Edited: April 12, 2019
"Again."
I was huffing in exhaustion at this point, folded in half as I stood there with a cutlass in hand. I looked up to the bushy-brow captain in front of me, "Do you think I had enough practice to take a break now? We've been at this all morning."
My captain gave a tired sigh, "I've told you. You need to learn this encase we need ya in a fight. Not to mention that your enemy won't stop if you're tired. They would take advantage of the chance and kill you without a second thought. So, if you're done asking about it for now... Let's do this again a couple more times, shall we."
I straighten up and took up a fighting stance yet again. I took a quick breath before Arthur came at me. I quickly blocked him, pushing back the force he threw at me. I then swung my cutlass at him, but he dodged it swiftly by stepping to the side. He was about to swing at me again when I blocked him. Our swords kept clashing with each other, not knowing that I was being herded before I already had my back up against the mast. He was about to pull a fake stab at me before I dropped to the ground. Once there, I took a new position and swooped my legs around to knock him of his own set. Arthur fell to the ground, landing on his back in surprise. I quickly took advantage of this to stand over him, pointing my cutlass at his throat before he could get back up.
I took in the sight of the pirate captain laying bellow where I stood, carving that surprise-shock filled expression to memory. After a moment of heavy breathing, silence filling the air as I say a bit smugly, "If its all good with you... I'll take a break now."
The blonde bellow me puffed out a small smirk, putting his arms up in mock surrender, "You go do that, poppet. You deserve it."
I placed the cutlass back to the left side of my hip before holding a hand out to pull the guy back up. He took it gratefully as he teased me, "You know if I don't be careful, you could round up being the next captain of this ship, Andy."
I only laughed to what he had said, "Well you won't have to worry about that. I'll go mad if I try to run this ship. Besides, you were going easy on me, Cap. So the likely hood of me taking your place sounds about as real as pigs flying with angel wings."
What I said just made him laugh with some relief in his voice, "You've got a point there, lass."
A chuckle caught our ears, having to turn and see Alister walking over with amusement on his face, "The lass may have a point, brother. But Andy definitely knows how to get the 'drop' on ya after a week and a half of teachin' her."
I didn't need to look over my shoulder to know that Arthur was annoyed as he gave his big brother a small groan. It's funny that the younger of the two is the captain by the older's choice. But it was a surprise for me to find out that they're half brothers that grew up on the ship together. Yet it does explain how they treat each other so much like family. It really nice no matter what their relation is, it's nice none the less.
I gave the red head a smile, "So anything else to add, Al. Because I think the Cap sort of 'slipped' on a thing or two during his 'crash' corse."
The both of us started chuckling as Cap crosses his arms unamuse, "Oh, 'ha, ha,' I forgot to laugh."
We were still chuckling as Alister stopped so he could say, "Aye, ya right. We may have 'stumbled' a bit when it comes to our 'footing' on these puns."
I gained a smirk as I added, "True, I think we should stop before it 'collapses' a bit too hard and stops being funny. I mean the puns could also start 'falling' out of fashion soon."
It didn't take that long for us to start laughing again. Though, our captain is really getting tired with the constant puns being made. Sure he's my teacher in sword fighting. But he caused me to land on my butt so much that within the first couple of days, that Alister had to put up with me constantly saying 'ow' in my sleep. An annoying feat that some people would be proud of.
Just not the pirate that's trying to sleep, that is.
Arther gave us a strained look as he asks, "Are you both done yet?"
I couldn't help the one that just popped to mind as a mischievous smile came forth. With a salute to the blonde, struggling to hold the laughter at bay as I said, "Aye, aye, Captain Fallen. We are now, oh, 'bushy' one."
I can hear Alister's booming laughter while I see one of the blonde's fuzzy brows start twitching in annoyance. He gave me the 'now you get it' look as he mutters under his breath, "Oh, now you're going to be sorry..." I started to run from him in my laughter as he started to chase after me saying, "I'm going to get you for that!"
I only ran to the front of the ship as I called back to him, "You have to catch me first!"
