Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters featured in the popular television series Once Upon A Time merely the context in which they appear.
Mermaids were meant to live in the sea. If humans were taken from land and replaced into the heart of Atlantis, they wouldn't take too well to the cold, unfriendly waters. In a similar sense, merfolk living on land with cumbersome feet replacing their graceful fins would be catastrophic. It was uncommon that a mermaid would choose to live on the surface, but then again, she was never just any mermaid.
On the eve of her wedding, the young redheaded girl stared out into the wide expanse of blue. Before her eyes was the gleaming horizon of the ocean, her old home long forgotten. The playful rays of sunlight danced across the surface as waves lightly caressed the sand bays beneath her feet. At each touch of cool water, she felt at peace.
Ariel often found herself staring at the ocean. It enchanted her for hours on end: the harmony of the melodious tone that enticed sailors into its endless presence. Sometimes Ariel regretted her decision to live on land, to leave her family and her home. Simply by one glance into the ocean.
"Ariel?"
The young girl quickly turned around, awakened from her spell. Behind her was a pair of deep blue eyes almost as enchanting as the sea itself. She smiled warmly, remembering why she made her sacrifice.
"It's getting late," Eric smiled, "We should be off soon."
Ariel nodded. At that moment of her life, she had never been happier than with her true love. Her Prince Eric, the one who would protect her against anything. Of course, Ariel shouldn't regret her decision. But she couldn't help herself. She stole one last glance at the ocean before she began her new life, happily ever after with her prince charming.
Little did she know that there was no such thing.
"Shay."
The young woman looked up from above the counter. An angry-looking bald man stood an inch away from her face, furiously eyeing her with disapproval.
"You're late," her boss said.
Shay rolled her eyes. "It won't happen again, Smee."
"Damn right it won't," Smee exclaimed, "Because next time you're late, I'm taking your job."
Tell me something I don't know Shay thought to herself. She threw down her wrinkled apron and tied up her mass of red hair, getting ready for another dull day at work. Smee always found a way to anger her even when she was most at peace. But then again, Shay was in no position to contend her boss's wishes since she had in fact been late for the past two weeks. In the eyes of a bar owner, a bartender running late was deserving of a slap on the wrist, even during lazy Sunday afternoons.
Shay looked up. The empty bar consisted of homeless bums and town drunks waiting for their day to end with their last drink on the house. It was a slow day as usual. Not that she expected anyone of importance to walk through those doors before happy hour.
The young woman found her mind wandering. It's been many weeks since the curse was broken. The woman that broke the spell, Emma Swan, she believed, and her mother Snow White recently arrived back to Maine after a terrible ruse swept them back into the our old home in the realm of magic. Shay didn't know either of them well enough to feel an ounce of gratitude for their return. Why should she? It's not like she was a best friend with the Swan girl or the lady-in-waiting to the queen. All she was was a bartender.
"Clean up Table 1. Shay? Did you hear me?"
Shay looked up. Her piercing green eyes shot bullets through Smee's head as she grabbed a wet rag from the cabinet. She marched over to the edge of the bar reluctantly, wiping down droplets of beer and saliva split by the last drunk customer sitting at the stool.
"Gross," Shay muttered to herself, grabbing the empty mug of beer and brisking back over to the counter. Worst part of the day job was cleaning after the rather filthy customers.
She sighed. Not like any prince charming was coming to save her. Shay's eyes filled with the vision of her childhood past: a montage of images flashed through her brain like a torrent of uncontrollable memories. She thought back to the beginning, when it all began.
"Would you hurry up?" Ariel groaned. "You're slower than a sea horse."
The distressed red crab swam furiously to catch up with the enthusiastic young mermaid, flipping her glimmering green fins along the surface of the ocean depths. She felt her red hair flow against her shoulders as she swam in loops of a hopeless daydream.
"For the love of God, child," Sebastian exclaimed. "Find some sense of caution. We are at the surface. We could easily be seen."
"Live a little, Sebs," Ariel giggled. "What's wrong with some danger?"
"Where to begin," Sebastian muttered.
