章 649: A Song of the Sea
"Come with me to the sea. We'll make a home below the waves. Abide with me and I with thee beneath the water deep." The haunting tune invaded the crew's ears.
Devrim's heart quickened at the sound. He covered his ears, but still, the melody came through. It came from all sides unbidden and did not cease until it was through.
But in the end, he did not feel entranced. There was no burning desire to jump into the water. Everyone around him was in place as well. For once, the Emperor was glad the magic was gone.
"Sirens?" the Captain whispered.
"Mermaids," Devrim, Aurora, and the inhabitants of the land of magic answered together.
"Why be limited to one name?" a mermaid asked with an enchanting laugh. "My favorite one is probably the least flattering: Sea Witch. Haha, my but that does sound ominous! I like it!"
The deck of The Freiheit tilted suddenly to one side as a huge tentacle took hold of the railing. Quickly backing away, the Emperor and others drew their swords.
"My little pet won't hurt you, Emperor. He is just giving me a lift." The same Mermaid assured him.
Devrim knew that voice. "Darya?"
"Who else?" In another of the creature's tentacles, a female with a tail covered with scales of purple and blue peeked over the side.
Darya had hair the color of seaweed with coral wound in the strands. Her skin shone a luminescent light purple. Her fierce, golden-flecked eyes scanned the sailors, but the smile on her blue lips was gentle if a little mischievous. Although it was mostly obscured by the sea monster's tentacle, Devrim could still see that her upper body was covered in a myriad of shells.
"It is good to see you, Emperor Devrim," Darya spent a little too long on the man's name. "I did not think that you would travel so far just to find little old me. Your concern is very touching."
The other mermaids in the water all chirped their agreement.
"I didn't..." Devrim was cut off before he could clarify his stance.
"I've never been so glad to see you fishes out here in the wild," Brinn drew Darya's attention.
"Ah, it is the elven princess! You are very far from home as well for a social call. And who is that leaning with her arm draped over you limp as a rag doll?" Darya whistled softly and the tentacle lifted Darya to get a better look.
The mermaid hummed softly in astonishment.
"By the Maker! I do believe it is the Empress herself! You are looking a little worse for wear. Wet is not a look that everyone can carry off." Darya flipped her long locks. The shells clacked together in a musical cacophony.
Aurora's voice came out strained. "You may be aware that a wave just nearly drowned us. I do not make a habit of being wet in these frigid waters."
"Good. I would hate for you to catch your death of cold out here. Your Emperor would miss you terribly." Something in the way Darya spoke the words made Devrim shiver.
"May she live a long happy life," the grey-eyed man responded in warning.
"That is my wish as well!" Darya held her hand to her chest. "Which is why I must apologize for Pookie's actions."
"Pookie?" Brinn narrowed her gaze. "You mean to tell me that you call that horned sea monster 'Pookie?!'"
Darya nodded. "It was the name his mother gave him. We saw what those nasty men did to you and Pookie wanted to play, so I thought it would be a delightful little game to play sink the pirate! Wasn't it marvelous?!"
The Mermaid's smile split her face as she clapped her hands delightedly.
"You killed all those men for fun?" Aurora felt horror fill her. "You are supposed to live at peace with humanity!"
"I got rid of murdering, lying, thieving brutes. Had you been a smaller crew, they would have killed you all and taken all three ships as their prize. Do you really think the world was better with them in it?" Darya glared at the Empress, stunning her into silence. "We did you a favor."
Devrim decided to change the subject before things got heated. If the mermaids were offended enough, they might decide to break their treaty with the Empress and finish off Schwinn and his crew as well.
"Since you are in such a favorable mood," the Emperor bowed. "I wonder if we might beg of you a little more assistance."
Darya's lips twisted into a wicked grin. "Anything for you, dear Emperor."
Devrim did not like the words 'dear' coming from Darya, but he was forced to ignore it for the moment. He looked at Schwinn.
"Our ships were sabotaged by the pirates and then broken by…Pookie's splash. We need…" the Emperor motioned for the Captain to fill in the blank.
"Two working rudders." Schwinn said loudly with a smile, in a lower voice he whispered to the Emperor, "But unless she has some hidden away in that fin of hers, I am not sure how she can help."
"You don't know the Merpeople. Even without their magic, they can be very persuasive. Just wait." Devrim lifted his head to meet Darya's eyes.
The tentacle which was holding her came close to the Emperor. Seeing her chance, Darya flicked her tail in his direction, misting his face with her spray. The Mermaid grinned at him and winked.
"Such a smart man, you are," Darya cooed.
Devrim was glad that Brinn was having to prop up Aurora or the elf might have shot an arrow right into the mermaid's winking eye. How dare anyone disrespect her friend in that manner!
"Do you have two rudders? It would be nice if they were the right size, but we can probably make most anything work better than what we have."
Darya receded for a moment over the side of the boat. Devrim heaved a sigh of relief. Hurrying over to his wife, he began to explain. "I would never..."
"I know. I trust you." Aurora nodded. "I am going to head below deck before I say something I won't regret."
"You mean will regret?" Devrim gently corrected her.
"Oh no, I won't regret it, but the rest of you will when they leave us out here stranded." Aurora tugged on Brinn, and together they went below deck.
The ship eased as the sea creature released the ship and slid back into the water.
The merfolk swam around the ship, poking their heads out of the water here and there to talk to the sailors on board. It turned out Darya was not the only flirt among her kind. While most of it was innocent, one sailor came very close to being throttled by a Merman protecting his lady.
The Captain and his crew slowly returned to making the ship secure. Nothing was happening, so they might as well make use of the remaining daylight. When Darya finally returned, the sun was very low on the horizon.
Using her pet, Darya appeared over the side of the ship and was set down on the deck.
"Well," Devrim asked quickly, "Can you help us?"
"I missed you too!" Darya blew a kiss at the Emperor. "As for your....what did you call them?"
"Rudders," Devrim answered desperately.
Darya flashed a brilliant smile. "Ah yes, as for your rudders. I have good news and bad news. Which would you like first?"
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