Huey and his crew were sailing the seven seas in their large boat, which they had paid for with all of their savings, after finishing a mission for King Wuncler of Maryland. He asked for the Eternity Flower, a rare bloom that had only been known in folklore or rumors. It only blossomed once every hundred years, but when it did, it was breathtaking. It was discovered in the Enchanted Forest, which was home to numerous items that an average being would find extremely valuable. Unluckily, one of those creatures was a wealthy monarch who desired uniqueness in everything. Nobody understood why he desired something as insignificant as a flower.
The amount of money he offered for the flower was the only thing they considered to be valuable. Nearly all the other goods that Huey and his crew from the AFRO BRUH brought back were only compensated with a respectable sum. But this flower was unique since he was willing to pay them 30 pounds of gold for it, which indicated that it was significant. Since this was the flower's blooming year, the AFRO BRUH made it their mission to find the bud as soon as possible so they wouldn't have to wait another 100 years for it to stop flowering. They can enjoy their fortune and have a significant break if they acquire this.
They were carrying the flower back to the kingdom because they were fortunate enough to find it. When they eventually managed to return, they were met by white soldiers who were keeping watch over them. To keep them from being wild, they did this each time they returned from a mission. The whites always believed that anything that resembled a monkey acted as one and that when a monkey is happy, it becomes irrational. They did not want the crew members to become irrational. And because the king valued this flower so highly, they took precautions to keep the public away from them so they could deliver it to him directly.
A massive anchor dropped from the boat's surface and landed in the water. Some of the white troops who were staring up at the boat's top were splashed. They were indignant despite being unable to see who dropped it. Soon later, a ladder descended from the boat's surface, and a group of pirates descended from above. The entire crew began making their way down the ladder to the ground. They had the flower hidden away for the king among about 20 of them. Small crew compared to the rest but they got the job done.
A captain with a powerful mind who stood in front of his entire crew was an African man who was 6 feet 5 inches tall and had an afro that made him appear even taller. The white troops scowled back at him and the rest of the crew as he glared at them. Alongside him were his cornrowed little brother, who was roughly his height, his dread head Best Friend, his bald rival, and a bothersome additional dreadhead who was also in the front row.
The names were Captain Huey of the Seven Seas, Riley, Caesar, Cairo, and Duey. The five black individuals who made their dreams come to life.
"Glad to see you men again," Huey sarcastically spoke.
"They must have missed us Captain," Caesar smirked. "With all the guns and swords they have pointed at us, they surely wanted to give us a unique welcoming," Caesar sternly spoke as he and the others observed all the weapons the troops were holding.
The white soldiers were offended by Caesar's comment and one of them held their weapons specifically at him. "Silence Nigger or we'll call the White Shadow to deal with you while you're staying here!" said the one soldier who had his gun held up to Caesar's face.
"All because I made a simple comment," Caesar continued. That smart comment had got him slapped upside the head by his Captain and Best Friend, Huey Freeman. "Caesar shut the fuck up! We don't want any trouble with these nice men," Huey warned as he contained his scowl toward Caesar.
"Your Captain here is making a lot of sense," said another soldier. Caesar was rubbing the back of his head as his Best Friend slapped him too hard. Even with the large amount of dread he had he could still feel his Captain's hit.
"Anyways, can you please guide us to the castle?" Huey requested. He and his crew knew where the castle was but due to the white soldiers not trusting them one or two of them had to tag along with them.
"We're not taking your whole crew. The most that can come is five," said one of the soldiers.
"Then so be five; Caesar, Riley, Cairo, Duey, and I will attend the castle to give the king his treasure," Huey said already having his four top men tag along. "If that's fine with you, sir!" Huey respectfully spoke.
The lead soldier looked back at the rest of his troops and ushered them away. He and a couple of other soldiers stayed to escort Huey and his group to the castle. "Your men can go to their part of the city and make themselves comfortable there," the troop leader said.
"Great," Huey said as he turned around to look at the rest of his crew who awaited his command, "Men you're free to go visit your families and make yourselves comfortable before our next mission," Huey said before the men ushered off with the rest of the soldiers who were escorting them to their part of the city.
Huey turned back around to the leader of the soldiers and said, "Please, escort us to King Wuncler!"
