I do not own TVD or TO.

This is the Elejah Pirate AU I didn't realize I needed until I started writing it.

1715: The Golden Age of Piracy

Her nails dug into the rail as a fresh wave of nausea hit her. Exhaling she battled the urge to be sick. It was a war she was destined to lose.

The ship hit a rough wave and she pitched forward over the side. The bile rose in her throat and she retched, heaving until there was nothing left to come up. It was only when she paused to drag in a ragged breath that she realized the slim fingers holding her hair back were smoothing over her sweaty brow.

She had always hated boats; the swaying motion twisted her stomach. Even the gentle lapping of the lake beneath a rowboat was too much.

She closed her eyes and turned around slowly to slide down the side of the ship. Looping her arms around her raised knees she tipped her head back against the worn wood and took shallow breaths. The salty sea air cleared her pounding head.

She could sense the shifting body beside her but kept her eyes closed, afraid that watching the motion of the ship would make her ill again. She could still taste the bile in her mouth.

"I don't suppose you heard the gossip."

She suppressed a shudder and shook her head. She'd always hated listening to gossip, but something in the statement made her open her eyes a crack.

"The rumor was that you were in… trouble… and that's why you were being sent away to be married."

She tilted her head and frowned, too exhausted to try and discern the nuances of her friend's double talk.

"What are you trying to ask me Caroline?"

"Father please!"

She reached out for his arm even as her heart pounded in her chest. If only she had been more careful; they might have continued on in secret. They would have continued on in secret, but somebody had seen.

Somebody had spotted the blood.

"You've disgraced this family," he broke her grip on his arm. Fury flashed in his eyes.

"Please just let me see him… please…" tears brimmed in her dark eyes and spilled down her cheeks. She made a desperate grab for his arm again in the hopes that he would listen to her pleading sobs.

Her father made no response other than to knock her backwards onto her bed.

"No!" Her heart wrenching sobs echoed through the stone halls of the manor. She struggled against her brother's hands that held her back.

She didn't realize she was crying until Caroline pressed a handkerchief into her palm. She swiped at her tears angrily and choked down her sobs. It was all her fault; she should have been more careful.

Caroline waited until her tears were gone before moving to ask the question again in a more straightforward manner, but her eyes narrowed before she could open her mouth.

There was no shortage of sound on a ship. It was not uncommon to hear men laughing and jeering, heavy footsteps, sloshing water, or clanging metal.

A ship was never silent, but theirs had grown quiet.

Elena opened her eyes slowly and looked around at the still wood; a creeping sense of dread slid up her spine in the deafening Even the lapping waves seemed to have grown still.

She accepted the blonde's hand and got to her feet in time to turn towards the sudden footsteps rushing down from the quarter deck. The look of pure terror in the man's eyes made her chest tighten with fear.

He came to a stuttering stop when he saw the women. Surprise flickered across his mouth at finding them.

"You needs to hide misses," he gasped for breath. His eyes darted furtively over his shoulder as if a great monster were looming in the shadows of the mainmast.

"Why?" Elena shuddered. She was in no rush to journey back below deck; her nausea was much worse out of the open air. "I can't go back down."

Elena recoiled when he grasped her upper arms and his rancid breath fanned over her face stirring a new wave of sickness. She remembered that this was one of the men who would gaze on her and Caroline when he thought they weren't looking. He wasn't looking at her with lust now; it was pure terror in his eyes.

"There's an assassin on deck misses," he stared into her eyes without blinking, "and he's takin' the whole crew, he is."

"Mr. Graham…" Caroline's protests died in her throat when the man pitched over with a knife sticking out of his back.

Slow footsteps echoed on the steps from the quarter deck. They were almost leisurely in their pace, as if the man had all of the time in the world.

Elena took in the picture slowly through a rapidly narrowing field of vision. He wore heavy boots and fine wool trousers that were splattered with a dark substance. The colour deepened and brightened the further up she dragged her eyes. The black stains changed when she reached his shirt that she suddenly realized was not red.

Caroline reached blindly for the brunette's arm her swinging hand grew more and more frantic when the man began to croon with a sadistic smile stretching his lips. The effect was rather macabre with the spattered blood on his cheeks.

"Elena," he sang while skipping down the remaining steps.

Caroline finally succeeded in finding her friend's elbow. She couldn't back away though; her legs had frozen in place, and she could tell from Elena's trembling arm that she was as equally immobile.

The pit of Elena's stomach fell. She could do nothing but watch the man's slow approach as a bead of sweat trickled down her spine. Her growing fear combined with her recent bout of sickness had her trembling.

The mad man knew her name.

"You should be thanking me," he tilted his head with a friendly smile. There was something charismatic in his voice. "Any other hired hand would do unspeakable things," his eyes roamed over her body appreciatively.

Elena didn't realize she had started to back away until her long skirts brushed against a metal bucket. Her eyes darted down and back up before she came to a decision. Hiking her skirt around her knees she drew back her leg and kicked the bucket of dirty water into his legs.

