The Pirate's Hunt

Bjorn twitched her eyebrows in irritation, partially from her lack of movement and partially from the stinging pain in her shoulder caused by the prickly bush she was stationed in. She let her heavy brass binoculars fall to the moist, sandy beach below, and stood up noisily, shouting obscenities.

"How much longer am I going to have to wait?" She wondered aloud. Suddenly, a noise from behind made her crouch down into the brush. She grabbed her binoculars and adjusted them on her small, elvish nose, smiling as she spotted a small ripple in the water.

"This is going to be a very interesting day..." she thought to herself, and waited, completely concealed, for her prey to emerge.

Bjorn grimaced at the thought of someone spying on her. She looked over her shoulder, but didn't see anyone, so she turned her gaze back towards the lagoon. There was a loud splash as a blonde mermaid jumped into the murky waters. She was pretty, but that's not what Bjorn was after. Her eyes widened as an enormous fin appeared on the horizon, followed by an ominous darkening of the clouds. She could barely keep herself from springing out from concealment with excitement. It was here.

As the mighty creature rose from the depths, Bjorn could feel her entire body wiggling from anticipation. She yelped in excitement, and dashed towards the lagoon. It's fin broke the surface of the water, splattering ocean water across her face. She cried out, and sprang on top of the gargantuan sea monster, smiling from ear-to-ear as she violently disappeared into the murky sea.

The pirate coughed up sandy water, blinded by salt. She groped around for a few precious milliseconds, finding her blade and swinging it out in front of her. An ambush! Someone had followed her here and was planning to take her prize! No one could take this from her. Not even...

"Antonella?" She practically whispered, shocked and slightly amused.

Bjorn stood up and spat, brushing invisible dust off her knees.

"Maybe to a half-wit like you this big rapscallion holds no value, but think of the glory in the kill, the prize of victory! The feelin' a bestin' a beast that's..." she paused, obviously doing mental math.
"...Bigger than you." She finished her sentence matter-of-factly, but slumped her shoulders a bit as she realized how vulgar she had sounded.

"So..."Bjorn began, becoming rather shy.
"I hear that there's going to be a costumed ball at the Palace." She stated. It was not a question, but the sentence did hold quite a lot of meaning. Bjorn had not been invited. They wouldn't have her, not anymore.
"What are you going to wear?" She asked, attempting pitifully to create conversation.

"I bet you'll look absolutely marvelous..." Bjorn whispered wistfully. How she wished she could wear pretty things like Antonella! She picked up her discarded binoculars and turned away.

"...Thank you for saving me. Maybe one day I can save you too..." She said, barely audible, as tears started to bubble up in her eyes. She wandered along the shore, almost tripping on an empty crab shell.