Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Vi was never a patient person.

But here she didn’t have a choice. 

After all the years she’s spent behind these bars, in a cold damp cell, on an isolated island, taking the beatings (and doing some beatings of her own). Forced to wait if the gallows was to be her future or prolonged for someone’s sick enjoyment. 

Forced to be patient. 

Though that didn’t mean she ever was any good at being patient.

She sighed, hot breath escaping her lips as a puff of fog, her fingers tapping her arm anxiously.

Tonight however, she closed her eyes and steeled her nerves.

Tonight she had to be patient.

Vi huddled up in her usual corner, the furthest away from the small square shaped hole facing the outside world with more bars obstructing any chance of escape though its size was far too small to even fit her head through but plenty big enough to let the cold breeze accompanied by a light mist of rain.

Any other night like this she would curse any gods that would bother to listen, forced to sleep through the freezing cold stone under her, hoping the wind wouldn’t shift and send rain straight through her window. 

But not tonight, this time she smiled at her fortune behind her arms as she hugged her knees tight to her chest to fight the chill.

Finally after months of planning, a single moment of luck has come to this. 

Granted at the time she wasn’t feeling very lucky. 

One day, she grumbled something not so savory under her breath as a guard passed by that unfortunately was just loud enough to be heard. What followed was a particularly violent beating, with a rifle no less. He did make a point to put her in irons before doing so of course.

The butt of the rifle cracked across her face she couldn’t see out of her left eye for weeks, she’s fairly confident her ankle will never be the same and finished off with the belligerent angry guard holding the gun by the barrel and slamming it over her back with enough force to break the long stock to pieces, sending them scattering around her cell as she blacked out.

It took a few guards to grab the man and pull him off of her, though they did watch for a moment before deciding to jump in and intervene. 

When Vi woke up, she couldn’t move, blood pooling out of her mouth, bones aching and yet she could make out the faint outline of a metal barrel under the stringy pile of wet hay meant to be her bed. 

For the first time in years, she smiled.

And for the months that followed she chipped away at the walls, listening for any noise to cover the sound of her slamming the metal into stone leaving chunks of rock or even the smallest pebbles to collect at her feet. New additions being dragged into cells, she waited for their screams, prisoners being whipped as per their sentence, she recognized each guard with the rhythm of the crack of the whip. Any chance she had, the metal barrel, now bent beyond recognition of once being a gun, was pounded relentlessly in desperation for freedom.

Any evidence of her escape was thrown out of her window, metal rod hidden back under the hay and there was none the wiser. 

As of a few days ago she saw sunlight, the faintest brush of the ocean breeze coming from the hole she had been working on. Fire in her belly and hope in her heart she knew she was close. 

And now a storm was coming, if her luck continued, perhaps it would come with thunder. 

Something loud enough to conceal stronger strikes at the stone.  

“Please please please…” she whispered to herself, keeping her eyes on the sky, watching intently as the clouds rolled, rain pelting her bars as  she listened to the howling wind, for once in her life, hoping it would get worse,”I need to find her.”

It was distant, for a moment she mistook it for the waves angrily crashing against the island’s shore but a faint rumbling shook the sky in the distance. 

Vi immediately jumped to her feet, sliding over to the hay pile and desperately clawing it all away to grab the metal rod and reveal the weakened spot on the wall.

Gripping the bar in both hands, holding it at the ready she waited. 

Time to be patient. 

The sky lit up, and Vi grinned wildly, bringing down the bar against the stone with her full strength in time with the roar of thunder.

“SOUND THE ALARM. PRISONER IS ESCAPING”

Vi was laughing.

Such a foreign noise to even herself but she couldn’t help it. 

The storm was intensifying by the minute, aggressive winds made the rain feel like needles to the skin forcing the outside guard to retreat inside for shelter making it all the easier for Vi to untie a small dingy boat and be well on her way. 

“Who is stupid enough to try and escape out in weather like this?”

“Number 516…Violet Lanes?”

The Warden snorted,”Ah, of course I should have guessed. Let her go, we’ll track her down tomorrow.”

“Sir?”

Still she laughed, despite being soaked to the bone, freezing beyond comprehension, but she was escaping without throwing a single punch.

However, her amusement did not last.

“Assuming she survives this, she can’t get far and if not, we’re collecting a body.” 

Although the storm may have been her salvation it may also be her doom as now she was being pelted by rain, rocked by waves and blinded by darkness save for the occasional lightning to silhouette incoming waves pushing her further and further away from land. 

“I would rather die out here like my father than rotting away in a cell!” she screamed defiantly at the island slowly disappearing into the darkness.

With both hands holding tight to the oars, she rowed against the waves and away from her prison.

She was always a curious one. 

Something her mother has insisted it would be the end of her. 

But it hasn’t happened yet and to be honest what else was she expected to do when a single tiny boat is found adrift in the middle of the ocean?

Chapter Text

Something was tugging at her shirt.

Vi grumbled, blindly swatting at the intruder before falling back to an uncomfortable sleep.

By some utter miracle Vi’s boat remained upright all night.

Fighting exhaustion and determined to make her suffering mean something, Vi stayed awake, rowing furiously against the storm until it dissipated.

Something wet and yet soft gently traced the rounded edges of the tattoos along her neck, earning another grunt and this time she aggressively shifted to lie on her side away from the foreign contact. As soon as the waves calmed and rain ceased Vi promptly tucked the oars back into her tiny vessel and promptly passed out. The fear of another rogue wave or being left vulnerable to the elements was not enough to fight her exhaustion.

Draping an arm over her face to block stray drops of rain she succumbed to slumber. After years of sleeping on wet hay and solid stone, a wooden boat adrift in the middle of the ocean wasn’t any better but not worse. A voice hummed softly in curiosity behind her before the weight shifted in such a way that caused the small boat adrift at sea to tilt slightly to one side before settling once again.

