Arthur woke up to the morning sun shining into his room by the big window. He blinked a few times and sat up. The red and black sheets slid off of his body as he did. He rubbed his tired eyes a few times and yawned.
"Time to start another day." he said to himself. He threw his legs over the side of his bed and sat on the edge, rubbing his eyes some more. He yawned again and stood up, stretching his tired body. He walked over to the window and looked out of it. He smiled as the sun greeted him over the horizon. Golden rays flicking out and reflecting off of the water. Making it seem like the sea was turning into liquid gold. He grunted and turned to his dresser. He pulled out one of his white shirts and slipped it over his head, pulling his arms through afterwards. He picked up his boots and sat at the edge of his bed and put his left one on first. He chuckled as he thought about the conversations he had with you last night.
'I must find out where she's from and what sort of trouble she's gotten herself into. I don't need people coming after her and ruining my plans.' He put his foot down and picked up his right boot, pulling it on his foot.
'I also don't want her getting hurt either.' he thought as he placed his right foot down and stood up. He was just starting to tuck his shirt in when Peter came bursting in, a look of panic plasters his features.
Arthur looked at him in confusion and concern. Peter had never looked that scared before so he knew something was terribly wrong.
"Peter? Are you alright?" he asked his younger brother, stepping toward him. Peter just shook his head frantically, eyes wide and he was breathing heavily.
"Peter. What's wrong? What's happened? Are you hurt?" He asked his younger sibling, placing both hands on his little shoulders. Peter just looked at him, fear in his eyes.
"N-No. I-I'm fine. B-But-" Arthur cut him off.
"Peter" he said sternly "What. Happened." he said, emphasizing each word. Peter shook as he spoke, he was really concerned for you.
"Its miss (name)" he said. Arthur's huge eyebrows furrowed.
"(name)? What's wrong with her?" he asked, now getting concerned for you. Peter started to hyperventilate a bit.
"S-She's hurt!" he said
"Hurt?" Arthur repeated, worry in his voice.
"Yes! She's bleeding! Very badly!" he shouted. Arthur's eye's widened.
"Bleeding?!?" he said, this time panic laced his voice and his face. He let go of Peter and grabbed his coat, putting it on quickly.
"Peter! You have to take me to her! You have to take me to her right now!" he said, walking quickly toward his little brother. Peter quickly led the way to your room.
'I swear if any of my men hurt her it will be the devil to pay!' he thought angrily to himself as he quickly ran down the stairs, following right on Peters heals. He passed some of the crew on his way.
"Oh! Mornin' Cap'n!-" one started to say but Arthur shoved past them, knocking them into the wall. The men stood there dumbfounded.
"He looks upset." one said to himself.
Arthur didn't care who he pushed out of the way. All he cared about was getting to you, and hopefully, you'd be alright.
~~~~~~~~~~~~Meanwhile, in a small room.
"Oh no. Oh no. Oh no, no, no." you said to yourself as you paced the little room back and forth, both hands on your face.
"This isn't happening. This isn't happening! This cannot be happening!" you said to yourself. You were beginning to panic. And who could blame you? You were on a ship full of men who didn't know the first thing about periods or anything feminine.
'What am I going to do? I don't have any pads or tampons or anything! Not even chocolate!…THIS SUCKS BEYOND BELIEF!' Your thoughts were beginning to yell at you now. You doubled over as another wave of cramps hit you.
"O-owwww" you whimpered. You really needed to think of something. You had to use something as a makeshift pad or something. Then you mentally slapped yourself.
"I don't have time to think about that right now! Captain Kirkland is going to be busting in through that door any second now!" you said to yourself in a raised voice. Just as you started to think about this you heard someone yelling your name.
'Oh…NO!' you thought
"(NAME)!" you recognized it as the captains voice, and he sounded worried. Your door knob jiggled but it didn't budge.
'Oh no. Oh no. Oh no.' you thought. You were now on level 5 of panic.
"(name)! Open up! Your hurt!" he shouted from the other side of the door.
