Chapter Text
The trade winds were so strong this morning and continued to be strong past mid-day. The sun could not have been higher in the sky for the crew of the King’s Row Royal Fleet. The sky was clear, save a few wispy white clouds. The sea flowing below them was such a bright blue color, that the crew swore they discovered a new color. The captain of this trade ship had made a comment to his first mate that it seemed that luck was following along with them on this journey. He laughed and responded with “The Sea Queen has granted us safe passage. We shall be home in record time with this fair wind.” The crew were lazing about on deck, their job to sail to one of the country’s colony ports for goods completed, all there was left to do now was to sail home, and the winds were doing that for them. However, any luck that was sailing on the seas that day did not belong to them. Far off in the distance behind them, a large two-masted ship was coming up and fast. Easily spotted on such a bright day, but no one was looking.
The small purple flag flapping on top of the highest mast of the trader ship slowly drooped down as the fair winds finally stopped. The mate that was nestled up in the crow’s nest peeked up from under his shady hat. “Huh?” He stretched out his long arms and pulled himself upright. “Ah, guess we couldn’t count on that wind forever.” The crewmate flicked the little flag before turning around to shout down at the navigator, who was also taking it easy. “Ay, O’Hearn! Looks…” his words caught in his throat. The two-masted ship was right behind them now. The crewmate could see the ship’s unique colors, a black flag with a gold roaring lion head. His eyes shot down from the flag’s image and landed on the crew that crowded that top deck and hung off its side, weapons at the ready. “The Von Adler!” He shouted. The crew below the crow’s nest all woke and ran to the side of the ship to get a look, praying that the young boy up in the mast was wrong. They all saw the ship now. Then one of the men of the Royal Fleet shouted the name that no sailor ever dare utter; “The Crusaders!” The captain burst through the doors of his cabin. “Men!” He shouted. “Prepare for battle!”
Across the short distance between ships, Reinhardt, the captain of The Von Adler stood proud at the base of the bowsprit. He was a beast of a man. Standing at seven and a half feet tall, with muscles as thick as a cedar wine cask. In his dark leather coat and captain’s hat, he was quite intimidating. “Alright Crusaders!” The captain roared. “Bleed ‘em dry!” The Von Adler pulled up close enough to the back of the trader ship for its crew to swing aboard and engage with the enemy crew. As soon as they touched ground it was blade against blade and flintlocks fired at close range. Unfortunately for the Royal Fleet, they had muskets, great for long range, but not effective in close combat. They were severely disadvantaged. Gunfire crackled in the air and the royal colors littered the deck. It became clear to the captain of the fleet that they had to surrender, or risk being wiped out entirely. The captain shouted for his men to stand down over the noise of battle. Slowly, the Crusaders heard the clangs of swords dropping. The royal fleet all held their hands up and surrendered.
The Crusaders allowed the crew to live, but they banished them to their lifeboats with only enough supplies to last a few days. As the lifeboats were lowered down into the water, McCree, the crusader’s weapons expert, looked down at the Royal Fleet with a proud smirk. He took his hat off and waved them off. “Good luck boys.” He set it back on his head and adjusted it. “And let’s hope that luck don’t run out.”
Reinhardt watched the last of his crew drop down into the small boat of stolen goods and start rowing back to the ship. He knocked on the wood railing with his knuckles and laughed. "Atta boys! Excellent work!" Reinhardt turned around and smirked at one of his navigators, Winston. "Let's make sure they don't follow us". Winston was also a large man, not taller than the captain, but just as heavy. Only his weight didn’t come from muscle. He was also quite hairy, with hair from his chest merging with hair on his shoulders that flowed into the hair on his back.
"Aye, captain". Winston stuck his two index fingers in his mouth and whistled loud enough for the whole crew to hear. "All hands to the cannons, starboard!" The crew on the top deck ran to the tied-up cannons and released them. It took two to three crewmates to push one cannon in its place. One man aimed, one loaded a cannon ball, and one ran around with a lit wick to light the fuse.
Reinhardt walked to where the boarding team were climbing back onto the ship to give them a hand with the goods. He held his hand out to pull the first of his team up. "Baptiste!" He patted him on the back. "How did it go? Any trouble?" Baptiste had a coil of rope in his hand to help pull the goods up.
