The Captain's cabin was the one place on board where the crew required permission to enter, it was his safe haven. Free from the cold air and the grime the deck held. It was clean, holding a large bed in the centre with red and gold coloured covers. And intricate designs on the pillows, expensive material from the looks of it. He removed his hat, resting it on the desk that sat it the corner before pulling off the huge coat he wore. He always seemed smaller without it, a fact Arthur despised which is why he was rarely seen in just his shirt. unless the harsh sun was too hot. Days like that he'd shut himself away, with skin as pale as his it would be easy to catch a sunburn. He'd be a laughing stock if such a thing happened.
Boots were next, slipping them off and throwing them in the corner. God he ached. And now he had to worry about the aviator on board, keep him in check and protect the crew he already had. He could be dangerous, but he seemed too occupied with his aircraft for the time being. The Military… Said to be heroes but that was nothing but a bunch of lies. Pirates had been killed, shot, hung. And for what purpose? It stopped nothing, there would always be someone out there ready to avenge their friend or brother. But… With an increase of air units the number of pirates was declining. One day they'd become extinct, spoken of only in history books and picture.
Arthur sighed, lying down on the huge bed to take a much needed nap. Even a ruthless pirate needed to snooze every now and again to regain lost strength. They were only human. His sleep… It was only a few hours. And when he left the cabin he called to the crew, dismissing them from their duties to go and eat their fill. Arthur walked across the deck, pleased to see most of the dirt gone. But the boy… He was with his craft.
Using whatever tools Alfred could find, he remove some parts one by one and sprawled it over a used towel then dries it off thoroughly. After drying, he attach it to his contraption then did the same step to the remaining parts. This will take long but worth it, hard work always pays off! That's what Matthieu usually say.. He missed him and now Alfred wonder if his little brother behaved well- they had a conversation before, planning for any worst case scenario, including this and they have agreed that once the plane crash.. The survivor would never look for the other… If the other's alive? Then he should head back to base and surprise everyone. It's better that way… Save you a lot of trouble in searching and most of all- save you from heartache in finding the corpse of your love one.
"It's no use. You can't fix it here, there's no way." The cruel truth and Arthur wasn't afraid to say it.
"Pirates like you wouldn't understand anyway. Betcha throw everything you find useless and then replace it with something grand that you stole from the others." He didn't bother turning around to look at the said Pirate. "She will fly and touch the sky once again."
"As if I'd let ye." He wrinkled his nose, "You smell worse than a dead corpse, I refuse to put up with it. Come! You'll take a bath while everybody eats, then when you're done you'll get your share. Not that I should give you food… You military scum don't deserve it but you will be useless if you can't work. If you refuse to eat then I'll shove the bloody food down your throat. This very ship will be your grave."
Alfred turns to look at the Pirate, his glare is met with Arthur's very own. "Or yours."
A smile creep up on Arthur's lips after hearing those words, amused that his prisoner refuse to hold his tongue. "The best part about this is no one will come searching for you. They probably think you drowned. How does it feel? To have no one come for you… No one knows you exist still."
"It's funny that you're curious about how I feel since you care less if I live or not but I'll have you know... I've never felt so much alive." Determined to live, hopeful that he will be able to escape this madness.
Finally, Arthur left the seething aviator and Alfred took this chance to clean himself up. He scrub his skin, wash his hair to get rid of the sea salt and grime. Before he put on the clean clothes given, he tend to his wounds. He clean it with a disinfectant then wrap a bandage around it to protect from any diseases. People who live on the sea don't die in hunger. They die because of illness and infection.
Food… The crew went back to the deck to relax, they're done cleaning and doing their job therefore they're free to do whatever they find entertaining. This leaves Alfred eating alone in the dining area and not only that it's eerie, the food served to him are nothing but left overs. A half loaf of bread, a thin layer of soup and a couple of cheese.. As for his drink, a glass of milk but it taste sour, clearly spoiled. He settled in having a glass of water instead.
"So ye that yankee they talk 'bout." Alfred lift his head and found the chef standing right behind the counter. He's a huge man, three times bigger than Alfred. "Ye ar lucky that the Capt'n fancy ye.. So savor the time of bein' alive, that man tend to change his mind."
Tch… tell me about.. he's grouchier than my old man and I wouldn't be surprised that he's thinking of throwing me off deck by now. Alfred pick up the loaf to nibble on but it was hard like a rock.
