Child (The Pirate)

The sea was restless.

Tartaglia's ship had been fighting through high waves for several hours. The sailors were checking the rigging, while the captain himself stood by the railing, intently watching the dark water.

Suddenly, one of the sailors shouted:

— Captain! Something's tangled in the nets!

Several sailors hauled the net onto the deck.

And froze.

Inside the net was you.

Your long, wet hair clung to your face, and instead of legs, you had a large silvery-blue tail. Droplets of water glistened on your scales.

— A mermaid... — someone whispered.

Tartaglia slowly stepped closer.

— Well, well, well, what do we have here?

Tartaglia looked at the mermaid with his signature daring smirk, watching as the defenseless body tried to struggle out of the nets.

— Do you realize how much something like this will cost? — Childe said, continuing to smirk, then turned to his sailors. — We're going to be rich! — he shouted, and all the sailors cheered loudly and joyfully.

Tartaglia looked again at this beauty with the shimmering tail.

— Take her to a separate cabin, let her wait for her time —

About an hour passed; she sat in the cabin, in a full tub of water.

— I really hate this stagnant water... — flashed through your mind, and the door creaked.

Tartaglia entered, holding some kind of bundle in his hand. Smells instantly hit your nostrils: fried meat, bread, something spicy and heavy; you instinctively covered your nose.

— Well, it wouldn't take long to starve to death — Childe chuckled, noticing your reaction to the food, as he held it out. — Here, eat. Open your mouth, come on. —

You turn away from the food; the smell is unbearable! Tartaglia watches this in silence, and then stands up.

— How picky you are! — he remarked, standing up and putting the food away. — Worse than the girls in the capital! —

Tartaglia is about to leave, but you stop him and grab a glass jar; white crystals glisten inside it, looking like sea salt but smelling different.

— This? — he took the jar and showed it closer. — You want some sugar? —

It smells tempting. You decide to try it; you reach out, dip your finger, and taste it. Delicious. Sweet.