Chapter Text
When the temperature drops and the weather grows cold, people seek warmth. When the body becomes hot, people seek a place to cool down. Both of these are natural instincts that any human with common sense would follow.
Maybe that was why Arthur Kirkland chose life at sea. The waves breaking against his ship calmed his frayed nerves, the smell of salt water rejuvenated his worn senses, and the barking orders that left his lips gave his usually glum state of mind light with the power of control. Yes, the sea was Arthur Kirkland's home, and no one could ever say differently. Not even the Queen's navy that tried time and time again to capture him and his crew.
"Cap'in! We are beginnin' to run low on fresh water and food!" A brutish man from the Western Asia countries called out. He wore a yellowed-white mask that covered the skin around his eyes and the top of his nose, never taking the thing off except for the first time Arthur had met the man. Sadiq, being the man's name, was quite in a pickle for an Alpha of his ranking at the time… But that is another story of another adventure meant for another time.
Arthur took a moment to think on the man's words before turning to his Beta navigator. "Yao! Where is the closest port and how long will it take to get there?" Arthur barked over the sound of the waves beating against the wooden, sturdy frame of the ship.
The Chinese man looked up at his Captain, a slight scowl on his lips. He, unlike most of the men on the ship, did not offer his services, and thus was usually unwilling to do as Arthur commanded of him. He was once a slave who was sold to Arthur to settle a debt between the Englishman and his former master. But, yet again, that is another story for another time. "Two day time, Australian port closest."
Arthur turned back to Alpha from before, "We will have to make do for two more days. Ration everything out accordingly, ya hear?!"
"Aye!" The man shouted before disappearing below the deck and out of Arthur's sight.
The blonde Englishman took in the essence of the ocean around him, but an unwelcomed thought soon came to mind and forced him out of his trance. "Yao," Arthur turned to the navigator who was mumbling to himself in his native tongue as he looked over a few maps. "I'm going to my quarters, retrieve me if a problem arises," and, with a huff, the Captain moved down off of the upper deck, down to the main one, and entered into his own room.
The Captain's Room was quaint and strangely welcoming to all who entered it, even those who did not live long after visiting the room in question. Many had questioned the design and decorations in the room, as they were not something an Alpha would normally choose. Some concluded that it was simply none of their business and went on with their work, but others believed that the plush pillows, gentle colours and even the lowered portion of the floor behind the Captain's desk were meant for any Omegas that might have the unfortunate timing of being captured. After all, what kind of Captain didn't bring one or two slaves with them for pleasure or at least take a few willing partners on ship while they ported?
Arthur went straight to his desk, pulling open a drawer and started to rummage through the contents within with an annoyed growl. The captain of the ship was a fairly level headed man, and the things that annoyed him were usually kept out of his sight by the crew; such as un-organized clutter. How such an obnoxiously easy state to fix ever came into the desk of Captain Arthur Kirkland was beyond his mind at the moment as he pulled papers, bottles, and other contents from the drawer and merely tossed them up on to his desk. But soon, the tornado of crumpled documents and other knick-knacks ceased as the box of Arthur's desire came into sight at the bottom of the drawer.
"There you are my dearest," Arthur nearly purred as he retrieved the small wooden container. "Nearly gave my heart a good fit, you did."
Without even bothering to clear a spot off of the desk, the viridian eyed man set the box down on his desk and revealed a key tucked away in book next to his Indian Ink and Feather Pen. Inserting said key into the lock of the container, Arthur opened it with a gentle and almost playful smile. However, as soon as the lid was now standing at attention like a solider in Her Majesty's Royal Guard, Arthur's smile dropped into a frown of confusion and anger.
That afternoon, even the loud breaking of ocean waves up against a sturdy oak haul could not drown out the roaring feelings within the Captain of The Night's Blade.
"Damn it all!"
"So we'll be docking in the prison colonies? Isn't that just asking to get killed?"
"Nah, we'll be comin' in on the opposite side of eyesore of an island from the colonies. Cap'in apparently discovered a stocking supply place on the north-western point of the island."