"No! I-I'm fine really I'm fi-aaaah!" you started to cramp up again. Your words ended with you in pain. You doubled over again. This didn't escape the captains wolf like hearing.
"(NAME!) Open up right now! You need help!" he started banging on the door furiously. His fist pounded loudly. You had a feeling that he would be able to break the door down very easily.
"No. I'm fine. Please don't worry-ah!" you said. Your voice was quiet and full of pain.
'Stupid cramps! Your making this situation sound worse!' you thought. You could only think of what the Captain thought was wrong.
"I SWEAR ON EVERYTHING THAT IS HOLY IF ANY OF YOU GITS HURT HER I WILL SKIN YOU ALIVE!"  he shouted. You could practically feel the fear in the air from the crew. He sounded terrifying. But wait. Was he…concerned about you? Even being protective of you?
'That can't be' you thought but were brought back to reality when you heard more banging on the door. But his time, it sounded like some ones shoulder ramming into it instead of a fist.
'Crap!' you thought.
"Captain!"
*BANG*
"Please!"
*BANG*
"Its not what you think!"
*BANG* You heard him stop for a bit.
"Blast you idiot! You have keys!" you heard him say, you then heard the sound of keys jingling.
'CRAP!' you yelled in your head. Before you could say another word or do anything the door flung open and hit the opposite wall hard. The captain burst in, looking worried, angry, panicked and all of the above. He looked at you, looking worried sick.
"(Name)!" he said, he ran over to you and grabbed your shoulders.
"What's wrong? What happened? You sounded like you were in pain! Peter told me your hurt! He told me you were bleeding! Where are you bleeding!?!" he said in a raised voice. You were afraid he was going to burst a vein.
"I-" he cut you off.
"Who hurt you? Did my men? Did they hurt you? Did they touch you? I swear if they did-" his voice was very dark and protective sounding but you had to cut him off before things got any more awkward. Which they would regardless. But you didn't know that.
"Captain! Listen to me!" you shouted back. Now that you had his attention you decided to try to fix this mess.
"It was just a misunderstanding. That's all" you said. That didn't suffice him thought.
"Peter told me you were bleeding! Where are you hurt!?!" he said, looking you up and down, trying to see any sign of injury. His eyes widened when he looked above your head. You knew exactly what he was looking at. You groaned. You were so embarrassed right now. You just wanted to disappear. He let go of your shoulders and took a step back. His face was now red, as red as his coat. He placed a hand over his mouth, unable to speak. He too was embarrassed. You saw that some of the crew was looking into your room. You wanted to die.
'Just kill me now!' you groaned internally. The Captain noticed this and turned around.
"Back to work!" he shouted at his men. They all jumped and scrambled away. Now it was just you, him and Peter. Arthur took in a deep breath.
"Peter." he said calmly. Peter looked up at him.
"Yes sir?" he asked. The Captain looked down at him.
"Could you give miss (name) and I a moment alone please?" he said. Peter nodded and left you two alone, closing the door on his way out. The atmosphere in the room was awkward. There wasn't a room big enough that could contain the amount of awkwardness in this room right now. On a scale of one to ten...it was eleven. You looked down in embarrassment. Arthur didn't look at you. He couldn't. He had heard about woman and their 'monthly issues' but he had never seen it before. Now that he had, he wanted to crawl into a big hole and die from embarrassment.
'This is not dignified for me to be in here with her right now!' he thought to himself. In all honesty, he didn't know what to do. He hadn't really had much experience with women before besides his mother. So this was…awkward for him as well. He finally manned up and spoke.
"A-Are you feeling alright?" he asked, his voice stuttering as he spoke. You wanted to giggle at his awkwardness.
'He's so funny and cute when he's embarrassed.' you thought. His awkwardness to the situation made you feel a little better for some reason.
"Well, besides the monster cramps and obvious bleeding I'm just peachy keen!" you said, trying to sound confident. Maybe it would help?
"T-That's good!" he said, still unable to look at you. You giggled a bit out loud. You could see his ears getting redder, if that was even possible.
