Arthur made his way down the hall from your room. In all honesty, he was not looking forward to this little 'visit'. Not only did he dislike Antonio a great deal but he, in his opinion, would rather be keelhauled then to have him on his ship. But he had no choice.
'I should probably tell my men not to attack them.' he remembered as he made his way up the stairs. He found his men with swords out, ready to do some damage. Arthur sighed and made his way up to the helm, as a sort of platform so everyone could hear him.
"STAND DOWN MEN!" he shouted in the most ferocious way he could. The tone in his voice made all the men stop, possibly even shiver a bit.
"But Cap'n! That be a Spanish ship!" one men shouted back. Arthur scowled in the mans direction. The man soon shut up and scooted back into the crowd of men.
"Good!" he said. "Now! You men are not to do any harm to that ship! We are having an agreement. They will not attack us and we shall not attack them…IS THAT UNDERSTOOD!?!" he said, yelling harshly again at the end. The men all joined in a unison of "Aye Captain!"   
Arthur turned his attention back to the ship on the starboard side. He sighed and shook his head a little.
'This is going to be a looooooooooooooooong visit.' he said, pulling his hat down a little.
"Alright men! You know the drill!" he shouted. Suddenly the men went scrambling to their positions, pulling this, loosening that, scratching certain areas of their body which shall remain nameless. The ship was bustling with men preparing for the oncoming ship.
"Lets just get this over with." Arthur muttered under his breath. Sooner then he would have liked it the ship was now right next to his and preparing a plank to place between both ships. The sun was starting to set which gave the ship a dark appearance. Arthur came down the stairs to meet his unwanted guests. He didn't notice it at first but there were two flags on the ship. One was a Spanish flag and the other was Prussian. He tried his best not to scowl as he saw Antonio walking across the plank first, jumping down in a very passionate way, as the Spanish are very passionate about everything. Or at least that's what Arthur came to the conclusion of. Second in line was the most obnoxious man Arthur had ever come into unwanted contact with. Gilbert. An albino Prussian with an ego the size of twenty fleet ships, if that could even amount to it. He walked across the plank with as much swagger as he could show off before jumping down and announcing in a loud voice:
"I am awesome!" and giving Arthur a smirk before standing by Antonio's side, who was also smirking at Arthur. Lastly Francis came strolling along the plank, walking in a very graceful way that almost made Arthur sick.
'How did I ever manage to stand that when he was on my ship before???' he thought as Francis jumped down and walked up to him.
"Mon ami! Long time no see as they say!" he said as he gave Arthur two very unwanted kisses on his cheeks. Arthur squirmed out of Francis' unwanted embrace.
"I thought I told you never to do that to me frog!" he hissed. Antonio and Gilbert were snickering in the background. This made Arthur clench his teeth. Francis chuckled.
"Aw Arthur. You know it is a custom from my country. I am only showing that there are no 'ard feelings, non?" he said, flipping his hair in a ridiculous way. His long blond hair was already tied up in a blue ribbon so there was really no need to flip his hair, but apparently he felt in necessary. Arthur scoffed.
"No. And how can you say that? You were the one who left my ship in the first place!" he said in a raised and annoyed voice. Francis chuckled at Arthur's reaction.
"Why don't we talk about it mon ami? In your office. Just you and me?" he suggested. Arthur sighed but knew he needed to.
"Alright fine. But those two-" he said, pointing to Antonio and Gilbert "-Will stay out here!" Antonio and Gilbert chuckled.
"Fine with me amigo." Antonio said.
"I am far too awesome for zis place anyvays!" Gilbert commented. Arthur scowled at Antonio.
"I am not your friend." he hissed. Antonio clicked his tongue.
"Now, now Artur. Don't be like that." he said, grinning from ear to ear. His emerald eyes flickering with mischievous delight at seeing Arthur getting flustered.
"Arthur! My name is Arthur!" he shouted, his own green eyes now flickering with annoyance. Antonio chuckled and turned toward the plank to leave.
"That's what I said….Artur" he said quickly before bolting off the ship. Gilbert did the same, following his friend quickly off the ship before Arthur could say anything else.
Arthur scowled in their direction.
