Chapter 3 (Chinese Treasures)

Arthur, a fearless pirate captain, managed to find a map to the Chinese imperial treasures. There is just one thing that he need to get it. Blood from the Chinese imperial bloodline.

Yao froze in the door opening of the kitchen. He stared inside and had to keep himself from letting his mouth fall open. Arthur had warned him about the mess, yet the Chinese male never had expected what he saw and smelled.

With a hand covering his mouth and nose to block out the smell, the emperor’s eyes slide over the filthy floor. The wood wasn’t only covered with dirt. Thick layers of squashed and rotten food were spread all over it. Only a small path was clear and lead to the stove in the back.

The crates filled with food, where Arthur had told him about, were pilled against the walls and reached ‘till the roof.

When Yao looked into an open crate with apples, he saw that most of them were rotten and mouldy. He remembered the stew he ate the night before and it’s musty taste. The thought made him feel sick again; there was no doubt that the taste was caused by rotten food.

 

All of a suddenly, the Chinese emperor was pushed out of the doorway and almost landed in the boxes with rotten apples.

Yao looked over his shoulder to see who pushed him aside as rough as he had done and his eyes fell on the fat cook from the day before.

The pirate was almost as round as a ball. He had a giant beard and a moustache that reached from one cheek to another, that waved, in a kind of funny way, along with the air he blew out through his nose. To finish it off, the cook was bold. The bare skin on his head glistered in the light of the candle’s that hang on the walls.

The cook looked irritated down at the Asian, as if he was telling Yao to leave his territory, and waddled to the kitchen-range.

Yao whipped his clothes as clean as possible, until he heard footsteps behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw Arthur coming closer. A soft sigh escaped his lips. He had hoped he wouldn’t see the male until he was done cleaning the kitchen, but apparently he was out of luck.

Arthur placed a heavy hand on top of Yao’s shoulder. “Yao, will be clean the kitchen today. I expect that he won’t be a burden.” The pirate captain said. He let go of Yao’s shoulder and left again without another word.

Yao looked over his shoulder, while he wondered why the pirate had thought it was necessary to grab his shoulder. To the emperor the action was nothing more than a superfluous touch, one that annoyed him even more than the filthy kitchen.

 

Knowing that he still had an enormous amount of work to do, Yao rolled his sleeves up and looked around to see where he should start cleaning.

He quickly figured that if he could find two empty boxes he could use them to sort out the food. One he could use for the rotten food, the other for the edible food.

The emperor walked through the kitchen and found a few boxes in the back, next to the kitchen ranch. The way they were piled up, it looked like someone had emptied them -probably the cook- and just threw them out of the way, until someone felt the urge to place them somewhere else.

Yao grabbed two crates and made sure he wouldn’t get in the way of the, obvious irritated, cook. The last thing he wanted was to make the pirate angry, because he knew that in the end he would be blamed for it, even if the cook was at fault.

After he managed to get the boxes and placed them next to the entrance of the kitchen, the emperor grabbed the first filled crate. Without complaining he started sorting the food.

It didn’t take long before he figured that the crates were three-quarter filled with rotten food. The remaining part was still edible if they would consume it quickly.

The Chinese emperor shook his head to himself, wondering how those pirates could leave and use the rotten food like this. Not only was it filthy, it was also extremely unhealthy to eat it and even to be around it all the time.

It didn’t take him long to fill a crate with rotten apples. He lifted it with both hands and carried it out of the kitchen. The crate wasn’t the lightest, but with a bit of trouble he managed to get it on deck.

Once there he looked around him. He was searching for a place to leave the boxes, but instead of finding a place, he got distracted by something else.

His eyes stopped when he noticed Arthur standing on the front of the ship. He had his arms folded before his chest and was discussing something with another pirate.

Yao wanted to ask the pirate captain where he could leave the crates, but after he took a few steps he changed his mind. He didn’t know Arthur that well yet, but there was one thing that he did know; the pirate captain wasn’t a patient man. Interrupting Arthur was probably not the best idea.

Yao looked around him to find a spot where the crates wouldn’t be a bother to anyone, but where ever he looked, the deck was filled with stuff.

