Standing on the edge of the dock, impatiently waiting for them to arrive. A quick glance over her shoulder at the water lapping against the dock, considering jumping back in the water and swimming away. She looked back up at Nik. No way he was going to let her go anywhere. She caught him looking back up at the pirates on the deck of the Crimson Cutlass. They raised their glasses to him, as he gave a small nod in return. She looked up at them, they seemed to be about five to ten years older than Nik. Who to her knowledge was close to her mother’s age, even though he looked to be in his late twenties. The one with dark hair placed his fist over his heart giving her a bow. She narrowed her eyes, scrunched her nose, crossing her arms hard against her chest. She turned away from them, ensuring her back was facing them. Last thing she wanted to deal with right now was pirates. They were the whole reason she was there in the first place. She focused her mind, closing her eyes as she made the fog roll in. Sick of the dark haired pirate staring at her with those piercing blue eyes.
The soothing sound of waves crashing against the dock calmed her nerves. The creaking of the wooden planks reminded her of the sounds the ships would make when above her in the water. She would give anything in that moment to just be in the water. She heard a strange sound that she had never heard before. It was something past the dock, something on land. The sound both intrigued and startled her. She couldn’t figure out what it was. She scanned her surroundings, but it was pointless. All she saw was fog, the dock, and something glowing on the dock. She had never seen such a thing before, they used magical crystals to produce light underwater. But this was coming from a small box. The only logical explanation she could come up with was maybe it was that fire thing she had heard about or captured lightning. If only her private tutor had spent a little more time teaching her about the human world, instead of ignoring them completely. The few things she knew about humans were what Nik and her parents had told her. Nothing more. She always said her tutor was worthless, but her father didn’t trust many, and he trusted her enough to enter the palace daily.
Two sets of thump creek thump creek, coming her direction down the dock. She jumped back, bumping into the chest. Wishing she had a spear on her.
Nik put his hand on her shoulder and whispered. “It’s called footsteps, your highness. You’ll hear this all the time, you will get used to it.”
Only one thought rushed through her head. I need to get out of here. The more nervous she got the thicker the fog got.
“Knock it off. Make it go away.” Nik grumbled.
“Why should I? I’m sick of them staring at me.” She was scared and angry. The less anyone saw of her the better.
“You’re making it difficult for them to get down the docks. Get rid of the fog now.”
“Fine! But only along the dock. I’m sick of that pirate staring at me.” She couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling she got from him staring so intently at her.
Two figures slowly made their way through the fog. A tall man with shaggy dark hair, graying on the sides, his face looked tired and worn. His stern, harsh expression, told her who or what he was. He was a pirate… great. She examined him further, a hint softness graced his face, calming her nerves in the smallest amount possible. He either hadn’t shaved in a few days, or enjoyed that slight bit of stubble. He wore a gray button up shirt with dark gray trousers. The pocket of his shirt had a subtle embroidered trident. The same color of the shirt itself.
Yep. Definitely one of father’s men.
The other was a teenage boy. He was nearly as tall as the man, not even a full inch shorter. The sides of his dark hair were short, and the top was only long enough for a few strands to fall onto his face. He looked to be a little older than her, but no more than a year or two older. That must be Kelley. She started to feel warm inside when she saw him. She couldn’t explain why, but there was something about him that was telling her she was where she was supposed to be.
“I hold the black flag, what do you bring?”
She shot a glare at Nik. What in the oceans is he talking about?
Without skipping a beat he replied, “I bring the pearl of the sea, with promise and hope.”
Kelley looked at her and shrugged, with a confused smirk written across his face. She smiled back, her face burning a rosy pink. The blue highlights began to fade into a soft pink as she met his deep blue eyes.
“It’s good to see you Patrick. You too Kelley. You look to be feeling better than the last time I saw you at the docks.”
Kelley let out a slightly embarrassed chuckle, as his cheeks turned a bright red. “Thankfully I feel fine.”
Gods. I could listen to him talk for hours. Her highlights turned an even brighter pink.
“Good. We don’t want another incident like that again.”
“No we don’t.”
Nik and Aquaria looked at one another, both noticing the concern written all over Patrick’s face. Her attention quickly went back to Kelley, his eyes hadn’t left her. Something she’d normally be upset about, but he wasn’t making her skin crawl. Her heart raced at the first sight of him, and his voice making her already wobbly knees, weak.
“I tried to collect what she may need, but I was unable to get her shoes. We didn’t have any idea of what size she would be.”
