The Pirate's Princess

by Bethany Wicker

  “But not with me you haven’t. I need you.”

  “You’ll be fine without me. You're strong. The sirens need you now. You're their queen.” His hand came up and cupped my cheek. “Can you ever forgive me for lying to you?”

  “Oh Dad, I already have. Please, don’t leave me. I love you.”

  “I love—” his voice cut off and his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

  His hand fell from my face and my tears continued to mix in with the water. I cried and cried at the loss of my dad. Eleanor remained at my side, like a silent rock trying to keep me grounded.

  This couldn’t be real. He couldn’t be gone. My father was strong and if he was gone, then there wasn’t any hope left for the rest of us.

  I wasn’t sure how long I cried for, but it felt like an eternity had passed when I finally pulled away from my dad’s unmoving body. “How do the sirens bury the dead?”

  Eleanor cleared her throat. “Since he was the king, things are done a little differently. We will have a passing ceremony, and then his body is usually released for the gods to take in whatever way they want. Most of the time, it’s usually eaten by a shark or a Cetus. Sometimes, even by the Kraken.”

  “So, when we die, we become food?”

  “A soulless body has no purpose. Your father has already passed on, so therefore, he will become a part of the circle of life.”

  “I guess I understand it when you explain it like that.” I took a deep breath to hold in another sob. With my dad gone, that meant one thing. “Am I really the queen?” It was a change of subject, but it wasn’t a better topic.

  She placed her hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “You are, but we’ll be around to help you just like we did with your father. I know it’s hard with your dad gone and I don’t want you to worry about your reign right now. You'll have his same advisers, unless there’s someone you wish to switch out. But I don’t recommend changing things like that so early on in your reign. Either way, we’re here for you when you’re ready to take the next step.”

  Thames came to mind, but I could always add him to the counsel later. “If my dad trusted them, then I will too. Thank you for your reassurance. Do you think the mermaids are coming back?”

  “I can’t say either way. I do, however, have a feeling they aren’t finished with us quite yet.”

  “That’s what I was thinking. How long does it take before we have the passing ceremony?”

  “It will be held tonight before the body starts to decompose.”

  “As Sera, I want to go cry in a corner of my room that’s probably destroyed by water now. As the queen, I know I must go see what I can do to help clean things up.”

  “Actually, as the queen you have the power to restore our little air bubble if you so desire. That necklace around your neck is more powerful than you’ve yet to realize.”

  “Thank you. I’ll ask around and see what’s preferred: the air or the water.”

  “You’re thinking like a queen already. Your father would be proud. Good luck. I will make sure your father’s body is taken care of.”

  “Thank you. For everything.”

  Chapter Twelve

  My feet felt heavy as I searched for people who needed help. The absence of my dad could be felt with every breath and step I took. I was alone now, but he’d want me to be the best I could be and to take care of the sirens in his absence.

  There were a few dead bodies floating around Siren’s Call. Both mermaids and sirens. I tried to keep my eyes averted from them, but found it difficult. Especially since one of the faces I recognized was the guy who killed Mom. Karma came back to bite him and I got my revenge without having to lift a finger. I smiled at that despite the situation.

  The first injured person I came across who could use some help was Pricilla. Her arm was bent at an odd angle and I immediately knew it was broken. She was cradling it with her good arm and the other two advisers—Roderick and Peter—were at her side trying to calm her down.

  “You must put the bone back into place and call upon the necklace to heal it,” the voice of Poseidon invaded my mind.

  “Another one of your tricks?” I asked mentally, wondering if I would ever get used to the idea of talking to someone as powerful as him.

  “You’ll learn to see that I’m full of them, especially if it helps a child of mine.”

  “Okay, Pricilla, I’m going to try to help you. I can almost guarantee that this won’t be very pleasant, but when it’s all over with, you’ll feel tons better.” I kneeled next to her. “Are you ready?”

  She grimaced and nodded weakly. “Do what you have to do.”

