The Mermaid Pirate

Chapter Eleven: Coincidences

***I'm writing this on my iPad so I can't bold this... but I've decided to push through with CH 11 because I have kept you all waiting long enough. Forgive me please! I just can't figure out what I'm going to do with the story but I came up with a lovely idea for CH 11! Yippie!! Alrighty here I goooooooooo***

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Emmet's view (Entirely in his view)

My heart beats hard against my chest with mixed emotions of worry and confusion. Worried, that Charlie might snap my sister's neck because I've left them alone in the cave and confused by the fact that I know I'm NOT worried. But I am still even though, my sister and the mermaid have grown to be fast friends. Charlie and my sister has the same stubbornness and the same sense of humor which drew them together. I can tell, however, that Charlie is still wary of us, not ready to give us her life story. I often wonder what her story is and I catch myself staring at her. I noticed she had a mark on her back which looked like childish drawing of a mermaid surrounded by jewels. When my sister and I asked her about it she only responded with a mean glare.
I was sent back to the castle, well ordered, because I keep making Charlie angry. As I swim back to the castle, I struggle to keep my face neutral. Many merpeople are out today and I return their greetings respectfully. I also pretend to not notice the whispers about my mate markings on my tail and ignore the defeated sighs of the other mermaids who wished to be mine. Ever since Charlie arrived two days ago, she has been on my mind constantly. I have only seen Radiance once since my return and my connection to her is not anything near to what I have with Charlie. It's more real, believable but is it true? I mean seriously, a merman being a mate of a human? That just doesn't happen.
I greet the gate guard as he pulls open the gleaming metal gate open for me to the entrance of the castle. I realize he's the mate of one of the mermaids that attended the hunt, the mermaid whose tail was badly injured. Unsure what to say to the guard, I just continue forward to the castle's great room. I swim slowly, my thoughts still swirling with images of Radiance and Charlie. I absolutely cannot help myself to not think that Charlie is simply stunning as a mermaid. I faintly remember her as a human while she was on that ship, her ship. I struggle to believe that a human could be as charming and witty like Charlie is. While Radiance is a complete opposite of Charlie. Radiance is not nearly as bold but she makes up for it with her gentle and kind demeanor. She's respectful and would be the perfect image for a future queen this kingdom needs. Although, Charlie with that boldness could lead us in the right direction. I pause and I scoff out loud at myself for comparing queen capabilities between Radiance and Charlie.
"Now, what do you find to be so funny?" Looking up I see my wary-eyed mother approach me with open arms. I study her closely, her hair is half up and half down, decorated with sparkling purple pearls which match her purple shell necklace. She also has shells and a vibrant purple sea star placed next to her white crown as a decoration for her light green hair.
I smile and go into her arms. "Hello mother, are you feeling better today?" I ask concerned. Since the hunt and the loss of her closest friend, Capri, my mother has been not herself. She spends a lot of time by herself now, uninvolved with the healers and what my father has been up to. My father has been ashamed of himself for allowing himself to fall back into the Dark Pearl's power and Opal, well she hasn't left her room.
"Yes, my spirits higher today. I spent sometime praying to the Elder by the Pearl, which is now gleaming with power." She sighs, "Now, what are you laughing about?" She raises her delicate eyebrow, giving me a look that somehow, she already knows.
I act innocent, "Oh it was just something Aurora said earlier."
"Oh, to whom?" She hides a small smirk. I know I'm trapped but perhaps I can still charm my way out of this.
I smile my most dazzling smile, "To me."
"And?" She presses on, unfazed by my smile.
I sigh, defeated. "How'd you know?" I keep my face calm but inside my heart is exploding with emotion. Fear, anxiety, worry, and again, confusion. I seem to be confused a lot lately, not something a future king should be.
She pulls me into another hug, "Because you are my son." she simply says.
I scoff, "And a mind reader."
She tilts her head to the side and gives me a sparkling smile. "Perhaps, now how on earth did you find this mermaid? Her tail holds some strange power that I cannot decipher through your memories."
I groan. "Mother! I thought we had agreed that since I am over a hundred years old you would stop this!"
She shakes her head, "If you were a worried mother who did indeed notice that her son and youngest daughter has been disappearing for hours at a time, wouldn't you want to know?"
I shrug my shoulders, still unsure if my mother knows Charlie was a former human. "I guess."
"Why don't you invite her to the castle, I would love to meet her. Plus, staying in that cave must not be comfortable." she adds.
I look up sharply, "What? Bring her here?"
"Why not? Is she a dangerous mermaid?" She chuckles and continues, "I want to examine her tail further. Plus, she matches the color of your mark better that Radiance don't you think?"
I bark out a laugh, "No not at all mother, just merely a coincidence that they would have a similar color."
"Alright, but bring her tonight to me." She smiles.
"Okay."
My mother gestures with her hand, "Now go on. Fetch her. Before it gets too dark!"
"Alright, alright." I place a gentle kiss on her cheek. "See you soon."

