The Mermaid-Cursed Pirate

Chapter 14

Recap:

He scratches the back of his neck, avoiding her eyes, "Well, Neverland time is different, you know. So I can't be sure-" he stammers, but an angry mermaid interrupts him.

"Pan. How many days was I asleep, in Neverland terms. Tell me the truth," she demanded.

He nods, pleading, "Don't freak out on me, okay? You were asleep for almost 2 weeks. That's in Neverland terms," he explained.

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Sirena's head spun as she took in Pan's words. Two weeks. She had slept for two weeks straight. She glanced at her runes on her arm to see if it changed. To her relief, only one day had passed according to her runes. She had been on Neverland for a month after her curse began and only one day had passed. She could work with this, but hopefully, her captain could find something soon. She had no desire to con Pan that long.

"Rena, are you still here?" Pan questions, placing a gentle hand on her arm.

Realizing Pan was still there, her head turned to meet his concerned eyes. "Two weeks. It's just a lot to take in," she assures with a small smile.

"Well, now that you're caught up to speed, what do you say we go see the boys? They'll be happy to see you awake and walking around," he suggests. She considers his offer, biting her lip, then nods. Pan scoops her up into his arms and transports her to the middle of camp. "Look who it is, boys!" he shouts as he sets Sirena down on a bench by the fire.

"One at a time boys!" she shouts, closing her eyes as she braces for impact. But the expected blow never comes. She opens her eyes to see her surrounded by grinning boys, but each stood at a distance, giving her room.

"Don't worry, Sirena. Pan told us to be gentle with you," one of the youngest boys, Charlie, explains as he crouches in front of her. The other boys follow suit, sitting in a circle around her so the could see her.

"Well, thank you, boys. I should be fine now, though. But I still don't want to be the victim of a Lost Boy dogpile!" she addresses the boys, pointing at them with a stern look that breaks into a grin.

"So what did the pirate do to you? Did he poison you?" another boy, Devin, asks with worried eyes.

"He didn't poison me," she answers quickly, then takes in a shaky breath before continuing. "You boys remember what I told you about mermaids and their curses?" She looks around, seeing most boys nod. "Well, he accidentally started my third curse," she hears a few gasps and Charlie grabs her hand.

"You are bound to that awful man?" he inquires.

She bites her lip, thinking to herself, "He is far from awful, but I can't say that here." Instead of voicing her thoughts, she nods to answer his question. "Something else happened, and to keep me safe, Pan sent the pirate ship to another realm. But, because I was bound to the captain, the curse affected me, and that's why I was asleep for so long."

"If Hook ever shows his face on Neverland again, I'll gut him where he stands!" an older boy shouts, standing up and slashing his sword in front of him. The rest of the boys cheered in agreement.

"While that is an excellent idea, I think Sirena has had enough excitement for one day. Why don't you boys say goodbye to her and get back to what you were doing before?" Pan directs. Each of the boys walks up to her and gives the mermaid a hug, high-five, smile, wave, or nod. After every boy has left Sirena, Pan walks up to her. "What do you say we get some food?"

"Food sounds amazing right now," she replies. As if on cue, her stomach lets out a deep rumble. They share a laugh, then return to Pan's treehouse for some dinner.