A Mermaid's Cry

Chapter 30-Setting Off

The rest of the day was slow going, it felt like my body was standing on the edge of a cliff. Everyone stared at me, Adila, and Octavia as we went to our homes, gathered what we would need, and said goodbye to our families. I was last, for I was not ready to face grandmother just yet. However, she was not home just mother, mother who was teary eyed and pale. I didn't take long to pack, all that I needed fit into a single sack.

An extra dress, my sturdy leather slippers, my hair ribbons, and Lucas's arrowhead pendant. Mother watched me with clenched hands and a furrowed brow, and it hurt my heart to see her this way. It has been three years since we lost father, and now one of her children has been taken while the other is leaving her to find him.

With tear filled eyes I hugged her, wishing I could stay with her in her gentle calming embrace. Expect I couldn't, and now regret fills my stomach as I place my foot onto the deck of the old two masted ocean schooner, that has journeyed far and withstood many a storm. Clutching my bag, I cross to the other side of the ship and take in the rocky shore of Squaller's Bay. Our hidden docking port for our island home, and one now filled with the drone of sorrowful farewells, and salty tears.

The wind blows through the ship sized hole in the craggy bay wall. Waves crash against the rock, sending ripples into the calm waters of the bay. The sails flutter in the breeze, secured and ready to pull the schooner across the sea. I take one last look at the towering palm trees, wild ferns, bright flowers, and moss covered stones, before turning around as the rest of the rescue group comes onboard. Adila and Octavia briskly set down their own canvas bags, and set to work tying down every loose barrel, crate, and sack that will pose a danger if we encounter rough waters.

I follow their lead, appreciating the hands on task to make me forget the churning in my stomach. As we finish, Zola comes on board, his left arm stuck in cotton sling to keep him from aggravating his shoulder. Octavia smiles, and drops the coil of rope in her hands before racing across the deck. Her moon white hair flutters in the breeze, now at chin length but still utterly iridescent.

"Your coming to?" she asks, stopping just an inch away, allowing him to ruffle her hair with his good hand.

"Of course," Zola grins, swiftly stepping aside to avoid her irritated slap. "I got a soft spot for the kid, and I am not going to be stuck here while you get to bash in some hunter skulls."

"Don't worry Zola," Arcus mutters, stepping onto the deck and throwing his pack onto the nearest crate. "I'm sure there will be plenty of skulls to bash in where we are going. But, there is someone we will have to meet before arriving in Port Valor."

Adila raises a brow, and stops climbing up the mast at his brisk answer. "How important is this person that we must meet them?" she asks, scampering up the rest of the way and setting off to check the ropes.

"Because," Arcus utters, grunting as he moves over a rain barrel next to the mast. "Since she is a human we will need her knowledge of the city. Not to mention we will all need disguises, especially you, Octavia, and Corintha."

"Disguises?" I say, walking over to Arcus with a confused expression on my face. "What do you mean by disguises?"

A low voice sounds from behind, making me turn around as my hair stands on end. "Well for one we all stand out, especially you," Ares drawls, arms crossed and stone cold serious.
"If we are to get your brother back, we can't afford for the humans to know what we are. So we will need a little help, including to teach you three how to act like human females."
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I ignored Ares for the rest of our time readying the schooner. I had to, if I didn't I would surely show the Mer on the dock how unruly they think I am. Instead I bent to the tasks at hand, climbing up and down the masts and readying the sails to catch the wind blowing up from the south. My anger fueled my work, tying ropes, straightening canvas, and logging down the supplies for our journey.

Mindless tasks that made the time pass quickly, and now I watch from my perch on the mast, the many hands that wave us off as we head out to open waters. On the very edge of the crowd I see my mother, her blue eyes watery and red. Her hands clutching my amber bead necklace, my promise to her that I would return safe and sound.

I hold onto the mast with an unforgiving grip, arms and legs wrapped tight around the sturdy beam. Breathing in the calm island breeze one last time, before it changes to the harsh cut of sharp salt. From above, I watch Arcus man the helm, his strong hands turning the wheel and effortlessly guiding the ship through the hole in the harbor wall, and out onto the open sea.

Waves crash against the ship, sending a cold salty spray to drench us all. I shiver in delight, taking in the endless expanse of blue, beneath a clear sky bathed in sunlight. I smile as the breeze blows my hair back from my face. Glancing down, I see Adila and Octavia have taken to the water, their scales shining in the sun as they leap out of the frothy chop and back into the deep. Effortlessly keeping pace with the ship, while Zola hollers over the side and shouting encouragement for Octavia to take the lead.

I laugh, grinning from ear to ear when Adila silences his crows by splashing his face with seawater. For a moment, my worries about Lucas are far from my mind. We are on our way to find him, to bring him home where he will be safe once again. However, as I've noticed in the past few days my eyes always seem to find that same familiar source of irritation, desire, and utter confusion.

His lithe form standing guard at the bow, standing tall as the wind ruffles his hair. Ares, a male who has me questioning every thought I have about him. He is not all that I had first assumed him to be. He can be gentle, but cruel and calculating. Honorable, but twisted in how he tries to help. A male that would undoubtedly be a skilled lover, but would he be kind or demanding in his ministrations?

What a conundrum I have pulled myself into. Now at last I have my wish to leave the island, but at a cost. My poor brother now at the mercy of humans that see him as nothing more, than a mere animal. I only pray we find him in time, before his captors sail so far that we will never see them again. A fate that I simple refuse to accept, and I will fight with all I have to save him. Even if it means I must work with Ares to do it. An almost horrifying thought, if not for the sudden flare of heat in my stomach that spikes in my blood, when he turns around and gazes up at me with eyes that swiftly darken with unrelenting need.