  I lifted Pricilla’s arm and she flinched, but allowed me to continue to inspect it.

  I sighed. “From what I can tell, it looks like the bones are broken near the elbow and the wrist. I’m going to have to push them back to where they belong. Squeeze Peter’s arm as tightly as you need to prevent yourself from pulling away.”

  “Why do I have to be the one getting hurt too?” Peter asked and cracked a smile as he tried to lighten the situation.

  “Because you’re on her unaffected side.” I smiled at Pricilla, but she wasn’t having it. “Okay, here goes nothing.”

  I grabbed her arm as gently as I could and took a deep breath. I popped the bones into place with a sickening sound and Pricilla let out an agonizing screech of pain. Every instinct within me told me to pull away, but instead, I held on tighter to keep her from flailing.

  “Focus. Channel your power through the necklace,” Poseidon instructed.

  I concentrated on the necklace and willed Pricilla’s bones to heal. The water surrounding us grew warmer and Pricilla’s arm began to glow blue. Magic and water swirled around us and Roderick took a step back. I watched in awe as I felt Pricilla’s bones click back into their rightful place. When the magic dissipated, I released her arm.

  “You did it,” Pricilla said with a hoarse voice and heavy breaths.

  “I did.” I grinned, still in shock at what just happened.

  “Thank you. What about your dad? Last I saw, he wasn’t doing so well,” Pricilla said with a concerned look.

  The smile dropped from my face. “He’s moved on. He's no longer with us.”

  “I understand. He was a great king, and you will be a great queen.” She sounded like she might be crying, but it was hard to tell under the water.

  “Long live queen Sera,” Peter and Rodrick cheered and bowed their heads with respect.

  “I hope you three will continue to advise me like you did my dad.” My throat felt like it was closing as I fought to keep myself from crying again.

  “Of course we will,” Peter said.

  “You can count on us,” Rodrick added. “I’ll go check and see what preparations are need for tonight’s ceremony. I’m assuming we will be having one, correct?”

  “Yes, Eleanor is working on it.”

  “Excellent.” Roderick nodded. “King Delmer was a great king and deserves an unforgettable ceremony.”

  Roderick and Peter left to find Eleanor and Pricilla remained with me.

  “I’m going to see who else needs my help,” I told her.

  “I’ll stay with you just in case you need an assistant,” Pricilla offered with a forced smile.

  “I appreciate that. How’s the arm now that it’s fixed?”

  “It’s actually perfect. I’m not sure how you healed it, but it worked. It feels normal, as if it was never broken.”

  “I used the necklace. Couldn’t my dad do the same thing when he owned it?”

  Pricilla shook her head. “He’s never been able to heal anyone. Not even himself.”

  “You mean the water doesn’t heal sirens?”

  She looked at me like I was crazy. “No, never. We heal quicker than a mortal, but it still takes a little time usually.”

  “That’s why the water didn’t heal my dad then, but it always heals me when I’m hurt.”

  “It must be
something to do with you being the Fated Princess—um… well, queen now.”

  The water might not have been able to heal Dad, but I could’ve. I could’ve saved him. I should’ve done something instead of just crying on him. Everything was my fault. I wasn’t here when he needed me. I was too busy being impatient and selfish.

  My heart clenched and I placed my hand on my chest. “I could’ve saved my dad had I known.”

  Pricilla placed a hand on my arm. “You can’t think like that. Things happen as they’re supposed to. Don’t dwell on it. It will eat you alive. Let’s focus on what we can do now. We can talk about the past and the future later.”

  The words “eat you alive” sounded like something my dad would say and it made my gut twist painfully all over again. I pushed the grief aside for now. I could start making up for my mistakes by saving others now that I was here. I would heal everyone I could until there was nobody left injured.

  The next person we came across that needed help was a child. A small girl around the age of four and she had a long gash on the side of her face. The girl sobbed and held her mother’s hand while her mother whispered soothing words in an attempt to calm the girl.

