How it all comes together (1b/?)
anonymous
December 19 2010, 01:39:05 UTC
"As we discussed, you'll find the house fully furnished. I only took the time to remove personal effects." Francis went on, "The town we passed on the way here is the closest to the property. It's small, but everyone there is very friendly."
"Gotcha." Alfred flashed him a thumbs up, "Thanks for all you help, Mr. Bonnefoy. Not just with the great deal on this place, but with coming out and showing me around personally."
The other smiled, "It was no problem, Monsieur Jones. I wanted to be able to see it again before returning to France. It should be I thanking you, for allowing me to follow you out here. And having said that, I'm afraid I do have to leave. But here, in case you find anything else you need to ask me about." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper.
"What is it?" Alfred asked, taking the paper from Francis' outstretched hand.
"My phone number." he winked, before climbing into his own car and backing out onto the street. Soon, the Frenchman's vehicle was just a spot in the distance, and Alfred was alone his new house and a car full of his belongings that needed to go in it.
"Better get started then." he said to no one imparticular.
He cracked his knuckles and made to grab the first box out of his trunk.
...........................................
Alfred had known ahead of time that his new home would be fully furnished. It was a major convenience, meaning less stuff to move in and less cumbersome furniture he would have had to either pay exorbitant amounts to ship over from the States, or buy himself after he arrived. Once again he found himself silently thanking Francis for such an amazing deal. It was truly his good fortune that the man had seemed in such a hurry to sell the place. He may have only looked into the old home on a whim, but he couldn't deny how even just a photo of it seemed to call to him.
Pushing the couch in the living room to a different angle and making room for the television--one of the few larger items he'd needed to bring himself--he marveled at how well-maintained everything was.
A part of him had been nervous. Being told the house he was buying was an old, historical number, he had expected the stereotypical creepy old house sounds that came with such locations. Not that he was afraid or anything, mind you! It's just that noises like that would be annoying and bothersome. That was all. Really. But this place, well, it wasn't new per say. Everything was old-fashioned, but in amazing condition. Almost as if the whole mansion was frozen in time.
Of course, that just made it all the creepier when the odd stuff did start happening.
~~~~~~~~ Different anon from above, but I had some ideas bouncing around in my head and thought I'd make a try at this. Slightly different from what you wanted, OP (Alfred buying the home for a specific reason instead of inheriting, for example), but I'm trying to keep it as close to your request as possible and also work in the bonuses. Hope you like it!
You have no idea how thrilled I was to see this pop up in my inbox today and how much I needed it! Thank you so much anon.
And it's a great start I really like the universe you're setting up the bit of mystery, the characterization, just everything. France's bit was especially intriguing. Can't wait for Arthur to make his first appearance.
Feel free to add or alter anything you want from the original plot I'm really not that picky as long as the basics are there.
Thanks again anon, can't wait to see where this is headed next!
Re: How it all comes together (1b/?)
anonymous
December 20 2010, 06:29:57 UTC
Great start, anon! This is shaping to be a really interesting story. I like it when Alfred is a teacher, I think he would be a very loved one. I'm impatient for the next update!
How it all comes together (2a/?)
anonymous
December 23 2010, 03:30:59 UTC
How it all comes together (or Good things come in Twos) Signs
It started with the swaying.
That was the only way Alfred could describe it. It never occurred in any set location, or for any specific length of time, but it always felt the same. A fluid motion, like he was rocking back and forth.
The first time it had happened had been the day after he moved in. His meager car full of belongings did nothing to fill up his new home, which had more rooms then even he could think of finding uses all on his own for--and anyone who knew him would tell you Alfred had a big imagination. Nonetheless, he'd made a noble effort to at least go through all the rooms and catalog what they contained. He'd just reached the third floor when he noticed that his view through the windows was somewhat...skewed.
Alfred's first thought had been, 'Since when has that tree in the front yard been leaning at an angle like that? And that one...and my car.'
His second thought had been something along the lines of HOLY SHIT.
He grabbed for the nearest wall, believing it had to be some kind of earthquake. Except after getting over his initial panic he realized something felt off. The floor under him still felt stable, the wooden paneling remaining completely sturdy under his feet. But instead the whole house seemed to sway with him. And just the house.
The hell?
And then just like that it was over. He was suddenly upright and the world was once again solid beneath him.
After each of these spells Alfred would take a quick glance around. But everything was still in place; shelves remained untouched and tables and chairs stood arranged just as they had been before, so he passed it off as nothing serious. After a few weeks those strange moments stopped altogether--just as he was starting to get used to them.
He managed to convince himself it had all been some bizarre, extended case of jet lag. That was it. Nothing any freakier than that.
..........................................
The ships had been a little harder to write off, but only marginally so.
By ships, of course, he meant ships in a bottle, bought from a cute little shop run by a brother-sister pair in town.
