Something glittered in the sand beneath Arista, which was unusual since there wasn't much of anything in the shallows near Skull Rock. She swam down to get a better look, at saw that it was a dainty little necklace made out of some sort of precious stone. She knew she shouldn't touch human made things - her father hated anything to do with them - but she was so angry with him right then. He had told her she was to marry some upper ranking noble during dinner as if it was of no importance, but it was! He had planned her future without her. Perhaps wearing a human's necklace would shock some sense into him, or better yet, scare her betrothed from marrying her.
That was what she was thinking as she reached down and pulled the glittering necklace from the sea floor, causing a small cloud of sand to rise. Up close she could tell someone had taken a great deal of time to make it - the pale pink stone had been painstakingly carved into the shape of a scallop.
"Who would throw away such a pretty thing?" she wondered. However, her attention was suddenly drawn away by the dark shadow that had just come over her. She looked up to see a large dark oval shape above her, and only too late did she realize it was a ship. She flipped her red tail in panic and tried to swim back to the Cove but realized a large net had suddenly materialized around her. It began to shrink and shrink until it was almost so tight that she couldn't move. She screamed and thrashed, and only succeeded in getting herself more tangled in the net. And the net was suddenly being pulled upwards quickly, towards the surface! "Daddy!" she screamed, but then she was above the surface of the sea and blinded by light.
Everything about the surface was overwhelming; there was too much light for her eyes, too much noise for her ears. In the din she heard someone call, "Well lookie what we got here! Quick, call the Capt'n!"
She was dropped unceremoniously on the ship's deck with a loud, "Thud!" and tried to brush her long white-blond hair out of her eyes. Squinting through the bright sunlight she saw a sea of men crowded around her, who smelled in bad need of a good bath. The wooden deck scratched against her scales, and she sat up in order to see where she was.
The ship was about as long as a whale, and half as wide. She was on the deck near the main mast. Above on a higher landing was the steering wheel, and pole flying the crew's flag- a skull and crossbones. Her vision was still slightly obscured by the rope net, but she saw the ship's side was too high for her to crawl over. Panic was starting to set in and now she knew what her friends meant when they said they felt like a fish out of water.
"Impressive Smee, catch her all by yourself did you?" a cold drawling voice asked from right behind her, startling her.
"Oi! We caught 'er now, and it's we that'll be having the first go at 'er!" and rougher voice shouted angrily. "Smee didn't do nothin'."
Arista turning around to see thick leather boots standing behind her, and her eyes traveled up the black skinny leather pants and black coat to rest on a cold, appraising face. The man's eyes were a murky green, outlined with black charcoal- even more than her sisters wore! The sound of gold clincked in his pockets as he kneeled down until they were at eye level. "What is your name, doll face?" Her light blue eyes widened in fright at a human being this close to her, and this seemed to amuse him. Quick as lightning his hard calloused hand grabbed her chin tightly. His other hand was replaced by a silvery hook, which he held against her throat, as if daring her to scream, but she stared defiantly back at him. The tip of it was pointed directly into her neck. After a long pause, he withdrew his hook and let go of her. She then heard the unsheathing of a dagger and closed her eyes and prepared for its pain, but the pain did not come. Opening her eyes she realized he had just cut the net away from her, and had already stood up and was speaking to his men.
"Well gentlemen, we have ourselves a fine catch right here, but where do you suppose she stay until we can sell her?"
"Our beds will do just fine," one man wearing an eyepatch remarked and the others grunted in agreement. Her heart jumped in her throat.
"You idiot," hissed the Captain, walking over to the man. "We'll only get half what she's worth if she's used. We sell her whole and then you can buy all the company you desire." The men cheered at this.
The sun was coming out from behind the clouds and lit up the dreary scene. Arista felt the sun's heat for the first time without the sea separating them, and it began to dry up what water was still left on her. As it did, she felt only half complete.
"Stay in the kitchen? And she'll what, live in the sink? What kind of an idiot are you Smee? What, what- ?"
The scales on her ruby red tail were beginning to dissolve off of her, turn into gold sparks and vanish like magic. Her peach skin began to glow brightly and when she looked down her tail was gone, and in its place were two human legs. She tentatively moved her right pinky toe, and then flexed her foot. She had never heard of anything like this happening before.
"What did you do?!" the captain shouted, startling her. "We can't sell her saying she used to be a mermaid, what kind of fool would believe us?" He threw his dagger at the main mast, nearly hitting Smee.
"P- Perhaps C- Capt'n, the Indians m-might know what to do," he stammered. The dagger was still vibrating where it had landed right above his head. The dark haired man thought about this proposal for a moment, then shouted, "Set sail for the Indian Camp!" and the crew quickly dispersed.
"Sir, but where is she to stay?" continued Smee.
"Put her in my cabin," he replied and stalked off. Smee stood there stunned for a moment, but hastily cleared his throat and while looking at the ground said, "Follow me." Arista looked down and realized she wasn't wearing any clothes, but that was really the least of her worries. She used the side of the ship to pull herself up, but after taking one small step she fell back down again. Her legs still felt numb and foreign to her.
"Here Miss, Capt'n says for you to wear this," said Smee, holding out a dark coat with gold detailings. Arista slid her thin arms into the jacket, and it felt 30 or 40 pounds heavy. Then with Smee guiding her she wobbled over the deck, through a door that led to a room directly underneath the steering wheel. It was dimly lit and there was only one porthole window to look out of. Arista turned to thank Smee but he had already shut the door. Walking tentatively, one foot in front of the other, she nearly made it to the bed when the ship lurched to the left and she fell down. Only then did she realize she was still carrying that stupid necklace they had lured her with. She angrily flung it away from her and heard something break but she didn't care.
She put her face in her hands and began to cry softly. She was such an idiot and now she would probably never see her family again. Through the porthole she watched the sun turn from yellow to orange, pink and then disappear beneath the ocean, where she desperately wanted to be.