Chapter Text
Michele was a merman on a mission. He propelled himself through the water, his violet-colored tail shimmering in the moonlight that managed to penetrate through the murky depths. He swam as quickly as he could, Sara’s words echoing over and over in his head.
“You’ve rejected every suitor I’ve had. The least you can do is give me some alone time to enjoy my hobbies.”
“Not when your hobbies include swimming around old shipwrecks and going to the surface,” he’d barked back. “It’s safer for you here. I can’t protect you up there!”
“Maybe I don’t need your protection!” She drew back, her inky hair billowing around her head. “I’m not every mermaid in the sea, Michele Crispino!” she shouted, dark brows drawn down in anger. “I don’t need you looking after me every moment.”
“Sara-”
“Just…take a swim and cool your head.” And then she was gone, her form a mere silhouette in the vast blue surrounding him.
Michele knew he shouldn’t have yelled at her. Sara had always held an interest in the world above. Their parents had, too, he reminded himself bitterly. And they had paid the ultimate price because of it.
He shook his head, blinking back the heat that had begun to build behind his eyes. He wouldn’t let his baby sister end up on the end of a fisherman’s hook just because he was too proud to apologize. He’d simply find her, admit he was wrong – even though he knew he was right – and then take her back home to the reef.
Now he just needed to catch her.
Sara was a fast swimmer. Their father had always said so. Michele had been a late bloomer and tended to latch onto their mother whenever they traveled between settlements, since the long distance was too much for his shorter tail. But, at twenty-two years old, his body had finally caught up, and he should have been able to catch up with her no problem.
And yet…she was still nowhere to be found.
Panic gripped Michele’s chest, stealing away his breath. What if Sara, defiant and stubborn as she was, went to the surface to spite him and had gotten herself caught in a net? Or, worse…harpooned?
He’d seen the remnants of the crude human weapons in his sister’s collection. Sharp. Vile. Deadly.
Once again, he shook the thought, moving ever faster through the water until he saw something up above. A silhouette.
“Sara,” he gasped, gills flaring. Then he was off, his mighty tail moving back and forth in an effort to reach her sooner. But he stopped when a much larger shadow passed over them, covering her completely.
A ship.
Everything inside of Michele told him to flee. Ships meant humans. Humans meant nets. And nets meant certain death. But he couldn’t very well leave his baby sister in the hands of those barbarians. No. He’d sworn to protect her. She was all he had left.
Without a second thought, Michele pressed on, swallowing down the fear that rose up in his throat like bile. He could no longer see her, so he closed his eyes, calling out to her. But she didn’t respond.
He had no choice. He needed to find her and so, filled with trepidation, he made his way to the surface.
The air felt quite a bit warmer than he’d expected. The last time he was out of the protection of the water, it had been terribly cold and his tears, a salty wetness on his cheeks, had frozen in place as he opened his mouth in a hoarse scream, willing their parents to come back to them. Of course, they never did.
This air was warm, almost thick, and when he opened his mouth, it tasted like the sea. Remembering himself, he looked around, immediately spotting the ship just ahead. And then, he saw Sara.
“Mio Dio.” His gills fluttered. She was hanging off the side of the ship!!
Michele dove forward, practically skimming the water in his haste to reach her. But, when he arrived at the ship’s barnacle-encrusted side, she was gone again. He glanced up at where she’d once been. Golden light poured out of a small hole above. He was certain she couldn’t have fit through it, but just to be sure…
He reached out with a shaky hand, his body bobbing on the waves created by the large vessel. He swallowed and placed his palm against the side. It was wet and rough, with grooves that looked like they were designed for climbing. Sometimes, when the water pressure was getting to be too much, they’d use coral to go deeper and hunt for food, he and Sara both giggling at how lightheaded they’d become. But he’d never climbed up before.
Still, the memory of Sara’s laughing face made him brave. Michele placed his other hand a little higher, his fingers dipping into the groove, and he began scaling the side of the boat.
He wondered how Sara had managed to get up so high. He was struggling. His tail dangled uselessly behind him and his arms felt like jelly. He never had this much trouble moving around in the water. Still, he pushed onward until finally, finally, he made it to the glowing circle. It was larger than he originally thought, but still too small to fit through.
Michele leaned forward, wondering what Sara had been looking at. And then he saw them.
Humans.
Dozens of them. Maybe a hundred. He reared back and nearly fell, but he managed to catch himself and duck down, his eyes returning to the beasts before him.