"Hey! Those are neat!" he had commented the first time he walked in, putting his face right up to the glass to stare at all the tiny details of the miniature ship inside.
Lili had giggled softly, amused at seeing a grown man getting such childish delight out of the models. "My brother makes them. They really are quite pretty, aren't they?"
Alfred picked one up at random, noticing how all of the ships seemed to have a larger amount of artillery than was standard. "They sure are. I don't have the patience it takes to make these things, so give my compliments to your brother. I just moved here and my home could use a bit more decoration. How about I take this one off your hands?"
How it all comes together (2b/?)
anonymous
December 23 2010, 03:33:20 UTC
He handed her the money and let her wrap the bottle and box it to keep it from breaking. "Thank you. Please enjoy it, Mr....?"
"Alfred F. Jones. But you can call me Alfred, Ms...." he bent forward to read her nametag, "Lili."
She gave a shy smile, "It would be a pleasure, Alfred." Then she leaned forward, whispering, "You know, Brother draws the cutest pictures too. But he won't let me try and sell them."
Alfred had returned home with his purchase, happy to have made a new friend. The bottled ship was placed proudly on the mantel above his fireplace, and he took a mental note to let Lili know the next time he went to town how much he liked it.
The following morning he found it on the ground, smashed to pieces.
He'd been so upset at seeing the little ship destroyed, and once he had finished sweeping the mess up so determined to stop in town that very day and buy a new one, that he didn't stop to wonder why he had never heard it crash to begin with.
................................................
"I'm so sorry, I have no idea what happened!" Alfred apologized, when Lili had innocently commented that he must really like her brother's ships if he was buying another so soon, "It must have fallen off the mantel, but I swear I'm totally responsible and I'll make sure this one gets the best of care."
She smiled. "It's fine, I believe you. I don't think you're the kind of person who would break brother's ships on purpose. And we do appreciate your business."
She said this each time Alfred came back needing a replacement ship when another was found shattered. Five times in total.
They discussed several possibilities for what was happening. Alfred insisted that after that first time, he had checked the mantel to make sure it wasn't weak or loose. But like the rest of the house it was well-made, strong and sturdy--if anything it might now be a little wobbly from all his pulling and pushing it back and forth. He said he even looked at the bottle's stand for any loose parts, but it was similarly solid. Lili gave him replacements anyway, which didn't help with the problem.
"I'm starting to think this ship thing isn't meant to be." he said sadly on his fifth trip back. "My wallet's starting to protest. And more importantly, I think your brother's work deserves a better home then the bottom of my trash bin."
"That's a shame." Lili said, "I'm sorry you've had so much trouble with them, but I hope you'll come back if you ever change your mind."
"You've got it. As soon as I get my first paycheck, you can be sure I'll give it another..." Alfred trailed off, staring at a new ship he hadn't seen on previous visits. It was larger than the others, and he felt drawn to it as if he had seen it before. "What's this one?"
Lili's eyes widened. "Oh! That one..." She sounded nervous and unsure of what to say, "Mm....I don't think that one's for sale. It's a historical replica Vash just finished and he hasn't said what we want to do with it..."
Alfred only half heard her. The ship, on closer inspection, was an old-time pirate ship. Triple-masted, its multiple sails looked ready at any moment to catch the wind. With its many canons, it certainly looked formidable, but it had a classiness to it too--at least in Alfred's opinion.
But the most striking feature had to be the ship's prow, which had been carved to look like a beautiful woman, one hand reaching towards the sea in front of her. Her entire figure was painted a lovely shade of emerald green, which far from making her look sickly as Alfred might have expected, made her seem all the more beautiful.
He knew he shouldn't; it would just end up like the others. Not to mention something so beautiful had to cost a fortune. "How much?" he found himself asking.
How it all comes together (2c/?)
anonymous
December 23 2010, 03:36:26 UTC
He rummaged around in his pockets, finally pulling out an old gas receipt. "Here." he said, scribbling a few digits on the back of it, "How about I give you my cell number? I know what I just said about being low on money, but cost isn't an factor with this. And if you two decide you really didn't want to sell it, just give me a call and I'll return it." Why was making such a big deal out of all this? All for a silly ship too. Not to mention he'd heard oh God what he hoped were rumors of what Vash did to guys who gave his little sister their numbers...
"O-Okay." Lili finally answered quietly. And what was that look on her face just then? Guilt? Alfred couldn't be sure, but either way he now felt like crap for possibly freaking the girl out.
"Hey, Lili. Sorry about that--I don't know what came over me."
"It's alright. Too be honest, I'm kind of uncomfortable with it sitting up there like that..." she seemed to realize what she'd just said, "I mean! I just wouldn't want it to sit up there by itself unsold." By the end of the sentence her voice had become a whisper, and she wouldn't look him in the eyes.
By now Alfred was feeling foolish, guilty, and pretty confused. The purchase this time went much more quickly and silently than usual, but when Alfred left he was clutching the bottle protectively to his chest, and a part of him felt that that was all that mattered.
