The Hunter and the Pirate (Pirate!England x Reader)

Prologue: The Rumor

"If you are so gullible as to be swayed by rumors as ridiculous as that, I am afraid that the bank cannot entrust you to return a loan." The banker stood and made to leave the booth, but the merchant caught his sleeve.

"I'm telling you, it's Captain (l/n)! He's the one who's bringing in all the pirates! They don't stand a chance against him, please listen to me--!"

"No. That is final. Now let go of my sleeve before I charge you with assault," the banker huffed. The merchant's hand fell.

"Fine. We'll see who the fool is," the merchant said, turning glumly back to his drink. "But when you hear that Captain (l/n) and The Black Heron have ended piracy, don't say I didn't tell you so."

The banker fixed his stretched sleeve and stomped out of the bar. The merchant took a swig from the glass in front of him and groaned loudly. Arthur saw his opportunity. He got up and walked over to take the banker's old seat.

"My good man, I couldn't help but overhear the exchange you had with that gentleman who just left," Arthur said cordially. The merchant thought nothing of his quick change of companions. The alcohol was starting to kick in. He didn't even notice the red coat Arthur wore that pegged him as a pirate.

"That good-for-nothing, rotten, twisted banker," the merchant muttered. "Damn rich people, damn money pinchers, dammit all--"

"You know, I think you may be on to something with your little rumor about Captain (l/n)," Arthur said, leaning forward. The merchant looked up, stunned for a moment. Then suspicious.

"You actually believe me?" the merchant said. "It's only a little piece of information I picked up, sailing from China over to the European nations and--"

"Yes, yes," Arthur said, waving a hand and cutting him off. "I do, in fact, believe you. In fact, if you tell me everything you know about this Captain (l/n), I'll even give a little money towards your new ship."

Of course, Arthur had no intention of doing that, but the merchant was hooked on his lie. That was all Arthur needed. Normally rumors didn't get him worked up, but this... this was potentially dangerous. 

Especially considering he had heard rumors of the same kind himself.

The merchant sat there shocked. Arthur waited for his response. One way or another, this man would talk, but he always tried the least messy way first.

"Sir, you are too kind, too kind!" he suddenly blurted out, reaching over the table to shake Arthur's hand rigorously. "My name is Wang. Wang Yao. From China. Oh, this will be wonderful! I'll finally have a new ship to replace my White Locus. She was taken by pirates, actually. Interesting story. A man by the name of Kirkland, I think? I'm not sure if I remember right but--"

"The rumor?" Arthur prompted, ignoring the mention of his name. He had taken many ships in his time as a pirate. It was very possible he had taken this man's ship as well, though there were rarely survivors after a raid.

"Ah, yes. The rumor. Though it is less of a rumor now as pirates continue to disappear from the waters." Wang leaned in farther. "I saw him myself. I saw his ship myself. The Black Heron. Beautiful ship, if I do say so myself. One of the biggest in the new American navy. Now, their navy can't match any of the older nations' navies, but there's something different about the Americans. They fight differently. That's why Captain (l/n) is so successful. There's something about him that catches the pirates off guard. I wonder what it could be. You know, I met an American once. Lovely fellow. Name of Alfred? I wonder what became of him. He said he wanted to become part of the navy..."

Arthur rubbed his forehead as Wang talked nonstop. He was definitely drunk now. It was going to be difficult to keep him focused.

"What does his ship look like?" Arthur asked. "Captain (l/n). Where can I find him?"

Wang thought about it for a moment, not questioning Arthur's motives behind his interest in Captain (l/n)'s whereabouts.

"His ship is a beauty. Huge white sails, cannons lining the sides, intricate gilded detailing over dark brown wood. It must've cost a fortune for the Americans to build, but it's good that they're growing their navy. Can you believe that it's been 40 years or so that they've been independent? I'm surprised that they're still afloat considering everything that their--"

"What about the figurehead?" Arthur asked impatiently. Figureheads were a key identifying feature of a ship. Sure, one could also look at the ship's hull for a name, but painted words can be washed away by salt water.

"Strangest figurehead I ever saw, now that you mention it, though I suppose it was meant to go with the ship's name. The figurehead, if I recall correctly, was a large heron with its wings spread.  Many chains were in its beak that ran from its mouth to the sides of the ship. Not a mermaid, oddly enough. Those are quite popular. Not a skeleton either. I once knew a remarkable fellow whose figurehead was of Andromeda from that one Greek myth. Wonderful person, had quite a large trading--"

"How can I find Captain (l/n)," Arthur said with a slight growl. His patience was wearing thin with this Wang Yao. Wang stiffened at his question.

"You don't fin' him," Wang said. "He finds you. The pirates are always taken by surprise. Is a good thing that Captain (l/n) is on the side of the law. Otherwise piracy would probably continue forever. Of course, there is tha' thorn, Arthur Kirkland."

Arthur raised an eyebrow at his name.

"I think tha' he'll be the las' to go," Wang said, his words becoming more and more slurred as he kept taking swigs from his glass. "It'll be tough for the Cap'n, but he's go' no chance 'gainst 'im, no sir."

Arthur could see that he obviously wasn't going to get anything more out of the merchant. He stood up abruptly and turned to leave.

"Hang on!" Wang called after him. "You forgo' my money. You sai' you would pay for mah ship."

"So I did," Arthur said, turning around with a strained smile. "Here's your pay, good sir."

He glanced around the room quickly, his eyes landing on a table with the tip still lying next to an empty beer bottle. He grabbed the coins and slapped them down on the table in front of the man.

"Ah, thanks," the merchant said, pocketing the stolen coins. "Y'know, I neva as'ed. Wha's your name?"

Arthur silently debated whether to tell him or not. He didn't want to encounter a fight that night, but drunk as the guy was, there was no way he would be able to react fast enough to fight him or even raise an alarm.

"The name's Kirkland," Arthur said with a smirk. The merchant looked shell shocked.

"Captain Arthur Kirkland."

With that, he turned heel and stalked out of the bar, leaving the merchant to register what the pirate had just said.

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So this is just the prologue, BTW. You don't show up until the next chapter. Sure, this prologue can be skipped I guess, but where's the fun in that??? If I feel like people are liking this fan fiction, I'll try to update once or twice a week. It's summer, and I have no life at home, so might as well write this. Hope you liked!