Chapter Text
{NEWBORN}
"Me eye can't believe this!" It rung through the infant's ears, the first thing she had ever heard in her mere mintues of life. She stirred awake, her small eyes opening for the first time since she had been born. Those little eyes opening..when babies are born, the first thing they usually see is light..but not her.
Even with her eyes opened, there was only darkness but her ears? They were always opened, she heard everything, the thudding of the peg leg against the floor of the captain's cabin from the pacing around, the sounds of the sea outside the ship. Her small nostrils flared up, the smell of salt and leather entering her senses.
Near her was Captain Trotter, scourge of the seven seas who was looking at his baby with a look of pure worry. A fathers distress..it wasn't that he wasn't happy to be a father, no he was extremely happy! But what he wasn't happy about? Learning his said baby was blind!
Not half blind, or just had bad eyesight, no..she was completely blind! The moment he had learned that, it was as if his world had completely shattered. Call him a hypocrite considering he was disabled himself, he only both a missing leg, hand and eye! But at least he could still see.
He was caught up in his worries yet still found himself glancing at the baby who was now wide awake. Captain Trotter's gaze softened upon seeing the baby. He approached the bassinet and scooped her up, his heart melting at the soft coos she let out. "Sharkbait…how is this ol' seadog gonna raise ye?" The question was more for himself than his child, considering she probably didn't understand english yet.
The infant just sniffled quietly, taking in his salty scent again before cuddling into his chest, instantly Captain Trotter's heart melted and he felt a bit better, he shook his head softly to himself while adjusting the bundle in his arms. "Aye..what i be worryin' about? Ye be me child." The pirate cuddled the infant closer to himself, his forehead touching hers while kissing her cheek softly.
Then a realization hit him like a tide wave..he still hasn't named his child yet. Captain Trotter stared down at her in thought, maybe he should have planned this..well he had name ideas but never sat down to ever actually decide one. Pirate duties got in the way after all.
He huffed in frustration before pulling out a small piece of paper from his desk, it had a small list of names he wrote down months prior upon finding out his baby was gonna be a lass. Calyx, Mya, Cleo, Calico, Calypso, Mary, Anne.
Captain Trotter didn't realize how many names he liked started with a c, but that actually came in handy as finally he locked his gaze onto one name. Carmine, a rich shade of red with a purple undertone.
The pirate looked down at his baby, she had yellow skin, yellow hair and white fogged up eyes, red did go good with yellow after all. "Carmine it be." He cooed softly at the infant, the blunt part of his hook gently booping her nose.
Carmine didn't really understand what he was saying, all the infant really understood was that for her, the world was dark but loud..
{SIX MONTHS OLD}
Carmine sat quietly in her crib, not really having much to do..as of late she had grown more mobile, somewhat being able to crawl (barely) and babbling a lot more. Though she wasn't able to do much still. Captain Trotter had left for a moment, he was pretty good at this whole parenting thing, after all despite being the scourge of the seven seas, he had a fatherly instinct in him for his crew and his child, maybe it was due to his own father being emotionally unavailable or other reasons.
The baby babbled to herself, despite being born completely blind she had found some weird entertainment, she couldn't see anything..except one thing. These weird looking people, they were what many would call, spirits, ghosts, demons, angels? It depended who you asked, but for Carmine? Even as a baby they were a guide.
Being a pirate meant you at least kill a few people, which Captain Trotter had committed that sin many times but also had lost members of his crew from accidents or illness. Those said crew mates still roamed the ship, except no one knew that they were still there in spirit, only one who knew was the captain's child.
The moment Carmine's eyes locked eyes onto the ghosts near her crib, she became excited. Babbling happily and reaching her small hands out. Wishing to be lifted up into their arms, craving attention from even a ghost. The spirits of the crew were confused..how did a blind infant see them? Despite their shock they adored her. "Look at 'er! Lass looks just like th' cap'n!" One ghost said. His hands ruffling her hair quietly.