Quietly he stared at the crates, thinking about a solution for the rotting food. Maybe it was better to throw the food over the railing. If he wouldn’t, there was a huge change that Arthur wanted them to eat the rotten food first. The thought made the emperor gag.

He didn’t need to think about it twice and pushed the crate to the railing. He grabbed the sides, lifted the crate and pressed it against the edge of the railing. With a bit of trouble he managed to tip it. He shook it a few times, pulled the crate back and checked if it was completely empty.

With the crate in his hands he walked back to the kitchen. Once there he immediately noticed the burning smell. Quickly he looked through the room to find the source of the smell, only to find a giant pot on the stove in the back. Smoke was coming from it and even from a distance Yao knew that the cook was burning their food again.

Instead of active cooking, the cook sat on a stool in the corner of the kitchen eating an apple that Yao had sorted just before.

Without thinking Yao ran to the kitchen range in an attempt to save the food. Yet before he could see the damage in the pot the pirate cook stood up from his stool and pushed the Chinese emperor out of the way.

“Stay away from my kitchen, Asian.” The pirate bellowed low and loud.

Shocked that he was suddenly pushed away, Yao restored his balance quickly and prevented himself from crashing against a pile of pots and pans.

The emperor quickly walked back to the cook and his kitchen range, ignoring his warning completely. “Pay more attention to the food! You’re burning it!” He spoke partly shocked and partly angry. He tried yet another time to reach for the pot, but the cook grabbed his upper arm tightly and pulled him away from his stove. “Captain told me you wouldn’t be a bother.” He reminded Yao and squeezed his arm between his strong fingers.

A second long Yao considered throwing the pirate against the floor, but he kept himself from doing so. He remembered Arthur’s warning clearly and he still hadn’t forgotten that he was cleaning the filthy kitchen because he had fought the other day.

Irritated he pulled his arm out of the pirates grip and walked out of the kitchen. As the cook refused to listen to him, than he would convince Arthur that the cook was most likely trying to poison them.

Once he arrived at the deck he noticed Arthur right away. He was still talking with the same pirate, only this time they were bend over a map instead of looking over sea.

Unconsciously he straightened his clothes and took a deep breath to calm himself down from the conversation he had with the cook before. Slowly he walked to pirate captain and stopped two meters away from him. “Captain.” He had felt the urge to call him by his first name again, but if he wanted to accomplish something he had to play by Arthur’s rules.

Arthur raised his hand, to let Yao know that he had to wait until he was done.

Yao kept quiet and waited impatiently for Arthur to finish. Luckily it didn’t take too long for the pirate’s to finish.

Arthur rolled the map up and stepped towards Yao. “You wanted to speak me with.” He said and waited until Yao would leave word.

“Yes, captain.” The emperor said, trying to be as polite as possible. He folded his arms within his oversized sleeves before he continued. “I would like to change my job on the ship.”

Arthur raised one of his thick eyebrows. “Cleaning the kitchen is not your job, it’s your punishment.” He said and with that he thought he could deadpan the subject. He turned around and walked to his cabin.

Yao was shocked when Arthur suddenly walked away and quickly followed him. “I meant to change my job as a deckswabber.” Yao said quickly yet controlled. “I would like to sign up as cook on your ship.” He didn’t mean to stop cleaning the kitchen. In fact he wasn’t even planning too. If he didn’t want to drop dead before Arthur would rob him from his live, that kitchen absolutely needed to be cleaned.

Arthur stopped in front of his cabin’s door and slowly turned back to Yao. His thick eyebrow rose a second time. “And what exactly makes you think that I would change your job to cook, Yao?”

Yao had expected that Arthur wouldn’t give in right away and calmly continued. “I noticed your cook uses rotten food and burns everything he makes. A better cook would cause miracles for your crew.”

Arthur huffed amused. “And what makes you think that I would believe your concern about my crew?”

“I refuse to die from food poisoning.” Yao said resolute. If the pirate wanted the honest truth, than he would get it. Arthur’s crew could die from whichever disease they would get from the food, but he refused to. It was the most dishonourable dead he could imagine, especially because he could prevent it.

A small smile appeared on the pirate captain’s lips. He turned back to the door of his cabin and opened it. “What makes a Chinese emperor a better cook than the cook I already have?” He asked while he walked inside his cabin, leaving the door open for Yao.

