Table manners: rules used while feeding; way of politeness during a meal. Example used in a sentence: the pirates don't have any table manners.

And seeing some of his crewmates act during the lunch made Lincoln think that this was true. In few cases.

He didn't know people could really be so crazy about food. It was good, yes. Delicious even. At least as good as a meal prepared by your mother, but was it really necessary that Lynn and Lana fought over the last piece of meat?

They glared at each other until Lori decided to intervene. By declaring that it was her. It obviously led to the two to take it no matter what. The meat switched plates more often than it should have to. After leaving a complete mess of meat juice and mashed potatoes on the table, it was Leni who decided to take the meat and cut it so everyone except them could have some. They tried to protest but something in the displeased face of Leni seemed to have shut them off.

Lincoln didn't know quite well yet Miss Leni: he only learned that she was a kind and compassionate woman. So, suddenly seeing the others stop just because she shot them a glare meant one thing: you don't want to know her once she's angry. And it made him even more afraid to do so after he saw Lynn retract herself and not saying anything else.

After the lunch had come to an end, everyone went back to their previous occupation. The little Lily was dragged by Luan who absolutely wanted to show her work, so she did follow the older girl but promised the ash haired to come back. The only ones remaining in the dining room were Lincoln and Leni. It has been left in a mess: The forks were still king of greasy, the plates had uneatable leftovers and they were scattered all over the table. Same table that had remains of the greasy meat juice.

Leni stood in front of the table and sighed. "They can be really messy when they want…" The young woman pulled a napkin from one of the cabinets behind her. She looked at the table, then at the dishes.

"You want some help?"

She glanced at the other end of the table: Lincoln had just finished eating and was going to leave, but stopped seeing her expression "Well I planned of resew some clothes but," She said while she looked at the table one more time ", Seeing the mess they left me, I'm not going to do anything."

"How about I do it?" Lincoln offered "I mean, I'm the cabin boy, my duty is to help everyone on this boat."

"You wouldn't mind?"

"Let me clean up everything and go do your things, Miss Leni."

She smiled and exclaimed "Aw, you're sweet," She passed beside him and gently pulled his cheek before disappearing down the stairs. Lincoln watched her while rubbing his cheek. In a way, she reminded him of his mother: always pulling teasingly one of his cheeks when he tried to be nice.

He stopped daydreaming and began to pile up the plates then put them in the sink, where a big yellow sponge was. He turned the tape to let the water fill it (where did it come from? He had to ask one day), went back to grab all of the forks and knives before putting them in the water to degrease them. He took the previous napkin of Leni and soaked it, then began to pass it on the table.

To keep his mind from boredom, Lincoln tried to recall a song or a melody he could think of and hum. It's a reflex he got when he stayed at "The Drunken Clam" after the hours of opening. He would always be the one doing the cleaning after everyone, except the boss, finished. Sometimes, Velia would keep him company and they'd talk about everything and nothing.

"Drinking and singing…" Lincoln began to sing, at a low sound, for himself "Crowd gets begging…"

Before he knew it, he was tapping the floor with one of his feet and moving his hips to right and left. The song was quite entertaining, he had to admit. He was sweeping the table in rhythm with his thoughts and moves.

"For one song of more…" He slid his hand with the napkin to the other end of the table, bringing his body along "As I shout my voice is sore…"

Lincoln was moving his hips from right to left while standing with his back in front of the stairs.

"They ask for one more song…I request they tag along…"

Left, right, left, right. Her eyes only followed the movement. Left, right, left, right. You know, being one of the shortest girls in the crew wasn't always easy but with the time she managed to deal with it. However, being at the same height as the waist of someone taller wasn't really something hard to live with. Almost everyone was quite taller than her but with the time she got used to it.

Except when you're climbing up the stairs to take a cup of tea after a good meal and suddenly find yourself met with a posterior moving with rhythm from left to right.