“We’ll find her some, that won’t be a problem. However, I don’t know what to do about her hair. Kelley, grab her things and take ‘em to the carriage immediately.”
Kelley tossed her bag over his shoulder before picking up the trunk. His hand lightly grazing hers before turning and making his way down the dock. She felt fish swimming around her stomach. His light touch sent a shock wave of heat racing through her veins.
What is this? Why do I feel so attracted to some human I’ve just met? And why does it feel like this isn’t the first time we’ve met?
“What’s wrong with her hair? You’ve dealt with many of these girls before, what’s so different about this one?”
“You know as well as I do that she’s not just another mermaid, she’s Poseidon’s daughter. Only his direct line has hair that changes color depending on their mood. I saw the blue and pink highlights in her hair. The fog that rolled in on this completely clear night. Only Poseidon and his children have these abilities.”
Nik straightened his shirt. Rolled his shoulders back and held his head high.
She rolled her eyes watching him. Oh great. Here we go. Her least favorite version of Nikoli was coming out. Whenever he was following her father’s direct orders, he would act this way.
“Poseidon wrote up a new contract stating once she is wed, your services will be complete. You will no longer be in debt to Poseidon. I have the new contract for you to review and sign.”
He snatched the contract from Nik’s hand and began reading it. “So, I’m done after this? My entire family will be left in peace? Including my children when they become adults, they’ll be left to live their lives as well?”
“As the contract states, once she is wed, your debt will be repaid, and you won’t have to ever see us again. The rest of your family will be free from your contract. That doesn’t mean they wouldn’t have already tangled themselves in their own contracts.”
Patrick signed the contract and handed it back to Nik.

The feeling finally stopped. Nothing was pulling at him anymore. The second their eyes met, the feeling was gone. His heart was still racing, but he knew this was her. The girl he’d been dreaming about for three months. His hand still tingling from the light graze against hers. Feeling like an entire kaleidoscope of fiery butterflies had taken over his insides. He ran down the dock to the carriage. Tied the trunk to the back, throwing her small bag inside.
“It’s her. It has to be. She looks exactly like she did in my dream. And it finally stopped. I finally don’t feel like I have to run away to find her.” He paced beside the carriage rambling to himself. “Alright, get a grip. Act normal or she’ll think you’re crazy and want nothing to do with you. Just relax.”
He took a deep breath and went back down the dock. He returned and stood next to Patrick.
“Da’ the carriage is fully packed and ready.”
“All the usual requirements and arrangements? Same locations as usual?” Patrick asked.
“No. The locations and date will be given to me as we approach her twenty first birthday. It will be about four years, possibly a month or two short. As you know she’s different than the others. That being said, some special requirements have been made for her.”
“Kelley wait for us at the carriage.” Patrick snapped.
“But Da’ why-”
“I said back to the carriage.”
Kelley slowly made his way back to the carriage, constantly looking over his shoulder. He ducked behind some crates sitting on the dock, peaking over the top, listening to what they were saying. His father thankfully didn’t know how well he could hear. They knew something he didn’t, something that he probably should know. Something was wrong. He couldn’t hear anything that they were saying. Just his heart pounding loudly in his ears. He watched Nik closely. He was protective of her. His face said it all as he hugged her tight. This hurt him to send her off. Nik wiped the tears from his eyes. She was someone special to him and he didn’t seem happy about this arrangement. Nik looked up, directly at him. Shit! He quickly got low and was about to go back to the carriage, but stopped when he heard her speak. He listened to her voice, she didn’t speak like any of the other girls that had stayed with them before. Her voice rang in a regal tone. He watched as her blue highlights changed. A deep crimson replacing the cobalt. A loud clap of thunder rolled in. Then it all clicked, the pendant, the color, the thunder, the secrets, Nik’s attachment to her… everything.
“She’s Poseidon’s daughter.”

Her eyes followed Kelley till he vanished into the fog. She couldn’t take her eyes off him. To her surprise he apparently couldn’t take his eyes off her, as he continuously looked over his shoulder at her. Her heart fluttered every time their eyes met.
“What’re the special requirements?”
“I have a list for you, but the ones you should be most aware of is that every week there will be a delivery from Poseidon. He wants to be sure she’s continuously learning about her world as well as yours. In these packages, there will be compensation for your extra efforts with her. She doesn’t need the special jewelry that the others had. She can change anytime she walks into the water and change back as soon as she dries off. She’ll have more powers than the others, the main three and others as well. She doesn’t know what they’ll be and neither do we. Lastly, she’s not to use her real name.”
