#once x reader

Although she couldn’t see much in the pitch dark, she managed to change her clothing for the rags she had in her bag. She heard all kinds of sailors talking about how woman on ships are bad luck. Scary stories of people getting thrown overboard for the smallest mistake, making the captain angry, or just ‘bringing bad luck’ into battles. She felt a tear warm her cheek while she tried to calm herself down. After a while of distant chatter and shouting, she felt the ship begin to move. They set sail, and left the harbor slowly but surely. She was panicking, but couldn’t help herself, the slow rocking of the ship made her fall asleep.

The bright light was unpleasant for her tired eyes as she tried to open them waking from her sleep. She stretched and it took her a second to realize that she was not in her room anymore.

‘Who the hell are you?’ She heard the angry shouting of a man standing next to her. Her eyes flew open, her senses more awake than ever before. She registered her surroundings – a man in front of her, holding a big crate which served as her hiding spot before. He seemed just as shocked as her. The next thing she knew was the man grabbing her arm and tugging her towards the main deck. Her blood went cold in her veins and she was certain that it was time for her to die that day. The man threw her onto the floor and she couldn’t help but obey the brutal force. She knelt on the deck and pushed her hat onto her head to make sure it wouldn’t fall off.

‘Captain! We have a free rider!’ He said, looking up at the quarterdeck. She didn’t lift her eyes away from her hands on the hardwood floor. Her heart was jumping out of her chest as her thought were racing in her head.

‘I knew I heard some rat down below this morning!’ The captain shouted, approaching her with heavy steps. The other man pulled her onto her feet and she stood up, her head still hanging low, refusing to look up. The captain stood in front of her, his whole outfit made out of leather. He didn’t speak, but he reached for her face to lift it up to meet his eyes. She was too lost in her thoughts to register what was in front of her eyes, she only felt the touch of cold metal under her chin. Hands don’t feel like that.

‘Why don’t you tell me what the hell are you doing on my ship, boy?’ He asked through gritted teeth, lifting her head to meet his graze, pulling in closer so their faces were only a few inches away. She only then recognized the man who was standing in front of her. His blue eyes piercing through her own, his raven hair and beard contrasting with his pale skin. His lips were pushed into a straight line as he was searching her face looking for any giveaway. She hoped for dear heavens that all the blood rushing to her face wasn’t showing. It was the man from the tavern.

‘Do I know you?’ He asked in a low voice, his brows furrowed, eyes looking up and down her face. She could’ve sworn her heart stopped beating at that second. Could he recognize her?

‘Are you mute, son?’ His voice grew angrier than before. He let go of his grip on her and stepped a few feet away. ‘Why shouldn’t I kill you right here and now?’ He asked, spreading his arms out in a theatrical move, and is crew started cheering at the idea of her being tossed overboard for her crimes. The large men next to her grabbed her arm, when she could finally say something.

‘Wait! I-‘ She stuttered, trying to lower her voice.

‘You what?’ He asked impatiently. He looked at her with one eyebrow raised, waiting for her response.

‘I could…’ She said, hesitantly. ‘I could be useful.’ Thunder of laughter broke out on the ship. Even the captain’s mouth curled into a doubtful smirk.

‘How is that, mate?’ He was mocking her. She wasn’t thinking clearly, just tried to do the first thing that came to her mind in order to survive. She lifted her shaking right hand, and the smirk immediately disappeared from the man’s face and turned into confusion. She held his compass in her hand. That he always keeps in his left pocket. He was reaching into said pocket, when the confused look transformed into a smirk again. He seemed pleased.

‘Aren’t you a handy one?’ He asked with laughter in his voice, nodding his head to the man standing next to her to release his grip. ‘What’s your name?’ There was an awkward silence after his question. She didn’t think she would get caught so she didn’t think of a fake name.

‘Y/F/N’ She said in a low voice, and the captain nodded.

‘My name is Captain Hook. I might use your skills, boy. But just so you know – you should consider yourself very lucky that I don’t throw you to the bloody sirens.’ He said leaning towards her, his eyes never letting hers go. She swallowed thickly and nodded slowly, acknowledging the threat. ‘Welcome aboard the Jolly Roger, mate! Lads, show the new member around. Make him useful!’ He said, and walked onto the quarterdeck, behind the wheel.

