Hello once again everyone :) I'm back from my trip now with a new chapter for all of you. I did see someone that looked an awful lot like Iggy, but I couldn't get a picture. We will never know for sure if that was him XD Anyway, it was a lot of fun, but I'm glad to be back. Thanks for all of your continued support, and here we go back to the story!

"Then ya pull on this bit 'ere an'..." James pulled on the rope in his hands. The growing knot decided it didn't really want to be a knot after all and fell apart. "Great slipp'ry eels! It don' usually do that."

"James, do you really know what you're doing?" Peter asked from beside me.

The three of us were sitting in a patch of shade on the deck, and James had been teaching us how to tie knots. Peter's knot had also fallen apart, and mine was doing a better job tangling me up than itself. I laughed at the frustrated look on the young boy's face and the confused expression on James'.

"Whatcha doin'?" Squeaker showed up with his usual mousey grin.

"Tying knots," Peter explained. "Or at least we're trying to."

"James is teaching us," I added.

"'Ere, lemme see that." I handed Squeaker my bit of rope, and he deftly tied it into a strong knot. "Ta dah!"

"Show me!" Peter pleaded excitedly. He watched closely while Squeaker demonstrated the knot again.

"Hey, don't worry about it," I said with a smile to James, who looked thoroughly upset. "You still beat me at cribbage all the time."

This made him smile. "Suppose yer right."

"How much longer until we get to the Southern Continent?" I asked as I stared at the horizon. We had been sailing for over two days, and there hadn't even been the slightest glimpse of land yet.

"We shoulda arrived early this mornin', but the winds just ain't as strong as usual," James answered with the slightest of frowns. "Don' worry yer purtty li'l head. We'll git there soon 'nough."

"I hope so." I gazed out over the clear blue sea as a gust of wind filled the sails momentarily before dying down. The wind hadn't been that strong lately, and it gave me a bad feeling. "I'm going to find Alfred," I told the other three as I stood up. They nodded in acknowledgement while still trying to tie knots.

I hadn't gotten the chance to speak with Alfred since I saw him a few days ago. He was too busy working the sails and such. Everyone was doing their best to get the Queen Lady moving, but she was reluctant. I figured now was as good a time as any to search for the energetic blonde. He wasn't on deck, so I thought I'd check down below. Turns out he had the same idea because I met him coming up just as I got to the stairs.

"Hey, (y/n)! Just the person I was looking for!" he said with a big grin.

"What a coincidence." I mirrored his smile. It was impossible not to smile around this kid. "Why don't we find a place to talk?"

"Sounds good to me!"

Alfred led the way to a sunny spot next to the starboard rail. He sat down and swung his legs over the edge, and I did the same. The weather had been a touch on the warm side, but it was still very pleasant with a slight breeze and cloudless skies. I took all of this in as he began talking.

"Here, I snatched some apples from the food stash." He handed me a bright red apple before taking a bite of his own. "Sho, wha wash it ya wanted t' talk about b'fore?"

I rolled my eyes at his attempt to talk with his mouth full. "Well, I wanted to ask you about your mom."

Alfred's smile faltered, and he swallowed slowly. "Why do you want to talk about that?"

I but my lip. I wasn't sure what the best way to approach this was. "It's just...I saw a picture of someone that looked like you..." It sounded dumber out loud than it did in my head. I had noticed the resemblance between Alfred and Arthur's mother when I had seen the photograph, but it seemed like such a ridiculous coincidence that I didn't bother to ask Arthur at the time.

Alfred's eyebrows shot up. "Where did you see a picture? On the ship?"

I nodded. "I thought it might just be a coincidence, but I'm not sure. That's why I asked...about your mom."

He looked out over the ocean and answered so quietly I almost didn't hear it. "She's dead."

I recalled a similar response from Arthur not too long ago. The pieces were slowly starting to fit together. "I'm sorry to hear that. The thing is, the picture was of Arthur's mom, and he said she was dead too."

"The Captain?" Alfred's blue eyes met mine curiously. "But why would he-" Something seemed to click in his head. "Wait. You don't think..."

"I do."

There was a long silence as he turned away to watch the ocean waves below us. A cool spray occasionally flew up and wet the tips of my toes. I never bothered to wear any shoes since they were the most uncomfortable things I had ever had the misfortune of wearing, so the bottoms of my feet were black with dirt. It was probably about time I washed them.

"She talked about him all the time."

Alfred's words brought me back to the conversation at hand. "What?"

