Chapter 15

The next few nights passed similarly to the night May and Popplio found the cavern. They went scouting in the open ocean together and would find new places they hadn't before, although they had little success locating different species of Pokemon from what they'd already found. Despite this, they made the most of their time together as they swam freely in the open ocean.

"Hey, look!" May smiled as she and Popplio swam about one night. "The moon's full, which means the moonlight is brightest tonight." She looked around at her surroundings, illuminated in the glow of the moonlight. "We can see everything for miles!" Her eyes sparkled at the thought of exploring everything in sight. She sighed wistfully as she put her hands behind her head with a bittersweet smile. "What I wouldn't give for the chance to explore it all."

"Princess! Princess May!"

May snapped out of her nightdreaming and whipped around to find one of the royal guards frantically swimming out to her. Brushing her hair out of her face, she swam over to him, meeting him halfway.

"What is it?" she asked. "Is something wrong?"

"The Mertriarch demands your immediate return," he said.

"What?" she blinked, confused. "But why would Mother –?"

"Princess, please," the guard said. "She was quite urgent. We must go quickly. You may ask questions when we return."

May was about to try asking again what was wrong, but before she could, she noticed a sudden change in the lighting around her. Her eyes widened, and she looked out at the open ocean. Where she could see every little detail for miles before, now everything was blurred, like it was whenever the moon was not full. She looked up and immediately noticed the source of the strange shadow.

"A ship!?" she exclaimed. "Out here?!" She turned to the guard. "It's pirates, isn't it?!"

"Yes, milady!" the guard said. "Quickly!" May said nothing more, dragging Popplio along as she and the guard swam frantically for home. It didn't take long for them to arrive. They swam through the front gate of the palace so quickly that they had to flick their fins out in front of them to halt their momentum. When they floated upright, they found the Mertriarch floating in front of them, arms folded with a firm expression on her face as her black tail flicked in the water.

"Are you safe?" she asked.

"Y-Yes May stammered, her hands behind her back with a sheepish smile. "Sorry, Mother. I didn't mean to make you worry."

Cynthia just sighed with relief. "As long as you're safe, I guess." She looked up, resuming her stern expression. "Do not leave the palace until I give you permission to do so."

"Yes, Mother," May nodded. She turned to Popplio. "You should swim over to my room. We're gonna be stuck in here for a while." Popplio nodded, looking annoyed as she swam off. May was about to swim after her to put her bags away when her mother spoke again.

"Is everyone in their homes?"

Curiosity got the better of the young mermaid princess, and she floated out to listen to what the Mertriarch had to say.

"Yes, your Majesty," a guard said. "The village is secure."

"Good. Return to your post, and monitor the situation. I want all eyes on that pirate ship. And above all, no one goes outside until I say it is safe to do so."

"Yes, your Majesty," the guard said again, and they swam away to their post. Cynthia turned and swam for the royal hall. Only May was left in the hall, her bags still slung over her shoulders. She looked out at the ocean, with the pirate ship looming over it, casting a sinister shadow.

"Dawn nearly got herself killed with an encounter with pirates when she was still a mermaid," she mused to herself. She looked up at the surface, marred only by the shadow of the ship. "I wonder...if those pirates found her now, would they try to kill her again? Or would they no longer care about her because she's human?" She looked down, facing the ground, noticing her fins idly flicking in the water. "I mean, it's a mermaid's scales they're after, isn't it? And humans don't have those. So why would she be worth anything to them?"

"Your Majesty!"

May snapped out of her musings and looked up sharply to see a mermaid swimming in frantically from the village, a look of terror on her face. When she saw May, she swam to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Your Highness! Please, go find your mother!"

"Why? What's wrong?" May asked.

"One of the mermaids swam out to the open ocean, where the pirates are!"

"What?!" May gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. "Who?! How long ago?!"

"I just saw her swim out," the mermaid said, eyes still wide. "I didn't know who she was, but she looked young. She had bright blonde hair, and her tail...her tail was as white as ice!"

May's eyes widened in horror. No she thought. Not her! Anyone but her! She put her hands on the mermaid's shoulders. "Go inform my mother," she said, then started to swim out. "I'm going after her."

