Mermaid AU? Really? The answer is yes.

this story will contain e/c, r/c, e/r, and to some extent e/r/c.

the idea for this fic was given to me by tumblr user phantastichomos

thank you for reading and I really hope you leave a review

A young sailor leaned over the railing of his fleet's ship and took in a whiff of the salty sea air. He sighed contently as the aroma made its way throughout his entire body. He had forgotten how much he missed being out on the open sea.

"I was afraid you'd be making a mess, Chagny!" A voice spoke from behind the boy.

Alarmed, he quickly turned around to see that it was his commanding officer. He smiled and jumped down to greet him.

"Admiral," he bowed his head in respect.

With a bit of surprise, the Admiral brought him in for a tight hug. The Admiral, though had a tough exterior, was a very affectionate man. Of course he was not like this with the majority of his crew, this boy was the exception. The Admiral had been very close with his father and older brother.

The Admiral's bristly mustache wiggled as he let out a hearty laugh. His hands gripped Raoul's shoulders, "Look at you!"

Raoul returned a smile, "It's wonderful to see you."

"Now what's this I hear about you finding a pretty lass, my boy?" The Admiral clapped Raoul on the back, "You'd never think you'd see so many grown men gossiping on such a topic!"

Raoul's cheeks went bright red. He never thought he could escape the talk of his love life. It was the talk of the town back in Paris. The Vicomte de Chagny had finally found himself a suitable wife.

"She is absolutely amazing," Raoul told the Admiral, "And she is my fiancée, she is very beautiful, I must tell you. I love her with all my heart."

The Admiral smirked, "Good for you, lad. I'll be expecting an invitation to that wedding!"

"Don't you worry," Raoul chuckled, "You are one of the first on our list."

The Admiral nudged Raoul's shoulder, "I best," and walked off.

Raoul made his way back over to the boat's edge. He let out a sigh and he stared at the never ending waters. He longed for his fiancée to be by his side. She was probably getting along just fine on her own; Raoul knew how strong and independent she was. He smiled at the thought.

He glanced at the sky above. It was very gloomy in appearance, as it usually was. It was a rarity that they'd be out on a clear day.

The murky waters of the English Channel were not a force to be reckoned with. Even its own inhabitants made sure to steer clear of the darkest parts, knowing they would end up being trapped in a cold and never ending labyrinth.

A variety of creatures populated the waters, ranging from tiny plankton to the occasional killer whale. But unbeknownst to the world above, a vast population of merfolk inhabited the area. Sparse villages were spread across the channel, along with the occasional city. Merfolk of all shapes and sizes would go on with their day to day lives and their day to day jobs, usually ignoring the ruckus from the world above. Humans were a waste of time and mattered very little to them. The time of the Sirens had passed and the merfolk kept much to themselves. There was no need to mess with such affairs.

Though, there was one merman who often meddled in such affairs. He was an outcast to society and lived in the deepest, most darkest parts of the channel, secluded from the rest of his kind. He made his home in a capacious cavern. There he lived alone as he liked it.

Occasionally merfolk would wander their way into his home. To deal with the problem, he would lure them to the cavern's air pockets and suffocate them.

"Beware the faceless beast," parents would tell their children.

The merman was anything but faceless. He did indeed have a face, as most do, but it was terribly deformed. His skin appeared to be a grey yellow, looking old and corroded. It looked as if it was only a thin layer over his bones. A gaping hole served as his nose, and he lacked much of his lips. His eyes were sunken in, but his irises shined like gold. He appeared frail and malnourished, but was stronger than any other merman you would meet.

The merman laid on an extravagant bed he had salvaged from a human ship. His entire home was filled with these salvaged items. They were far too easy for him to obtain.

"Erik," the merman heard a voice call his name. He quickly shot up from the bed a swam towards the voice.

"Nadir!" Erik hissed, "Come in if you must! But what have I told you about—"

Another merman, Nadir was his name, entered. He could be considered an acquaintance of Erik's, the only acquaintance of his.

