On Board (Pirate AU)

Chapter Four - Which Is Worse: Fish Or Rats?

Will POV

Percy and Leo made sure I was extremely comfortable. Something about kitchen duty. Still, I was locked in a cell on a pirate ship. And there was a rat. I was afraid to be near it, so my schedule was based around what I could do on the side of my cell that the rat was not.

Nico didn't come visit me that first day, but others did. Piper, Annabeth, Percy, Leo, Frank. I lost track of all of the names eventually. About nine people visited me, which gave me an estimate of ten people who I'd seen on the boat total. I couldn't fight off that many to escape. I hadn't even been able to fight off two.

Many people visited to formally apologize for the troubles they'd caused me, but plenty others told me that while it was unfortunate, they didn't regret bringing me aboard. Apparently they really needed a doctor.

I considered ignoring them when it first started, but I got bored of that quickly. Besides, I needed to befriend someone so that they'd come in and get rid of this rat.

Nico didn't visit me that first day, but the next morning, he was the one to bring me breakfast. My heart thumped in my chest as he stopped outside my cell with a serious expression on his face.

"You should know that I banned kidnappings the moment I became captain. I'm afraid some of my crew members decided to ignore that. We're already making plans to bring you home, though. It might take a week or two, but we'll get you there. Promise," he said in a monotonous voice.

He didn't look at me. Was that a sign that he recognized me or not?

"So long as you plan to bring me back, it's okay," I told him. "Nobody's injured me, and nothing will leave permanent damage. I'll be okay."

He dipped his head. "Thank you for being patient. I realize this is not a fun experience." Because he went through it, too. Only he never came back. "I brought your breakfast. Fruit, since that's what my crew was able to take from Honnet and we don't want it to go bad. I gave you a larger portion; I wasn't sure how much you normally eat."

I reached through the bars to take the platter. "Thank you."

"Let me know if you need anything else. I realize you're not in the best company, but you are not a prisoner. I'd let you out of the cell if I thought you wouldn't immediately try to take your own life. I hope everything has been comfortable? And that my crew has treated you kindly?"

I eyed the rat in the corner of the cell. "I've been treated well, thank you. I would greatly appreciate being able to leave this cell eventually, however. I'm not entirely accustomed to rats yet."

He hummed, "Makes it hard to sleep, I know. I hated them, too, when I first arrived." When he was taken, eighteen years ago. I imagined four-year-old him, terrified of the rats. "If you promise to stay safe and to let someone accompany you around the ship, I would be glad to let you out sometime today. Perhaps I could find a different place to sleep, too. There are more rats down here and in the kitchens than anywhere else."

"That sounds perfect. Thank you very much for your efforts." He nodded. I took a bite of mango.

He lingered for another moment. I thought he might ask me something else, and I considered bringing up our time together as kids, but he turned on his heel to leave. I watched him until he turned up the stairs.

I wondered how he became captain.

From my four-year-old best friend to the captain of a pirate ship. [That's some character development. XD - Chris]

I decided not to dwell on it and took another bite of fruit.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

I'm quite proud of the media image this time. What do y'all think?

- Chris