Jackie's POV

I still can't believed Coralia jumped, she is so grounded when we get out of this. Anyway we've finally reached the series of pools Jack had mentioned. I see mermaid skeletons tied up in the pools. It looks like they've been here for years. Syrena the mermaid was sat beside one, her feet in the water.

Yes, you heard right. Feet, the glass coffin was dropped and her tail turned into a pair of human legs. Philip covers her with his shirt and carried her all the way. Giving her the name Syrena. I can tell both are falling for each other, I just pray no one else notices.

"Careful, these pools run deep. If she escapes, all is lost" Blackbeard states. The quarter master keeps a firm grip on her. "Look! Staked out to die, to dry in the sun. Only half in the water. Not enough to live, but just enough to make the dying slow. Think on it. Your people, murdered, harvested for their tears. Syrena, won't you cry?" he asks her.

"All die, even you. Soon, I hear" she states bravely. He grabs her by her hair, pulling her head back.

"Listen. Can you not hear your sisters scream? Do you not hear them?" he asks her. She pierces her lips. "We need but one tear" he tells her. She glares at him. "Vile creature" he curses. The crew start to suggest forms of torture to get her to cry.

"Where's your voice in this?" Philip asks Angelica and I.

"I'm a prisoner here, my voice means nothing" I remind him.

"Maybe she'll have a change of heart when the sun rises" Angelica suggests.

"Oh, aye, she will burn, but I cannot wait for the sun. Perhaps we should build a fire" Blackbeard suggests. Philip protests. "Do not contest me, cleric" he snaps.

"You will not torture her" Philip snaps. Damn fool is showing he cares for her and if Blackbeard finds out. He'll figure out Syrena likes him to and use that against her.

"We need only one tear" Angelica tells him.

"I will tear every scale from her body one by one if I see fit. If that displeases you, go pray" Blackbead tells Philip.

"I was wrong. Not every soul can be saved. Yours cannot" Philip tells him boldly.

"Behold, gentlemen, a man formerly of faith" Blackbeard sneers.

"That vile creature, as you call her, is worth a hundred of you" Philip retorts.

"You care for her" Blackbeard states looking into Philip's eyes. "You fancy her. And do not deny what is clear to my eyes" he adds. Before looking at Syrena. "Question is, does she fancy you?" he asks. She tries to hide it, but can't as she glances at Philip briefly. "By God, she does. We are in luck! Bring forth a tear or witness the death of this poor soul" he threatens as Philip is restrained.

"Syrena, if you could manage a tear, I would be grateful" Philip tells her. She refuses to cry and I look away. She is so brave, if someone was threatening Jack or Coralia like this, I'd be begging for their lives to be spared with tears in my eyes. I pray to Calypso.

"Sadness, yes, but no sorrow, yet" Blackbeard says going to kill Philip.

"Not by your hand father!" Angelica shouts.

"Time and tide wait for none. Quartermaster" he says handing him the knife. He slits Philip across the chest and he falls to the ground unmoving. But still Syrena does not cry. "Aye, mermaids are tough. The lot of them. Tie her up like the others. And get rid of this" he orders. Philip's body is taken away as Syrena is tied up.

As we start to leave Syrena, I hear Blackbeard and Angelica talking. "You are confident?" he asks her.

"Yes. I am a woman. So is she" she answers. I frown, what are they talking about?

(Time skip)

So turns out Philip wasn't dead, only unconscious thanks to a dart. He was cut, but not deep enough to kill him. It was a ploy to get Syrena cry tears of joy and it worked. "Tears of sorrow, never. Mermaids be too tough for that. But tears of joy" Blackbeard says as he exams the tear in the phial. "They say these be the more potent anyway" he states handing it to Angelica.

"Syrena, on my word, I had no part in this" Philip tells her. "Let her go. You don't need her now" he states.

"Let her go? No" Blackbeard tells him. "Secure her bonds. We leave her with her own" he orders. Once she is secured we leave her to die. I pray she dies peacefully and does not suffer to much. I hope Jack and Coralia are having a better time retrieving the chalices, then we are.

A/N

Picture above of Syrena crying.