ᶜʰᵃᵒˢ

˖°🌊𓇼⋆

[ fish island ]

𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩?

Sinbad slowly stood from the deck, looking out at the bright ocean laid out before him, with multiple lush islands surrounding the moving ship-.

He turned around, eyes widening at the sight of you at the wheel, a bright smile gracing your cheeks as you steered the boat forward with ease. He would be lying if he said that he didn't feel a sense of pride, but he soon hid it as he rolled his eyes with a groan and sigh whilst the rest of the crew awoke from their trance. 

Chum pressed his lips to a murky green fish as he mumbled, "Oh, my precious."

Grum, his brother, who watched in disgust, slapped his hand against the fish, sending it flying over the railing and back into the ocean as he yelled, "Wake up, you idiot!"

"What happened?" Jed asked with a wobble in his step.

"Sinbad saved us," Jin smiled.

"No, Y/N," Rat corrected as he swayed in the air, the rest of the crew moving their gaze towards you at the wheel.

"Y/N saved us?"

"Y/N!"

"Y/N saved us," Kale stated with a smile, before turning his attention to the others. "Alright, men, snap out of it. Let's get back to reality. We got a ship to sail."

Spike glanced back at his owner with a grin, running up the stairs as Sinbad followed. You watched as the man walked up the stairs, and Spike barked happily in greeting. "Here's my little hero," you cooed, bending down to scratch his ears. "You were so brave. Yeah, what a good dog."

"Uh-... uh," Sinbad cleared his throat, gaining your attention. 

"Still think a ship's no place for a woman? Let alone a princess?" you smirked in question as you looked at him.

Sinbad opened his mouth to reply, before huffing in annoyance, a scowl spreading across his features as he exclaimed, "Absolutely!" Your eyes widened in surprise, and Spike whined from beside you as he continued, "I mean, look at my ship! This railing was hand-carved mahogany! And here! These moldings came all the way from Damascus! Do you have any idea what I went through to steal these?" He scoffed as you glared at the man. "That's exactly why women shouldn't drive."

A huff of annoyance escaped your lips as you faced the pirate. "Are you crazy? I saved your goddamn life!"

"Oh, I would've been fine, princess," he said, flicking your hands away from the wheel as he took his usual spot in front of it, leaving you on his side. "I always am."

"Right. Just like when we were kids," you fumed, before taking off down the stairs, muttering to yourself, "So ungrateful. It's just typical, old Sinbad. Sexist prick!"

As he watched you go, he felt the need to make a statement, so as his eyes caught onto the scratch marks on the outer wood of the ship, he shouted, "And you chipped the paint! Right here, look at it! That's more than a little scratch."

You opened the doors to the bunk, spinning around to glare at the man. "I should've chipped your stupid face!"

Slamming the doors behind you, Sinbad's mouth dropped at the insult, subconsciously raising a hand to his cheek where he felt an odd stinging suddenly bloom. 

The crew watched your bunk for a moment, before turning to look at their captain. Sinbad's eyes widened as they sent him awaiting stares, and he glanced down at Spike, who barked with a scowl. He snorted and whined, looking back at your doors. 

Sinbad grunted angrily, shutting his eyes as he made his way down the stairs. "The dog- and the crew- and th-th- that princess!" 

Outside of your bunk, he banged his fist against the doors before crossing his arms as he waited for you to come outside. He glanced back at the crew, finding them with squinted eyes and furrowed brows. Knowing he couldn't escape their glares, he knocked on the door once again. 

You pushed them open, your hardening stare trained on the man as you questioned, "What?"

"Thank you!" he yelled. 

"You're welcome!"

"No problem!"

"Don't worry about it!"

"I won't, princess!"

"Good!"

"Goodbye!"

"Bye to you!"

He let out a huff as you once again slammed the doors shut, leaving him to turn to his men, finding them with satisfied smiles as they moved away, beginning to clean up the ships. 

Sinbad faced the door and couldn't help but smirk. You hadn't changed a bit. You were still the same fiery and stubborn princess he knew from all those years ago. You never allowed him to win a fight, so you sure weren't going to start now.

His smile dropped at the sound of panting, looking over at Spike as he spat, "You happy now?" In response, the dog nodded and wagged his tail, leaving the pirate scoffing as he walked away. Spike suddenly whined softly as he stared at the captain's butt, where a patch of his red pants was ripped, due to a certain dog. 

It was a few hours later, and the ship had docked on a small island, abundant with trees and greenery. When the chart was first coursed, you were looking far too closely at the land, finding it to be of the most peculiar shape. But you paid no mind to it, as the rest of the crew didn't. 

"Alright, listen up. We're here for ten minutes," Kale instructed. "You get lost, you get left."

Sinbad groaned as he tried to fix one of the routers for all the ropes, muttering to himself, "How did one woman do so much damage?"

The wood broke in his hand, and he rolled his eyes. "Alright, I'm going to need the full set of chisels, the jack plane, and about a cord of cut wood," he listed off to Kale as he walked up the stairs. 