The youngest of her family, Ariel was often the most immature and reckless. While her sisters have already grown to the peak of maturity, Ariel still spent the majority of her free time wandering the edges of the ocean bed, scratching the barrier between the human world and hers. Sebastian, a member of her father's court (and her designated babysitter) often disapproved of her methods.
But her father couldn't even stop her. What made Sebastian think that he could?
"I am begging you, Ariel," Sebastian pleaded, "Do not go any further than this."
Ariel pouted. "C'mon, don't be a hard shell. There's a whole species of people flourishing up on land. How can you not be curious about their lives?"
"Simple," Sebastian said, "I like living under the sea and so do you."
Ariel rolled her eyes. "Never mind. You don't understand."
When she was about to begin to descent back into the heart of the ocean, she heard a loud commotion above her head. Her emerald eyes darted towards the surface, peering at the black mass gliding across edge. Ariel's mouth opened in awe.
"What is that?" she asked curiously, swimming quickly up to the surface, despite Sebastian's open protest.
Before she knew it, the black mass appeared before her eyes as she popped her head out of the water and into the fresh air. Ariel peered curiously at the object. A ship? She had never seen one up close before. A bulking majestic sight with vibrant color streaming across its skyline. Fireworks, were they called? They were the most beautiful things she had ever seen. She gasped in awe. There was more. A tingle played with her cheeks as a brisk of cold air blew across her hair. Wind, her first breeze in her lifetime. Droplets of water gliding off her shoulders; the first time she felt in all its glory.
The world was rewritten in Ariel's eyes.
"There you are," Sebastian said, gasping for his breath as he finally caught up to the reckless teenager. "Young lady, you are in trouble now. We have to go."
"Who's ship do you think that is?" Ariel asked, hypnotized by its bright lights.
"Ariel," Sebastian exclaimed, "You mustn't go near that ship."
Ariel, ignoring Sebastian, swam closer and closer to the ship's stern. She reached for the outline of the ship and pulled herself onto the edge of the deck, a front row seat to these peculiar human beings. As she gazed into the theatrics of the surface world, Ariel stared intensely at one man, centered by a bunch of land dwellers, congratulating him with an odd hand gesture.
"Eric," one of the men called out. "Happy 20th birthday, kiddo."
The young man with gleaming blue eyes and silky black hair turned around to face his friend. "Thanks, James," the man named Eric replied, "I'm sure we'll be celebrating your 25th soon enough."
The man scoffed. "Let's hope not. Festivities aren't really my thing."
With each passing moment, Ariel's head leaned closer and closer towards the inner decks, so close that she could've sworn that someone had seen a glimpse of her red hair. Ariel didn't care. She couldn't stop staring at Eric's beautiful face.
"Ariel, your father is going to be worried," Sebastian exclaimed. "He will tear the seas apart looking for you if you don't go back soon."
Knowing that Sebastian's words were far from an exaggeration, Ariel stole a peek at her dashing prince before diving back into the ocean once again. She knew one thing for certain: her heart no longer belonged to the sea.
"Shay," Smee exasperated.
"Huh?" Shay stammered; her eyes focused back in reality.
Smee pointed urgently at the man sitting in the corner booth of the bar. "That man is a customer. Go serve him."
"Ask Wendy or Dina," Shay objected. "They're your waitresses."
Smee drew his lips into a thin line. Shay looked at him in curiosity. He seemed almost scared of this man. Like disobeying a direct request of his would mean the termination of his life.
Shay shrugged. Hoping to avoid an argument with her boss, she grabbed a thick pad of order notes and made her way to the back of the bar. There, sat a rather peculiar man.
He was wearing a long leather coat and fanciful jewelry, dangling from his ear and fingers. The man's eyes were a thousand miles away, staring off into the horizon with those scheming blue-green pupils. He seemed dangerous, but when has Shay ever been the type to shy away from danger?
Shay approached the man. "Can I take your order?"
The man looked up at the redhead and smiled.
"Are you Ariel?"
