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“It’s a girl. We have a baby girl.” A little bundle in white blankets was handed to you by Feliciano as he cried tears of joy. You looked at her little face and once she calmed down, your heart melted. She was another precious person to you that you would love until the end of time.

A knock on the door made your heart pound with anticipation. You were anxiously waiting for your husband to come back from his adventure with his brother. You were hoping the baby would wait until he came back but apparently not.

You gently handed the baby to Feliciano and ran to the door.

“__________________, hold on a second!!” Katya called after you just as you open the door.

“Alfred. This… This is a surprise.” Your smile immediately shifted to a disappointed look even though you were surprised by his visit. You’ve kept in touch with him but haven’t actually seen him in six years.

“_________________. Gilbert’s gone. I’m so sorry.”

------Several Hours Earlier -----------

‘Hey, ________________! Not gonna get mushy with all that romantic crap because I’m all out of awesome things to say and the other stuff is all cliché and not awesome.

Things are going well, the weather is holding up and we should be home in about two weeks. Ludwig beat a guardian and some drunk all by himself and I’m so proud of him. I sometimes forget that he’s a grown man instead of some teenager now.

I wrote it once, I’ll write it again. I miss you like crazy when you’re not with me. Feels really lonely. I would say that next time you should come with me but I won’t force you unless you really want to come. Besides, we may have an awesome kid on the way so I don’t want to stress you out.

I’ll be counting down the hours until I’m with you again.

From your Awesome husband, Gilbert. With Love~‘

The renewed city of Andros was as busy as ever. The white washed homes on the plateaus reflected the sun’s warm waves. Small waves rolled onto the sandy beach’s shorelines in the low tide and splashed lightly against the ruins of the old stone fortress that was destroyed nearly ten years ago that served as a memorial to the lives that were lost on a fiery night.

You stood in the water, with your pant legs rolled up above your knees, staring at the ruins that stuck out of the water and the horizon as you held your letter close to your heart. Your emerald and gold ring on your left hand glistened in the sunlight. The cool breeze blew your (h/c) hair behind you as you untied it from your simple ponytail that rode on your shoulder. You smiled to yourself as the waves rolled against you, clearing your thoughts and letting pleasant memories come back with the waves.

Right at this very spot was where your old fishing dock used to be. It was lost in that night and it was rebuilt and relocated several years ago. When you were younger, you would spend hours just sitting here and fish. Sometimes alone, sometimes with your beloved little sister Victoria who was not so little anymore. She was now a grown woman who was happily married to Feliciano Vargas.

The thought of how you and Feliciano met brought a smile to your face. Feliciano was merely a cook on a pirate ship who helped you cope when you needed it the most. You liked him from when you first met. He had a warm heart that had healed you a bit and encouraged you to open up more. Because of Feliciano, you were able to make other friends for the first time in a very long time. Because of his kindness and his likeliness of your sister, you considered him to be very dear. Feliciano was part of the reason why you were who were today. The other reason was your husband, Gilbert Beilschmidt.

Before __________________ met Gilbert and Feliciano, you were cold hearted and only cared about your younger sister, Victoria. This was because Andros was attacked and you nearly lost everything, even yourself. Victoria was the only reason why you stayed together.

Gilbert came to Steinies, your old temporary home, six years ago and started looking for someone. You weren`t sure what it was at the time but you knew he had to go. In a desperate attempt to get the pirates to leave because you feared for Victoria’s safety, you gave yourself to Gilbert.

At first, you hated him. He was a pirate, he was arrogant, and he was selfish in many ways. As time went on, you became involved in something that tied your destinies together. Gilbert lost his younger brother, Ludwig, to a pirate named Arthur Kirkland, the same one who destroyed Andros. You and Gilbert became allies to protect and to get your siblings back. During your journey, Gilbert had earned your respect and love.

Minnows gentling nibbled at your toes and legs made you jump back and snap out of your thoughts. You wished that Gilbert had tried to play a trick on you and try and get you to fall in the water as he did a few times before. Aside from his arrogant and selfish first impression he had, you saw that he was actually quite mischievous, strong, and extremely caring of his friends and family.

“It’s coming!! It’s coming!! Tori, I’ll be there soon Bellaaaa!!!”