"Wait, your Highness!" the mermaid cried. "It's too dangerous!"

"I don't care!" May said, turning back to face her. "I won't float around idly while one of my own is in danger!" With that, she turned and swam out. The mermaid shivered in fear and swam towards the royal hall, still frantic as ever.

May flipped her fins as fast as she could, silently praying that Lillie would be okay. Before she knew it, she was out in the open ocean, underneath the shadow of the ship. She looked up and saw the familiar glint of Lillie's white tail. She flicked her fins with all her might and swam up to her.

"Lillie!" she cried.

Lillie gasped and looked down. "May? What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?!" May shot back as she swam up to Lillie's level. "Do you have any idea how much danger we're in right now?!"

"Danger?" Lillie blinked, her eyes betraying her innocence. "From the humans?"

"These aren't just any humans," May started to explain. "They're –"

Before she could go on, she heard something fall beneath the surface. She turned and saw a strange, woven contraption floating towards them.

"SWIM AWAY!" she screamed, grabbing Lillie's wrist and pulling her out of the net's path. She started to swim back for the palace, but Lillie pulled out of her grasp and swam back.

"What is this?" she wondered, inspecting the net curiously. "It looks like it was –"

"LILLIE, NO!"

But it was too late. No sooner had Lillie swam back to the net than another one dropped down on top of her, entangling her in its grip. "Augh!" she cried. "What is this?!" The net started to get pulled up towards the surface.

"No!" May cried, swimming back to her and pulling on the net. "No no NO!" She pulled back, flicking her tail as hard as she could, but she was no match for the pirates pulling the net up. She was so frantic that she failed to notice that she and the captive mermaid were getting pulled...right out of the water! No sooner had they broken the surface than the raucous sounds of cheering punctured May's ears. She gasped in shock, and the sudden pain that came from breathing air completely overwhelmed her, causing her to lose her grip on the net and fall back in the water.

May took several quick breaths of water, then looked up and found that the boat was sailing forward, taking Lillie with it. "LILLIE!" she screamed, reaching her hand up to her captive friend briefly before lowering it in despair. "No," she whimpered, covering her mouth with her hands in an attempt to stifle a sob. Her new friend was gone, and there was nothing she could do.

Or was there?

She looked up again and saw that the net was still hovering over the water. Her mind flashed back to the stories her sisters would tell of their time at the surface, and how they would sometimes race each other there, leaping out of the water and elegantly spinning through the air. Her hands lowered so they were over her chest, as her heartbeat began accelerating. As she watched the net move farther and farther away, she came to a decision.

"No," she said, a resolute glint in her eyes. "No pirate has successfully captured a mermaid in centuries." She reached behind her and pulled three sharp scales out of her tail. "And no one...is going...to take...my...friend." With that, she flicked her fins and propelled herself forward, carefully monitoring her position relative to the net, which the pirates still held over the water for some reason. When she was sure her position was optimal, she sharply turned towards the surface and gave a powerful flick of her fins.

She leapt out of the water and grabbed onto the net, holding her breath as she did so. Lillie looked utterly terrified as the ruffians roared in glee, jeering at her while some seemed to have water dripping out of their mouths. When she saw May jump onto the net, however, her expression changed from fear to shock.

"May?!"

May said nothing, holding her breath as tightly as she could as she pulled on the net, trying hard to tear it apart. The pirates were having none of it, as some of them threw sharp knives at her to get her off. One of them grazed her back, leaving a small cut. She winced in pain, but shrugged it off to focus on saving her friend. Eventually, however, the threat of the knives proved too much for her, and she retaliated, throwing one of her scales at a pirate. It struck him in the chest, and he fell to the ground, roaring in pain. She threw her other two scales and knocked down two others. The other pirates quickly rushed to their fallen comrades, giving May some room to work as she continued to pull on the net, vainly trying to rip it apart.

She was rather surprised at how tough the material was. Even though she was no longer under the surface, meaning she could tear material like this apart far more easily than she usually could, it still refused to break. Eventually, the pirates turned back to her, ready to attack once again. With nothing to counter them with, and her lungs begging for water, May knew she had to act fast if she was going to save her friend. With no other choice, May exhaled, letting the water she was holding in flow out of her mouth, and she lunged forward and sank her teeth into the fabric of the net.

