Floating in front of Arthur was a sleek black painted ship that glistened in the sun light just like the sea. It was already exploding with life as certain people were already working on board, all wearing the Gaia Royal Navy uniform. Already, Arthur knew Ivan and his older sister, Katyusha. He heard that they had a younger sister before she was taken away from them by pirates, it happened quite some years ago, but it still left a nasty scar on their hearts. He also knew Yao who was running away from Ivan, and also Feliks who was just minding his own little thing.
Walking aboard the ship, Arthur couldn't help but to gasp at the sight of the fleet of smaller ships floating around the one that he was currently on. All of them were bustling with life and workers. The sea was shimmering and the sails were all hoist up. There were some mages casting spells of protection of some sorts on the ship, and others would be enhancing the power of the canons.
It was like if the fleet was going for war, it seemed as though the king was taking the pirate hunt seriously. Perhaps a bit too seriously.
"Kiku," muttered Arthur as he held onto the edge of the ship whilst peering into the light sea, "is the king around here?"
"Ah, sorry but no Ouji-sama. Osama has been busy with recent plans," informed Kiku quietly as he gently hinted for Arthur to follow him.
They walked through the deck of people before arriving at the captain's cabin. The place was dimly lit, with the curtains closed and old and new maps sprawled out all over the wooden desk that was placed by the window. There was a wall decorated with weapons and the door had patterns carved into it. A strange coat hanger sat by the desk, but it had even stranger charms dangling from it.
"We have the best captain leading this hunt in the kingdom, he was a former pirate, but now he understands his wrongs and is doing deeds to correct them," spoke Kiku stoically as Arthur stared at the figure that sat on the seat by the desk.
Around everyone, there was an aura, indicating what they were; whether they were a mage or human or something else entirely. But besides that, the aura would also show the amount of sins that the person has done through out their lives. The darker their aura is, the more evil they have done, while on the other hand, the brighter their glow is, the more good they have done.
All you had to do to see a person's aura would be to focus as much of your power as you could into your eyes, and just from there, you should be able to see the glow of an aura emitting from the person.
The captain was fiddling with a rose and he wore a tight top, showing off some muscle, he seemed like a flirt was the first thing that Arthur noticed. But he also looked strangely young, there was an odd vibe coming off from him. Closing his eyes, Arthur kept silent as he tried to detect what that vibe that emitted from the man was, but as he opened his eyes, he almost winced at the darkness of the man's soul. It was a murky brown colour, but there was also glimmers of gold in it.
"Mage," whispered Arthur with a bit of shock as the man nodded his head with a smile.
"I'm a Roma Antiqua, one of the best pirates of all time and now one of the best sailor within the Royal Navy~ The ladies love the title," grinned the man lightly as his brown eyes sparkled.
"You're also a mage," stated Arthur as Roma laughed breezily whilst Kiku just stood by the prince's side quietly.
"Yes, yes! I am a mage as well, an aquamancer to be more precise, though that is a secret~ I must know how to use some sort of magic to be able to fight, and also to enhance myself, how else would I look so youthful?" Beamed the man as he winked towards the small prince.
"We will be departing in half an hour now," informed Kiku, his voice startling quiet.
"Alright then, I wish to be taken to my room then," ordered Arthur as he glanced at the captain once more before following Kiku.
"Bye, bye then~ And what a charming amulet you have," spoke captain Roma as Kiku and Arthur walked out of the cabin.
As soon as they did walk out of the room, Arthur instantly reached into his jacket pocket and clutched onto the amulet that he found from Allistor's hide out. It was still there, still glowing with warmth, but it was also out of sight, so how did Roma notice the amulet?
Sighing, Arthur ran his fingers across the smooth jewels of the amulet that was still hiding in his pocket. Aquamancers were always causing trouble it seems, and were known to be quite pesky. It wasn't a surprise that Roma was an aquamancer though, the majority of pirates that knew magic were aquamancers , it would make sense to be able to use water to your advantage in a fight while fighting in the sea.
The bells from the palace rang loudly as Arthur spotted two men lifting the anchor out from the sea. The sun was still slowly raising and everyone seemed to be ready to set sail. The atmosphere made Arthur felt giddy some how, with excitement bubbling up a bit. He knew that this was a quest to save Allistor, or at least find out what happened to him, but he was still just hyped to actually see what happens outside of the palace, outside of the kingdom.
There was a slight shake on the ship before it began to sail smoothly. Walking into his own room with Kiku in front of him, Arthur quickly took notice that it was decorated with silks and treasures, just like his room in the palace, but much more noticeably smaller. The colour scheme of the place seemed to be gold and white, with little specs of green every here and there.
"My room is across from your's, so if you ever need anything, feel free to say," bowed Kiku politely as Arthur nodded his head.
"Do you think we'll find the pirates soon?" Asked Arthur as he glanced out of the massive glass window that was shadowed by white silk curtains.
"That is not for me to say, we have only just left as well," informed Kiku politely as Arthur nodded his head again as a reply.
"Well, you may be excused... Go check on the ship or so..." Ordered Arthur, not too sure what Kiku should be doing right now.
"Hai ouji-sama," bowed Kiku again before leaving the room quietly, letting Arthur wallow in his own thoughts.
The amulet that was Arthur's pocket was glowing dimly in the flickers of the candles. Half of the men on the ship were asleep, but there was still the other half who were on look out. The night was cold, and after sailing for a day, Arthur could officially say that he was bored. There was no where to get any candy, his brothers weren't here to annoying him, and Kiku was busy with training some of the men.