The men laughed and one of them grabbed her by the arm and pulled towards the other end of the ship. She didn’t want trouble but she couldn’t resist – she had to sneak a look of the captain again. As she turned around, she saw him: standing on the quarterdeck, looking at her with a smug smile on his face, his hook on the wheel, his good hang resting on his belt.

‘So, make yourself useful, boy!’ A man in a red beanie said, and handed her a bucket and a mop. She couldn’t help but smiled a little, as this task didn’t seem bad at first. ‘Don’t miss a spot, or else!’ He added, and then went on with his business.

She let out a sharp sigh and started working on mopping the deck of the ship, while the pirates were doing all kinds of different things around her. Handling the sails, checking the horizon, cooking, managing cargo. She saw one of the men sitting on the ropes at the side of the ship, and she couldn’t help herself but looked at him for a little longer than she should’ve. He seemed so free, like nothing in the world could bring him down.

‘Hey lazybones!’ She heard Hook’s voice from behind. She turned towards him and looked at her feet.

‘Yes, captain!’

‘If I were you, I would work a bit harder on my first day on the job! You will have enough time to daydream when you will be the one sitting on the ropes, aye?’

‘Yes, captain.’ She answered, eyes still glued to her feet. She felt weird – afraid and calm at the same time. The Captain didn’t seem too bad. He could’ve killed her already if he wanted to. Maybe she will be alright here after all.

She took her things from the bar and went upstairs to get ready for leaving. She took some money out of the pouch that she got earlier that day and hid it carefully after that. She slid the coins into her pocket’s safety.

‘Are you headed somewhere?’ Her father asked as she was walking towards the door. His question wasn’t threatening at all he just liked to know where she spent her free time in case something happened.

‘Just going for a walk around town, father. I’ll be back soon!’ She said with a reassuring smile on her face as she stepped outside and onto the street. The noise of the townspeople was louder here, and she saw the crowd of people wandering the streets.

The tavern was only a few blocks away from the docks and it was surrounded by all types of different shops, restaurants, inns and anything that could be useful for a traveler who rests here for the night. These people brought a lot of money for this town, and that night they were going to bring some money for her as well. She walked with her head down trying to avoid eye contact with everyone to make sure she doesn’t get into any trouble before she reaches the harbor. Her plan was pretty simple – at least in her imagination. She never actually stole from anyone but as she grew up, she learned a handful of tricks that could earn her a few extra coins. The crowd got denser as she reached her destination. She was pushing through the people to reach a quieter corner, where she could start executing her plan.

‘Excuse me!’ She said in a low voice to a girl who was standing next to the wall of a building. She seemed preoccupied as she was looking at the people passing by. There was a hat on the ground in front of her filled with a few coins and a lot of rubbish. (Y/N)’s heart sank as she looked at the girl.

‘What do you want?’ The girl replied with a question. She seemed suspicious and (Y/N) couldn’t blame her.

‘I need your help.’ She answered and reached into her pocket. She held her palm up filled with the golden coins she took from home. She put her other hand in front of her mouth, signaling the girl not to make a sound.

‘What is it that you want for this?’ She asked again, her suspicion only grew.

‘I just want you to switch clothes with me. That’s it.’ (Y/N) said, and the other girl looked confused. She checked her clothing – long skirt, nice blouse and bodice. While her own clothes were dirty and torn. Why would she want to switch?

‘What are you going to do? Will I get into trouble because of this?’

‘You won’t, I swear. Just switch with me and go to another part of the town, that’s all. Hell, from this money you won’t even have to sleep on the streets tonight.’ The girl knew she was right, she was offering a lot of money. She slowly nodded and signaled for (Y/N) to follow her. She did and they switched clothing in the alleyway where no one could see them.

‘Take care of yourself.’ (Y/N) told the stranger girl as she walked out of the alleyway and disappeared in the crowd. She looked at herself and her new clothes – torn shoes and pants, a loose shirt and a vest that had all kinds of colored patches on it, presumably from other pieces of clothing. She also received a hat which came very handy as she could somewhat hide her face with it in the crowd and tuck her hair under it. She put her shoulder bag on as she took a deep breath.