She pulled on it, and it snapped like seaweed.

Lillie fell out, back into the water, and May promptly leapt after her, diving back down under the surface. She immediately grabbed Lillie's wrist and swam down as far away from the surface as she could. All the while, she was breathing heavily, as large air bubbles flowed out of her mouth, while her skin gratefully absorbed the water surrounding her. As she looked behind her to make sure Lillie wouldn't try to swim away again, she noticed a stream of blood flowing behind her. She winced as she remembered, and now felt, the pain from the cut on her back. It wasn't horrible, but it was bad enough to sting.

May pulled Lillie into an underwater cavern, where they sat down to catch their breath. She grabbed some seaweed in the cavern and wrapped it around her abdomen, covering the cut on her back as she continued to take deep breaths. The bubbles coming from her mouth were much smaller now.

"May?"

May exhaled, only now realizing just how much her ears had been pounding during the whole ordeal, as she realized Lillie had been trying to talk to her for some time.

"May, what was that? Please, talk to me!"

May took another moment to breathe, then turned to her friend, finding her voice. "What...were you...thinking?!" she growled.

"I-I…" Lillie stammered. "I, uh…"

"You could've been KILLED!" May shouted angrily. "Do you have any idea what those humans would've done to you?! You're lucky someone from the village saw you swim out there and came to warn us! If they hadn't, they...well...Tapu Fini, I don't even want to THINK about it!"

"I'm sorry!" Lillie cried frantically. "I didn't know! I thought humans weren't dangerous, and I just wanted to get a closer look!"

"A closer look?!" May exclaimed. "Lillie, those were pirates! You don't ever want to get a 'closer look' at pirates! They would do anything to get their filthy hands on a mermaid like you!"

"What?" Lillie breathed, shocked. "Are...are humans really that bad?"

"They can be!" May growled. "And to top it all off, I'm probably gonna be in big trouble because of you! Mother told me to stay in the palace, and I deliberately disobeyed her! Do you have any idea what that means for me?! It means I'm gonna be stuck in there for Tapu Fini knows how long!"

"May, I'm sorry!" Lillie cried. "I didn't mean to hurt anyone! I just wanted to see them up close! I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me!" Tears began to well up in her eyes, and she placed her face in her hands, weeping quietly. May saw this and noticed her tears float up into the water. Her gaze immediately softened, and she came closer to her friend.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm sorry," Lillie whimpered. "I didn't know there were bad humans. I just wanted to see a human up close!"

Hearing this, May felt a pang of guilt in her heart. She reached out and pulled Lillie into a gentle hug. Lillie tensed up slightly, and she looked around, puzzled, though tears were still in her eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, but in the end she just broke down into May's embrace, quietly sobbing in her arms.

"Shhh," May said quietly, rubbing her back to soothe her. "It's all right," she said. "We're safe now. There's no reason to be afraid."

After a moment, Lillie pulled away, wiping the last of her tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said one more time. "I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt."

"I know," May nodded. "I'm sorry, too."

Lillie blinked, confused. "For what?"

"For being so harsh," she said. "I was really scared that I was gonna lose my friend to a band of cruel pirates. I didn't realize you didn't know about them."

"Oh," Lillie said quietly. "I mean, I always heard that the human world was a magical place where everyone was happy. I just wanted to see for myself why that was."

"You're interested in the human world too, huh?" May muttered.

"I mean, a little?" Lillie shrugged. "I've almost never been to the surface myself, but I've heard a lot about it." She sighed. "I guess it's not as magical as everyone makes it out to be."

"Tell me about it," May agreed. She looked out and noticed the water brightening up, indicating that the ship was sailing away. "I think it's safe to go out now. Come on; let's go home."

With that, the two mermaids swam out of the cave and started heading for home. It wasn't long before they arrived at the village. There, Lillie once again bid May farewell, thanking her for risking her life to save her, and they went their separate ways. May swam back to the palace, where, on entering the main hall, she found her mother floating there, a very stern expression on her face.

Seeing this, May sighed and exiled herself to her room.