The white soldier looked at Huey in disgust before he and his group of men turned to escort Huey and his group to the castle. As they were walking, his little brother, Riley Freeman, a troublesome individual and much of a jester couldn't help but laugh at his big brother's performance from earlier.
"This nigga sound white as hell talking to them soldiers like that," Riley commented causing Huey to glare at him. "Please, escort us to court," Riley mocked in Huey's tone. "Nigga sound like a bitch," Riley said testing Huey's temper. "See if it was me, I would have said take us to the fucking castle so we can get that gold," Riley preached causing the rest of the group to give him the side eye.
Before Huey could say anything to his little brother, Cairo jumped in, "Nigga shut the fuck up, we were all standing right there and you didn't peep a word."
"I said if it was me," Riley emphasized as he corrected Cairo.
"Yeah if, but you had a chance to say something. Even Caesar's dumbass peeped a couple of words before getting a weapon pointed at his face. You stood there like a bitch and kept your mouth shut," Cairo exclaimed causing Riley to be quiet, "Nigga fuck you! You always gotta take things to heart. Don't nothing be that serious to the point you have to raise your blood pressure like a Chihuahua!"
Caesar and Duey started to silently laugh at the Chihuahua comment Riley had made. When Cairo turned to glare at them they laughed even harder. "Are you mad little Chihuahua?" Caesar rhetorically asked.
"I don't even know why I put up with you fools," Cairo said in disgust as he rolled his eyes. Huey added his 2 and replied: "Because you can't stand it here as much as we can. You rather leave than deal with this all the time."
Cairo glared at Huey as if he was right. He didn't want to stay here. He and the others's rather leave than stay here and be tortured to death to do harsh labor. Leaving was the only way they could all experience some type of freedom. Going on dangerous adventures was a bonus. The bad part about it is that there was no telling if you would survive the mission and make it back safe and sound, but the good part was you got to go on dangerous missions and see new things that one never thought they would see. It made life interesting not knowing what could happen next.
With them staying here in Maryland, they already knew their future and the possible outcomes of their lives. They would either be killed, imprisoned, tortured, work to death, or survive and live the next day in fear. Sailing the seas and going on adventures wasn't easy but it also wasn't draining. It kept them hungry for more and someday they were fully going to be free from the white man so they could all sail in peace.
"Now am I wrong?" Huey questioned as Cairo rolled his eyes, "About any of you?" he said referencing them all. The other three men went completely silent and didn't peep a word. "I thought so," Huey added before continuing his walk to the castle.
"Whatever...what's so special about this stupid flower the king wanted us to retrieve?" Cairo questioned.
Normally, when the king asked the pirates to retrieve items for him he would ask them for something lasting long lasting and valuable. Gold, jewels, and a couple of materialistic things were more long-lasting than a flower that could go dead by the next month. They were lucky enough to have it last up until their arrival back in Maryland. They kept it safe and watered on their way back home and that was challenging enough. When the king asked for the Eternity Flower it caught the men off guard due to it being a flower that was soon to be lifeless. But then they thought he could have been requesting the flower for his lovable drugged-up wife, Queen Sarah of Maryland. The interesting thing about Queen Sarah was that she showed no hatred towards the black community. At least not in their eyes!
The majority of the time when Huey and the other members of AFRO BRUH were present in the castle and they were disgusting matters with King Wuncler and Queen Sarah happened to be present she surprisingly, never peeped a racial slur to them. All the other white superiors would say something to them, but, she never said anything mean or unkind to them. She would normally, ask how their missions would go and if they encountered any natural disasters or exciting things. Huey and his crew would be afraid and too shocked to answer for they didn't want to piss off their king. He would get mad and jealous that Sarah found more interest in their missions than his. King Wuncler would interrupt their stories and tell them about his own stories which happened before any of them were born. Hell, even Sarah wasn't born then.
Queen Sarah might have been a drug head, but it was understandable because she always had to put up and tolerate the king's crap. Then on top of that, she had to have sex with him. Which might have set her off because King Wuncler was old enough to be Sarah's dad and his grandad.
