'Shit, shit, shit!' Waverly thought, 'What the hell?'
She tried swimming away as fast as she could, just focusing on what was ahead, trying not to look back at that huge barracuda chasing her. She saw a large rock she could try to escape on. The fish caught up with her, taking a large bite into the end of her tail. Waverly cried out as she felt the barracuda take some of her with it. She pulled it close and punched at it, ripping it off of her tail and holding it as she dragged herself onto the rock. She had to get to land before anything bigger tried to get her. The barracuda tried to bite her hand, not being able to break her grasp over its mouth. It flopped around as it suffocated on the dry rock. Waverly watched it flop and gasp as she dropped it on the flat rock. She looked down at her tail, blood was pooling on the rock, dripping to the ocean. Waverly laid down on the rock, sobbing from the excruciating pain. She covered her face and groaned as she transformed back into her human form. Waverly glanced back down seeing that now it was long gashes in her right leg. She looked at the fish that was now dead and shook her head.
"Great, now I'm alone with a fish. I should've stayed with Wynonna. Fuck."
Waverly closed her eyes as another wave of pain flowed through her body. She covered her face and cried again. After another minute or so, Waverly took a deep breath.
"What would Wynonna do? Sing."
Waverly sat up and began singing, hoping to lure at least one ship. She tried to focus her energy into her song, a desperate chant into the warm Caribbean air. Anything to get anyone, even her sister. She sang for a long while, watching as the blood on her legs and the rock dried into that reddish brown colour. She closed her eyes and started to faint, seeing the world around her blackout and fade into darkness.
"Captain, I don' think we shoul' have her on board."
"I tell you what to do, Henry."
"I agree, Captain."
"She's hurt, we can't let her die."
"Just grab the fish, James." Nicole huffed and carried the bloodied girl onto the boat and to her quarters.
"Yes, ma'am!"
Nicole chuckled as she brought her to her quarters, laying her on her bed as she grabbed a bottle of rum and a rag. She sat down next to her and wetted it. She covered her from the top of her wound to her neck as she began to clean off the wound. If anything, while she wasn't conscious would be the best time to put her in the most amount of pain. Maybe it would wake her up. Nicole made quick work of the bloodied mess, grabbing a clean cloth to wrap her leg up. The young woman's eyes began to flutter open. She jutted up, scooting as far away from Nicole as she could.
"It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. We heard you and, well, here you are. I'm Captain Nicole Haught." She quickly explained. "Are you hungry? Thirsty? If you're tired, you can rest. I'm sorry if you're in pain, I just needed to clean off your wound." Nicole gestured to her leg.
The young woman looked down at her leg, seeing the wrappings on her leg. She looked back up at her and smiled a bit. "Gracias."
"Oh, tú hablas español."
"Si."
"Umm…" Nicole thought, quickly translating her previous sentence.
"Venga, Capitana Nicole." She beckoned.
Nicole slowly neared her, sitting down. The young woman placed her hands on Nicole's head. Nicole's head buzzed like she had a horrible headache. She groaned and gripped the sheets, trying to pull away from her guest's iron grip. The mysterious girl released Nicole's head, holding her own and curling up a bit.
"I'm sorry," She delicately answered in a British accent. "I know it hurts."
"You can speak English?"
"I had to learn it from you."
"Oh, umm… I'm Nicole Haught."
"My name is Waverly Earp. Thank you, Captain Haught."
"Are you a mermaid?"
"Yes." She nodded. "I'm not going to hurt you."
"Okay."
"How bad was it?"
"Your bites?"
"Yes."
"Not good. I tried not to linger too much, though. I wasn't sure when you'd wake up. I'm sorry if it hurt. If you felt it."
"Thank you, I thought I was going to die out there."
"We're going to Havana. I have a place out there where you can hide and rest until you're better."
"To be honest, I would rather go home, I don't mean to be rude." She apologized, getting up.
She instantly fell back down. Nicole lunged to grab her before she hit the ground. "You should really rest, Ms. Earp. Please, for your sake. We're docking in a day in Havana, Cuba. If you would like to join me in my cabin, I can help you heal and sail you back to your home when we begin back to England."
Waverly nodded, looked around the room. "Okay."
"Okay. Until then, why don't you rest then."
"What about you? This is your room I suspect?"
"I'm taking night watch, so this is basically your room." She smiled, taking off her hat and placing it on Waverly's head and jokingly stated, "You're the captain now, kid."
Waverly blushed a bit tipping up the cap to watch Nicole as she left the room. She bit her lip lightly, taking off the hat to see the bizarre additions Nicole made to personalize it. It was a long black hat that had a yellow ribbon and a silver button at a single point near the top to keep the two halves of the brim together like a handmade bicorn. It was decorated with a single green and blue feather peeking out from an opening between the brim. Waverly unbuttoned the hat to see pins and other things were sewn into it. Things that Nicole must have kept near her as not to lose anything. There was a cloth note sewn in a foreign language Waverly had yet to learn, stating:
"Bonne chance mon amie. J'espère que vous trouviez votre âme sœur. ~ Shae Pressman"
It must have been a sweet message for Nicole to keep in her hat. The next thing Waverly saw was a golden pin decorated with arms of royalty. Another button was decorated with blue red and white ribbons sewn around it. The other pieces pinned and sewn to the hat were different currencies from around the world. Waverly wondered if they were stolen en route or if she really travelled that much. She tried to stand up again, catching herself as she almost fell again. Waverly closed the hat and popped it back on her head.
Nicole stretched as the moon reached its peak. She left the wheel to her first mate to navigate to Cuba. She walked around the deck, quietly regarding the sea. A scratching noise broke her thoughts. Turning around, Nicole spotted Waverly, still wearing the hat, using a crutch to join her. She leant against the edge of the ship, tipping her head to her caretaker. Nicole took the hat and placed it on her own head at an angle so the feather tipped over her left eye.
"Beautiful night." Waverly smiled.
"This is why I left England." Nicole smiled. "How are you feeling?"
"Good. I hope you don't mind, but I peeked inside your hat."
"You did, did you? Just a personal touch to make it my own. Things I couldn't live without."
"What does the note say?"
Nicole touched her hat and smiled ruefully. "Good luck my friend. I hope you find your soulmate."
"What language was that?"
"French. We sort of had a forbidden love in my society."
"Why?"
"We have been fighting with the French since the establishment of British society. They try to take us over and we take them over. We fight all the time, so when I met Shae, I was suspicious at first but learned that we weren't all that different. Sadly a time came when we had to part ways, and we wouldn't see each other again. I knew it was the last time, so she wrote me that message before she left, and I've kept it ever since."
"Why?"
"So I don't forget what a true friend wants for me."
"Did you love her?"
Nicole looked out at the ocean and took a deep breath. "I don't know, but not anymore. She's just a distant memory I keep to remember where I was and where I am now. Where are you from?"
"The ocean. This is home for me."
"Do you have a family?"
"Just my sister."
"I'll try to get you home as quickly as possible then."
"Thank you, Nicole."
"You should rest, Ms. Earp. Good night."
"Good night."
Waverly kissed Nicole's cheek and slowly walked back to her quarters. Nicole's cheeks instantly went red as she watched her mysterious guest walk away. She covered her face as she smiled, laughing quietly to herself.