She didn't make any sounds in the woody steps because if she was a pirate now, she remained a lady before anything else and a lady has to always walk with light and quiet steps, she didn't even gasp when she saw it. But she was shocked indeed.

She wanted to turn and walk away as soon as she felt her face warming, however, she couldn't even bring herself to look elsewhere. Her wide-opened eyes followed the movement of the two rounds that hugged the fabric of his pants.

"We begin, everything's going good…" Lincoln slid to the other length of the table. "'Till I see him at my-" He stopped, noticing something in the corner of his eye. Lincoln slowly turned his head and when he saw who it was, he suddenly went pale.

She stared at him with an embarrassed face and red cheeks. She coughed before asking while looking elsewhere. "W-Where is Leni?"

Lincoln shook himself before answering, doing the same as her. "S-She had something to do, so I offered to do her chores." He nervously smiled at her "You needed something, Miss Lola?"

Lola took an annoyed yet still flushed expression, before answering with sourness "She said she was going to have some tea with me after lunch…" She walked with her nose in the air and sat at the table, bring her knees together and dropping her hands on them "But I'll think I'll be alone this time."

Lincoln stayed there and stared at her. Finding his gaze disturbing, the girl told him without looking at his face. "Be useful and serve me one."

The boy stuttered before rushing to the cabinet and prepare to fumble in them but didn't in which one searching, and he surely didn't want to bother the order in the kitchen of Miss Leni. He stood in front of them, unsure of knowing in which one he had to search through. Noticing his internal struggle and because he kept her waiting Lola decided to intervene but not without forgetting to add annoyance in her high voice. "Third cabinet from the left for the cups and the infusions," Lola said from behind.

After an intense search, Lincoln brought out one white teacup made of porcelain and at least five little sachets of tea infusions. There were sachets of green, yellow and black tea but also fruit flavored ones: orange and strawberry.

"There is also a teapot deep down the cabinet." She added, keeping her annoyed and bossy tone. "Fill it."

The boy did as obliged, he reached for the teapot. It was as white as the cup and the handle was golden. He then put it on the stove before filling it with the water that was already in the carafe. The stove was still warm from the previous use, it made it easier to lighten it again. So, now Lincoln was watching the teapot was warming up because he had to be ready to put it out on the stove once it was ready and because he couldn't face Lola after what she… Witnessed.

"Just to make it clear: I didn't see anything and nothing happened. Understood?" The girl exclaimed to the boy, without looking at him.

He replied with a weak "Yes, Ma'am." Too embarrassed to just do nothing, he began to do the dishes.

"Oh god, why?! Why it has to be her? Why it has to be at that moment that I wanted to dance? Guess I'm missing more Royal Woods than I would think," Lincoln thought while staring at the teapot. He noticed that the porcelain was really clean, proof that Miss Leni really took care of everything in there. In it the white of the teapot he could even see the reflection of Miss Lola behind him. The girl was staring at the wall in front of her with a flushed expression but sometimes he could see her caught some glances at him then quickly going back to stare at the wall.

"Was that… the song of Luna?" Lola hesitantly asked, she saw his head nodding from behind.

"What's so special she finds about you?"

"Maybe if you ask her she'll tell you..." He said as he passed a knife under the water.

"What do I find in him?" Luna repeated the question. She was actually sitting on her bed and adjusting the cords of her violin when Lola suddenly barged in and asked about her "pretty boy".

"Yeah! Lori said you helped him to get in the crew and that you accepted to be responsible of him," The younger girl crossed her arms and narrowed her gaze "I would have never thought you'd be the kind to do so much for a man. What's your point?" She asked with a suspicious tone.

"I thought he would fit well." Luna simply told her while turning the tuning pegs, she then leaned and whispered: "And because I think his naivety is too cute to miss."

"Cute?!" Lola almost stumbled back hearing this.

"I don't want to be rude by asking that, Miss," He slightly turned his head to her "but can I know why you hate me?"

