Wary Sailor Pt. 1 | Matthew Joy x fem!reader
summary: While aboard the whaling ship Essex, Matthew Joy is startled awake. Leaving the safety of his hammock, he encounters a woman lost at sea. What will his decision to save her cost him in the end?
warnings: Brief nudity and mentions of potential sexual assault/violence. This part is mainly Matthew being a good guy. We have a slow burn for this series, guys.
word count: 1646k
It's Been a Long, Long Time - Kitty Kallen, Harry James 🎶
Sea, Swallow Me- Cocteau Twins, Harold Budd 🎵
Based on Cillian's character from In the Heart of the Sea (2015).
Sorry I've been so inconsistent and thank you for still readying and engaging. I really appreciate it 🖤
It is dark, the world is dark, and the sea is at war with itself. Matthew’s hammock swings hard right suddenly, lurching him awake. He tries to focus his eyes in the darkness of the hold, the familiarity of it still comforting after weeks onboard. He’d practically grown up on a whaling boat like the Essex. Living and sleeping on a boat had become second nature, which is why Matthew wondered what could have woken him up so suddenly. The boat always rocked, his hammock often swung from side to side, but this time he woke up.
Looking around as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Matthew watched his men sleep around him, their snores similar to those of a whale call. Matthew listened out for calls of distress or whatever else could have woken him up. Besides the scrambling of a rat or two, the Essex was quiet and still. Still feeling uneasy, Matthew climbed down from his hammock and pulled on his boots and heavy jacket. He could see his breath in front of him as he climbed the slanted steps to the top-deck. The cold Atlantic water surrounded him on all sides, only the walls of the ship separated him from them, and yet he felt secure.
Matthew’s blue eyes glowed beneath the full-moon like colored diamonds, sparkling in the slants of moonlight. His shaggy brown hair shifted around his head in the strong gusts of wind. Matthew surveyed the deck, pulling his jacket closer and turning back. Everything looked as it should, waves lashed against the boat and the spray of salt water refreshed his face, everything was normal. As Matthew turned to return to his hammock, he heard a faint but distinct whispering behind him. Spinning around, Matthew expected to see someone standing there. When he turned, however, he was alone on the deck.
“Hello?” He called out into the dark.
“Hello.” A woman’s voice spoke quietly.
Matthew spun around, looking for the source of the woman’s voice.
“Is someone out there?” Matthew asked, his eyes darting around in the darkness of the deck.
“Yes,” the woman’s voice spoke again after a moment of eerie silence. Matthew froze, his eyes trained on the edge of the railing. He took a step closer, his brow furrowed in apprehension and bewilderment.
“Who are you?” His voice pierced the noise of the waves and echoed over the rail. He put out his hands to feel for the rough edge and caught it as the boat rocked beneath him. There was no response.
“Where are you?” He asked instead. His dark brown hair whipped around his face and his thin cotton blouse danced beneath his jacket.
“Down here,” the woman’s voice finally reached him, “over the edge.”
“What the fuck?” Matthew groveled and forced himself to look. Alone in the sea below, a woman was treading water breathlessly. Beautiful dark hair stuck to her face and ballooned around her shoulders in the water. Her skin was deathly pale and she looked sickly and weak. Matthew heard himself gasp softly and grabbed a band of rope without another thought.
“Christ, hold on! I’m throwing down some rope!” He yelled down to her and lowered a length of it, tying the rest to a hook on the deck’s railing. “Tie it around yourself!” His cockney accent tinted the words he said but the girl nodded and managed to loop the cord around her waist. Matthew swiftly pulled the girl up to the railing where he could hook his arms around her. As he pulled her over the railing, they stumbled backwards onto the deck, both landing on their backs with sharp gasps.
Matthew sat up quickly and untied the rope from the girl’s waist. She was shivering beneath him and cold to the touch.
“How the hell did you end up in the water?” Matthew asked her as he tossed the rope to the side and removed his heavy jacket. She started to sit up and allowed the man to wrap his jacket around her and prop her back up against the side of the railing. His heavy hands passed over her chest, wrapping the dry fabric around her. Her skin glowed white in the inky darkness around them.
“I fell overboard and it was dark, no one could see me,” she whispered as she tried to catch her breath.