Only… Only they didn’t look like the murderous demons who’d stolen their parents long ago. None of them held any weapons and they were all…smiling. And…and laughing.
Michele furrowed his brow and then drew back when one walked right in front of his porthole.
“Happy Birthday again, Princess Mila!” someone cheered and then the entire lot of them erupted in loud noises, slapping their hands together and making a deafening sound. Michele winced, but didn’t shy away.
“Okay, okay. That’s enough.” A young woman with hair like bright coral stepped into view. “Has Yakov gone to bed?” she asked and someone nodded. “Oh, good. Perhaps we can throw this thing overboard.” She gestured toward a large statue that Michele couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed before. It looked very much like her, except the statue was wearing a flowing garment that hid its legs, while the human princess wore the same clothing as the men around her.
“Come now, Princess, it’s not so bad.” A man walked over to her and Michele eyed him curiously. He looked young, but he was quite tall. Though, Michele was certain, with his tail, he would tower over him. “I think it will make a fine doorstop.” He laughed and the others joined in, including the princess.
“Emil, if you like it all that much, you can have it.” She popped her foot and bowed low, presenting the gift with wide arms.
“I didn’t say that.” He chuckled and stroked his short beard.
That was something else that interested Michele. He was definitely older than the man with the sunny smile and infectious laugh, but he had yet to begin growing facial hair. He rubbed his chin ruefully and then scowled.
Humans.
Well, he’d seen enough. Sara obviously wasn’t up there, so he needed to find her and take her home. He turned to leave, but suddenly he heard Emil’s voice again, only much closer. He was right above him!
“Did you see that?” he called, one of his shins nearly brushing Michele’s nose. “Down there!”
“What is it?” Mila asked, moving closer. Michele gripped onto the side of the ship for dear life, praying they wouldn’t see him.
“There’s a girl in the water,” Emil said, sounding panicked.
“That can’t be.” Another human came up next to them. “We haven’t seen another ship for ages.”
“No, I saw her!” Emil reasoned. “There!”
Michele chanced a glance and nearly cried when he spotted Sara’s head bobbing in the dark water below. ‘Go!’ he mouthed to her, waving an arm wildly before hissing, ‘They’ve seen you!’
His sister opened her mouth to retort, but froze, her eyes going wide. Michele wondered what had shocked her so, but then he heard the human princess scream, “Emil, no!” followed by a splash.
No. He’d gone after Sara.
“Someone ready the dinghy!” another human shouted.
Michele had no time to waste. He pushed himself away from the ship’s side and dove into the water. He wasn’t prepared for how cold it felt compared to the warm, muggy air, but he didn’t dwell on it. He swam forward, toward a flurry of bubbles just ahead. When they cleared, he saw his baby sister clutching onto the human who’d gone after her.
“Sara, get away from him!” he screeched before ripping them apart. Then he grabbed her arm and pulled her away.
“Mickey, wait-”
“This is why we stay away from the surface,” he reprimanded, ignoring the way she tried to wriggle out of his grasp. “He saw you and immediately jumped in to-”
“Save me!” she finished for him and Michele paused, releasing her wrist and turning wide eyes on her.
“What?”
“He was trying to save me,” she explained. “He said something about a girl drowning and then dove in…” She trailed off, looking over Michele’s shoulder. He followed her gaze and saw the human, dropping lower into the depths, one last, large bubble escaping his lips. “Mickey-”
“Diavolo!” he cursed, guilt flooding his chest. He hated the way it felt. “Stay here,” he ordered and swam over to the sinking human. Emil, he remembered. Not that it mattered. He hoisted him up, grabbing him under the armpits, and swam for the surface.
Michele didn’t want to risk being seen, so he shoved the human up with his tail, vaguely registering Emil’s choked gasp before he took off and back toward Sara. He glanced behind him just in time to see Emil begin to sink again, but this time, several arms plunged in after him, gripping his shirt and pulling him up and out of the water.
He was safe.
Michele flared his gills and swallowed.
“Mickey…”
He turned to face his sister.
“You saved his life.”
Michele sneered and wrinkled his nose. “I was just repaying him the favor.”
Sara, who was always quick to bounce back, gave him a knowing look, but he brushed her off.
“Let’s go.” The sooner they got back to the reef, the sooner he could forget about this whole ordeal. And the sooner he forgot about it, the better.