From the deck Captain Trotter heard his daughters excited babbling leaving him confused, he had placed her down for a nap and was overseeing his crew do their chores of scrubbing the neck and doing inventory check. He decided to take just a minute to go check on what all the ruckus was in the captain's cabin.
When he stepped in, the pirate single eye looked around in suspicion to see not a single soul that wasn't his baby, who was now giggling as he picked her up. "What's got ye blabberin' so much Sharkbait?"
Carmine merely giggled once more, making grabby hands at Captain Trotter, happy to hear her fathers voice again. After staring at the baby a bit more he merely shrugged it off as a weird baby thing. Babies were weird after all, unpredictable little humans who didn't have kneecaps yet. "Eh- Ye be an odd wee one."
Captain Trotter decided to baby wear her, seeing she clearly wasn't interested in sleeping he assumed that if he just let her rest against him while he was busy being the captain of a bunch of reckless lads, then she would eventually calm down. It wasn't the first time he had done this.
He grabbed the nearby sling he had stored near the crib, tying it around himself before placing the baby on his chest, satisfied that he could hold her without using his arms now, he stepped back out onto the deck.
The baby looked around, trying to find the ghosts of old crew mates again..but once more her world was completely black. "Ah ba?" All she got in response was a hearty chuckle from Captain Trotter. "Ye be very alert today Sharkbait, ye in the makin' of a fine pirate!" His hook gently ruffled her small form of hair.
{ONE YEAR OLD}
"Sharkbait! Ye gotta stay near me!" Captain Trotter called out, his eye scanning the deck in annoyance at the fact his young child ran off..again, for someone so small and blind she sure had a talent for disappearing like his father did. "Aye..when i get me hook on that lass." He didn't mean anything by it, just a way of showing his displeasure. "Think i saw 'er go down into th' hold." a crewmate spoke up, trying to be helpful.
Captain Trotter now looked stunned, how could his child even get down there? She didn't even know the layout of the ship and had just learned to walk, so she wasn't the most mobile thing around. "Eh???" Quickly he rushed down to the hold, hoping his child wasn't getting into any danger.
Carmine was there, the young girl toddling around the area, her small hand being her guide around the hold which was mostly a place for storage, no one really went down there for long as there was no need to unless grabbing something. Carmine looked around, her small blind gaze looking blank yet searching.
When the spirits appeared within her dark world, her small eyes lit up. Quickly she let go of the wall and toddled towards them, her feet uneven as she walked. "Hiiii!" Carmine waved her small hand, the spirits of the crew were happy to see their little fan again, if anything she kept them company in the lonely afterlife.
However she still was blind after all, unable to see the oncoming danger of the loose rope on the ground, the spirits tried to push her back, to stop their favorite wee one from hurting herself but toddlers were stubborn. So she kept walking and her foot got caught in the rope.
Carmine let out a tiny gasp, she expected to feel the wood hit her head harshly, instead she felt the pair of warm arms wrapping around her small body and lifting her up. She heard a very unamused Captain Trotter who held her up to eye level. "Sharkbait! What ye doin' down here!?"
"Cew!" She pointed at where the spirits were, to show her father where the crew was since she thought everyone could see them. Captain Trotter glanced at the empty spot that his blind daughter was pointing at. "Aye, there be no lad there Sharkbait, ye scared me! Ye could hav' gotten hurt!"
He carried her out of the hold, shaking his head in exasperation meanwhile Carmine was confused, she could see the spirits perfectly fine so why couldn't her father. Some of the crew overheard what had happened, leaving one mischievous pirate to call out. "Oi cap'n! There be a myth that the blind folk can see ghosts! Maybe Carmine is seeing them!"
The crew laugh as if it was the funniest thing ever, Captain Trotter let out a small chuckle as well because to him it was a mere joke, just a little legend of the blind people in the world being able to see the spirits. If you were to ask him if he actually believed it..he would actually confirm he believes it.
