I heard Arthur mutter some pretty colorful things under his breath. He glanced down at me for a brief moment before going back to glaring at Francis with extreme dislike. I felt my mind beginning to cloud over again with fatigue as my limbs grew weak. It was too long since the last time I had been in sea water.

"Hand her over, Arthur, unless you want a very ugly hole in your head."

"Eat scum, frog," I vaguely heard Arthur growl. My eyelids felt impossibly heavy, and I didn't fight the urge to close them.

"That's not the answer I was hoping for," Francis practically sang. His finger tightened on the trigger, and Captain Kirkland sprang into action at the same time.

He ducked with the mermaid tightly grasped in his arms and kicked one leg out right at Francis' chest. A loud bang filled the air just as his heavy boot connected with the flamboyant captain's chest. Francis stumbled back winded, but his crew quickly surged forward to try to get their hands on Arthur, who had ducked back down the stairs as soon as he could.

"Run!" he shouted at his three other companions.

They all turned to flee at the same time some of Captain Bonnefoy's men squeezed their way down the stairs. Luckily, they were in such a hurry that they were tripping over each other, which gave Arthur and his group a nice head start. On the other hand, the Captain really had no idea where he was going.

"What happened up there, Cap'n?" Christov asked between breaths.

"Ambush. Somehow they knew we'd be there."

"'Ow we gonna git outta 'ere?" Lanham called up from the back.

"That's a fine question," Captain Kirkland shouted back.

The group rounded the corner and was met by a small group of three. Each group was so surprised to see the other that they didn't react. Arthur was the first to come to his senses and kicked one of the men in the groin. He fell to the ground, and the others snapped out of their stupor.

"Out o' the way, ya stupid fleabags!" Christov shouted as he punched one pirate in the face. Lanham took the last one out with a slice from his long dagger.

"Let's go!" Arthur shouted as soon as the way was clear. There was no telling who else they would run into, but their situation would be much worse very soon if they didn't keep moving.

They ran down some more dim corridors without finding anyone else or the exit. Arthur felt like a rat stuck in a maze. There had to be a way out, he just couldn't find it. He shifted his hold on the mermaid as he continued to run. Even though she seemed so frail, his arms were still beginning to burn from the strain of carrying her for so long. He noticed her eyes were closed again, and his heart seemed to stop.

"(Y/n), love, you have to keep your eyes open. (Y/n)!"

I heard it again. That voice was calling me. I reached for it with my consciousness. It pulled me into wakefulness and filled me with warmth. Names are such wonderful things. So full of power and life, yet very dangerous.

These thoughts swam around my mind as I pulled my eyes open. Arthur was looking down at me with green eyes that seemed to be filled with worry. That was odd since I'm just cargo to him. There was a twinge in my chest as I realized I didn't like that expression on his face.

"Don't...scowl like that," I murmured. "It doesn't...suit you."

He released a breath he probably didn't realize he was holding. I also became aware of the fact that we were moving at about the same time.

"Don't fade on me, (y/n)," he said. "I need you awake."

I felt myself growing the faintest bit stronger. "Why?"

"I just do!"

His answer didn't make much sense, but I never got the chance to question it. Two men appeared in front of us with blades drawn. Arthur slowed to a stop and tensed. His hands were full from carrying me, and the hall was too narrow to allow anyone else to pass.

"Put your arms around my neck."

"Huh?" I looked at him in confusion.

"Just do it!"

I did as I was asked and hung on tight, not that I had a choice with my hands tied. Arthur reached into his coat with his now free hand and pulled out a revolver. Without hesitating, he shot the first man in the chest, and the second in the shoulder as soon as the first fell to the floor.

He didn't put the weapon away as he jumped over the men and began running once more. I didn't have any idea where we were going, and I didn't think he did either. It wasn't a comforting thought. My head began to spin as fatigue hit me like an angry ocean current. I didn't have time to say anything before my mind drifted off into a void.

Arthur was trying really hard not to let on how panicked he was. They were in a really bad spot. The chances of getting caught before they found another way out was more likely than shooting a fish in a barrel full of them. He just kept running and hoping for some kind of miracle.