You turn around to see Feliciano running along the shoreline with a large basin of water on his head. When you left him and Victoria alone, they were both fine and didn’t need anything which made you feel that it was alright to head out for some time to yourself.

“Feli! What’s wrong?” You call out to him as you walk to the shore towards your boots.

“The baby’s coming!!” He screeched to a stop when he heard you.

“Seriously?!” You grab your boots and run up the shoreline to meet him, ignoring the small sharp rocks under your feet that bordered the sandy beach line. “She wasn’t due for another month!!”

“Katya says it’s definitely time.”

Katya was an old friend of your family, along with her younger brother and sister. Their family served as head of the Church and helped rebuild Andros over the years. When you were brought back to Andros unexpectedly, she and her sister helped you clear your head during an unpleasant time.

“It’s happening!!!” Feliciano cried out as he ran up the plateau back to the house as fast as his legs could carry him. You were walking behind him with a calm expression on your face. You were walking quickly but carefully, panting lightly as the two of you started heading up the slope.

‘Oh my God, it’s finally happening.’ You smiled. This was something you’ve been waiting for a long time. Your heart was pounding with excitement, you couldn’t stay in one spot for long but your mind told you to just calm down. You would only make things worse if you got over excited. Now if a certain albino was here, things would be perfect.

“Feli, slow down. It’s a little uneven here and you could spi- Feli!!” Feliciano tripped but managed to save the basin of water.

“Got it~” He smiled as you helped him up.

“You’re such a goof, Feli.” You laughed a little bit. “Where is Gilbert when you need him? He’s going to miss it.” You stretched out your back and sighed.

“It’s gonna be alright. We weren’t expecting it to be so soon. We thought it would be another month at least.”

“True.” You nodded as you and Feliciano headed to your home quickly to the master bedroom where Katya and Victoria were waiting.

“Big sister…” Victoria smiled at you as she lay in the bed.

“Hey Tori.” You sat next to her and stroked her hand to comfort her. “You ready for this?”

“Not really, I’m really nervous.” She shook.

“Hey, you’ve gotten tougher. Besides, you can teach me about this when it’s my turn.” You smile. Victoria was eight months pregnant, which made you slightly jealous but extremely excited for her and Feliciano. You’ve always wanted a quiet life, with a loving caring husband who was by your side, a child, perhaps two, and not a care in the world.

However, your life has been anything but normal or quiet. These past ten years have been more than you could ever bargain for and you could never truly have a normal life again. It wasn’t what you had hoped for but you were happy with the way things were. If those events never happened, things would be very different. The only thing that you wished for was that you and Gilbert would have a family.

You were reluctant to the idea of starting a family because you feared that something horrible would happen. You had nightmares and often screamed in your sleep since you came home after that battle against Asmos. You feared that something else was out there, a threat unlike you’ve ever faced. You didn’t want your children to suffer the horrors you have experienced or any others.

You took Victoria’s hand and Feliciano took her other one as she gave you a death grip and screamed in pain. It hurt you to hear her scream like this but there was not much you could do other than offer words of comfort and move your thumb in soothing circles on her hand.

Hours passed by at an agonizing slow pace. Hours passed filled with Victoria’s cries echoing throughout the house that were not soothed by relief that you or Feliciano were giving her. The sun went down and the dark blue sky had blanketed everything, only leaving the four of you in candlelight.

“It’s out.” Katya said calmly as she took a screaming red bundle in her arms to a wash basin. Victoria sighed with relief and was more focused on regulating her breathing than anything.

“You did wonderful, bella.” Feliciano kissed her cheek. You still held Victoria’s hand with your attention divided between her and Katya who was cleaning the infant. Questions ran through your mind such as ‘Was the baby alright? Is it healthy? Is Victoria alright?’ You knew that pregnancy was often a complicated process and there were times when the mother or the infant or both lost their lives.

This was another reason you were hesitant to start a family with Gilbert. You had so many loved ones that were going to be left behind. You couldn’t bear the thought of leaving a single person, especially not when you were still needed.

This was one of the several times when you really wished that Gilbert was here with you. You longed for his warm embrace. His scent of the sea and salt was soothing to you and dissolved all of your worries. His voice would let you drift off into sweet bliss once he was calm.

