Work Text
Harry POV
“Come along, lil’ guy,: my father’s raspy voice called out to me from the water; “Jump in.” I looked down to him from the edge of the dock. My hands were shaking. I was anxious and afraid. The water was my enemy. It was a phobia my father expected me to conquer. So there we were. An hour before sunset and I was learning how to swim. “I’ll catch you, lad. Don’t be afraid.” I didn’t think I could do it, but I did it. A slash erupted and I felt the bubbles sprout on my legs. Thick, broad, sunbaked hands wrapped around my eight year old waist. My father kept his promise. He caught me “You did it!” He shouted, “Give me five, son.” I let go of my hold on his shoulder to return the proud slap of the hand. I was happy, too. It was the first leap to becoming an average swimmer. My father taught me how to doggy paddle around and kick my knees for movement. For a man who had just returned from a long journey at sea, he taught pretty well. The basics were set and my confidence had set the bar higher than what it was an hour ago. The sun was just about to set, which gave the water a warm, orange glow. The waves rippled even as we walked along the sand. My father handed me a towel so I could dry my face and body. I looked up to him while we made our way away from the shore. “You’re the best, dad,” I told him; “I want to be just like you.” As a child, I was telling the truth. Who wouldn’t want to be like my dad? He was a kind, fun-loving, an overall adventurous guy. I loved him but I didn’t know who he truly was until I grew older. My father laughed, “My boy, you …” He stopped. The fingers that ruffled my hair paused. I stopped walking to look at the far-distant gaze my father was expressing. “Dad? What is it?” He did not respond. That’s when I heard her.“Upon one summer’s morning,I carefully did strayDown by the Walls of WappingWhere I met a sailor gay,” My father slowly turned around. I glanced back to where his eyes met to see a woman. Her hair was brown but soaked with water. Her upper features were attractive with a pair of shells covering her breasts. My father, mesmerized by her beautiful visage, began to walk, leaving me behind as she continued to sing.“Conversing with a young lassWho seemed to be in painSaying, William, when you goI fear you’ll ne’er return again.” I did not know what to do. In fact, I did not even understand what was so special about this woman that had my father interested. Staying where I was, I saw my dad as he footed into the water once again. The sun was burning my eyes despite the fact that the distant horizon was blocking part of the round sun and its arrays. My father did not stop walking. The waves reached to just above his hips when he finally reached the mysterious woman. I muttered, “Dad?” The woman slowly raised her arms. She wrapped them around my father’s neck and casted her melody for a final time.“My heart is pierced by Cupid.I distain all glittering gold.There is nothing can console meBut my jolly sailor bold.” That chorus. It haunts me to this very day-even a decade after the incident occurred. The woman did not speak another word. With a rough, quick tug and a push off her lower half, she submerged my father into the water. The woman’s back as facing me. She shoved her torso down while still keeping a hold of my dad. That was the last time I ever saw my father-and something else. A tail lined with aquamarine scales flapped up from the current. With another kick, my father and the “woman” were gone. I didn’t know what I would do but I ran closer to the shore anyway. I sprinted just so I was standing right before the waves would reach the sand. Still holding the towel around me, I called out. “Dad?” There was nothing. “Dad?” The current whooshed in and touched my toes. I didn’t care. I looked around frantically, covering my eyes so the sun wouldn’t interfere with my vision. “Dad?!” Bubbles overflowed the waves when another current splashed near me. “Dad?!” It was no use. For the first time, I was alone; completely alone. The purple and yellow sky above seemed to take pity on me. I didn’t know it then but it was crystal-clear after studying a bit of mythology. “Father?!” A siren took my dad away from me.
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Harry POV
No one believed me when I ran into town. I looked for any help I could find and where did that get me? They gave me a home at the orphanage. Of course the authorities took me there. Where else would they put a kid who just lost a parent from drowning? Yes, when it comes down to it, they believed my father had drowned. When you’re a child, no one expects to believe a kid caught the sight of a singing homicidal mermaid-or a siren for that matter. I was eight then. I didn’t know my father was a pirate. I didn’t know he was hiding the truth from me. All that time, staying at his friend’s little hut in the village, I thought he was just a sailor that had business to attend to in other countries; But, sadly, no. My father’s ship was a stolen brigade that would attack trading ships for goods and gold. That would explain why my dad had so much to offer whenever he’d return. His friend that cared for me had sworn to secrecy. He promised to never tell me the truth or to confront the law. So when I spoke with the authorities about my father, they came to find that I was the son of a sea dog. They told me how glad they were that I was now in “good hands”. I didn’t know what that meant then but I hated it nonetheless. My father was a great man. I never thought that he’d done anything wrong. Then again, I never caught the fact that he’d rarely go out in public whenever he was in town. He’d always hide away unless it was around sunset. Now that I think of it, everyone would’ve been home or heading home at the time. My dad was a clever man. No wonder I never suspected a thing. A decade went by of me getting picked on by the other orphans because I believed in mermaids. Why wouldn’t I? I saw one with my own eyes! Let alone she killed the only parent I had. For a while, I despised the creature for even existing. After cursing every hateful living molecule in me, I kind of wanted the creature to exist. She had to be real. I wanted others to have the chance to know the truth. I hoped one day that a sailor would spot one but I had no such luck. Mermaids, sirens, or whatever they are, were very tricky. I should know. By the time I was sixteen, I came up with a plan that would save me from that wrenched home I was made to resign in. I wanted to run away and I found that four other orphans wished to do the same. I met them since we roomed together at the orphanage. Their names were Luke, Calum, Ashton and Michael. We all had one thing in common. All of our parents were dead. Running away would be the only solution to our problems. No one would adopt us anyway. We snuck away in the night, stuffing as much food and supplies as we could into our backpacks. Quiet as mice, we escaped the orphanage with pillows pretending to be us in our beds. The five of us headed for the docks. Michael helped us as a guide to the specific ship we were going to raid. His father, too, was a pirate. His mum was a wench. When he was discovered sailing the seas with his law-defying dad, the police took custody of him and threw him in the orphanage like the rest of us. I was just glad that he was able to spot the ship him and his parents once sailed that was sold to a foreign trading company. The five of us were lucky that no one was guarding the ship. Not a single living creature was on the ship when we raided it. The owners didn’t even think about hiding the ladder that helped passengers board the ship. Michael said it was silly of them-not only for that, but because they had changed the name of the vessel. “Farraige,” Michael scoffed. “Farraige?” I repeated. “Yep,” he seemed disappointed as he rummaged through the paperwork that was in the captain’s quarters. “What does that mean?” Ashton asked. “It’s an Irish word for ‘sea’. How original,” Michael almost laughed at how ridiculous the new name was. The more I thought about it, I figured that a ship was, in a way, part of the ocean. I mean, if a ship stays in the water long enough, wouldn’t you think that it was a member of the sea itself? Either way, the boys and I had serious work to do. We set the sails and slowly docked away into the night. Right then and there, we weren’t just orphans, we were fugitives too. We guarded our “stolen” vessel for a good four years. I say “stolen” because it’s not stealing if it was once yours in the first place. That’s what Michael said to begin with. As time went on, Luke, Calum, Michael, Ashton and I invaded trading ships that would pass us by. We robbed everything from traveling goods to precious gold. We even grabbed ourselves a bottle or two … or three … or a dozen. It wouldn’t matter if we drank rum anyway. Presently, I was a year away from the legal drinking age. That being said, twenty years is a good age to live by as long as you don’t get caught. There was only one problem. Whenever I’d walk along the deck, scanning the horizon every sunset, I thought of my dad. I never admitted it to the boys, but I could still picture that siren even though the sun was distracting half of my vision back when the tragic moment occurred. Flashbacks haunt me, especially that song. Whatever she was singing about, I knew that my father was not her “jolly sailor bold”. He was the best dad I could’ve asked for even though he was known as a robber at sea. Though, I would imagine that his tactics were very similar to ours. All I knew was that we would take what he could and give nothing back. Wow, I thought to myself, remembering my young wish; I’ve become just like him, haven’t I?
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Louis POV
Another day had dawned on me and I had the most unfortunate duty of attending work. Waking up early was not my type of ethnic to come about. Rubbing my eyes, I finished the breakfast my mum had prepared for me. I swear sandcakes taste like nothing after eating them every morning for a week straight. Of course, syrup is a good condiment but not with the sea water it was combined with. My mum hummed her silly little tune as she escorted me out of the door. “Have a good day at work, Lou” my mum gave me a peck on the cheek. “Thanks,” I muttered, kicking my tail behind me so I was on my way out the door; “You too!” I swam away from out little caved home. Taking a little stroll into town, I looked around to see how everyone was doing. The merpeople were doing what they were usually up to. Adults were on their way to work, the elderly roamed the shops and children were going to school. Well, not all children. I saw a few kids messing around by the school sandbanks hitting a ball around with their tails. I knew by a long shot that they were playing what was called tailball. I’d join them, but there was work to be done. Being a servant to the one and only ruler of the underwater kingdom is not that easygoing as it sounds. Sure, it’s a good-paying job and I get to assist the royals in their big, humongous palace but that’s not the point. The man is needy. He’s selfish and greedy too. Every day, I am instructed to help the cooks prepare lunch and dinner for His Majesty and you’ll never believe what we have to put up with.The king is a vegetarian. I pay no offense to his wishes but it’s quite difficult preparing meals that do not involve fishes and gills. He will accept none other than seasoned coral and sponges. Lunch was on the way and the head chef ordered me to set the plates.“Make sure everything is in its place,” the chef spat; “Not a single item off balance. You got that?”As always, my response consisted of the words “yes” and “chef”.“Good,” she retorted, “splash to it.” Her tail almost whipped me as she exited the room. She left me alone with a large pile of plates and utensils to sort with. Work had to be done but I thought I should have a little fun while I’m at it. Setting the dishes on the table, I made sure it was quiet and completely empty for what I was about to do. This would be the best part of my working day.With a wave of my hand, I sent a current to handle the plates for me. The dishes paraded to their specific spots on their own without a single touch. I smiled, knowing that my powers were still flexible enough to expand to a far range. My other hand was directed towards the eating utensils. I made the surrounding water whoosh through the objects so that each set had made it to the appropriate spot on the table. I nodded at my work, knowing that it was done fine and good.Looking around the room, especially the entrance, I hoped no one had seen that. It’s hard to believe that I have to keep my power a secret. Sure, I can waterbend to a certain extent, but any sign of my ability could enjoin me in the army. Believe me; I am not fit to be a soldier to the ruler of the merpeople. It’s hard enough being a servant. Besides, I had already told myself that it is better to serve His Majesty food than to fight off against intruders and criminals with a power that should not be taken advantage of.The king and his wife entered the room shortly before the food was presented. Dragging his tail in a spoiled, royal way, he sat down and scoffed. “What’s for lunch?” he questioned.I nodded my head, "Seasoned sponges and coral on the house.”“Good,” he approved, “’cause I would’ve dried you out if you ever made that mistake again.”His Majesty was referring to my little mishap when I was first hired at the palace. Nobody informed me of his dietary needs. So, unknowingly, I served him a pack of clam since it was the only meal my mother had taught me to cook. The man nearly flew into a rage, screaming that I had killed our shellfish friends. I was lucky that the head cook bounced for me, apologizing that she did not teach me the basics of the kitchen just yet. His Majesty calmed down but he never let that go.The ruler paid no attention to me as I swam out of the room. I didn’t mind that he was unaware of my intentions. In fact, it was good for me. Lunchtime was always so interesting. If I was mischievous and quiet enough, I could listen in on the royal matters. This was the best way to get the news that not a lot of merfolk were capable of learning. It made me feel special even though I was eavesdropping on the leader of a population that was half human, half fish.A few minutes into the service, I heard some type of officer enter the room. “Good afternoon, Your Majesty,” he greeted.“Afternoon,” the king returned, “what do you have for me?”“Another report on a sinking; this one hit down south.”“Good gills,” I could hear the king becoming frustrated. “Not again.”“Ships are plummeting a lot more often these days,” the queen spoke. I suspected she was handling her coral and sponges delicately while the king slobbered himself in the mess. “I wonder what the cause of it is.”“Humans, madam,” the messenger announced with a kick of pride. At least he was happy to assist the leaders of the kingdom. “Humans that sail the seas intend on traveling but accidents do occur.”“Humans?” the king raised his voice, “bah! Waste of a species.”Humans, I wondered, what are humans?“Accidents are not the problem. Humans that sink ships are the problem. Who would destroy a vessel on accident?” The king obviously had an opinion on the creatures that I had never heard about. I listened in and discovered a new word to add to my vocabulary.“Not necessarily humans, my lord.” The messenger was confident with his accusation, “those who call themselves pirates are the ones to blame.”
Pirates? What the-?
“Well fin off to all of them!” I almost chuckled out loud since His Majesty swore.The queen gasped, “Mr. King.” She wasn’t impressed with his attitude.Her husband paid no attention. “Humans are dangerous! Do you see how they infect our world? Sinking their boats so that half of our kingdom is destroyed? You know how many merpersons have lost their homes due to those varmints?”I shuddered to think just how much the exact amount was. Even my home was partially demolished by a mysterious floating vessel. That was how my mother and I ended up in the cave. I never really thought about who could’ve created such a disaster. For one thing, we all thought the gigantic thing had died (meaning its heart, wherever it could’ve been, had stopped). We never came to think that someone was controlling it, let alone that there was an entire new species to be blamed for it.“Enough is enough. One more ship that intrudes my kingdom and the humans will pay for it.”Whoa, I kept quiet as I listened in. He’s serious about this. But what if he’s wrong? What if these so called “humans” were not all that bad? How were these sinking occurring? It couldn’t have been their entire fault. Maybe something just happened … frequently … to cause this corruption. Though what were these pirates the messenger was implying? Neptune, what are they talking about?I had so many questions in need of answering. Not even school had taught us about the possibilities of the world above. Sure, all mermaids and mermen were forbidden to reach the surface, but how bad could it be? It’s not like we would die on the spot. For one thing, I knew that we could all breathe up there. I found that out because of my mother. She was a siren and her job was simple but evil.“Sing to the bait and they will fall for you,” she told me. “Works like a charm every time.”“But why do you do it, mummy?” I asked her when I was young.“Oh, it’s strictly business, guppy. You’ll find out when you’re older.”And I did.“Maybe we could send some sirens up there, Your Majesty.” The messenger was suggesting homicide. “They’d dive right to their death. Our problem will be solved!”“I would like more permanent punishment for those humans that jeopardize my kingdom. Total extinction-that’s what I’d like.”Death. Murder. Crap. As I hid from where I was, I wondered if the humans were aware of the merpeople. I asked myself if they would sink their ships deliberately or if they truly were accidents. I had to find out the truth and I couldn’t go to the ruler. For some reason, they had no intentions on telling the citizens of the underwater kingdom that there were creatures attempting to destroy our kind so I couldn’t make myself suspicious. No wonder the law did not explained the reason for the ships that destroyed the homes we lived in.I decided I would attempt to discover whatever I could about the human race. I wanted to find out what they were, what they looked like, if they spoke a language, basically everything that made my head spin. I wanted to learn about ships and what these pirates were known for. Of course, from the discussion I had listened from, I found that they sunk multiple ships for some peculiar reason. What was strange was that we didn’t know why. My next question was can the issue be resolved? I’d have to find out along with everything else once I reached the library after my work shift was over.
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Louis POV
Squids are fantastic writers. They never run out of ink. They are also very helpful librarians and I had the best luck of finding one that could help me educate myself on the secret situation that endangered the merpeople. The head squid at the library presented me with a vast assortment of books and encyclopedias on “the world above” or so it was called. I thanked the librarian before he squirted away. Looking down at the books that were bonded with strings and leaf canvases, I rummaged through the pages to find a few key words that would assist me. Humans, ships, pirates, I needed to find at least some sort of information. I finally stumbled upon a book called The Origins of Species and Most Unknown. I figured it would be my best chance. The table of contents was fairly promising. I started at the beginning, skimming a few quick facts along the way. I read, “Dating back to the times of A.D., mermaids have continued to thrive in the mist of the ocean floor. Half-human, half-fish, mermaids spend most of their lives under the sea in fears of becoming dry.” Drying; I always hated that form of execution. It sounds so traumatizing. Drying was a death penalty that was only permitted from the government. Any criminal found guilty of a serious matter, such as promoting the discovery of mermaids and sirens, would be sent to death via drying. I’ve never seen one in real life. I don’t know how it is done but I shudder to imagine the punishment nonetheless. Continuing, I read the rest of the paragraph. “Mermaids also limited their moments spent at the surface to eliminate the chances of being spotted by humans. Lacking a tail, humans are quite similar to mermaids, only they live on the land and lack the usual powers certain sirens possess. Gills are replaced with air-breathing lungs. Swimming tails are replaced by standing legs. This body part promotes them to walk, run, jump, skip and swim when necessary.” Looking down at my tail, I wondered just what these so called legs were supposed to look like. I figured that it would be nice if the book would define the word or at least give me a picture. Sadly, I had no such luck. After all, if we were to hide from this mysterious creature, we’d have no chance of taking a picture with them. The book mentioned an incident when a group of sailing humans had “discovered” us. However, they were mistaken and found that the mermaid they have seen was actually a manatee.To put it in a basic form, manatees practically screwed and saved our tails. They ruined us by showing their selves to the humans but helped us because the humans were mistaken. The book explained that humans lack the powers the merfolk were capable of. I was sort of surprised, even though my water bending abilities were limited to a few. It was a wonder to learn that they could even swim. According to what I read, humans were basically powerless air-breathers. Sirens were an example as well. Although I am the son of a siren, there’s very little luck that I would have the same powers as she does. Not that I would want it, anyway. I’d rather waterbend than commit homicide anyway.I skipped a few pages to find that there was absolutely nothing on pirates. I concluded that pirates were some type of new thing that had to be discovered by the public before anyone would write about them. The book had only stated that ships were what humans sailed on in means of traveling and discovery. It did not explain how they would sink or what caused them to sink even though the messenger said that pirates were the ones to blame. One way or another, I just wanted answers. Looking on the cited sources in the back of the book, I found that the information I had read from was dated a couple centuries ago. For a moment, I wondered if all of those facts were still true or if humans had evolved into something more dangerous. The idea sounded legit for anything can happen in over a century.Passing a few other books, I found one that had a section on potion making and powerful abilities. Curiously, I turned the leaf pages to find that there was a chapter on water bending. Out of pure fascination, I wondered if there was more to my power than I had originally known. Surprisingly, I was right. Apparently my water bending skills could expand to a broader spectrum. There was way more than just moving objects underwater with the wave of a hand.Reading a few sections, I discovered that, if I could get to the surface, I could experiment with water more that I could have ever imagined. Apparently, if I did it right, I could create waves strong enough to become what was called a tsunami and I could hold a frame of water without even needing to get wet. No wonder the military kept a strict hold of those who waterbend. I was lucky that my secret was kept, otherwise I’d become a soldier in the blink of an eye. It sort of made me smile, but I’d have no luck of trying it out since merpeople were forbidden to swim to the surface. Based on the information regarding humans, I found that it was easier to understand the reason why there was a law ruling against it.I passed the section on water bending to discover a chapter on potion making. I was not very aware of witchcraft but I found a spell or two that seemed important enough to learn about. The top of the page read “Human Transformation”. The description below it explained it all.“The following ingredients and procedures will provide any merperson the ability to transform into a human. Be aware that this should only be taken as instructed and has a limit on its effects. Those who cast this spell are permitted to stay dry as human. Water will not contaminate the spell after it is casted. The amount of time will vary on each merperson, so please return to a body of water as soon as the tail has returned to its original condition.”“Consuming fish meat trenched with dry sand will allow a merperson up to 24 hours of human transformation. It is important that the sand is pure and dry for the spell to succeed. Stumbling and trouble walking is usual for first-time users. To prevent the user’s tail from drying out before the spell is cast, it is best to stay partially in a body of water for the spell to take place.”
Fish meat and sand? That’s it? Isn’t that bad for your stomach?
Putting more consideration to it, I figured that the spell was too important to forget. I kept a mental note on what was needed in case I ever decided to discover the world above. I knew that, if I was to take a chance, I would have to be brave enough to cast the spell. I would have broken a law if I even dared go to the surface for that matter. At least the book warned about the consequences. I didn’t want to risk drying out without knowing that there was a risk in the first place. Turning the page over, I found another interesting spell to remember. “Merfolk Transformation” was the title and I read along as I did for the other. “The following ingredients and procedures will provide any human the ability to transform into a mermaid or merman. Be aware that this should only be taken as instructed and has a limit on its effects. Those who cast this spell are permitted to stay in a body of water as a merperson. Staying on dry land for too long will cause a dry spell which is fatal. The amount of time will vary for each person, so please be sure to stay near the shore to prevent from drowning once the spell is finished.” “Consuming a strand of sargassum natans (Linnaeus) Gaillon trenched with the excess off of a mermaid’s purse will allow a human up to 24 hours of merfolk transformation. The ingredients must be wet for the spell to succeed. Troubled breathing and swimming is usual for first-time users. It is best to cast the spell in a body of water to prevent the user’s tail from drying out.” I was stumped, not because of the spell but because of the ingredients. Sargassum natans; I hadn’t heard of that name since I was in school. From what I remembered, it was a type of seaweed that would float in a jumbled up mess somewhere near the higher sea levels. It would be easy to find, but not as easy as finding the ocean floor. When the book mentioned a mermaid’s purse, my mind immediately connected to sharks. I don’t like sharks. If humans were dangerous, sharks would be a step up. Collecting one of their baby pouches is one of the last things I would ever want to do. Secretly, I hoped I wouldn’t have to use that spell. Leaving the library, I came up with the brilliant idea to go back home-not the one I was living in presently, but the one that I had lost. The ship itself was a gigantic monster. It was still there, untouched and standing in the mist between ruination and destruction. I could still see the wreckage of a few homes that was wedged underneath the vessel, including mine. I felt sort of melancholy to see the wreck. I have no idea who could’ve died from the sinking. Human or merman, I hoped no one had been killed in the first place. Even the homes around the vessel looked depressed as if they were sorry for their neighbors. I didn’t bother searching through the vessel that destroyed part of the neighborhood. I was either too scared or too careful of my safety. Instead, I flipped my tail around in order to swim for home. According to the books, humans were known to travel on water because of ships like this. I wondered how they could possibly navigate around with such huge machinery. Whatever pirates were, I’d find that they would travel around on these things too. The real question was if I could spot the difference whenever the time would come; if the time would come.
