It took around a week to sail south to Illiam, but it was by no means a boring trip. I spent most of the days touring the ship with Peter, playing cards with Squeaker and James, and learning the ins and outs of human cooking from Cook. He was actually a very pleasant man with a rather unfortunate sense of taste, or it might just be that I didn't think herring and apples go well together. There is one dish he made very well, and that was something he called peach cobbler. It was probably the most delicious thing I had ever tasted.

"The key is the crust," he told me. "You has ta make it light an' flakey."

"Like this?" I gestured to a carefully rolled out layer of dough.

Cook looked at the crust closely and gently poked it in several places. "Hmmm...this is...absolutely magnificent! Very good job, (y/n)!"

A little while later, the rich smell of baking cobbler filled the small kitchen area as we waited for it to be done. Cook sliced it up as soon as he pulled it out of the wood stove and gave me a steaming piece. The anticipation of waiting for it too cool was almost too much, but I didn't want to scald my tongue on the piping hot peach filling.

"Ah, what I would give for a cool scoop of ice cream," Cook said with a sigh. "Peach cobbler à la mode. Delicious."

"Ice cream?" I asked as I looked up from my slice of cobbler. "What's that?"

"Well, it's cold an' sweet, and jus' right on a hot summer day." He shook his head. "You has ta try it ta really know, dearie." He placed another slice of cobbler on a plate with a fork and handed it to me. "Why don' you bring that up ta the Captain? I'm sure he'd like that."

I nodded and took the plate from him. The excited anticipation of eating the peach cobbler was quickly swallowed by the fear of talking to Arthur. I had barely seen him since we set sail for the island of Illiam, and I wasn't exactly looking forward to talking to him. Our last major conversation hadn't been the best, but it wasn't the worst either. He probably hated me for the mess he was in, which I completely understood, but there were times when it seemed like we almost got along.

These thoughts continued to plague me as I made my way to the stairs. The one thing I had been able to accomplish over the week was knowing where everything was aboard the Queen Lady. Peter had been very good at showing me every nook and cranny of the large vessel, and I could probably navigate it blindfolded at this point. I nearly tripped over Alfred as those newer thoughts bounced around in my head with the old ones.

"Woah! Careful there!" Alfred said as he caught my arm. Without his help I probably would've fallen over. "Where are you heading in such a hurry, (y/n)?"

"Sorry. Just going to see Arthur."

"Oooo...," he answered with a small frown. "Good luck with that."

"I'm gonna need it," I grumbled.

Arthur had finally let Alfred join the crew after, but the pirate gave him all of the worst jobs to do. Whenever I saw Alfred he was always scrubbing the deck, emptying chamber pots, peeling potatoes, cutting onions, doing the laundry, or chipping barnacles off the side of the ship. I kind of got the impression Arthur made that up especially for Alfred since it involved the latter dangling down the side of the ship by his ankles.

He was about to leave for whatever unpleasant chore he had to do next, but I stopped him before he could. "Here, this is for you." I handed him one of my plates.

"Huh? What's this? Peach cobbler!" Alfred's blue eyes shined. "Wow, (y/n)! Is this really for me?"

"Sure," I told him with a smile. "I can always get more from Cook. Besides, I think you need it more than me."

"Tanksh, dood," he said with a mouth full of cobbler. "I'll shee ya awoun!"

I waved at the enthusiastic blonde as he walked away. Alfred always brought a smile to my face, unlike Arthur. My mood immediately dampened at the thought of the pirate captain. There was still that to take care of. I sighed and turned to climb the stairs, but just as I did some kind of warning bell began to sound. That couldn't be good. I rushed up the stairs with the plate clutched tightly between my hands.

"Land ho!" Squeaker called from the crow's nest. He had a telescope pressed to his eye as he leaned further out of his perch.

Arthur burst out of his private quarters and joined the swarm of men gathering on the deck. Excited murmuring rippled through the crowd as an island became faintly visible on the horizon. The Captain pushed his way through to the starboard rail and put a sleek telescope up to his eye so he could make sure for himself.

"Is it Illiam, Cap'n?" Christov asked.

"As far as I can tell." Arthur closed the telescope and slipped it into a coat pocket. "According to the mermaid, her island is nearby. We need to get a landing crew together."

"No!"

The panicked cry tore through the crowd, and everyone fell silent. They all turned to look at the person who had made such a noise. A path cleared, and Arthur saw the mermaid standing there wide eyed with a plate of food in her hands. She seemed to realize everyone was staring at her and took a step back.

"Why not?" he asked with narrowed eyes.

"B-because it's dangerous," she answered.

"We kin 'andle a bunch o' mermaids," someone in the crowd shouted. There was a general murmur of agreement from the others.

"No, you don't understand. The Isle of Mermaids is protected by magic," she insisted.

"Really?" Arthur eyed her suspiciously. "We've landed on a small island around here in the past and nothing ever happened."

"You must not have landed recently because they've upped the security around the island after a certain...incident."

"Incident? Like what?" Christov asked.

The mermaid sighed. "Some crazy pirate landed on the island and started setting things on fire while yelling something about an abuelo. Ever since then, they surrounded the island with magical whirlpools that won't let any ship pass."

Abluelo. Arthur had a feeling he knew who that pirate was. "So, how do you suggest we get on the island?"

