Here there be pirates

Chapter 8

A/N: This is it guys! The last chapter of my baby. I hope you enjoy the end!

Chapter 8

Alfred had never been in as much as a bar fight before and now here he stood, amidst carnage as the crew of the ‘Bloody Isabella’ began to try and board the ‘Valiant Lucy’ and vice versa. Arthur turned from the scene and grabbed Alfred’s arm.

“Get on that ship. Go below decks and take anything of use. Stay there until I come and get you. Go!” With an agonised expression, Arthur placed a grappling hook in Alfred’s hand. Gulping, the American threw it, watching as the jagged hook caught and splintered the wood of the ‘Bloody Isabella.’ He leapt off the side of the ship, scuttling up the rope like a squirrel. The crew of the ‘Bloody Isabella’ were all fighting with Alistair, Will, Gilbert and Ludwig who had managed to get across and no one noticed the little American as he clambered on to the deck. Quickly, Alfred ran for the hatch leading to the lower decks, ducking as bullets went flying. He scarpered down into the darkness, until he saw one of the lamps lit. Hurrying towards it, he caught sight of a small boy, younger than him, cowering behind a set of ropes. The boy had caramel coloured tousled hair, wide eyes that seemed almost lilac and made him look like a bush baby and soft cheeks. One of his eyes was blackened and his jaw was badly bruised.  The American paused and tried to smile kindly. Slowly, Alfred held a hand out to the mousy haired creature that only trembled harder.

“Hey, hey… I’m not going to hurt you. It’s okay, I’d never hurt you.” His softly spoken words of peace seemed to soothe the boy and he snuck out a little. “What’s your name?”

“Ra-Raivis…” came the stammered reply.

“Hey, Raivis… Now, you don’t look very happy here. Would you like to help me get some cargo and then get out of here?” The boy nodded and skittered out.

“B-But, but we ha-have to s-s-save my brothers,” whispered Raivis.                                                   

“Okay, we can do that. Do you know where they are?”

“I-In the cannon deck. W-with, with, him.” The boy almost spat out the last word and Alfred frowned.

“Him?”

“Iv-Ivan. He beats us and m-makes us work and, and I don’t want to be here, I want to go home, I want to go home!” Blinking, Alfred gently rubbed the poor boy’s shoulder. He seemed to have been through a lot, no wonder he wanted to go home.

“Okay, okay, I’ll make sure you get home, don’t worry. Now, how about, you show me to the cannon deck and we’ll save your brothers, okay?” With a sniffle, the boy nodded, gesturing him to follow him. As Alfred followed Raivis through the belly of the ship, he could hear the continued sounds of cannon fire and steel on steel from the battle above. He sincerely hoped his crew was alright and that everyone was still alive. He wasn’t sure he could imagine a time when there wasn’t his little ragtag family to make him smile and keep him strong. And then he looked at this mousy haired boy who he had found hiding in the bowels of their rival ship. Where could he fit in? Honestly, Alfred could see him becoming close friends with his little brother. Matthew always had a soft spot for lost causes, whereas Alfred didn’t. And so, the American asked himself, why was he doing this? Because this boy needed his help? Because he had changed in his time on the Valiant Lucy? But then, he realised, he was finally becoming what he had always wanted to be to someone: a hero. Alfred grinned. He liked the sound of being someone’s hero, especially someone who needed his help as much as this boy clearly did. And so, as they entered the cannon deck silently, Alfred was confident. And then he saw Ivan. A great hulking beast of a man, towering over Alfred and Raivis, Ivan was smiling coldly at two boys with a sabre in one hand. He wore sleeveless top, revealing a long scar across his arm and several tattoos, but his face would have seemed babyish and innocent, were it not drawn into a cruel smirk of almost sadism.  One of the boys had short cropped blonde hair, fearful wide blue eyes, covered by a pair of cracked spectacles, and an angular face, long and sharp with a small scar over his lip; the other had shoulder length brown hair, dragged back into a messy ponytail, green eyes narrowed in pain as he winced, lugging a heavy cannon ball to the cannon that the other boy was filling with dangerous gunpowder. Raivis and Alfred ducked behind the nearest cannon and Alfred gripped his dagger before whispering.