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Louis POV
Dinner turned out to be its usual self. My mother and I talked about our days. Since she worked during the night, it was my job to tell her how work went for me. I knew perfectly well that I could not tell her about what I had learned that day. Lying was not my appeal, but leaving stuff out when telling the truth was. I explained to my mum that it was just a usual boring day serving the king and she seemed to believe me because that’s how it usually turns out to be. “I might get called into work tonight or tomorrow. I’m not sure,” my mum took another bite of her oysters. “That’s alright,” I said calmly but thinking wildly.After my visit to the library, I figured that I had to collect the supplies the spell books had listed. If I was to have them when the time was right, I would be prepared for anything. The only problem was that I had to get out of the house. My brains scrambled for an excuse. “Hey, is it alright if I go shopping really quickly?” My mum set down her oyster and looked up at me. “What for?” “Oh, just a couple of supplies I need. Maybe some groceries, you know?” She stared at me curiously as if she was trying to figure out an unsolvable puzzle. I could only pray that she would not question me any further. I didn’t want to get caught lying before I even had a chance. Luckily, I was safe. “OK then,” my mum accepted my request; “Just be home by dark, alright?” “Yeah,” I said, “thanks, mum.” Only I was doing back flips in my head. Soon after dinner was over, I hung a satchel over my shoulder so I could begin my little quest. My mum, trying to sort out her flowing locks, kissed me on the cheek before sending me off. She reminded me to return back by dark. I promised her I would though I did not know just how long my mission was going to take. I swam away from our cave and journeyed through a little clear area that was out of everyone’s sight. Hopefully, no one would see what I was about to pick out. The mermaid purses were pinned down among the coral reefs. A few of the growing sharks jiggled in their sacks while others were not able to move just yet. As I searched for a purse that was empty, I could only pray that there weren’t any sharks that were about to give birth on the spot. It took a while but I finally found a purse that was not in use anymore. I quickly stuffed it in my satchel so I could get out of there sooner than later. The next ingredient was a bit saddening. No one likes to see an old and dying fish no matter what the kind. I found a few belly-up fellows that were floating around aimlessly as their carcasses were degrading on their own. I snatched a corpse or two and put it in the satchel. Now that I had that ingredient, all I needed to become a human was dry sand. I planned ahead so, if I ever wanted to give it a try, I would find a secluded beach somewhere in the land above so I could obtain the sand that was necessary for the transformation. As for the merperson transformation, the final ingredient was very easy to find. Piles of sargassum natans (Linnaeus) Gaillon would form into a collection and float around frequently. Picking out a single strand was the tedious part but I managed to snag enough so I would be ready if the time would come. Although that was the last ingredient, I was not ready to go home just yet. I looked around for watchful eyes. Once I saw that there were no rubberneckers, I kicked my tail so I would send myself upwards.My arms and tail helped me start my journey to see the sky that I never knew existed. I knew perfectly well that I was about to break a law but I did not care. I had to know what I was truly capable of. The swim took a long while. All my life, I had no idea how low merpeople were living in the ocean. I became tiresome, but I pushed through. The moment became even more suspenseful once I had reached the surface.My upper body popped out of the water. It took a second or two to realize that I had to keep my tail in movement so I could stay afloat. Not long after learning that, the inside of my torso became acknowledged of my surroundings. Oxygen filled up in my nostrils instead of water in my gills. I had to get used to the new functions quickly so I wouldn’t panic right on the spot. A wave splashed by and distracted me but I recovered soon afterwards.Taking a look around, I found nothing spectacular. All there was were water. There was absolutely no sight of land from what I knew of. You figured a kingdom of merpeople were to colonize they would not settle so close to a landmark that would expose our kind. It was smart of our ancestors to say the least. I knew that, in order to become a human, I was in need of dry sand. I took a mental note for myself to discover nearby shores that would accommodate my necessities. Then, I remembered my powers.My hands came up from under the water. A stream spilled out from the side of my hand and down my wrist and arm. According to the book, I could hold the water without holding the water. How a waterbender would do it was the question. I surely hoped that the chapter was telling the truth. If it was, I would be delighted. If not, it’d suck. Scooping up another shot of water with both of my hands, I encouraged myself.Come on, Louis; you’ve done it underwater. Now do it up here. Seriously, when I set the table back at the palace, it was a piece of cake. Moving objects with a wave of a hand was so easy. It’s not like controlling water in the air wouldn’t be much of a difference. My brain started to feel dull. At first, I thought that it was because I was spending time at the surface. Then, I discovered what was really going on. The water that was held in my hand collected itself. It formed into a ball that floated only about an inch from my palms. I was amazed. In fact, I was even more than amazed. I was ecstatic. Just to test it out, I slowly lowered my palms. They only made it about a quarter of a fin worth before the ball of water collapsed altogether. I shrugged, but I was excited nonetheless. Why would I be happy knowing that I was more powerful than I had ever expected? No wonder I hid my abilities from the king. If a small amount of water levitated because of my doing, the king would’ve fainted if I was able to wave up a storm like any of his soldiers would do. I raised my hand, curious of practicing some kind of master wave but I was stopped when I felt a sudden yank on my tail. Letting out a yelp, I began to fight back. I was submerged in the water once again to see the attacker. I saw that it was no attacker at all. It was my mother. She was red as a crab.“Get down here! What the barnacles do you think you’re doing?”“Mum, I-” I couldn’t explain it. I couldn’t explain any of my intentions. It wouldn’t matter. My mother was too busy scolding me anyway.“You swam to the surface! You broke the law! What in marine’s name told you that was acceptable?!”“Mum!”“Don’t even think that you can swim out of this one, young man. I’m splashing you for a week.”“What?! But, mu-” She didn’t even give me a chance to come up with an excuse.“You know how much trouble you could’ve gotten yourself into? Get your tail back home!”“Mum!”“That’s my name. Now move it!” I opened my mouth to defend myself but her pointer finger halted me from any further actions. “Not another word. You’re lucky no one saw you.”I growled, hating the fact that she wouldn’t give me the slightest chance. I felt a sharp smack on my bum which caused me to flick my tail in a rush. My mum was mad at me to say the least. How I was going to explain myself when we got home was completely unknown. When I was going to get the chance to practice my powers any further was another mystery. On the plus side, I gathered most of the supplies that were required for those transformation spells. All there was left to do was to listen in for any reports on sinking vessels. Though, I hoped the pirates decided not to sink any ships while I was splashed at home.
Harry POV
“Stay down. Don’t move an inch.”My pistol was directed towards the trading sailors that did not speak our language. Their hands surrendered to the boys and me as we pushed them to the side. Calum and Luke were responsible for snatching the goods. Ashton scored a basket of rum.The captain, or who I assumed was the captain among the frightened crew, pleaded us. “Por favor, señor. Nos hará libres.”“Shush up, you puta;” was my response.Of course, I was not a master at Spanish but swear words were one thing that I found useful. A few minutes had passed. The captives were obedient under the power of my gun. Michael finally called out signaling me to get out. Walking across the plank was troublesome. It always was considering the fact that we had to balance ourselves X amount of feet above the water. Although the raid was finished, we were not done yet.“Light it up,” Luke tossed me a stick of dynamite.“At your leisure,” Calum handled the torch.Glaring at the light, I carefully moved the dynamite towards the flame until the string caught fire. In a flash, I tossed the stick so it would reach the deck of the Spanish ship. We waited. Suddenly, a resounding boom was heard. A flame had erupted onto the ship we had raided, notifying that the dynamite was successful. The floor boards of the ship continued to burn as we sailed away. It wouldn’t be long before the sinking would occur.“Easy does it,” Ashton laughed out; “let’s stock up the goods and have a drink!”“Not yet,” I ordered. “On deck; Hoist the colors.”Our flag was proudly presented high in the air with purple thread and red highlights. I thought of my dad when the ropes began to pull on it. My father, secretly a pirate, sailed on those colors. It looked pretty-as my eight year old self could have described it. It meant he had business to attend to as he was “trading” with others. Little did I know that he was committing what I had committed that night and many others. Not only was it dedicated to my father but there was irony between the fabrics.The colors served warning signs to over-lookers on a beach. Red gave a signal of high hazards. Purple meant that there were pests roaming around. It’s funny how society considers pirates the scum of the ocean and rodent of the sea. The metaphor wouldn’t matter, anyway. No one cares as long as they got what they came for. The sail was drawn up with the help of Michael and Calum as we sailed away.The sinking vessel was a sad sight to behold but the crew and I were proud in spite of it. Once the ship would completely vanish, there would be no sign of our attack. That was the beauty of our piracy. Even my dad was a professional at hiding the real facts. I smiled knowing that our mission was done and our resources were loaded for the time being. The boys were proud of our new stash of Spanish beer and whiskey. I, too, wanted to celebrate yet another victory. The flag fought against the wind for the rest of the evening. It was waving goodbye, in a way, to the fallen ship we left behind.Whispering farewell, the Farraige sailed on.
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Louis POV
No matter what rule was broken; getting splashed always goes the same direction. Your parents scold you, tell you that you can’t do anything or go anywhere for X amount of time and then sent you to your room for the rest of the night. Since I went to the surface, I, of course, had similar fate. My mum got really pissed once we made it home. She gave me a lecture on how criminals are penalized for their actions and she did not want to see me going to jail or getting dried at a young age. I agreed with her but that did not stop her from punishing me. The next day, I was allowed out of the cave to go to work. The chef kept a weather eye out on me for some reason so I could not sneak in a water bending skill that day. I was disappointed. I liked setting the table in privacy. The sea king and the queen came in for lunch, as always. They sent me off to retrieve the condiments for their lunch. I listened and nodded and went to serve them what they asked for. Although I also got to listen more so than what they were expecting. The messenger arrived right on schedule. He reported of another sinking that occurred not too far away from the outskirts of the city. I damned the pirates for striking again on such a short notice. After all, I was not allowed to investigate because, no shocker, I was splashed for a week. The king went off on another extravaganza, ranting about humans and how they should be extinguished for the rest of eternity. To tell the truth, I was becoming quite bored of his speech until I heard him state out his plan. “I’d like to have my highly supported guards track out these vessel-sinking rodents. Once they identify the prosecutor, I would like to demolish what remains of their inheritance-far away from this kingdom, of course.” “Yes, sir;” the messenger replied, “I’ll send for them right away.” I couldn’t believe it. The king was serious about this. Foolishly, I told myself that I could resolve the problem. It was time to take action and, whatever I was going to do, I had to act fast. Sure, defying my mouther would be a wave up, but splashed or not, I had to discover the pirates before the guards would. “Thank you” said the king, “and for the sake of Neptune, where is the sea salt?!”My chest jumped up and I quickly swam away to the kitchen. Remembering my duty, I was ashamed of focusing my attention on secret news instead of doing my job. I flicked my tail behind me so I could swim faster. After grabbing the condiments, I rushed to the dining room. Bursting through the doorway, the royals and the messenger looked to me in puzzlement. No doubt I had to explain myself.“I’m sorry Your,” I breathed in, “Majesty.”“Oh, never mind that, boy;” the ruler didn’t seem to care. For once, I was happy he didn’t. “Go tend to the kitchen.”“Yes, sir;” I nodded my head before exiting. I caught sight of the chef and she was staring at me like a stilled squid.She questioned my heavy breathing. “What’s wrong, Louis?”“Nothing,” I attempted to calm myself down; “Just a little worked up today.”“Very well then,” the chef replied but still looked to me with suspicion; “You mind helping me with these sponges?”
. . .
As soon as I came home from work, my mother reminded me that I was grounded. I told her I was still aware of that and I would be until the week was done for. She was worried about me simply because she didn’t want me to get into any form of trouble. This was because she was called into work that night and I could tell that she did not completely trust leaving me alone in the cave while she worked. My mum never told me what goes on in her work ethic. It wouldn’t matter. I knew exactly what sirens were capable of. She didn’t have to tell me the ruler of the merpeople called for a search on the pirates. I just kept my mouth shut. “I should be back by morning,” my mum exclaimed; “If I find out you’ve been out again, your tail will pay the price.” “I know mum, it’s alright.” I tried to sound convincing but even my own mother could tell I was hiding something. She decided to shrug it off as she swam off to work, her aquamarine tail and long brown hair wailing behind her. I took note as I was home alone that I should sneak out when it was dark and most of the merfolk were home from work. Just for the precaution, I waited until it was after dusk to begin my mission. Grabbing my satchel, I headed out the door with hope that my mother’s mission would take much longer than mine. I trailed along the cave wall until the structure came to a height that was tall and anonymous. I made sure that no one was around to see me as I swam up the wall. Not an image was portrayed in my mind that knew where I was going. To be honest, I was only looking to educate myself about the other world. That being said, if I was going to learn about the unknown, I had to look for the unknown. As such, I searched for a beach- a dry beach, to be exact. That was just what I got. Luck struck me at a miraculous time as my head popped above the surface. My breathing hitched again as it had done before. I did my best to relax about it so I could continue searching. The cave I had grown to know had turned into a rock that overlooked the sandy land that was not too far away from the shore. Waves crashed into the side of the wall and I tried to avoid them as best as I could. After silently looking across the bay, I found that there were no humans to be seen. Then again, how would I know that there weren’t any humans out there? I’ve never seen one!My tail soon became tired from the trip up, so I had to move along quickly. I kept quiet and used my arms to crawl along the shore. A little work led up to me finding myself at a dry spot where the sand did not reach the water. Remembering the old facts, I kept my tail partially in the water to prevent from drying out. Rifling through my satchel, I found what I needed for the experiment. The caucus of the fish looked sorrowful and melancholy. I pitied the persona for a moment before scooping up a handful of sand. Sprinkling it above the fish, I took a deep breath.Are you sure you want to do this? My conscious asked myself.Yes, I answered myself, faking bravery. I can’t just lie down like a mackerel and watch our world go away. DO IT, LOUIS! JUST DO IT!I took a bite. It was utterly disgusting. The fish was raw and moist. The dry sand made my gag reflex take action in the most awful way possible. Swallowing was a hassle in among itself. I would’ve puked if it weren’t for my charisma. Another wave washed by, so I turned on my back. I sat up and looked down to at my tail. I was expecting my gills to perish. My scales that were polished with a teal color would trade them for legs. I would get to experience for the first time what it was like to be a human. I soon found out that there was only one problem.Nothing happened.I waited for minutes and nothing occurred. There wasn’t a beautiful moment where it all came together. There was no magical explosion that changed everything. Nothing happened. I was just a sitting merman on a beach wondering why in the name of whales he ate a sandy dead fish. Cursing myself, I threw the rest of the eaten fish back into the ocean. It could’ve floated for the rest of the night, for all I cared. I was angry, not just because the spell didn’t work, but because I believed it would actually work.
Why did I do this in the first place? Would it be worth it? Of course not! What was I going to get out of this? What? Did I think that I might save the day and be the first merman to walk the Earth and yet I took the words from a stupid spell book to make it happen? Just what am I doing here? I’ve had enough of this. I’m going home.
I was grumbling to myself so much that I barely noticed what was right in front of me. Off in the distance, my eyes squinted to see the silhouette of a ship. Thanks to the full moon, I saw that its sail was up and running with the wind. Sure, I did not become a human, but I did see a vessel in a way I had never seen before. It was a ship live in action, floating along the sea as if it was meant to be. Down at the bottom of the ocean, it was not the same. The corner of my mouth attempted to smile a bit. I didn’t know why but it just seemed right.That’s when I figured, if I can’t become a human, I might as well see one in person.Swimming was another workout for my body. It must have taken more than a few minutes for me to finally reach the ship. Of course, its size was gigantic under water but it was massive above it. I stayed away at a fair distance so I would not be spotted by anyone that was on deck. I knew that at least a couple persons were on the ship because I could hear them. Their voices were faint but they were bold and sounded like they were enjoying themselves. The group was singing as a matter of fact. I breathed out a sigh of relief knowing that, although humans don’t look like merfolk, at least they sound like merfolk.I congratulated myself for finding the ship when I suddenly felt a large pain in my nether regions. I gasped but tried to keep quiet for the sake of my hiding spot. My hands grabbed for my stomach and I tried to stay afloat. Only the longer I held myself, the more the pain prolapsed. My lower half felt peculiar to say the least. I found that I could not support myself at the surface any longer. There was no control for me whatsoever. My hands slipped down my stomach for a split second. At first, I was expecting to feel the scales of my tail. I felt no such thing. Finally, I looked down.I had received my legs.Abruptly, I was experiencing what was called drowning. It was never a problem for me until that point in time. Therefore, I was finned - or “fucked” as the humans would call it.
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Harry POV
“What’s the name of this fucking game? It’s what the fuck!”“Here we go now. Fish Fuck, Fish Fuck; better than Gold Fuck.”“Gold Fuck, Gold Fuck; better than Ship Fuck.”“Ship Fuck, Ship Fuck; better than Drunk Fuck.”“Drunk Fuck, Drunk Fuck; better than Fish Fuck.”“Fish Fuck, Fish Fuck; better than Gold Fuck.”“Gold Fuck, Gold Fuck; better than Fish Fuck.”“HA! YEAH!”“SHIT!” “Screwed the pattern; you’ve gotta drink!” “Fine. Gold Fuck to the max.” “CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!” I rubbed the sides of my head. I was in the captain’s quarters of the ship so their drunken singing came quite clearly to me. This gave me a migraine. Something told me that the boys were having a little too much fun with that Spanish whiskey. No doubt they wouldn’t remember their drinking game the next morning. It wouldn’t matter if their organs went to waste. They were having fun, so I left them alone. To be honest, the migraine was not just because of Luke, Michael, Calum or Ashton’s game of WTF. It was the date. Sunset had already passed so I knew it was the considered time my father’s tombstone would read. I frowned. It was the anniversary of his death. Dammit dad. Why did you have to go? Behind my sadness was anger. I was furious at that woman that was actually a monster who could sing. Ever since day one, I made a commitment to find this fishy demon and get revenge but I was always faced with the usual sirens-aren’t-real crap. Throughout all my life as a pirate, I had not seen one. I feared that I’d never see one. I just wanted my father back. My hand knocked me out of the phase that was keeping me down. I told myself to suck it up and that I could not change the past. I could do whatever I can but, no matter what, my father would not return. All I had to do was accept it. Letting out a sigh, I did my best. Suddenly, I noticed how my drunken crew had gone silent. At first, I thought they knocked themselves out. Then I heard screaming.Rushing out of the captain’s cabin, I saw the four boys wobbling to the starboard side of the ship. I followed them, directing my attention to the waves beyond. With assistance of the full moon, the boys and I saw a struggling figure in the middle of the sea. The body appeared to be a person, a male to be exact. His arms were flailing about in a frantic manner. Looking at the four boys beside me, I found that I was the only one that noticed that he was drowning.“HELP!” The stranger in the water screamed.“How’d he get out there?” I wondered out loud. “Quick, lower the lifeboat;” I turned to the crew and ordered them to prepare the rescue but then I remembered that they were a loud drunken mess that did not exactly care for the life of another. I decided to forget the boys and race to the drowning man by myself. The ropes could not lower fast enough. Although the boy was holding himself up, the waves were roughing up against him.Tossing back and forth, he attempted to yelp again. “HELP! HEL-”Another wave took advantage of him. The paddle I held in my hand was difficult to control but I managed to reach the drowning boy nonetheless.“Hang on!” I shouted over the current. “Grab my hand!”The stranger grasped onto my arm. I yanked him up so he could get out of the water. I was glad that he was able to get out with his life but I was greeted with a surprise that made me want to throw him back in.“Dude! What happened to your clothes?!”“Clothes?” The boy was trying to catch his breath. He looked down and saw what I was talking about but he looked so confused to even respond to anything I said.“What is the matter with you? What are you doing out here in the middle of the ocean naked like that?”The man coughed out another breath before screaming back at me. “What is that?!”“What is what?”“That!” He pointed. “That dangly thing.”It took me a moment to even respond to him. Now the situation was ridiculous. “Your … dick … that’s your dick, mate.”“What the? I don’t- How do?”“Shut up. I saved you from drowning. The least I can get is some gratitude and a towel.”“Oh … thank you.” The stranger mumbled out a reply.I shook my head. Just what is this kid’s problem? I used the paddle again to move back over to the side of the ship. I handled the ropes so the lifeboat could be raised up the ship. After minutes of struggling, the lifeboat had finally arrived to its original spot. Remembering the drunken bastards that could not help me and the drowning stranger, I quickly clasped my hands around the boy’s arms, avoiding the sight of his penis, of course.“Well looky there!” Michael giggled out a squeal. “That guy’s nakey.”“We know, stupid;” I ignored the comment and lead the man out of the boat.The only problem was that the guy was having more trouble than I thought. The way he held himself up was similar to a newborn deer. His legs were trembling to an extreme. The way he looked around and how he was so curious gave me the idea that he had never experienced life before. I had to hold him up so he could walk across the deck. It was stressful, especially for the stairs to the lower decks.“Wh-where are you taking me?” The troubled man mumbled out with innocent eyes.“There’s no room for you on this ship,” I answered sternly, taking control. “You’re going in the brig.”“Brig?” This guy was truly amazed, “what’s a brig?”“You’ll see,” I opened up the door to the cell room.The brig was a fine old place that acted as a storage room and a prison. The cell had a lock on the door and it was held in the corner of the room. After opening up the door, I shoved the stranger inside. He fell down to the floor as I through him a long blanket. At least he was able to cover himself as the lock clicked on the door. He let out a painful breath and rubbed at his knee where a bruise would form. I kind of laughed a bit for I had never kept a prisoner before. I wondered if my father ever had as well.