“Which ship?” Matthew asked and looked out at the dark horizon as if he could spot a passing ship. The girl stared wordlessly up at him,
“You’re in shock,” Matthew consoled her and nodded. He was fully awake now and disturbed by the way his night had gone so far. Something felt wrong about this whole situation.
“Thank you for helping me,” she met his eyes for the first time that evening and held his attention. Her voice was calm, strangely so, Matthew noticed. He nodded slowly.
“Don’t thank me yet, miss. Do you know what kind of ship you’re on?” He lowered his voice and glanced around.
“No,” she furrowed her brow and sniffed.
“You’re on a whaling ship. The men aboard haven’t even seen a woman in about a year… this is a dangerous place for you to be, miss.” Matthew ran his hand over his mouth and tried to think quickly. “If someone were to see you… it may not be possible to keep you safe until we can find the boat you were on before you fell. We can speak to the Captain,” Matthew started to stand.
“Wait, please.” The girl grabbed his forearm weakly. He lowered himself back to her level.
“What is it?” Matthew asked her softly, feeling as though he were melting beneath her eyes. The girl reached out her other hand and gripped the neck of his blouse, her fingers intertwining with the tie on his lapel.
“What is your name?” She asked softly and licked her chapped lips. Matthew raised his eyebrow and paused briefly to study her. Her chest rose and fell softly beneath his jacket, her breasts could be seen through the wet fabric of her dress. He tried to ignore the way her dress was hitched up at her knees, sticking to her legs and dripping water onto the deck between them.
“Matthew Joy,” he answered her slowly and placed his hands on the sides of her shoulders. “Are you alright, love?” He furrowed his brow as she nodded. Her skin was freezing, so he rubbed his hands up and down her arms in an attempt to warm her up.
“How long were you in the water?” He asked.
“All my life,” she gave him a small smile, her eyes sparkling in the moonlight.
“What?” Matthew narrowed his eyes and felt her forehead with the back of his hand. “You’re still in shock, I better go get the captain. Stay right here, love. I’ll be back.”
As Matthew started to stand the girl grabbed him again, this time by the hem of his shirt. The fabric was clutched in her pale fist. She looked up at him through her long eyelashes. He was standing above her as spoke.
“Wait…”
Matthew listened as she swallowed and started again.
“Aren’t you going to ask me what my name is?” Her lips looked purple in the light of the moon and her wet hair was stuck around her in waves of glossy blackness. She looked like a goddess, a wave, a dream.
“What’s your name?” He asked her slowly and she smiled, showing a line of straight white teeth.
“Y/N.”
Matthew nodded distractedly and cleared his throat.
“Y/N, stay here while I get help, right?” He stepped away from her and she dropped the hem of his shirt. She watched Matthew as he turned and hurried to wake Owen and the Captain. He may be the best whaler on the ship but he deferred to Owen on anything administrative. The Captain was a uniform he had to respect.
“Matthew Joy!” The girl called out before he made it to the stairs below deck. He turned, his hair blowing into his blue eyes. The girl was curled up in the further shadow of the railing. He waited for her to speak.
“Do you believe in Sirens?” She asked strangely and he felt himself take a deep breath, confused. He noticed the sky in the distance begin to lighten as the sun was close to rising. The light made everything look greenish, almost aquamarine.
“What…” he trailed off. His hair flew into his face again, blocking his sight. When the wind passed, he drew in a breath to respond. The girl was gone. Matthew scrambled back to the place where the girl had just been. He looked over the side and in the ocean below but there was no sign of her. A chill spread through his body as he straightened up.
A bell sounded from the crow’s nest down the ship. The call for whale’s went up and noise erupted from below deck.
“Pods! Pods of whales!” A sailor screamed. Matthew stood dumbly, staring over the edge of the boat, not looking for the whales but watching for the girl.
“Y/N…” he whispered distractedly.
He couldn’t have been dreaming. His jacket was gone and a puddle of cold water stood in her place. A hard clap on the back startled him and he released a nervous chuckle when he saw that it was just Owen.
“Did you see ‘em?” Owen asked with a wide grin.
“No, no,” Matthew shook his head and rested his elbows on the surface of the railing. As the sun rose, the blue in his eyes magnified against the ruddy orange in the sky. His thumbs pushed against his full lips and he exhaled slowly, trying to capture an image of her in his mind. What kind of creature was she?
...
End of Pt. 1
