A Pirate's Life

Feliciana was sold when she heard he didn't like the captain. "Wait Antonio," she called, "thanks!" She smiled and waved. "Or First Mate, sir!" She gave a little salute and smirked. She then directed her attention back to the odd situation before her.

Kirsten flicked her gaze over to the girl that the blond guy was holding. She looked rather uncomfortable, poor thing. Was she a prisoner?
She spoke to the girl telepathically. "Is the blond man with ridiculous eyebrows hurting you? Do you need help? Signal to me with your hands if you want help."

Aleks -
Being the cook on a ship was a benefiting job to say the least. Out of conflict. And listening to conversation. Moving slow to not cut himself, Aleks chopped varying vegetables, their origins mostly unknown to him as the small coins clinked against one another with his actions. Knife blade slicing through the vegetables. Carrots. And potatoes as he pushed them to the side and into the large beaten pot with a meager addition of salt before he lifted the heavy object to begin cooking for the crew. With the movement of the ship, Aleks grabbed a wall before stepping out of his galley and heading for the storage. Picking out the best looking biscuit for the captain's dish when time would come for their meal. Hauling up the rest he caught sight of the abin boy and stepped on deck "hey. Boy. Come help eh?" Aleks smiled and pushed the bag forward with his foot. The best biscuit clutched in his hand.

Swishing her tail impatiently, Kassie Jones a aqua scaled mermaid anxiously looked up at the surface of the water. It was far away, and today she was more impatient than normal to breach the surface and see what she could see. For as long as she could remember, she longed for the world above. It wasn't something she could describe. But after years of being alone under the waves, rejected from the merfolk below she often wished for another world to settle herself in. One where she wasn't known with a tarnished reputation. The guilt weighed heavy on her heart and this was the the only way out. Swishing her tail hard, she shot up from her small home made of stones and into the surface above.

Soon she could see the sun and the surface quite clearly, a smile brightening her face as she broke the surface. Tilting her head back, her long blonde locks followed suit, brushing against her back. Eyes the color of the seas glanced around her. She saw nothing but sea around her.


Meanwhile, on land in a small village a young woman lifted her head from gardening and grinned. Her long flowing fiery hair shifting and some stray pieces drifting across her face. "I believe it is time to visit the beach." She hummed and instantly stood up, her dress covered in dirt. Laughing a bit, she hummed and walked through town towards the shore. Kiera Kirkland, the local witch reached within a satchel she carried around and grasped a large piece of crystal she kept with her. It began to pulse and glow and she glanced within it, noticing the one she was to help next with her magic.

"Well this will certainly be a first." She grinned. "A mermaid."

David continued on with a thought of being seen, Continue on...Continue on...If I get seen, there are a lot of places to hide here..., He found a coat of armor beside him near the wall, Must be Japanese, never knew they had these, He continued to search deeper and deeper in the room.

After the crew had made their way to their hammocks, Esmeralda slid down the mast and landed softly on deck. She looked around to see if anyone was awake then treaded quietly to the navigation table by the wheel. The sea was calm and Viktor had the crew tie down the wheel to keep it on track while everyone slept. Esmeralda laid out a beautifully, ornate star map and took out an old telescope. She looked through at the plethora of stars and started to add to the map. Hmmm, that's odd. It seems the stars have shifted. I wonder what this journey will bring us, if not destruction? She shook her head. No, the only thing that could do this is very powerful magic, and unnatural magic at that.

Peter looked at Alex, trying to see if he recognized her from the crew. "Um, miss, what's your name? I don't remember seeing you around here on the ship." He said, a small smile on his face.

Peter already knew what she was going to say. "I'm here because, uh...Well, it's complicated, miss!" He quickly looked over at Antonio, nodding. "On it, sir!" Grinning, he pulled out his building supplies and went to work fixing the broken railing.

When Simeon was told to leave, he almost immediately did, not wanting to deal with any more of this. It was disgusting and annoying, to one point. However, he wasn't even planning on sleeping. First, he could never go to sleep at such a time - the moon was lower than it is when he does go to sleep. Second, he didn't want to go to bed... Or hammock. Same thing. What he wanted was to stay up late, or later than usually, and think. It always happened whenever he thought about his old life - he just needed to think until he was too tired to be able to, he needed to stay up. Though he never got sorry for his decision, he always wondered how things could have turned different if he had stayed. Or if they changed because he left.

Walking into his room, he sat on said hammock. Underneath it, he began to break through one of the boards, revealing underneath his old clothes. His noble clothes. If anyone were to actually find them, he'd lie and say that they were stolen - kept in case they could ever need a noble in disguise. After examining them, he quickly put them back in place just in case someone came in - which never happened... Yet. Afterwards he began his normal thinking process, including standing up moments after he started and pacing around. At one point he thought of going out on a walk around the ship but decided to do that later. And so, he continued to pace around like a mad man.

Feliciana noticed the crew by the railing disbanding and ran to grab the mop and bucket. She started working as far away from the others as possible. As she swabbed the deck, she thought about her past life. She had decided to run away a year ago when her grandfather, Romulus, decided to arrange her marriage. She remembered his words when he first told her, "You are seventeen now, and ripe for marriage. The company has had competition with the Germans for a long while and this arrangement will unite our families to create an unstoppable future!" Feliciana shook her head. She found it utterly disgusting and fled in the night before she would meet her fiancé. She had heard stories of her uncle, Atticus, being a pirate and got a job on Her Majesty's Rose. Let's try not to dwell on the past! Focus on the now... As Feliciana mopped, she tried to calm herself by humming and swaying, making her job seem more like a dance. She found solace in Domenico Scarlatti's Sonata in D Major and forgot the worries weighing her heart down.

