"What do you say, boss? Do we take them now?"
"No. Not with Harold like this—we have to—"
"But boss, he's dead!"
"I KNOW!"
The boss slammed the table, and his boys swore he managed to crack it. Slightly intimidated by the action, the boys shut their bickering within in instant.
Under a trace of sunlight, the angry man's fist was exposed. The boys' eyes widened when they saw it, shocked of how unnormal it was. The veins inside his skin were dark purple, contrasting his light skin tone. The boss spotted the boys staring at his fist, and pulled it right away from the light.
"What are you two looking at?!"
"N-Nothing!" One boy replied.
"… We take them down once we have our chance. Ever since that day, Montressor Kingdom had tightened their security even more; even in the country sides. For now, keep a constant watch on them. Let me know if something happens," the boss replied. "Off you go."
"Aye aye."
Once his boys had left the room, the man gave a stare onto his hand. The reason why he smashed the thick table with a force no man could give was because he was on a brink of his humanity. Normal man would've winced in deep pain after smashing a table like he did. But, how could he do that?
Because he felt nothing.
Not even the sharpest blade in the galaxy could remind him of what pain feels like.
It might sound like a gift only men could dream, but in his eyes, it was a curse.
Reflecting like a mirror, Jim's blue eyes mirrored the night sky in front of him. A window was the only thing that separated him and the view in front of him.
He wouldn't lie, Silver's departure had left him hollow. His departure didn't simply mean there'd be less people to greet to in the morning. It also didn't mean that Jim could never get a taste of his famous Bonzabeast stew, which of course, he'd made slight adjustment so that everybody could have a taste of it without fearing the existence of someone's eyeball in it. Silver's departure also meant that Jim had lost the closest person to a father figure in his life.
Jim began to recall of his memories ever since he was kidnapped. Never had Jim ever thought that he'd meet Silver in a ship where he was imprisoned, though he didn't complain; as it is a classic coincidence to meet your old pal while 'adventuring'.
Jim then proceeded to remind himself of the days when Silver was the cook of the inn, to which he could've sworn that people came to the inn simply to eat Silver's cooking, not to stay for the night. However, not every part of the golden 'days' was brilliant. Once, Silver nearly set a fire with his flamethrower while cooking his stew. Sarah, being the boss around, of course had to warn him.
"Heh, imagine if… Silver had put an eyeball into the stew and served it."
Which he didn't, thankfully. It would've been a worse tragedy if compared to setting the kitchen on fire.
Every bit of memory they'd shared and every bit of his personality had essentially made him the father figure in Jim's life. However, Silver's thirst for an adventure was too much to ignore. Jim knew that, and he forced himself to acknowledge it.
Abruptly, he came to the question he'd been unable to answer so far in his life.
"Who's my real father?"
Sore with standing in the whole time, Jim dragged a chair that was placed behind him. In the process, he caught a glimpse of a figure on the door of his bedroom.
"Hey Jim, you okay?" His mother asked, entering the room.
"Oh, yeah. I am," he sat down, and returned his vision to the night sky on the window.
"Something crossed your mind?" Sarah stood beside her son. She placed both of her hands on his right shoulder.
Jim thought to answer truthfully, but he hesitated for a second. To ready himself, he inhaled deeply.
"Mom, who's my father?"
Her jaw lowered down abruptly, and tightened it right away, thinking desperately for an answer.
"He's… he's… what do you mean, Jim?" Sarah decided to postpone the answer, prolonging her time to think.
"What was he like? It's been so long, I can barely remember a thing about him," Jim's eyes trailed down to his lap, then trailed up to see his mother's. "Do you see him in me?"
"Yes! He's… adventurous, obviously. Too adventurous, I'd say. He's… handsome, and…" Sarah was cut short as she's unable to think of anything else.
"Well, why did he leave us?"
And finally, came the question Sarah was hoping would never come.
"… We had an argument about a problem. Your father was too much of an adventurer rather than a husband, nor a father," Sarah answered. Her answer was true overall, but there were several details she didn't mention on purpose, and she had no intention of mentioning them. So, she bent down her spine to meet Jim's right ear.
"Now don't you ever dare leave me like he did, okay?" Sarah half whispered.
"Of course I won't," he turned to his mother.
