Chapter 25: The Mermaid





I felt like I was in the middle of a fictional world that could only be found in an adventure book. It felt so unreal and I almost could not believe that I was seeing such impossibility that defies all the engineering idea in the mainland. I was sure that any pirate who saw me had seen a child with pure amazement and wonder in her eyes. It was like a kingdom in the middle of the sea. It was like magic.



But the enchantment brought by the Pirate City was shortly gone when I felt different pairs of eyes in my direction. I blinked and looked around the pirate ships that surrounded the grand vessel in the center. The pirates on their deck were looking at the Obsidian – they were looking at me. Someone immediately grabbed my arm and pulled me back to the entrance of the pirate ship. I looked up to see an angry Owain full of sweat on his neck. He must have been working when he saw me.



"Did he not tell you about staying in your cabin? Did you not know how dangerous the Pirate City is for you?" He asked, fuming.



I couldn't answer right away. It must have been weeks already since he wanted me dead and out of Obsidian. And now, he was telling me about the dangers the Pirate City could bring me. If it was during the day he almost crushed my neck, he would probably lift me up and threw my body to the staring pirates of the other pirate ships. But right at the moment, I was just glad that he didn't.



"It was unbelievable! How could they build a community in the middle of the sea? What about the storm? The sharks? The sea monsters?"



Despite the anger, I could see in him, I couldn't help but feel the excitement instead of fear. I found myself curious about the Pirate City.



"They can move this city to a safer location in case of a strong storm. No sea monsters. We are the sea monsters and the sharks fear us. But that's not the point here, Jonah of the Obsidian. Did the Skull not inform you about the monsters of the Pirate City?" He sounded more irritated.



I frowned. "Well, he did. He even told me about the mermaid, and it's not really that interesting at all." Really, Prim. I bet you're curious about her. "But what do you mean monsters of the Pirate City? Are they like the sea monsters I've read about?" I was not yet resting the case of the sea monsters.



I could see the veins showing on his temple due to frustration. He must have felt like he was talking to an innocent child who was fascinated by the new world she was seeing regardless of the danger it brings.



"The mermaid! Of course! That's exactly the reason why we came back here. And how could you speak of the mermaid like you aren't even affected by the idea of it?"



I clenched my fists on my sides. I didn't want him to know how badly I wanted to punch something whenever I hear about the mermaid. I didn't want to show him how angry and sad I was.



"B-Because I wasn't!" I lied.



He gave me a stern look and said, "You know you're not so good when it comes to lying."



I pouted my lips and glared at him. If the door was locked, no need to knock so loud. "You said there are monsters in the Pirate City. What kind of monsters are those?" I asked to divert the subject of our conversation.



He turned to look at the pirate ships in front of the Obsidian and then stared gravely at me. "Extremely dangerous monsters you wouldn't want to mess around with. I don't think the Skull can protect you from the biggest monster living in that ship," he said and pointed to the grand vessel in the middle of the interconnected pirate ships. I saw some pirates throwing thick ropes to the deck of the Obsidian. That meant we were going to stay here a little bit longer than a visit.



"Well, the Skull doesn't need to worry about protecting me. I'll just stay in my cabin until you're done with whatever purpose you have here," I said feeling a little bit of gnawing pain in my chest.



"Good thing you didn't choose this time to become hard-headed," he answered and strode back to the deck of the Obsidian where he helped the other pirates with the ropes. I watched from my spot as they made Obsidian a part of the Pirate City. Maybe some of the pirate ships around it were just visiting and the rest were protecting the grand vessel in the middle of it. I wondered what that scary monster looked like. I wondered where the mermaid could be seen in the Pirate City.



I decided to go to the dining area to get my breakfast and went back to my cabin afterward. Erasmus visited and checked on me. He even brought some delicious tuna from the Pirate City and told me that Captain Drakon was meeting the Captain of the grand vessel. I didn't hear about The Skull, and I wanted so much to ask Erasmus about him but I decided not to. For all I knew, maybe he had already seen the mermaid and was too occupied to give attention to other things. Maybe he was already at the heart of the Pirate City and planning to stay there because he finally found what or who he was looking for. No! That's not possible! Or was it really impossible? If he chose the mermaid, what would happen to me?



I found myself pacing back and forth inside my cabin wondering about the life outside the four-cornered room I was caged in. I knew it would be best to stay inside. However, the curiosity that was building up inside me was getting harder and harder to suppress. My great talent in overthinking things made it even worse. So when the night came, and the Obsidian became eerily quiet, I sneaked out of my cabin to the deck. Maybe the darkness would hide me from the eyes of the Pirate City monsters.



Apparently, there were only a few pirates left in the Obsidian and most of them were drinking at the dining area or the forecastle of the ship. I stopped on my track and held my breath when I reached the deck and gazed at the grandest, most luxurious ship I had ever seen in the middle of the Pirate City. The daylight showed how enormous and powerful the vessel was but at night, it was as bright as a single star in the middle of the sea. If there were people living up the heavenly bodies above us, they would probably see the Pirate City as the North Star because of how it glowed brightly at night. It was like a shining gold in the darkness. I could hear the distant music and the sound of musical instruments coming from it. I shuddered and I could feel my heart started to beat faster. It was so enchanting and scary at the same time. It reminded me of a poisonous wildflower in the forest – beautiful but deadly.