Once I to the top of the stair case, I bolted to the inner railing and jumped over to land on the main deck in a squat. I saw Arther going back down the stairs he just went up. I ran to the back of the ship to go bellow deck. Once in, I closed the door behind me to give me some time to run over to the mess hall. When I got in there, I quickly made my way to the kitchen to hide in the pantry. I know there is a crate just big enough for me to hide in that I can use. Once I got over there, I swiftly found the crate by the door of the pantry. I walked over to it and removed the lid. I crept into it and curled myself up before I put the lid back on. After that, I try to make sure that I won't make a noise to get caught by the agitated pirate.
I wasn't sure how long I've been in there till I start to hear movement from outside. I try to listen carefully, hearing the sound of boots clacking that sound similar to either Feli's or Arther's. It's hard to tell when both are similar in weight or height. My suspicions was answered when I heard another set of boots, the sound of Feli's Voice asking, "Cappy, why are you in here?"
I can hear Arther sounding close by as he moves around, his voice with a hit of confusion spoke, "I was chasing Andy around. But somehow I lost her. I swear, I thought she went in here."
I can hear Feli say a bit cheerfully, the sound of boots coming over to me, "Ve~ I'm sure you'll find her at some point." The lid to the box opens, I look up to see the brunette there. He was surprise that I was in there, or that I could fit really. I quickly put a finger to my lips, hoping that he gets the idea to be quiet. He then gave me a small light nod before closing the box. I could hear him moving away from the box to the other side of the room as he spoke, "Yet, I'm not sure you may find her in here. Maybe Andy could be somewhere else?"
I can hear the blonde move around a bit as they both turn to leave the room, "Your right, she could be somewhere else either than here. Thanks for the help anyway, Feli."
I then heard the Italian say to him in response, "Ve~ No problem, Cappy."
I then heard the door closed behind the pair. I stayed quiet just to make sure that their fully gone before I got out. Suddenly the lid to the crate I'm in was lifted, hearing a victorious, "Found ya!"
I try to bolt out of the box, only to have a pair of arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me to the chest of the blonde captain. I squealed as I start laughing in the hold of the grinning pirate. The door opened to have Feli standing there, letting Arthur carrying me out of the room. I couldn't help shouting in my laughter at the man, "No fair! Feli helped ya out!"
The blonde pirate that's carrying me started laughing as he spoke, "Well if it weren't for him, I would've thought ya went overboard!"
Once Arthur got into the mess hall, he sets me down briefly just to throw me over his shoulder. I try to get out of his hold, but the captain was stronger that he looks. He then carries me all the way to the deck with me still squirming in his grasp. The sound of Alister laughing as Arthur approach him reached my ears as he said, "Ta think it took ya that long ta find one person."
The blonde sets me back down on my feet with a smirk on his lips, "She's a good hider. If it weren't for Feli finding and pointing her out in one of the crates, I would've start wondering if something bad happened in the next couple of hours."
I crossed my arms over my chest, a small pout forming on my face, "Well, it would've been more fair if he didn't help ya."
The both of them began to chuckle, knowing that it was fair enough to let him help. My years of street smarts gave me an edge over some of them. So knowing that I can hide better than them makes one person feel out match.
Alister stop chuckling for him to smile instead, "Well, I just wanted ta say earlier that we'll be at port within about a couple of hours now."
Arthur was happy to here this, "Great, get the crew ready to port the harbor within about an hour. And don't forget to remind them we won't be staying here that long. Got it, Alister."
The red head gave him a nod in confirmation, "Aye, captain. Read ya loud and clear."
I looked up to the blonde with a questioning look, "Why aren't we staying long? Do we have some sort of reason for it?"
The blonde looked down to me with a slight serious look in his eyes, "We do these jobs on the occasion at times to earn money. Mainly ones that seem worth while or pays well enough to get our attention. And you see, the night you came to the ship was when we were picking up some stuff that a buyer wants. This buyer will be at the port thats coming up. Once the transaction is done, we'll sail out before someone may get wind of something."
I nodded to him as I process the answer he gave. He was walking back to his quarters while I followed him, asking, "What is this buyer like? What kind off stuff is he buying?"
We entered his cabin as he chuckles, "Your offaly curious about this, aren't you?"
"Could you blame her, Artie? She's still new here."
