Chapter 133: THIRD POV.
A second later, the water parted again as Persephone and Artria rose up right beside him, their long, beautiful hair floating around their shoulders like colorful seaweed as their bright scales glistened under the hot afternoon sun.
"And I found some old friends of mine too," Jacob added with a light grin.
"Uhh huhh..." Priscilla muttered, her face turning completely stiff as she stared down at the trio.
She gripped the wooden railing with both hands, her eyes squinted as she tried to process the strange sight.
Clearly, She didn't know what to make of the two incredibly beautiful mermaids currently floating next to Jacob in the open water.
She had heard stories about the mysterious people of the deep sea, but she had never actually seen one up close before besides jacob, let alone two at the same time.
But seeing Persephone in particular clinging so incredibly close to Jacob's side, her slender arms wrapped tightly around his waist, Priscilla's lips couldn't help pursing a bit with a sudden, strange look of annoyance.
Her white ears flattened slightly against her head, and her posture became much stiffer than usual.
Artria, who was exceptionally sharp and noticed this small change in the captain's body language instantly, said absolutely nothing out loud.
Yet, a light, amused smile emerged on her beautiful face. She shifted her weight in the water, looking between the feline captain on the deck and her sister who was hugging Jacob.
The look on her face was like that of someone who knew things were going to get very, very interesting in the coming future, and she was more than happy to watch the drama unfold.
********
While still clinging tightly to Jacob like a stubborn barnacle, Persephone couldn't help staring intently at the white-furred captain as well.
Her bright eyes narrowed just a fraction as she took in Priscilla's long ears, her sharp sword, and the way she was looking down at Jacob from the railing.
It appeared that both women were completely wondering who on earth the other one was, and what in particular was the other's exact relationship to Jacob.
The silence between the deck and the water soon became thick with an unspoken tension.
*******
A short while later, after Jacob had managed to climb back onto the deck and help the two sisters get settled near the side of the boat, a calm conversation finally began.
On the wooden deck of the First Hornet, the breeze was cool, blowing away the remaining smell of the smoke from the earlier battle.
"So that's who they were.," Priscilla said, as she leaned her back against the wooden mast of the ship.
She listened silently as Jacob laid out the entire history between himself and both of the beautiful sisters, explaining how they had met on a distant island and helped each other out during a very difficult time in his past life.
Of course, Jacob was incredibly smart about how he told the story. He made absolutely sure to leave out the secret part about him originally being an ordinary human from another world entirely, and he completely skipped over the detail about how he had been turned into a creature of the sea by Persephone's own blood during their first chaotic meeting.
Fortunately, Jacob kept the explanation simple.
*******
"I have to admit, when I saw those sharks turning around to head straight for our boat, I was a bit worried." She sighed, after losing those 3 ships, she had no intention of losing any more ships.
Priscilla said, shaking her head with a soft chuckle as she looked over at the two sisters.
" Same here, I didn't realize they were just acting on your orders to protect your ship from those low-class thieves." Jacob added.
Persephone looked away slightly, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink as she heard Jacobs words.
She stuck to Jacob, as she tried to look completely indifferent, even though she was still secretly thrilled to have found him again after all this time.
"We were just trying to clear the path, please don't take it to heart." Artria explained with a polite nod toward Priscilla, her voice smooth and calm. "Those pirates refused to listen to reason, and they were threatening to harm us. My sister simply lost her patience with their loud shouting."
"Well, they certainly won't be shouting ever again," Priscilla said, looking out over the empty, red-stained water where the three enemy ships used to be. "You two definitely are strong."
Jacob watched the two women talk, letting out a quiet breath of relief of his own.
He was glad that Priscilla and them were getting along, and he was even happier that the sisters were safe and sound.
Now that they were all together on the deck of the First Hornet, they could finally turn the boat around and head back toward the massive warship, where a whole new set of introductions was waiting for them on the main deck.
He knew that explaining two mermaids to Flounder and the little princess would be a completely different challenge, but for now, he was just happy to have his old friends back by his side.
For some reason, he felt it wouldn't be wise to tell Priscilla about his kidnapping. If he mentioned that Persephone had dragged him away to a hidden cave against his will in the past, it would only make the feline captain highly suspicious of the two sisters.
Priscilla was already on guard, and adding a story about a kidnapping would probably make her draw her sword. It was much better to keep things peaceful and pretend they were all just old companions who had a minor falling out.
"For a moment there, I honestly thought you'd been completely enchanted by some kind of strange sea magic," Priscilla said, crossing her arms as she looked at the two sisters.
She gave Jacob a playful nudge with her elbow, though her golden eyes remained sharp. "You jumped into a sea full of blood-thirsty sharks without a single thought, only to come back up holding hands with two beautiful girls. Anyone would think you were under a spell."