The expected call from Vash came just as he stepped through his front door. Alfred had a moment where he feared for his life before letting the other know that had given Lili his number purely for business reasons, which helped to diffuse the situation. Still, Vash sounded annoyed that Alfred had insisted on buying the ship, but allowed him to keep it, saying he didn't like dealing with returns.
Alfred thanked him and, before he hung up, asked if he could be told a little about the model he had just purchased.
He learned it was an old pirate ship that had some historical connections to the area, although Vash didn't go into any details. Appropriately enough, it's name was the Green Lady. The name suited it, he thought.
Alfred placed the bottle on the mantel and feared the worst.
The next morning, it was right where he left it. Untouched. And, unless they were blocking one's view of the ship, he never had a problem with things falling from the mantel again.
Alfred was sure he'd just finally found the one piece that sat right up there. The others must have been slightly off-balanced or something. Yeah.
..........................................
Perhaps the most annoying problem Alfred had was with the water.
When the Fall term started at Brikinson, he had quickly become known among the students and staff as that nutty American professor who used the locker room showers every day. (Of course, the 'nutty American professor' part would have probably ending up happening no matter what, but that wasn't the point here.) His students had given up holding in their giggles when he'd run into his classroom last-minute, hair still wet and clothes hastily thrown on in an effort to make it to his class on time--he wasn't sure if that got his female students to pay more attention to his lectures, or less.
"You still haven't gotten it fixed yet?" Professor Fernández, an easygoing college of his who specialized in teaching Naval History, asked him one day when he arrived to a staff meeting looking particularly damp.
Alfred shook his head. "I've had a repairman out three times now. They keep telling me nothing's wrong. And it works fine for them."
'It' being the water coming from his showers. No matter which one he tried--and whether or not the sinks right next to them worked perfectly fine--all of Alfred's showers ran nothing but cold water. Even with the hot dials turned up to their max, the best he could get from them was a lukewarm stream.
That Alfred could have dealt with. At least most of the time--with the days only getting colder from here he couldn't be so sure how he'd fare when winter hit. But that was not his only problem.
How it all comes together (2d/?)
anonymous
December 23 2010, 03:39:29 UTC
After a couple days of manning up and taking a cold shower in the morning, Alfred had realized he still wasn't feeling all that refreshed. Testing a theory, he plugged up one of the tubs and let it fill up. One glance at the brackish water inside confirmed his confused suspicions.
His showers were running cold, salt water.
And so he found himself using the school's facilities to maintain his standards of personal hygiene. It wasn't a permanent solution, even if the Dean had been understanding when questioning him about it, but Alfred was currently out of options. No one he spoke with had any clue what could be causing it. And college professor or not, the repair companies were starting to think his was pranking them with their employees constantly coming back saying that nothing looked at all wrong with his plumbing. He wasn't even sure if he could get someone to come out a fourth time if he did call, if his last conversation with the repairman was anything to go by.
Yeah. He...really had no explanation for that. But he was sure he'd figure it out eventually. And it would be completely logical too! But until then...
"Stupid pipes." he grumbled when he got home. It was Friday and he didn't teach any weekend classes. He supposed he could live with his now usual weekend routine of washing his hair in the sink and sponging himself off before bed, but he really hated the fact that it would be two full days before he could take a nice, warm shower again.
It was with these pleasant thoughts that he turned in that night, sending one last glare towards the door of his room's connecting bathroom before slipping his glasses off and falling asleep.
Alfred woke the next morning to the sun shining through his window and a huge pool of water covering his floor.
He didn't notice the latter until he had thrown off his covers, stepped out of bed, and slipped and fallen flat on his face. The water was salt water, naturally.
The rest of his morning was spent on his hands and knees, wiping up the massive puddle that, unsurprisingly, ended up originating from his shower. But while this may have been yet another new problem to add to the ever-growing list of water troubles he was having, as Alfred continued running his towel back and forth across the floor, periodically wringing out the excess water into a nearby bucket before going back to the task again, he was overcome by the feeling that he used to do this before.
............................
When whatever was going on with his house started messing with his television, that was the last straw.
Winter had set in, and it was way too cold to do anything outside. When he wasn't grading tests or planning out the upcoming semester's curriculum, Alfred often took to watching TV or playing on his game systems.
"Yeah, I'm doing great, Matt. You and Mom should really try and come over sometime. I'm not lacking in spare rooms." Alfred held his phone up to his ear with one hand, grabbing the remote with the other to flip the TV on for some background noise while he talked with his brother.
"I know." he continued, pacing the room, "But the place really is gorgeous. And I don't mind the commute. No, no, there's nothing seriously wrong with it that explains why I got such a great deal. Well, there's that water thing I was telling you about...but I'm working it out. The hero will come up with a solution any day now!" A pause. "I am too! Just you wait, I'll...." he trailed off.
