Meet your doom around the gorge, be saved through it.

Rests there several lyrics, do not pay them heed.

Be wary of the enchantment, capture the talk and find the rock.

 

---

 

bacca | pearl

 

 

Luhan smiled at the princess as his memories of Sora became more vivid. He was glad to see that she had no cuts or bruises on her like Sora had. It was then that Luhan realized that he had yet to ask for her name.

 

“Hi,” he said and offered her his hand. “My name’s Luhan.”

 

Cirrus wondered why he felt the need to introduce himself to her a second time, but she quickly wrote it off. She took his hand and gave it a good shake, then said, “My name’s Cirrus.”

 

“Good, now that we’ve established that, let’s move on to more fun things, Cirrus,” Luhan said. He hoped Cirrus wouldn’t ask more about Sora because he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to keep his composure.

 

“Well, I do have some questions,” Cirrus started, playing with her fingers and looking at the ground. “I’ve always wondered what the ocean was like.”

 

Luhan’s eyes started to twinkle and his lips curved upwards into an enthusiastic smile. “Oh, the ocean is lovely! There’s so much beauty down there. Where do I start?”

 

Cirrus smiled back at the merman, and was glad to see that his spirits had risen. She didn’t know what happened between him and Sora, and decided that it’d be best not to pry further. Besides, she liked seeing his smile much better than his tears. “How many merfolk are there?”

 

“Oh, why there are millions! Most of us don’t go to the surface though. I’m from Atlanta, that’s the capital, but I’ve been to a couple other cities that are inhabited by merfolk; Marina, Aecor, Nautica, to name a few,” he replied as he counted the cities on his fingers.

 

“Are the cities far apart from each other? How do you get there?”

 

“We swim, of course. Some cities are further apart than others, and in that case we usually ride whales. My personal favourite is catching a ride from dolphins though. Whales can be a bit noisy, if you know what I mean.”

 

“No, I don’t know what you mean,” she said with a giggle. The more she heard his voice, the more at peace Cirrus felt.

 

Luhan was happy to see her smile. It was something she didn’t do very often, he found. “How about on land? How do you get to other cities?”

 

“Horses, mainly,” Cirrus responded.

 

“Horses?!” Luhan exasperated. He had never seen a horse before, but he knew what a seahorse was, and surely the two must be related, right? “But they’re so tiny! You’d need an army of them, and let me tell you, even though they might be small, they sure are stubborn little fellas.”

 

Cirrus shot him a confused look, wondering what he was talking about. “Horses aren’t small.”

 

“Yes they are, they’re like this small,” Luhan said as he indicated the size of a seahorse using his thumb and index finger.

 

“I think you’re talking about seahorses,” Cirrus said.

 

“Oh, are they not the same thing?” Luhan scratched the back of his head.

 

“No, horses are much larger! In fact, one horse could probably fit you and me on it,” she explained with an amused smile on her face.

 

Luhan tried to wrap his head around the concept of horses, but since he had never actually seen one himself, he merely imagined a seahorse the size of a horse. He shuddered at the thought, then muttered, “That’d be creepy.”

 

Cirrus reassured him that horses were docile animals, and if trained well, were not stubborn. Luhan argued back saying that seahorses could be docile, but chose not to be. He refused to accept the idea that (sea)horses could be friendly.

 

The princess wondered whether this was what friendship felt like. A warm, fuzzy feeling enveloped her whenever Luhan smiled at her, and she knew it was much different than romantic love. When she lived in the palace, everyone had been nice to her, but no one had been her friend. Living in the royal family meant living a lonely life, and Cirrus knew that better than anyone.

 

Being around Luhan made her feel warm, and there was something about his voice that seemed to wash all of her pain away. Cirrus hoped that she and Luhan could remain friends forever, and one day, perhaps he could show her a glimpse of his life.

 

After a while, Luhan began to smack his lips together and he brought a hand to his throat. “What’s wrong?” Cirrus asked him.

 

“I’m thirsty,” Luhan replied, his scratchy voice indicating that he was parched. “I’ve gone too long without water. Where can I get some?” He looked around her room and tried to look for a glass, a pitcher, or anything that might contain water in it. When he saw nothing, he frowned. “Where do you get your water from?”

 

“The pirates bring me water when they feel like it. I don’t ask for it,” she replied solemnly.

 

“What?” Luhan exclaimed with his raspy voice. He smacked his lips together again and tried to recall whether or not humans needed water to survive. When he remembered that it was vital to their survival, he said, “That’s not how a princess should be treated!”