"Look…I know this is awkward for both of us. Its not exactly the way I planned this morning to be. And I know the same if true of you." you said. He just fidgeted a bit, CLEARLY unsure of what to do.
"I have to ask though. Peter didn't seem to understand what was going on. Have you? You know….given him 'the talk' yet?" you asked, a little embarrassed to ask such a question, but hey! It had to be asked! Arthur shook his head quickly.
"Ah, well. That explains a lot." you said. "Do you need to have 'the talk' too?" You asked, giggling. He was dying from embarrassment and you loved it for some reason.
"L-Look. This is all, uh, out of my experience and knowledge. So I'm hoping you know what to do then?" he asked, sounding desperate. You smiled and walked up behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He jumped at your sudden touch.
"I'll be okay. All I need is to rest and…maybe a few pieces of spare cloth or something?" you said, giving him a hint.
"O-Oh! Yes. Of course." he said "Why don't you take the day off today?" he suggested. You smiled.
"I think that would be a good idea." you said, giggling at him. You could see his cheeks were still pretty red. His whole awkwardness about this made you laugh. You thought it was cute.
"I-I will inform the cook and have your things brought to you right away." he said before opening the door and closing it on his way out. He leaned against the wall and breathed. He was still dazed by what had happened.
'Idiot! I should have guessed 'that' when Peter told me she was bleeding…' his thoughts wandered as he remembered what he saw on your bed. He flushed red again and walked down the hall to go tell Gibbons what to bring you.
'Now I won't be able to focus for the rest of the day' he thought.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You sighed heavily. "Well…that couldn't have gone any worse." you said to yourself. You walked over to the bed and sat down.
'Now my pants are all dirty…greeeeeeeeat.' you thought to yourself.
'Now what am I going to do?'. You lay down on the bed, unsure of what else to do. After five minutes or so you heard a knock on your door.
"Lass? May I come in?" It was Gibbons. You sighed.
"The door's open." you called back. The door slowly opened and Gibbons came in, holding a bucket of water in one hand and some rags and what looked like a spare change of clothing in the other. He gave you a big smile, knowing how embarrassed you must be. He was trying to cheer you up.
"Mornin' lass. I, uh, I heard about the little incident this mornin'." he said and set the bucket down by your feet. He held up the contents in his other hands.
"I got what the captain told me ye wanted! And also some spare change of clothing." he said, handing you the clothing. You took them gratefully.
"Oh. Thank you." you said.
'Oh sweet goodness yes! Fresh clothes! Wait. Pirates clothing…scratch the fresh part.' you thought. You looked up at Gibbons and smiled.
"Well, I'll leave ye to wash up and dress yerself. I'll be back later to bring yer breakfast to ye." he said smiling at you and left. You looked down at the clothes in your hands.
'They seem like they'll fit.' you thought to yourself. You stood up and unfolded the clothes. They were perfect for you! Just your size!
'Must be Peter's clothes' you thought to yourself. Peter was the only other person on this ship who was similar to your size. You laid the clothes out on the bed and started to unzip your pants.
"Wait a minute" you stopped and looked at the door.
"I don't need to be embarrassed anymore today." With that you walked over to the door and locked it. You wanted some real privacy. You took off your pants and looked at them.
'I need to wash these' you thought. You tossed them aside and took off your underwear. You decided you needed to wash them too. Since you had a bucket of water you may as well take advantage of it. So you sat cross legged on the floor, being careful not to get any splinters in your butt or other sensitive areas. Once you were done you rung them out and let them dry. In the mean time you decided to wash yourself clean. You took one of the rags you were given and got it wet. You removed your shirt and bra. Hey. You were all by yourself so it wasn't bad or anything. Once you finished cleaning yourself you decided to put on your clean clothes. You put your panties back on. It was a little damp still but it would dry. You strategically folded one of the dry rags and placed it in your underwear. Congratulations! You just made your very first makeshift pad! You were just happy to have something to protect yourself from further grossness. You clipped and put your bra back on and looked at the clothes set for you. Black pants, a black belt. One of those big white shirts. You always laughed at the sleeves. In your opinion, the sleeves were compensating for something. Thankfully there was a small black vest to go with it.
