A Wish Upon the Sea

It had been five years since Adrien had stolen one of his father's ships and set off into the never-ending ocean blue. Being out at sea was like second nature to him. After all, his father owned one of the largest ship manufacturing companies in the world and was probably one of the wealthiest in the land. Despite his lavish upbringing, Adrien felt trapped, his father treating him more like an employee than a son. That, combined with his father's unscrupulous business dealings, left Adrien feeling demoralized, more often than not. So one night he decided that enough was enough and with his best friend Nino, committed his first act of defiance.

Even after those five years, he never tired of hearing the sounds of the water as he woke every morning. The gentle whooshing of the currents and the constant splashing of water against the ship's body tempted him to go back to sleep, but the commotion on the deck just above him told him that it was time to wake. His crew sounded more energetic than usual as they stomped around. He could hear some shouting but his sleepy mind still took a while to grasp the situation.

"What in the world?" He heard a bewildered voice of one of his men.

Adrien pulled himself up and stretched his limbs out, hearing the popping of his joints as he did so. Sleepily slipping on his boots and lacing them up, he heard more shouts from above. He stood and rubbed his eyes before grabbing his gloves that were laid on his nightstand.

"Captain! Come quickly!" He heard Nino's voice calling for him. For a brief moment, he wondered if they were being attacked but decided that the scrambling above wasn't quite loud enough. Plus, he'd hear Alix shouting about loading the guns. The lack of a trigger-happy Alix meant the lack of an attack.

"What is it, so early in the morning...?" Adrien mumbled as he dragged himself over to the table and fetched the jacket draped over the back of the chair. He put out the oil lamp that was still burning and sighed. He checked his watch, finding that he had only gotten two hours of sleep—his time spent researching about the Bourgeois family. They were one of his father's biggest partners and it looked like they took part in a lot of shady dealings as well. 'Where is my hat?' He thought in annoyance as his eyes searched his room.

"Captain!" Nino called again.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Adrien replied, forgoing his hat and climbing up the stairs to the deck above.

"Look at what's caught in the net!" He heard more voices. He was amused by the excitement of his crew. It seemed that they had caught something interesting. He wondered what it could be that had gotten them so riled up. Perhaps it was the dead body of someone infamous. Though, they had fished up a fair share of those so it was nothing new. As he reached the brisk, open air, he began pulling on his jacket and walked towards the rear of the ship where the net was attached to the boom. A good amount of the crew was huddled around the structure. They began to clear as they saw him approach.

"What could it possibly be that you're all—" The rest of his words died on his tongue as he peered at the sight before him. His eyes widened in awe, surprise, and shock—his hand tightening on the lapel of his coat that he hadn't even finished putting on.

She was definitely not a dead body. The intense glare that she sent his way told him so. Adrien gulped as his eyes wandered over her body, taking in the sight of the gleaming ruby scales and fluttering tail that struggled to get out of the net. After the initial shock of the tail, he studied her face. Her hair was as deep as the night, a blue hue glinting in the sunlight and her eyes were brighter and bluer than any ocean he'd ever seen. They bore into his with a mixture of fear and anger and it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand. Before him was a fabled mermaid, in the flesh.

"What should we do with her, Captain?" One of the riggers asked.

"There's no question about that. Let her go." A woman's voice cut through the commotion. Adrien looked to his right to see Alya, his sailing master, approaching. She rested her hand on her cocked hip and looked unamused by the majority of the crew ogling the mermaid.