It came a lot sooner than expected. The next corner he went around revealed a very solid looking iron door at the end of the hall. He knew what that was. The Queen Lady had a door just like that leading to the gun deck where the cannons were kept. The Captain ran for the door as fast as he could. He had an idea, a crazy one, but it was their only option.

The door opened with a loud squeak and the four ran inside. Arthur placed the mermaid on the floor propped up against some crates. Her eyes were closed again, and her breathing was shallow. It concerned him, but he didn't have time to worry about it now.

"Peter, keep a close eye on her."

"Okay, Uncle."

"If anything happens, let me know."

"O-okay." The boy nodded once and put on a brave face. Arthur knew he was scared, but was proud to see how well he kept it under control.

"Lanham, you watch the door. Barricade it and don't let anyone in."

"Aye aye, Cap'n." The man began dragging heavy barrels and crates in front of the door.

"Christov, you're with me."

"What are ya plannin', Cap'n?" the first mate asked as he followed the Captain toward the cannons.

Arthur grinned wickedly. "If we can't find the exit, we'll make one."

Understanding dawned on the larger man's face, and he grinned just as shrewdly. "Don't suppose Cap'n Bonnefoy'd appreciate that much."

"No, I don't suppose he will, Christov."

I heard the voice before I felt someone pulling at my swollen hands. This voice was different from the last one, but it pulled me out of the darkness just as urgently. I recognized the voice as Peter's before I even opened my eyes. The tugging on my hands irritated the already chaffed skin, and I winced as a hiss tore through my lips.

"Sorry (y/n)," Peter said. "I'm just trying to cut this rope off."

"I understand, little one," I replied through pursed lips as I cracked my eyelids open.

The boy was trying to saw through the rope with his little knife, which was difficult to do because of how swollen my wrists were. I winced again as he jostled my hands a little too roughly. He apologized once more, but continued with his task. It wasn't long before my hands were free and the blood stained rope discarded.

"I'm sorry I wasn't more careful. I'm just a little nervous right now."

"What's going on?" I asked curiously. I was already aware of the fact that I wasn't in Arthur's arms anymore.

"We're on the gun deck. I don't know what Uncle is planning, but I was told to watch you."

"Well, I'm in good hands then," I said with a reassuring smile.

Peter smiled back nervously. "I don't know about that. I haven't been very useful except for cutting off that rope just now."

"And I appreciate that...very much." I could already feel my strength starting to wane.

"Was it scary?"

"What...?" I asked groggily.

"Being captured. I always thought it would be kinda scary...not that I'd be scared or anything."

I smiled weakly at his show of bravery. It couldn't be easy growing up surrounded by pirates. There must be a lot he had to live up to. "It was...a little scary...yes...but I kept hoping...you would come..."

"(Y/n)? Are you okay? Should I get Uncle Arthur?"

"No, no I'm fine," I told him as my head cleared. I blinked a few times and focused on Peter's face. "Although seawater would be lovely right about now."

The boy made a face. "Like to drink?"

"No, silly child." I laughed softly. "Just to wet my skin."

"I'll see what I can do."

He disappeared for a while behind some barrels, and I waited patiently as my strength faded. I'd be able to stay awake longer if I wasn't so dried up. I guessed this is what a beached whale must feel like. They talked about it sometimes, and I always got the impression that it was like they were telling a horror story. I finally understood why.

"I think this might work." Peter returned carrying a bucket and some rope.

"Perfect," I murmured.

He looked around and picked an opening for a cannon to fire out of. The large black cannon was still in the way, so he pushed it as hard as he could. It barely moved. Peter braced himself against the side of the ship and pushed with his legs. This time the cannon started rolling away on its wheels and didn't stop until it crashed into another cannon on the other side.

"Oops..."

"What's going on over there, Peter?" I heard Arthur yell, although I couldn't see him from where I was.

"Nothing!" the boy shouted back.

He quickly tied the rope to the bucked and dropped it through the opening. There was a faint splash as the wooden bucket hit the water, and Peter reeled it back inside. I could smell the salty tang of the water even before he approached me with the bucket. If I weren't so weak, I would've grabbed the bucket out of his hands and dumped it on me myself.

