Long Journey - Prologue
Life hurts a lot, that's just how it is. At least that is what Destiny thought, living a life where living hurts more than dying. But one day everything changes when an unexpected guest appears. What does this long journey hide behind? Will it be worth it to be alive again?
"Sailors tell stories, Pirates make legends!"
ateez pirate au, fluff, angst, smut
??? x named reader
word count: 1.6k
warnings: violence, fighting, guns and weaponry, blood injuries, trauma, smut, sa, pa, abuse (most of them just future warnings)
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That strong, earthy smell, before it starts to rain. The silence before the devastating storm hits the surrounding. Even the birds stop singing at times like these, you can not hear a single noise, only the rustling of the trees. It looks like, they warning everything around them to be ready for what's coming. This time was the greatest for me to go away for some time and meditate all by myself.
My household wasn't the quietest one of them all. You would think someone who has no siblings and lives only with her father, doesn't have to complain about the noise, but to be said my father is an influential merchant in our little town of Albagon, at least that's what everybody thinks. The truth is that he does business not in the most legal way and not with the most trustworthy men out there. That is one of the reasons that our house is always full of people that my father has some business with and of course there are also a lot of servants working around. To be honest, there are more people that I've never seen in that house that I actually know and trust, it can be a bit scary and dangerous for a young girl like me.
So I spend a lot of time at the lake at the end of our land, laying on the grass, sometimes reading a book or sometimes just thinking and looking at the sky above me. I figured it was much better to talk to myself than to anybody else, no one could understand me better than I can myself anyway.
The lake was just a calm place, my comfort place. It's the most beautiful at times like this when the sky turns grey and all the swans disappear from our sight like they know they have to hide before the storm hits. That's probably what I should do too, but I want to stay like this just for a little longer. On the other side of the lake stands a little house, it's empty, and no one lives there. I don't know if anyone ever did, but as long as I can remember it stands there lonely, just like me. I usually go there when it starts pouring, and give it company.
What pulls me out of my daydreaming is faded shouting from a far distance. I'm trying to listen to it carefully, just so I can hear out the words being said.
"Miss Dempsey?" They shout louder, coming closer to the lake, slowly discovering my hiding place. "Where is this girl could be?"
Fortunately, it's just my dear maid, Joanne, whos been with me ever since I've been born. She was the only one that cared for me after my mother passed away a couple of years ago, she helped me fall asleep every night and was able to calm me from crying. She is very dear to my heart and I cherish her deeply in it. If anybody else would've found me here right now, I've been in big trouble.
My father doesn't like it, when I'm doing things without his permission, or speaking to other people. I think he doesn't want me to find out what life should be about, and what's normal and what's not. But I don't need some people to figure that out, I know that on my own, I'm not as stupid as he thinks.
"I'm here Joanne." I gave out my whereabouts by getting up from the tall weeds and closing the book that I definitely wasn't reading for a while now.
"Oh, here you are! I've been looking for you everywhere. You know if only you would tell me where you disappear all the time, then maybe I wouldn't worry myself to death. There are some really bad people out there, Nini, you have to be careful." She really is the sweetest human I know, I wish I could turn her life for the better, even just a little bit, but my hands are tied unfortunately.
"Like I haven't seen bad from up close before..." I didn't mean to sound so stingy, but I just get so furious, when she acts like everything is perfectly fine, when they weren't even a little bit.
"Your father told me to help you get ready. We're expecting visitors for dinner this evening." Great, another dirty business that my father gets me involved in. He needs me there so I can sit still and look pretty, so I can melt all the men's hearts and he can make a deal with them more easily. It's like a distraction, so he can play things to be favorable to him as always. He doesn't care, how those men look at his only daughter or what they say to me, how they always humiliate me, and how uncomfortable they make me feel.
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Joanne helped me get ready for the dinner, as she promised to my father. She was unusually quiet the whole time, we always chit-chat and she tells me all the gossip the servants share with each other. She thinks it's kind of like if I'm involved with the social circle, but in reality, I'm not, I'm still an outsider. She tries everything to make me feel less lonely day by day. I don't know if it actually works or not, I feel no difference.
By the time I finally walk down the stairs, it's already dark outside, and been pouring rain like it's no tomorrow. I head straight to the dining room, all I can think about is food at this very moment. While I was away the whole day, I accidentally skipped lunch, so my stomach was making all kinds of noises.
When I step into the fairly lighted room I can see that the said guests have already arrived and sitting at the table with my father. Why did no one tell me they were here? I would've hurried a little more, I don't want to make my father angry.
They immediately stood up when they noticed I'd arrived. I would have much rather been here earlier before them, I hate the attention they give me. My father doesn't even honor me by standing up with the two young men.
"Destiny, come sit. Our guests must be very hungry. We can't wait for you forever." He said to me, signaling me to sit next to him, so both of us can face the guests. I can't decide what emotion he has, must be because he's trying to act differently in front of the others, with more or less success.
I politely bow in front of them, before I take my seat, but they don't sit down until I do. I haven't seen this humbleness in such a long time, it isn't common in this household. What business do these men have with my father?
The man who sits directly in front of my father is shorter than the other one, but on the other hand, he seems much more fierce, he seems like someone who has a lot of power in his hands. I don't even dare to look into his eyes. The other one is much taller than the one on the right. His eyes are much gentler, and I can see him scanning all over me, honestly, it should be making me uncomfortable, but for some kind of reason, it doesn't.
"Gentlemen, this is my only daughter Miss Destiny Dempsey." I'm trying to avoid eye contact with both of them, making it less awkward. They can't be much older than me. I'm so curious about what are they doing at such a young age that my father is interested in them. "And Destiny, this is Captain Kim Hongjoong, and his first mate Park Seonghwa."
"Pleasure to meet you, Miss." The Captain bowed his head in my direction. Honestly, I couldn't believe, someone as young as him could be a captain. How can he earn himself such respect that his whole crew obeys him?
"The honor is mine, Sir." I returned the gesture to him. I can see out of the corner of my eyes that his mate hasn't once taken his eyes off of me. He even smiles a little at my answer.
"Isn't she bonny? She is the only one left for me after her mother sadly passed away. She is the apple of my eye." I was hungry until now, but I feel like puking up at this moment. I can't even hide the disgust from my face. How can someone lie that easily, like it's nothing?
"What are those bruises on your arm?" The man in front of me asks me suddenly as he leans forward to see my reaction better. I honestly forgot about them, it's a few blue-purple bruises up on my left arm, it's not even as visible as it was a couple of days ago. My face starts to burn and not even a word comes out of my mouth. I don't know what to do, should I run away or just sink slowly under the table?
"She just hit it into somewhere, she always wanders off during the day, and you can't even see her. It's not a big deal." My father takes over instead of me, trying to explain to keep the image. He raises his glass to his mouth, but he doesn't take a sip.
The man doesn't believe him, it's obvious, but he's not saying any more, he doesn't want any trouble. And from this very moment, he's not looking at me even once no more. The mood has turned a bit cold and awkward, so my father tries to divert the theme of the conversation.
"The captain and his crew are gonna stay with us for a little while." He casually tells me, as he leans back in his chair, looking straight into the captain's eyes. I'm a bit confused, I feel like I've just missed a very important conversation just before I arrived. We never have guests staying with us. What kind of deal my father made with this man?
© belongs to mybelovedwoo
note: this is kinda like an introduction to the story. it's gonna get more and more exciting, so stay tuned. also, this is my very first series, and i'm a bit nervous about it, but i hope you like it.♡ please share your thoughts if you want :)
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