"I hate those two." he spat out to no one in particular. Francis chuckled and patted his shoulder, slinging an arm around them.
"Come. Let us talk." he said. Arthur looked at him and sighed.
"Fine." he said, removing Francis' arm from him "And don't touch me!" he spat again. Francis chuckled and followed Arthur to his cabin. Arthur, looked back to his men.
"BACK TO WORK!" he shouted ferociously at them. They all jumped and started working again. Arthur sighed and closed the door, heading to his cabin, Francis following behind.
"So. 'ow is everything 'ere?" Francis asked as he closed the door to Arthur's cabin. Arthur stopped as he got to his chair.
'(name), that's how things are here.' he thought to himself but shook it out of his head.
"Things are just fine. Better, in fact, since you've left." he said, taking a seat in his chair. Francis chuckled and sat down across from Arthur.
"Aw. Don't lie to me Arthur. You can tell me." he said, aggravating his old friend. Arthur huffed and tapped his fingers on the armrest of his chair, leaning his face on the other hand.
"I told you. Things are just fine. Now tell me. Why did you leave in the first place?" he said, getting impatient with the man sitting across from him. Francis chuckled and sat back in his chair.
"Please do not think I left because I didn't like it 'ere. That is not the reason at all. I left to go seek out some information for you." he said, smiling at Arthur. Arthur looked at him in confusion.
"Information? What sort of information?" he said, leaning forward in chair. Francis smiled and did the same.
"Information about a certain Cuban Captain." he said in a sing-song voice. Arthur's large brows shot up in surprise.
"Y-You found out information about Ricardo?!?" he said in surprise. Francis chuckled and sat back in his chair.
"Now that I 'ave your attention." he said " 'ow about we come to an agreement?"
Arthur cocked an eyebrow at him.
"What sort of an agreement? How do I even know this information is accurate?" he said, being skeptical. Francis gasped and put a hand over his heart.
"Arthur! You insult me!" he said, leaning on one side on the chair, crossing his legs.
"To think that moi would lie to you. You insult me mon ami." he said, crossing his arms and looking the other way, pouting.
Arthur sighed heavily in annoyance.
"Just tell me Francis." he said, becoming very impatient "I am not a patient man."
Francis looked over from the corner of his eye and smiled at Arthur.
"Alright mon ami. I will tell you." he said, relaxing in his chair as if he were going to talk about the weather instead of the man who killed Arthur's parents.
"I 'eard 'e was seen not too far from 'ere. 'eading south toward Normandy. Sources say 'e will be docking there." he said, twirling the end of his pony tail in his fingers. Arthur put his hands to his mouth in thought.
"Are you sure Francis?" Arthur said in a serious tone. Francis knew this tone as a 'If I find out your lying to me I will do unspeakable things to you.'… kind of tone. Francis chuckled but looked at Arthur in the same serious manner.
"I promise you Arthur. This information is accurate and very reliable." Arthur sat back in his chair and looked off to the side in thought.
"Normandy. Hmmm….that is a good two weeks sail from here…How did he manage to get ahead of me so quickly?" he asked, looking at Francis skeptically. Francis shrugged his delicate, er, manly shoulders…yeah…manly.
"I do not know mon ami. 'e 'as a very fast ship I suppose." Francis said, chucking a bit and leaning toward Arthur.
"That might be why 'e always 'as eluded you before." He winked at Arthur which only proved to irritate the Brit further.
"Spare me Francis." he said sarcastically, leaning forward and placing both hands on his mouth again in thought.
"How did you come across this information?" he said, glancing at Francis who was admiring his reflection in a silver spoon lying on Arthur's desk. Arthur grabbed the spoon from him and held it away from Francis.
"Francis!" he said in a louder voice. "How. Did. You. Come. Across. This. Information?" he said, enunciating each word. Francis sighed, most likely because he could no longer look at his own reflection.
"Antonio 'eard through the grapevine-" he started to say but was cut off by Arthur.
"Antonio?!?" he shouted, standing up abruptly, looking down at the Frenchman with anger.
"You honestly expect me to believe a word that Spanish dog tells me?!? For all you know it could have been false information. Set there just to humiliate me!" he, leaned closer to Francis to be more intimidating.
