Visons of Riptide's massive jaws of sharp teeth snapped inches from Mark's face, prompting him to jerk upright. His arms rose to defend himself, accidently punching a merman in the face that had been too close to him. Merfolk rushed in to push him back down and Mark thrashed his tail to keep them back. He barely processed where he was. His mind was swimming with thoughts of Riptide chasing him through the sunken shipyard. His Hippocampus had been fast enough to stay ahead of Riptide and had cut tighter turns than Riptide could. Allowing them to keep away, but Riptide was not dumb and had tried cutting them off since he knew the sunken shipyard better. He remembered his hippocampus making a sharp turn to avoid Riptide's teeth, but his shoulder had gotten hit and began to bleed. Sending riptide into a frenzy. He recalled falling off the Hippocampus and Riptide coming for him. He even remembered his Hippocampus rushing in to punch Riptide in the eye with its seahorse tail.

After that, everything was hazy. Bits and pieces. The sight of his mother calmed him down. She waved people back and hugged him as she said. "Oh, Mark! I've been so worried! Where have you been?!" Mark hugged her back, then gasped. He didn't have time to waste! Patting his mom's back to coax her into releasing him, he slid off the sponge bed and rushed out. "The king! I have to see him!" His mom tried to grab his arm but missed and yelled out after him. "Mark! Get back here! You are in no condition to be moving around!" Favoring his arm, he swam out the cave entrance. People tried to take his arms in order to carefully to take him back, but Mark shoved them aside with his good arm. Swimming as fast as he could, he turned down a hallway to head down the grand hall of the palace. He was barely focused on where he was going. He was in pain, but he fought through it. Nate needed him. Bumping into someone, Mark snapped out. "Out of my way! I need to see the king!" The person before him folded his arms, answering casually. "What a coincidence. I was just coming to see you."

Mark swallowed, slowly looking up more to meet Triton's eyes. Quickly bowing his head, he told him respectfully. "My apologies, Highness. I thought you were-" Triton lifted his chin, cutting Mark off as he stared into his eyes and demanded in a worried voice. "Where is my son?!" Triton dropped his hand and Mark answered prompting. "The Seaside Castle. But before you go there. You need to know a few things. So, I'll try to make this quick." Triton nodded, hugging himself as Mark started from the moment Ursel made the deal with Nathan.

Back on the Jolly Rodger, Nathan was tied and gaged to the mast. Left to watch as the crew bustled around him. Hook was barking orders to get the ship moving and to get cannons loaded. Hook didn't expect a fight, but he was not going to be unprepared for one. Nathan muffled his soft groans of pain. He was tied standing upright, and his legs were protesting. More cuts were opening along his legs and bleeding with every passing minute. Smee followed Hook around, always standing just behind him and informing Hook quickly of things he'd forgotten or things he should know. Smee seemed to have all the information on the crew and who worked better with who. When preparations were done, Hook passed by him, glaring at him with merciless eyes. Going up to the helm, Hook stood strong beside it and spun it with his good hand as he yelled out to the crew on deck. "To arms, Lads! Tonight, we take back the castle!" The crew cheered and raised their swords in unison. Nathan struggled against his bonds, the rope burning against his wrists.

He missed his sharp nails. The leather sails above him caught the wind, causing the ship to surge forward and Nathan inhaled deeply to calm himself down. He didn't want Sean to get hurt, but there was no reasoning with Hook. Looking up at the dark sky. Time was slipping away from him. He hoped Mark was alright and that Sean was getting far from Hook's wraith. The Jolly Rodger crashed through the waves, drawing closer to the castle and Hook made sure the ship was positioned well enough to fire the cannons directly at it. Nate held his breath, watching as the ship crept through the water around the castle. From nearby, Smee asked Hook. "Shall we anchor here and go in from the front? They have white flags posted." Hook's eyes were on the castle as he ordered in a cold voice. "Boarding party! Go!" A group of ten men rushed over the side of the ship into the small boats, then pulled down a lever to drop into the water with loud cheers. Hook didn't stop the ship though. Smee straightened up from the railing, asking Hook nervously. "Captain...?"

Hook turned eyes on Smee, daring Smee darkly. "I didn't see any white flags, Mr. Smee. Did you?" Smee's face drained of color a little, but he shook his head and said softly. "No, Captain. Must have been the trick of the light." Nathan watched the boarding party reach the shore, before rushing up to the gate of the castle. The ship sailed just enough by the castle that Nathan could hear people screaming but couldn't see the carnage. Sailing around the back to the little private dock, Hook yelled out. "Raise the sails! Drop anchor! Second boarding party! Go!" The next ten men rushed forward to drop the ramp down to the dock, then ran down it to head for the door. The rest of the crew finished docking the ship and Hook called out to them. "You lot! Stay here and man the cannons. Don't let anyone except crew aboard! Kill any guards but try not to use the cannons unless its life threatening to my ship!" Hook then pointed to Smee and four other men, before ordering next. "You lot will come with me. Smee, bring the prisoner. We might need a little... leverage if the prince is still here."

