Chapter 5

The second day of Alfred's confinement passed much more smoothly than the first. Alfred was pacified and the singing had stopped (except for an occasional few bars when Toris wasn't there) much to the whole ship's relief. All because of Toris.

Every minute Arthur thanked God for the man. Toris on the other hand was more than happy to do anything, anything for Alfred and contrary to the undoubtedly miserable job, Toris would oftentimes be seen humming to himself and smiling more than ever. Arthur was flabbergasted but the reason for his happiness was simple: the life of a pirate was not an easy one, Toris' especially. Working until you coughed up blood, scrubbing the floor until you got blisters, killing people, getting flogged, etc. was rather hard on the nerves. Babysitting a happy-go-lucky merman was soothing in comparison.

Arthur was glad to be in control of his ship again, happy for the relative normalcy. Instead of having his future sense of hearing cut by a few decades he now only had to check on the merman to make sure he hadn't escaped or hurt Toris (there was really no threat, Arthur would walk in on them only to find the unlikely friends exchanging stories or playing some ridiculous game).

There were only two dark spots to his bright mood. The first of which was that instead of the ammo supply, the food supply was depleting. Alfred, as it turned out, had a rather large appetite and fondness for meat. The second of which were the words of Alfred's brother that continued to haunt his mind. In three days a storm will come…. Arthur didn't know why but he felt threatened by the words. There was no reason to fear a quiet merman. Yet he looked again and again into the windy, cloudless sky only to see the sun making its regular track through the day. Nothing to worry about.

The day passed quickly between running the ship and checking on Alfred. Night came and Arthur was left with only the watchmen as he waited for Toris. He stood on the prow as he often did, looking up into the starry sky. Nothing was quite like the shinning white dust that filled it and reflected on the waters below. No matter how many times he saw the lights he couldn't help but to be awestruck. Not like he would tell the crew, a pirate captain being fond of stargazing would not do.

Really, how long does that merman stay up? Arthur thought as the moon reached the peak of the dark sky. The cool sea breeze seemed like it was trying to lull him sleep. Arthur closed his eyes and took in a deep breath of the salty air. As much as he hated waiting, he loved this time at night when all you could hear was the small waves against the ship as it sighed and its old wooden bones creaked.

Footsteps. Arthur didn't turn, "Asleep?" he asked.

"Yes, Captain," Toris answered. Arthur turned his gaze away from the sky and pushed himself away from the prow. Without a word the two began to walk to Arthur's cabin. In the silence Arthur could see Toris was struggling with something.

"Is there something you want to say Toris?" Arthur asked as they ascended the stairs.

Toris opened his mouth for a second then closed it slowly, "No, not really…I did find something that might help you next time he annoys you."

More secrets. Arthur let it slip; Toris had earned it, "Yes, and what is that?"

"He likes to hear others sing. I'd try it next time," Toris smiled nervously.

They had reached the door to the cabin, "Hmm…I'll think about it." But Arthur had thought about it and he was most definitely not going to sing to some bumbling merman. The door opened and the two walked in quietly. Inside the warm room there was a mat on the opposite side of the room where Arthur's bed was, beside the tank. Toris had expressed some discomfort at the prospect of sleeping in the same room as the captain but Arthur had assured him that it was only for a few days and he did not mind.

A little reluctantly Toris walked over to his mat and laid down facing the wall. Arthur continued to walk inside, stopping at the tank and running a critical eye of the merman inside. Alfred was floating, his forehead hitting the back of the tank with a soft thud. Arthur stared. Even with all of his annoying qualities, Alfred was still had that mesmerizing quality of something magical. His lips were slightly parted and emitting soft snores. On Alfred's neck Arthur could see he slits opening as he exhaled, much like a fish. Around that same neck was a necklace made of leather that had something hanging off of it that he couldn't quite make out.

Arthur's eyes trailed down the merman's muscular chest to the long, powerful tail. It was beautiful, from the light blue at the beginning of the skin meeting scales to the deep blue hues flecked with gold. Like his eyes…. Arthur quickly shook his head and walked away. Damn merfolk magic, messing with my head.

Alfred was definitely asleep; his progressively louder snores proof enough. That of course didn't stop Arthur from triple checking over his shoulder before he started to change.

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Arthur woke at sunrise, his internal clock infallible as ever. He dressed and made his way to the poop deck leaving Toris, still asleep, to be woken up by Alfred. When he stepped out his eyes went immediately to the sky. Deep blue stretched out above him, hues of pink in the east as the sun broke the horizon. There were no storm clouds in sight, only the wispy remnants of clouds too thin for any precipitation.

He turned his gaze to the ship and was glad to see the men working, appropriately doing their jobs with even more vigor at his gaze. Fear was good; mutinies were nasty business and a pain to prevent. Who knew when he would flog someone for some silly error to reinforce a stronger sense of respect? Talking of error, where was his tea…?

Right on cue a boy scuttled off and returned a short time later with a shaking cup of tea.

"Your tea, Captain," he murmured holding the drink up to Arthur.

"Thank you lad," the Captain hummed in appreciation and took the fine china. After savoring good whiff of the wondrous drink he took a sip. Ah, nothing like some good Earl Grey taken from some snooty, rich merchant.

Life was good.

