Eleanor smiled as she laid her head on Colton's chest, he responded by stroking her hair. She felt content with her reward, a life by the side of the merprince that she has grown to quickly love so deeply in her heart.
As the two lovers floated to the ocean's depths, the couple noticed that glittering glow of two figures rapidly approaching them. Prince Colton only got a brief glance before a burst of blue, white, and yellow rushed forward and he found himself wrapped in a tight hug.
By Colton's side, Eleanor was awed as she looked at the woman holding the merprince in her arms. Long blonde hair flowed from the woman's beautiful face. When Eleanor saw the crown on top of her head and a royal blue tail whose color matched Colton's, she smiled as she realized that this was his mother, Queen Charlotte.
“Mom...” whispered Colton, his voice on the edge of breaking.
“Oh Colton, I was so worried you were hurt. Thank goodness you're okay.” said his mother with tears in her blue eyes as she reached up and touched his face.
"I'm more than okay, mom. In fact, I have someone at my side." Prince Colton turned and gestured towards Eleanor.
“Son.” Said a male voice as Colton raised his gaze from his mother to his father who had moved up.
Eleanor looked to see an incredibly muscular merman with a deep blue tail and a trident by his side. It didn't take long before Eleanor knew that this was Prince Colton's father, King Damon.
At first, the new mermaid was a bit intimidated by the powerful ruler of the sea but King Damon's warm smile put her fears to rest as the merking embraced his son.
Eleanor couldn't help but smile in delight as she saw Prince Colton finally reunited with his family.
She began to gently swim backwards, thinking this was a family moment for Colton and not her. She had just started to pull back when a hand shot out and grabbed her wrist, she looked down to see that Queen Charlotte had pulled herself out of the hug and was now looking at her.
“Hello…I'm Eleanor and I…” started Eleanor only to find herself being hugged by the Queen.
Eleanor couldn’t comprehend this tender act of kindness by this woman. For the first time in her life, she felt the loving touch of a motherly embrace, an embrace she never got to experience due to the early death of her own mother, and it brought tears to her eyes.
Indeed, Eleanor was wrong in thinking this happy moment wouldn't include her. Eleanor was well to be soon to be part of this royal family, to be a part of the royal merkingdom Colton had so graciously described to her. This was her home.
Soon, Eleanor opened her eyes to see the sight of a rainbow of fish tails reaching towards the blinding light made of fire from the sinking ship and the birthing sunlight.
The colorful fish tails belonged to the young commoner mermaids swimming towards the sinking bodies of the young pirate crew, eager to make merman mates out of them.
A blonde mermaid with a luscious pink tail grabbed a young pirate she liked and gave him a kiss. As soon as her lips made contact with his, his legs fused together. The boy's eyes shot open as his toes turned into tailfins. He began to calm down as gills appeared on the side of his neck.
His two legs became one limb as it grew ruby red scales and his upper body became stronger, more muscular. When it was over, the former lanky pirate boy was now a well built merman. He was in awe with his new body and looked at his new mermaid mate with a grateful smile.
The boy wouldn't be alone. In fact, many of the younger sailors from the crew would be saved from their watery graves as the newborn colors of their merman tails gleamed underwater in a symphony of colors.
The royal family looked at the sight with pride for what felt like hours. However, Eleanor's dream-like trance would be shattered as she caught sight of one lone figure descending into the water.
To the surprise of Prince Colton and his family, Eleanor promptly released herself from their embrace and rushed towards the figure.
"Daddy!" was all Eleanor could say as she hugged the body of her father and began to sob.
King Damon looked at his wife and then back at the crying mermaid as he suddenly felt something that he hadn't felt in a long time, guilt.
For all his life, King Damon was the epitome of the absolute monarchy that made up the system of his kingdom. He had great pride for his people and had a hatred for the sailing humans that regularly exploited the merfolk and the sea at large. It was for this reason that he felt justified in destroying the ship that imprisoned his son.
Yet the sight of Eleanor weeping made the merking realize something. While he was now reunited with his son, Eleanor was permanently separated from her father.
The guilt of knowing he had likely orphaned the poor maiden was what prompted King Damon to swim up to Captain Blackstone's body and lay a gentle hand on the shoulder of his crying daughter.
King Damon looked at Captains Blackstone's face, expecting a face filled with fear from directly acing the destruction of the ship. Instead, King Colton was shocked when he saw a smile on the Captain's unconscious face.
It wasn't just any smile but the kind of smile that one makes when one is fully satisfied with what they've done. Indeed, it was that smile that revealed to the merking that he had done exactly what the captain wanted; The captain used the power of the merfolk to leave his beloved daughter with a future beyond his filthy ship.
A future where his heirs could bask and enjoy the wonders of the deep.
After realizing this, King Damon couldn't help but have a sense of respect for Captain Blackstone. The pirate embodied everything he despised about humanity yet it was because of his heart that the merprince now had a loving mermaid by his side.
Humans truly are fascinating beings.
"For you, Mister Blackstone," King Damon said, patting Eleanor on the back. "I shall honor your wish."