Pirate!England x Reader: Linger, III

Chapter Three: The Life of a Pirate
Captain Kirkland orders his men to help with your bags—though it isn't much, especially considering you certainly carried it all the way to his ship without their help. All you have is two extra dresses, some under clothing, an extra pair of boats, a book, your music box, the picture of your father, and a few cloth menstrual pads, assuming your journey will span for over a few months at the very least.

It could even take years, but you're not sure you want to be stuck with Captain Arthur Kirkland for that long. You're not sure if you'll be able to, well, not want to murder him for being a pir—privateer, as the Mayor chose to put it.

The room they give you was originally the first mate's, but seeing as how you are a girl, the Captain and Mayor don't want you rooming with any of the men.

You want to thank Art—Captain Kirkland—for doing this for you. Of course, your pride and his piracy prevent you from even uttering a word in his direction.

Not that you would manage to anyway. It has been years since you have last been on a boat, and even with your light breakfast, you find yourself curled up by the railing starboard side. Your stomach has decided the constant rolling of the ship means it can't possibly contain the miniscule amounts of food you have in there, and every few minutes, you'll shoot up and nearly throw yourself overboard as your stomach's contents come flying out of your throat.

After nearly half an hour, the ship's official "cook", an odd man from a different kingdom, comes over. The man, named Antonio, carries fine-smelling tea within a china tea cup on a saucer. The cup has a pretty rose pattern, and you accept the cup with much confusion.

Ginger tea. You can tell from the smell.

And it smells delicious.

The water is lukewarm at best, though you can't imagine that they'll have any boiling water on a ship. However, the ginger tastes absolutely perfect, and it is accompanied with a few lime wedges at the bottom, giving the tea a unique flavor while also providing you with a dose of vitamin C.

It is nearly ten minutes after drinking the tea and returning the china to Antonio that you realize you have stopped vomiting. You still are facing a bit of vertigo, but the spinning world has slowed down, and you make your way to your room with a few dizzy steps, collapsing on top of your bed.

The constant motion of the ship still makes you feel sick, but lying down makes you feel a bit better. You think you'll manage.

For now.

***

Captain Kirkland forces you to walk around the ship. Antonio admits that you'll never get your sea legs if you lie around in bed, and they can't spend all their ginger on you. You oblige, though you definitely don't want to.

The first few days are tough, but by the fourth day, you are able to manage on your own, and you find it amazing to be here. You haven't been out at sea for so long…and it feels really nice, actually.

By the fifth day, it's pretty hard to see you inside, seeing as how you're always outside trying to help around.

"Do you need me to hold this?"

"Uh, does this go here?"

"Whoa, careful! That looks heavy! Want me to help you carry it?"

"So, what does a cook do, exactly? Do you need any help?"

"So, how's it going, Captain?"

These are questions the pirates—er, privateers—hear frequently from you. They've gotten used to you rambling, and in exchange, they tell you about their own lives.

Alfred F. Jones used to be a blacksmith. He was betrothed to a beautiful, wealthy girl who was suddenly killed by pirates. You asked him why he decided to become one himself, and he said that when he lost her, he lost all his drive for working, lost every skill he had. The Captain found him, basically rotting away and drunk in some alleyway, and disgusted at his appearance, he offered him work as a sailor. That was what pirates were; they were sailors with very little law except within themselves.

And so he became a pirate.

It was hard at first to get used to it all, but Alfred soon found it easier than being a blacksmith. Sure, they board a few ships and steal things—but it is mostly supplies and food. The little gold that they steal tends to go to families back home or pays for debts the men have collected over the years.

They are nothing like Captain Nikolai Baden. The Skulls and him are basically a terrorist group; this team of pirates—Captain Kirkland's team of pirates—are just men who need it. They are basically the begging and stealing poor. While that group of people doesn't particularly appeal to you either, you understand where they come from.

And it makes you feel bad for the entirely grotesque way you treated Captain Kirkland.

On the sixth day of being out at sea, you decide that you need to get over your pride and apologize to Arthur Kirkland. You've been entirely too cruel to him, and he deserves better considering what he's done for these men. He's given them a fighting spirit again, and these men no longer need to wallow in self-pity.

The life of a pirate is hard, but it's a life worth it if you find the right people.

However, before you can enact this plan to show Arthur you want forgiveness for being, essentially, a bitch, you find that the boat has docked off at a large and rather boisterous city.

"Why are we here?" you ask one of the crew members.

"Iend? Why wouldn't we be? It has the best food and women."

You nearly choke on your spit. "Women?"

"Of course! The brothels are insanely famous. For coming from a place with prostitution as the primary source of revenue, how have you not heard of Iend?"

