The Little Merman- Philidosia

Chapter 2

A/N sorry I haven't updated, I've been spending my time watching videos of Sebastian Stan

Theo POV

"Do I have to wear this ridiculous dress?" I complained, tugging at the side of my purple and green ball gown. "We're going on a boat!"

Dad sighed. "For the hundredth time, Theo, yes, you have to wear the dress. Do you think you're going swimming or something? It's your 18th birthday, you have to dress nicely,"

"Ugh," I grumbled. At least the dress was long enough for me to wear boots without anyone noticing. Dad left the room, and my handmaiden walked in to fix up my hair.

"Liza, can you do something simple?" I begged. "I won't be able to survive with a thousand pins in my hair for hours,"

"Of course, Miss Burr," Liza smiled.

"For the hundredth time, please call me Theo, or Miss Theo if you have to," I said.

"Ok, Miss Theo," Liza said, before pulling my hair into a basic half-up-half-down style. "There you go, nice and simple,"

I looked at her, still in her maid uniform. "You have to get dressed as well, I'm not going anywhere without my best friend," I said. I walked over to my massive closet of dresses, and found the perfect one for her. "Here," I said, pulling her over. "Get changed in the closet,"

"I couldn't possibly wear one of your dresses!" Liza protested, but I 'sshhed' her.

"Yes you can, hurry, we have to leave soon," I said, and Liza sighed, and went into the closet. A few minutes later, she walked out in the navy blue dress with gold flecks I had chosen for her, looking absolutely stunning against her dark skin. I took this as a perfect opportunity to make a joke.

"Hey, look, you came out of the closet," I snickered.

"I've already come out once, I don't plan to do it again," she said, rolling her eyes at my joke. Last year, she had come out to me as Pansexual, and I've been making jokes about it ever since.

"Let's go then," I said, grabbing her arm again, and dragging her down the hallway.

***

We arrived at the dock slightly late, and out of breath, but at least we made it before the ship left.

"Where have you been?" Dad scolded me.

"Uhh, France?" I muttered under my breath. Liza snorted, then covered it with a cough.

"What was that?" Dad asked.

"I said 'we were just getting ready'," I said. Dad looked at me like he was not quite sure I was telling the truth, but he didn't say anything.

"Alright, let's get on the ship," he sighed. Even though I was in an uncomfy dress, I hoped this event would be great. I mean, what can go wrong when you can swim and are on a boat?

***

Ok so turns out a lot of things can go wrong. It started off fine, but then when literally every single person on the entire ship wished me a happy birthday, I was in a bad mood. Then some lady was hyperventilating because she saw a shadow in the water, and I quote her, 'It was at least 30 feet long, and I saw sharp teeth!'. Like no, Karen, we would have noticed if there was something that long underneath the ship.

And then some creepy guy on the boat was watching me. He had blonde, long hair and was wearing all black, and wherever I went, he wouldn't be far behind. He was freaking me out, so I quickly went as far away from him as I could, and bumped into Liza's brother.

"Oh hey, George, sorry to bump into you," I said. "Some creepy guy was following me," I turned around, and saw the guy was nowhere to be seen. "Phew, he's gone,"

"Sorry to hear that, Theo," George said. He was much less formal than his sister, so he called me Theo. "Well, you'll be happy to hear that they are having cake soon, then we can turn around and go back,"

"Thank god," I sighed. "It's soooo boringggg. I'd much rather be in my room, celebrating with you and your sister," I said.

"I'm honored, Theo," George smiled. "But I've got some kinda bad news as well. There's a storm coming, so if it hits us, everyone will have to be crammed inside."

Did I mention I'm claustrophobic? Yeah, being in small places is the worst. I forced a smile onto my face.

"Well, let's hope it misses us," I said. Our conversation was interrupted by Liza running up to us.

"Miss Theo! Your father has been looking all over for you, you need to come now!" she said hurriedly.

"What does he want now?" I sighed.

"He said it was to do with some sort of ceremony? I'm not sure," Liza said.

Ugh. Of course my father would want to have everyone sing me happy birthday like a child. Couldn't he see that I was already embarrassed enough?

"Thanks, Liza, I'll come now," I tried to smile. Walking down into the main area of the ship, I was met with almost everyone on the ship surrounding a 4 layer cake.

"Theodosia! Just in time for everyone to sing happy birthday!" Dad said enthusiastically. I think I'm going to die of embarrassment. I mouthed 'help me' to Liza, but she just stared at me helplessly, (I swear I didn't mean to make that pun-) unable to do anything. A servant appeared, lighting the candles before disappearing back into the crowd.

"And a 1, 2 3-" Dad started, but was interrupted by a cold wind sweeping across the deck, and the candles were blown out. Whispers started in the crowd while he tried to find a servant to re-light the candles.

"Sir," a crew member said. "There's a storm on the way, we need to get everyone below deck for their safety,"

"It's fine, this won't take long anyway," Dad said.

"But sir-" he protested, but was cut off by my father.

"Do you want to lose your job today?" he threatened. "Someone light the cake!"

"Dad!" I hissed. "A cake isn't important, we need to listen to the sailors, they know what's best for the safety of everyone!"

I saw him open his mouth to protest, but he was interrupted by a loud boom of thunder, and the soft pitter-patter of rain starting to fall. A wave hit the edge of the ship, causing it to tilt slightly, and nearby people to get splashed. There were scattered screams as people rushed to get below deck, and Dad finally stopped fussing about the cake, following them.

When everyone got below deck, they started to close the door, but then a woman screamed.

"My daughter! She's still out there! She can't swim, she's only 10!" she cried, but no-one listened to her, only concerned about their own safety. But I was not about to sit down inside, warm and safe, when a child is out there, possibly dying. I ducked underneath the guards, slipping outside the door before it could close

I heard people shouting my name, but I paid them no attention, instead I was searching for the little girl. The waves were crashing violently against the edge of the boat, making me almost lose my balance. I couldn't see the girl anywhere, and was about to head back inside when I heard a high-pitched scream from the side of the boat.

Rushing over, I saw the face of a young girl in the water, struggling to stay afloat.

"Hang on, I'm coming!" I shouted, leaping off the edge of the boat.

I hit the icy cold water with a splash, and started swimming to where I saw the girl. But the waves were so big that I had lost sight of her, and my ball gown was making it hard to stay afloat.

Smart idea, Theodosia, I scolded myself. Jump off the edge of a boat into stormy waters without anything to keep you afloat.

Suddenly, underneath the water, I saw a flash of violet. Something bit my ankle, and I let out a shriek. My vision started to go fuzzy, and the weight of the gown became too much, and I started to sink.

The last thing I remember seeing is something swimming towards me, and then darkness.