[exo] Going Where the Cold Wind Blows
Title: Going Where the Cold Wind Blows (written for femmexo)
Pairing: Fem!Suho-centric (will contain fem/fem pairings in the future)
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama/adventure/romance, pirate!au
Lenght: 2170 words
Warnings: Non-graphic death/violence (as can be expected from pirates), mentions of a forced arranged marriage.
Prompt: Is it still bad luck to have a woman on-board if the entire crew is women? (from juliella)
AN: This is just the first part of a series, as I didn't have time to include all the things I've come up with for this AU in this fic. I hope you'll like this Jae, sorry for not including neither smut nor romance (but trust me, it will come in the later parts!)
Junmi knew this was a bad idea from the start. But she had been raised to be polite, with good manners, and knew that she wasn't to oppose her father. Even in matters that would affect her for the rest of her life. Her father always had the last word.
She was 21 years old, and on her way across the West Indian Ocean, to be married off to a man she'd never met. He was 10 years her senior, well-off, and a acquaintance of her father. She knew their family had been having money trouble for the past couple of years, but she'd never thought it would come down to this. Even though it hadn't been said out loud, this was a transaction of money for a pretty young wife. Her mother had told her to be good, so that her new husband would keep investing in her father's business.
Officially Junmi was being married off to a proper match. In reality she was being sold like some kind of slave. Not for the first time, Junmi hated being a young lady of noble blood.
The crew of the ship hated having her on-board. They didn't say it straight to her face, but she kept hearing them mumble of how it was bad luck to have a woman on-board. Yet she kept her head high and her smile polite whenever she had to interact with any of them. Good manners was everything, her mother had drilled into her head. Knowing when people are below you was another thing she had learned early on.
Most of the time Junmi stuck to her cabin, even when she would have preferred to be up on deck. At least in her cabin she was free from angry mumbling and leering stares. In there she was free to dream. Sometimes she fantasized about being a sailor. Living her life on deck, every day filled with the fresh smell of the sea. Traveling places she'd never been before. Maybe fighting against pirates even. And never having to wear a corset again.
She never fantasized about her future husband. It was better to keep her expectations low, so that she wouldn't be more disappointed than she had to.
Something awoke her in the night. She heard yelling, and the faith sound of steel meeting steel. Was they under attack? Hurriedly she got up, putting her tick night robe on the top of her nightgown. She doubted she had time to get dressed, and whatever was happening probably wasn't good. But whatever was happening, she had to look decent.
She got back in her bed, crawling as far back into the corner as she could. The crew, the soldiers that was along the surely would manage to protect the ship against whoever it was that was attacking them. But what if they couldn't? She tried to breath calmly, but her whole body was shaking. Pirates were never merciful. If they lost, she'd probably be killed, or raped, or both.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps outside her door. Was this it? She felt like she should be crying, but her eyes were dry. Someone barged into her room, closing the door behind them.
“Lady Junmi?” a voice hissed. It was a voice she recognized. She let out a breath she didn't knew she'd been holding in.
“Chief Officer Lee?” she whispered. “What is happening?” Her voice was surprisingly steady. She'd been raised to keep calm no matter what. Well, at least to appear calm on the outside.
“Pirates,” he said, his voice grim. “Don't worry, I'm here to protect you.” He sounded sincere, yet she doubted that it was true. If they were winning, they probably wouldn't have sent one of their officers down to protect her. Yet she said nothing.
It didn't take long before the sound of the battle moved closer. The sound of steel, yelling, and men screaming cutting through the otherwise silent night. Officer Lee was standing in the middle of the room, staring intently at the door, sword drawn.
“Knew it was a bad idea to have a woman on-board,” he mumbled.
And then they burst through the door. She couldn't see much in the dim light, but by the ragged clothes and drawn swords, she knew this was pirates. Trying to make herself as small and unnoticeable as possible, she didn't dare to watch what was happening. She closed her eyes and prayed for help. Officer Lee was a good swordsman, but there were so many of them. He didn't have a chance.