The emperor followed the pirate inside and closed the door behind him. “I like to cook in my spare time. Besides, it is not hard to surpass the skills of your, so called, cook.” His voice had a certain irritated tone in it, even though he had tried to speak as neutral as he could.

Arthur was putting away the map he was holding, while Yao explained him why he should switch the emperor’s job. When he was done he walked back to Yao. “I’ll give you a change.” He said after a long silence. “I want you to prove your cooking skills. After breakfast the kitchen will be yours. Prepare dinner, but don’t forget that I want that kitchen clean before you fall asleep.”

Yao blinked a few times before he fully realised what Arthur had said. He hadn’t expected the pirate to accept his request this fast. Not that he would have accepted a ‘no’, but he had expected a little bit more resistance.

With a small bow towards Arthur, he thanked the male for the chance. “Thank you very much. I won’t disappoint you.” He said, turned around and walked out of Arthur’s cabin.

 

During breakfast he had dared to try the cook’s food a second time, but after tasting it he reminded himself never to try it ever again. It was as if the cook had tried his best to make the food taste even worse than it was last time.

To stop his hunger Yao stole an apple and a few carrots out of the kitchen, because what Arthur’s didn’t know, couldn’t turn out in a punishment.

 

Till Yao’s relieve, the cook left the kitchen quicker than the Chinese emperor had expected. Though the mess that the pirate left wasn’t helping the Chinese emperor at all.

He folded his oversized sleeves till above his elbows and started with cleaning the kitchen range. It took him quite a while before he managed to get it as clean as he possible could. Soon after, he continued with sorting the food that he needed to make dinner. The supplies in the kitchen weren’t very promising, but after he found the food supplies down deck he got his hoped back up. Not only was the food a lot fresher, he also found a lot of ingredients that he recognized. Rice, bamboo, cabbage and ginger seemed to be the last things the pirates brought on board. There was no doubt that Arthur and his crew had plundered his lands, but that was his least concern right now.

 

At sundown Yao managed to clean the complete kitchen, sort out all the food filled crates in the kitchen and prepare dinner.

He stirred the stew once more, turned off the fire of the stove and grabbed the stew filled pot at the handles. It hadn’t took him long to decided to make a stew, because he wanted the pirate’s to compare his stew with the stew the pirate cook had served the other day.

As soon as Yao arrived on deck with the pot, the pirate’s turned their noses into the air or looked over their shoulder to see where the smell came from.

Even before Yao was able to place the pot on the wooden deck or could sign that the food was ready, a line of pirate formed before the Chinese emperor.

An uncontrollable smile appeared on Yao’s face, because he reminded himself that the pirate cook had to tick with a ladle against a pot to announce that the food was ready. He only needed to arrive at deck with the stew. There was only one thing he hoped for now; that the pirate’s taste buds weren’t ruined during the years.

He grabbed the bowl of that the first pirate reached out to him and just wanted to fill it when Arthur walked closer. “Wait.” He said calmly. He stopped before the pot and looked at the stew within. “You will taste it first.” He said and turned his eyes to Yao.

The Chinese emperor looked surprised at the pirate captain and raised both his eyebrows. “I did not poison it, if that is what you expect.” He said. He would never poison someone, simply because he could think of a hundred other ways of killing a man and poisoning the pirate’s was just not worth ruining a good dish.

“Then prove it to us.” Arthur said and offered him a bowl.

Yao fought the urge to roll his eyes and grabbed the bowl. He filled it with the stew, blew it and took a few careful sips, trying not to burn his mouth. Then he offered the bowl to Arthur with a resolute look in his eyes. “If I had the intention to kill you, I would have done it in a fair fight; face to face and with my own strength. I refuse to ruin a dish with something as low as a poison.” He informed the pirate captain. He grabbed the bowl of the first pirate in line again and filled it.

Arthur huffed amused and smelled the stew. He gave the bowl to the second pirate in the queue and turned to Yao. “Fill their bowls and come to my study with two bowls.” He ordered the Chinese male. Then he turned around and walked to his cabin.

