Birds of a Feather
The Curse of the Black Pearl
Chapter Twenty-One
You Protect, Do You Not?
Philip had to admit The Mermaid looked quite beautiful as she slept in her tank. All stretched out and the moonlight highlighting her gleaming skin. Her slow and steady breathing. Her long dark hair, thankfully resting over her breasts even though her mermaid form modestly shielded her chest.
His eyes drifted over to his shirt, which still lay abandoned on the floor. Truth be told, it was kind of chilly in the cabin, and Philip was tempted to reclaim the shirt. He pushed the thought aside almost immediately. Now that The Mermaid had been revealed to have legs, Philip was certain she would need the garment in the future. He was glad to give it up to her; he was content as long as he had his father's cross and Bible.
Plus Philip did like the idea of her always having a small piece of him with her, even if they did part after this adventure.
…If?
The thought was crazy. Of course, they would part after this adventure. He was the missionary nephew of the Governor of Port Royal and she was the mermaid pseudo-daughter of a cursed Pirate Captain. Their worlds were extreme opposites, and this was the only time their paths would ever cross.
So why did that thought make him sad?
"Philip?" a soft voice came. He hadn't noticed when The Mermaid had awoken, "Are you unwell?"
"I'm fine," he quickly cleared his throat. "You can go back to sleep."
"No, that is alright," The Mermaid shifted herself upright to rest her arms on the ledge of the tank. "Mermaids are mostly nocturnal. I have never slept entirely through the night, nor shall I ever accomplish such a feat."
Philip swallowed hard, fighting his innermost instincts; the ones of a male desiring a mate. She watched Philip in that way she so loved to do; her tail lazing back and forth, her hazel eyes soft and curious, that gentle smile upon her lips. How could she ever been one of those cursed demons that fell from God's grace?
The Mermaid tilted her head, "Besides, you seem… sad."
"Just…" Philip looked away, "thinking of things."
"What things?"
Philip shook his head, "Nothing of importance."
"Tell me," her voice didn't just insist, but gently begged him. She couldn't stand to see him filled with such sorrow. This room had seen enough misery; she would not allow him to become its next victim.
He heaved a sigh, "My mind as just been on a lot of things. How is Uncle faring? Is Elizabeth alright? Has Sparrow killed her? …Has she killed Sparrow?"
The Mermaid snorted.
Philip couldn't help but smile at her such unladylike laughter, "What… What possessed the Lord to put me through such a trial as this? Did he bring Will Turner into my life to endure this adventure? What will happen to Will when we reach Isla de Muerta? What will happen to me? …Will I ever see you again?"
"Do you…" The Mermaid looked down, "do you wish to see me again?"
"I… I wouldn't be unhappy if our paths crossed once more. Though that seems impossible considering the trajectories of our lives."
"Impossible? Philip, you and I have already met twice in this life. I do not know which God or Goddess divines the paths of mortal lives, but it seems our threads of fate have been tangled into a mess that is not yet over."
"My uncle will be thrilled," Philip chuckled. He couldn't take his eyes away from The Mermaid. His heart was stupid, but certain; he didn't want this woman – yes, woman, not creature or monster – to leave his life just yet. "A missionary and a mermaid. It seems the Lord has quite the sense of humour."
"Come now, Philip, it could be much worse. After all, I am still a virgin mermaid. Isn't purity important to men of the religious life?"
His jaw quite literally dropped at her audacity.
The Mermaid blinked, "What?"
"Nothing," he practically squeaked. "Just… wow."
She hesitated but decided not to press. Maybe purity wasn't that important?
"So," The Mermaid decided to change the topic, "you were rather quiet after my story. You never did answer if you had any questions."
"Well, I mean the story was pretty extensive. I guess if I did have any questions it would simply be that I don't understand why Barbossa saved your life."
