—{Liam Johan}—
"Nothing." I gritted my teeth. We've been on our fifth island, and the next one is Arendelle. So far, there's no progress or any clues.
I know what we're doing is pointless and more of a punishment but I can't give up now. We already started and we have to finish it even if the result remains the same.
"Sir, we're en route to Arendelle, it'll take two to three days before we arrive." One of the knights reported to me. As we started our search from nearest to farthest, with our last search being the second farthest, our estimated arrival at Arendelle has been shortened from two weeks to a mere few days.
"Good. Maintain our course." I replied with a nod of my head. Watching the knight saluting before dispersing.
Whoever god is up there, please help us in this voyage.
———
By the time the sun set, Henry got back to the shores of Arendelle. Compared to before he left, now he looks like someone who aged 50 years more. His fingertips were wrinkled, nails white, and his face contained some wrinkles similar to those of an old man.
"I'm never trusting that bird again!" Henry cursed as he was about to leave the shores when he noticed something unusual. Why does the shore seem closer to the capital city than usual? Normally, this kind of scene only happens when the ocean tides have reached their highest point in the middle of the night.
But the moon has barely set yet.
"Weird." He murmured to himself as he ignored it and made his way through the busy streets of Arendelle, ignoring the looks that the people were giving him. Some recognized him as the magician while the others were stifling laughs.
Finally, after a few minutes of brisk walking, he was thankful that the castle guards still recognized him and allowed him in.
On the porch, he was met with Elsa and Anna's concerned gazes, along with Kai and Gerda respectfully standing behind them.
"Henry! What happened to you? There was another just Earthquake earlier, did you feel it?" The eldest princess rushed forward, planting her palms on Henry's cheeks.
Thankfully, Henry was keeping himself warm through his fire magic, so he didn't feel freezing to the touch.
Henry smiled, feeling a bit embarrassed from the show of intimacy, "I'm fine and no, I didn't feel any earthquake earlier, I was in the middle of the sea. Just remind me never to trust seagulls again." Henry replied with a twitchy smile.
His words however, sparked confusion from the people present.
"Seagulls?" Elsa tilted her head.
"I thought Elsa said you were hunting pirates…" Anna pointed out. Gerda and Kai nodded their heads in agreement behind her.
"It's a long story and I don't have time to tell you about it. I'm gonna need a ship and a crew, professional ones who know their way around the ocean. I hope that can be arranged?" Henry asked, turning his gaze to Kai.
As much as Elsa who now holds the highest authority in the kingdom, the real person who managed things during the absence of the King and Queen was Kai.
As expected, Kai's eyes turned serious and he nodded his head before turning to do as said, no questions asked.
On the other hand, Elsa saw this and felt useless. However, it didn't let her down, it just made her determined.
'I'll ask Kai to update me on everything I need to know around the Kingdom. I'll be its future Queen, I should be aware of things like this…' She clenched her fists and made up her mind.
Meanwhile, Henry didn't bother resting or getting inside, he waited by the Arendelle's port where Kai was hauling several goods on a small ship and picking off people with lean builds, large builds, and even some fit elders.
No doubt Kai is choosing people with experience, the body, and probably the brains—no other particular reasons to choose the younger and lean sailors.
"These are the best of the best, Magician Henry, please use them as you must." Kai handed the helm of command to Henry.
Without any words said. Henry boarded the ship along with the crew before departing in a hurry. On the port, Elsa waved her hand goodbye.
———
—{Princess Ariel}—
These men. Or brutes. They're disgusting, laughing at my misery and making fun of my fish tail, calling it hideous and other names.
I already regret attempting to see what pirates are like. Instead of seeing them, I'm experiencing them instead.
But that's the only thing I regretted. As for saving those poor creatures from being captured by these…brutes? I don't regret every single thing about it, I'd even do it all over again if given the chance.
Unfortunately, I'm too useless to save the rest.
I pulled my knees close and hugged them, ignoring the sudden jerks of the floor.
I miss Dad. My sisters.
I also miss Henry…I wonder if he knows where I am. If he is, would he try to save me? Like how he saved that princess from Arendelle?
Probably not. I don't think I'm someone important to him. Unlike this Princess Elsa, who is the future Queen of her Kingdom, I'm not. Not to mention, we're not of the same kind. I'm just a mermaid and he's a human.
Father once told me that a man and a mermaid can't be together.
"I'm sorry, Dad…" I sniffed and cried myself to sleep, hoping that whatever the pirates want with me, I won't end up as the turtle and fish he just killed earlier.
———
"Capta- I mean, Lord Henry! If you don't mind me asking, what kind of pirates are searching for? Kai just told us that you're hunting pirates…" One of the elderly, a man with wrinkles that is as many as his sailing experience, asked with a slight hesitation.
He may be old and not able to keep up with whatever is going on around the capital city anymore, but he had heard of Henry's feats at least. Rumors of Henry's magic tricks and shows that gathered the attention of even the royal servants and princesses.