But he wasn’t here. You had to calm down on your own for Victoria if not for yourself. You wiped off sweat off her forehead as Katya walked toward Feliciano with the infant who was now wrapped in a bundle and stopped crying.

“It’s a girl.” She smiled. Feliciano took his daughter in his arms and was speechless. Victoria sat up and supported herself by clinging feebly to one of Feliciano’s arms. Her golden wavy hair draped down her back.

“Congratulations you two.” You smiled. “I’ll take those rags, Katya.” You slide off the bed and go to the dresser to light a lantern before taking the wet, bloody rags from Katya.

As you walked down the hall, you take a peek at the guestroom closest to the staircase. Sakura was clearly visible on her futon and wasn’t budging an inch. You were surprised she could sleep through that but at the same time, you weren’t. She had a bit of a cold and had been resting for the past two days.

You slip past her room down the spiral white washed staircase. The walls and the halls of your house were clean and bare. Most of the walls had shadows of former portraits before the raid of Andros. The spots that were left behind were unsightly and were extremely difficult to hide despite attempts to paint over them. You had no interest in covering them with pictures. Partially because you did not want paintings. Another reason your mind came up with was that you didn’t want to forget.

Your thoughts were odd in a way. Something would echo in your mind out of the blue and make you think about it for a long time. A statement such as ‘you don’t want to forget’ has several meanings that you could interpret for hours and still be pondering over it. Perhaps it was best to just respect the decision that it should be left empty.

You disposed of the rags as they were bloody and tattered then went back to Victoria’s room. Feliciano and Victoria were very flabbergasted about their first child. It seemed so unreal. It wasn’t long before Victoria fell asleep against Feliciano.

He kissed her forehead before you went over to her to lay her on her back and covered her with the quilt.

“It’s a girl. We have a baby girl.” Feliciano whispered. “Would you like to hold her, _____________?” A little bundle in white blankets was handed to you by Feliciano as he cried tears of joy. You looked at her little face and once she calmed down, your heart melted. She was another precious person to you that you would love until the end of time.

If only Gilbert was here, things would be perfect.

A knock on the door made your heart pound with anticipation. You gently handed the baby to Feliciano, grabbed your lanturn and ran downstairs to answer the door.

“__________________, hold on a second!!” Katya called after you just as you open the door.

“Alfred. This… This is a surprise.” Your smile immediately shifted to a disappointed look even though you were surprised by his visit. You’ve kept in touch with him but haven’t actually seen him in six years.

“_________________. Gilbert’s gone. I’m so sorry.”

“What?” You raised an eyebrow and took a half a step back. Your mind automatically assumed the worst but another thought ordered you to calm down and think this through. This was Gilbert. He was the sharpest man to ever set sail, you thought. Well, aside from one other pirate you were not particularly fond of.

“May I come in? I’ll explain.”

“Please do.” You lead him to the sitting room in the far right corner of the house, next to the veranda. “What happened?” You sit on the lounger, leaning forward as Alfred took a stool and sat up straight.

“I don’t know exactly. There were rumours in the ports that his ship was caught in a monstrous storm. One of his crew members sent out a delivery bird with a distress message. When some sailors responded and set out, they found his ship wreckage and bodies floating in the water. The only thing that they could find of Gilbert was this.” Alfred reached out his arm and placed something cold in your hands.

You gasped inaudibly and covered your mouth. It was Gilbert’s silver cross. You gave it to him before he left for good luck.

“It... It has to be a mistake. What about Ludwig? His brother?”

“I don’t know.”

You were about to break down as you gently press your lips onto the cool metal. Your mind drifts to when he gave this to you as a child. He saved you from drowning and as if some author who played God made it so just to make things just a tad cheesy, you realized Gilbert was that child that you almost forgot.

Your thoughts shifted to when you were brought back to Andros and met up with Natalia, Katya and Ivan. The cross was on your neck for good luck and to give you courage to press on. You remember the farewell you gave the Braginski siblings and it suddenly hits you.

The silver compass. One of the rare Seal treasures that Natalia gave you, not truly understanding of what it was capable of.