'Not bad' you thought. So you started from the bottom and worked your way up. You slipped the pants on. Since they were meant for a little boy and not a full grown young woman they were a little snug but not uncomfortably snug. Hey, you couldn't help what mama gave you. You slipped the shirt over your head. That only left the vest and belt. You put the vest on and buttoned it as well. It too fit you well. Almost like it was tailored to fit your body. Finally you put the belt around your hips and fastened it. You walked over to the mirror and looked at yourself. You liked what you saw. You were looking good! The clothing fit well so that it complimented your body type. You put your hands on your hips and looked yourself up and down.
"What's cookin' good lookin'" you said to yourself before giggling. You winced as another cramp hit you.
"Owwwwwwww" you whined and you made your way over to the bed. You lay down on your back, hoping it would help ease the cramps. Then you remembered something.
"I didn't call Alfred yesterday!" you said to yourself, mentally slapping yourself. You reached into your sweatshirt pocket and grabbed your phone.
"He's probably going to be a mess from worrying about me…." you stopped and looked up.
"I'll bet he didn't sleep last night." you looked down at your phone and dialed his number. Letting it ring.
~~~~~~~~~Meanwhile, in the basement of a tired little American.
The floor was littered with garbage. Mostly hamburger wrappers and crushed up cans of soda. Alfred leaned against the wall, tired and unable to relax. He was forcing his eyes to stay awake. He didn't want to miss you if you called. But. Slowly his eyes closed and his head nodded off to sleep. That's when he heard 'Born to be Wild' coming from his phone. He jolted awake, kicking his legs up in surprise sending crushed cans flying in the air. He frantically crawled over to where his phone was and pushed the talk button.
"(Name!) Oh thank god! I was so worried!" he said in relief "Whyyyyyyyyyyy didn't you call me last night?" he whined into the phone. He heard you chuckle on the other line.
"Sorry bro, I uh, was a little preoccupied and couldn't" he heard you say. He pouted, sticking his bottom lip out.
"Too preoccupied to talk to me?" he said, sounding like a little kid. He heard you sigh.
"Yeah. Unfortunately. You would not believe what happened Al-" he heard you hiss as if you were in pain. His eyes got bigger.
"(Name)? Are you okay???" he asked. Desperate to know what was going on. He heard you groan before you spoke.
"Yyyyyeah. I'm ok. Just cramping up a storm here." you said. He cocked an eyebrow. He was so tired he didn't get it.
"Huh?" he said. He heard you huff on the other line.
"I'm ON it, Alfred! Ya know. The crimson tide. Eve's curse. Shark week. Auntie Rose. Cousin Red. The flood gates have open and the red sea is rushing out." you said, using many of the code words you used to describe your monthly 'issue'. Alfred's eyes widened. He got it finally.
O-Oh! Oh. Oooooooooooooh." he said, drawling out the last word. You and Al were really close so he didn't think it weird for you to be talking to him about your feminine problems. Heck. You were over so often he had your feminine care products under his sink just in case.
"Dude! That totally sucks! And you don't even have chocolate to help!" he said, feeling genuinely sorry for you. He heard you scoff.
"Tell me about it. And you would not believe what happened this morning." you said. This perked his interest.
"Oooo. DO tell" he said, leaning back into the wall. You explained in great detail all that had happened this morning, not leaving anything out. When you were finished Alfred was on the floor laughing his butt off.
"Shut up Alfred! Its not funny!" you shouted at him over the phone. He was laughing so hard he wasn't making a sound. What a great friend! Right? After he caught his breath he spoke again.
"I-I'm sorry (name). Its just…Bahahaha!" he started laughing again. He couldn't help it. It WAS a funny situation. Although you were sure you'd laugh about it later, right now it only rubbed your raw hormones the wrong way.
