The Buccaneer Queen pt. 16
Pirate! ATEEZ x pirate!fem Reader
Genre: fantasy pirate AU, future romance
Warnings: angst, language, violence, death, gore, mentions of guns and cannons. The characters in this story are purely fictitious and do not portray actual people.
AN: italics are thoughts
Word count: ~3.8k
Summary: Women are considered bad luck upon the vessels that sail the Seven Seas. Before you became the captain of The Astraea, a witch of sorts cursed you and the crew leaving a physical mark upon your chest just above where your heart would lie. Anyone that sees the Black Standard flying on the black and gold ship knows that they have stumbled upon the Armada of the Damned which is piloted by the Buccaneer Queen.
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»»————- ➴ ————-««
Previously on The Buccaneer Queen:
Opening the drawer on the table, he begins to look for thread and a needle but stops. Turning to look at you, he watches the way your skin begins to sew itself back together.
"Neat trick," Seonghwa murmurs, opting for a rag and clean water. At least he can clean the healed wound at your shoulder.
Arms dangling off his knees, he lets his head hang, just sitting on a barrel beside the table you lay on, lost in thought.
It's when he feels a hand brush his hair back from his forehead that he sits up in shock.
You wear a tired smile, but it's genuine. A raspy 'thank you' leaves your lips. A small smile settles on his face as he grabs a hold of your hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.
»»————- ➴ ————-««
Yunho has already gone back up to the main deck with Jamie, who looked especially relieved to see you resting, to help with the remaining tasks as they begin the long trip out into open water while Seonghwa remains with you in the sick bay.
It's been a few hours since you've been brought aboard and have since been covered with a blanket. It felt wrong to force you to put a shirt on after the whole ordeal you had gone through. It also just felt wrong to not cover you at all, for Goddess' sake, even if he was a pirate he was still a gentleman.
Figuring you were going to be out for a while, Seonghwa stood from the stool he had been perched on and stretched, groaning when he felt the satisfying crack in his back. Casting you a quick glance he strode out of the sick bay in search of food from the galley.
His weary eyes took note of his crew members milling about the galley of The Treasure. Even with his short time on the Astera he had gotten used to his new ship, but now it was a little jarring being back on the ship that he called home.
"Hwa!" Wooyoung called from one of the bench tables, beckoning him to join the rest of them as they ate a small dinner.
Dragging his feet he made his way over, and Hongjoong slid a plate over to his first mate.
"You should eat something," was all his captain said, before picking up his own food again.
Seonghwa gave a nod as he observed the dried meats and bread on his plate. A thought had crossed his mind then, that the bread must be stale at this point considering how long they've been away. They'd need to stop at a port for new rations.
"How is our lady captain?" Mingi asked, mouth full of bread.
Swallowing the lump of food, Seonghwa answered tiredly, "She's doing fine. Resting in one of the sick beds."
"Why the sudden change of heart? Didn't you hate her or something?" Wooyoung asked, only to receive a swift elbow in his ribs by Yeosang.
Seonghwa just shrugged. Truly, he didn't quite know where he stood with you or what he thought of you. You did save his captain and all and forced them into the dinghies while you stayed and went down with the Astraea.
The rest of the meal was brief, not much talking after the events that transpired, just hushed whispers here and there. Seonghwa was honestly tired of the murmurs of both crews and decided to refill his plate once more before excusing himself from the table.
It's not much but he had a plate of stale bread, dried meat, and a glass of water for you. It was better than nothing.
Pushing the door open with his hip he was greeted with an empty infirmary. Just his luck, his own patient was now missing. Letting his head fall back he lets out a deep sigh, there hasn't been much time for rest as he's been dealing with a swirling guilt in his stomach, but he also realizes that this isn't the time for self pity. Straightening his shoulders, he turns around with hopes of finding you quickly. How hard can that be, it's not like there's many places for you to go on a ship.
»»————- ➴ ————-««
Climbing the last few steps to the top deck he finds you where he thought he would. Coincidentally, it happens to be where they found you on their first night on the Astraea, standing on the bow of the ship's railing.
"Thought I'd find you out here," Seonghwa says, as he comes to a stop just off to your left.
Your eyes don't break away from the dark, swirling water in front of you, but you do give the dark haired pirate a small nod.
It's silent for a moment before he speaks again, "I went to look for you in the sick bay, but you were gone."
"I just needed some fresh air," you answer, your toes curl against the railing as if to ground yourself. "How long was I asleep?"