The Mermaid gave a gentle smile, "My relationship with Barbossa may be dramatic, Philip, but it is not complicated. The truth of the matter is even though he acts like he does not, Barbossa cares about me. In fact, the only thing he cares about more in this world than me is freeing himself from his curse… And to me, he is the most important thing in my life. Perhaps on certain days I would rank Ragetti and Pintel higher than Hector, but not on most. Barbossa is the closest thing I have ever truly known of family."
"But he caged you for years."
She shrugged, "All families fight."
Philip scowled, "Not like that!"
The Mermaid sighed, "I know it is hard to understand, and I know that is it not something even… what is the word? Healthy? But that was the Barbossa of years ago. I have forgiven him for it."
"How can you?"
"Because it is my decision alone to make." The Mermaid paused, "But still, a part of me does wonder what it is to truly be… free."
Philip couldn't even pretend to understand it. How could this Mermaid think someone who loved you could do such terrible things? He didn't know if it was because of human empathy or perhaps him holding strange strong feelings for her he couldn't understand, but the story made his heart ache.
The Mermaid had never known love, and Philip could not imagine such a terrible thing.
He took a deep breath, honestly not sure what he was about to say, "Listen, I-"
At that moment, the door swung open and Twigg and Koehler came barreling in.
"Oh, come on!" Philip cried. "We're really not doing this again? Don't you two have jobs to do?"
Twigg slammed shut the door, "We didn't get to finish our business before."
Koehler's eyes narrowed in on The Mermaid, "And now that we know the truth about this creature-"
She hissed at him.
"We can do something we've been waiting ages to do," Koehler finished, the look on his eyes making The Mermaid's stomach churn.
Though she had never been the greatest mermaid, she had been trained just like the other young ones to protect herself. Instinct kicking in, she used her grip on the rim of the glass tank to push herself high up out of the water and then shot out with hands a strand of seaweed at each of the men.
But it seemed that the men had made a plan before entering the room. The second the seaweed latched onto them, they grabbed it and yanked hard.
The Mermaid shrieked as she lurched forward, pulled over the edge of the tank and slammed down onto the floor. Turning quickly into an exposed human female form, The Mermaid desperately scrambled for the scrap of fabric that was Philip's shirt lying on the floor just out of reach.
Both Pirates raced forward to stop her, but one didn't make it because Philip jumped onto Koehler's back. Though Philip wasn't the most formidable opponent, he hit, punched, kicked, and did whatever he could to fight Koehler off from The Mermaid.
Relief flooded The Mermaid's body when her hand closed upon Philip's shirt. Without another thought, she pulled it over her head. The fabric had barely covered her body when Twigg slammed her hard back onto the floor.
Her head hit the deck with an audible thwack, and The Mermaid hissed in pain, her eyes darting briefly towards the still fighting Philip.
The Mermaid was down, pinned to the floor, but by the Mother Goddess, she wasn't out of the fight just yet. Like Philip, she too hit, punched, kicked (though weakly as she wasn't used to having legs,) and did whatever she could to fight off Twigg. But she also bit, scratched, and mauled… and though Twigg couldn't die, The Mermaid also was a lot more effective at it than Philip.
The thwack caught Philip's attention. His head instinctively jerked to the side to check if The Mermaid was alright. His heart fell as he saw Twigg pinning her to ground, The Mermaid struggling underneath him. The threat of what was about to happen was too great. It seemed that the tidbit of Twigg not being able to …enjoy the act wasn't about to stop him.
But Philip should have kept his eyes on what he was doing, because Koehler took that opportunity to grab a long chain off the wall and whip him across the shoulders.
The good thing about being hit with a chain rather than a whip, flogger, or cat o' nine tails was when hit with a chain, it didn't break open the skin. Sure, it would definitely leave some terrible bruising the next day, but at least there was no blood.
The bad thing was that it still hurt like Hell.
Philip screamed, involuntarily dropping to his knees. But the pain didn't cease, Koehler grabbed Philip by the hair, and dragged him across the room. Thousands of hair strands tried to rip the roots out of his scalp. Philip struggled to break free, but Koehler was stronger.
Thinking it was a better plan to preserve his energy, Philip stopped fighting for a moment to formulate a place. But when Koehler came to a halt at the small table holding some candles, Philip learned he shouldn't have stopped fighting.
