The Pirate Princess

Chapter 16

Although many mermaids and mermen know how to fight in the water. There weren't many that could fight on land. We did have the support of a few of the halfbreed families in town, but many were gone before we could even convince them to join the cause. Edweana said that she and the other shark half-breeds can work on sinking boats since they don't have legs, which I think worked out since the humans don't think we can come on the land. And, since they can hide their actual forms as sharks, the humans wouldn't see it coming.

Adella and I found an island that we agreed would be perfect for training to fight on land for those that need it. Since I had the most experience fighting, I decided to teach them. Some of the men had a hard time accepting that even being a woman, I could still knock them on their asses, which reminded me a lot of the crew. Every day that I was taught, the men would laugh at me because I was so much weaker, so much so that they said that I'd never be able to hold myself in a raid if another ship tried to steal what was ours. It took so long until I could put every person on board the vessel on their asses.

Including my father.

The point had been made, I am not a woman to be messed with.

During training, Adella tried a sneak attack on me that ended with her flat on her back and me hovering over her, leaning down and placing a soft kiss on her lips, "Try to keep your steps light, darling." I told her, "Even with the sand, your steps are pretty loud." Adella groaned as she took my hand, hoisting herself from the ground,

"I don't think I'll ever pick this up." She told me, "I should probably stay with the children, but I want to help protect our people and you." I kissed her head and smiled,

"You just need to keep practicing." I said, "It took me years to get even half of what you've already mastered." She smiled,

"Well, I wasn't raised by pirates, but my brother was a skilled fighter on land, and he taught me what I already knew."

"I didn't know you had a brother," I said, wondering how it had never come up until now. She stayed quiet for a moment, and that's when it hit me, "He was the one that died in that shipwreck, wasn't he?" Adella nodded sadly,

"We were going to meet our parents in another town." She told me, "Samuel wanted to find us a safe place to live as a family, but we couldn't travel with our parents. They went ahead, and Samuel traveled with me to keep me safe. But when the storm hit, I was the only one to survive."

"Why didn't he shift?" I asked, but Adella shook her head,

"He wasn't able to." She answered, "For some reason, the ability to turn skipped him and went straight to me." I pulled her into my arms, hugging her tightly.

Edweana came up to the shore. I stepped away from Adella and started towards the water, "What is it?" I asked,

"We found your father." She told me. I took a breath and nodded,

"Take him to the city." I told her, "We will bury him the way he deserves to be buried." Edweana nods and swims off,

"Do you think they will even join the fight?" Adella asked,

"I know they will." I replied, "Gregory and Hunter want nothing but power. They'll join the fight, if not to capture as many mermaids as possible, to prove they are the most ruthless pirates on the seven seas." I stared out over the water, "We need to get back to training." Adella nodded, and we got back to work.