Chapter Text
Jax was staring down at the ocean, the rush of the waves meeting the boats exterior as it sailed, the wind blowing harshly against his face, making his nose slightly red from the bite of the cold air, yet the morning sun was burning down on the deck from above. The day hadn’t even begun, yet Jax was still out here, making sure they were going the right path. He knew they were, but anxiety still crawled up through his spine occasionally.
Most of the crew members were still sleeping, the only sign of life on the boat, except for Jax’s own deep breathing, was the telltale noise of pots and pans from the kitchen, announcing that their cook, Theodore, was getting breakfast ready. At the thought of breakfast, his stomach growled lightly, and he stepped away from the railings and made his way towards the cabin, his steps ringing across the deck. He opened the door, and stepped inside and down the small staircase leading to the main hall.
His boots clapping against the wood of the floor, he made his way towards the crew cabins, as he stepped up to the door he lightly gripped the door handle, turning it, and pushing the door open gently, allowing him full view of the room through the half open door. Careful to not make a lot of noise, he saw most of the crew sleeping soundly, soft snores and mumbles being the only noise in the otherwise quiet space, filled with bunks across the walls. Jax smiled slightly at the scene, closing the door lightly as he walked through the hallway, this time towards the kitchen
Upon entering the kitchen he’s met with the sight of Theodore, full of energy, making breakfast and talking to a walking-dead looking Ivane, her raven-coloured hair messy and presumably filled with knots, as an equally tired Liz is brushing her hair, to the best of her tired hands abilities.
“Good morning, Jax! You’re up awfully early, you think the early bird gets the worm on this boat?” Theodore mocked as he moved around the kitchen, not even looking at Jax as he talked. Thought Jax could see the tired smile on his face when he slightly turned to grab something from the counter behind him.
“I was making sure we were sailing the right way. Someone has to make sure we are.” He replied, with a bit of a joking bite to it, though it clearly wasn’t taken that way by a certain blonde, currently fighting with a jet black ball of hair mass in front of her.
”You told me I didn’t have to do duty tonight!” Liz replied, the sarcasm in her voice was covered by a thin layer of sadness to it. “But if you’re gonna be like that, fine, I’ll just not do as my dear captain tells me anymore.” She added with a slightly irritated face.
”Liz, don’t worry about it, I wasn’t talking about you, I was talking about our navigators not taking their job as seriously as they should.” Especially when we need to make it, so we don’t starve to death out here. He wanted to add, but didn’t for the sake of not worrying the whole crew. Though what he said did the trick, as Liz’s face lit up, and her hands stopped nearly pulling Ivane’s hair of her scalp.
As Theodore kept making food, the kitchen-dining hall situation had become increasingly more full, now being joined by an incredibly tired Moth, a half-asleep Irene and a full-of-energy Asher. And at some point the whole table was filled with every crew member, right as Theodore finished cooking.
”Thanks for the meal, Theodore.” A now more awake Irene says, with a full smile on her face, as the others repeat her words. A smile dawns upon the cook’s face, as he slightly squirms under the attention, but still takes their gratitude. As everyone stuffs their face with food, some sort of porridge, light conversation gets thrown around, thought Jax really isn’t listening along, even as he’s mentioned he only replies in a short one sentence.
As everyone finishes up their breakfast, most are quick to go do their respective tasks, Jax shared a look with the navigator, Michelle, slightly nodding his head. They both got up to their feet, and left towards the deck, where the others were residing.
On the deck it was quiet, the wind had calmed down to a steady breeze, the sun still shining harshly. Moth, the helmsman was standing by the wheel, as Irene was sitting on a small crate as a makeshift stool, next to her. Liz was probably up in the mast, as she was nowhere to be found on deck, Lucas and Theodore were sitting by the railings, looking out towards the water, and presumably in deep conversation. John, as a swabbie, was mopping the floors, alongside Ryan, who didn’t really have a position onboard, trying to distract him.
Looking around, he also noticed Chester and Finn in a one-sided conversation, Chester was looking at his maps, while Finn was trying to talk to him. Jason and Nick was just sitting on small crates, like Irene, though they weren’t talking only looking out into the horizon, he turned his head a little bit more around, noting the lack of Ivane onboard, though she was probably in the mast with Liz or cleaning the cannons.
“I’m thinking we’re gonna head towards Reff Harbour? we are closest to that, than any other harbour, though I don’t know if they’ll have everything we need.” Michelle shared, her face shadowed by lingering effects of semi-frustration. Her dark brown hair falling into her face, enhancing her already natural beauty.
Humming in thought, Jax ran a hand through his unkept hair, as he walked towards the helm, joining Moth and Irene, “I mean I had different plans, but I guess, if it’s the closest one,” He looked towards the crew, as he spoke, his voice unwavering even through his rapidly increasing worry. “Then we might have to, don’t we?”