Koehler shoved Philip face first into the candle flames.
He screamed absolute bloody murder. Philip Swift reached an octave that threatened to crack the glass tank, and probably loud enough to carry all the way back to Port Royal.
It was definitely loud enough to bring the skirmish to the attention of a certain undead monkey.
His flesh burned, and seared, and stung. If Philip hadn't been a Godly man before, having his face burned would have made him do anything to avoid the fires of Hell.
Fight or flight instantly kicked in, and thankfully Philip Swift proved to be less birdlike then his surname suggested. His elbow swung back into Koehler's jaw, and his leg swept the pirate's two out from underneath him. When Philip felt Koehler falling forward onto his shoulder, Philip wretched his body back, and slammed Koehler to the floor.
For a minute, Philip pinned the pirate to the ground, but then the pain of burning overtook him. Philip rolled off Koehler, clutching his face as he cried out in agony. He didn't notice or care what the pirate did next. All that mattered to him was his half-melted cheek.
And then he heard The Mermaid shriek.
His head snapped forward, horror filling his eyes as he saw both Koehler and Twigg advancing on the The Mermaid.
Philip's eyes narrowed.
He did care what the pirates did next.
Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
A strength he didn't know he had filled him. Maybe it was self-confidence. Maybe it was the Holy Spirit. Or maybe it were those confusing feelings that he was starting to understand.
Whatever the origin, Philip found the strength and the courage to swallow that pain and focus on what was the most important thing to him in that moment. Gripping the small table so hard his knuckles strained white, Philip pulled himself to his feet and blew out the candles.
The Mermaid had managed to get Twigg off her for a moment, but when he was joined by Koehler, she felt fear. She had heard Philip's screams, but the situation was too dangerous to drop her guard and check on him.
But if they had hurt him…
Twigg and Koehler advanced on her slowly. The Mermaid was on all fours, her back almost touching the ground as she frantically and clumsily crawled backwards. Then her back hit the wall.
"Looks like we've trapped Barbossa's pet," Twigg chuckled. "You didn't actually think a preacher would save you?"
The Mermaid tried not to shake as they came closer, "What have you done to him?"
"Haven't kill him," Koehler's eyes burned darkly as they roamed over her body. "Not yet. But did you hear his screams while I burned him?"
The Mermaid hissed.
Philip was blocked from The Mermaid's view, but she wasn't beyond his. At her plea to hear his fate, Philip wanted to call out and tell her he was okay, but doing so would lose his edge. He didn't want the pirates to be focusing on him. No, he had to wait to make his move.
It was like The Mermaid had said, he was different from the men she had known. He wouldn't be a blind attacker seeking violence for revenge. Yes, he would fight… but he would fight to protect.
He would protect her as she had protected him. Philip had lost count of how many times they had rescued each other, but frankly, he didn't care about keeping score.
The Mermaid was different.
"Don't you worry about the boy, Monster," Koehler growled. "I'll kill him. I'll make him scream and suffer and die in such agony it would bring a tear to even your eye… And it will, because I'll make you watch. Just like I'll make him watch what I'm about to do to you."
But when Koehler said that, The Mermaid knew she wasn't different.
She was deadly.
A piercing shriek filled the room as scales littered her body and her eyes turned black as night. The Mermaid thought of nothing but the taste of flesh and blood as her animalistic side took the reins when her body went Full Siren.
Twigg made the mistake of lunging at her first. The Mermaid didn't even think as her newly pointed fangs sunk into his neck. But the bite was unsatisfying, his curse preventing her from truly tasting the blood she craved.
The Mermaid hissed and threw Twigg away from her.
Koehler made to snatch her, but The Mermaid grabbed his arm yanked forward. Her sharps nails shredded his forearm, but no blood came. Frustrated, The Mermaid tore a chunk out of his arm with her teeth, but still her thirst wasn't quenched. She shrieked and spat out it out in disgust.
He didn't even flinch.
