Gilbert

I was startled when Toris entered the room. While I was still slumbering, he dashed towards me. "My Pri- I mean Gilbert, you are needed on the deck, you have to-"

What nonsense was he muttering? Instead of finishing his sentence, he abruptly stopped. I could not think of any reason, until I heard light and softly chirping beside me. How? I sat up, seeing Toris' astonished grimace, watching my surroundings. There next to my pillow was it. The cutest little bird my eyes have ever seen. From the first moment on, I knew that this bird was special. Which kind of bird it was, I did not know; it was a mystery. It looked at me with big dark innocent eyes. The fluffy feathers will grow over the time.

"Oh no… du süßes kleines Ding," I whispered quietly as I softly patted its head. "Keine Angst, ich werde mich um dich kümmern."

Toris, not understanding a word I said, cleared his throat to gain my attention, "By all means Sir, I have to fetch you. You are needed on board."

"I shall call you… Awesome Gilbird." A huge smile formed itself on my face.

Seeing that I was still enchanted from my new 'family member', he used the words I despises and fear the most.

"Gilbert, we are under attack."

My head jerked up, staring with at him with wide eyes.

"What?" I asked him, puzzled.

"We are being followed by a ship with black sails. Neither Elizabeta nor any others of the crew are familiar with this vessel," he breathed nervously. "Besides, our ship has major problems, being damaged by shipworms. And a few minutes ago I took care of an injured mermaid who claims to be the guardian of you and your family."

My wide-eyed expression did not falter; the opposite was the case. I stared at him for almost a minute before he got a proper answer, which in my case was not very 'proper'.

"W-Wie, w-was?" Confusion was written all over my face. "Wie bitte? What did you say? Under attack? Mermaid?"

Was I dreaming and trapped in a tasteless nightmare? Before I could inquire after an explanation, my necklace started to feel heavy. I have not taken it off and now the weight of it seems to pull me down. It was underneath my clothes and while grabbing it, the cute bird chirped nervously and hid its head in the blanket that surrounded him.

After taking the amulet out of my clothes, I was greeted with its glowing. My breath was stuck in my throat. What was going on?

"That must be Sakura's doing," Toris commented.

"And who is this Sakura?"

"The mermaid," he affirmed. "She claims to come from a family which is connected to yours since the dragons have been sealed. Her bloodline is dedicated to protect yours. She is your guardian."

"Oh? I was never told of that. Not even my mother knew about it."

"She felt danger and wanted to warn us about it. Unfortunately she got caught by other pirates and tortured. I do not know how she could escape but she ended up on our ship wounded," he told me with a tired face.

"So she is near. Does that explain the glowing of the amulet?"

Toris nodded and grabbed my hand. "We need to go to the main deck. The enemy ship is tracking us down."

Before we left the room, I insisted on taking Gilbird with me; I would not dare to let him alone. As we faced the cold and dark night, I was not expecting such chaos. The ship with the black sails could be seen from afar.

"Finally," I heard someone behind me muttering. It was Elizabeta's voice.

"How long before they are catching up with us?" I asked without looking at her.

"If they are this fast, then less than ten minutes," she murmured. "Plus our ship will not stand a chance against any cannon attacks. And they will shout any time."

"How unawesome," I sighed, holding my animal friend closer to my chest. My action inclined Elizabeta to look at my fellow little friend. "How cute."

She did not get any more time to talk when a loud crash echoed through the ship. A blast wave threw all of us to the ground.

"What was that?" I shouted nervously growing frightened by the seconds.

"Cannons!"

They could use cannons within that distance?

"What are we going to do?" I heard Feliks demanding loudly. Everything was happening so fast. Members of the crew ran across the ship.

It was utter chaos.

Toris, who was still next to me, stood up. "Oh Lord."

It was at that certain moment that my necklace got heavier, which made me look up. Before I could blink, a petite woman with black hair stood before me. She stared down at me and showed me her arm. It was adorned with the same symbol as the amulet I was wearing. The protector who was dedicated to save my life stood before me.

"Y-You… Y-you are…"

"Fear not, I will protect you," She answered. Never before have I seen any kind of magic, until this very moment. Her eyes lit up and the atmosphere began to transform into a veil of fog. Awesome. My mermaid-bodyguard could perform magic.

"Good job, this will buy us some time," Toris muttered as Feliks came to help me up. "That magic spell was fabulous. We need to flee. Sail towards an island."

"How do we know if all we see if fog?"

The inquiry Toris had uttered was answered directly by the mermaid, "My companions under water will lead us to an island."

We were escorted by other mermaids or sea creatures? I was overwhelmed with the happenings at the moment. First I was sleeping quietly, before we got attacked and saved by a mermaid. A mermaid, the first supernatural creature I have ever seen.

It was a shocking experience. I had witnessed men dying on battlefields; I was trained to fight in wars, on land. This was a complete new world, especially the awesome part of the magical mermaid. Despite the brutal damages the ship had, we had no casualties. Thank God.

It was safe; regretfully I was not prepared of the incidents which were to come.

[A/N: In this AU, mermaids can perform some magic, but only related with the element of water. They have more access to water-magic, if they are surrounded by water. In this case, the ocean provides a large amount of energy and water *captain obvious~*. I hope the chapter is okay; I feel as if my writing is getting worse :'D, but it is evening here and I am tired :') so please forgive my mistakes .]

Translations:

Du süßes kleines Ding - You sweet little thing

Keine Angst, ich werde mich um dich kümmern - Fear not, I will take care of you

Wie? Was? – How? What?

Wie bitte? – Come again?