Huey and the others pitied Queen Sarah because they felt no woman should ever have to go through what she's going through. She had to leave her country at the age of 17 to marry King Wuncler who was 74 years old. Since his son had died due to the Black Death, he needed another heir to the throne. Sarah was young and fertile and could easily give him a child and she did. Just after a few weeks of them getting married Sarah was pregnant with Princess Jazmine of Maryland. She gave birth to a healthy baby girl and it left Maryland in relief for their next heir to the throne.
King Wuncler preferred a boy, but he seemed to settle for the princess. What remained a mystery for years was the face of the princess. No one knew how she looked or the way she acted. Many feared that she would follow in King Wuncler's footsteps and become an even worse ruler than he was.
What angered Huey the most was that he was going to have to adjust to working for her. King Wuncler was bad enough, but with the rumors going around Maryland, Princess Jazmine was no better than the king.
They say she was even more cruel than him!
Huey knew that he and his crew were in for a rude awakening once the king passed.
He hasn't got the chance to meet her and he already hates her. She'll be the same as every other ruler. Nothing will ever change around here.
"I don't know Cairo! I don't look too much into what the king requests for," Huey said in annoyance.
"Shouldn't you know since you're the captain?" Cairo rhetorically spoke.
Huey rolled his eyes and replied: "I should and I did my research with very few books offered to us. You and the others were there, and you know what I meant by my comment."
"Look man, all I'm saying is that it's a bit odd that King Wuncler is asking for this," Cairo emphasized as he referred to the flower.
"No, what it is is gay because why would that nigga want a motherfucking flower? That's a gay ass request if you ask me," Riley chimed in. Caesar and Duey began laughing once again as they started to attract the attention of the white soldiers.
"My brother is right! Why should we slave ourselves away to go retrieve something meaningless and temporary?" Duey agreed. "Man could have gone into a garden to pick a flower if he wanted it so bad," Duey preached.
"Exactly my point, I don't ever agree with this negro but he has a point! I can understand if we were going to get some gold, jewels, or even to hunt down an animal, but instead we got a fucking flower. Waste of time and energy," Riley fussed as he attracted more attention from the white soldiers who were ear-hustling in their conversation.
"You not wrong about that, but he is paying a LOT for this flower, so is it a waste of time?" Caesar questioned as Riley and the others, except for Huey glared at him.
"Yes, negro! It is a fucking waste of time and energy," Riley cursed. "I could go pick that same flower in a garden," Riley exclaimed.
"Preach!" Duey said in the background.
"Or matter of fact, give me some seeds and I can plant that bitch right now," Riley held his hand out to be dramatic. The others started laughing louder at his little insult towards the king. Riley even had Cairo almost rolling on the ground.
This loud laughter about the king caused the leader of the soldiers to stop in his tracks and turn towards Huey and his crew.
"MEN..." the leader almost yelled as he caught the attention of his men and the pirates, "I hope you know that making fun of the king and his beliefs is a form of treason," the leader warned.
Riley and the others stopped laughing at his joke and glared at the white leader. "I just wanted you to know before we see him," the white leader smirked as he got them to stop being loud.
"Now, on we go!" he said turning back around to continue their short distance walk to the entrance of the castle where it was being guarded by a couple of soldiers. They could clearly see it was their general with his soldiers and that afro negro crew that they surrounded. No questions or identification needed to be verified.
It took four men to open the gate for the wheel was huge and heavy to move. The gates slowly opened to show another pathway towards the castle and it also had other houses and buildings within the walls. This was a way of keeping the whites and blacks separate. They weren't completely separated by color but that's how the majority of their living space was. Very few blacks worked inside the castle walls to be kept from physical labor. The main gender was black women since they weren't seen as a threat.
They either worked as housekeepers, babysitters, cooks, or textile producers. Since white people were too indolent to do the work themselves, there was a large demand for those positions. However, this did not mean that they were exempt from punishment since they worked inside the castle walls. Their fortunes relied on who their lord or mistress was. They were more at risk if they performed their duties inside the fortress. While some would receive punishment, others would be sent back to the opposite side to continue their harsh labor.
As he moved through the village, Huey turned to find his people still being treated with contempt. A few residents of the village stood by to observe them as they made their way toward the castle. The men in the group found it unsettling to have so many people's attention focused on them. Huey and his group established a reputation for themselves and became well-liked throughout Maryland. Why people would stare at them wasn't a surprise. The blacks loved and adored them, but the whites dreaded them due to rumors of the damage they might inflict if they crossed them.