"Alfred? Is everything okay?" A tiny voice asked out of the phone's receiver when his brother went quiet--very uncharacteristic of him.
"Huh? Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." Alfred answered back, distracted.
His television had starting flipping channels on its own. Great. This was sadly not as surprising as it could have been. The power had been a little wonky in general since he'd moved in, and stuff acted up occasionally. Nothing too serious though.
How it all comes together (2e/?)
anonymous
December 23 2010, 03:41:12 UTC
Well, there had been that time his first week in that the lights in the kitchen had keep turning on and off at odd intervals. Or the one time he'd come home to his two living room lamps flipping on and off like a pair of strobe lights. And there was the oven he hadn't realized (thought) he'd left on until he heard the shrill whistling of his tea kettle. Which he didn't remember filling with--of all things--salt water (or at all).
Not to mention what a pain it had been getting his cell phone replaced after he had forgotten it at home one day and returned from work to find pages of attempted calls to nonresistant and completely bizarre numbers such as '34*12**45*23**' and '12*20**4*44**' listed in his call log. He told himself it was either broken, or someone was trying to hack it. Either way it had to go.
But really, there was nothing he couldn't (chose to) write off to living in an old house. And sure, the place looked good as new but maybe the wiring in the walls was going up. Still, the television had seemingly been spared from his occasional electrical problems. Until now.
"Actually, hey Matt? Can I call you back?" he asked, hitting 'End' before receiving a proper answer from his brother.
He cautiously approached the appliance, noticing the channel flipping seemed to slow as he got closer. It finally stopped on some kind of boring history program just as he reached it.
Well, at least it wasn't playing static and snow. He'd seen that movie and it was not cool.
A few minutes passed in which Alfred continued to stare at the TV, listening the the narrator drone on about the size of the Spanish Armada--he bet Fernández was watching this right now--and waiting to see if it would do something else. With every second it didn't, he started to feel more and more foolish. What was he getting so nervous for? It was just another unhappy glitch with his power that he'd have to deal with, and here he'd gone hanging up on his brother over it. Talk about paranoid, Jones.
"Man, really. What is wrong with me?" he asked himself, flipping the channel back to a local sports station he enjoyed watching. The program immediately switched back.
Alfred froze.
His hand was still extended out towards the channel button; he wasn't sure if he should pull it back or try again. That had just been a coincidence. Right?
He tentatively switched the channel again. It changed back. Again. And back. Again. And back. Back. Back. Back back back backbackback
That was it. "Oh come on!" He shouted at the screen, punctuating each syllable with a punch of the channel button. "You mess with my water, and my lights, you break my stuff, and I don't even know what that weird tilt-y, sway-y thing was all about! I am watching football slash soccer if it kills me! So bring it! I can do this all night!"
At some point he finally realized that he was cycling through all the channels himself. Whatever had been messing with him seemed to have stopped. Or should he say, given up.
Alfred pumped his fist in victory. Then thought about what just happened.
He had just gotten into a fight with his television over what show to watch.
...............................
Alfred finally decided to face facts and admit his house was haunted.
Probably.
~~~~~~~~~
Took him long enough, but why be scared when you can deny deny deny? No Arthur yet, anons (at least not in person). But don't worry, he'll be coming soon. Thank you all for your kind comments! Please continue to enjoy reading! <3~
Re: How it all comes together (2e/?)
anonymous
December 23 2010, 15:15:24 UTC
Pffff, this fic is glorious. Glorious, I tell you. I freakin love the way you went about to show it was haunted, and how Al reacted was so realistically it made my hair prickle but also chuckle. Wow, I really love this. The particular way in which a sailor would haunt the house, the tint-y/sway-y thing, the bottle ships, the Armada thing...good lord, I can't wait to meet Arthur in the, uh, not-fleshXD And Spain as professor of Naval things, wow! I hope for sure that he appears a lot more! And your Alfred is fantasticXD Another thing I love is how everybody seems to know what's wrong with his hosue and who else inhabits it but poor Al, lol. Even Lili!
he was overcome by the feeling that he used to do this before.
Am I imagining a kind of reincarnation thing going on? Was Al one of Captain Kirkland's men in a past life? xD
Re: How it all comes together (2e/?)
anonymous
December 23 2010, 21:23:20 UTC
I'm loving this fill Anon! All the ships being smashed, and the house swaying on the non-existent waves. I really loved the bit with the TV, Well, at least it wasn't playing static and snow. He'd seen that movie and it was not cool. That part made me giggle. And Finally, he admits that his house is haunted XD
Question! Are those random numbers? Or do they have a nautical/historical significance? Sorry for the stupid question.
Thank you for the comment! I'm so happy you're liking the fill!