"I am not after money or jewels or glory like so many other pirates such as Antonio or Gilbert are after." he said, glaring Francis in the eyes.
"I am after him to avenge the brutal murder of my beloved parents. Do you under stand that Francis?" he finished. Sounding serious and terrifying at the same time. Francis stared at his friend with his baby blue eyes in shock and sadness. Francis knew very well what Arthur was after, he had always admired that he was after something noble instead of something trivial.
"Arthur." Francis said in a soothing soft tone. "I know very well what you are after." he stood up and looked at his friend in the eyes once more.
"That is why I am 'ere. To 'elp you. I can assure you that what Antonio told me is true. After all, what you said was right. 'e and Gilbert are after treasure. Cruz's treasure to be exact." he leaned in close and whispered:
"Rumor 'as it 'e is loaded with jewels and gold from all over the Caribbean." he stood up again and began in his normal voice.
"So, it is safe to assume that the information is accurate. Antonio 'as been after that treasure for years. Or, more likely, the treasure Cruz stole from 'im." Francis looked up at Arthur and smiled.
"You are not the only one 'o 'as 'ad something stolen by that man."
Arthur looked at Francis in thought.
'Well…it is Francis telling me this and he did give me his word. But can I really trust information from my enemy?'
He was torn in thought. Trust the information? Or not.
"Francis. How can I be sure its true." he said, eyeing his friend closely. Francis sighed and sat down.
"Arthur. I know 'ow important this is to you. Why would I lie to you?" he said. Giving Arthur a reassuring smile. Arthur sighed and sat down, rubbing his temples.
"I just don't know Francis…" he said, his voice trailing. Francis smiled at his friend, an idea creeping up into his brain.
"Then 'ow about I 'elp you with that decision." he said, pulling a bottle out from his coat and placing it in front of Arthur on the desk. Arthur stared at the brown bottle. He scoffed a bit.
"Really Francis? You think rum will change my mind?" he said, appalled that his friend would use rum to get an answer out of him. Francis chuckled and picked the bottle up.
"Come on Arthur. 'ow long 'as it been since we spent some time together, just the three of us?" he said, shaking the bottle back and forth. Arthur cocked an eyebrow.
"The three of us?" he asked. Francis laughed his signature laugh.
"You, me and our little rummy friend 'ere." he said, waving the bottle in front of Arthur's face.
"I know you 'ave been working like a slave for so long mon ami. Come on. Live a little. Relax and take it easy for one night. It would do you some good."
Arthur's expression softened and he chuckled a little.
"Alright. I suppose one drink wouldn't hurt."
Two hours and six shots of rum later the two were laughing like a bunch of idiots. Talking about this and that, laughing about old times and things they had done in the past.
"Ohonhonhon. You were out for two days!" Francis finished as they laughed about the time Arthur got knocked out because he gave another pirate that cocky grin of his. Arthur laughed and held his jaw.
"Don't remind me. That man punched like an ox." he said, flinching at the painful memory. Francis chuckled again and reached for the bottle, only to find it empty.
"Oh no mon ami." he said, showing Arthur the bottle and tipping it upside down.
"All gone." Arthur tried to focus his eyes on the bottle, it was a little fuzzy.
"Oh dear. Look at that…oh well." he said, leaning back into his chair. Francis set the bottle down and yawned.
"Oh, mon ami. It is getting late and I am getting tired. 'ow about I use my old room for tonight?" he said, stretching a bit. Arthur closed his eyes and tipped his head back.
"Why don't you sleep on Antonio's ship?" he said. Francis made a whining noise.
"'e is gone by now. Sailing off ahead of us. 'e said 'e would meet up with us further along in a few days." he said. Arthur sighed heavily and waved his hand at Francis, shooing him out.
"Fine. Fine. Go, get some sleep. I will see you in the morning." Arthur said, wanting some rest himself. Francis stood up with only slight difficulty and walked over to the door.
"Good night Arthur. I shall see you tomorrow, non?" he said. Arthur just gave him a nod in response. Francis chuckled and left the Captain to his tired thoughts. Arthur opened his eyes and thought for a moment.
"Hmmm…I feel as though I've forgotten something…" he said to himself.