Shay froze. Her heart stopped. Her brain went into overdrive as her mind panicked. Her green eyes fixed onto his face, discerning the hidden meaning behind those words. Was that a threat? A call to action? How did he know my real name? Nobody in Storybrooke knew (except my roommate Sebastian). But judging from his anachronistic clothing, the man was most certainly not from around here. And that could only mean one thing: trouble.
Back in the palace, Ariel knew it was only a matter of time before her father found out of her journey to the surface. The king absolutely despised all land-dwellers, illegalizing human contact from merfolk. After all, his wife did perish at the hands of pirates.
It was then no surprise to the mermaid when her father sought her presence in the throne room with the mere purpose of reprimanding her. As Ariel swam deftly into the large corridor, Triton sat waiting at the throne, his stormy gray eyes angrily flashing towards his disobedient daughter. She stood in her place, her hands at her side and fins on the ocean bed.
"Where were you last night, Ariel," the king asked accusingly.
Ariel knew this was a trick question. Whatever her answer was the king already knew the truth. Instead, she gave him a shrug.
"How could you go to the surface?" King Triton boomed. His commanding voice echoed through the halls of Atlantis as his daughter, the young Ariel, shrunk in her place.
Her eyes accusingly turned to the little crab crouched next to the king's throne, knowing that he was the one that old her father of her exploits at the surface. Sebastian also shirked back into his shell as the king's threatening voice sent shivers down their backs.
"Daddy, please understand," Ariel explained. "I want to see the world beyond the sea."
"You what?" Triton gasped.
"I…" Ariel started.
"You disobeyed me," Triton thundered as he slammed his golden trident on the floorbed of the sea. "Ariel, this has gone on long enough."
The king of the sea stood up from his throne and stood before his daughter, hovering close enough to witness her on the brink of tears.
"From now on, Sebastian will accompany you everywhere and shall report to me of your daily movement," Triton commanded, "It seems I have been too lenient with you in the past."
Ariel pouted her face in disapproval. "I don't need to be babysat."
"When you prove yourself to be worthy of independence once again, my daughter," Triton stated, "You shall have your freedom back. But until then, you will be treated as a child."
The redheaded mermaid bit back a few angry tears and fluttered away, the red crab following reluctantly behind her into the long tunnel of her own despair.
"What do you want?" Shay demanded, crossing her arms in a defensive pose.
The man clicked his tongue. "There's no need to worry, darling. I mean no harm."
Shay pursed her lips. "Like I haven't heard that before."
The man raised his eyebrow. "Trust me. I'm true to my word."
The young woman set the pad on the table and slid into the chair across from his. It seemed the proper thing to do since he obviously did not come here for the beer. Her eyes looked up and down at the mysterious man and his leather suit. Everything about him screamed trouble.
"You still haven't answered my question," Shay stated firmly. "What do you want?"
The man smirked. "What makes you think I want anything except your sweet company?"
Shay leaned in, her face inches away from the stranger's. She shot him her deadliest look. "If you know who I am, you wouldn't look me up for date night. You want something. Now cut the crap and tell me who you are."
"Killian Jones," he smiled.
Shay gritted her teeth.
"So you've heard of me," he proudly stated, acknowledging Shay's actions as distaste.
"You're a pirate," Shay muttered, glancing briefly at the silver hook resting on his left hand, "Figures."
"And you're a mermaid," Killian smiled, staring briefly at her curvy physique. "Quite the pair we make."
Shay crossed her arms. "So why are you here? Don't you have a life of thievery to tend to?"
Killian smirked. "You've got a sharp tongue, lass. Careful who you cut with that."
"Are you ever going to get to the point?" Shay urged.
The pirate stared at me intently. Shay felt overexposed in the presence of his distant eyes. The way he stared at Shay like an inspecting officer or a physician. It made her feel uncomfortable.
"I have a proposition for you," Killian said.
"I'm listening," Shay nodded, crossing her legs.
Killian leaned in, whispering his next words. He obviously wanted no one to hear of his treacherous plot.
"There are rumors of a dagger in Storybrooke: well-hidden from prying eyes. It is said that the dagger is the key to destroying the Dark One."
"Rumplestiltskin," Shay spoke with disdain. The one person Shay could possibly hate more than a cocky pirate.
