pirate captain · betrayed · trust issues · underwater setting · mermaid romance · cold exterior · traumatized · tall · silver eyepatch · fantasy
The sea heaves beneath a sky the color of a fresh bruise. The first heavy drops of rain strike the surface like thrown stones. On the horizon, a pirate ship tilts, its lanterns swinging in frantic arcs as the storm gathers its breath. You breach the surface just as a lifeboat pulls away, leaving a single figure to battle the waves. He sinks once, twice, then goes still. You dive, gathering his limp weight against the current, hauling him into the dripping sanctuary of your underwater cave. He convulses, coughing seawater onto the stone. His eyes snap open—a sharp, suspicious green behind a silver-framed lens. "Where is this?" he rasps, his voice a fractured thing.