Atticus turned in surprise, "Why not more than an hour Captain! What plagues you as to send me into your quarters?" He was pleased, giddy even, to get to see the Captain's room, but was wise enough to know something was wrong.

Kassie swam around a bit until she could see land. Feeling her heart pounding rapidly in her chest, her tail went on overdrive, propelling her closer and closer to shore. She didn't see a human in sight and it was a rare chance for her to glance land without humans around. She laughed a bit and found a rock to pull herself from the coldness of the sea into the warmth of the sun. Pulling herself up on the flat rock and tucked her deep blue and purple tail from the water and glanced longingly at the land only a few feet away. She hummed a bit and had a sudden urge to sing.

She opened her mouth, then closed it, grinning. "I'd better not sing. I don't want to send someone to their death soon."

"Why not? I'm sure you have a beautiful voice." A voice commented from her right.

Instantly, Kassie yelped and dove back into the waves, only her head peaking above the water and looking around frantically before they settled upon a woman. She had long curled hair the color of fire. And the deepest sea green eyes she had ever seen. Who was this woman?

Sea green eyed woman laughed and took a few steps closer. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to startle you young one." Kassie huffed at that. Young one? They looked almost similar in age!

"Who are you?" Kassie demanded, swimming a bit further away. The human was getting dangerously close to the water.

The woman tilted her head a bit. "Me? my name is Kiera, Kiera Kirkland." She grinned. "But I'm mostly known as the Fire witch." She added chuckling.

Kassie blinked. A witch? She had heard of those! They dealt with the dark arts. Her blue eyes widened and she instantly stopped cold, letting the woman quickly get close until her bare feet were being licked by the waves.

"And you are?" The witch asked the mermaid.

"Kassie....Kassie Jones. I'm a mermaid as you already are aware." Kassie said, breaking herself from the gaze and grasping onto the rock she had been lying on moments before.

"Yes, I am aware. I am also aware of a wish you might have. Correct?" Kiera smirked.

Swallowing, Kassie could feel her insides tighten. "Y-yes. I have a wish."

Kiera nodded. "Tell me. What is your wish Kassie Jones."

"I....I wish to be human." She said. "I want to walk with the humans, explore their lands and have many adventures. I want to make new friends!" She felt the words tumble out of her uncontrollably.

Kiera's smile became more wistful. " I can't say I haven't heard that one before....but, are you certain you want this mermaid? The consequences are dire if you change your mind. Not everything is as glamorous as you wish it to be." The smile faded. "You are wishing to be something you were born into. A species you were never meant to be. If I grant this wish. You realize you will never be able to return to the water." Kiera's emerald eyes gazed deeply into the mermaids. "For if you do try to return to the water....well.." she closed her eyes.

A sudden terror welled up in Kassie's chest. "What? What will happen?!"

Kiera paused, letting the silence hang between them as she walked into the waves, the water reaching her waist. She reached out and looked at the mermaid with such sympathy. "You will lose everything. You will lose your soul and become a monster of the sea forever."

Kassie felt the air leave her body. ".....W-why? Why does such a spell cost such a price?"

"Such is the way of magic. You are asking for a completely new life. One free from the world of which you were born. If you truly wish to break these bounds there is always a price. It is often one that is most important to you. For you, its your beauty, your humanity. Does that answer your question?"

Slowly Kassie nodded and glanced down at her tail. The one thing she had lived with, that had lived with her for her entire life.

Brushing her fingers across the scales, she pondered. Wondering if this was the right choice. But soon her mind was made up. She glanced back at the waves, the waters she would never see again. She glanced back at the witch and firmly nodded. " I will do it!"

The witch seemed shocked a bit, but then nodded. "So be it. But remember these conditions. If salt water, any salt water touches you, the transformation will begin. Scales will form where salt water touches. If you are completely submerged.....well then..." She looked sad. "Also there is no time limit but I will say this. You will age as a human and no longer a mermaid. You will die as a human by their life span. Human's lives are short."

Kassie slowly nodded.

"Also....beware pirates..." She sighed and shook her head. "Especially my Cousin.....Arthur Kirkland. I'm pretty sure you'd be killed with your limited knowledge..."

"Hey!"

"But anyways, beware Pirates....they are dangerous and won't hesitate. If they find out your a mermaid it could end...badly. You will no longer have mermaid powers."

"But...how will I defend myself?" Kassie asked.

Kiera smirked. "If you beat me at something I shall give you the tools to protect yourself." She chuckled. "Now....is it a deal?" She grinned, reaching her arm out.

Hesitantly, Kassie swam out from her rock and got very close to Kiera. ".....Deal." She grasped the witches hand and then gasped as a searing pain engulfed her body.

"Ah yes, theres one other thing I would like to mention.....since I am...in a sense taking your immortality....as a mermaid...it...may hurt a bit." Kiera chuckled and took a couple steps back.

Kassie grasped at her stomach as she began to glow brightly and let out a ear piercing scream that could be heard for miles.