"So you know of him," Killian smiled.
"Too much, I'm afraid," Shay stated grimly. "What do you want me to do about it?"
"Steal it," Killian simply said.
Shay let out a laugh. The pirate stared at her in query.
"You're a pirate," the young woman stated, "Go steal it yourself."
Killian paused. "It would seem that the job requires two parties. You, I'm assured, are a qualified candidate."
"No," Shay exclaimed. "This is Mr. Gold we're talking about. He has enough magic to rip us limb from limb without a second thought."
"You are the best thief in the town, aren't you?" the pirate asked with his eyebrows raised.
"It would take more than the best thief in Maine to steal from the Dark One."
Killian smirked. "Oh, but I believe I can make it worth your time."
He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a trinket. A golden pendant with a heart shaped locket dangling playfully at the edge. Shay's eyes stared hypnotically at it as it swung around Killian's hooked hand. The young girl hadn't seen that locket in many years; she thought she had lost it to the sea. She reached out to touch it but the pirate's hand retreated underneath the table.
"I don't think so, love," Killian smirked. "Do we have a deal?"
Shay pursed her lips. She wanted to snatch the necklace from his greedy palm, but, of course, she knew better than to steal from a pirate. It's been a long time since she had seen that necklace, felt its smooth gold against her palm. Shay bit her lower lip, knowing that she had allowed herself to be pushed into a corner.
"Deal," she muttered reluctantly.
"I can't stand it here anymore," Ariel exclaimed. "The ocean is suffocating me."
Sebastian rested on her shoulder as she complained about life as a princess, living under her father's restrictions, and the limited scenery that the ocean floor offers.
"You get that head of yours out of the clouds, girl," Sebastian ordered, "Your father is right. You belong down here with your sisters and mother."
Ariel scoffed as she blinked away some loose tears. "That sounds like a life sentence for first degree mer-slaughter."
She swam around in circles as Sebastian scurried across the currents to catch up with the young teenager. Luckily for him, her red head was a dead giveaway in a sea of blue.
"I wish there were some way to live on the surface with humans," Ariel sighed.
"Why?" Sebastian contended. "So you can meet that prince of yours? You don't even know him, Ariel."
"What's there to know?" she snapped. "He's handsome, smart, caring. And I doubt any eligible mermen can dance like he did."
"There's nothing you can do about it so you might as well forget it."
Ariel groaned. "I wish I could turn into a human."
"Ariel, don't do say that," Sebastian pleaded. "You belong in the ocean."
The young mermaid scrunched her face. She belongs in the ocean? How does anyone know where she truly belongs? She never belonged anywhere: not in the king's courts, not with her friends, not even with her sisters, who were only supportive of her quirks. Where else was she supposed to go if not the land?
"No, I don't. I belong up there," Ariel spat.
Sebastian shook his head. "Say what you like, but I know the truth. Mermaids belong to the sea."
Ariel scrunched up her face in resolute defiance. At that moment, Ariel couldn't take it anymore. The twisted family tree, her manipulative father, her blasé sisters, and especially her cruel stepmother. It was no longer a choice she had to make. It was a necessity. Eighteen years down in the waters was too long for her. She was ready to stand.
"Then I don't want to be a mermaid any longer," she muttered, swimming away into the vast open seas.
The pair took to the streets of town after their concluded deal. Shay could use some fresh air after being cornered and bribed back into a life of stealing and manipulation. Their surroundings were rather dull. Overcast skies with a touch of sea salt in the air. Seagulls flying above this all-forgotten seaboard town. The only noticeable flash of color was Hook and his silvery hook glistening in the light.
"Can't you put that thing away," Shay snapped impatiently at Hook. "It's drawing too much attention."
Killian rubbed his fingers against that ostentatious coathanger of his, smiling down at his new partner in crime.
"Any more attention grabbing than your luscious red hair, mermaid," Killian whispered as he lightly traced his fingers through a strand of her wavy hair.
"You know," Shay remarked as she flicked his hand away, "There's fine line between flirtation and sexual harassment."
