He leaned against the railing, looking out into the ocean. He watched as the light from the moon would show bits and pieces of the ocean, revealing it's true greenish blue color, not black from the night. He loved the sea at this time; the crew had gone to sleep and all that could be heard was the waves of the ocean crashing against his ship. He was alone, free to think whatever he wanted to and not have to answer any questions. Killian looked down at what had replaced his hand, scowling. He would get his revenge, he wouldn't rest until he did. It didn't matter that that demon was immortal, he would find a way. If magic could give him those powers, magic could destroy him. He just had to find it.

His thoughts were interrupted by a voice. It wasn't one of the crew; this voice was clearly female and there were no females on this ship-and there wouldn't be anymore. It wasn't coming from the ship but nearby- from the sea. He walked across the deck, the voice getting louder and clearer as he got closer to the rail.

"My heart is pierced by Cupid, I disdain all glittering gold, there is nothing that can console my, but my jolly sailor bold."

It was an old song that sailors would sing. Legend had it that if you wanted to try and capture the attention of a mermaid nearby, one just had to sing the song. The voice was hauntingly beautiful-he had never heard such a voice. It didn't sound human- and he had an inkling that it wasn't.

He leaned over the railing to get a better view of the source of the voice. He was right-it wasn't human. On a rock sat a little mermaid, fiddling with some object and singing. Mermaids were a rare sight to see- many stayed away from the surface. Those who did come up, and were in plain sight as this one was- were dangerous. Killian had heard many tales of ships being sunk or sailors drowning due to a beautiful siren, they were deadly and memorizing, like staring into the sun for too long, in the end you ended up burned. But this one- something was different about her. Despite being out in plain sight for all to see, there was nothing malicious or dangerous about her, she didn't seem to even notice him. She looked up from what was in her hand and looked up at the stars, the moonlight illuminating her long red hair and striking face.

He guessed later that it didn't matter whether the mermaid intended to drown him or not, for the next thing he knew he was quietly getting into a boat and rowing towards her. Part of him was truly intrigued by her, another part was in for the thrill of discovering something new. In all his many years of pirating, he had never seen a mermaid so close. It had been only glimpses of a tail that was diving back into the ocean, never to come back up to the surface again.

He finally got to a point where he could get a closer look of her but she didn't notice his presence. She was breathtakingly beautiful; he had heard that some of the most beautiful women in this land were mermaids. He had a hard time believing that but now he could understand why some men would think that.

Everything was going well until he decided to place the oars in the boat. The damn hook banged against the boat, making noise. The mermaid was startled and looked in the direction of the noise. Her eyes widen when she saw the pirate. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but no words came out. He raised his good hand out to her, as if to silently tell her that it was okay. She gasped and dove back into the water.

That should have been the sign for him to row back to his ship. He should have been content with having seen a mermaid that close. But with Killian, he was never content with experiencing something only half-way. He wanted to experience it to the fullest, and he intended to do so with this fish.

"Come all you pretty fair maids, whoever you may be." He started. He looked into the ocean, searching for a sign, the moonlight only allowing him to see glimpses of the ocean. A flash of green scales caught his eyes and he smirked. Perhaps the legend was right.

"Who love a jolly sailor bold that ploughs the raging sea," He sung, hearing the sound of the waves moving, someone swimming about near the boat. He looked over to see her head above the water, staring at him. It was easy to tell she was scared, but she was just as intrigued by him as he was by her. He wasn't the only one who was interacting with something entirely new tonight.

He smiled at her, hoping he could lure her towards him. She didn't move, not that he couldn't blame her.

"My heart is pierced by cupid, I disdain all glittering gold," He sung to her, and she swam closer, looking hypnotized. A small smile crept across her face, growing bigger as he continued to sing the song.

"There is nothing that can console me, but my jolly sailor bold," She joined in the song, leaning against the boat.

"Hello there," He smiled, immensely proud of himself for capturing her attention. She didn't respond for a minute, she kept looking at him up and down, taking him in, making sure she didn't meet a single detail.

