Mermaid Monologue

Now, March 18..

Clunk, clunk, clunk, clunk. I could hear the tapping of the Captain’s peg leg on the deck as he paced. I could also hear the slightly lighter thumping of my mother’s heavy boots as she took baskets of herbs up and down the stairs.

The boots had originally belonged to Father, but Mother used them now, calling them more “seaworthy” compared to the delicate canvas boots that she used to wear.

When Mother and I joined the Silent seven years ago, I was surprised as she almost immediately started gathering herbs to treat all sorts of ailments, from seasickness to Mermaid’s Tail, a sort of skin disease that was hard to cure without herbs.

Mother was now the official healer of the ship, and she was especially busy this time of year.
Mother often took me with her when she gathered herbs, which is usually about once or twice a month. We would be gone the entire day, sometimes up to a week, if we were searching for a rare herb that wasn’t very common in those areas.

Mother knocked on my door. “Come in,” I called, adjusting the large amethyst earrings that I always wore.

They had been a gift from Mother, when she had stolen them years ago from a treasure chest. After all, Mother was the fearsome “Jade Princess”, the pirate who had stolen thousands of pounds of loot years ago.

She had been a powerful and respected pirate on the last ship she had been on, but she was now a healer because these pirates, the ones aboard the Silent, had severely underestimated her.

I was willing to bet that they would believe her if she was forced to steal something, however.

Mother entered, handing me several stems of prunellia, a type of woodland herb. “Here you go, Marine. Fresh from the
There is one female pirate, a strange old woman known as “Catalina”. Several rumors had circulated about her, including rumors that she was the Captain’s mother, that she had once been a fearsome pirate, or even that she had been the one to steal the Mystic.

The Mystic, a large, beautiful orb, once belonged to another pirate ship. Mother had told me the story so many times that I basically knew it by heart.

Then, April 20

Celeste stood at the helm of her boat, her fiery red hair blowing in the wind. Her long, dark-green hunting cloak was wrapped around herself, secured by the bright amethyst brooches that she prized so much.

Celeste glanced over at Seren, the huge blue orb that she had single-handedly stolen from the queen of the kingdom.

Then, May 10

Aine sat at the window, fingering the lace that adorned her delicate neck. She was a princess, a beautiful one, who was there to avenge her mother.

She silently tried to conjure up the image of that dreadful pirate, the one who had stolen her mother’s prize gem. She could see her red hair, flaming blue eyes, and a long green hunting cloak that was fastened by amethyst