 

Luhan stood up and spotted the sliding door that connected her room to Baekhyun’s. Luhan recalled passing by the captain’s room on his way to Cirrus’s, and concluded that he could communicate with the pirate captain using it. He waltzed up to the sliding door, and started hammering his fist against its metal bars.

 

Cirrus immediately got up and tried to make him stop, but by this point in time, Baekhyun had already heard the banging. The captain marched up to the sliding door and furiously opened it. When he saw Luhan’s face on the other side of the door, merely inches away from his own, his face contorted into one of disgust.

 

“I want water,” Luhan told him without a care in the world.

 

“Then why don’t you jump back into the ocean?” Baekhyun suggested while gritting his teeth.

 

“But then I can’t bring Cirrus with me,” said a perplexed Luhan. Baekhyun wanted to slap his own forehead, but kept his composure for the sake of being civil. He glanced behind Luhan and met Cirrus’s eyes. When his gaze met hers, she immediately looked away from him.

 

“I want a nice jug of water brought to Cirrus’s room,” Luhan ordered. “If I were to jump into the ocean now, I’d be breaking my promise with you. Then I won’t have the obligation of helping you out of this gorge.”

 

Baekhyun clenched his fists together and let his fingernails dig into his palms. He was forcing himself to bite back every curse word he could think of. He didn’t like to be ordered around – that’s why he became a captain, and he especially hated it coming from Luhan. But, he had to remain civil at least until they got out of the gorge.

 

Baekhyun sighed and nodded his head obediently and shut the sliding door. He stepped out of his room and went to fetch the merman his water. He stopped in front of Cirrus’s door in a few minutes, and gently rapped its surface before he unlocked it and let himself in. He carried two glasses of water in his hands.

 

Luhan eagerly grabbed a glass from Baekhyun’s hands and chugged the water down. The cool, refreshing drink hydrated his parched throat and he felt rejuvenated. Then, he tipped the glass upside down and shook it. “That’s it?” he asked the captain. “I wanted a jug of water.”

 

“I don’t have a jug to give you,” Baekhyun said. Even if I did, I wouldn’t give it to you.

 

Baekhyun offered the other glass to Cirrus, who took it without looking him in the eye. She glanced up once, and when she saw him looking at her, she averted her gaze embarrassedly.

 

What’s wrong with her now? First she’s depressed, now what? Baekhyun groaned internally. The faint tint of redness across her cheeks did not go unnoticed by him. What the hell is the matter with her?

 

Baekhyun set the second glass of water down on the desk and exited the room. He went back to his study, as he was still trying to decipher what the first clue meant: “Meet your doom around the gorge, be saved through it. Rests there several lyrics, do not pay them heed. Be wary of the enchantment, capture the talk and find the rock.” What was this “rock” that the riddle spoke of?

 

Luhan had been eyeing Cirrus’s glass of water, so the princess finally decided to give him permission to drink it. Luhan’s face lit up in appreciation, but decided to save the water for later in case he needed it. He didn’t want to waste the precious water now, only to decide 10 minutes from now that he wanted more. If possible, Luhan wanted to minimize the number of encounters he needed to have with Baekhyun.

 

“Is he always like that?” Luhan asked.

 

“Who? Baekhyun?”

 

Ah, so that’s his name, Luhan thought. The merman nodded his head in agreement, then added, “He’s always so tense.”

 

“I guess he’s like that sometimes,” Cirrus replied. She was starting to feel extremely uncomfortable by their choice in conversation, and wanted to change the topic. She hadn’t forgotten – how could she forget – what had happened right before they met Luhan. She had been in his arms, and they had been kissing. He had been smiling through the kiss, as if he enjoyed it. She felt as if she had betrayed Suho in some way, even though the kiss was unintentional on her part. Still, it was an image she wished she could burn from her memories.

 

Luhan noticed her change in attitude, along with the embarrassed look she had on her face. “Are you his lover?” Luhan asked curiously.

 

Cirrus’s eyes widened in shock and she waved her arms around in protest. “No! Absolutely not! What makes you think that?”

 

“Oh good,” Luhan sighed in relief and fell back to the ground. “You just seemed nervous around him, so I was curious.”

 

“Of course I’m nervous around him, but it’s for entirely different reasons,” she said sadly.

 

“Unrequited love?” the merman asked sympathetically as he placed a hand on her shoulder. Cirrus jerked herself free from his grasp and shook her head violently.

 

“I have a lover already,” declared a flustered Cirrus.

 

“Ah, don’t tell me it’s that guy with the blond hair. Really? I mean, I suppose he’s not too bad on the eyes but you could do so much better,” Luhan said and clicked his tongue.

 

When Cirrus realized Luhan had been talking about Ardent, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment and she quickly corrected the merman. “His name is Suho, and he’s not on this ship.”