“Alfred, I’ll be right back.” You dashed to your room and rummaged through every possible place you could have placed it. You found it in the same place you kept your socks and ran back out, leaving your room messier than usual.

Once you ran back down to the sitting room, you held the compass between the palms of your hands as if you were praying. You could feel the arrow spinning rapidly, unsure of where to stop.

“What do you have there?” Alfred tilted his head.

“Hope.” You replied simply. You squeezed your eyes shut and focused on Gilbert with all your heart and mind. You tilted your hand and tenderly opened the compass, with your eyes focused on the thick red arrow that continued to spin clockwise. The golden threads danced in a circle under the glass dome, in a counter clockwise direction at a slow pace as if they were turning a drum of a music box.

As the arrow was slowing down, you slipped outside to the veranda where you had the clearest view of the sea. The arrow pointed in the direction to your south east, making you sigh in relief as the golden threads entwined themselves together into a very fine braid meaning that he was still far away.

“He’s alive.” You say quietly. You turn to Alfred with a determined look on your face not unlike one that you gave him when you two first interacted. “He’s alive. And I’m going to find him.”

“Are you crazy, _________________?”

“He’s my husband and my friend. You expect me to just sit here, twiddling my thumbs and hoping for the best?” You place a hand on your hip and narrow your eyes slightly.

“No, that’s not it, the rumours-”

“What rumours? What did they say?”

“… That storm wasn’t normal. It was caused by a Kraken or some kind of magic being. I don’t really believe in that kind of stuff but I can’t let you go alone.”

“Who said I was going alone?” The side of your mouth twitched slightly as it was preparing to produce words that you never really wanted to say. “I already know exactly what I’m doing and who to go to for help. I would have thought you would have remembered our agreement.” You say wryly.

“… All I remember is that if I helped you, you wouldn’t chop off my balls and not let the other pirates chop off my balls.” Alfred said as he stared blankly at you.

“Oh. I’d forgotten about that pact. I meant the one I made with your friend that I hoped to never use.” You took a hair tie in your hand and started to tie back your hair. “If there’s one man in this entire world that can help, it’s Arthur Kirkland.”

Description
“It’s a girl. We have a baby girl.” A little bundle in white blankets was handed to you by Feliciano as he cried tears of joy. You looked at her little face and once she calmed down, your heart melted. She was another precious person to you that you would love until the end of time.

A knock on the door made your heart pound with anticipation. You were anxiously waiting for your husband to come back from his adventure with his brother. You were hoping the baby would wait until he came back but apparently not.

You gently handed the baby to Feliciano and ran to the door.

“__________________, hold on a second!!” Katya called after you just as you open the door.

“Alfred. This… This is a surprise.” Your smile immediately shifted to a disappointed look even though you were surprised by his visit. You’ve kept in touch with him but haven’t actually seen him in six years.

“_________________. Gilbert’s gone. I’m so sorry.”

------Several Hours Earlier -----------

‘Hey, ________________! Not gonna get mushy with all that romantic crap because I’m all out of awesome things to say and the other stuff is all cliché and not awesome.

Things are going well, the weather is holding up and we should be home in about two weeks. Ludwig beat a guardian and some drunk all by himself and I’m so proud of him. I sometimes forget that he’s a grown man instead of some teenager now.

I wrote it once, I’ll write it again. I miss you like crazy when you’re not with me. Feels really lonely. I would say that next time you should come with me but I won’t force you unless you really want to come. Besides, we may have an awesome kid on the way so I don’t want to stress you out.

I’ll be counting down the hours until I’m with you again.

From your Awesome husband, Gilbert. With Love~‘

The renewed city of Andros was as busy as ever. The white washed homes on the plateaus reflected the sun’s warm waves. Small waves rolled onto the sandy beach’s shorelines in the low tide and splashed lightly against the ruins of the old stone fortress that was destroyed nearly ten years ago that served as a memorial to the lives that were lost on a fiery night.

You stood in the water, with your pant legs rolled up above your knees, staring at the ruins that stuck out of the water and the horizon as you held your letter close to your heart. Your emerald and gold ring on your left hand glistened in the sunlight. The cool breeze blew your (h/c) hair behind you as you untied it from your simple ponytail that rode on your shoulder. You smiled to yourself as the waves rolled against you, clearing your thoughts and letting pleasant memories come back with the waves.

