Chapter One
A shipping vessel bobbed along as it cut through the rough waters of the Caribbean Sea. The clouds overhead were dark and swirling violently. Suddenly a sharp gust of wind caught the sails of the ship, bringing the ship to crash into a strong wave. Water splashed onto the deck, beckoning the rain to start pouring down.
Underneath the deck, within the hull of the ship, sat the crew's quarters. Two members of the crew, Don and Eli, lay in their bunks.
"The squall's hitting." Don said.
"Indeed." Eli responded, staring at the wooden planks that made the ceiling and deck. "With no one at the helm, we are going to get lost. Foolish of the captain."
Don sat up in his hammock. "We should go up. Make sure we don't lose our bearings. The captain wouldn't like to miss the deadline. Getting lost would only make us late."
"That's a great idea." Eli said. He got out of his hammock and stood up.
Their boots echoed along the inside of the ship as they walked upstairs. They opened the door to the deck and were met with an onslaught of rain. The sky was dark, only lighting up with a flash of lightning followed by the clap of thunder.
"It's hard to see." Eli pointed out.
"I can see that." Don said, annoyed. "Perfect conditions for a pirate attack, eh?" He poked his elbow into the side of his friend teasingly.
"Pirates aren't real." Eli said, rolling his eyes. He never believed in pirates. They were like ghosts—they don't exist.
"They are!" Don said as they walked to the bow of the ship. "I saw one once, with my own eyes!"
"Here you go again, with your made-up stories. Don, pirates aren't real, and if they were, one wouldn't be that young."
"But he was! I was there. He had these eyes that were the color of the sea that day! He had a sword held up to my throat! And all I could think was that he was so young. No older than a kid."
"You got held up, by a kid?" Eli said with an eyebrow raised. "That's just sad."
"He wasn't alone! He had three others!"
Eli gazed into the darkness. "And did this young kid tell you his name?"
"No, but his crewmates called him Captain Jackson."
A thump came from the stern. Both Don and Eli turned around. The rain was so dense they could barely see the poop deck. They crept closer to it, before reaching the stairs. They paused before hearing another thump. They crept up the stairs slowly, the wood creaking underneath their weight.
They reached the top of the stairs and stepped onto the poop deck. It was empty. At least, they thought it was. Their illusion was shattered by the sound of metal scraping against leather—like a sword being drawn from a sheath. They turned around to be met at sword point.
The man holding the sword was staring at them with a grin on his face. "I'm going to need you to drop your weapons." He said calmly.
Don pulled out his pistol. His finger curled around the trigger and squeezed. The newcomer waited as nothing happened. Don pulled the trigger multiple times.
"Mate, wet gunpowder. It's not going to fire." The man said.
Eli pulled out a knife and slashed at the man. The young man grinned as he blocked the slash and smacked Eli's hand with his sword, causing the sailor to drop the knife. Eli yelped and rubbed his hand.
"Drop your weapons. Please don't make me say it again."
Don and Eli dropped their guns and knives.
"Wrap them." The mysterious man said, turning around.
Two more men came from the shadows and grabbed Don and Eli. They bound their hands with rope and sat them down, then bound their legs together. They pulled out extra pieces of cloth and gagged the sailors.
A fourth man came up to the first. "Captain, I found the cargo hold."
The captain nodded. "Take Luke and Ethan there when they are finished. Leave them nothing but enough to make it to Port Royal."
"Aye, captain." The man said. The two men named Luke and Ethan finished their jobs and joined the unnamed man. Together the three of them left to raid the ship's supplies.
Eli spit out his gag. "Pirate!"
The captain grinned. "What gave it away?" He leaned against the railing of the poop deck. "Was it the stealing?"
Don spit out his gag as well. "You look familiar."
"Do I?"
Don studied the man. He was young, an early adult. He was clean shaven, with skin tanned from days out on sea. He had hair that blended in with the night. At least the hair that wasn't hidden by the hat. He had eyes the color of the sea on a calm day. He was tall and muscular. Something you could see despite the baggy clothing he wore. His sleeve slid up, revealing a tattoo of a three-pronged trident.
Don had it on the tip of his tongue but was interrupted by the captain walking off.
The captain walked down the stairs to the cargo hold. He watched as his crew moved boxes to their ship.
"Luke." The captain spoke.
The blond haired man ran to his captain. "Yes, captain?"
"Watch over Ethan and Alabaster. I'm gonna make sure there aren't any other people to disturb us."
"Aye."
The captain walked out of the cargo hold and down the hull until he got to the crew's quarters. Four hammocks, all empty. Two were tied up upstairs, so there were maybe two others. Though the ship was a small vessel, it could have been run by two crew members and the captain. He would have to remain vigilant.
The green-eyed pirate walked up the stairs to the deck. Rain plastered his clothes to his skin. His hat kept the rain out of his face. He approached the captain's quarters. He looked through the window, but it was covered by a piece of cloth. Probably for privacy. He rapped his knuckles on the door.