At this Vi finally did open her eyes, or at least attempted to, the bright sun nearly directly above her now had sapped her dry of energy in her sleep. Realizing too late she had been baking in the sun for far too long now even more exhausted than she was before.

Vi groaned pathetically, flopping over to lie on her back, her eyes fighting to open so she could curse those sky gods properly once again but found herself no longer alone.

Blinking furiously through the haze of exhaustion she could barely make out the faint outline of a person’s head resting on a pair of arms, crossed over the edge of her boat. Just staring at her.

“...Uh…Hello…?” Vi gently called out, her voice groggy and weak.

The woman tilted her head curiously down at her.

“Hello.”

Seconds of awkward silence passed until the realization kicked in.

Vi now suddenly remembering where she was, which was in a boat.

In the middle of the ocean.

And there was a person here. Outside of said boat.

Vi instantly sat up, possibly too fast as her head rang in pain, she groaned for a moment but returned to the task at hand, turning to her surprise guest,”H-hey wait a second what are you doing out here?”

The woman continued to stare blankly.

Vi stood up, albeit shaking at first as her knees struggled to wake up with the rest of her,“Come on, I’ll help you up!”

Now the woman backed away, dropping her arms back into the ocean she stared up at Vi in utter confusion and strangely, amusement as Vi reached out and offered an outstretched hand. “Grab my hand, trust me I got you.”

The mystery woman remained silent, just sitting in the water bouncing with the waves unbothered as her gaze glanced from Vi’s hand to those tired eyes still heavy from exhaustion before a small smile graced the woman’s features, hiding her teeth.

She reached up and took Vi’s hand.

With little to no effort Vi hoisted the woman upwards and straight into her arms, much to the surprise of said woman who yelped and instinctively grabbed onto Vi’s shoulders.

Water splashed into the boat and the weight shifted but Vi’s sea legs kept her straight up which became somewhat of a sobering moment as Vi could now see this woman in her arms was incredibly stunning.

“Uh…hi,” Vi forced out a nervous laugh, aware of the awkward situation now as they were face to face and eye level with the most intense blue eyes Vi had ever seen.

Her long blue hair sopping wet clung to her bare shoulders and draped over Vi’s forearm that struggled to remain polite while holding the woman’s back, also bare. Meaning she was now holding a completely naked woman and Vi forced herself to look this woman in the eyes and nowhere else.

“Hi,” the woman replied plainly.

But as Vi held the woman, struggling to get a proper grip she quickly realized it was due to the fact that the woman was, in fact, slippery.

While one hand felt the silky smooth skin of her pale back, the other hand felt the unmistakable texture of scales.

Vi finally looked down, where the light skin at her naval slowly faded into iridescent dark blue scales that shimmered in the sunlight and continued on, and on.

“Oh.”

Her eyes followed until she reached the end where the tip of the tail was barely grazing the surface of the water. Nearly six feet in length tail alone.

“Oh I see now.”

Vi slowly followed the tail back up to those eyes, finding the mystery woman smiling, exposing a row of sharp teeth behind those thin lips.

“I have made a very terrible mistake.”

A beat of silence passed.

Then Vi promptly threw the mermaid overboard.

The woman once again yelped in surprise and landed with a splash as Vi dropped back into her boat and frantically grabbed her oars. Exhaustion from the night prior was long gone as pure adrenaline fueled her body into panic mode.

“Shit shit shit shit shit-” she hissed under her breath, slipping a couple of times before getting the oars into position to begin rowing away.

By all accounts she should be dead by now, she should be surrounded by a pack of them, circling her vessel like sharks and tearing her to pieces. It was a miracle so far and one she had no plans on seeing just where her luck would run out.

But Vi only managed to get three good rows in before the water exploded upwards in front of her as a very pissed off mermaid lunged out of the sea, claws forward and jaw unhinged; she lept straight back into the boat and landed right into Vi’s lap.

Vi raised her fist, ready to fight for her life but the mermaid was faster, climbing over her body and bringing sharp nails to Vi’s neck, snarling with strangely cold breath across her cheek.

“Don’t. Move.”

And so Vi froze.

Just a single breath away was the scourge of the seas, lucky sailors would live out their days never seeing one.

When moments ago the mermaid took the form of a beautiful woman with stunning eyes and an innocent smile, the creature in her lap now had a mouth full of shark-like teeth and black eyes. Sharp fins along her arms and back stood at attention, vibrating slightly as she hissed.

How easy it is to trick a lonely sailor into their death before they reveal their true forms.

Vi gulped, watching in equal parts horror and fascination as the monster slowly shifted back into the gorgeous woman that lured her into a false sense of security. The razor sharp teeth slipped back into perfectly normal human pearly whites, those beautiful eyes returned and claws retracted into slender fingers that reached out and gently cupped Vi’s face.

“Six?”

Vi blinked back in confusion,“...what?”

“On your face,” the mermaid started, the pad of her thumb brushing across the tattoo just under her eye,“Why do you have the number six on your skin?”

“...it’s Vi.”

A curious eyebrow raised,“What?” “V..I…my name is…Vi.”

“Why…did you write your own name on your face?”

Vi was frozen, awkwardly smashed between the edge of her boat and the full weight of a mermaid against her chest, her hands gripping the sides of the boat to keep herself steady fearing any sudden movement would prompt an angry response,“I…uh”

“Did you think you’d forget? Or maybe others would forget?”

“Well I mean…”

“But then surely I can’t be the first one to be mistaken that it's a number instead of a name.”

