“No Jinju!”

 

In the blink of an eye, Jinju felt someone materialize behind her and put a dagger to her neck. She immediately stiffened and kept a firm grip on the crystal she had snatched from Baekhyun’s bracelet. Then she felt something crawling up her arm, like several grains of sand grating a path on her skin traveling up her shoulder. Not long after, the blade against was pulled away along with a painful gasp.

 

Kai, who had been the one to pull the blade on her, dropped the weapon on the ground as the tendrils of black matter burrowed into the skin of his fingers. “Ah, it hurts. Get it off. Get it off!” He tried to shake it off to no avail.

 

Before it could reach the crystal on his knuckle ring, Lay took hold of his right wrist and the black matter dispersed like sand. “Thanks,” Kai looked appreciatively at Lay as he rubbed his hands together.

 

Lay disregarded him and knelt by Jinju’s side. “Jinju you need to put the crystal back,” he gently tried to coax her.

 

She closed her fist tighter over the black crystal and shook her head. 

 

“Jinju listen to me. Baekhyun derives his energy from that crystal, he’s bound to it. Eh si ton ekil su, eh sdeen eht syrclat ot nociteun ilgniv ^{He is not like us, he needs the crystal to continue living}.”

 

“But if I put it back, whatever that stuff is will continue burrowing into his body,” Jinju gestured towards Baekhyun.

 

Lay quickly checked and noticed that the black matter’s movement stopped and Baekhyun was no longer convulsing. He then decided to do an experiment and put a hand over Baekhyun’s chest. He saw the black tendrils moving toward his hand but it was significantly slower. His crystal glowed as the black matter disintegrated in a wave from Baekhyun’s body. Unfortunately, a vine-like scar was left behind on his chest right above his heart where the black matter burrowed the deepest. 

 

They both heard a gasp of surprise before Chen put his hands all over Baekhyun’s chest and said, “He’s okay. Guys, he’s okay now.” He looked excitedly to his crew mates and they all had some degree of relief on their faces.

 

“Not quite,” Lay brought their moods down.

 

“What do you mean? What else could possibly be wrong?”

 

Lay held Baekhyun’s hand out for all to see and they all noticed the tips of his fingers turning blue. “He is slowly dying without his crystal.”

 

“Then just give it back to him,” the tall man Jinju heard was called Chanyeol said. 

 

Jinju saw D.O., the one single-handedly carrying the mermaid just a little while ago, hit Chanyeol over the head. “That’s the problem we were having in the first place.”

 

Chen sat up to attention as if he had an epiphany. “Would a fresh crystal work?” he asked Lay.

 

Lay’s eyebrows furrowed, “It might, do you have one?”

 

“Yes,” Chen dug into the right pocket of his trousers and pulled out a shiny crystal. Jinju remembered that it must be the same one he had taken from the man they encountered a while ago. “Try this one.”

 

Lay took the crystal from his hand and turned to Kai, “Your name is Kai, am I right?” He received a nod, “Well Kai, let me borrow your dagger.”

 

Kai picked up the dagger he dropped on the ground and handed it to Lay, “Here.”

 

Lay took the dagger and made a small incision on Baekhyun’s right pinkie. He held the finger over the crystal until a tiny drop of blood dripped on the crystal. Then a quiet set in as they waited. What for? Jinju didn’t know but she did not dare say anything due to the tension in the air.

 

“No matter how long you wait, nothing will happen because that crystal holds nothing,” the mermaid interrupted the silence.  

 

“You speak the human language?” Jinju looked at her. 

 

“Yes, and now you’ve killed this man.”

 

“You were the one who told me it would end his suffering if I take away the crystal.”

 

“Naturally, the poison is coming from it so it is only obvious that it should be taken away. But you are naive child. You know a mermaid’s deceitful nature, yet you listen to me instead of the healer,” the mermaid said to her.

 

“Then I was right,” Lay interjected, “your tears could have healed him?”

 

The mermaid turned to him with a sly look in her eyes. “Of course, but I would rather bubble away from existence than help you worthless humans.”

 

At her outburst, the crew mates stiffened and some took a hold of their crystals. Lay noticed this and told them, “Your abilities are useless against her.” When they didn’t let up he added, “Her scales will invalidate anything you throw her way.” 

 

“Then why don’t we scale her,” D.O. offered with an evil glint in his eyes and a sword in hand.

 

“That’s right,” Kai put an arm over D.O.’s shoulder. “We might not be able to get crystals from that, but at least she’ll see that we’re definitely not worthless.”

 

“You monsters!” the mermaid tried to wriggle away from them. 

 

“Look here mermaid,” Suho bent down while playing with a dagger and offered her a deal, “if you willingly provide us with a real crystal we might just let you go with all your scales intact.”

 

“Never,” She looked defiantly up at him.

 

“Then you leave me no choice. Boys...”