"Get used to it, food here are not the best but at least it fills yer belly." Is he really a cook? Alfred can do better! Thanks to his rigorous training of living alone, Alfred learned how to cook and even do laundry— the latter will be handy if the Capt'n order him to clean his clothes, or better, burn it. He sigh, more work, he's depressing himself even farther.
"How 'bout I cook this evening?"
"Ye? A stranger? Ha! I won't let anyone touch my cooking tools. Stay away from the kitchen boy if you want to live."
"It's not like I'm gonna poison everyone."
"Doubt ye can. The crew's stomach is mightier than any steel."
With this kind of food everyday? I bet.
Arthur finished up his food but stayed put, sailing the huge ship while the crew relaxed on the deck below. The sun was setting… The sky changing from blue to orange and red, casting long shadows. The sight was beautiful but it was one Arthur had become familiar with. It was better than a storm at least, the waters turned into a death-trap when bad weather hit, their very lives were at risk. Gilbert approached the Captain but was shooed away, he didn't feel like dealing with the albino's silliness today. He even forced the poor man to take his plate down to thee kitchens to be cleaned. Cleanliness was important on board, dirt brought rats and rats brought disease. There were no doctors on board and sometimes the travel to land would take to long. Many had died. But there were always replacements. Men without homes who'd do anything for a bite to eat and a place to sleep.
Sleep… There was a problem. Where would the new lad go? All beds were occupied at the moment, some even had to share as it was. It wouldn't be too hard to set up a hammock for him, better than being stuck on the floor. It would cause his muscle to ache and work would be much slower the next day. Arthur couldn't have that! Laziness wouldn't be tolerated on board. Everyone had their duties, everyone had to pull their weight.
Ah.. There he was. Just crawled out from the cafeteria. Must be a slow eater, he was in there for quite sometime. Arthur wondered how he liked the food… he was probably used to good food. A nice arrangement of different meats and vegetables. Fresh bread and treats… Pirates didn't have that luxury. They needed things that lasted.
"Oi! Get your arse up here!" Best bring the lad up here since the crew were shunning him. The Captain didn't enjoy watching people sit there and do nothing. but this wasn't an act of pity, oh no… Arthur had plans for him. "First off what's your name? I'm fed up with yelling 'Oi'" And insults made other members of the crew turn their heads also. Alfred wasn't the only one he treated in such a way.
"You can call me 'Oi' forever, I don't mind." He mock. The thought is quite funny actually and it'll be precious! His crew will be confused! They'll thought that they're the one being yelled at. "Ya got my name if one for your itchy-finger of a crew keep his hands away from my badge.." The Aviator climb the steps to reach the higher deck, the injury on his leg throb whenever he put his weight there but nothing he can't handle. "The name is Captain Alfred Fitzgerald Jones of thirty-fifth unit of the Aquila Division.." No longer a Captain actually since this child of a Pirate captured him. Alfred's crew is probably holding a funeral for him by now.
"Jones… Not bad. The middle name's laughable though.. I have another offer… I'll get something in return of course."
Another offer? Alfred frown at this and unsure but he's quite curious about it though. "Very well.. Let me hear it."
"I'll give you tools to fix your aircraft… I've got some parts on board too. BUT… In return…. I want your radio. In working order so I can pick up chatter from the enemy." It could be used as an early warning if they were heading their way. A way to escape or prepare to attack. "And if you manage to make that contraption fly again you are forbidden to leave this ship. If you take off we'll shoot you down."
Tools and parts for his precious aircraft and its all for one item, the radio. He frown even more- The radio is a built-in device of his aircraft but can be removed. It capture any frequency and even barge in without being detected- a very dangerous device if ever fall in the enemy's hand.. Alfred is no longer part of the military, those who are Captured by the pirates are mostly branded as 'traitor', who knows, they probably have brainwashed or threaten to spy. But Alfred won't let himself persuade by temptation.. He's still a Captain and a Hero at that.. Heroes would never play in the Villain's hand, right?
"Sorry but I have to decline your offer." He said confidently. "I rather work in hard labor to earn the tools and materials for her, or better yet, kill me because no matter what you do.. I won't give up any information. Giving you the radio is like killing my friends back home.."