Vi struggled to keep up, still stuck on the fact that she had no idea mermaids could speak in the first place and now she was being criticized for her tattoo choices,“Y-yeah but that’s not-”

“And while we are on the subject how does it stay?” she asks as she rubs the mark with her thumb again with enough force like a mother would with a stubborn stain on a child’s cheek. Vi had to close her eyes and mutter ‘ow ow stop ow’,“No matter what I do the markings remain…”

“I am so uncomfortable right now…”

But Vi’s protests are ignored as the mermaid’s eyes turn to the gears on Vi’s neck,“Are you born like this? Like spots on a seal? That would explain why it doesn’t taste any different than those without it…”

Vi gulped, freezing in place as those deceptively soft hands traced her tattoos against the side of her throat,“…I hate everything about this.”

“Would also explain why someone wouldn’t be foolish enough to put their own name on their face. That’s ridiculous,” the mermaid laughed incredulously. “What…is happening right now.”

“Is that why your parents named you Vi? Because you had it on your face?”

“Can…can I ask why I’m not dead right now? I’m incredibly confused and honestly, quite terrified.”

The mermaid tore her eyes from the ink along Vi’s skin and pushed herself upwards to face her, apparently unfamiliar with personal space as Vi, still frozen in place, felt droplets of sea water fall from the mermaid’s nose onto her chest.

“I’ve never had a human to myself before,” she states very matter of factly. A fact Vi makes a mental note of, she could take on one mermaid right?

“And I have questions that I’ve always been curious about,” the mermaid’s face fell into a small scowl, her finger jabbing Vi’s shoulder,“Questions that you are failing to answer might I add.”

Vi gulped nervously but forced out a polite smile,“Long shot but any chance I make it out of here alive if I answer said questions?”

But the mermaid shook her head,“Not likely, you did throw me.”

“You startled me! I think I’m entitled to be a little shocked!”

“I suppose but unfortunately I haven’t eaten in awhile and here you are.”

Vi groaned, dropping her head backwards with a loud thunk against the edge of the boat in frustration.

It took her months to escape prison, her hands were covered in thick calluses, tearing into solid stone piece by piece with nothing but a broken barrel of metal and the prospect of seeing her family one day.

All of the pain, the stress, the beatings, the storm, all of it, to just end here at the claws of a mermaid that wanted to play with her food before biting down.

With a long sigh Vi lifted her head, ready to make her case for at least a quick death before something on the horizon caught her eye.

Once again, her luck continued to surprise her with curses and blessings.

A ship was headed in her direction.

All she needed was time.

“So…so wait a second, if I’m going to die anyway, why don’t you go ahead and ask what you’d like to know!” Vi smiled, hoping the sweat across her brow wasn’t too noticeable.

But the mermaid’s eyes narrowed dangerously,“Your tune changed rather drastically.”

“You said chances were this wouldn’t happen again right?”

“...yes, I did say that.”

“Why is that?”

“Well traditionally we like to hunt in packs.”

VI nodded her head enthusiastically, her eyes shooting quick glances behind the mermaid to check on the ship’s trajectory,“Uh huh, tell me more!”

“Hold on, the point of this was to ask you questions!” the mermaid hissed, continuing to jab her finger into Vi’s shoulder in annoyance.

“Right right so sorry miss…uh,” Vi paused probably longer than she should have. She could see the patience in those intense eyes dwindling away,” What is your name?”

“Caitlyn.” she growled through her teeth, but Vi stared at her stupidly, which was not helping with the situation.

“…really?”

“What’s wrong with Caitlyn?”

“It just sounds like a very human name.”

“At least I don’t have my name on my face.”

“Oh my god will you drop that?!”

“Are you going to answer literally any questions I have?” Caitlyn’s eyes darkened, sharp nails growing from her fingers grazing Vi’s throat.

“Right ok fire away! Whatever you’d like to know! I’m an open book of human-y wisdom!” she laughed, spotting the ship turning just enough to make a direct line towards her. There was no way they didn’t spot her, a single dinghy boat alone in the middle of the ocean, she just had to survive long enough to climb aboard.

“Great so the markings?” Caitlyn, again not one for personal space, pulled Vi’s shirt open just enough to expose her neck and shoulder tattoos. The suddenness of it all brought a surprising blush to Vi’s cheeks, it was bad enough this very naked and wet fish woman was in her lap pulling at her clothes but the ever present looming danger created a mental battle Vi couldn’t begin to comprehend how to feel.

“I’ve never been more confused in my life…”

“Are you going to answer my question or am I wasting my time here?”

“N-no no! I uh, these are tattoos and I got them willingly,” she says, quickly, cautiously bringing her arms forward, releasing her death grip on the boat to roll up her sleeves and reveal more ink.

The distraction seemed to work as the mermaid’s eyes sparkled in fascination, immediately grabbing onto her forearms and running delicate fingers along her skin, tracing the patterns.

Vi quickly took this moment to glance upwards, finding the ship still headed straight towards her and freedom would soon be within her grasp.

“Beautiful…”

Vi’s head snaps back to the situation at hand, Caitlyn had mumbled so quietly Vi nearly missed it.

Once again the woman’s eyes narrowed, her gentle caresses turning into rough rubbing to see if the black markings would disappear under her hands but once again, it remained.

“...how?”

“Well..there was this one guy in prison and he…well I guess the easiest way to explain it is I was stabbed with ink. A lot.”

A long moment of silence sat heavy between the two save for the hiss of the waves and gentle breeze around them as the mermaid slowly lifted her head and stared at Vi with complete and utter shock.

“What.”

“What?”

“You willingly? Stabbed yourself? With Ink? To what end?”

“What? I like them!”

“You have your own name stabbed into your face!”

Vi groaned in frustration, pulling her arm out of Caitlyn’s grasp, taking a quick moment to look back up to find the ship’s sails being lifted and an anchor being dropped.

“Listen, I didn’t escape a hell hole prison, survive a storm out on the sea just to get insulted by fish in the morning.”

Caitlyn blinked back in surprise,”How dare y-”

“And while today has been incredibly informative, I gotta say I did learn a very important piece of information!”

Before Caitlyn could react, Vi pushed herself up, taking the mermaid with her by the waist and stood up, hoisting the mermaid over her head.