"No trouble at all for the luckiest crew on the great seas." He said with a wide smile as he tossed down the rope to the others. Reinhardt nodded at Baptiste with a proud grin. As Baptiste started pulling up the first of the crates, Reinhardt stepped forward and took hold of the rope and pulled with him. As the large man pulled hand over hand, he would scan the boats below him. His eyes hopped from face to face in search of a particular person.
"Baptiste, have you seen Brigitte?" The man pulling the rope behind Reinhardt looked up towards the sky for a moment to think about the last time he had seen her.
"I remember seeing her jumping aboard with the rest of us, but… things got messy quick. I don't remember seeing her much after that." Reinhardt grabbed the crate and hoisted it over the ship's railing. He rested his arm on it as he turned to face Baptiste. "So, she was on that ship then?" He asked, his voice sounding less joyful.
Baptiste nodded and Reinhardt's heart started to pound in his chest. He scanned the busy deck and looked back over the side at the dinghies. Suddenly, the first cannon fired. The captain spun around and took a moment to watch as the lead ball smacked the back of the trade ship and splintered the wood under the captain's quarters.
After that, the cannons fired in quick succession and began putting hole after hole into the ship. Reinhardt walked quickly to the side of the ship and gripped it tightly as he watched the trader ship fall apart. "Stop! Stop!" He waved his arms in the air. "Hold yer fire!" The crew halted immediately, with only one more cannon firing out, but it missed. It plunked into the sea next to the lifeboats of the royal fleet. The survivors shook their fists at the Crusaders.
The trade ship was in ruins. The wood on the ship moaned as pieces broke apart and dropped into the ocean. The ship was starting to lean on one side, unnaturally. The ship was sinking. Reinhardt scanned the entire ship frantically, looking to see if anyone was still aboard. Some of the other crewmates join Reinhardt, confused about what he was looking at.
“Captain?” A small and thin woman asked gently. It was Lena, one of the Von Adler’s most loyal crewmate. Reinhardt had saved her life from the gallows in one of the larger port cities. She was a well-known thief on land. Now she rolls with his crew and is a well-known thief on land and sea. “What’s the matter?”
“Does anyone see Brigitte!?” The captain shouted aloud. This got the whole crew on high alert and searching the wreckage. The ship was almost completely on its side now. The mast creaked and snapped as it broke away from the ship.
“Look!” the ship’s second navigator, Mei, pointed with her finger. Reinhard moved to where she was standing and looked out. On the barnacle incrusted underside of the ship, small chunks of wood began chipping off. Something was breaking out from the inside. Suddenly, a bright silver blade broke through and caught the sunlight with a bright shine. It quickly slid back into the ship. The water was quickly reaching the rest of the exposed ship. Reinhardt dropped his heavy coat and was about to hop over the edge when a fist broke through the dark wood. The hand that had breached the surface began ripping away the loose and fragile wood until both hands could reach the air. A woman with long auburn hair emerged and wiggled out of the bottom of the ship. She pushed herself up and onto her feet. The woman wore a cloth binding around her chest with her toned midriff exposed. Her dark brown leggings hung low on her hips and cut off mid-calf, right above her bare feet. She brushed debris from her muscular shoulders and then bent down and stuck her arms back into the hole she created and came back out with a small rucksack.
"Brigitte!" Reinhardt shouted across the way. Brigitte heard and waved at her crew with a big smile on her face. "Hey guys!" She felt cold water lap at her feet. "Oh yeah. I can't stand here all day." Brigitte made sure the cloth bag was tied to her belt and then she dove off the ship headfirst into the water. Reinhardt pushed through the crowd surrounding him to meet Brigitte at the robe ladder by the dinghies.
She emerged from the surface with a deep breath. She wiped the water from her face and grabbed a hold of the rope. Once she was at the top, Reinhardt held out his hand for her to grab. She grabbed it and the captain pulled the rest of her aboard and yanked her into a tight embrace.