Ignoring her comment, Hook proceeded on.
"So how does a lovely individual such as yourself end up as a common thief?" Hook asked, his hands teasing the golden locket before Shay's eyes.
She frowned. Not many people in Storybrooke knew of her rather notorious reputation for larceny. Even less knew of her dark past. As the heels of her shoes clicked against the concrete pavement of the gray walkway of the impossible town, the former mermaid pondered how to answer.
"I have to make a living somehow," Shay muttered with contempt. "Not that you'd understand. You steal for entertainment."
Killian smirked. He seemed to do that a lot.
"Why do you assume, darling?" the pirate retorted. "It's a dangerous thing to assume."
Shay rolled her eyes as they passed a couple of recognizable figures on the street. "It's not assuming if I know I'm right."
"The last I heard of you," Hook said, pointing his bejeweled finger at her neck, "Was 29 years ago when you were still a little mermaid."
The redhead narrowed her eyes. "How much do you know about me?"
Killian shrugged. "Not much. You're a creature that longed for land, traded your voice for legs, and married a prince. Lived a charmed life, I'm sure."
Relieved, Shay let out her breath. Besides the note of sarcasm in his remark, the pirate didn't know anything about her past life. Nothing of importance, that is. All he knew was the commercialized fairytale version that any child could see by picking up Disney's most prized movie.
"Well I guess you have all the answers then," Shay teased, her words layered with a sharp glass of disdain.
The pirate and the mermaid walked around the street until they arrived back at Shay's apartment. She needed to stop by before heading off into the sunset with the notorious pirate. Captain Hook. She'd heard of him before as much as he has heard of her. He was a heartless villain, a selfish man whose only interest was in himself. Essentially, Killian was what anybody would expect of him: a pirate. Shay just needed insurance to protect herself against such dangers. Being associated with a pirate was bad. Being double-crossed by one was worse. What has she gotten herself into?
The young woman pushed the front doors to her apartment wide open, the swaggering pirate following slowly behind her.
"Wait here," Shay commanded, scanning the complex for any signs of her roommate. Seeing as there was no one in the rooms, Shay proceeded to her bedroom, leaving the guest standing alone in the doorway.
She had to move fast before Hook stole something. Her hands grabbed everything she saw that seemed important. Cellphone, some rope, Swiss army knife.
Killian waited in the cramped living room where his blue-green eyes scoped Shay's living quarters. He rubbed his fingers against the mahogany walls, taking in the sight. The space was compact, with floors and walls lined with rich brown wooden panel. The entire place smelt of the ocean, possibly because of the young mermaid's aura. There were clothes and books strewn across the floor, bags of junk food scattered around the dining table. He smirked: it seemed the girl was more like a pirate than he'd thought.
"Shoes," Shay exclaimed, popping her head out of the darkened bedroom, "Have you seen a pair of shoes?"
Killian smirked, looking down at her feet. "Aren't you wearing shoes?"
Shay exasperated, "Different shoes."
The young girl shrunk back into her room, leaving Killian waiting impatiently in her living room. What could possibly be taking this girl so long? He sat down on the couch, popping his feet onto the junk-ridden table. He outstretched his arms along the edge of the loveseat, closing his eyes. As Shay shuffled through piles of clothing in her bedroom, Hook sat outside stealing some sweet relaxation, something he has had none of since his arrival in Storybrooke.
"Who are you?"
Hook stood up. A tall, lean figure hovered over him with fierce gray eyes and looming at the pirate disapprovingly.
"Where did you come from?" Hook demanded, reaching for his sword.
The blonde man crossed his arms and stared him down. The two's deadlock ceased as the young redhead emerged from her bedroom, dressed in a pigment of the night, her hair restraint in a tight ponytail. Her emerald eyes darted from her new associate to her roommate.
"What are you doing here, Sebastian?" Shay demanded, crossing her arms.
"I could ask him the same thing," Sebastian sneered at Hook. "Who is he?"
Killian opened his mouth to speak but Shay interjected.
"He's no one," Shay interrupted. "Nobody you need to worry about."
