could respond, someone pushed through the crowd, calling out to the pirate captain. It was the woman from before.
"Captain, please, you cannot just give up like this!" the woman cried.
"Enough, Guinevere, I will not have any more fighting," Emrys replied, firmly but without malice or anger.
"But-"
"I said enough!" the Dread Pirate's eyes flashed a bright gold color and the wind became fiercer, whipping around the crowd of pirates and navy sailors. When his eyes returned to their normal blue, Emrys looked down at his feet, an angry flush coloring his cheeks. The storm around them seemed to start fading. The rain slowed to a halt and the clouds overhead dissolved into a fine mist. Even the waters beneath the ship calmed and turned from a dull grey to a striking blue. Sunlight shone down in beams between clouds before the clouds were gone entirely and the sun once again lit up the world. Arthur's men marveled at the sudden disappearance of the storm, but Emrys's men looked unsurprised. Arthur only stared at the pirate captain.
Then Captain Pendragon called out for Percival, who stepped forward silently. "Bind the Black Dragon's hands together, along with those any of his men who will not cooperate." Percival nodded, leading the pirate across the planks to the Albion and tying a rope tight around his wrists. Arthur turned back to the crowd and stood tall, hands on his hips. He was the embodiment of leadership. "To the Black Dragon's men: you will be given two choices. The first: join our crew and work with us. Those of you who join the Royal Navy will be granted pardons for your crimes. The second: join your captain in his binding and face your punishment when we return to England."
No one moved, except Guinevere. The woman, dressed as the men in breeches and a loose linen shirt, her hair tied up and pinned against her head, stepped in front of Arthur. "I will join my captain, if you don't mind," she said, a stubborn tone in her voice and her head held high. She then pushed past the navy captain and escorted herself to the Albion where Percival began tying her wrists together as well. No one stopped her. No one accompanied her. Arthur made a mental note not to get on her bad side in the near future. She was stronger than any woman he had ever known, and it frightened him a bit. He assumed her to be the Dread Pirate Emrys's first mate, and rightfully so. She made a fierce enemy.
"Now then, get to work!" Arthur ordered, and the men from both sides joined together in a patchwork mass of uniform and disorder.
Percival approached the captain, the two prisoners behind him. They were led by ropes held in Percival's hand, like a pair of earthbound balloons. "Captain, she has taken on too much water. We cannot go anywhere until the hull is repaired and the water is removed."
Arthur cursed. "Bring her closer to shore and drop the anchor. How long will repairs take?"
"The builders estimate about a week, Sir. Maybe more. We are lucky to have enough spare boards for the necessary repairs."
Arthur cursed again. "Then we will have to take the men to the island and see what we can find. Our food and water stores are running low and were not meant to support most of two ships worth of crew. We were to make a stop back at Puerto Rico to resupply before our trip back to England..." Arthur sighed and rubbed his temples. The last thing he wanted to do was remain in this cursed bay and live off its land, but he would do what he had to. "I will keep watch over the prisoners," Arthur grumbled, taking their lead ropes, "and you, Mister Percival, will organize the men into groups to take trips in the dinghies over to the beach. We will set up camp there until the Albion can be repaired." Percival nodded and turned to the chaos of men running about on the decks of the Albion, waiting for orders. Percival obliged, quickly getting the crew in order.
HMS Albion had two dinghies. Each one held twenty men at maximum capacity, so it would take quite a while to get the more than three-hundred combined men of the Albion and the Kilgharrah, as well as what supplies were left on both ships, over to the beach. Arthur and his prisoners were some of the first to make the crossing, which went smoothly and quickly due to the present calm of the waters.
Once they arrived at the beach, Arthur tied the leads of the prisoners around a tree. Guinevere was furious, yelling the whole time about being treated like cattle. Emrys remained silent and grim, not meeting anyone's eyes. When that was done, Gwaine approached the navy captain.
"Thank god you are alive, Gwaine," Arthur exclaimed, embracing the man briefly.
Gwaine punched him in the arm. "You cannot get rid of me that easily, Sir." Gwaine and Arthur both grinned.
"What of the others? Lancelot? Elyan?" Arthur continued. The smile slipped from Gwaine's face. Arthur's followed quickly.
"Elyan and Leon are dead. Lancelot is gravely wounded. The ship's doctor is doing what he can to save him, but..." Gwaine's voice dropped off.
"Damn," Arthur whispered.
"Damn," he repeated, louder.
The sudden urge to hurt the pirate captain clouded Arthur's judgment. Those men were his friends, barely more than boys. Arthur stormed over to Emrys with the full intention of hurting the man as much as possible. Guinevere's protests were drowned out by the ringing in Arthur's ears and the low growl in his throat that he did not realize he was emitting. As he grabbed the collar of Emrys's shirt and drew back his fist, Arthur made the mistake of looking into the boy's eyes. The pirate did not flinch. He did not cower. He anticipated the hit, feeling deeply that he deserved whatever pain he was about to receive. This shocked Arthur out of his rage, at which point Guinevere's protests, along with the encouraging yells of Arthur's own men, washed in.
Arthur let go of the pirate for a second time, letting his arms drop to his sides. His eyes did not break contact with the pirate's, even as Percival sternly ordered the men to carry on with their duties. A murmur of disappointment arose from the crew, but they dispersed until only Arthur and Emrys were left, as well as an uneasy Guinevere.
Arthur stepped forward until he was almost touching the pirate. Guinevere jolted towards them, but the sudden appearance of Gwaine's hand on her shoulder kept her back.
"My crew...some of my best friends are dead. Because of you," Arthur said in a low voice.
"I...I am sorry..." Emrys broke the eye contact between them, and Arthur sensed grief and sorrow coming from the young pirate, though he did not know how he felt it.