But I was again pulled back from the spell brought by the Pirate City when a rough hand grabbed my arm and turned me toward its owner. Once again, I met Owain's dark brown eyes glowering down at me.



"I thought we already agreed about not getting out of your cabin until we could finally leave the Pirate City," he said angrily to me.



I thought of some excuses that would justify my act but his statement about me not being good with lies echoed in my head. Any excuses would just turn out lame so I guessed it would be better to tell him the truth.



"You can't just expect me to stay inside the cabin for days when there's a big thing happening outside. And aside from that, I haven't seen The Skull for days now. I need to know where he is," I answered, frowning. I thought I could stay longer without mentioning about The Skull. I guessed I wasn't as hard as that kind of a stone.



He looked at me thoughtfully and said, "The Skull probably doesn't want to see you and that's why you're not seeing him. He's probably too occupied that he'd forgotten your existence in his life."



I gritted my teeth as I stared at him. I knew the possibilities. But did he really need to cut me when he knew I was already bleeding? I crossed my arm at him and said, "I still want to see him."



After silently glaring at each other, he suddenly laughed maniacally and I found myself watching him with confusion in my eyes. Maybe he had decided that killing me was easier than dealing with my stubbornness. I was about to step back when he said, "So what will you do when you get the Pirate City's attention? It's not every day that a beautiful, sailing woman would visit them."



I felt hope build up inside me once again. Maybe there was still a chance. Maybe I could convince him to help me. "They wouldn't. I would just pretend to be one of the pirates and it will be less difficult if you'll help me," I said, pleading. I didn't have to tease him about calling me beautiful but I would get back to that in the future.



He regarded me thoughtfully before he finally nodded. "I'll knock on your door after few minutes. Be ready," he said and I hurried back to my room after grinning at him thankfully. I didn't see the slight smile curving on his lips as I turned my back on him.



A part of my mind told me that it was just his way to bring me back to my cabin and lock me up. But he did knock on my door after five minutes and handed me a pair of a man's clothing and a black scarf. He said that I should hide at least half of my face and tie my hair in a bun so that it wouldn't get so much attention. I stepped out of my cabin when I was done and saw Owain smirking at me.



"Do I really look strange to you?" I asked.



"Strange? No. A stupid, malnourished pirate who doesn't know how to fight and romance women? Yes."



I knew I shouldn't care about how I looked at that moment for as long as it was going to hide my identity. That way, I could roam around the Pirate City without being worried about my safety. Or if I would be lucky, I might see The Skull and the mermaid and prove what I thought was true.



"It's okay to look boring and uninteresting," I answered as I followed him to the deck. He unleashed a canoe from the side of the pirate ship and lowered the rope ladder so that I can climb down through it. I was already settled on the canoe and was about to get the paddle when I saw him climbing down, too.



"What are you doing?" I asked. It wasn't like I already knew how to make this canoe move and surely, I would still need some help. It was just that I wasn't expecting his being harmless to me would actually go this far.



"Do you think I would just let you wander around alone? The captain would not be happy with me when you get caught," he said as if his purpose was already obvious.



"Well, I actually need some help. So, thank you," I said, sincerely.



He became silent for a moment and remained staring at me with a blank expression in his eyes. I looked at him awkwardly wondering if I did something wrong. I was thinking that he would change his mind but he didn't and instead, he sat down and started paddling. We were silent as we passed through the gaps between the pirate ships. I also saw other canoes heading in the same direction we were going.



We reached the grand vessel and some pirates welcomed us. I could already hear the loud music and laughter from the entrance. To my surprise, there were actually a lot of beautiful women inside wearing a suggestive type of dresses and I began wondering if little Primrose could actually catch their attention. A woman regarded us with a flirtatious look in her eyes and ushered us to an empty table.



"I thought women are not allowed in a pirate ship. Why are there so many women in the Pirate City?" I whispered to Owain when the woman left.



"This vessel is not traveling far to worry about curses brought by the Jonah of the Pirate Ships and apparently, the Captain of the Pirate City has a great interest with women that he became immune to such curse."



"Or maybe, there's no truth to that curse," I suggested which he dismissed with a glare. Another woman came to our table and put a couple of big glasses and a pitcher of ale in front of us. I took note not to touch the poison. The pirates began to cheer when a familiar music started airing in the wide hall of the grand vessel. They settled down on their tables and watched the empty stage light up. We all waited in anticipation because we knew that someone was going to sing the song that was close to the pirates' heart. We waited until finally, a beautiful woman with a long, golden brown hair stepped up on the stage and held the harp in her hand. She was glowing amidst the light, and everyone's attention was focused on her. She was like an enchantress and she cast a spell around her the moment she spoke:



"I am singing this song for someone so special to me. We've been apart for a very long time, and now, he's already in my arms. This song is for you, and I promise that nothing can separate us this time," the woman said and held out her hand to the pirates who were watching her in the front.



I watched with an uncomfortable feeling building up in my chest as a familiar man stood out from the crowd and reached out for her hand. And I gasped in absolute shock as I realized that it was The Skull kissing the hand of the Enchantress on the stage.



"For you, my only Skull," she said in her musical tone that delighted the pirates and broke my heart. So this woman was the mermaid. She was the one the Skull had been looking for in a very long time. And right at that moment, they had finally found each other. What a wonderful and sickening love story.