"Brigitte! I was so worried!” He said as he smothered her. Brigitte chuckled, “You’re crushing me!” Reinhardt let go and she dropped back down onto the deck. She cracked her neck and rolled her shoulders. “Oops, sorry about that.” He laughed nervously. “But can you blame a father for worrying about his daughter?” Brigitte put her hands on her hips and looked up at Reinhardt. “Worried about what? You know we always make it back.” The crew had all gathered around now. They all gave Brigitte welcome back pats and shoves, and McCree slapped her head with his hat.
Reinhardt waved his finger at her. “Hey, you know I don’t like that talk. Anything can happen. Just because nothing has, doesn’t mean it never will.” Brigitte rolled her eyes playfully. “Okay, papa.” Reinhardt opened his mouth to continue his lecture when Winston called him over. The old man dropped his finger and sighed. “I’m glad your safe, sweetheart. We’ll talk more about this later.” He turned around to walk up the small set of wooden stairs to the helm of the ship. Brigitte waved him off, eager to get out of one of his lectures about safety. "Of course we will…” She sighed. Just then, McCree wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “Now, I reckon you have quite the story to tell. What were you doing down in the hull of that ship?” Brigitte smiled and dipped out of his grasp. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” Brigitte grabbed the knot of the bag and began to untie it from her belt.
“Aye, I would like to hear this one as well.” Said Zarya. She towered over Brigitte in every way. Reinhardt met her in an arm-wrestling match on the pirate island of Llorona. She was undefeated until their match. It lasted over an hour and it looked like she would win, but a cramp in her arm in the final moments of the match sealed her fate. Everyone thought a riot would break out. Instead, however, Zarya immediately quit her crew and joined his. She never asked for a rematch, content with sailing with the only person to ever best her. She did, however, have an obsession with eating bananas and staying hydrated. “What is in the bag?”
Brigitte beamed with pride as she opened the rucksack and brought out a circular tin that had the royal seal pressed onto the lid. “A tin of cookies, made special order for the king and queen of King’s Row.” Everyone’s eyes widened with awe.
“You gotta be kiddin me!” Tracer exclaimed. “Where did you find those!?” Brigitte held the tin and tried to get her nails in between the lid to pull it open. “I found them in the captain’s quarters, they were already opened.” She continued to struggle with the lid. “Those guys are just as bad as us pirates, huh? Hey Zarya,” the large woman perked up at the sound of her name. Brigitte tossed her the tin of cookies. “Could you…” The Russian nodded in understanding. Brigitte continued. “Let me tell you, these things are amazing.”
“You already had one?” Baptiste asked.
“Oh yeah, of course! I had to make sure they weren’t poisoned for you guys.”
Mei laughed, “Sure, that’s why.” They all chuckled.
“Uh, Brigitte…” Everyone looked at Zarya, who had the lid off the cookies. She angled the tin to her crewmates. The cookies were all mush, ruined by the sea water. Brigitte gasped and took the tin from her. “You got to be kidding me! Uhg!” She turned the tin on its side and let the “cookies” pour out onto the deck. “Just my luck…”
McCree walked by Brigitte and gave her a gentle shove with his shoulder. “Way to go, first mate. I’m sure they were fantastic.” He said sarcastically. Everyone else pissed and moaned as they dispersed to get back to work getting the ship up and moving to their next location. Brigitte sighed as she picked up the tin’s lid. It still made for a cool memento.
Night had fallen and the moon was at its fullest tonight. Its light hit every angle of the calm sea creating thousands of sparkling diamonds. The only diamonds the Crusaders couldn’t get their hands on. The ship was a bright yellow light against the deep dark blue water. Lanterns were strung up on the ropes of the masts and sat on the ship’s railings. McCree played a joyous tune on his fiddle while Baptiste offered a beat by smacking the barrel he sat on. The entire crew were up in spirits dancing, laughing, and drinking the wine they stole from the trade ship. Brigitte hung off the rope rigging connecting to the mainmast. She held her cup out to the guy pouring the drinks from the barrels. He grabbed it from her, and she gave him a big bright smile. “Thank you, sir!” She said only slightly drawing out the ‘s’. She had a soft redness brewing across her freckles, but she swore she wasn’t even feeling it. With a fresh cup in hand, she swung herself back over to the group she was talking to.
“Are you gonna tell us what happened or what?” Tracer demanded, her face also red with drink.
