Chapter Text
A breeze picked up over the surface of the wide expanse of water, bringing with it a light spray that caught and rested in the loose strands of the Captain’s sky blue hair. She stood, tall and erect as always, at the head of her vessel, a silent observer of her men’s work. One arm folded neatly behind her back, the other rested comfortably at her side, her faithful compass nestled in the palm of her outstretched hand. She appeared to be as calm and controlled as a sunny day at sea, but behind her lavender eyes a storm of thoughts could be seen brewing.
“No sign. No sign at all,” her eyes swept over the glare of empty horizon line for the hundredth time. “It should have come into view by now,”
The doubts continued their steady creeping into her mind, more and more confirming her initial suspicion that this “expedition” was only a wild goose chase meant to satiate and occupy her, like busywork for a cranky toddler. A slight frown crossed her almost-too-perfect mask, eyes seeing without seeing the dimly lit chamber she had first received her commands from.
“Ah, Captain Aqua,” the Grand Admiral commented, without raising his eyes from his pen and paper. The young woman saluted her commander, her body rigid with attention, but eyes darting in confusion to look at the other men in the room.
“Captain? Me??”
She was no Captain… or had been... Suspicion arose in her mind, but she kept her voice level without betrayal of emotion.
“Sir.”
“I suppose you must be wondering,” the Admiral commented, seeming to tear his eyes away from his paper to finally meet Aqua’s gaze, “What might be the meaning of this.”
A dozen questions raced through her mind, but she remained silent, meeting the Admiral’s gaze with an expression as level and controlled as his own. The weathered commander favored her with a few more moments of his critical attention, searching the girl’s face for any sign of reaction. Finding none that were easily had, he returned back to his letter with the attitude of a shrug, folding it into perfect threes and tapping it into a waiting envelope.
“You are being given a ship,” he said, a begrudging edge to his voice, “As you have so
frequently
requested,” Pausing, he reaching across to the candle on the edge of his desk, carefully tipping it so melted wax dribbled onto the waiting envelope.
Aqua’s heart thrilled inside her chest. Finally,
finally
they had noticed her skills? She allowed herself the faintest of smiles. The Admiral noticed this out the corner of his eye, and a small smirk formed on his face as he continued to speak.
“The Royal Fleet has no place for a female commander.” He said bluntly, noting with pleasure Aqua’s smile dropping from her face. “After discussing the matter with the other members of the council, we have determined, however, a place where you can still use your skills in service of the King.” The stamped and sealed envelope set aside, he neatly folded his arms on the desk in front of him, regarding Aqua fully with his steely gaze. “And who knows,” He continued, with a smug smile. “Perhaps you will- what words did you use in your argument with me again? Make a difference in the war?”
The memory dissolved away, bright ocean horizons coming back into Aqua’s view. She could still remember the bitter taste in her mouth as the Admiral handed her the sealed envelope and sent her away, the shame and anger of rejection. She could have done so much for the King’s cause, but they turned her away for the simple fact that she was a woman.
She glanced down again at the battered map pinned to the table in front of her. Age had eaten away at the corners of the parchment, fading the writing and charts interrupted by the occasional ink blot. The wind tugging at the unfastened tears of the map, almost as if the ocean wished to catch it into itself, trapping the secrets it held into the unreachable watery depths.
“This map,” The Lieutenant describing her mission had told her. “Has been passed down through the line of command for the last several centuries. Care for it well.”
He had placed it in Aqua’s hand, the roll of dusty parchment tied with a crimson ribbon.
“Supposedly, it details the location of a great treasure, used by the royal family in the first founding of our great nation, but lost in the same storm that took King Oswald to the depths. A wishing stone.”
Aqua, who had been studying the paper in her hand, had glanced back up to the speaker, expecting mocking jest to be on his face, but saw only a serious frown.
“Sorry?” She stammered, blinking in confusion.
“A deep green gem, enchanted by a wizard of the old lands,” The Lieutenant continued. “Supposedly, it grants one wish for its possessor. It is now lost to time whether or not it ever existed. All we have is this map,” with a gesture to the scroll, “and the stories passed down from parent to child. The King believes that with this stone, he will finally bring an stop to this endless war, and bring peace back to our homeland.”
“Do you understand?” He had asked her. “You must not fail.” But now, squinting out over the endless horizon, Aqua became more and more convinced this mission was never meant to succeed at all. The Admiral had given her the worst ship, the worst men, and sent her out in the opposite direction of the fight, and here she was, wasting her skills and time chasing down an old wive’s tale. A glower finally breaking her brow, she scowled down at the map in front of her. It was all so ridiculous. She wasn’t even supposed to be hunting a specific spot in the sea, or even a forgotten island. She was searching for a magical storm, without a cloud in the sky.
Her men lazed about the sunny deck, going about their various tasks with the languid breeze lulling the world into a relaxed stupor. From her place at the head, she thought she caught a few of the cabin boys yawning and blinking back the drowsiness. She felt she could hardly blame them, the whole wide world around them seemed to be drifting off to sleep. A few tattooed thugs sat themselves down on coils of rope, setting to the job of touching up a few small tears in a spare sail, gossiping softly to each other no doubt about their female captain.
Aqua willed her mind to focus back in on the mission at hand, perhaps she had somehow misinterpreted the directions? She hated to think that she- after all her time as an assistant navigator- could make such a huge blunder, but she was at a loss of what else could be done. Sleep seemed to be taking her mind, her thoughts drifting off while she desperately tried to stay in control. With considerable effort, she dragged her eyes up and off to her crew and noted with dulled alarm one by one them dropping off to sleep. Heads dropped to chests, cabin boys draped across the deck, one man staggered for a moment as if drugged before sinking to his knees. Just as she herself lost control of her body and sagged to the desk top, her mind groggily mused to itself. “
Well, at least something interesting is finally happening,”