Eyes narrowed as the man before him had the nerve to decline the offer, no one said no to the Captain of the sea. At the end of the day he had the power to throw them all of the edge and watch them drown, the only reason he hadn't done it yet was because he didn't want to. It was all up to him, and orders must be followed.
"Friends? You don't HAVE friends anymore you lousy no good sky rat! You're as good as dead to them! I don't know what information you receive on us back at your silly little base but I can assure you we don't just go looking for planes to take down! That's like people purposely searching for flies to swat! A waste of time and a waste of energy. There are far more important things to worry about, you're not the most dangerous thing out there." Stupid Military. They think they can control whatever they want and protect the people. They were weak, and Arthur sometimes wished they'd experience a REAL attack so they can see just how useless they all are.
Without a doubt, Alfred is considered dead back in the base and his friends and family are probably in the process of forgetting him, it will be more convenient that way to get rid of the pain and to save time from mourning over a useless Captain like him. It was his fault why he got captured; he just got his promotion and then boom! Getting all too cocky which end up pretty bad. 'Sky is yours' crashed, got captured by these pirate and instead of killing him, they let him live to be a slave of this ship. It's worst than death.
"We're just doing our job and that is protecting people from bastards like you. You don't know how many innocent people go through hell because of your selfishness, families orphaned; children starved and die because of despair. If you think that this is what you call 'surviving' then I call it 'murder'. You're taking things away from people and that is unacceptable!"
"And what about us? The ones who have no protection and re left to sail without knowing when we'll die! We go through hell as well! We're orphans, we starve and we DIE! Most don't even live past thirty!" No one ever understood the struggles they went through, no one wanted to understand. They just wanted to put them down like rats because they believed they were superior. "We do what we can to survive… Even if it means killing the innocent." At first such acts had saddened him, but now he'd become used to spilling the blood of those who didn't deserve it. Cold? No… He'd just adapted.
"That's the lamest excuse I ever heard. You kill people in order to survive? What about them?! They work hard, traveled across the dangerous ocean to deliver the goods so that those people can bring money to their family but because of you and your wretched crew, their lives turned into hell! You said that you're all orphaned then guess what? Because of your selfishness more children turned into an orphan, you killed their father who works so hard for them— you just made their lives miserable and then will soon grow up and turned into a Pirate and go through hell again, playing with fire, killing people and whatnot, just like you. You're making this cycle repeat over and over… It sickens me." There are people out there who are disabled, no limbs but still work for their family and have an honest life so how come these people choose to become pirates? They have hands, they feet, they have eyes, ears and can speak— they'll survive without the need of killing those innocent people.. Alfred will never understand them; their way of thinking is too clouded to be read.
"You don't have a choice boy, the offer was there to be accepted and no matter how many times you say no I will always get what I want because that's the sort of power I have."
Don't have a choice? "Then why bother giving me that offer then? You know what; I rather die than give you what you want… I'm done serving you. KILL ME NOW. I don't fucking care anymore!" The loud fuss wasn't left unnoticed. Alfred throws himself to the Captain and pinned him down to the wooden floor and right then a fist went flying across the Captain's face.
To have Alfred tackle him to the ground came as a shock. No one ever dared to try and overpower the Captain! Too shocked to react Arthur was victim to one strong punch and he grunted as the fist made contact. There was no need to fight back, for his loyal crew had taken care of him and dragged him off. They were merciless with him They drag the boy off the Captain, beat him up until he's nearly out of it before a dagger sink right in Alfred's left arm. He cried out in pain and blood pooled right underneath him. Even twist the said dagger for an extra pain.
"Enough!" Arthur brushed himself off, standing once again as he rubbed the sore area. "I've been kind enough to let you live AND keep that aircraft and this is your way of repaying me?" He frowned, the blood would stain his spotless deck. Tch. "You don't even deserve death… Death is an escape!" The crew stood by, waiting for orders or to be dismissed. "Bind his wrists. Hold him on the main deck. Assault on the Captain earns him 5 lashes. If he bleeds to death then huck him off the edge."
Alfred was just turning out to be a tonne of trouble and not much help. He was the very thing Arthur despised and the more he spoke the more the Captain was starting to hate his presence.
