I've been playing with this idea for ages and for whatever reason, no one seems to write Nine/Rose Pirate AUs so...here I am with my contribution to my campaign for #morepirates2k15
Rose dreamed of the sea. It was in her soul, in her blood, its call resonated in her bones every second of her existence. One day, she swore, one day she would be out on the open sea, out among the waves, and finally feel at home.
Her mother told her that it was naught more than foolish fancy. The seas were dangerous, filled with pirates and merchants that were more concerned with profit than they were with the safety of their crew or passengers, she said. Better to stay on land and in port and take the sailors' money than to go searching for trouble.
Jackie Tyler voiced this opinion often and loudly and patrons of her tavern knew it well, just as they knew Rose's dreams. No one dared argue with her, Jackie ran a tight ship for all she'd never stepped foot on a seafaring vessel in her life. There was never any trouble in her place. The locals had all seen her slap and verbally eviscerate those who had tried to stir up mischief and they passed the warnings onto the seamen who made port in their humble town of Powell.
Rose was Jackie's only child and she worked the tavern alongside her mother but whenever she could escape she ran down to the water. In stolen moments and days on the docks Rose learned as much about ships and sailing as anyone would teach a girl with an avid interest and the ability to give them a free pint at Jackie's.
She carefully memorized the precious bits of information handed down to her and learned that the sailors were free with their tongues if they thought she wasn't listening so she learned to be invisible. She started taking her mending down to the docks and offering to do mending for the sailors for a nominal fee. Men seemed to think she couldn't listen and sew at the same time so she learned all the tricks and talk no one would consent to teach her because of her gender.
Years passed in this fashion. Rose worked and learned and dreamed of the day she could escape to the ocean.
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"Rose, Mickey was here earlier to see you," Jackie called as soon as Rose stepped inside the mostly empty tavern. It was early afternoon and there weren't many ships in port as Rose had found out that morning which accounted for the lack of sailors sitting around the tavern spending money.
"That's great, I saw him yesterday though. Don't know what he could've wanted," Rose answered, snagging her apron and tying it on.
"You know very well what he wanted," Jackie chastised, giving Rose a look.
Rose rolled her eyes and went to go check on the men in the corner of the tavern who seemed intent on drinking themselves blind. Mickey was the apprentice to the town carpenter and she'd known him since they were children. It was no secret to anyone with eyes that he fancied her and the locals all knew he had asked her to marry him multiple times in the last year. She'd turned him down every time, trying to make it clear that she just wanted to be his friend, not his wife. She was in no way ready to marry anyone and she told him that but he kept pushing.
"Mum, you know I don't want to marry him," Rose said when she came back with the men's tankards to refill.
"You should take his offers more seriously, Rose, that's all I'm sayin'. You're not getting any younger and there's not a surplus of reliable young men in this town, you know."
"You mean boring young men," Rose shot back. "I love Mickey, mum, I do. But he's more like a brother to me than anything else and I don't want to marry him. It wouldn't be fair to him or me."
"But he wants you, Rose! He's crazy about you. Just give him a chance," Jackie wheedled.
"No, that'd just get his hopes up and I don't want to do that when I have no intentions of fulfilling them."
"It's not like you have others linin' up to make you any offers. You need to marry and settle down. You can't keep dreamin' about going to sea when it's never going to happen!" Jackie snapped, frustration rising to the surface. "You have to wake up and realize that you're letting the best offer you're gonna get slip through your fingers!"
Rose felt her face flushing in anger. She pulled ale from the kegs in jerky motions and headed back to serve their patrons without saying another word to her mother. She knew if she opened her mouth she would start screaming and that was never good for business.
The two Tyler women worked in silence for the rest of the night except for passing along orders, both still fuming. The patrons could sense the tense atmosphere and were on their best behavior, cowed by seeing a scowl on Rose's face where they usually found a lively smile.
It was an hour to close when Rose found herself in the kitchen washing dishes and rehashing the argument with her mother in her head for the twentieth time. The best offer she was going to get, Jackie claimed. Well if Mickey and his eventual carpentry business was the best this town could offer her, Rose thought, maybe it was time to see what the rest of the world had for her.
It was time to leave Powell.
She finished up her work and waited for her mum to come back to the kitchen. When she did, Rose walked up and wrapped her in a hug.
"Sorry, mum, I know you just want what's best for me," she mumbled into Jackie's shoulder.
"Oh sweetheart, it's okay. I want you to be happy and not have to work your fingers to the bone to keep you and yours fed like I did when your father died. I worry about you and Mickey would take care of you." Jackie answered, stroking her daughter's hair.
