A True Shipper - Thanks for reviewing again ;u; I find it kinda hard to put their personalities in, so its nice to know that Gilbert is like Gilbert

Also thanks for spotting bad grammar c: 3

Thanks for Blaze_toucan for proof reading :*

The ride back to the boat seemed to take much longer, and Alfred wasn't sure whether it was the awkward silence or the fact that the boat was now heavier with three people. Still, they returned to the ship safe and sound. Alfred wasn't quite sure what to make of Arthur. He hadn't said anything else, and spent most of the journey looking nervous – eyes darting around and looking at everything aside from Gilbert and Alfred. The tedious journey finally came to an end as they boarded the ship where Antonio stood waiting; Alfred could see the captains' worried look from a mile away.

The captain sighed, looking over the pirates before shaking his head. "So, this is it?" he said, looking over Arthur. "He's so skinny. Do you think he'll be strong enough to work? I don't want him hitching a free ride on my ship"

Alfred shrugged. "I'm sure we'll find something for him to do. Looks like the poor thing could do with some food, I'm pretty sure I could pick him up with one arm!"

This sparked something fiery in Arthur's eyes, and the man suddenly stood up straight. "Excuse me, but I'm not some 'thing' that exists to burden you! I never asked to be… rescued and I most certainly didn't need to be saved!" he said, looking fierce.

Gilbert let out an airy chuckle. "Sorry, we can return you to the sirens if you want. Even they didn't want to eat you, I'm sure you'll be fine" he said sarcastically.

"No!" Arthur replied, quickly and loudly. "No. I do not understand why I wasn't... eaten. I can't explain it. I can and will work if you want me too, but for Gods sake - don't bloody strand me!"

The boat was silent for a moment before Alfred spoke up. "Where are you from, anyway? How did you ship crash?" He asked, a curious look growing on his face.

Arthur let out a short sigh before replying. "The boat was... Um... There was more than one siren and... You can guess the rest" he said, looking sad. "Luckily I didn't know the crew - I had paid them to transport me to land."

"Where were you headed?" Antonio asked.

"Um... Towards the land?"

"Which port...?"

"..."

"..."

"... The nearest one, where I presume you are currently headed..."

Antonio stared at him for a moment.

"Maybe he's a criminal. He sounds like a criminal." Gilbert reasoned.

"Hey – the does the dude even look like a criminal?" Alfred voice rose in protest, but was ignored by the two.

Antonio nodded. "A criminal with a high bounty, on the run?"

"Sounds possible" Gilbert nodded. "And useful"

before he made his final decision. "Fine. He is going in the cell" he ordered. Protests from both Arthur and Alfred rose up, but were very much outnumbered by the rest of the crew even as Arthur was seized, restrained and dragged down below the deck.

Arthur was roughly thrown into one of the small cells located in the belly of the ship. The room was dark and uncomfortable and the only furnishings came in the form of some furs to sleep on and a suspicious looking bucket. There were no windows and the walls had a thick coating of mould that hadn't been cleaned in decades.

"This is hardly a bed" he grumbled, kicking a fur with his foot. Gilbert, who had taken him down there, snorted. "Whatever. If you do have a bounty, I'm getting most of it since I collected you from that island" he gloated.

"I don't have a bounty!" Arthur protested. "You're an idiot for thinking I do!" His yelling was ignored though as the albino turned his back and left the room, leaving the blonde alone in the darkness.

Arthur just sat unmoving for a few hours, his hands tied awkwardly out in front of him. The moonlight shone through the small window and made his eyes almost glow. "Past midnight..." He mumbled. He shuffled forward, towards the door, glancing about the room. His hands had been tightly bound and the door was locked shut. He could see from the floor that the lock required a small key, and looked pretty hard to pick, even if he had the right tools. He sat back, crossing his legs and closing his eyes. He considered his options. They were soon nearing land, so he could always run when they got there.

The sudden sound of footsteps drew him out of his musings and he opened his eyes. The light of a lantern immediately drew his attention. A short man with brown hair had come down the stairs near the cell. He was looking a little fearful, but he was smiling.

"Ve, I thought you would be awake" he said. "My name is Feliciano. I help out in the kitchen sometimes. Ludwig likes to keep me out of trouble - he cares a lot." Arthur didn't say anything in response, but looked over the man with tired eyes. "I don't expect you to like me, it's ok" he smiled. "You shouldn't be down here, but Antonio believes you have a bounty and he needs the money for fixing the ship."

"I don't have a bloody bounty" Arthur muttered under his breath.

The Italian man nodded, looking a little sad. "I know. Antonio is running on false hope. He thinks you can help - but you cannot. Not in the way he thinks, at least" he said, shaking his head. "Either way, I can help you. Here - you haven't been fed." He dug around a bit in the bag he was holding before taking out a round object, which he then offered to Arthur through the bars of the cage. It was a small bread roll with some sort of herb on top, dark thin leaves that were quite long and gave off a smell like a pine forest. There was a chunk missing from the side, but it was mostly intact. Feliciano noticed his frown at the missing piece and grinned. "Gilbert checked it over before I came in, that's why the side is missing."

Arthur muttered a thank you and reached out with his bound hands to take the offering, but found that Feliciano had put his hand on top of Arthur's. "If you want to return the favour, come and find me. Just make sure no one catches you." He smiled, before standing up and beginning to walk away.

"Favour?" Arthur questioned. "What favour? It's just bread. I can't make you something in return."

Feliciano's distant voice responded so quietly that Arthur had to strain his ears to catch what he said. "I'm sure you'll enjoy the filling in the center Arthur~"

Updates will be around a week or more, I have GCSE's starting in two weeks

Thanks for reading c: I hope the next chapter is out soon