“Mermaids are really light!” she laughed, before throwing Caitlyn as hard as she could back out into the sea from once she came.

Vi waved her arms wildly over her head, flagging the ship down as it slowly approached.

It wouldn’t be long before Caitlyn would come back and seek vengeance.

“Hey! Hey over here! I’m right he-” But Vi’s words died on her lips as her eyes trailed further upwards towards the mast.

Finding the familiar colors being flown as the Stillwater prison.

And the ever so unique silhouette of a large man and the wide grin of a cocky Warden, politely waving back.

“….oh…for fucks sake…” she sighed,” Can today get any worse?!”

A horrific snarl followed by the splash of water sent Vi straight down, ducking just in time to narrowly miss an extremely angry mermaid lunging out at her.

“Oh come on! Am I even worth it now!?” Vi screamed, arming herself with an oar as Caitlyn, eyes fully black and fins sharp circled back hissing.

“To eat? No. Shred to pieces? Yes.”

Vi now had a choice to make, to which way she’d like to end things.

Last night she proudly boasted desiring an honorable death at sea though she never thought that would include a violent end at the teeth of a mermaid.

On the other hand she could let the Warden recapture her although they’ve never been lenient with runaway prisoners in the past and she doubts he would change that now. There’s a reason when the Warden fetches escapees he never seems to return with them.

The massive ship slowed to a halt pushing waves that sent Vi’s dinghy boat rocking uncontrollably, nearly throwing her out, much to the amusement of the Warden whose laugh could be heard over the waves and creaking wood of his ship.

“Good morning 516! I hope you had a relaxing evening,” he nodded, tipping his hat.

“Oh Warden! Fancy seeing you way out here! I hope you didn’t travel all this way for little ol me?”

Vi laughed all the while violently smacking the surface of the water with the oar in a poor attempt to keep the mermaid away that slinked under the water, circling the boat awaiting an opening. She does manage to land a single strike straight onto Caitlyn’s head, cracking the oar slightly.

Caitlyn groaned, swimming away just out of oar’s reach to lift her head out of the water and snarl, rubbing her head.

“AWAY WITH YOU!” Vi shrieked, waving the weapon like an angry monkey.

The Warden let out a hearty laugh, shaking his head, leaning over the banister enjoying the hysterical show before him.

“Come along, we are here to take ya home.”

“You know I think I’ll take my chances with my new friend here!” Vi smacked the water again,“Isn’t she cute?! Honestly she’s sweet as a cupcake once you get to know her!” she laughed nervously, slapping the water blindly after losing sight of her. Hands reached out from the depths and grabbed onto the side of Vi’s tiny vessel, yanking it downward, capsizing the boat and sending Vi flying overboard. She barely hit the water before Caitlyn jumped up and right on top of her, claws digging into her shirt as she pushed Vi deeper beneath the waves.

The freezing water shocked Vi’s hot skin after sitting in the sun all morning, but the light illuminating the surface was becoming distant as the dark depths consumed her.

Losing grip on her only weapon, Vi blindly reached out, holding her forearm underneath Caitlyn’s chin, keeping her sharp fangs at bay though unable to stop the claws from wildly lashing out, tearing into her chest and shoulders. Red wisps of blood drift away into the sea, it’s scent seems to enrage the mermaid more. Desperately pushing against Vi’s strong grip, craving flesh in between her gnashing teeth.

Vi felt her lungs giving out, unable to hold her breath any longer.

Legs tangled up in that long tail, tight enough to stop the mermaid from swimming down any further, Vi grabbed what she could to pull the mermaid closer, her chest against Caitlyn’s back into a tight grapple, pinning her arms and staying clear of that mouth full of teeth. Perhaps she could drown before being torn to shreds, if she had to pick her death of choice based on what she had to work with.

Wrestling the violent mermaid to keep her still, as the last of air escaped Vi’s lips. The last of her strength dwindled away as the darkness around the edges of her vision claimed her.

At the very least, she knew her sister was out there somewhere. Alive and free.

But just moments before unconsciousness took her Vi felt something heavy drop on top of her, then around her.

Caitlyn wiggled out of her weakened grasp, quickly swimming away but didn’t get far as a massive fishermen’s net scooped the two up in one fell swoop.

Vi would later claim that perhaps the mysterious light at the end of the tunnel was real, but it was truly just her body being yanked forcibly to the surface. From the dark depths of the ocean back up to the blinding light of the morning sun.

“Well done lads, two fer one!” The Warden laughed.

The moment fresh air touched her skin Vi turned over throwing up sea water, coughing violently to catch her breath but given no time to process her surroundings as she found herself tangled in a large net with a thrashing mermaid, hissing and snarling, clawing and biting at the rope that slowly pulled them over the ship’s deck.

Sailors reached out with hooks, tugging the net along bringing them onto solid ground.

“Welcome aboard ladies,” the Warden grinned, Vi unable to fight back as his sailors grabbed onto her arms and dragged her to kneel in front of him.

“Aw Warden-” Vi paused to cough, still struggling to breath but managed to sit back on her knees to look up and shoot him a deadly glare with a fake smile,”I didn’t think you cared this much.”

“Ah yes well unfortunately for your crimes you were given special orders to rot in prison,” he smiled, leaning down with a confident grin,”You don’t get an easy way out.”

Vi’s eye twitched but held it together as the activity on the ship caught her attention.

Sailors were filling buckets of sea water and taking it below deck, running with urgency.

Meanwhile Caitlyn let out a terrible snarl, thrashing against her restraints and a fish out of water her tail tangled around the net, she lashed out as any sailors with harpoons that got too close.

“As excited as I’m sure you are to return to your favorite cell, we need to make a quick stop to Zaun.”

At this Caitlyn freezes, her black eyes gone wide in recognition.

“I heard they’re willing to pay quite the coin for a live mermaid. Experiments or food who knows. So you’ll just be along for the ride, hope you don’t mind.”

