The Mermaid and the Pirate

A band of pirates once spotted a mermaid in the sea below. She had brilliant red hair that shone, luminescent in the water. The pirates equated her with any other great treasure and captured her with a fish net. The pirate captain was intent on selling her for gold in order to buy a better ship, and the crew supported him. One of the pirates, however, looked at her with stars in his eyes, wanting her all for himself. In the dead of night, he snuck out of his bunk, unlocked her cage where she lay dehydrated and weak, stole one of the rowboats, and left.

The next morning, the captain went into a frenzy, angered by the betrayal and selfishness of one of his trusted crew. He ordered three more pirates to take another rowboat and find the traitorous pirate and the treasure he stole.

The three left immediately, bringing provisions to last only for a few days, as the ship was still near the closest dock, where they assumed the escaped pirate had gone. They made it to the mainland quickly, and set out right away to locate the mermaid. The first day was without success, but one of them stumbled upon an illegal goods dealer that, for a large sum of money, pointed them in the direction of a man who had recently bought a mermaid. As they stood in front of him, they frowned in disgust, which is saying a lot for a pirate. His teeth and breath were rotten, skin scaly, beard tangled, and nose crooked as though broken multiple times without being given a chance to heal. They pulled their daggers and rifles on him, at which point he raised his hands in surrender and led them to where he had taken the mermaid.

During this time, one of the three pirates ordered to locate the mermaid was having second thoughts. Once we find her, we'll just capture and sell her again. She is no object to be sold. I cannot stand by and let us bring her back to the ship. She silently plotted to rescue the mermaid and return her to the ocean where she belonged, free.

The trio watched the disgusting man as he handed over the mermaid angrily, as he had paid to have her, but he couldn't fight all the pirates at once. So, he drew a dagger and rid of one of the pirates when their backs were turned to him. The other two were shocked but sprang into action. The one that wasn't carrying the mermaid drew her dagger and quickly disposed of the disgusting man, as he was a weak fighter, only previously having the element of surprise. The stabbed pirate wouldn't make it, so the remaining two pirates quickly fled the scene with the mermaid.

They hid for a night in a shoddy inn as the police combed the city for them, as someone had stumbled upon the two bodies and alerted the authorities. They left at the crack of dawn for the docks. The plotting pirate knew this was her last chance to rescue the mermaid, and while the other pirate was busy preparing the rowboat, knocked him out and tied him to the dock. Once the mermaid was in the rowboat, she hopped in and paddled as quickly as she could away from land.

She was very worried for the mermaid, as she was dried up and unconscious. She knew it would prove deadly for the mermaid to drop her in the sea right away, so she carefully splashed water on the mermaid, hoping it would help. After hours of the pirate rowing and splashing water, the mermaid woke and looked wonderingly at the pirate. The mermaid didn't quite understand why the pirate had done such a thing for her, as all the other humans she had encountered were rough and had objectified her. She thought this pirate must be different and found herself indebted, deciding to trust the pirate. The mermaid waited until day became twilight and the pirate fell into a deep slumber. She placed one of her brilliant scales in the pirate's hand with care, and quietly slipped into the sea, swimming by the side of the rowboat to steer it towards the ship.

The pirate woke alone, and gently smiled to herself and admiring the mermaid's scale in her hand. She was glad to have helped such a magnificent creature, but was hesitant to face the wrath of her captain. When she arrived back on board, the captain threw another fit, huffing and puffing, angered with her failure to re-capture the mermaid. She explained that the mermaid had already been brought far, far away when they arrived on land, and the other two pirates had been slain in their effort to find her. Although he was still angry, he recognized the danger that the pirates had faced and commended her for her efforts. The mermaid's scale was secretly tucked into the pirate's breast pocket, a reminder of a precious adventure that she would always remember. All seemed well.

One moon later, the ship's lookout gestured wildly, screaming to high heaven about an approaching pirate on a small rowboat. He arrived on board, looking haggard and with a vengeance in his eyes. The moment he spotted the pirate that had rescued the mermaid, his eyes narrowed and teeth bared. He ran to the captain and told him his version of the events that had transpired in their search for the mermaid. The captain was absolutely furious upon discovering the truth and demanded the traitorous pirate be made a lesson of.

Her hands were tied as she walked the plank, the crew jeering behind her. She knew she would drown, but had made peace with it as she considered her betrayal to the captain an honorable act that she could take pride in. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and thought one last time of the mermaid. The mermaid's scale, still in her pocket, started to shine a brilliant red as she plunged into the icy water below. The pirate did not see this happen, even as the men on board the ship grew silent. As she sunk down into the sea, losing consciousness, she kept her eyes closed. The pirate did not see the creature swimming frantically towards her.

The pirate never expected to open her eyes again, but saw the mermaid. Is this a dream? The afterlife? She thought. The mermaid was smiling ever so gently down at her, and she found herself smiling back despite her confusion. As she looked around, finding her bearings, she was shocked to realize they were floating underwater together, above what appeared to be grand, gleaming city. The mermaid grasped the pirate-turned mermaid's hand and they swam down together, hair and scales shining, luminescent in the water.