She tried her best not to hear the groans of pain or the sound of sword meeting flesh. One of the pirates was laughing, a surprisingly high and trilling laugh. And then, a loud groan of pain, before the sound of swords stopped. Junmi still didn't dare to open her eyes. Maybe if she kept them closed she could pretend none of this was real.
“So, what do we have here?” Said a unfamiliar voice. It sounded teasing, and much more high-pitched and feminine than she was expecting. Weren't pirates supposed to be gruff, with dark voices? “Don't be afraid little bird, we won't hurt you.” Another voice, this one just as teasing, almost as light and feminine. What kind of pirates were these?
Junmi opened her eyes, and was met with the sight of 3 people standing next to her bed, looking down at her. The room was lighter than before, the small porthole letting in dim morning light. She didn't look down onto the floor past the pirates. Officer Lee had been a decent man, but his dead body was not something she wanted to see.
“Really, there's no need to look so frightened, it's in our code to never lay a hand on a lady,” the pirate in the front said. Junmi recognized the voice as the first one who had spoken. As she looked up on the face in front of her she was shocked. How was a pirate that pretty? With a small face, big doe eyes, a button nose and a small pink mouth this looked more like a doll than what she'd imagined a pirate to look like.
“Unless she wants us to, that is,” said the person to the right of the first one. Junmi recognized the second voice. Also this person seemed too pretty to be a pirate, with high cheekbones and a kittenish smile.
“Who are you?” Junmi whispered. “What are you?”
The third pirate finally spoke up. “We're the crew of Exo, the worlds fastest ship, where only women are allowed on-board.”
“Because no-one can beat female pirates, especially not weak men!” The one who looked like a doll said with a grin.
The fear had to have finally caught up with her and driven her mad, was Junmi's last thought before she fainted.
Junmi woke up to the sensation of a damp cloth on her forehead. For a minute she wondered if it had all been one long, horrible dream. Was she still at home, one of the servants tending to her because she was sick and suffering from awful fever dreams? She felt like she was still on a boat, but maybe it was just because she was dizzy. Hopefully she opened her eyes.
The room she was in was clearly not her bedroom at home, and she'd never seen the woman sitting next to the bed before. The large cabin, because it was clearly a cabin, was very different from the small one she'd lived in for the past weeks. It was filled with various objects and decorations, from paintings, masks and sculptures, to silk scarves and pillows. Whoever this room belonged to had clearly traveled to various parts of the world, and probably experienced lots of wild adventures.
Junmi had the feeling that the woman next to her bed was not the owner of this room. As Junmi looked around she hadn't said a word, just looking down at her with a soothing smile. Her clothes was quite plain, a loose white shirt and a type of baggy dark blue pants that was unlike anything Junmi had seen before. Perhaps she should have been shocked over a woman wearing pants, would have been if she was still at home. But as guessed that she'd been kidnapped by pirates, a woman wearing pants didn't exactly seem shocking. At least the woman's clothes seemed clean and well-kept.
“Are you a pirate?” The question came tumbling out of Junmi's mouth before she could collect herself. So much for her exceptional self-control and good manners.
“Yes, I am,” the woman answered, her voice just as mild and comforting as her face. For some reason the answer made Junmi feel calmer. If this was what pirates was like, then they couldn't be that bad, could they? “I'm Yixin by the way,” Yixin continued, still smiling. Junmi shyly told Yixin her own name. She left out her title on purpose.
“Where am I?” Junmi dared to ask. Yixing seemed kind and made her feel comfortable, and Junmi liked to know what was going on around her. She sat up. There was no reason to lay down as if she was sick, when she actually felt perfectly well.
“You're on Exo, the ship under the command of Captain Minseon. This is her cabin,” said Yixin. So she was lying on the bed belonging to the leader of a band of female pirates. A band of pirates who had attacked the ship she was on in the middle of the night, and probably killed everyone on-board except her. The thought bothered her less than she knew it should. Of course most of the crew had been decent men, hardworking sailors and soldiers. Yet Junmi was tired of living in the world of men; in the world where her father could tell her to travel across the ocean and marry a stranger. In a way being kidnapped by pirates - that wasn't even going to hurt her - seemed like a relief compared to that.
