✔ Masquerade | England [EDITING]

t e n

"What Think You?"

-Continued-

"I have difficulties understanding a certain term I deem rather inexplicable." He said, all his words stumbling out, "If you wouldn't mind, would you explain it to me?"

"What is the term?"

"Love." 

How very surprising! You couldn't help but think to yourself. That such a term could come out of the mouth of a boorish pirate, not in a disdainful manner, but in the spirit of curiosity. 

"Do you have any idea?" he asked, "Or are you like me?" 

You looked upon the darkening sea, pondering. When you had collected your thoughts, you replied,

"Most would say that love is a feeling, but nay, it is not only so. Love is a decision, a commitment that is made." 

"I don't understand," 

"One thing any person would do is to spend time with them. The more you love a person, the more time you spend with them. You would always want the best for them, always support them and also not support them, when you think that what they are doing is wrong.

"Love also means to sacrifice things you hold dear which may also be an unnecessary burden at the same time. And no matter what they do, or how bad or good they are, love does not fail to keep loving."

Arthur quietly listened without interrupting you, soaking in all these definitions that you put forth to him. They got the gears of his mind turning.

"How complex." He remarked in wonder, "Pray, tell me, is this feeling of having love toward someone a good thing?"

"Why do you ask me this? Do you mean to tell me that you have experienced not a jot of love?"

"Precisely. Love is something foreign to a person like me." he replied, feeling the wind caress his face. He paused his speaking for a moment to wonder if the feeling of being caressed by the wind felt similar to being loved.

He continued, "From birth, I knew not what it felt like, and to this very day, I still am unable to fathom its meaning.

"As the youngest prince of a wealthy kingdom, I only knew what domination felt like. I didn't know if my late mother loved me. My father always ignored me, my older brothers loathed me. I felt like an outcast, but I hid it in the depths of my heart.

"The very night I turned fifteen, I ran away from the palace and the next morning, no one gave a damn about my whereabouts, and they still do not care. By then, I stayed by the ocean which far from the capital and often went sailing."

You listened to him attentively. 

"One fine day," he said, a little smile spreading over his face, "as I went fishing, I found two unconscious people in a little boat. That was Antonio and his brother, Alfonso. I pulled both to my boat and quickly paddled to the shore. They were but a year elder when I found them,"

"I don't think I've seen a person named Alfonso around here." you said with a quizzical look on your face.

"He doesn't come out often. His duties are not as like the other crewmen," he replied and then continued,

"After both of them  woke up, we talked and talked and talked about many things until we hit the subject of pirates." said Arthur, "Antonio said that he was sick of rules and everything, so he ran away from Spain and Alfonso, his Portuguese brother, followed him."