"I heard the Captain escaped from prisons on the island! Killed a guard even!"
"That's absurd! I heard, from a very well informed friend of mine, that the Captain was going to be sent to the gallows in London for stealing a horse. But, before they could even put the nose around his neck, this beautiful Omega girl, whose father was a lord of some sort, came and paid a horse's weight in gold to take him as her 'servant', if you catch my meaning. But, before they could arrive back at the Lord's daughter's house, some bandits attacked the cart! They killed the wrench, but knowing who the Captain was-"
"That's even more absurd than the story before it!"
"And ye all are annoying as the sea birds! Shut it and get back to work!"
Everyone was on deck, preparing for docking in a few hours when the sun would kiss the horizon good night before making its nightly journey to the other side of the world to bring in the morning. Everyone was working at tying up empty barrels for easy deposit or making sure the planks of the floor looked spotless save for the marks of previous scuffles. Yes, everyone was getting ready; especially their captain.
Arthur was currently pacing in his cabin, panicking slightly as Yao sat in the corner of the room, working on grinding various strange herbs together in a small marble bowl with a club shaped device of the same material. There was only a few days left till the full moon for that month, a dreaded time for the Captain when not fully prepared, which while rare, still made the man squirm in his boots. Arthur, now leaning over the Beta's shoulder watched with wide, anxious eyes. Yao halted his movements and looked at the Captain out of the corner of his eye, the usually soft, slanted eyes hardened in annoyance.
"What?" Arthur asked, backing off slightly.
"We out of mint… and I cannot work with you looking over shoulder," Yao stated bitterly, making his already obvious contempt for the captain known even more so.
"Mint isn't necessary, is it?" Arthur asked with scowl.
"It a big hunger suppressant, so yes, It important," Yao stated as he stood, smoothing out his pants. "Unless you want to look like starving wolf when eating dinner."
Arthur merely scoffed in response, but said no more as Yao walked up to him with a small glass vial, dropping it into his hand. The Chinese man looked at him in the eyes before walking towards the door. As he grabbed the handle to the door his hair flipped quickly as he made eye contact with the Captain, "Drink medicine when arrive at port. It delay obvious symptoms for twelve hours, but that it." The seriousness of the statement was then reinforced by the door slamming closed before Arthur could ask any other questions.
The only thing that annoyed Arthur Kirkland more than a messy room and unorganized clutter was the full moon. It symbolized the week in which his true colours were so easily revealed if not protected carefully, and it reminded him of when he nearly lost his freedom as a young teenage boy.
"Arthur, come here please," a soft, warm voice called out from outside to the green eyed boy that was currently reading a marvelous play about two star crossed lovers on a window bench on the second story of the large house.
The boy's head shot up at the calling of his name and looked out the window to see a similar pair of viridian eyes and a loving smile staring back up at him. Quickly shutting the book closed and putting it in the only open whole in his family's personal library that doubled as his and his siblings' classroom, the boy ran down the stairs to the outdoor patio where his mother was making some sort of jewelry. He slowed his pace, checking to make sure his clothes were neat and not a wrinkle could be found, before approaching the woman.
"Yes, Mother?" Arthur spoke quietly, as if he was speaking to a skittish rabbit.
Turning, the woman looked at Arthur and motioned for him to sit next to her on the bench facing her personal rose garden. He obeyed quickly, sitting next to the older woman so that their legs were pressed up against each other. Arthur loved his mother more than anyone would ever know, to the point of sticking to her side at parties and dinners throughout all of his life. The woman in question merely chuckled at her son's cuddling that he unconsciously started every time they were alone. Yes, she loved all of her children, but Arthur was special. Arthur was like her.
"Arthur," the woman began. "What do you think of what is happening in the world? How much bigger do you think it will become? How much is there to discover?"
