by B. T. Love
“He’s harmless. Here,” I said, tugging on his arm and making him lean over the side of the ship. “This is Ladarius. Ladarius, this is my father, Captain William Hayes.”
Ladarius brought a fin-adorned arm out of the water and waved up at him. “It’s nice to meet you Mr. Grog Blossom.”
I laughed under my breath as my father stared down at him with a mixture of disgust and disbelief. “That be Captain Grog Blossom to ye, ye ocean fish.”
Ladarius chuckled. “Well now I see where Grace gets her mentality about Merfolk.”
My father faced me and placed his hands on his hips. “Ye really be friends with a man who be half of a fish?”
“Yes, I am. And he’s not half fish. He’s spectacular.”
He grumbled under his breath. “Aye then. But I don’t be trustin’ the likes of him.”
“Excuse me Captain?” Ladarius called up to us.
He leaned back over the edge. “What ye be callin’ me fer?”
“I know we have just met and it is none of my business, but I have heard you are in possession of the Cursed Doubloon. Is that true?”
“Curse!” my father raged. “The curse be sendin’ a merman to sabotage findin’ me Melody! And look! The fog be comin’ in! Give it yer best shot, ye cursed fog! Ye won’t be takin’ me ship down!”
“Father,” I hushed him, “you’re rambling! Calm yourself.”
“He wants to be takin’ me doubloon for himself!”
“No he does not! First off he’s not a human man and not a captain so he doesn’t desire ownership of it. And secondly he has been my friend long before he learned you were in possession of it. He is a friend, not an enemy.”
“How ye be knowin’ he ain’t no enemy?”
“Because he is the voice that always guides our ship through the never-ending fog. On one occasion you thought him to be a Siren but he is not. He is a ShipSaver. He has saved us many times unbeknownst to you.”
My words seemed to calm him. He huffed under his breath and leaned back over the edge. “Aye fish,” he said, giving him his attention once more. “I be the rightlful owner of the Cursed Doubloon. What’s it to ye?”
“Have you ever heard of the legend of the PearlWeeper?”
“Can’t say that I have. But me memory isn’t what it used to be.”
“Well, the legend says if a certain mermaid cries a pearl tear you can place it on the Cursed Doubloon and it will grant you a wish.”
My father listened more carefully, gaining interest in each word Ladarius said. “You can cry tears of pearls?”
“No, not I. But I am aware of a merman who can.”
“And ye’ll be givin’ me pearls to grant me wishes with?”
“Well, no, not exactly. I would only be allotted two.”
“Then ye be givin’ me one of ‘em! I be needin’ it to ask the Cursed Doubloon to show me where me hidden treasure be!”
Ladarius shook his head. “That will not work. I need both of my pearls as I only get two in my lifetime.”
“Then ye be outta luck!” He turned around and stomped off down the deck.
“Grace, please get him to come back! I, I have a plan!”
“Father,” I called after him, “please come back! Ladarius has a plan!”
“I be takin’ no orders from a merman!”
Some of the ears of the crew caught his words. “Merman?” they all said, staring around at each other.
“Aye,” my father answered, “there be a merman in the water below the stern. He be wantin’ to use me Cursed Doubloon to grant himself a wish.”
A flood of pirates charged my way and leaned over the side of the ship to see Ladarius. “It be a merman!”
“Yes,” I cut in, “and he is a friend. You will all leave him alone.”
“Hello, pirates,” Ladarius said up at them.
“He can talk!” one of them remarked.
“Of course he can talk, you idiot,” I huffed.
John cut through the crowd and joined my side, staring down at Ladarius. “Ye be knowin’ of a PearlWeeper?” he asked.
“Yes,” Ladarius answered. “I can get two pearls for myself but I need them.”
“Then why would the Captain be helpin’ ye out with a wish if there be nothin’ in it fer himself?”
“Because I have a plan. It involves getting Melody back.”