She nodded down. "Good. Leland is history, no use in digging his past. Off to bed you go, Jim." She patted his shoulder. Jim would be lying if he thought that her statement was a warning. But he kept it away for himself. He obeyed his mother and hopped onto the bed. The two bid each other good night, with one person walking away in worry. Should she contain her secret any longer?
"I don't know Ari, it's been only a day, initial impressions don't last that long."
"You're right. They don't."
The wind was rather blasting itself during the noon, so Sebastian had to make sure that he had a good grip on Ariel's collar. Ariel found her hair being 'stormy' due to the wind, and quickly made it into a bun as she made her way down to the beach.
Being a part in the royalty, Sebastian had to provide some time both on land and in sea. On land, he'd keep his eyes on Ariel, or in other words; enjoy the life in Benbow Inn. In sea, he'd handle diplomatic problems, give advises to the king, and be a music conductor of the kingdom. For the next days, the ocean was to be his home.
"Paige is a good girl, I can tell that after seeing her rushing past the lobby numerous times. She's willing to work, I can assure that," Sebastian commented. "Besides, I think it's about time for you to have a female friend in your life."
"Uh, I do have a female friend, Seb," Ariel stopped on her track, staring at the crustacean.
"Who?"
"Sarah!"
"That doesn't really count. Did you have a female friend when you were still a mermaid?" The crab gestured at the ocean in front of him.
"I do! I have…"
The only girls that popped inside Ariel's head was her sisters, which she wouldn't consider as so, though there's no obligation to consider them not as friends but as siblings. Other than her sisters, no mermaid came to mind.
"Okay, you win. But I'd still count Sarah as my friend. A good one," she crossed her arms.
"Haha, told ya. Well, I better get going, duty calls."
The crab hopped off, the sand below him softening his landing. Before he could even step into the water, a weird phenomenon occurred; the water receded all in sudden. The reason was revealed when he looked ahead of him, a figure that made him bow down.
"Your majesty!" Sebastian called, "what brings you here?"
King Triton sat on the usual rock, the rock which he'd sit on whenever he visited the beach of Benbow Inn. "To see my daughter, I've longed to see her."
"Ah, very well," Sebastian walked into the water, but before diving, he looked at the two with a smirk.
"You two should talk. Talk a lot, I mean. Ariel's not in her shift too, so use this opportunity, Your Majesty."
With that, the crustacean disappeared into the water. King Triton cleared his throat and returned his vision to his daughter, who had a rather forced smile on her face; though he didn't realize it was forced.
"How are you doing, my dear?" He scanned her outfit, which was out of this world; his world, specifically. "You appear to have blended with the society up there rather well."
"What, oh this? Oh it's nothing, I just thought it looked cool," Ariel sat down on the sands, removing the laces on her boots. The sight made the king question a bit.
"What are you doing?"
The daughter figure placed her boots away, and positioned herself closer to her father while dipping her feet into the water. "You're not the only one who'd longed a meeting like this, daddy."
He chuckled slightly, then pulled her into a hug. Several weeks of no communication between the two had formed a sense of hollowness inside the two, yet it's the essential to define this moment as a father and daughter moment. For a moment, the two swore that they felt a third member joining the hug, that they peeled their eyes and pulled away to check if such person existed. Of course, such person didn't exist.
"Did you feel that, dad?" Ariel asked.
"I did…" then, a harsh single blow of wind blew past the two, making the king have to adjust his beard slightly. He then concluded it was the wind.
"It's probably the wind, haha," King Triton laughed. Ariel didn't agree with him, but not having a better answer, she shook it off for now.
What they didn't know, was the fact that Athena, the wife of King Triton and the mother of Ariel, had just come by.
"How are the others? How is Adella doing with her so-called companion now?" Ariel sarcastically asked.
"Ariel, you're not the one who's allowed to have a 'companion', you know," the father cocked a brow. "And you have a companion out of this world."
"Oh, yes, I know. But, Adella seemed so desperate, you know? She claims that she was being approached, but it was the other way around, as I've witnessed. Haha!" She slapped a knee.
"Well what about you two? Who made the first move?" Triton curiously asked. The daughter pondered for a while, scratching her chin for a bit.
"We once had a conversation, and we basically admitted that we had a crush on each other. But timeline wise, I don't know who started first. Maybe him, maybe me, but either way, it wouldn't have made much difference, right?" Ariel looked up to him.
"Mhm. You wanna know a little family secret?" Triton teasingly asked, which of course, grabbed his daughter's attention right away.
"What is it?"
