Dangers of the Sea || Byler Story ||

17 - A Long Trip

Third Person POV:

Will's eyes widened as he saw Mike's head pop up from the water. He turned around and saw his siblings were gone, so he hurried away to the back of the boat. Mike tilted his head but followed him.

At the very back of the boat, there was a staircase that led to a smaller area for smaller boats to leave the large ship, and it was tilted at an angle so water was washing across the flooring.

"Mike!" Will whispers when he saw the boy swim around.

The ravenette's eyes brightened. "Will!" He says, beaming. "I found you!"

"You did," Will says softly, talking off his shoes to walk farther in the water. Mike transformed into a human, basic jean shorts and a T-shirt, and stood up, and the two hugged. "I'm so glad to see you."

Mike pulled away from the hug, instead just holding his hands, studying his face. "Why does your face look so strange?" He questions, running his fingers down Will's forehead.

"It's makeup, it's supposed to make people more presentable in court," Will says, patting the makeup down from the water.

Mike frowns. "You look strange with it," He says.

"I don't like it, but it's mandatory to wear," Will says. "It takes hours to put on though," He complains.

"What are you doing on a ship?" Mike asks, looking around.

Will gives him a strained smile. "It's a cruise ship, we're on vacation," He says. "We'll be going around the bay before circling back to the castle," He explains. Mike nods thoughtfully, looking around more. "And Mike,"

"What?" Mike asks, his smile faltering at Will's serious expression.

"My parents are letting the pirates search through our kingdom," Will says urgently. "Searching through our bays, they're searching for a black tailed mermaid." He hisses with panicked eyes.

Mike frowns in fear. "What? Why?" He asks, glancing back at the water. It was midday so the water was lit up by the sun and sea blue.

"They said the black tailed mermaid has special healing properties in their blood," Will says.

"But, that's not true," Mike says, his frown deepening. "I can't heal people with my blood."

Will rubs his thumb across the back of Mike's hands, deep in thought. "Are you sure?" He asks. "Maybe you don't know you can."

There were footsteps, and both Will and Mike turned and saw Jane and Jonathan entering the room.

"Will?" Jonathan asks, before his eyes trail over to Mike. "Who's that?" He eyes narrow, looking behind them at the water and at Mike's shoe-less feet. "How did you get in here?"

Mike and Will exchanged a glance. "I.. Uh, swam?" Mike says.

"You're the boy who Will was talking to a few days ago," Jane tried to discreetly tell Jonathan that Mike was the one Will was crushing on. Jonathan raised an eyebrow. "You swam?" Jane questions. "We're already hundreds of yards away from any shore."

"I'm a good swimmer," Mike says, sounding more of a question than a statement.

Jonathan crosses his arms, glaring at the two. "So.. Your family has to move away from here, and you can swim hundreds of yards through mermaid invested waters?" He questions.

Jane's eyes widened. "Wait.." She whispers, taking a step backward.

"Um.." Mike trails off, not knowing what to say.