John’s eyes narrowed. “Ye be havin’ a plan to get the bird back?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Then the Captain be needin’ to hear it.” He turned around and cupped his hands around his mouth. “Captain! The fish has a plan to get yer Melody back!”
“John, don’t call him a fish,” I said.
“It’s okay,” Ladarius called up. “I’m used to it.”
I leaned over and smiled down at him. He smiled back, giving me a quick wink before turning his attention back to the men.
“What ye be talkin’ about?” my father growled as he approached the ship’s edge once more. “How ye be getting’ me Melody back?”
“Captain, Sir, for years I have dreamt of becoming a man, a real man, one with legs that can run along the sand of the ocean’s shores. I want to be human.”
The crew talked amongst themselves, all of them stating their opinions at once. “Shut yer mouths,” my father told them. “I can’t be hearin’ what he be tellin’ me! Continue, merman.”
Ladarius nodded. “I want to place a pearl tear on the Cursed Doubloon and beg it to grant me the wish to be human like you. If its will be that I can walk beside you then I will steal Melody back for you.”
“But that be what we already be doin’! We all be walkin’ on Keelhaul’s ship and stealin’ me Melody back. Yer plan offers me no further comfort!”
“But I would be another hand on your crew to help!”
“I don’t be needin’ any other men! The ship be weighed down enough as it be.”
Ladarius’s eyebrows knitted together in thought; he looked desperate. “Wait!” he finally said. “I have an even better idea.”
“This be the last thing I be listenin’ to ye say, fish.”
“Well, I was thinking, what if I become part of Keelhaul’s crew?”
Everyone grew silent; we all knew his plan was a bad idea. “Ladarius,” I spoke first, “you can’t be serious.”
“But I am. I will pose as a pirate and run a rig on Keelhaul and his men.”
“You surely won’t trick them, Ladarius. Do you even know who Keelhaul is?”
“No,” he shrugged. “But I don’t care. Being human so I can be with you is worth any danger I put myself in.”
“But you cannot be with me if you are dead!”
“Oh, I will not die, Grace. I will surely fool them and gain their trust. Then when the time is right I will steal Melody back. I’m sure it will save the crew many deaths from a fight.”
“But ye be the furthest from a pirate I’ve ever seen,” John pointed out.
“Then you all shall train me. I will live among you and observe your habits.”
We were all quiet, the only exception being the sound of my father sucking his teeth next to me while he weighed the heavy decision. Our eyes were all on him, waiting for his answer. “Aye,” he finally spoke, “ye can try yer pearl on the surface of the Cursed Doubloon. If it grants yer wish then ye will go on account as a full-blooded pirate, livin’ on board The Fog Chaser with me and me crew. If ye prove to be a liar and don’t get me Melody then ye’ll be marooned, left about on an island with no tail to be getting’ ya back to yer previous life. Do we have an accord?”
“Father, no, that’s not—”
“We have an accord,” Ladarius agreed.
I looked down at him in disbelief. “What are you agreeing to? Being marooned on an island for the rest of your life?”
“Do you not have faith that I will follow through on my word?”
“No, that’s, that’s not what I was—”
“Will you stay with me?”
The crew chuckled around me. “What, what do you mean?” I asked, confused by his question.
“If something shall happen to where your father sees fit to maroon me on an island, will you stay with me there?”
My father slammed his hand down on the railing. “Me daughter won’t be stayin’ on an island with the likes of ye!”
“Yes!” I yelled down at him. “Yes, I will stay with you on the island.”
“What?” my father said, snapping his head over to me. “Have ye lost yer mind?”
“Well you’ve given me no choice. I love him, and I will follow him wherever he goes.”
“That be insane!”
“Well you would know how insane looks, wouldn’t you father?”
He glared at me as if I were an enemy. For a moment I felt afraid. “Aye aye, Gracie,” he said, his voice softer than I expected it to be. “If that be yer wish then I have no choice but to let ye have it.” He turned his attention back to Ladarius. “Swim away, fish. Get yer pearl to place upon me Cursed Doubloon.”