  “Hello there,” I said gently as I crouched down beside them. “I’m here to help you. Is that okay?”

  The girl nodded at me with a quivering lip. “It hurts so bad.”

  “What’s your name?” I smiled.

  The girl paused in her crying. “My name’s Destiny. Are you really the princess?”

  “She’s actually the queen now,” Pricilla answered for me and Destiny and her mom let out a gasp.

  “The king is dead?” Destiny’s mom whispered.

  I nodded. “Thanks, Pricilla. Destiny, the king has passed on, but I’m going to help you now. I’m going to make that scratch on your face go away. You just have to hold still for me. Can you do that?”

  Destiny nodded and squeezed her eyes shut.

  I summoned the power within the necklace first, and then placed my hand on Destiny’s cheek. Just like it did with Pricilla, the water started to swirl around us. There was that same glow and Destiny’s eyes popped open as she watched the magic.

  When the swirling stopped, I pulled my hand away and grinned at her. “All better.”

  She reached up to touch her cheek and felt for a scratch that was no longer there. “How did you do that?”

  “It’s all thanks to the magic in this necklace.” I held the pendant up for her to see.

  “Wow, that’s so neat.”

  “Thank you, Your Majesty,” Destiny’s mom said and bowed her head. “I’m Erica, and I’m sorry about your father, but I have a feeling things are going to be just fine under your rule. I don’t understand what everyone is so worried about.”

  I smiled, but it felt strained. I hadn’t realized people openly discussed that they were worried about me being the new queen. I knew they didn’t like it, but I was hoping they would at least give me a fair chance.

  “You’re welcome,” I said. “I guess we need to go see who else needs our help. It was nice meeting you Destiny. You take care of yourself okay?”

  “I will. I promise.” She beamed.

  Soon after we left Destiny, I found my next person to heal. It was Thames’s father and Thames was at his side holding his arm.

  “What happened? What hurts?” I asked.

  “It’s my leg. It’s broken,” his father replied through gritted teeth.

  Could mermaids really do that much damage to break so many bones? No wonder sirens feared an attack.

  “Okay, that’s something I can handle. I’m going to fix it, but it’s going to hurt.”

  “I’d rather it if you just left it alone.” He grimaced.

  “My arm was broken, but Queen Sera fixed it. As you can see, it’s as good as new,” Pricilla interrupted. “Queen Sera has the ability to heal. It's a gift from Poseidon and you will do well by allowing her to help you.”

  “Queen Sera? You mean?” Thames couldn’t finish the question.

  Pricilla and I both nodded and the tears threatened to make a return.

  Thames’s father bowed his head. “I’m sorry for your loss. Pricilla’s right. What I should’ve said before is that it would be an honor to have you help me.”

  “It’s all right. I’m going to pull up your pant leg, is that okay?”

  “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  I rolled up the fabric and flinched when I saw bone staring at me. I quickly replaced my shock with an emotionless mask to not make him any uneasier than he already felt.

  “Thames, let your father squeeze your hand. I have to put the bone back in place.”

  Thames nodded and took his dad’s hand. I counted to three aloud and on three I pushed the bone back into his leg. His dad let out a loud howl and kicked his leg out. His foot caught me in the nose and sent me reeling back. I cupped my nose as my eyes watered and blood darkened the water around me.

  “Sera, are you okay?” Thames asked while he tried to calm his dad.

  I put up my pointer finger to tell him to give me a second. The magic flowed into my nose and I felt the bone click back into place. When I pulled my hand away, Thames let out a gasp.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you have healing abilities?” he asked.

  “I didn’t know. I only found this out recently, as in a few minutes ago.” I looked at Thames’s dad. “Are you going to be able to remain still? That's the only way I can help you.”

  He bared his teeth and nodded. “Just do it quickly.”

  “You forget who you’re speaking to,” Pricilla growled.