You can hear Seonghwa hum behind you, "After we last spoke? Probably half a day's worth has gone by."
You grimace as you realize how inconvenient that probably was for people to deal with.
When you don't answer, Seonghwa speaks again. "I came to bring you some food. It's not much, but it's all we have until we reach another port."
Hearing that you glance over your shoulder at him. It’s slow going, but your foot pivots and then you’re landing softly on the deck of the ship. You glance up at the man next to you, but his gaze remains fixed to the dark horizon, much like what you were doing moments prior to him joining you. The only indication that he’s paying any sort of attention is the plate being slid on the railing to you. Murmuring a quick ‘thanks', you pick up the bread, the crust is tough so you dip it in the glass that Seonghwa offers you. The water helps soften the crust, but you can feel the dryness coat your tongue as you munch on the bread. Setting down the small roll you opt to nibble on the salted meat instead.
The silence stretches between you two as you finish your meal, only after is the silence broken by Seonghwa.
“Yeosang found a merchant island not too far from where we are, called the Port Ame,” he still doesn’t look at you. You take note of the distant look in his eyes and wonder where his thoughts are at, but you know better than to pry.
Truthfully, you don’t know where your relationship with the helmsman stands. There isn’t a lot of trust between the two of you, but something changed within the last day. Humming to yourself, you decide that you won’t press the issue, at least not yet.
“You should get some rest Seonghwa, you’ve done a lot since being back on your ship,” your voice is gentle, quiet. You can see the weariness that rolls off him, the way his shoulders are slumped and the bags that are under his eyes.
There’s not much spoken, but you hear a noncommittal hum from him. It just encourages you to give him a small push back towards the entrance of the lower deck. He continues a few steps before stopping and turning around, surprised to see you already watching him.
“Where will you go?” he asks.
“I’ll go back to the med bay when I’m ready. It won’t be much longer,” you tell him, hands clasping together in front of you.
He nods once more, a quiet ‘goodnight’ following him, one that you return.
Your gaze returns to the horizon again as you think about what Seonghwa had told you. You’d soon find yourself at the island that always rains.
»»————- ➴ ————-««
You awake to a knock on the door of the med bay, and a head of lavender hair.
“Good morning, Wooyoung,” you greet him, as you finish tying off your hair into a loose braid.
“Morning to you Captain,” Wooyoung smiles.
“Just YN, I’m not a captain anymore,” you tell him, with a smile that doesn’t quite reach your eyes. You can see his smile falter a little before he sets it again.
“Ah, okay,” He fully opens the door for you, “Hongjoong would like a word with you.”
Dusting the imaginary dirt off the borrowed breeches you make your way to Wooyoung, “Then let’s not keep the Captain waiting. Lead the way.”
There’s a strange atmosphere as you are led through the Treasure, everyone being happier than normal to see you. The interactions cause a small crease to form in your brow.
Reaching the door to Hongjoong’s quarters, Wooyoung turns to look at you and notices the confusion settling between your eyes.
Rubbing a thumb over the spot he murmurs, “Everyone is just relieved to see that you’re doing well. Most haven’t seen you up since bringing you on board the ship.”
Your mouth forms a silent ‘o’ at this, and you can’t help wondering how much distress you caused your crew and Hongjoong’s.
Before you get the chance to ask, Wooyoung is knocking on the door and striding away to head to his post.
You hear a “come in” before you push the door open. Yeosang is leaning over Hongjoong’s shoulder pointing out something on a map before they both look up to greet you.
“Thank you Yeo, we can discuss this some more later,” Hongjoong tells him.
“Of course, Joong,” he’s gathering up the parchment on the table and putting them under his arms. As he passes you, he gives your hand a small squeeze before excusing himself from the quarters.
Hongjoong moves from his seat to stand in front of you, you who had only taken a few steps into the cabin.
“How are you feeling?” Hongjoong asks, gently picking up your hand.
Oddly intimate, you think, as you look at how he holds your hand so delicately, carefully tracing his thumb over the back of your hand.
“I’m as well as I can be,” you answer truthfully. You’re clearly alive at the cost of your ship, thankfully no one was lost to sea while it sank.
He’s silent for a moment before phrasing it again. “How is your condition?” It comes out almost like a whisper.
“No different than before,” you tell him. The weight of the souls that you carry has stayed the same.
“Good,” he nods, and pulls you with him towards the chairs near the desk.
