The mermaid swam through the ocean as quickly as she could. She had been chasing a ship for days and was waiting for the perfect moment to try to sneak on board. She desperately wanted the company of a man tonight and knew that this ship would be swarming with lonely men that had been out to sea for weeks, or maybe even months, longing for a woman's touch. She grinned at the thought of having a ship full of men begging her to spend the night with them.

The ship had finally started to slow its pace and she made her way to the surface. She broke through the surface of the blue waves and flipped her red hair out of her face. Seeing the ship from the surface only confirmed what she had suspected: this was a British Navy ship. She grinned once more at her luck. The navy men were always the most desperate for they were never allowed to stop at brothels like pirates did. She started swimming to keep pace with the blue hull of the ship and let her fingernails lengthen into claws. She gripped onto the hull and grasped the pendant around her neck. It was a simple white seashell, but it was anything but ordinary. As she gripped the shell, her blue-green tail began to turn into a pair of long, thin legs. The mermaid smiled and stretched one of her legs out to work the long unused muscles. After stretching her legs for a moment she started to climb up the side of the ship using her claws and grasping onto rigging whenever she could reach it. She reached the railing of the ship and gripped it tightly with her fingers. She poked her head ever so slightly over the edge to get a good look at the deck and saw a few men working. That was exactly what she wanted.

The mermaid pulled herself over the edge and slid down to the wooden deck. She took a few steps forward to a man tying knots and tapped him on the shoulder. He looked up and stared at her in shock.

"And how are you today, sailor?" she asked in a sultry voice.

Apparently the man was more frightened than seduced by her. He immediately dropped his work and got to his feet.

"MERMAID!" he cried at the top of his lungs.

The rest of the crew dropped what they were doing and stared at her in fear. The ship suddenly erupted in noise as they scrambled to get a look at her and to grab their weapons.

The mermaid merely smiled. She was quite used to this reaction after all. The fear of mermaids was all too common amongst sailors.

Commodore James Norrington looked up from his maps as he heard the sounds of a ruckus on deck. He quickly grabbed his jacket and hat and threw open the door to his cabin. His men were gathered in a circle on deck and were brandishing their weapons as they yelled.

"What is the meaning of this?!" he barked as he descended down the steps towards the lower deck.

"A mermaid has climbed on deck, sir," his first mate explained, "the men want to kill her."

Norrington pushed through the men and came to a sudden stop as he took in the sight of the supposed mermaid. She had long red hair and piercing blue eyes that looked like the waters of the Caribbean. She was also, to his surprise, nude. Her blue eyes met his and she put a hand on her hip.

"Is this how king's men treat a woman?" she asked in a playful tone, "I only wanted to help!"

"Back to the sea with you, you devil!" a sailor shouted from the back.

"I assure you," the woman said, "I'm not a devil. To you, perhaps I am, but I believe that I'm not one."

"Just kill her and be done with it," another man shouted, "The only good mermaid is a dead one!"

As one of his men raised his pistol, Norrington quickly stepped in front of the woman.

"Men, stand down!" he yelled, "Is this how navy men treat a woman?!"

"She isn't a woman," the man countered, "she's the spawn of the devil!"

"That necklace she's wearing allows her to grow legs and to walk on land! Don't let her deceive you!"

James looked over his shoulder at the woman and noticed the necklace she was wearing. He had to admit that it was a bit unusual, but that didn't mean that this woman was a mermaid.

"Lower your weapons," he said in a commanding tone as he stared down his men.

His men glanced at each other with questioning looks.

"That's an order!" he barked.

They finally lowered their weapons, albeit begrudgingly, and glared at the woman behind the commodore.

The woman smiled as James turned to face her.

"I thank you for your kind words," she began, "but unfortunately your men are correct. I am a mermaid."

He stared at her in complete and utter disbelief. There was no way that she was telling the truth.

The woman grasped her pendant and her legs turned into a long, blue-green tail right before the eyes of everyone on deck.

The commodore's look of disbelief was replaced by one of shock. The crew was fired up once more and raised their weapons.

"Kill her before she steals your heart! Don't look into her eyes or she'll bewitch you!"

"Silence!" James yelled above the cacophony of voices around him, "She is not to be harmed! Anyone who touches her will face the end of my blade! Is that clear?!"

The crew lowered their weapons once more, but glared at the woman as she grew legs once more. She rose to her feet and smiled as charmingly as she could.

"Back to your duties!"

The crew returned to their work while shooting venomous glares at the redhead.

James Norrington turned to face the woman behind him. She looked him in the eye and smiled.

"I thank you for sparing my life," she said, "My name is Lorelei. And what should I call my rescuer?"

James swore he felt his cheeks flush slightly at her words.

"Commodore James Norrington," he replied.

"Thank you, Commodore Norrington, for saving my life. Is there anything that I can do to repay you?"

His eyes accidentally glanced down her body, which reminded him so much of how he imagined Elizabeth would look underneath her dresses, before quickly returning to her face. Lorelei grinned and rested her hands on her hips.

"Feeling lonely, are you?" she asked.

"Not necessarily," he answered as he quickly glanced to look at the ocean.

Lorelei raised an eyebrow. This Commodore Norrington was proving to be a difficult man to woo. She rested her hand on his shoulder and leaned in.

"I take it you have a wife then?"

He was silent.

"A fiancé?"

He was silent still.

Lorelei raised her eyebrows in surprise. No wife or fiancé? That was surprising for a military man of his rank. She took in his rigid stance and realization finally hit her.

"Ah, you've been rejected.

The commodore angrily turned to look at her.

"It is none of your concern," he said pointedly.

Lorelei tilted her head and shrugged her shoulder.

"Perhaps you're right," she said, "but I'm interested in why you aren't accepting my offer."

"Perhaps I'm not interested," he retorted dryly.

She laughed in response.

"I have ways to make you interested, Commodore. You just have to let me close to you."

He frowned and started walking towards his cabin.

"Follow me and I'll give you something to wear."
Lorelei followed him and felt the angry glares of the crew on her naked body. They'd soon be coming to beg her for her caress.