The Mermaid-Cursed Pirate

Chapter 15

Recap:

"If Hook ever shows his face on Neverland again, I'll gut him where he stands!" an older boy shouts, standing up and slashing his sword in front of him. The rest of the boys cheered in agreement.

"While that is an excellent idea, I think Sirena has had enough excitement for one day. Why don't you boys say goodbye to her and get back to what you were doing before?" Pan directs. Each of the boys walks up to her and gives the mermaid a hug, high-five, a smile, a wave, or a nod. After every boy has left Sirena, Pan walks up to her. "What do you say we get some food?"

"Food sounds amazing right now," she replies. As if on cue, her stomach lets out a deep rumble. They share a laugh, then return to Pan's treehouse for some dinner.

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After dinner, Sirena convinced Pan to let her go for a swim. She needed to contact Hook, seeing as two weeks had passed since he left. Walking to the waterside with her satchel over her shoulder, she turns around to see if Pan had followed her. Seeing no one, she runs through the shallows before diving into the water. She speeds through the water before entering the tunnel to her old hideout: an underwater cave only a mermaid can reach. Pan could never find her here, he can't hold his breath long enough to reach the cave. She could talk to Hook here, in the safety of her secret haven.

Before she could talk to the pirate, she needed to enchant another shell. To do that, she needed to find one suitable for the spell. She dried off and started to look through her shell collection that sat by the wall of the cave. As she looked at each shell, the fond memories of when she found each one came back to her. The only times she felt free on this island was when she slowly swam over the ocean floor. Her short searches for a trinket to keep or anything that sparked her fancy kept her grounded. Sirena shakes her head to focus on her task again, then sees a shell that would work. It was a beautiful conch shell. Its shape was complete and it had a striking pink color inside with an interesting pattern of browns on the outside.

She picks it up and walks to the water's edge, sitting on the side, her legs dangling into the water. Remembering her lessons, she knew it would work better in her mermaid form. When her tail appears, she sings the spell in her siren voice, waving her hand over the shell. "Over land and across the seas, carry my soul, my voice to thee. I wish to know that you are well, and hear your voice within this shell. Search the forest, scan the sea, find my love, bring him to me. Connect two hearts through this spell, else we two must say farewell."

The shell glows for a moment, then it fades. Knowing that the spell had worked, she places her hand on the shell and closes her eyes. Speaking in her normal voice, she commands, "Find Captain Killian Jones." She waits in silence until she feels the connection, then she shouts into the shell, "Captain! Are you there? It's Sirena!"

"Sirena! You're okay!" she hears his relieved voice reply.

"I'm fine, captain. How are you? What happened to you once you left?"

"It was the same feeling from when I hit you for your crazy plan, but then I passed out. According to Mr. Smee, I was out for 2 weeks. I've been waiting for your call for almost a month! What happened to you?"

"The same thing as you," she responds, curious about his tone. He almost sounded scared to her. "I was out for almost 2 weeks, too, but I just woke up today. Remember, Neverland time is different, captain," she says with a teasing tone.

"Ah, of course," he chuckles. "So how is the devil of Neverland?"

"As far as I can tell, he believes I'm back for good. He almost won't let me leave his side. I was only able to get away when I reminded him that mermaids heal best in the sea! How about you? Have you found another mermaid yet?"

"It was no easy task, but we have. She says she knows you, too. Do you know a Viviane?"

"You found Viviane? How is the old 'Lady of the Lake?' Is she there right now?" she interrogates, ecstatic.

"Afraid not, lass. But she seems to be well. She's been very helpful so far. She doesn't know much herself, but she is leading us to the council, just like you said to do," he explains.

"Excellent!" she cheers. "Oh, that reminds me, I have my own good news. A month has passed here on Neverland, but my runes have only changed a day. As long as I stay here, you'll have plenty of time to find a cure. Or I'll have plenty of time to get something out of Pan, I suppose."

"That is great news, Sirena!" he praises. "With that much time, we will find a way to save you. You have my word. Captain's honor," he promises.

"I'm certainly glad we have plenty of time. However, I can't say that I'm happy I must spend an eternity pretending to care about Pan," she laments.

"Don't worry, lass. We won't need to use all the time we have. With the time difference, you'll be cured before you know it. Come to think of it, what is the plan for when we find a cure? I won't be able to get back to Neverland without Pan's permission."

"I'll just take whatever I need from Pan and swim to whatever realm you're in. We should have enough time to cure me even though I would leave Neverland. Where did you end up, by the way? Pan wasn't in the best mood when he sent you away."

"Pan got us stuck in the Land of Untold Stories, apparently. My men got us out of there before I woke up. They met another version of me there, which was," he pauses. He then continues in a strange tone, "interesting to say the least."

"And to say more than the least?" Sirena teases.

"He looked much older, had gotten fat, and had no self-respect left, according to Mr. Smee," he explains.

"And to think, that could have been you," she pesters further.

"Ah, but that's not me. I still am young, devilishly handsome-"

"And seem to have a bit too much self-respect," she interrupts with a smirk.

"Now, now, lass. It's called confidence!"

"See, I would call it arrogance, good captain, but to each his own."

"Alright, lass. I can tell you miss me already, but you ought to save this flirtatious streak for the Neverland devil. It could help your little con."

Mockingly offended, she replies, "Why captain, I would never! It's quite improper, dare I say, scandalous to suggest I would do such a thing." They both laugh. Then Sirena continues, "However, I best return to my faux beau before he starts worrying. I can't have Pan find my secret hideout."

"And I should return to my crew. Be careful with Pan, Sirena. You never know what he could do next."

"I'm a tough girl, captain. I can handle myself. But thank you for your concern," she says with a smile. If anyone else was there, they might have been able to see the faint blush on the woman's cheeks. "Farewell, captain."

"Same to you, lass."

The mermaid hears nothing else from the pirate, so she dries off and puts the shell on a shelf where she could find it easily the next time. Gathering her things and taking one last, longing look at her special safe place, she sighs and dives into the pool. She knows she must return to the deception her life depends on.

AN: Two updates in 1 day! I've been feeling inspired, but I'm not sure where I want this story to go next, so please comment with anything you want to see later in the story! Let me know what you think!