The Mermaid and The Beast

Chapter 5- The Offer

Spark woke up with a yawn, rubbed her eyes and noticed there was something in the entrance of her cell: a small wooden chair, and she noticed there was some… clothing? The mermaid swam towards the chair and took the piece of cloth, a blue human shirt, but it had been customized to fit a mermaid. Apparently, the sleeves had been cut and there was a small algae bow tied on one of the end of the cloth. It looked like one of those shirts female humans wore on their upper bodies (crop top); Spark noticed a piece of paper clipped to the shirt.

Spark, I thought you were getting uncomfortable in that armor, so I brought you something else to wear. Excuse me if I couldn't get anything else, but it's very hard to obtain mermaid seashells in Sharkania. By the way, Emperor Shaga has come to a decision about you, but I'm afraid I won't be present since I have some business elsewhere. But I asked Plummer, a friend of mine, to accompany you and make sure Hookbait won't try anything again. If the Emperor decides to release you, I guess we won't be seeing each other again; if he doesn't, well, see you later.

Jake.

Spark sighed as she tucked the note away and took off her armor, not before peeking out of her cell to make sure there were no Sharkanians again, especially a Sharkanian with uncontrollable lust and weakness for mermaids. Spark slipped the shirt into her upper body and tucked her father's note safely into one of the pouches of the blouse.

"Sparky, are you done down there?" she heard a voice coming from up above, "I'm not trying to rush you, but the Emperor doesn't like waiting!"

"I'm done!" Spark replied, rolling her eyes.

Plummer swam to the mermaid's cell, opened the door and floated aside so that Spark could swim outside.

"So Emperor Shaga has finally decided what to do with me?"

"Apparently, yes," Plummer replied as he led Spark to the throne room, "In the worst of cases, he can make you a servant or…" the Sharkanian gulped, "Well, I think you shouldn't know the other option."

"I think I don't want to know…"

Plummer let out a chuckle as they swam into the throne room; as always, Emperor Shaga was sitting on his throne, his back turned on them, and his tail wrapped around his seat. Four guards (Hookbait among them) were stationed close to Shaga, ready to protect him if the situation called for it; Spark felt their gazes upon her, and trembled when she heard them snarl at her. She could also spot Commander Jaskket floating next to Emperor Shaga, and the mermaid noticed he looked rather… down. Apparently, he did regret having killed his grandson.

Plummer bowed, and motioned for Spark to do the same, "Your Highness, I've brought the prisoner, as you requested." He was not in the army, but that didn't mean he wasn't obliged to show some etiquette.

"So…" Shaga uncoiled his hark-like tailfin from his seat and swam towards Spark, eyeing her coldly, "This is the little mermaid that came to my kingdom uninvited?"

Spark remained silent as the ruler of Sharkania circled her like a shark waiting for the chance to strike; she had the feeling that one wrong word could cost her life.

"You know, don't think I'm not aware of the little escapade you had with Jake yesterday," Shaga continued, "The next time you try to do that, you should at least try and put a better decoy than a bag stuffed with rocks."

Plummer snickered, but looked down when Shaga gave him a glare. Spark thought the he was angry at her for sneaking out with Jake, but before she could speak, Shaga interrupted her.

"Don't worry, I'm not angry for that. On the contrary, I wouldn't mind if you took a look around here; at least you would realize our race is not as..." Shaga looked away, "… Barbarian as most merfolk think. We might be into warfare, but there's decency in us as well."

"Your Highness…" Spark finally gathered the courage to speak, "With all due respect, I was told you had already decided what to do with me."

"You want to go straight to the point?" Shaga snickered, "I like that. Indeed, I have decided what to do with you. I heard that when you first arrived here, you had a little encounter with my Albino."

The Sharkanian ruler noticed she trembled when he mentioned his mount's name.

"I've decided to give you a choice," he continued, "You can stay here as a prisoner and rot away in that cell for the rest of your life…" a malevolent grim appeared on his lips, "Or you could stay here… and work for me."

That caught everyone present in the room by surprise.

"E-Excuse me?" Spark stuttered

"You can't be serious!" Jaskket immediately swam next to the Emperor, giving him the appropriate bow, "With all due respect, sir, what use could you have of a mermaid? She is skinny and small, there's not much she could be useful for! I doubt she would last five seconds in the army!"

"Hey, for your information-!" before Spark could speak her mind, Plummer panicked and covered her mouth with her hand, smacking her tailfin softly with his own. Shaga set his eyes on her once more.