Right at this very spot was where your old fishing dock used to be. It was lost in that night and it was rebuilt and relocated several years ago. When you were younger, you would spend hours just sitting here and fish. Sometimes alone, sometimes with your beloved little sister Victoria who was not so little anymore. She was now a grown woman who was happily married to Feliciano Vargas.

The thought of how you and Feliciano met brought a smile to your face. Feliciano was merely a cook on a pirate ship who helped you cope when you needed it the most. You liked him from when you first met. He had a warm heart that had healed you a bit and encouraged you to open up more. Because of Feliciano, you were able to make other friends for the first time in a very long time. Because of his kindness and his likeliness of your sister, you considered him to be very dear. Feliciano was part of the reason why you were who were today. The other reason was your husband, Gilbert Beilschmidt.

Before __________________ met Gilbert and Feliciano, you were cold hearted and only cared about your younger sister, Victoria. This was because Andros was attacked and you nearly lost everything, even yourself. Victoria was the only reason why you stayed together.

Gilbert came to Steinies, your old temporary home, six years ago and started looking for someone. You weren`t sure what it was at the time but you knew he had to go. In a desperate attempt to get the pirates to leave because you feared for Victoria’s safety, you gave yourself to Gilbert.

At first, you hated him. He was a pirate, he was arrogant, and he was selfish in many ways. As time went on, you became involved in something that tied your destinies together. Gilbert lost his younger brother, Ludwig, to a pirate named Arthur Kirkland, the same one who destroyed Andros. You and Gilbert became allies to protect and to get your siblings back. During your journey, Gilbert had earned your respect and love.

Minnows gentling nibbled at your toes and legs made you jump back and snap out of your thoughts. You wished that Gilbert had tried to play a trick on you and try and get you to fall in the water as he did a few times before. Aside from his arrogant and selfish first impression he had, you saw that he was actually quite mischievous, strong, and extremely caring of his friends and family.

“It’s coming!! It’s coming!! Tori, I’ll be there soon Bellaaaa!!!”

You turn around to see Feliciano running along the shoreline with a large basin of water on his head. When you left him and Victoria alone, they were both fine and didn’t need anything which made you feel that it was alright to head out for some time to yourself.

“Feli! What’s wrong?” You call out to him as you walk to the shore towards your boots.

“The baby’s coming!!” He screeched to a stop when he heard you.

“Seriously?!” You grab your boots and run up the shoreline to meet him, ignoring the small sharp rocks under your feet that bordered the sandy beach line. “She wasn’t due for another month!!”

“Katya says it’s definitely time.”

Katya was an old friend of your family, along with her younger brother and sister. Their family served as head of the Church and helped rebuild Andros over the years. When you were brought back to Andros unexpectedly, she and her sister helped you clear your head during an unpleasant time.

“It’s happening!!!” Feliciano cried out as he ran up the plateau back to the house as fast as his legs could carry him. You were walking behind him with a calm expression on your face. You were walking quickly but carefully, panting lightly as the two of you started heading up the slope.

‘Oh my God, it’s finally happening.’ You smiled. This was something you’ve been waiting for a long time. Your heart was pounding with excitement, you couldn’t stay in one spot for long but your mind told you to just calm down. You would only make things worse if you got over excited. Now if a certain albino was here, things would be perfect.

“Feli, slow down. It’s a little uneven here and you could spi- Feli!!” Feliciano tripped but managed to save the basin of water.

“Got it~” He smiled as you helped him up.

“You’re such a goof, Feli.” You laughed a little bit. “Where is Gilbert when you need him? He’s going to miss it.” You stretched out your back and sighed.

“It’s gonna be alright. We weren’t expecting it to be so soon. We thought it would be another month at least.”

“True.” You nodded as you and Feliciano headed to your home quickly to the master bedroom where Katya and Victoria were waiting.

“Big sister…” Victoria smiled at you as she lay in the bed.

“Hey Tori.” You sat next to her and stroked her hand to comfort her. “You ready for this?”

“Not really, I’m really nervous.” She shook.

