"By the look on your face, I can see that you still don't 'get' mermaid magic."

I had spent hours trying to explain my magic to the thickest man I had ever met. It had been at least two since Ren gave up trying to help, so now it was just me and Kirkland. "It's not that I don't understand, it's that I don't know why you would use it. Don't you have a limited supply of magic?" I sighed, rubbing my temples. "Yes, sort of. It comes from the ocean, but over time." The way his eyebrows furrowed as he processed the information for the fifth time that night. "Alright, so kind of like mussels on the bottom of a ship, but in a good way," he mumbled. "Yes!" I wouldn't have shouted, but the conversation was starting to get old. He shot me a glare before asking what I hoped was his final question. "You talked about a heart connection," he said. "What does it feel like?"

I took a deep breath and collected my thoughts. "It's difficult to explain, really. You're connected to your mate in a way that isn't quite spiritual and isn't quite magical. You feel their emotions, and it often affects your emotions. It's very difficult to deal with, especially if your mate dies, so most Merpeople don't make the heart connection with their mates until they're emotionally matured. My mate and I bonded young, which is rare for most Merpeople." Kirkland gave me a look of confusion. "So you can tell when your mate is in danger just by their emotions? What is your mate feeling now?" I was starting to get tired of his ignorant questions.

"Kirkland, my mate's emotions are not for me to share. It's something private that isn't meant to be spread around like a disease," I huffed. Honestly, he couldn't get more invasive with his questions. Suddenly, his face was directly in front of mine, an uncharacteristically lusty look on his face. His voice was low and gravelly, which improved his allure quite a bit. "Maybe you could show me instead, then. After all, there's no harm in that, is there?" My face grew warm as his body drew closer, insinuating acts that I haven't even done with Lovino. An idea popped into my head as I put my face into the crook of his neck. If he wanted to know what my mate was feeling, he would get just that. I bit his neck, causing him to make a noise between a growl and a moan that set my nerves on edge. I hesitated for a moment before thrusting my sharp teeth into his skin. After holding them there, I started to feel a piece of myself drift off and a strange, cold feeling placed itself with Lovino's longing and pain. This new feeling was full of pain and anger. I didn't even realize Kirkland's struggling to throw me off until my teeth released his red flesh and I was tossed across the room like a boned fish.

"What the fuck was that, Mermaid?" He practically screamed at me as he dabbed at the gashes I had left and I licked the remnants of his blood off of my lips. "You wanted to know how it feels," I stated calmly. He didn't ask any more questions as he stormed out of the room, thundering off to other parts of the ship I had never seen. It occurred to me that perhaps I was blunt, but a small voice in my mind told me that the connection might come in handy someday.

-

The next morning, Ren came and told me that we had gotten a lead on this Allistair. All I could do was hope that we would be fast enough to find Lovi before it was too late. Sitting in my silent cell, I wondered if Lovi could tell that someone else had been introduced to our heart connection. I felt the guilt fester within me, though the guilt didn't seem to be all my own. The cold feelings were no warmer than they had been, but the guilt was still there. It was accompanied by a lingering anger that didn't seem to be letting up anytime soon. I wondered if he could feel my guilt nagging at him in the back of his head.

I paced around my cell, deciding to use these flimsy legs during the day and sleeping in the tub at night. I had tried the cot, but found the tub much more comforting. The water made it almost feel like home. Loneliness swept in, mingling with the guilt to create a hole in my torso that couldn't seem to be filled with anything. All of my other feelings were muted, even the worry from Lovino or the panic from Kirkland. I never even wondered why he would be panicked. I sat against the wall of my cell, half-heartedly tapping my fingers on the wooden floor.

I didn't notice the rushing footsteps on the deck above me, or the noises of shouting from sailor to sailor. The only thing I did notice was Peter rushing into the cell, his face pale and alert. I lifted up my head with a silent yet heavy sigh, putting on a mask of worry. "What's wrong, little one?" His answer was enough for me to temporarily forget the empty hole eating at me from the inside.