"How am I supposed to do this?"

"Just pour it over me," I told him.

Peter hesitated for a moment, but did as I said. The instant the water touched my skin I felt a hundred times better. I took in a deep breath for the first time in a while and licked my lips. Nothing like seawater to refresh a dried up mermaid. I almost asked Peter to go get another bucketful when a loud bang echoed around the gun deck. The man who was standing at the door looked down at his chest in surprise. A deadly red flower was blooming on his chest and getting bigger at an alarming rate. His brown eyes met mine for brief moment before they rolled back into his skull, and he fell to the floor with a sickening thud.

A bang surprised Arthur so much that he almost dropped the cannon he and Christov were carrying. His first thought was to look for Peter and make sure he was okay, but that thought quickly left his mind as he watched Lanham fall to the floor.

"Peter! What's going on?"

"I-I don't know!" The boy's terrified voice came from behind some crates where the Captain knew he had set the mermaid down.

"Whatever you do, don't move!" Arthur gauged the distance the boy was from the door and decided he would be safe as long as he didn't stayed where he was.

The Captain and his first mate set their load down on a pile of other cannons and barrels. Another shot fired through the door and embedded itself in the side of the ship just a hair's breadth from Arthur's ear. A slight breeze from the bullet ruffled the hair on that side of his face.

"Time to get this over with," he said as more bullets came through the door.

Someone was trying to ram the door open, but Lanham had managed to stack quite a bit in front of it before he got shot. His body lay still in a pool of red blood, and Arthur cursed at losing another member of his crew to Francis.

"Shame," Christov muttered as they ducked behind some crates. He shook his head unhappily. "One of our strongest 'e was. Real sly an' quick on 'is feet too. Shame..."

Captain Kirkland didn't have a response. He was going to make Francis pay for everything he had done, starting with his ship.

"Ready?" the Captain asked his first mate.

"As ready as ya are, Cap'n."

Arthur pulled out a little flint fire starter and lit a thin trail of gunpowder that led to the haphazard pile. He pulled his head back behind the crate and stuck his fingers in his ears. There was enough gunpowder stacked in those barrels to blow a nice sized crater into a rock face. He couldn't hear the sizzle of the gunpowder trail, but he knew it would be reaching the pile soon.

The explosion was so loud that Captain Kirkland thought he might have gone deaf. He couldn't hear a sound as he picked himself up off the rubble strewn floor. The blast had knocked both him and Christov onto their stomachs, and he hoped Peter and the mermaid were alright. He probably should have warned them.

Suddenly, the ship lurched to the side, and water began rushing into the gun deck. It soaked Arthur's boots, but that was the least of his worries. His ears had started to ring, and he could barely make out what Christov was yelling.

"We 'ave t' get out before the ship sinks!"

The Captain nodded and looked around for Peter, who was waving him down from his spot near the door. Arthur hurdled over the crates between them to see what was the matter. The boy was frantically shouting and pointing, and Arthur had to lean in close to hear what he was saying.

"I can't carry her! I can't carry her!"

Arthur understood at once. He was surprised to see the mermaid was looking at him with wide, fearful eyes. She didn't look at all like she had before. Neither of them said a word as he picked her up and started running for the gaping hole in the side of the ship. Water continued to flood inside, and the Bloody Rose was slowly tipping to one side.

Christov was standing by the hole trying to push some of the cannons they had stacked out of the way. They had hoped the heavy weapons would contain the blast and keep any debris from flying out, but they now created quite a complication. Peter joined the large man, and together they cleared a narrow path to the water.

"We 'ave t' hurry, Cap'n! They're gettin' through the door!"

Sure enough, some of the men outside the gun room door had already recovered from the explosion and were slowly but surely pushing the door open. Loud swearing and threats to all of their lives were being shouted through the steadily opening doorway, and Arthur didn't want to stick around long enough to find out if they'd be true to their word. He ran toward the jagged hole in the ship and threw the mermaid into the water.

