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3 - The Mend
Grant opened her eyes to gentle rocking and the sweet scent of the sea. She blinked tiredly at the auburn-colored skies and wondered what the hell just happened to her. She can feel her entire back, from her head to toe, wet and pruning. Her face, chest arms and legs, on the other hand, feel like they have been cooked on a grill. She squeezed her eyes shut and groaned. How did she get there? What did she do? Did she mess up? She can't remember.
Grant laid still, sorting through her scrambled and confused brain. She was at dinner, and she played with One… No, she had lessons after dinner. Or was it lunch? Then her father made One do something terrible to her… And she had her dance lessons? No. That can't be right. She visited Fisher Tiger…
Fisher Tiger! Her eyes fluttered open. The last thing she remembered was visiting him, and telling him about their escape. Then… How exactly did they escape?
"M.. missste…" she rasped. She tried to turn her head, but a painful stinging pain cut through her shoulder, and her vision blanked out for a moment. She wheezed, and tears gathered in the corner of her eyes. She could not contain her whimpers of pain, even after the unbearable pain faded after a while.
"Mister Fisher," she whispered. Tears blurred her vision of the sky. "Mister Fisher Tiger. Mister Fisher Tiger Mister Fisher. Where. Please. Please. Miste-"
"You have to eat…"
"It hurts. It hurts."
"I know, but you have to endure. Help will come soon."
"It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts."
"You have to stay alive. You have come too far."
…
"Alright, you have to rest. Just close your eyes."
"...hurts.."
"Mister Fisher! I was going to find you to talk about our escape, but I suddenly found myself here!"
"Grant, what are you saying?"
"I was thinking, we should escape tomorrow, but it really hurts to move…"
"We already escaped."
"What."
"We already ran, and we jumped off the Red Line."
"I.. I-I don't…"
"Calm down."
"I can't move. It hurts. What happened to me?"
"Take a deep breath and calm down. You broke a bone in your chest or shoulder."
"Oh my god. Oh my god."
"Calm down. Take deep breaths."
"I… okay. I'm calm. I'm calm."
"You are also sunburned badly. I forgot humans do not have the same protection from the sun as my people. I accidentally left you out the whole day."
"Oh. uhm. It's okay, I guess…"
Grant blinked. The sky was dark, but the stars lit the night. The gentle rolling of the waves accompanied the breezy lullaby of the winds. It was beautiful. Grant sighed, wondering about if she had ever seen anything more amazing than the sky that moment. Her eyes drooped, but she forced them open. 'Come to think of it, where am I?' she wondered. 'And my back is wet.'
Cringing in discomfort, the girl tried to roll on her side, but a pain, something like getting stabbed by a hot knife, erupted in her left shoulder. She gasped, rolling back, her mouth open in a silent scream. She took a big gulp of air, and tried to breath in and out quickly through her nose, to alleviate the pain. In addition to the sudden pain, she had gotten a glimpse of a wide horizon of water.
No islands. No boats.
Just the vast, empty sea.
She moved her arm to grasp at her chest in panic, and a new wave of pain made her arm fall uselessly back to her side. She panted, frightened, as her eyes darted from side to side. Suddenly she doesn't care about the stars anymore.
She was alone, and hurt. She can't even move.
"Where... Help," she whispered. "Help. Help. Help me. Someone please."
"Here. You have to drink at least."
"I'm so tired…"
"Help is coming soon. Stay strong."
"...Where are you going?"
"Help will come soon. Just hold on, a bit longer."
"No no no nonononono. Don't leave me. No. Don't leave me. I'm scared. I'm scared."
"I can't move. I can't move. Dina! One!" Grant yelled at the dark sky fading into yellow, ignoring the dryness of her throat. "Whoever did this, this is not funny!"
It had been a few minutes since Grant woke up in some part of the sea. It was painful to move, and she had tried yelling for someone to get her. 'Is this a new kind of hazing the Celestial Assholes came up with?' Grant thought. 'Why would they do this to me?'
Her thoughts was interrupted by the loud growl of her stomach. Grant struggled to peek over her nose without hurting herself.
"Strange…" she muttered. "I've never been this hungry before." She paused for a moment. "In fact… I've never been hungry before!"
She wiggled her toes, the only thing she can do other than move her hands, and tried to think of why she was there in the first place.
"Maybe a dream?" she asked.
"That can't be, Grant. This kind of scenario hurts too much to be a dream," she replied.
"A test?"
"Test?"
"Maybe they found out you were too nice."
"I don't see how making me hurt and starving me in the sea could be a test."
"Maybe you ate some nasty shrooms and you are having hallucinations of being unable to move in the middle of the sea?"
