Disclaimer: I don't own nothing. Not The Walking Dead or Alestorm. 8D
Warnings: Rated M for language and piratey things. Gay characters, implied sex, but no porn. Also there will be mentions of prostitution, kidnapping, rape, slavery, child endangerment, drinking, other piratey things. Maybe still zombies, if I can fit it in. Also really bad town, port, and ship names.
Pairings: Eventually Rick/Daryl. Background Michonne/Andrea, Rick/Lori, Shane/Lori, Glenn/Maggie, and maybe others.
Summary: Rick Grimes is the Captain of The Jugular, the most feared and respected pirate ship in all the seas. And he and his crew had earned a break. They were on their way home when they stopped at a port for repairs and were sucked into a mystery and adventure none of them expected.
Notes: My knowledge of pirates is based on the Disney Pirates of the Carribean movies, the video game Black Flag, and the Norwegian metal band called Alestorm. The idea for this came while I was writing a chapter for my other Rick and Daryl story called Give Me Reason. I was writing it while on break at work. I listen to music at work. And the song You Are a Pirate by Alestorm came on. And I JUST COULDN'T get the idea of pirate Rick out of my head. Alestorm is a hilarious band. I saw them in concert once. They are awesome. I will be using their song lyrics as chapter titles and pirate shanties. And I know I shouldn't start something new. But... oh well.
You Are a Pirate
Part 1: 'Til We Fall
Chapter 1: 'Til We Die
"To the end of time, we will sail the seas. With cutlasses in hand, we'll terrorize the land. Though the hands of fate may strike us down, we'll fight 'til we fall. Swashbucklers 'til we die!"
The sea was calm and spirits were high. There was a smile on the captain's lips as he spun the wheel lazily. No real hurry. The horizon was calm. They had a run in with the Royal Navy and came away with barely a scratch. There was a gaping hole in the side of the hull. But nothing that a quick stop in any port town couldn't fix. And then they'd make haste for home. He had a little over a week before he had to be back. His son's 16th birthday. He'd promised the boy when he was 16, he'd take him out on his ship, let him sail with him.
All the years he'd missed out with his boy. Now that would all be behind them. His son would stand beside him at the helm, the wind in their hair, and gaze out at the horizon. It was in the boy's blood, as it was in his own. It'd been just over 10 months since they'd been home. 10 months since he'd seen his boy. And the time before that had been longer.
They had enough supplies to make it home. And could shave probably 3 days off the trip if he skipped stopping for repairs, hoisted the sails, and pushed the crew. He'd been tempted. The prospect of pulling into home port and seeing his son's smiling face and waving arms as he waited for a glimpse of his father's ship was a good one.
But the captain had thought better of it. There was little chance of running into the Royal Navy again so far from the Royal port of Alexandria. And so close to his home port, none would bother his ship. But he didn't want to chance it. If by some slim chance the Royal Navy had dared follow them into the pirated waters or one of their brethren own dared turn against him, he wasn't entirely sure his ship could take another hard hitting.
So they'd make a quick stop for repairs and be on their way and he could still make his boy's birthday. Let the crew sing and drink and be merry. They had had a trying couple of months. They deserved a leisurely pace.
"Captain Rick?"
He turned slowly and offered a smile to the dark haired man walking towards him. Shane was his First Mate, his second-in-command among the ship but in truth, the man was so much more. He was his best friend, practically his brother. They'd grown up together, sailed their first ship together, and Rick never had a doubt in his mind about the man. He nodded to him and turned back to the wheel without a word.
Shane walked up beside him and stood with him at the helm. He crossed his arms and turned to look out over the jolly crew. "What're ya thinkin'?"
Rick let out a sigh. "It'd be nice ta get home. But we need repairs."
"Could make it." Shane said, echoing Rick's own thoughts.
Rick glanced sideways at him. Shane could always read him so well. "Could. But safer ta' do repairs now."
Shane nodded. "Quarryton?" He said after a moment.
Rick nodded. "Should be there a'fore the day's half gone."
Shane turned towards him, grabbed his shoulder and squeezed it for a moment. Then turned and headed back down to the lower deck. Rick watched his form for a moment as he weaved through the crewmen. They were singing again.
"We'll fight 'til we fall. Swashbucklers 'til we die!"
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
The sun was just beginning to dip lower along the horizon when they docked in the small mountain port of Quarryton. The town had been built at the base of a huge mountain range. There was little vegetation but they made do, trading what they could the stones and rocks they mined from the caves.
Rick was the first down the gangplank, Shane quickly behind him. "Captain, how long..."