He looked around to check for anyone, then whispered, "your mother made the first move on me."
When Ariel saw the look on her father's face, she wasn't convinced much. "I don't believe that."
"Oho~ you don't?"
The father and the daughter proceeded to continue their talk long and wide. As much as Ariel wanted to be a human, she acknowledged the existence of her one and only parent she had and how important he was. So, moments like this had to be squeezed into her agenda; not to leave an impression that she was not a selfish brat who'd abandon her family behind, but to simply love his dad as any other daughters would do.
Ariel was more than glad to see her dad being okay with her decision, after explaining that it was more than just a person that she wanted to see more out here on dry land. She wanted to witness the answers of her piling questions regarding the world and its content; how were people able to fly on ships? Why are the stars so bright? What's there beyond the stars? Triton wouldn't lie; he'd caught himself questioning the same when Ariel mentioned these questions. But then, he thought he should've seen the hazard of marrying Athena in the first place, that a blood of curiosity would be passed to their children; and Ariel happened to have the most of it.
And at the moment, a father-and-daughter moment was being created. Smiles, laughs, snorts, nods, 'oooh', 'aah', slapped knee, you name it. Their conversation was seeing no end anytime soon.
Usually, in the inn, the workers wouldn't mind an absence of a worker if it wasn't the worker's shift right now. However, due to the existence of a new worker around, Paige started questioning. And it's not like she asked Jim or the other guys where Ariel's whereabouts were, she searched for the answer by herself instead. She scoured around the inn to find her, calling her name in every room she stepped in.
The search eventually led her outside. Once again, she called out into the air, "Ariel?!"
Ariel herself heard her name being called. It was distant, but enough to be considered as a warning.
"Dad, sorry, we gotta cut it here. You have to return," Ariel slightly pushed her dad. Of course, her dad was puzzled.
"What's wrong? Thought everybody knew me already, Ariel."
"She's a new girl around! The name is Paige, and I don't think I'm ready to reveal everything to her yet," her eyes trailed onto her dad's, conveying worry.
"Ah, a girl? Befriend her, you're lacking a female friend in your life," Triton dipped himself on the water, pointing at her daughter with a finger to remind her.
"You literally just said the same thing as Sebastian did, daddy. I know, I'm in the process. Just give me some time," the girl stepped off the rock she was sat on, and proceeded to put on her boots. Hearing her daughter's response made him chuckle a little. But it was cut short when he spotted something odd.
"Ariel… what is that?"
She looked up to her dad. "What is what?"
"Your foot. That's not normal."
Indeed, it was an unusual sight. Ariel's foot had a purple mark shaped in veins, and she could swear that the mark was bigger than before, as if it was spreading. The beans had been spilled, and Ariel intended not to spill it initially. But there was nothing she could do now.
"Come here, sit on the rock, quickly," Triton sternly commanded. Ariel noticed the sternness, and decided to obey, even though Paige might come anytime soon. She sat on the same rock, allowing Triton to observe the weird phenomenon more thoroughly.
"Does it hurt?" He rolled his eyes onto hers. She shook her head as a 'no'.
"It used to, but now it's completely gone."
"Well, let's not consider that as good news yet. When did this appear?"
"I discovered it days ago. Might've been there more than that."
"ARIEL?!"
The two looked up to the cliff, and saw nobody, yet.
"I'll look for an answer in the kingdom. The experts might have the answer," he let go of his daughter's foot.
"Thank you, Daddy. Hopefully it's curable," she hopped off the rock back to the sands. In a hurry, she put on her footwears.
"Mm. I'll see you later, Ari."
"See you!"
When her father disappeared into the water, Ariel checked on the cliff up above. Right when doing so, a head peeked out from the edge of it. Of course, it was Paige. Her eyes stopped on Ariel's figure, who gave her a wave as a greeting. But her eyes were more interested in a glimpse of a very big fin dashing into the depth in the ocean.
"Was that a big fish I just spotted there?" She called out.
'Oh my god, did she just mistake my father as a big fish?' Ariel asked to herself mentally. A snort was followed afterwards.
"A b-big fish…" her spine bent down, hiding that laugh that was about to explode if anymore joke was added.
"Looks like a cod or something, but cod's do not get that big, don't they?"
"HAHAHA!" Ariel lost it. Her father looked like a cod. She was on her knees, repeating Paige's statement mentally over and over, and laughing about it over and over. King of the sea, mistaken as a cod.
