𝕮𝖑𝖆𝖗𝖆

They had been drifting for what was close to two weeks. The last ship they plundered had little cargo of value. The men on board were cowardly and too attached to the life on land, nothing like the true sailors on board the Theatre.

And so, their Captain demanded they be left behind. Originally, Santiago voted to kill them instead but was outvoted by the rest of the crew. He despised how easily everyone was so quick to obey to the man who secluded himself from the rest of his sailors.

Suddenly, one of the sailors on board, by the name of Sam Barclay, let out a shout from his spot. It gained the attention of everyone.

"What is it, Sam? " Santiago questioned. Sam looked at the steerer, maw agape and eyes as wide as saucers.

"I-I coulda sworn I saw a creature! " He managed. Celeste, one of the more easily disgruntled members, scoffed.

"Not again with these lively claims, Samuel. How many time must we say it? " Her and her close friend Estelle spoke in unison.

"There are no! Such! Thing! As-!"

"Sea creatures! I know! " Sam finished, swinging his arms about. The other crew members opted to ignore the commotion, even going so far as starting a card game in a secluded part of the deck. The shade of the billowing sails shielded the playing sailors as Sam attempted to explain what he saw.

"It was a tail! And not the ones like from a whale or a dolphin! " He insisted, but his explanation fell upon deaf ears. As starved as the crew was for entertainment, no one was interested in the ramblings of an exhausted, hysterical Irishman.

—

In the captain's quarters, Armand sat at his desk, pouring over the nautical charts in front of him. While it was never a priority to kill, he couldn't help but ponder Santiago's attempt to appeal to the crew's darker impulses.

He massaged his temple, unused to the strain now required with the loss of his eye. It never occurred to him that losing a sense would happen to him. What was once a distant possibility was now his reality.

The migraines were infrequent and intense, such as the one he was experiencing now. Hiding away in his quarters became more of a common occurance in an attempt to remedy his newfound restrictions.

He couldn't assist in navigation as he once did, and he found himself slower with a sword. The pride he once clung onto for talent with sparring was no longer there.

A hand tenderly grazed the black fabric covering the scarred flesh. He still hadn't brought himself to look at a mirror, relying on one of the sailors, namely Eglee or Celeste, to fix his appearance whenever he prepared himself to emerge on deck.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Armand lightly groaned. "What is it? "

"Begging your pardon, captain, " Santiago's grating voice pierced through the wooden door. "But you might be interested in what we have discovered. "

Armand stood from his seat, chair legs grinding against the floor with restrained anger. Santiago's smug face, likely due to Armand's deshelved state, made the pain in his cranium pulse.

"This way, capitán. " Santiago began to walk.

"I hope this is not another petty squabble you feel compelled to drag me into. " Armand sighed.

"Au contraire, mon capitan. " They both shielded their eyes from the sunrays simultaneously. Santiago continued forward as Armand paused to adjust to the brightness of the world above deck.

The entire crew was silent, for a change. Everyone, from Sam to Romaine, was glued to the edge of the railing, searching the ocean.

"What is all this? " Armand began asking, before being abruptly shushed by Santiago. A glare and smirk was shared between the two of them before Santiago beckoned his captain towards the crew.

Looking out, there was nothing special. A ring of rocks poked from the deep blue, not far out from where the ship was momentarily stopped. Armand hadn't even noticed their pausing in movement, now growing even more exasperated by the unexpected stop.

"Right there! There, captain, do you see?! " Samuel whispered excitedly. Armand followed Sam's finger to what he was referring to.

For a moment, there was no sign of anything. And then-

Splash!

A blue tinged tail slammed against the water from behind the rocks. Unlike most creatures that beared seafaring appendages, this one was different in the sheer size. It was larger than any animal Armand had heard of or seen otherwise.

His eye widened even further when a hand. A five-fingered appendage with claws and scales crawling up to an attached body.

A body with an otherworldly beautiful face. Its pupils were slitted, almost glowing despite it being midday. Armand briefly registered a hushed gasp leave his crew.

"That's the most its shown since we stopped. "

"Do ya reckon its a mermaid or one of those sirens? The kind that eat humans like us? "

The whispers faded as soon as the creature lifted itself onto the rocks, the upper half of its naked body on full display. There was no hostility in its demeanor, but it was clearly aware that it was being ogled at.

"Captain, " Estelle whispered, ignoring the slight flinch that left Armand. "What are going to do? "

"What do you mean? "

"Do we kill it? Sail the other way? "

Armand turned his good eye towards her. "Unless there is good reason to do either of those things, we will. For now, " The rest of the crew watched him with baited breath.

"We will wait for it to leave. "

"What?! " Santiago whispered agitatedly.

"Are you questioning your captain, Francis? " Armand reveled in the way his sailors entire face twitched at the usage of his birthname.

"Mermaid or siren, both possess the same ability. " The crew looked at their captain confusedly. "If the tales are true, and they appear to be now, with this creature appearing before us; there is a great possibility that the being before us has the ability to provide whoever captures them superior luck. "

The crew began to buzz. Good fortune meant never again wondering when the next adventure would come, or whether they would have to drink themselves to sleep because food provisions were low.