"Because I think you're just another stupid man who only wants one thing, and this is clearly disgusting," Lola answered with sourness and annoyance.

"D-Disgusting?" Lincoln muttered, not understanding how wanting to have an adventurous life could be disgusting.

"Is he playing stupid with me?" She thought, almost wanting to burst it out but restraining herself.

Lincoln felt both kinds of heat suddenly: one, sent by the eyes of the girl and another, provoked by the teapot that was now hot enough. This gave him an idea "It seems that you and I, we started off on the wrong foot. So why don't we try to learn about each other around a nice cup of tea?" He kindly proposed, almost submitting to the angry eyes of the preadolescent.

Lola kept staring at him with her frown before scoffing a "Humph!" and putting her chin on her palm. "Not's like I have something to lose anyway." She stopped shooting daggers and looked once again at the wall.

Lincoln made a small toothy smile thinking it was still best than nothing. He took the teapot by the handle, he could feel the heat of the hot water radiate from the porcelain. He quickly brought it to the table and went back to the cabinet to take out another cup. While he was doing that, Lola had already filled her white cup with water and was waiting for the sachets to come as well.

The cabin boy dropped the sachets in front of Lola, keeping his grin. She still had her despising gaze when he sat in front of her. Keeping her brows furrowed she picked a sachet of black tea and put it in her cup which turned brown; she kept the thin string of the infusion in her finger while soaking it in the water. Her eyes were on the water but she could perceive that the young man was looking at her.

"Ahem!" She exclaimed, making him notice that his gaze was disturbing her. It seems that he understood because he filled his own cup and took an orange tasted sachet.

"So, I see that you have many tastes."

"Those are some that Lana thought good to take for me but I kept telling her that I only drink black tea," she retorted without looking at him.

"Black is also my favorite," He kept soaking his sachet into the water, which turned into a dark orange color "So, you're trying to know why Luna did want me to join you?" Lola nodded.

"Frankly, I don't know. I don't have anything really special compared to the other guys," He pointed at his head "Except for my hair."

"Has it always been like that?"

"My parents say that since I'm an infant, I always had that strange hair color," Lincoln sadly stated "It wasn't always easy to live with it, because kids are cruel. They were always making fun of me and I ended up hiding it for about 5 or 6 years," He put out the sachet and squeezed out the water from it.

"Tell me about your parents."

"My father is from Royal Woods, he's born there and has almost always lived there. My mom is French and comes from a little town from the north of France," He chuckled and followed "She taught me to read and speak in French since I'm a little kid. Thinking it could be handy."

"So, you also speak French?"

"I think you already know the answer to that, Mademoiselle." He said with a perfect French accent, referring to the first time they met. She slightly smiled and rolled her eyes.

"I also have a brother," He added "His name is Clyde"

"What kind of person is he?"

"I would say that he is just like me. Also, he and I we were always bullied by the other kids because we were different,"

"His hair is white too?" She asked him, taking a sip.

"No, he's black," Lola choked in her cup. She stared at him until he added "He's an orphan."

Lincoln straightened up in his seat "Let's stop talking about me," He put his cup on the table and joined his fingers "I want to know more about you too. What kind of lady you are?"

"What do you want to know that Lana didn't already tell you?" She said before taking a sip, gaining a surprised look from Lincoln "Yeah, she told me that she told you our story," Her gaze fell on her cup "She really seems to like you."

Lola sighed "What to say?" She brought her cup to her mouth but didn't drink. She just let the aroma relax "I spent most of my childhood learning the proper way of acting like a true lady. At first it was just in order to obey my parents but the more I did, the more I wanted to be a true lady," She chuckled "Meeting important people, being invited at the court of the king, dancing with all sorts of noble princes or counts," She enumerated with a gentle voice "If I have to be honest, it was my dream."

"But Lana has always been different," She put back her cup on the table but still held the small handle "I remember when back then I just couldn't support her boyish behavior and she was always getting on my nerves," Lola expression darkened "And on Father's too," She sighed once again "Even if she and I were so different that people didn't believe we were sisters, we were always supporting each other."