"Doesn't make sense. If I really did eat some shrooms, I wouldn't still be hungry right now."
"That's right, we are hungry."
"I almost forgot."
"Same."
"It was a good conversation."
"It was somehow pointless. Anyway, I have to go, Grant."
"I'll see you later, Grant."
The girl lying down on the floating raft in the middle of nowhere watched the colors in the sky change.
"That's…"
Grant stared with wide eyes at the towering figure over her tiny little girl raft. The humongous shadow made it seem like it was suddenly night in her area of the sea. She swallowed and prayed to whatever ocean deity was around to spare her from more excruciating pain.
The glistening scales of the whale sea king glistened under its shadows, and she doesn't know whether she should be impressed or terrified. The sea creature simply stayed still right beside her raft, and had not moved for several minutes now. And she knows it had been staring at her. The iris of its giant eyes was pointed directly at her, unblinking. Its unflinching stare unnerved her.
Gathering up her courage after nearly 3 minutes of internal conflict, she shouted out.
"What do you want, you great lump?!" It didn't move, nor give any sign of reacting to her.
"I'm talking to you, creepy-ass shithead!" she ignored the frightened squeak of her voice. "Go away or eat me or kill me or whatever. I don't give a fuck!"
"Big words for a cripple," a deep gravelly voice interrupted her. Her eyes darted to the side, and her head tilted just enough not to hurt her.
"I-I'm not a cripple," she argued. "Everything just hurts, that's all." The position of her head did not allow her to see who was talking to her, no matter how hard she strained her eyes to see.
"Fisher, you did not tell me she's just a child!" A female voice cut in, and there was a sound of a palm hitting someone's cheek. "OW!"
"My Q-"
"You should not do that again." It was a familiar voice. Grant risked the pain and tilted her head further up and saw four fishmen floating near her head. It was Fisher Tiger, with a manly mermaid with a scar on his forehead, a golden blonde fishwoman holding a bruised hand, and a nervous-looking green fishman. Her eyes burned with joy and hurt from her shoulder. Fisher Tiger did not return her brief gaze, but she was still glad to see him.
"Did we do it? Did we escape?" Grant sobbed through her smile and quick breaths.
"Escape?" the scar merman asked. "From where?"
"That's not important right now. We have to get her some help," Fisher replied to the others.
"Y-yes, we must!"
"How did we do it?" Grant asked. "Did we go through the sewers? I don't smell bad though."
"She's talking nonsense now. Her head hit the water pretty hard."
She felt a cool wet hand gently caress her cheek. "It's alright now," the female said. "You're safe. Just sleep."
Grant's eyes slowly closed. "Sounds like a plan…"
"How are you?"
It has been a couple of weeks since Grant was brought into Fishman Island. She often had to constantly remind herself that she had already escaped. Despite that, she often finds herself wanting to escape from her family, then realizing she was already free. She found the residents rather agreeable, especially Queen Otohime, who she had shared a couple of conversations. She admired the queen, remembering something about the woman being a strong activist. She had heard from somewhere that the queen herself had requested for the construction of the room she was staying in. Apparently, everywhere else was not "human-friendly".
Now, there she was, strong enough to sit up without hurting herself, and reading local literature. Fisher Tiger walked in with a tray of food in one hand.
Grant greeted Fisher with a wide smile. "Mister Fisher! I haven't seen you in a while. I'm feeling great now. Fishmen medicine sure is amazing. I'm healing way faster than normal. I swear I couldn't move last week. Soon I can go with you and train like we promised."
For some strange reason, Fisher looked frownier than usual. It ticked Grant off for some reason. Before the fishman could respond, Grant swung her feet off the bed, and she stumbled angrily towards the fishman.
"You don't look that happy to see me," Grant snapped. "I'll take that so you don't have to bother with me." She reached for the tray with one hand. Fisher held it up high and suddenly grabbed her by the back of her collar. She then realized she had nearly toppled over. She shakily straightened her legs and forced herself to stand without swaying.
"Thanks…"
Fisher forced her to sit back on her bed and put the tray in her lap.
"Tell me the last thing you remember," Fisher suddenly said. Grant tilted her head. "Uhm, okay?"
Grant's eyebrows furrowed in thought. Before Fisher got there… "I was reading this book Queen Otohime gave me. It's about a man who sets books on fire." He seemed satisfied with that answer, but he asked again, this time about the day before.
"Hmm… Queen Otohime brought her three children… and… we ate. Then they left and I started reading the book I have now. Queen Otohime lent it to me. It's about a mermaid who was cursed to look old…"
Grant showed the book, and realized that it was completely different. She frowned and opened the book. "I haven't read this yet. Did Queen Otohime bring this while I was asleep? She's too kind!"