No question is stupid, anon! Except for my own question of what the heck was I thinking putting those numbers in there. My intention was for them to be made-up latitude-longitudinal coordinates. But a!a is not an expert on pirate history and has just learned that during the time period they're taking Arthur from this system of navigation wasn't refined/didn't exist/maybe it was never even used by pirates to begin with/idek.
OP LOVES YOU
anonymous
December 24 2010, 02:36:37 UTC
This fic...seriously...just so much awesome. Firstly your characterization of America is just perfect. I love him trying to write of the strange happenings as normal and trying to be resonable about things even though he knows very well what he's doing.
And for the hauntings. I adored the whole ship swaying of the house. A very cool touch and the ships in the bottles and Alfred being drawn to them and Arthur destroying them (I can see him in a rage because they weren't his ship or because they weren't accurate representations, oh Vash <3) and the water and the hint at a past life for Alfred. I could go on and on. And that last "confrontation" glorious just...glorious. Can't wait for them to meet for real.
Seriously can't wait to read more of this to see where it's heading <3 <3
As for a comment above about the numbers he left on the phone being navigational cordinates and not being historically accurate to his time period...well it's clear he knows enough about the modern world to interact with both the TV and the phone at least a little bit so I could easily see him through some means learning about the way things in that means and if he's trying to communicate with someone to get them to find something specific it makes sense that he would use the modern language to do so...or not just a thought feel free to ignore me LOL...
A!a is so happy you're liking it so far, OP! And especially pleased that you and the other commenters like the way I'm presenting Alfred. Thank you! <3
And thank you also for your suggestion. I suppose he could have adapted and picked it up from somewhere. I feel slightly less silly now about not better researching the fact beforehand.
"Gotcha." Alfred flashed him a thumbs up, "Thanks for all you help, Mr. Bonnefoy. Not just with the great deal on this place, but with coming out and showing me around personally."
The other smiled, "It was no problem, Monsieur Jones. I wanted to be able to see it again before returning to France. It should be I thanking you, for allowing me to follow you out here. And having said that, I'm afraid I do have to leave. But here, in case you find anything else you need to ask me about." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper.
"What is it?" Alfred asked, taking the paper from Francis' outstretched hand.
"My phone number." he winked, before climbing into his own car and backing out onto the street. Soon, the Frenchman's vehicle was just a spot in the distance, and Alfred was alone his new house and a car full of his belongings that needed to go in it.
"Better get started then." he said to no one imparticular.
He cracked his knuckles and made to grab the first box out of his trunk.
...........................................
Alfred had known ahead of time that his new home would be fully furnished. It was a major convenience, meaning less stuff to move in and less cumbersome furniture he would have had to either pay exorbitant amounts to ship over from the States, or buy himself after he arrived. Once again he found himself silently thanking Francis for such an amazing deal. It was truly his good fortune that the man had seemed in such a hurry to sell the place. He may have only looked into the old home on a whim, but he couldn't deny how even just a photo of it seemed to call to him.
Pushing the couch in the living room to a different angle and making room for the television--one of the few larger items he'd needed to bring himself--he marveled at how well-maintained everything was.
A part of him had been nervous. Being told the house he was buying was an old, historical number, he had expected the stereotypical creepy old house sounds that came with such locations. Not that he was afraid or anything, mind you! It's just that noises like that would be annoying and bothersome. That was all. Really. But this place, well, it wasn't new per say. Everything was old-fashioned, but in amazing condition. Almost as if the whole mansion was frozen in time.
Of course, that just made it all the creepier when the odd stuff did start happening.
~~~~~~~~
Different anon from above, but I had some ideas bouncing around in my head and thought I'd make a try at this. Slightly different from what you wanted, OP (Alfred buying the home for a specific reason instead of inheriting, for example), but I'm trying to keep it as close to your request as possible and also work in the bonuses. Hope you like it!
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And it's a great start I really like the universe you're setting up the bit of mystery, the characterization, just everything. France's bit was especially intriguing. Can't wait for Arthur to make his first appearance.
Feel free to add or alter anything you want from the original plot I'm really not that picky as long as the basics are there.
Thanks again anon, can't wait to see where this is headed next!
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Looking forward to future parts! :DD
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Signs
It started with the swaying.
That was the only way Alfred could describe it. It never occurred in any set location, or for any specific length of time, but it always felt the same. A fluid motion, like he was rocking back and forth.
The first time it had happened had been the day after he moved in. His meager car full of belongings did nothing to fill up his new home, which had more rooms then even he could think of finding uses all on his own for--and anyone who knew him would tell you Alfred had a big imagination. Nonetheless, he'd made a noble effort to at least go through all the rooms and catalog what they contained. He'd just reached the third floor when he noticed that his view through the windows was somewhat...skewed.
Alfred's first thought had been, 'Since when has that tree in the front yard been leaning at an angle like that? And that one...and my car.'
His second thought had been something along the lines of HOLY SHIT.
