Gray smiled as he felt the salty sea air and the wind blowing in his face. There he stood at the head of the ship watching the sun set over the horizon. He had spent many days just like this one and he enjoyed them all. His father Commodore Silver Fullbuster was the Queen's top navy officer, there was no other sea man she could depend on more than him. And whenever he was called to go over seas he would take his wife Mika and young son Gray with him.
"Gray get off of that thing at once! You're leaning too far out!" Cried the concerned voice of his mother Mika.
"Oh let the boy be." His father Silver told her.
"But Darling what if he falls off? You know he can't swim! Gray get back here now!"
"Yes Mother." The boy huffed before coming down from the front of the ship and hurrying to where his parents stood.
"Really Mika you worry too much." Silver said.
"And you don't worry enough." She said. "I just don't want my little boy to drown."
"Mother I'm not so little anymore." Gray said blushing. "I'm eight years old."
His parents chuckled, Silver then placed Gray on his shoulders.
"Come on son, let's go see if the sailors are tying the right knots."
On top of his father's shoulders he could see the entire ship. The sails blowing in the wind, the sailors swabbing the deck and tying up the ropes, the captain steering the ship, it was a great view.
"How's the view up there Gray?" Silver asked.
"Amazing as usual. When do you think we'll get back to Fiore?"
"Soon. Very soon."
"Commodore Fullbuster." The captain said. "We need some help down below."
"I'll be right down." Silver put Gray down. "I'll be right back son, look around but don't do anything that will upset your mother."
"Okay."
Silver went below deck to help the captain, Gray went over to the edge of the ship to look out at the sea. Even though he couldn't swim he was fascinated by the movement of the ocean. How the waves would rise and fall, then crash against the ship. It was all very fascinating.
Suddenly he heard a voice singing vocally. It sounded like a little girl singing and it was a very sweet voice but what he found very unusual was that the voice was coming from the sea. He leaned over the ship toward the sea, trying to see where the source of the voice was. In his search he saw some very unusual things, a little white arm in the curl of a wave, then the glint of a tail rippling in the water, and finally the glimmer of a small fair head peeping from behind some rocks. Was he seeing things? Or were they actually there?
"Is something wrong dear?" His mother asked.
"Mother do you hear singing?"
"Singing? Well I sometimes hear the sailors carrying a little tune now and then but if you ask me they're very off key."
"No Mother it's a girl's voice."
"A girl's voice? But Gray there's no girl on this ship except for me of course."
"It's not coming from the ship, it's coming from the sea."
"The sea?"
"Must be a mermaid you heard singing." One sailor said. "Careful lad, if you get ensnared by her voice she'll drag you to a watery grave."
"Mermaids? Ha! That's just nautical nonsense." Silver said.
"But it ain't nonsense, it's the truth." The sailor argued. "Mark my words sir, next to pirates mermaids are the most dangerous things in the entire ocean. Vicious and manipulative monsters that would kill you without mercy!"
"That's enough. You'll frighten my son."
"I'm not scared Father." Gray said. "If a mermaid ever attacks me I'll stab her with a knife."
"Well you don't ever have to do that son because mermaids don't exist."
"But I know I heard a girl singing."
"It was probably just your imagination Gray. The sea can play tricks on you sometimes."
"I guess."
Later that evening after having dinner, Gray went to look for his parents. He found his mother in her room combing her long, shiny, black hair while playing her music box. It was a heart shaped, blue jeweled, silver tone music box. Her most prized possession.
Gray was about to make his presence known when he saw his father walk in from the other side of the room. He smiled at his wife and stepped up behind her.
"Remember the night I gave you that music box?" He asked her. "It was ten years ago and I had just come back from traveling over seas for three months and you were worried that over those three months I had forgotten all about you and found someone else."
"Yes I remember." She said.
"But when I arrived to meet you at the port I told you that I had a very special surprise for you. That's when I gave you the music box and I told you that I had made it especially for you and you just started to cry."
"I know what happened Silver, I was there."
"How could you have possibly thought that I would ever leave you for some other woman?"
"I was young Silver and you were a sailor back then and from what I knew then sailors were as frisky as the ocean."
"True but my heart shall always be yours and yours alone."
He leaned over and kissed her mouth. She smiled and returned the kiss, soon the two were locked in a passionate embrace and an even more passionate kiss.
"Gross!" Gray gagged causing his parents to blush when they realized that their son was there. "You guys are so mushy!"
"Oh come here you little snoop!"
Silver playfully lunged for his son. Gray started to run upstairs, back on deck with his parents chasing after him. Round and round, they ran until at last Silver managed to grab the boy and start assaulting him with tickles. Gray burst into a fit of laughter, his father and mother laughed also. The three of them were just so happy in that moment. But their happiness was not meant to last.
At that precise moment a cannon ball was shot right at the ship.
"What was that?" Mika gasped.
Silver looked over the edge and saw that just across from their ship was another one but it bore a flag with the symbol of a skull. It was a pirate ship.
"Oh dear God." He whispered in horror. "Mika, get Gray and go below deck! Now! Men grab your guns and get up here! Hurry!"
Mika picked up Gray and dashed below deck where she crouched down into a corner and held him protectively.
"Mother what's going on?" Gray asked her.
"It's okay Gray. Everything's going to be alright." She said not wanting her son to be scared.
He heard the sound of cannons and gun shots going off up above deck followed by swords clashing. Later he smelled smoke and heard crackling. There was a fire.
"Mother I can't breathe." He coughed.
"We need to get back up deck." She said.
But aboard deck there were burning hot flames everywhere while the dead bodies of stabbed or shot sailors lay scattered across the ship. Those who still lived fought bravely against the pirates that had invaded the ship but the bravest of all was Silver for he was fighting the pirates's ruthless and black hearted Captain Deliora.
"You murderer!" He said. "You'll pay for slaughtering my men!"
Silver's sword clashed with Deliora's as they fought. During the battle, Deliora managed to knock away Silver's sword and had him pinned.
"You leave my father alone!"
Gray broke away from his mother's grasp and ran toward them. Taking a knife from one of the dead sailors, he stabbed Deliora in the back of his ankle. He shouted in pain and swung a fist at the boy's face causing him to fall back.
"You little runt!" He snarled. "I'll teach you to meddle in my affairs!"
He raised his sword and moved it to strike him.
"No! Not my son!"
Horror crossed Gray's face when he saw his father jump in front of the boy, shielding him from the blow but suffering a fatal stab to the heart in the process.
"Father!" He cried out as he watched the man fall down dead.
Next thing he knew he felt his mother pull him away from his father's corpse.
"You must run Gray! Escape!" Mika told him.
"But-"
"Run! Run to the life boats! Hurry!"
Her final words before she too suffered a fatal blow from the evil Deliora which ended her life. He couldn't react, he was too stunned. He had just seen both of his parents die right in front of him. Deliora then moved to kill him too but the flames had reached the gun powder below deck causing the ship to explode and Gray was thrown into the sea. He flailed his arms and legs, trying to swim back up but he only continued to sink and sink, water filling his lungs, losing his breath. Before he blacked out he thought that he felt a pair of arms grab him and pull him toward something.
He was in darkness for a very long time and when he started to come to he was still so very dizzy.
"Please don't die." He heard a melodious voice say.
He felt a pair of lips kiss his high forehead and a gentle hand stroke his wet hair away from his face. He took a breath and his eyes started to open. He felt feverish and could hardly make out what or who he was looking at. All he could register was that it had two beautiful blue eyes.
"Don't worry I'll get you to safety." The voice said and that was the last thing he remembered before blacking out again.