Parent!England x Fem!Reader: The Park

Chapter 14: Pirates

"This is epic," said Alfred, grinning mischievously at his siblings. "Now Dad AND (Y/n) are here, so we can use them to do anything!" He stood above them on the stairs leading to one of the slides. "Captain Jones will be the best pirate around!" He adjusted his paper hat that had taken so long to make. Michelle jumped up and clapped her hands. 

"Yay! So we can get them right now?" 

"No," Matthew said, holding his hand out in front of him, "we have to train first." Captain Jones smiled, pointing at his brother.

"Great thinking, First Mate Williams," Alfred said. He came down from the steps to start pacing around the woodchips of the playground. "To the merry-go-round!" The band raced towards the roundabout.

First Mate Matthew and Gunner Michelle climbed on and held the handrails tightly as the Captain grabbed one and sprinted in a circle to get it going. He was running as fast as humanly possible while turning a giant metal wheel. The world began to spin around the Gunner as she called out to her brother.

"Uh, Captain, I think we're going too fast!" The Captain laughed before hopping onto the merry-go-round.

"Nonsense, this is perfect!" The First Mate looked about ready to vomit as his glasses slid down his face. They eventually went flying off. The Gunner tried to grab them for him, but her other hand lost its grip on the rail. The glasses fell off along with the Gunner. 

"MICHELLE!" Without a second of hesitation, the First Mate let go and rolled off to rescue his sister. Following suit, the Captain jumped off the spinning object in a heroic pose.

***

Michelle opened her eyes slowly, looking up at the bright blue sky. Her head hurt, and the sand beneath her was hot. Wait, when did we get to the sandbox? She quickly sat up and realized this wasn't the sandbox; it was a beach. Beyond her a few more feet was an ocean that stretched out to the horizon. On her opposite side was a jungle with hanging vines and gnarled trees. 

She stood up and dusted the sand off her red shirt and black pants she didn't remember wearing. Even her hair was tied back with a brown scarf. Stuck in her belt was a long sword. 

"Captain Jones?" she called tentatively. "First Mate?" For a moment, the only sounds were from the waves crashing onto the beach and birds calling in the near jungle. Then there was a jungle call that rose above the treetops. Captain Jones soon swung into view, clinging to a vine. He landed in the sand in front of her with a thud.

"Ahoy matey! We've been shipwrecked!" She looked at him, dumbfounded. "No need to be sad, lass! We just have to find our First Mate and fix our boat. Then we'll go home." As he spoke, she studied the pirate hat that rested atop his head. It was covered in feathers and jewels that she didn't remember stealing. His clothes were similar to hers. 

"Where's the First Mate?" The two had started walking aimlessly through the forest. The moist ground pulled at their boots and gave the area a muggy feel.

"I, uh, actually have no idea." He drew his own sword and began cutting through the foliage. 

"Well that's just great."

They listened and looked out for any sign of their brother, finding nothing. It felt like the vines and bushes were part of an infinite labyrinth. The smell of strange flowers intrigued them, but they had to stay focused. More bird calls filled the otherwise tense and uncomfortable silence between them. They took turns slashing at the thick green formations with their swords until their arms grew tired. 

The Captain was about ready to give up when finally, they could hear a hint of other humans. It wasn't their First Mate, though. That became clear as they stumbled upon two adults chatting in a clearing. One was a pale blond man with huge eyebrows dressed in a ragged brown shirt and green pants. The woman, with (s/c) skin and (h/c) hair in a similar outfit, was studying a scroll.