Louis POV
This was not what I had planned. I just wanted to see a human, not get captured by one. Now I was stuck in this brig and my legs were hurting in such an intense way. If I was ever going to get out of this before the spell was over, I would earn my tail back. If my mother ever caught me, she would have my head. If the king ever caught me, he would have my life. My immediate plan of action was to think of an escape. My savior and captor with dark curls turned around and began to walk away, so I had to think fast.Come back! Please! You can’t do this! What to do? Oh! The song! I screamed out an idea. The song! The siren song! How does it go? Come on, Louis. Mum sung it a thousand times. What is it?The vision sparked. I remembered my mother singing her murderous lullaby to me. It was a comforting tune even though I was unaware of its purpose. Although the killing enchantment never worked on merfolk, it was a sure-fire way to get a human’s attention. Bucking up my courage, I hoped that my mum’s genetics were passed down to me as my father’s did.“His hair it hangs in ringlets,His eyes as black as coal,My happiness attend himWherever he may go.” The man was one step away from the door. I was aware that the siren’s trick was successful when he turned around with full-on attention. His face was blank and curious. I continued to sing and he walked forward, hungry for more.“From Tower Hill to Blackwall,I’ll wander, weep and moanAll for my jolly sailorUntil he sails home.” My interested sailor made it up to the bars of the cell. He lowered himself so he was on his knees. Since he was on the same height level as me, I attempted to scoot over whilst keeping hold of the blanket so I could be closer to him. Ending it with the chorus, for the first time ever, I was happy that my mother was a siren.My heart is pierced by Cupid.I disdain all glittering gold.There is nothing can console meBut my jolly sailor bold.” I decided to conclude the spell there. I had the man right where I wanted him and I could use this new found talent to keep him right in front of me. After a moment of silence, the gaze across his face had faded. He blinked, dumbfounded. Then, his confusion quickly turned into rage. The man grabbed onto the side of my arm and jolted me closer to him. He shouted “how do you know that?! Where did you hear that?!” On the inside, I was frightened. On the outside, I was brave. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” “Yes you do! Tell me!” He shook me roughly. “WHERE DID YOU LEARN THAT SONG?!” “Stop that! Let me go!” I shoved him back and I crawled away from the bars of the cell. Both of us were breathing heavily. The sailor was panicking. He ran his hands through his hair in frustration and anxiety. I was scared. Perhaps this man had heard the siren’s song before. Maybe he was just surprised of its effects. Taking another breath, he tried to speak to me calmly in spite of his shaking. “You’ve got to tell me how you know that song. Please, I need to know.” I had no idea why he was so interested but I feared for the worst. If I was to tell him anything about my world, it would come with a risk. I didn’t want to endanger my species when it was already at stake. Despite that fact, I had the cause of the sinking right before me (or, at least, I thought I had). I could find out anything about him by asking my questions but it was vice versa in his perspective as well. “You won’t kill me, will you?” I looked up to the sailor, “please don’t!” “No. Tell me everything you know, please.” For once, the sailor was desperate; so I made a bargain. “I will but you have to tell me everything you know.” “Yeah, fine, of course.” He kneeled down to face my level again.I was surprised he did not ask me why I wanted to know about his life. I just hoped he would keep to his word as I tried to pick my starting words. Deciding that keeping my tail a secret was the best idea, I came up with a silly little story. Yes, I was lying, but it was only for the merpeoples’ safety and mine. I told the man that I heard the song one day as I was sailing around in a boat. I made it so I was very confused at the time so he would think that I knew everything he knew about it-which was little to none. I said that I never saw the singer but it was quite interesting. The sailor stared at me as I spoke to him. His eyes squinted as if he was trying to detect something from me. He didn’t say anything until the moment I stopped talking.“You’re lying to me,” the sailor said. “That’s not the truth.”I was surprised he caught on so quickly. “What do you mean? I heard the song as I was out sailing, that’s all.”“No you didn’t. When I heard that song you sang, I was drawn to you. You said nothing about the same for yourself in the story. You’re a liar. In fact, just look at yourself! You were as innocent as a child when you came aboard this ship. You don’t know how to walk. You don’t even know what a penis is! You don’t know a damn thing and if you do know anything, you’re hiding it from me.”“Don’t say that,” I tried to defend myself; “I know some things.”“Well then, I hope you know how to tell the truth because you are not getting out of here until I hear some answers.” With that, the man got up and turned for the door.“Wait!” I shouted for him. Remembering that I snuck out while I was splashed, I was concerned for my mother returning home from work to find me missing. Let alone I was afraid of being so close yet so far away from a body of water when I’d turn back into my original form. “I can’t stay here!”Before slamming the door, he glared at me. “Oh yes you can. You should’ve known better than to lie to a pirate.” A pirate? The lock clicked on the door, leaving me in the dark. Fish paste, I am in deep, deep trouble.
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Harry POV
I couldn’t sleep the night I saved that stranger. All I kept thinking about was my dad and the siren that took him away from me. Waking up in the middle of the night, I asked myself over and over again if this man in the brig could be the answer to the questions I’ve had ever since the day I lost my father. On the emotional side, I wondered if I was too hard on him. Even though I had no idea where he was from, I thought maybe I could help him. Perhaps if I was more kind to him, he would open up to me and tell the truth. On the other hand, what if he’d go all the way just to save himself? I wouldn’t know unless I’d talk to him. Morning arrived. The drunken crew slept heavily. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that there would be a migraine awaiting them once they’d wake up. Silently, I snuck out of the sleeping quarters and headed for the kitchen. It was a small area that had no appliances but there were stashes of fruit that I could take hands-on for breakfast. I grabbed a small bundle of bananas before heading out for the brig. I hoped my prisoner was hungry enough to talk to me. I unlocked the door. The early rays of the sunrise were shown through the small windows of the room. The man who had put me in a trance last night was resting his shoulder in the corner. The blanket I had given him was still wrapped around him. His head dangled to the side and his eyes were shut. I had to wake him up. “Rise and shine,” I announced. The naked one’s eyes bugged out. “Hungry at all?” Unsnapping a banana from the bunch, I reached my hand out through the bars of the cell. Hesitant at first, the prisoner grabbed the fruit. The only thing was he did not know it was a fruit. “What is this?” He asked. I knew you would ask that. “It’s a banana. I don’t know if you have them wherever you’re from but try it.” The man looked down at the long, yellow object. He was confused at ever before. “How do I?” “Look,” I unsnapped another banana for myself. Kneeling down, I showed him the trick.I unpeeled the sides of the banana so the insides would reveal. Once the long flakes and skin was done for, I ate the shaft. The stranger I saved watched with interest. I swallowed hard and motioned for him to follow. He reflected his actions so it would best fit what I had done. He looked up to me for reassurance before taking a bite. I watched him chew despite the fact that it was awkward. Once he swallowed, he glared at me.“Why are you staring at me?”I answered “sorry, I’m just wondering. How are you so interested in everything?”Struggling with his words, he replied “because this is a whole new world.”I thought so. “You keep eating.” I sat the collection of bananas down so they were closer to the prisoner. I figured that if he would have his stomach full, he would help me in the long run. “Right now, let me tell you a story.”“A story?”“Yeah,” I said; “It’s a sad one at that.” The man in the cell did not respond. He was quiet all throughout my little speech. I was glad for the matter.“About a decade ago, when I was around eight, my father came back home from sailing the seas. He was a pirate just like me but I didn’t know it at the time-I was a kid, what can I say? One day he took me to a little beech that was near a dock and he taught me how to swim. I didn’t learn very much except for the basics but that’s alright now. We had a fun time just me and my dad.”I smiled. The intrigued stranger bit on another banana and continued to listen closely. That was the only memory that would make me at least a little cheerful. Everything afterwards was a nightmare.“When we were heading back home, my dad stopped when he heard someone singing. I turned around to find some woman with long brown hair out in the middle of the shore. My dad was so entranced by her that he couldn’t even hear me as he was walking away. When he got close enough, the woman dragged him down underneath the water. It was then I found out that it wasn’t a woman at all. It was a siren.”The prisoner stopped eating. Now, he was giving me his full attention. For a moment, I didn’t think he’d believe me because, after all, no one had since the very beginning. Continuing, I approached the saying with the usual you’ve-got-to-hear-me-out statement that I would have to use whenever I had to explain something that was quite literally unexplainable.“Honestly, she had a tail and everything. I remember it clear as day. That was the last time I ever saw my father and it was all because that song. It was the same one you sung to me last night, wasn’t it?”There was a pause. It was a simple question that I wanted to have cleared out. The man in front of me shifted his position. I could tell that he was uncomfortable because of the way he slept that night. Setting down one of the last bananas, he opened his mouth to speak.“Yes,” he finally admitted. “It was.”I nodded, “thank you. I’m sorry I wigged out last night. I was just scared. I thought that maybe you were one of them … and that you would kill me too.”“What?” The stranger looked up to me. “No, that’s not in my nature. And, no, I’m not a siren but …” Another pause filled the room. I broke it.“But what?”The man struggled with his words again. “Can I tell you something?” He wrapped the ends of the blanket closer to him as if he was nervous to speak.“I just told you my life story,” I replied. “Of course you can tell me something.”This was perfect. I had him right where I wanted him. As long as he would explain himself, my thirst for an explanation would be quenched. Taking a deep breath, the prisoner began his statement.“You know how you saved me from drowning last night?”“Yeah.”“And how I didn’t know how to walk?”“Yes.”“There’s a reason for that.”The room was silent. Whatever he was about to tell me, he was holding back. I could clearly see that he was scared to tell me what he wanted to admit.“I-I … I’m-well, I’m a …” I did not pressure him but I did say one more thing. “What are you?” He let it out.
Louis POV
“I’m a merman.” The pressure in my chest was released once I finally said it. Now that the main point was out in the open, I did not have to worry about his pending reaction. At first, he looked at me blankly. Then, his dimples showed themselves. Next, he was laughing. From the start, I thought he was laughing because he thought that there was no such thing as merpeople but that could not have been the case. He saw a siren with his own eyes and I felt sorry for his father so I had to give him credit there.Sitting up straighter, I retorted. “I know that I have legs at the moment but it’s no laughing matter.”“I know,” the pirate giggled; “I’m just happy.”“Happy?” I asked, “Why?”“Because you’re telling the truth. All these years I was denied. No one believed me when I said a siren took my dad away from me. No one listens to the kid who believes in mermaids. Now you’re telling me that people like you actually exist! I’m just so happy I could cry!”The pirate before me did not seem as scary anymore. The man the ruler of the sea claimed to be the scum of the ocean was now a bubbly, giggling masterpiece. His laugh was so hysterical; I almost caught onto his happy emotion. I told him that I was happy to have told him what was real after all this time and he started to ask his questions.Getting right to business, he said “if you don’t mind me asking, how are you a merman if you have legs?”I waved my hand. “It’s kind of a long story. I found some type of spell that could turn me into a human for a day. I thought it didn’t work at first but it wasn’t until I swam to your ship when the potion actually worked. Of course, I couldn’t swim but you saved me. So here we are!” I smiled at him, “thanks, by the way.”“You’re welcome and can I ask you another question?”“Go ahead,” was what I said. Now that we knew a little more about each other, I was more open to telling him the facts.“How come the siren didn’t take me when I was younger?” was the pirate’s question.“The siren song doesn’t work for children,” I explained. “Sirens can only possess humans who have matured enough. I guess it does not work if your brain and hearing sensors are not fully developed.”“Ah,” the pirate said; “but why do sirens have to kill people?”I frowned. Even my own mother could not answer this question. “I don’t know. I’ve been asking myself that for a long time too.” I suddenly remembered my purpose for meeting a human. Before the pirate could ask any more questions, I took the matter at hand. “Sorry, but I need to tell you why I’m here. This is serious.” The pirate gave me his attention fully towards me. “What is it? How is it serious?” Explaining the best I could, I revealed to the pirate that my world was in danger. Because of the sinking ships that were destroying our homes and killing our kind, the species of merfolk were on the root of disaster. I told him that the ruler of the merpeople was plotting to wipe out sailors to prevent any sinking from happening. That being said, both of the sides, land and sea, were on the verge of destruction. The pirate listened to my statement but he had a perfectly understandable excuse for his piracy. “We loot other ships to survive,” he said. “If we did not attack trading ships, we’d have nothing to live off of. We wouldn’t have any food or supplies. Yes, it’s stealing but that’s not exactly the point.” “Then what’s the point of sinking ships? Is it really necessary?” “Yes” was his reply. I was surprised that he was able to answer what I said to him. “We sink the ships we take over because then we’d get caught in the act. Before we’d know it, the law would be tracking us down. They’d kill the crew and me for piracy and sink the Farraige just because.” “Farraige?” I wondered out loud. “Oh, it’s the name of the ship,” the pirate said. “It’s Irish for sea.” “The ship is named a fancy word for sea? How original.” “I know!” We both laughed. There was a tingling at the bottom of my stomach. It was sort of a warm feeling that would not let loose. It was the emotion you get when you make a new friend. And I think I did that day. Once our laughter had subsided, I thought that maybe we could make a little deal. “I completely understand. Tell you what, the king has already ordered soldiers to track down firing ships. I’ll help you stay safe from pending attacks if you avoid sinking ships for a little while.” I already knew that this was asking for a lot. There was the risk of the pirates running out of food and resources. They did not pirate ships because they wanted to. It was because they have to.Putting his head down, the pirate asked “for how long?” “I don’t know. It might take some time for the ruler to calm down. He gets very aggressive. I should know.” “Really? How so?” “I’m his servant. He’s a vegetarian, can you believe that?” The man gave off a look that was unconvinced but he jokingly replied with a smile; “No, I cannot.” I found it funny to consider this an important business meeting between human in merman, but I stuck my hand out nonetheless. I hoped that he knew how to shake hands as I finished off the deal. “So, shall we call it a truce?” Founding that humans also shake hands during important greetings, he slipped his hand through the bars of the cell and shook my hand. With a nod, he introduced himself and I followed. “I’m Harry,” said the pirate. “I’m Louis.”I smiled although the curl of my mouth quickly faded away when there was a sudden rush on the side of my neck. Releasing my grip on the pirate, I raised my hand so I could itch myself. My fingers caught a weird texture that was nothing like the smooth skin I had before. The pirate stared at the area with frightened eyes. An epiphany struck me. It was clear to me that my gills were coming back. And if one part of me was transforming back to normal, the rest would have to follow.“Get me out of here!” I shouted, clasping my hands around the bars of the cell, “quick!”“Why? What’s wrong?” Harry began to panic like I was.“You have to get me back in the water. Please, I’ll dry up and die if I don’t.”Harry got up and searched for the keys in a fast manner. Although he was shaking out of fright, he was able to unlock the prison cell and help me stand up. I did not get to learn how to walk yet, so I was the stumbling deer once again. My feet dragged all throughout the ship. I could hear the rest of the crew snoring away as we made our way up the stairs. My thighs were starting to tingle. I could feel the bones conjoining together although it was not as painful as when it was the other way around. Harry was preparing the lifeboat but I interrupted him.“There’s no time for that!” I struggled, hanging on the edge and dropping the blanket. “Fling me over!”“But you’ll fall,” Harry protested.“I don’t care. Help me get over!” The pirate who captured me helped me toss myself overboard. He lifted up my legs so I could tumble off the side of the ship. My urgent need for water was so strong, I barely noticed the sickening feeling that freefall sets. Closing my eyes, my body hit the water with a loud splash. My gills had completely set in so I could transit breathing under water again. The bottom half of me was not experiencing a funny sensation anymore. Once I opened my eyes, I looked down to see if there was any damage. There was none – only a tail that had returned after a long night in the brig.Swimming up to the surface, I adjusted my hair and turned my attention upwards to see a concerned pirate that had become both a savior and a friend. Harry was in the process of lowering the lifeboat so we could both say good-bye to each other. I flicked my tail so I could meet him at the side of the little boat. I raised my arms so I could hoist myself up. We were now eye to eye despite the fact that he was looking down at me.Harry, breathing out in relief, checked on me. “That was close. Are you OK?” “Yes,” I replied back; “Thank gosh I didn’t dry out.” “So,” Harry observed me. “This is what you are?” I shrugged; “yeah, pretty much.”The teal scales of my tale were visible through the water. I’d take it that I was the first merman he’d ever seen in his life. Knowing that Harry was the first human I’d seen was sort of a balance for the time being. For once, I was not so scared of the world above anymore. However, I was scared once another epiphany shocked through me.I remembered. “Oh crap! I’m in trouble!” “What do you mean?” Harry looked to me for answers. “My mum got a hold of me when I swam up to the surface a couple days ago. It’s against the law, so she splashed me for a week because of that.” “Wait,” he said; “splashed? What?” “Splashed,” I repeated; “I’m not allowed to go out except for work.” “I think you mean grounded,” Harry suspected that there was a difference between our languages. “At least that’s what humans call it. We live on land so it only makes sense.” I brushed it off so I could hurry up. Lowering myself from the lifeboat, I waved farewell to the pirate. “I’ve got to get home. My mum’s probably belly-up by now because of me. I’ll try to find you again if I hear about any more news. Good-bye Harry and thank you again!” Harry waved good-bye as well before I turned around to dive. My tail flipped upwards and I started down. The ship that had imprisoned me sailed all through the night so I had to collect my thoughts on my location before heading home. Based on the time of day, I was skipping work. Based on my situation, I was disobeying my mother all from the start. The only thing left for me to do was to return home with an excuse to why I was gone for the night. I was sure that would be a consummation in among itself.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Louis POV
“And, ma’am, can you describe your son for me, please?” I made it all the way back from Harry’s ship to hear an officer interviewing my mother. This was certainly not what I wanted to come home to. “Well, he’s about yay high, brown hair, teal tail. His name is Louis. He’s never done this before.” “Sneaked out, you say?” “Yes. He’s never swum away from home before-especially whenever he’s splashed.” “Surely, ma’am, there are plentiful reasons why a merchild might sneak out in the middle of the night. Can you think of any at the moment?” My mum struggled. “Umm …”Then I remembered the actual reason for why I was splashed. If my mother told the truth, I would be in trouble more than how I already was. I decided to stop eavesdropping and enter through the front door at that very moment. The officer flicked his tail, frightened. I thought for sure my mum would have a whale. Instead, my mum was absolutely surprised. She swam up to me in less than a second. I could see that she was a fast swimmer and a tight hugger by the way she showed her care for me.“Thank gosh, honey! You’re back!”“Hi mum;” I attempted to lift my arms up for a hug but my muscles were trapped by the embrace. I couldn’t get far but I held onto the sides of her waist. Looking over at the officer, I saw that he had calmed down.He cleared his throat. “I see that now you’re son is here, all is accounted for.” My mum released me as the cop approached us both. “Though I must ask of you, why were you out last night, son?” Well, crap. Now it was my turn to come up with an excuse. “Oh, just …” randomly, I stated the obvious; “swimming around. Goofing off. Acting foolish, you know?” I felt my grin show a little too brightly for the officer’s taste. The man nodded. “Very well then; you stay out of trouble now. Take care, miss.” He tipped his hat to my mother who nodded as well. “Thank you, sir;” she said before closing the entrance to the cave.I heard a loud click of a lock. Obviously, my mum wanted to take the time to secure me in before she confronted me. According to her, I wasn’t going anywhere. I reminded myself that I was splashed and that my mother was sure to do everything she could to prevent my next escape (if there was to be one.) Swimming around, my mum faced me with the grieving look that all mothers seem to carry. The look made me cringe, in a way. Breathing out a sigh, I knew that I was not going to get out of punishment this time. I attempted to apologize. “I am sorry; I should not have swum away.” A sharp sting implanted on the side of my cheek. I gasped as bubbles rose from the blow and I flung backwards. My own mother slapped me. Although the water slowed her momentum, my mum always packed a punch. It was one of her advantages of being a siren. You need strength to pull your prey down, as it were. When the pain subsided, I gained my hearing again. “What were you thinking?!” I heard my mum shout. “How dare you?! What have you been doing?” Before I could even open my mouth, she shouted again. “I had to lie to a cop!” “You did not lie to him,” I referred to the question that was not answered; “You never said anything.” And thank Neptune for that. In an instant, the sting returned on the opposite side of my face. My mum’s hand brushed across my cheek soundly, resulting in bubbles and pain. “You get to your room and stay there. I don’t want to see you till dinner.” “Mum, I’m a grown merman. You can’t-” “Oh yes I can. You live under my roof, you live under my rules.” My mum tried to speak sternly but I overlapped her. “Heh, live under this;” I flicked my tail at her as I spun around towards the direction of my room. “Watch the sass, mister!” She was not a fan of my reply.I chose not to say anything else to her. I was too angry and I knew that if I went any further, she’d have a whale and a squid. I obeyed her wish and swam off to my room where I was imprisoned until further notice. Locked in again, I reminded myself of my journey overnight as I rested in bed. Granted I was home, safe and sound, I swore to myself that nothing that happened on the Farraige would be revealed to anyone. Not even my mother, who was even more than curious as to what had gotten into me.