Fisher snatched the book from her hands. It was the book about the man who set books on fire. "That's enough. Finish your food, and then we can take a short walk outside."
The girl looked down at her half-eaten food. "I'm not hungry…"
"You should finish that. I cooked it myself, you know."
Grant looked up. Queen Otohime was standing over her with a glass of water in one hand. She looked beside her. Fisher was gone. So was the book the queen lent her. "The book?"
"Oh, sorry about that, but the doctor said you should not be reading. It's not good for your brain at the moment. I'm sorry for lending you those. I didn't know," the queen suddenly start tearing up. "But they said you are getting better. It should be alright for you to go around without me or Fisher following you around."
"Um," Grant started. "That's weird… I was just talking to him… He brought me food?" She looked down and poked at the fresh seaweed and sliced fruits on her tray. It was also a different-looking tray. And come to think of it, she's not wearing the same clothes. "And he brought me noodles… I thought I was eating noodles?"
She looked up to the queen, feeling cold. "What happened to me?"
Queen Otohime smiled sadly and pet her shoulder. It doesn't hurt anymore. "You're healing," she said. "Don't worry, you will be fine soon."
"How long have I really been here already?" Grant asked Fisher one day. "It feels like I have been here for a few months… But I know it is not the case."
The two was strolling around Mermaid Cove in the afternoon. The sun above the surface was still blazing hot, but the temperature around the island stayed cool. Fishmen and merpeople frolicked about, but there was no other human in sight. Grant thought she remembered hearing about this area of the island being a tourist spot, although she does not remember where. Before, she was always met with a lot of strange stares and judging looks, but as she went out more, people had gotten used to her and ignored her instead.
"..." Fisher glanced at her. "You've gotten a lot better. You used to always forget, and now, you can even remember what you were doing two weeks ago at this time."
"Eh not really."
Fisher paused for a bit. Then he said,"You have been here for almost two years now."
Grant stopped. Her mouth dropped open, and her eyes widened. "Holy shit," she breathed. "I'm… I'm nine. I thought I just turned eight!"
She jumped and twirled, ignoring the nagging voice in the back of her head crying 'I'm 29! I'm 29 now!'
"I'm nine and I'm better now! Why haven't you started training me?" she asked Fisher. "I've been doing well for like, months! I think I'm ready."
"No," Fisher said sternly. "You will not be learning anything from me until I believe you are healthy. As a matter of fact, I cannot teach you anything at the moment, because I will be leaving."
"What?"
"I am going with my crew to run an errand. I won't be back for a long time…" Fisher rubbed his chin in thought. "You should be good once I get back."
"No." Grant said. "No, this isn't right… Wait! Is Queen Otohime pregnant now?"
Heads swiveled to her direction, and she clamped a hand over her mouth. A couple of fishmen gave her suspicious looks. She smiled nervously at them. She turned back to Fisher. "Ah, I mean… um Is it alright if I come and visit Queen Otohime?"
"What does the queen have to do with this?"
"I-I…" Grant muttered nervously. She remembered Shirahoshi already being born when Fisher had gone to free the slaves. If Fisher decides that now was the best time to go and climb the wall, she knew that something will change. Something big and dangerous. She bit her lip. It was her fault. Fisher was supposed to be trapped in Mariejois for several years. Several. He only stayed for two. She broke him out far too early than she should have. Despite the cool gentle wind breezing through the area, Grant felt sweat form on her face. 'Oh man.' she thought. 'I messed up. I messed up bad.'
Fisher suddenly crouched down to her level and inspected her face. "You're sweating."
"Uh yeah, it's suddenly hot. Weird, right?"
He narrowed his eyes. "You only sweat when you are nervous or in trouble."
"Ahahahah," Grant averted her eyes. A bead of sweat rolled down her cheek. "What, no way."
"You told me."
Grant cursed herself inwardly. "W-well, I helped you, so now you have to help me! You can't leave me here, you're the one who brought me here!"
"You cannot stop me."
"I'm your responsibility!"
"Only because you were hurt," Fisher snapped. He stood straight and began walking back to the direction of Grant's place. "That is enough. You will stay here and rest, and I will be back."
"You can't free them without me."
Fisher frowned down at her. Grant willed all the fake confidence she had and gulped. "You need my help. Many things can go wrong, and they will. I know Mariejois, and I know how to remove the collars. You will need my help, and I am here, offering it to you. As long as you stay here a while longer and train me."
Fisher didn't say anything. Then he bowed his head, and his shoulders started shaking. "Haha.." He was laughing. He lifted his head and his eyes bored right into Grant's shaky ones.