"Was I disturbing your rest?" Asked Nadir.

"Not at all," Erik answered, "You know as well as I that I never rest. Now, what have you come for?"

"I thought you'd might be interested in something I discovered this morning," Nadir took a seat in one of Erik's chairs, another salvaged item. He found the red cushioning oddly comfortable. He continued, "I know you and your fascination with the creatures above."

"Do tell," Erik also took a seat.

"A large vessel," he told him, "It would be a feast for a siren such as yourself."

Erik grinned. It had been a while since any human vessels were in his reach.

"Thank you for this information," Erik stretched out his arms.

"Do be careful," Nadir warned, "Stay away from civilization. You know what the townsfolk say of you."

"I'm not an idiot," Erik scoffed, "I have no intention on intruding on their peaceful little lives. The ship is the only thing that matters to me at the moment."

Raoul bit the end of his pencil as he tried to figure out what else to add in his letter to fiancée. He knew that he would not be able to send off the letter until the ship made a stop in Portugal, but that did not mean that he could not write it.

The viscount tapped his fingers on the small writing desk as he tried to tune out the noisy sailors he shared the barrack with. They were boisterously noisy and drinking god knows what.

"Whatcha writin' there, pretty boy?" Raoul could feel a hot breath on his neck. He could smell the whiskey.

Raoul did not turn around, "That is none of your business."

"Lemme see that," a hand pulled the letter off of the desk. Raoul turned around to see that it was being handled by a sailor twice his size.

"I command you to give that back to me!" Raoul snapped, "You have no right to that! Do you—"

"Your title doesn't matter here," the sailor cackled. The others started to laugh as well, "We're all the same rank."

"What does it say?" Asked a skinny one in the corner as he downed some whiskey.

"It says nothing!" Raoul's face was beet red. He tried to capture the letter, but the man held it to high.

"My dearest love," the sailor began to read aloud. He took his voice up an octave, which made the others laugh, "How I've missed you so. These long days at sea are unbearable without you by my side, for you are much stronger than I—"

"Give!" Raoul leapt and failed. The sailor pushed him away and continued to read.

"You're probably getting along very well. I long to have you in my embrace, to feel your—"

Raoul heard hushed whispers. He quickly looked around the room, "What was that?"

"What was what?" The sailor asked. He sounded irritated that his dramatic reading had been interrupted.

Raoul heard it again. It started to sound a bit musical. Whistles and hums filled his ears. It made him feel warm inside. He hugged himself and let out a sigh, "Don't you hear it?"

"He's mental," one of the men whispered.

"Maybe it's a mermaid," one joked, "They say their songs only attract the stupidest of men…"

All of the men started to laugh again.

Raoul could hear words, but he could not understand them. It was as if a foreign tongue was running through his head.

"I-I think I need some air," Raoul said as he pushed open the door, "Clear my mind."

Raoul ran up the narrow stairs and made his way to the deck. The voice was growing stronger and stronger. It was starting to drive him a bit mad.

"Hello?" Raoul called out, "Hello?"

There was no answer, but the voice was growing louder. What had been humming was now turning into shouts. Raoul covered his ears, but that could not keep the noise away. It was burning his ear drums. He could not take it any longer.

Raoul grabbed onto the railing, "Stop!" he cried out, "Please make it stop!"

Screams and squeals filled Raoul's head. It was agony.

Raoul stared out at the crashing waves. He felt the sudden urge to jump, though he did not know why. All he wanted to do was jump.

He climbed over the railing and prepared to plunge himself, but he was interrupted by a shout.

"Chagny! What are you doing!?"

Raoul ignored it. He had to jump. It was the only thing that mattered to him. The water would free him. The water would help him.

He did not even need to count. Without any thought at all, Raoul dropped off the edge and into the icy waters.

As he sunk down the voice quieted. Raoul quickly opened his eyes and realized where he was. He felt something grasp his leg.

He heard a hiss, "This is my favorite part."