Rose pulled back, keeping her hands on Jackie's arms. "I don't think I'm ready to get married though and definitely not to Mickey."
"I'm not going to force you to do anything, Rose. You know I love having you here in the tavern to help."
Rose felt a pang of guilt go through her at the amount of work her mum would have when she left but it felt like the best course of action. She could see her life unfolding before her if she stayed in Powell. She'd be waiting tables and serving beer for the rest of her life, would probably marry Mickey within a year and be expected to start popping out babies. All the while she would be slowly suffocating, still dreaming of the sea and sights unseen that were out of her reach.
It sounded like a fate worse than death.
She pulled Jackie back into a hug. "I love you," she said.
"I love you, too," Jackie said, bewildered. "What brought this on?"
"Just don't like arguing with you," Rose deflected as she took a step back. "I'm gonna head up to bed unless you need me for something."
"No, go on. I'll see you in the morning," she said, turning back to the tidying she had come into the kitchen to finish.
Rose swallowed the lump in her throat and climbed the stairs to their living quarters. She packed a bag with her practical clothing, the knife that had been her father's, and some jewelry she wasn't sentimentally attached to that would fetch a good price at market in another port. Rose gathered up the money she'd saved from mending clothes on the dock and set it out. She'd leave it for her mum in exchange for the food she was going to take with her.
She blew out her candle and lay motionless in bed until she heard Jackie close the door to her own room. As quietly as she could, Rose got to her feet and shouldered her satchel. She grabbed the money and the note she'd written and left it on the kitchen table before taking as much food as her meagre amount of cash could afford, focusing on things that wouldn't go bad quickly.
The town was pitch black as Rose made her way to the docks. She could hear people still yelling down at the tavern on the other end of town that catered to the less well-behaved clientele that came into port but other than that, there was no sound except for the waves softly lapping at the sides of ships.
She smiled as she found the small ship the men at the dock had been talking about that morning. It was a tiny thing but sturdily built and meant to be handled by a single person. The man who had sailed it into port had been immediately arrested on suspicion of piracy so no one would mind overly much if Rose liberated it.
She had half an hour before the tide would be right to take her out to sea so Rose set to work quickly, getting the sails and ropes prepared. It wasn't long before she untied her new ship from the dock and felt the waves taking her out to open water.
Rose took a deep breath, inhaling the salty air and felt her heart soar. This was really happening, she was taking fate into her own hands and leaving her stagnant life behind. She was free.
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John swore when he made it to the slip where he'd left his ship a couple hours before sunrise and found it gone. He needed to get out of Powell before someone realized he'd escaped custody. The constable had heard exaggerated tales of him and didn't take kindly to John's method of redistributing wealth wherever he went so he'd slapped him with an overblown charge of piracy.
He supposed he looked the part when he sailed in with his leather jacket and ship full of supplies but he'd legally obtained the supplies. Well, most of them. The constable had taken all the food and merchandise but John had fared worse. As long as he had his jacket, he could leave anywhere at a moment's notice and they hadn't thought to take it from him.
John needed to disappear for a while, figure out a better way of going about his business but he couldn't do that without a bloody boat! Cursing under his breath, he scoured the docks until he found another ship that could be manned by a single sailor and hopped aboard, immediately readying it to set sail. Looked like he was going to be a pirate after all.
He wrote a note to the owner, apologizing and left it on the dock.
He was long gone and sailing into the sunrise by the time it was read.
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To whoever owns the missing boat -
I'm sorry I commandeered your ship. Mine was stolen before I made it to the dock and I couldn't wait around to see if they'd bring it back. If I ever come back to Powell I pledge to pay you back double the worth of this ship for your troubles.
Until then,
The Doctor
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Mum -
I'm sorry to leave like a thief in the middle of the night but I knew you wouldn't let me go if I told you. I can't stay here and marry Mickey and keep working in the tavern for the rest of my life. It would kill me. I need to see the world and feel the ocean breeze on my face and know what it's like to be on the water with no land in sight. I know you've never understood my need to be at sea but this is something I have to do. It's what makes me happy. If I could stay in Powell with you and still be happy I would, but I can't.
I promise I'll write and send money if I can. Please know that I love you dearly and didn't do this to hurt you. I just have to see for myself if the world and the sea can give me a better offer than being the carpenter's wife. Please understand.
I love you,
Rose
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Rose was out on the open sea with no land in sight when the sunrise burst over the horizon. She watched as the sun climbed over the starboard railing, painting the sky shades of gold and pink and signaling the beginning of her new life.
She finally felt like she was home.