Huey noticed the fears plastered on most of their faces and he couldn't help but want to smirk. They felt the same way his people felt when they saw them. For Huey's intrusive thoughts to be like that he was no better than the whites themselves. He wanted everybody to live in a world of equality but that was too much to ask for.
As they made it to the castle doors, they entered to see a bunch of soldiers from before. All of them were lined along the walls as if it was a special occasion. This type of welcoming only happened on special occasions, and bringing a flower in from an Enchanted Forest must have been special.
Duey looked down at the box that contained the flower he was holding and mumbled, "All this for a flower," which immediately caught the eyes of an upset Huey who overheard his little mumble. Thankfully, the soldiers didn't hear what he said and he took his attention off a very scared pirate who did not want to test him.
They walked down the long pathway full of soldiers to get to the old King Wuncler who was sitting in his chair alone without his queen next to him or even the princess who never was present for their arrival.
Even the White Shadow wasn't present which left the men relieved. The White Shadows presence always make them uncomfortable because he's always on high alert and doesn't put up with any of their shit.
Huey looked around at the soldiers who stood up straight and didn't peep a word. It was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. His attention was brought back to the king when he started to roughly cough while holding his chest.
Huey and the others looked at him uncomfortably as he continued his nasty coughs. He, his men, and the soldiers did not voluntarily go near the king for he didn't know how he would react.
King Wuncler was known for sometimes being bipolar and none of the men wanted to see him react in any way. Truthfully it would do them all justice if he just dropped dead. But that required patience since King Wuncler was hanging on to his life by a thread.
He knew he was sick and in pain, yet he didn't want to give it up and do everybody a favor and die. Hell, he didn't even have Queen Sarah or the princess take his place. Which was a little selfish because it showed he didn't want anybody having the slightest bit of power.
One of the maids who worked in the castle who was nearby the king took it upon herself to stop what she was doing and rushed over to pat his back and make sure he was doing alright.
Huey and the other's rolled their eyes and shook their heads at the maids kindness.
"Are you alright your Highness?" the black maid nicely asked.
The king gave the maid a nasty look and said: "Get away from me," in a soft manner. The maid looked sad and embarrassed as she ushered off away from the king and continued to her cleaning.
King Wuncler continued to show a nasty look as he hesitantly wiped the spot where the maid previously patted him at. After he was done he looked at the men in front of him in anger.
"So you men were just going to sit here and let me die in vain!" King Wuncler exclaimed, angry at the pirates and his trusted soldiers. The soldiers stood nervously in silence and one of the them spoke up from the line: "No, your majesty!"
King Wuncler glared at them and gritted his teeth: "Well you sure didn't act like it."
"A nigger had to come over and make sure I didn't die! Do you know how dreadful that was for me to feel it touching me?" King Wuncler rhetorically asked.
Huey and his crew glared at King Wuncler for practically disrespecting the maid. She was the only one who came to help him and make sure he was okay, yet he speaks lowly of her and act as if he wouldn't have been alive if it weren't for her.
Huey shook his head because some things never changed. At that point, he didn't understand why he expected there would be change.
Change was a hard thing to ask of someone or really people as a whole. No one wanted to make change because it was too much to ask for. Especially people that had higher power
"Speaking of niggers, it's about time you animals came back from your quest. For a second, I thought I was going to have to send the White Shadow after you," King Wuncler rudely spoke.
Huey bit down on his tongue and had to gather his choice of words. He had a bunch of soldiers with armed weapons on them and one mistake could lead to a disaster.
"Glad to see you too your Majesty," Huey brushed off.
"Don't try to be smart with me, Captain Freeman," King Wuncler slurred. "Now where is my flower? I've been waiting on it for months," King Wuncler demanded.
Small talk was out of the equation and they had to get right down to business.
Huey looked back at Duey to bring him the box containing the flower. Duey walked over to Huey with the box and handed it to him as King Wuncler looked in curiosity.
"Your Highness, we have brought to you what you have been asking for," Huey started.
"About time," King Wuncler rudely mumbled.