He runs off, and you can hear the jingle in his pockets. He's absolutely prepared.

Another horrific thought enters you, worse than women selling their bodies for money.

What if Arthur likes this town for that very reason too?

Speak of the Devil and he shall come—or think of him, more accurately.

Suddenly, beside you, is Arthur Kirkland himself, and he notices your disturbed expression and that pout he finds entirely too attractive, and he gently taps your shoulder, making you lose your train of thought.

"Are you okay?"

"Just hungry," you mutter at him, narrowing your eyes.

A brief smile appears on his face, and he suddenly takes your arm, nearly dragging you off the ship. "Then let's go eat."

***

The both of you sit inside an oriental restaurant, the delicious scent of spices filling the air. Tea gets placed between the both of you, and your thoughts drift to the fact that others might see you two as a young couple celebrating food through exotic dishes your home country could never dream of making.

"If you don't mind my asking, how old are you, Miss (name)?" Captain Kirkland suddenly asks you.

You're taken back by such a question, but you saucily answer, "I'm the lady. I should ask you first."

"All right. I am twenty-three."

You can't decide if that's too old for you or if it's all right.

Suddenly, you blush, especially when you realize his eyes are on you, expecting you to return the favor of disclosing your age. "Nineteen." A beautiful waitress places down two bowls of rice and two plates toppled high with food. You have no idea if you'll be able to finish any of yours. "If you don't mind my asking, Captain Kirkland, why did you decide to go on this…quest? I mean, why would you? Why would any of you? It's foolhardy and dangerous, and honestly, I worry for you—all of you, I mean."

A smirk appears on his face, but there's something distant and painful about his gaze. "Are you hinting your emotions for me, (name)?"

"Miss (name) and no. Now answer the question."

"Do you think you're the only one with a personal score to settle? Everyone here has been affected by him, and we all want revenge." Your eyes widen a bit, realizing it made sense. Of all the stories you have collected, a great tragedy befell them all, and it seems like Captain Skull could be at the core of these tragedies. "You're so innocent, you know. You know so little of the world." You aren't sure if that is meant to be an insult, so you scrunch your nose in confusion, keeping your eyes on his emerald ones. "Have you ever heard of the Piscot Murders?"

You are about to answer no when it hits you. You remember your father having spoken about this the night before the both of you sailed out to Biel Veera, two nights before your father's ship was brutally ambushed and you barely managed to escape with your life.

The Piscot Murders. They are only the most horrific case due to Captain Skull. Save for one boy, a family was murdered—three sons and both parents. The survivor was the fourth son, and he had the luck of having been in boarding school two thousand miles away when Captain Skull took his crew on land and murdered the entire family and their servants and their guards while they slept. All of the bodies had been terribly butchered, and the entire mansion reeked of rotting bodies and spilt blood.

It had to be burned to get rid of the smell and sight, but seeing as the house stood on a rocky cliff overlooking the ocean, most of it collapsed into the sea before the fire managed to consume all of it.

It was labeled the Piscot Murders for two reasons; one, it was near the town of Piscot. Two, the mother's family was named Piscot, and this town and that mansion had been built by them. That family was only of the highest prestige, basically monopolizing shipbuilding, what Piscot was the most well-known for, and their sudden annihilation had sent most of the country and those in direct contact with us into an economic depression, one we are barely getting out of. Thousands were left without jobs simply because one family was murdered, and their last living son had completely disappeared from the face of the earth.

Is Arthur that son?

"I was the surviving son," Arthur whispers, and you can see the wetness to his eyes. He strains himself not to cry, at least not in front of you. "Do you honestly think I'll let that bastard get away with it, Miss (name)? No, he's asking to be drawn and quartered, to have his head used as a trophy. And I will gladly deliver in memory of my family."

Not knowing what to say, you blurt, "Just call me (name). Formalities aren't needed."

Besides, if he really speaks the truth about the Piscot Murders being about him, that means he's higher than you, socially.

"Don't worry yourself on that, Miss (name). I'm fine with formalities, as a gentlemen should always be." He manages a smile. "Anywhere you want to go after this?"

"Shopping?" you ask. "I need new books to keep me company, maybe a new dress and some soap. I'm positively filthy, and I'm starting to smell like all of you."

A hoarse laugh left his throat, one previously choked with tears, and the sound was music.

"Books sound nice, Miss (name)."

You two enjoy a lovely meal, and you two walk closely out of the store.

But browsing a bookstore, you realize his story is all true. They've printed a book on the Piscot Murders, and right on the cover is Captain Arthur Kirkland, age sixteen, standing with his entire family only a month before they were all murdered.

And it takes all your strength not to break down and cry because now you know if for sure: you've never hated Captain Skull more than you did right now.