A.N.- I'm so happy to be back. Hope you all are ready, because I'm excited to give it to you. Only a few chapters left. Flashbacks are italics, and as always, enjoy the read.

His body jolted awake gasping for air. The green eyes scanned the room to see if he woke anyone else up with his nightmare. He had tried to get the memories out of his head, but they seemed to always find their way back to him. He hadn't had a good night sleep since he was trapped on the island, and just like he suspected, it wasn't over because Hawkins was dead. He had the pleasure to witness it every time he closed his eyes no matter how much he pleaded with the heavens for it not to. His gaze crossed the room to Riley who shifted her position soundly asleep and his lips pulled up into a slight smile; she looked so beautiful when she slept. He shook his head and forced his eyes off her to the floor; Samuel was right, he didn't deserve Riley. If he had been honest with himself at the start, maybe he could have avoided whatever started to build between them. Instead now she was going to go back to her home and start to learn to help lead as a public figure, she didn't need him to bring her down. The best thing for everyone involved is they deliver her safely home and then disappear leaving her out of his thoughts. She would forget about him with all her duties that were expected of her, and he would distract himself to the point where she would just be a distant memory. A little still quiet voice argued that it would be harder than that to push the brunette away, but he swatted the voice down; this was his only option, because the last thing he wanted was to hurt her. He needed air, he decided; maybe the sounds of the waves would relax him to the point where he could settle into a dreamless sleep.

"Farkle, what is this about?" Isadora's laughter trailed behind the two as Farkle dragged her behind him excitedly. "Where are we going?" They were stuck on a ship; there weren't many places that he could take her that she hadn't seen.

"You'll see." He flashed a smile back at her, he was sure that she would be pleased with his surprise. They had a limited time window if he was to get away with it.

"Are we going to try- what was it called, dancing again?" Her cheeks grew to the lightest shade of pink as she curled her raven hair behind her ear. He had been teaching her new things about the humans every day, but out of all of them that was one of her favorites.

Farkle pushed down his own color that settled on his cheeks.

"No, we're here." He motioned to the deck causing Isadora's lips to settle in a thin line.

"I don't understand?" She was confused by his excitement; she had been on deck before. What was she missing?

"I paid off the watchmen to make themselves scarce." It was hard to believe that he didn't think of this before, but now they had the perfect chance for the plans they made. His blue eyes searched his hers, but all that came back was questions.

"It's time for you to go home." Her hands slumped to her sides and her vision was cast to the floor. She didn't know what she would feel when it was finally time for her to go, but it wasn't this. There were dreams of her some nights, but they used to be more resilient, and now they seemed to slip away. At first all she wanted was to return home, but now she had seen another part of the world, it was giving her pause.

"Oh."

"You're disappointed," his smile faltered as he started to wonder if all of this was a mistake.

"No," she reached for his hands and took them in her own for comfort. "I just never thought- thank you Farkle," and although she smiled, her eyes seemed to shine just a little bit less.

Her fingers started to trace patterns on his hand, and she was wondering why she was stalling, could it be that it was unlikely that they would meet again?

"Thank you everything that you've done." she leaned in gently caressed his cheek with her lips rooted in appreciated; if it wasn't for him, she very well could have been dead by now.

Farkle let out a sigh, wishing that he would have waited a couple more days before putting his plan into action. He just wanted more time with her; he didn't think that would be too much to ask. Their breaths mingled as her lips grew dangerously close to his.

"You'd better go," he stepped back wondering if they only had more time, what would become of them. She nodded and within a blink of an eye she had jumped overboard into the murky water. Farkle rushed to the edge in time to see the tip of her tail splashed as she dove further down into the depths.
"You know I could have you walk the plank for your treasonous ways." Farkle stopped dead in his tracks at the sound of Josh's voice. Fear started spreading through his fingertips down to his feet; the deal he had made was with Maya, and that didn't include the mermaid's release. If he was on any other ship he was sure that the Captain would force him overboard without a second thought at the money that he "released" back into the sea.

"Josh," his skin ghosted and his mouth grew dry. The intelligent comebacks that were racing through his mind got lost on the tip of his tongue. All his interaction in the past when it came to Isadora was with the blonde and they had come to an understanding.