. . .
Harry POV
After letting the meeting with the prisoner sink in, I was ecstatic to have the privilege to speak to a merman. I thought that I had been lucky to have a word with him so I could discover the truth in what seemed like forever. But now that there was danger ahead, I had a promise to keep. When the rest of the crew awoken from a heavy slumber, I told myself no matter what ship passed us, we would not commit to piracy until we were sure it was OK to proceed. Even though I wouldn’t know until Louis would return, it’s best to take the safe route than to risk what lies ahead. Entering the part of the ship where the boys and I would sleep, I got to look at the commotion that was occurring as I assisted my new friend. Luke was grunting out a moan. A loud thud was expressed on the floor boards when Ashton fell out of his bunk. Calum was sound asleep. Other than a small drool escaping the side of his lips, he did not stir at all. Rubbing his head, an exasperated Luke mumbled “last night … too much to drink.” He obviously had a headache. Rubbernecking the room, I noticed that the scenery lacked a sense of color. I asked “where’s Michael?”As soon as I asked that question, the disgusting, vial sound of splashing and gagging was heard down the hall. Needless to say, four out of five of the Farraige’s crew was experiencing a hangover. One was sick to the stomach. It signified that there would be a large mess to clean up in the bathroom bucket. None of the crew would be willing to clean it up (that as of bad news for me) because of their sickness.Ashton got up from the floor and blinked. He rubbed his eyes and moaned “just what happened last night?”Oh, no; I thought; I can’t tell them the truth. The crew was a load of drunken bastards last night. Of course they wouldn’t remember the confused overboard that I saved from drowning. I can’t confess that he was a merman either. They wouldn’t believe me for a second. Dammit, what am I gonna do?Quickly, I answered “you lads had a little too much to drink. Spanish whiskey got to your head.”Michael returned from the bathroom, wiping his mouth with the end of his sleeve. “Bucke-”His cheeks puffed up and his eyes boggled. He wobbled out of sight, stumbling down the hall. He got sick again, letting it out in the middle of the hallway. I closed my eyes. Now I had to clean both the bathroom and the floor. Once I opened my eyes again, I saw Calum’s eyes open. His visage was just like any other hangover expression. I saved him the grief of talking.“You guys just rest it out. I’ll see what we can do for brunch.”Calum winced but returned to his slumber fast. I let him, Ashton and Luke alone to make my way to the cargo section of the ship. Michael’s piles of vomit were the obstacles I had to face. Footing around the areas was not very successful. Jumping was a last resort. In the end, I chose not to look in the bathroom. I held off the urge until it was time to clean up. Making a note to myself, I decided not to explain my dilemma to the crew just yet. How I would talk about it whenever the time would come was the question. How I was going to stall from pirating ships and how we would live with what we had at the moment was an even bigger question.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Louis POV
Patience is a virtue. Everybody knows that. As for me, it was a lesson that my mother certainly wanted me to learn. As for my punishment for swimming away, I was splashed for an additional month. Work was my only excuse to get out of the cave. Other than that, I was not allowed out for any sort of reason. Despite the fact that a particular satchel was reported lost a couple days after my adventure above the water. My mother had the mercy to let me retrieve it from the offices of the law. Normally, it is considered common curtesy to not invade anybody’s private spaces. When I had my satchel returned to me, I noticed that the soldier did exactly the opposite. I flipped the bag open to see if my items were still contained inside. I wasn’t the only one who saw that they were still there, however. The soldier kept a weather eye on me, looking over my shoulder. I did not want to sound disrespectful but I exchanged eye contact with him in a way that was stinky. “Excuse me?” I raised an eyebrow. “Funny,” said the soldier; “Not everybody carries such strange objects around. Are you some sort of collector?” “You mind your own business,” I sassed him. Clearly, he did not know the definition of manners. “Have a nice day!” The soldier called out to me one last time before I swam away. Rolling my eyes, I scoffed at his replies. He made it quite obvious that he looked through my satchel without permission. The soldier pointed out that my items were strange. Rolling my eyes, I stopped for a rest so I could check my satchel in privacy. Luckily, I had everything just where I left it. The seaweed was wrapped around the mermaid’s purse in preparation of the merperson transformation. Of course, because of my close-to-drowning experience, the ingredients were somewhat beaten up. With hope, they would still work if I wanted to cast another spell. For a moment, I contemplated weather or not I should catch another fish just for the heck of it. Concluding that it was not necessary, I shook my head at the idea. I headed for home.
ONE MONTH LATER
Harry POV
Avoiding piracy was such a tedious promise to keep. Ashton, Calum, Michael and Luke were all reckless when it came to the crime. Preventing such a casual routine was quite a challenge. Whenever the crew would suggest robbing a passing ship, I’d have to come up with the dumbest excuses to hold off the decision. Everything from too much cargo to risk of discovery was used. By the time we ran out of food, we were becoming desperate but I pushed on. One day, the four boys decided to attack the situation. “Harry, we’ve got to talk;” Luke led the conversation. I knew what the problem was but I asked anyway. “What’s the problem?” “Oh, I think you know the problem. It’s just you’re not telling us it,” Calum directed it at hand. Trying to stay calm, I waved them off. “Oh, there’s nothing wrong.” “Yes there is,” Ashton confessed; “we’re running out of food. The alcohol’s gone. We don’t even have enough matches for the night candles.” “Face it, Harry. We need to find a ship. We need our resources.” Panicking, I had to think of a response fast but excuses can get you so far. “And go through all that trouble just for a couple supplies? Come on, now. We haven’t even seen a ship in days!” “So we’ll go look for one,” Luke suggested. “Yeah. We’re pirates, stupid. It’s what we do.” Michael waved his hands in the air for emphasis. If I wasn’t in a hole before, I was at that moment. There was no getting out of a complication such as that. It wouldn’t be long enough until we’d starve from the lack of food or become dehydrated from not having enough water. Not to mention we wouldn’t have any “fun” if we didn’t have a bottle of rum easy at hand. Shrugging, I thought it was time for them to know what was really going on in my mind: I had a promise to keep. “Look, you want to know the reason why I’ve been stalling this whole thing?” “Yes!” The crew sang in unison. “Fine,” I took a deep breath before speaking again. “Well, the truth is-” “Hello?!” I smiled. Saved by the merman; never saw that coming. The boys heard the call as well and followed me as I poked my head over the side of the rail. Staying afloat, I saw the one who was responsible for my lack of piracy. For some peculiar reason, I was happy to have seen him again. It could have been because I was scared for him. Perhaps I thought our meeting was just a dream. Maybe I just missed him. I wouldn’t know. I was too busy smiling as Louis waved up at me. “Who is he?” Luckily, the boys had no memory of the stranger that came aboard for a one-night stay in the brig.“A friend,” I replied, starting to prepare the lifeboat. “You lads stay here.”The crew responded in raised eyebrows and confused visages. I lowered myself down, glad that no one continued to question. Louis was even luckier since none of them witnessed his tail keeping him afloat from high on the ship. Once I finally reached the water, Louis swam towards the lifeboat. “Nice to see you again,” Louis hoisted his upper body so he could get closer to me. I got right to the point. “Just how did you manage to find me?” “That waving thing up there,” Louis pointed to the portion above the mast; “It looked familiar, so I gave it a shot. Turns out I was right, huh?”A long source of red and purple fabric was hung against the structure of ropes. There, whipping proudly against the wind, was the Farraige’s flag. Just to make sure we were on the same page, I asked “you mean the flag?” “Yeah,” Louis said; “Is that what you call it?” “I guess.”“So what’s it for?”Now this I did not know how to explain. Surely, flags were used to signal other ships of their national orientation or significance. But since our intentions were secretive, our flag was anonymous to those we would attack. A long explanation would seem boring so I summed it up as best I could.“Oh, it’s a pirate thing.”Louis gave me a brief description of what was going on down below the currents. He gave me the whole ordeal from being splashed for a month to eavesdropping on the king frequently enough to learn that I had kept my promise. No ships were sunk in the past month and Louis thanked me for committing through cold turkey. I nodded my head, accepting his gratitude. It grew quiet for a while in spite of the waves crashing against the side of the ship. Finally, it occurred to Louis that we had an audience. “Do they know about me?” He referred to the four boys glancing down from above the deck. “No,” I replied and then reversed the question to focus on the ruler and his military. “Do they know about me?” “No.” “Sorry to interrupt you two but we most certainly do.” I glanced up to see another form of audience. A few meters away, stayed a handful of persons. Not just any persons, mind you. They were merpeople. Four mermaids, all will different length of hair swam behind 3 mermen. The males wore helmets and wrist guards. The females wore shells of bright colors to match their tails. Although every one of them looked significantly different, all of them looked familiar. The idea was funny, in a way, because I had only received two interactions with the watery species. One of them cursed me. The other revealed the truth. Now all eyes were on Louis and me. The Farraige’s crew gasped at the sight of what was below. I could hear them gossiping not long after Louis sent out a gasp. I did not blame him at all-he broke the very law of his kind. Punishment would await him but not without an interrogation first. “Well, I see you’ve been swimming up the wrong cave, have you, Louis?” “Y-you,” Louis pointed to the merman who seemed to lead the group. The guard raised his hand before Louis’s stutter could complete itself. “As I’ve said before, not everybody carries such strange objects around in their satchel.” I was about to ask if Louis had met this merman before but he held up his bravery with all his wit. “I told you to mind your own business,” Louis arched his eyebrows. Now, he had let go of his grip on the lifeboat so he could be in contact with the guard more directly. “Oh, I am;” the head guard announced. “You see, it is my duty as an officer to patrol the kingdom, keeping every merperson in their place. Now that I’ve seen you’ve gone to where no one else is permitted to go, something must be done about it. However, since you’ve done all of the work to find the source of our growing corruption, I’d like to take care of that first.” For some reason, I knew he was talking about me. Corruption was used as a substitute for sinking. I was guilty of piracy, yes, but I never imagined I’d be prosecuted by a man with arrogance in every inch of his tail. With a wave of the hand, he directed the females of the group. The four sirens swam closer to the ship, passing the guards as they came. I slowly sat down in the lifeboat, hoping to gain distance from those creatures that were related to the one who stole my father.“Get away,” Louis defended; “He’s done no harm.”“I assure you, Louis. He has. Ladies, do you’re bidding.”“My father is a merchant,The truth I now will tell,And in great London CityIn opulence doth dwell.” Their beautiful voices found its way through my eardrums to soothe my subconscious. I could feel my eyes blink and my heart calm. The raging desire to dive right in coaxed my intuition. It wouldn’t matter if I fought back; the siren’s trance induced me. I was fucked.
Louis POV
Nothing good could come out of the siren’s song. If anything, foolishness and deliberate death would occur right after the first note. I saw Harry staring at the mermaids with great attention. I swam over to the lifeboat quickly in order to prevent his from becoming intrigued enough to take action in his current state of mind. Cranking my neck upwards, I saw that his crew was doing the same. For all I could predict, they’d fall overboard as well. The siren’s continued their damned song.“His fortune doth exceed300 thousand goldAnd he frowns upon his daughterWho loves a sailor bold.” A crash was heard not too far away from the ship. Water splashed up and made a rough wave rise from the surface. Following one, another interaction was set upon the water as well as another. My prediction couldn’t have been more correct. The boys didn’t even scream on their way down. Not long after the splash, the Farraige crew’s heads popped up. All four of the boys swam towards the sirens, hungry for their death.“A fig for his riches,His merchandise and gold,True love has grafted my heartGive me my sailor bold.” I felt Harry attempt to fall out of the lifeboat. I used my hands to plunge him back to his spot. If Harry was going to drown, he’d have to go through me first. Certainly, I was not looking forward to what was going to happen after the chorus. The siren’s final scene was not a stranger to anyone except the victim. The climax was not something to look forward to because fate would always end the same. Death would follow. End of story. That’s why I never took a liking to sirens.“My heart is pierced by Cupid,I disdain all glittering gold.There is nothing can console meBut my jolly sailor bold.” A siren’s job was not complete until their strength was exerted on the men. Every crew member was submissive to their particular siren. Each of the singing lasses gave a push and a flick of the tail. Their victims did not protest. Off they went, silently down below the surface. I never saw the Farraige’s crew again. Then, out of the random blue, the three guards began to snap their fingers. The beat seemed slow at first but then it picked up exponentially. The rhythm they were creating lasted continuously. So long, in fact, the clouds above the ship began to darken. Now I was scared for Harry, myself and the Farraige itself. “What’s happening?” I frantically asked the guards. “Oh, you didn’t learn this trick in school? Poor you.” A thunder rumbled above us. Illuminating and bright flashes descended upon the flying canvas that Harry called a flag. The lightning retreated back to reveal that it had set a fire that only grew from the source of fabric. Not every book tells a story and the passage I read at the library did not explain this sorcery. It was clear to me then that the officers’ task was not to just destroy those responsible for the demolishing of the kingdom. They also wanted to eliminate the transportation. The waves surrounding the ship picked up and caused the lifeboat to rise up and down. It was becoming difficult to keep Harry from flying out and into the water. He was still entranced by the siren’s magic. That being said, my enchantment was different than the professional’s. Mine was temporary. Theirs were prolonging. After a few large waves crashed over the side of the lifeboat, I already knew that the guards were not intending on stopping. Their snapping fingers raged on as did the fire continue on the deck of the Farraige. “Enough!” I thundered defensively, “Stop this!” “Relax, Louis;” the head guard sassed, “we’re only trying to drown him.” “I said enough!” Without giving a second thought to it, I raised my hand.A wave erupted in the direction opposite to the lifeboat. My anger assisted with the matter. Specifically, my intention was to distract those who were controlling the storm. A crash was heard when the form of water splashed onto the mermen, sending them back a small distance away. The water receipted successfully because of my doing. Glaring at me with angry eyes, the guards targeted me with their arms spread out.I then realized my mistake. “So,” the head guard announced; “We’ve got a servant with a special talent on our hands.” Dammit, Louis! Why did you have to do this now?! I cursed myself. Harry made another attempt to escape the lifeboat. I shoved him back. It seemed as if the situation could not get any worse.Then the clouds darkened and the guard grimaced; “Let them have it, lads.”What happened next was both powerful and menacing. All three of the guards hovered their hands above the surface of the water. Gradually rising, the mermen brought their arms up. By the time their hands reached above their heads, I saw what was heading our way. The guards had levitated a part of the sea behind them to create a gigantic wall of ocean. The book at the library mentioned tsunamis but I never saw one. I didn’t want to see it at that very moment, that’s for sure. The guard’s fingers trailed along their palms to form a fist. The ginormous wave, pausing behind them, waited for the approval. The leader, glaring with his determination, sent his arms forward. The mermen beside him followed. Obeying the command, the wave rushed towards Harry and I. Not having enough time, all that had come to mind was protecting the pirate before me. I turned around, hoisting myself up the side of the lifeboat. I reached for Harry (who was still entranced) in hopes of at least shielding him from the pending doom. Nothing would work, however. Even if something did, I would not have the confidence to pursue it.Upon passing the guards, the monstrous wave consumed the Farraige. The force was so strong, it sent Harry and me evacuating the lifeboat and crashing into the side of the ship. The impact hurt but all I was focused on was keeping ahold of Harry. I used my tail in order to avoid the ship that had been submerged by the wave. Something told me that it would soon meet the bottom of the ocean. However, I did not want its captain to go along with it.I learned that the siren’s song had faded from Harry’s subconscious when he started to kick. He started to move his arms about frantically. Granted his father only taught him how to swim once, his reaction was completely understandable. Harry elbowed me in the side by accident, causing me to set him free. Bubbles impaired my sight. It was my turn to panic for I had lost my first human friend. The surrounding bubbles fizzled away, allowing me to view how the Farraige was holding up. Turns out, it was not holding up at all.The ship tipped over, exposing half of the vertical structure above and below the waterline. I imagined the fire that had sparked had faded by the time I swam up to the surface. Slowly, the vessel fell. I pitied its crew for having lost their precious floating home but then I remembered that I had lost track of the pirate who once resigned on the Farraige.Swimming up, I quickly glanced around to find the result of the minor tsunami. The guards had retreated away to who-knows-where and the clouds that had damned the scene had disappeared. Harry was found not too far away from me. He was jiggling about, with his arms slapping against the waves. He was drowning and there was no lifeboat to find refuge from. An idea sparked once I realized my satchel was still kept close to me. I flipped open the back to find the sargassum natans and the mermaid’s purse. I snatched a strand of the seaweed out and rushed towards Harry. He was barely staying afloat by the time I had reached him.“Harry! Eat it!” I grabbed him with one arm to hold him up while the other handled the seaweed. “Wha-” A wave splashed against us.“Eat it!” I pressed it on his lips. “Harry, eat it now!”He obeyed quickly but not without a nasty reaction. I’d expect that if one spell tasted horrible, the opposite spell would be somewhat similar. Harry’s disgust was spread all about his visage but there was no time for comfort when a life is at stake. At first, I predicted the spell would not be immediate because of the digestive process. My hypothesis was based off of my one and only experience. I was not exact sure for the time being but Harry seemed to have grown increasingly tired and weary.Another wave crashed against our sides and he blinked his eyes shut as if he was dozing off. Confusion overlooked me because, when my transformation occurred, pain was the one concern for me. For Harry, it was sleep. I didn’t know what to do, so I called for him.“Harry?” I said, “Harry?!”The grip he had on me loosened. His kicks that protested against the water had slowed down to a speed that gained nothing. Harry fell limp in my grasp and I shook him.“Harry! Wake up!” I shouted above the current.The man’s body suddenly grew heavily. I was unaware of the average human’s ability to swim underwater but I could only pray that Harry knew how to do that. His weight had gained so much I could not keep the both of us floating anymore. We were sent down in regards to Harry’s newly formed organ that was significant to his transformation. I was happy knowing the spell book was trustworthy but I was frightened for my friend. I stayed in pace with his sinking body. I knew he could not hear me but I called to him anyway.“Harry, hold on! Hold on!”