"Good, she has character." He turned to give Jaskket a small glare, "And I never said she would join the army, I'm aware that she doesn't have the strength nor the experience to be a soldier." Shaga turned to the mermaid once more, "But I bet she's good handling animals; after all, if merfolk can handle giant seahorses, maybe she can deal with sharks."

Spark's heart skipped a beat.

"You want me to…" she gulped, "Take care of your shark?"

Shaga nodded, "You got that right. See, The Albino's last caretaker was, how to put it… his dinner."

"Your Highness, I don't think she'll be capable of that task." Plummer spoke nervously, "Like Jaskket and you yourself said, she is not strong enough, I think The Albino would cause her trouble-" he was interrupted when Spark elbowed him hard on the side, making him whimper in pain.

"But in exchange of what?" she demanded.

"You'd be free to roam Sharkania as you please, and my guards will not lay a fin on you."

Jaskket turned his head around to glare at Hookbait, "That goes for you, Hookbait!"

The Sharkanian guard immediately looked away nervously, not forgetting his experience with the Albino.

"I have a condition." The mermaid stated firmly.

"What is it you want in return for your service?"

"It's not only one condition, but two actually. First, I'd like to stay with Jake as long as I stay here."

Now it was Shaga who was speechless, "Jake? Why would you want to stay with a soldier you don't even know? I imagined you would be smarter than that, girl."

"No disrespect, your Highness, but that is personal."

"I see… and what's your other condition, if I may know?"

"Well… I have a friend, a swordfish named Bluetail… He lives in Atlantica, and I'd like to ask you for permission to go and visit him every now and then, if you don't mind-"

"Not a chance, girl. I can't risk you escaping," Shaga snapped, "He has to come to Sharkania to visit you."

Plummer glanced at the mermaid and gave her a dissimulate nod, which she understood.

"Deal."

"Good. Plummer will take you to the stable, wait for Jake and he'll explain to you how to care for my shark." Before she could swim away, Shaga took her firmly by the arm and squeezed it slightly, narrowing his eyes, "But listen carefully; if I find at least one scratch on my shark, I'll have your head, got it?"

Spark gulped, "Yes, sir."

Jake scanned the sunken ship cemetery from Jessop's back, as if searching for something. He was no idiot, he knew the swordfish would probably try to sneak into Sharkania to rescue Spark, and the only way to do that was passing through the sunken ships where the wild sharks roamed, and search for a small cavern on the side of the canyon; that cavern led to the torture chamber, located in the palace.

The Sharkanian was also thinking about what Spark had asked him the previous night. Going to Atlantica with her? He would be close to her, like he would have hoped since the day she was born. The merfolk would be terrified of him, but he wouldn't mind as long as he was with his daughter.

Suddenly, Jessop sniffed the water and bared his teeth; Jake patted his head but held the reins tightly.

"What's up, boy?" he whispered, "Is he here?"

The great white snarled in reply. Jake took that as a 'yes' and firmly smacked his shark's flank with his tailfin; Jessop darted out towards the source of the smell while his master led him with the reins to dodge other sharks and the sunken ships' rests.

On the other side of the sunken ship cemetery, Bluetail carefully swam through the wooden boards, making sure there were no sharks around. One bite and he was done for, his blood would attract all the shark population, they would tear him to pieces in seconds. The only places to hide were the holes of the ships, in which he hardly fit, when he sensed he was being followed.

Bluetail stopped when he heard a noise getting louder every second… a tailfin moving against the water. Bluetail dashed behind one of the rocks just as the shadow stopped a few inches away from the rock; the swordfish would have peeked to see what it was, but his nose would give away his location. Not for the first time, Bluetail wished he didn't have such a long snout. After a while, Bluetail managed to get a peek from behind the rock without exposing his ridiculously long and sword-like nose. He saw a Sharkanian soldier with black armor and a red hat dismounting from his shark mount.

Jake looked around for the flash of blue he had spotted ten seconds ago, but it was nowhere to be fond. Jessop would have to track him, although there was the risk the shark teared it to pieces; they were trained for that purpose, in fact. Jake patted his shark's head.

"Jessop, listen carefully," he spoke firmly, "Track the swordfish down, but do not kill him. I need him alive."

Bluetail narrowed his eyes as the shark snorted and bubbles came out of his gills, probably a reply. Jessop sniffed the water and centered his attention towards the rock Bluetail was hiding behind. Bluetail knew it was now or never; he would attack the Sharkanian and force him to sneak him into Sharkania, where we would rescue Spark. Even if the Sharkanian opposed, he would find a way. He would, for Spark. The shark would soon find him anyway.