The door opened, revealing the captain. He was an older fellow, with lines on his face and eyes that carried years of experience. And that experience was telling him one thing—this man wasn't a part of his crew. A pirate.
He pulled out his gun and fired at the pirate captain. He grazed the pirate's shoulder. The pirate pulled out his sword and knocked the pistol from the captain's hand. The captain pulled out his own sword and met blades with the pirate.
The captain was good, but he was old, and he was slow. The pirate was able to hook his blade in the cross guard and disarm the captain. The sword clattered to the ground. The pirate held his blade to the captain's throat.
A pirate with an eyepatch covering his left eye walked into the room. "All done cap'n."
The pirate captain turned back to the captain of the shipping vessel. "We're going to leave, and you're going to let us. We have left you enough provisions for a journey to Port Royal."
"May I have the name of the pirate who stole the king's provisions?" The captain said, venom dripping from his words.
"Captain Percy Jackson." The pirate captain said before walking out of the room.
The captain watched as the legendary pirate walked out of the room. He almost felt honored. To be robbed by THE Percy Jackson was...well it was something. He was a legend on the seas, so much so that most pirates themselves didn't think he existed. He was a ghost story, something for pirates to look up to. If someone said they knew him, no one believed it.
Which brought a dilemma on the captain. The king wouldn't be happy to hear that his things were stolen. He would want to know who robbed them, but he wouldn't believe that it was Captain Jackson.
The captain got to his feet and left his quarters. The rain was slowing down, and light started to shine through the clouds again. Enough for him to see the Andromeda sailing away, its black flags flapping in the wind of the squall.
LINE BREAK
Percy stood at the helm of his ship. His baggy clothes flapped in the wind. He checked his compass again. They were still heading east, on track to arrive at Santo Domingo. He was the only one on deck, his crew still in the cargo hold, taking inventory on what they had gathered from their recent raid.
The scent of the sea filled his nose as he closed his eyes. He let out a breath as a smile overtook his face. He loved the sea, enough that he always wanted to be a seafarer. He had grown up on a ship, been on one as long as he could remember. He knew how ships worked, inside and out. He knew the intricacies of sea travel. And he knew how to fight.
He never expected to be a pirate, but he couldn't say that he hated to be one. The freedom of the open ocean, not taking orders from a tyrannical king, it was the best option he had, and he took it. He signed up for a crew on Olympus, under Captain Apollo. Then he was captured and taken into Captain Ares' crew. Then there was a mutiny against Ares, and they only ones who remained when Ares was banished elected Percy to be the captain. And here he was, a couple of years later.
The others had voted him captain for a reason, and that was because he had experience. They trusted him to lead them to glory. And he had, leading them to riches. Countless treasures had been dug up, but Percy had his eyes set on one specific one. One that every pirate had heard of, but none ever dared to find.
Percy wrapped a rope around the wheel and walked down the stairs to the deck. Next to the stairs was the door to his quarters. He opened the door and entered his room. The room itself didn't exactly scream 'Captain's Quarters". The walls were barren, besides the framed paper that displayed the code of the ship. Signed by every member of the crew, it detailed the rules of the ship, the jobs that would be done by each member of the ship. They had a small crew, so it was no surprise that they all had multiple duties, Percy included. Besides being Captain, he was also the Sailing Master, and a Cook. But with the lower number of people on board, the shares were way bigger, and that provided motivation for everyone to do the extra work.
Percy didn't mind the people he had on board. At least, overall. They were sometimes too enthusiastic, and he would have to remind them of the rules. But despite their problems, they were good pirates.
His bed was normal as well, only a pillow and a blanket. A desk was pushed against the wall, with a stack of maps and notes sitting on top of it. Percy didn't want a fancy room, deciding to go for bare necessities. Besides, it wasn't like he wanted to impress anyone.
He walked over to his desk and studied the map. He checked his compass once again, to make sure the heading was correct. When satisfied, he walked back out of his room and onto the deck.
He walked to the bow of the ship and let his hands rest on the railing. They would reach Santo Domingo soon.
A/N. So... Welcome to my new story, On The Seas of Destiny. I will be referring to it as OtSoD, since you know, I abbreviate all of my stories since I give them long ass names. Anyways, you might be thinking, "Bread, it's been over a month since you've updated RotDa, why would you start a new story?" And to you, I say, Shut up, I've hit my peak of no motivation. I have the next chapter started, but every time I go to wrote it, I end up looking at a document with no new words. Then my family watched the entire Pirates of the Caribbean series, and yeah, Pirate AU was born. So, for now, this is what you get.
I've decided that this story is going to be a little bit old fashioned in terms of chapter releases. Chapters will come out as I complete them, like RotDA.
So, sit back, wait a couple of weeks for each chapter, and enjoy Percy Jackson being a pirate.
Thoughts?