My childhood dream as an eight-year-old was to be a mermaid. I imagined them to be so angelic, their voices like sugar to ears, kind but shy. At fourteen, I rolled out Niall's map and saw a painting of a banshee, in other words, a mermaid. It was a blonde leaning against a rock, her blue eyes sparkling in the artist's impression and her blue tail purging out of the water surface. The artist must have loved her so much to draw her that beautifully, but didn't live long after packing up his brushes and paper. Real mermaids were the deadliest creatures of the sea but they were endangered – they could only be found in some parts of the ocean. According to the map, that was where we were headed to. That was where all pirates had to cross in order to reach their destination in time.

People used to believe that any man who dared to cross mermaid waters would never make it out alive, but now mermaid fishing was quite common for pirates. That is, if they had the guts. I found it very ironic how a mermaid's venom can send a person to hell in seconds and yet their blood can heal any wound or poison taken in, regardless of whether it is their own venom, in seconds. Their tears can turn a 100-year-old with all wrinkly skin and turkey necks to look like a teenager, but they would still die of old age anyway. It was like your murderer reviving you. Their saliva was what you had to avoid.

"How far now, navigator?" Niall asked a sailor.

"Near. We'll be on mermaid waters by sunset, sir." The sailor replied.

"Perfect."

Arthur pushed past the sailors after hearing Niall. "Niall, you're not serious, are you? Haven't you learnt your lesson?"

"I don't think there can be a second case of a Taiwanese geisha girl pushing me into a sea of hungry beasts, eh?" I looked up at the mention of Wang Mei. Geisha girl? How could he call her that? "We need a mermaid, Arthur. We'll be expecting bloody fights in the Caribbean. Bloody, as in literally bloody."

"We cannot shed all her blood! It will not be enough!"

"Then we'll stuff her up before the day comes with iron and then it will be enough! We get a few bottles and stuff her up again!"

"This is insane! How is it possible to get a single mermaid without even singing? Yet, if we include the singing, a whole herd of them will tear the ship down and eat us all up!"

Niall raised an eyebrow, then glanced at his men who were attentively watching him argue with his brother. They noticed their captain and quickly pretended to get back to work. Niall then summoned Lars and me. "The three of you. What the bloody hell are you doing my vessel?"

"We're your commanders?" I mumbled.

"You're not my commanders. You're the King's privateers. You are serving the British navy, at the same time, completing a mission that the King assigned to you." Niall's eyes shot at Arthur and then he lifted a bottle of rum, ironically pouring it into a teacup. "I am here to guide you, which is why you address me as captain. You three are the true captains of this ship. Now that we're about to cross a dangerous path, it is the best opportunity you three to test yourselves out."

"Test ourselves out! I've been with you on this shit vessel for the whole of my bloody life-"

"The three you can choose to send one down on a longboat to get a mermaid to notice you, if not you can all go together."

Arthur and Lars glanced at each other, nodded, then glanced at me. I blinked. "Me?"

Niall disagreed. "Except for the lady. That would be completely futile!"

"Excuse me, Captain!" I shouted. "What makes you think a mermaid can only get turned on by a male?"

Niall chuckled. "And you expect to believe in those theater pirate operas where mermaids have special orientations?"

"Then the three of us will go together!" I announced, glancing at Arthur and Lars.

"Not me," Arthur mumbled.

"Coward! Bloody coward!" I screamed.

"I will go with you, Rio…" Lars murmured, his voice trembling.

"Enough!" Niall shouted. "Lars will stay on the ship. Arthur will go with Rio. It's time you two get to know each other better and get along."

Arthur sighed. "Y-yes, captain."

"Yes…captain…" I mumbled.

"Good. Good luck then! I hope you two will understand the meaning of teamwork after this experience."

Arthur glanced at me and touched my arm but I jerked away. "Rio, you know, I…"

"Bloody son of a puta! Must you oppose me all the time!" I snapped and stormed off, a list of Portuguese swears falling off my lips.

XXX

I sat on the longboat cross-legged with Arthur as a sailor slowly lowered us on the surface of the mermaid waters. The warm water burned the floor of the longboat a bit, which was why I was cross-legged. It was extremely unladylike to sit like that, especially in front of a man, but at that moment I could barely give a damn about what Arthur thought. We were supposed to sing, but with Arthur's face a meter from mine, I was not in the mood. Niall forced us to stay on the longboat until we caught a mermaid, and the mile-long ropes didn't seem helpful to me at all. Hours passed and I fell asleep, yet a single mermaid wasn't even spotted.