The door to the cabin opened, for a brief second showing that the night was far gone, the light bright. In walked a tall woman; although it was hard to see what her gender was, but Junmi assumed they had spoken the truth when they said only women were allowed on-board. The woman wore a beige shirt not unlike Yixin's, but she had tighter pants and a jacket on top. Her curly hair was pushed away from her face with a green scarf. Junmi noticed that her clothes were a lot less unkempt than Yixin's. She looked more like what she'd expected a pirate to look like.
“Ah, has the little lady finally woken up?” The tall woman said, her voice loud and boisterous. She even sounder more like what Junmi had expected a pirate to sound like.
“Yes, she is,” Yixin answered. “Junmi, this is Chanhee, our ship's first mate,” Yixin said, this time directed towards Junmi.
“Well, hello there Junmi! I should have taken off my hat for you, if I wore one right now,” Chanhee said with a wide smile, while bowing down and taking of an imaginary hat. It was probably supposed to look elegant, but instead it looked rather stiff and clumsy. Junmi put her hand discretely next to her mouth, trying to stop herself from laughing.
“Captain Minseon sent me here to tell you what choices you have right now,” said Chanhee. She rolled up an imaginary paper, before pretending to read from it.
“Captured women on Exo, you have a choice to make, a decision to take! Either join the life on-board, living every day as an adventure; free from men, free from rules written down with pen! The only rules we have are those of hard work and loyalty, and freedom is our goal!” She said, her voice mock-serious and with a smile on her lips. “Or choose to go back, to the men and the rules they make, giving in to the false feeling of safety in a prison,” she ended with a serious tone, her smile gone.
“You don't have to decide right away,” Yixin added. “And if you choose to go back we will arrange so that you can an as safe journey as possible.”
For a minute Junmi said nothing. She thought about it, about what was waiting for her back at home, and what she had dreamed of while on her journey. Her mind quickly reached a decision.
“No, I've made up my mind,” She said. “I want to stay.” Chanhee let out a loud cheer, before jumping forward and enveloping a surprised Junmi in a hug. She was warm, and smelled surprisingly pleasant, a nice smell of spices that was both comforting and foreign at once.
And so the life of Junmi the pirate begun.
Pairing: Fem!Suho-centric (will contain fem/fem pairings in the future)
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama/adventure/romance, pirate!au
Lenght: 2170 words
Warnings: Non-graphic death/violence (as can be expected from pirates), mentions of a forced arranged marriage.
Prompt: Is it still bad luck to have a woman on-board if the entire crew is women? (from juliella)
AN: This is just the first part of a series, as I didn't have time to include all the things I've come up with for this AU in this fic. I hope you'll like this Jae, sorry for not including neither smut nor romance (but trust me, it will come in the later parts!)
Junmi knew this was a bad idea from the start. But she had been raised to be polite, with good manners, and knew that she wasn't to oppose her father. Even in matters that would affect her for the rest of her life. Her father always had the last word.
She was 21 years old, and on her way across the West Indian Ocean, to be married off to a man she'd never met. He was 10 years her senior, well-off, and a acquaintance of her father. She knew their family had been having money trouble for the past couple of years, but she'd never thought it would come down to this. Even though it hadn't been said out loud, this was a transaction of money for a pretty young wife. Her mother had told her to be good, so that her new husband would keep investing in her father's business.
Officially Junmi was being married off to a proper match. In reality she was being sold like some kind of slave. Not for the first time, Junmi hated being a young lady of noble blood.
The crew of the ship hated having her on-board. They didn't say it straight to her face, but she kept hearing them mumble of how it was bad luck to have a woman on-board. Yet she kept her head high and her smile polite whenever she had to interact with any of them. Good manners was everything, her mother had drilled into her head. Knowing when people are below you was another thing she had learned early on.
Most of the time Junmi stuck to her cabin, even when she would have preferred to be up on deck. At least in her cabin she was free from angry mumbling and leering stares. In there she was free to dream. Sometimes she fantasized about being a sailor. Living her life on deck, every day filled with the fresh smell of the sea. Traveling places she'd never been before. Maybe fighting against pirates even. And never having to wear a corset again.