But Vi just snorted,“Yeah sure, good luck with that,” she says, pointing to the poor sailor that had two fingers torn off by a single swipe of those claws.

“Oh well smartass, why don’t you make yourself useful, you two were getting pretty cozy with each other a minute ago,” he orders, giving Vi a swift kick forward sending her stumbling barely able to catch herself from falling flat on her face.

“Pervert…learn to give girls some privacy,” she spat back but fell quiet realizing she was now eye level with Caitlyn on the ground.

The mermaid was breathing heavily now, her fins and gills along her ears flaring in a panicked attempt to look bigger, exhausted from fighting the heavy rope that weighed her down and tightened her tail. Like a cornered animal her eyes darted around, flinching away at the slightest movement ready to fight back.

“Shut up and grab the fish before she dries out! We have accommodations waiting for the two of you.”

Caitlyn’s black eyes snapped upwards, glaring at the Warden and hissing in response.

To which, Vi had an idea.

“Pssst. Hey hey, listen to me,” Vi tried speaking in a harsh whisper, keeping her hands upwards in defense as she slowly stood up.

Caitlyn curled back away and snarled.

“Relax for a fucking second would you!?” Vi tried again, a little louder now standing she stepped forward and held her hand out. “Grab my hand,” Vi’s eyes wide and desperate, hoping Caitlyn would understand without speaking, while the Warden and his sailors watched on,“Trust me, I got you.”

A look of recognition flashed across those black eyes.

Looking around and finding herself surrounded by men with harpoons aimed at her, Caitlyn reached out, claws retracted and gently took Vi’s hand.

Vi was quick to pull her out of the net, yanking the heavy rope off of her tail she scooped the mermaid up into her arms.

“If we want to make it out of here alive you’re going to have to trust me,” she whispered in a low voice, adjusting her grip against slippery scales to cover her conversation,”Don’t change back, stay scary.”

With a huff, Caitlyn grumbled under her breath,“Gladly…”

She immediately swiped and growled as soon as a sailor took a step towards her, Vi nearly lost her grip on the angry woman but managed to keep her tight in her arms, pulling her close to her chest.

“Easy there lass, we don’t plan on damaging the merchandise. Let me show you to your new quarters, hm?”

With a mocking bow the Warden led the way down below deck.

“I’m going to eat him,” Caitlyn hissed under her breath.

Vi shot a glare at the men behind her, harpoons and guns pointed at her to urge her forward,“And I’ll help you…”

This being the ship of Stillwater prison below deck contained rows and rows of cramped cells with thick bars and heavy chains in each one, designed to carry many prisoners at once.

But as they weaved through the maze of cages Vi stopped in shock, finding an old porcelain tub inside one of the many prisons, the legs chained to the sides and full of sea water.

“Hope you don’t mind the accommodations, you’re lucky I had this old spare thing. It could have been a keg.”

Caitlyn’s jaw dropped, shooting a quick glance at Vi who looked equally horrified.

“This is cruel Warden, even for you.”

“Piss off and get goin,” he commanded, opening the heavy cell doors he gestured inside,”We got three long days to Zaun so the two of you get comfy now.”

With a heavy sigh Vi walked in, Caitlyn hissing at the Warden one last time as they passed by.

Kneeling beside the old tub, Vi gently placed Caitlyn into the water, but as Vi stood back up she saw that the tub was half the length of the mermaid's full body, leaving her tail to be awkwardly slumped over the side and on the ground.

Caitlyn muttered under her breath, pulling her tail to coil into the lukewarm water like a snake and angrily sink her chest and body under the water to avoid the embarrassment of capture any further.

Vi was quickly escorted out and into her own cell next to Caitlyn.

The doors were slammed shut, locked and keys tucked away into the Warden’s belt.

“Enjoy the trip ladies, it’ll be over before you know it,” he laughed as he walked away, barking orders to return the anchor and set sails for Zaun.

Vi groaned, flopping down to sit on the ground, her feet touching the other side of her cell with her legs fully extended. Hysterically this was much smaller than her original cell and she found herself missing the wet hay and stone walls.

“Fucking hell…” she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration.

They had three days to escape.

The tub beside her shifted slightly, water spilling out as Caitlyn resurfaced, Vi noted her eyes were back to blue and sharp claws nowhere to be found. She crossed her arms over the edge, she dropped her chin onto her arms and tilted her head curiously at Vi.

“What’s a cupcake?”

Chapter Text

Embarrassment wasn’t a strong enough word. 

I told you Caitlyn.

She could hear her Mother’s voice in that condescending tone of hers.

I told you to stay with the pack and stay away from the human’s ships.

But of course that meant Caitlyn was going to do just that.

A single tiny boat with one very dehydrated and weak human on board? What was the worst that could happen? 

The word mortifying feels about right. 

As now she suddenly finds herself in a tiny porcelain vessel of cold seawater that continuously spilled out the sides as the ship she was trapped on rocked back and forth, all before sundown.

Caitlyn grumbled, her arms crossed over her chest struggling to find a comfortable position in her slippery prison that was far too small for her long body. With half of her tail hanging out the side getting dried out forcing her to shift uncomfortably to attempt to get her entire body back into the water. 

Should anyone, especially her Mother, discover she had been captured like this she would never hear the end of it.

Worst of all, she was starving.

Caitlyn let out a long sigh, closing her eyes hoping perhaps sleep could help her ignore her current predicament, hugging her own tail in a sad attempt to keep herself under what little water she had.

The human with her own name stabbed into her face proudly proclaimed she would think of something, a clever plan to get them both off this ship with the Warden’s head in tow.  

That was hours ago, eventually leading to the weakened Vi promptly passing out. Snoring obnoxiously as exhaustion took over leaving Caitlyn to her own struggles in her cell.