He grabbed for the nearest wall, believing it had to be some kind of earthquake. Except after getting over his initial panic he realized something felt off. The floor under him still felt stable, the wooden paneling remaining completely sturdy under his feet. But instead the whole house seemed to sway with him. And just the house.
The hell?
And then just like that it was over. He was suddenly upright and the world was once again solid beneath him.
After each of these spells Alfred would take a quick glance around. But everything was still in place; shelves remained untouched and tables and chairs stood arranged just as they had been before, so he passed it off as nothing serious. After a few weeks those strange moments stopped altogether--just as he was starting to get used to them.
He managed to convince himself it had all been some bizarre, extended case of jet lag. That was it. Nothing any freakier than that.
..........................................
The ships had been a little harder to write off, but only marginally so.
By ships, of course, he meant ships in a bottle, bought from a cute little shop run by a brother-sister pair in town.
"Hey! Those are neat!" he had commented the first time he walked in, putting his face right up to the glass to stare at all the tiny details of the miniature ship inside.
Lili had giggled softly, amused at seeing a grown man getting such childish delight out of the models. "My brother makes them. They really are quite pretty, aren't they?"
Alfred picked one up at random, noticing how all of the ships seemed to have a larger amount of artillery than was standard. "They sure are. I don't have the patience it takes to make these things, so give my compliments to your brother. I just moved here and my home could use a bit more decoration. How about I take this one off your hands?"
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"Alfred F. Jones. But you can call me Alfred, Ms...." he bent forward to read her nametag, "Lili."
She gave a shy smile, "It would be a pleasure, Alfred." Then she leaned forward, whispering, "You know, Brother draws the cutest pictures too. But he won't let me try and sell them."
Alfred had returned home with his purchase, happy to have made a new friend. The bottled ship was placed proudly on the mantel above his fireplace, and he took a mental note to let Lili know the next time he went to town how much he liked it.
The following morning he found it on the ground, smashed to pieces.
He'd been so upset at seeing the little ship destroyed, and once he had finished sweeping the mess up so determined to stop in town that very day and buy a new one, that he didn't stop to wonder why he had never heard it crash to begin with.
................................................
"I'm so sorry, I have no idea what happened!" Alfred apologized, when Lili had innocently commented that he must really like her brother's ships if he was buying another so soon, "It must have fallen off the mantel, but I swear I'm totally responsible and I'll make sure this one gets the best of care."
She smiled. "It's fine, I believe you. I don't think you're the kind of person who would break brother's ships on purpose. And we do appreciate your business."
She said this each time Alfred came back needing a replacement ship when another was found shattered. Five times in total.
They discussed several possibilities for what was happening. Alfred insisted that after that first time, he had checked the mantel to make sure it wasn't weak or loose. But like the rest of the house it was well-made, strong and sturdy--if anything it might now be a little wobbly from all his pulling and pushing it back and forth. He said he even looked at the bottle's stand for any loose parts, but it was similarly solid. Lili gave him replacements anyway, which didn't help with the problem.
"I'm starting to think this ship thing isn't meant to be." he said sadly on his fifth trip back. "My wallet's starting to protest. And more importantly, I think your brother's work deserves a better home then the bottom of my trash bin."
"That's a shame." Lili said, "I'm sorry you've had so much trouble with them, but I hope you'll come back if you ever change your mind."
"You've got it. As soon as I get my first paycheck, you can be sure I'll give it another..." Alfred trailed off, staring at a new ship he hadn't seen on previous visits. It was larger than the others, and he felt drawn to it as if he had seen it before. "What's this one?"
Lili's eyes widened. "Oh! That one..." She sounded nervous and unsure of what to say, "Mm....I don't think that one's for sale. It's a historical replica Vash just finished and he hasn't said what we want to do with it..."
Alfred only half heard her. The ship, on closer inspection, was an old-time pirate ship. Triple-masted, its multiple sails looked ready at any moment to catch the wind. With its many canons, it certainly looked formidable, but it had a classiness to it too--at least in Alfred's opinion.
But the most striking feature had to be the ship's prow, which had been carved to look like a beautiful woman, one hand reaching towards the sea in front of her. Her entire figure was painted a lovely shade of emerald green, which far from making her look sickly as Alfred might have expected, made her seem all the more beautiful.
He knew he shouldn't; it would just end up like the others. Not to mention something so beautiful had to cost a fortune. "How much?" he found himself asking.
"I'm not sure if I should..."
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"O-Okay." Lili finally answered quietly. And what was that look on her face just then? Guilt? Alfred couldn't be sure, but either way he now felt like crap for possibly freaking the girl out.
"Hey, Lili. Sorry about that--I don't know what came over me."
"It's alright. Too be honest, I'm kind of uncomfortable with it sitting up there like that..." she seemed to realize what she'd just said, "I mean! I just wouldn't want it to sit up there by itself unsold." By the end of the sentence her voice had become a whisper, and she wouldn't look him in the eyes.