The gears in Lincoln mind turned, and he finally got it "And that's why you had to…"

"Give up on my dreams to help Lana accomplish hers." Lola followed with a sad smile "The first days weren't the easier because I was always regretting to have left and to put everything I loved behind me. I always wanted to run back and take back my previous life. But when I saw how Lana was happy to finally being herself and not having to hide to anyone, I decided to, pardon my language, to suck it up and always being with her no matter what." Her eyes wetted a bit.

Lincoln put on his trademark soft smile and repeated to her sister the same thing he said to Lana "Brave and tough little girls."

"Look at me now," She said as she wiped her eyes "What kind of gentleman makes girls cry?"

"The one who have many things to learn from a small lady." He said while he took a sip as he kept smiling. Until he felt a sharp pain in his tibia, making him wince in pain and making Lola grin.

"Lincoln!" A little voice called from the stairs. The owner, which was Lily ran out of the stairs toward Lincoln.

"Oh. Back already?"

"I have something to show you!" She exclaimed before pulling something from her back "You see that?" She showed him a little tube in tissue which she was holding with two thread that came out of each tip. He watched it while taking a sip of his tea.

She pulled the two extremities and then BAM!

The little tube exploded, startling Lincoln and Lola at the same time. But the thing is that Lincoln spilled the hot water of his cup on himself. He wore a neutral face to hide his pain but a tear came out of his eye as he said "I think that Luan has a bad influence on you," while Lily was giggling and Lola tried to hide her laughter behind her hand.

Lincoln had now to throw his shirt into the pile of dirty linen. It began to produce some suspect odors, in addition of a new orange smell. In fact, he only realized now, that he didn't change his clothes since three days nor took a proper bath. So now, if he wanted to take a bath, he couldn't because of his lack of spare clothes. The drawback of going on an adventure without a luggage.

"Maybe Miss Leni could have something for me," He thought, recalling that she was in charge of the clothes of everyone, "Let's just hope that she doesn't have anything too girly…"

Lincoln excused himself to Lola, who between some giggles said that she completely understood. He descended the stairs, went to the cabin of Captain Lori and Miss Leni, and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

"It's Lincoln, can I come in?"

The door opened and Lori was standing in the doorway. She was wearing small round glasses and didn't have her coat and hat, "I just don't have the habit of someone knocking before coming in." She stepped away and let him come in "What's bringing you here, Mr. Loud?"

The cabin was composed of two beds. In front of them was a vanity which was beside a closet. Surprisingly there a window with a view on the starboard of the sea. One the first bed, Leni was sewing a white shirt from a pile of clothes. Lori went to a chaise longue near the second bed and took a book already opened then went back to her reading.

"I was looking for Miss Leni," Lincoln said as he was looking at the cabin which looked like a true bedroom.

"What can I do for you?" Leni asked from her seat before cutting her thread by biting it.

"Hum, that's kind of embarrassing…" He muttered, "Well, since I came onboard rather quickly I didn't really take anything with me except, well… me."

"You're not the first one to do that," Lori said without moving her eyes from her book.

"Don't worry I have plenty of shirts and pants," Leni finished to fold the shirt and put in on her bed "Except me and Lola, no one really wears dress. But," Leni quickly went behind him and took measures with a tape measure on his waist "You're quite strong so I don't know if I have something in your size," she placed a finger on her chin and thought out loud "Maybe if I look into the clothes of Lynn I can find something." She walked out of the room, leaving Lincoln in the middle of the room.

Lori licked her finger and turned a page from her book, "There is a bar of soap in the closet. Last drawer"

Lincoln went to the closet and crouched to the last closet. He opened it and was met with the sight of blank bars of soap perfectly in order. He took the first one who was at his range and closed the drawer.