  “It’s okay. He’s in pain, so I’ll let it slide this time,” I said. “Here we go.”

  I grabbed his leg again and didn’t give him time to react as I pulsed the magic around him and into his wound. It worked just as it had before and his bone was healed, but I felt weakened.

  He looked up at me with a genuine smile finally. “Thank you, Your Majesty. It feels perfect.” He moved his leg. “I apologize. We never had the opportunity to meet, but my name is Daniel. I’m happy Thames has you for a friend.”

  “Nice to officially meet you. You have an amazing son,” I replied. “If you’ll excuse me, I have others who I need to help as well. I hope we can talk again soon.”

  “As do I, My Lady.” He bowed his head again.

  I glanced at Thames. “Are you okay? Were you hurt?”

  He shook his head. “I’m okay. Go do what you have to do and we’ll meet up later.”

  “I’d like that. Are you still coming with me, Pricilla?”

  “There isn’t anywhere else I’d rather be. Helping you is my sole purpose,” she replied.

  That was how Pricilla and I spent the next few hours. We helped anyone who needed it. By the time we were finished, I could barely keep my eyes open.

  “My queen, as your adviser I must insist that you go rest for a while,” Pricilla said.

  “I’m okay,” I said. “We need to prepare in case the mermaids come back.”

  “We can handle that. For now, you need rest. Your bed may not be as comfortable wet, but it’s still a bed nonetheless.”

  I did feel incredibly weak and Pricilla was right. I would be no use to anyone if I continued to push myself like this. “Okay, I’ll go take a nap as long as you do something for me.”

  “Yes, my queen. Whatever you need of me.”

  “I want you, Rodrick, and Peter to go around and take a vote whether the sirens want the air bubble to return or for the castle to remain underwater with just a protective barrier around it.”

  “As you wish, but please go rest with ease. We can handle that. I’ll send for you once we are ready for the ceremony.”

  “Thank you. I’d appreciate that.”

  Walking to my room was difficult and I was happy when Thames met me halfway there.

  “You look like you could use some help,” he pointed out.

  “Yes, that would be amazing, so can I lea
n on your shoulder?” I felt on the verge of passing out.

  “Of course, let me help you.”

  Instead of letting me lean on him as I walked, Thames swept me off my feet and into his arms.

  “My legs do work, Thames. I can walk.”

  “You mended my father’s leg. Please allow me to do this kindness for you.”

  It did feel good not having to put weight on my feet, so I allowed him to carry me to my room. He placed me on my bed and turned to leave, but I stopped him.

  “I found the necklace. If only I would’ve been quicker, I might’ve been able to stop the attack. It’s all my fault Thames. Dad is dead and it’s because of me.”

  “What the fates decide is not your doing. It was your father’s time. It’s that simple. Nothing you could’ve done would’ve change that.”

  “Do you really believe that the fates decide who goes and who doesn’t?”

  “I do and I feel like the only one who can change their minds are the gods, but I don’t see them stepping in for anyone as lowly as a siren. They have their own agendas.”

  I thought of Poseidon and wondered if he would’ve saved my dad. He had to know what was happening because he contacted me through the necklace not long after my father passed. Maybe it really was meant to be.

  “Thank you, Thames. I’m going to try to get some rest before my father’s ceremony.”

  “I hope you have good dreams, my princess—uh, I mean, my queen. That’s going to take some getting used to.”

  “For you and me both.”

  When he left, I allowed my eyes to close. The bed felt a little weird since it was soaked, but it was still comfortable compared to the floor.

  I dreamed of nothing as I slept and I considered that to be a gift in itself after what had just happened.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Alda was the one to wake me up and I had to admit that I was glad she wasn’t lost in the fight. I felt a little better after sleeping, but not by much. A weight still pressed on my chest with the absence of my dad.

  “My queen, it’s time for the ceremony,” she said in a voice that was thick with emotion.

  “Is there a certain thing I’m supposed to wear? Like a certain color or something?” I asked.