A Lost Boy

Chapter 14

When Gray and Juvia arrived at Mermaid Heel it had become so much darker. The sky was filled with stars and the full moon was out which is a most haunting time at which to see the mermaids.

Now mermaids are not as they are in storybooks. They are dark creatures in touch with all things mysterious and very dangerous to all mortals. But they had eyes and ears all over the sea, making them the first to know anything that had taken place in the waters of Tendrou Island. If Juvia's brothers had drowned or had been taken aboard by pirates, the mermaids would know.

Once the dark haired boy and his bluenette lady friend were safely seated on a sturdy rock at the lagoon, he pulled out a pan flute and played a little tune. One that was known to attract mermaids once they heard it. In seemingly no time at all, three heads rose up to the surface of the water.

"Oh how sweet." Juvia smiled as she instantly recognized what they were.

She moved to wave or call out to them but Gray grabbed her hand to stop her in a cautionary manner. She looked at him confused.

"Are mermaids not sweet?" She asked him.

"They'll sweetly drown you if you get too close." He warned.

The three heads swam slowly toward the rock where the children sat which allowed Juvia to see their appearances better. They all had the upper body of a woman and very long hair that was like fine silk and each a different color: One green, one brown, and one a dark purple. But those were the only human qualities they had about them. The rest of their bodies were very much like a fishes. They bore gills on their necks, scales all over their skin, hands with claws and a thick-like webbing between the fingers, and pointed, razor sharp teeth that poked out a little from their mouths. They were not at all what Juvia pictured them being nevertheless she was still amazed and astonished upon seeing them.

Gray leaned over the rock to chat with the first two mermaids, speaking in a language that Juvia could not understand. But the third one with the dark purple hair turned her gaze toward the girl and moved closer to her. She slowly and subtly caught Juvia's hand and started to softly pull her into the water. Gray felt her slip from him and was quick to draw her back while hissing viciously at the mermaid who tried to drown his companion. She hissed back at him and they all wailed in a inhuman way before diving back into the sea.

"I told you not to get too close to them." He said to Juvia who was trembling a little.

"I'm sorry. I...I didn't know she was trying to drown me. She was being so gentle."

"That's how they get you. They don't just roughly drag you under. They make it seem like they're just trying to get you in for a harmless swim. Next thing you know you're a dead corpse floating around in the water. Never let them touch you again. Understand?"

"Yes. But what did they say? Do they know where my brothers are?"

"Yep and now we've got trouble."

"What do you mean? Are they alright?"

"They're alive but maybe not for long. Hades has them and the Indian princess. He's taking them to Marooner's Rock."

"What is that place?"

"It's where the pirates chain up their prisoners and leave them there to drown. They drown when the tide rises, for then it is submerged."

"Oh no." Horror, concern, and worry overwhelmed her. She felt as if her heart would stop in the moment, terrified that the next time she saw her brothers they would both be as dead as a door nail.

"He's doing this to draw me out. Another one of his futile traps. The dog!" He cursed. "And obviously he didn't learn his lesson from the last time he crossed the Indians otherwise he wouldn't be threatening the princess. We better get going, when the moon is out like this high tide can't be too far behind."