Tink and I go straight to the lagoon in the morning. After I tell my brother to take charge until I get back of course. Our hike to our position by the lagoon is spent in silence. Tink isn't really one for small talk. As we wait for them to show up I lean against a tree and casually kick at a rock on the ground. 

I tilt my head in thought and look at Tink sideways. "How long do you think it takes for little miss princess to get her hair done in the morning?" I muse aloud. 

"What?" Tink is obviously caught off guard by my sudden question. 

"You know, her hair. Every time I see her her hair is in a different hairstyle. It's always intricate. And it's always only partly up. But it's so complicated. It must take forever to do. She has to have help with it. And one little mistake and they have to start all over. And then they have to take it all down at night." I look at my Fae friend who is giving me a weird look. "Then they have to start all over agin in the morning." I shake my head. "Now that, that's my idea of torture." 

"Your idea of torture is to have your hair done every day?" Tink questions in a dull tone. 

I roll my eyes. "You see the fact that you don't understand what I mean proves you're not human." 

"I am not human." 

I roll my eyes again and use an obvious tone. "Yes I know that." I push off from the tree and lean over the edge of the cliff we are hiding on to look down on the the lagoon. Not that I really need to right now. I have no doubt we'll be able to know when they arrive. Those scaly devils are very loud. "So anyway, is there a preferred outcome to this little day trip or are we just wasting a day?" 

"Information is valuable. Whether we find out her intentions or we find out she drowns we will have gathered valuable information." Tink explains in her steady voice without losing a beat. 

I nod and continue to look over the edge. The guests of honor have finally arrived. I settle in to watch what I assume will be quite the show. As annoying as the mermaids are, they can provide adequate entertainment. 

As expected, Peter greets the mermaids with excited energy and they mirror his energy and then some. I roll my eyes at their flirty behavior. 

I have a hard time hearing everything from this distance but I assume Wendy said something since every single one of the mermaids turns their attention to her and then moves in on her. 

"Show time," I whisper. I know what's going to happen next. I've seen it happen often enough. They tried to do it to me and a few of my crew mates more than once. But that did not go as they had planned. Really, they should've known better than to try to catch a pirate with their guard down. Now they know better than to try that again on me. 

I watch as they surround the girl and she gets dragged under water. I start counting the seconds in my head. Quicker than I expected the girl's head breaks the surface of the water. She's stronger than I thought. 

But not as strong as a whole school of mermaids. She only has time to take a breath before she's dragged under again. Once again I'm counting seconds. 

"Well?" Tink asks from behind me. "What is the verdict?" 

"Shh!" I hiss, waving at her to get her to be quiet while my eyes stay glued on the lagoon. I don't want my attention divided right now. 

To my shock the girl claws her way back to the surface. She even manages to fight her way to the safety of the rocks. This is unexpected. There's only one person that I know of that has managed to fight their way out of the drowning from a group of mermaids on their own, and that's me. Everyone else was only being pulled under by a single mermaid or had help getting out of the water. Or never made it out of the water. If she managed that, she determination and fight is far stronger than we realized. Which makes her far more dangerous than we thought. 

"We have a problem," I tell Tink without taking my eyes off the lagoon. 

"What? What is the problem?" 

I point down at the lagoon where the girl is sitting and watching the mermaids play with Peter. "That is the problem." 

Tink comes over and sits beside me, looking down at the lagoon with me. "You are right Captain, that is a problem." 

I look over at my Fae friend, finally prying my gaze from the lagoon. "What now?" The atmosphere around us has become more serious. Almost like the air has gotten thicker. 

"That my friend, is an excellent question." She gets up and turns away from the lagoon. "And one we should figure out the answer to away from here. Clearer heads bring better answers." 

I roll my eyes and get up as well, brushing my legs off to rid them of dirt and leaves. "Is that your way of saying there's nothing more to learn here?" Okay, maybe I was letting my annoyance at the situation leak into our conversation. At least I know Tink won't be offended. 

"Was there another way to say it that you would prefer?" 

I laugh and shake my head. "No it's fine. Let's go. Lead the way." My good mood restored, at least a little bit. Who would've thought Tink could break the tension like that? 

At least now with this chore out of the way I can go back to my ship. I can spend the rest of the day with my crew in my happy place. On the sea. Just the thought makes my mood pick up. And I'm itching to get back on the water. 

We don't get far on our journey back to my ship when Tiger Lily steps out from the trees, seeming to just materialize from the surrounding woods. This is her typical way of appearing when on the island. Even still, it is very disconcerting. I try my hardest not to even blink at her sudden appearance. Am I the only one that can't just appear and disappear at will? 

"What did you discover?" 

"Straight to the point, as always. Don't you ever know how to have fun?" I tease gently. She's clearly not amused as she just glares at me. "Okay, I get it. Straight to the point. She didn't drown." 

"That means she's going to be very upset." 

"Yes, I know." It's obvious. Does she really have to state the obvious all the time? 

"So what are you going to do about it?" 

I roll my eyes. "I'm going to go back to my ship. You and Tink are going to keep watching for any signs that she's going to make a move. Then we decide what to do." 

Tiger Lily narrows her eyes and looks around us, clearly not liking my answer. "That does not seem wise." 

I shake my head at her response. Once again the princess is proving just how naive she can be. "This is a dangerous game we are playing. And right now the ball is in her court. We must be patient and not act before we're ready." 

Tink nods in approval of my words. "This is wise. We do not want to act prematurely. Before we know all the facts." Well, at least I have Tink on my side. 

Tiger Lily huffs in annoyance. "I still think you should take care of this sooner rather than later." 

This makes me laugh. "You know, for a leader you're not much of a strategist." 

Tiger Lily rolls her eyes and decides to leave without another word. I grin in victory and continue on my way back to my ship.