"You will NEVER understand pirates! How can you ever hope to understand something you aren't! You don't get it… You're taught by textbooks and men with power! Pirates are becoming extinct because of your carelessness! They're the children you seek to protect! They've grown into men, does that make them lose their worth?!" It was useless arguing with him like this. Their opinions and thoughts were too different and one would never understand the other. Seeing him in pain was the only way Arthur felt in power, watching the blood drip from his wound just proved he was only human and couldn't change the world on his own. Tch… One man… Who believed his words would change things. He was insignificant. Like an ant. Truly pathetic.
Punishment was the only way to make him learn, words never seemed to get through to him. And threats weren't working very well at all. He had a strong punch… Very strong. It was frightening but Arthur wouldn't let his worries be known by anyone else. How could one can be so much work? Maybe it would be better to just let him do what he wanted, if he wanted to kill himself then he could kill himself! Breaking a man had never been such a challenge before. But Arthur couldn't rid himself of him… He couldn't just kill him and get rid of all the problems. Why not? Because Arthur was fed up. Fed up with doing the same things he always did. Killing and disposing for no reason, he was foolish to think he'd get something out of keeping a man alive.
Five lashes. That will be Alfred's punishment for assaulting the Captain but he never regrets it; not one bit. In his note, Arthur is nothing but a coward, a foolish Pirate who crave for nothing but power but this Aviator won't let that happen, he rather die than give them the radio. However, if they did manage to take hold of the it, the Aviator will refuse teaching them. The knife on his shoulder was pulled out by one of the crew, he cry out in pain and more blood spill out. He might die because of blood lost but that's better than living in this world, right? Especially when you're in the Pirate's hands. Just like what Arthur ordered his men, his wrists are now bind with strong ropes after they remove his leather jacket. They tied him up in the center of the deck. One of the men loop the rope on the sail's support then pulled it hard to have Alfred's arms raised over his head and his feet off the wooden floor. He's now dangling, vulnerable and hanging like this cause the injury of his arm to hurt even more. Displayed like a butchered poultry.
They are monsters…
"Captain, do you want to lash him yourself or do you want us to do it?" To Alfred, it doesn't matter who— he just want this to end or perhaps finish his life here. What's the use of living but you have to serve these people anyway? He's a man of freedom, not a slave to be pushed around… I'm sorry.. Alfred glances at his aircraft, sitting in the middle of the deck not far from him. I'm sorry that I failed you, Ma… But I did my very best. He closes his eyes, he couldn't see clearly through his bloodstained glasses anyway and it's best to brace himself. It will hurt like hell but he promised to himself quietly that he will never scream or show pain, for the reason that letting them see it will give these bastards some entertainment.
"I'll lash him. Captain to Captain… It's only fair." Despite being short and scrawny, Arthur held more strength than most thought. "Go about your duties, I'll take care of him from this point onward, it won't be hard when he's a quivering mess." So it will be the Captain who's going to lash him, understandable since he's the one who got hit back there and his cheek is obviously swollen from Alfred's strong punch.
"I want you to count each one. Out loud…" Arthur pulled his arm back, the whip at the ready before bringing it forward with great force. The crack of leather on skin was sickening, but the first hit never broke the skin. The contact made Alfred's back to burn but before his throbbing nerves recover from the pain, it was followed by another one and Alfred gritted his teeth this time.
Arthur repeated the action, the shirt he was wearing couldn't take such force and the material began to rip. Soon it would be a useless pile of shredded material.
The third one was hell, it tore his shirt and now his back is vulnerable to the man behind him and when the fourth one comes, his skin tore and blood trickle out from it. This was never fun to Arthur. While he seemed to always hand out painful punishments it didn't mean he got pleasure from seeing men scream. It was horrible, and he knew that… He'd been victim to this by the previous Captain, a man crueller than he was.
Last hit.
Arthur was bitter and didn't even pause as he brought it down for the last time. Alfred's back was a mess. Raw skin red from abuse as he hung there with the blood flowing from his arm. Alfred hung his head while swallowing down the pain and hate— he didn't scream, not even a small sound like mimicking a dead corpse being beaten by a sadistic man but his effort never matter, he will die from blood lost or perhaps infection anyway. Arthur unsheathed his sword, swinging it to cut the rope that held him up and he was left to crumple to the ground. "We're done… Maybe you'll think before speaking next time." Alfred wasn't the only who'd been injured by the act of punishment. Arthur's hand bled crimson.