One With the Waves

Distant Memories

-Brae-

I dismissed my men, my eyes on the merman. Pushing the heavy glass lid off of the tank, I reached into the cold water and removed his blindfold. He stared at me, his ice blue eyes looking right through me.

"It's okay," I said softly, "I won't hurt you."

I didn't want him to hurt me, either, so I kept my new sword within reach as I untied him, pulling the rope out of the water and setting it on the floor next to me.

The merman sat up, lifting his head above water to look at me. He folded his arms on the side of the tank, his chin resting atop them. After a long moment, he murmured, "You truly don't know who I am, do you?"

"No?" I raised an eyebrow, confused, "Should I?"

He didn't reply, instead looking me over with sad eyes. After a moment, he asked, "May I please have some clothes? I would like to get out of this tank, if that is alright with you."

"Oh, um, okay," I got to my feet, not sure if it was wise to leave him alone. I stuck my head out the door, asking one of the crew to grab him some clothes. Monty happened to be walking by, and nodded to show he heard my order. I turned back and sat down by the tank. "What is your name?"

He dropped his sad blue gaze. I noticed they weren't glowing today. In fact, they seemed a bit dull.

I leaned forward slightly, tilting my head to the side, "You know, you don't have to worry. I'm not going to hurt you."

"That's--" he sighed, shaking his head. "Brae, that's not what I'm worried about."

I frowned, confused. He knew my name? He obviously knew me in some way, and had expected me to know him as well. "Have we met before?"

"My name is Aura," he said closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance, "Yes, we have met before. But you obviously have no memory of that for some reason."

Aura... I frowned. What a strange name. Beautiful, but strange. "I'm pretty sure I would remember meeting a merman."

"Yeah, you'd think," he sighed, leaning against the side of the tank once more.

Monty returned then with a bundle of clothes in his arms, passing them to me. "Here you go, Captain."

"Thanks, Monty," I replied.

Monty sat beside the tank, his eyes wide as he stared at the creature held within. Aura's curious gaze passed over the boy, and he tilted his head to the side, "Why is your hair so red?"

"Why are your eyes so blue?" Monty countered, raising an eyebrow.

"Touché," Aura replied, sitting up fully, "How did you become a navigator? You're very young."

"I'm thirteen! I'm not that young," Monty protested, then frowned, "How did you know I was a navigator?"

"He has special mind powers," I muttered, frowning as I remembered the smooth black ring. It was currently in my pocket. I reached into my pocket and held it up so that Aura could see it, "What is this?"

Aura's eyes widened slightly, "Where did you get that?"

"The man who I bought you from. What is it?" I arched an eyebrow.

Aura avoided the question, "Can you guys leave the room so I can get dressed? Or are you guys just going to watch?"

Monty turned almost as red as his hair, "I-I'm leaving." He got up and practically ran out of the room.

I looked back at Aura, whose wide blue eyes were focused on me. "What is it? Why did he give it to me?"

"Okay, I'm just going to get dressed. Whether or not you leave is up to you." A blue light surrounded Aura, and I leapt back in surprise. Tying him back up again was beginning to look more and more appealing, especially as I saw how much he could transform his appearance. His skin darkened to a sun-kissed tan, his hair bleaching out from the roots to become a pale platinum blonde. His fin parted, becoming a set of very attractive legs. His bruises and scars disappeared, leaving flawless bare skin. I scooted away from him as he stood, looming above me. He was completely and shamelessly naked, a fact that probably made me turn as red as Monty's hair also.

He climbed out of the tank, turning his back on me as he picked up the heap of clothing and began to get dressed. I stared at him, not sure how to feel about this. "Can all merfolk do... That?"

"No," Aura replied softly, pulling on the black pants Monty had brought him, "And their mind abilities stop with mind-speaking too. As far as I'm aware, I'm the only shape-shifter."

"Shape-shifter," I couldn't tear my eyes away from him.

He turned around to face me, running his fingers through his pale hair and slipping the dark red button up on. He left it unbuttoned in the front, approaching me. I reached for my sword, my fingers tightening around the hilt.

He saw the action and backed away, sighing softly, "You were so much calmer when I first met you."

"Did I know about this... Shape-shifting thing? And the mind abilities?" I demanded, getting to my feet. My sword was in my hand, but I kept it lowered by my side.

"To an extent. You knew I could change from one form to the next, and you and I mind-spoke on more than one occasion." His eyes hardened and he spat, "But it's not like it's an ability that I chose to have. Trust me, it's not fun for everybody you love to reject you because you're different than them."

"Mind-speaking... What is that?" I asked, glaring at him. Everything he said was ridiculous.

"I would show you," he growled in annoyance, "But you have that stupid ring on."

I held up the ring, "It blocks your mind abilities?"

"Enchanted black coral blocks all of my abilities," he replied.

"Good," I raised my sword so that it was pointed at his chest. His eyes widened as I picked up the rope with my free hand, "Put your hands behind your back and turn around."

He held up his hands, "Whoa! Wait, what?"

"I don't trust you. This rope obviously didn't allow you to use your abilities, otherwise you would have escaped," I reasoned, motioning for him to do as I said. "So I'm going to tie you back up. I don't want you to hurt me or any of my crew."

His eyes flashed in anger, but he didn't lash out. Instead, he turned around, warning me, "The second that black coral touches my skin, I'm going to revert to my original form."

"Fine, then, get back in the tank," I growled. He sighed softly, undressing and stepping into the cold ocean water. He sat down, putting his hands behind his back as I had instructed him to. I wrapped the rope around his wrists, watching as his body changed into the merman I had first seen in Greenie's shop. The bruises and scars were back now, his eyes the only remainder of the person he had been just a few seconds ago.

He shivered slightly, something that almost made me regret my actions. But what would happen if he hurt someone in my crew? I couldn't allow it. I turned to leave the room, pausing only for a second.

His head was lowered, his eyes sad. Just before I left, he murmured, "I wish we could go back to when I first met you. Things were different then."

I didn't respond, simply left the room. Closing the door behind me, I leaned against it, sighing. Geez, what had I gotten myself into?