A/N: First of all, A BIG THANK YOU for the people who reviewed, liked, followed, or just bothered to read my fanfiction. It also means a lot that there are people out there who were interested enough to make it to Chapter 10. I appreciate you all!

"So, tell me again how you managed to convince the king with the pitchfork to let us go, and to give us the map piece," Zachary requested as he rubbed the sides of his arms where the rope had held him tightly.

I sighed before replying, "I told him we would get rid of the suffering the mermaid kingdom were going through by infiltrating the COC base." Not the whole story, but not a lie either. Nevertheless, I felt a bit guilty that tehy didn't know the whole story. Zachary took a deep breath.

"Are you really betrothed?" I have no idea why I asked that, and I don't intend on finding out. He smirked.

"Why? Is someone jealous?"

I waved my hand before insisting, "No, no, it's just...I find it unusual that a betrothed man would leave his fiancee while he goes off and sails the ocean to his heart's content."

Zachary sighed and leaned back. "I am not engaged. At an early age, I discovered that all women do is keep you in one place and make you take care of them."

I tilted my head side to side in slight agreement. The young ladies at Gallagher who were looking for a husband were always needy, and by that, I mean they constantly need attention and cannot accomplish anything themselves. The only reason I think men marry them is because of their beauty and their wealth. I do not wish to become like them.

A voice called out below deck, yelling, "If nobody is going to stop me, I'm going to eat the entire meal I made for all of us!"

The captain grinned at me. "Cannot let that sort of thing happen. For the sake of the chicken, of course."

Bex slid down from the mast and pulled my hand toward the door that led below deck. "Come on, Cam," she said excitedly. "Do not tell Grant, but even I must admit his chicken tastes almost as good as the ones Gallagher cooks make."

I chuckled and replied, "Well, I'll be the judge of that."

She was incredibly right, in the case of appearance. The meat tantalizingly glistened in the light, which seemed to perfectly complement the position of the food. Immediately, I sat down and picked up the fork and knife I was going to use to stab the chicken with.

We were all about to go after the food, but then Liz had the audacity to push it out of the way and instead to place a map in front of us instead. I could practically see the tension as we all were secretly plotting her slow death, before she promptly stated, "I know where our next location is."

Nick threw his hands up in the air. "Does it look like we care?"

Liz looked at him pointedly. "You should."

"Well, can I care later? When I'm not hungry?"

She ignored him and pointed to a small island on the map. "This is Siren's Island. It's where..."

Liz was about to continue when Bex tugged the map away from her. "Liz, I apologize, but you know..." she pointed to Grant. "If I don't eat, I may just end up eating my own fiancee!"

I sighed. True, I was very eager for the food, but Liz was giving us some fairly important information. Gingerly, I pulled the map from Bex's fingers and spread it across the table and motioned for Liz to continue.

She smiled at me gratefully and again pointed at Siren's Island. "I've read legends about this island in my storybooks when I was small. The Sirens were three sea monsters that take the shape of what you find most beautiful or desire most in order to lure sailors in so they could feed on them."

Grant sat there open-jawed. "What kind of parent would allow their child to read stories like that?"

"I agree," Zachary added. "When I was little, I used to hear stories about a boy who went out to sea looking for treasure, but ended up finding true love in a person and the life of adventure."

Liz waved her hands around in order to gain attention without angering anyone. "We are headed there."

Bex spit out the water she had in her mouth at Nick's face. "What kind of idiot puts a map piece in a place where pirates get eaten?" she asked.

Nick glared at her as he used his shirt to dry his face. "Maybe somebody who doesn't want the map piece to be found, Baxter."

I turned toward Liz. "Well, how are we supposed to get the next to last piece and not be appealed to the Sirens at the same time?"

She sat back down on her seat and folded her hands. "Well, I believe that these 'Sirens' are nowhere near magical creatures; there are simply animal beings we do not fully understand yet."

Liz took a deep breath before quickly adding, "The experience known by legends led my rationality to only suggest that the voice of these creatures trigger a sort of euphoria sense in the brain through the sound waves. It is only through covering the ears with wax can one escape the Siren's wrath."

Her theory reminds me of a bit of one of my father's stories. When I asked him how he knew that, he answered cryptically, "Well, how do you know I do not know what you believe I do not know when really it is you who does not know?"

My response? "Is dinner ready yet?"

Heart-breaking.

Jarring me back to reality, Liz tentatively touched my arm. "Cameron?"

I looked up as Bex asked slowly, "What are you thinking about?"

Zachary leaned back on his chair. "Most likely of me."

Rolling my eyes, I said, "Okay, so all we have to do is cover our ears. That seems easy. The only difficult portion would be finding the piece, right?"

Liz nodded. "Exactly."

Nick and Grant nodded vigorously, as if they knew exactly what we were talking about. "So, may we eat now?"

I'll admit, that thought brightened my spirits quite a bit. Just thinking about the mix of spices in my mouth, mixing with the juicy flavor of the sauce... And before you question, yes, I did disregard my tutor's rules in fine dining, because honestly, there was no use for them now.

The best thing to do after eating a healthy meal with a bunch of pirates who fought over food like it was ambrosia for the gods? Lying down on a soft hammock under the deck while talking to the girls on the ship. It felt quite nice, spending time with girls my age to talk simply of...girl stuff.

"All I am saying, Liz, is that you should put a sword in your belt instead of that circle and stick thingy. It is very helpful!"

Liz huffed. "It is called a compass, and that stick thingy is a pencil, Bex! And for your information, it is also very helpful!"

Rolling my eyes, I asked, "If you do not mind, can we speak of something that will not end with Bex attacking the ship with her punches? Please?"

Bex turned toward me with crossed arms. "Like your infatuation with a certain pirate captain?"

Nearly falling off the hammock, I managed to regain my composure. "You mean Dillon? Because his epaulets are certainly to die for."

"I should think my mere godly presence should spell-bound you more than any buffoon such as Dillon can," Zachary said, leaning against the side of the door with a smirk on his face.

This time, I really did proceed to fall off the hammock, hit my head on the wooden boards lining the floor, and roll over to where the captain was standing. I glared up at him as his smirk grew larger and he held out a hand to help me up. As I took it, Liz asked, "Forgive me for being so blunt, but what exactly is your business here, Captain?"

He shrugged. "Just wanted to see if Miss Cameron here wanted an officially exclusive tour of the Emerald Seas." Winking at me, he added, "No charge."

Bex put her hands on her hips and answered, "Sorry, but Cameron needs to finish this argument Liz and I have been proceeding with for the last ten minutes."

I literally cannot listen to another word of their conversation. "I'll go."

Zachary's smirk, if possible, grew larger as he beckoned towards the door. "Then so kindly follow me."