 

“Then why are you here? Shouldn’t you be with him?” Luhan asked, hoping that the two weren’t separated for similar reasons that had prevented him and Sora from being together.

 

“I-I’m a… prisoner here,” she finally confessed. She hung her head low shamefully, and waited for his response.

 

“A prisoner?” he spat. Luhan’s eyes widened and he instinctively brought a hand over his aching chest. Sora had been imprisoned to that man through their marriage, so what kept Cirrus bound to Baekhyun? Would Cirrus share the same fate as Sora?

 

Cirrus nodded her head slowly and hugged her knees. She hated speaking of it because it reminded her of her impending doom. “I can read a language no one else can,” she explained. “Coelum.”

 

The ancient language’s name rang a bell in Luhan’s head, but he had never seen any texts written in it before.

 

“There’s this map that’s written in Coelum that directs pirates to a treasure. The pirate that claims the treasure becomes Pirate King. I’m imprisoned here to help Baekhyun find that treasure. Once he does, he’ll…”

 

“He’ll?” Luhan echoed Cirrus’s words. The merman gulped and gripped the sides of his pants. Please, please, please don’t tell me-

 

“He’ll probably kill me, I guess,” she finished. It felt weird for her to admit her own death to him, and as the words rolled off her tongue her eyes couldn’t even cry.

 

Just like Sora.

 

Luhan stood up in a fury and marched to the sliding door once again. He hammered his fist against the metal bars again, and when Baekhyun opened it, the captain yelled, “What do you want now?”

 

“How could you?!” Luhan cried at the captain. Baekhyun quieted down, and waited for Luhan to continue. “You’re going to kill her?! After what she’s doing for you?! How could you?!”

 

Luhan had to stop himself else he’d forget to breathe. He choked on his tears and covered his eyes with his hands. He could practically remember holding Sora’s lifeless body in his arms, and he wasn’t about to let it happen again.

 

“Not again,” he growled at Baekhyun. “Not again!”

 

“What are you going on about?” Baekhyun shouted.

 

“I heard. You kidnapped Cirrus because you want to become the Pirate King, and that after you find that treasure you’re going to kill her!” Luhan said lividly. “You humans are so full of greed.”

 

Baekhyun looked down and tried to look for the right words to say. Without looking back up, he said in a low voice, “I’m not going to kill her.”

 

“You liar!” Luhan screamed. If it weren’t for the metal bars that separated them, Luhan would have gripped Baekhyun’s neck. “You liar,” he continued to repeat. With each time he repeated the line, his volume lowered until it was barely audible. His shoulders began to tremble and the merman started to weep.

 

“I won’t let you do this,” Luhan declared.

 

“I won’t kill her,” Baekhyun said, this time a lot louder than the first time he said it. He looked over at Cirrus, who’s eyes were glued to the ground. He could see her trembling in fear, and she was biting her lip to prevent herself from crying.

 

“If it’ll stop you all from crying, I won’t kill her,” Baekhyun started. Then, he pointed a finger at Luhan and continued, “But if you keep crying, I won’t be able to hold myself back from killing you.”

 

Luhan stopped sniffling and looked the pirate captain in the eyes. “How can I believe that you won’t kill her?” Luhan asked through sobs.

 

“How could you believe that I would have killed her from the start?” Baekhyun replied wittily. “It’s so easy for someone to say something, but it’s a different story when they have to act upon it.”

 

“You’re a pirate,” Luhan said, still seething with anger.

 

“Well then, looks like we have some discrimination here,” Baekhyun whistled. “Look, I was wrong before to think that merfolk’s voices drove sailors to their death. I thought your voice cast a spell on us that we couldn’t resist, but I now know the hallucinations only come when we have supressed desires. It was my own fault that I fell for it.”

 

“What are you getting at?” Luhan spat.

 

“Let me finish,” Baekhyun raised a finger and told the merman to quiet down. “I discriminated against you because I didn’t know you better. Now that you’ve educated me about the correct reason why, I realize my faults. Now I’m going to reverse the situation. I’m sure you have some misconceptions about me, correct?”

 

“Misconceptions? You’re a killer,” Luhan snorted.

 

“Is that a fact?” Baekhyun smirked. Luhan stayed silent, and Baekhyun continued, “I’m Baekhyun Lux. Yes, I’m a pirate, but that doesn’t make me a ruthless killer. Does that settle the discrimination that I’m facing right now?”

 

“You said you would kill her,” Luhan argued. “Why are you going back on your words?”

 

Baekhyun didn’t know how to respond. In the beginning, he had truly planned on killing Cirrus after he claimed the treasure. But now, he was beginning to reconsider his initial plan. For reasons unknown, he didn’t have the desire to end Cirrus’s life anymore.