He pulls out the chair in front of his desk for you, and you take a seat. Watching as he moves around the desk to his own chair.
“Wooyoung said you wanted to speak with me?” you ask, trying to get rid of the intimate atmosphere he created, even though you enjoyed the care he held your hand with.
“Right to business I see,” Hongjoong says, straightening himself out. “I wanted to thank you for taking a bullet for me.”
“It was nothing really,” you murmur, picking up a compass and spinning it against the wood of the desk.
Hongjoong watches you closely before continuing, “Why didn’t you try to come with us? We could’ve all fit on the lifeboat.”
Stopping your ministrations, you look up at him, “To ensure the safety of my fa- crew.”
You can see the way his features pull down in a frown, as if he doesn’t believe you.
“To ensure our safety you say,” Hongjoong spits your words back at you, “I watched you fall overboard. Do you know how helpless I felt not being able to grab you? To save you?”
Mouth agape you stare at him. You honestly had no idea you made the ruthless Pirate King feel helpless in that moment.
“Of course you wouldn’t know,” Hongjoong said, covering his face with his hand as he slumped back into his chair.
The silence between you stretches that all you can hear are the waves slapping the sides of the ship and the thundering of your heartbeat beating in your ears. Normally, you'd feel calm and composed in most situations, but whatever has transpired since your ship sank and seeing Seungcheol on The Diamond has rattled you to your core.
"Tell me something," Hongjoong asks, leaning forward and propping his elbows on the desk hands clasped together concealing the bottom half of his face.
Your gaze drifts to him as you wait for him to continue.
"What does the captain of The Diamond mean to you?"
"Do you mean besides what he owes me?" You ask, feigning nonchalance by leaning back in the cushioned chair you're sitting on.
"What else would cause you to be so angry over a man?" Eyes boring into yours, he presses on, "Something happened that's much deeper than you're letting on."
You chew the inside of your lip as you finally manage to break your gaze with him. Why, why does he have to be so observant?
"What are you trying to find Hongjoong? What possible good comes from knowing about past relations?" You counter.
Hongjoong's stare is hard as he gazes at you. Trying to find out why you're deflecting the topic so much. Why does it bother you so much?
"The safety of everyone on board relies on knowing. Knowing what kind of madness we are all getting into," he tells you, finally dropping his hands to the table.
Your eyes follow the movements of his hands, and you don't lift your gaze from them. You watch the tick in the top of his hand as he presses them together, maybe to contain his frustration with you. The lack of information he needs because you won't give a straight answer.
Releasing a sigh, you let your shoulder slump. Maybe it'll be better to share the burden, you think.
"We were together romantically. He was someone I thought would keep me safe. Treasure the bond we shared, but he was a coward," your voice comes out quiet, but in the quiet quarters of Hongjoong’s room it seems so loud.
"He was the one that outed me to the witch all those years ago," your voice begins to raise as you remember that night.
»»————- ➴ ————-««
Your captain's ship was caught in the middle of a nasty storm as your ship was transporting an elderly woman to a new port. You remember taking an inventory of the various herbs, wraps, and other various medicinal supplies in the medicine drawers within the small cabin. One hand gingerly fingered through the supplies while the other laid comfortably over your midsection. The rattling of metal equipment in glass jars locked away on a cupboard kept you company as you logged what you'd need to pick up from Ame.
The sound of the wooden door to the sick bay cracked against a barrel as it was flung open, a screech following soon after startling you from your counting.
Whirling around on the crate you were sitting on, you were met with a wrinkled and crooked finger jabbing into your chest.
"I knew it! I knew the storm was a bad omen!" She hissed, spittle hitting you in the face.
You couldn't help but gawk at how red in the face this woman had become, and even more so, you haven't even done anything.
"What do you mean by bad omen?" You narrow your eyes at the woman.
"You are a woman sailing on this ship! Women bring bad luck on the seas!" She screeched.
"Are you not one as well?" You question, brow raising at the absurdity. It's then that you notice Seungcheol inside the door frame.
"Seungcheol?" You ask, hoping that his eyes will meet yours, but they don't. They remain fixed to the floor.
"Bring her to the top deck," the woman commands, whirling on her heel and leaving the room.
You can see the way his jaw ticks in frustration as he comes further into the room.
"Cheol, talk to me, please. What's happening?" You ask as he grabs one of your arms. He doesn't hold you in a familiar way at all, his grip too firm on your arm.
You push again, "Seungcheol?"