"Humans really are greedy. You think that because you helped me once, I owe you more? You saved my life, and in turn I have saved yours." He strode in front of Grant, towering over her. "My people are stuck there. I know some of them, grew up with them. I will not let them rot in that place any longer than I did. I will do anything I can to get them out of there. If you really think I need your help for that, you have really misunderstood me. I do not need you to sneak me in, or unlock their collars. I will go there, and I will break their chains, and I will burn everything in my way. I will not train you until they are free. I will not let them suffer any more while I waste my time helping a human get strong enough to hurt others."
He turned and stormed off, leaving Grant alone with her regret.
"On your first year here, you were doing so terribly," Queen Otohime said. It was evening already, and the queen herself had come to visit the only human in the island. She had already eaten with her family, but had gone directly to Grant to check on the young girl. They were seated around a small table, and Grant ate slowly while she listened. "You were hurting so bad, and you keep forgetting who we were. Fisher was the one who looked after you."
"Sometimes you would just wake up and start muttering about your family. You hated them, you said. They were cruel, and heartless, and they didn't value anything other than themselves. It really saddened me when I heard that. I don't know where you came from, or why you were hurt so bad, because Fisher Tiger wouldn't say a word about you, but I believed that even if your family seemed that way to you, they must still have loved you. It also made me sad that you hated them enough to leave and get really hurt. But even though you were alone here, Fisher was always there. I wondered what kind of relationship you have with him. He spoke to you, even though you never replied. He was there when you weren't, even when your eyes were open and empty. Sometimes you cried out, and sometimes scolded him for not visiting you, even if he never left your side, and sometimes you simply stopped and stared through him, as if he weren't there. Often, you would forget where you are and start crying, and he would pat you once in the head. He had never expressed such care toward a human before. I don't know what you did, or how you met, but I can see that you do care for each other. So, I do advise you, as someone who cares for both of you, that you must mend your relationship. Separating during a bad argument will let the negative feelings fester. Aside from that, I have nothing else for you. It is up to the both of you to take action."
"I'm a tiny miniature version of the species Fisher hates. I don't know what I could ever tell him that would make him consider forgiving me," Grant admitted.
The queen smiled. "Start small."
"By the way, um, my queen?"
"Yes?"
"Are you pregnant?"
"..."
"..."
"No, I am not."
"Oh. Okay."
Grant tried not to breath too loudly despite the noise outside her hiding place. It was the day Fisher planned to leave, as she heard from Queen Otohime, because Fisher had not visited her once since the day she tried to convince him not to break his tortured friends out from rich people hell.
She wrapped her arms around her legs as she mulled over what the queen had told her before, about Fisher caring about her. She didn't think that was the case. It's true, they had spent quite some time in each other's friendly company, even when she still lived in Mariejois. Now that she thought about it, aside from the other fishman slaves in Mariejois, who were forbidden to communicate with each other anyway, she was the one Fisher was always able to talk to and banter with occasionally. She remembered the conversations they had in the dungeon, the empathetic feeling they shared breaking through the big metal bars of Fisher's cage.
'There's no better way to bond than to shit talk about people you equally hate,' Grant thought. She and Fisher had gotten closer through their equal hate for the nobility, and she knew it ended at that. Queen Otohime, on the other hand, believed that there was something better than hating the same people going on with the two of them. 'It's like she thinks we're friends or something...' Grant thought. 'Hmm... I could probably bring myself to care about Fisher, but I don't think he would want to be friends with me... I mean, I was just using him to escape...'
She extended her arms and gripped the surface on either of her side. The floor was moving, and she could feel the pressure changing in her ears. She nearly toppled over when her hiding place suddenly moved sideways. 'It seems they finally started moving...'
"...rate for another exciting adventure!"
"Because Boss is back!"
"Yeahhhh!"
"Let's do this!"
"To the Boss!"
Grant pressed her ear to the side, straining to hear among the faint chatter and the loud cheering outside.
"Bring out the booze!"
"On it."
Grant tried to listen more, but her hiding place was suddenly toppled to the side. Grant yelped when a particularly violent hit from the side sent her hiding place rolling to a certain direction, taking her along with it.
There was a loud thud, and her hiding place stopped rolling. Grant didn't. She hit the side, and felt dizzy.
"Did you hear that?"
"Yeah, it didn't sound like booze."
"What's supposed to be here?"
"We can-"
Grant pushed the lid of her hiding place out and she crawled out of the barrel, smelling of spilled alcohol, and feeling like she had just spun around inside a barrel. Which she had.
She turned green, and puked right onto someone's nice, frightening, big feet.
"Oh whoops. Sorry about that..." Still feeling dizzy and regretting all her decisions up to that moment, she wiped her mouth and looked up to see whose beautiful feet did she just empty her stomach contents in.
She looked up at Jinbe.
"Oh god."