"We don't need to get on the island," she said with a shake of her head. "We need to get under it."

Captain Kirkland had a hard time finding volunteers after that conversation. Christov offered to go with a grim expression, and Arthur already knew he had to go. No one else seemed to want to step forward. Nervous glances were exchanged as men shuffled their feet and refused to look at their captain. Arthur shook his head and sighed.

"What a lot of cowards," he muttered.

"C-can I volunteer someone?" Everyone looked at the mermaid in surprise.

"I suppose..." The Captain sighed. The crew shifted nervously. Probably trying to figure out which of them was going to be chosen.

"I want Alfred to come with us."

"What?!" Arthur's green eyes flared dangerously. "Absolutely not!"

"Why? He works just as hard as anyone else on this ship!"

"No. I refuse to let that bloody wanker go with us."

The mermaid stepped forward and stood firm. "I want him with us."

"And I said no," Arthur hissed through clenched teeth. That's when he had an idea. "(Y/n), you don't want that git with us."

She stared him down. "Yes, I do."

The Captain's eyes widened. "No, you don't, (y/n)."

"Yes, I do!" She smirked wickedly. "What's the matter, Arthur? Maybe if you said it a little more authoritatively it might work. Or not."

"What have you done, wench?" he snarled.

"Nothing. You did it."

"What?" The Captain wasn't expecting that.

"You told everyone my name. The more people that know, the weaker the magic. I don't have to do anything you say."

Arthur could barely stand the smug smirk on the mermaid's face. He silently fumed as he weighed his options. If he gave in to her request, he would look weak. Then again, if he didn't, she might not help him. That would leave him in a worse position than square one. Before he could reply, she spoke again.

"I'll give you this cobbler if you let Alfred come." She held up the plate she was holding.

Arthur thought it over. "Bake the whole crew pies, and I'll let the git come."

"Deal." She said it quickly, but her face betrayed some inner distress. Baking that many pies wouldn't be easy.

"Someone bring the boy up here!" The Captain roared.

It took a while to find Alfred and get him on deck, but he had a wide smile when he finally showed up. There were also cobbler crumbs on his face, but the mermaid brushed them off before too many people could notice. Arthur resisted the urge to shove the boy overboard. He could barely keep his disdain in check, and he knew that the mermaid knew. She kept giving him questioning looks, but he refused to give her any kind of indication as to why he felt that way.

"So, what's going on?" Alfred asked.

"We're going to visit my home," the mermaid answered.

"Cool." The blonde grinned. "Where is it?"

"There." She pointed to a small island that grew closer and closer as the Queen Lady sailed across gentle crests of water.

"How do you suggest we get there?" the Captain asked with a hint of curiosity in his voice.

"We swim."

Christov paled. "There isn't another way?"

"Nope. Just trust meeeeeee!" the mermaid shouted as she jumped over the ship's railing.

"Good enough for me," Alfred said with a shrug. He ran after the girl and dived into the water.

"Come along, Christov," Arthur grumbled. "We don't want to lose them."

"If ya say so, Cap'n."

The sea embraced me like an old friend, which I guess it was. I sank for a little ways, and then floated unmoving. Breathing came just as easily to me underwater as it did in the open air, but it wasn't easy to maneuver in the water without my fin. I sighed. There wasn't anything I could do about that unfortunately.

Another splash sounded dully in the water, and I turned to see Alfred sinking into the deep blue. He was holding his breath, and gave me an odd hand gesture before swimming for the surface. What did it mean to stick your thumb up at someone? I didn't get to ponder the thought for long because two more splashes filled the water around me with shimmering bubbles.

Arthur and Christov immediately headed for the surface, and I had to help the first mate fight his way up. Someone really needed to help this man learn to swim. We all broke the surface at the same time and joined Alfred bobbing in the gentle waves.

"What now?" he asked excitedly.

"We swim."

"But we can't breathe in the water," Christov interjected.

"I can fix that," I told him. I took a deep breath and touched each person's head in turn. "There. I've temporarily granted you the ability to breathe underwater."

"Sweet!" Alfred dived underwater and didn't surface for a long while.

"Is it really safe?" Christov asked warily.

"Of course!" I answered. "Don't worry, I'll help you. Come on!"

I dived under the water and did some spins in the cool blue. There's nothing like being free with no silly limitations like up or down, left or right. However, there was still one thing bothering me. I couldn't feel the pull of the mighty ocean. Usually, there was some kind of deep, overwhelming presence around me, but now I didn't feel anything. I couldn't help but be reminded of what Ojigwa had said about my connection with the ocean being severed. It was horribly, painfully true.

"This is amazing!" Alfred shouted. His voice was somewhat muffled by the water surrounding him.

"Incredible," murmured Arthur as he swam past me. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to hear the comment, but I was glad I did.

"'Ow much further..." Christov complained.

"To that rock formation," I said as I pointed to the distance.

A large outcropping of rock rose from the sea floor up to the surface and beyond. The entire island was actually one large mountain that joined the earth beneath the water. No one would have known that unless they saw it from this angle, which only the fish and merfolk ever did. The three men gawked with open mouths that made them look like fish themselves. I just smiled.

"What in the world..." Arthur said in awe.

"A hollow mountain," I told him good naturedly. "That's my home."