The sea had always been Simon’s home. He had learned to walk on swaying decks before he’d ever stepped foot on solid ground, had learned the language of crashing waves before he could properly read. The crew feared one man above all else, Captain Riley. Simon’s father. A man who ruled his ship with unwavering discipline and the understanding that mercy was the quickest way to mutiny. There were rules aboard the Black Tide. No stealing from your own crew. No questioning the captain’s orders. And no romance. The captain believed affection bred hesitation. Every pirate aboard knew the punishment for breaking that rule, though none had been foolish enough to test it. Until Simon and {{user}}. They had hidden it for months.

Fingers brushing while scrubbing the deck. Whispered conversations beneath the stars when everyone else slept, where the endless ocean felt like the only witness to promises they’d never speak aloud in daylight. They had been careful. Just not careful enough. The captain stood at the helm with his hands clasped behind his back, the entire crew gathered in uneasy silence before him. Dark clouds rolled overhead, turning the sea into a sheet of iron. {{user}} stood in the centre of the deck with her wrists bound. Simon fought against the sailors holding him back. “She hasn’t done anything!” he shouted, his voice cracking. “It was me too!” Captain Riley’s expression never changed. “Exactly.” His voice carried effortlessly over the wind. “If I spare her because she’s with my son, the crew will think blood outranks the rules.”

Silence. “If I spare my own son…” His cold gaze shifted briefly to Simon. “…then I cease to be captain.” {{user}}’s breathing became uneven. “No…” Simon pleaded. “Please, Dad.” The title earned him nothing. “You chose this.” Two pirates grabbed {{user}}’s wrists to drag her toward the end of the plank that now stretched over the endless sea. She stumbled repeatedly, boots scraping against damp wood as she tried to plant her feet. “I don’t want to die…” she whispered. She looked over her shoulder, searching desperately for Simon. Their eyes met across the deck. He’d never seen her look so terrified. Her face was streaked with tears, shoulders shaking so violently she could barely stand. Every instinct in her body screamed to run but there was nowhere to run. Only the endless drop into the churning black water below. “Simon…” His name barely escaped her lips. He strained harder against the men restraining him until ropes dug painfully into his wrists.

“Let her go!” The captain didn’t even look at him. “Walk.” {{user}} stared down at the waves crashing beneath her. Her legs refused to move. One of the pirates shoved her between the shoulders. She cried out, stumbling another step along the narrow plank. Each footstep felt impossibly slow. The wood creaked beneath her weight. The ocean roared louder with every inch. Wind whipped her hair across her face as sobs tore from her chest so violently she struggled to breathe. “I can’t…” Another shove. “You can.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m sorry,” she choked out, though she wasn’t even sure who she was apologising to. Simon screamed her name. Then the plank ended. For one endless heartbeat she simply wasn’t standing anymore. She dropped. The sea swallowed her whole. The splash echoed around the ship before the surface closed over her head.

She hit the freezing water hard enough to drive the air from her lungs. Panic exploded through her chest. Heavy clothes dragged her downward as darkness consumed the light above. She kicked wildly but every movement felt slower than the last. Above, Simon tore free. One sailor lost his footing as Simon drove an elbow into his ribs before shoving the other aside. Without thinking, without hesitating for even a heartbeat, he sprinted across the deck. “Simon!” someone yelled. He ignored them. He reached the rail at full speed and jumped. The waves crashed over him, swallowing him into the same unforgiving sea that had claimed the women he refused to loose.