"Something tells me this is new territory for you darling, isn't it?" He asked, initially feeling a little sad that she was not picking up that he was flirting with her. He then pushed the thought immediately out of his mind. Why should it bother him that she wasn't flirting back? She was a fish, for Christ's sake.

"You're a pirate, aren't you?" There wasn't any disgust or fear in her sweet voice, in fact, she sound rather excited to have encountered him.

"Captain Hook, at your service," He grinned, extending his hand for her to shake it.

She laughed. For someone who had seemed so terrified when she first saw him, she seemed so at ease right now. He wondered if she had been around more humans than she had let on.

"I'm sorry but," She paused, taking him in; she was so fascinated by his presence, "is that really your name?"

"You don't believe me?" He asked, amazed by her boldness.

"Well, maybe you humans have...particular names. I wouldn't know," She explained.

"Then may I ask for your name?" It didn't make any sense as to why he was asking for permission. He didn't need to ask for permission, he shouldn't.

"Ariel," She replied, pushing a strand of her red hair out of her face.

"Well Ariel, you're very brave for laughing at a pirate. A captain, no less," His voice having just a hint of teasing. He wanted to see her reaction, see if any fear would flicker in her eyes, like he had thought at first.

"Well, Captain Hook, you're braver. Talking to a mermaid. Haven't you heard the stories?" She replied, teasing him.

"Humans can be very dangerous creatures too."

"I could tip this boat over, take you back to my kingdom and have you sacrificed to my father King Triton."

She had shocked him, perhaps even scared him a bit. She immediately noticed and leaned forward, letting out a nervous laugh, "I'm kidding! My father wants nothing to do with humans or this land," She explained, her voice softening, looking back out to the sea.

"So what brings you up here?" He asked.

She looked back, smiling, "I'm not like him. I love this world. It's so fascinating and there's so much I want to know."

"Well, if you have any questions, I, Killian Jones, will be more than happy to answer." He needed a distraction, that's what she was. Nothing more, he kept telling himself.

Which was why for who knows how long, she asked him all kinds of questions and he answered them. She asked about his world, how things worked, what it was like. She listened closely to everything he told, hanging on to every word, fascinated.

Her concentration broke when she noticed that the sky was beginning to change from black to blue. Her eyes widen and a worried look came over his face.

"Something wrong?" He asked.

"It's...it's day time now, isn't it?" She asked, looking around.

"About to be," He replied, looking up to sky as it changed colors.

"Shit." He heard her mutter. It was a rather funny hearing such a word being said in her sweet voice. She looked around, looking her someone, muttering as she did so. She then swim back to the rock where he had found her, grabbing something.

"Where are you going?" He yelled. Not that it mattered to him if she left. He was just curious to see why she was in such a fuss. He was curious, not caring.

"I have to leave, my father will start waking up soon and if he sees that I'm gone...he'll be very angry. He's already caught me from visiting the surface already this month," She rambled, grabbing what looked like a satchel. He should be heading back to his ship and get the crew ready for another day of traveling to Neverland. He began to row back when she called out,

"Wait!"

He stopped and looked up to see her leaning against the rock with a hopeful smile on her face. "Will I see you again?" She asked.

"Maybe," He didn't know why he even told her that. He doubt he would see her again. But something in him couldn't break that smile.

Her smile got bigger (something that he thought was impossible) and then dove back into the water.

He sat there, trying to process what just happened. He had heard many stories about mermaids, but none of them resembled the one he had just met. This one was like nothing he had ever heard of.

Killian got back on the ship, trying to push out thoughts of the little mermaid. He was never going to see her again and had way more important things to focus on. Like getting to Neverland. Getting revenge on that demon Rumplestiltskin. He didn't have time for her and wouldn't. So thinking of her was pointless.

Meanwhile, the redhead was deep into the sea, back at her home. Not that she call it that. This place never truly felt like her home. When she was up there, on the surface, that's where she felt at home, she didn't feel like she belonged. She didn't care what the others said. She was going to find a way to be apart of that world. She closed her eyes, thinking about the piercing blue eyes she had seen earlier as she began to fall asleep.