By now Alfred was feeling foolish, guilty, and pretty confused. The purchase this time went much more quickly and silently than usual, but when Alfred left he was clutching the bottle protectively to his chest, and a part of him felt that that was all that mattered.
The expected call from Vash came just as he stepped through his front door. Alfred had a moment where he feared for his life before letting the other know that had given Lili his number purely for business reasons, which helped to diffuse the situation. Still, Vash sounded annoyed that Alfred had insisted on buying the ship, but allowed him to keep it, saying he didn't like dealing with returns.
Alfred thanked him and, before he hung up, asked if he could be told a little about the model he had just purchased.
He learned it was an old pirate ship that had some historical connections to the area, although Vash didn't go into any details. Appropriately enough, it's name was the Green Lady. The name suited it, he thought.
Alfred placed the bottle on the mantel and feared the worst.
The next morning, it was right where he left it. Untouched. And, unless they were blocking one's view of the ship, he never had a problem with things falling from the mantel again.
Alfred was sure he'd just finally found the one piece that sat right up there. The others must have been slightly off-balanced or something. Yeah.
..........................................
Perhaps the most annoying problem Alfred had was with the water.
When the Fall term started at Brikinson, he had quickly become known among the students and staff as that nutty American professor who used the locker room showers every day. (Of course, the 'nutty American professor' part would have probably ending up happening no matter what, but that wasn't the point here.) His students had given up holding in their giggles when he'd run into his classroom last-minute, hair still wet and clothes hastily thrown on in an effort to make it to his class on time--he wasn't sure if that got his female students to pay more attention to his lectures, or less.
"You still haven't gotten it fixed yet?" Professor Fernández, an easygoing college of his who specialized in teaching Naval History, asked him one day when he arrived to a staff meeting looking particularly damp.
Alfred shook his head. "I've had a repairman out three times now. They keep telling me nothing's wrong. And it works fine for them."
'It' being the water coming from his showers. No matter which one he tried--and whether or not the sinks right next to them worked perfectly fine--all of Alfred's showers ran nothing but cold water. Even with the hot dials turned up to their max, the best he could get from them was a lukewarm stream.
That Alfred could have dealt with. At least most of the time--with the days only getting colder from here he couldn't be so sure how he'd fare when winter hit. But that was not his only problem.
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His showers were running cold, salt water.
And so he found himself using the school's facilities to maintain his standards of personal hygiene. It wasn't a permanent solution, even if the Dean had been understanding when questioning him about it, but Alfred was currently out of options. No one he spoke with had any clue what could be causing it. And college professor or not, the repair companies were starting to think his was pranking them with their employees constantly coming back saying that nothing looked at all wrong with his plumbing. He wasn't even sure if he could get someone to come out a fourth time if he did call, if his last conversation with the repairman was anything to go by.
Yeah. He...really had no explanation for that. But he was sure he'd figure it out eventually. And it would be completely logical too! But until then...
"Stupid pipes." he grumbled when he got home. It was Friday and he didn't teach any weekend classes. He supposed he could live with his now usual weekend routine of washing his hair in the sink and sponging himself off before bed, but he really hated the fact that it would be two full days before he could take a nice, warm shower again.
It was with these pleasant thoughts that he turned in that night, sending one last glare towards the door of his room's connecting bathroom before slipping his glasses off and falling asleep.
Alfred woke the next morning to the sun shining through his window and a huge pool of water covering his floor.
He didn't notice the latter until he had thrown off his covers, stepped out of bed, and slipped and fallen flat on his face. The water was salt water, naturally.
The rest of his morning was spent on his hands and knees, wiping up the massive puddle that, unsurprisingly, ended up originating from his shower. But while this may have been yet another new problem to add to the ever-growing list of water troubles he was having, as Alfred continued running his towel back and forth across the floor, periodically wringing out the excess water into a nearby bucket before going back to the task again, he was overcome by the feeling that he used to do this before.
............................
When whatever was going on with his house started messing with his television, that was the last straw.
Winter had set in, and it was way too cold to do anything outside. When he wasn't grading tests or planning out the upcoming semester's curriculum, Alfred often took to watching TV or playing on his game systems.
"Yeah, I'm doing great, Matt. You and Mom should really try and come over sometime. I'm not lacking in spare rooms." Alfred held his phone up to his ear with one hand, grabbing the remote with the other to flip the TV on for some background noise while he talked with his brother.
"I know." he continued, pacing the room, "But the place really is gorgeous. And I don't mind the commute. No, no, there's nothing seriously wrong with it that explains why I got such a great deal. Well, there's that water thing I was telling you about...but I'm working it out. The hero will come up with a solution any day now!" A pause. "I am too! Just you wait, I'll...." he trailed off.
"Alfred? Is everything okay?" A tiny voice asked out of the phone's receiver when his brother went quiet--very uncharacteristic of him.
"Huh? Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." Alfred answered back, distracted.
