Shin Hye got to the island after an hour, and when she emerged from the waters, she saw the pirates bringing something down the ship.

"Hmmm. That soldier's right," she thought.

She hid behind a large coral formation and waited for her tail to dry a bit. She took off her necklace and hid it in her pocket. Her white dress resurfaced, then she waited for the right time to attack the island.

****

Finally, she walked her way in the island. She had to be careful as not to destroy any foreign object which might harm the prince.

"I hope Yong Hwa will not be embarrassed that his girlfriend came to save him," she thought.

"You!" a harsh voice boomed.

Shin Hye turned around and saw a pirate. She flipped her sword and hit the throat of the pirate with the blunt side. The pirate was knocked down, unconscious. Later, she silently roamed around the island, looking for signs of the hostages and the other pirates. As more pirates came to her, she tackled them silently, knocking them unconscious.

"Sing!" a harsh voice boomed.

Shin Hye turned to the sound of the voice, and later, she heard a husky voice singing to "Oetoriya."

"Yong Hwa?" she thought.

She got nearer silently, and indeed, saw her prince singing. He looked so weak, and he sounded so sleepy when he sang. Beside him was Jong Hyun, who looked as weak as he was. The other prisoners looked like they were also beaten up a million times. Shin Hye grabbed a stone and threw it to the pirate.

"AYA!!!!"

The pirate turned around and saw a milky-white maiden looking at him in scorn. Instead of getting angry, the pirate was ecstatic to have someone to play with.

"Someone brought me a present, ey?"

"I challenge you to a fight," Shin Hye said.

The pirate would not believe her because she was damn hot and pretty, but Shin Hye was not in the mood for jokes when she jumped and landed in front of them, sword in her hand.

"Shin Hye..." Yong Hwa gasped.

The pirate realized that the prince knew the stranger, so he ran and tried to grab him by the hair to kill him, but Shin Hye was swifter. She kicked him and hit him with the blunt side of the sword so that he would not get near the prisoners.

"You are challenging me????" the pirate asked.

He called out to his men, but Shin Hye smirked and told him that his men were all unconscious. The pirate got angry and engaged on a one-on-one duel with her. Yong Hwa and the men saw how skillful the princess was indeed, and it was a stated fact that she indeed was the aggressive general of the mer army.

"Hwansangjeogida.... (amazing)!" Jong Hyun gasped.

The pirate, however, was able to unarm Shin Hye, and had cornered her to the cliff. Shin Hye knew no fear when she saw that her feet was close to the edge, and she was on the verge of falling down. However, when she looked down, she saw a merman with a dog scarf around his neck. And the merman was smiling at them.

"Hong Ki?" she asked.

Hong Ki smiled at him.

The pirate ed his sword near so that he could throw her to the sea. However, when he saw the merman, he was caught off guard because the merman had a very appealing smile.

"Neomu gwiyeopda (so cute)," the pirate crooned, aegyo style.

It was one distraction that caught him offguard, thus giving Shin Hye the time that she needed. She bent to the side away from the sword, and punched the pirate on the gut. The pirate knelt on the ground and coughed out loud, his vision full of stars and rockets. Shin Hye raised her leg and kicked him on the nape, and the pirate lay on the ground unconscious. She took out his belt, rolled him to his side, gathered his hands behind him, and wound the belt around his wrists. She got back to look at Hong Ki and thanked him for helping her.

"Cheonman," the merman said.

Shin Hye ran to the hostages, unbound them, and help them one by one to the ship. She searched for more pirates in the island, and she gathered all the unconscious pirates to the ship. Inside the vessel, she saw a long rope and tied the pirates all at the same time. When they woke up, they found it hard to struggle because Shin Hye bound them well, and she disarmed them of their secret weapons. She smirked at them before going to the sea.

"Gomapda, Hong Ki-ya," she said. "How did you know I was here?"

Hong Ki said he saw her, so he followed her. When he saw that she fought with the pirates, he sensed something wrong. Knowing that he saw her with Yong Hwa on the ship, he thought that she might need reinforcement.

"Ne, I do not know how to move this vessel," she said about the boat.

"Leave that to me," Hong Ki said.

He put his fingers to his lips and whistled. Later, dolphins came and pushed the ship.

"Gamsa, Hong Ki-ya!" Shin Hye shouted.

"Cheonman!" Hong Ki said.

Shin Hye watched as Hong Ki led the dolphins to the destination. Shin Hye felt that she had accomplished her mission and sat down beside her weak prince.

"Gamsa," he whispered to her.

Shin Hye did not let him say more. She leaned forward and gave him a soft kiss on his lips.

"Just rest, my jagiya," she crooned.

She let him rest on her shoulder so that he could get some restful shut-eye. She looked at him in contentment before looking at the horizon.

~~~~