A Mermaid's Tale

Chapter 16

"Laaaaaaaand ho!!!"

Several heads turned as skinny little Squeaker yelled from his perch in the crow's nest. It was still a ways off, but there was a distinct form on the horizon that couldn't be anything other than the Southern Continent. Some of the men leaned over the starboard rail with suggestive grins on their grimy faces. Arthur rolled his eyes as he thought about the multitudes of mistresses his crew must have had. That was not a practice for a gentleman like him.

He stood at the helm and turned the wheel ever so slightly, but the Queen Lady responded by turning widely to the right. The fishing village of Okonfo was on the shore the ship was quickly approaching, and that was the Captain's destination. Luckily for him, the wind had picked up late last night, and they were able to cover a large distance overnight. It would have been a perfect day on the sea if it weren't for one thing.

"Hey, (y/n)! Was that a land ho?" That infuriating whelp Alfred had appeared from the stairs and approached the mermaid.

"Yup," she answered with a brilliant smile. "We're almost there."

"Cool." Alfred leaned on the port railing with his elbows. "This is what I've dreamed of for so long."

"Going to the Southern Continent?"

"Well, kind of." He turned face the mermaid with a wistful look that made Arthur grind his teeth together. No one should be allowed to look at her like that. Except for the Captain of course. "I've always wanted to see new places, travel the ocean, meet new people, maybe find someone to settle down with."

The young man's eyes grew intense, and the mermaid shifted uncomfortably. "This must be your dream come true then."

"Totally."

Arthur didn't realize how tightly he was gripping the wheel until he had to pry his hands off to keep his hat from blowing away. The wind was becoming vicious, and he didn't like what that could mean. It could be a harmless windstorm passing through, or it could be much, much worse.

"What kind of dreams do you have, (y/n)?"

Captain Kirkland looked down at the two curiously. He knew it wasn't gentlemanly to eavesdrop, but he couldn't help himself. The conversation was becoming increasingly more interesting.

"I never really had a dream," she answered with a far away look. "But now my dream is to go back to normal."

"I'm sure you can do it," Alfred assured with a smile, and the mermaid smiled in reply.

"Christov," Arthur greeted his first mate without taking his eyes off the pair on deck. "Take the helm."

"Y-yes, Cap'n." Christov seemed taken aback by the Captain's terse tone.

Arthur walked down the stairs to the deck and called everyone to gather. It took a while for everyone to assemble, but he waited patiently with his arms crossed. His emerald eyes scanned the crowd. He paused for just a moment when he met the mermaid's gaze, but he didn't allow himself to linger. He almost smirked in a self-satisfactory way when he saw the corner of her lips pull down into a slight frown from the corner of his eyes.

"I'm sure you've all heard that we'll be landing soon," the Captain said to his crew. "I'll be needing a small landing party to accompany me, but the rest of you are free to do a you wish while I'm gone. Well, except the group that has to stay behind to watch the ship."

There were loud groans from the men.

"Quiet, you mangey lot!" Arthur's large eyebrows twitched in annoyance. "Or maybe you'd all like to stay behind and scrub the ship clean from top to bottom, eh?"

That got everyone to be quiet.

"That's what I thought. I'll be taking the mermaid with me, and she can pick a few other men to go with her. I'll leave that to her discretion."

"Ooooo! Me! Me! Me! I want to go! Pick me!" A small hand bounced and waved in the air at the back of the crowd.

The Captain sighed. "And it would seem Peter will be joining me as well."

"Yes!" The young boy's exclamation elicited some chuckling from the crew.

Arthur uncrossed his arms and allowed his lips twitch up into a small smile. "Alright then. We should we landing within the hour."

~000~

I was shocked. Arthur was actually letting me pick who would be coming with us without a fight. I would've been happy about it if it wasn't for one thing. He was giving me the cold shoulder. His offer appeared generous, but to me it looked like he couldn't be bothered to care about who I would choose. He wouldn't even look at me when he was addressing the crew.