“Hey, you’ve gotten tougher. Besides, you can teach me about this when it’s my turn.” You smile. Victoria was eight months pregnant, which made you slightly jealous but extremely excited for her and Feliciano. You’ve always wanted a quiet life, with a loving caring husband who was by your side, a child, perhaps two, and not a care in the world.

However, your life has been anything but normal or quiet. These past ten years have been more than you could ever bargain for and you could never truly have a normal life again. It wasn’t what you had hoped for but you were happy with the way things were. If those events never happened, things would be very different. The only thing that you wished for was that you and Gilbert would have a family.

You were reluctant to the idea of starting a family because you feared that something horrible would happen. You had nightmares and often screamed in your sleep since you came home after that battle against Asmos. You feared that something else was out there, a threat unlike you’ve ever faced. You didn’t want your children to suffer the horrors you have experienced or any others.

You took Victoria’s hand and Feliciano took her other one as she gave you a death grip and screamed in pain. It hurt you to hear her scream like this but there was not much you could do other than offer words of comfort and move your thumb in soothing circles on her hand.

Hours passed by at an agonizing slow pace. Hours passed filled with Victoria’s cries echoing throughout the house that were not soothed by relief that you or Feliciano were giving her. The sun went down and the dark blue sky had blanketed everything, only leaving the four of you in candlelight.

“It’s out.” Katya said calmly as she took a screaming red bundle in her arms to a wash basin. Victoria sighed with relief and was more focused on regulating her breathing than anything.

“You did wonderful, bella.” Feliciano kissed her cheek. You still held Victoria’s hand with your attention divided between her and Katya who was cleaning the infant. Questions ran through your mind such as ‘Was the baby alright? Is it healthy? Is Victoria alright?’ You knew that pregnancy was often a complicated process and there were times when the mother or the infant or both lost their lives.

This was another reason you were hesitant to start a family with Gilbert. You had so many loved ones that were going to be left behind. You couldn’t bear the thought of leaving a single person, especially not when you were still needed.

This was one of the several times when you really wished that Gilbert was here with you. You longed for his warm embrace. His scent of the sea and salt was soothing to you and dissolved all of your worries. His voice would let you drift off into sweet bliss once he was calm.

But he wasn’t here. You had to calm down on your own for Victoria if not for yourself. You wiped off sweat off her forehead as Katya walked toward Feliciano with the infant who was now wrapped in a bundle and stopped crying.

“It’s a girl.” She smiled. Feliciano took his daughter in his arms and was speechless. Victoria sat up and supported herself by clinging feebly to one of Feliciano’s arms. Her golden wavy hair draped down her back.

“Congratulations you two.” You smiled. “I’ll take those rags, Katya.” You slide off the bed and go to the dresser to light a lantern before taking the wet, bloody rags from Katya.

As you walked down the hall, you take a peek at the guestroom closest to the staircase. Sakura was clearly visible on her futon and wasn’t budging an inch. You were surprised she could sleep through that but at the same time, you weren’t. She had a bit of a cold and had been resting for the past two days.

You slip past her room down the spiral white washed staircase. The walls and the halls of your house were clean and bare. Most of the walls had shadows of former portraits before the raid of Andros. The spots that were left behind were unsightly and were extremely difficult to hide despite attempts to paint over them. You had no interest in covering them with pictures. Partially because you did not want paintings. Another reason your mind came up with was that you didn’t want to forget.

Your thoughts were odd in a way. Something would echo in your mind out of the blue and make you think about it for a long time. A statement such as ‘you don’t want to forget’ has several meanings that you could interpret for hours and still be pondering over it. Perhaps it was best to just respect the decision that it should be left empty.

You disposed of the rags as they were bloody and tattered then went back to Victoria’s room. Feliciano and Victoria were very flabbergasted about their first child. It seemed so unreal. It wasn’t long before Victoria fell asleep against Feliciano.

He kissed her forehead before you went over to her to lay her on her back and covered her with the quilt.

“It’s a girl. We have a baby girl.” Feliciano whispered. “Would you like to hold her, _____________?” A little bundle in white blankets was handed to you by Feliciano as he cried tears of joy. You looked at her little face and once she calmed down, your heart melted. She was another precious person to you that you would love until the end of time.