"Alright, men, you heard the captain. Find some logs and be quick about it."

You watched as Sinbad rubbed his hand over the wood, a pained groan escaping him as he cooed in sympathy for his ship. 

"Oh, for heaven's sake!" you snapped. "You only need a little tree sap, and she'll be good as new."

"When I want your advice, I'll- Hey, hey, hey!" he exclaimed, watching as you left the ship with a bucket in hand. "Where do you think you're going?" When he received no answer, he rolled his eyes. "Well, fine! At least take someone with y-."

"May I assist you, princess?" Li wondered softly as he held his hand out. 

"Why, thank you," you smiled, glancing at him, Luca, Jin and Rat as they surrounded you, offering their arms.

"Right this way, signorina," Rat rasped.

"How nice to see some men haven't forgotten a little common courtesy," you said with a passive grin, allowing Jin and Rat to take one of your hands as the group of men led you to the small forestry of trees. 

"Common courtesy," Sinbad mocked with a glare. "Not so fast."

Kale came to a halt next to his captain, holding his own bucket. "But you know she's right. The tree sap would be perfect for-."

"Just... stay with the ship," he firmly intervened with closed eyes. Sinbad grunted as he leapt over the side of the railing, quickly following after you and the crew. "I already said thank you!" he shouted at your back. "That's what this is all about, isn't it?"

"It's about repairing the ship," you brushed off as the crew gathered around you. "If I break something, I fix it. Um, knife, please."

"Oh, yeah, like I'd give you a weapon, princess-."

His eyes widened as his entire crew handed out their daggers in offering to you. You inspected all of them, before smiling warmly at Rat as you took his longer, sharper knife. "Thank you, Rat."

The man leaped onto the rock beside his captain as he spoke, "You know, you really ought to be a little more courteous."

As he chuckled, Sinbad suddenly raised his fist, punching Rat in the face, sending the man sprawling to the floor as he rolled his eyes. "Oh, great. Now I'm getting etiquette lessons from a bilge rat."

"That bilge rat knows allot more than you do by the looks of it," you hummed, slicing through the soft, almost gummy tree.

"Well, she did save the ship, captain."

"Why, thank you, Luca," you grinned at the older man.

"And now she's helping you fix it," Rat added.

"Very handy, I say," Jin complimented.

"And brave!" Li piped up.

"This- princess wouldn't know how to fix a broken fingernail!" Sinbad spat.

Your eyes widened as you spun around, holding the full bucket of tree sap you had collected. "Honestly, you are still the most boorish, pig-headed man I've ever met."

"Hey, princess, I've seen the highborn boys your type hangs out with," he chuckled. "And I'm the only man you've ever met."

"You bastard," you muttered, grunting as you heaved the bucket at his retreating figure. 

"Whoa," Rat mumbled as Sinbad stopped, shoulders hunched as the sludge dripped down his head and back.

The pirate slowly turned around, finding you glancing down at your perfectly intact nails before meeting his glare with a smirk. You watched as Sinbad leaned down, gathering the sap, as well as some dirt it had mixed into. "Oh, no. No, no," you warned.

You fell back on your butt, feeling the gunk on your face as you stood up, wiping the sap off of your face and flinging it off your finger. "Five on Y/N," Jin murmured, looking at his brother.

"You... You... Egotistical-."

"You spoiled-," Sinbad interrupted you.

"Disrespectful. Pretentious, pompous."

"Deluded."

"Self-centered, untrustworthy-."

Sinbad began dodging all the objects you were throwing from rocks to seashells, and the occasional branch. "High-and-mighty!"

"Ungrateful, sexist, insufferable-."

"At least I'm not repressed!" he yelled, coming closer to you.

"Repressed?" you repeated, glancing down at the large rock beside you. "I'll show you repressed!"

You reached down, ripping the stone from the ground, and heaving it over your head. Just as you stood close to Sinbad, you gasped at the feeling of deep rumbling beneath your feet. 

Suddenly, all around you, the trees and shrubbery shrunk into the island, leaving it barren and covered in grassy mos. "What the..." Sinbad trailed off as a long rock abruptly began swinging forward, revealing a huge, bright orb of light looming down on you and the crew. "Put it back," he whispered to you.

You chuckled nervously, bending down slightly to drop the rock, before exclaiming in fright at the floor beneath you, which opened from the center. "Is that an eye?" you questioned loudly, landing on your knees.

"Whoa, whoa!"

Whilst the rest of the crew was able to stay on the rocky skin, Rat was not. He found himself on the eyeball, lifting his hands from it as mucus stuck to his body. "Ew..." he grumbled. Spike barked, jumping onto the eye and licking up the goo. "Ew!"

Suddenly, the pupil moved to your direction, causing you, Luca and Rat to scream, before it moved over to the opposite side, where the twins and Sinbad yelled, stepping away. Raspy growling was heard from the island, with the captain shouting, "Run! It's a fish!"

"It's a fish!"