“I’ll have Peg come up with a name for her. We need to head out. The men on the ships will be wakin’ up soon and her cover will be blown.”
Nik knelt down, turned her toward him and spoke softly. “This is going to be your family for the next four years. Don’t trust anyone but them. I’ll check in on you every month to see how you’re doing. Never forget who you are, where you come from, and always be mindful of your surroundings. Try to enjoy your time here, I promise, there are great things here, you just have to be open to finding them.” His eyes flitted down the dock.
She questioned as to why he would be looking down the dock, unless he meant Kelley. In which case she didn’t mind that being her something good here. He handed her a small conch shell and hugged her tightly. Softly planting a kiss on top of her head, as a parent would do when saying goodbye to their own child. She knew it was hard for him to say goodbye to her. He had been watching over her, her entire life, and now he had to trust her life with someone else. She held his hug tight, not ready to say goodbye to him. He was more of a parent to her than her own father. She let go of him and saw water in his eyes. She wiped them away, protecting him from changing on the dock. She needed to leave before she broke down. She had to hold it all in until she was completely alone. She began walking down the dock. She stopped after a few steps and whipped around.
“I have one request in all of this. If I am to trust no one except this family. On the day of my wedding I want someone I can trust by my side the entire time. Sir, you have a daughter, correct?”
Cautiously Patrick responded “Yes-”
“Good, she’ll be by my side the entire time, even during the wedding.” She shot a glared at Nik, “You can tell my father that I don’t care if she’s not a mermaid. The wedding is going to be on a ship anyways. I want someone with me that I can completely trust, his daughter will be that someone. We already know he won’t allow Astrid there. So she’s my only other option.”
“And if your father doesn’t agree to these terms?” He adjusted his stance ready for her storm.
“Then he will finally feel my wrath!” Dark clouds rolled in following her words. The waves crashed hard against the dock as her blue highlights faded into a deep crimson. She stomped her foot, lightning crackled across the sky followed by a loud clap of thunder. She turned back around, storming down the dock.
“Try not to bring up her father, it will only make matters worse.” Nik whispered to Patrick.
“Should we be weary of those packages that’ll be comin?”
“Have her open them in her room alone, and don’t be outside. Start looking for something that can calm her quickly. She has her father’s temper.”
“I heard that!” She shouted over her shoulder.
“So we’ll see ya next month? I can have Peg make yer favorite.”
“You’ll see me in a week when I deliver her package. I’ll stop by the house in a month to check in on her though.”
Nik gave the pirates on the ship a nod, climbed down the ladder to the boat, stripping down and diving back into the ocean, disappearing in the water. Patrick waved to his former shipmates, acknowledging that they did their part of ensuring everything went smoothly with her arrival. He turned, walking slowly down the dock.

Kelley scrambled back to the carriage and opened the door for her. Helped her inside, before climbing in on the other side. He wanted to talk to her, introduce himself, ask her about the pendant. But stopped himself when he noticed her hair turn back to blue. Something was off about her, she wasn’t excited to be there. All the other girls were excited. They all wanted to come to land, saying how this was an adventure of a lifetime. Something they had been dreaming of their entire lives, but not her. Usually the girls would talk non-stop, so much so that Patrick had to tell them to be quiet. She didn’t. She just stared out the window not saying a word. He began to wonder if she felt the same thing he did. Was her heart racing when she saw him, did she feel like something was pulling her to him? Or was this all just something that only he felt.
Patrick looked back at her. “We’ll be at the house shortly. Your room is already made up for you. If you’re hungry we can make something for you when we get there,”
“I’m not hungry, but thank you.”
Kelley looked at his father who shrugged it off and kept driving. He felt her soft hand reach for his. Her hair fading to pink again as she let out a sigh. Relief swept over her delicate features. They didn’t speak. But her hand remained in his the entire silent drive.
When they got home, Kelley grabbed her things and took them into her room, then escaped to his room to think. As soon as he closed the door he pulled the pendant out of his pocket. The engraving on the back was glowing and sparkling. He placed it back above his door, knowing that he didn’t need it right now. He went to bed lying awake for a while. He could hear the rain and her lightly crying from her room. A sound that was already causing his heart to ache. A pulling feeling telling him to go to her, make the pain go away.