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Harry POV
“Harry, hold on! Hold on!” The whole world muffled. My eyes opened. My sight was hazy at first but the aperture corrected so I could see clear again. Louis was hovering over me. With the look on his face, he was obviously scared. My sense of touch returned to feel the moist sand that was layered below me. I coughed and bubbles erupted from my mouth. I considered it strange before I spoke. “Louis?” I murmured. “Yes?” He responded. “What happened?” For a second, Louis’s eyebrows quivered in disbelief of my confusion. “You don’t remember?”“Should I?”“Umm,” Louis mumbled. “Well …” “What?” “It’s sort of a long story.” “We’ve got time, tell me.”I used my arms so I could sit up. I figured that I should’ve stood up because I felt like I had just gotten back from a long sleep. The only problem was that I was greeted with an interesting predicament. You can’t stand if you have no legs. And that was just the thing—I didn’t have any. I was calm. Then, I was ecstatic. “What the fuck happened to my legs?!” I panicked. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Louis tried to shush me. I was not having it. “What the hell happened to me?!” “You were drowning!” Louis shouted at me whilst waving his hands around. “I didn’t know what to do!” “So you changed me instead?! What the fuck?!” I tried to bend what were once my knees but all it caused me to do was swim backward. I had no control of my movements whatsoever. Though, it’s not like I knew how to swim before. If anything, I was a kitty stuck in the ocean. Louis returned to my side, attempting to keep his voice down. “No! Just, please, calm down.” “How can I possibly calm down?! I am a human! Not a merman!” “It’s only temporary! Now shush up before someone hears us!” I complied with his statement. I then understood that I would not want any attention if I did not belong in the new world I was going to be introduced to. Trying to take a deep breath, I noticed something quite strange.“How am I even breathing down here?” I asked. “You have gills, silly.” Louis pointed to the sides of my neck. Raising my hand up to the spot, I felt the scaly addition to my new form. Even my throat felt wishy-washy because of the oxygen working through the organ slits. I looked down to see what had become of me. The lower half of my body, once split into two walking structures, had bounded together to form a tail that carried a colorful mix of purple and red. The hues reminded me of a group of boys who were very important to me. “What happened to my crew?” I wondered aloud. Louis stuttered at first but then came to a conclusion that I remembered absolutely nothing of the incident. So he told me. He told me everything. My friend with fins explained to me that he was able to cast a spell on me as I was drowning. I couldn’t remember eating whatever he gave me. Nonetheless it worked like a charm. Louis expressed the tragic story of the Farraige and its crew. The boys and I were hypnotized by the sirens. He was only able to save me. I thanked him for it. However, it did not stop me from becoming angry. This was the second time I had close, important personas stolen from me. Upon seeing my face that was filled with tedious furry, Louis retorted. “I completely understand you’re frustration. Though you should know it’s not a good time to seek revenge.” “Why?” I asked. Honestly, I needed an acceptable reason why I should not take action right then and there. “Because the guards would have our heads and tails on a platter if we show ourselves after what’s happened.” “You’re right,” I said, knowing that he was very tactical about our situation. From what Louis had recalled to me, the guards were dangerous. Plus, although Louis carried his so-called power as well, we wouldn’t know how much of a defense he could consider himself to be. I decided to ask another question hoping to find the outcome of an important tribute that resembled my pirating life. “What’s become of my ship?” Louis did not respond at first. After seconds of silences that seemed equal to the time of forever, he turned his head towards a direction off in the distance. A haze covered my sight beyond a couple of yards away so it was nearly impossible to see what he was looking at. Instead of explaining anything, my merman friend helped me up and helped me start my training in swimming. “Here,” Louis said, “use your arms to start moving. As for your tail, go up and down but gradually shift from your hips. Kind of like this,” he began to show me his presentation. His arms whipped through the water in the direction he was targeting to. After he pushed the surrounding waters to the side, he brought chest up followed by his bottom then finally his fin. His body went by as if he was moving with the waves. In hopes of getting started with a fine score, I tried to duplicate him. Of course, I struggled at first but Louis was right there by my side to help me. Grabbing my arm, he pulled me along. I should’ve said he yanked me because I was a terrible swimmer in addition to the difference in our size. Louis led me to my requested answer. Revealing itself from the foggy waters, a large structure came into our sight as if a ghost had returned from the grave. My heart sunk when I realized it was not some ordinary wreck. It was the Farraige with all of its glory, resting on its side with rubble strewed about. What once floated across many seas, firing off ships that were taken advantage of by the pirates that considered the vessel home, had become a part of the sea, as did its name right from the beginning. “Silly name, you know?” I muttered; “The Farraige.” “What?” said Louis as if he didn’t hear me. “It’s an Irish name for ‘sea.’”I never knew if you could cry under water though I had a feeling that I should’ve. But I didn’t-I did not feel like I had permission to. As a pirate who fought many battles and took over multiple ships, I had every reason to stay brave. So that’s exactly what I did. Looking around, I saw what was left of my only home. The floorboards were cracked. The supplies were most likely damaged. The mast had split and the flag that whipped through the air in every day of its life stopped waving. That’s when I thought of something funny. “Louis?” “Yeah?” “Why is my tail this color?” The question came to my friend as a puzzling factor. Trying the best he could, he explained; “From what I know of, it’s all genetics. My mum’s tail is aquamarine and my dad was dark blue. They came together so I’ve got teal. Now for yours … I don’t know.” “Look at my flag,” I said, pointing to the moistened fabric that was a proud specimen of the Farraige before the sinking. “It’s red and purple and so is my tail. How does that connect?” Louis knew everything I knew-nothing. “I’m not sure. The book never said anything about color schemes.” We concluded it was a mystery that had to be left alone. On another subject, the two of us contemplated how we were going to travel throughout the kingdom. By the time we’d make it to who-knows-where, our faces would have been up for a search warrant and arrest. The guards would take Louis for associating with a human and me for being the human. In the end, neither of us knew where to go until I suggested somewhere. “Why don’t you show me your place?” “What?” Louis scoffed, “no! My mother will kill me.” I retorted, “then this king, ruler, or whatever you call it will kill us first.” Technically, both of us were correct. After news would break out, Louis and I would’ve been hunted down for sure. That being said, you should never underestimate the power of a mother. Let along, we didn’t even know if she was aware of the incident or not. Since Louis admitted he snuck out to meet me, he’d certainly receive his consequences as soon as he’d return back home. Everything was a mess.Our situation only grew more troubling when we remembered that I was on a time limit. The spell would start up complications if the time ran out in the middle of our adventure together. I knew little to nothing about how to swim. Whether I could play the merman traits off and still make it to dry land on time was yet another question to add on top of the others. However, there was not a single person to reveal that I was truly a human except for Louis and myself. I made a note to keep the secrets close. Moments drew by with contemplation and planning until Louis finally announced.“Well then, Harry;” he put his hands on his scaly hips; “If you’re going to meet my mother, you’ll have to practice your swimming first.”
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Harry POV
I’m not much of a water person. Yet the one home I ever came to love was my beloved ship. Now that it bit the dust and surrendered the depths of the ocean, I had nothing better to do than to learn how to swim. There was something about the activity that seemed bitter to me. Swimming is similar to riding a bike, only without the machinery. Surely, once you learn, you never forget but it’s hard to say that once you turn into half-man, half-fish. Thanks to Louis, who encouraged me the entire way, I was able to pass as an average merman. For once, I was swimming with the fishes. Everything was alright though, in the back of my mind, I reminded myself that birds fly, snakes slither, fish swim and humans walk. I digressed as Louis held onto my side during our adventure back to his home. “You’re getting the hang of it,” he said; “I’m proud of you.” “Thanks,” I replied. My brain sparked with a pun. Without even thinking, I joked “looks like you really hooked me up!” A cheeky smile formed on my face when a frown curved on Louis’s. He wasn’t laughing. Guilt struck within me once I realized I should’ve never said that. After all, fishing would not be considered as a joke to those who are practically related to them. I stopped kicking my tail so I could apologize. “Sorry,” mumbled and I meant it. “It’s OK,” Louis replied and I hoped he meant it.I was going to add on to my apology when a ball interrupted the thought of it. The object was sent flying towards us and Louis rushed me to the side to avoid the impact. We got out of the way just in time. Soon after, a group of young merboys swam over from a nearby sandbank, searching for their lost ball. Keeping his distance, the one with the purple tail shouted; “Sorry! Can you send it back?” “Of course,” Louis went to retrieve what almost hurt us, “just be careful next time!” With a jerk of the hand, he sent the ball down his trail of scales. Eventually, the ball made it to the flipper of his tail and Louis flicked it away from him. The ball was sent flying away from us, managing to sail closer to the merboys who were more than happy to have gotten their ball back. I looked to my friend with a blank expression. He returned the gaze as if he didn’t understand that I had no idea what he just did. Finally, Louis retorted with a laugh and a shake of the head. “Tailball-it’s a fun sport until someone gets hurt.” I repeated, “Tailball?” “Yeah,” he paused; “Don’t you play sports where you come from?” “Well, of course. There are plenty of sports where I come from but I think you mean football.” “Football?” It was Louis’s turn to act surprised. I was shocked at first but then I realized that merfolk vocabulary can’t be as much different as the human’s vocabulary. “Or soccer, depending on the country.” “Oh,” Louis prolonged the expression; “So we kick the ball with our tails and you kick with your foot?” “Appears so,” I nodded my head for emphasis. “Funny,” Louis shook off the discussion and we continued our journey to Louis’s home.
. . .
I’ve heard of disturbing tales that involve persons exerting a conniption. Of course, all I could recall of those stories was what remains of the fury that was set ablaze. I never seen one and I wasn’t expecting to by the time I met Louis’s mother. Dashing out of the cave, a mermaid with long brunette hair rushed to hug my friend. Caught off guard, Louis was jolted away from my side as he released his supporting hold on me. We came a long way from my ship. I was lucky enough to have gained a sort of practice. “Louis! By gosh, you came back!” The mother clung to her son.Louis returned the embrace but not without a struggling breath from the tightness. When the mermaid pulled back, a frown replaced her joyous grin. Anger had thrown through her eyebrows. Her gills frizzed out. At that moment, I saw the definition of conniption. Just as I had suspected, it was not pretty.“Where were you, Louis? You’d have the whole neighborhood looking for you! Are you crazy?!”“Mum, please,” Louis tried to explain but his mother caught him to it.“No! Don’t you understand?! I couldn’t bear if something happened to you! I’ve been worried sick!”“Ma, I don’t think it’s best to do this out in the open;” Louis tried to reason the situation by pulling the attention over to something else; “especially when we have a guest over.”“Guest? Wha-” All eyes turned to me. The mermaid observed me, transferring from anger to poise. I didn’t know if she was ready to meet the reason for Louis’s late nights out but he introduced me nonetheless.“Mum, I’d like you to meet my new friend.” Louis swam over to my side as if he was presenting me to his beloved (and bipolar) parent.“You snuck out to meet this man? You never told me you had a friend! What’s his name? I’ll make him cry!” She swam closer to me for emphasis.“Ma-” Louis opened his mouth as if he would object her view of me but I interrupted him before he could begin.“Harry, ma’am;” I ignored her rude accusation; “Sorry to have come at this circumstance.”“Quite alright, now that my son is home, all if forgiven. I’m Johannah, by the way. Now, let’s go inside and I’ll treat you to some sponge cakes.” Louis’s mother shook my hand before showing us inside.From the way Johannah reacted, we were relieved to have predicted that she did not suspect a thing. The truth was twisted, turned and made into mush. From that moment on, I was known as Louis’s friend-not a partner in crime. Somehow, it was a better excuse to elope with a friend than to swim away to a human. Louis and I were even more grateful to discover that the knowledge of our upbringing and becoming fugitives from the law was unheard of. We were safe for the most part, at least for the moment.The cave Louis and his mother resigned in was a home that I would never imagine existing. The walls consisted of rocks. The furniture was promising with curtains and rugs that were sewn together with what looked like kelp. My ability of scent was unavailable, though my gills noted the pleasant waters that surrounded the area. Johannah cooked up the sponge cakes as promised, serving them on a plate that was not completely similar to those on land.At first, I did not know how to eat like a merman. I had only been one for an hour or so. That being said, my education was low for these standards. Watching Louis devouring his food, I tried my best to replicate his actions. Eating was not as hard as I thought but it felt strange because of the gills on the sides of my throat. Let alone the sponge cakes were soft, yet scaly.Louis’s mother noticed how quiet it had become, so she acted on it. “So, Harry, where do you live?”Shoot, I thought, silently praying that lying was a specialty of mine. “Oh, east of here,” I muttered; “a couple neighborhoods away.”“Hmm,” Johannah retorted, nodding her head. Nice work, Harry.“And how old are you?”“20.” Even better.“Ah,” Johannah swallowed the last of her sponge cake. “Well it was nice having you over, Harry.”I nodded my head as a thankful gesture but Louis’s mother quickly turned her expression into a threatening scowl.“Though, I do not appreciate coming home to find my son missing without a word or a note. Tell me, Louis, what is the reason for your shenanigans?” She glared at her son with her hands on her hips.“Oh, you know,” Louis tried to play it off smoothly; “Just stupid, silly stuff. Nothing important.”The mermaid’s eyes boggled as she made her way towards the sink. “Well, I just hope the stupid, silly stuff you were doing was not what I think it is.”Nothing was replied to her. However, her line got me thinking about the bad stuff that could have been thought of to have Louis in this suspicion. Where I came from, teenagers snuck out to do what was considered addicting and naughty; I wouldn’t know if merpeople did the same and, if I wanted to find out, I could not do it then and there.“I might as well wash these dishes then,” Johannah sat her tray down and turned around to speak to her son. “Louis, can you be a dear and check the pantry for me? I don’t think we’ve ran out of sea salt.”“Sure thing,” Louis said while he started to rise from the table.I looked back at him with beaming eyes. Screaming, I internally shouted for him to come back but he would not. He couldn’t, simply because of his mother’s wishes. Louis obeyed, trusting that I would be safe on my own after all of the lies I had set upon. Swimming away, he left me alone with his mother. It was the most dangerous decision that could ever occur.Sitting there at the dining table, quietly as ever, I waited for what was to come. If Johannah wanted to have a conversation with me, I would’ve welcomed it but with a sense of discomfort because of the pile of lies I would add on. Thankfully, nothing was particularly said. Not so thankfully, Louis’s mother started to hum. The melody was soft and quiet but the tone came to me as loud and attention-getting. By the time Johannah had finished the dishes and turned around, she saw my interested gaze that was directed towards her.She squeezed her eyes tighter at me and then she called for me. “Harry?”I shook my head, confused but paying attention. “Yes?”“Is there something wrong?” she asked me.“No,” I mumbled; “No.” A long pause began, causing the mermaid and me to stare blankly at each other. Hoping to interrupt the awkwardness, I commented, “I liked your cooking.”“Thank you,” Louis’s mum replied. The quiet had set in again. Slowly, Johannah’s eyes glared again. Her expression looked like it was right between the edge of suspicion and conniption again. Swimming closer to me, she made sure that the distance between me and her was short for her upcoming confrontation.With a voice that beamed with interrogation, she said “OK. You’re not telling me something.”This caught me by surprise. “What do you mean?”“I think you know what I mean. The real question is if you’re telling me the truth.”“I don’t understand,” honestly, I didn’t. I was going to say something in order to calm her down but she beat me to the punch.“I saw the way you ate. I heard you stuttering when you answered my questions. I saw how you stared at me just now. And, frankly, I don’t believe you are what you say you are.”“Ma’am, I-”“No. Enough sweet talk, lad. No more lies. Just who are you anyway?”The gut inside of me knew that she caught me. I was doomed from the start and it all came down to this. Whether I was a bad liar or not wasn’t exactly the point anymore. My brain scrambled for a way that I could escape what was on the horizon. Johannah would find out about the real me sooner or later. All I could do was hope that she would never discover the truth. With every silent second, I was a step away from passing the finish line. Louis was nowhere in sight. He couldn’t help me. I was on my own.Taking a deep breath, I decided to speak the basics. “I told you. My name is Harry. I’m a merman.”“Really?” Johannah crossed her arms, “are you sure?”I nodded my head. If I was going to tell her anything, it was going to be what I had already told her. What I wasn’t expecting was Louis’s mother putting it to the test. Everything started to plunder once she opened her mouth. I had the slightest clue that her dish-washing melody was a parody without the lyrics. The reveal was quite foolish of me because I had heard it all before. Her long, brown hair and aquamarine tail was an addition to the mix. The humming sounded quite familiar. It sounded hypnotic and traumatizing. Something I heard from long ago. Something from when I was eight years old.
Louis POV
“Mum!” I called from the pantry. “You’re right! We’re out of sea salt!”“Should he return in povertyFrom o’er the ocean far,To my tender bosomI’ll press my jolly tar.” “Mum?!”“My sailor is as smilingAs the pleasant month of MayAnd often we have wanderedThrough Radcliffe Highway.” Whatever I had heard came as a faint sound which was much less than what it truly was. Thinking that my mother simply did not hear me, I decided to return to the kitchen. As I flicked my tail behind me, I continued down the hallway. The melody grew louder and louder, becoming clearer to me.“Many pretty blooming,Young girl we did beholdReclining on the bosomOf her jolly sailor bold.” Upon entering the kitchen, I saw what the result of when I was gone was. My mother, belting out her murderous tune, was serenating my curly haired friend. The epiphany came to me like a brick. She was singing the siren’s song which could only mean one thing. Harry’s discovery as a disguised human was on the line. The transformation spell did wonders for my friend but it was not strong enough to fool reality. Immediately, I regretted ever leaving Harry alone.“My heart is pierced by Cupid.I disdain all glittering gold.There is nothing can console meBut my jolly sailor bold.” “Mum!” I shouted; “No! Stop this!” I rushed to her side. “Just look at him;” my mother ended her song to mock her victim. “Obedient as krill; you brought home a human!” For an instant, I thought I could think of a comeback at her by correcting her description, saying that he was a pirate and a human, but that would have caused more trouble one way or another. Not in the mood to explain how it was possible, the both of us watched her doing unravel from his trance. Harry eye’s lowered, returning to normal. A few breaths were exerted until his memory sparked.Harry’s eyebrows arched and his finger pointed as he swam up from the table. “You! It was you!” he shouted, confronting my mother, who was in shock from his reaction.A fist gathered at the end of Harry’s arm. He was most certainly ready to attack my mum with a thundering blow, but she coward away, for her victim became a frightening manifesto of accusations. Harry had her cornered in the kitchen, waiting for the right moment to strike. The truth was finally spoken. “You killed my father, you fish!”Everything came together, similar to a puzzle that had completed the big picture. Quickly, Harry flew into a rage, eager to punish my mother for her crime from long ago. He was sure to not have his father’s death in vain but I couldn’t stand to see my mother being assaulted, no matter what was the cause of it. I shouted for Harry to stop but nothing could be heard over the anger he was exerting. Scrambling for a solution, I remembered a very special ability I kept close to me. With a wave of the hand, I sent the surrounding waters to gather between my mum and Harry. I expanded the current in order to separate the two. Harry continued to throw punches. My mum was just happy enough to catch a break. I jolted the merpersons farther away from each other, still carrying on with my water bending skills. Eventually, Harry tired himself out from his swings that never got to complete his revenge. I was surprised he was not shocked at my ability to pull them apart. The currents I created led him to the front door of my home. I pressed him up against the frame, signaling him to get away while he could.Releasing my hold on Harry, he regained his strength to let himself out. Relieved that he escaped with a head start, I turned to my mother who was tired out in the corner. I held the water around her form so she could not move. I decided to start my own interrogation on her.“Mum,” I spoke sternly. “Is this true?”Regarding her career as a siren, she regained her composure. “I don’t remember who I take down.”I kept the currents holding her down as strong as ever. I swam closer to her, hoping that with a more direct contact she would confess more to me. I saw the bruises forming on her skin. Clearly, Harry meant business.“We go for the man, not the child. There was one kid, years ago. Harry looked familiar so I sang to him.”“Well look where that’s got us, ma!” I shook my head for emphasis.I was completely disgusted yet amazed. The same persona that stole my friend’s deceased father was the same person to call herself my mother. I glanced over to the entrance of the cave. From what I predicted, Harry was either making great distance or struggling with his tail. Heading for the door, I continued to hold my mother down. I was just about ready to bolt away when I heard my mum heaving out a breath.“I was wrong, Louis. I was wrong.”I turned back. What she said next hurt like a stone to the stomach.“I should have never married that soldier.” With sadness, anger and regret building up inside me, I decided to let her go as soon as I exited the cave. My tail ached with every kick and sway. Watching the bubbles form in the distance, I approached the scene hoping to find my human friend and mum’s attacker. He was pacing about the coral reefs with a tedious cringe on his face. Harry, too, was angry. I joined him and his mindless rant.“I can’t believe this. I cannot believe this. Why the-, what the-, how?”“Harry,” I said but he ignored me.“She’s the one! She’s the one who murdered him! I can’t believe it. A demon served me lunch.”Appalled by the saying (and the previous offence), I revealed my fury to him. “Hey! My mother is not a demon. Sure, she’s killed a man or two but she was just doing her job! And don’t you forget you’re not the only one without a father!”Everything stopped. Harry stopped his agitated pacing to look at me. I could feel my face reddening and my hands that were clutched into fists. For all I knew, angry bubbles were rising above me like a fire that defied the laws of hydrology. Harry was quiet and so was I. While my angry expression continued, my friend had calmed down enough to speak.He was hesitant at first and then, with caution, he tried his best to put his words out. “You … don’t … have a-”I shook my head. Even Harry knew that the word would offend me even more. Although he could obviously reserve my emotions, he asked me about what had happened in the easiest way he could without angering me to an extent. I took a deep breath. The second I let it all out, my chest buckled. I could have cried had we not been under the sea. However, my dignity won overall. If Harry was going to ask a question, I was going to answer it. He was the underwater kingdom’s only hope. According to the truce we agreed to, I had to give him credit as he would for me.Finding my words, I began to tell the story of my father. “Battle of the North Atlantic Gyre; the military was sent to control the riots that gathered in that area of the ocean. My dad was a water bending soldier for the kingdom. He would get called to action whenever he was needed. Took his shift and never came back.”My friend was quiet. He did not have to say anything. I continued nonetheless.“Harry, when I pulled you away from attacking my mum, I never touched you. I sent a current out so I could force you out the door. My dad’s traits were passed down to me when I was born. He’s the reason I have this power. And if anyone finds out about it, I won’t be a servant to the ruler anymore. I’d be a soldier against my will and I don’t want that to happen.Harry was astonished. It was almost as if he suddenly remembered why he could not bring more damage to my mother. He looked to me for more. I concluded my statement.“My father is the reason I can waterbend. That is the reason I can’t tell anyone. My mum is all I got. Siren or not, she’s all I’ve got.”The silence returned again. The memory of my dad came back to me in a way that should have been forgotten long ago. I should have never married that soldier. My mother’s words were uncalled for yet, somehow, I agreed with her. If it wasn’t for my father, I wouldn’t have to hide my skills from the public. I’d have the freedom to do as I wished without risking the matter of sending me off to the military. I’d become a soldier without consent. I cursed at the matter. The eye contact me and Harry had slowly faded away as my friend lowered his gaze. I did not know if he was embarrassed or completely apologetic but he murmured just the same.