‘It’s time.’ She exhaled as she delved into the sea of people. It wasn’t hard differentiating the rich from the townsfolk – they all wore bright colored dresses, had their hair in breathtaking sculptures and she could smell their cologne from a mile away. The ladies were all decorated with glistering jewelry and all their mates had their pockets full of money.

Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest and she heard her blood pumping through her veins in her ear. She was trying to figure out who should be the first victim. It should be an easy one – she couldn’t risk getting caught. The huge whirlwind of people definitely was an advantage, as her rubbing against people in the crowd was not suspicious at all. Everyone did that because of the relatively small space.

She noticed a drunk men wandering around the street with two women on his arms and a huge pouch almost falling out of his pocket. It couldn’t get easier than that right? She took a sharp breath as she approached the target. He was pretty occupied by his companions; he didn’t even notice when she rubbed against him from behind in the crowd and got his pouch. She didn’t even take a single breath while doing this and after she was finished with her deed, she rushed to a more peaceful corner to calm down. Her breathing was erratic and she could swear her heart was going to jump out of her chest. She even got a bit sick in her stomach from all the stress. She cautiously checked into her bag and looked at the loot she got. It was a pretty good haul, but definitely not enough for her father’s problem. She braced herself and headed back into the crowd.

She gained confidence with every successful steal – she went unnoticed by ladies whose bracelets mysteriously went missing, gentlemen who lost their money in the crowd. Her bag was steadily filling up and she felt it was time to move on. Just one last target to make sure. She saw a woman deliriously talk to a man next to a building close to the exit of the harbor area. She thought it was an easy target – she just gets the money and she’s out of there. Or so she thought.

As she was bumping into the woman, she unlocked her bracelet and slid it into her pocket, but before she could flee, the man grabbed her hand.

‘And what do you think you are doing!?’ He asked furiously, twisting her arm to make her face him, which she refused. ‘Guards! We have a thief on our hands!’ He shouted, drawing the attention of the crowd. She struggled to get out of his grip without any success. She saw the dock guards approaching rapidly and she had no choice but to bite the man who was holding her.

‘What the fu-?’ He gasped as he let her go, putting his hand into his other palm to ease the pain. That was just enough time for her to start running like her life depended on it. Well actually – it kind of did. She heard the rumbling of the crowd behind her as she ran through the small alleys that connected the docks to the other part of the town. She knew it by heart and used it as her advantage to lose her chasers.

‘Stop! You are under arrest!’ One of them shouted, and she could hear that they were much closer than she would’ve liked them to be. Her thoughts were racing, the adrenaline and fear flowing through her veins at the same time. She can’t be caught. She would have to go to prison and her father would be homeless because he couldn’t pay his debts. That couldn’t happen, not in a thousand years. She heard the two men approach her. She had to think fast. Her hands grabbed onto a ledge near her and she pulled herself up. Then she sneaked onto the balcony of a house and jumped and climbed until she got onto the rooftop. She looked down at her pursuers who just stood on the street stunned by what they saw. That was good for her – her stamina was decreasing incredibly fast from all the running and climbing. There was no time left to be wasted – she started running and balancing on the rooftops until she lost the dock guards. They probably gave up trying to track her when they were moving in two different dimensions. She still moved very carefully – she didn’t want to risk getting caught for real.

She knew the town like the back of her hand and therefore she could easily navigate the rooftops to make it home safely. She looked around before she slid into her room via the open window. She knew she couldn’t stay here – they will put up the wanted sign around the town and it’s only a matter of time that someone recognizes her. Putting her father in danger. She didn’t want this, she didn’t want any of this to happen. Her breathing started to pick up a very fast pace as she was starting to panic. She looked inside her bag once more and then hid it under her bed. She quickly grabbed a pen and paper and started to write a letter. A goodbye letter for her father. She couldn’t risk him getting involved in all this, so she scribbled down a few lines informing him about what went down at the docks. She also made sure to let his father know that if he refused to use the money she got him, her disappearance would be in vain.

