After over a week on the ship, Lorelei was already becoming close with some of the commodore's crew. The cook didn't brandish a knife whenever she went down to the galley and the men who worked the rigging loved to sing shanties with her. Even the commodore was warming up to her.
James stood out on the deck as he watched his crew work. He could see a flash of red in the rigging and knew that Lorelei was being taught how to climb into the crow's nest to act as lookout. He never thought that a mermaid would join his crew, but he found himself not regretting taking her in. She was nice to have around. After losing Elizabeth he had started to withdraw from people and took to being by himself. Lorelei forced herself through his barriers and demanded that he socialize with her. It was a nice change. They would spend the nights discussing their days and wondering what the sea would bring the next morning. He smiled slightly as he saw Lorelei lean over the railing of the crow's nest to gaze down at the deck below her. She had probably never been up in the air so high before.
Lorelei grinned as the wind whipped through her red hair and the crew milled on the deck below her. They looked so small!
"Are you sure you'll be alright, Lorelei?" the sailor asked her, "I'd hate to leave you up here by yourself if you feel like you're not ready."
"I'll be fine," she assured him, "I already love it up here!"
He smiled and started to climb back down the rigging leaving her alone in the crow's nest. Lorelei turned to gazing out at the horizon. Seagulls flew towards the sun and their calls were carried on the breeze. The air smelled of salt and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She felt like something was looming on the horizon: something unexpected.
James had gone back into his cabin to study his maps. Jack Sparrow had last been spotted near Tortuga, which was the reason why they were heading to the lawless island. He hoped that Lorelei would be able to get close to Sparrow allowing him to catch the man that had destroyed his reputation. He would never forgive Jack Sparrow for nearly costing him his commission. He began to plot their course when he heard yelling from outside his cabin. He could hear Lorelei's voice and the stampeding of boots on the deck outside. He immediately jumped to his feet and rushed to the door. He flung the door open and stared up at the crow's nest. Lorelei was leaning over the railing and yelling as loudly as she could.
"The Spanish!"
"To arms!" James yelled and his men quickly obeyed. The scrambled down to the weapons caches and several went underneath the deck to operate the cannons. James looked up at Lorelei and could see the worry clearly on her face. He had to make sure that she stayed up there to give them any information that she could and to keep her away from the fighting should they be boarded. The Spanish weren't known to be kind to women they perceived as being English.
Lorelei whipped her gaze back to the ship and saw that they were preparing their cannons.
"They're preparing the canons," she yelled, "Be ready!"
James gripped the pistol at his side. It was only a matter of time before they ran into the Spanish. This was their territory after all. He spotted Lorelei trying to climb down the rigging.
"Stay there!" he yelled.
The mermaid froze and stared at him clearly puzzled.
"I want to help!" she shouted.
"You can help by staying up there," he yelled back.
She opened her mouth to retort, but he cut her off.
"That's an order!"
Lorelei's mouth opened, but she couldn't find the words to counter his command. She glared at him before climbing back into the crow's nest. Did he think that she wasn't capable of helping? She had already proven herself to be a great sailor! She could defend the ship just as well as any of his men! She whipped her head back towards the Spanish warship and saw that it was only a short distance away from them now.
"They're lining up with us!"
The crew took their positions and were ready to fight as James barked orders.
"Show no mercy!" he yelled and his crew cheered.
Lorelei bit her lip as she got a clear look at the Spanish crew. She hoped that they didn't notice that she was up there until she noticed that the man in their crow's nest had spotted her and was yelling down in Spanish. He was most likely telling them that about her.
"Perkele," she groaned.
The ships were lined up side-by-side and the men could see the whites of each other's eyes. Tension filled the air. It was only a matter of who would make the first move. Lorelei leaned over the railing and stared down at the commodore. He seemed determined to give everything he had to defend his ship and she had to admit that she admired that. The other part of her thought that this whole endeavor was completely and utterly stupid. She held her breath until the Spanish captain ordered his crew to begin firing.
Gunshots and chaos erupted below her and she could only helplessly watch as men began to fall into the sea. She considered diving in after them, but she remembered the commodore's order and reluctantly remained rooted to her post. She watched shots being fired back and forth and fell to the floor when a cannonball hit the side of the ship. She knew that she couldn't stay up out of harm's way any longer when she heard planks slam onto the deck. They were being boarded.