Smee nodded, moving to untie only the ropes that bond him to the mast. Pulling him away from the mast, Smee whispered over his shoulder. "Don't make trouble and I can reason with him on your behalf. If Vanessa is here as you say... Let's hope he finds her soon." Nathan sighed, turning to look out at the horizon. He could see Princess Verlaine's ship sailing off. Why was she leaving? Had she abandoned Sean? Where was Ursel? He had so many questions swirling inside him, but none that he could answer without just complying to Hook's command. They followed Hook down the ramp and Nathan limped. Smee didn't have any issues with him leaning on him a bit more than normal as his legs struggled to hold him up. To Nathan's shock though, Hook didn't go into the open back door where pirates were fighting castle guards. He turned to move out along the beach. Staying close to the castle, Hook moved up to the stone balcony and touched a little carved mural on the side. On the mural was a scene of a mermaid with her hands on the edge of a sailor's small boat.

Touching the mermaid, he tilted her body and caused the scene to change to her pushing the edge of the boat down under the water as she rose to kiss the sailor. A soft click sounded, and a part of the stone wall hissed and moved to reveal a set of stairs down into a dark passage. Nathan's eyes widened. Where was Hook going? Hook slipped inside like he'd done this before. After Smee pulled him inside, Hook flicked a lever to close the passage up. Giving Nathan a smug grin, he said aloud. "When I took this castle the first time, I made sure to build a few ways in. Just in case they'd try to set a trap. Or I needed a quick escape." Hook followed the passage of stone steps down to a dead end. Everyone but Hook was confused. Reaching up, Hook fiddled with something on the ceiling and lifted a trapdoor. Grabbing the sides, Hook hefted himself up and into a room above. Hook helped everyone up into the room, then grumbled out sourly. "Well... This used to be the treasure room. I guess, the King made some... interesting changes."

Nathan stumbled down to his knees as his legs gave out, but he was the only one that had seen this room before. The secret garden. It was still just as beautiful as the last time he'd been here with Sean. Hook put the trapdoor down, muttering something under his breath, until a soft voice started to sing a lonely tune. Hook and Smee tensed up to listen. Nathan glanced between them, thinking the mermaid had them. However, only the other four men moved out toward the stone pond. Nathan staggered to his feet, walking with Smee at a distance to see that there was a mermaid laying across the smooth rock under the shrouded stone archway in the center of the pond. Nathan could see her red tail swaying in the water as she played with the hanging ivy on the archway. She hadn't seen them yet. Creeping around just a bit more, Nathan got a full view of her. She was an older mermaid with long bright red hair with blonde highlights that were almost golden in color. She had the most gorgeous golden eyes he'd ever seen. He had seen may lovely mermaids, but none like her.

Nathan's heart ached when he saw that around her neck was a metal collar with a long chain that he recalled was attached to the rock she was laying on. It hurt him to see someone so beautiful trapped here. Merfolk were social creatures and to be trapped down here for so long must have gotten to her. Her song was so sad that it broke his heart to hear it. Stopping her song, she held up a little fish and uttered out grimly. "Such a shame. You are a pretty one... but a girl has got to eat." She opened her mouth but dropped the fish into the water as the four pirates moved to the edge of the pond and purred out to her. "Well, now... Look at you. What's a lovely lady like you doing down here?" The mermaid slowly slid off the rock and back into the water, her eyes locked on the men. They tapped the water and quickly told her sweetly. "Aww, don't go! Come back? We won't hurt you." Nathan backed up into Smee, who seemed just as scared of her. You could just see the murder in her eyes. Hook drew his sword but didn't rush in to help his men.

The mermaid rose to the edge of the pond, giving them a menacing smile. Reaching up, she stroked the necks of two men, while bringing her lips to the neck of the third. Nathan was mesmerized himself. He'd heard stories about merfolk that hurt humans but had never seen one do it. The men leaned closer to her, whispering the dirtiest things to her. Then in the blink of an eye, her sharp nails pierced the throats of the two men, and she latched her teeth onto the neck of the third. The two men screamed and clutched at the holes in their neck uselessly as they bled out. The third man tried to back away, but she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into the pond. The water turned red shortly after, and the body didn't come back up. The fourth man gawked at the dying men and called out frantically. "Captain?!" From the water, the mermaid lunged out to try grabbing the man, but Hook finally moved forward and grabbed her chain by hooking it with his hooked hand. The mermaid jerked just short of the man, falling backward into the water with a loud splash.

Hook raised his sword at the ready as the water of the pond churned violently. Smee screamed, hiding behind Nathan as the mermaid burst out at Hook with teeth and claws at the ready. She stopped before Hook's blade pierced her chest to hiss out at him with uncontrolled rage. "Hook! You're still breathing?!" Hook grinned back at her, pushing his blade out enough that she had to back up from him. After she settled back in the water, Hook told her in a stern voice. "I could say the same about you, Lorelei." She hissed loudly, her bright red and yellow ear fins shaking beside her head. Nathan gasped, looking at her in a new light. His noise got her to look in his direction and her body language changed. Her ear fins fell flat, and she stopped hissing to blurt out almost in tears. "Nathan?!" Nathan was completely stunned. Lorelei was the name of his mother... but she'd been missing for years. His dad had told him that she died. Hook glanced between them, then told Smee smugly. "So, he is hers. I thought so. The mothers always know their own children." To Be Continued...