Yao looked at Arthur’s back until he disappeared out of sight. He turned back to the queue and continued filling the bowls. He saw the contents of the pot slowly decreasing, however the queue didn’t seemed to decrease at all. The emperor felt a bit stressed, he was starting to think that he didn’t cook enough. He could easily make another pot with stew, but it would mean even more work and he still needed to sort out the food down deck before he was allowed to go to sleep.

He continued filling the bowl’s until he suddenly recognised one of the pirate. “You already had a bowl.” He mentioned a little confused.

“I want a second.” He pirate said with his low and cracking voice.

Yao kept himself from smirking. He had done it. The pirate’s wanted more than one plate, while none of them ever asked for a second with the pirate cook.

“I do not have enough to serve everyone a second plate.” He said. “And the captain didn’t eat yet. You have to wait until tomorrow.” He grabbed the pot and carried it back into the kitchen. Still satisfied, he filled two bowls and walked to Arthur’s cabin. He knocked first and opened the door.

Arthur sat behind his desk and stood up as soon as he heard Yao coming in. He walked to the table and told him with a simple hand gesture to sit down.

Yao obeyed and placed the bowls on the table. He sat down and waited for Arthur. He didn’t want to eat before he knew if he would become the new cook.

Arthur looked at him for a moment and then at his bowl. “I almost never allow anyone to change job on their request.” He said. “This better be of a very good quality.”

Yao bowed his head. “I assure you that it is of a much better quality that you are used to.” He said politely. “Also, your crew seemed to enjoy the meal. They came back for a second plate that I, unfortunately, couldn’t provide.” He held his chin up confident, while he said that.

Arthur raised an eyebrow. “I shall decide that for myself.” He said and grabbed the bowl.

Yao stared at how the male pressed the bowl against his lips and sipped from the stew’s hot bouillon. He waited patiently for the male to tell him what he thought about the dish, but instead of telling him right away, Arthur continued eating.

After the pirate captain placed the bowl back on the table and picked the last bits of carrot, potato and meat out of the bowl, he looked at Yao. He licked his lips and stood up. “Why aren’t you eating?” He asked suspicious.

“I would like to know if you will allow me to be the cook.” Yao answered and grabbed the bowl of the table. He took a few sips, because he had the feeling that Arthur still expected that the stew was poisoned.

Arthur walked to his desk. “You will become the cook.” He said and looked over his shoulder. “Eat.” He said again.

Yao smiled satisfied when he heard the good news. “Thank you very much.” He told Arthur and then quickly turned to his stew. He didn’t want to disobey the pirate at this point, there was always a slight chance that he would change his mind all of a sudden and that was the last thing he wanted to happen.

While Yao drunk the bouillon and picked the vegetable out of the bowl to eat them, Arthur suddenly turned around again.

“Though.” The pirate suddenly said after a moment of silence. “As I told you before. It is very unusual for me to accept a job switch.”

Yao looked warily up to the pirate captain, chewing the last bit of food in his mouth. Arthur was planning to tell him something that he wasn’t going to like, whatever it would be.

“There for I want you to give me something in return.” Arthur spoke calmly. He took two steps back into the direction of Yao and gestured him to stand up. “Come here.” He said.

Yao didn’t move a muscle. “I assume you have something in mind.” He said wary. That Arthur wanted him to come closer, told him in which direction he had to search for the answer and he doubted if he wanted to accept it.

“Don’t disobey me, Yao.” Arthur said strict and waited impatiently for Yao to come closer.

Yao hesitantly did what the pirate asked of him. He stood up and walked with slow steps towards the British captain. “I would appreciate it if you told me what you want, so that I can accept or refuse.” He said.

Arthur huffed amused. “Who said that you were allowed to refuse, Yao?” He said and reached for Yao’s hip, but before he had to chance to hold the Chinese male, Yao slapped his hand away.

“I’m not your play toy.” Yao said angrily. He stepped away from the Briton, but Arthur grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

“Kiss me, Yao.” The pirate said and brought their faces closer.

Yao’s eyes widened and pulled away, walking backwards to get away from Arthur. “You want me to choose between dying from food poisoning and kissing you?” He asked shocked and annoyed at the same time.

“No, Yao.” Arthur answered and stepped towards Yao -who was walking dangerously close to the bed-. “You will be the cook and you will kiss me. You have no chose, it has already been decided.” He grabbed Yao’s wrist with one hand and used the other to wrap it around the Chinese emperor’s waist.