“I’m sorry. It’s just … been 12 years.”Harry mourned over his father as I did for mine. I approached my friend, putting my hand on his shoulder. What was left of our anger was gone now. Mourn and suffering followed. I apologized for his dad while he apologized for mine. We sort of stayed near the coral reef for a few quiet moments. None of us would say anything. Of course, no one wanted to make the first move. Too much had happened to even make up for the mess.Suddenly, it got awkward. “Wait a minute. Louis, how were you born?”“What?” I said, too stunned to contribute to what he was saying.“It’s really stupid to ask this now but how are merpeople … born?” I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. My head jiggled for a split-second, trying to figure out the best way to explain the natural process of the creation of life. My eyes squinted from the effort. In the end, I was bustling with short fragments. “Well … it’s sort of … it goes like … how do I say this?” “Yes?” “It-well, it’s … like … you sort of-” “How do you do it?” Harry repeated, eager to at least receive some answer from out of me. Struggling on the simplest factor that no one could understand, I finally summed it up the best I could. “Well … we kind of just hug each other.” Curiosity overwhelmed Harry the moment I said it. Along with his confusion, his face wrinkled with a sense of uncertainty. I was quiet until he came up with the brilliant idea. “Can you show me somehow?” “Harry,” I scoffed, amazed that he would suggest such an astonishing activity. “Just a quick one, if it’s alright. Please?” A smirk edged at the end of my mouth. I sighed, knowing that his wonders would not be quenched until I took the time to show him the ropes. Swaying my tail to the side, I put myself in a position that faced Harry head-on. I stayed close to him as well. Granted Harry had no idea what was supposed to happen, I started at the beginning. I swayed closer to my friend, raising my arms for an embrace. I had my hands reach around his back. Our chests came in contact with each other. My head rested on his side. Harry’s head did the same but in respects of my direction. As for my tail, I replicated the sexual conduct that made it possible for the generation of merfolk to continue throughout the centuries. The flipper wrapped around my partner’s tail, having the teal scales blend in with the purple and red. Harry caught onto the notion. He did the same for his tail, sending it around the lower half of my body. For whatever the reason, our embrace lasted longer than expected. What was awkward got even weirder. I showed Harry how it was done but I decided to let him decide how it would end. Harry’s question was answered but he did not pull back. My head came back to see what his reaction was. Instead of a visage that had just been quenched from his curiosity, I saw a smile curl at his lips. It was ironic because I was smiling as well. Friendship and love is weird to say the least. Even I could not describe the whereabouts of both parties. Our moment became gruesome when we heard our names being called out by the one we left behind. “Louis? Harry?” It was my mother. “Louis? Where are you?” I could have sprained my tailbone from how quickly I unraveled myself from Harry. Using my hands, I gripped onto Harry’s side so he could follow me behind the thick hills of the coral reefs. “Harry? Louis?”“We’ve got to go,” I whispered. “Go?” Harry repeated quietly; “Go where?” For all I knew, my mum would have her missing son up on the front page of the news along with an article about suspected shenanigans with a mysterious friend with curly hair. Harry and I had to escape before anyone would get a hold of us-I knew that for sure.Stating that we had to leave, I told Harry, “Somewhere where they won’t follow us.”“And where is that?” Harry looked to me for answers.I was stumped without a single plan of action. Then, remembering the forbidden land, I found our answer: up.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Harry POV
Sneaking away from Louis’s mother was a piece of cake (or sand cake to be fishily specific). The siren who killed my father continued to search for us while we turned in the other direction. We followed up the cave wall as Louis had successfully done before. Upon reaching the surface, both of us knew that we were more than just fugitives from the law. Louis was the merman who swam away from home and I was a pirate who lost his ship and saw what a human was not allowed to see. Using our arms to our best advantage, we crawled along the shore of the beach. According to Louis, this was where he put his transformation spell to the test before he spotted the Farraige. I found it quite ironic, yet I couldn’t boast any intentions. For a moment, it made me wonder what would happen if he had not rested on this particular beach. If it wasn’t for Louis, I wouldn’t have discovered the truth. The level of gratitude I had for him was too high to be true so I kept it hidden to an extent. Since there were no signs of human contact, Louis and I sat on the shore for a fair amount of time. Louis gave me a brief warning about what was called drying up. Having fear that it would happen to us, we stayed put. Louis, however, remembered that he was not the only one in need of a makeover. Louis inched himself back into the ocean in search for what was needed for him to turn into a human.Before he took a dive, I called out to him. “Hey! When does this spell wear off?” “Depends on how much you ate!” Louis shouted back, “You didn’t take much so just wait!” Without another word, he dived into the sea. While I waited for my fish friend to return, I found the spur of the moment to slowly descend into boredom. I looked down to what were soon to be my legs. A wave splashed against my fin as I observed my scales. The red and purple hues gave me a pint of nostalgia. The ship that once ruled the high seas in those vibrant colors had sunk to the bottom of its adventurous landscape. It was up to me to find another floating vessel to call home. While another dose of water spurred up my tail, a gloomy expression filled my body. I missed my crew. I missed my Farraige. And, above all, I missed my father.It did not take long for him to return. In one hand, he grasped at a fish that dangled like a slobbery mush of trout. He was struggling to catch up to my spot because of the darkened sky. I imagined that the morning sun would rise in a few hours or so. Louis made it by my side but he continued to pass me as if he was heading for somewhere else.I asked, “Where are you going?”“Dry sand,” he replied; “I need dry sand.”“What for?”Louis sassed, “To slay the loch ness monster; what do you think?”I gave myself a face palm. I’m not the only one turning human, you know. Louis scooped up a handful of dry sand and sprinkled it along the fish he had grabbed. From mouth to gills to fin, I watched him start the magic. Then, with a deep breath, Louis encouraged himself to take a bite. I watched him sink his teeth into the organism and even I cringed. I thought to myself how disgusted it must have tasted. Louis visage corrected my imagination. He gulped and shook out a chill. Even a merman could tell if a fish was raw and unsatisfying. My friend made it all the way to the bone before he stopped. He chewed slowly and swallowed with a frown. I looked away for a moment when I saw that he did not necessarily feel comfortable about receiving an unpleasant amount of attention. I heard the fish splashed against the water when Louis flung it away from him. Afterwards, he inched himself forward to return to the sea again. He flipped his teal tail into the water and sat by my side while his grimacing expression faded away. While we waited for the transformation spell to kick in, Louis and I plotted out a few ideas for our trip on land. Based on our location, I knew that we were near a section of a river. To be geographically speaking, a path down the river would lead us to the city of London. Although it would be considered as the classic hometown I once grew up in, it was also determined as the most dangerous place for a pirate to be. There was no doubt that the discovery of my history would preserve me a spot in prison. Even though it was an obstacle to overcome, I decided to set it aside for the time being. Besides, I already knew that I could burn the bridge once I got to it.Somehow, our very heated discussion revolved itself around sex education (mermaid edition to be exact). Of course, Louis had already showed me the procedure to start it all but the actually birth of a merbaby puzzled me. My friend tried his best to explain.“Now, how you get the merbaby out is called a c section. They have to cut the baby out in order for the baby to be born. I know it sounds disgusting but that’s how it’s done.” “Oh, I get it;” I nodded my head, showing that I understood to a certain measure. “Yeah, so, practically, we’re fine.”I was glad to learn that we wouldn’t have a baby after our temporary embrace. Though, I would admit, the idea would be an adorable scene to behold. My imagination prolonged enough for another pun to make up itself.Just for the fun of it, I said, “More like a sea section!” Louis shook his head, crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. “You’re so corny.” “But it was funny, right?” “Ye-OW!” Louis shouted out in a sudden form of pain. He flung himself in the sand while another wave splashed along the shore. “Louis?! What?” I watched the merman flinch and turn to the side. “W-working! Ah!” Louis summed it up and I became quiet. Another gut-wrenching moan was exerted as Louis wailed his body over. The transformation spell began to work the magic, splitting his tail along a gradual half. The scales faded away to form into layers of skin. I watched the long, waving flipper shorten into a pair of feet. At the bent of the tail, a pair of knees followed as well as a long stretch of thighs. Regarding Louis’s lower regions, the multitude of scales disappeared. What remained was a bum in the air-and a fantastic one at that. “Holy crap!” “What?” Louis sighed, “What’s wrong?” “You’re butt! Oh my gosh!” “My what?” He tilted his head with a puzzling visage. Instead of speaking directly, I motioned over to his bottom without necessarily touching the rounded structure. He caught on but he was still did not understand. Louis sat up and perched his knees to his chest to cover his privates. I was astonished anyway. “How did I not notice that before? I bet you could bounce a shilling on that!” “Is that what humans call a compliment?”I had not realized that my open thoughts could have been considered as offensive. However, by the work of masterpiece Louis possessed, I was shocked to see that he did not quite interpret his gift. I apologized nonetheless. “Yeah, well, maybe. Sorry, it’s just you have a really good bum.” “Thank you,” Louis replied but he still resembled how unsure he was. A few minutes had passed before I received my share of pain. It was a shock to have slept through the start of the transformation but the spell certainly decided to take its toll on me. My tail split just as it did for Louis. However, because my hormones were returning back to normal, I found relief from the shocks and pinches. My bones formed back into their original shapes and lengths. My skin, too, found its way up again. By the time all the irritating sensations had subsided, I was just glad to have gained the ability to walk again. Sadly, I could not say the same for my friend. Louis tried to follow me as I stood up on my knees. I picked myself up. Despite the struggling start, I found a way to stand on my two feet. Louis did his best to replicate me but he would slip into the sand again. It was at that point when I became a teacher. I bent forward to help Louis at least get a start on his feet. His arms wrapped around my torso in fear that he would fall down and hurt himself. I doubted that only because the sand was soft below us. I managed to get my friend to stand despite the shaking release. Once he managed to keep still on his balance, I decided it was best to show him what had to be done. I modeled off the walking gesture, stepping along a few feet ahead. I turned around and saw the lack of confidence Louis was experiencing. I couldn’t blame him. For a man who lived his life under water, it was no wonder he did not know what made a crawling baby a striding toddler. As simply as I could, I told him, “Put one foot in front of the other, then do it again with the other foot.” “How?” Louis mumbled. He did not understand. It was agreeable. Even I knew that the power of words can only go so far. Teaching was not my best profession so I took a route that went step by step in the process. I returned to Louis’s side so we were parallel to each other. I motioned for him to observe my feet and then I took a step forward. Louis followed very slowly yet he showed progress. Holding out my hand, I offered him an assisted balance. He took it without a second thought. I then took another step forward but with regards to my other foot. Louis replicated it without a problem. Now that he had seen the idea of it, I started at a regular pace. Since Louis was right by my side and holding my hand, he had no other choice but to follow. There was a stumble at first but Louis soon found the trick to the movement. We continued to walk slowly away from the shore. Exponentially, Louis was improving step by step. Soon, I came to the point of not having to hold his hand anymore. Louis did not stir at all but he turned his head to me. We stared at each other for a few seconds until I rotated my head to the side. I gazed back at the beach and saw what had become of our footprints. “See how far we’ve come?” I noted, pointing at the sunken trail we left behind. Louis was fascinated by the markings that were illuminated by the rising sun. Based on the smile across his face, I saw what could have been described as newly found sense of pride for Louis had taken his first steps. I was proud of him too. While I continued to plan our mission out, I came across a sudden epiphany that was crucial for any public appearance. Although the transformation spell took its course successfully, it did not grant us with any form of clothing. As far as I was concerned, if a forsaken pirate and an amateur human were to walk into town, they’d have to do it in disguise. I knew this because the city of London is not a nudist facility. The idea of hiding among the crowd was our predicament. Luckily, I found our solution swaying in the breeze. Not far from the shores of the beach, a little cottage was planted near the sandy stretches and grassy plains. Even though I had lived my recent life on the high seas, I was very familiar with damp clothes hanging up to dry. A variety of shirts, undergarments and breeches were pinned up on a line that extended from the household. Since this was our immediate solution, Louis and I raided the laundry as quietly as possible. Whether the owners were home was a mystery we did not want to discover. Louis got his hands on a white shirt and black trousers. I found a pair of brown breeches that had faded in the sun as well as a white shirt that was ruffled at the sleeves. Based on the slim sizes and different types of clothes displayed, we predicted that the house was a home to a family that consisted of a set of parents and teenagers. The shirts revealed that there were boys in the family. The drying petticoats brought up the idea of females. As for the reason for their absence, the idea of school and work came about. We were grateful to say the least. Because of the lack of shoes and widened waistbands, Louis and I had to find a quick solution to our fashion disaster. There was a small hut that resigned in the neighbor’s yard. When we cupped our hands around our eyes, we saw that the area consisted of a work space. Hanging on the wall was a batch of rope. Aside the door was pairs of working shoes. Although there was a rusted lock on a sturdy wooden door, nothing could stop me from busting a window. I found a rock nearby that was big enough for the job. Flinging it over, the glass crackled in an instant. Crawling myself inside of the frame was a difficult task. I was just lucky enough that my clothes protected me from most of the shards. I ordered Louis to stand guard outside while I searched for usable resources. Snagging the rope, I wrapped it around the top of my breeches and tied it tight. I sent the rest of it out the window and, after using the shoes to sweep the broken glass aside, I threw them out as well. To be honest, crawling out from where I invaded was not any less difficult as the entry. Louis fitted himself in the shoes and complained that it was too big. I tried my set on and found that it was too small. Upon this, we traded. Louis’s pair came more as a comfort but not to a large extent because of his first time experiences of being a human. My shoes were wide on the sides but I convinced myself I would get used to it. My friend and I scurried away from the premises before the owners would arrive home. Just as planned, we made it to the river and followed along its path in hopes of reaching London.I noticed how Louis staggered along, uncomfortable and fidgeting with his roped belt. I noted, “Not the best fitting outfit in the world, but it’ll have to do.” “This isn’t right,” Louis fidgeted as he walked; “Am I supposed to feel this way?” I saw that he was focusing on his nether regions. It was quite obvious that he was uncomfortable about the whereabouts of his manhood.I assured him that he would be fine, saying “you’ll forget about it soon enough.” “If you say so; now let’s find us a ship.” “What?” I looked to him, confused; “What do you mean?” “Well a pirate needs a ship, doesn’t he?” My friend was getting ahead of himself. I had to imply the facts. “Yes but you can’t just go out in the middle of broad daylight to get one.” Louis paused for a moment. He thought about it then asked, “Oh, then how would you find one?” “We wait till night falls when everyone’s asleep. That’s how I got the Farraige, at least.” I remembered that night. The boys and I escaping the orphanage to ransack a trading ship was the best idea had ever succeeded with. If it wasn’t for that night, I would have rotten in some hellhole that I would have call a home. I wouldn’t have preferred that life not even in the slightest. But now that my beloved Farraige and crew were gone, I had to find a new home. With hope by my side, I imagined that, by the time the sun would shine over our heads, we would be on our way to London sooner than we’d know it. By any luck, we’d find a shipping dock to steal away in the night and I could get back to living off the sails again. There was also the idea of finding a new crew to manage. Although I missed the boys dearly, I knew that it would be yet another adventure to seek for the taking.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Harry POV
Rustic brick towers impale the sky. Countless ships sail along the river and out to sea. The stench of horse residue fills the nostrils of every street corner. Even of four years absence, I could still recognize the summer aroma of mid-colonial London. With every step I took, the nostalgia drew a slash in the center of my diaphragm. It was either that or my oversized footwear. Our clothing would not matter, though. Our main objective was to enter into town casually and unnoticed.Imagine a pair of fugitive boys strolling down the street. They are obviously lost, but they are acting as if they know where they are going just for the sake of blending in. Simply adventuring off the road to visit the heart of a European fantasy, the boys would be Louis and me, but there was no fantasy. If anything, we were on a mission that could only be accomplished in the night. So we were just passing the time. Louis eyed anything and everything as we walked. It did not surprise me. I think any merman who was granted the chance to parade around on legs for the first time would love to explore a city founded on history and culture.I, on the other hand, was frightened. Even though my hands were free and my feet unbound, I could already feel the shackles clasping around me. If piracy was not in my judgment, I thought the reports of a missing sixteen year old from the orphanage would cover my persona. Right from the start, I figured one glance at an officer would earn me a spot in jail and an appointment with the guillotine. With every chance I got, I kept a broad lookout for hiding spots and crowds. Anywhere that was unnoticeable or carried a large group of people was in my favor. I did not think my continuous worry was unnecessary until Louis tapped me on the shoulder. He wondered aloud, “What’s the matter, Harry?” “Nothing,” I claimed; “Nothing.” “Are you sure?” Louis continued to pry. Gallivanting about with city-goers around is not the exact place or moment in time to discuss a serious problem. We reached a corner of an intersection, so I led Louis off to the side of the path. I could only hope that none of the passing carriages could intervene. I tried to explain quietly. “Nothing; I just don’t want to get caught, OK?” Louis was quiet for a few seconds, and then reworded his question. “What’s there to worry about?” My eyes showed my own frustration. “Aren’t you forgetting that I am a fugitive?” I whispered angrily. “I am a fugitive to the police and I am a runaway to the government. Do you understand? If they find me, they’ll have my head and we’ll never find our way to the ocean again.” “But, Harry,” Louis protested, “If you escaped years ago, who’s to remember you now?” I opened my mouth to reply. Nothing came out. For all I knew, I had the world on my shoulders when it was practically a feather. His statement had me thinking and its conclusion was simple and just.“Maybe you’re right,” I retorted; “Let’s just stay away from the home, alright?”
. . .
A rumbling in our stomachs caused a sudden surge of hunger for both of us. It was at that point I realized that the only thing we had eaten that day was raw, sandy fish. We could not stroll around London forever. Suspicion would arise, after all. So, out added pastime started with the search for a restaurant or a market. From what I remembered, the streets of London could not be replaced within a blink of an eye. Of course, being raised freely with a friend of dad did not exactly educate me on a scale of direction. I simply had two feet and a memory to come by. The skies above us gradually evolved into a splurge of gray. According to past memories, darkened clouds meant a storm was brewing. Eventually, perhaps an hour later (give or take), Louis and I came across a corner pub otherwise known as the Duchess Tavern. In my eight year old eyes, it was the roughest, most ragged place to witness. Although my father was a sailor at hear, he had forbidden me to ever set foot in that place. However, granted that I was an orphan that now lived without much supervision other than mine own I saw no problem to have a few drinks and getting out of the pending rain. Entering the Duchess Tavern resulted in a vast assortment of sights and sounds. Louis’ expression grew wide with astonishment when his eyes glanced about the sea of customers. A few men, civilized with cigars and bourbon on the rocks, were trenched under their lips with salvaging their afternoon with a game of poker. The bartender handled glasses of foreign cream liquor with car. A band of worn-out patrons were having the time of their lives round-housing each other to the grave. I glanced back at Louis, who was lost in amazement. Yes, human society is a bit drier than the fathoms of the fish merfolk. Now, how to get a drink? Evolving into a pirate is quite similar to having a foxlike turmoil. Quiet, stealth, lean and cunning are all of the characteristics needed to get the job done. So I rubbernecked the tavern. I knew that there ought to be someone somewhere who had enough or at least were slowing down. Louis watched me stare blankly down. Louis watched me stare blankly until I finally came across the target. An older mister with a beard that curled down to his upper chest had just set down his drink to fumble with the wrinkles of his forehead. Past experiences gave me the bright acknowledgement that he was going down with a headache. I noticed that his current drink was conjoined with another a few inches away from the other. I motioned for Louis to follow me. I approached him calmly, reminding myself that trickery was the key for this operation. “Tally-hoe, fellow;” I greeted, ensuring my voice had a kick in the accent. “Waa-” the man bellowed crustily. He had already lost his senses without even acknowledging the fact that his pause was stretched, “… Doo dye want, eihrish mon?” Irish. Brilliant. The object of my voice was not too significant. My accent fooled the man. That was all that mattered.“Lad, I’m sorry to see ya’ down and about. I believe you’ve had enough.”The grown man hazed his eyes for a moment. I took the time to wait for his response by turning my head over to Louis. I nudged my head slightly with a wink of an eye and a curve of the brow. He got the message clearly, and then directed his stance past the man I was speaking to. My friend was sure to be quiet. I was confident to distract the poor drunken fellow for a few drinks. “Waa chu meeans? Eimm nah don-” I did not let my eyesight wander. By the time he had finished his sentence, Louis was carrying the man’s two drinks away from the scene. Mission accomplished; now to finish this off.“Aye, ya’ are. I’m sorry, mate.” The man stretched out his neck, pointed his finger, and belted out. “Balluuks, I om naht druunnnckah!” I stood tall and unfazed. The old man, although angry and close to me, was becoming more and more distant. I could see his eyes losing dialect. His head wobbled a bit. The, the man’s conscious had finally had enough of the afternoon light. The man slumped before me in an almost perfect slumber. Directing his upper body over to the bar counter, I let him sleep with his head on his arms. I smiled proudly and sorrowfully. Sorry, mate; but I’m thirsty. Leaving the poor man to rest, I searched over the crowds of the tavern to find Louis. Eventually, I found him motioning over for my attention in the corner of the bar. I relaxed my intentions of the search to meet him where he stood. Handling the glass over to me, I was thankful that we had finally found something to fill out stomachs with after a long morning adventure. “Cheers?” I raised my glass to greet my fishy friend. “Cheers,” he replicated the gesture to clink my glass with a smile. I nodded before tilting my head back to swallow the exact liquid that got out victim in a sleepy mess. Based on the smell and the bitter taste, I could tell with temporary diagnosis that the man had spent his morning with a few pints of brandy. I found it sort of funny that he would treat an after-dinner wine as an after-breakfast beverage. It wasn’t until Louis made a gagging and coughing noise when I picked up my head from my glass. “What?” I asked, concerned.“That is disgusting!” Louis stuck out his tongue as if he was hoping to deprive himself from the substance. His eyebrows arched, “Do you drink this stuff?”“Yeah,” I replied blankly; “Wait a minute, you mean to tell me that you’ve never drank alcohol before?” “No,” Louis grimaced. He stared at his glass and pondered at me. “Apparently we don’t supply this crap down where I come from.” “Do what you can. We don’t know when we’ll fill our stomachs again, let alone if we can.” Louis did not protest any further. Remorsefully, my friend condemned himself to his survival as a human being. He tilted his glass up and drank away with frowning eyes, practically wishing he could return to his mother’s sponge cakes.
. . .