 

D.O. advanced on her with sword in hand while Kai and another tall man moved to hold her down until, “Wait!” D.O. turned toward Jinju with no emotion in his eyes. She cautiously moved closer to the mermaid and the trio. “Please, there doesn’t need to be any bloodshed. Give them what they want,” she implored the mermaid.

 

“We don’t willingly give our scales away just to anyone who asks.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Only ones who have shown themselves to be worthy deserve to wield power. But as you can see, those who are unworthy that have managed to get a hold of a crystal are abusing the gift they have received. Your world is morally depraved because greedy and power-hungry people rule over it. Even the supposed authorities have discovered a way, through the black matter, to keep power in their hands. No matter what happens to me, I will not give in...However, if you truly wish to save him, then yhw od uoy ton reffo sruoy ^{why do you not offer yours}?”

 

“Enim ^Mine?” Jinju clutched at her necklace.

 

“Sey, sruoy. Ruoy tfig si niehtner, erehterof uoy era ton deit ot ruoy syrclat. Uoy nac droffa ot evil htiwtuo ti. ^{Yes, yours. Your gift is inherent, therefore you are not tied to your crystal. You can afford to live without it.}"

 

“Lay, is she telling the truth?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Was there really a need to ask him. You know from experience that you will not die.” When Jinju gave no reply she continued on, “Though it is smart on your part to confirm.”

 

“Woh nac I eb erus taht ym syrclat lliw pleh ^{How can I be sure that my crystal will help}?”

 

“Ruoy syrclat sah a erpivsuo woren, uoy. Siht neserus taht eht txen repnos ohw sdnob htiw ti lliw ekat ni eht erenyg taht ti sah erdeviec morf uoy lla siht emit. ^{Your crystal has a previous owner, you. This ensures that the next person who bonds with it will take in the energy that it has received from you all this time.} The only reason why the other crystal did not work is because it is empty. And even if I give you one of my scales, it is only useful to people who were born with a gift. Most people who have the gift receive it through bonding with a crystal. The odds are slim, but treasure hunters who search for these crystals get more chances. The only downside is that if they bond with one that does not afford them any power, they continue to be bound to it until they find another. And through it they risk death through the black matter, without any reward.” The mermaid looked over all the men and added, “In this group, I see only two who are not fortunate enough to come across one.”

 

“How do you know that?” Chanyeol demanded.

 

The mermaid scoffed, “Instinct and I can tell you’re one of the two.”

 

“Shut up!”

 

“Very well, but I must say that it was you who asked.”

 

Jinju looked at Baekhyun while Chanyeol continued to argue with the mermaid. He’s changed in the last five years. He’s lost the baby fat around his face and if possible, he looked even more handsome than he did before. She asked herself if she could stomach watching him die. Her heart answered for her when she felt it clench. Even her stomach dropped just from the thought. But he betrayed her. Is she willing to part with something precious just to save the life of someone who didn’t think about how she would feel if he left without a word? Was he worthy? 

 

The mermaid grew tired of arguing with Chanyeol and turned to Jinju to observe her. She saw the conflict she was going through and said, “It is up to you whether you’re willing to part with it. His life is yours to do with as you please, you hold the key.”

 

Her words reminded Jinju of the promise Baekhyun gave her, “I love you and I won’t ever let anything or anyone separate us. If I ever break my promise, my life is yours to do with as you please.”

 

~~~*~~~

 

Baekhyun woke up with a sudden jolt. The person watching over him immediately got up from the chair and checked on him. “How are you feeling?”

 

“I...” He clenched the fabric covering his chest where his heart would be, “It hurts.”

 

“Are you in pain? Should I call in the healer?” 

 

“Where am I?”

 

“You’re on the ship. EXO remember?”

 

“EXO? That’s right, I’m the captain.”

 

“No, Suho is.”

 

“Since when?”

 

“Since you gave your title up, and the crew elected him as captain five years ago.”

 

“That’s right. That was five years ago?...But I can’t remember why I did that.”

 

“So you could be with the woman you love, remember?” the person faced him and caressed the back of his neck.

 

Baekhyun looked at her a little dazed. “The woman I love? That’s right, I promised her my life. I remember now.”

 

“Good, if you didn’t I might have gotten angry at you,” she said with a fake pout on as she draped her arms around him. 

 

As Baekhyun sat there on his bed with the woman clinging on to him, he observed her. She had silky black hair and a very sweet scent that he couldn’t place. His thoughts began to clear and he roughly pushed her away. “Who are you?”

 

“It’s me, the woman you love remember?” She tried to reach for the hand with his bracelet. 

 

Baekhyun could feel a headache coming on. “No! You’re not her!”

 

“What are you talking about Baekhyun? It’s me,” she looked sadly at him.

 

“NO! I said you’re not her! You’re not my Jinju,” Baekhyun’s heart raced as he couldn’t get a hold of what’s happening. Now that his mind was clear, why couldn’t he remember yesterday, or the days before that.

~~~*~~~

A/N: That "language of the sea" really takes a while to write out.