Tears were gathering in the corner of her eyes and she had a lump in her throat. Maybe she’ll be able to return to him one day. The thought of never seeing her father again crushed her heart. But it was because of her mistake and this was her best shot at keeping him safe. After all these years of him trying to protect her, it’s time for her to return the favor. She knew there was at least one ship leaving at dawn, and she needed to be on it when it does. Going back to the harbor was a risky – and pretty stupid mission, but she had to get there. The tavern was getting silent below her and she got lost in her thoughts, planning her escape. Before getting into this whole situation, it didn’t occur to her that she might need an escape plan. She would have to go back to the harbor, the very place where she was running from. No matter how hard she thought about it, every option seemed reckless and stupid.

She dug through her clothes and picked up a few piece that she didn’t usually wear. Some old leather pants, a blouse and a jacket. She let her hair down, and tried to style it in a way that it made her face look a little different than usual. She put on a cloak and crammed the dirty clothes into a bag and put it on her shoulder. She could see the sky getting lighter every passing minute. She probably had an hour before dawn.

As her window was above a quiet alley, she sneaked out through it instead of trying to get past her father by the main entrance. There was no way he wouldn’t notice her and she didn’t want to make the situation harder than it already was. She was caught at the northern end of the harbor, so she deliberately approached it from the south end this time. There were few people in this area now, the pubs were all getting deserted, the lights in most of the windows were out. Some drunk sailors were wandering around before they were forced to leave land for who knows how long. Her heart was beating in her throat as she was looking for a possible getaway ship.

‘Excuse me, miss!’ She heard a man’s grumpy voice behind her back, and her heart skipped a beat. She didn’t know what to do – should she turn around or not? After a second of thinking she did, because if she would ignore the call, it would make her suspicious.

‘Yes, sir? Is there something wrong?’ She asked, her voice calmer than she thought it would be.

‘Wanted to warn the lady to take care of her belongings. There was a thief spotted in the area earlier tonight, he took a lot of money from the people wandering around.’ He straightened his position, his voice was frustrated.

‘He?’ The surprise in her question was audible. Was there another thief at the harbor or did they think she was a boy?

‘Yes milady, a boy was sighted around the docks. He seemed like a trained thief. We failed to catch him – but don’t worry, we won’t stop until we do! Take care of yourself in the meantime!’ He said, raised his hand to lift his hat and turned away from her. Her stomach was lifting in her body and she felt like she was going to get sick. She needed to get on one of the ships before she got recognized.

She spotted a ship that seemed to be empty – all the lights on it were out, sails down, just peacefully rocking on the water. It was a beautiful ship, the blue, red and yellow colors made it look like it belonged to some kind of royalty. She scanned the area nearby to see if anyone was guarding the ship or watching over it, but it seemed like the crew of this beauty was still sleeping in one of the inns nearby. She didn’t want to gather suspicion from the people on the dock, so she tried to casually walk onto the ship. She also didn’t want to alert anyone who might’ve been on it,, so once again she found herself in a tricky situation. Once she made onto the deck she crouched and tried to make herself as small and invisible as she could. She was staying in the corner next to the stair that led up to the quarterdeck, trying to find her way to a great hiding spot on the ship. Her plan was to lay low and stay hidden until they reach the next town where she could just take off. It sounded like a solid one.

She saw the ladder that led under the deck, and quickly sneaked towards it. Her steps were fast and quiet, until she stepped on a faulty plank which resulted in a deafening creak in the quiet air. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw the lights being switched on in the captain’s cabin. She dove under the deck immediately and started to look for a hiding spot in a rush. She tried to keep her footsteps as quiet as she could, she even took her shoes off to make less noise. She was aiming for the back of the ship, where huge crates and sacks blocked the view. She heard footsteps from above her head and heard a man calling out.

‘Who’s there?’ He asked while pacing the deck above. She reached the dark corner of the ship and sneaked behind the crates and put them around her in a way that they blocked her view entirely and she assumed that meant that she was invisible to curious eyes as well. She had to calm her erratic breathing down as she heard the captain descend on the ladder to look for her. She couldn’t see anything in the pitch dark so she could only rely on her hearing. The man stood still for a second after setting foot under the deck, then started to look around slowly.