With a huff, she buried her face away into her scales, finding comfort where she could, quietly wishing that perhaps if she were to sleep then maybe this awful nightmare would end and she could wake up from it all.

And just as her mind began to wander, dreaming of stretching out and swimming freely the ship lurched forward, at the mercy of the waves sending the small tub and Caitlyn sliding across the floor.

Caitlyn instinctively grabbed the edge of the tub as the legs of her enclosure screeched against the wooden floor. The water spilling out of the sides as she went until slamming into something solid, stopping her thankfully but the momentum causing more water to spill out, and her head bashing against the side of the tub.

She groaned, grasping the top of her head in her claws feeling frustration and rage slowly boil over,“…this can’t possibly get any worse…”

She froze, realizing her parts of her tail were now freezing, exposed to the air no longer fully submerged no matter how much she squished herself into the bottom of the tub. She was left with half the water she started out with, leaving her with barely enough to survive.

Her eyes blackened and lips curling back into a snarl, just one more incident away from climbing out and gnawing on the bars to freedom.

The rocking of the ship eventually settled to a more manageable speed, the water within the tub slowed to a calm stillness for now. But before she could appreciate the little things, a spattering of red droplets disrupted the calm surface of her enclosure.

Caitlyn’s eyes widened, instantly recognizing blood in the water but also realizing this was a scent she was familiar with.

She snapped, she had enough.

Grabbing the sides of the tub she pulled herself out of the water.

As foretold by the judge, Vi would spend the rest of her days rotting in a cell and receive daily beatings for her crimes.

Despite sailing in the completely opposite direction of Stillwater, it would seem Vi couldn’t fully escape her prison routine.

She was rudely awakened that morning by two men barging into her cell, tying her hands before she could even process what was happening and proceeded to beat her face in.

She quickly noticed one of these men had thick dirty bandages tightly wrapped around his hand, dark red seeping through its many layers, most likely the one who got too close to Caitlyn yesterday. He seemed to be feeling particularly angry at his predicament and who else was better to take out his frustrations on than Vi.

He grabbed the back of her head and slammed her up against the bars, blood sputtering out of her busted nose and into the bathtub next door. 

In an instant, the water exploded upwards as Caitlyn sat up with eyes blackened and a terrible snarl.

“H-hey Cupcake, good morning!” 

Vi forced out a laugh despite her nose spilling over with blood staining her own teeth as she grinned awkwardly at the angry mermaid.

“Oh look, maybe she’s hungry. You don’t need to be in one piece to enjoy your stay at Stillwater right 516?,” the man laughed.

For a moment, Caitlyn caught Vi’s desperate eyes, another quiet request for cooperation.

The mermaid’s jaw unhinged, exposing rows of sharp teeth she grasped the edge of the bathtub she threw herself out using her tail as a springboard and grabbed onto the hand that held Vi captive and pulled. 

The man shrieked back in terror, dropping Vi as he was yanked forward, slamming his own face against the bars, stunning him just long enough for Caitlyn to tighten her grip and bite down. 

Promptly tearing his arm off from below the elbow.

The man let out a horrific scream, falling to the ground and clutching what was left of his arm as blood spilled from his open wound and seeped into the creaking wood of the ship directly next to Vi who couldn’t move.

Exhausted by her morning beat down and unable to process what had happened in just mere seconds she could only stare blankly from the floor as the mermaid next door was hunched over devouring flesh as if it were her last meal.

The sound of crunching bones will possibly haunt Vi forever.

“What in blazes is going on in here?!” 

The Warden arrived with several men armed with guns and harpoons but as he approached the chaotic scene before him, he looked more annoyed than anything.

”I thought I told you boys to be careful about our precious cargo,” he sighed, shaking his head,”She bites.”

Caitlyn’s head whipped back to stare the large man down, stopping mid bite of a mangled hand just for a moment to lock eyes with him and snarl as if to dare him to try and take it from her.

“Get this man some ale and stitches, perhaps you did us a service. She was looking too thin anyway” he laughed, earning another growl he promptly ignored,”And get more seawater, can’t have her drying out either. Hop to it lads!”

The screaming man was pulled away, and the door to her cell was slammed shut leaving Vi with half her cell now covered in blood, her hands still bound behind her back thus making it impossible to block out the God awful sound of teeth tearing into flesh.

The Warden waved his crew away and began to walk away but stopped himself to look down at Vi.

“Oh, and good morning to you,” he laughed, lifting his hat in a mocking gesture as Vi spit in his general direction.

His boisterous guffaw could be heard all the way as he walked out of the prison and back on deck leaving the two alone once again.

Thankfully Caitlyn was a fast eater, greedily chomping down on the last finger before letting out a soft sigh of utter relief.

“Well I feel a lot better now,” she says, sitting herself upright with her back against the tub she delicately wipes the blood from her chin with the back of her hand. 

“Oh good, that makes one of us,” Vi rolled her eyes, unsure if she was feeling nauseous by the violent display or jealous that Caitlyn at least got to eat something.

Vi carefully rolled over onto her back, groaning in pain and exhaustion she lets out a relieved sigh that it was over for now.

“...thanks for…you know, helping me out.”

“You said we both could get out of here together correct?” 

“I did say that yes.”

“Then it’s to our benefit we both stay alive,” Caitlyn carefully pulled herself back into her tub, coiling her long tail inside she crossed her arms over the edge and rested her chin upon it, watching Vi curiously,“Speaking of which do you have a plan yet?”

“Yes…and no…”

Caitlyn sighed, slamming her cheek against her fist,“Do tell.”

“From Stillwater to Zaun there are no major islands,” Vi spoke while struggling to undo her bindings, wiggling her arms and reaching with her fingers trying to grasp at anything that could be pulled,”Even if we were to escape now I would have a hard time finding a place I could swim to,” she paused a moment to scoot herself back against the wall and furiously rub the hemp rope hoping the friction would be enough to cut through though gave up after a few seconds realizing she was getting nowhere, “Timing is going to be tricky but I think our best bet is to wait until we are closer to Zaun.” 