"We've been caught by the Navy, they're going to search the ship. If they find you, they're going to take you away from us. Come on, we have to hide!" His tiny hands grabbed mine and started pulling me out of the cell. I obliged, allowing him to drag me further into the depths of the ship. I could hear heavy, uniform thumps on the deck above us. Peter pulled me into a large room with cannons secured to the floor next to holes in the sides. One side was letting light in while the other faced a ship painted white and blue with golden borders. If it hadn't been for the child's insistence, I would have stopped and watched the ship. He led me to be tucked into a small space filled with sticks with cloth tied to the ends. "I'm sorry," he blurted as he quickly shut the door on me, leaving me in the complete dark in the tiny room.

I could hear more shouting above me, along with the routine thumps getting closer. Most of them passed me, going deeper into the ship to look for contraband. Kirkland's emotions were nervous and worried. Obviously, Peter had acted on his own without telling Kirkland as surprise was added after the methodic thumps returned upstairs. I waited to Peter to return and let me know everything was alright, listening to the stark silence in a dark that rivaled the deep ocean. I couldn't even hear the faint vibrations of voices through the wood anymore.

I was blinded as the door to the tiny room was thrown open. I used my arm to try and shield myself from the light, but it didn't last long as a hand pulled me out and flung me onto the floor. Winded, I had enough strength to turn around and look into the barrel of the thin gun pointed at me. I heard an accented voice talking to Kirkland, a voice like calm waters on a summer day. I belonged to a tan man with hair that was only a few shades lighter than Lovino's, except curly and neatly trimmed. It highlighted the eyes that seemed to be full of joy his face wouldn't show, which were the color of water-filtered sun beams. He was wearing a red and gold coat that seemed duller than Kirkland's, but it matched the uniforms of the men surrounding us. "I have to say, Kirkland, I'm surprised that we didn't find the usual contraband. I never took you for the type for trafficking, though." The new man turned to me, his gaze much softer than it had been towards Kirkland. "Hola, señora. Are you hurt at all?" I was so fazed that it took me a moment to respond. "No, I'm not hurt. Kirkland was helping me find someone." He looked perplexed, turning to Kirkland to give him a look before returning his gaze to me. "Would you mind coming with me, señora? I want to ask you some things on my ship." I shook my head, but he didn't seem to listen as the man pointing a gun at me lifted me onto his shoulder. He carried me to the top deck, which was much brighter than the light had been in the room with the cannons. I thrashed in the man's grip as we started crossing over a thin board connecting the two ships. The one with the accent yelled something as the man carrying me lost his balance, dropping both of us into the deep waters below.

Never had I been more revitalized as my gorgeous navy tail returned. The cool water was like a breath of new air. I saw the man that had been holding me thrashing in the water. Part of me hesitated, but I ultimately decided to grab him and lift him back above water. He started climbing evenly spaced boards back up the ship as I swam back underwater. I almost didn't want to return, but I swam to the opposite side of Kirkland's ship and started climbing the rings there. It was difficult enough with a tail, yet I didn't let that stop me. After a while, I perched myself on the rail of the ship, wringing excess water out of my hair. Kirkland and the brown-haired man were arguing. Kirkland was holding the man back as he tried to shed his jacket and jump over the rail. As amusing as it was to watch, all I had to do was speak to completely silence the ship. "What are you two so worried about? Is there something important down there?"

I used all of my self-control to not grin from ear to ear as the brown-haired man froze and faced me. His face was one of complete shock, as were those of his and Kirkland's crews. I winced as the scales on my fin shed off, giving me fleshy legs bleeding silver. Somehow, it didn't hurt as much as it had before. I must be getting used to the pain. I swung my feet onto the deck, gently skipping my way over to the two captains. The accented one didn't speak, prompting Kirkland to sigh, saying, "Antonio, this is.. Natasha. She's a mermaid."