"I found some things," Leni came back and handed Lincoln a folded brown pants and a red shirt, "you can wash everything after your shower," she patted his head and went back to her bed.

Lincoln, flushed, went to the bathroom and for the first time in three days, had a shower with the soap of Lori. When he went out, his hair was damp, letting it fall a bit on his forehead. He found it surprising that a shirt of Lynn fit him, well it was a bit tight but it still suited.

He went back on the deck with his dirty clothes and washed them the same way he did for the clothes of the girls. Speaking of, they had dried and he took them all before going back in the dining room and dropping them on the table.

"Isn't that the clothes of Lynn?"

Lincoln turned to the source of the voice and saw Luna with her guitar. Like everyone else, she didn't have her black purple coat, only her light purple shirt whose the sleeves have been teared up, leaving her freckled shoulders bare.

"Yeah, I had to change after having spent three days without a shower," He told her while taking a look at himself. When he looked up, Luna was in front of him taking a good look as well. Seeing her so close suddenly didn't reassure him.

"Yeah, those girl's clothes really suit you," she said almost like a whisper, "you spent some time with the others, that's really good. So, how about now, you play a bit with me now?"

"Seigneur…"

20 years ago, in a destroyed village of the Caribbean.

The horizon showed black and grey as far as you could see. Only ashes and drips of dried blood on the ground remained of the population. In the middle of this desolation, a cry.

A boy, whose the brown bangs were covering his teary eyes, covered in ashes and dust, walking, tripping over the debris of the former village. His former village. His sobs were the only sounds in this quiet and dead environment, along with some further calls.

On the beach of the isle, a bunch of sailors and soldiers from the Royal Navy had accosted. It was a group of investigators led by a commander. However, were presents, only the sailors and a dozen of soldiers who all were perplexed by a strange reaction from their commander. But where was he?

At the entrance of the village, a tall form with a Navy white coat was running toward the center of the stack of ashes. The light of the sun, piercing the clouds revealed a man. His black curly hair caught some of the volatiles particles of wood and straw ashes, giving it a grey taint. "HEEEEY!" The man called.

Behind him, were running at a slower and more tired pace, three of his lieutenant. The three wore the same blue uniform, the only difference between them was their medals.

"I'm sure I heard something."

"Who are you calling, Sir? There is no one left." One of the Lieutenant said, trying to catch his breath at the same time.

"I know what I heard! And it was a voice!" The commander replied with certitude "HEEEY!" He called again.

"Wahahaa!" A weak cry answered his call.

Perking up, the commander called again "HEY! WHERE ARE YOU?" before running faster.

In the big cloud of grey smoke, the Commander perceived something in it. He ran faster toward it until he suddenly stops.

"WATCH OUT!" He called his men behind him as he quickly kneeled down.

BANG!

A bullet passed above the commander and ended up in the knee of one the lieutenant who didn't hear the warning of their superior. He fell down and was now holding his knee while whining in pain. Another one went next to him. The last one drew his sword and pointed it at the cloud of smoke, which was beginning to fade.

When the cloud disappeared, all was left was a little boy, holding with both of his hands, a pistol with a canon from where the smoke came from, indicating the origin of the blow. Despite his actual position, the boy had tears running on his cheeks and was shaking. His grip on the handle of the weapon was trembling too, making the canon shakes as well.

"Put your pistol down!" The lieutenant shouted to the boy, who in panic, pointed the canon towards him.

"No! Wait!" The Commander shouted to his man, before bringing back his attention to the child.

"Hey, kid. Are you hurt somewhere?" He softly asked while getting up. The child instantly pointed the pistol at him. "You must be pretty scared don't you? But everything will be okay now," he continued and began to show clearly his empty hands.

The commander moved forward. "I'm just going to walk to you now. You can keep aiming at me if you want."

"Commander, what you're do-"

"Shut it." He ordered with a calm voice but with enough authority in to make the lieutenant obey.