"You alright there, Ari?" Paige called out, descending down the footsteps to the beach.
"A-Awh! I'm fine—it's just…" she didn't bother finishing her sentence.
Paige kept her eyes on the red head until she eventually reached her. Once she stepped in front of her, Ariel looked up, still very much giggling about. However, one bizarre thing caught Paige's eyes.
"Oh my, Ariel, your face is in the same color as your hair," she snorted.
"Really? Oh lord, I really need to stop," Ariel wiped a tear, a tear of 'joy', off of her cheek with a wrist. She fanned herself with both of her hands until Paige confirmed that her normal skin returned with a thumbs up.
"Well, is it my shift yet?" Ariel walked past the female. She shrugged in response.
"I dunno. It might be. Say, what were you doing here on the beach?" Paige asked.
"Um… meeting that big fish?" Ariel snorted once again, and continued her laughter again nonetheless. But this time, it ended shortly on the middle of her way on the stairs.
"I uh… was just relaxing. That big fish is a friend of mine. But don't get me wrong," she half turned to Paige. "It's not like I… talk to fish or anything."
"Well, Sarah just talked to a crab yesterday. And the crab seemed to respond too!" Paige replied, and that put Ariel stationery.
"Y-You…" Ariel half turned to her again. "Must have… mistaken! Perhaps she was merely talking to Ben."
Curling a lopsided grin, she acknowledged Ariel's response. "Yeah, most likely. There's no way a crab can talk, right?"
'Oh Paige, if only you knew…'
"Oh Paige, if only it were possible," she contrasted her spoken statement with her mental one, specifically on the tone.
As they were about to approach the back entrance of the inn, Paige was reminded by something that she stopped on her track. "Oh yes, and Ariel? Could you help me out with something?"
The red head turned to her. "Sure. What's the problem?"
"I was cleaning the wall in guest rooms, but I can't quite reach the upper area. You're taller than me, could you help me out?"
Ariel squinted her eyes in disbelief. "Taller?"
Determined to find out, Ariel positioned herself right in front of Paige, close enough to find out who was taller. The gap between the two could only be filled with a mere paper, but Ariel sensed no discomfort as she was trying to find out who was taller, unlike Paige. She placed a hand on top of her head, and slid it onto Paige's. The result was the two's heights were exactly the same. Seeing the result expressed on Ariel's 'really?' face, Paige could only smile sheepishly.
"It's the hair, isn't it?" Ariel asked.
"Yeah, probably the hair. Hehe."
The ex-mermaid rolled her eyes away, but smiled at it eventually. "Come on, I'll help you out."
"Yes!"
Like teenagers in their golden age, they were running their way towards the guest room hallway. The two didn't really have any reason to do so, as if it's their instinct to just simply run.
In their way, they stumbled upon someone particularly interesting, though Paige had no idea who she was.
"Oh, Amelia!"
The feline woman was behaving like one of those people who was on a search for someone in a particularly unfamiliar environment. She was glad to see someone whom she recognized in the lobby.
"Hey, Ariel!" She waved a hand.
The two stopped in front of her. "What brings you here?" Ariel asked.
"Sarah called me, something rather urgent, she said. Do you know where she is right now?"
"Oh, she might be in the library. Think it's her shift to clean that room," Ariel shrugged. "Hopefully I'm correct. I'm not entirely sure, though."
"Gotcha, library," Amelia trailed her eyes onto the girl next to the ex-mermaid, whom she didn't recognize. "And you are?"
"Amelia, this is Paige. Paige, Amelia. Paige is a new worker in the inn, only been here for several days." Ariel quickly introduced. Like the captain herself, Amelia shook the girl's hand firmly, while Paige was transmitting an energy of awkwardness through the handshake.
"Nice to meet you, Paige. I wish you good luck throughout your time in this inn," Amelia smiled sincerely. However, it wasn't really returned with the same kind of smile from Paige.
"U-Uh, nice to meet you too! And thanks."
"Very well, I shall be heading to the library now. Have fun, you two."
With that, Amelia made her way towards the library. Indeed, she was called by Sarah to come down to the inn. Obeying the sister code, Amelia didn't hesitate to leave her babies right away with her husband.
There she was, in front of the library. Amelia gave the door two knocks before stepping into the room. Right away, Sarah was there to greet her arrival.