Arthur smiled. His mother may have been an Omega, but she was spectacular at puzzling even great minds like his Alpha father with her philosophical questions. "Well, Mother, I believe the world is changing, just as it has since the beginning of time. And as for how much larger it will become, I think there will always be something to discover as long as there is someone willing to discover it," Arthur smiled up at the red headed woman. The woman said nothing but nodded with a smile as she began to pet Arthur's hair, running her fingers through his wispy hair that refused to listen to any reason or hair product.
The two stayed that way for an hour or so before Arthur's father and oldest brother came home from a game of cricket with the neighboring family. Arthur sat up, pulling away from his source of warmth and protection in favor of crisp spring air so he would not be teased by Allistor, his Alpha sibling. The two welcomed back the pair of Alphas, his father rustling his hair before kissing his mother's cheek and whispering something into her ear. She nodded in understanding before rising and bidding her two present children farewell for the afternoon till dinner was served, following her mate into the house.
After that day, everyone in the house seemed to be on pins and needles. Arthur's father stayed home much more frequently and his mother went outside rarely despite the bright, happy weather. His siblings even stopped pulling pranks and making fun of him, preferring to just leave him alone for most of the time. Arthur himself did not know what was happening, but soon found out in the worst way possible.
The day had started out as any other day had been in the past week, everyone gathering to eat breakfast with only silence as their additional guest. However, this day quickly became different as Arthur was more demanded than asked to come see his father after the meal in his office; a place Arthur had only ever been in when in trouble.
"Father? You wanted to see me?" Arthur inquired meekly as he entered the room. He had done nothing recently that could get him into any sort of trouble… unless his siblings had pull yet another prank without him knowing it. The boy entered cautiously, walking slowly until he reached about a foot away from his father's desk, and only a few feet more than that to his father who sat in a large red suede chair on the other side of the desk.
"Yes," Mr. Kirkland spoke solemnly. The man's eyes were cold, unfeeling, and yet… "Arthur, I know your mother and I once promised you that you could be whoever you wanted to be when you gained in age and experience," the man gave a small smile at the memory, dull eyes sparkling for only a second before falling back into still pools of seriousness. "However, something has happened; something very bad."
Arthur listened intently to his father's words as they caused something to squirm in the pit of Arthur's stomach. Was he going to take back his promise? Were all those lessons and time spent doing homework in politics and geography a waste of his time? Of course they were, or else the older Kirkland would have never brought it up. Swallowing down the lump that had formed due to nervousness, Arthur continued to watch his father's movements.
Said man then stood, turning his back towards his youngest child in favor of looking out the large glass window that stretched from the ceiling to the floor. "Arthur, I am going to tell you something that not even your brothers or sister have heard, only your mother knows of the bad fortune that has befallen us. Arthur," turning around, Mr. Kirkland faced the face of a child he had sworn to protect, both with fear and sorrow in their eyes. "One of the most gracious benefactors to our family business has passed away and left everything to his son in the colonies. However, this young man believes that our company is not one that he would like to continue investing his money into. However because of this-"
Arthur continued to listen, though only half-heartedly. Where was his father going with all this talk of losing an investor? They had a surplus of investors putting into their company, so losing just one should not matter that much.
"- So to keep our company from losing any more investors, Arthur, I need you to go to the colonies and change this young man's mind," Mr. Kirkland finally concluded.
"W-what? Father, why am I the one that must go to the colonies? I am only 13, and have not been taught much about the family business, so-"
"By change his mind, I mean that you are to make sure that he invests into our company. And to do this, I have arrange that you and him-"
"Cap'in! Land!"
Arthur was awaken by the yelling and loud "whooping" going out on the deck of his ship. Deciding that it would be best for the Captain to make an appearance and give the crew his orders, whether they needed them or not, Arthur rolled out of his bed and quickly dressed. He splashed cold water on to his face to distract his mind from wandering back to the dream that his brain had decided to torture him with. The past can be an ugly thing.