Ladarius didn’t say a word as he flipped around and went under water. We had no idea how long it would take him to return.
Five: Human
I stayed at the stern the majority of the night, waiting for Ladarius to pop back out of the water. Surely it was going to be a task getting the pearl tears from his brother. I hoped he could do it. What a wonderful thing it would be for him to be human. I was falling in love with him but kept my heart partially closed because he was a merman. Now, if his wish were to be granted, I could truly give my heart to him.
His plan did bother me, though. Apparently Keelhaul was a pirate not to be messed with, and I was worried for Ladarius’s safety. A part of me wished he would fail at getting Melody so he wouldn’t be on Keelhaul’s radar and he could be marooned with me to an island. It wouldn’t be so bad, living solely with the love of my life. I would do anything for him.
Before my eyes closed with heaviness I heard movement in the water. I peered down through the darkness, trying to see if it was him. Fog was surrounding the ship, as it usually was, so seeing him would most likely be next to impossible.
“Grace, are you there?” I heard him whisper.
“Yes,” I perked up. “I can’t see you through this blasted fog. I was worried you weren’t going to come back tonight.”
“I was worried about that as well; I didn’t know how easy it was going to be to get the pearls from my brother.”
“But you got them?” I delighted. “He really gave them to you?”
“With a little convincing, yes.”
“Well now that you have them, what do we do?”
“I need to place it on the doubloon.”
“So I need to fetch my father.” I spun around and ran off to my father’s cabin. “Father!” I yelled while banging on the rickety door. “Ladarius is back with the pearls! We need your doubloon!”
I could hear the mumblings of his interrupted sleep. “What ye be wantin’?”
“The doubloon!”
“Ye ain’t taken me doubloon!”
“Ugh,” I puffed while pushing open his door. “Get up you lazy man!”
“I am up. And he ain’t taken me doubloon. If he be wantin’ to place the pearl on its surface then he be comin’ to me.”
“But he’s a merman. He can’t be out of the water.”
“I’m sure ye’ll figure it out!” He stood up from his bed and ushered me back out the door.
“What nerve!” I stomped off to the back of the ship. “Ladarius?”
“Yes my love,” his voice called up to me.
“My father is being difficult at the moment. He says you need to come to him if you want to use the doubloon.”
“Well how am I supposed to do that?”
“I haven’t the slightest clue.” I crossed my arms and looked around the deck, noticing a metal bucket lying on its side next to a wound up length of rope. “What if we bring you on board with a pail of water? I’ll make sure to keep your tail wet.”
“Um, well . . . I guess we could give it a try. I will try anything to be human.”
“Alright then. I’ll get my father’s help to carry you.”
“No,” he fussed. “Please, not your father. I’ve made a terrible impression on him as it is. The last thing I want is for the Captain to carry me onto his vessel just so I can turn human and run off with his daughter.”
I dropped my head with an embarrassed smile. “Okay Ladarius. I will obey your request and recruit someone else for the job. Swim around to the dock and we will come down to retrieve you.”
“Okay.”
Everyone was asleep so I had to choose wisely. I already knew my first pick was John, I just hoped that he was willing. I went below the ship to the crew’s quarters and scanned the hammocks for his face. I spotted him a few feet away in his hanging bed, his curved knife on his chest, rising up and down with every breath he took.
I approached him carefully; waking a man who slept with his weapon ready was a nerve-wracking task. “John,” I hushed next to him, “wake up. It’s me.”
He snorted a breath and opened one scar-encircled eye. “Grace? What be wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. The merman has brought his pearls. I need your help carrying him to father’s cabin.”
“Are ye crazy er somethin’? I ain’t touchin’ no slimy merman.”
I rolled my eyes. “He’s not slimy, I assure you. Please.”
He brought his hand to his face and wiped the sleep from his eyes. “Aye aye, Grace. But ye be owin’ me.”
