The Mermaid-Cursed Pirate

Chapter 28

Recap:

"I know you're scared to lose who you are. But your magic is only a part of you," he tries to comfort her.

"It's not my magic I'm afraid I'll lose, it's my tail. I can't be human, the sea is where I belong." she sighs, choking her tears down.

"The sea is my home, too, lass," he counters, turning her to face him. "And like your boys, you are more than welcome to join my crew. We can sail every sea in every realm together."

Sirena gives him a small smile and nods, "I'd like that, Killian."

He smiles back, "Let's get some sleep, lass. It will be a long day tomorrow for both of us."

"Goodnight, captain." Sirena lays down on the captain's bed as he rolls up his leather jacket like he did the last time.

"Goodnight, lass."

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When Sirena wakes up, the sun is streaming into the room from the porthole. Shining directly onto Killian's shirtless chest, to be precise. The grogginess in Sirena's mind fades in an instant and she freezes in place, her eyes wide.

"Like what you see, lass?" Killian teases as he turns around and notices her watching. He is intrigued by her expression, though. Her face is completely blank but her eyes seem more alert than usual.

"Why are not wearing a shirt?" she deflects, her eyes meeting his and she relaxes, looking bored as if discussing the weather.

"It seems I woke you up when I was rummaging around for a shirt. I will be done in a moment though," he explains as he returns to his task, bending over to reach into his drawers as he searches. Sirena observes him, her eyes are drawn to his bare back for a reason she cannot explain. She notices he appears to be flexing when he stands up and puts a shirt on finally, showing off for the mermaid.

Before he can turn around again, she gets up from the bed and goes to her bag on the floor by the wall. She finds a clean dress and decides to have a little fun with the captain since he was clearly enjoying himself. She removes her dress, still facing the wall and pretends to continue to look for a dress. She is still wearing her breeches she wears underneath for fighting, but her corset and shoulders are on full display. She pulls a book from her bag and accidentally drops it and it falls behind her.

"Dang it," she complains as she turns around to pick it up. She hears a glass shatter but ignores it as she grabs the book and returns it to the bag. She finishes dressing, pulling on a red version of her favorite dress before fastening a black decorative corset over it and brushing her hair out. When she at last looks at the captain, his face holds a shocked expression and his jaw is dropped.

Sirena smirks as she walks past to leave the room. "Close your mouth, captain. You'll catch flies." She walks to the mess hall to get breakfast. "Revenge is sweet," she thinks to herself.

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After breakfast, Sirena goes to Viviane's room. Meanwhile, Killian goes to the main deck to steer the ship for a while and plot the course with his first mate, Mr. Smee. Just like last time, the room is in complete disarray with books and clothes strewn everywhere. Sirena searches for Viviane amongst the mess, but can't see her.

"Viviane, are you in here? This place is a pigsty!"

"I am in here, and frankly, I am insulted. I know exactly where everything is," she retorts, still hidden from view.

"Well, I can't even tell where you are! Can you come out from whichever pile you're buried in?" she teases. Viviane's head pops up from the pile behind Sirena. She pokes her and Sirena screeches in surprise. "Viviane, that was not funny!" she reprimands.

"Sure it was. Anyway, how was your night? I thought you would stay down here with me, but you never showed. Did the captain find a room for you?"

Sirena shuffles on her feet, looking at the ground. "Actually, I stayed in the captain's quarters. Killian gave me his bed, he didn't think there would be any space for me to sleep down here with you."

"Did he now?" Viviane asks with a teasing tone. "And how did that go? Are you two still cursed?"

"Of course we are, nothing happened!" Sirena defends.

"You say that, but something tells me you are lying," she sings in reply.

"Shut up. Nothing happened, now drop it."

"Whatever you say," she sings again as she walks through her piles. "Now, why did you come down here? I assume it wasn't to give me a lecture on cleaning."

"No, but that is a good idea. I came to see if you've made any progress since we talked through the shell that time. Have you found anything that can tell us if we are soulmates?"

"I have, but there's one problem. I've found several legends of a necklace that can reveal if someone is your soulmate. But while I was searching to see if it had any truth, I found out who has it. It's not good Sirena."

"So you found it, it's real, and we just have to get it, right?" Viviane nods. Sirena continues, "We have fought many battles together and so has the crew. Why are you scared? Who has the necklace?"

"Rumplestiltskin," she answers after a long silence. "Rumplestiltskin has the necklace at his castle."

AN: Sorry for the long wait, guys. I've been super busy and I didn't have any time to write. But hopefully, this chapter will make up for it. Hope you enjoyed. ;)