Jake narrowed his eyes when he felt a shiver going down his spine; for some reason, that 'something-is-wrong-here' sense of his never failed him. It had helped him during times of war, and it was still as precise as ever. He noticed Jessop heading towards a rock next to the galleon, sniffing the water and slowly started to growl.

It happened.

Bluetail swam quickly past Jessop, pointing his saber-like snout at the Sharkanian's chest, closing his eyes shut… only to be pinned down to the ground seconds later. Jake held Bluetail's body firmly against the sand, grabbing the swordfish's nose with his right hand and pinning it down equally. Bluetail struggled violently, whipping his tailfin like a demon. Jessop soon came to aid his master; the swordfish yelped in pain as he felt the shark's teeth dig softly into his skin, pinning him completely, rendering him unable to move. If he struggled any more, the teeth would dig deeper into his skin and make him bleed. Jessop had understood clearly when his rider told him no killing.

"Let me go, you rotten fish!" Bluetail snapped in anger, giving the shark's owner a look.

"Calm down, swordfish!" Jake replied calmly, "I mean no harm, I just want to talk to you." He couldn't recall the swordfish's name yet.

"No harm?! You take my best friend away, you torture her, you have your pet hold me down with his teeth, and you dare to say you mean no harm?!"

"Look who's talking! You nearly ran that nose of yours into me!"

"You were looking for me, weren't you?! Well, then finish me off! She'll hate you if you do something to me, and I swear that if you've laid a fin on her, I'm going to-!"

"SHUT UP!" Jake lost his patience and pinned Bluetail's nose to the ground, snarling his teeth, "You will listen to me, no matter if I have to shut your trap by force! I would never harm Spark, she is very important to me!"

"As if!" Bluetail replied in disbelief, "Why would a big, bad Sharkanian like you care for her? All your race does is to kill anything that crosses your path!"

"Have you ever wondered why we have to take such dramatic measures! It's not that we like it all the time, we do have hearts and souls, but when it's about our race's welfare and survival, we have to put those aside! Peace-talking doesn't solve everything, you know!"

"What does Spark have to do in anything?!"

"SHE'S MY DAUGHTER!"

Jake froze in horror and shock, his blood went cold like poison and his heart beat at full speed. Bluetail's look of shock and confusion almost rivaled his, even though he had been angry seconds ago.

"W-what?" he mumbled, "What do you mean?"

Jake closed his eyes as he let out a resignation sigh and let the swordfish's nose go, "Jessop, let him go."

The shark obeyed and lifted its teeth from Bluetail's skin.

"That's impossible!" Bluetail immediately floated up from the sand and gave the Sharkanian, who had turned his back on him, an incredulous look, "She can't be your daughter! She's a mermaid!"

"Her mother was a mermaid…" Jake replied grimly, not taking the bother of turning around, "… the love of my life."

"How can that be? Is Spark an hybrid, then?"

"It's… complicated."

"Well, I have much time to listen."

Knowing the swordfish would not cooperate without an answer, Jake turned his head around and gave Bluetail a sorrowful look.

"Where should I begin?"

Spark stared at The Albino's cage from the entrance of the stables, watching as it shifted, letting out snores every few seconds. Seriously, Shaga expected her to take care of that monster without getting killed? What was it all about? Plummer was swimming around in worry, not knowing what he would say to Jake about it. He would be angry, that was for sure.

"Why would Jake know how to take care of The Albino?" Spark inquired

"He was his caretaker once, but he had to quit the job after an injury to his chest during a joust. He was lucky, he kept his tailfin intact all the time he took are of The Albino." Plummer explained, recalling the incident.

"How am I going to take care of…" the mermaid pointed a finger at The Albino, "… that?"

"Jake can teach you; the best techniques are passed down by survivors."

"Is that a Sharkanian motto?"

"More or less, but it's true. There wouldn't be survivors if it wasn't."

"Where did Jake go, by the way? Did he tell you anything?"

Plummer looked away to hide his nervous face, "No, he didn't…" he trembled as he spoke, he was never a good liar.

"Hey, Plummer…" Spark inquired, swimming closer to the Sharkanian, "… Do you have a shark?"

Plummer's mood enlightened, and he led Spark by the hand through the cages, "I do! I'm lucky, because only the members of the royal family and those who will join the army tame sharks. The only reason I was allowed to tame one was because my father's shark was killed in table, and my father didn't want to tame another one, and since my family is numerous, we needed one."