I was awoken when I heard Arthur humming some tune. Then I saw him singing quietly, trying not to wake me, but to no avail. "Seriously? You're singing?"

"It's worth the shot." Arthur said, before humming again.

"It's irritating. Shut up." I groaned as I leaned against the edge of the boat.

"Rio, we're not here to enjoy the warmth of the water."

"Why did you stop?" A voice was heard.

"Huh!" I jerked out of my sleep and looked around the boat but I found nothing.

"Sh, no sudden movements." Arthur gestured with his lips.

Arthur glanced around the boat, his heart beating so loudly that I could hear it myself. He turned everywhere, but couldn't find the creature we were expecting. He cursed under his breath until I saw it myself. It was a brunette with dark skin and hazel eyes. I whispered to Arthur, "Arthur…"

"Sh!"

"Arthur, look!"

Arthur turned and he saw the magnificent creature, its arms rested on the edge of the boat. She was beautiful, yet so deadly. Arthur couldn't help it. He had never seen a mermaid so calm before. The first time he saw a mermaid was when its eyes were pure white and its teeth and claws sharpened. "My God." He mumbled.

"Why did you stop?" The creature inquired.

"You can talk?"

The creature nodded. "Why did you stop singing?"

"You liked my singing?"

"I liked it very much." The creature raised its hand, causing me to jerk and put it on Arthur's cheek. "You are very charming."

Arthur smiled. My eyebrows furrowed as I completely lost my patience. What the hell was he doing? Just six hours ago, he was complaining about how dangerous mermaids were and now he looked as if a miracle happened. The rope in my hand, I grabbed my sword and swung it out, pointing at the creature. I had expected Arthur to grab hold of it, but it inched away from the boat. I expected an apology from Arthur, but he shoved me.

"Idiot! You scared her!" He snapped.

"You're the idiot! You didn't pull it in!"

The creature glanced at Arthur, its eyes teary. "Pull me in?"

"It's not what you think," Arthur explained, leaning on the edge of the boat, tilting it. "We want to protect you from the ruthless pirates who will cross."

"Why do you want to protect me?" The creature asked seductively.

"What is your name, love?"

"Victoria. You are?"

Arthur smiled. "Arthur. Arthur Kirkland."

"That's it! Move, you fool!" I shoved Arthur away and threw the knotted rope at the creature. I quickly pulled her in despite her struggling. She was hissing and screaming and her eyes were white without pupils. "Not so beautiful now, huh?" I dug at Arthur smugly as his mouth was wide open. Bravely, I tied the rope around the creature as she tried to bite me. She did, on my shoulder. I shrieked as her venom flowed into my body. Quickly, I used a bag to cover her head. I signaled the sailors to pull the boat up. I had caught a mermaid with my own bare hands, without Arthur, that useless, perverted idiot helping.

My lower body was all wet because the mermaid kept pulling me in while Arthur was bone-dry. We didn't talk, except for a few death glares from him for making Victoria think he was actually in it to catch her. I thought his excuse was stupid and illogical. Mermaids seeking protection from pirates? It ought to be the other way around. That mermaid was just weak, and not just because of that, she could give up her tears so easily. However, it was beneficial to all of us. I watched the sailors hold the mermaid down as her scales melted into legs. I didn't know it was possible, but she couldn't walk, crawl or roll. She was completely naked, which aroused some of the sailors on board. I didn't care, I just needed her blood for my wound.

"Captain! Commander's injured!" A sailor yelled.

Niall walked towards me. "Congratulations, the both of you. What happened? Was the mermaid trying to bite Arthur but Rio took it instead? That's sweet, Rio, and I'm glad-"

"I pulled the mermaid in. Arthur did nothing. That explains that I'm going to die right this moment if you don't help me!"

Niall blinked. "Alright then…men, take the mermaid and Rio to the healing room! Arthur, go with them. You'll take the blood."

"No!" I shouted. "If he goes, he'll probably weep and apologize to the bloody creature until I drop dead!"

"Alright, alright. Lars!"