Iguanatopia - ONC 2021 (Completed)

15: Whirltopia

With three purple stones collected and safely stored in the bag on Alba's belt, the crew headed back toward the Estrella as soon as everyone was awake, the crew was fed, and the camp had been dismantled. Many smaller crises had needed to be solved first; tent poles had become stuck in the ground, crew members had walked away and got lost among the trees, and Ignacio had got into a squabble with a giant turtle. The squabble had ended in a draw after Alba had thrown the combatants a turnip each to distract them.

Joe and Pedro had been in charge of all this and tackled the issues with their usual ineptness. So really it wasn't soon anymore when they headed out, but rather around noon.

The sea was calm and still as the pirates rowed towards their ship. The surface stretched out in front of them like velvet. Smooth and ever-changing in the light. Behind the Estrella, the purple fog lurked like a smoky fairytale forest.

That's when something appeared from the fog. Something menacing that moved toward the Estrella. A ship that flew a flag with a green pirate skull.

Captain Greenbeard. The evil-minded captain must have followed them after he realized the map couldn't be read. But the mysterious fog had kept him from finding them until now.

But now he and his green-clad crew were out of the fog and on a course toward the Estrella. As the ship inched closer Alba could make out the captain standing on the bridge of his ship. It appeared he supported himself on crutches. It seemed that lizard bite had done some serious damage. This pleased Alba.

Regardless of his injuries though, Captain Greenbeard was a danger to them. They needed to stop him from reaching the Estrella.

"Row faster!" Alba yelled to the men in the dinghy.

There was no treasure for the treacherous captain to steal but Lucien and Grace were on the ship. If he captured them there Alba feared that he would use them for his own profit. He could perhaps extract a ransom from Lucien's family and an escaped slave like Grace always had a price on her head.

But the crew's efforts on the oars weren't enough. With the wind in its sails, the ship's speed toward the Estrella was fast and relentless.

And Alba and the rest in the crew in the dinghy could only watch in horror.

That's when a sparkling fishtail appeared in the waters next to the ship. It waved above the surface for a moment, then it was gone again. As brief and unreal as an apparition.

But Alba knew it was no apparition. The mesmerizing mermaid was real, and so were her powers.

Soon a shimmer emanated all around the hull. The shimmer turned into a whirling wind that rose upward and encapsulated the whole ship. It glimmered in all the colors ever seen, and probably a few that had never been seen before. A whirlwind of magic that seemed like it came from another world. And perhaps it did. A world deep below where magic was real and everything sparkled.

The whirl lifted the ship, and its atrociously bearded captain with it, out of the water. The vessel hovered right above the surface for a moment, while the glimmering winds formed a spiral around it that spun faster and faster. Soon the shape of the ship wasn't even visible anymore. The colorful vortex was all there was.

The next moment it was gone, and the ship with it. Spun away to waters unknown. Hopefully, never to be seen again.

The sailors around Alba all stared off in the distance. Mouths agape in disbelief that the ship had just flashed out of existence.

"What... what happen?" Joe asked, not really talking to anyone specific. Not even his two keen eyes could figure out where the ship had gone.

"I don't know," Pedro muttered in reply. "It must have been magic."

He was right. For maybe the first time in his life. It had been magic. Mermaid magic.

Alba scanned the waters for that sparkling fishtail. She longed to see its mesmerizing owner again. But it wasn't there.

Then she felt a light tap on her hand, which held on to the railing. A tap that felt like soft waterdrops caressing her skin.

Eyes of ocean, lips of coral, skin of pearl, hair of waves. She was there. Mirabel.

"Alba," the mermaid said, with a mix of happiness and fear in her eyes. "I need to go. But I needed to see you one more time."

Alba didn't waste a second. She leaned down to steal a kiss from those salt-drizzled lips, with not a care in the world about the staring pirates around her.

Mirabel tasted like the ocean, and the ocean was Alba's home. It was all she ever needed.

"Don't go," she pleaded, reluctantly prying her lips away from the mermaid's enough to talk.

"I have to," Mirabel said, a shadow falling over her eyes. "My clan... they know what I've done. They will find me, and they will take me back home."

"Where will they take you?" Alba asked in a desperate tone. "Where is home?"

The mermaid hesitated slightly, like this was a secret she wasn't actually allowed to divulge, before she told Alba the name of her home. A name of legend and mystery.

"Atlantis," Mirabel whispered before leaning in for one more kiss. A warm kiss, despite the coldness of the water. A soft kiss, despite the harshness of the waves. A last kiss, despite neither of them wanting to part.

"I'll find you," Alba promised as Mirabel let go of her hand and disappeared under the surface.

All that remained of their encounter was circles on the water and cold drops of water on Alba's hand and lips. She closed her hand to savor those droplets for a few moments longer.

New salty drops ran down her cheeks. They tasted just like the ocean. Like home. Like Mirabel.

But this was not the time to cry. There was no time for that. Not among the crew.

So Alba dried her tears with the sleeve of her jacket, took a deep breath, and looked up to meet the curious gazes of the whole pirate crew.

"What are you looking at?" she snapped. "Have you never seen anyone kiss a mermaid before?"

No one replied. Instead, Joe and Pedro walked up to her together and embraced her from either side. Meanwhile, Ignacio nustled up by her feet and nudged her ankle with his scaly nose.

Perhaps this was the time to cry. Just for a little while. Because it was fine to cry among friends.