“Not too close, preferably.” 

Vi, now flat on her back to make an attempt to loop her body through her own arms, flailing and looking rather amusing in doing so earning a small snort from Caitlyn, stopped mid way to glance over,“So you know about what’s going on over there?” 

“I do, many of us have gone missing around that place and I don’t intend on being one of them.”

“Fair enough,” Vi shrugs and continues to drag her body against the ground, careful to avoid the blood of course, trying to shove her butt through her arms.

Caitlyn waited, possibly longer than needed but couldn’t help but find humor in the struggle she was watching.

“....do you need help?”

Vi let out a long sigh, flopping over like a defeated fish she looked up pathetically at the mermaid who hid a smile behind her hand.

“Clarifying...we are in agreement we are no longer trying to kill each other and going to work together?”

Caitlyn rolled her eyes“I wouldn’t have offered it if I planned on killing you…besides, I’m satiated…” she paused just long enough for a small sly smile to grace her lips,”For now.”

Vi’s stomach twisted, unsure if it was out of uncertainty or something else, but feeling uncomfortable on the ground she pushed the feelings aside for standing up.

Caitlyn’s piercing eyes watched her every movement as Vi slowly approached the bars they shared. Noting the hesitation but remained quiet.

With her back to the mermaid, Vi carefully placed her bound hands through the bars and closed her eyes. Mentally preparing herself for -

A single swipe and the rope dropped from her wrists. 

Vi opened a single eye and looked back to find her hands completely free and Caitlyn’s elongated claws slowly retracting back into slender fingers with a smug grin on her face. 

The hemp rope cut clean though lying on the ground between them and she didn’t feel so much as a scratch. Truly a miracle she was not dead in the first place.

“Thank y-”

But just as Vi turned to walk away she was yanked back, lightning quick hands reaching out and grabbing onto her hand. 

For a moment Vi’s breath was caught in her throat, an instant feeling of regret twisting her chest that perhaps it was all a lie to get Vi closer and finish her off but much to her surprise Caitlyn’s blue eyes sparkled as a gasp of surprise came out of her smiling lips. 

“Why are your hands so massive?” she exclaimed with eyes wide and a voice full of curiosity.

Vi froze, watching as Caitlyn’s hand forced Vi’s to press against her own, open palm and fingers meshed together to compare sizes finding Vi’s were in fact longer and thicker than her own.

While Caitlyn’s eyes seemed to be glued to their hands, Vi watched the mermaid with an intense gaze, trying to find any sign of mistrust. Eyes glazing over into black voids, any sign of sharpened teeth or claws but couldn’t find any reason to keep her guard up as the mermaid was genuinely smiling.

“I noticed humans that work on ships have this rough texture here,” she says, turning Vi’s hand over to run a gentle finger across her palm, finding the faint memory of calluses of rope tying and climbing rigging once were.

Vi couldn’t move, even if she wanted to. 

Years of beatings and cruelty, being torn from her family and friends, how is it that she found a gentle touch in the hands of the most deadliest creature in the sea. 

Soft hands continued to explore her palm, the pad of Caitlyn’s thumbs running along Vi’s fingers, dried from the saltwater, dirty and skin broken and healed over and over again.

“Are you a sailor?” she asks, continuing her explorations.

Vi found herself smiling,“Something like that, or I was at least before I got thrown into prison.” 

Caitlyn gently turned Vi’s hand over, finding the intense bruising along her knuckles incredibly fascinating now. 

Her brows furrow for a moment,“Stillwater…that island is death,” she mumbles under her breath, absentmindedly tracing a long scar across the top of Vi’s hand,“I find long dead bodies in those waters often.” 

Leaning up against the bars between them, Vi let the mermaid play with her hand, enjoying the first non violent touch for the first time in years,“Yeah I wasn’t planning on being one of them and I tried to escape and well, I found you,” she stopped to laugh,“I guess you found me I should say.” 

“Well I can’t say I made your situation any better from the state I found you in but-”

Caitlyn stopped, realizing the distance between them was growing as she was slowly being pulled away. The two exchanged a quick look of confusion before realizing the ship was leaning to the side, once again causing the tub to slide across the floor and water continue to spill out. 

Out of reflex Caitlyn reached out, clinging to Vi’s arm in hopes of stopping herself and her tiny enclosure from another ride. To which Vi was quick to wrap an arm around her waist and hold her in place.

“Hang on!” 

Using the bars of her cell as an anchor, Vi held onto Caitlyn with one hand while the other slammed down onto the tub and pulled it back against the bars, fighting gravity she held it in place. 

Caitlyn’s eyes went wide, Vi grit her teeth as she held on but otherwise barely broke a sweat.

As soon as the ship right itself Caitlyn dropped herself back into the tub but not before giving Vi’s bicep a little squeeze, gasping at the solid muscle underneath the loose fitting shirt.

“No wonder they bound you before beating you, you’re strong!”

Vi’s cheeks burned instantly despite Caitlyn’s very matter of factly statement,“I uh…you’re…welcome…I’m going to…um…”

Vi dropped to the ground, taking advantage of this moment of stillness she grabbed what was left of the rope cut from her wrists earlier and quickly tied the clawed legs of the tub against the bars of the cell. 

“There, hopefully this will stop you from sliding around.” 

Caitlyn leaned over the edge of her bathtub, looming over Vi and inspecting the quick work, she nodded in approval.

“Thank you Vi. Now let me touch your arm again,” she says, holding her hand out awaiting those large biceps back in her grasp.

Vi stared at her for a moment, but feeling a small smile creep up the corner of her lips“You could say please…” 

Caitlyn’s eyes narrowed in annoyance, opening her mouth to actually say please but froze.

