It was nearly two weeks on and that time had flown by. Scrum and Tamara were in constant proximity of one another, yet for the twelve days that had past; they hadn't been left alone together once. Scrum was beginning to wonder if the others had plotted some sort of conspiracy.
The Black Pearl was now sailing the coast of southern Brazil. For the time that had past since the evening of heavy drinking and cheerful music, Scrum had felt himself falling more and more under Tamara's spell, as though he weren't already bewitched by her enough. They stole glances at one another where they could, with Tamara always looking away first. She remained close with Philip, a friendship of which Scrum's jealousy had returned, though not as severely as it had previously been.
He was quite sure now, that he was besotted with the mermaid and could only hope that she truly had some feeling towards him. Sometimes he would look back on that night as a blur, the night that she had told him (in more words than he had found necessary) that really, she liked him. But she was, nevertheless, a mermaid. Teasing men, luring and seducing them until they lost their minds was what she had an innate drive for. Some of the Pearl's crewmembers had brought this fact up over dinners, which Tamara usually took with Barbossa, who had a keen likeness for her. Scrum had shrugged it off, and told himself that they were merely jealous of the bizarre bond he had formed with the mermaid.
Jack took a short telescope from his jacket pocket, and closed in on the ship sailing behind them in the distance. Tamara was seated with Scrum on a small table set and chairs, which had been set out on the starboard side of the ship. She was examining one of his hands - which were much larger than hers, and had jokingly insisted on reading his palm.
The two of them laughed as she attempted this, and compared the size of his paw-like hands to her dainty ones, ignoring Jack and Gibbs' nearby presence. The mermaid continued to hold Scrum's hand ever so gently in her own over the table, lightly tickling part of it with her fingers. "That feels nice." Scrum told her, to which she smiled, still staring intently at his hand. He bridled in his chair a little when she moved her fingers down to lightly brush his exposed wrist and forearm.
"Do you want me to stop?" she asked him, noticing his sudden slight flinch.
"No."
"You have nice arms," Tamara pointed out, "I like this part here." She concentrated her fingers on the underside of his forearm.
"Why's that?"
"It's just a nice part of a man to look at. Forearms are very attractive."
"Does it matter if you find sailors attractive, though? Won't you just eat them anyway?"
"We like our food to be presented beautifully too, you know."
Scrum laughed nervously as the mermaid shot him an intense look, "Good thing I'm a scruffy kind of guy then, ain't it?"
"You? To be fair Scrum, the first time we met I had fully intended to -" but she stopped mid-sentence, unable to finish.
"Kill me?" Scrum voiced her thoughts.
"Yes," she spoke quietly, "but that thought doesn't run through my mind anymore…just so you know."
At that moment, Jack called out to the crew who were either lounging about the deck, or hoisting the sails, "British navy!"
Tamara shot up from her seat, letting Scrum's hand back onto the table. "Are you sure?" She asked, snatching Jack's telescope from his grasp.
"Quite sure."
"Do you think they're following us?"
"Oh yes." Jack stroked his short beard, "the British are always looking for a new pirate to hang, draw and quarter."
Gibbs gave a worried look, "I didn't know they still did that…"
"You know what they'll do if they see me, don't you Jack?"
"What's that love, fall head over heels and propose?"
Tamara continued exasperated, "they'll kill me. The British are worse an enemy to mermaids than a Kraken would be! The Naval Forces are brutal in killing off mermaids."
"Well, can you blame them?"
"You listen to me, Sparrow," Tamara stood warningly close to Jack, her eyes fixed angrily on his, "we go about our business as you go about yours. You tread mermaid waters and you're ours. They," she pointed at the distant British ship, "will kill our kind for the sake of it; not solely for the protection of their sailors."
"They won't be taking you anywhere, don't you worry about that." Barbossa could be heard approaching, his wooden leg knocking the hollow floor; he was with Philip, who stopped to gaze out at the grand-looking vessel in the distance. Scrum now stood too, moving close to Tamara as she spoke, "what are we going to do, then?"
Barbossa took the telescope, "just believe me when I tell you, missy, you'll be stayin' with us."
