A/N: Hi! Completely in love with this pairing and wanted to write my own story. Definitely drew some inspiration from other Hookriel stories. Please leave some feedback so I can make this better! Enjoy
There he was. Running with his dog on the beach. Smiling beautifully with joy in his eyes. And here I was, peering over a rock to watch him while hiding so he wouldn't see me. Great love story right? Too bad it would never happen for us. We were from completely different worlds. He was a human, and a perfect specimen at that, and I was a mermaid. It could never be. I heard someone shout out, "Eric!" and the man turned his head to respond to the call. So that must be his name. Eric. He embarked back to his ship and began helping unload the cargo. It appeared they were home and here to stay (or so I hoped). It came time for me to swim back home to my life under the sea. I originally loved being a mermaid and swimming under the cool ocean waves, but it dawned on me that there was so much more out there that I would never see. I was about halfway home when the waves began to get rough. My father must have discovered I had gone off to explore. He never let me have much freedom. Little did he know this storm he was brewing only made it more difficult for me to get home.
Out in the distance, I saw a ship rocking unsteadily during the storm. I poked my head up above the water to see how bad it was. Men were jumping off board, abandoning the ship while the captain was still trying to keep control of the vessel. It only took one swift wave to capsize the large boat and all the men were in the water. The man steering the ship was knocked out upon impact and I saw him start sinking in the water very rapidly. Something took over me and I found myself under water swimming in his direction. When I reached him, I grabbed a hold of him and starting swimming upwards, toward the surface. This was a difficult task considering how tiny I was compared to how muscular he was. To add to that, the clothing he was wearing was very heavy and appeared to be weighing him down. We finally reached the surface and I began swimming to shore with this stranger. It wasn't too far but I was worried he had already stopped breathing. I did my best to pull him out to the sand but I could only go so far, with the tail and everything. The waves appeared to be helping me a bit and he finally seemed to be in a good spot, with the water just barely gracing the soles of his boots.
I took this moment to take in this stranger I had just saved. He was handsome, but in a dark and rugged sort of way. He had dark hair that was wet and disheveled at the moment, yet it framed his face nicely. Scruff covered his jaw and a scar was present on his right cheek. I was curious as to how that happened. Then I noticed it. On his left arm instead of a hand, he had a hook. I lifted the hook up to inspect it and wondered how this man lost his hand and had it replaced? Once my curiosity got the best of me, I realized that this man might still need saving. I listened for his breath but there was no oxygen running through his lungs. I panicked, not knowing how to save him. Then it hit me. I put some pressure on his chest, hoping this would help somehow (I had seen someone perform this procedure before and it seemed to work!). Then I parted his lips and released a breath into his mouth. I felt his chest rise up a bit, which provided me with the encouragement I needed. I repeated the process a few times and finally he jerked up, coughing and spitting up seawater. I felt so relieved. My actions had actually made a difference. It was the first time I ever felt this way and it was liberating. I snapped back to reality, noting that this man would be waking up soon. I wasn't supposed to be watching humans, let alone interacting with them. I flopped back to the ocean as fast as I could, knowing I was about to receive a scolding from my father. Even dreading that feeling, I still felt...incredible. I only wish I could have stayed to make sure the man with the hook would be all right. I felt drawn to him for some reason that I couldn't describe. He just seemed like he had an interesting story and I wanted to learn more.
"Captain! CAPTAIN! You're alive!?" I heard in the distance. I sat up with a confused state of mind. I was lying in the sand and I was awfully damp. I saw a familiar face enter my field of vision.
"Smee. What's happened?"
"There was a storm and the ship went down. We all thought you were dead."
"Well apparently I am indeed alive. The last thing I remember was a massive wave. Everything else is black. Where's the rest of the crew?"
"I'm afraid there aren't many of us left. Maybe seven or eight. The storm took most of them."
"Gather them up. We'll have to find another ship. We'll stay here for a few more days in case any of the other men show up, but then we're back to the seas."
"Yes cap'n. I'll tell the men." Smee ran off to wherever he came from as I sat up, trying to remember how I ended up here. Surely I couldn't have swum this far. The only thing I could visualize was a girl. She had red hair and these shamrock green eyes that were full of wonder. I couldn't remember many of the other details, but I knew she was breathtaking. The significance of this female was beyond me, likely a figment of my imagination, but I knew I wanted to see her again. After all, it had been quite a while since I was in the intimate company of a woman. I shook the image from my mind and stood up, shaking the sand off my damp leather clothes, and walked in the direction of Smee. It was time to find a ship.