"We have gone through the seas to retrieve your most wanted desire," Huey emphasized, "And you brought you the Enchanted Flower, one of the only flowers that bloom every decade," Huey said revealing the flower as it shined and caught the attention of everybody in the room.
It was beautiful!
The flower was pink, it sparked like a star, shined bright like a diamond, it gave off a sense of power, and it stayed as youthful as when the pirates pulled it from the root. It was bigger than most flowers and could easily catch the eye.
As the king and soldiers gazed upon the flower, all the king mumbled was: "It's beautiful!"
You could almost see the king shed a tear until he caught himself showing emotion.
"Well done, negros!" King Wuncler sternly spoke as he was pushing his authoritative tone.
"Guards, retrieve the flower and put it in my safe," King Wuncler ordered as one of his guards rushed towards Huey and his crew to retrieve the flower. He ushered off to another section within the castle to hide it away from the others.
Huey awaited King Wuncler to order someone to go get their reward for getting the flower. Since they finished the job they were going to get their big reward. 30 pounds to be exact! That was enough to buy them food, aid their families, and new equipment for the ship.
Huey and the others couldn't wait because they were all craving the gold the king had in store for them. "You can go now," King Wuncler ushered off.
"Pardon me?" Huey said taken aback.
"You can go now...leave!" King Wuncler repeated.
"Um, aren't you forgetting something?" Huey rhetorically asked referring to the 30 pounds of gold he owed them.
King Wuncler gave him an odd look as Huey sighed: "The 30 pounds of gold you promised."
King Wucnler then started to look confused and said: "Now, why would I do that for a flower that you took your time getting?"
"See negro, I told you," Riley mumbled under his breath.
Huey looked back and gave Riley the look which made Riley shrug his shoulders. The look didn't work on Riley as much as it did the others due to the two being brothers. He wasn't threatened by his big brother.
"Your brother is right, Huey," King Wuncler agreed. "You are crazy to think I would give you 30 pounds for a flower," he laughed.
"No, as you said before we went on our quest, you would give us 30 pounds of gold for this flower! You practically had us and the place guarded since we arrived. You never do that for anything else, but all of a sudden when it comes to a flower you care so effortlessly about you don't think you should go by your word and give us the 30 pounds of gold," Huey argued.
"Might have been mistaken for 3 pounds," King Wuncler lied.
"3 pounds? You give us way more than that on an amateur quest," Huey argued.
"And this was below an amateur quest which you should receive less for," King Wuncler exclaimed.
"No it wasn't because this flower is only one itself. There isn't going to be one for another 100 years. I think we deserve to receive the amount you promised us from the beginning," Huey sternly spoke.
King Wuncler started to laugh as he found Huey to be a fool. "Well I already have the flower within my custody so what are you going to do about it?" The King rhetorically asked pissing off Huey.
"I'll show you what I'm gonna do," Huey mumbled through his gritted teeth as he took a step towards the king. This caused the soldiers to aim their weapons at the group of black men and they reacted by pulling their guns and swords out.
King Wuncler smirk was soon wiped away from his face when he had seen the pirates were prepared to fight. He glared at his men for not taking them away when they first arrived. Huey, Duey, and Caesar had their swords while Riley and Cairo had their pistols.
The pirates were skilled enough to take down all his men. If the rumors about them were true then taking down his men wouldn't faze them.
At that moment, King Wuncler felt threatened by the pirates, and when King Wuncler feels threatened he comes.
White shadowy fog started to come from behind the king's throne. Huey, his crew, and the soldiers could see it which made them all lose their guard. Their heart rates started to go up because they knew what was about to come.
The White Shadow...
He came out of nowhere and was standing right next to the king who was relieved that he was right by his side.
"Greetings your Highness, and men," the White Shadow formally spoke.
"What seems to be the problem?" He asked as he awaited for a response. Nobody didn't say anything for the fear what he might do to them.
"These NEGROS are throwing a hissy fit about about not getting their 30 pounds worth of gold, which they might have been mistaken for 3 pounds," King Wuncler exclaimed.
"Is that right?" The Shadow rhetorically spoke.
The White Shadow was a little over 6ft tall, had white hair, looked to be hitting his middle age, and always had shades on.
"Yes it is, and right now they're attempting to commit treason against their king," King Wuncler sternly spoke.