His television had starting flipping channels on its own. Great. This was sadly not as surprising as it could have been. The power had been a little wonky in general since he'd moved in, and stuff acted up occasionally. Nothing too serious though.
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Not to mention what a pain it had been getting his cell phone replaced after he had forgotten it at home one day and returned from work to find pages of attempted calls to nonresistant and completely bizarre numbers such as '34*12**45*23**' and '12*20**4*44**' listed in his call log. He told himself it was either broken, or someone was trying to hack it. Either way it had to go.
But really, there was nothing he couldn't (chose to) write off to living in an old house. And sure, the place looked good as new but maybe the wiring in the walls was going up. Still, the television had seemingly been spared from his occasional electrical problems. Until now.
"Actually, hey Matt? Can I call you back?" he asked, hitting 'End' before receiving a proper answer from his brother.
He cautiously approached the appliance, noticing the channel flipping seemed to slow as he got closer. It finally stopped on some kind of boring history program just as he reached it.
Well, at least it wasn't playing static and snow. He'd seen that movie and it was not cool.
A few minutes passed in which Alfred continued to stare at the TV, listening the the narrator drone on about the size of the Spanish Armada--he bet Fernández was watching this right now--and waiting to see if it would do something else. With every second it didn't, he started to feel more and more foolish. What was he getting so nervous for? It was just another unhappy glitch with his power that he'd have to deal with, and here he'd gone hanging up on his brother over it. Talk about paranoid, Jones.
"Man, really. What is wrong with me?" he asked himself, flipping the channel back to a local sports station he enjoyed watching. The program immediately switched back.
Alfred froze.
His hand was still extended out towards the channel button; he wasn't sure if he should pull it back or try again. That had just been a coincidence. Right?
He tentatively switched the channel again. It changed back. Again. And back. Again. And back. Back. Back. Back back back backbackback
That was it. "Oh come on!" He shouted at the screen, punctuating each syllable with a punch of the channel button. "You mess with my water, and my lights, you break my stuff, and I don't even know what that weird tilt-y, sway-y thing was all about! I am watching football slash soccer if it kills me! So bring it! I can do this all night!"
At some point he finally realized that he was cycling through all the channels himself. Whatever had been messing with him seemed to have stopped. Or should he say, given up.
Alfred pumped his fist in victory. Then thought about what just happened.
He had just gotten into a fight with his television over what show to watch.
...............................
Alfred finally decided to face facts and admit his house was haunted.
Probably.
~~~~~~~~~
Took him long enough, but why be scared when you can deny deny deny? No Arthur yet, anons (at least not in person). But don't worry, he'll be coming soon. Thank you all for your kind comments! Please continue to enjoy reading! <3~
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And Spain as professor of Naval things, wow! I hope for sure that he appears a lot more! And your Alfred is fantasticXD
Another thing I love is how everybody seems to know what's wrong with his hosue and who else inhabits it but poor Al, lol. Even Lili!
he was overcome by the feeling that he used to do this before.
Am I imagining a kind of reincarnation thing going on? Was Al one of Captain Kirkland's men in a past life? xD
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Don't worry. Antonio will be making another appearance, although I'm terrified of trying to write his character--wish me luck!
Am I imagining a kind of reincarnation thing going on? Was Al one of Captain Kirkland's men in a past life? xD
Welllllll, OP had some bonuses to their request that I'm trying to work in~
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That part made me giggle. And Finally, he admits that his house is haunted XD
Question! Are those random numbers? Or do they have a nautical/historical significance? Sorry for the stupid question.
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No question is stupid, anon! Except for my own question of what the heck was I thinking putting those numbers in there. My intention was for them to be made-up latitude-longitudinal coordinates. But a!a is not an expert on pirate history and has just learned that during the time period they're taking Arthur from this system of navigation wasn't refined/didn't exist/maybe it was never even used by pirates to begin with/idek.
....just pretend it was. /fail
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And for the hauntings. I adored the whole ship swaying of the house. A very cool touch and the ships in the bottles and Alfred being drawn to them and Arthur destroying them (I can see him in a rage because they weren't his ship or because they weren't accurate representations, oh Vash <3) and the water and the hint at a past life for Alfred. I could go on and on. And that last "confrontation" glorious just...glorious. Can't wait for them to meet for real.
Seriously can't wait to read more of this to see where it's heading <3 <3
As for a comment above about the numbers he left on the phone being navigational cordinates and not being historically accurate to his time period...well it's clear he knows enough about the modern world to interact with both the TV and the phone at least a little bit so I could easily see him through some means learning about the way things in that means and if he's trying to communicate with someone to get them to find something specific it makes sense that he would use the modern language to do so...or not just a thought feel free to ignore me LOL...
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And thank you also for your suggestion. I suppose he could have adapted and picked it up from somewhere. I feel slightly less silly now about not better researching the fact beforehand.
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