Treasure: ℛℯ-𝒲𝓇𝒾𝓉𝓉ℯ𝓃 |Pirate!England X Reader|

𝚇𝙸𝙸𝙸

"T-The ship-"

My cousin grasps the sleeve of my shirt and gives it a sharp tug. "Arthur, we have to get out of here! We're going to get killed!"

I try to move, but my body is frozen and my eyes stare into the flames roaring into the night sky. "Everyone's dead."

"Think of your mother, Arthur!" I turn to look at him, tears streaming from my eyes, and he attempts to give me a reassuring smile. "Let's get you home." His hand clutches onto mine, pulling me away from the dock and back into the town. The townspeople were still crowded around the square, my father's bloody, lifeless body lying in the middle of them.

That image is forever burned into my memory

It took us a few weeks to finally walk through the gates of our hometown, and the Kirkland residence was entirely abandoned. A majority of the help had resigned from serving our family once my father had been exiled for crimes committed against the Kingdom, but it seemed as though the people who had stayed to help my mother had also left.

My poor, sweet mother...

I found her body— pale, cold, and rigid, slumped over our dining hall table. Her once bright blue eyes glossed over, and her hands tightly clutched a photo of our family.

Not a single soul knew she had died— either that, or no one cared enough to give her a proper burial, as she was the wife of a Pirate.

The rage I felt that day towards my father and the world is nothing I'd ever experienced before, and haven't experienced since; it is exactly what made me into the successor he always wanted me to be. I trained harder than ever before, and as I got stronger, I was finally able to master the sword. In just a few months, I had the strongest crew behind me and a ship of my own. The Kingdoms were going to pay for what they did to my family, as I was the man to continue my father's legacy.

I pillaged towns, killed without a second thought, and destroyed countless lives in mere seconds— all things my father pushed me to do, and I knew I was making him proud.

But, if she knew what I had become...

What would she think of me?

Would she hate this man I've become? Would she understand that the suffering I went through hardened my heart and made me hate this world?

Would she even remember me like I was before?

"Arthur, are you alright?"

I blink my eyes and I'm back on my ship, laying into Toby's chest as he gently pets my head. "Y-Yes, I'm alright." I push myself off of him and stand, dusting my pants off with my hands while Toby rises to his feet, as well.  I look up and make eye contact with him and he reaches up to fix the collar of my shirt. "Thank you."

"I'm worried about you, Arthur."

"I'll be fine," I pause, pinching the bridge of my nose as I exhale. "We just need to get to Tealin."

My cousin's pale green eyes slowly drop, and he places a hand on my shoulder. "When we get there, will you actually be able to just hand her over?"

(Name's) POV

Quite a bit of time has past since that night in Paz; we've been on the sea for about five weeks now. I've continued learning positions on the ship, from navigating the ocean from Jack, to, reluctantly, learning the responsibilities of the Quarter Master.