You are a pirate! A voice came from over the side.
Desmond leaned over the side and looked out over the waves. There were swarms of mermaids frolicking below. Their voices sounded like a ghostly chorus. Their slippery blue and green scaled bodies were no match for the purple mermaid he had kidnapped. Truly, she is the princess of the seas. The predatory mermaids with sharp teeth and ears that besieged the ship were no longer admired, but disgusted. Only one of them had something like a diadem shimmering on her head. Apparently, among all the mermaids attacking the ship, she was the only one with a noble nautical background.
Hes a corsair, not a pirate, she corrected her friends.
And whats the difference? The other mermaids showed claws as sharp as stilettos and jagged elbows. All of them were clearly not princesses, but something like fighting half-fish, ready to ram a ship with their sharp limbs.
Corsairs are those who had noble blood in them before they became brigands. Corsairs must have some manners and honor. And pirates are just common, brutal bandits. You cant negotiate with them, you can only sink them.
The mermaid with a diadem on her forehead raised her white eyes at Desmond.
You are a man of noble blood. How can you kidnap the princess of the sea? Return her to the sea and forget that she ever existed.
The request was made in the tone of an order. The sight of the mermaid made Desmonds mind go foggy. It must be some kind of hypnosis. Desmond made an effort and averted his eyes.
The mermaids suggestion was pointless. The Triumphator was already sinking. He could give the mermaids the Princess or not, the ship will sink anyway. He could try to make a deal, but it wouldnt be worth it. All pirates will either die in the water or be slaves in the sea kingdom. Too bad the crew got drunk when they should be fighting back. But then again, what can pirates do against mermaid magic? All corsairs, alas, are not magicians. Desmond touched Cassandras amulet and recited the short spell she had taught him.
The holes in the bottom caused by the mermaids claws immediately healed, as if the ship were a living creature capable of rapid healing.
The annoyed mermaids swore with glee and beat the water furiously with their fins. They swooped at the ship again and again, crushing the wooden sides with sharp notches on their arms that resembled gills. The amulet around Desmonds neck glowed, and the ship self-repaired. All the breaches were filled with fresh wooden planks, as if someone had nailed them over the damaged ones. The mermaids had fallen into despair. No matter how hard they tried to sink The Triumphator, they failed.
It will soon sink itself, predicted the mermaid with the diadem. An ominous green mist immediately spread through the water around the ship. It enveloped the ship amorphously, but somehow it could not penetrate on board, as if it was bumping into an invisible barrier.
Remember that Shaina has cursed you.
And who is Shaina? Desmond didnt know that.
My father cursed me, too, when I ran away from Mirid, he muttered to himself as he picked up the bloody saber. The blood on it came from the helmsmans wound, and the severed octopus limbs were water instead of blood. Desmond cursed himself for saving the helmsman and injuring his shoulder. But he could not abandon the poor man, who was being strangled by something that had crawled aboard from the sea. Now this octopus-like creature was trying to push the chest with the purple mermaid overboard. It was unable to do so, although it was working with all its tentacles, of which there were dozens.
Get out! Desmond threatened it with his saber. But it was not the saber that frightened the creature, but the shining amulet around the captains neck. It squinted, hissed, and crawled overboard, dropping the chest.
The glow of Cassandras amulet repelled sea creatures. He would have to thank her. Desmond had even intended to give Cassandra a bunch of flowers until he saw the purple mermaid. Things had changed since shed been dragged aboard. She slept as peacefully as if she were dead, but there was danger from her. And her beauty was enchanting, stripping away will, clouding judgment. Desmond could not think clearly in the presence of the mermaid.
Even now, while she slept, he felt himself in her power, as if she had kidnapped him, not he her. It appeared that it was possible to be captured by a mermaid even while she slept. But what happens when she wakes up?
Sleeping mermaid
It began to rain. The slanting jets beat on the sails, but the blood stain on the center sail was not washed away. The seagulls blood was staining the deck as well. The mermaids lips became so bright as if they were stained with blood.
Couldnt she rip the birds head off and drink its blood? The mermaid lies in the chest as if in a coffin. Why does it seem that she drank the birds blood?
Desmond found that he could not lift the chest himself and drag it into the cabin. He was strong, but his strength was not enough this time. Wed have to call for helpers. So far, all the pirates were drunk. Drunks are useless. Only the helmsman and the ships healer who had treated his wound remained partially sober. Neither of them was fit to help.