Anger did boil beneath the surface and once The Mermaid had her fangs out of his arm, he grabbed her by the throat and slammed her against the wall.
"I'm getting very tired of all this violence, you pathetic little Pet," he jeered as she desperately gasped for breath. "You know, I'm starting think you're not worth the fight."
"She is!" Philip yelled.
Koehler turned just in time for Philip to slam the small table across his head. The pirate hit the ground cold.
The Mermaid slumped to the ground too, greedily gasping in air for her burning lungs as she could breathe once more.
Philip smiled, dropping the table to the ground. His heart hammered in his chest as he saw The Mermaid safe for just one tiny second.
"Such beauty. Surely you are one of God's own creations and not a descendant of those dark creatures who found no refuge on the Ark."
He rushed forward to embrace her, but her head snapped up and she hissed at him with the danger of a cobra.
"Such beauty. Yet deadly."
Freezing in place, Philip took in the sight of her being Full Siren. The scales, the teeth, the claws… but worst of all were the eyes.
When their eyes met, Philip hadn't seen a more horrifying thing in his life… yet. Her pitch-black eyes burned with a soulless depth in her sockets. There was no eye, only darkness.
"Deadly. No."
"You attacked me."
Philip would be lying to say he wasn't terrified of her.
But then... something clicked in The Mermaid's mind, and as her pitch-black eyes held his pleading green ones, the white started to return.
"No... You are different."
"Different?"
Slowly, ever so slowly, her nails dulled, her teeth rounded, her scales faded into skin, and black soulless eyes turned hazel and gentle.
"Are you not? You protect."
"You tried to pull me into the water to hide me."
The Mermaid took a shaky but cleansing breath. It was Philip who had brought her back from the edge. Philip who could make her believe that maybe she could be different.
Philip who… who might mean something more.
"You two little-" Koehler apparently couldn't even think of the right insult as he pushed himself to his feet. "I'm going to make both of you pay for that."
"He's right," Twigg had murder in his eyes. "No more fun and games. This is going to hurt."
Philip's head jerked over to look at The Mermaid. She was lying on her front, desperately trying to get her unfamiliar legs to work and push her back upright. As Twigg and Koehler rushed forward, Philip knew The Mermaid wouldn't have time to escape.
He didn't think about what he did next.
Philip raced forward and shoved Twigg into Koehler, knocking both back to the ground. He didn't look back to survey the damage. He reached The Mermaid and threw himself over her.
"What are you doing?" The Mermaid looked up at him confused. She was pinned on her stomach to the ground, Philip lying his body completely over her.
"Protecting you," Philip panted. "Isn't that what you said I did? Isn't that what makes me different? …What makes you different?"
The Mermaid smiled, but neither of the couple dared to move.
He was so close to her. His chest, bare save for his vest, pressed to the thin scrap of fabric of his shirt that covered her body. It didn't go far, her smooth, silky legs pinned against his pant clad and well muscled own. Even his hands clutched at her wrists like they would literally have to pry him off her to pull them apart. His sturdy and firm body pressed her soft supple one in a way that was far too improper to touch a woman who was not his wife.
"What is in your head, Boy?" Twigg glowered at Philip as he and Koehler advanced on the two again. "You think this is going to stop us from taking what belongs to us?"
"You'll have to go through me to get to her," Philip tightened his hold on The Mermaid's wrists.
She did not cry out in pain. In fact, she seemed distracted, ears pricking up at something beyond the door.
"You say that as if it's hard, Boy," Koehler growled.
The Mermaid smirked, "A little harder than you might think."
The door banged open and Barbossa, Bo'sun, Jack the Monkey, Ragetti, and Pintel came pouring into the room.
"What be going on here?" Barbossa bellowed as they all took in the sight. He barely seemed to notice Twigg and Koehler, eyes more focused on the Governor's nephew lying a top his mermaid. "And here you promise you wouldn't get intimate with the boy."
The Mermaid glared at him, "They attacked us. Philip is just…"
She faltered as she realized how suspect the scene looked.