The Commander kept walking, slowly, towards the boy who, with shaking hands and whimpers, kept aiming at him. Each step of the Navy man frightened the boy who couldn't move and was raising his canon as much as he was getting closer to him.

When the Commander was close enough, he was towering the kid. With his 2,10 meters, his shadow covered entirely the boy who tried to aim at the head of the giant in front of him. The navy man, slowly and carefully put his knees on the ground while keeping his hands in full view of the boy.

"See? I'm not here to harm you, buddy," the commander softly said, keeping his calm despite the pistol pointed at him. But his calm expression changed into a sad frown. "I know what happened there. It's… Terrible. I can't imagine what you had to go through, I'm sorry." His sad frown turned into a reassuring smile "But everything is okay now. We're here to help you."

He slowly lowered his left hand "So, how about you let me-" The child almost completely jerked at the movement of the man. He stopped himself and said with the same calm "I know you think you're safe. But you risk to hurt yourself with it." He slowly brought his hand to the canon and grabbed it.

The commander gently removed the pistol from his small trembling hands. He put it aside, then calmly talked to him, "Everything will be fine now," he gently put his hands on the shoulders of the boy "Are you alone?" The boy flinched a bit and more tears flowed. The commander mentally slapped himself and asked another question, "Do you want to come with me?" The child weakly nodded.

"Commandant, you're sure?"

Tired of the behavior of his lieutenant, the commander slightly turned his head on the right so his only eye could stare at him, sending him an ardent gaze. Something in it sent shivers down the spine of the lieutenant, making him shut himself immediately.

Once he was sure that he wouldn't say anything, he took the boy in his arms, who clutched the hem of the coat.

He turned and walked to where he came from. On his way he noticed that on the pistol were marked a golden B. When he passed at the side of the lieutenant, he said without looking at him "Bring this man to the medic." Referring to the injured lieutenant of earlier, before walking away.

Nowadays, on a Navy ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

Jack was staring at the floor as he finished to tell his story. The Lieutenant Smith for him was wide-eyed. Shocked, to hear about the origin of the man the Captain was chasing. Learning that they had a relationship way deeper than he would have thought.

"I took him with me like I said earlier, then he and I ended up being attached to each other. I decided to raise him, train him and teach him the values of justice." The captain said with a sad smile of nostalgy. He then added, "He always has been a little jackass, stubborn and thick-headed just like me."

"What happened exactly for someone like him to become a dangerous and psychotic pirate?"

"I don't know. But I'm planning to discover it once I find him." He turned and looked at Smith right in the eyes "And you're going to help me with that."

"Seeing that you are my superior, it's not like I have really the choice," he stated.

"Just as you said, he is extremely dangerous. His actual bounty is of 2000 pounds, but he's worth at least 5000 pounds. Almost as much as "Strong Suit" who was 8000 pounds."

"I still can't believe we let a guy like that become a privateer." Smith mumbled, remembering how the news, of a monster like him joining the "House of cards", the private group who is under the lead of the Admiral Savy and Captain Jack, shook him.

"Three officers weren't enough to stop him so I'll have to deal with him myself." Jack followed returning his gaze on the sea.

"So, you'd be ready to kill him if you had to?" Smith asked to the back of Jack. Who flinched at the word "kill".

Silence.

Smith understood after that the Captain told him about him and Low but if he was a threat so big, he had to be treated in consequence. Smith sighed "After having committed so many crimes, it's surely the one way left to be sure he won't hurt anyone again."

"I know…" Jack answered almost like a whisper.

Thinking it was enough for today, for both him and the Captain, Smith dismissed himself. This left the Captain alone with his thoughts while he kept contemplating the sea.

I know that those chapters ain't really the most interesting but I intend to at first give you a good image of the characters. Making them alive.

Things will really begin to move from now on. As expected, I await with great impatience any of your reviews and questions.

So far, even if not all of them have been developed yet, who is your little favorite in this story? Ocs? Canon? Anyone.