Desmond tried again to move the heavy chest. It wouldnt budge an inch, as if it were embedded in the deck. What to do? You cant leave a mermaid unattended. Well have to keep watch next to the chest. Desmond felt like taking a nap. His eyelids were drooping. From somewhere in the depths of the sea came sounds like a mermaids song. Or were they coming from the deck?
The predatory mermaid packs, swimming away, were heaving something about going to sic newts or even a leviathan on the ship. They were probably just intimidating the pirates.
A familiar morgen appeared abruptly on board. A puddle of dark water immediately spread across the deck.
Did someone tell you we were in trouble? Desmond wondered. How quickly these sea creatures react to everything.
I smelled it myself, the morgen took a quick look at the damage and became enraged. The sight of the sleeping mermaid had stirred a storm of emotions, from anger to worship.
Whats the matter with you? Would you like some rum to calm you down? It always makes pirates feel better, Desmond didnt think that one day hed have to comfort a ruthless sea monster.
This is the first time Ive seen her not in a sea temple or palace, it hissed.
And who put her in the chest if not you?
It was probably a stupid question. The morgen poked his tentacles at the runes on the shell-like walls of the chest. Apparently the rune signs explained everything without words. Cassandra would have understood such an explanation, but Desmond was almost illiterate in magic. He only knew what he had been taught by Cassandra herself and an old court wizarde from Mirid.
What is her name? Desmond began to inquire.
It is none of your business!
Yes, it is, if shes sailing to Opal on my ship.
It would be easy for me to sink your ship, the morgen threatened, his many amber eyes flashing.
If The Triumphator sinks, who will take her to Opal?
Ill drag her to the oncoming ship and hypnotize the captain to be more cooperative than you are, the morgen immediately found a compromise. Apparently, his powers arent in the dozens.
I doubt theres a fool enough to bring such a dangerous cargo to Opal, even under hypnosis. She reeks of death. Are you sure shes alive?
Shes asleep!
It was as if the word sleeping meant something magical. Cassandra had told him that the ocean dwellers became dull when they hibernated and were easily mistaken for statues standing upright in the water. But touch a statue like that and it would grab you with its many tentacles. So Desmond never touched the carved figures standing like pillars on the water. The ship always sailed past them without hitting them, even if it came straight at them.
He explained to his pirates that such figures were miles poles for morgens, and it was forbidden to touch them. He would not tell the crew directly all of Cassandras secrets. Sometimes you can make things up as you go along. Once, an oncoming sculpture winked at Desmond. It was alive, though it seemed carved from white wood.
But the purple mermaid didnt look like a sculpture at all. The jewels on her were magnificent. If they werent attached to her skin, the crew would have tried to take them off and split them up by now.
Is she asleep under the influence of some magical elixir? Desmond guessed.
If you know too much, youll grow old, the morgen said sullenly.
Its an Earth proverb, Desmond caught his eye.
Sometimes it pays to borrow something even from Earthlings.
I thought you morgens were too proud and independent. Youd rather drown an Earthman than imitate him.
One morgens tentacle wrapped around Desmonds neck.
Dont make me angry!
Desmond didnt have time to answer. The tentacle bumped into the amulet and burned. Morgen had to let the corsair go.
So whats her name? Yasmin? Aisha? Mirelle? Lorelei? Anemone? Mirilla? Etea? Amirana? Elegy? Foletta? Morelia? Serpentina? Korephea?
How do you know the names of the sea kings daughters? The morgen hissed indignantly. Surely there must be spies in the Underwater Kingdom. This is outrageous! The man knows the names of the entire list of sea queens!
Which one is she? Desmond insisted.
She is none of them. You dont know her name.
Thats right! He didnt know it. Unless
Her name is Merediana, Desmond made one last attempt.
It was clear from the morgens doomed hiss that he was not mistaken.
She is Princess Merediana, the morgen corrected. She is her underwater highness.
She is a future hostage of the King of Opal, who dreams of conquering the seas with magic. What are you going to do with her?
Why do you care?
I have a right to be curious, because Im transporting her. And thats risky! The ships already been attacked.
If you hadnt broken the instructions, there wouldnt have been an attack, the morgen poked his tentacle at the open lid, tried to close it again, and couldnt. Even he didnt have the strength.
The underwater creatures wouldnt have smelled it on your board if the top defenses hadnt been removed.
Desmond had already realized that himself. Curiosity is a bad thing. Thats what Cassandra was saying. Some newt, supposedly in love with her, had been playing on his shell whistle for a long time, calling Cassandra to go down to the bottom. Cassandra was hesitant, though she was curious to see the underwater world for herself.