"Mom. She always talked about her darling Arthur, and how she would never forgive herself for leaving him behind. I never knew what she was talking about until now." He chuckled humorlessly. "To think I had a brother this whole time."

"Do you know what happened? Why didn't she take him?" I asked.

"All I know is that she was married to someone before she met my old man, but he was a drunk that treated her like garbage. Then she met my dad and decided to run away with him." He shook his head. "I never realized that I had a brother. Well, a half brother. Crazy world, huh?"

"Yeah." I lowered my gaze. Humans led such complicated lives, and now I was tangled up in it worse than most humans were. "Arthur doesn't know."

Alfred's blue eyes darkened. "How am I supposed to tell him something like this? He already hates me as it is." The blonde sighed loudly and laid down on the deck. He covered his eyes with an arm and murmured to himself. "Always wanted a brother...just my luck."

"Hey, cheer up." I poked his cheek with my finger. "You don't have to tell him. I'll do it." Dread pooled in my stomach as I said the words. I hadn't talked to Arthur since our kiss, and it wasn't something I was particularly looking forward to doing, but it was too late to back down now.

Alfred moved his arm to look at me. "Really, (y/n)? You'd do that?"

"Sure." I smiled at him. "If you think it'll help."

He sat up quickly. "You're the best, (y/n)!" Then he did something unexpected. He pulled me close and placed a kiss on my forehead. "I gotta get going before someone puts me on bathroom duty! See ya later!" He was up and gone before I could react.

My hand slowly reached up to the place where his lips had been just moments before. I couldn't think. Everything was a jumbled mess inside my head. It wasn't like when Arthur kissed me. That had been warm, passionate, and full of longing. This was soft, fast, and completely unexpected. I didn't even realize what was happening until it was over.

Heat rushed up my face, and my cheeks burned bright red. I wasn't sure whether to feel flattered or violated. My heart beat quickly in my chest as I tried to make sense of what was going on. I hardly knew how I felt about Arthur, much less Alfred. It was quickly becoming apparent why mermaids weren't supposed to interact with humans. They're unpredictable, dangerous, and all too irresistible.

I looked down at the apple still clutched between my hands, but my appetite was completely gone. Sunlight glinted off its shiny red skin making it look more cheerful than I felt. I stood up with a sigh to find three people I knew would be hungry. Maybe they could take my mind off everything going wrong.

Captain Kirkland was furious. Or maybe he was heartbroken. Maybe it was both. It was so hard to tell these days. He had just witnessed something so outrageous that he wouldn't have believed it unless he had seen it with his own eyes, which he had. There was a small part of Arthur's conscious that knew he was being silly, but he couldn't help it.

Watching Alfred kiss the mermaid nearly pushed him over the edge.

At first, he wasn't sure if he actually saw what he thought he saw, but the blush that quickly colored the girl's face confirmed it. The Captain didn't want to make his presence known, so he quietly slipped into his private quarters. After that, he was at a loss. Should he throw Alfred overboard, or beat him to a bloody pulp? The pirate quickly decided against both because that would require him revealing that he had witnessed their little exchange, which was something he was still coming to terms with himself. No, he would hold onto this information for now.

Arthur collapsed heavily into his desk chair. Why had fate decided to destroy his once pleasant life, and then spit in his face? He buried his head in his arms, which were on the desk, and moaned loudly. Life was a like a fickle lover. However, there was one thing that gave him comfort. The mermaid hadn't looked particularly pleased after the brat's lips graced her forehead. In fact, she looked just as confused as Arthur felt about the whole thing.

The Captain hated to admit it, but he had no idea where he and the mermaid stood. She hadn't fought his advances, but she hasn't spoken to him since either. Did he even want her like that? He didn't know.

"What a right bloody mess this is..."

He sighed and peeked up at the paperwork on his desk. Usually, balancing his ledger calmed him, but he wasn't in the mood. All he could think about was that insolent brat kissing his mermaid. The Captain shook his head. No, she wasn't his. He had no right to feel that way. She didn't want to be an object, and he had decided he was no longer going to treat her as such. If that meant she picked Alfred in the end, so be it.

At least, that's what Arthur wanted to think.

A groan of frustration rumbled in his throat as he put his head down again. He hated that she spent so much time with that kid and not with him. What did that brat have that the Captain didn't? He almost got up to find the mermaid and demand that she stop talking to the little git, but stopped himself. He had a better plan. He would make her see just how much she really needed him instead.

Arthur laughed. It was a plan only a cunning pirate like himself could have schemed. He chuckled darkly. This was going to be interesting.