“Hold on! I was getting to it!” Brigitte tossed her head back to take a couple of deep swallows from her cup. When she finished, she used her arm to wipe her mouth. She slipped her other arm through the rope to keep her steady. “So, the captain had just surrendered. You all were gathering the crew to their boats…” Brigitte tucked her hair behind her ear. “…I decided to help myself to the captain’s quarter, you know… looking for the good stuff.”
“What could be better than all those crates of fresh fruit!?” Boomed Zarya, who was surprisingly a lightweight when it came to alcohol.
Brigitte held back a laugh by hiding her mouth with the back of her hand. “A tin of cookies.” The group laughed and someone shouted, “yeah, come off it!”
“No! I mean it! Oh, how I wish you guys could have tried them.” She hung onto the rigging as she let the soft night wind sway her. “They were… gah! How do I describe them?” She took another drink from her cup. “Anyway, anyway I’m getting off topic. I had just stuffed the royal tin into my bag when I hear the cannons! The ground dropped from under my feet!” Brigitte thrusted her arms in the air for dramatic effect. “All I saw was wood and then bam!” She slapped the side of her cup and a splash of wine flew from the top. “I hit the bottom of the ship and on top of some crates!” She turned her back to show the crew the red scrapes on her back. “But then it gets worse!” Her story had everyone leaning closer, as if they could see it all played out before them. “As soon as I get my bearings, another cannon comes crashing through. Wood and water go everywhere! That water was so cold and so strong, it had me pinned against a support beam. I tried to get away, but the water kept coming in. It was all I could taste!” She used one hand to clasp around her neck. “I started to choke on the water. I thought this was the end for sure.”
Tracer rolled her eyes, “Oh come on. You’re embellishing!”
Brigitte laughed. “Only a little. Anyway, something must have happened to the ship because all of a sudden, the water moved to one side. I was finally free. But the water was still filling up the hull. So, I had to think quick.” Brigitte used her hands to demonstrate that she had moved a couple of floating crates to give her a leg up to begin breaking free through the bottom of the ship that was now the top. “I’m glad I had this on me and not something smaller.” She pulled out her cutlass and slid the blade through the handle of her cup and extended it out to the guy still pouring drinks. He slid the cup off and held it under the hole pouring wine. “Otherwise, it would have taken me longer to cut my way out.” Brigitte went to grab the cup from her crewmate when her eyes caught a glimpse of Reinhardt walking out of his quarters. She dropped down from the rigging and waved at him to come over, but he must of not have seen her because he walked around the helm and out of sight from the music and the party. Brigitte knew he was going to sit on the stern of the ship, right above the windows of the captain’s quarters. He did that every time there was a full moon. Brigitte grabbed her cup by the top of it and set it down on the railing.
The music was playing softly in the background. There were no lanterns set up on this side of the ship, so it was just moonlight that gave the back of the ship a soft blue glow to it. Reinhardt sat with his back against the wood molding that decorated the area behind the wheel. Much like the day, there was not a cloud in the sky and the winds were so gentle, it was like a soft kiss from the Sea Queen herself, reminding the crew that nothing but good fortune was heading their way, just like it always had. Reinhardt closed his eyes listened to the sound of McCree’s fiddle as well as the water lapping across the wood.
“Everything alright, papa?” Reinhardt opened his eyes and turned his head to look at his daughter, who was leaning against the molding, looking down at him with worried eyes.
“Ah! Brigitte! Come, sit down!” He smiled and patted the area next to him. Brigitte smiled and walked over. She sat down and crossed her legs.
“Isn’t this nice?” Reinhardt inhaled a deep breath, before letting it escape back out. Brigitte watched him for a moment before she looked out at the sparkling ocean. “Yeah, it is.” She paused for a moment to enjoy the quietness of being out in the middle of the sea. “I always forget how peaceful it is out here. I can see why you always come out here on these nights.”
Reinhardt chuckled softly to himself. He leaned a bit closer to Brigitte, “Did I ever tell you, that I would come out here with you when you were a baby?”
Brigitte scoffed. “About a million times, old man.”
