And the arms of the ocean are carrying me

And all this devotion was rushing out of me

In the crushes of heaven for a sinner like me
But the arms of the ocean delivered me

Shaking and shivering she was hauled out of the water and onto the hard wooden deck of the ship she had spent so much time admiring. She tried to speak but no words came out. This wasn't where she was supposed to be, she was supposed to find Eric. She made the deal with Ursula, her time was limited, she had to find her prince.

"Captain!" A man in a red cap said as he pulled the netting away from the young woman. A few fish flopped next to her, gasping for air, but he paid them no mind, fixated on the wide green eyes of the terrified girl.

The men stood straight as the thump of heavy boots resonated across the ship. Down the stairs was the man she had seen so many times she had lost count. He was as much a part of the sea as she was. Glistening in the light was a hook that was as deadly in appearance as it was fascinating.

"Gentlemen, I told you to catch fish, not women," he said before he paused a moment, "though I see how you could get the two confused," he said commented and a few men snickered. Kneeling down he watched her with an uninhibited gaze, his blue eyes darting across her and Ariel shivered again before crawling backwards, hitting the edge of the boat. "Don't be afraid little fish," he told her but he didn't move. There was no malice in his voice, but an ever present mocking edge. "What's your name?" He asked, not sure of the proper protocol to catching a woman in your fishing net.

She opened her mouth but no sound came out and it startled her again. It was such a foreign feeling. Pointing at her throat she shook her head.

"I don't fink she can speak capt'n," one sailor spoke up.

Hook rolled his eyes up to look at the man, "what gave you that idea?" He asked, boredom dripping off of his words.

Ariel eyed him carefully. A pirate. That was what her father had called him. A scoundrel, a villain, a devil. He who is so vain to think he can master the sea has no place in your heart, Ariel. That was what he had said. She had abandoned her pirate, she had stopped singing to him as he passed through her waters, had he noticed?

An inkling of recognition crept into Killian's mind. He had seen her before, he must have, but how? Surely he would have remembered an encounter with such a stunning woman, but he couldn't quite put a finger on why or how he knew her.

"Let's get you cleaned up," he said as he took his jacket off and held his hand out for her.

Hesitating a moment Ariel took his hand, using him as a weight in which to help herself stand. Stand. She was standing. Elated, the thought occurred to her just as she teetered forward and fell, her knees crashing onto the hard wooden surface of the boat. She opened her mouth in a silent cry as the men around her stared at her in awe. The captain draped his coat around her bare shoulders and helped her stand.

"Mr. Smee?" He asked as he draped her arm over his shoulders.

"Yes capt'n?"

"Fetch one of the dresses from one of our other…visitors," he said as he carted the unsteady woman in his arms off to his quarters. The warm body next to him was unlike any visitor he had before.