AN: So this isn't Stelena! Well, actually it is, it's just onesided. Sorrrry. Anyway, you may imagine Caroline or Rebekah or Lexi or any other blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl as the mermaid. I know who I imagine while writing this, but you get to choose for yourself:) Review if you please.
Affaire De Coeur
The day Lord Stefan Salvatore is kidnapped by pirates is also the day he meets the most beautiful woman he has ever laid eyes upon. He is being dragged onto the pirate's vessel when he sees her. She is on board, and looks unlike any girl he has ever seen.
She is dressed in green silk, her feet bare, and her skirts are tucked up to show shapely calves. Her dark hair streams down her back to her waist, where a pistol and a sword are strapped. Her eyes are dark and infallible, and her face is impossibly lovely. He wonders if she is a willing member of the crew, or a victim turned paramour.
His captors shove him to the ground and a finely dressed man orders them to strip him of his riches. He then tells them to throw him into the brig, whatever that may be. He is being held for ransom. The beautiful woman sits on a barrel, peeling an apple with a knife.
Stefan discovers that a brig is in fact a jail, which reeks of bodily fluids and seawater. He is miserable, and the constant rocking of the vessel make him nauseous enough to be quite sick many times. The only thing that keeps him sane is the thought of the beautiful woman in green silk.
After what feels like a lifetime, the captain believes it is safe to allow him to wander the ship, and a member of the crew begrudgingly releases him from his cell and leads him up into the light.
He is left to his own devices, and he finds her relatively quickly. She's perched on a barrel again, a different one this time, he believes, and she is mending a fishing net with nimble fingers. She's wearing a black taffeta. He takes a seat on a box of cargo beside her and watches her fingers fly across the net.
"Do you have a family, lord?" she asks finally, her voice husky and sweet all at once. He hesitates to answer and she raises a narrow eyebrow at him.
"Yes I do lady, my parents, and an older brother," he says politely, She lets out a harsh laugh.
"I'm not a lady," she informs him flatly. "But that's good," she continues. "If you had no one, you would be no use to us, and the captain would send you overboard," She states matter-o-factly. He nods in agreement. He waits for a moment before he allows his curiosity to get the better of him.
"So, how did you end up here?" he asks, and he is surprised when she laughs, and it is a musical laugh, no longer harsh.
"I was born on this ship, me father is the captain," she answers with an amused smile. His eyes widen, she's the daughter of the captain? She stands as she finishes repairing the net. She turns to him, and addresses him directly, "And I have a name, lord. It's Elena."
It is very late, and Stefan cannot sleep. He leaves the small bunk they had assigned him, and wanders to the deck, restless. He sees Elena's mane of dark hair and smiles.
"Ele-" he begins when a hand snakes around and clasps over his mouth as he is pulled back into the shadows. His captor is a member of the crew, Kol. The dark-haired man glares at him and makes a shushing motion. Stefan stays silent and turns to watch Elena as Kol had.
Elena is dressed in blue silk, and she glances around the deck, checking to see if she is alone. When she believes she is alone, she slides her weapons off her waist, and nimbly unbuttons her dress, leaving her in a loose shift. Stefan gulps and Kol hits him in the stomach to silence him.
Elena tries her best to silently open the plank, and then she perches on the edge, her feet dangling over the ocean. Stefan puzzles over actions as she searches the waters, until she calls out softly.
"My love, are you there?" she calls softly, and her words are a sword in his gut. Kol inhales sharply. Over the soft sound of the waves slapping the sides of the vessel, a soft feminine voice responds to Elena's beckoning.
"I'm here, my heart," the voice responds, and Elena leans forward with her hand outreached as if to touch whomever it was. Kol and Stefan silently creep forward, both hopping to catch a glimpse of Elena's love. They catch a glimpse of wet blonde hair, eyes bluer than the sea, and soft pink lips.
"Mermaid," Kol breathes, and Stefan inhales sharply, Elena's in love with a mermaid?
"Come closer, dear one," Elena begs, as her fingers can't quite reach the creature's rosy cheek. The mermaid complies, and Elena caresses her cheek fondly, as the blonde leans into her touch.
"Come down here, my lovely human," the mermaid coos in a lilting voice, and Elena looks down at the water longingly.
"I wish I could my love, but me father will be suspicious if I'm wet when the sun rises," Elena says sorrowfully. The mermaid lets out a low moan of heartbreak.
"Come with me, don't force me to live without you anymore, my heart," the mermaid begs in a low pleading voice. Elena's voice is full of her want.
"I would my dear one, but I cannot, you know I cannot," Elena says gently. "I could not leave me family any more than you could leave yours," Elena reminds her sadly. The mermaid looks down woefully and nods her understanding.
"But I love you," the mermaid says in a small voice, and Stefan feels his heart break for them.
"And I, you," Elena says as she leans down to press a sad kiss against her mermaid's cold lips. Stefan will never forget the kiss for as long as he lives.
Affaire De Coeur: French, love affair.