If only Gilbert was here, things would be perfect.

A knock on the door made your heart pound with anticipation. You gently handed the baby to Feliciano, grabbed your lanturn and ran downstairs to answer the door.

“__________________, hold on a second!!” Katya called after you just as you open the door.

“Alfred. This… This is a surprise.” Your smile immediately shifted to a disappointed look even though you were surprised by his visit. You’ve kept in touch with him but haven’t actually seen him in six years.

“_________________. Gilbert’s gone. I’m so sorry.”

“What?” You raised an eyebrow and took a half a step back. Your mind automatically assumed the worst but another thought ordered you to calm down and think this through. This was Gilbert. He was the sharpest man to ever set sail, you thought. Well, aside from one other pirate you were not particularly fond of.

“May I come in? I’ll explain.”

“Please do.” You lead him to the sitting room in the far right corner of the house, next to the veranda. “What happened?” You sit on the lounger, leaning forward as Alfred took a stool and sat up straight.

“I don’t know exactly. There were rumours in the ports that his ship was caught in a monstrous storm. One of his crew members sent out a delivery bird with a distress message. When some sailors responded and set out, they found his ship wreckage and bodies floating in the water. The only thing that they could find of Gilbert was this.” Alfred reached out his arm and placed something cold in your hands.

You gasped inaudibly and covered your mouth. It was Gilbert’s silver cross. You gave it to him before he left for good luck.

“It... It has to be a mistake. What about Ludwig? His brother?”

“I don’t know.”

You were about to break down as you gently press your lips onto the cool metal. Your mind drifts to when he gave this to you as a child. He saved you from drowning and as if some author who played God made it so just to make things just a tad cheesy, you realized Gilbert was that child that you almost forgot.

Your thoughts shifted to when you were brought back to Andros and met up with Natalia, Katya and Ivan. The cross was on your neck for good luck and to give you courage to press on. You remember the farewell you gave the Braginski siblings and it suddenly hits you.

The silver compass. One of the rare Seal treasures that Natalia gave you, not truly understanding of what it was capable of.

“Alfred, I’ll be right back.” You dashed to your room and rummaged through every possible place you could have placed it. You found it in the same place you kept your socks and ran back out, leaving your room messier than usual.

Once you ran back down to the sitting room, you held the compass between the palms of your hands as if you were praying. You could feel the arrow spinning rapidly, unsure of where to stop.

“What do you have there?” Alfred tilted his head.

“Hope.” You replied simply. You squeezed your eyes shut and focused on Gilbert with all your heart and mind. You tilted your hand and tenderly opened the compass, with your eyes focused on the thick red arrow that continued to spin clockwise. The golden threads danced in a circle under the glass dome, in a counter clockwise direction at a slow pace as if they were turning a drum of a music box.

As the arrow was slowing down, you slipped outside to the veranda where you had the clearest view of the sea. The arrow pointed in the direction to your south east, making you sigh in relief as the golden threads entwined themselves together into a very fine braid meaning that he was still far away.

“He’s alive.” You say quietly. You turn to Alfred with a determined look on your face not unlike one that you gave him when you two first interacted. “He’s alive. And I’m going to find him.”

“Are you crazy, _________________?”

“He’s my husband and my friend. You expect me to just sit here, twiddling my thumbs and hoping for the best?” You place a hand on your hip and narrow your eyes slightly.

“No, that’s not it, the rumours-”

“What rumours? What did they say?”

“… That storm wasn’t normal. It was caused by a Kraken or some kind of magic being. I don’t really believe in that kind of stuff but I can’t let you go alone.”

“Who said I was going alone?” The side of your mouth twitched slightly as it was preparing to produce words that you never really wanted to say. “I already know exactly what I’m doing and who to go to for help. I would have thought you would have remembered our agreement.” You say wryly.

“… All I remember is that if I helped you, you wouldn’t chop off my balls and not let the other pirates chop off my balls.” Alfred said as he stared blankly at you.

“Oh. I’d forgotten about that pact. I meant the one I made with your friend that I hoped to never use.” You took a hair tie in your hand and started to tie back your hair. “If there’s one man in this entire world that can help, it’s Arthur Kirkland.”