Spark laughed, "Do you always speak that much, or only when you're excited about something?"

"Here we are!"

Stopping in front of a cage and opening the door, Plummer called out, "Seze! Come here, girl!"

The mermaid hid behind the Sharkanian's back when a female great white slowly swam out of the cage; she was apparently slightly smaller than Jessop, perhaps because she was much younger. Her eyes were an aqua-blue, and she had a darker gray tone than most sharks. Seze also had a few black spots on her back and around her eyes.

"Oh, here you are, Seze!" Plummer wrapped his arms around his shark's neck, who liked his face playfully in return, "Who's a good girl? Who's a good girl?"

Spark trembled when the female shark became aware of her presence and swam back when she snapped her teeth before Plummer stopped her.

"No, no, no, Seze! She's daddy's friend, so don't put a tooth on her!" he spoke softly, then turned to look at Spark, "Sorry about that, it's just that she doesn't like strangers. Well, actually, all sharks dislike strangers and won't allow anyone but their master to ride on their backs. Believe me, I learned it the hard way when I was a child."

Spark let out a sigh of dismay; it would be harder than she thought.

"That's sad…" Bluetail commented, his anger and suspicious having cooled down after listening to Jake's story, "I never thought a Sharkanian would be able to sacrifice that… No offense."

Jake sighed as he leaned against Jessop's back (the shark had rested behind his master to wait until he was needed again), looking up, "I promised her mother I would protect Spark as much as I could, that's why I had to leave her at Saltwater's steps. She would be safe from my people's laws against children born out of wedlock."

"Out of wedlock? You mean you and Odette didn't marry?"

Jake shook his head, "We couldn't, there was not a priest who would marry a mermaid and a Sharkanian. We didn't marry by the heavenly law, we married by our love. We swore to be faithful to each other, and that was enough for us."

"I see… But does Sparky know it?"

"NO!" Jake suddenly rose, startling Bluetail, "And you must not tell her! It will shatter her entire life, and that's the least thing I want. Besides…" he looked away, "… she would despise me for abandoning her."

"I… I understand…" Bluetail sighed, "She will not know it from me, you have my word."

"Thank you."

"But why were you looking for me?"

"See, Spark has been held captive for three days, and I was hoping you and I could help me in getting her out of there."

"What a coincidence! I was precisely going to Sharkania to rescue her! But how will I get there unnoticed?"

Jake took a look at Jessop, who had fallen asleep by then, and noticed a rope lay on the sand a few meters away from them. A grin drew on his face, "I think I have an idea."

The Sharkanian soldiers guarding the entrance to Sharkosia saluted as Jake rode his shark through the city gates, and glanced at an apparently dead blue swordfish on the shark's back, behind its dorsal fin, held in place with a rope. Bluetail opened one of his eyes slightly to look around, and satisfactorily noted the guards didn't notice he was breathing.

Jake was rather surprised to find Spark in the entrance to the stables, along with Plummer, who was scratching his female shark's belly playfully; seriously, if he didn't stop pampering that shark, she would end up unfit for war.

"Jake, you're back!" Spark cheerfully swam towards the Sharkanian before he could dismount, but froze when she saw a familiar blue swordfish on Jessop's back.

"Don't worry, he's not dead, he's faking," the Sharkanian whispered to her ear, "We had to do that to sneak him here."

Spark sighed in relief as Jake dismounted and led Jessop inside the stables, made sure there were no more guards around and used his short spear to cut the ropes holding Bluetail in place, not bothering to have someone hold him, and the swordfish floated down rather abruptly. Bluetail could barely repress a grunt, but forgot about it when he felt his beloved mermaid's arms wrap around him.

"Bluetail!" she cried in joy, holding him close, "You're here! I thought I'd never see you again!"

"I'm happy too, Sparky, but let's save it for later," Bluetail swam up and looked around, "We have to figure how to get out of here without anyone noticing!"

Plummer gulped, having finally joined the others inside the stables with Seze, "Actually, there's a major problem with that…"

Jake felt a shiver, "What do you mean 'major problem?'"

Spark sighed, "Remember when you said Emperor Shaga had already taken a decision about me?"

"Yes…"

The mermaid looked at Plummer, who nodded, and she sighed. "He decided to make me The Albino's caretaker, and I had to accept."

Jake froze for the second time in that day; Plummer tapped both Bluetail and Spark's shoulders, and motioned them to cover their ears before covering his. Just as they covered their ears, Jake finally reacted.

"WHAAAT?!"