"Protecting me," she finished weakly.
"Fancy way of protection," Barbossa sneered. He then finally glanced to his companions, "Masters Twigg and Koehler, I have warned ye time and time again. Gentlemen, take the two of them into custody."
Ragetti, and Pintel raced forward, but Bo'sun crossed the room in about three steps and grabbed both Twigg and Koehler, one man to each hand.
"We've arrived at Isla de Muerta," Barbossa announced. "Bo'sun, I want those two in my longboat, and to be at my side for every moment until this curse is broken. I will deal with you when that's done."
Twigg and Koehler grumbled, but Bo'sun pulled them out the door without much fight.
"Now… Master Swift," Barbossa said, "if you would be so kind to remove yourself from my Mermaid."
Philip reluctantly rose to his feet, only to have his arm roughly grabbed by Pintel. As he dragged Philip forward for Barbossa's inspection, Ragetti fussed over The Mermaid and her injuries.
"I am fine," The Mermaid said, resting her weight against Ragetti's tall but not very strong form. Her eyes were only for Philip as he was brought to Barbossa.
The Captain said nothing when Pintel forced Philip to a stop. Barbossa just scowled, his eyes roaming over Philip's injuries. When his assessment was done, he reached out a hand and touched Philip's cheek.
Philip flinched, but after a moment of nothing happening, he relaxed. Barbossa wasn't about to harm him; the glare on his face wasn't for Philip, but the burn mark developing on his cheek.
"Which one?" Barbossa simply asked.
"Uh…" Philip tried to remember the name. "The African one. I don't recall his name."
"Koehler," The Mermaid interjected. "Twigg was busying attacking me, so it must have been Koehler."
"I see," Barbossa gave a small nod. "Well, he will pay further for that. I intend to get every penny I can out of you. Masters Ragetti and Pintel, clean him up best we can and bring him to the longboats. Put him in with Turner. I don't want to spend the entire trip to the caves with Smith's boy prattling on about Swift's safety. If he's anything like his mother, Turner will non-stop nag me about his loved ones."
"Sarah was a wonderful conversationalist, if you ask me," Ragetti muttered as he grabbed one of Philip's arms.
Pintel rolled his eyes, "You only said that because you were smitten for the girl."
"She was a strong, brave, and beautiful woman!" Ragetti exclaimed. "Sarah was always so kind to me too."
"Yes, because that's the making of a grand love story: basic human decency."
"I'm telling you, if Bootstrap hadn't been around, I would be that boy's father! Mark my words!"
Philip was very grateful that Will wasn't around for this conversation.
Pintel shook his head, "I swear, there are days where if you weren't my sister's kid-"
Whatever he grumbled next was only heard by a monkey and a mermaid. Though The Mermaid's eyes did widened quite a bit.
"If you two are done," Barbossa rolled his eyes. "There's work to do, so get moving!"
"Yes, Sir," Ragetti and Pintel said in unison, then started to lead Philip to the door.
"Wait a minute!" The Mermaid objected. "Stop! I can heal him!"
"We don't have time for that, My Pet," Barbossa said.
She hissed at him.
Barbossa sighed, "We don't have time for that, My Girl."
The Mermaid didn't look like she thought that was a whole lot better.
"Look," Barbossa said, "we can fix him up later."
"But I can fix the burn now," The Mermaid insisted. "The longer you wait, the less likely I can fix it at all."
"Yes, I would like it to be fixed now if that's an option," Philip cut it.
"It's not!" Barbossa snapped.
Philip blinked, "Wait… do you want me to have a burn scar?"
Barbossa just grinned, "Every pirate needs his scars."
"But I'm not a pirate."
"You keep telling yourself that." Barbossa took another step closer to Philip, "But that doesn't mean it's not true. Whether you like it or not, this little adventure has turned you into what you so hate. Might as well leave you with a souvenir to remind you. But beware, Boy, a pirate is a pirate for life. Welcome to the Brethren."
And before Philip could say another word, he was pulled out the door by Ragetti and Pintel.