With the promise of luck beyond one could ever dream of, the sailors began to disperse to different sides of the boat. They scouted out the rest of the waters in search of any other sea creatures that could double, triple their luck.

Armand remained fixated on the being, still exposed in an attempt to regulate its body temperature. He ignored the lingering eyes of Santiago, who was clearly going to attempt to undermine his authority one way or another.

It was going to be a long day.

—

In the dark of the night, you had noticed a hulking mass glide overhead on the sea surface. It was unlike anything you had ever seen before, and clicked as much to your family.

Your sisters scoffed, your brother swished sand in your face.

"Do not bother yourself with the machinations of humans, sibling. It leads only to death. "

That was what your family repeated, stuck in your head like a delirious fish swimming in circles. You had agreed…to an extent. You didn't bother the humans, per se. More like observed from a safe distance, a blip on the wide seas that could easily be waved off.

Your eyes and ears picked up on the slightest movements on board. The way the humans moved, with their shaky legs and their vacant eyes, it was a wonder how they made it this far out to sea.

You preferred the man with the funny accent, the one who ran away screaming when you decided to pop your head out of the water to scare him. It was an impulsive choice on your part, and for a while, the taunting and teasing was worth the risk.

Until you pushed your luck a little too far.

On one particular morning of you taunting Sam (the funny accent man), you made the mistake of sticking around to see how the rest of the crew reacted to his claims.

One of the women, a Seal-est, you think, saw you swim away. Then a chase ensued, of very little stakes considering the ease in which you slid through the water, and you were cornered into a circle of rocks.

You shielded yourself from the prying eyes of the humans on board, your inner voice degrading yourself for being seen so openly. You took little peeks from around the bedrock, immediately shrinking back when you saw the crowd of human's ooh and aww.

Then you saw him.

His tan skin glowed in the sunlight, the dark curls framing his face making him look like a gift from the heavens. And his eye…not even the brightest bits of gold you came across on the seafloor compared. You gripped the rock you were hiding behind so hard you felt bits of gravel in between your webbed fingers.

A burst of energy, a need that you couldn't describe overtook you. You were willing to do anything to capture that mans, the one they called Cap-tan, attention.

And what better way to do so than by begininng the first phase of your mating ritual?

You lifted your upper half up and out of the water, waiting for the Cap-tan to reciprocate and reveal himself as well. He made no movements to do so, but there was a slight hiccup in his demeanor when Est-el began whispering to him.

There was little you understood from the language they spoke, but you could tell that by the way Cap-tan responded, he was open to continuing the ritual with you.

Everyone else had dispersed, cupping their eyes and scanning the water (clearly looking for predators that could attack at any moment), but not Cap-tan. Perhaps because of the nature of his physique, the ritual needed to be conducted in a way that suited the both of you.

Now, it was time to move on to the next phase. You bared your teeth at him (an obvious display of strength) before splashing back into the ocean.

You couldn't have your future mate thinking you were weak, now could you?

—

The moment the mer-creature disappeared into the sea, the crew was beyond disappointed. Groans rung out, but Armand acted quickly.

"Lift up the anchor! " He pushed passed his gobsmacked sailors and placed himself at the wheel. "We're following them. "

The crew acted with immediate obedience, with Santiago as the only member unwilling to fulfill his assigned task.

Sam whispered to him, arms full of rope. "Don't make this any harder than it needs to be, for Pete's sake! Just listen to the man for one stinking moment and we'll be set for life-! "

"I will not, " Santiago growled. "Obey the one you call master. No one controls me. "

There was a beat and a blink from Sam before he responded. "Alright, suit yourself. " And he was gone. Santiago flitted his two working eyes to his Captain and swiftly retreated below deck. Inspecting the cargohold would be a well-enough excuse to use, despite the flogging he might have to endure.

The ship began to sail as fast as it could to keep pace with the quick moving shadow beneath the surface. It flitted this way and that, but ultimately kept continously moving north.

"Captain! " Estelle shouted amongst the moving chaos on deck. "We can't kept up this pace much longer! " She stumbled, but regained her footing. "If we continue giving chase we'll risk taking on damage to the hull! "

Armand casted his gaze out to sea again, the swimming creature leading the way. Then he looked to his crew. They were working in tandem to follow after a promising legend, but he knew in his heart of hearts that they were not meant to succeed.

The information about recieiving luck from the bounty of mermaids was only a myth. But it gave him a temporary sense of purpose he hadn't felt since the loss of his eye rendered him useless. But perhaps it would be best-

"SIR! " A sailor shouted, pointing to the ocean once more. A few other members paused their work to see what was there.

Two more shadows had joined the mermaid.

Sharks.

"That thing lead us into a trap! " One person exclaimed.

"Stay calm and continue your stationwork, crew! " Armand commanded. There was no room for showing weakness. He made a mistake, but they had been through worse situations at sea. And this would be no different.

