The Little Merman

Chapter Five: "Legacies Collide"

Back on the ship, Prince Sean was hunched over the deck in his guest cabin. Pulling the oil lamp closer, he leaned on the desk as he read the pile of books that Anslo had brought with them. The books were on his family history. He'd been told repeatedly that these would help him prepare for his throne. Now that his parents were gone. That day was coming faster than he wanted. He was still a 'prince' until his coronation ceremony when he'd be official titled the king. However, this ceremony came with a heavy price for him. He could easily take the throne himself, but if he didn't want his kingdom to look weak... He'd have to find a queen. Marrying would unite two kingdoms against any attacking forces. While ruling alone left his kingdom vulnerable to those with strong marital alliances. The way his advisors talked about it made him paranoid. He would be the youngest king in his realm. Which made his people nervous because he had very little experience in leading others. Or so his advisors told him.

Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Anslo passed out in a hammock in the corner of the cabin. Carefully taking his stuffy royal jacket and sash off, he set them on the desk and dimmed the lamp light. Quietly, Sean crept across the creaking wood to the cabin door and slipped out. It was dark out, but according to his pocket watch it was the start of his twenty-first birthday. The last place he wanted to be was trapped in a cabin on his birthday. Walking along the deck of the dimly lit ship, Sean ran his hand along the rail as he walked toward the bow. When he was younger, he had wanted to be a sailor. To sail from place to place. To be free to make his own choices. There was such a vast world out there, but he hadn't seen as much of it as he wanted too. All he had were his stories from his books. Great people. Doing great deeds. Terrible people. Doing terrible deeds. It was all so enchanting and far from what he knew. Leaning on the rail, Sean inhaled the cold salty sea air and listened to the crashing of waves as they sloshed against the ships bow.

He was in love with the sea. The sound of soft footsteps made him turn, catching the Captain's face in the warm light of a hanging nearby lantern. The Captain opened the little iron lantern, then licked his fingers before sniffing the candle wick inside. With the lantern extinguished, the stars above shined more brightly. It was amazing how the stars and moon were their own kind of light in the dark. Chuckling softly, the Captain told him coolly. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Sean nodded, making room for the Captain to lean on the rail with him. The Captain removed a bone pipe from his pocket, filling the end with tobacco as he said sweetly to him. "You remind me of myself once. That same love of the sea." Sean smirked, glancing back at the Captain as the ship gently rocked over the waves. "You don't love it now?" The Captain put the pipe in his mouth, striking a match against the railing to light the tobacco, upon uttering out around the pipe's mouthpiece. "Don't get me wrong, lad. I still love the sea... but I respect it a lot more than I once did."

Sean turned slightly, leaning his side more comfortably against the rail, when he asked curiously. "Because of the mermaids?" The Captain nodded without hesitation and without looking at him. Puffing out a stream of smoke, he told him as he stared out at the horizon. "You don't see them anymore. But they are out there. Watching us. Watching us abuse what they taught us." Sean raised an eyebrow, prompting the Captain to tell him with a smirk. "Oh? You didn't know? Sailors learned all about navigating by the stares from them. Showed us how to hunt fish. How to read the tides and weather the storms at sea." Sean hopped up to sit on the railing, completely fascinated by the tale. Whether it was truth or not, didn't matter to him. He just wanted a good sailor story. Shrugging, Sean asked him lightly. "So? What happened? Why did they stop?" The Captain laughed without humor, before telling him. "They didn't stop. WE stopped listening. Once we learned enough from them... you could say we set out to master the seas. Claim it for ourselves. I'm really surprised you don't know this..."