Hearing the question, Henry's brows creased. He recalled overhearing about a certain pirate coming in on Arendelle's waters, those two drunken men talking too loudly that it could be heard from the other side of the tavern.
Coincidentally, that was the same day that King Triton forbade his daughters from coming out of the palace due to pirate activity.
'No doubt. They're connected.' Henry sighed and relayed the name to the old sailor.
"Regor, the so-called next Pirate King. Ring any bells?"
As soon as he mentioned the name, the old man's face turned pale, his bony fingers shaking so much that Henry almost mistook him for having a stroke.
"T-That name…a-are you sure Magician Henry? Is it really Regor the Dread?"
Henry frowned at the old man's reaction, "Is something wrong? Is this Regor really that terrifying?" Honestly, the question is more of Henry's curiosity rather than gathering information.
The old sailor nodded his head several times like a pecking chicken.
"Even though I've only heard rumors about it, I know for a fact that more than half of those rumors are true…"
Henry leaned forward in interest, "Such as?"
The old man's head shifted side to side, as if making sure that the person in topic is not near the sound range, "I once heard that Regor is known as the mermaid killer, he said he killed almost twenty mermaids and mermen combined, the only thing I'm not sure about is the number."
Then he continued, narrating more confirmed rumors about the said pirate. However, somewhere along the lines in the middle caught Henry's attention.
"He even once fought against the great Captain Edward Teague and his notorious crew and lived to tell the tale!"
"I'm sorry…Did you just say Edward Teague?" Henry frowned, feeling like he had heard the name somewhere.
"Captain Edward Teague! A great captain in his own right. I haven't heard much about him except that he's one of the most feared pirates and the youngest one at that." The old man shrugged his shoulders, no longer bearing any info about the guy anymore.
"Right. Our focus for now should be Regor. Anything I should be aware of? Do pirates have flintlocks?" This question is what has been bugging him lately. He doesn't know if gunpowder exists yet and he hopes it's not yet.
It's in the middle of the 1400s and back in Lioncrest Kingdom, he hasn't heard of any mention of gunpowder or flintlocks.
He doesn't know well how he would fare against a bullet and he doesn't want to know yet.
"Flintlocks? What's that? Haven't heard of it. Pirates uses cutlass, some weird blade that I can't fully describe."
Hearing him, Henry doesn't know what just happened to him but he feels like a huge boulder was lifted off his shoulders.
"Well that's goo—" Before Henry could finish his words, the entire ship suddenly started to rattle, and the old man immediately joined the others who were yelling and running around the ship with serious expressions.
Henry on the other hand, simply looked down below the ship's deck, and what he saw nearly drained his face of blood.
Under the sea, was hundreds or almost thousands of humongous creatures. Sharks, whales, some giant squids, and several other marine creatures that Henry hasn't even seen in his entire life.
Together along with these marine creatures were the familiar figures of mermen and mermaids. With the former armed to the brim, tied hairs, and clutching spears in their hands.
Henry instantly knew who could've done this, "King Triton…" He murmured. Of course, it could only be him who can command this amount of fearsome marine creatures.
Aside from the scary sight, the sea was also shaking in a sense that is hard to explain. The usual ocean waves carried what Henry assumed to be vibrations that spread around as time passed by.
"So Flounder must've failed to convince King Triton…" He murmured to himself, clenching his fists. If he had known this would've happened, maybe he should've stayed in Atlantis that day.
'We need to find that goddamn pirate fast.'
While Henry was left contemplating to himself, the ship finally stabilized and the old sailor came back with relief on his face.
"Lord Henry, before I forget. I've long heard that pirates have an entire island for themselves, which they called Pirates' Paradise. Just in case our search leads to nothing, we can try that island as our last resort."
Henry's ears perked at his words, "Pirate's Paradise? Tell me more."
The old sailor nodded his head and started narrating everything he knew. Ranging from who the big pirate figures were behind the creation of the island up to rumors of various nobles from all over the world flocking to the island due to its exotic merchandise.
As soon as he got to the last one, Henry's face darkened and he instantly interrupted the man, "I think I already know where these Regor pirates are. Take me to this Pirate's Paradise."
It would be a lie to say that the old sailor didn't understand the sudden change of their course. Whatever Henry is looking for, it could only mean it is highly valued and would be sold in the Pirate's Paradise.
So without any questions asked, he took the helm and instructed everyone of their new course.
Thank Kai for really choosing the veterans and professionals. They didn't let their curiosity cloud their judgment and simply did as asked. And Henry really appreciated that.
As much as possible, he wanted to keep the reason for this voyage under wraps. Revealing Ariel's identity as both a princess and a mermaid would cause unnecessary opinions amongst the crew.
Humans will be humans and in front of profit and money, they'll be ready to throw everything behind for greed.