The Siren's Song

Chapter Twenty-Three

Later that night, Lust happily told stories, all of which taking place in the vast ocean. He was very happy that Cross and Fell "volunteered" to listen to them.

At this point, the two were completely numb to the mermaid's jabbering. Cross was even finding himself interested as Lust told a story of him and his best friend escaping the jaws of death yet again.

"And then Berry exclaimed with thunder in his voice—"

Suddenly interrupting him, a loud splash hit the deck, leaving a soaking wet man standing in the pooling water. "THERE YOU ARE!" the person boomed, storming forward, his small feet leaving foot prints. Cross couldn't help but softly gasp, being so invested in the story that the intruder did not yet alarm him. Fell, on the other hand, yelled and jumped to his feet, prepared to fight.

"Berry!" Lust exclaimed, jumping off the table he was standing on to tell his tales of treachery and action.

"I've finally found you! Now let's getting you home before the humans try—"

"Well well well~" Dust suddenly picked the small magic user up, licking his lips as he recognized him. "Came back for more, sweetheart?~"

"Hell no! I'm here to rescue my best friend!" The black haired smaller looked back, his face going pale. He began to claw at the air, much like a cat when being held by an annoying kid. "Let go!"

"Aww, I'm pretty up for round two~ You should feel lucky, most girls end up getting mugged after I fuck them, and I never see them again! You're just too cute to forget, though~" Dust began to adjust his hold on the smaller, trying to be able to grab him.

Lust kicked Dust in the balls after his shock wore off, causing the mermaid's skinny body to drop to the floor with a surprising thud. The other quickly helped him up, quietly talking to him. The brunette pirate was taking a moment to recover, too in pain to be pissed for the time being.

"What's going on out here?" Nightmare growled as he stormed out of his living quarters. The moment he saw Lust holding the smaller mermaid, he knew he was fucked.

"You! Traitor! Traveling with such heathenistic humans!" Violent purple eyes stared into the captain's single cyan iris. "We thought you were dead! But no, you lied to us! And you keep fucking lying!"

"Captain, you know him?" Fell looked at his captain.

"Know me?! Of course he fucking knows me! I'm a member of the royal guard, meant to protect him!" The small mermaid pulled away from his friend, storming up to the traitor he hated. "The Prince of Mermaids!"

"Okay, before we all share some magical flashback that explains it all that is for some reason in third person, can everyone who knew Nightmare's secret identity raise their hand?" Horror chimed in.

Lust, Killer, and Cross raised their hands.

"Okay, expected because you're a mermaid," Fell said as he pointed at Lust. "I guess expected since you're obviously into him." He pointed at Killer. "But why the fuck do you know?!" He looked at Cross.

Cross shrugged. "Me and Killer have known since Nightmare came up from the sea. After Doll's death, Killer was the one who told me to join him and Nightmare as they 'found all the outcasts who drifted from land', as Nightmare so poetically said."

"That's not that poetic." Horror shook his head.

"And you didn't tell us?!" Fell looked from Killer to Cross.

"Why aren't you mad at Lust?!" Killer defended.

"Because he's a mermaid and would probably know Nightmare from being in his kingdom! He would also know, first hand, why it's so dangerous to just be an open mermaid around humans! He would have a reason to know, and a reason to keep it a secret!"

"We were just trying to protect him too!" Cross looked at the crew. "I mean, seriously! We care about Nightmare, and didn't know how you guys would react."

"So you guys just casually hid the prince of mermaids up above water?" Fell looked at the three hiding his secret.

"Yeah. I mean, who wouldn't want the scales from a royal mermaid? We thought you'd skin him or something."

"But why did you run away?" The crew looked at the captain.

Nightmare sighed and walked over to the table Fell and Cross were sitting at, where they would often tell stories. He tied up his long black hair, allowing himself to reveal his violet left eye, and his long scar. He took a seat and motioned his crew closer.

"Let me tell you all a story."