About a half an hour passed before we stepped out into the European atmosphere again. The sheet of clouds that had covered the skies before had traded its small rain storm in for another share of sunlight. I remembered this weather. Sometimes, I forgot my past life was no stranger to the subject of gloomy, precipitated scenery. Presuming, rain had left a puddle or a few down the urban streets. So, I immediately came to our next destination. Visiting the long-lost whereabouts that I had roamed through long ago had bombarded me with enough nostalgia as there was. Ever since I stepped on European ground, I was given a small knot in my stomach. Four years at sea and not knowing any familiar faces truly stepped up the awkwardness. I made an attempt to protest myself, but Louis turned to me and asked timidly what we were going to do. My heart’s uprising memories begged and pleaded to be heard. So I gradually explained what was to fill our pending afternoon. “Where are we going?” “My old home,” I replied; “but I don’t know how to get there from here.” Outside the Duchess Tavern, I realized that we did not potentially know where we were going. Our problem could be solved by a number of options. We could stroll around London and flop down tired from the search and journey of getting there; or ask for directions. Lamentably, I have a problem with social interaction. Even though I was somewhat undiscovered, it still pained me as if my reputation and life was at the risk of walking the plank. Louis wondered, “Your old home? I though you said we should stay away from the orphanage.” “I know,” I recalled; “I’m not talking about that home. I’m talking about my … house …” Even though what I said held a simplest meaning, it felt as if it was the most difficult thing to admit. It was all true, strangely. The pirate grown to adulthood once had a roof over his head instead of a mast full of sail. Louis questions me; “Where is it? Can you remember? I paused, quiet with thought. The small hut I resigned in with my father’s friend as a guardian did not have a specific address. For all I knew about the location, there was a forest grove that led up to the sand barriers and a dock I’ve been trying to forget for nearly a decade. Finally, I answered with an approximate tome. “I’m not sure. It’s about by the water. A little town called … umm …” I snapped my fingers; “Queens!” “Oh, well then;” Louis retorted with a small twitch on the corner of his mouth; “simple enough.” He took an all-around gander. There was nothing more than a few occupied carriages and a passerby or two. However, there was one frail lassie that stood alone. Her hair fell down to her waist that was cinched from her stays. Her chest was proffered out and layered by her stomacher. A wind flew by, faintly whipping the fabrics of her floor-length petticoats. I observed Louis as the wheels in his head turned. Finally, I spoke. “I’ll ask her.” He started towards the girl. “What? No!” I motioned over to stop him, but it was of no use. Louis’ back had turned away. He was ready for the unknown conspiracies of a stranger. I had no other choice. So I followed him on, footing myself behind him. “Excuse me,” Louis greeted; “do you know how to get to Queens?” “Why, no. I’m sorry to say. But I’m without an escort if you’re looking to pass the time.” Oh, no. I could feel my eyes revealing stress and surprise. Louis did not understand. “I beg your pardon?” “Oh, darling; I’m a thru’pence; Cheap for that price!” Please, Louis. Don’t say anything stupid. Eyes down. Back away slowly. Louis opened his mouth, undoubtedly to comment on her vile approach. He was suddenly stopped by a cocky persona with a pale visage and blond hair pulled back by a band. “Hey,” he thundered, “what’s going on here?” “Umm, we were jus-” “You weren’t messing around with her, were you?” “No, we we-” “Oh, don’t be silly, Francis. These gentlemen were simply asking for directions.” I was surprised to see that the lady whose intentions were to sell her backside offered to help us out of a brawl. The man who confronted us breathed his quarrel out. Louis relaxed, stepping back to stay by my side. The girl continued to find her words. “Now, where did you boys say you had to go?” “Queens,” I stated; “we need to get to Queens.” The man who when by the name of Francis held the woman back. He made contact with us in a fierce manner while he explained bitterly. “Down there,” he pointed; “follow the eastern streets until you’ve reached the sea; Head for the water while you’re at it. Come on, Darlene. The spinsters got what they wanted.” With a glare, Francis turned away, whisking Darlene away with him. She frowned while I waved good-bye. I waited for them to reach a few yards away from us before I insulted from afar. “What a prick.” Louis fell silent. His eyes continued to stare at the couple that did not seem to be very kind in our temporary cross. I watched Louis grin begin to rise. He jerked his head around. Seeing as the road we were on was not greatly occupied, he raised his hand. Francis and Darlene continued down the street. Louis waited for the perfect moment. It wasn’t until a passing carriage made it aside the couple when Louis inflicted his powers. The carriage’s wheels propelled through a small puddle caused by the rain. The splash, however, became greater than what was expected, thrashing Francis’s trousers in a most unfashionable way. Darlene squealed, trying her best to move away. Unfortunately, the hem of her skirts absorbed a small percentage of the water. With a giggle, we watched the man frown and curse the ground. “Wow. Good one!” I congratulated the sorcerer. Louis blushed, lowering his palms. “Thanks.”There was a solemn pause before he proclaimed, “You know, that’s not the only thing I can do.” “Really?” One of my eyebrows rose to reveal my interest. “Yep, but for now, let’s go find your home.”I accepted his offer. After all, his abilities were his to master and I had a ship to empower over. Fronting over to the appropriate intersection, both of us hoped that the impervious man had not fooled us into the lost and unknown.“Alright,” I tried to sound confident whilst facing a childhood reminiscence; “it’s off to Queens we go.”
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So my finger slipped and I made an 8tracks playlist for this fanfic! :D You can listen to it here --> https://8tracks.com/louisovermyknee/swimming-with-the-fishes I really hope you enjoy it! I'll see you soon with another chapter.
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Harry POV
The only way I can describe out journey to my childhood neighborhood is to provide the following adjectives: long, tedious, and fucking exhausting. The soles of our oversized, tarnished footwear trudged along the countryside in a slow manner. When you are walking for more than a mile, your legs start to wonder why they were moving in the first place. Of course, our main destination for the afternoon was to reach the outskirts of a town I had not seen in years; even so, the lactic acids in my thighs reddened me as I walked. Louis, too, soon became familiar with the pain of roaming around on human legs.Eventually, we came across a grassy lane that reached the beach. Although the scenery was unfamiliar, I could have sworn that I had observed this place from a distant. My father’s friend who agreed to guard me never permitted me to wander off; thereby, I concluded that we were only getting closer to our needed destination. I must say our adventure strolling south was accompanied with a side of boredom. There was nothing much to do on the land of the unfamiliar except to just talk. Talking would have been a temporary relief, but for the sake of Louis’ origins, I did not dare to start a discussion on his life as a merman. However, Louis found there to be no problem with asking a few questions of his own about my life as a human when I spoke to him.We talked about why the city of London was always busy. We talked about how the country lands outside the urban vicinities were so quiet. Louis asked me about horses and their carriages along with what they left off (which smelt enough to make your hair curl). Both of us, growing tired of our shoes, had removed our footwear to relax our feet in the sand we had finally came across.Recalling our plan of action, I proclaimed, “By the time we find the place, we should have enough time to rest up until nightfall.” Louis looked to me and asked, “When do we leave for the docks?” “Hmm,” I thought for a moment, and then answered, “I’d say at sunset.” My friend said nothing, but nodded. Our walk down the beach was only a step up to our walk down the urban landscapes. The only difference was that, to the side of us, we could see nothing but water and skies for miles and miles. The sun, I’d reckon was a few hours away from setting. The waves, every now and again, would brush up against the shore. A few stepping strides later, Louis and I reached a part of the beach where the water had stretched farther up along the sand, causing the edge of a wave to brisk the side of Louis’ foot. He looked down, watching the wave seep back into the sea. I stood at the right of him, simply continuing along the grassy and sandy side, away from the tide. As the water prepared itself for another buildup, Louis transferred his shoes from his left hand to his right. I did not think much of it at the time, but I watched the lad observe the current nonetheless. When the bubbly brim was within a foots-distance of his space, Louis’s palm flattened. Spreading his hand out, he forced the water away from him in what seemed to be a magical tendency. He did not have to bend down to attend the deed. The wave returned to the sea once again. Louis smiled to himself, dried and untouched. I stared. Taking a break from our walk, I stopped in my tracks. Louis, worrying if there was a problem, turned back to me.“Can you do that again?” I asked.“What?” Louis said. The tide rushed in beside us as if right on time; “This?”With another whisk of the hand, Louis was able to project the long stretch of water away from us.“Yeah!” I smiled in astonishment.In the back of my mind, I had forgotten that this was the same man that had punished a vile Englishman and his prostitute. I nearly laughed as Louis flicked his hand up to produce a higher splash.“I wonder,” Louis muttered to himself. After glancing around to check that I was the only witness, and lowering his shoes down to a safe spot, he directed his stride towards the water.“What are you going to do?” I called after him.As his lower legs trudged through the countless waves, he turned back and called out; “Just wait!”I let the man do as he wished. Tempted, I waited to see just what Louis had up his sleeve. The bottom of his breeches brushed against the waters below him, but he paid no mind to it. Instead, he observed his palms. Louis blinked, thinking in astonishment of what he was capable of. Any sign of extensive practice as he grew up as a hidden, unacknowledged, powerful merboy was unclear to me. Challenging, yet simple enough, Louis began to produce his performance one technique at a time.With his back facing towards me, and his front facing the great fathoms beyond, Louis’ left hand rose. His fingers draped from his palms in order to strike up a slender shape of water. Trailing his arm out, the wave followed only to drop as soon as Louis’ palms permitted it. He did the same to his right. Faintly, I could see his smile from a distance as he turned his head. With what he could do with both of his hands, Louis managed to create a long stretch of water that was shaped like a tube wrapping around his body.Louis faced me as he juggled with his water bending capability. His fingers trailed along the form in a circular motion. As a result, the stretch of water collided together to form a ball. Although its size was viewable at my distance, it was almost as if it was growing larger as Louis took a few steps closer to me. I smiled and nodded, proud to have witnessed what others would call me crazy for. When my water bending friend finally reached me, he stood with his hands cupped together. As he held the sphere before me, I was greeted with the bright idea and wonder of what would happen if I touched it.Pointing my finger, I looked to see if Louis would approve of the action. Louis nodded, informing me to go ahead. Curiosity overwhelmed me as the tip of my finger approached the floating ball of water. I could have been hesitant, but the moment was too wondrous to not live in it. The length of my fingernail had just impaled the frame when Louis decided to establish the grand finale.Sprouting up, Louis’ cupped hands and arms flung up to create a separating spectrum. The ball, nearly vanishing before us, fell around itself like a fountain. The droplets hit the damp sand below us only to be rejoined with its salty ocean once again. I looked up to see Louis smirking, nearly on the verge of laughter. To be honest, I was too. So we did, breathing out with a sort of exasperated boast. My eyes twinkled with enjoyment; “You are amazing.”“Well, what can I say?” Louis didn’t miss a beat; “The water never bothered me anyway.”I began to start our journey down the beach again as I recalled; “You told me you splashed those guards, but you didn’t tell me you really, really, splashed them.”Louis found his shoes before following after me. Recollecting them, he replied, “There’s a reason I hide my powers from the king, Harry. Water bending merfolk don’t swim about every day, you know.”“I suppose n-” I suddenly stopped, hanging off a word.Louis watched me glance forward. He said, worried, “What?”I stepped forward, trying to reconstruct my train of thought; “I know this place.”“You’re sure?”“See those rocks over there, next to the trees?” I pointed beyond us with the hand that did not carry my unfitting shoes.Louis nodded.“The grass is getting thicker,” I looked along the sand.I came to a realization. Informing Louis, I started forward again.“We’re almost there.”
. . .
There’s this thing about nostalgia that can make your hear burst and your eyes spring up in tears. When we came upon the old shack that I used to call my home, I was somewhat not surprised to see that no one was home. The door, cracked right from the beginning, only showed more decay. No one bothered to tend the weeds in the front yard only because nobody had resigned there in quite some time. The whereabouts of my fellow guardian, where ever he was, left no trace at all.I could not blame myself for wondering just what happened to him after I was submitted to the orphanage. Once, I suggested that his history was discovered just as much as mine. He would have been sent to hang by the neck until dead. Another time, I supposed he ran away and had found refuge. With any hope, he would be safe as a resident of incognito. Either way, putting me in “good hands” can only do so much when an eight year old is suddenly flashed with the truth.It did not feel right to walk around the vicinity. In my stomach, I was ashamed. Roaming about, I felt as if I was adventuring through a ghostly manner that had fallen long ago, yet had stood tall in proclamation only for me to witness. I forced back my urgent need to cry as Louis repeatedly asked me if I was alright. We would move on as soon as I claimed that I was fine. To avoid another interrogation, I changed the subject.“We have to wait until dark to invade the ship,” I sniffed, noticing the sun was not far away from setting in the sky.Louis nodded, laying himself down in the sand; “So what do we do in the meantime?”“I don’t know,” I sat down beside him. Figuring there was not much to do, I asked, “What do you want to talk about?”Louis took a moment in thought. His eyes widened then squinted in a mischievous matter. He opened his mouth to pronounce his request.
. . .
“… and nine months later, the baby is born. Understand?” Louis blinked like a child. After a good sum of minutes was spent of me trying to explain where humans come from, I found that there was more to the human anatomy than I had expected. Louis mumbled, “Umm … you lost me at … va … va-”The pause permitted me to add, “Vagina?”Louis fell with embarrassment, “Yes.” I frowned, letting out an exhausted sigh. My friend and I shrugged. Not even I would see a pirate becoming a teacher. “I’m sorry,” Louis trailed off. “It’s not your fault,” I proclaimed; “Humans are complicated.” “Look!” Louis suddenly pointed to the sunset; “The sky is pink!” He looked silly to be surprised from the very center of the solar system. However, I felt even sillier considering the face that I was unaware that Louis had never seen a sunset before. It was then I remembered he had spent all his life at the bottom of the sea.I digressed, “Well, red skies at morning-sailor’s warning. Red skies at night-sailor’s delight.”Louis glanced at me in puzzlement.I asked, “You’ve never heard of that expression before?” “No, of course not,” Louis scoffed; “You can’t see … whatever that big thing is if you live down in the ocean.” “Oh,” I said, guilt rushing over me; “Right, sorry.” Louis shrugged, but a grin had stretched across his face; “You’re so cheeky when you’re embarrassed.” His elbow nudged against my side, “Make a fool out of yourself.” “The sun,” I blurted out; “That big yellow thing is called the sun.” The sunset raged on. We waited for night.
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Louis POV
The moon had risen, showing its waning crescent in a faint glow. Below us, the waves clashed among themselves as we footed on the dock. Along the large stretches of wooden structures, ships of various cargo and worth were lines in orderly fashions. Whether the vessels were occupied was unclear to us, but Harry and I made sure to stay quiet as hermits as we neared the many ships that were at our disposal. Harry must have experienced a great amount of nostalgia by the way he was lurking. Although I was not present during the time of his first escape as a young orphaned teenager, I gave myself the impression that fate had given him a second dose of potential freedom. A ship for Harry meant that he was one step closer to escaping the wrath of His Majesty’s plan and I was grateful to help him get away. Admittedly, in the back of my mind, the fear of punishment still haunted me. It wouldn’t matter then, for Harry had begun to climb up the side ladder of a decently leveled ship. Crouching, I kept a watchful eye out for lurkers that would patrol the docks although Harry assured me that there were no such securities; if there had been, he wouldn’t have boarded the Farraige in the first place. I agreed to his notion, but the tingly feeling in the pit of my stomach still tickled me. I soon brushed it off, assuming that it was just the nerves of a first-time thief. “Come on,” Harry caught my attention from high above. I watched him climb up the ladder. More specifically, I observed the way his feet and arms hoisted himself up along the rope. It had then come to my attention that, throughout my entire experience of being a human, I had never accomplished in climbing a ladder before. I could only do my best as I struggled with the uneven physics of my temporary legs and the wood and rope that kept me from toppling down to the docks. When I got to the top, Harry helped me fling over the side. We were now alone on the deck that would soon become our source of travel—or, at least that’s what we hoped. Harry, out of instinct, headed for the captain’s quarters that accordingly led to the back of the ship. With his hand stretched out, he was ready to push open the heavy wooden door. Suddenly, he stopped. It was as if his confidence halted abruptly and unexpectedly. “What?” I murmured. “It’s just strange.” Harry added, lowering his arm, “I haven’t done this in a while.” “May I do the honors?” I asked for permission to step first into the dark abyss guarded by a door. With a subtle nod, the pirate that became my friend let me have a go at it. The door screeched as my palms pushed against the surface. Immediately I was greeted with an overflowing sense of befuddlement. It was not the kind that Harry was experiencing. At first, I had expected that all ships in the middle of the night would be as dark as the blackest shadows on the inside. I considered the idea based on common sense. Underwater, the merpeople did not have the slightest advantage of light in the evening. Though I was then I came to the realization that humans had manipulated physics on a high level. Along the furnishings in the captain’s quarters, small arrays of light were perched on what looked like miniature stands. “Harry,” I wondered aloud; “what are those things called?” Harry opened his mouth to speak, but the voice that resounded back did not belong to him. “Candles.” Both of us jumped as the chair behind the captain’s desk swung around so the sitter could meet us. “Marvelous inventions aren’t they? They let humans see after dark as well as a mischievous merman who swam away from home.” I could have dropped to my knees and sacrificed myself to my own stupidity. The ends of my brain clicked together as I stared from a distance into the face of the murderous soldier out of water. “Get away,” I stepped forward as if to protect Harry from another entrance; “You’ve got no business here. “Unfortunately for you, I do.”The merman in disguise cockily stood up, keeping his stance behind the desk.“Nicely done, Louis; for a merman with legs, I’d never suspect one to learn so quickly.”I wanted to stop it before it even started. I tried to speak defensively, “what are you doing here?”“Are you sure that’s the question you should be asking?”“Who are you?” Harry asked.I shook my head as if to subliminally silence him. Of course, it didn’t work.“Oh, and I’ve seen you’ve brought your friend along as well. Sorry about your crew, by the way. They took such a liking to our sirens, if I do say so myself.”I heard Harry gasp. The soldier migrated from the desk to the open space in front of us. Harry proceeded to fall back. He was on the lookout for safety, and distance seemed to be the only solution at that point. I followed him as if to protect him, though, honestly, there was not much I could do with the sea of water so far below us. We footed over to the open deck where we came from. The dark sky growled at us. I knew it could only depict one thing. Thunder was a foreshadowing of what could have been our epitaph.“Not this,” I whined; “Not this again.”“I’m not sorry, Louis,” in a flash, Harry and I noticed the troupe suddenly appearing from all around us. We were not alone anymore. Along with the blasted soldier, the king had succeeded in sending over more than a few officials to catch a fish out of water.“What was your plan anyway? Steal this ship? Stop a grand-master plan and take over the kingdom or something like that? Come on, Louis. You’re better than that. And why would you want to sail in this kind of weather?”Harry blinked behind me, “what weather?”“Oh, you know; this weather.”The soldier whisked his hand out. I thought he was aiming above us at first. The lightning bolt that barely missed us proved me wrong. Harry screamed, clutching onto me. The soldier flicked his arm out again. I had to push Harry to keep him safe. The flash sent me back, causing me to tumble down. There was no shock that impaled me at all, but there was another type of pain that was occurring inside of me. Whether it was the lightning or the conflict, I’m not very sure, but once the tingling in my neck and legs arrived, there was no going back.Harry watched, terrified. The prick watched like a cocky bastard. He smirked and gave the notion for the rest of the army to do what was necessary. I could have fought it off if it had not been for the rusty chain they had clamped around both of my ankles. A few seconds later, the scales had returned. My feet made the transition from bones to flipper and the chain rested there, stiff as an anchor.The transformation shrank my power down. The chain eliminated my will to try. Even I was fully aware of the imprisoning chain that was used as punishment for unauthorized waterbenders. My powers were gone—at least until I was free of the restraint. My confidence plundered, and I knew that I’d be out of breath soon. I felt the strong, rough grasp of palms hook under my armpits.The soldier gave his orders again. Another share of the army took custody of Harry, who was just as powerless as I was. The murderous official gallivanted over to me while I tried my best to balance on the railing. I began to feel dizzy. The soldier boasted, slipping a vial from his pocket.“You’re not the only one that studied at the library before.”The fellow merfolk chugged on their share of potion. While the magic kicked in, he turned to Harry one last time.“So long, matey. Fish got to swim!”“No!”With a swift yank, the mermen and I were sent over the wooden railing along with the tow guards that grasped hold of my sides.“Louis!” I heard Harry gasp out. He barely had enough time to react when he felt a blunt impact shove him down.When we hit the water, the agonizing need for water was resolved. Yet, it did not solve my predicament of being merman-handled by a roughhousing gang of officials.“Squirmy,” the soldier muttered, keeping a tight hold on my arm. “Let me go!” I wailed, “Let go!”“Oh, no; I don’t think so. You wouldn’t want to be late for your meeting with His Majesty, would you?”I became quiet. Fate would take its course whether I accepted it or not. Submission was what they wanted, and I had to let them have it even if it would kill me in the end.“Don’t tell me. You’ve forgotten where you belong, didn’t you? I know my place, Louis. Where’s yours?”