Rick turned and stopped him. "Off the ship, Shane."
The man rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Fine. Rick." Shane sneered. "How long 're we stayin' in Quarryton?"
Rick turned and glanced at the small, rocky town before them. He shrugged and glanced back. "Maybe three days. Long enough ta repair the hull after tha Navy run-in." He looked past Shane as an older man stepped down towards them, moving a bit slower. "Master Dale!" Rick called loudly, stepping around his First Mate. "What da ye think? Three days ta repair?"
The old man nodded his head. "Aye, 3 days sounds 'bout right. On me way ta speak wit the Harbor Master now 'bout gettin' supplies. Unless ya would rather..."
Rick shook his head quickly. "Nah. I trust ya." He said with a smile. "Keep me updated."
Dale nodded. "Aye, aye, Cap'n. Will do."
Rick turned back to Shane. "I could do with a drink."
Shane slowly smiled. "Brother, that's da best thing ye've said all day."
Rick let out a laugh and threw his arm around the other man's shoulders. The whole of the crew had been drinking for most of the day already. "Let's go, my friend."
An hour later, and both men had drunk themselves silly. Dale had come in at one point, at least Rick thought it had been Dale. And he said something... about something... what had Dale been doing? He talked... to someone... the harbor master! Oh yes! Dale had already spoken with the man and acquired the supplies needed and hired a few workers to help so the crew could rotate and take breaks.
"Come on, man." Shane said, hauling Rick off his chair.
Rick laughed and stumbled and drug Shane down on the ground with him. Rick was the first up this time and helped Shane up. They stumbled out of the tavern and Rick pulled up, looking around. "Uh... which way ta da Inn?"
Shane blinked and turned slightly. "Dis way." He started walking.
Rick grabbed his head for a moment, trying to get his eyes to focus. His head was going to be spinning soon, he knew. He'd drunk too much. But they'd been laughing and having fun. And it felt great. He was trying to follow Shane in the fading light when he was suddenly on the ground, rolling and tumbling into the side of a building.
Shane heard and turned. Seeing his Captain on the ground, he doubled back. "Rick, ya okay?"
"Yeah." He mumbled, rolling over. "Jus' tripped o'er sumthin." He sat up and looked around. There was a woman on the ground, curled in a ball the way they'd just come. Rick's eyes widened and he crawled forward. Was he so wasted that he'd tripped over an actual person? A tiny woman? "Miss? Hey, are ya okay?"
Her clothes were ratty and torn, her hair so filthy the color was obscured, and she turned to look at him really slowly. Her blue grey eyes shown bright in the falling light from above them. She blinked, then jumped up and stepped away from them. "I'm not a whore." She said loudly.
Rick blinked and held up his hands. "Not looking fer one." He said awkwardly, pulling himself up. He wavered a bit on his feet and felt Shane's hands on his shoulders, steadying him.
The girl's eyes darted to the side. She jumped when a door opened and closed somewhere in the distance. "Not a whore." She whispered. "Not a whore."
"Are you okay?" Rick kept his hands up and took a wobbly step forward.
She turned to the side, shaking her head. But she didn't seem to hear him anymore. Her eyes were darting and she was mumbling the same string of words over and over again. "Sister... took my sister... not a whore... sister... not a whore..."
Shane reached out and grabbed Rick's shoulder. He pulled him back. "She's crazy, man. Let 'er be."
"She might'a hit 'er head." Rick said, pushing Shane's hand off. "I ran inta 'er or sumthin. Coulda hurt her."
She turned around again, her eyes darting everywhere. "Kidnapped us... my sister... kidnapped my sister..."
"Kidnapped?" Rick turned to look at Shane and held up his hand to silently tell him to stay put. Then Rick turned back around and stepped towards the girl slowly. He kept his hands up and when he spoke, he kept his voice low and gentle. "Someone kidnapped your sister?" He asked slowly.
She turned towards him and blinked at him. She blinked again and shook her head. "Yes." She said, nodding after a moment. "My sister. No one will help. Have to find help. We're not whores."
Behind him, Shane let out a sigh. Rick ignored him and stepped closer. "Your sister's been kidnapped." He repeated softly.
The girl nodded, her eyes seemed to focus better on him. Slowly, her eyes widened and she shot forward. She grabbed Rick's arms and looked up into his eyes. "Can you help me? No one will help me!"
"Rick!" Shane snapped. "She's obviously crazy. Look at 'er!"
She stepped to the side and looked around Rick at Shane. Her eyes narrowed and her grip on Rick's arm increased. "Not crazy." She hissed, glaring at Shane. "Not crazy, not crazy!"
