The Pirate Princess

Chapter 20

It had been a week since Adella and I were married, and it had been quiet with the humans, which seemed odd. I was uneasy about this, so I decided to go to the surface and see what I could find out. "Are you crazy?" Adella asked me, followed by my mother,

"What if you get caught?" Mother protested,

"I was in the town before; they know me." I told them, "I'll be fine."

"They also know that you saved me." Adella said, "They will want to take you for questioning or worse...." I put my hands on her shoulders,

"I'll be careful." I told her, "I'll wear a cloak so no one can see me, and I can talk to Lizzy. We haven't seen her since she came to warn us over a month ago."

"They could have found out that she's a mermaid, Caspia," Adella said,

"We need to know what's going on." I told her, "As soon as I have the information we need, I'll come home, I promise." She sighed, knowing she was defeated,

"Fine." She said, "But if you are up there longer than a day, I am coming after you. Do you understand me?" I kissed her head,

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

When I reached the surface, I went to a part of the beach that no one could get to. It was a hidden cave that my mother showed me; it's how some of the mermaids have been able to transform to come to the city. I changed into one of the dresses we had tucked away and wrapped myself in a cloak before sneaking out of the cave and making my way toward the town.

I heard people yelling about the mermaids; it seemed the people had a hard time finding anyone to help them get out to sea to capture us. I found Lizzy and Maryanne hiding in the distance; I made my way toward them and pulled them aside, "Lizzy, Maryanne," I said as we made it out of earshot,

"Princess." They said, bowing their heads,

"What are you doing here?" Maryanne asked, "It's too dangerous for you to be on land."

"I needed to know what was happening." I told them, "I haven't heard from Lizzy in almost two months. The last any of us were told, the humans were planning to attack, and so far, nothing." Lizzy glanced around the whispered to me,

"No one has even considered joining them in the fight." She said, "The towns near us don't even believe them, so we might be safe." I released a sigh of relief when I heard this, but that relief ended the second I listened to his voice...

"Alright, everyone, that's enough," Hunter shouted over the crowd. Lizzy, Maryanne, and I emerged from the shadows, watching as Hunter stood in front of the townspeople, wearing my father's hat! I could feel my anger rising as I watched this man. The man whose father took mine before his time. "My crew is here, and we will take care of these evil creatures for you!" He shouted as some of the crew followed in behind him,

"How can we trust you, Pirate?" One of the men shouted at him. Hunter smirked a bit, tipping his hat to the man,

"Captain." Hunter corrected the man, "And I, too, am a victim of these creatures. These mermaids. My wife was taken from me by a mermaid; I believe she is dead now. And my father was also taken from me because of these creatures." I looked at Lizzy and Maryanne,

"What is he talking about?" I whispered to them, but they shook their heads and didn't know anything, which worried me.

"We have a plan to eradicate these creatures! And they will NEVER hurt us again!" Hunter shouted, earning him cheers from the townspeople. I nodded to Maryanne and Lizzy, and we headed out to the secret cove.

When we got to the cove, I changed quickly and got ready to turn. "What do you want us to do?" Lizzy asked; I thought for a moment, shaking my head,

"He's going after Adella." I said, "He's targeting all of us, but he wants Adella. He wants my mate."

"Princess," Maryanne said, "I need to protect my family." I nodded,

"Keep an eye on the people. If they come to your husband, he should join them." Both women looked at me as if I had lost my mind, "If he joins them, they won't suspect you or your sister; you will both be safe and will be able to help us." Maryanne nods,

"We'll keep you informed." Maryanne tells me, "I promise." I shook, taking a breath as I stepped into the water; bubbles erupted around me as my tail formed. I poked my head up,

"I'll inform my mother and the people what's going on." I told them, "If Hunter is involved, we need to act. Soon." They both nodded as I went under the water, concerned about everything that would happen. Gregory is dead. By what, or rather who, that is unclear. But I know what I must do; I just hope we can stop them in time.

Adella and I swam home; I didn't tell her anything. I wanted to wait until we were in my mother's presence and maybe even the council. She wasn't happy about it, but I think she understood. I just hope my mother has a plan of attack because I'm not sure what to do...