Jax wasn’t really a fan of Reff Harbour, his crew had stirred up a bit of trouble with enemy pirates the last time they were docked there, they usually stirred clear of that area, but now it was their only hope.
He really hoped no enemies were docked during this time of year.
Michelle’s slightly scowling lips slowly lifted into a soft smile that didn’t reach her eyes in the right way, trying her best to not show any nervousness for the situation as well. “Alright, then,” She looked towards Moth, “Moth, start doing your job, I’ll stay here to help you navigate the maps.” Moth startled a bit as Michelle acknowledged her, nodding her head slowly and then more hurriedly, and she grabbed the wheel lightly moistened with the dew of the still early morning air.
Irene stood up from her makeshift stool, “I guess I should leave then, so you won’t get distracted.” She smiled as she spoke, walking down the small stairs, and going over to sit with Lucas and Theodore, engaging in their loud conversation about the extinction of dinosaurs.
Jax silently looked back towards the two crew members by the deck, not noticing they had already begun sailing towards the harbour, though not close enough to see across the horizon. He turned his head towards the ocean, the sea was a deep blue, but still quite clear if you stepped close enough, though he always forbid his crew from jumping into the ocean, you never knew what could be lurking. He knew his fear was irrational because he knew his crew knew when danger was coming.
He heard the slight creak from the wood ladder of the mast, and the cabin door opening, he looked over to see Liz making her way down the lookout spot, and Ivane making her way out to deck, immediately going over to Nick and Jason, while Liz stirred clear of the crew, clearly in need of some sort of alone time. He could feel anxiety creeping up his spine, Liz rarely looked like that coming down from the mast, he was afraid she saw something, anything that was a danger to the crew across the ocean, where others couldn’t see.
He opened his mouth slightly, wanting to question the gloomy and unsettling look on Liz’s face as she walked over to sit by the stairs, though someone beat him to it. “What’s with the down look, Liz?” Someone — Asher, questioned. She didn’t even acknowledge that she had heard the question, as she sat down.
“I saw something, but I’m not sure it was actually there, there’s a lot of mist out on the horizon, but I thought I saw enemy sails, sailing towards us.” She answered, not even looking up as she began to pick at the chipping nail polish, courtesy to Irene, on her fingers. Jax noticed a wobble in her bottom lip, before she bit down on it softly.
Sighing a bit too harshly, “Which way were they coming from?” Jax questioned, trying to sound gentle, but it ultimately failed and came out as a bite of frustrated.
His frustrating tone had been taken as a warning from Liz, who flinched softly at his bite, she brought a hand up to her nose as she sniffled a bit. “Uhm… They were sailing from south east, I think… It was around that area.” She sniffled again, her reply getting a few hums in reply.
“All we can hope is that they didn’t see us, before the mist took over.” Moth answered instead of Jax, her voice unwavering, and a lot softer than Jax’s would’ve been, he was honestly grateful for her taking over the conversation. A collective group of agreements took over the deck.
An uncomfortable silence took over the deck for a few long moments, before people slowly began conversing again, this time softer to not overwhelm the clearly uncomfortable-in-her-own-skin Liz. Though their attempts were futile in the end, as she got up and speed-walked towards the cabin door, the one that’s closest to the crew cabins.
After some time, everyone slowly started getting their composure back, and Theodore had gone down the to the cabin as well, presumably to start lunch as a fascinating smell started flowing through the wood floorboards. Jax’s stomach growled softly, his hunger not desperate yet, as his stomach was still somewhat full from breakfast earlier.
Lunchtime arrived after not long, when Theodore announced lunch ready, Irene, Moth, Asher, and Jason started racing to the dining hall, while everyone else speed-walked or somewhat ran with the racers, after an eventful walk, run? To the kitchen Asher was declared winner, as a heaving Irene and Moth was chugging down their water. Liz had joined them for lunch, her mood considerably better than it was before, as she engaged in conversation with the others.
When lunch finished everyone was much happier than after what happened earlier, and everyone started getting back to their posts, only the ones not needing to do anything staying back and helping clear the table.
Jax had left for the deck, walking down the hall, his mind couldn’t help but wonder, what if Liz did see something? The crew weren’t really equipped for battle currently due to their lack of stuff. Caught up in his thoughts, he dimly registered that he suddenly stood in front of the door leading to the boat’s wood deck, and he slowly opened the door, lightly shaking his head to clear his mind from getting in the way of more important matters.
He stepped onto the deck, meeting with the high afternoon sun, burning brighter than it had that morning, as he looked towards the water he could see a mist incoming, though it didn’t look to be as thick as it was further south, if they kept sailing in the right direction the ship would only be blanketed lightly. He sighed as he tried to clear his mind, for the second time in a span of a few minutes. He looked around and saw that Irene was currently hammering a screw into the mast, Jax assumed it was ladder piece that broke off when Liz was climbing, later confirmed by him turning his head and seeing Jason holding the wood up on the mast, careful to avoid the hammer.