"'Sorry' will not bring them back."
"I know."
Arthur didn't understand the pain Emrys seemed to be feeling. The men were not his to mourn. Arthur was not keen to share his loss with an enemy that didn't know anything about him or his deceased friends. A halfhearted anger welled in him again, but this time it was colored heavily by his melancholy. He raised his hand, sending Guinevere jolting forward again, but this time he merely set it on Emrys's shoulder. He squeezed, just tight enough to see the pirate wince in pain, but not more than that. The men who saw the action were confused, but did not question the navy captain.
Later that night, when a camp the size of a small village had been set up on the beach, Arthur sulked in his tent. He was not wont to sulking, but this time he felt it was warranted. He was curled up on a bed of palm leaves and covered with canvas, praying that none of his men would enter the tent and find him in such a state.
So, of course, Percival opened the tent flap and stepped inside.
"You must eat something, Captain," the large man said, holding out a pair of green fruits. Arthur sat up with a sigh. "One is a little sour, and the other is somewhat strange, but both are sweet and quite good. Our scavenging party brought quite a few of them back, among other, stranger fruits. As well as some fish."
Arthur picked up the smaller fruit. "I am not hungry..." he mumbled, but he bit into it anyway. He didn't care much for the thin skin, but the pink flesh of the fruit he thought he could get used to. An image of the skinny pirate captain flashed in Arthur's mind. With as much indifference as he could muster, he asked, "Have the prisoners eaten?"
"Yes, Captain. Though that boy looks like he could stand to eat more than he does. I should mention they are also being carefully guarded."
Arthur nodded. "I may check in on them later."
"Very good, Sir. The prisoners are in the next tent over, in case you do."
"Thank you, Percival." Percival bowed slightly and exited the tent. His concern for the captain wasn't evident on his face, but his actions betrayed him. He had not seen the captain sulk this way since his mother died years ago. Percival was not a man of many words, and he felt that comforting the captain was beyond his ability, but he had done what he could to relieve some strain in the grieving man. And in his tent, Arthur silently appreciated the gesture.
A while later, when much of the camp was sleeping, bellies somewhat full from a meal of roasted fish and wild fruits, Arthur left his tent. He went to check on the prisoners. He didn't know why he felt such a strong urge to see the pirate captain, but he knew he needed to. His emotions about the pirate had conflicted, storming over his mind, for the last several hours, after the initial pain of loss had passed and the dull heartache for his friends set in.
As he opened the tent flap, he noticed immediately that the sentry was sleeping soundly and that the Black Dragon was gone. Only the pirate's hat, coat, and boots remained. Guinevere was still in the tent, sleeping peacefully on the soft sand of the beach. Arthur whispered a curse and exited the tent. In his peripheral vision, he saw a shadow enter the jungle at the end of the beach opposite the water. Rather than raising an alarm, Arthur took off after the shadow himself, following the sounds of rustling leaves and snapping twigs deep into the jungle. He was sure it was Emrys, but he had no idea where the pirate intended to go. There was no escape in the jungle. Both ships were still in the Devil's Bay behind him.
Arthur ran even when he couldn't see the shadow anymore. It almost didn't matter. The release of pent up energy sent a thrill through Arthur's body, and he was grateful for the chance to expel it. He also ran because, if it was indeed the Dread Pirate, he needed the man to answer some questions. Questions Arthur didn't yet know himself.
Through a distant opening in the leaves, Arthur saw a clearing. He slowed as he approached it. Peeking from behind a massive leaf, he saw a crystal clear lake in the center of the clearing, reflecting the moon in its still waters. It was as though there was a second moon, a second world one could reach by jumping into the water. Arthur marveled at the beauty before turning his attention to the shadow as the lake's edge.
As he thought, the shadow had been the pirate captain. Emrys's mouth moved as though he was talking to someone, but Arthur could see no one. As he stepped out from behind the leaf, he could have sworn he saw faces in the water. Must be my imagination, trick of the light.
"I heard you, you know."
It was like a spell had been broken, Arthur's call in the silence. Emrys, startled, fell face first into the water. A gentle ripple echoed the splash throughout the lake. Arthur felt a faint sadness at the disturbance, but it passed as the lake regained its mirror-like stillness. He didn't move as Emrys dragged himself out of the water and began wringing out his clothes.
"What?"
"I said, 'I heard you,'" Arthur repeated. He stared coldly at the boy, who looked even smaller in his sopping clothes without a storm raging around him. "Back on the ship, I heard you. You said you did not mean to kill anyone."
"I did not say I did not mean to kill anyone. I have never killed anyone," Emrys said, an angry passion filling his voice. It surprised Arthur. "I said I never meant for anyone to die. And that is the truth." His eyes drilled into Arthur's own, daring the navy captain to challenge him.
Arthur took up the challenge, approaching the pirate until they stood face to face. "Then why do so many people lie dead? Why are some of my closest friends at the bottom of the ocean?"
Emrys faltered. His gaze dropped and the grim expression that had taken near permanent residence on the man's face returned. There was no more fire in him. "I said I was sorry. And I truly am. It was never meant to happen this way. Why do you think I have avoided fighting navy ships until now? It is certainly not because I did not think I could win."
"And what about the destruction and pillaging you have done until now? What about the innocent civilians that you killed?" A spark was ignited in Arthur. He didn't believe what the pirate said at all.
"They were never meant to die either. No one was ever meant to die!" Emrys shouted. The noise set off a rustling of disturbed animals in the greenery around them. The two returned to hushed tones.
"If you did not want anyone to die, then why the hell did you become a pirate?" Arthur scoffed.
"Because I knew if I did not do something, more people would end up dead..." Emrys replied.