"I hope you're ready to swim, love!"

That's the last thing I heard before I hit the water. If the bucket of water before was invigorating, this was a thousand times better. I could feel the energy of the sea flowing and ebbing like the tide around me. Bubbles floated like shimmering crystal orbs around me as three more splashes disturbed the water.

I was so tempted to swim off into the deep and never look back, but I didn't. I knew in my heart that I owed it to these people to get back to their ship after they had come to my rescue. They had even sacrificed one of their own for me. I resolved to make sure they were safe, but then I would get away before they knew what was happening.

With strong strokes of my fin, I swam to the surface and did a head count. Only two. My heart clenched at the thought that Peter was missing, but his blue eyes were watching me alongside Arthur's green ones. It was Christov who was missing. I dived back under the water to look for the large man.

He was struggling to pull himself up to the surface. His weight must have been what was keeping him down since muscle doesn't float. I would've laughed if I hadn't seen his determined yet panicked expression. It was easy for me to forget that he couldn't breath underwater like me, and that this was a life or death situation for him. I quickly swam to his side and grabbed his shirt collar to drag him up to the surface.

Our heads broke the water at the same time, and he gasped for air like he'd never breathe again, which he might not have if he stayed down there much longer. He nodded his thanks, and the four of us began to swim away from the sinking ship. The explosion had blasted through the red letters on the side of the pirate ship, which now read 'Blo ose'. Yeah, that ship blowed alright.

There was a lot of shouting and frantic running around going on the Blo Ose's deck, and I thought I saw Francis waving his arms around. He looked just like an inflated blowfish. I laughed darkly as I pulled Christov along beside me. I didn't trust him to swim on his own. It would be just my luck that he'd sink and I'd have to rescue him again.

We swam toward a little rowboat that was somehow intact and still attached to the sinking ship. I assumed that was how they had snuck aboard without being noticed. Arthur reached the boat first and heaved himself inside, which was quite a feat since all of his clothes were soaking wet and probably weighed a ton. He had managed to lose his hat from either the explosion or the swim, and I saw how unruly his blonde hair was for the first time. I kind of liked the way it looked.

Peter pulled himself aboard next with some help from Arthur, and then the two of them had to help Christov get inside. He looked just about done in and wasn't afraid to say so.

"With all due respect, Cap'n, but let's never do that again."

"Agreed," Arthur said with a tired laugh. "Although the boys are going to go bloody wild when we tell them what happened."

"Can I tell them?" Peter asked excitedly. He somehow still had energy after everything he's been through. "Please, Uncle! It'll be brilliant!"

"I'm sure it will be."

I was hoping they would just forget about me and row away, but of course that was too good to be true. Arthur grabbed my wrist before I could get away, and I winced. Even though the water had revitalized me, my wrists were still pretty raw from the rope. He pulled me closer to the rowboat.

"Where do you think you're going, love?"

"Nowhere," I muttered as I tried to tug my hand free. I knew it was futile, but it was worth a try.

The concerned look Arthur wore while he carried me in the ship was nowhere to be seen now. All I saw was a calculating pirate who didn't want his merchandise swimming away before he made a profit. I sighed and turned away from him. No matter how I looked at it, I was trapped, again.

"Get in the boat, (y/n)."

That's when I felt it. A strong compulsion to get in the boat. I wondered if maybe he had figured it out, but concluded that it was more likely that he said it by chance. As much as I didn't want to, I pulled myself into the rowboat. There was a look of surprise on Arthur's face, which only confirmed my suspicions. He had no idea what kind of power he held in his hands.

I refused to look at any of them as our little boat bobbed on the waves. Quiet shouts could still be heard coming from the Blo Ose as it sank further and further in the water. Most of the men had already abandoned ship, but I could see the colorful outline of Francis still flapping his arms like a maniac. It made me feel the teeniest bit better.

"Row us back to the ship, Christov," I heard Arthur say.

The rowboat lurched in the water as the large man began to work the paddles. My hope faded as the sinking ship grew smaller and smaller in the distance. I resigned myself to my fate. At least I still had one more ace hidden away.