"Prepare to be boarded!" James yelled and his crew quickly swarmed forwards to meet the boarding Spanish. He pulled out his sword and quickly glanced up at the crow's nest. It seemed that Lorelei had smartly taken cover.
Lorelei peeked over the railing and watched as the Spanish boarded and clashed with the British navy. Men fell into the sea or died on the deck and she felt her heart pounding in her ears. She had never seen death on such a scale as this before. She watched as the commodore clashed swords with a Spanish sailor with dark brown hair and felt her stomach lurch. He was clearly the superior swordsman, but she was still worried. As he was overpowering the sailor another came up behind him and Lorelei couldn't stay in the crow's nest any longer. She climbed onto the railing and leaped off the edge.
James heard a loud thud behind him as he stabbed his opponent in the chest. Once his foe was dispatched, he whipped around and saw Lorelei on the deck on top of another sailor. She was tearing up his face with her long nails.
"I told you to stay out of the way!" he yelled as he started to fight another Spaniard.
"I couldn't stay up there when you were about to be run through!" she snapped as she ripped through the man's throat with her claws. He finally went still and she quickly rose to her feet.
James was surprised that she had risked herself to protect him. He spotted a Spaniard trying to rush Lorelei from behind and quickly shoved her out of the way allowing the man to run straight into his sword. Lorelei kicked the man off of his blade and let him fall to the deck to bleed to death. Lorelei pressed her back up against James' and looked over her shoulder at him.
"What are you doing?!" she snapped, "Keep fighting! I'll protect you!"
James obeyed and started slashing at the sailors who were foolish enough to challenge him as the mermaid behind him brandished her bloody claws. She glared down the Spaniards approaching her and released an unearthly shriek when she started to slash out in all directions with her deadly claws. Men fell all around them as they fought. The entire deck was in a state of chaos as cannons fired and shook the ships to their very cores. Lorelei spotted one of their own sailors fall from the rigging at a vigorous shake from the cannon fire and could only watch his descent into the angry waves below.
Lorelei was slashing at the Spaniards around her when she spotted that the Spanish captain had boarded. She dispatched the man in front of her and locked eyes with the captain. Her lips curled back from her teeth in an angry snarl and she fought back the urge to leap on top of him and claw his face to shreds. He pushed his way through the fighting to get towards her and the mermaid raised her claws in front of her. She was ready.
James was busy clashing with the Spanish ship's first mate when he heard a shriek from behind him. He and the first mate both paused to see what was causing the commotion and he felt his blood boil when he saw the Spanish captain with Lorelei flung over his shoulder. Lorelei was shrieking, clawing the back of his coat, and kicking her legs wildly as he tried to carry her off. James quickly took this opportunity to run the first mate through and kick the man off of his blade before he rushed to rescue Lorelei.
Lorelei shrieked in the captain's ear hoping to deafen him, but it had no effect on him. He continued making his way towards his ship and she continued to kick and claw at his back. She spotted the commodore rushing up behind him and she reached out towards him for his sword. Their eyes locked and he seemed to understand what she wanted of him. He lunged forward and she gripped his hand that was gripping his blade. Together, they shoved the blade deep into the captain's back. The captain sank to his knees and his grip loosened on Lorelei's waist. She was able to free herself and kicked him in the face before she got on top of him and started tearing his face to ribbons. Blood fell to the deck from his face and his back as James pulled his sword from the captain's back.
"Their captain has fallen!" one of the British sailors yelled, "Finish them!"
The crew yelled and unleashed havoc on the remaining Spaniards. When the captain was finally dead, Lorelei rose to her feet and brushed her hair out of her face with a bloody hand. James watched as blood was smeared across her face. Her eyes flashed with fury and she threw her head back and shrieked before launching herself onto the next unsuspecting Spaniard. Her claws dug into his throat and she dispatched him quickly. Mermaids were truly a force to be reckoned with when they were furious.
After a few more brief moments of utter chaos and bloodshed the last of the Spanish laid down their weapons and surrendered. The crew cheered and Lorelei cheered with them as they started tying them up.
"What should we do with them, Commodore?"