She never fantasized about her future husband. It was better to keep her expectations low, so that she wouldn't be more disappointed than she had to.
Something awoke her in the night. She heard yelling, and the faith sound of steel meeting steel. Was they under attack? Hurriedly she got up, putting her tick night robe on the top of her nightgown. She doubted she had time to get dressed, and whatever was happening probably wasn't good. But whatever was happening, she had to look decent.
She got back in her bed, crawling as far back into the corner as she could. The crew, the soldiers that was along the surely would manage to protect the ship against whoever it was that was attacking them. But what if they couldn't? She tried to breath calmly, but her whole body was shaking. Pirates were never merciful. If they lost, she'd probably be killed, or raped, or both.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps outside her door. Was this it? She felt like she should be crying, but her eyes were dry. Someone barged into her room, closing the door behind them.
“Lady Junmi?” a voice hissed. It was a voice she recognized. She let out a breath she didn't knew she'd been holding in.
“Chief Officer Lee?” she whispered. “What is happening?” Her voice was surprisingly steady. She'd been raised to keep calm no matter what. Well, at least to appear calm on the outside.
“Pirates,” he said, his voice grim. “Don't worry, I'm here to protect you.” He sounded sincere, yet she doubted that it was true. If they were winning, they probably wouldn't have sent one of their officers down to protect her. Yet she said nothing.
It didn't take long before the sound of the battle moved closer. The sound of steel, yelling, and men screaming cutting through the otherwise silent night. Officer Lee was standing in the middle of the room, staring intently at the door, sword drawn.
“Knew it was a bad idea to have a woman on-board,” he mumbled.
And then they burst through the door. She couldn't see much in the dim light, but by the ragged clothes and drawn swords, she knew this was pirates. Trying to make herself as small and unnoticeable as possible, she didn't dare to watch what was happening. She closed her eyes and prayed for help. Officer Lee was a good swordsman, but there were so many of them. He didn't have a chance.
She tried her best not to hear the groans of pain or the sound of sword meeting flesh. One of the pirates was laughing, a surprisingly high and trilling laugh. And then, a loud groan of pain, before the sound of swords stopped. Junmi still didn't dare to open her eyes. Maybe if she kept them closed she could pretend none of this was real.
“So, what do we have here?” Said a unfamiliar voice. It sounded teasing, and much more high-pitched and feminine than she was expecting. Weren't pirates supposed to be gruff, with dark voices? “Don't be afraid little bird, we won't hurt you.” Another voice, this one just as teasing, almost as light and feminine. What kind of pirates were these?
Junmi opened her eyes, and was met with the sight of 3 people standing next to her bed, looking down at her. The room was lighter than before, the small porthole letting in dim morning light. She didn't look down onto the floor past the pirates. Officer Lee had been a decent man, but his dead body was not something she wanted to see.
“Really, there's no need to look so frightened, it's in our code to never lay a hand on a lady,” the pirate in the front said. Junmi recognized the voice as the first one who had spoken. As she looked up on the face in front of her she was shocked. How was a pirate that pretty? With a small face, big doe eyes, a button nose and a small pink mouth this looked more like a doll than what she'd imagined a pirate to look like.
“Unless she wants us to, that is,” said the person to the right of the first one. Junmi recognized the second voice. Also this person seemed too pretty to be a pirate, with high cheekbones and a kittenish smile.
“Who are you?” Junmi whispered. “What are you?”
The third pirate finally spoke up. “We're the crew of Exo, the worlds fastest ship, where only women are allowed on-board.”
“Because no-one can beat female pirates, especially not weak men!” The one who looked like a doll said with a grin.
The fear had to have finally caught up with her and driven her mad, was Junmi's last thought before she fainted.
Junmi woke up to the sensation of a damp cloth on her forehead. For a minute she wondered if it had all been one long, horrible dream. Was she still at home, one of the servants tending to her because she was sick and suffering from awful fever dreams? She felt like she was still on a boat, but maybe it was just because she was dizzy. Hopefully she opened her eyes.
