An Earl in Night Raven College (Book three)

The Merchant of the Deep Sea: Part 28

*Third POV*

"...And I just loved that story my Grandma read me about a human prince and a mermaid princess."

"They made a movie out of that, you know. I saw it with my girlfriend when I was younger! That was just about thirty years ago. No matter how many times I see it, that scene of the princess hugging her father gets me every time." The first guard states while wiping a tear away

"I know, right?! That's, like, THE scene!" Ace emphases with a smile.

"I'm surprised a kid your age has even watched it."

"Oh, my brother's a huge movie buff. That flick's top-tier. Soundtrack's legendary, too. Oh yeah, speaking of which—is it true that all merfolk are good singers?" Ace questions

"Oh, far from it. That's an old urban legend. One of my own classmates is so tone-deaf, their singing is like nails on a rockboard." The second guard states while rubbing his head.

While Ace and the two guards were talking, Ciel, Deuce, Jack, and Grim quickly but quietly exit the building to not alert the guards. Then they quickly hide behind one of the pillars, that was far from the museum, as to not be spotted. As well as needing to catch their breath due to running and the fight with that guard from earlier. After catching their breath, they peak from behind the pillar as Ciel was looking through the bag. The group was surprised to see that Ace still had the guards attention.

"Ace is still goin' strong!" Grim exclaims

"I'm impressed he can carry on a conversation with a complete stranger for so long." Deuce states, impressed.

"Well, at least he did. Otherwise we would've been screwed." Ciel said as he made sure the photo was okay.

"We got what we came for. We need to go, pronto." Jack informs the group as Ace notices them.

"Ah, look at the time. I think I'd better get going."

"Aw, are you sure? Seeing as you're such a big merfolk fan and all, I wouldn't mind giving you a little sneak peek at the museum while it's closed." The second guard informs him

"Nah. That'd be cheating, and cheaters never prosper. I'll be sure to check the museum hours before I mosey down here again. Later, man!" Ace says as he was walking away.

"Feel free to come back anythim! It's not every day you meet a nice young fellow like that."

Once Ace was far from the guards, he quickly rushes over to the others as the guards left to continue guarding the entrance. Though he was taken aback when he saw the state the others were in. They had some cuts and a few bruises while their clothes looked to be a bit disheveled. So Ciel had to explain to him why they were in such a state to begin with since Jack, Deuce, and Grim were still mentally recovering. Once Ciel was done, Ace began to process the information before nodding slowly.

"So, how'd it go on your end?" Ace asked anyway, wanting to now if they got the photo or not, as Ciel shows him the photo.

"Mission accomplished."

"Photo acquired! Myeh heh heh. Couldn't have been easier." Grim states with a smirk.

"Did you forget that what happened earlier?" Ciel questions as Grim flinches a bit.

"Great. Let's head back to campus, then." Ace says with a smile

"Right. I can't wait to shove this picture right in Azul's smug face." Deuce states with a smile.

"Wait." Jack says as two long shadows pass by them.

"Did anyone else just see a pair of very long shadows?" Ciel asked as he grabs his sword's handle.

"Theeere you are, Little Shrimpy."

The group quickly turned around to see the twins, who were in their mermen forms, right behind them. They all got into a defensive position as Ciel held onto the phot tightly, knowing that the twins might take it from them. The twins were smiling at them as they got a bit closer to them.

"Greetings, everyone. I see you've already forgotten your previous lesson and decided to try your luck in the deep again." Jade states with a smile.

"It's the moray brothers!" Jack exclaims as Grim growls a bit

"I should've known they would be waiting nearby." Ciel states in disappointment.

"You appear to have gotten ahold of the photo. Nice, niiice! That's real smooth. But we wouldn't want you bringing it back so soon. Why don't we play a game of tag until sunset?" Floyd questions with a grin.

"Sorry, but not this time. We're on a tight schedule at the moment." Ciel informs him with a glare

"Typical. I knew we wouldn't make it home without a fight. Lemme guess: your plan is to stall us in the water until sunset, then beat us up and snatch the goods. Then you'd get the photo AND you wouldn't have to take these anemones off!" Ace inquires as the two chuckles.

"Heh heh heh... Using minimal labor to achieve maximum profit is just good business sense." Jade informs them.

'I swear I'll turn theses two into sushi!' Ciel thought with a growl as his hand gripped harder on the handle.

"Wh— You guys really are crooked to the core!" Jack exclaims with a glare while the twins continued to smile.

"Well, Ciel? What's your call" Ace asked as him and the others looked at the eye-patched boy.

"Knowing you, there's no way you came this far without accounting for them." Deuce states

"Hold onto the photo and play keep-away for a while." Ciel orders as he unsheathes his sword.

"Okay. Simple enough. I don't know how long I'll last without my magic, but..." Deuce trails off but still had an determined look.

'He still can't use magic? Then what about- Wait don't tell me that.' Ciel thought before shaking his head, saving that question for later.

"We've come this far. We don't have any other choice!" Jack exclaims with a glare as the rest agrees.

The group got into a fighting stance before splitting up as Ciel had given Deuce the photo while the others kept the twins off of him. Then Deuce handed it to Grim, which is given to someone else after a while. The twins used their spells in an attempt to catch the person with the photo while also deflecting some of the attacks. Despite not showing it, the group can tell that the twins were getting annoyed but the group didn't care. The photo keep away gone on for a while as both sides refuse to give up and allow the other group to succeed. As Ciel slashed at Jade, who was getting too close to Ace, he looks at the sky as a smirk forms on his face.

'Time for the next move!'