the little mermaid | jellal fernandes [discontinued]

Chapter 5- On Board

2 Days Ago

The sea crashes against the bow of the majestic ship; water rebounding back and forming heaps of white bubbles that shined multicolored in the sun.

Even with the sky blooming grey and the ocean turning restless, the ship kept on sailing forward towards its destination. It glides through the water, no waves able to push it to any possible side, being perfectly built for the heavy attacks of the sea.

"I'll tell you a tale of the bottomless blue

And it's hey to the starboard, heave-ho!"

"Look out lad a mermaid be waiting for you

In mysterious fathoms below..."

"A strong wind," a deep murmur escaped pale lips. The figure on the forecastle stood tall and powerful, eyes closed and enjoying the faint splatters of water against his face and the icy wind through his sapphire blue hair. "what a beautiful day to be at sea, don't you think?"

His words were calm; controlled. Yet they seemed to bleed power and attention; almost every sailor working turned their head his way at his few words, to catch the smooth sound.

"Oh... yes, your highness..." a nauseated voice came from his left, and the man glanced at the hunched character.

Freed Justine's face was as green as his hair- a deep minty color that sloshed unevenly against his cheeks. "Couldn't agree more..."

A choking noise came from him as his emerald eyes widened, and he threw himself back over the railing.

"You better not bow down too low man," a man snickered, pulling a bulky rope down with ease. "you'll fall off and the merpeople will snatch you away to their realm of song and beauty..."

"Preposterous!" Freed spat immediately, digging a hand into a pocket of his red tail coat and revealing a tissue. He wipes his mouth with it, having regained his attitude. "there is no such thing as merpeople. Your highness, please don't listen to these ridiculous myths. They'll sully your mind, they will."

"Oh, but they're real," the man speaks- more like slurs- again, sticking out a large pink tongue. "Just because you can't see them, doesn't mean they're not there..." he ended his sentence with thick, eery words.

"I'm afraid I'll have to agree with Freed on this one Bickslow," Jellal says, giving him a fleeting smile. The helmet-wearing man scowls as Jellal's boots create a thudding splash! every time they hit the wet, wooden planks of the deck. "mermaid's are just a tale."

And mermen.

A clear, childish voice pops into his head, and Jellal stops with the sudden feeling of surprise.

He shakes the ridiculous thought away- just his mind playing tricks again, mulling over the endless possibility of human-like creatures living in the deeps of the sea.

"Natsu! Gray! Hurry up and drop the sails will you!" the Prince's voice thundered over the ship, just as powerful as the impending waves.

You could almost hear Gray and Natsu cursing loudly, but not a moment later and the cream sail dropped down, soaked in water like everyone else. The higher you went, the more humid and wet the air became, especially on this cloudy day.

Jellal took one last glance at the ocean, a glance hiding strange longing and curiosity.

The Prince made his way back to the quarter-deck to stand with his resilient helmsman, Gajeel.

"There's mermaids out there in the bottomless blue...

And it's hey to the starboard, heave-ho!"

"Watch out for 'em, lad, or you'll go to your ruin...

In mysterious fathoms below."

*

"Happy birthday Princess (y/n)!"

Someone called out yet again, and I gave them a happy wave back.

It was maybe ten minutes into our visit, but we all had smiled and laughed enough to last a lifetime. The merpeople were always so undeniably sweet, and we had sung several pieces to their delight.

Erza even showed off some of her sword fighting. She was aiming to lead the defences of the merpeople, to protect us against sea monsters and other invading-by-nature species. She had pulled out a two shining swords, and they reflected the light beautifully.

Levy was the inconsistent one- she always stopped here or there, pulling out her favourite children's book and read it to the young ones. We all knew she was passionate about reading, being the smartest one out of all of us(Lucy second, of course).

"(y/n), (y/n) where are you-"

Something smashes into my back, and I was pushed forward.

I gave a swish of my (f/c) tail, and turned to look at the culprit.

Just like I expected, big, night blue eyes stared back at me guilty, stuttering out an apology. The pink sea turtle looked around nervously and I pulled her with me by her flipper.

Amica went on hysterically, eyes nervous as she glanced left and right, anywhere but me. Her sentences were plastered together, making no sense as words sped up faster and faster by every passing second.

I frown; sure, Amica is someone who over thinks everything. But I've never seen her this... panicked?

Worry itself started to fill me.

"Amica... what's wrong?" I say, and I gesture my sisters to go on without me. They nod, having noticed my whimpering friend, the crowd following them as they disappear from view.

I see the last spot of Wendy's seaweed green tail disappear, and Amica was sobbing.

"Hey... what's wrong?" I ask softly, gently scraping my fingers against her the soft pink skin of her head.

"Oh (y/n)...." she wailed, a strong voice from such a small body. "I- I'm so sorry... I c-couldn't help it..."

"Help what?" I call softly, my heart hurting at her scared appearance.

"I... I... Th-they were in-interrogating me... and I..."

A cold dread fills me, as if someone had pushed me into an iceberg. "Oh god, Amica, please don't tell me... you... you didn't..."

"Yes!" my companion that I've known for so long moaned. Sweet, sweet Amica, the turtle that grew up with me, nuzzling next to me in my crib.

"I- I told them about you going to the surface!"