Gazing out towards the see from the room's window, Arthur saw the glistening water, reflecting the light from the moon and starts. It was sparkling, and he could barely see some of the sea creatures swimming in there as well. But there was something else that caught his eye.
It was the reflection of the amulet that was in his hands. It was turning navy, with it changing colours rapidly. It was strange, how it would turn from warm to one second, with those bright vivid colours, to a dark navy blue that felt as cold as ice the next. Arthur felt his breath hitch in his throat as he heard muffled voices. Looking around, he saw no one, not even when he opened the door, the wardrobe, the drawers and so on, there was nothing.
"The sea makes us mad," muttered Arthur as he tried to shake the voices away.
But it was all just an useless attempt.
"Ouji-sama, are you okay?" Asked Kiku politely as he walked in, carrying a tray of tea and biscuits.
"Of course I am, what else would you think?" Retorted Arthur quickly as he stuffed the amulet back into his pocket.
"We have caught a glimpse of the ship that Allistor may be in," informed Kiku as Arthur smiled at that small piece of information.
"Then go attack that ship! The quicker that this is over and done with the better," instructed Arthur as Kiku shook his head before bowing.
"Gomen," apologized Kiku as Arthur stared at his most loyal servant with a bewildered face, "but it is too risky to attack now. We shall attack when it is morning. If it makes you feel better knowing, we already sent a fleet out towards that ship four hours ago, but it came back with some strange news."
"What was that news?" Snapped Arthur impatiently as Kiku replied quickly.
"There is an unknown source of power, stronger than a warlock some how. The survivors are still shaken on what the power was, it took out a lot of men from that fleet."
Breathing tightly, Arthur nodded his head before dismissing Kiku with the confirmation that tomorrow morning, they would strike again.
The air was still cold as Arthur held the blankets around him tightly, not allowing a slip of warmth to disappear. His mind was wandering around, wondering if Alfred and Matthew were alright by themselves in the massive palace. If Allistor was still alive on that ship. But one thought that some how gripped his heart was of this massive power that Kiku told him about before he left.
The strongest man on this ship would have to be the captain, the ex pirate, Roma Antiqua. It was obvious that he survived several battles, but he was still only an aquamancer, only a mage. This power that Kiku briefly spoke about seemed more powerful than that, able to shake the hard trained soldiers from the other fleet.
Fiddling with the covers, Arthur fell asleep with those thoughts playing on his mind, giving him nightmares through out the night.
The next morning, Arthur was woken up by a pair of bright violet eyes staring at him almost innocently, but as soon as he recognized the mop of beige hair, he screamed loudly before scattering to the furthest corner of his bed room.
"What are you doing here Ivan?!" Screamed Arthur as he panted lightly, his heart still racing.
"Did I scare the little prince?" Beamed Ivan brightly as he held his pipe in his hands, his scarf still covering his neck like normal.
"What are you doing here Ivan?" Demanded Arthur as Ivan laughed.
"It's time to eat little prince. We're going to attack soon!" Informed Ivan as before leaving the room to allow Arthur to have his privacy.
Waiting for a while, Arthur glanced at his bed that just seemed so warm and cozy, he just wanted to take another nap. But then he remembered why he was here, and also that they were going to be attacking soon. Grabbing his coat, he stuffed the amulet that laid under his pillow into his pocket, not allowing it to be left behind.
As soon as he walked into the dinning room, everyone bowed their head down and stopped eating, all greeting him with respect even though he was only an eight year old prince. He glided over towards to the table that was placed at the top of the room and sat next to the captain who was eating his breakfast and drinking a glass of wine.
"Good morning Arthur," grinned Roma as Arthur nodded his to acknowledge him.
"Morning," supplied Arthur bluntly as he began eating the toast that was placed in front of him.
"I have a feeling that an exciting battle will arise today~" Sang Roma lightly as Arthur glanced to him before drinking some of his orange juice.
"It doesn't matter, as long as we win this time round," stated Arthur as he continued to eat his food.
On the other hand, Roma completely ignored his food and just continued to converse with the small prince, taking a sip of wine every now and then, "ah, we are bound to though."
"Words are nothing unless you can make them come true," said Arthur as he stood up, finishing the last of his breakfast.
"Well I am bound to make my words reality then," boosted the captain cockily as Arthur eyed the man.
"Good luck then."
The ship began moving quicker, all the men were loading the cannons and preparing to attack. Mages were standing up front, casting protecting barriers on the ship whilst the soldiers on board were standing at the edge.
"Aim for their sails," instructed Roma as he smirked while descending the stairs from the captain quarters.
The canons were aims, and men lit them up. Within seconds, the loud explosion of the canons echoed in the sea as several of the men flinched from the sudden noise.
"They're heading this way, sir!" Yelled out one of the people in the crew as the captain nodded his head.
"Have we got the barriers up?" Asked Roma as Yao, one of the head mages quickly responded.
"Of course we do!" Replied Yao instantly.
"Roma-sama, they are sending a warning through out their ship. They are now preparing to attack," informed Kiku quietly as Roma nodded his head.
"Continue to attack, use the canons. Mages continue to support the barrier and soldiers, proper for the fight of your life," grinned Roma as the ship began sailing closer to the sleek pirate ship.