The ship's anchor was lowered the following day outside a gigantic, dark-looking cove on the coastline. All of the crew piled into longboats; Tamara sharing with Barbossa and Philip while Scrum shared with Mallot and various others. He himself didn't know Barbossa's exact plan of action, all he knew was that Tamara had been requested to Barbossa's company for most of the previous evening along with Philip, whom was highly trusted by the Captain for, Scrum assumed, what was due to his religious beliefs and values.
The evening was hot, but growing ever darker. "Do you reckon Barbossa's gonna hand her over to 'em?" Mallot asked the others as they rowed towards the mouth of the cove.
"Surely he can't," a well-spoken yet ragged man named Duncan piped up, "Barbossa wants to get to the fountain of youth. He won't let her go for Blackbeard, so he won't let her go for the British navy."
"Oi," said another pirate, Leech, who entirely lived up to his name, "do you reckon she does the old captain favours?"
"'Ow d'you mean favours?" said Mallot.
"I mean, you don't think they spend all that time in 'is quarters just chattin' away do you, bit weird really, isn't it? I think it's likely she gives him something in return for keepin' 'er fed."
"Leech, don't be ridiculous." Scrum was glad that Duncan stepped up to defend Tamara, because if he had opened his mouth then, he may have regretted it. Duncan continued, "she's a mermaid, one of the most graceful creatures known to mankind; not a common whore."
"Oh she's a class act, I ain't sayin' she's not but -"
"But nothing, Leech. You saw what kind of a fight she can put up; we must show her the utmost respect, for she carries with her the protection of the gods."
Leech looked up at the sky awkwardly, as though suddenly realising who he had insulted. Scrum eventually unclenched his jaw, remembering that he should be more worried about Tamara's safety than the stupidity of the men who lusted after her.
"Do you really think they'll kill you?" Scrum asked her, as they sat inside the cove after all clambering from the longboats. Barbossa had allowed Tamara into the water, so long as Scrum kept an eye on her. How could he not have done? She shimmered so wonderfully in the electric blue ocean, it would have been difficult to keep an eye off of her.
"They will if they can, but that isn't going to happen. We just need to shake them off while we've got the chance," she dropped her voice into a low whisper, more confident now, "because if they follow us any further then we're all in for it."
The rest of the crew at this point were all hidden away, tucked into corners of the cove, or behind rocks. Nobody knew how long they would wait there for until the British naval ships arrived, but Barbossa was convinced that they were going to be followed no matter how long it took. It was entirely down to Scrum to keep Tamara entertained, so he began to discuss music, for which she showed a particular enthusiasm. They waited for at least two hours; being scolded more than once by Barbossa for laughing too loudly; their sniggers echoed off the walls of the cave. Tamara spent her time in the water, leaning against the rock on which Scrum knelt. Upon the first sign of movement, Tamara panicked; it was easy enough for a person to pick up on sounds in the vast cave but as a mermaid, Tamara knew exactly what was coming. "Go, Scrum!" She whispered frantically pushing him away from her. From where he turned, the cave looked empty, even though there were pirates behind every rock and in every nook of the cave, prepared to fight on Barbossa's signal. Jack dragged Scrum by his sleeve to where he and Gibbs hid, where there was a perfect view out into the cave.
Longboats began silently to pile in through the caves entrance, filled with navy men. "Lads, I don't think we're alone." One indistinguishable sailor said, after a faint humming sound echoed the walls. All of them looked nervous, yet all of them came prepared for something. Scrum watched Tamara slip into the water, making a tiny splashing sound. "Can it be?" Another voice sounded, as the man whom it belonged to now pointed at another, smaller rock, on which Tamara had perched herself. "It's a mermaid." Tamara stared at them bemused. One man, clearly the ship's captain stood up in the longboat, and bowed his head at her, unsure of quite what to say. "What is it that you seek, captain?" Asked Tamara, leaning back on her rock.
The sailors all gaped in awe of her haunting yet intriguing tone, and the silver flash of her tail. "A pirate ship, miss. Do you know of the Black Pearl?"
"The Black Pearl?" Tamara smirked, before diving into the water; causing a two-second panic until she emerged again, this time leaning on the edge of the longboat in which the captain sat. "Oh my god." Scrum heard one sailor mutter, "she's beautiful." There were others who were now leaning close to her, trying to get a proper look; and she smiled sweetly at all of them.
