✔ Masquerade | England [EDITING]

t h i r t y - f o u r

Third Person P.O.V

Three days had passed since the ship left Japan and it was en route to Russia. It was a pleasant day, nothing much was going on on the ship.

You were feeling a lot better than yesterday and as always, you were sweeping the deck. Arthur was nowhere to be seen. Antonio has been unconscious for three days. Gilbert and Francis were not fooling around like they always did.

Lovino was up on the bird's nest like always but, this time, Feliciano and Arthur's eagle were with him. Alfred was holed up in Antonio's room along with Michelle.

You remember the terror and sorrow on Alfred's face when he saw you last night, all bruised and cut. You almost felt like you shouldn't have invited him to join the crew. He was only a young boy. Shouldn't his childhood be a bit more pleasant and fun? 

He shouldn't be scarred for life so early, right? 

You looked at the deck. There was a deathly, deafening silence. Everyone was in position, but none of them said a word. The swish of your broom against the wood, the waves and the birds were the only audible sounds.

You sighed heavily, "This sucks."

You looked around once again, trying to look for Arthur. Still, even though it was futile, you dropped your broom and ventured the ship in search.

Arthur's P.O.V

Again. Once again, I was drinking. Trying to wash everything away.

Alfonso and I were in a room below the deck. It was dimly lighted with two candles by the side. I sighed heavily, still surprisingly sober even after drinking a few shots of whiskey. Alfonso had only a glass of Antonio's sangría in front of him, untouched.

We sat in silence.

"What happened, Commander?" He demanded, leaning on the table as he hung his head down.

"It's a long story." I muttered helplessly, taking in another shot.

"Commander, please stop drinking and tell me what happened." he snatched the bottle and the glass away.

I said nothing in protest as I slouched on the chair.

"Antonio and Kiku took ____ to the market, bought her a few things and took her to a mochi shop. Before they knew it, she disappeared." I started and rubbed my sleepless eyes.

"So, the three of us had to fight and kill a lot of people just to get to their base."

"I don't even want to talk about their boss. A sadist without any mercy. The more you're injured, the more he wants to kill you."

"That's what he tried to do to your brother." I entwined my fingers.

Let me tell you a little something about this Portuguese man: If anyone attempts or actually hurts his brother, you're f*cked. It's the same with Antonio.

"First he lands a huge blow on him and then tries to slit his neck." I grit my teeth, "What a sick person."

"It's getting hard to breathe here," Alfonso fanned himself, "Let's go up."

Both of us stood up and walked to the deck. I was hesitant to go up, since she was there. I wouldn't want her to know that I killed people, although I'm a pirate and that its part of my job to. We were at the deck and she wasn't there.

"Where is she?" I looked about and noticed that her broom was on the floor.

"She's probably searching for you." said Alfonso, "I'm going to Antonio's room."

"Sure." I replied, not looking at him. He walked off, spent a few minutes inside and then walked out. 

"How's he doing?" I asked.

"He's still alive, thankfully. We just need to wait for him to wake up." he ran his fingers through his hair.

"That's a relief." I replied as I watched the glistening waves. There was a five minute silence when out of the blue, I headbutted the railings.

"Commander, are you okay?" He asked.

"No," I said, "Will you hear me out?"

"Of course." he smiled and stood next to me.

"You know, two years ago, I killed her father, right?" I whispered.

"Yes," he nodded, "Still can't get over it?"

"Yeah. Now, it's driving me insane." I said, "If I wait any longer, I seriously am going to....."

I sighed. Alfonso knew the rest of my sentence. He held my shoulder.

"If you can't wait any longer, tell her tonight." Alfonso said; squeezing my shoulder.

"But-" I was interrupted.

"No, Arthur. You have every opportunity in the world to tell her and you need to take it before it slips away." If he called me by name, whatever he was saying was definitely serious stuff.

"You know, the sooner the better."

"Alright." I nodded.

"I know it will be hard but, you must." He gave me a reassuring smile. I nodded slowly and he walked away, leaving me to my thoughts.

"Arthur!" I heard someone call. I turned around to find _____ running towards me.

"What happened?" I asked as soon as she came close.

"Where on earth were you?!" She shouted.

"Just... you know... drinking with Alfonso?" I shrugged.

"I'm surprised that you're still sober." she nudged my arm. I was surprised that she didn't get angry.

"Shut up." I grumbled. She laughed. I'll say, her laughter is like music to my ears. Yeah, I know it's really cliché and unoriginal. Her laughter died down and she looked at me silently.

"Are you okay, Arthur?" She asked.

"Yeah. I'm great." I replied.

No, I'm definitely not okay.

"I see..." she nodded and looked at me suspiciously. I was surprised that she actually accepted that reason. She is surprising me a lot today.

"Hey..." I called softly.

"Hm?" She quickly turned to me.

"Will you do me a favor?"

"Yes?" She eyed me curiously.

"I want you to meet me here after dinner tonight."

"Why?" she asked.

"I need to talk to you." I breathed.

"Okay."

Continued

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