Cheers broke out in the already too crowded bar, but no one really cared as everyone's attention was set on a drinking contest in the middle of said bar. There, at a three legged table sat Captain Arthur Kirkland, who was facing a man with wild blonde hair and burning blue eyes that just dared Arthur to accept the challenge at hand, one of the drinking sorts. One that Arthur eagerly accepted.
One. One.
Two. Two.
Three. Four.
Five. Five.
…
Twel- Or was it eleven? No one even knew anymore. The game had changed from one of who could drink the most to who could refrain from passing out the longest, and neither man looked good in that sense any longer. An hour had passed between the drinking, laughing, story-telling and drunken plans, but Arthur Kirkland was determined to see his enemy fall; just like all the others. He didn't need to worry about re-stocking the ship as he had put Sadiq and Yao in charge of everything. Yes, tonight, Arthur wouldn't let the past bother him, for he was in the present and the present demanded a carefree attitude.
Too bad the future would not appreciate it much when it became the present and the present the past.
The following morning was sheer hell. The hangover caused the English Captain's head to throb as much as his aching hand did where he was certain were a few broken bones from a fight that he vaguely remembered. Something about the mate of the man who had challenged him to the drinking contest coming and retrieving said man before Arthur had a chance to properly defeat him. One thing led to another, nothing but blurs now, and the next thing Arthur could actually remember was Sadiq bragging him out of a brawl and bringing him back to the ship.
"How do I get myself into-" Before Arthur could finish, he felt a sensation run up his spine, making his legs weak and his body heavy. Crashing down onto the floor of his cabin, Arthur felt the light in the room too bright, the hardness of the wood under him like stone bricks, and the room spinning much too fast. However, one thing stood out in his mind: He had forgotten to drink the vial. Surly, the Captain would have punched himself for being so stupid, but he could barely even raise his fist at the moment.
'Fuck… Where is it?!' Arthur groaned as he dragged his body up to his desk to look for the vial. Which was nowhere to be found.
"No! This can't be! Where is it?!" Arthur began to shout as he desperately shoved papers to and fro, looking everywhere for the medicine that would end his bodily torture. After a few minutes, that felt more like years to the captain, the vial was spotted near his bed. Arthur all but dove for the glass object, finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, but a loud explosion caused the man to come an arm's length short of his goal. Yelling could be heard coming from outside of his cabin, but nothing coherent could be made out through the ringing in Arthur's ears from the earlier explosion.
Shaking his head to try and think straight, Arthur looked forward towards where he had found the vial, only to see that it had smashed up against the wall. His savior in liquid form was now being soaked up by the oak wood that made up his cabin wall, and for the first time in years, Arthur felt like crying. However, the Englishman did not have time to wallow in his own self-pity as his cabin door flew open and a familiar scent wafted into the room. Oh, how Arthur hated his body more than ever now with its overly sensitive senses.
"Cap'in! I- What the hell?" It was Sadiq, but a flustered, confused, and panicked Sadiq at that. The man took a step back away from his captain with a look of utter shock. "Cap'in- What is the meaning of this sme-" Before the masked Alpha could finish, another blast was heard and the ship rocked once again, this time throwing Sadiq out of the cabin and sending Arthur up against the wall where the pieces of glass from the vial sat. Everything went to black.
"Arthur, my dear, you must not cry. You will be a wonderful-"
What? Mother? I'll be "a wonderful" what? Explorer?
"No, silly child. You will be an amazing-"
Mother, you keep on going silent before finishing your sentences. What do you believe I will be?
"You will be a happy-"
But mother, I already am happy; just the way I am now. Why do I have to change?
"Because you will save us. I am sorry that everything is being put on you, my dearest child, but it is the only way."
Save you? But I failed in doing so when I jumped over board…
"No. You did save out family. Remember the newspaper article?"
Yes… but that was so long ago… how am I supposed to save you now? You have long since left the world, so how could I possibly save you?
