Calypso Sails (she sails alone) (WELL NOT ANYMORE)
For Dipcifica Week 8/26, Alternate Universe!
Breathing in the sea salt, the open ocean all around her, never got old. The ship gently lurched, water rippling underneath the schooner. Though the darkness stretched down for miles upon miles, Pacifica had long since stopped being afraid of the murky depths below. Even if she and her crew were stranded, the Freedom Iâs sails torn from the storm the previous night, she wouldnât show fear. After all, she didnât become a notorious pirate captain by the time she was fifteen by showing weakness. Nearly two years had passed since then and she remained the undisputed queen of the seas. The irony still amuses her to this dayâonce the daughter of wealthy nobles, now a terror to the very people who raised her. She was sure they were horrified at everything sheâd become, but she was satisfied with how things turned out. Mostly.Â
âHEY! I SEE A SHIP! ITâS A TRAWLER!â Grenda bellowed from the crowâs nest.Â
Pacifica surveyed the ocean until she found it, a slowly approaching black splotch. Her lips curved into a smile. âLooks like we have a solution to our ripped sail problem! Plan 2A, everyone. Letâs go!â She commanded.Â
âWhoo! Hoist the flag!â Grenda and Candy cheered. Pacifica sighed and resisted the urge to slap her forehead at their antics, but it only took moments for an orange flag to wave in the air. Her first and second mates, William and Old Man McGucket, watched them closely to be sure they did it right. William did, anyway. He was detail-oriented. McGucket just joined in on their cheering and hollering.
The trawler sped up. Ha. Gullible. Pacifica thought. Well, maybe that wasnât fair. They were just trying to help someone supposedly in need. Nausea welled in her stomach, but she pushed it down. Sheâd made friends with her guilt long ago. It wasnât quite peace, but a temporary truce. She saved her guilt for late at night when she pondered everything she could have done differently. If she should have stayed. Become the noblewoman she was meant to be. The very idea made her sick. She guessed she could have run away and not become a pirate, but run away to where? It was dangerous for a runaway nobleâs daughter, so she became the danger to protect herself.Â
When the trawler came closer in sight, she noticed that there were only six or so people visible. Thisâll be easy. âHey! Can you help us?â She called when they came within earshot. âWeâre stranded!â
Two old guys exchanged a knowing glance. Before they could answer, a teenage girl in a shooting star sweater declared, âOf course we can! Right, Grunkle Stan? Grunkle Ford?â She looked up at each of them with a pleading face.Â
âWhat do you need?â The old man in the trench coatââGrunkle Fordâ according to Sweater Girlâquestioned. âWeâll be happy to provide.â
âA ride to the nearest port.â William, Pacificaâs first mate, said. He was a muscled, suntanned man with blue eyes and an angular face covered by a scruffy dark beard.Â
âThatâs all we ask. Our sailâs a little broken!â Lazy Susan, their cook and main deckhand, added.Â
A teenage boy who must have been related to Sweater Girl pushed his way in between âGrunkle Stanâ and âGrunkle Fordâ and whispered something to them. Ford nodded, considering. Stan frowned and said something unintelligible back. The boy sighed, conceding whatever point had been made.Â
The other shipâthe Stan OâWar II âlet them aboard. As Pacifica declared that there would be a few changes around here and that she was in charge now, drawing her sword out and lazily pointing it at them, she reveled in witnessing the slow realization that the supposedly stranded crew they had let on their ship was the infamous pirate crew led by Captain Paz, youngest pirate captain to ever gain such notoriety. She expected the expressions of horror to follow. But they didnât. Instead, their reactions were as such:
âHardcore,â Wendy (as Pacifica later learned what all of their names were) said.
âA minor inconvenience,â Ford said.
âDo you have like, parrots and eyepatches, dude?â Soos said.
âPirates, huh? I fell in with some pirates once,â Stan said.
âDo you have a stash of treasure buried somewhere and marked by an X?â Mabel said.
Dipper didnât say anything. He just glared at her. If Pacifica were less mature, she might have stomped her foot and demanded to know why they were so okay with this. Didnât they realize that sheâd just commandeered their ship? They were at her mercy, and they didnât even care!Â
It only got worse as the days passed. They acted like nothing was wrong, like it was just any other day on their trawler. Pacifica had her crewâWilliam, Mark, Tiffany, Candy, Grenda, Lazy Susan, and Old Man McGucketâmanning the Stan âO War II except for when she needed to employ the original crew of the ship for anything they couldnât figure out. But that didnât stop Mabel from being eerily cheerful, or Wendy from being stupidly chill, or Stan from telling tall tales to her crew. It didnât stop Ford from being strangely polite and formal, or Soos from making remarks like nothing was wrong. The only one who was normal by any stretch of the margin was Dipper, who constantly scowled at them. It was a breath of fresh air. And by âfresh airâ Pacifica meant âsanityâ. Therefore, he was the perfect person for her to ask a burning question. And that question was . . .Â
âWhatâs wrong with all of you?âÂ
Dipper crossed his arms. âYouâre the one whoâs got something wrong with them. Youâre a teenage girl who left luxury to be a pirate captain.â
"What can I say? Spite is a powerful motivator.â
He frowned and opened his mouth as if he was about to ask who, exactly, she was spiting, but she continued before he could say anything, âWhat I meant was that youâre all acting like your ship being commandeered is nothing out of the ordinary. Everyone except for you. Youâre like, not being weird about it. Youâre actually mad.âÂ
âJust because theyâre choosing to let you stay doesnât mean I have to be happy about it.â
âExcuse me? Choosing to let me stay?âÂ
âWe could run you off.â It was a statement, matter-of-fact, and Pacifica found herself fully believing him. Or at least believing that he believed it. She wasnât sure which. He added, âI think Grunkle Stanâs worried about you âcause youâre a teenager who somehow managed to become a pirate captain.â
Indignation filled her. âHe should be worried because of me, not worried for me!âÂ
He shrugged, smirking. âYouâre kind of cute when youâre angry.â His eyes widened. âCan we forget that I said that?â
âNo, we canât!â None of these people took her seriously! âI could make you walk the plank! I couldââ
âWe donât have a plank,â he said flatly.
âThen I could just push you overboard!âÂ
âSomehow, I donât think youâre going to.â
He was right. She sighed. âDonât tell anyone that Iâm this . . . soft.âÂ
âAh yes, not drowning your prisoners, how soft,â he replied dryly.Â
âIâm supposed to be a pirate, Dipper,â she stated flatly. âTheyâreâ Weâre ânot known for their mercy.â
âYouâre not known for your cruelty either.âÂ
âI thought you were normal,â she muttered.
âHa. None of us are normal.âÂ
âI see that now. Still want to push you overboard, though.â
âNo you donât. You wouldâve already done it if you really did.â
How could he see through her when they hadnât spoken in any meaningful fashion before this? She huffed. âYouâre lucky youâre cute.âÂ
He blushed. âAnd youâre lucky thatâuhâumâthatââ he stammered.Â
She smirked, slung an arm around his shoulder, and kissed his cheek.Â
âYou just threatened to throw me overboard!â He said when he found his voice.Â
âAnd you called my bluff.âÂ
âNone of this makes sense,â he muttered, walking off in a daze.Â
Ha, Pacifica thought, I win this one.Â