You're met with a brooding silence as you're pushed rather harshly out of the cabin.
Rain and wind whip against your face, and it's only a matter of moments before your clothes are soaked through, sending a chill deep into your bones.
Somehow, you manage to hear the woman's shrill cries over the howling winds.
"How dare you escort me with a woman on your crew! You have damned every person on this ship by allowing her to sail onto open water!"
The moment would be rather funny watching the little lady yell at your giant of a captain if the circumstances weren't what they currently were. You have no idea what you've done wrong, and to be in the middle of this situation, it just didn't make any sense.
"You paid us for refuge and an escort to a new island. You have no right now to be upset about who I have on my crew," your captain seethes, leaning his face down at the wretched woman.
You're not entirely sure what transpired, but your captain has his arm twisted to the side in a hold that no elderly woman should possess the strength to have and a bone knife pressed to his neck.
"Wait! Stop! What are you doing?" You scream, struggling to get out of Seungcheol's grip.
Whirling on him, you scream, "Let go of me! Why aren't you helping our captain? Let me go!"
"Quiet!" He twists your arm as far as it'll go without snapping before he's pushing you in the there direction.
Your eyes scan wildly at your other crew mates, but there seems to be a haze over them. It must be rainwater in your eyes, but they almost seem to be moving slower.
You're jostled from your thoughts as you're shoved to the deck, Seungcheol holding one arm behind your back and the other at the back of your neck.
You try to turn your head to glare at the man who you thought you could trust.
"You're a part of this?" You hiss, fingers digging into the damp wood of the deck.
"I was promised a way out," Seungcheol answers, not even bothering to look at you.
"What do you mean a way out?" You try to get him to look at you, "Seungcheol, what do you mean?"
You can see the way his brow creases and the frown that sets on his face.
"Answer me!" You scream at him.
"Your crew will die because of you, but you will have the fortune of being the first to go," she continues, waving the bone knife around in the air.
You curse under your breath as you realize how truly helpless you are in this situation. If you try to struggle any further, you know you'll dislocate your shoulder. You turn your eyes away from the scene in front of you, forehead resting against the deck as tears prick your eyes.
You hear it over the thunder and crashing waves, the choked gurgling followed by a heavy thud.
Lifting your head and trying to clear bleary eyes, you can make out the slumped form of your captain lying on the deck. A red pool forms beneath him rapidly. You think you hear a scream. Your second thought is that maybe it's your scream, but you're not too sure.
A gnarled hand tangles in your hair before giving it a harsh yank. You glare at the hag before you, and you meet her malice filled gaze with one of your own, but she has a nasty smirk adorned on her face as she leans in to whisper in your ear.
"I know your secret you whore," she whispers, as pain erupts in your abdomen as she twists the knife deeper into your gut.
Coughing, you can feel the thick, warmth of blood fill your mouth and run down your chin.
Seungcheol finally drops your arm and takes a hasty step back away from you. Guilt is taking over his face, but he's quick to turn away from you.
Pressing a hand to your stomach, you cry out. It's an agonizing cry, one that carries across the water. A ragged scream of a lost love and betrayal. For a love that never got to blossom, you cry. And soon, your vision darkens, and you're left alone on the deck of your old ship.
The storm has passed, and the sun beats down on a ship and the person who lies on the deck.
A dry cough escapes your lips, and you try to wet your lips with your rough tongue. Your head feels like lead as you try to sit up, and there's an excruciating pain in your abdomen, which brings back all the memories rushing to the front of your mind.
Gingerly, you lift the bottom of your torn shirt only to be met with nothing. It's just a scar.
Scrambling to your feet, you rush to your captain's quarters, looking for something sharp. After turning over the desk drawers, your eye catches sight of a silver letter opener. There isn't much thought as you bring the blade across your palm. It stings, and you bite your lip to suppress a shout. To your horror, though, you watch as the edges of the wound begin to create thread like fibers and stitch the wound close once more.
"No, no, no, no," you whisper, bringing your hands to your head and gripping your hair tightly. Your knees buckle, and you find yourself in a fetal position on the floor.
"This can't be happening," you whisper, and somehow you manage to shed a few tears that you thought had all dried up.
»»————- ➴ ————-««
"What did he take from you?" Hongjoong asks, his eyes not giving away how he's feeling.
"He took my mortality," you fix him with a glare, even though the anger isn't directed at him.
"He took away my son," you add, jaw feathering in anger as you reopen old wounds.
»»————- ➴ ————-««
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