“That’s fine. Now hurry up and meet me on the dock.” I ran up the stairs and back on deck to grab the bucket, left the ship and went down to the dock. “Ladarius?” I called.
“I’m right here.”
I followed his voice and spotted his face through the fog. “There you are. The fog hides you well.”
“That’s a good thing.”
“Yes, I suppose it is. John is coming to help carry you.”
“John? Well that’s nice of him, I guess.”
“Yeah he didn’t want to at first. Said you were slimy.” I chuckled and dunked the pail into the water to fill it. “I told him you weren’t.”
“Yeah, well, I’m the one who is going to be ill, being carried by a smelly unbathed pirate.”
I pulled the bucket up with a laugh. “You are right about that. Now, I’m going to put this pail up on deck and I’ll hurry right back.”
“Okay.”
I hurried quickly, careful not to spill, and put it by my father’s door. His loud snores drifted out through the cracks in the wood. “I can’t believe that man,” I muttered.
John’s heavy footsteps trudged up the stairs. “Let’s be gettin’ this over with.”
“Follow me.”
We made it down to the dock and stopped next to Ladarius. “Thank you for your help,” Ladarius told him.
John crossed his arms and answered with a huff.
“Oh, stop that. This man is going to help get father’s bird back and lead you to his treasure, that of which I’m sure you’ll partake in. Would it be too much to ask for you to display some sort of politeness?”
He slowly dropped his arms. “Aye. But I want to be seein’ the pearls first.”
Ladarius brought a hand out of the water and opened it with his palm facing us. We both moved in, peering closely at the two small gems.
“They are beautiful,” I said. “But I must say, they are not as beautiful as my rose pearl.”
He smiled at the compliment.
“Alright, fish. How will we be doin’ this?”
“Well,” he thought for a moment, “I can pull myself onto the dock and you can take it from there.”
“That sounds like a start,” I agreed.
Not wasting any time, he put his palms on the wooden planks and pushed himself up and out of the water. He looked amazing, the strength of his arms and the gloriousness of his tai
l. For a moment John and I just stared at him, fascinated.
“I know it’s a lot to take in,” Ladarius spoke, “but I don’t have much time to be out of the water.”
“Oh,” I said as John and I snapped out of our trance. “Right.”
We surrounded him, I on his right and John on his left, and picked him up.
Ladarius put an arm around each of our shoulders. “Do you have me?”
“Aye,” John said easily.
“Yes,” I said through gritted teeth. He was very heavy, especially his tail, and I wasn’t sure if I could make it all the way back on the ship.
We carried him through the fog and stopped next to the ships rope ladder. “I can pull myself up,” he told us.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” he said with a little laugh behind his voice. He took his hand away from my shoulder first and grabbed the rope. We watched in awe as he pulled himself up with ease, the muscles in his back working along with his arms to pull the weight of his tail behind him.
“That be a strong merman.”
“Yes, I agree.”
Once he was to the top he pulled himself over the edge and landed on the deck with a thud. I quickly made my way up behind him. “Are you alright?” I asked.
“Yes, but I need some water.”
“Right.” I left him where he was and ran to fetch the pail. By the time I was back at his side John was next to him. “Here is your water.” I knelt down and dunked my hands into the coolness, cupping my palms and bringing an ample amount out to pour over his tail. “There you are,” I said as I gently rubbed it over his scales.
John’s eyes shifted back and forth between the two of us, but he stayed quiet.
After a couple more dunks of my hands, Ladarius raised one of his. “That’s perfect. Thank you, Grace.”
“You’re welcome.”
John and I readied ourselves and scooped him back up for the second round of carrying, scurrying along as quickly as we could. Before making it to my father’s cabin my dress caught beneath my foot and we stumbled, almost dropping him.
“Are you alright?” Ladarius asked, his face filled with concern.
“Yes, I’m fine. I’m starting to hate wearing dresses.”
“I told you not to wear one, remember?”