~~~~~~~~~~
Francis walked down the hallway to his former room. Only having slight difficulty walking straight.
'Ah…its good to be back.' he thought to himself as he made his way closer and closer to his room. Soon he found his old room. Nothing had changed in the past month that he had been gone. He was glad. It would make getting comfortable in his old room again easier.
He took the door knob in his hand and turned it, the door made a quiet creaking noise as it opened. He noticed his old room was dark, but that was to be expected being that it was well on into the night. He smiled and closed the door behind him. He was tired and was going to enjoy a little shut eye. That's when he noticed something different about his room. It wasn't the furniture or the size. But rather his bed. There, sleeping soundly in his bed was someone. He cocked an eyebrow.
'What is this?' he thought, taking a few steps closer to examine the sleeping figure in his bed.
You.
He chuckled quietly when he saw it was a woman.
'So, Arthur is giving me a little present to say no hard feelings? Oh Arthur you shouldn't 'ave' he thought, taking his coat off and tossing it across the chest. He sat down on it and took his boots off, setting them down. He smirked as he got up and made his way to the bed. He sat down carefully so as not to wake you…just yet. He gently slung his arm across your sleeping frame and closed his eyes.
~~~~~~~~~~~
You were woken up to two different things. First, something slightly heavy across your waist. The second. A presents in your bed.
'What the?!?' you thought as you opened your eyes and looked down to see an arm. This confirmed your suspicions. You were confused right now.  
'Peter?' you thought. So you turned your head around to get a good look at who this person was. It wasn't Peter. It wasn't anyone you knew. This stranger had long blond hair, stubble on his chin and was grinning at you.
"Well 'ello belle" this stranger said. Your eyes widened. Not only were you freaking but who was this person?!?  What you did next took him completely by surprise. You screamed as loud as you could. This caused him to let go of you and cover his ears.
"Mon cher! Please!" he said, trying to get you to stop screaming. But you didn't. You sat up and kept screaming. When he tried reaching for you, most likely to cover your mouth, you grabbed the closest thing you could to beat him off of you.
A pillow.
You grabbed it and just started swinging it at him as hard as you could. You knew it wouldn't really hurt him, but at least it would distract him.
"Please! *SMACK* Mon cher! *SMACK* Stop! *SMACK*" Every time he tried to speak you just smacked him in the face with the pillow, cutting his sentences off. You didn't care what he had to say. There was a strange man in your bed and you didn't like it.
"GET AWAY! GET AWAY! GET AWAY!" You screamed over and over again. You wouldn't stop until he was gone. Suddenly your door burst open and there stood Ian, looking worried.
"Lass!" he cried, seeing you trying to defend yourself with a pillow. In one quick move Ian pulled the stranger away from you and grabbed him by the throat. It was too dark to see his face.
"Get yer filthy hands off her!" Ian snarled at this unidentified person. Ian assumed in was one of the crew being a little too fresh.
~~~~~~~~~~~~ Moments before…
Arthur sat up in his chair in thought.
"What am I forgetting? I feel like it is something important….blast! I can't think with all this rum in my body…" he said to himself, slumping in his chair. He rested his chin in one of his hands and looked around his room. His eyes fell to his desk and the mess on top of it.
"Ah…I should organize these papers." he said to himself, standing up and shuffling paper. He soon came across some maps. He picked them up and sorted them. That's when he came across the map you had drawn on.
"Hmm…(name)….." he said to himself. Suddenly his eyes widened. He soon remembered what he had forgotten earlier.
"Oh no! (name)!" he shouted to himself. Suddenly he heard a scream. He knew who it belonged to. He dropped the map, bolting out of his room and running down the stairs faster then he ever thought he could.
'No, no, no, no, no! (Name)! Forgive me! I completely forgot!' he thought frantically to himself. He just had to get to your room before Francis tried anything. He know he would.
Sooner then he thought he reached your room to find the door open. When he entered he found you looking scared, sitting on your bed, clutching a pillow to your body. Then he saw Ian with Francis by the throat. Francis looked scared, confused and very uncomfortable. How comfortable could a person be while they are being choked?