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"ARTIE~ ARTIIIEEE~," Arthur grit his teeth at the fiftieth butchery of his name. It was midday and unfortunately Alfred was up and sought Arthur's company. The captain was just going to ignore him, trusting in Toris' skill of keeping the merman at bay. Somehow he had underestimated Alfred's persistence.

"ARTIE~"

"That's it!" Arthur stuffed his eyeglass into a pocket of his coat and stomped over to his cabin. He stepped into the room, effectively cutting off Alfred's scream with a slam of the door.

Toris looked at Arthur, actually shaking, "I-I'm sorry captain, I tried to stop him!"

Arthur really didn't care about Toris at the moment his two burning eyes were all over the grinning siren, "WHAT ALFRED? WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU WANT?"

Alfred smiled, "Hi."

...Arthur pulled out his pistol and cocked it. "No Captain! Don't shoot the tank!" Toris shouted hurriedly pushing the gun so that it aimed at the floor. Alfred wasn't helping as he laughed heartily watching the two of the men struggle.

"I was kidding," Alfred said between his laughs, "Sorry, it was just so tempting."

Arthur put away the pistol and rubbed the bridge of his nose as he tried to reign in his anger, "What….what do you want?" he said slowly.

"Just to talk," Alfred said, somehow doing a little flip in the tight confines to stretch his muscles, "It's kinda boring talking only to the same person all day. No offense Toris."

Arthur was quiet for a moment, thinking. It would be annoying to have to talk to the obnoxious merman but he did not want to hear his name screamed so incredibly gratingly again. He did have some maps to check up on, "Fine…Toris…go eat something."

Toris said a quick thank you and nervously walked out. Arthur suppressed another sigh and walked over to his table that was littered with maps and navigational charts. "So…," Alfred drawled, "What are you doin?"

"Making sure we stay on course," Arthur growled.

"Ah…you humans really do have to make papers and stuff for that. I never really got it. Can I see one of your sea pictures?" Alfred asked pressing forward on the glass.

"No."

"Can I get a little stretch in the sea? I promise I'll come right back."

"Hell no."

Alfred pouted, "No need to be all stiff." There was a moment of quiet, "So…are you really going to sell me?"

"Yes."

"…That's not very nice."

"Pirate."

Alfred didn't quite like the one word answers he was getting, "Okay then. How did you become a pirate?"

Arthur huffed, knowing Alfred would not stop asking questions, "My village was raided by pirates and they took me as a cabin boy."

"Kinda like me!" Arthur scowled. "How old were you?"

"Thirteen. Couldn't ask for more on my birthday."

"Ouch, that's harsh," Alfred said, his head in his hands as he lay down at the bottom of the tank, "But you're sure not a cabin boy now. How did you become a captain?"

"It was only…five years ago-," Arthur then began his story Alfred listening intently as he talked of mutinies and of epic feats. Though Arthur would vehemently deny it, he was a rather good storyteller. As consequence Alfred didn't speak a word, only watching from his tank with wide eyes. Arthur let himself get pulled into talking of his life as a captain by Alfred.

A pirate's life was often not very romantic, against popular belief, but Arthur was a special case and though he did exaggerate at parts he really did have very interesting stories to tell. Alfred didn't quite believe him when he started to talk of fairies and unicorns but he loved to hear Arthur talk with such enthusiasm.

Hours passed and before they knew it the day was over and Alfred's eyes were drooping. Arthur didn't notice it and went on talking until he felt a hand on his shoulder. "He's asleep, Captain," Toris said softly when Arthur looked up. He finally looked over to the tank and sure enough the merman was sleeping soundly.

"Rude brat," Arthur hissed but was secretly glad that Alfred had fallen asleep earlier than usual. He turned back to his maps to find that he had done practically nothing. Oh well, I can get it done tomorrow.

Arthur rose from his chair, cracking his back with a groan. From the corner of his eye he could see Toris standing behind him obviously struggling with something, "What is it Toris?" he asked, feeling like he was just repeating himself, "Spit it out lad."

"Do we…do we really have to sell him?" Toris asked.

Arthur frowned, "Toris, if you are getting attached-,"

"No, sir. I mean, I-I do like him, Alfred's a really nice guy but I've got this feeling…" Toris squirmed a bit, "He keeps saying that tomorrow I shouldn't come in here and I should be by a lifeboat. He keeps warning me and I have a bad feeling that…something really is going to happen tomorrow, all because of him."

Arthur nodded, "I will, keep that in mind, Toris." Toris, with a pained sigh of his own, turned to his mat to sleep.

Arthur unbuttoned his shirt and changed into new clothes. His eyes stared through the wooden floor boards, mind somewhere else. He fell into bed and descended into a restless sleep.

In three days a storm will come…

AN: I'm sorry for the Family Guy reference. It really did fit the situation.

Kind of a filler chapter :/ I was planning on including more but this seemed like a good place to break it. Oh you guys are going to love the next chapter. Just in case you didn't know, the next day is…THE STORM! Finally some action (not the romantic kind unfortunately).

You guys are SO AWESOME. The last two chapters got more than five reviews *sniff* I feel so loved. Thank you so much. I didn't get to many reviews last chapter but I hope you all know that if you take the time to write me even one word you make my day. And long reviews? I literally squeal. Anyway, sorry for the long review. Should have the next chapter up when I edit it.