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Chapter 3
Antonio had hardly been expecting to be greeted when he returned to the ship in the morning by the chaos that had ensued while he had been away. He forced his way through his men and towards the source of the problem. Surprisingly, the source of the shouting was an Italian boy no older than 15. Behind him stood a younger boy, which Antonio assumed was his brother, who was sobbing with occasional bouts of "I surrender" and "please, don't kill me." As he looked over the two boys, it became quite obvious that they were the same pair of boys with auburn hair and golden eyes that had nearly run him over the night before.
"Don't you dare touch him you fucking bastard," the older of the two shouted with a glare when one of the men tried to get anywhere near the pair.
"What the hell is going on here?" Antonio demanded giving off a serious tone that he rarely ever used. He didn't want to scare the kids, but he needed to regain control of his ship.
"We found these brats hiding behind those barrels," one of the men said motioning over towards the spot that the two boys had spent the night.
"They're thieves," another of the men accused followed by the agreement of a few of the others.
After requesting them to be searched, much to the older brother's dismay, and finding nothing, however, Antonio doubted that to be the case. No doubt, they were merely curious or had been dared to board the ship. Either way, the Spaniard found the entire scene just a bit humorous. His expression changed as he burst into laughter.
"What are you laughing at, Bastard?" the older Italian said while attempting another glare and crossing his arms.
"Well," Antonio said nearing the boys, "it's not every day we have such colorful visitors. Might I ask what your names are?"
The smaller of the two spoke up this time. "Feliciano," he nearly hiccupped. "Please don't hurt us. I told Lovino that we should come here, but he didn't listen. He never listens." Feliciano was cut off of his nervous rambling when Lovino elbowed him in the stomach.
"Ah, Feliciano, what kind of host would I be if I hurt you?" Antonio said with a smile. The two siblings were definitely odd, but he found them slightly amusing. Especially, the older of the two. "Though, I must admit, I wasn't expecting guests."
"What should we do with them?" It was a good question, but the answer was quite obvious to Antonio.
"Let them go," he said. Apparently that answer wasn't quite as obvious as he had assumed it to be, as everyone including the boys had a look of shock on their faces. "I don't want any angry parents on my hands. They're worse than fighting the entire British Fleet."
"You don't have to worry about that," Lovino said trying to sound indifferent, but Antonio could sense a small hint of sadness behind those words.
"We're orphans," Feliciano added in explanation. He had stopped crying, which was a relief to Antonio.
"Is that right?" he said pondering for a moment before speaking again. "If that's the case, I need a few more deck hands. Consider yourselves part of the crew, boys."
"But, sir," the first mate started before being cut off. Antonio, being an orphan himself, had a soft spot for children in their situation. He couldn't exactly leave them to fend for themselves.
"Really?" The excitement in Lovino's voice came as a surprise, but almost as quickly as it was there, he forced himself back into an expression of indifference. "I mean, ah, who would want to work for you?"
Antonio couldn't help but laugh at the kid's reaction. Lovino was going to be a handful, but the Spaniard had a feeling it would be worth it. Still, something in Feliciano's eyes said that there was more to their story.
"But Fratello, what about-" Feliciano started, but stopped suddenly when Lovino gave him a look.
"Il nonno può prendersi cura di se stesso," he said, in what Antonio could only assume was Italian.
Those words seemed to end any concern Feliciano had, because he didn't say anything else on the matter. Either that, or he decided that it wasn't worth the fight. Antonio decided it was best not to ask, if they didn't want to tell him. Instead, he walked up to his position by the wheel.
"As soon as you're ready, men, we set sail," he shouted and the men got right to work. "We've got work to do."
Il nonno può prendersi cura di se stesso (Italian)- Grandpa can take care of himself. (I used a translator, so I'm praying that this is correct. Please let me know if it's incorrect.)