Hope breathed in and out as she swam to a stop. Her breaths came out shallow and labored.

"You know, when Dad said I had the sea in my blood, this isn't what he meant!"

She then glanced down at the tail that swished beneath her. She then leaned back and flipped it out of the water.

The sunlight shimmered off the blue scales. A hint of a smile graced her features.

"If I wasn't so bloody furious, this would be kind of cool."

She then shook her head before she surveyed her surroundings. She breathed a sigh of relief when she spied a rock that jutted up out of the ocean.

With a deep breath, she flipped her tail a few times before she started to swim.

"Ugh," she then groaned as she blew the hair out of her face. She swam to a stop once more.

She flipped her tail back and forth and moved one of her arms in circles to stay afloat. She then used her free hand to smooth back the front of her hair. She then grabbed her long tresses.

She let out a gasp. "My hair! It's blue!" She then blinked a few times.

"Well, blue is my favorite color - and it matches my eyes."

She then ran her fingers through the blue and light brown mix before she let out a sigh.

"I just…hope I don't stay like this forever."

She continued to swim toward the rock - only to be frozen in fear. A bellow sounded behind her.

"Oh, gods, is that…"

She whipped around - and spotted a white whale heading straight for her. The animal lunged - and Hope screamed.

She whipped back around and raced toward the rock. Her arms grew tired.

"Bloody…ugh! I thought mermaids were bloody amazing swimmers!"

The whale's bellows grew louder and louder as it gained on Hope. She dove underneath the waves to gain a little more speed.

She swam faster and faster. She didn't stop until she reached the rock.

She hid on the other side of it. The whale's mouth clamped around the stone. It lifted its head and bellowed before it dove underneath the water.

Hope breathed a sigh of relief as the whale swam back out to sea. She collapsed against the rock.

"Thank the gods. I thought I was a goner."

With a deep breath, she then grabbed the sides of the rock and hoisted herself on top.

She then folded her arms and rested her chin on them. She took another deep breath - only to furrow her eyebrows.

"Is…someone singing?"

She managed to move to a sitting position. Her blue eyes scanned the water, as well as the rock itself, when they widened.

"What the…?"

A crab scurried along the edges of the rock. It hummed before it started to sing.

"Don't worry about a thing. Every little thing is gonna be alright."

Hope rolled her eyes. "That's all I need - the musical stylings of Sebastian."

"Are you talkin' to me?" the crab then piped up as he inched closer to her.

She rolled her eyes once more. "I've had a long day - I just want to be left alone."

The crab tilted his head. He then offered, "Music is good for the soul - I think it'll help with ya bad day."

He cleared his throat. "Rise up this morning, smiled with the rising sun. Three little birds pitch by my doorstep."

Hope glared. "I told you that I wanted to be left alone, Sebastian."

The crab shook his head. "That is not my name, child. And you could be a little nicer."

"And you could leave me alone!"

"You just need some music. Like I told you - it's good for the soul," the crab began. He then took a deep breath.

"Singing sweet songs of melodies pure and true, saying this is my message to you. Singing, 'don't worry about a thing…"

"I said that's enough!" Hope shouted. With a smack, the crab landed in the water.

"Finally. Peace and quiet."

The crab poked its head out of the water. He glared at her before he muttered something in Jamaican Patois and swam away.

Hope rolled her eyes and shook her head. With a deep breath, she crossed her arms back and rested her head on them.

She stared at the beach before her. She watched the waves as they crashed over the sand.

She then closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of salt water.

The smell always reminded her of sailing on the Jolly Roger with her mom, dad…and her brothers.

She took another deep breath as she opened her eyes. "I really hope they find me soon."

She then moved one of her hands and ran it along the water. She drew circles among the still waves.

Her eyes widened when she caught sight of a shell dipping in and out of the water.

A turtle swam up to the rock. His head popped up, his gaze landing on her.

He shot her a smile - and then a wink. Hope giggled and twirled her hair.

Only to subsequently let out a gag.

She shooed the turtle away before she groaned and buried her face in her hands.

"Yes, because my next boyfriend should be a bloody turtle."

She groaned once more. "This has been a bloody nightmare."

When she looked back up, she set her gaze back on the shore.

She gasped. She took a deep breath and cupped her hands around her mouth.

"Liam! David!"

The boys turned her direction. Their eyes widened.

"Hope!"

They discarded their shoes before they ran into the water. When it reached above their waist, they dove in and swam the rest of the way.

They popped up on either side of the rock.

Liam took a breath. "Hope! What happened?"

David punched his brother's shoulder. "Adella turned her into a mermaid, you idiot. What do you think happened?"

Liam rolled his eyes. He then threw back, "Oh, really? I must have missed the bloody tail."

"You're the one who asked."

"But I didn't mean it like that. I just meant…"

Hope covered their mouths with her hands. "Listen, you two, I am not in the bloody mood. I have dodged killer whales, annoying singing crabs, and winking turtles - I am ready to go home."

The twins nodded, so she removed her hands. Liam cleared his throat.

"So, what did happen? I mean, how did Adella do this?"

"Well, after she and the others, uh, tricked me…"

She trailed off as she ducked her head. David patted her shoulder.

"Look, it's not your fault. Those mermaids tricked all of us - and we were the bloody idiots that let them."

Hope nodded before she took another breath. "Yeah, well, after that, she threw me into the ocean - and when I tried to stand, I had this instead."

She flipped her tail up and down. "I had to get the hang of this thing as I swam around and around - trying to find something, anything. I finally managed to find this rock."

The boys nodded. Liam then rubbed the back of his head.

"We're just glad you're okay. We were worried about you."

"I know. And thank you."

She then took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"And now we have to find a way out of all of this - and we're gonna need some help. You have to go get Grandma Snow and Grandpa Charming."

David groaned. Liam and Hope both raised their eyebrows. She then questioned, "What's wrong, David? You know they're our best shot."

"That much I know - and I'm not arguing about it - they're just always so…optimistic about everything."

Hope giggled. "What else do you expect from Snow White and Prince Charming?"

She giggled once more as Liam joined her. David rolled his eyes and shook his head.

He then offered, "Let's just go. I'm ready to stick it to those mermaids."

"David's right. I wanna wipe those smug looks off their faces," Liam added as he balled his hands into fists.

"And there's that Swan-Jones fire," Hope spoke with a grin. Her blue eyes then filled with that same fire.

"Hurry, you guys. We can't let them have any advantage."

The twins nodded. Both of them then took a deep breath.

"We'll be back as soon as we can."

"And we'll beat this thing."

Hope offered a nod - and a smile - toward her brothers. With a final wave - and a "good luck" - she watched the boys swim ashore.

She took a deep breath of her own. "If anyone knows a way out of this, it's Grandma and Grandpa."