Chapter One
In Which Mermaids May or May Not Exist
Captain Arthur Kirkland, ruthless master and feared commander of the Seven Seas, was at a bit of a loss. Weeks of waiting on the shores of this tiny, remote island in the middle of nowhere had brought nothing but misery and heat, and there is still not a slither of magic to be seen.
And any magic at all present on this godforsaken island would mean that they exist.
Merpeople. A race that most people consider a myth, from stuff that only exists in legends and children's bedtime stories. A race that Arthur had bet to Francis Bonnefoy he could find. And try he did. From gathering information and analyzing the truth from multiple sources, Arthur had gathered crucial details to where merpeople were last believed to be seen, where they might be seen, and a whole lot of other insignificant facts about the race's perceived culture, history and origins. And all of this leaded him here to this island in the middle of the ocean.
There was one problem though. The island displayed no signs of enchantment or sorcery, not even minor ones like spells or charms, and merpeople were intimately connected to magic in all of its forms, so much that it was said the air and water they breathed are blessed by it. How could an island that merpeople frequent not contain any magical artifacts or aura at all? Such was impossible, unless they were so strong, so masterful that they can hide all traces of magic from even a practitioner of that art.
How will he be able to prove they exist if he can't even find one?
"Bloody hell! If that frog hadn't….!" Arthur cursed. And he had even left half of his crew on board! Thank the heavens there were plenty of fruit and natives to steal from on this island, or else he would have feared mutiny on his hands.
Not that his crew would dare.
Well, maybe they would, but Arthur would make sure they regretted it for the rest of their short, miserable lives. With hours of torture and an early death planned. Or maybe a walk down the plank is better. After all, it's tradition.
The green foliage seemed to spread in an infinite, tangled mess around him, and Arthur cursed his luck again. It seems all of those months of searching and studying for the exclusive race will be wasted; merpeople have never even touched this island. Why on earth would the-
Crack!
What the-!
In a flash, Arthur's cutlass was in his hand, whirled around to face the threat that is… flat on the dirt ground.
What in the seven seas! A body just fell from the trees! Is this island hunted?
The captain was just about to slash its head off, consequences be damned, when a feeble cough sounded, followed by hacking. Arthur stared as the body started to move, its arms trying to support its weight to get up.
"Oh, that was the most unawesome landing ever!" Is the body not dead? The voice had emitted from that thing, Arthur was pretty sure.
"Explain yourself," Arthur commanded.
The stranger's head turned up to meet his eyes, and-
Gorgeous. That's the only word that can describe him. Yes, gorgeously beautiful, Arthur decided as he stared at those cerulean eyes that seemed to be as clear as the sky, yet as deep and mysterious as the sea. That the boy had hair as bright as sunshine and a strong, muscular physique covered by those brown shirt and black pants only added to his stunning looks. Healthy, glowing tan has not deterred his beauty at all either. In fact, Arthur wouldn't hesitate to-
"Wow, are those caterpillars or eyebrows?"
Wouldn't hesitate kill this little pest for his insolent words!
"Woah, wait!" In one swift move, Arthur swung his cutlass down in front the stranger's face, who jumped back and barely dodged it. Arthur immediately continued the swing of his weapon in a different direction and started a succession of attacks, blade gleaming sharply under the sunlight. The person managed to dodge every attack with fast, efficient reflexes however, making Arthur roar out in frustration. This bastard deserves to die for insulting him!
"Wah! Wait! No- please listen to me first! Argh!" Arthur refused to stop. This bastard must be one of those natives trying to kick him out of this island, or sent by Francis to assassinate him. Well, he'll show them!
However, the mysterious person was clearly stronger than even the feared Commander of the Seven Seas. He managed to grab Arthur's wrist when he saw an opening and wrenched his cutlass from his hand. The captain threw a punch at him that was blocked and that hand too was captured by the wrist. Arthur didn't hesitant and tried to kick him with his hands caught.
"If you'll just listen-! You're Arthur Kirkland, right?" The brat pleaded. Arthur stopped struggling. How the hell did this person know his name? "I'm Alfred F. Jones!"
The attractive male stared expectantly at Arthur for a moment, saying nothing. Do Arthur even know him? What is he expecting? Recognition? Well he'll be sorely disappointed to know that Arthur had never known any bastards called Alfred, nor will he ever plan on knowing one.
"What do you want?" Arthur asked, glaring.
"Ah well, uh…" the person called Jones seemed to deflate a little, but then brightened up again, "Can I join you on your ship?"
# # # # USUK # # # # #
And they meet! Gosh I'm so excited and please tell me it there are any tense mistakes. I'm trying to improve.
Also, I apologize for making Arthur speak such 'proper' English, because 100% pirate would be something like: Blow it out yer bilge! ye screw eyed penny lickin' jack shat ! which is hilarious! And hard to translate.
Before I forget: Disclaimer! The characters and cover art don't belong to me...
I have exams tomorrow but am instead did this. O.O
P.S. Hopefully, I'll be able to update this next week. Fingers crossed!