Raoul tried to scream, but ended up taking in water. His lungs were burning and he could not breathe. He tried to open his eyes, but the saltwater burned. This was it. He was drowning.

He started to kick. Maybe he could break free of whatever was dragging him down.

"You are a feisty one," he heard a groan, "I loathe ones like you. Trying to create a challenge?"

"Please!" Raoul tried to say, though it did not translate well underwater.

Raoul thought of his fiancée, of how he'd never get the chance to see her smile again. How he would never get to lift her veil and kiss her passionately. How he would never become a father. How he would never get to play his violin to his sleeping baby as his love sung a soft lullaby.

He was growing weaker and weaker. He could not go on anymore. He could not fight it. He had to give up.

Raoul was awoken by his own choking. Water dripped down his chin. He slowly opened his eyes and saw his wet blond hair hung in his line of sight. And that was when Raoul realized that he was alive.

"I'm alive?" Raoul spoke aloud. He coughed up a bit more water. He brushed his hair out of his eyes to look around. He noticed that it was very dark. He felt the ground. It was made up of rocks and dirt. Raoul gasped for a moment. He saw that he was surrounded by water. The only thing that kept the water from engulfing him was the small patch of land in which he sat upon. He noticed a chain was tied around his ankle.

"Where am I?" Raoul began to hyperventilate, "Where am I? Someone answer me!"

But there was no answer. The only sound Raoul heard was the sound of waves crashing against what he thought to be walls.

Raoul curled himself into a ball and laid on the dirt. He started to cry. He was so distressed and did not know what else to do.

"Trapped," he heard a voice try to choke out. It sounded very raspy and ill, "You are trapped."

"Who was that?" Raoul shouted, "Who goes there?"

"Behind you," the voice wheezed.

Raoul turned his head. Pushed up against the cavern walls was a girl. She looked terribly ill. Her skin was pale and appeared very dry. Chestnut locks hung over her face, which left it almost completely covered. Where her legs should have been was a dark blue fishtail. Its scales were dry and cracking. A chain was tied around her waist; she could not move.

"Impossible!" Raoul gasped, "Those men were right! I cannot believe this! I demand you to free me this instant, you foul-"

"You draw fast conclusions," the mermaid choked.

"What are you saying?"

"We are the catches of the day," she answered, "I, being left here to shrivel to dust, and you, I actually haven't the slightest clue about you."

"Shrivel to dust?" Raoul was confused, "What are you saying?"

"I'm so dry…" she coughed, "I can barely breathe."

"Water?" Raoul asked, "Do you need water?"

"It would be nice," she sighed, "Can you reach it?"

Raoul crawled over to the edge of the land. He cupped his hands and dipped them in. He was able to carry a bit in his hands. He tried his hardest not to let any spill. He carefully crawled and splashed the water onto her.

"More," she moaned, "Please…"

He did as she said and continued to splash water all over the mermaid's body.

"Can you breathe?"

"Not really," said the mermaid, "I'd have to be submerged in order to do so. But thanks to you, I may be able to last a little longer."

"I am terribly sorry for shouting at you," Raoul told her, "I am so confused. I never knew creatures like you existed…I assumed it was you who dragged me down and tried to drown me."

"All is forgiven," the mermaid tried to push herself upright, "I've never been out of the water before. This whole sensation is very strange, as well as painful. Do you mind if I ask…what are you?"

"What am I?" Raoul was confused, "What do you mean by that?"

"What sort of creature are you?"

"A man," he answered, "A human being."

"Ah, I see," she brushed her hair out of her eyes, "You live in those vessels that come across from time to time!"

"You mean ships?" Raoul corrected her, "No no, I do not live on a ship, well not permanently. I live in a big city. It's called Paris and it is not aboard any ship."

"Alright…" the mermaid appeared to be very confused, "Paris…?"

"If I am going to be stuck in here with you," he said, "I might as well tell you my name. I am Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny."

"What a long name," the mermaid responded, "I am Christine."