"I see," The Shadow said directly looking at Huey.
Huey started to feel uneasy as the White Shadow stared him down. As soon as his heart rate went up the White Shadow smirked.
"I can handle this your Highness," the White Shadow assured. He started to make his way to Huey who let his guard down.
"Huey, you wouldn't want what happened last time would you?" The White Shadow asked referring to the time when he stepped out of line and he killed his father as punishment.
Huey wanted to break down at the memory but instead he glared at the White Shadow.
"Every time you step out of line you give and I take! I'm sure you wouldn't want me to take again would you?" The White Shadow calmly asked once again.
Huey sighed and shook his head.
"That's what I thought," the White Shadow cockily spoke.
"Now be a good little boy and run along," the White Shadow said pointing to the exit.
"So just gone send us out and not even pay us," Riley exclaimed.
"Riley!"
"Riley, shut up!"
"Oh my God!"
"Riley!"
The crew exclaimed. The White Shadow looked directly at Riley and said: "I see the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!"
"This is my last warning for you and your crew, Captain Freeman, you either leave quietly, or you leave without your heads, your choice," The White Shadow warned once again.
Huey glared at the White Shadow who glared back at him. He knew he couldn't go toe to toe with him so he decided to take the safe way out.
"Come on guys, let's leave," Huey ordered.
"That's right, and guards, help them on their way out," the White Shadow ordered which caused all the guards to catch the AFRO BRUH crew off guard and grab them. They lifted them off the ground as they made their way with them out the castle.
As Huey and the other's were tussling, he yelled: "YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH!"
King Wuncler and the White Shadow both started to laugh as they watched the negros being carried out. "I believe I have, Captain," King Wuncler laughed as he mocked Huey.
Once they were out of his sight, King Wuncler turned to the White Shadow and ordered: "Now that we have the animals out of here, will you please go check on my little princess? I feel she might be disturbed by those negros who take care of her."
"Yes, your Majesty!" The White Shadow said bowing down. He got up and made his way to Princess Jazmine of Maryland side of the castle.
While the White Shadow went to go check on the princess, the guards were finally able to manage to carry the pirates out of the castle as they tussled with them urging them to let go of them.
They were being carried out of the white's territory, and as this was happening the people within the walls could see them being carried out. Everybody gathered around and watched.
This was embarrassing for the pirates because it made them look like fools. Even their own people looked down upon them when their image was shown in this type of light.
Huey felt like a terrible Captain for letting something like this happen. While he was suffering the embarrassment of being carried out, he caught a glimpse of strawberry-blond hair and green eyes within the crowd. He could tell it was a woman who was wearing a black cape, and as he caught sight of her he all of a sudden seen a vision.
This caused him to leave reality and he started to see the big picture. The woman with strawberry-blond hair, green eyes, soft pale ivory skin, and full lips.
It was her: the woman in the cape.
She was dressed with elegance, looked very pretty, she had a crown on her head, and all people of color were bowing down to her. It wasn't just whites, but blacks too, and everybody had seemed to be equals.
Equals…could it be because of her?
Was she the one that was going to make peace between the whites and black?
As soon as they got to the exit of the kingdom, the guards opened the door and threw them out of the castles walls. Huey and his crew were covered in dirty and they had to wiped themselves off.
The guards started to close the gates and the pirates were upset.
"FUCK!" Cairo yelled.
"This should have been suspected," Caesar mumbled.
"What are we gonna do now, we have no money, we lost our weapons, and we probably won't get hired for anymore quest," Riley fussed.
"Captain, what do we do now?" Duey asked Huey who was stilled shocked of what he had just seen.
"Captain," Duey called again.
"Huey!" Cairo exclaimed hitting him on the shoulder which caused Huey to glare at him.
"We're waiting for orders," Cairo exclaimed.
"Next time you do that, you're going to be meeting the Kraken," Huey warned which caused Cairo to glare at him.
"Man, what do we do now?" Riley asked breaking the tension.
"We head back to the village, and we'll discuss our next move there," Huey ordered as they gathered themselves and started to head towards the village. Before Huey completely walked away from the castle gates, he looked back and started to think of the woman in the black cape.
"Who are you?" Huey asked.
Thank you for reading!