Cassandra knew the recipe for a potion that would help her breathe underwater for a couple of hours, but she was still hesitant to follow the newt to the bottom. He might not be so good-natured in the sea and would not let her go back.
Cassandra wouldnt have advised Desmond to open the chest, but then he wouldnt have seen Merediana. Seeing her once was better than possessing all the treasures of the sea kingdom.
Are all princesses of the sea so beautiful?
You must have thought her jewelry was beautiful. You pirates are only attracted to expensive things. Alas, they cannot be removed. Theyre part of her body. But the King of Opal will reimburse you for their value.
Desmond would have been better off keeping the mermaids chest. Even if she doesnt wake up, its a pleasure to look at her. When shes around, you feel like youre in a realm of magic. But something strange is happening on board. A bloodstain is spreading all over the sail. The blood is even visible on the other sails. Its as cold as an icy desert. A crust of ice stretches across the masts and hoarfrost on the ropes.
The morgens of the royal family know how to freeze the sea. Didnt you know that?
No, I didnt, Desmond shook his head in denial. How could he know such intricacies? He didnt know the rulers of the sea, and he didnt gossip about them.
Merediana must be the eldest of the sea kings daughters, Desmond sensed the power emanating from the sleeping mermaid.
No, she is not the eldest, but the most treacherous.
Is she treacherous? Desmond couldnt believe it.
They all have innocent faces, but their souls are black, rotten, magic, morgen hissed angrily.
Desmond had never even considered that mermaids had souls. All he had seen was Meredianas body. It reeked of magical currents. Even asleep, she subdued him.
One time he even wanted to throw her overboard and dive into the waves after her. Surely that was her wish, not his. The sleeping mermaid silently tells him what to do.
No, this trick wont work. Hes in command! A beautiful mermaid cant woo him. Desmond struggled to muster up the will.
Weve got to get her into my quarters.
It will be better in the hold. Ill draw signs on the entrance and on the bottom of the ship to keep her from getting loose.
Wait! Then I wont see her for the rest of the voyage.
Morgen tapped the deck sympathetically with his tentacles and tried on again to close the chest. He failed again.
You shouldnt have opened it! Now well have to move it somewhere else. Otherwise, well all be in trouble.
But shes asleep!
Youre so naive! Ill never mess with a human again!
Morgen grunted like a nagging old wife. As if someone had forced him to make a deal with the pirate captain! Hed forced himself on him, hadnt he? And now hes not happy. Dont the morgens know how inquisitive people are? The corsair was no exception to the general rule. He opened the chest and it was as if he was addicted to the mermaid. Even people who get used to the narcotic candy called ette dont feel so addicted.
Desmond felt uncomfortable that the morgen was touching the chest with the mermaid. However, the chest was soon empty. The tentacles coiled around Merediana and pulled her out of the chest. It wasnt easy. The mermaids jewelry was stuck to the walls.
The morgen was much better at sorcery than Cassandra. He was able to freeze the water into ice, and from the ice create a container as high as the ceiling of the hold. The container of ice was as clear as glass. Now the mermaid was inside this container.
Let her sleep!
What if the water melts?
It will not be, The morgen drew some symbols of water near the container, which also froze with glittering ice. Dont bother her anymore! Suddenly, after a long sleep, she will become the Queen of Opal.
Are you kidding?
The morgen let out either a wrenching laugh or a growl. Desmond felt uneasy.
He looked back as he left the hold. He felt purple webbed fingers touch his shoulder, and Meredianas voice called to him.
Hes never even heard her voice. How would he know what it sounded like? Maybe mermaids have husky, ugly voices. What if, closer to land, a beautiful mermaid shrank and turned into a wrinkled ugly woman? On the water, these creatures can only pretend to be beautiful and trick people with sorcery.
You are not even a man, but a pirate, Desmond remembered the curses he had heard both on land and from enemies defeated at sea. All you pirates are worse than cattle. Youll all end up in the noose and die in agony.
As he locked the hold, he truly felt like the last of the cattle. After all, the princess of the sea was left there alone in the dark, amidst the magical symbols that were probably draining the life out of her.
Should he let her go? But then hed be killed himself. Everyone knows that mermaids drag sailors to the bottom. Has anyone ever heard of an exception?
In his heart Desmond cherished the hope that he would be the exception and the mermaid would love him instead of drowning him. But mermaids are very dangerous and cruel mistresses of the sea.