"I'm hanging up now" you threatened. That shut him up.
"No! Wait! I was just kidding (Name)!" He said. He could tell you were grinning triumphantly. He knew you well enough to know what you were doing even when he wasn't there.
"(name)…You didn't tell anyone anything…personal about you…right?" he asked. He heard you hesitate. That worried him.
"(name)?" he asked sternly.
"Well…?" you said. He gasped.
"(NAME)! What did I tell you!" he shouted at you.
"Hey! Its not my fault! Its…it's the hormones! They made me do it! I couldn't control myself!" you said in defense. He shook his head.
'I can't believe she did that' he thought, face palming.
"(Name). What exactly did you tell them? And who did you tell?" he asked. He wanted to know how badly you messed up.
"Well…I told the Captain about my brother Jacob… And about how you could count the stars where I'm from… And he asked about the bracelet… And I didn't tell him anything… But I worded it in a way that gave him an opportunity to ask again... Then I face palmed... Then I didn't it a second time… And then a third time…Then-" he cut you off.
"I get it. I get it. You screwed up." he said tiredly.
"Hey! I didn't tell him where I'm from or anything about the future or anything!" you said in defense. Alfred chuckled.
"Not yet." he said. He heard you huff.
"Hey! I won't." you said. He smiled.
"Yes you will (name). I know you. Somehow, someway he's going to find out and then were all doomed." he said, but in a non serious way. After all, this is Alfred were talking about. Suddenly he heard knocking on the other line.
"Miss? Who are you talking to?" Alfred's breath hitched in his throat. And he knew…so did yours.
"Alfred! I gotta go! I'll call you later!" you whispered into the line and hung up.
"(Name)! Wait!" He started. But it was too late. You had hung up already. He removed the phone from his ear and let his arm drop between his legs.
"Be careful (name) he muttered.
~~~~~~~~~~~Meanwhile. Back in a tiny room.
You shoved the phone back into your sweatshirt. You quickly got up and walked over to the door. You opened it to see Peter standing there, looking confused.
"Hey Pete." you said. He looked in the room, looking around.
"Who were you talking to miss?" he said, craning his neck in further to see if someone was in there.
"Ah-haha-No. No one. I was just…talking to myself." you said. He shrugged his shoulders.
"May I come in miss?" he asked, looking sweetly at you. You nodded and let him in. He walked in and looked at the stain on your bed, then to your jeans which also had the same stain on them. Then to the rag that had blood stains on it.
"Miss? Are you alright now? How did you get hurt? My brother wont tell me what the matter was." he said, turning to you. You sighed and placed your hands on your hips.
"Its no problem. Really. I'm fine" you said. He looked at you indignantly.
"How can you say that! Your injured miss! Look! There's blood all over your bum!" he said in a raised voice. You sighed shaking your head and looked down.
'There's no way around it…I'm going to have to explain periods to him…that means I'm also going to have to explain the facts of life to him too…great.' you thought. You looked up at him.
'This is going to be weird.' you thought.
"Hey Pete. Did your brother ever tell you about the differences between men and women?" you asked. He looked up and thought for a moment.
"Not that I can recall. There's not much differences between a man and a woman. Except women are shaped much differently then men and don't have to stand to relieve themselves." he said.
"Oy vey." you muttered to yourself. You shook your head in disbelief.
'I can't believe that idiot didn't tell him ANYTHING!' you thought. You sighed and looked at Peter.
"Peter. Why don't you sit on the bed with me…we need to have a talk." you said and motioned for him to sit.
"Alright miss!" he said and sat down excitedly. You slowly made your way to the bed and sat next to him. You turned your body to face him. He looked excited and happy.
'How am I going to do this?' you thought to yourself.
"Peter…. I'm going to explain a few things to you. You may not like them…and some of it may gross you out. But you have to know these things for later on in life. Okay?" you said. He nodded at you. You took a deep breath.
'Here goes nothing' you thought.
"Okay.' Peter. When a man and woman love each other very much…"
And so you began to give Peter 'The Talk'…