Chapter Text
Traversing the oceans was always Anne’s lifelong dream. When she met the Plantars, it was like a dream come true. They were a family of sailors and they were all comically short with sun tanned skin and looking for someone tall to help around. Anne applied and got the job almost immediately. She’d been sailing with them for three years now.
Polly, the youngest, seemed a sweetheart to anyone who didn’t know her, but she had an affinity for weapons.
Sprig was the older child, and he was Anne’s best friend. He was the designated protector of the group and kept everyone out of danger.
Hop-pop was their grandfather and the captain. He could sail in any weather and was a master fisherman. Since Sprig and Polly’s parents died, Hop-pop swore to take care of them.
“Anne! I found something cool! It's a buried treasure map, I know it is!” Polly yelled from across the deck. Polly thought that every map was a treasure map. Anne grabbed the map and looked over the marked path.
“It certainly looks like a treasure map, maybe you’re right.” Anne mused. If this was authentic, who knows what would be at the end. “It might be worth checking out.”
“Adventure awaits!” Polly cackled.
“It’s pretty close to where we’re docking soon. We could convince Hop-pop to let us go. The path looks safe enough.”
“I’ll go do it!” Polly said, already running away.
By sunset, they had docked in the town. Polly had gotten Hop-pop’s permission to look around. They packed the necessities and set off. After walking for an hour, they reached a rocky island. Polly swam across, laughing about how rich she would be. Anne sat at the edge, waiting for her to finish exploring.
Admiring the sea at night was something that never got old. She grabbed her notebook and started drawing the ocean. A flash of red caught her eye. She turned to look, but only saw ripples on the water. She brushed it off as nothing.
Another splash. Now, there was a figure perched on a rock by the island. Anne thought it was Polly, so she waved and went back to drawing. The figure splashed the water with its tail. Polly doesn’t have a tail. Anne squinted to get a closer look.
The figure flipped off of the rock, red scales gleaming. It made a soundless splash. It resurfaced and flipped off the rock again. If Anne hadn’t been frozen by shock, she might have laughed. This fish-thing was showing off. When the figure accidentally slipped, Anne burst into laughter. The fish-thing cocked its head and moved to a different rock. Now it was drenched in moonlight and
Anne could see their features clearly.
They were covered in scarlet fish scales all the way down to where their legs would be. In its place, a fish’s tail caused ripples in the water. They had a human face with long blonde hair draping down the sides. The figure waved. When Anne waved back, the figure beamed and flopped back into the water, disappearing.
Polly began splashing back across, arms full of shiny things. On the walk back, she told Anne about what she found, but she barely paid attention, too busy thinking about the figure on the rock.