"Is it a pretty ship?" Tamara asked the Captain, who was smiling weakly at her.
"Not as notable as ours, madam, I assure you."
"Do you search for pirates? There are none here; there lies nothing but ghost ships."
"We hear the Pearl was one once." A round-faced sailor chipped in, trying to grab Tamara's attention.
"It is pirates we seek, yes. We must remove them from the seas, you understand. Vile beings, they are."
She was smiling at him suggestively before she began to sing 'The Faithful Sailor Boy'. Scrum felt glad that she hadn't used My Jolly Sailor Bold; he felt that song was reserved for him only. "At last he pressed her to his heart and whispered in her ear, farewell, farewell, my own true love; this parting gives me pain…" All became entranced in her song; Gibbs was wiping tears from his eyes as she chanted her beautiful melody. The ships Captain was her target, and he had certainly made himself closest to her. Scrum felt as though someone had stabbed him through the stomach when he saw her lean up and wrap her arms around the young captain's neck. He took one of her hands from his shoulder and gently caressed it as others looked on, completely captivated by her sheer beauty. All Scrum had to do was wait for the signal, and the men would be off to attack the navy sailors; but Tamara seemed intent on teasing them further, moving on from the captain and gently biting the finger of a middle-aged sailor in the same longboat. Scrum felt like he had waited for an hour just watching her, wishing it were him who had her full focus once again. Jack gave Scrum's shoulder a light squeeze, both as a comfort and a warning. It took just one shot for chaos to ensue.
Barbossa fired on the captain, sending a bullet straight through his forehead and his body toppling into the water. Tamara didn't hesitate in dragging the closest sailors into the sea with her.
The naval sailors began to shoot back from their boats, yet their focus was awry due to their fear of Tamara. Men were yelling, "kill the mermaid; get the mermaid first!"
Scrum, who had run straight for those who were climbing on the rocks, was fighting his own battle against two naval sailors. A piercing shriek followed by loud hissing came from Tamara, who was being dragged from the water by a good eight sailors; some of whom had her by her hair, others carried her tail. 'Oh no you don't' thought Scrum, diving out of his two enemies' way so that he could get to his mermaid. Jack and Leech had also taken it upon themselves to save her, while the others shook off the well-equipped navy men. "Come on, Scrummy!" Jack called, leaping in to the water. Tamara threw one of her captors overboard, and his flying body narrowly missed landing on Jack's head. Scrum leapt from the edge of a rock, into the sea towards her.
The crew of the Black Pearl drove away the remaining members of the British naval ship; leaving behind the bodies of the dishonoured dead. "No respect," said Barbossa as they clambered into their own longboats to reapproach the Pearl, "I'd always bring mine back, no matter what."
Though the main focus was on the wounded of their own; the British navy had put up a fearsome fight before their escape, and Scrum had been slashed with a sword, cutting through his shoulder; the deep wound was causing him to bleed non-stop. Tamara had insisted on being in his boat along with Philip, Jack and Barbossa; and she leant over him, trying desperately to put pressure on the open cut, which was being temporarily bandaged by Philip's shirt.
Scrum groaned loudly in pain as he leant back against Tamara, who had covered herself with his jacket. She didn't seem to care that his blood was dripping over her, she remained far more anxious for Scrum; who was gritting his teeth as well as he could through the searing pain in his shoulder.
The full crew made it back to the ship, and bandaged one another carefully. Philip and Gibbs threw Scrums arms around them, and hoisted him down to the dank, empty cabin, closely followed by the anxious Tamara, who had been thrown a bottle of gin to use as antiseptic. Philip rushed immediately to get proper bandages.
"Alright, Scrum," Gibbs said sympathetically, "Barbossa needs us to check the others, you two are gunna be fine, aye?"
"Aye." Scrum gasped. Philip gave him a worried look before ascending to the upper deck where at least another twelve of the crew lay wounded and bleeding. Tamara set to work immediately after throwing Scrum's shirt (which was far less blood-stained than Philip's) over her. She gently removed Philips shirt from Scrum's shoulder. The drying, congealed blood stuck to him a little, and he shuddered as she worked to peel it off carefully. Scrum smiled weakly at the mermaid, as she gave him a knowing glance and softly stroked his cheek. She ripped the bandages with her teeth.