"I can explain," his back pressed against the wooden rails feeling trapped as Josh started the walk towards him. Josh nodded probing for him to continue; the inner child inside smirked at the sight of making another man quake with fear.

"I was only able to create a bond with her. I promised that I would return her," he sighed "I had no choice Josh." The sentence fragments barely made sense, but he had hoped it was enough to convince him. He was used to his words carrying an argument but now when he needed them most, they failed him. Josh's chuckle managed to lighten the mood, but it caught the scientist completely off guard.

"I have seen you risk your life for that mermaid in more ways than one; I knew it would only be a matter of time before you would stand up to me for her." Farkle's mouth started to gape open much like a fish

"Besides, not many men can say they kissed a mermaid and lived to tell the tale." The red spread like a wild fire across his face, and he was suddenly grateful that the night was able to hide it.

"Well I'm going to turn in for the evening." He pushed past the Captain and headed downstairs to the hold; Josh just laughed in response. He remembered when he was younger and the way that the opposite gender had that kind of effect on him, if he was honest Maya still did. Most of the stories that circulated the docks had many men fall in love with a mermaid, but judging by what he witnessed, he was sure that she had some feelings for him in return. He hoped that their interaction would lead to treaty talks for when they needed passage through the mermaid infested waters.

Lucas walking up the stairs stopped his mind wandering further. Lucas nodded in his direction out of respect and then made his way towards the bow of the ship. Josh took a step forward to follow him, but then hesitation kicked in. It was clear that Lucas meant something to his sister, but something felt off; the last thing he wanted was for Riley to get hurt. He barely had met the blonde, so he was difficult to read. He didn't want to ruffle any feathers between the two love birds, so he decided to return to his quarters to get some much-needed rest.

Riley took a deep breath as she tried to boost her confidence as her brown eyes settled on Lucas looking out at the ocean. She was still rattled by their interaction at Hawkins's funeral, but they would be heading back to blank soon enough, if she didn't tell him now, she might lose the chance. It wasn't every day that she realized her feelings for him, but she was trying not to lose her nerve. Bits and pieces of Maya and her conversation were stuck in her head from the previous day about Lucas wanting Maya to forget about him and return her safely. Now maybe she might finally get her chance to ask him the questions she desperately wanted answers to.

"I'm going to miss this view," she stopped just short of him her hands gripping the railing. The sea was always able to calm her nerves; she had wondered if that's what it seemed like the water called to her since she was a little girl. Lucas made some sort of grunt as an answer, but kept his eyes on the ocean. His lack of response only pushed her to try further.

"I'll have to get used to the change of scenery when I arrive back home."

"Must be nice," he replied shortly.

"But I was thinking," she couldn't bring herself to look at him otherwise she would lose her nerve. "What if I didn't go back, Josh and Maya would more than be happy to have us stay."

She watched as his lips twitched into a frown. The brunette slowly reached out her hand and placed it on his.

"Lucas, talk to me." His hand was stiff under her until he jerked it away. Riley was starting to feel her confidence slipping away again.

"What happened on the Isle?" She pushed once more, knowing that he just needed to talk to someone, bottling everything up only made things worse.

"I don't want to talk about it," he growled lowly. He already had everything play out for him in his dreams, he didn't need to relive it, especially with her. If she knew the truth, she would never be able to look at him the same, and he wasn't sure he could bear the thought.

"Lucas"-

"Sometimes you are just too much, you just push when you don't know any better. I think it would be better for us if you just let me do the job I was hired to do in the first place!"

A job, that was all she was to him. Maya's words sunk in, but it was different than what she had implied, the money was all that he cared about, not her. Any words that she wished to say died on the tip of her tongue due to shock. This whole thing was an act, and she was naïve enough to fall for it. She watched his face soften, but the damage was already done.

"As you wish," all emotion was stripped from her voice and she couldn't bring herself to look at him. With any dignity that was able she held her head high and held in her tears.

Despite his internal screaming to say something, anything to stop her, he just let her pass by. It was hard to speak with her especially since he knew their time was limited. He hadn't meant to snap at her the way that he did, she just kept prodding a wound that had yet to close, but there was no excuse for upsetting her the way that he did.

