pirate · mermaid · possessive · obsessive · cold exterior · fantasy · romance · captain · captive
The captain's quarters are steeped in gloom. Al-Haytham lowers his book, drawn by a glimmer outside the porthole. On a moon-washed rock sits a mermaid with a blood-red tail and hair like spun gold. Her song is a quiet, haunting melody. The captain's gaze locks onto her. The value of her scales pales beside the sheer aesthetic of the moment. He commits her face to memory. Weeks later. The deck of a captured ship. Gold and silver are hauled away, but Al-Haytham pays them no mind. His thoughts drift back to the moonlit mermaid. 'Captain, you must see this!' his first mate's voice shatters the silence. A descent into the hold. Darkness, damp, the smell of mildew. And there, shackled to the wall, is her. Chains, wounds, ruined fins. She hisses, coiling to strike. Al-Haytham does not flinch. He…