James glanced at the prisoners and then at Lorelei. She met his gaze and they seemed to both have the same idea in mind.
"Throw them overboard," he said.
The sailor stared at him in surprise.
"Bound?" he asked.
"Of course not," the commodore answered, "untie them first."
Some of the crew grumbled as they started to undo the binds that they had just tied.
"May I have the honor, commodore?" Lorelei asked. Her eyes flashed with mischief.
"Of course," he said with a small grin.
Lorelei beamed and started shoving the Spaniards towards the side of the ship. She spun one around and touched his cheek with her bloody hand. He stared at her in fear as she left trails of blood on his tanned face. Her hand traveled down his neck and rested on his chest before she shoved him over the railing and into the sea. His shipmates watched on in horror as he sank below the waves. They didn't have long to ruminate on their comrade's passing before they joined him in the murky depths of the sea. Lorelei grinned as she saw some surface and waved to them as the ship started back on its course.
That night after the crew had mourned their dead and celebrated their victory, Lorelei joined the commodore in his cabin. Her hair was wet and dripping water on the floorboards as she crossed the cabin. James' eyes glanced down to her hands and he noticed that they were spotless. She had obviously washed. As she passed by his desk he could smell salt and knew that she had probably dived into the sea to wash herself. Her blue eyes met his and she smiled.
"Quite an exciting day, wouldn't you agree?"
He gave her a small grin as he leaned back in his chair.
"Yes, quite so," he said, "I must admit it's the first time I've seen the wrath of a mermaid."
Lorelei laughed and the sound was like the tinkling of bells.
"I'm afraid I got a little carried away," she said as she sat on the edge of his bed.
"I think that you had grounds to react the way you did," he said as he remembered the Spanish captain trying to carry her off. He remembered the anger that rushed through his veins and he couldn't even imagine losing her. She had become a confidant in the past two weeks and he wasn't willing to lose that.
She smiled at him and kicked off her boots with a sigh.
He watched her pull her feet up on the bed and suddenly remembered what she had mentioned a week ago about a sorcerer. He wondered if she would be willing to tell him. He rose from his seat and crossed the cabin towards her. She rose up on her elbows and watched him. Realization dawned in her eyes as she saw the pensive look on his face when he sat next to her.
"Lorelei," he began, "Are you ready to tell me what happened with the sorcerer?"
Her eyes hardened and she glanced away. He had told her many things about himself in the past two weeks and he felt that he deserved to know what she was hiding.
"Well," she said with a sigh, "you did save my life today. I guess I'm ready to finally tell my story."
He was quiet as she mustered up the resolve to tell him what had occurred three years ago.
"I had found myself far in the north of Finland," she explained, "Where no one dares tread. However, there are a group of people who make their home there herding reindeer."
James eyed her intently as he listened.
"I wandered through the village and was turned away by everyone. No one trusted a naked woman that wasn't bothered by the cold. I wandered for what felt like nearly an hour before I found a small house far from the village. The door opened while I was still a ways off and I saw a man standing in the doorway. He was covered in furs and the traditional clothing of the people of the area. He wasn't afraid of me."
Lorelei glanced at him with a small smile on her face.
"He took me in for the night and didn't ask anything of me in return. I began to speak to him and learned why he lived so far away from the rest of the village. He was a sorcerer and he had killed all of the other sorcerers around the village. He was the only one left and the village feared his power."
James' eyebrows furrowed and she decided that it was best to explain it further.
"He told me that sorcerers fight at night through dreams," she explained, "They take the forms of animals and invade the house of the other sorcerer while they're dreaming. If the other sorcerer manages to kill their animal form, then the invading sorcerer never wakes up again."
His eyebrows rose in surprise and she continued her story.
"I asked him if he would teach me what he knew and he agreed as long as I kept him company. He was lonely being so removed from the rest of his people and I felt sympathy for him."
She glanced to the side to hide the pain in her eyes.
"We became quite close during my time there," she said, "He taught me how to curse, heal, and how to extend my time on land. At first he asked that I speak to him in payment for his instruction, but then he began to ask that I join him in his bed."
James turned red and Lorelei grinned at him.
"He only asked for my warmth," she clarified, "No need to be worried."
