"Hanna?" Aurora could not believe what she was seeing. As the Fate reached out and touched the Empress's hand, the world slowed and froze around them. "What is happening?"

"I have stopped time to speak to you." Hanna said.

"You like to do things in a dramatic way. This must be important." The Empress remembered that the first time Hanna had visited, it was as part of her horrible vision.

Hanna clicked her tongue. "Hush! This is serious. Not even the High Fates know I am here and Justum will be quick to bring me back to Mystic Spires when he realizes that I am gone."

This was serious indeed. "I am listening."

"Young Alaron did not go the mountains."

She and Mairwen were right to be concerned. The Empress's heart sank. "Where did he go?"

Hanna's words were barely a whisper. "To betray you. You were supposed to remove Cafer from his life…"

"We thought that we had!" Aurora defended herself.

"As did I, my dear. But unfortunately we were wrong. And now the prince has made his choice." Tears streamed down the Fate's cheeks.

Aurora was crying too. "Can nothing be done?"

"I would not have come if it were hopeless. But whatever you do, be ready to protect yourself, Devrim and Mairwen. The fate of the world depends on your survival."

The world came back into focus. Hanna was gone.

"Shall we head home or did you have more errands to run?" Brinn asked. The elf looked at her friend. "What's wrong?"

Aurora's face was white as a sheet. She wiped her cheeks. "We need to go back to the palace…now."

————————-

"Let us talk about my fee," Xander said as the three enjoyed the sea air from deck of his largest ship, The Devastation. He sat atop a chair that was closer to a throne while the prince and gnome were on simple stools. The pirate enjoyed showing his dominance.

"We will allow you to continue your piracy unimpeded," Cafer offered. "Then you can collect as much fee as you like."

"Provided you do not hurt anyone," Alaron added. The people would be his subjects, and he thought he should at least protect their lives.

The thin man stroked his mustache. "Piracy is nice, but I am looking toward retirement. These old bones will not last much longer." Xander pursed his lips to gain sympathy. Really, he had never been more fit in his life. "A large portion of the Royal treasury would help me set some aside for a rainy day."

"How much are you thinking?" The gnome was ready to open negotiations.

"Eighty percent of the treasury," The pirate said without batting an eye.

"WHAT?!" Alaron nearly choked. "That is insane!"

"I thought I was being quite generous," Xander disagreed.

"We can give no more than five percent of the treasury. That is far more than a man can spend in a lifetime." Cafer told him firmly.

"Ah yes, and were it only my services you required, I would happily agree, but you need my men and I have to pay them. After all they are risking their lives as well." The pirate shook his head sadly.

"Ten percent. Not a penny more." Cafer sat up straight on his stool.

"Half of the treasury," Xander countered.

"Fifteen percent. You cannot possibly carry any more than that on your ships."

"You let me worry about how I will store my ill-gotten gain. Twenty-five percent." Xander had no expectation that the gnome would meet him, but to his surprise, Cafer held out his arm to shake.

"Deal." The two shook forearms.

Prince Alaron was very displeased. "It is my money. You could at least shake with me," he said to the pirate.

Xander shrugged, but shook with the boy as well. "Now it is double binding, I would say."

Cafer moved on to something that had been bothering him. "Tell me about your shiny toy. It is quite rare. How did you come to own it?"

"My pearl? It is a wonderful little thing is it not?" Xander removed the Merpearl from his coat. Alaron moved to cover his eyes. "No need for that, Your Highness. It does my bidding, and I have no desire to enchant you just now." Xander said easily.

"You can control it?" Alaron was slightly jealous.

"Of course. I have been able to wield it ever since it fell into my hands ten years ago."

———————-

(Ten years before)

Xander floated on a piece of flotsam from his ship, reflecting on how it all went wrong. The Empress had beaten him. She was more cunning than he had realized. Now he would spend eternity in a watery grave. The pirate's tired hands released the buoyant board at last, and he slipped silently into the ocean.

As the water encased him like a tomb, the pirate cursed the Empress for her good fortune. His eyes drifted closed once, then snapped open. Before him a woman with silvery blonde hair was drifting through the water toward him. No, he realized it was not a woman at all; it was fish. A woman-fish, but a pretty one. Her scaly purple skin shone even in the dark water. It was alluring. The mermaid kissed him, breathing life into his lungs. Then she began to sing a haunting tune. Even under the water, he could hear her words.

"Come with me to the sea. We'll make a home below the waves. Abide with me and I with thee beneath the water deep."

The words were strangely soothing, and Xander closed his eyes to embrace the melody. When he awoke, the lady was lying next to him on the beach. He coughed a bucket full of water onto the sand. His lungs ached, but at least he was still breathing. The mermaid caressed his cheek. Having been banished from her pod for so long, she was enjoying the sight of his face. Before he could speak, she pressed her lips to his and disappeared into the water.

He sat up to search for the blonde beauty in the water, but she was gone. In his hand, she left a gift: a single large pearl slightly smaller than his fist. It was not until later that he discovered its power. At that moment, it was simply a second chance. A chance to get his revenge.

————————

"Wait, a mermaid was kind to you, and you repay that kindness by swearing revenge and wreaking havoc on innocent people?" Alaron saw a flaw in his logic.

Xander nodded. "Is that a problem?"

"Well…" the prince scratched his chin awkwardly.

The Captain could see the Prince's hesitance. His face darkened. "Do you want my help or not?"

"Yes, yes… of course!" Even Alaron could see his error. "My apologies!"

Xander leaned toward Cafer, who was sitting next to him. His fragrant breath made the gnome's nose curl. "Your young master needs some help in the diplomacy department."

"He is young yet. There is still room to grow and be molded." Cafer rubbed his hands together.

The pirate could see the potential. "While you are at it, bend his moral compass a little more. He seems too honest for the likes of us."

"Trust me, I am working on it." The two conspirators looked at Alaron.

The boy, who had lost interest in the conversation, was practicing his magic quietly. He noticed their gaze and stopped. "What?"