You and the men took off in a run, with you and Sinbad sprinting side by side as he shouted for his second in command, "Kale! Kale!"

The man watched in confusion, before exclaiming as the ship suddenly lurched to the side. On his back, he glanced up at the sight of a large fin rising from the ocean, before slamming back down, causing a wave to overcome the boat.

You and Sinbad ran forward, and he was quick to take your hand as he yelled, "Jump!" You followed his instruction, glancing down with a gasp as one of the fish's fins separated from his body.

The ground was slippery, due to the scales, and the pair of you tumbled to the ground. Sinbad reached for your arm, pulling you towards him and quickly inspecting you with a smile. But your attention was brought back to the crew, who were headed straight towards you.

"Spike, no-!" 

All of them crashed into you and Sinbad, as the dog landed on your stomach, causing you all the slip down the fin. Rat held onto his captain, and Sinbad shoved him away. "Kale!"

"Got it!"

He maneuvered the ship closer, and as you and the crew flew through the air, Sinbad grabbed ahold of your waist, fingers latching onto one of the ropes from the station, the pair of you flying across the ship before landing on the decking with Kale. 

"Veer off, Kale!"

"The star!" you informed, pointing to its spot in the sky ahead.

As the fish dived into the ocean, it was night once again. No wonder you had felt so tired. "Hold your heading!" Sinbad ordered, before leaping off the railing, and running across the main deck, holding onto a bundle of rope with a hook attached to it. "Rat, tie it off!" 

"Wha- What?" he stumbled over his words, but heeded nonetheless, taking the rope and securing it.

Sinbad ran across the jibboom, and grunted as he threw the hook far into the ocean, hoping to catch onto the fish. He turned around, letting out a victorious laugh as he bowed to you.

"Wait-!" Rat yelled but was cut off as the ship surged forward. Sinbad was thrown back onto the deck, and groaned from the pain, but your delightful laughter had him raising his head, finding you beside Kale, holding onto the rope for support as a bright, excited grin stretched across your lips.

After a moment, the ship took off in a fast pace as the fish swam ahead, the boat being pulled with it. Due to the aquatic animal being so close to the surface, the water around you lifted into mighty waves, forming into an oceanic canyon. The ship leaped over the makeshift surf, bouncing across the sea.

"Yee-haw!" Sinbad yelled, throwing his fist into the air as his other held onto the roping, keeping him balanced at the front of the ship.

A few hours later, the thrill of the ride had faded away into nothing but sickness and grumbling stomachs. Many of the crew had already thrown up their dinner from the night before, now having nothing in their guts. "Sinbad!" Kale called from his spot by the pole, his arms weakly holding onto it. "The men and princess can't take much more!"

The captain groaned, "I can't- take much more either. Cut the line!"

The rope was sliced through by a knife, and the ship slowed down slightly as the fish swam away. The waves settled, and you glanced up from your hunched position, finding the rest of the men groaning and gagging, heaving their food over the side of the ship. From beside Jed, Luca and Damien, Spike suddenly hiccupped, causing the men to clamor, "Oh, no, Spike!"

"Whoa, whoa, hold on, no!"

"No, no, no, no, please!"

Spike vomited on the group of three, causing them to moan from disgust, leaving their clothes covered in whatever junk Spike had decided to eat from the past few days. 

"Hey, where'd he get the carrots?" Jed questioned, watching as Li came out with the sack containing the orange vegetables.

Sinbad slowly rose from his position by the railing, moving over to sit down as he rubbed his hand over his face. "Ugh... Whose idea was that again?"

He looked over at you, finding you holding your stomach with your hand at your mouth. "I don't know. But he owes me lunch," you smiled, taking the seat beside him. 

Sinbad couldn't help but grin at you, watching the way your eyes crinkled in the corners as you reciprocated the action. The two of you looked away from one another, which caused your eyes to catch onto the large expanse of rock near the ship. 

"The Granite Gates," he stated, you nodding in response. 

"I'd never thought I'd actually see them," you mumbled, staring at the ruins. "They're beautiful."

Sinbad watched you for a moment, before smirking slightly and moving to stand in front of the railing, facing you. "Bet you never thought I'd get us this far."

"No, no, I did," you chuckled. "You've always been this way. Proteus knows as well. You used to be able to get us across Syracuse within the hour if you wanted to." You walked up beside him, placing your hands on the wood siding. "He trusts you."

"Well, what could he have been thinking?" Sinbad asked with a laugh, glancing at you from the corner of his eye. 

"The same thing I am."

Sinbad's eyes widened, and as he turned to face you, he was met with silence. Turning his gaze, he found you walking down the deck, offering smiles and playful jokes to the men as they basked in your presence. Sinbad shook his head with a grin, watching as you showered Spike with love, scratching at his ears and tummy. He had missed you, there was no denying it. He often wondered to himself if you ever thought of him at the same time he thought of you. 

Sinbad closed his eyes, shaking away the feeling, and assumed his captain position, setting course to go through the Granite Gates.