He awkwardly looked away as he tried to will the red from his face.
"I learned his name after a month. His name was Iisku. He never referred to me by my name even though I had given it to him. He called me njučka, which means swan."
"Why did he call you a swan?" James asked in confusion.
Lorelei smiled at him and sighed.
"When I asked Iisku, he explained that I reminded him of a swan because I was beautiful and also aggressive."
James couldn't argue with Iisku on his reasoning. Lorelei was definitely both of those things.
"Months passed and the winter was turning into spring. I knew that I had to return to the water soon."
Her eyes shone with sadness.
"I told him that I had to leave and he refused to let me go," she said softly, "He confessed his love for me and begged me not to leave."
James' eyes softened as he could see the pain in Lorelei's eyes.
"I knew that he wouldn't let me leave while he was conscious," she said, "so I had to make him lose his senses long enough for me to return to the water without him following me. I slipped a draught into his beer that would cause him to sleep. When he fell asleep, I quietly left the house and walked to the water."
James could see the tears forming in Lorelei's eyes.
"I took a few steps into the water and I heard Iisku calling for me. I looked back and saw him running as fast as he could in his drugged state. I ran into the water and started to swim as fast as I could. I hoped that if I could disappear beneath the water, he wouldn't try to follow me."
She was silent for a few moments and she closed her eyes tightly. Her jaw was clenched and a tear rolled down her cheek.
"I was wrong," she said softly, "He followed me into the water and began to drown. I swam back and pulled him to shore, but the water had already entered his lungs and it was too late. I couldn't save him. I could only hold him in my arms and sing to him until he passed. And when he finally fell limp and went cold, I felt a crushing weight of guilt on my shoulders. I was responsible for his death. If I had stayed, he would still be alive."
She took a deep breath as more tears fell from her eyes.
James felt sympathy for the mermaid's feeling of guilt. Whenever one of his men died, he felt personally responsible for the man's passing. James rested his hand on Lorelei's shoulder causing her to look up at him in surprise.
"You are not to blame," he said softly, "He never should have tried to make you stay."
Her eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"If he truly loved you," James continued, "He would have let you go."
More tears fell from her eyes and she began to sob. If she wasn't to blame, then why did she feel responsible?
James wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close against him to comfort her. She sobbed against his shoulder and clenched her fists in her lap. He held her tightly and rubbed her arm reassuringly like his mother used to do for him when he was a child.
"It isn't your fault," he said soothingly, "You had the right to leave."
She cried for a few more minutes before finally quieting down. She finally looked up at him and wiped her eyes.
"I never should have given him the draught," she said, "He would be still alive if I hadn't."
"He would have followed you into the water anyway," James said, "There's nothing that you could have done to avoid it."
She was quiet once more as she considered his words. There seemed to be some truth to them. Actually, there was a lot of truth to them. James was right. Iisku would have followed her no matter what she did. There was nothing she could have done to prevent his death. She felt the crushing weight on her shoulders suddenly lift and tears filled her eyes once more.
"You're right," she said softly, "I'm not to blame. Thank you."
He smiled at her and squeezed her arm reassuringly.
"You did save my life," he said, "it's the least I could do."
She laughed and he was relieved to hear the musical sound once more. She wiped her eyes and sighed in relief.
"It feels wonderful to not have that burden anymore," she said.
He smiled and nodded his head. He imagined that he would feel the same way when he finally released Elizabeth and moved on. When that would be he had no clue, but he had a feeling that it was on the horizon.
(Author's Note:) I really enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope that you all enjoyed reading it! I have finals next week and a monster ten page paper about a topic that I plan to pursue in grad school to write by December 10th, so I might not be able to update next week. I'll see if I can write another chapter this week, but I can't make any promises!
A side note: "perkele" is the Finnish word for "fuck."
Another side note: What Lorelei is explaining is traditional Sami belief concerning the nature of sorcerer wars. In my intro to cultural anthropology class I took two years ago, I was told that a sorcerer will take the form of a rat, mouse, or other small animal while they dream and sneak into the house of their rival to curse, kill, or spy on them. If their rival manages to kill them while they're in their form, they die in their sleep. Iisku was obviously the baddest motherfucker around and survived all of his opponents.