Fathoms Below

Part 1

Y/N stood at the helm of her ship and looked off across the waves. She could feel the mist on her skin and taste the salt from the water. She had loved the ocean as long as she had been alive. She hadn't always been on a ship though.

She was born the child of a moderately wealthy family. They were not gentry by any means, but they had the means to live relatively comfortably. Her older sister had struck a match with a naval captain and moved to a big house on a hill. Y/N watched as her sister wasted away in a loveless marriage whilst living in the lap of luxury.

Y/N decided at a very young age that she would not make the same mistake. So when her parents announced she was to be married to another naval officer that was a close friend of her sister's husband, she knew she needed to move.

She cut her hair off and dressed as a servant boy and ran away in the middle of the night. She found work as a galley boy on a merchant ship and left before daylight. She knew what she did was dangerous and foolish and that her family would never forgive her, but she also knew that continuing on as she had been and following the path her parents set wouldn't be really living.

It hadn't taken long for her to figure out exactly how a ship worked. She studied those around her and learned from example. She caught on faster than anyone the other sailors had ever seen.

One night, the merchant ship she was working was boarded by pirates. It turned out that one of the sailors was a spy for the ship, looking for a particularly expensive cargo to steal. The ship was ransacked and crippled so that they couldn't pursue. Not that a merchant ship could do any substantial damage, but we couldn't have them running to the Navy before the pirates could get away, now could we?

The spy for the pirates told his captain about Y/N's skill. He took one look at the "boy" and offered him a small job on the crew. He was not a heartless man, but someone looking to make a quick buck off the misfortune of others. Besides, he had once had a son, but the boy perished of disease. Maybe it would do the ship some good to have youngblood learning the lifestyle.

Y/N knew she probably shouldn't say yes, but the words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. The pirates cheered and the captain welcomed her aboard.

Months went by and the Captain began to look at her as if she were his own. He didn't know her secret, none of the crew did. She got even better at running a ship and was elevated to various positions of command.

The Captain took it upon himself to train Y/N as his successor. He knew that to be a pirate captain was to maintain a slim balance of intimidation and people pleasing. If you weren't intimidating, anyone could overthrow you. But if you didn't take care of your crew, it wouldn't matter how scary you were, they would slit your throat in the middle of the night and leave you for the sharks to eat.

He taught her every trick in the book. It was when they were sword fighting that he realized his lad was really a lass all along. But by that time, Y/N was practically his child and he didn't have the heart to expose her or to send her away. So instead, he trained her harder. He put more expectations on her. If she was to be a Captain then she had better be ready for more pressure than ever. No man would willingly follow a female captain unless she was worth her salt.

When he was sure she could take whatever they threw at her, they revealed to the crew her true identity. By then, the crew knew she was worth her weight in gold as a sailor. Some of the hands tried to raise a fuss, but the majority accepted it as a fact. Captain says the woman stays. She ain't caused any trouble until this point so she might as well keep working.

When she was made first mate, there were grumblings, but they were quickly tamped down.

One night, long after the crew had settled down to her being second in charge. Her "father" fell ill. He wasn't sick for long, but it seemed like an eternity to Y/N. Three days after his illness began, he passed away in his sleep. The crew were all shaken, but Y/N squared her shoulder and took charge. She fell into the role of leadership like she had been born to it.

Y/N took her eyes off the horizon as her thoughts returned to the present.

"First Mate Silver, how are we on this fine day?" She called out. The middle aged man meandered to the steps leading up to the platform on which she stood.

"Just fine, Captain. Looking to be a storm brewing to the South though." The man pointed a finger to a microscopic cloud on the horizon.

"We'll have to keep an eye out on that." She muttered.

"Aye, Captain, we will. Might be a job for the night crew though." Silver said.

"The sun is getting pretty low, isn't it?" Y/N said as she handed control of the helm to the First Mate. "Keep us on track. I'm going to retire early."

"Aye, Captain. Get a good rest." The First Mate called as she went below. She made her way to her quarters. It was still odd to think that the room her adopted father had once called home were now hers. She felt a pang in her heart as she remembered him. She sighed and laid down on her bed. She was so busy during the day that she barely had time to mourn him, but at night she liked to remember him and let her heart heal.

She quickly fell asleep and didn't wake up when someone entered the room. She didn't feel the ropes looping around her hands and feet, but she startled awake when they pulled tight. She let out a yell, but was quickly silenced when someone stuck a cloth in her mouth. "Sorry, pretty, but Silver doesn't take orders from a woman." Her treacherous First Mate threw her over his shoulder and carried her up to the main deck.

She kicked and screamed into her gag, but his hold on her was firm.

"You know, Captain Silver, she is actually a really pretty little thing when ya be thinking about it." One of the crew members said.

"Maybe Poseidon will make her his bride." Silver joked as he set her on the railing. "Sorry, little mermaid, but the only reason we held out this long was for the old Captain's memory. He wanted you to be a Captain and by golly you were. For a month. I'll be saying a prayer for your soul." He said as he pushed her overboards.

Y/N took a deep breath before she hit the water. She sunk like a ton of bricks and was fading quickly. She tried with all her might to kick back to the surface, but only succeeded in tiring herself out. She began to cry as her lungs burned, the only reason she knew was because of the warm water around her eyes. She sighed as her vision blurred, but right before the darkness hit her, she felt a pair of strong arms grab her waist.