Lucy looked towards her Captain only to find him keeled over the side of the deck bringing up the contents of his stomach. The nearly imperceptible sigh that escaped her lips was the only indication of any annoyance on her part. She carried herself across the deck and handed him the glass of water she knew undoubtedly would have been needed after the barrels of rum had been liberated earlier that evening. After rather clumsily downing the glass and handing it back to her, she heard the tail-end of a slurred "...Thanks, Luce.", before wandering to no doubt indulge himself some more. As he walked off, Lucy wondered how her life had led to this. Following the whims of a man who had no qualms about dying at sea. Was she foolish to think that she would follow him to the ends of the earth? Was she even more foolish to think that she would gladly lay down her life should the need arise? There is something to be said about the type of trust one can have for another individual. There could also be something to be said about trusting an individual after having known him for a scant six months. 

Thinking back, the moment Lucy had decided to leave her kingdom of origin had been a decision so easy to make that had she been given the choice again, she would have made the same one a thousand times over. She won't be the first to say she lived a privileged life – well, about as privileged as any bastard child could be. She looked nothing like her step-mother and only took enough characteristics from her father that there was no further proof needed to say that she was indeed his. And although her father had taken pity on her and took her in, there was very little he could do about nosy servants and the ever gossiping ladies of the court. It was because of those rumors that she had almost no chance of finding a suitable husband. So she spent her days lounging in her bedroom staring lazily at passersby or wandering aimlessly around the markets in hopes of instead looking for some kind of work. The day she had met her now captain had been one of those days spent in the market. The grin he wore while asking the nearest gentlemen for directions had been enough for the also nearby ladies to swoon and subtly lift their skirts in his direction. Despite his looks, he politely declined any invitations to warm their beds and simply went about his way to the pub he had been looking for. The moment their eyes met, she felt as though time slowed around them. She stood her guard, however, and looked at him straight on, as defiant and proud as she thought she could convey. When the staring contest continued and time began to move back to leisurely pace, he finally broke eye contact and laughed maniacally into the air. With a gleeful grin still in place, he announced – rather loudly– that he wanted her to join his crew. If she didn't find him foolish before, she most certainly did after that moment. 

It took all of a week for him to finally convince Lucy to leave with him. It then took less than a day for her to learn that there was no crew for her to join; just him. "I thought you said you had a crew." she scoffed at him. "I will have a crew! You're just the beginning. Which technically means you have now become my first mate." The way he spoke the words so casually grated on her nerves. After all, she had risked everything to follow this man. She had raided her father's study and grabbed anything of value before proceeding to meet the man on the shoreline where he stood proudly showing off a dingy. "What will you do about storms? Or Privateers? What if we both were to die because I chose to follow someone as foolish as you?" She ranted at him while he stood there and let her –the bastard. When she finished, he looked on calmly and said something that would stick with her forever, "And what if I did?" When she only stared back, he continued, "I'm happy to live the life I want to live, because then I could live as free as I wanted. And if I die, then I die knowing I will never regret the choices I made. That's one of the reasons I wanted you. Something told me that leaving you behind would have been a waste. And I would say you agree." When Lucy opened her mouth to retort, he cut her off before she could get the chance, "I don't care whether you're a woman, a lady of the court, or some whore's daughter. I thought you were interesting, so I asked for you to join." "And if I had refused?" "You did. Many times, I might add. But still I wanted you." 

 

When all was said and done and the crew the Captain had hoped for grew to fit a Galleon, she had stayed. She won't say it was a bad decision, there were still moments she considered mutiny for the sake of it. But she had stayed regardless. No longer Lucy Augustenburg, but just Lucy, the woman who was the Captain's first mate – or just mate, based on the crew's sniggering when they thought she was out of earshot. She didn't let this bother her however. There were many times where it seemed like he valued her opinion above all. He never talked down to her or made her out to be an accessory for the ship. He never interfered when she defended herself and when she was injured in any way, he never let the slight go unpunished. It was more respect than she had ever received in her life. One day, the question that gnawed at her since the day she met him came out when in his office. "How is it that you knew to trust me? I could've reported you to the authorities immediately meeting you. I could've betrayed you several times over. And yet still you wanted me on your ship. Why?" He stopped drinking from the half-filled bottle and with a smile on his lips and his words slightly slurred said, "You didn't bow your head. I knew from that point on that I wasn't the only moron on the island." She had laughed after that before promptly telling him to shove his bottle when the sun didn't shine and filing out of the office. She may never understand why he chose her specifically or why she had stayed but the one thing she knew for certain was the ever-lasting trust that had developed between them would last until their names disappeared for good. And that sounded like the most foolish thing of all.