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Chapter 2- Tortuga

I leaned over the railing, dangerously far. I caught a glimpse of a mermaid and smiled and waved. She beamed and waved in return. Same fiery red hair as always, I observed to myself. I'm glad Ariel made her way back to the sea. However she managed to do so. I guess Eric carried her, and then she turned him into a merman like she said she would.

A man with wavy blue-black appeared next to Ariel and held her hand. He waved at me. I leaned a little farther over the railing and felt an arm slither around my waist almost protectively and tug me back. He whispered in my ear, "Careful love. Don't want you falling overboard in the white shirt, do we now?"

Pervy jerk.

I elbowed him and leaned back over the railing. Hook leaned over with me and freaked out when he saw Ariel and Eric start talking to me. Well, mouthing and signing words to me. Did I mention how good I am at charades and how awful Ariel is? Eric is pretty good though. Naturally, Ariel was making eyes at Hook and then looking back to me. Her message was pretty clear- You got a boyfriend?! Why was I not informed of this?!

Hook grabbed my arm and spun me angrily. Why would he be angry?

"Were you talking to the mermaid?" He ground out agitatedly. "Do you know how dangerous those are?"

"They're my-"

"They would've killed you in a second!" Hook interrupted.

"Hook, I kno-"

"Do you know how easy it would be for them to drown-"

"Bloody hell Hook! Listen to me!" I burst out, slapping a hand over Hook's mouth. Not that I needed to, he fell silent immediately, "I know them. I've known them since before I could even walk. The man is Prince Eric and the girl is Ariel. They were my friends. In fact, Ariel and a few other mermaids taught me how to swim and saved me from drowning in my lake in the forest. Eric was human and he and Ariel fell and love and went to the sea and Eric turned into a mermaid. Thanks to Ariel, I could swim and hold my breath for over an hour before I could walk or talk, and all the mermaids or mermen know me. Hence the friendliness of the sea animals."

Hook was shocked, to say the least. If it had been someone else, it would've been funny- my thought halted. When was the last time I had thought of someone funny?

"You mean to say… you're friends with the merpeople. And all the sea animals. All of them. And they all love you." Hook said slowly, as though he couldn't get his mind around the fact.

"Basically."

"That's insane. Mermaids hate humans!"

I threw my hands in the air. "Fine, I'll prove it!"

I vaulted over the railing before Hook could stop me. I heard him scream my name before I plunged into the icy cold water. I opened my eyes and Ariel and Eric swam over to me happily. So did some other mermaids –Aimer, Eve, Rose, Annette, and Tristan- and they all crowded around me, stroking my hair and shaking my hands. Apparently I was quite famous in the underwater world. Some dolphins and a spinner shark swam over too. I could see the crew watching me and I could clearly see their astounded faces. After all, years of opening my eyes underwater gave me great 'water vision', not to mention night vision. You'd be surprised how dark it can get underwater.

The look on his face! I thought to the people and animals around me. They all laughed and the shark, Evangeline, nuzzled my thigh. I caressed her snout lovingly, relishing the looks on the mens' face. Thought that may just be the see through top…

Alright! I should probably go back up now… see you guys later! Possibly! But probably not!

I let the merpeople give me quick hugs and said goodbye to the animals before I swam towards the side of the boat. Before they could throw down a rope or something stupid, I dug my fingers *claws* into the side of the ship and pulled myself up.

Coquille, one of the mermaids at the lake, always said it reminded her of a chipmunk climbing up a tree. No, not a squirrel, a chipmunk. When I asked why a chipmunk, she said it is because I'm so small and she can fit her hands around my waist.

Hook stormed over to me, grabbed my arm and dragged me towards his cabin. He paused, his hand on the brass knob, and yelled out, "Dock the ship and you have the rest of the night and tomorrow in the city!" A cheer rose among the crew, though most were still gawking at me. I smiled sweetly at them and they looked away.

He yanked open the door and dragged me behind him. He released my hand momentarily, then seemed to change his mind and grabbed my hand again before walking over to the wardrobe on the other side of the room. He rummaged through the contents, still holding my hand, before he pulled out a red dress with a black corset.

I raised my eyebrow, "Any specific reason you've got woman's clothes in your drawers?" He smirked at me. "Oh, of course not, silly question, wasn't it?"

He laughed softly, a rich sound that made my heart flutter. This is confusing... I took the clothes from him and gave Hook a pointed look.

His eyes widened, "What?"

I shook my head, exasperated, "Hook! I need to, you know, CHANGE."

Hook smirked, "Killian," He corrected, "And why would I leave? I rather like the view..." His eyes raked over my body slowly and I frowned and crossed my arms over my chest.