The room she was in was clearly not her bedroom at home, and she'd never seen the woman sitting next to the bed before. The large cabin, because it was clearly a cabin, was very different from the small one she'd lived in for the past weeks. It was filled with various objects and decorations, from paintings, masks and sculptures, to silk scarves and pillows. Whoever this room belonged to had clearly traveled to various parts of the world, and probably experienced lots of wild adventures.
Junmi had the feeling that the woman next to her bed was not the owner of this room. As Junmi looked around she hadn't said a word, just looking down at her with a soothing smile. Her clothes was quite plain, a loose white shirt and a type of baggy dark blue pants that was unlike anything Junmi had seen before. Perhaps she should have been shocked over a woman wearing pants, would have been if she was still at home. But as guessed that she'd been kidnapped by pirates, a woman wearing pants didn't exactly seem shocking. At least the woman's clothes seemed clean and well-kept.
“Are you a pirate?” The question came tumbling out of Junmi's mouth before she could collect herself. So much for her exceptional self-control and good manners.
“Yes, I am,” the woman answered, her voice just as mild and comforting as her face. For some reason the answer made Junmi feel calmer. If this was what pirates was like, then they couldn't be that bad, could they? “I'm Yixin by the way,” Yixin continued, still smiling. Junmi shyly told Yixin her own name. She left out her title on purpose.
“Where am I?” Junmi dared to ask. Yixing seemed kind and made her feel comfortable, and Junmi liked to know what was going on around her. She sat up. There was no reason to lay down as if she was sick, when she actually felt perfectly well.
“You're on Exo, the ship under the command of Captain Minseon. This is her cabin,” said Yixin. So she was lying on the bed belonging to the leader of a band of female pirates. A band of pirates who had attacked the ship she was on in the middle of the night, and probably killed everyone on-board except her. The thought bothered her less than she knew it should. Of course most of the crew had been decent men, hardworking sailors and soldiers. Yet Junmi was tired of living in the world of men; in the world where her father could tell her to travel across the ocean and marry a stranger. In a way being kidnapped by pirates - that wasn't even going to hurt her - seemed like a relief compared to that.
The door to the cabin opened, for a brief second showing that the night was far gone, the light bright. In walked a tall woman; although it was hard to see what her gender was, but Junmi assumed they had spoken the truth when they said only women were allowed on-board. The woman wore a beige shirt not unlike Yixin's, but she had tighter pants and a jacket on top. Her curly hair was pushed away from her face with a green scarf. Junmi noticed that her clothes were a lot less unkempt than Yixin's. She looked more like what she'd expected a pirate to look like.
“Ah, has the little lady finally woken up?” The tall woman said, her voice loud and boisterous. She even sounder more like what Junmi had expected a pirate to sound like.
“Yes, she is,” Yixin answered. “Junmi, this is Chanhee, our ship's first mate,” Yixin said, this time directed towards Junmi.
“Well, hello there Junmi! I should have taken off my hat for you, if I wore one right now,” Chanhee said with a wide smile, while bowing down and taking of an imaginary hat. It was probably supposed to look elegant, but instead it looked rather stiff and clumsy. Junmi put her hand discretely next to her mouth, trying to stop herself from laughing.
“Captain Minseon sent me here to tell you what choices you have right now,” said Chanhee. She rolled up an imaginary paper, before pretending to read from it.
“Captured women on Exo, you have a choice to make, a decision to take! Either join the life on-board, living every day as an adventure; free from men, free from rules written down with pen! The only rules we have are those of hard work and loyalty, and freedom is our goal!” She said, her voice mock-serious and with a smile on her lips. “Or choose to go back, to the men and the rules they make, giving in to the false feeling of safety in a prison,” she ended with a serious tone, her smile gone.
“You don't have to decide right away,” Yixin added. “And if you choose to go back we will arrange so that you can an as safe journey as possible.”
For a minute Junmi said nothing. She thought about it, about what was waiting for her back at home, and what she had dreamed of while on her journey. Her mind quickly reached a decision.
“No, I've made up my mind,” She said. “I want to stay.” Chanhee let out a loud cheer, before jumping forward and enveloping a surprised Junmi in a hug. She was warm, and smelled surprisingly pleasant, a nice smell of spices that was both comforting and foreign at once.
And so the life of Junmi the pirate begun.