“How about a million and one more, hm?” Brigitte rolled her eyes but did not protest. “I had no idea how to raise an infant. No one on board did. Why, if I hadn’t stopped back at that port town, your mother would have never had dumped you off with me.” He teased.
“You mean the seaport floozie?” Brigitte scoffed at the thought of the woman who wanted nothing to do with her.
Reinhardt busted out with laughter. He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. “Well, she was the most beautiful ‘floozie’ I had ever laid eyes on! Ah! I still remember the night I met her. An incredible night!”
“Ew! Papa!”
Reinhardt laughed at her disgust. “But…! No one can ever say that I am not a man of honor. I brought you aboard and stood in front of my crew, held you up, and shouted, ‘This this my daughter! She will be raised by the greatest family the seas have ever known! And she will grow to be the most feared and respected pirate captain the WORLD has ever known!’” Reinhardt boasted as if he was giving his speech all over again. Brigitte placed her cool hands on his shoulder to tell him to lower his voice. She had started to feel embarrassed by his words even though no one was around. Reinhardt, of course, was unfazed by her actions.
“And you my dear, you kicked my ass!” Brigitte laughed behind her hand. “You were so fussy! No one could calm you down… no one but the moon.” They both turned to look at the huge full moon hovering just above the horizon. The air started to feel colder now. Brigitte rubbed her hands together for a moment before she moved to stand up.
“I’m going to make you captain, Brigitte.” Reinhardt said while looking at the moon.
This put a stop everything she was doing. “Wait, what? Excuse me? What are you talking about?”
Reinhardt nodded slowly. “I have decided that I am going to retire after this next meeting of the Pirate Alliance.” He looked at his daughter. “When we arrive, I’m going to declare you captain of the Von Adler, and it will be set in stone.”
“You can’t do that, papa!” Brigitte shot up and stood in front of Reinhardt. “I can’t be captain! The crew needs you to lead it! Not me!” Reinhardt sighed, expecting this reaction from her. He slowly rocked forward to get enough momentum to stand up. Brigitte grabbed his arm to assist him.
“Brigitte, you are my first mate. I would not have had you by my side all these years if I did not feel that you could lead this ship.” He placed his huge hands on her shoulders gently. She looked up at him with confusion and anger in her eyes. “The others already know, and they agree with me, sweetheart. You will make a great captain.” Brigitte turned her head away from him and pushed her shoulders up to have Reinhardt let go. “I don’t understand, Brigitte! Why are you so angry about this?”
“Because you don’t need to retire! You’re not old and frail!” The air seemed to be getting even colder now. Brigitte wrapped her arms around herself, wishing she had put on something warmer.
“Aye, it is because you do not see it, my child. When I get up in the morning, or when I sit for too long…” He chuckled as he tried to point out how he had struggled just now. “Or when I worry about you…” He brushed Brigitte’s hair behind her ear. “I thought I was going to have a heart attack today.”
Brigitte sighed out of annoyance. “You don’t have to worry! We have never had to worry! We are the luckiest crew on the sea and that is not a name we gave ourselves! The world knows it!” She paused waiting to see if Reinhardt had anything to say. When he did not, she continued, “We’ve never even experienced bad weather!” She thrusted her arm out to the clear sky and bright moon that lit them up. “Everywhere we go, the sun parts a path for us and for us alone.” Brigitte put her arm down and stepped toward her father. She held his head in her hands and looked him in the eyes, “You have nothing to worry about, papa. You don’t need to retire. We still need you. You are the luck of this ship.” Reinhardt gave a tired sigh that seemed to make him smaller. Brigitte started to walk backwards towards the warm glow of the party. “I’m not ready to be the captain of this ship, papa. I’m sorry. I won’t accept that.” She turned but paused before going back to the others. “You are going to have to figure something else out. I won’t do it.” She walked around the molding and walked down the steps to the festivities, trying to look like she hadn’t just lost her cool. She grabbed the drink that was surprisingly still on the railing and tossed the whole thing back. Someone had called her name, but she didn’t register it until the third call.
“Huh?” A group of her crewmates were waving her over excitedly to dance. “Hold on. I’m gonna get another drink. I’ll be right over.” Brigitte poured herself another round. She had to double down to get her buzz back after that conversation.