“Somethings wrong. This isn’t how I had imagined meeting her. I thought she would be as happy as I am. Something happened, she must not remember either.” He mumbled softly to himself. “I’ll try to talk to her tomorrow, maybe she’ll be in a better mood. Maybe she didn’t sign up for this, maybe she was forced and that’s why she’s upset.” He took a deep breath trying to relax. “Stop worrying. This is her, I’ve only ever felt like this with anything to do with “A” and it all stopped the second I saw her eyes. Damn it! I need to talk to Gerard. This is something he’s been waiting for as long as I have. I need to talk to him, he’s the only one who knows.”
He threw the pillow over his face, grumbling into it, trying to calm himself down until he could fall back asleep. An action that was seeming to be unlikely tonight, with his adrenaline pumping and the ache to go to her, to make her stop crying. It was going to be a long night.

Patrick helped her out of the carriage, walked her inside the house to her room.
“This is going to be your home for the next four years. I know this is going to be hard, but we want you to feel comfortable here. You can redecorate your room if that will make you feel more at home. We haven’t changed anything since the last girl was here.”
She slowly looked around the room, no expressions on her face, observing everything. She was used to high vaulted ceilings that were made of coquina, and openings for the fish to swim through. The house was made of wood, something she rarely saw, and the room was much smaller than she was used to. Her room at the palace was about the size of the entire house, but here it was just big enough for a small bed, a wardrobe, desk, and chair. The bed was so small to her. Her bed back home could easily and comfortably fit four mermaids in it, this could fit only her. There were some old nets hanging on the walls, with shells and dried starfish in them. A glowing urchin sat in the windowsill, the colors slowly changing, just like the crystals that built her bed at the palace. She sat on the small wooden bed with her head down, staring at her bare feet. The mattress was soft, but not squishy like the sea sponge she slept on back home.
“I’ll let you get to bed. Rest up, and we’ll see you in the morning.”
She gave him a small nod. Patrick walked out closing the door behind him. She curled up and began crying, she felt the tears streaming down her face, a sensation she had never felt before. She kept trying to wipe the tears away, as they continued to flow down her face. The rain hitting the window and the roof reminded her why she was never allowed to cry in public. The rain would start every time she cried, but she needed to get this feeling out of her. Her heart ached from the recent events leading her there. Her life had been thrown into a whirlpool, tearing everything she ever knew and loved, away from her. She was never allowed to show this side of herself to anyone. As a member of the royal family, no one was allowed to see you break, so she needed to get it all out before anyone saw her.

Patrick looked out the window letting out a deep sigh. He knew that this was going to be much harder than any of the other girls. She was nothing like the others, she wasn’t full of hope and excitement. She was hurt. Poseidon had never made any of his daughters do this before, why now? Was she being punished for something? Or was there something bigger going on that no one knew yet. Questions filled his mind as he went to his room and climbed into bed with Peggy.
“Everything go well? I hope you didn’t get rained on.” She sleepily mumbled throwing her arm across him as he rested next to her.
“She’s Poseidon’s daughter.”
Peggy’s jade eyes shot open. “We have the Princess in our house and you didn’t think to tell me?”
“I didn’t know until I saw her. Her hair gave her away, and now her crying has caused the rain. Somethings going on, this isn’t like every other time. Something isn’t adding up. I need to speak with Nik about this. See if I can get Poseidon to be willing to have a meeting with me.”
“That requires you go back out to sea, back to the Crimson Cutlass… Last time you went there-”
“Peg, I was fine, still am. All I know is that once she’s married, the contract is complete, we’ll be free.”
“So Kelley will be free too?”
“Once she’s married, he’ll be free to have whatever life he wants. We just have to make sure he makes it to that day. We need to throw him in the ring, see if he is ready.”
“I’ll take care of it. Lighten up on him, he hasn’t been himself lately. He still isn’t talking to Gerard, and he’s still recovering from… We just need to get him ready for this. Make sure he’ll survive.”
“He’ll be fine. I’ve taught him everything I know.”
“Not how to kill.”
“He’ll learn that one soon enough. Maybe I’ll let him go back to those underground fights again. He needs to work on that aspect of his fighting as well.”
“I’m not supporting him going back to the underground. If he gets another blow to the head, he might go into another coma. I don’t want to risk it.”
“That same risk will be there when he leaves. He needs to fight. He needs to be ready to protect himself.”
“He’s going to hate us when we tell him.”
“You won’t say a thing, you won’t be dragged down and have our son hate you because of something I did. We’ll talk about this later. I need some rest.” He mumbled as the rain lulled him to sleep.