"You're a jerk, HOOK." I stressed his name, knowing he hated it. I barely contained my smile as his lips pressed together. I did not, however, anticipate he would start walking towards me.

...Which resulted in my, backed against a wall, with him pressed flush against me.

Leather hides NOTHING. AT. ALL.

Blood rushed to my face and my cheeks were flaming. I tried to shove him off me, knee him in his spot, and punch him, but he saw that coming and simply pressed harder against me so I couldn't get a good hit.

I glared at him, trying to get him away from me from sheer force of will. He just winked and hovered that much closer. I closed my eyes, telling myself that when I opened them again, he would be gone.

My eyes opened just in time to see him lean farther into my space and kiss me. I was shocked speechless to say the least. Killian, however, was most decidedly NOT shocked and kissed me hard, pressing my back even harder every time I tried to push him off. Eventually Killian pulled back, but only an inch or so. He stared lustfully into my confused eyes. Seriously, where the hell did that come from?! I haven't even been here for a day yet!

Realization exploded in my mind. He was using me! He was just bored. And so he sent his sailors after the girl who is only seen about once or twice a year. And he just happened to know when I'd come out (which is random, by the way) of the forest.

Nah, doesn't add up.

While I was deep in thought, he leaned down and grabbed the clothes I was going to wear. He shoved them into my arms and went to a table covered in maps. Now, I might be delusional and air-deprived, but I swear I so him blush. Cross my heart.

"Uh, Killian?" He lurched and looked at me, surprised to hear me say his name I think. "You wouldn't happen to have something else I could wear? Not a fan of dresses…" His dreamy smile was replaced in the blink of an eye and he smirked.

"Of course, love. Come here." He jerked his head towards the wardrobe.

I scowled, "Not your love…" I murmured loud enough he could hear.

He glanced at me over his shoulder, deciding whether he should respond. He did, walking over to me until he stood chest-to-chest, and crooned, "Oh but you are!"

My eyes narrowed as he smiled at me and wrapped an arm around my waist. I grabbed his arm and tossed it off my waist indignantly. His nice smile turned into a smirk and I tossed my hair over my shoulder so the water would get him wet. I heard him gasp and stifled a laugh and continued to dig through the bottom of the wardrobe until I found a *respectable* shirt and pair of pants. The pants were long, loose and brown and were nearly identical to the ones I was wearing. The shirt was soft, almost silky, and was a deep turquoise color. It left the shoulders bare and didn't dip too low. I swear I had this same shirt back home…

Killian's arms snaked around my waist and hefted me off the ground without so much as a grunt- after all, I only weighed about 90 pounds, much less than most girls my age- and dropped me onto the bed. He crossed one foot over the other and motioned for me to change- or rather, he motioned for me to get undressed. I didn't even blush this time (so proud of myself!) and simply said, "You mind?"

"No, not at all. You may change."

Cheeky bastard.

I snorted in disbelief, "Can I change without you watching?"

He smiled sweetly at me, "It's either have me watching, or have the whole crew watching."

I sighed and turned around. The wet shirt clung desperately to my torso, and I nearly ripped it pulling it off. It made a wet slapping noise as it hit the hardwood floor. Killian came close to me, his body heat nearly singeing my back, but all he did was hand me a towel and I gratefully took it. After securely wrapping it around my upper half and making sure it covered what it need to cover of my lower half before pulling the pants off to and dropping it on the shirt. I hastily reached for the pants and shirt, only to see Killian holding them.

He smirked. Is that all the bastard does? He said, "I don't think you've properly thanked me for the clothes.

My glare should've melted him to a waxy stub, but no! He walked around the bed, dropping the clothes on the bed and reached for my towel. He teased the knot a little before kissing me chastely and, surprisingly, handing me the clothes. He turned his back and said, "Don't worry, I won't sneak a peek or anything."

"So now your gonna be a gentleman?"

"I'm always a gentleman."

Once I was finished changing, I told him, "You can look now." HE turned around eagerly, and laughter bubbled out my lips as disappointment flashed across his face.

"What, sad I didn't do a strip tease or something?"

He looked at me, eyes wide and sincere, and nodded.

I busted out laughing and fell onto the ground, clutching my sides. I gasped for air as I was laughing so hard I couldn't breath. This hadn't happened for a good 11 years, and I decided 11 years is far too long for a girl to go without a good laugh in between. The cabin filled with the melodic sound of my laughter and the deep, rich sound of Killian's

I think I rather like Tortuga.


That was a rather fast relationship development, wasn't it? They must've skipped at least 5 steps.