Captain Trotter may be old but he wasn't a fool, he saw the way Carmine babbled to the air, how her head seemed to follow something he couldn't see, then again children were once again weird creatures. He shrugged it off, more focused on making sure his daughter didn't wander off again then worrying about a silly legend. After all Carmine was perfect the way she was.
{THREE YEARS OLD}
"Dada, we where u goin'?" Captain Trotter halted in his steps on the gangplank, glancing behind him at Carmine who stood there quietly, holding a small shark plushie in her hands. "Aye, just gettin' some supplies Sharkbait."
Her small eyes lit up, she began to slowly move towards the direction of his voice in a happy manner. "Ooooh, Me come with?" The pirate shook his head in a fond manner, lifting her up under her armpits and handing her to a crewmate. "Nye, not this time Sharkbait, but me back soon, savvy?" He ruffled her hair in a fond manner, the little girl huffed quietly in a stubborn toddler way but listened anyway. "savy!"
Captain Trotter chuckled softly before heading off the ship, it was supposed to be a quick errand. The crew had no issue watching over their captains child as weirdly she was well behaved for the daughter of a pirate, then again they usually just kept her in the captain's cabin since a blind kid obviously wasn't allowed on the deck.
Carmine didn't really understand it, she wished to be out on the deck with the others but everyone was overprotective of her..even at her young age she craved for people to just let her have a little freedom, then again she was just a baby still so that wouldn't be happening anytime soon.
She waited patiently for her father to return, he was her favorite person ever however when he returned he held someone else in his arms, a girl who looked to be barely a teenager. She was unconscious and bleeding from her chest. Captain Trotter, had found her in the village they were stopped at, she was clearly a runaway of sort.
The girl was carried to the infirmary. when Carmine heard about the new friend..she got excited, she had never really met another girl considering she was raised around a bunch of guys. And in toddler fashion, she wanted to help Captain Trotter. When he had left for a moment to get some water, Carmine snuck into that part of the ship.
Her small hand reached around trying to find the bed, once she figured out where it was she greeted the young teen with a gummy smile "Hiiii!" Naomi was startled, she didn't expect for a little three year old to walk in but she offered a tired smile anyway.
"Oh uhm..hello, who are you?" She asked with a small tilt of her head, trying to figure out whose child this was. "I Carmine! I heard you not feel well, so i bought you sark!" Carmine held up her shark plushie…too the wall, Naomi raised an eyebrow in confusion.
Captain Trotter came in and gave her some water, then turned his head to see his daughter was in the infirmary. His face turned from fatherly worry to annoyed exasperation. "Aye..sorry lass, this be me Sharkbait, Carmine. She not allowed in here." Captain Trotter reached down and grabbed her small hand to lead her out of the area.
"I-It's fine..she was trying to hand m-me a shark plushie..but s-she's facing the wall.." Naomi took the shark plushie the little girl had offered her once Carmine finally faced the wrong direction, she smiled softly at the kind gesture from the toddler even if at the moment she felt like shit. "That be cause Sharkbait is as blind as a bat."
That made a lot of sense to the teen, no wonder Carmine looked so unfocused and had been looking at the wall instead. Captain Trotter simply carried his little girl back to the captain's cabin, tucking her in bed before leaving.
Carmine sat there confused, a hint of jealously creeping up into her small mind..she didn't even know what jealousy was yet, all she knew was that hearing her father be so nice to Naomi, and then annoyed with her…crept up some harsh feelings within the toddler that she couldn't name.
Naomi..well she wasn't called that anymore once she was brought into the crew, she was renamed Calypso. Had a lot more to be a pirate, she was already adventurous and was a lot like Captain Trotter in many ways, most importantly..she had sight.
Captain Trotter adored her but he still of course loved Carmine, he wasn't a fool..he could see the ways on how the toddler was jealous yet made the mistake of not taking it too seriously, Carmine was young after all, she would grow out of it plus she was just used to him and the crew so maybe it was just her being wary of the new first mate of Captain Trotter.
