Goodbye, Attina
The girl sneered. "You know, for a century old pirate who's sailed the seas of every single bloody realm the universe has to offer, you're not very smart, are you?" she said, bringing out a sharp blade, and sticking it in Hook's thigh. Grasping at the wound, Hook, stumbled away from the girl. She quickly walked over to the edge of the alley and picked up her sword. Hook yanked the blade out of his thigh, and threw it at the girl, who was walking towards him. She easily dodged the blade, and lunged at Hook, who parried with his own sword.
This fight went on for what seemed like hours, until both Hook and the girl fell onto the stone pavement, completely breathless. "You really are one of the best pirates in all the realms," the girl said, her chest heaving in and out. "And I could say you're pretty handy with that sword yourself, love," Hook said, panting. "Who are you?" he asked, turning his head so he could stare at her. He was sure he had never met this girl before, but then why did her voice sound so familiar?
"A person who owes a debt," she replied, getting up. Hook groaned. He didn't want to continue the fight- he was extremely tired, and he hadn't slept at all. He gripped his sword, expecting to see the girl hovering over him with her own weapon. Instead, he found her offering him a hand. Grabbing it, Hook got up. "Look, it's evident we won't be able to kill one another anytime soon, so I'm going to try a civilized conversation now, alright?" the girl said. "I need magic, and I know you have it. Will you help me?" she asked.
Had it been any other person under any other circumstance, Hook would have used her sudden wish for truce to his advantage, and would have stabbed her right then and there. But this girl had skill, which was something Hook respected. "If what you're looking for is reasonable, then perhaps we can negotiate something," he said.
"Great," she said, turning around to start walking towards the docks. Hook began following her, before realizing it was his ship they were heading to and that he should probably the one to take the lead.
Attina woke to the violent shaking of the ship. Her ears perked up, and she could tell that the bombing of Prince Charles's kingdom had begun. Attina glanced down at her wrists- they were red and raw from the steel chains restraining her to the wall. As for her tail- Attina's eyes widened. Her once coral orange tail now looked like a piece of rotting meat. Attina knew she wouldn't die, at least not yet. Mermaids could go at least a full week without water. But that didn't mean her tail couldn't get destroyed. It could rot away and lose its usefulness. Attina couldn't let that happen- she needed to find a source of water.
As if on cue, the door of the room burst open, and the witch from before walked inside. She was carrying the piece of coral Attina had thrown at her yesterday. After throwing it up in the air and catching it in her other hand, the witch chucked the piece of coral at Attina's head. Attina quickly used her magic to soak out all the water from the coral and splash it onto her tail. Some of the color returned, but unless she got more water, her tail would die. Still, it was a relief to know that Attina still had magic. Attina had thought that the poisoned waters of the ocean had rendered her powers useless. Turns out, the effect only lasted for a few hours. Attina didn't have her full powers back, but she still had a little, which was good to know.
"What did you do with Ariel?" Attina said to the witch, picking up the conversation right where they had left off last night. "Why do you care?" the witch said. The witch's voice sounded familiar for some reason. Attina frowned. She remembered that voice from her childhood. It reminded her of. . . Of Attina's mother. Of course. Attina laughed at her own stupidity. If Ursula had the power to take voices, why not this witch? Evidently she had been by the pirate Hook's side when he had killed Attina's mother.
"Why do I care?" Attina repeated the witch's question in disbelief. "Because she's my sister!" Attina spat. The witch tilted her head slightly. "Didn't stop you from letting her escape your little city, though," she said. Attina really hated how the stupid hat was covering the witch's face. She hated when she couldn't look people in the eye during conversations, but this was probably for the best anyway. The witch lady probably had some kind of eye hypnosis spell, just waiting to be pulled from out of her sleeve.
"Yes, I hated Ariel for everything she had done to our family, and yes, I did tell her I never wanted to see her again. But I never wanted her to. . . to. . ." Attina began choking on her own sobs as she realized what a rotten sister she had been. Attina, who was supposed to take care of Ariel, had shut her out, and as a result, Ariel had gotten captured by a pirate army, and was probably being tortured and drained of her magic for the evil humans�� uses.
"So you're saying you didn't mean any of that stuff?" the witch said softly. Attina scoffed. "Why the hell do you care?" she snapped. The witch shrugged. "I really don't. Goodbye, Attina," she said, walking out of the room.