 

“I was just scaring the princess,” he smirked devilishly. “Had to incite some fear in her for her to cooperate fully.”

 

“You’re a monster,” muttered a very upset Luhan.

 

“They always did go hand in hand,” Baekhyun shrugged, and his mouth curved into a pout of some sort. “Monsters and pirates, I mean.”

 

.::.            .::.            .::.

 

The Sun set and was replaced by the Moon. Baekhyun considered Luhan’s feelings and decided that since neither he nor the merman wanted to see each other, the captain told Ardent to deliver their meals. The first mate reluctantly agreed and brought two plates of food into the princess’s room.

 

“What is this?” Luhan said as he poked at the bread with cheese on it.

 

“It’s bread,” Ardent rolled his eyes.

 

“Bread,” Luhan echoed, letting the foreign word roll off his tongue. “And the yellow thing on top?”

 

“Cheese,” Cirrus responded.

 

“Cheese,” Luhan echoed yet again, causing Cirrus to stifle back a chuckle. The merman looked like a little kid the way he played with the food. Finally, Luhan took a bite of the bread and chewed it slowly. He spat it out in disgust and used his fingers to rub whatever food remained on his tongue off.

 

“That’s disgusting!” he whined.

 

“Don’t eat then!” Ardent exclaimed as he grabbed the plate away from the merman. When he saw Cirrus in the corner of the room, the first mate walked towards her. Ardent let out a sigh and calmed himself down for her sake. “Looks like you get a double serving tonight, love,” he forced a smile.

 

Then, the first mate dug through his pocket and fished out a shiny red apple. “Don’t let Baekhyun know, alright?” he winked at her and handed her the apple.

 

Before he left, Ardent sent Luhan a glare and whispered to the merman, “If you do anything to her, you’re a dead fish.” Luhan squinted his eyes and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

 

“Well aren’t you a knight in shining armour?” the merman said teasingly.

 

“No.” The ends of Ardent’s mouth twisted into a smirk; something he probably picked up from Baekhyun. “I’m a pirate.”

 

“All of you are just so confusing,” Luhan shook his head.

 

Ardent smiled in triumph, then left the room. “He seems awfully protective of you, Cirrus,” Luhan said once Ardent was no longer present in the room. The merman was crossing his legs and watching the princess eat her meal.

 

“They need me to find the treasure, after all,” Cirrus replied.

 

“Hmm,” Luhan hummed in response. Luhan was starting to feel guilty. Was Baekhyun right? Luhan lived his life thinking that the humans discriminated against his species, but had he been doing it to them too? He knew not all humans were bad when he met Sora and Cirrus, and perhaps the same could be said about pirates. He was starting to think Baekhyun’s crew wasn’t like the notorious group of men Sora had been surrounded by.

 

Cirrus and Luhan spent the night sharing stories about the sea and land. Cirrus told him about the palace, her brother, Suho, and how she loved sneaking out into the village once a week. She told him about the vast fields that surrounded her kingdom, and all the different types of food she had eaten. Luhan didn’t know what a field was, but when he saw the sparkle in her eyes as she talked about it, he knew it had to be something good. He was also delighted to hear that humans ate more than just bread and cheese, but then he started throwing a fit about how the pirates were underfeeding her.

 

Luhan told Cirrus about the different coves and coral reefs he visited, and how he once had a pet shark named Squalo. He told her about the different types of fish that lived in the ocean, and how his best friend was a squid he had grown up with as his neighbour. When Cirrus asked Luhan what merfolk ate, he told her that they didn’t need to eat.

 

“So long as we get energy, we’re okay,” Luhan started to explain. He held out a finger and focused on it. Slowly, a small sphere of glowing light the size of a marble formed. “Merfolk can materialize energy into different forms. That’s how I’m able to control water. It’s also how I was able to morph my tail into a pair of legs.”

 

“Where do you get the energy from?” Cirrus asked in wonder as she stared at the glowing sphere on his finger.

 

“The ocean gives it to us,” he replied. “Every time a fish whips their tail, they send a wave of energy. Merfolk absorb that energy, so we don’t have to eat. But if we’re ever in a situation where we don’t have access to that energy, we can eat food to get the energy. I hope I never run into a situation like that because I really don’t want to have to eat bread and cheese again.”

 

Cirrus yawned and rubbed her sleepy eyes. Luhan looked out her window and concluded that it was past midnight. “You should sleep,” he told her gently.

 

Cirrus nodded her head slowly and made her way to her hammock. She fell into it and turned around to face him, who was still sitting cross-legged on the ground. “What about you?” she asked the merman.