The pair were silent for a long time. Their eyes were locked in an implied battle of wits. Sebastian stared down his charge with great perseverance, but Shay refused to back down.
"What are you doing," Sebastian asked the redhead.
Shay stared at the ground.
Sebastian took one long look at the former mermaid. Dressed in all black, hair tied up, bag full of tools. He knew exactly what was going on.
"You're stealing again, aren't you," Shay's roommate accused.
Shay sighed. "It's just something I have to do."
"Something you have to do," Sebastian scoffed. "Do you hear yourself? You're better than this, Ariel."
Shay shook her head. She wasn't going to take this.
"Ariel's dead, Sebastian," Shay gritted. "Whether you like it or not, the mermaid you knew is dead. I'm not Ariel anymore."
Sebastian stared, with his stirring pupils, at the girl he both knew so well and hardly knew. Her green eyes and red hair were distinctly a part of the old Ariel, but everything else about her was gone. She died that day. Sebastian knew it and so did Shay.
"I'm leaving," Shay stated. "I'll be back late."
She marched out of the apartment, leaving a trail of nostalgia behind her. The old crab stood alone in the living room, disheartened and disgruntled, watching the past close its door before his eyes.
"Where are you taking me, pirate?" Shay demanded, walking along the forest beds of Storybrooke.
"Some place where no one will stumble upon us," Killian grinned, "In case you wanted me to yourself."
Shay rolled her eyes and continued on. She knew better than to retort to Hook.
"So what was that with your roommate," Hook asked quizzically.
Shay paused to catch her breath. She stood hugging a neighboring tree as the young girl stood on a steep hill in the woods of the unknown.
"What's it to you," Shay said.
Hook grinned. "Curiosity."
"Why would you care," Shay spat. "You're a pirate."
Killian smirked, digging his hooked hand into the bark of a large grandfather tree. "Are we done making assumptions today, love?"
Shay opened her mouth to reply but she had nothing. Few people managed to steal the last words away from her mouth and the pirate was one of them.
"Can't blame you for assuming, I guess," Hook smiled. "The pirate image is a dead giveaway after all."
"So are you saying all my assumptions are right?" Shay mimicked Killian's smirk.
He flashed her a mysterious look and continued onwards. Shay groaned, reluctantly following behind him. They climbed further for more than a mile, until they were deep into the heart of the forest where nobody would dare disturb them.
"We're here."
Shay scanned her surroundings. It was the middle of nowhere.
"What's here that was important enough to drag me from the bar?" Shay asked, crossing her arms in defiance.
"Like I said," Hook smirked. "Privacy."
Killian sat down on the floor of the dense forest, where Shay's only thought was that nobody would hear her if she screamed for help. Was this the end? After all that she has been through, was she destined to die by the hands of a pirate?
"Are you going to sit down?" Hook asked. "Or do you prefer to tire yourself before the real work begins?"
Shay held her lips in a thin line as she scooted up next to the pirate, reading from what looked like torn pages from the Storybrooke Library. The young woman stole a glance at the ancient pages strewn with written across its thin parcel. Legends of the Dark Ones dagger across history. There were myths from the Egyptian civilization, the Roman Empire, even pictures from the Paleolithic Era. He may be a flippant flirt, but Shay couldn't deny that Killian was a decent tracker.
"There's nothing within these pages about the dagger's whereabouts," Killian muttered.
"Of course there wouldn't be," Shay exclaimed, grabbing the thin pages from Killian's rough hands, "These are historical documents. You're not going to be able to locate a dagger in present day with directions written two thousand years ago."
"Well," Hook sighed, "Where do you suggest we start?"
"Gold's Pawn Shop," Shay nodded, flipping through the pages.
"Do you think the man would be daft enough to hide his own fatal undoing in his shop?" Hook asked skeptically.
"No," Shay answered, "But we could find something that would lead us to where the dagger is. It's our best shot."
Killian smirked.
Shay looked up and frowned. "What?"
Hook simply leaned into her face until his hot breath was felt against her cheek. "If I didn't know any better, I would say you're enjoying this," he whispered.
Shay rolled her eyes. "You don't know any better."