She started out as just a job; when he saw her for the first time he under-estimated her and what she would mean to him. Their personalities clashed in the beginning, but through time that started to fade away to the point where he couldn't imagine his life without her. Riley had the ability to look into people and pull out their potential of all they could be, and he had never had that in his life before. For a time, he thought it might be possible that they were able to act on their feelings, but time and fate seemed not to side with them. With the time passing, it only ensured him that they couldn't be together, this lie of what they could be when they were on the water, would be stopped short of a harsh reality.
Riley was betrothed, but even if she wasn't; what chance did he have against any other suitors. She deserved the best that the world could offer her, which was not him. He was a sum of broken parts that people had left over the year; he was sure that caused him to make the decisions that he had.

Lucas gritted his teeth as he felt the chill of the dagger's metal as it began its dance across his throat. He wasn't afraid of death, but he did know that if he did cross over that it would affect his Mother's well-being, although it would only be a matter of time before she met her end as well.

"If it weren't up to the Captain, I would have had my way with you already." The tip to the knife clipped the edge of his chiseled chin. Now that his disguise was blown Samuel had allowed his ruthlessness to bleed through, Lucas wondered how they didn't see him before.

"It was a shame that Riley and her little crew didn't come back for you," he started flipping the blade between his hands. "That way I would have been able to finish my duel; poor girl wouldn't know what to do, but I guess that tells you where you stand with her. Good thing you didn't put your neck on the line"- he stopped for the sole purpose of throwing a wicked glance towards Lucas. "Who knew that you would do that all on your own?"

Lucas tried not to let the words seep into his skin. He was happy that Riley wasn't here, that meant that Maya kept her end of the bargain. One of the last things that he wanted was Riley be in danger by treading back here. She was the one thought that kept his hope up, but after a couple days even the image of her was starting to flicker in his mind.

"Get him up!" The voice of the Hawkins caused a chill to shoot down his spine. Maybe he came in to watch the show, or worse, join in. His shirt was grabbed roughly forcing him to his feet.

"Cut his binds," he barked. The mark of confusion flashed across Samuel's face

"But sir"- He tried to interject, but Hawkins didn't let him get further.

"That wasn't a request Samuel." He did as he was told, but he was far from happy; one of his first reactions was to rub his wrist being thankful that they were free. A sword was handed to Lucas; he didn't need an order to realize what was expected of him. It was a duel to the death, it was either Samuel or him. The sound of his mother's cries to Hawkins to stop, but the death ears. The blades crossed for the first time and it was obvious that Samuel had more strength, but Lucas held his own. They pushed back and started circling the other. Lucas went for a swing for the right.

"It's a shame that Riley can't see me struck you down." Riley, the simple name began to fuel him and his blood started to pump. He started to attack aggressively catching Samuel off guard. Lucas's weapon caught and flung the other sword across the room. Lucas had managed to corner him and Samuel had tripped and realized that he was out of options.

"Do it." His fallen enemy whispered. He knew that Hawkins hadn't heard him and if he didn't it would be a disgrace. With one blow, he had fulfilled his wish, but he couldn't even look at the dead body on the floor.

Lucas gripped his sword tighter as his tired body stood over the dead one of Samuels. If he had more energy he would have taken the sword and charged at Hawkins, but it was taking all his energy just to stand. The Captain stood to his feet and started walking towards him; Lucas hoped that if he had plans to take his life that he would do it swiftly. His ears picked up the faint sound of his Mother crying, he didn't know if it was out of joy that he was still alive, or fear of what was to happen next. The cold grey eyes pierced his body until Hawkins burst out in laughter. The simple act caught the blonde completely off guard, but he didn't let go of his weapon just in case he needed it.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from blood." The color started to drain from his skin as he forced his eyes to his Mother, but she wouldn't look at him, which made him sick to his stomach. The word was ingrained in his mind, blood.

He knew what was done, and hated himself for it, if Riley knew who he really was; then she wouldn't love him at all.

A.N.- I know I know, it hurts, it hurt to write it. Hope I'm going to update soon. Feel free to let me know what you think!