"Oh, Amelia. Thank you so much for coming!" She gave her friend a warm hug, which was returned in the same manner.
"Anytime, Sarah," Amelia let go. "So, what's this urgent thing you're facing right now?"
Sarah walked away from the feline, staring at the floor while doing so. "It's… actually a family problem, and I genuinely feel bad for dragging you into this. But I have no other choice, considering this is Jim we're talking about. We know how persistent he can be."
"Whoa, slow down. Back up, back up," Amelia gestured at Sarah to calm down. "What is it with Jim?"
Sighing deeply, Sarah shoved her elbow with a hand. "Last night, Jim was in deep thoughts. He'd been like this ever since Silver's departure. I know how close he is with the cyborg pirate, and it's not like I'm disagreeing their relationship. The thing is, Jim began to question his father's existence. Who is he? Why did he leave us?"
"Mhm. And?" Amelia crossed her arms, feeling suspicious.
"Leland Hawkins. Great adventurer, terrible husband, in a nutshell. Everything you need to know to comprehend how much of a terrible person he was is in here…"
Sarah firmly held her pendant on her neck, containing memories recorded in a projection. "I need you to take it, keep it in your house, away from Jim."
In disagreement, Amelia shook her head. "Sarah, you haven't quite answered my question. What is it with Leland that you really need to keep his information away from your son?" Amelia furrowed a brow.
"Amelia, the captain who took you, Delbert, and John," she gestured at the beached ship she meant just outside of the room's window, "was named Harold Victor. John and I once searched the ship, and found a journal in it. I gave it a good riddance, but I stored its content in my memory pendant."
"What's in the journal?"
"It's filled with his records, and well, basic space pirate stuff. And apparently," Sarah sighed once again.
"Harold worked for Leland."
Amelia was a hard woman to astonish, but this news was certainly one that astonished her. "Leland?"
"Yes! Ten years ago, he walked out of the house, and this is what he became! The fact that he had kidnapped Jim means that he wants to see my son! Not his, mine! For what purpose? I don't know! But I cannot allow that to happen, ever!" At this point, Sarah was boiling with anger and worry. She couldn't, and wouldn't imagine the things that could happen to her one and only son.
"He must've meant harm if he sent his men to literally kidnap Jim! What else could he possibly—"
"Sarah, Sarah! Calm down!" Amelia strongly took a grip on Sarah's arms. Her cat eyes stared into Sarah's soul deeply, ceasing her hectic emotion within an instant.
"I understand that. I'll have the pendant stored in my safe. But you need to ask yourself these questions," she let go of the Hawkins. "First, will it do any good for you to leave your son living in a cluelessness regarding who his father really is? Second, Leland's man, who was it?"
"Harold Victor."
"Harold didn't just imprison Jim, I must recall. He took Silver, Delbert, and I as well. A more specific purpose is under his sleeve, that's for sure, other than causing harm. And that's a question mark for us, dearie," Amelia explained, to which Sarah came up to a realization that Amelia was true. Apparently, her motherly instinct had blinded her for a while.
"That's… true. I'm sorry," Sarah uncomfortably shoved her arm. In her eyes, Amelia merely saw an innocent mother-being who was haunted with worry over her son, that it blinded her.
"Oh don't be, darling. It's okay. You just need a cup of tea to refresh yourself. Now, the pendant, please," Amelia requested. Gently, Sarah removed her memory pendant, and placed it in Amelia's hand.
"Take a good care of it," Sarah asked. "Oh, and there's actually more about Leland, if you still remember?"
"Is it the story where he was rather fishy?" Amelia snorted a bit, and Sarah let out the same thing.
"Yes… correct. Well, thank you for doing me a favor, Amelia. Truly, thank you."
"Don't thank me yet, dearie."
"Now, it'd be rude to not serve my guest with my delicacy, all in a form of a tea. Tea?" Sarah pointed a thumb to her back with a smile.
"Tea sounds brilliant."
So, they left the room to savor the taste of Wildelight tea in the dining room. Little did they know, someone had been eavesdropping the conversation. Every single word, every single sigh, everything was patiently heard by him.
"I gotta take that pendant."
Jim whispered to himself, and walked out from his hiding nonchalantly.
About Paige's illustration, it's postponed. To imagine her in a rough way, she has a dark braided green hair with messy bangs, and red eyes. I've mentioned she's as tall as Ariel, and her usual outfit in the previous chapter.