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Louis POV
“If you don’t let me go this instant, I will beat you all to pebbles!” “You are just full of it today, aren’t you, little guppy?” “Fin off!” I was being hauled into a part of the palace that I had no memory of working in. The soldiers that grasped my arms on each side clasped me into a set of irons that clung to a chair. The chair itself was solid as a rock with no intentions on moving. The mermen flapped their tails after locking me in. This caused a surge of bubbles to purposely blast onto my upper chest. The spheres of air rose up to my face and distracted me from my surroundings. As I heard the heavy door shut behind me, I tried to depict exactly where I was. Based on the hard table and the lack of natural lighting, this was a room for interrogation. And I was to meet with the royal interviewer that called himself the King. I sat in silence with no use of attempting to calm myself down. When the ruler himself entered the room, I immediately declared that he was not entitled to a respectful bow from me. Part of it was from my willpower. Part of it was from the restraints that held me down. “I see you’ve made yourself comfortable.” I watched the older merman swim along the sides of the table until he came upon his designated spot directly across from me. Meanwhile, a hot anger built itself inside of me. “Not much of a talker, are ya?”I did not reply. I simply arched my eyebrows to show at least some form of rebellion. That was my intention. That was all I was going to give him.“Fine then,” the king rested his elbows on the table for effect. “I assume you know why we are both here at the moment, so I’ll lecture and you listen.”I watched him take a deep breath before beginning. “Louis, you must understand that you have committed a sum of serious crimes against the basic underwater standards. Exposing yourself to humans was dangerous enough. Now, becoming one of them, now that is a completely different fish you’ve fried.”I was sticking to my plan of quiet retaliation. He brought a smug grin to his face.“Silent treatment, I see how it is.” The ruler mumbled under his breath, “pathetic.”He let out a chuckle when I looked up. I knew could have snapped him off right then and there; but from the waterbending-proof irons around my wrists all I could do was hold it in and watch.“I can tell you don’t respect my particular plan of action. Perhaps you don’t believe this plot of extinction is a good idea. I assure you, Louis, we are completely capable of such a task. Besides, it’s not the first time we’ve ever planned this.”I perked my head up.“Caught your attention now, haven’t I?”He was a quick bastard. From across the table, I saw his body rise up once more. The king decided to continue this conversation by the side of the table. Gradually, he made his way towards me as he kicked his tail behind him.“Well, I’m glad to tell you that my men are fully equipped. Waterbending abilities can get the job done. I’m sure you are well aware of this. I’d expect you know all about it.”I was about to spit back at his cockiness when he suddenly asked, “Remember the Battle?”This caught me by surprise, although I tried not to show it. Overall, I suspected that he didn’t have to tell me. But then he coaxed me.“Maybe you can tell me what you know about that.”He didn’t have to remind me. He knew I could do it myself. Yet the remembrance of my father still hung in the balance and by that, he would use my memories against me.Against my will, I replied, “You sent the guards out to control the riots. Didn’t you?”“Why yes, of course;” This time the ruler was directing himself behind me. He swam past my chair as he continued. “That is true. But did they ever tell you who was being controlled? You see, Louis, there were many waterbenders back in the days before you were born.”His voice shot right above me.“Too many. So, I felt that a little moderation was in order. Oh, and it wasn’t some silly war that led your father to his fate.”I could only pray that the king did not see my eyes widen. I tried to contain myself, “What are you talking about?”“Oh, I remember the newsleaf to this day!” The ruler made his appearance in my view on the other side of the chair. “‘Battle of the North Atlantic Gyre! Many fatalities!’ I still can’t believe that got published.”The king flailed around, returning to his interrogating throne to give himself a job well done. He was touching a spot that should have never been discussed. He was twisting it, churning it, and baking it into a mushy outcome. The battle was bad enough. The mentioning of my father made my heart sink.“Where is my father?! What have you done with him?!”“Your father is dead. And you should be too.”My clutched fists rattled at the chains. My tail flailed under the table as I thrashed and kicked away. I wanted to shank him. I wanted to kill him. I wanted him to beg for mercy. Above all, I wanted this pain he was inflicting to go away. As the king watched with interest, he was shaking his head.“Humans are dangerous, Louis! I’ve thought every merman knew better by now. He was too smart for his kind anyway. And, quite frankly, so are you.” I quickly grew tired. Shrinking down into my immobile shackles, I continued to suffer the process of interrogation.“You want to know how we really convinced the kingdom that? Mainstream media will tell you anything it’s intended to, be it the truth or not. I wonder what the newsleaf will look like when the story of your fate is published.”The back of my head scraped across the stone seat. That was the least of my pain as I had no other choice but to listen to His Majesty’s will.“As for that friend of yours, I’ve decided not to spring a hook on him. I suppose you know the effects of potions and poisons have similar providences. Tell me, did our library archive a book of what you were looking for to discover those walking demons?” What I read in that book was a disaster to the ruler, but to me it was my only mean of returning to a safer place. I longed to be out of the water more than ever at that very moment as the king stared me down from across the table.“Well, I suppose so according to what you’ve been up to. You see, Louis, torturing a man for hours and hours can only benefit the merpeople so much. I’ve decided that a little bit of convincing is in order.”Two words later, I knew it would be the end to my pirating friend.“Forgetting potion. It’s exactly what it’s meant to be. A little sip of it, and everything should be taken care of in regards to that sailor of yours.”At that point, I was slumping. The urge to growl had escaped my lips long before his finished his speech.“What?” The king dramatized my hidden curiosity. “Did you expect me to kill him? No. What would be the point in that? However, extinction must be gradual in order to accomplish the overall account. You have to make them forget before they meet their fate, as it were.”There was a pause, but I was not giving up. The silence sailed through the water mainly because there was nothing more to say. I got the picture and it made me red as coral. It became hushed enough that I could feel my gills flaring. The king slammed his fist down on the surface like a crazed politician.“Don’t you understand?!” He screeched, “That pirate will not remember a thing. He’ll forget about the kingdom. He’ll forget about his ship; and most importantly, he will forget about you.”I wanted to scream at him, but I did not know what to say. After all, what could I say that could dissident against him on the exact level of hate that I was experiencing?All I mustered was, “What have you done with him?”“Don’t get your tail in a twist.”“It’s a little too late, buddy.”“Why Louis,” His Majesty gasped; “You do care.”I failed.“He’s alright and on land under the fins of my mermen; and I think he’ll receive a really healthy breakfast tomorrow morning.”As the ruler of the kingdom called in his soldiers to brisk me away, his smile curled through my heartstrings. I might have plundered in the interrogation room, but it was not going to stop me from speaking my mind before I went.“You vegetarian fish head! Beast! I wish you’d choke on your coral!” If it weren’t for the mermen grasping my arms and the shackle clasped around my tail, I would have ended him right then and there.“How dare you speak to me in that manner?!” The king cocked and shot towards the front of me. “You rebellious tyrant!”An abrupt slap has flung across my cheek. Bubbles flared with a similar rush of pain. My mother must have been trained by the best in the sea.“I’ll tend to you further in court. Get used to that restraint of yours. You’ll have to get comfortable.” With a wave to the guards, I was sent off. “Make sure he sleeps well in his cell.”From that point on, I was a cussing krill. I made an attempt to blubber out every inch of insult I could possible muster under the muffling force of a guard’s hand that was clasped over my mouth. I chose everything from sardine to maggot, though it didn’t make a difference once I found myself thrown across the rough prison floor.
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Harry POV
Not even the old rag wrapped around my head could diminish my surroundings. From the steps of our feet, I could tell that the soldiers that dragged me along by the sides were obviously heading to a secret location. That destination just happened to be a heavy-duty shack that stood along the outskirts of the city. It became quite clear that no one would consider a passing glance to the manner for it consisted of potentially nobody of interest. On the contrary, this place was all a part of His Majesty’s plan to keep the witnesses’ mouth shut. With the blindfold yanked from my head, I was shoved into the prison cell that spread across the wall. The loud works of the lock shuttered behind me. The key was being handled by a man equipped with weapons to kill. Placing the ring of keys on his belt, he strutted away feeling proud of himself. Shrugging my shoulders, the use of hope was nonexistent. My friend was gone, doomed to die, no doubt. I was stuck here until who knows when. I was most likely destined to perish. That being said, I was unaware of the fellow men that had the same potential fate as me. Both of them were sat on the ground with their hands behind their backs. One with yellow hair, the other with brown. The two of them were slender from the lack of health and care. The blonde one glanced away from me. The other was kind enough to acknowledge me. Parading around on a ship for the past couple of years had not given me the exact chance to make new friends. However, I found that a common greeting was essential to start off with your inmates. “Hello there,” he said. Hesitantly, I raised my head. “Sorry about that. Don’t expect much kindness around here.” I did my best to adjust myself, shimmying my body upwards so I could sit on my knees. I asked, “Do you know where we are?” “You know everything I know, mate. Niall and I have been here for … well …”At the sound of his name, the blonde one shot a stink eye at his fellow inmate.With a shrug, the man continued, “I’ve lost count. Anyway, my name is Liam. What brings you here?”Shimmying over to the wall, I replied with a heavy heart; “Helping a friend. You?”“Believing in mermaids.”Niall elbowed his friend with a mighty shove. My heart, on the other hand, jumped in my chest.“What?”Liam recovered from the hit, hoping I heard none of it.“Nothing,” he said.“No. Say that again. What did you say?”“What’s the use?” Niall suddenly boasted, “He’ll make a fool out of himself and you’ll laugh like everyone else.”“No,” I decreed; “No, I won’t.”Niall looked at me like I was crazy. Still, I pried on.“Please. Tell me everything.”Liam opened his mouth to speak. One glare from Niall shut him up.At that moment, I thought I was doomed. In order to prevent the conversation from vanishing, I did my best to appear sincere and tentative.“The siren song,” I stated.Both of their eyes perked up.I continued, “You’ve heard of it?”A moment of silence hang between the three of us, until Liam spoke up.“Yes. I have. But did anyone believe me? No.”“And you?” I was reaching out to Niall, despite the fact my hands were bound.When he didn’t reply, Liam admitted; “Niall’s uncle got caught in a shipwreck. Or, at least that’s what they made it out to be.”At the sound of his name, Niall’s arched eyebrows and angry eyes returned. With the hope of changing the focus on him, I decided that the best thing to do was to share my own side of the story.“I was sent to an orphanage after I saw one. Nobody believed me either, so I ran away.”Niall rolled his eyes. He was not paying a cent of interest. A common ground had to be reached.“I have no father now,” my own words sheared my heart; “One of them stole him from me.”Niall had nothing to say, but the silence he dispersed was not as harsh as before. Liam glanced at me with sorrowful eyes. I shook off my self-pity and continued.“My friend, Louis is his name; the soldiers caught him. He proved to me that mermaids exist. He just wanted to save the human race, and now he’s in trouble … and … it’s because of me. I have no idea where they sent him, but I need to save him or he’s going to die.”“No he won’t;” Liam assured me, “I’ve got a plan …”Niall groaned, “Not another one! How many times have you talked me into a disaster?”“No, just listen. This one might work.”“Alright, wait a minute. Wait a minute,” Niall’s bold eyes faced mine; “This friend of yours. What in it for us if we save him?”“Freedom,” I began.Nothing.“Proof.”Nothing.“Life.”His face said it all. It seemed like not a single thing could possibly move him.That is, until I said, “Beer”.“I’m in.”
. . .
When we released ourselves from the chains, the next step was to taunt whoever was on duty. A skinny guard stood by the door of that would get us out of here. A few shouts and offences were more than enough to get his gullible self to investigate our cell. Which, of course, he was sadly mistaken. We grabbed him and threw him into a tackle until I was on top of him, staring into his fragile hazel eyes. All that work had led me up to this.“Where is Louis?” The lanky soldier let out a shaky reply; “Who?”A punch to the forehead made him wail in fear. Now, I had robbed ships for many years. Aggression became a supreme tool to get what I wanted. Inflicting fear, I learned, was a skilled trade that every pirate came to love and abuse. I could have done so much to this soldier. I could have locked him up and dry the life right out of him, or I could have killed him right then and there. We were short on time and in need of answers. I was willing to do anything and everything to get out of that shack. One thing’s for certain: never had I been so aggressive in my time of piracy.“What have they done with Louis?!”“I don’t know!” Another punch resulted in a painful grunt.I screamed into his bruised face, “Don’t give me that!”The soldier shot out a quick and frightful breath as the blood fell from his nose.“Tell me before I fry you into fillets. Now, where is Louis?”
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Louis POV
“Merladies and mergents, today marks the day we punish a cruel defender who has threatened the exposure of our world.”Consciousness fades for most people at 15,000 feet. Humans with larger lungs and more red blood cells are more likely to survive. Merpeople perceive oxygen as a fatal disease.“This merman that stand before you is to blame. Louis William Tomlinson. Servant of the king, and rebel to the kingdom.”A human would pass out after 2 minutes without oxygen, on average. 11 minutes, however, is the record for holding their breath.“So, it has been declared that this tyrant must be put to justice. We will not fall because of his decisions. We will fight back if his partner shall return.”
It’s you or the human race. Your choice.
“Louis William Tomlinson. You shall be hung by your tail until you have dried.”The crowd roared with approval. I made my choice. I wasn’t going back. The soldiers whisked me away to the posts that hung along the side of a rocky cliff no one seemed to declare their own. Immediately, the area between my tail and my flippers were bound, and I was jolted along the ground with each tug of the rope until I was elevated up and off of the sand. I reckoned by then that the news had spread, and others were gathering along the hungry spectators. Somewhere out there my mother must have been savoring one last look at her son. I’d like to say that the sight of me was disappointing, but what was happening could be perceived as even less than that as the brim of my flipper made its first interaction with open air.As dehydration is to humans, dehydration often is to merfolk. Every cell in a person’s body needs water in order to survive. They cannot last more than 7 days without H2O in their system. On the other hand, there’s an even bigger problem with being a merman. Above water, our time is limited. Our gills and scales constantly take advantage of the sea that we forget that our number one necessity surrounds us every day. The longest a merperson has ever lasted, hoisted up among those who have been dried before, is an hour. All I could hope was that my death would be quick and not-so torturing as those that had passed before me.I did not scream. I did not yowl for help. I didn’t jiggle with hopes of escaping nor did I try to squirm out of the chains that restricted my powers. I knew that I was at the mercy of my fate. All I could do was wait. That was until I felt a certain pulling on the ropes that hung me. Below me, a skimpy little servant warily treaded along the sides of the ceremony until he reached the king. His black eye made him swim out from all the rest.“Sir-” he tried.“Ah, you’ve returned! I see that all has come to order”.“Sir-”“My seashells, what’s happened to your eye?”The lad tried to answer but he was interrupted again.“Never mind that. You gave those boys the forgetting potion, haven’t you? Today is a great day for drying, don’t you think?”“Sir, I must infor-”“Oh, come on then, spit it out.”The small merboy took a long, deep breath as if he was scared of what might happen next; “Your Highness, I’m afraid to tell you tha-”A sudden splash stirred above them.“What was that?” The king sounded, saying each word rather slowly.The rope that bound its prisoner collapsed onto the surface of the water and began to sink. Not long after that, the chains too began to plummet towards the sand. As it fell, the merpeople began to chatter quietly, at first, then the commotion stirred into a loud uproar.The guards surrounding the area frantically looked around. All of their glances changed into puzzlement. There was no sign of their criminal.The king swam forward and gathered the remains of the prisoner’s sentence in his hands.“Rope? Damn Neptune! Why did you use rope?! Where’s that chain! Haven’t I told you he is a waterbender?!” That wouldn’t matter now. The man who picked the lock of my chain turned to his friend; “I told you I still got it!” The man flung his axe over his soldier, replying, “Let’s get the hell out of here.”I was already scooped up and being carried away by a stranger that held the voice I thought I’d never hear again. “Hold on, Louis. I got you.”
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“Sound the alarm! Gather the troops! Where are the weapons?! We must catch this scoundrel!” The king was furious as he surged through the palace doors. He was wavering about the dining room, all the while blabbering out nonsense. The cook, who was given the rest of Louis’ duties, approached the distressed royal majesty.“Sir, please. It’s not even midday and you haven’t even had your breakfast yet.”“Silence!” the king thundered, “How can I think of food when there’s a criminal on the loose?! If he g-”“Please,” the cook bowed before His Majesty.At this affair, the king’s stature corrected itself ever so slightly. Although the rage was still present, he never rejected a polite gesture. The cook guided the deranged king down to the thrown in which he ate at.“Sir, you can negotiate your plans to pursue the boy after you’ve eaten your meal. I’m sure ordering a search party will go much smoother with a full stomach.”“I suppose you’re right,” the king finally submitted, getting a forkful of what was on his platter. “You know, I was …”Within an instant, His Majesty coursed into a sort of lost trance.“Yes?” The cook spoke.“I,” the King stumbled; “I … I’ve seemed to … I-”“Good morning, Your Highness,” the cook bowed once more as if greeting the king for the first time; “I presume you’ve had a lovely sleep.”“Well, I-”“I’ve prepared your favorite,” the cook gave a warm smile.“Oh, why thank you,” the king brushed his confusion off; “That’ll be all.”“Tata,” the cook swam off.Gradually, her smile turned into a smirk with every kick of her fin. She returned to the kitchen to find all of her coworkers huddled by the door. Some were without their utensils. One, however, was clutching a bottle that held the potion that successfully done its job on its victim. They all came at the cook with questions, one after another.“Did it work?”“How’s the King?”“Is it done?”“Don’t worry, girls,” the cook raised her hand to calm them; “Everything has been taken care of.”“What about Louis?”“Is Louis going to be OK?”“I wouldn’t fret none, just don’t go telling His Highness what we’ve cooked up for him;” the cook served up a grin; “After all, once he finds out …”Glancing over her delighted coworkers, she announced to the crowd with a full sense of pride and accomplishment.“He’ll be swimming with the fishes.”
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Harry POV
TWO WEEKS LATER
Above the crows next, there flew a flag of red and purple. It showed off the pride we had for our newly found vessel, even though it was a stolen treasure.“Oh, captain!” Niall called from the crow’s nest; “Merman on starboard!” At the news of the arrival of my scaly friend, I stepped out of my quarters and looked up to the sky.I called out, “Thank you!” as I trotted over to the lifeboat.Liam watched me as I fumbled with the ropes and began to lower myself down to the surface of the water. I’m sure that Niall was keeping a watchful eye as well. As for me, I had my sight set on the man treading in the water with an aquamarine tail. Once the boat was settled on the waves, Louis took it upon himself to reach up and rest his chin on his arms while I secured the rest of the ropes.“I like your new vessel,” Louis stated; “What’s it called?”“We got it off another dock,” I told him; “No records were found of a name.”“That’s great! Now you get to make it your own! What shall it be?”“I don’t know. The Voyager? The Wanderer?”A pause hung in the air. I suggested again.“The Siren? The Mermaid? Nah, too typical.”“You’ll figure it out one day,” Louis said before the silence returned again.A moment had passed before I asked, “How is it down below?”With a sigh, Louis replied; “Everything is OK. The king has forgotten all about it. Humans, ships, everything. Turns out a good friend of mine saved our scales. … or, lungs, in your case.”“You’ll have to thank them for me.”“I’ll be sure to,” Louis nodded, just to indicate he understood my gratitude. “Huh,” I whispered, suddenly looking up; “Well, look at that.” A sunset had brewed over the horizon. The sky became a gradient canvas that displayed a beautiful mix of reds and magentas. The color palette complimented the golden sun that was sinking behind the sea. “Looks familiar,” Louis noted as he turned his head back at me.“You know what they say,” I addressed him with a heartfelt implication; “Red skies in morning …”He slowly began to remember; “Sailor’s warning.”“Red skies at night …”“… Sailor’s delight.”He looked to me as if I was a man in a dream. I must have looked that same at him from the tickling sensation that revved below my diaphragm, making me smile. Sadly, however, Louis’ glance began to fade away as he remembered an important factor.“My mom’s waiting,” he said, turning away and looking down at the waves.“Louis, would you … sing to me? One last time?”It was a silly request, but I managed to break through the barrier that was holding me back from asking long ago.“Please?”Louis’ friendly expression presented itself again. His answer was what made the embarrassment all worthwhile.“Of course.”And with that, the siren began to sing.“My name, it is Louis,A siren’s son so fair,And I have left my parentsAnd three thousand pounds a year.”The hypnosis phase started to sink in. I could almost feel myself drawing closer to him, eager for more.“Come all you pretty fair maids,Wherever you may be,Who love a jolly sailorThat ploughs the raging seaWhile up aloft in storm,From me, his absence mourn,And firmly pray, arrive the day,He’s never more to roam.” My hands kept hold of the edge of the lifeboat, but my heart wanted to leap from my chest and into the void that was being controlled by trusting friend that was half man, half fish.“My heart is pierced by Cupid.I disdain all glittering gold.There is nothing can console meBut my jolly sailor bold.” Although I had little to no control, it felt like my upper body was slowly being pulled over the edge and closer to the water. Louis, as he sang, let his hand rise up above the ripples. He reached forward towards my face as the final chorus came to a close.“My heart is pierced by Cupid.I disdain all glittering gold.There is nothing can console meBut my jolly sailor bold.”Whether he was preventing my fall or not, I wouldn’t know; but that does not suppress the fact that I was kissed that evening. The mischievous merman sent me back after his delivery, and splashed away, shooting his tail above the surface. As he started to swim for home, I was sat in the lifeboat recovering from a daze. My palm touched my face where the affection hit. I couldn’t have been more giddy than I had right then. An impulse suddenly inspired me to look up. Above me, I saw two curious sailors that seemed to be just as puzzled as me, if not more.“Enjoy the show?!” I called up to the eavesdroppers.“We heard the song!” Niall shouted back in defense; “Can you blame us?!”“Never mind that!” I gathered my senses, repositioning myself so I could handle the ropes; “I’m coming up!”
THE END