How? How did I even end up in this situation? This is the last time I ever do an errand for my sister. It might be the last time I do anything at all if these barbarians decide to behead me.
My sister requested a pastry that is famous up on land. Since she is not allowed on the surface, she asked me to deliver it. Me, wanting to be a good mermaid, said yes. Idiot, because now I am tied up for the second time, on a surprisingly clean ship with a bunch of pirates pointing swords at my neck for something I did not do.
Let me explain how I got here, to begin with. I paid for the pastry and was minding my own business. I was walking down the sidewalk when some bandits come out of nowhere from an ally way. They were going to rob me but saw that I did not have money and only had a pastry in hand.
They ditched the plan of robbing when they saw my face. A girl cannot look cute these days. They swapped that plan out with their plan B. Raping me. I was tied up with rope that seemed to have appeared from thin air. I could not defend myself because mermaids are not exactly taught what to do in these situations.
It is a strict rule to not be on the surface, to begin with. The only reason I was allowed to come up from down below was that I was trusted. As a mermaid who has only been on the surface once or twice, I had no defense mechanisms. I never liked humanity nor was I fascinated by it like The Little Mermaid.
They are all barbaric creatures. These bandits just prove my point. I have heard of the atrocities that happen up here all that time yet here I am. Tied up and about to be sexually harassed. It was not until they ripped up my white button-up shirt and unbuckled my pants, that a pirate came to my aid.
Not that he was any better. Yes, he beat up the bandits which I am thankful for, and untied me, but what he did was just as bad. He not only ate the pastry that I spent my hard begged money on, but he dared to throw me over his shoulder. I asked him what he was doing and you know what his response was?
"Capturing you of course. You think I saved a filthy thief out of the kindness of my heart?" he said with a peal of mocking laughter. I proceeded to ask him what he was talking about, but he just told me to stop acting stupid.
I groaned, accepting my fate.
He took me back to his crew and ship. I was dumped on their wood-tiled deck. I was tied again which made me wonder what the point was of the guy removing the rope that the bandits had previously tied me with. Now I am being questioned.
"Where did you hide the jewel?"
"Ugh! How many times do I have to tell you idiots that I do not have your stupid jewel?! I do not even know what you people are talking about!" I huffed growing annoyed with the repeated question.
"You're in no position to insult anybody." the pirate who took me here said.
"It is not an insult if it is true. Could I at least get some decent clothes?" I asked since the only thing that covered me were my black bra, pants, and boots. I can thank the bandits for that.
"You ain't getting nothin out of us until you give us our jewel back!" I actually wondered if humans could get any denser than what I have witnessed today. With a groan, I leaned against the rims of the ship.
"We'll see what our captain has to say about this."
"Yes, maybe he or she will not be as dull-witted as you buffoons!" I shout. Hopefully, this captain of theirs will put some sense in their brains.
"Who dares insult, my crew, on my own ship?" Just that sentence alone tells me I will not have much luck with this 'captain'.
"ME! I dare because your "crew" has thrown me on this ship like a sack of potatoes, tied me up, accused me of stealing some damn jewel, and then have the gulls not get me a decent shirt! So, I said it and I will say it again. You people are BUFFOONS! And very inconsiderate may I add."
It was only after I stopped my rant that I got a good look at the captain. He is a fine pearl I will tell you that. He had long hazel hair that stopped mid-eye, light brown eyes, no facial hair which came as a surprise since pirates were known to be unhygienic, a white button-up shirt, and jean pants that scrunched up at the bottom from the brown boots he was wearing.
I would repeat this day all over again if it meant that I could see this fine man. He is a handsome man without a doubt with his muscles, chiseled jaw, and cute dimples, but this does not keep from the fact his crew has kidnapped me.
His looks just make the entire situation more bearable. He chuckles at my comment. The sexiest chuckle I have ever heard I may add. It is husky and deep. The sound makes butterflies appear in my stomach.
"You are a feisty one. Cute." He grins and bends down since I am on the floor so we can be at eye level. We stare at each other for two minutes and I wonder if he is going to do anything. "Get this lovely lady a nice dress Sia."
He stands up and turns, taking a dress from a blond-haired person named Sia. I raise my eyebrow and signal to the ropes on my hands and legs. "Sia will bring you into her room and change you. Do not try anything you will regret."