Moth was standing by the wheel with Michelle next her, they were steering the boat to try and avoid the mist altogether. “Are you sure we’re steering clear of the mist, Michelle? I’m not so sure, it seems to be thickening.” Jax overheard Moth say to Michelle, as her face formed into one of confusion, the question seemed to have Michelle pause for a moment before she gathered herself.
“I’m pretty sure we are… we were not long ago,” She sighed as she looked up from the map and toward the misted ocean. “But we have to continue through the mist to get to the harbour, it’s the only way. And we need to be at the closest harbour.” Her words were determined, but Jax could hear the slight waiver in her voice, her unease hidden by the show of strength.
With a sigh, he heard Irene’s hammering stop, indicating she was done with the mast, later confirmed by her yelling words, clearly directed towards the girl occupying the mast. “It’s safe to come down now, if you want, I know the mist is uncomfortable in the mast. I fixed the ladder.” She squinted her eyes as she looked up, as Jason quietly let go of the piece and took the hammer from Irene, walking over to the cabin, presumably to pack away the hammer.
Not long after, the shaking blonde climbed down the ladder, and Jax couldn’t help but fear if the shivering cause due to her being afraid, or just from the coldness of the air in the lookout spot. Though her ears were slightly red, and so was her nose, and Jax confirmed with himself softly that it was because of the cold she was shaking, nothing else.
When she hit the flooring, she walked over to where Irene stood, as Irene handed a jacket to her. “Thanks, Irene. It was really cold, I was scared I was gonna get hypothermia!” She said, her hands flailing in dramatics as she spoke. Irene laughed softly at her, as she moved them towards the cabin door, following in Jason’s earlier direction.
“Yeah, you’re welcome. Now let’s get you a warm bath, so you actually don’t get hypothermia, it’s not a pretty sight, and I would personally hate to throw you overboard.” Irene said, her lips forming a straight line to avoid laughter, knowing that laughing at Liz will just increase her dramatics.
Liz groaned in protest as they disappeared into the cabin. Leaving Jax, Moth, Michelle and Ryan, for some reason, Ryan wasn’t really doing anything, as he had no job, all he did was laze around, with the promise of leaving at their next dock, which was soon, the only person that would be upset about his departure would be John. They were practically attached by the hip. Maybe Jax should leave John at the dock too, he wasn’t really of any use either.
The rest of Jax’s day was rather uneventful, filled with the same overhyped energy at dinner, and when they finally went to get ready for bed, after a few long rounds of card games, Lucas winning most, while Finn was losing — terribly. Jax could hear the light arguing of Lucas and Finn as they left for their own quarters, while Jax left to his own.
He sat on the edge of his bed, as he spaced off, while still trying his best to not lose himself to the memories of his past. He laid down in the bed, his limbs groaning in protest, as he slowed his breathing as best as he could in a pitiful attempt at relaxing before bed.
Jax attempt must’ve worked, as he was later woken up by a shaken Liz, her arms gripping his shoulders and shaking him roughly, “Jax! Please, they’re here. The enemies, the mist is so thick, I couldn’t see them before they came too close.” Her voice was frantic as her eyes scanned his face.
Shooting up, sleepiness long gone. “How long do you think we have? We need to get everyone ready now, do you know how many arrows do you have left?” He questioned, as he shoot to his feet and straightening his clothes — huh, he must’ve fallen asleep in his outfit, he hurriedly pulled his boots on, and walked towards the hallway, Liz falling into a fast step behind him.
“We have around thirty-minutes. I think I have around forty left… I don’t know, I don’t remember, I’m sorry, I’m just so shaken up and honestly really tired.” Her voice was uncertain and nervous, her steps soft as she followed him, she was still dressed in her over-the-top pink bunny pajamas, though a black jacket draped down her back and arms, her blonde hair in a ponytail.
Stopping in front of the crew cabins, he knocked roughly on the door. “It’s okay, get everyone’s weapons. I’ll have them get ready.” Jax answered, trying his best to sound like himself, trying to hide the crack in his voice. He opened the door and saw the crew sleepily sitting in their respective bunks.
“Everyone, enemy ships are incoming, we don’t know if they are gonna shoot, or they’ll just try to raid us, but we need to get ready, change your clothes. Liz is coming soon with the weapons.” His voice boomed through the now silent room. Everyone looked at him in their own version of shock, some jaws drop, others eyes widen.
Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Asher stood up and went to grab his clothes, and everyone followed soon after. He heard light tapping from the hall, and the sound of metal crashing into metal, weapons.
Liz ran into the room, and lightly sat down every weapon she was carrying onto the floor as she moved to get ready too. Jax turned his attention towards the swords, guns and bow-and-arrows laying all over the floor. He reached down and took his own sword, his initials engraved in the side.