Yao gasped. He took another step back and almost fell down onto the bed with Arthur. The emperor managed to keep his balance and kept them both standing, but Arthur decided differently and pushed him down on the bed.

The Chinese emperor crawled back until he felt the wall against his back and swallowed.

Arthur place one knee next to Yao and the other between the emperor’s legs. He pressed Yao’s wrist above the emperor’s head against the wall and rose slightly above him. With his free hand he tilted Yao’s face up, so that he could look him into the eyes.

Yao was slightly panicked. He tried to struggle out of Arthur’s grip, but the pirate was holding him pretty tightly, even though it was only with one hand. He pressed with his free arm against Arthur’s chest, in an attempt to push him away, but Arthur didn’t move away a single inch.

The emperor noticed Arthur’s face slowly coming closer. He could feel his heartbeat speeding up and his breath shudder in fear. He closed his eyes and suddenly felt the pirate’s lips against his. He frowned and tried to pull away, but the back of his head was already pressed against the wall.

Arthur brought a hand to the back of his neck. First he let his hands slight through his hair and pulled the fibre out of it that kept his hair in a ponytail. Then slide it back to his neck, entwining his fingers with Yao’s hair and kept him from moving away.

The emperor felt the Briton’s lips part and soon a tongue licked along his lips. He tried to pull away another time and pressed against Arthur’s chest, but the pirate refused to let him go.

Arthur’s lips moved quite gently against Yao’s, what surprised the Asian. It was as if the Briton was actually trying to satisfy him as well. Even when that was impossible with a kiss. His tongue playfully tried to slip between Yao’s lips, but the emperor refused to part them. Feeling Arthur’s tongue against his lips was worse enough.

Yao suddenly felt Arthur pinching his wrist, as if he was warning him. The male slightly started to doubt. He still wanted to refuse, but if he kept refusing he would probably pay for it in the end. Besides, this was only for once. He had to give the pirate something in return, so that meant after this he couldn’t force him to kiss him again. At least not as long as he kept himself out of trouble.

Arthur pinched his wrist another time and this time a bit tighter than the first time.

Still partly doubting Yao hesitantly parted his lips. He could feel Arthur loosen the tight grip on his wrist and felt his tongue almost lazily slipping between his parted lips. When their tongue met a bliss spread through Yao’s veins.

Arthur slowly let go of Yao’s wrist and snake his arm around his waist, pulling him slowly closer. He gently but dominantly circled his tongue around Yao’s in a passionate dance.

Yao refused to move along with Arthur’s movements, but the longer he tried to resist, the more he realised that the pirate captain was a pretty good kisser. He noticed that unconsciously he started to follow Arthur’s lead.

A deep red blush forced itself onto Yao’s cheeks. Then he pushed Arthur away, breaking their kiss. Embarrassed he looked away from the British pirate, while he slightly panted.

Arthur kept their faces close. “Yao.” He whispered against his lips. He tried to connect their lips a second time, but Yao turned away every time he managed to.

The Chinese emperor closed his eyes again and couldn’t believe what they just did and that he had enjoyed it.

Arthur gently grabbed Yao’s chin and held it still when he pressed his lips against the emperor’s again.

This time Yao didn’t pull away and parted his lips automatically when Arthur parted his. Though their tongues never met within the second kiss.

 

The cabin’s door swung open and one of the pirate’s stepped inside. “Captain!” He said hasty, but didn’t wait for permission to talk like the pirates normally would do. “Spanish sails at the horizon, captain.” He said.

Arthur immediately sat up straight. “Antonio.” He said and pushed himself off the bed. “He knows what we're after.” He walked to his desk and grabbed his captain’s coat and put on his head.

Yao, who was already alert from the moment someone opened the door, slowly slide to the side of the bed. Arthur seemed to be pretty worked up by the news. It made the emperor curious for who this Antonio was.

“Get the canons and the men ready.” Arthur told the pirate.

Yao, who expected that he had to get ready as well, stepped out of the bed and walked to the door, but Arthur stopped him.

“Yao, stay here.” Was the only thing he said. He stepped out of the cabin and locked the door from the outside, leaving the Chinese emperor on his own.