{NINE YEARS OLD}
It had been a while since Carmine had been off the ship, the last time she was allowed to leave the safety of the ship was whenever Captain Trotter decided their supple run or treasure searching was safe enough for her to go. As she grew older and more mature, Captain Trotter only grew a bit more protective.
She wasn't really allowed to wield a cutlass or a flintlock, not allowed to touch the ropes or do many pirate things..which to Carmine wasn't very fun, she understood why he made those rules for her but it didn't mean she had to like them.
It was just her and Captain Trotter, he made sure she was holding onto his arm as he walked through the village he had found. Lately he began to realize that..while he truly loved his child, would die for her and wanted to protect her, he wasn't able to care for her. It pained him a lot..and it wasn't an easy decision. Calypso before he left had asked him MANY times if he was sure if he truly wanted to do this, worried for both her father figure and the little girl she had grown to love as a little sister. The crew had already placed bets that Captain Trotter would end up changing his mind.
Maybe he would but right now he was focused on something else. This village had an temporary home for children whose parents couldn't care for them and had no one else to send them too. Captain Trotter stared at it with a distant look in his eyes..his heart already sinking to his chest while he knelt down in front of Carmine's eye level. "Sharkbait..ye knew me love ye, right?"
"Of course dada..what's going on?" Carmine titled her head in worry, she could hear the distress in her fathers voice while he kissed her forehead lovingly. He took a deep breath and explained what was he was doing, but made it very clear he loved her and would come back to her someday. That was a promise Captain Trotter wouldn't break. "This just be temporary Sharkbait, i be back soon." That broke Carmine's heart in a way she didn't expect to ever happen, her dad was abandoning her???
The two hugged each other one last time, the pirate swearing he loved her and he would be back as soon as he could. Before he left, the pirate placed a small little flower in her hair. "Remember me Sharkbait.." Then he walked away. Carmine stood there quietly..tears streaming down her face. "Dada.." She cried silently to herself.
She was alone for a while, crying as if that would solve anything. "Hey..Hey it's okay." A soothing yet ghostly voice comforted her. She opened her white eyes to see someone in front of her, a ghost boy whose skin was like coal, his hair was even darker. A shadow covered his eyes and he had these weird red horns and a devil tail. "Don't cry, that won't solve anything will it?"
He seemed to be around ten years old, he was spooky yet friendly. "I'm Despair, and you are?" Despair asked while titling his head in an unnatural angle. "..Carmine." She replied quietly, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes. "That's a cool name! I get your upset that your dad abandoned you..but I'll stay! I like wandering around the world, your dad didn't really let you do that didn't he?" That scared Carmine a small bit, how did he know that? She had just met him!
"Uhm..yeah?" Carmine replied in a hesitant manner, she knew he was a ghost..of course she knew, because if he wasn't a ghost then how could she see him with no issue? "Well now you can! No overbearing crew, or being overshadowed by that stupid first mate of his." She didn't like how he talked about Calypso, yeah she was jealous of her..but she never talked about her in any ill manner.
But the tempting promise of adventure without being hovered over sounded nice..plus Captain Trotter already had left her anyway, so what was the point in sticking around if she wasn't even sure that he was gonna keep that promise to return. With a final defeated sigh, Carmine took Despair's hand, a start of a friendship. "Friends?"
Despair nodded, taking her hand too and began leading her away. "Friends!" The two walked away, planning to get out of the village. Unaware that the crew's bets had been right, the moment Captain Trotter walked away he felt so much regret, Calypso talked him into going back so they did. Their plan was to just bring Carmine back to the ship, apologize immediately and explain their reasoning. Then just figure it out from there.
However when they both returned, they couldn't find the blind child anywhere, Captain Trotter's heart sank…the workers at the care home confirmed she wasn't there. The two had zero choice but to return to the ship. There Captain Trotter quietly sat in his cabin, he could barely focus on the maps or the rum, just had one single thought. "..What have me done..!?"
HERE IS CARMINE AND DESPAIR'S DESIGNS
