A Castle Made Of Dreams

THE BROOMSTICK HOVERED above the pirate ship, hidden between the sails as Paige assessed the situation. There was a single mermaid placed in the center of the deck, surrounded by three pirates that guarded her.

“How are we going to get her out?” Wallace asked, leaning out and craning his neck to see if there were other pirates on the deck. There was none he could find.

“I’ll distract them. You just have to get the mermaid overboard and into the water. It doesn’t matter if she’s out of the net or not.”

Without waiting for Wallace to confirm the plan, Paige looped an arm around his waist before jumping off the broomstick, effectively bringing him down with her. Wallace bit down a yelp of shock, slapping his palm to his lips to prevent any sound from escaping.

They descended slowly, lowering to the ground as if gravity didn’t affect them. Hidden by the sails and barrels, the pirates hadn’t even noticed that they had intruders on board the ship.

“Get her out,” Paige harshly whispered.

She reached for a brown satchel that hung across her body, digging her hands into it before running out into the open. Without giving a chance for the pirates to properly react, she threw a fistful of colorful power in their faces, watching as they exploded into a mist that glimmered all colors of the rainbow.

“Hey!” They yelled, swatting at the cloud in front of them as they started to cough and hack.

Seeing that they were temporarily incapacitated, Wallace dashed forward, grabbing the net and yanking it towards him and away from the pirates’ reach. Putting his arms beneath the squirming mermaid, he picked her up as if she were a bride.

The mermaid let out a squeal of fright, webbed hands curling around Wallace’s neck in fear of falling. As she moved, the scales on her tail slid against Wallace’s skin, cool plates against warm flesh. That feeling made Wallace shiver, his arms nearly giving out as he rushed to the side of the ship.

Behind him, the pirates have recovered. They had grown animal ears and sprouted tails yet they didn’t seem to notice. Instead, they reached for the saber that hung on their sides, drawing their blades out of its sheath before charging menacingly at Paige.

The girl only grinned, using a barrel nearby to launch herself quickly into the air, extending her leg to kick a pirate in the face. While still in the air, she reached into her bag again, this time pulling out a small glass bottle before flinging it into the second pirate’s face.

He staggered backward, groaning in pain with his hands covering his face. A white mist swirled around him and when it dispersed a few seconds later, the man that once stood there was gone and instead replaced by a plump pig.

It oinked once angrily before its beady black eyes widened with terror. Then it began to squeal and kick, running around rabidly before knocking the third pirate off his feet.

With all of this distraction, Wallace had already made it to the side of the ship. His arms were starting to ache. They burned with pain as each second passed and once he saw the bright blue sea beneath him, he dropped the mermaid.

However, in his frantic hurry to pick the mermaid up previously, he had accidentally tangled his fingers with the net. Dropping the mermaid ended up serving as a weight to yank him overboard as well.

Wallace went soaring, flying through the air before his body was submerged into the lapis lazuli water. A cold shot through his body upon the first contact as bubbles swirled around his face. At the back of his mind, he thought he could hear Paige yelling his name. Those calls were, however, drowned out by the waves.

In the water, Wallace cracked open his eyes. He could see the mermaid swiftly detangle herself from the fishnet before swimming over to pull him free as well. Once she was done, she grabbed his face, placing a firm kiss right on his lips.

After the kiss was exchanged, everything around him cleared and brightened. The saltwater no longer stung his eyes when he opened them and the pressure no longer hurt his ears. The world around him was no longer muted and he could hear life in the sea. Just as his lungs burned and Wallace accidentally took a deep breath in, instead of water, the breath he took was the same sensation as that of air.

The miraculous kiss from a mermaid had granted Wallace the ability to breathe and adapt to life underwater.

Smiling, the mermaid’s lips parted. A melodious voice left her mouth as she spoke. “For saving my life, I’ll grant you a single favor. Look for me in the lagoon when you’re ready to make your wish.”

Right as her message was delivered, something broke through the water surface, plunging into the sea as a hand grabbed onto the collar of Wallace’s shirt. Before he had the chance to ask the mermaid what she meant or where she was talking about, the hand yanked him up.

The last he saw before being blinded by the dazzling golden sun was the scene of the mermaid smiling, hands raised to give a playful wave. After that, sea foam and bubbles covered her from view.