Caught Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea || Destiel A/B/O Pirate AU

The Mermaid Isles

They were close, the whole crew could feel it. They were getting restless and nervous as the ship glided against the waves, closer and closer to the Mermaid Isles. Castiel didn't have the capacity to try and settle their nerves, instead the nerves rubbed off on him. Maybe this had been a bad idea after all. Especially since Cas had absolutely no idea what they were in for. He had never heard a siren call, have never seen a mermaid, had never even sailed on the ocean before. What did he know about what leaked beneath the surface or atop the jagged rocks he could see from the crows nest in the far distance. He was way out of his depths, and could feel himself panicking as he saw the isles draw closer from his place.

He gulped down the lump in his throat and quickly clambered down the mast, running towards the helm where the captain was steering the ship under the guidance of Sam and Gabriel who were holding onto a large map, figuring out the best way through.

"It's coming up ahead." Castiel says breathlessly to Dean who ultimately ignored him. Castiel stared at him for a second, frowning. Perhaps the captain hadn't heard him. In that case, he repeated himself less hurriedly. "It's coming up ahead. I see a peak over the clouds in the distance."

"I know." Dean replies gruffly, eyes not leaving the horizon. Without another word, he stepped away from the rudder and turned on his heel, beckoning for his first mate and the two young men to follow him towards the main deck. "Everybody, listen up."

His voice was loud enough to be heard from all along the top deck. The whole crew was atop it, knowing that the time was nigh. They all stopped what they were doing and turned to look at their captain, fear rising in their eyes.

"The last thing I want is to lose any of my crew. This isn't a matter of pride, this is a matter of yours and our safety. If any one of you do not think they are strong enough to resist the Siren's call, even with wax in their ears, I need you to line up by the doors." Dean pointed towards the doors to the hold. "We will lock you in the cells down there to keep yourselves and others safe. Once we are away from the isles, we will let you back out. Once again, this is not a matter of pride. You need to do this if you think you aren't yet strong enough. Myself, Benny and Sam will stay aboard. We need men to help steer and work the masts so those of you who aren't wet behind the ears, I could use you up here."

At first nobody moved. Dean looked worried as he looked into every single eye, trying to weed out the ones who he believed might be a danger. To Castiel's surprise, Crowley was the first one to step up and stand by the doors. Dean breathed in deeply and walked over to Crowley slowly. The whole crew held their breath, but surprisingly Dean held out his arm and starts shaking his hand and nodding his head.

"Good man." Dean murmured and turned back around to see Garth and Jack, along with one of the other new members of the crew walking over to him. He shook all of their hands and indicated for Benny to lead them down into the hold and lock them up in individual cells. The handshake, Castiel felt, was pretty ominous. He felt like it was a goodbye to the people going down rather than a sign of respect. Maybe it was, maybe the ship was going to go down or maybe the captain himself would jump ship, never to be seen again. A shiver ran through Castiel's spine. In the cells, Dean had made sure that there was plenty of food to last them a few days just in case. Benny finally locked them in and the rest of the crew left them alone to their own thoughts. Dean turned around and looked at Gabriel and Castiel, frowning. "You two?"

"Yes?" Gabriel said, grinning slightly.

"You sure you can handle this?"

"Not at all." Gabriel says before turning around and walking away, back to his maps on the helm. Dean turned to Castiel and looked at him for an answer. Castiel licked his lips and looked towards the distant rocks they were sailing towards before nodding and straightening up.