"Doesn't that hurt?" Scrum asked.
"Not as much as that probably does," she pointed to his gaping wound, which still bled heavily, "now you'll have to hold still while I stitch it."
"Woah, hang on, what? Tamara, wait, OW!" He yelped in pain as she began to dab at his wound with a gin-soaked cloth.
"Don't be a coward." Her tone was stern.
Scrum held his breath, anxiously watching her place a thick thread through the hole of a needle. The alcohol hadn't numbed him one bit, even as she ordered him to drink the remaining spirit. If it took a lot for him to get drunk, it was certainly going to take a lot for him to feel completely anaesthetized. As she stitched him up, he couldn't help but wince. "That bloody hurts!"
"Who said it wasn't going to?"
"Don't you mermaids have healing powers or something?"
"No." Her stern voice remained, "we can only heal ourselves when wounded. It does not do for mermaids to help others."
"You're helping me, OW! Now…"
"I know, but that's because unlike other mermaids, I care."
Scrum paused to think about what she had just said; she was right, she was different to the others, she did care. He shut his mouth, thinking it better to appreciate that she was at least being as gentle as she could.
"You know, I care too…" Scrum said after a pregnant pause.
"I know that." She said, now more softly, "but that isn't my concern right now. My concern is stopping this thing getting infected. After all, you don't want me to have to bite it off."
He tried to laugh, but it hurt as he was now positively aching all over. "Keep still, Scrum, I'm nearly finished."
"That was quick."
"We mermaids are."
Scrum felt relieved when she put down the needle in front of him, after threading a knot in the stitching so that it wouldn't come loose. "Lift your arm, it will hurt, but lift it."
Scrum squeezed the palm of his hand tightly, grimacing through the pain while Tamara wrapped a bandage tightly around it. "Can I have my shirt back, are we done now?"
"Almost," Tamara replied.
He felt her running her fingers softly up and down his arm, giving him goosebumps. His heart raced as she tenderly kissed the unbandaged part of his shoulder, right by his neck. Tamara stopped tickling his arm, and left her hand placed gently on it as she began to plant light kisses up his neck to his jawline. Scrum could hardly believe this was happening, surely he must have been imagining it; surely she wasn't really there, was she?
Around his good shoulder, she placed her arm and kissed his neck more firmly this time, but still gently enough. Scrum felt his breathing rate increase, and the butterflies in his stomach flitting around crazily as she nibbled gently on his earlobe. He was desperate to turn around, yet afraid that if he did, she wouldn't really be there. He was sure this was all in his imagination.
But then she moved around to face him, his shirt loosely buttoned around her. She sank down to her knees in front of him, putting a cool hand on his cheek while she gazed directly into his eyes. "You're so beautiful." He said breathlessly.
Tamara smiled at him before pulling his head down, so that her lips lightly brushed his. 'This is not real,' he told himself, 'Scrum you're imagining it.'
The mermaid kissed him ever so lightly, nibbling gently on his lower lip before pulling his head down into a passionate kiss. Fully confident that this now, was real, Scrum wrapped his good arm around her waist to pull her towards him as she ran one hand along the back of his neck, the other rested gently on his leg. Scrum now responded with such enthusiasm that he nearly lifted her up completely; but she did not pull away from him, and he didn't want her to. He never wanted to let go of her, he was sure of that now and when she did break away from him, he tightened his hold around her. Tamara smiled as she kissed him lightly on the lips once again. "Come on, we need to let the others know you haven't blacked out."
"If you kiss me again, I think I might."
"Then I shouldn't, even if I want to."
Scrum sighed heavily, surer that he wanted her more than a million gold. Tamara stood, craning her neck to look for something. "Ah!" She said, running to find him another white shirt, which lay on Jack's bed. "Here you are."
"You're a saint." Scrum said as she helped him to get the sleeve over his wounded right arm.
She pulled him up from the stool on which he had sat, standing on her tip-toes to kiss him again. Taking him by the hand, Tamara led him towards the cabin door, and as she opened it, sunlight poured in gloriously; the air smelled fresh.
"Tamara…" Scrum tugged her back slightly as she began to walk up the stairs, desperate to be alone with her. She turned to him, "I know." She said gently, kissing him just one last time before taking him to the upper deck.