Her head snapped towards the stairs and a low warning snarl escaped through teeth slowly elongating. 

Seconds later two sailors approached, their argument now within Vi’s ear shot as the two men each awkwardly carried a bucket of water presumably to fill up the mermaid's tiny prison.

Vi snorted, casually walking away from Caitlyn, hoping they didn’t catch their closeness, she let out a playful whistle, leaning up against the door of her cell.

“Oh this should be good.”

“Oh piss off!” one man grumbled, kicking Vi’s cell as he walked passed but she continued to laugh as the two men stood in front of a very angry mermaid.

Caitlyn let out a low growl of warning, her claws gripping the side of her tub tight, and tail slapping around her enclosure like an annoyed cat.  

“Well?” 

“Well what?” 

“Go fill it up!”

“Did you not see what it did to Luis? You do it!” 

“You’re lower on the rung mate, it’s not gonna be me.” 

Vi watched in pure amusement as Caitlyn let out a horrific snarl, sending the two men stumbling back in fear.

In a panic, one of them promptly threw the water, emptying his bucket that mostly wet the floor than going anywhere near the intended target.

Finding this to be the solution to their problem, the second man tried his hand at just tossing the water to the mermaid. This time more accurate the water splashed Caitlyn’s straight on but still not quite enough to fill the tub any substantial amount. 

Only enough to further anger the mermaid she roared in rage, once again sending the two men back in fear much to Vi’s amusement, unable to hold it in any longer she laughed.

“Thanks for cleaning my cell mates!” she chuckled, kicking the puddles of water mixing with the blood from earlier with the side of her boot, helping it along out of her prison,“Shit job though you’ll be at this all day if you keep on like that.”

“Oh shove off, why isn’t she attacking you anyway!?”

Vi stared at him for a moment, then looked back at Caitlyn who continued to stare down the men.

And the set of keys hanging from his belt.

“Oh? You didn’t know? Mermaids don’t touch women.”

The two men remained quiet, watching on as Vi walked over to the bars between herself and Caitlyn, sticking her hand through and waving her arm mere inches away from the mermaid but those darkened eyes ignored her. Still staring straight at them and not the easily accessible meat right next to her.

Jaws were on the floor at the sight. 

“See?”

“What?! No! We saw her tryin to bite your mug right off when we found you!”

Vi faltered, but only for a moment before covering it up with a small laugh, pulling her hand back.

“I mean in her defense I do look like a man from afar.” 

Vi kept her composure, offering a confident smile while her heart thumped wildly in her chest. 

The two exchanged looks, then to their empty buckets, and the angry mermaid.

“Then how about you do it!?” 

Got em.

“You know I’d rather not…” Vi forced out a fake laugh, taking several steps away, hoping her acting nervous about such a risky move was enough. 

“Nice try, wait here would you darlings?”

And just like that, they left, running back upstairs to refill their buckets of sea water.

“They…believed that?,”Caitlyn’s eyes were wide with shock,”Are you serious?”

Vi’s face finally split into a wide grin after holding it in for so long,“This is it, this is how we are getting out. Keep hissing, scary face, everything you got, alright? We can’t escape today but just before reaching Zaun we can use this to leave. Are you with me?”

“Am I still taking the Warden’s head?”

“I will carry you to him myself.”

“Done.” 

Soon the two men returned, both buckets full of sea water for another try. 

“Come along now, don’t make this harder than it needs to be!”

Her cell door let out a high pitched squeak as it swung open, shoving a bucket in her grasp with a gun pressed against her back. Vi slowly made her way to Caitlyn’s cell, also letting out a shrill of rusted metal squeaking as it opened.

And just as Vi claimed it to be, the mermaid paid little to no mind to Vi at all, as if she was not even there; those black eyes were trained on the men who refused to take a step closer.

Vi took her sweet time, slowly emptying the cool sea water into the tub, though it was mostly to put on a show of fear she couldn’t help but hide her smile as Caitlyn continued to growl at the men pissing themselves. 

“Hurry it up!” one of them shouted, shoving the second bucket in her arms as she approached to retrieve it.

“Hey take it easy, don’t piss her off!” she shouted over her shoulder, emptying the second bucket. The tub is now at a reasonable water level of comfort.

Catching the hint Caitlyn snarled, climbing onto Vi’s shoulders in a fake attempt to make her way towards the men.

Vi was quick to “hold her back” by the waist, as the men shrieked back in fear.

“Easy there girl, you had your fill of meat today” Vi groaned, pretending to struggle against the wiggling fish in her grasp. Though she was an experienced mermaid wrangler by now.

However she couldn’t help but notice the mermaid kept squeezing her bicep, cleverly disguising her wiggling as an excuse to get a handful much to Vi’s amusement but she kept a straight face for her audience. 

Gently placing Caitlyn back into the tub as she calmed down, Vi made her way back to her own cell with little coaxing from the men who very quickly locked both cells and ran away.

The two quietly waited until they were long gone before erupting into laughter.

“That was too easy,” Vi snorted, taking a seat on the wet ground next to the bars and the tub now sloshing with seawater.

“I never thought I’d be so happy to have cold water in my life, I’ll never take it for granted again,” Caitlyn sighed happily, coiling her long tail inside to enjoy the cooling water,”And I have to say, that was embarrassing to watch. Humans are idiots…I’d say no offense but…”

“Nah I can’t help but agree with you there,” Vi laughed,“Well done my friend, we will be out of here before you know it.”

“You say that but we still have a couple days to wait…so what do we do until then?”

Vi tapped her chin in thought for a moment before a gap in between the bandages around her hands and wrist caught her eye, tugging on the loose ends revealing black ink,“I have more of these I guess?”

Caitlyn’s eyes grew wide as Vi rolled up her shirt sleeve in both excitement and horror upon remembering just how said black ink was put there in the first place.

“There’s more?!” 

It was going to be a long trip but at least she was easy to amuse.