Killian chuckled. "My dear mermaid, you have a heart as cold as ice."
"Did you expect anything less?" Shay retorted, finally getting the last word she sought so desperately.
The two then sat in silence, plotting their ambush to Mr. Gold's Shop meticulously. This was the first Shay had ever heard of a dagger that could kill the Dark One. At first, seemed almost impossible to believe. Even now, it was more of a tall tale than a reality. But who was she to question the man who held her golden heart in his hands.
"So why do you want this dagger anyway?" Shay asked curiously.
Killian smiled. "Like you said, I'm a pirate. Another valuable possession, eh?"
Shay shook her head. "No, it's more than that."
Silence fell onto the forest. There was nothing except the noise of winds rustling the leaves of masses of trees above their heads. The air echoed with the sound of utter awkwardness as Shay confirmed that her inference was correct.
"Observant, are we?" Killian nodded.
Shay raised her eyebrows, waiting for an explanation.
"I can't help you if I don't know the whole story, Hook," she said firmly.
"Tell me, darling," the pirate said, "Would you willing to tell me your story? How you got here? The deaths you've seen? The people you killed?"
Shay remained silent.
Killian nodded. "That's what I thought."
It took her a while before she arrived to the surface. When her red head breathed the fresh air of the land, the night had risen and the surface was shrouded with darkness. Ariel drifted gradually along the banks of the stream, searching for a private area to find the magician. The magician that could turn her human.
The town was new and vibrant with light. It was a city not far from where Ariel saw Prince Eric's ship last night. Townspeople gathered in celebration, drinking alcohol from bottles of glass and throwing their arms up in glee. It certainly was a different culture from Atlantis.
There was a man near the edge of the bar that shamelessly flirted with a group of women sitting on the banks of the river, their long blonde hairs beckoning him to come hither. Ariel giggled at the sight of the man earning a well-deserved slap on the face and walking away in shame. Some things don't change. It was a whole new world up on the surface. A world, she hoped, would become hers one day.
Eventually, after reaching the outskirts of town, Ariel found a safe haven to call upon the help she sought so desperately. It was a secluded pond with abandoned bridges and empty houses. The town itself seemed like a ghost-ridden village haunted by memories long past.
Ariel, determined to finish the journey she set out for, shut her eyes and muttered his name under her breath.
"Rumplestiltskin," she said. "I summon thee."
For a second, there was complete silence. Ariel's heart dropped in hopeless despair. He was her last hope. Given up on her foolish antics, Ariel was about to turn back and head home. Until a shrill laughter filled the echoes of silence.
"You asked for me?" said a high-pitched voice.
Ariel quickly turned around. In front of her, on the decrepit docks, stood a ghastly man with sickly yellow skin and large fish-like eyes. He passed off a measly smile as Ariel grimaced uncomfortably. Thank heavens for the darkness: for what else could conceal her rude disdain for the appearance of the one man who could save her.
"Are you Rumplestiltskin?" Ariel asked, placing one hand along the edge of the docks.
He giggled once again. "My reputation precedes me. What can I do for you?"
Ariel gulped. "They say you can wield magic even sirens cannot manage."
"All true," the Dark One smiled. "What is it you would like me to do?"
The young mermaid's heart stopped. "Can you turn me human?"
Rumplestiltskin peered at the little mermaid, eyeing her from her red hair to her green eyes. Ariel shrunk back into the water, trying to avoid his uncomfortable glare. He let out a cruel smile.
"Perhaps," he said, pacing the docks. "But remember, dearie, magic always comes with a price. What are you willing to pay?"
"Anything," Ariel whispered.
Rumplestiltskin's smile widened. "Now we're talking."
He leaned down on one knee, his large reptilian eyes staring directly into Ariel's pure emerald pupils. His scaly skin was inches away from her nose; the smell of dark magic overpowered her.
"The spell is simple enough," Rumplestiltskin explained. "I can easily turn you into a human. Trust me, you aren't the first mermaid that wanted out."
"But there's a catch," Ariel finished.
He grinned. "Isn't there always? I want something very precious to you. Something I'm sure you hold most dear."