~Back at the cave~

"Come on Aurora, what else was I supposed to do?" I privately speak to my outraged sister. Charlie is sound asleep on the makeshift bed after a long day of swim practice with my sister but I wanted to make sure she didn't hear us.
Aurora turns to me, glaring at me through slitted eyes. "Supposed to do!? Put up the mental block like I did when ever I returned to the castle. Now mother knows I lied about being with Radiance, who which misses you dearly!" She adds dramatically. She whips back around, her long brown hair flowing freely behind her as she settles down on a rock.
I don't say anything but I avert my gaze to the sleeping Charlie. Her strong expression is now soft, gentle even. Her small, but plump rose colored lips are parted slightly, showing perfect teeth. Her face is perfectly relaxed, looking peaceful.
"She finally trusts me! Barely, but I can tell she does. Did you know that if a mermaid changes a human, they share a bond, similar to the mate bond but, not as strong?" she adds quietly.
"What?" A bond? Another bond? I have never heard of such a thing but then again mermaids changing humans is such a rare occurrence. Not much is known of the changing process, expect if the mermaid is too weak they both die.
"Im not too sure either but all I know is that I feel something between us. Even Charlie said that she picks up on my emotions fairly well too. We played around and discovered we can use the mate bond link but its not the mate bond link. Theres another link through the water that bonded humans and mermaids can use!" she babbles excitedly.
I purse my lips together and frown at my sister. "This is getting too complicated. Im not even sure if mother knows that Charlie is, was, a human! Now, adding this to the pile will only complicate things even more. Do you think mother knows about the bond between humans and mermaids?"
My sister shrugs innocently and turns to look at Charlie again. "I kinda like having the bond with her, it's pretty cool. I mean, she has the whole mental block thing down and I can't break through to see her memories. Although, she did let one thing slip..." She trails off, her voice suddenly thick with emotion.
"What do you mean?" I gently ask, moving next to my sister.
"You know that last hunt that killed Opal's mate and his sister?"
I nod, "Of course I do."
"Well, from what her memories show is that her some what of a father, that part was unclear, was the one who father and all of them attacked and failed..." she stops, fighting the urge to not to cry.
I pull her into a hug, my mouth open with shock. "Are you sure? This was before Charlie's time."
My sister nods, "This was when the ship was very young. I also saw something else, father has led hunts before Opal's hunt. Two of them after father banished his mother."
I shake her shoulders, urging her to go on. She bites her lip and looks up at me with red rimmed eyes. "Father was the one who killed the BlackDiamond's captain, Charlie's father. We killed Charlie's father." She whispers.
My body is struck with shock and I turn back my gaze to Charlie. All of this had to happen for a reason, this couldn't just be coincidence that brought us together. I tilt my head back as Aurora starts to cry silent tears in my shoulder. I wonder what the Elder has in store for us, for our kingdom. I can't help to think that she is putting us to the test, me to the test. What will Charlie say or do when she finds out we are the clan responsible for her unhappiness. Will she leave us? Will she try to kill us? Will she use her powers that my mother claims her has against us? A question that scares me the most is that will I lose Charlie, forever?


A/N
Alrighty, so what do you think? Its a short one but it will lead into Ch 12 pretty nicely! Ch 12 will be long but I'll try to make it shorter, or split it into ch 12 and 13? Im not sure yet, but do keep in mind that I KNOW WHAT I WILL DO WITH THIS STORY NOW!!! YIPPIE! Got my spark back. Man, I'm on FIRE. Im even writing the chapters for the other two stories. ;) AHHHH! Alright okay... so leave me your thoughts. I wanted it to be like, ya know, coincidences that ties them together!
SPOILER I plan to create an uttermost betrayal in the story. GASP! Ah, you gotta have seen that coming huh? LOL
Im not even going to bother with the whole will update at this number.. I'll just put a minimum number of votes, how about that? Update will be after minimum number of 300! Mighty large don't cha think? Should buy me time to write, because LAST TIME I said a number you guys passed it with in 24 hours! Jesus Christ. But I am flattered. Thanks! <3