"Ian! Let go of him!" Arthur shouted, entering the room further. Ian just glared at the man he was holding.
"He tried to hurt the lass Cap'n." he said bitterly. Arthur grabbed Ian's shoulder.
"Its Francis Ian! Stand down!" he said in a serious tone. Ian's eyes widened and he let go quickly. Francis fell to the floor, coughing and gasping for air.
~~~~~~~~~
You sat on the bed clutching your weapon to your body for comfort. You looked at Ian to the Captain to the man on the floor. You thought you saw the man named Francis pull out a handkerchief and bite down on it to stop the tears from coming.
"F-Francis?!?" Ian said in shock "I thought ye left!"
Francis sat on the floor, looking scared and upset.
"I came back you imbecile!" he managed to say, thought his voice sounded like he was going to cry. The Captain sighed and shoes Ian away.
"Thank you Ian, you may go now. I will deal with Francis on my own." he said. Ian nodded and turned to you.
"Are ye alright lass?" Ian asked, looking at your shocked and shaken frame. You just managed to nod in response. Ian wanted to go over and comfort you but he knew better then to disobey the Captains orders. So he left quietly.
The Captain turned his attention to Francis, who was still on the floor. Biting his handkerchief and tossing his head back and forth dramatically. Arthur sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Oh please Francis, get up like a man." he said, kicking Francis a little for encouragement. Francis complied and stood up. Arthur turned his attention to you. He noticed how shaken you looked, his face softened.
"Come here (name)." he said softly, motioning you to come to him with his hand. You slowly scooted off the bed and made your way to him. Cautiously making your way around Francis, keeping a close eye on this strange man. Once you were past him you ran to the Captain, sticking to his side like your life depended on it. He wrapped an arm around your shoulder for comfort.
"Are you alright?" he asked, looking down to you. You looked up at him and nodded quickly, breaking eye contact with him to glare at the other man who was smiling at you. You decided you didn't like this man. You pointed a finger at him angrily.
"Who on earth is that!?!" you yelled in frustration. "I awoke to this freaky guy in my bed!" Francis chuckled and winked at you.
"Admit it, you enjoyed the company mon cher." he said, leaning down close to you. You scowled at him and smacked him in the head with your pillow.
"You pervert!" you yelled at him. He chuckled but stopped when the Captain smacked him upside the head.
"Enough Francis. You've done enough already." he said in a serious but tired voice. Francis rubbed his head and looked at Arthur.
"But Arthur I thought she was a little present for me." he whined. Arthur glared at him. Francis shut up soon and shrugged his shoulders.
"Fine. I am going to bed." he said turning to your bed.
"Hey! Your not sleeping in here with me!" you yelled at him. Who did this guy think he was? Arthur stopped you and shook his head.
"No (name). This is Francis' rightful room." he said. You looked up at him angrily.
"Well then what am I suppose to do?!?" you said in a raised voice. The Captain sighed and looked at you in a kind way.
"You will stay in my quarters until Francis is gone." He said, turning his attention to Francis. Francis gave him his signature laugh. He opened his mouth to say something but the Captain stopped him
"Francis don't say a word." he said in a serious tone. Francis closed his mouth.
"In the mean time I suggest you get some rest. And stay away from her Francis." he said in an annoyed tone. You could tell he was irritated by this man. It took you a moment to register what he had just said.
'Wait…I'm sleeping in his cabin? With him in it?!?' You thought frantically. You backed up a bit.
"W-Wait a minute. You expect me to sleep in your room? Are you crazy?!?" you said to the Captain. He turned around to look at you.
"Would you prefer to sleep in here?" he asked. You shook your head quickly. He smiled.
"Good. Well then." he said, turning to Francis "We shall see you in the morning." he said. Taking your hand and quickly leading you out of the room before Francis could say anything else. This was one strange day. But right now you were so tired you didn't care about anything except for some sleep.
The Captain led you to his cabin, shutting the door behind him. He let go of your hand and looked down in shame.
"(name)…..I am so sorry." he said, looking up at you.
"I had completely forgotten you were in there." he said. You crossed your arms and glared at him.
"Mind explaining all of this to me?" you said in irritation. He sighed and nodded.
"Yes, please allow me to explain"