J.A.E
He ran his fingers across the light weapon in his hands, his eyes still caught on his initials. The story behind the weapon was tough, horrible and dangerous. He felt nausea gripping at his throat lightly, as he forced his eyes away, he put it on his belt.
“Is everyone ready? We need to go to the deck now, grab your weapons.” With that, Jax turned his back towards the crew as a few agreements were murmured towards his now leaving form. He walked down the halls, reaching the door to the deck, he stopped for a moment to take a deep breath.
Stepping onto the deck, he could feel the breeze of the intense wind of the night, the smell in the air lingering of sea salt and fresh seaweed. Jax walked the deck, to the spot by the railing where the other ship would place the plank connecting the two ships, officialising a battle. Everyone followed to their position, Liz climbing into the mast while gripping her bow, Lucas climbed after her, carrying Liz’s arrows for her, and after a few short minutes, he came back down and got into his right footing. The only one they were missing were Ryan and Ivane, the gunner needing the sound of Jax’s confirmation before shooting the cannons, while Ryan was most likely refuelling them.
The ship wasn’t far from them, Jax could see the outline of their captain in the same position he was in. He felt his nausea grow rapidly, while anger filled his every breath. This captain was no other than Garret Eong, the exact same man whose crew had been caught in trouble with his last name they were at Reff Harbour.
“Why hello, Jax. It’s been a long time since we last saw eachother, how’s your crew been? Still stirring trouble with enemy crews?” The enemy — Garret Eong — said, his face in a smirk to hide a snarl.
Rolling his eyes, Jax sighed loudly, mostly for dramatics. “Why would it matter to you? We already gave you back the stuff they accidentally took.” He responded, his tone clearly irritated.
Garret laughed loudly, “Accidentally took? Those damn witches of yours stole our stuff. No wonder your crew is miserable, having a lady - multiple even onboard is considered unlucky, you know?”
Before he could respond, the plank had been sat down loudly. “Now we can do the same as your crew did. Then you’ll know not to mess with SS Kronborg and her crew.” He crossed the plank, while half of his crew joined him. They were clearly outnumbered.
Shit. That’s not good.
A loud roar forming a word tore from his throat, as the enemies drew their swords. “Fire!” He shouted, as he drew his own sword, the enemy captain going directly for him. He blocked his attack, and pushed back. The cannons shooting directly onto the enemy ship, but not enough to sink it. They needed to win the fight so they could raid the ship and make it a few more days.
As enemy pirates dropped to the floor of the ship, some with stab wounds, most with arrows stuck in some part of their body. Jax had finally weakened the enemy captain, “Don’t talk to me like that, know your manners, Garret Eong.” Jax said, way too calm for someone in such a dark situation.
Hands came up and gripped at the sword before it could stab down, Jax tilted his head, a questioning hum leaving his lips as he continued stabbing it down, going very slow now.
After a long fight, almost every enemy was down, Jax dared to raise his voice towards his crew, “Check their ship, raid what you can! Theodore, Jason, Nick and I will stay and take out the rest.” Everyone yelled something back in agreement as he heard the doors swing open.
When he finished with the last of the enemies, he and the others that stayed back, now joined by Ivane, Ryan and Liz, threw the bodies overboard, when a sudden voice called out to him.
“Captain we found their medic! She doesn’t look too good, we didn’t hurt her, perhaps she may be of need to us.” Asher called out, as he and the others hurled a woman out onto the deck. Her long black hair covering her face, as she tried to fight against the arms holding her from hurting anyone, or to hold her back from jumping overboard.
Jax stood silent for a moment as he looked at the mysterious woman, hadn’t Garret Eong said earlier that women onboard were unlucky? Whatever, that man’s brain was probably filled with sea water.
A voice called out, he couldn’t recognise it, he assumed it came from the ravenette that had now stopped fighting against Asher and John. “P-Please, I just wanna go home, they took me from my home! Please. I wanna go home.” She begged, her voice scratchy from lack of use.
“You’re a medic, aren’t you? You could be of great use to me and my crew you know. We are in need of a medic.” Jax said, a light smirk on his face as the wind blew against the woman’s hair, revealing some of her face. He could tell she was a normally tan girl, though her skin unusually ashy, a clear sign of lack of sun. Her eyes were a beautiful dark green, though her eyes sunken, and her eyes read the emotions of despair and desperation. He looked towards her barely peeking out jaw, the skin tight around the bone, her cheeks sunken as well.
A light sob escaping the woman’s lips, “Yes, I am! Please bring me home, I don’t wanna be a pirate.” Her last words were whispered lightly.
Before anyone else could respond, a light gasp rang out into the air, almost stolen away by the breeze. Liz’s voice was quiet, but still loud enough to be heard by everyone.
”Layla?”