Purest Black

20 - A Secret For A Secret

I was woken up by my body being slammed into the ground. When I opened my eyes, I was staring at the wooden ground. Thunder sounded from outside the ship, making me jump.

"She was right," I said, slightly awestruck.

The ship was being thrown by the waves; I could barely stand straight. Zero came up besides me and held me firm. I patted his head, thanking him.

He helped me walk out into the deck, using his claws to keep a firm hold on the ground.

Lizzy was standing besides the ships mast, smiling happily.

"Mornin'," she said, looking at me. I gave her a look of shock. "What? Oh, the storm? It isn't much of a problem, just a little wind and rain."

"A bit of wind and rain? The ships gonna flip!"

"Don't worry about it, we'll be fine." She seemed so sure of herself that I couldn't help but believe her.

"Zero, go check on the others," I said. He gave me a questioning look. "I'll be fine, just make sure they don't fall out a window or anything."

Nodding, he helped me sit on the ground and went back inside. Bad idea on my part, the wooden planks that made the decks floor were soaked with water.

"Over board!" A voice announced.

Lizzy's attention snapped to the side of the boat where a man was leaning over the railing. All the cheerfulness from earlier left her, and she took off towards the man. Without hesitation, she launched herself over the railing and into the water. I reached out for her, trying to grab her, but I couldn't.

A hand reached out and grabbed my shoulder before I could do anything. When I turned around, I saw Alex. He didn't seem the least bit worried that his captain just jumped over the railing into the water durning a storm.

He shook his head and pointed at the water. When I looked over, Lizzy was in the water, waving at us and holding the man who held overboard earlier.

Alex threw a rope overboard, letting Lizzy tie it to herself. I helped him pull them up, along with the man who had yelled 'overboard'.

She set the man down on the deck as a few others of the crew dragged him inside.

I helped Lizzy stand and took her inside too. When I set her down in a bench, I saw a patch of something that looked like scales peeking from the collar of her shirt.

Unconsciously, I reached for it, but she batted my hand away. She looked around the room, as if checking for people and then looked back to me.

"I suppose you saw that, then?"

I nodded.

"I'm one of the last of my kind. The former captain of the ship took me in, knowing full well I was a siren."

Let me break this down. A siren is a species that could've been called mermaids, but with a cruel twist to them. In ancient times, sirens would drag sailors off to sea and crash their ships and then loot them. They were one of the first species to be killed off by the humans. Apparently, not all of them were killed.

"You don't have to be scared of me or anything," she said. "I've never really done anything wrong, most of my crew knows, all of the older members. I mean, you can turn me in, if you want, but, I'd appreciate it if you didn't."

"Don't worry about it," I said sitting besides her. "We've all got secrets."

"If yer secret's worse than mine, I'd give you my best sword," she said half joking.

"My secret could get this ship sunk."

"Try me."

"A secret for a secret, I suppose."

I stood up and turned my back to her. I relaxed my muscles and let my wings come out for a second and then pulled them back in.

Lizzy stood up and walked off.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"To get my sword."

I laughed at her. We sat and talked for a while before she walked back out to the deck of her ship with her crew.

"A siren as the captain of a ship," I thought aloud. "That's really ironic. I mean, come on. Sirens are supposed to sink ships and then loot them."

I laughed at myself before making my way back to my room, hitting a few walls in the process.

"There you are," Jessica said, grabbing my hand and pulling me back in.

James was laying face down on the ground making a groaning sound every few seconds.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked.

"Sea sick," she answered. He groaned again.

"I'm dying!" He yelled.

"Would you shut up," Jessica replied. "Your fine."

"Still dying."

"Argh! Can you look after him? I'm gonna get some...I'm gonna go for a...I'm gonna go sit in another room for a while."

"Sure."

She left, rubbing her trample with one hand. I leaned back in a sleeping Zero, ignoring James' constant groaning and just listening to the raging storm.

-Authors Note-

Sorry for the short chapter. I think after I finish this story I'm gonna do one about Lizzy's past.