Grabbing Caroline's hand again they raced towards the stairs and into the darkness of the ship. They made it to the first level below decks when she froze.

Elena's hand covered her mouth and nose. She recoiled from the wide unseeing eyes. They stared at her accusingly. It was an endless sea of bodies stretching the length of the hall.

"Come on," Caroline held her breath. She had seen many of the dead earlier that day laughing and joking, but already the smell was rising. Part of her wanted to collapse and sob but the pressing sound of approaching steps renewed a sense of urgency.

Elena snapped out of her daze and ran. She apologized in her mind to everybody she was forced to jump over in her flight.

Every time they turned a corner the steps seemed to grow closer and closer. Elena didn't realize they were being corralled until they pushed into the captain's quarters.

The door slammed shut behind them. Elena froze in her search for something to block the entry with. A shriek escaped her open mouth as she locked eyes with the captain.

A bloody knife was poised in his hand, and she just knew it was the one that had been used to slit his throat. The killer had propped Captain McKenzie up.

Elena turned slowly and followed the line of the knife. Blood had been streaked purposely across the door forming bold red letters that dripped down the wood.

Caroline's eyes grew round when she found her friend's name. The brunette was one of the kindest people she knew and she couldn't understand who she had angered for this to be happening.

"Why's he doing this?"

Elena's blood ran cold when a bright voice called through the door.

"Because I was paid to."

"You were paid to kill the whole crew?" Elena gasped.

"No, just you Elena," his fingers tapped the wood, "the crew was just for fun."

"Fun," Caroline gaped. "How are you planning on getting back to shore?"

"I'll find a way."

Elena shuddered at the confidence in his tone. She steeled her nerves and gritted her teeth before mouthing to Caroline to seal the door behind her.

Taking a deep breath she exhaled and rammed her shoulder against the door with all her might. There was a surprised grunt as the man was thrown against the wall, but she ignored him entirely and bolted through the corridor. He wanted her dead not Caroline.

She heard steps following her but it wasn't until she was on the deck and spinning around to face her assailant that she realized Caroline hadn't listened.

"What are you doing?" Elena looked over the blonde's shoulder.

"Getting far away from the mad man," Caroline spun on her heel.

Elena pushed her hair back from her face and turned towards the sound of rushing steps. She knew by the sudden urgency that she had managed to anger him. She pointed wildly to the rising decks.

"Run!"

She waited only long enough to ensure Caroline was hidden from view and that the man had seen her before she moved around the various obstacles on the deck and began to climb the main mast. Hand over hand she dragged her aching body higher.

"Help!"

Several pairs of eyes turned towards the only other ship on the water as a decidedly feminine voice screamed. They doubted she had seen them and was calling for someone on her own ship.

"What do you think?" Kol came up beside his brothers and eyed the ship.

"A passenger brigantine hardly seems worth the effort." Klaus leaned against the rail. His eyes locked on the woman spinning in frantic circles on the pope deck; the sunlight caught the golden strands of her hair. "There will be too many men on board; we'd take heavy losses."

"I don't know about that," Elijah frowned. He peered through his spyglass and felt the blood drain from his face.

A slim brunette had started to climb the rigging with a blood soaked man hot on her heels. He had heard tales of the man; he liked to boast at ports after a night of heavy drinking.

"Is that who I think it is?" Kol squinted at the approaching ship.

"Kai Parker," Elijah grimaced.

Klaus frowned and shifted to watch his elder brother pull a pistol from his belt. He tilted his head as Elijah took aim.

"Can you even make that shot from here?"

"I certainly hope so," he steadied his arm.

"And what's the plan for after?" Klaus drawled. "Obviously the crew's dead, we all know his reputation, but what of those women?"

"Bad luck to have a woman on board a ship." A passing crewman shuddered and made a sign over his heart.

"I heard that," a slim blonde slipped into the vacant spot between Kol and Klaus. She leaned into Kol's embrace and glared at the man who made a hasty exit.

"In Diego's defence," Klaus smirked, "you can be unlucky at times."

She tilted her head with a sickly sweet smile and settled her hand between his shoulders with a forced laugh. The snickers that rose as he tumbled over the side of the ship were very real.

"He has a point, darling," Kol smirked. "You're very unlucky for Nik."

"Never claimed to be his good luck charm," she tilted her head and presented her cheek for his kiss.

Elijah rolled his eyes and inhaled to steady his arm. He pulled the trigger on the last exhalation.

Elena shrieked as a large hand closed around her ankle and pulled. Her scream was overshadowed by the man's grunt.

She lost her grip on the rope ladder and fell. The last thing she felt was a blinding pain through her ankle before her world went black.

What do you think?

There are currently two women on the ship with the Originals, one is Rebekah (obvs lol) and some of you might be able to guess who the other one is. And don't worry unlike many actual pirates Klaus can swim and she knew before pushing him overboard.