He gives Sia the dress back and she comes up to me to pull me up by my arm. We make our way into a hallway that starts in the middle of the ship and descends with stairs leading down to another hallway with doors lined up. We walk towards the end of the hallway and turn to the door on our right. She pulls out a key and unlocks her door.
She looks at me for a moment before cutting the ropes that have been tied around me with a knife that was in her room.
"I am sorry for the guys. They do not know how to properly treat a lady. I am unfortunately the only woman on the ship so they have forgotten their manners though I try to enforce it from time to time."
I huffed "Obviously. Never in my life have I been treated this poorly." I rub my wrist where the ropes had just been.
I start to strip until all there is left is my underwear. That did not take long, again, thanks to those bandits. I look into Sia's beautiful turquoise eyes. Her hair is put up into a messy bun and she is wearing a green and white dress with a corset that wraps around her waist and ties in the back. She also wears ankle-length boots/
It is short-sleeved, unlike the one she has given me. My dress looks more like a maiden's dress. One suited for a pirate. The dress has frills at the top and frills on the end of the sleeve. The sleeves stop at my wrist.
It comes with something that looks like a dark blue corset dress. It is sewn over the white dress.
It is an off-the-shoulder dress. It honestly looks beautiful. My light blue hair drops to my ankles in its natural waves and curls when I pull it out from the dress. And my light blue, silver, eyes shine brightly. My long lashes make them pop.
These colors are not anything special. When you are a mermaid, extravagant colors like pink, purple, blue, white, and so on are natural. It is the monotone colors like brown and black that are uncommon.
My hair falls in different shades of blue. A darker part of light blue and then an even lighter light blue that shines like a diamond in the sun. Multiple shades are fairly common. Your hair needs to be shiny to locate one another in the dark sea. Our hair glows when we are mermaids, but dulls when we are out of water.
I put my boots back on and look at myself in the floor-length mirror. Not to toot my own horn, but I look radiant. Okay, maybe not radiant, but close enough to it. We mermaids are known for our beauty. If you were to see all of Oceana, I would look dull compared to everyone and everything else there. My friend Mitzy, has the most beautiful shades of purple in her hair. Combine that with her dark purple to light purple to light pink tail along with its designs and you have beauty right there.
As I said, I look dull compared to everyone and everything else there. To humans though I would look like a goddess.
I am not being arrogant that is just the reality. All of us mermaids do.
"You look stunning love," Sia says from behind me. I smile and we make our way out of the room.
We return to the top of the deck, back to the men. They look at me in awe. I feel like a princess.
"You look gorgeous." Their captain says. "I know. Care to explain to me what I am doing here?" It was rude of me to brush off his compliment like that, but I was fed up with the events of today.
"We were robbed. More specifically we were robbed by a blue-haired beauty." So, my looks are what got me in this mess, again.
I am nearly raped for looking good and now I am being accused of theft because I have blue hair. Honestly, how many blue-haired girls are out here? As far as I know, that is uncommon for humans. What genetics did that person's parents have? That does not matter since I am not the culprit these men are looking for.
"That sounds very much like a personal problem since I was the one who did not steal your precious jewel. I would have no use for it." I say with my arms crossed on my chest.
"Oh, really because it is looking very much like a problem for the both of us considering you match the description, and until we find another suspect or you to be innocent you are stuck with us."
I scoffed. You must be kidding. My jaw fell to the floor. This was ridiculous! "What would I get for that jewel? I have no reason to steal it." I am trying to get them to see the idiocy behind this entire operation. "You have no money. The jewel can be traded for a bunch of money."
When he puts it like that, I do have a motive. "What if I get you another jewel?" I try to reason with him. "HA! Where would you find a jewel as costly as that one? Especially with the limited time, we have to trade it in." Oceana has gems, stones, and jewels that are worthless to us but priceless to humans. The captain does not know this though. If anyone did, Oceana would be infested with these roaches that are called humans.
A mermaid itself is already worth a fortune. "The ocean has priceless treasures. I will find you one."
"We are not letting you out of our sight. What are the chances that you would come across a jewel like that at the shore?" Pretty high. I groan and huff. I will just have to jump overboard in the middle of the night if push comes to shove.
"Well in that case I would love to eat. Someone ate my pastry." I emphasize 'someone' and glare at the pirate who brought me here. The pastry was not for me to begin with, but that is not the point. "A woman who likes to eat! I like that!" One of the guys howl. This is going to be a long day. I roll my eyes and turn to the hallway I saw the kitchen in when I was being escorted to Sia's room.