Ariel stared at him intensely. She feared what Rumplestiltskin wanted from her. But in her mind, she knew she had no choice but to ask.
"What is it?"
The man revealed his yellow-stained teeth in an uneasy smile. "Why, your voice."
Ariel gasped. Her fingers moved to touch her throat, the chamber that held the one thing precious to all mermaids and sirens alike. The one thing that made them who they are. Their song. All complex sea creatures are capable of beautiful singing, unparalleled harmony that enchanted sailors to sleep and enticed princes to their dreams. Taking away a mermaid's voice would be like stripping away her life.
"Well," Rumplestiltskin asked. "Have you made your decision yet? I'm a busy man. I haven't got all day."
She clenched her jaw. Her fists were balled up so tight that the whites of her knuckles began to show. Ariel, for the first time in her first, was scared. But that's only because she had already made her decision. She made her decision the moment she set her eyes on that ship.
"It's a deal," Ariel said.
Rumplestiltskin snapped his fingers and in a flash he disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke. Ariel felt a sharp pain in her lungs, like her entire throat was being set on fire. She gasped for air but the only thing that came in was the burning scent of smoke. When the pain stopped, she sighed in deep relief. The mermaid tried to open her mouth to shout for the Dark One but nothing came out. She coughed and tried again. Still no noise. Her voice was gone.
Ariel burst out in fury, enacting the worst curse words she knew onto the Dark One, hoping that one would hurt him as much as he had hurt her. But before she could even manage one insult, she looked down. There, replacing her elegant tail, was a pair of long human legs, glistening against the water.
Shay glanced desperately at Hook's back pocket, noticing the outline of the heart locket he held at the bottom of his leather pants. That was where the pirate kept his bargaining chip. If only she could reach down and grab it, she would be free to uphold her end of the deal.
But obviously her intentions were misconstrued.
Killian, noticing her clandestine stares, jokingly offered to give her a good look once their work was done. Shay responded with an eye glare and silence.
Their walk to the pawn shop seemed endless, with Killian's rambling speech filling her eardrums and allowing no peace or quiet to slip through. The anxiety of facing Rumplestiltskin was enough to shock Shay's nerves, but to have a pirate chatter incessantly into her ear was torture. Did the man ever stop talking? Although Shay only knew him for the past hour, the pirate made it apparent that she was to endlessly on replay until their business was done. Finding Rumplestiltskin would almost be worth it if she could convince him to silence Hook.
"Tell me, darling. What is that strange vehicle," Hook asked, pointing his good hand at the automobile passing by.
"A car," Shay said in an exasperated tone.
" And what of that?"
"A stop sign."
"And this?"
"That's a window."
"What about this?"
Shay snapped, "Why don't we be quiet for a few minutes? Do you think you can do that, Hook?"
Hook raised his eyebrow. His silence lasted for a mere minute before his mouth opened once again.
"So what's so significant about this locket?" Killian narrowed his eyes onto Shay's body. Her shoulders tensed slightly at the mention of the golden locket.
"Sharing time's over, Hook," Shay retorted, "You made that very clear."
Another silence fell onto the pair.
"Why do you dislike me so?" Hook smirked.
Shay scoffed in disbelief. "Just because a woman doesn't flirt with you, you assume that she hates you."
"Am I wrong?"
Shay paused. "Not quite. I just prefer not to talk to you."
Killian smirked. "Because you're in love with someone else?"
Shay paused for a few seconds. She was rendered speechless.
"What makes you say that," she exclaimed.
Killian shrugged, his eyes wandering off to the sights of the city while Shay pinned her pupils on him.
"The distant looks, impressionable young girl, the necklace," Hook listed. "For a mysterious creature of the sea, you're quite predictable."
Shay paused. What was she supposed to answer with? The truth? Unlikely since the pirate seemed to know little of love. She was hopelessly in love once. But she was already convinced that love was a myth, that true love was the worst curse any mortal being could endure. For as long as there was death, true love was never everlasting.
"No," Shay muttered to herself, "I'm not in love. Not anymore."