The waves were calm and England was trying to figure out the reason as to why it was so quiet. It was strange and the nations who had been out to sea had a feeling something was off. England wanted to figure out what it was that was drawing him back to the water. He hadn't been a pirate in centuries but something was out there and he wanted to figure out what it was. He knew about the myths surrounding sirens and mermaids but those were only myths. Right? Those myths couldn't be true and he knew that myths could be difficult to prove. There was only one way to test the theory and that was to go back out to sea. He knew that a few other nations would join him if he proposed the idea to them but he had to be secretive about it. A small meeting was held with those England had chosen to go with him and they agreed without hesitation.
Many of the nations were enjoying their two weeks off and they had no idea what was going on. England had managed to get Spain, Portugal and France to join him on his journey back out to sea. He explained that something was off and Portugal brought up the fact that North had been missing for a few days. No one knew where North had gone but they knew that he hadn't left the country since his stuff was still in his room. It wasn't long before America had spotted something in the water while he was on the rocks with Japan. It seemed to catch everyone's attention that day and it gave England another reason to investigate further. The group of four took a small boat out to sea the following night so no one would know that they were gone and they planned to back before morning. England hoped that his brother was safe but he couldn't be sure until he had found North.
North was a strong swimmer and knew how to fight the currents of the sea with ease. The water was too calm for anyone's liking and all four of them had seen the sea at its worse so it was strange, to say the least. France knew that something was bothering England and thought that North was out there didn't leave his mind. The pair argued before North disappeared and it was weighing on the Englishman like a lead weight. France made his way over to where England was on the boat and decided to offer some form of comfort.
"It is not your fault," France said softly. "You were angry and so was he but you did not push him away."
"I know," England said before sighing. "I want him to come back but I don't know what I will say to him when he does."
"Start by apologising to him," The Frenchman said. "Then you hug him and hope that he will accept your apology."
England looked towards France and smiled slightly as a way to say thank you. It wasn't long before something was spotted out in the distance by one of the two brothers.
"Did you see that?" Portugal asked as he turned to Spain and that seems to grab their attention.
"No," Spain answered. "Where did see it?"
England and France made their way to where the two brothers were standing while Portugal pointed something in the distance on the port side. Something was swimming in the distance and they couldn't believe what they were seeing. Something had jumped out of the water and it looked rather familiar to them but they couldn't be sure. It could have been a dolphin but England knew of the link between his brother and the sea. North had once been a shipbuilder and worked most of his working life on ships so there was an unknown link between him and the waves.
"Spain, can you get us closer?" France asked.
"I can try," Spain answered.
England hoped that it was North but he didn't get his hopes up since his brother could be anywhere by this point. Something was beckoning them closer and it was holding onto something, no, someone. As they got closer, England realised what had happened and he prayed that North was alive. Dolphins began to circle underneath the boat and there, floating in the water, was a mermaid with North in her arms. He was unresponsive but he was alive and it looked like he had been out at sea for a while. The mermaid watched the small group and the sound of whales could be heard nearby as she held him close to her.
"He's alive," England said in relief and he had never been so grateful to see North. The mermaid smiled and swam closer to the boat but she was still cautious about the four men.
"Look for something to wrap him up," Portugal said and France began to search for something. The Frenchman was mainly looking for a towel but he wasn't having any luck.
Portugal went to help England with retrieving North from the water which wasn't easy. He shrugged off his jacket and handed it to France before he dived into the water. The mermaid refused to come closer to the boat but she was close enough for Portugal to swim to. She gently handed the unresponsive man over to him and he was surprised that she hadn't done anything to North. He was unharmed and it was like he was merely sleeping. The mermaid moved away from the pair and Portugal noticed that her expression was that of worry. It was almost like, she didn't want to leave North with them.
"It's okay," Portugal said gently. "He will be safe with us."
The mermaid looked relieved and she seemed grateful that North would be taken care of. Portugal began to slowly swim away with North and he did his best but he was struggling. Spain soon dived into the water and gave his brother a hand with getting North to safety. England and France were focused on the mermaid in front of them who was watching them closely. France soon went to give the brothers a hand with getting North onto the boat but England noticed something off about the mermaid. It wasn't long before all four of them heard a beautiful voice which seemed to grab their attention.
"Farewell Sapphire," The mermaid spoke as she watched from a safe distance. "Let us meet again."
Before they could react, the mermaid dived beneath the surface with sadness in her heart. Why did she call North that name? Then it hit England. North was known as the Sapphire of The Sea by his own people for how often he was out at sea back in his youth. How did forget that about his own brother? France made his way over to where North was with a large old blanket in his arms. It was the only thing that he could find on the boat and it would have to do.
"We need to head back to shore," France said as he draped an old blanket over the unresponsive man. "North is alive but he's very cold and he's still unresponsive."
It wasn't long before the boat began to move towards the direction of the shore and no one spoke during that time. England hoped that North would be okay and it wasn't long before he heard his brother groan. It was a sigh of relief for everyone but no one knew what to say about what they saw. They would most likely question North as to how he got so far out at sea but those questions could wait for a while. They were glad that he was safe and England felt the weight been lifted from his shoulders which were a good sign. England sat close to his brother and he planned to apologise when they returned to shore.