Shane rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Rick, we need'ta get'ta the Inn..."
The girl jumped back, pushing away from Rick. "Not a whore!"
Rick shook his head. "No, no, no." He said quickly, waving his hands. "We're staying at tha Inn ta sleep, taking a break from the ship..."
Her eyes widened and she darted forward again, grabbing Rick's arm once again. "Ship! You have a ship!"
Rick blinked. And then nodded dumbly.
"Go!" She said, pointing frantically out at the water. "Can we go? Can you help? Can you rescue my sister?"
"No!" Shane snapped, moving in behind Rick quickly. "Rick, NO! She's crazy and we're on our way home!"
"My sister!" The girl wailed.
"Shhh!" Rick tried to sooth her. And suddenly she was crying and her arms were around his neck and she was holding onto him like her life depended on it. "Shhh!" He murmured again, patting her back. "Come to the Inn with us..." She stiffened and made to pull back. "Ta talk." Rick added quickly. "An' get ya fed and cleaned up. Ya look half dead."
She blinked and stepped back. She touched a lock of her hair and looked down at herself. She picked at a dirty stain on her torn dress and turned away. "Your ship..."
"We docked ta get repairs." Rick said. "If I'm ta rescue your sister, need ta get fixed up first."
She swallowed and looked up at the sky. Tears still clung to her eyes and stained her cheeks. And she suddenly looked really young in the light. "How long?" She asked softly, her voice barely a whisper.
"My carpenter said 3 days. Dun know if we can rush it." He answered with a shrug.
She turned to look at him. "You'll help me."
Rick nodded. "Yes, I'll help you."
"I'm not a whore." She repeated for the thousandth time, it seemed.
Rick shook his head. "No, yer not."
She put her hands on her stomach. "I am really hungry..." She said softly.
Rick nodded and turned to Shane. He fumbled with the pouch on his belt and untied it. "Here." He pressed the coin bag to Shane's chest. "See if ya can find 'er some clothes."
Shane stared at him blankly. "Clothes? Da fuck, Rick!"
Rick pressed the coin pouch against him harder until Shane yanked the bag away and stomped away, growling under his breath. Rick watched him for a moment and turned back to the girl. She was staring at him curiously. Rick offered her a lopsided smile. "He's a good guy. We've jus' been gone a long time."
She blinked and started fidgeting again, her fingers on her dress.
Rick slowly stepped closer to her. He pulled his coat off and tentatively, reached out to wrap it around her shoulders. Then he wrapped his arm around her and turned them towards the direction he thought the Inn was in. "Let's get ya inside an' then we can talk more 'bout yer sister."
They found the Inn quickly. The girl knew where it was. Rick was able to bribe the Inn Keeper into fixing the girl something to eat. The man let them sit back in the kitchen as the girl practically inhaled the meal. He also set a pot of coffee to brew for Rick before disappearing to prepare some bath water. Rick poured himself a large cup of the bitter liquid and drank deeply, trying to sober himself up quickly.
The girl smiled at him when she'd licked the plate clean. Then refilled his cup without asking and poured her own cup. They sipped their coffee for a few silent moments before the Inn Keeper returned. They both thanked the man and he showed them where the girl could wash up. Rick tried to excuse himself, but her eyes had widened and she grabbed his arm. In the end, Rick had taken a seat on the floor a few feet away, his back to her, as she washed in silence.
Once she had scrubbed herself clean, she wrapped the sheet the Inn Keeper had brought them around herself. Rick had helped her tie a sash around her waist. It would do until Shane came back with something. She looked like a real person now. Her hair was a light blond and was long and straight. Her skin was pale and she was rather pretty, Rick had thought. She was definitely older than his son. But with her slim build and obvious malnourishment, Rick couldn't really guess her age beyond that.
She smiled sweetly at him, seeming much more grounded now. They were standing in the room Rick had rented for the night. He pointed to the bed. "You can sleep, if ye like. We can talk in the morning."
She looked at the bed shyly and then back at him. "You promise?" She asked softly. "You won't leave?"
"I promise." He said softly. "I'll sleep on the floor." He smiled. "I've slept on worse."
She nodded. "Thank you." She said softly, sitting on the edge of the bed.
Rick settled on the ground. He pulled off his boots and pushed them away. Then he folded his coat up and stuck it under his head. "You're welcome." He said as he straightened out.
"I'm Amy."
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
Author's Notes: Eventually will Daryl pop in. I'm thinking chapter 4 or 5.