Elise tucked herself cozily into bed again. She was so happy that she had managed to help the second Captain with his troubles. After all, if she had found out her love was really a sea reaper, she would be so scared she'd fear her curly hair would turn white and she'd change to a ghastly pale you couldn't see her freckles anymore. Fortunately, Tito was safe and sound sleeping across the room. He still wouldn't admit they kissed, but she liked to imagine it before she fell asleep.
It was still a while before dawn so she drifted off again.
Imagining Tito's kiss one last time was her ticket to Dreamyland.
But when she awoke the next day, it seemed she had slept so long it was night. Or so it seemed from the look of the sky. The portholes all showcased a night sky darker than the shadowy depths of the sea. "Umm guys?" Elise asked nervously. "Where are we?"
She reached for her round glasses on the nightstand, hoping they hadn't disembarked without her. Anxiously, she lifted the covers and stepped onto the wooden floor of the Lyre.
"Eliiiiiiiiisseeee," a voice moaned from outside. It sounded old and ghostly, yet strangely familiar. "Eliiiiiiise! Pleaaaassse hurry!"
Elise's orange hair stood on end. She rushed outside of the cabin. "Daddy!" She cried.
Outside on the ship, the waters whipped around in a torrent. The sky was a swirling mass of purple and pale green light. Elise's eyes bugged as she saw what hovered before the spectral void. It was her father. But...he was ghoulishly pale. His body, once proud and burly was withered and a ghostly tail had replaced his legs. He had sunken eyes like a nightly specter and they peered helplessly at his daughter.
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"Please Elise! Help me...before it's too late!"
He slowly began to ascend into the vortex. Elise dropped to her knees, bawling like a child half her age. "Daaaaddy!"
When Elise truly awoke that next morning, her face was covered in tears She was still sobbing loudly over her night terror. Archibell, Tito and Tony the Troutface all gathered around her with looks of utmost concern. Sincirce was strangely absent.
"Awwww pally, why you crying?!" Tony asked with a sad look to match. "Did you have a bad dream? That tends to happen when you eat the captains cooking!"
Archibell flicked the salty fish man. "How dare you knock me cooking! Especially to explain why this small urchin is crying! Please Elise. Tell us why you're crying....and please don't say it was my food!"
Tito smiled and squeezed her hand, being the charming prince she knew deep down.
"I dreamed my father was fading. Like his Ghost Blight was truly sucking him away from this vast ocean!"
Archibell made a nonexistent muscle on his thin arm. "Well if that's the case, by jove we have to find the last piece of the trident before its too late!"
Before Elise could even thank the captain or the rest of the men for being so chivalrous to a young lady like her, Sincirce burst in a wide smile on her face. Her torso bounced excitedly as she made her way inside.
"And shazowie! With my magic tracking spell, I have already taken care of tracking this tricky trident! The final piece is in...the Wild West Sea!"
Archibell smiled and wiped Elise's tears away
"You hear that kiddo! Dry those salty eyes! We're gonna get to the western ocean in a minnow's minute!"
Elise gave them a soft smile. Her father may have been even closer to becoming a ghost, but with her friends on the task, she could make it in time!