We both turn to see Alfred sitting in one of the chairs, a book in hand as he smiled up to us. Arthur got agitated as he stated, "Don't call me 'Artie'. Also, why are you in here?"
The glasses wearing blonde held up the book that he was most likely was reading with a little smile, "I was board, so I raided you're library for a book to read."
The green eyed pirate walks over to the desk as he told the younger blonde in an agitated tone, "Well, just make sure ya don't bug me as I do some work. Got it?"
The peppy pirate gave him a smile with a small salute, "Got it."
As Alfred got back to reading his book, I approached him, asking curiously while eyeing the object in his hands, "Hey, Alfred? What is that book about?"
He looked up at me kindly with a small twinkle in his eyes, "It's about an awesome hero who helps the needy and is wanted by the wealthy. Going on this amazing adventure to end up becoming a legend."
It sounded interesting by the short plot he had given me. How I even felt about it showed in my voice as I said, "Really?"
He gave me a hum in agreement. A grin appearing on his face as he offers, "If you want, I can let you read it when I'm done?"
I knelt my eyebrows into a small frown, pointing at him with my hands, "Um, Al? If I were ya, I would think about that question a bit more. Along with that livin' on the streets, ya won't get that much of an education."
He studies me a little bit in confusion before Arthur spoke up a bit agitated to the obvious, "She means that she can't really read, twit. And even if she can, she most likely can't read that much."
I looked up to the captain with a sad smile as I remembered a bit of my past as I stated, "Well, I was taught how to a little bit before my parents passed. But not really enough for me to read a book like that one on my own. But still just a little bit."
Alfred brightens up at me with an instant idea, "Hey, if you want Andy, I can teach ya how to read? And maybe even a bit of writing, too?" The hyper blonde looked over to the older with a smile, "What do you think?"
Arthur pondered about this suggestion and by the looks of it, he's finding some pretty good points that it could bring. Though, I think he was a bit disturbed that Alfred came up with this before he did. He flung his hand that he was pondering on up in the air, giving a sigh, "Well, I have nothing against it. Go ahead."
I smiled as Alfred gave a whoop of excitement. He then bolts out of the chair he was in and races to the book shelves on the right side of the room. He scanned over them, pondering out loud, "Okay, we need to start off with an easy book. Maybe fairy tales? Poems? Maybe a book with a lot of pictures?"
I walked over to him and looked at all the books. I can see some pretty old, new, large, small, detailed, or simple ones lined up by one another. He went over to the left side of the room as looked them over, something caught me eye on one of the shelves. It was on the second lowest shelf near to the right end of the row. I went over to it and pulled it out to see the cover. It was an old brown cover with a rose blossom and its title engraved into the front. I can smell the age coming from the light weight that the book in my hands have. It was odd, but for some reason, I just can't put it back or look away from it.
The blonde teen spotted the book in my hands, asking me in curiosity, "Thats an old one. Why did you picked it out, Andy?"
I shrug at him, my eyes not leaving the cover as I did, "I just felt drawn to it for some reason."
I could hear Arther's voice ask curiously, "What book are ya looking at?"
Alfred looked at the title before he spoke up, "The title says, 'The Tale of the Kingdom of Roses.'"
When the older spoke up again, I can hear him with slight interest in his voice, "Ah, thats old legend about a royal family from a long time ago. Many say that it isn't true and it's nothing more than just a tale."
I finally was able to look away from it to look at the green eyed pirate behind me, "What do you mean? What is the story about anyway?"
The bushy brow captain gave me a smirk, "Well, you can have Alfred help teach you to read it. Because then you can answer your own questions instead of asking me them."
I pouted at the smirking blonde, seeing his reason for it within a second, "You're getting tired of my questions, aren't you?"
He still had that grin on his face while he shrugs at me, "Perhaps. Might as well say that I need a break from them."
I stuck my tung out at the smirky pirate. But I pulled it back in when Alister opened the door, "Arthur, we'll be dockin' at the port soon."
He nodded to his brother before turning to me and Alfred, "Alfred, you can give Andy's reading lessons after you two help dock the ship."
I walked over to the table to set the book down while the peppy pirate salutes to him, "Ya got it, bro."
The both of us then left the room to help set up the vessel for the harbor. Hoping that it can go fast so I can start my reading lesson.