 

“I’ll sleep on the ground. I’m okay,” he said softly as he watched her lids closing.

 

“Luhan?”

 

“Yes?” he responded.

 

“Can you sing me a lullaby?” she asked. Luhan’s heart swelled with happiness and he scooted himself over so that he was right by her side. He sang quietly, to a song with no particular lyrics. Cirrus yawned again, and within a few minutes she fell asleep. Luhan watched over her protectively, and brushed the hair out of her face.

 

The merman moved to the centre of her room and turned his back towards her. He focused his energy into his fingers, and soon a soft glow of light enveloped his entire being. He transferred the energy to his index finger, where it materialized into a small ball.

 

Cirrus was different than Sora, and it was precisely that reason that made Luhan determined to protect her. Things would be different this time; they already were.

 

.::.            .::.            .::.

 

When dawn broke, Baekhyun couldn’t have been any happier. Today was the day they were going to escape the gorge – and the day his ship would be rid of the merman. He was confident he had figured out the riddle.

 

Luhan was the “talk” the riddle spoke of. He had captured him, thereby effectively following the clue without even knowing it. He was sure that Luhan would lead them to the “rock”, where perhaps another clue laid in store.

 

There was one mystery he wasn’t able to figure out. She was slim, with chestnut brown hair and dark eyes that matched his own. She was a princess, and was inhabiting the room beside his. Baekhyun sat at his desk with his head in his hands. He had certainly noticed the difference in Cirrus’s behaviour as of late, and he couldn’t fathom the reason why. Whenever he looked at her, she would always avoid his gaze like she was keeping a secret from him.

 

It was probably the merman’s fault.

 

Baekhyun blamed Luhan for all this. The merman probably told Cirrus something to give her some preposterous, and most likely idiotic, ideas. Whatever it was, it’d mean nothing in a few hours.

 

Well, so long as she continues to cooperate, that’s all that matters, he told himself.

 

Baekhyun wasn’t the only one who woke up excited that morning. Ardent practically skipped around the deck, singing about how they would be rid of the annoying merman today. When the Sun was high in the sky, the entire crew including Cirrus and Luhan gathered on the deck. Luhan had insisted that Cirrus be outside when he generated the waves.

 

The merman stood near the edge of the ship and faced the crew. Cirrus looked sad to see him go, and in truth he wanted to stay with her longer too, but he had made a promise. Besides, he had a feeling that it would be okay to leave her in Baekhyun’s hands.

 

Just a small feeling, though.

 

“Alright, well do your thing I guess,” Baekhyun said nonchalantly, when in reality he was close to jumping for joy.

 

Luhan pursed his lips together and walked towards Cirrus. He inched his face dangerously close to hers. Luhan slipped something in her hands and whispered in her ear, “Whenever you need me, just drop that into the water. I’ll be there in a heartbeat.”

 

He took a step back and flashed a smile at her. She opened her palm to reveal what Luhan had given her. It was a thin, chain necklace that had a single pearl strung through it. The pearl was about the size of a marble, and was the same colour as the merman’s strawberry blond hair.

 

“I made that with my energy,” he said in a quiet voice. “It’s a part of me. It’ll react with the ocean’s waters.” Cirrus looked up at him with a shy smile that turned into one of surprise when he suddenly kissed her cheek.

 

Cirrus’s face immediately reddened, and she looked at the ground embarrassedly. Baekhyun raised a brow at the action, and muttered to himself, “There she goes again! Why does she keep doing that? Don’t tell me she’s sick.”

 

His comment did not go unnoticed by Luhan, who passed by Baekhyun on his way to the edge of the ship. Luhan glanced at him and smirked, “That’s what happens when girls are kissed.”

 

Then, he dove into the water.

 

---

 

A/N: wow this chapter's 4.3k words omfg the long chapters won't last though. A lot of people were shipping Ludent (Luhan x Ardent) and that was not my intention at all lol, but I admit they're kind of cute together XD

 

OH! baepsaeeinislyf found this awesome Twitter post that took the lyrics of EXO's 'Monster' and put a Shakespearen twist on them. So since this chapter didn't have any Shakespeare in it, here's your weekly dose of ye olden English:

"Come hither wench, thee calleth me monster"
"Don’t beest afraid,
loveth is the way,
tiny fellow i did get t.
thee can calleth me monst'r"

 

And because I love puns so much (ty kevinoppa for always dropping beautiful puns):

Wow Luhan was quite hmm what's the word? Salty
And Cirbaek was very strong here you could almost say ciriously strong.   (based on Chapter 9 content)
ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

 

\\ xoxo