"Sam! "

"Aye, captain! "

"Tell Santiago to fire a cannonball as far away from us as possible! "

The man paused in his movements, seeking any type of reassurance from his crewmates. "SAM! "

"Okay, okay! " The man rushed below deck, leaving a trail of fabric behind him as the rest of the sailors attempted to steer the ship away from the figures while still being in pursuit.

There was a brief moment where Armand considered bringing up a vote to desert Santiago on an island with no supplies, but a large boom went off just minutes later. The vibrations from the impact of the cannonball had visibly shocked the mermaid and sharks alike, but it sent the true threat swimming away.

Now a safe distance away, the ship and its crew were exhausted. The ship's hull groaned to a stop and the sailors on board almost collapsed with the anchor.

The creature hadn't moved since the cannonball fired and Armand looked over the bannister to watch in emerge from the surface.

Its face was pinched in pain; their eyes were blinking rapidly. He almost felt sorry for it, were it not for the inhuman quality of their features.

"Captain, " A breathless Celeste appeared beside him. "With all due respect, let's just net the bastard and be done with it. "

Armand was unresponsive, only snapping out of his trance when Celeste shook him.

"What? Oh, yes, the net. " Armand suddenly felt out of sorts. Like a fog had entered his mind, numbing him to the words of his crewmate.

"So is that a yes to the net, Captain? " Celeste sounded leagues away, despite only being less than a foot away from him. Armand turned once more to the mermaid, only this time, its eyes were the sole feature visible from the ship.

"-tain? Captain?! It's that thing, I know it is! " Celeste began to call out to the rest of the crew, but it was too late.

Armand leaned his entire body over the railing, tumbling overboard and landing in the ocean with a splash.

From the moment his form made contact with the water, the dull pain from behind his eye disappeared. His lungs were unprepared for the sudden lack of oxygen, but he made no moves to try and swim to save himself.

A steady stream of nihlism creeped its way through his skin, underneath to his veins and flowing directly into his soul. His body was sinking, slowly and surely under the pressure of the ocean, and there was nothing him or his crewmates could do to save him.

Those were going to be his last thoughts.

But out of nowhere, he felt something staring at him. He managed to crack open his eye just a tad and was met with the illuminating eyes of the mermaid he and his crew were just relentlessly tracking down. It was then that he accepted his fate, of becoming yet another meal to an unforgiving creature.

However, the mermaid had other plans. Instead of baring its teeth in a display of aggression, it cupped his face to bring him close. The feeling of its lips against his own was foreign, but not unwelcome.

He found himself subconsiously gripping onto the waist of the sea creature, and it returned the gesture by wrapping its tail around and around his legs.

When they parted, the mermaid had an almost fondness to its face. And in a split second, they unwrapped their tail from him and began swimming at a pace that made Armand's head slam forward into its chest.

Occasionally, with Armand signaling that he required more oxygen, the mermaid emerged to the surface to allow him to take in air. It was during those brief moments with a squinted eye, that he realized he was far from his ship and everyone on shore.

Unfortunately, due to the nature of the mermaid, after a certain amount of time had passed, they either refused or ignored Armand's signals for oxygen and relied solely on pressing their lips to his to pass air.

It was not long after this that Armand passed out. The last thing he wondered before black started creeping from the corners of his vision to completely overtaking it was, "I hope it does not ruin my face any more than it already is. "

—

Once arriving at your den, you ensured that your soon-to-be mate was comfortable. You crawled on the surface of the cave, carrying your limp mate's body in one arm, to the nest you created. Originally, you had no intention of ever mating, but your Cap-tan had changed your mind entirely.

You wiped his wet curls away from his face, retreating back underwater to properly breath, grabbing a stray fish and biting its head off. You placed the dead animal next to his face, in hopes that he would be content enough to eat your offering and complete the mating ritual.

Obviously, if he responded to your calls, it meant he was willing to mate with you.

You contented yourself with watching him sleep the day away. Watching his chest move up and down was hypnotic, so much so that you mimicked his breathing pattern to feel even closer to him.

As time passed, however, you were feeling insecure about the puny fish you had offered to him. This was the last stage, the final thing that meant he was choosing you to be his. It had to be something more than any common thing you could kill and bring to him at any time.

And so you began piling more and more things for him. Shells were arranged in a messy smile, stray bottles of rum were also added, as well as a couple of bones here and there.

It wasn't until you turned around, a skull in hand, that you realized that his eye was open. That he was watching you. Again, that instinct overtook every fibre of your being, and you crawled towards him, teeth bared.

You stopped just a foot away from him, nodding from the stack of tribute to him. Eventually, he sat up, eye wide and head shaking. The noises he had suggested a frightened nature, making you want to curl around him until he felt nice and safe.

You continued nodding your head, steadily growing impatient and nudging a bottle towards him.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he reached for the bottle. This caused you to chirp in excitement, tail slapping on the cavefloor.

Now the real fun could begin.