"Not save me, Arthur. You are going to save us, as-"
As what, Mother? What are you trying to-
Before finding his answers, Arthur stirred awake. He rubbed his eyes tiredly, trying not to dwell on his dream. But soon, his strange dream with his deceased mother would be pushed to the back of his mind as he realized that he was no longer in his cabin. The room that he was occupying was messy, with dark mahogany walls and matching furniture. Heavy drapes blotted out most of the light of the mid-day sun's rays, but let in just enough so Arthur could see his immediate surroundings. The bed that he was asleep in just moments ago was round with a multitude of large, fluffy pillows and thick, soft sheets. The design of the bed was so familiar, but being inside of one was so foreign to him as he had not slept in one in years. Or rather, did not have the need to sleep in one for years.
Then it struck him. The feeling from before, back in his own cabin, when his legs shook like they were made of seaweed and his body convulsed as if he was going to puke. He felt like he should go into the fetal position, but as soon as he did, his body began to burn. The center of the burning sensation was down in his nether regions, and no matter what position Arthur tried to lay in, the burning would only intensify. Letting out a low groan of displeasure, Arthur began to strip of his clothing to rid of at least some of the heat, till nothing remained on his overly sensitive body. However, the heat only intensified, causing the Englishman to thrash and claw at the sheets beneath him, their once comforting softness now nothing more than a hinder to his quest to calm the fire within him.
Groan after groan left Arthur's lips, his fist bashing in the sheets while the other rested on his forehead. Oh how the heat burned! Then, something happened that caused Arthur's thighs to become cold, making his lower half shudder. Looking down, the blonde's eye grew wide in shock and fear. There, leaking out of him like some old ship with a bad floor, was the sign that he feared more than any flag: Slick. His body was producing Slick, and plenty of it from the feeling of his knees becoming cold from the cooling of the thick liquid. Tears of pain and self-pity welled up in the man's eyes as old memories returned to him, causing his mind to be tortured as much as his body was.
"You know, you shouldn't put on such a show when in an enemy's presence. It might end badly for you," A foreign voice rang out, beckoning Arthur to look towards the door with half lidded eyes and drool forming in the corner of his mouth. He was a mess, but he didn't care as the scent of the man in the doorway, who blocked out the sunlight, wafted into his nostrils. He was an Alpha, and a strong, unmated one at that. Arthur let out a moan at the smell, instinctively arching his back to try and entice the man to come closer. And so the man did (after locking the door behind him.).
"Arthur Kirkland. I have come to claim what is rightfully mine, since, by the smell of it, it is still intact," The man spoke loudly and he approached, layer after layer of clothing falling off of his form to make a trail of where he was only seconds before.
Arthur looked up at the man with confusion in his eyes, clouded in so many emotions, he could no longer understand what the man was saying. Claim? Arthur had nothing on his personage that was of any value, even his old Captain's hat was wore and ragged. As Arthur was caught up in his thoughts, the man knelt down next to the blonde, and something about him seemed familiar as his features became clearer. He was an Alpha, that was for certain if not through the smell than by the physical physique he had. But his eyes were a sky blue, the type of sky that could only be found at the eye of a raging storm, so calm and peaceful, yet fear wrenching at what was about to come. Golden hair adorned his head and face as his bangs came down on his forehead to his brow, with one little cowlick that refused to lay down with the rest. Yes, he was familiar to Arthur, but in the current situation, the Captain could careless as his new savior from his pain had arrived.
"Don't worry, Arthur. You may be my prisoner, but I will take good care of you," The blue-eyed man spoke softly as he stripped of the last of his clothing and joined Arthur in the bed. Hovering over the smaller male, the strange Alpha leaned down and kissed him chastely before pulling away to look into Arthur's hazed eyes. "I've been waiting too long for this to ruin it through violence. I've waited too long to have you my little Omega, my little Runaway. You were promised to me a long time ago, and now, I'm here to collect. Come Arthur, let's become mates,"
And with that, Arthur's mind seemed to back pedal so fast that it spun. Yes, this man was his intended, the one that he was supposed to go to the colonies and bond with in order to save his family's reputation. This was Alfred F. Jones.