Instinct made Gerda get on a ship to the north lands. The day they set sail was gorgeous with a bright blue sky reflecting on the waves. The wind was blowing just right so that they got a good distance from the land. When it was nearing the end of the afternoon, though, they spotted another ship. This ship had black sails with a skull and crossbones.

"Pirates!" the sailors called, readying their cannons.

Gerda looked on, feeling a bit frightened. The pirate ship took the cannon blows better than their own did. Soon, it was obvious that the pirates had got the best of them. They came on board, all dressed in their ridiculous looking finery and took what they wanted from them. They were just going to leave when a boy, about Gerda's age spotted her.

He frowned. "You, there! Come with us!"

"Me? Whatever for?"

"Because I want you to," he said. He grabbed her hands, and Gerda, feeling quite dazed, went with him.

And so, Gerda set sail with the pirates.

"What's your name?" the boy asked her, aboard the deck.

"Gerda. What's yours?"

"Pedro," he replied. "What were you doing on that ship?"

"Sailing north, to find a friend. His name is Kay, but I fear he is lost to me."

"What do you mean?"

Gerda related her story to him. "Ah, that is sad. If we ever see him, we can certainly take him aboard with us."

Gerda smiled and the two became friends, though of a strange sort. They sailed the seven seas for quite a long time, with no particularly destination in mind.

One day, Gerda and Pedro were standing on the deck together, when they saw a flash of bright pink.

"What was that?" Pedro asked.

They went to get a closer look, by the railing. As they did so, a girl came up out of the water. She had brown hair and the bluest eyes imaginable, but the most striking thing was her tail, visible in the water below her. It was bright pink and shaped just as a fish's tail would be.

Pedro stared. He was instantly in love with her. He waved, slightly, in a dumbstruck way.

The mermaid smiled slightly, then disappeared beneath the waves.

"Did—did you see her?" Pedro asked Gerda. "Was she not the most beautiful creature that ever dwelt in this world?"

"She was very pretty," Gerda agreed.

From that day forward, the mermaid girl was all Pedro could think about. He was constantly talking of how beautiful she was and mourning over the fact that she was a mermaid and he, a human. On occasion, they would see her again, which only drove him madder.

One night, they had a terrible storm. The wind howled and the rain poured down and down. Thunder was cracking right above them. Lightning hit the boat. It had a huge crack where it was leaking. They were going to sink. A wave sent the boat nearly tipping over. Gerda and Pedro were both tossed into the sea. Gerda managed to catch a piece of driftwood before another part of the boat smacked her head, sending her unconscious.

When Gerda awoke she was on the shore, of a strange land she had never seen before. She looked about her. She saw Pedro lying nearby, and the mermaid girl he loved so much was next to him. She had saved him from drowning, no doubt. Now she was sadly smiling at him, as though she loved him as well, and was mourning her return to the sea.

The mermaid chanced to look over at Gerda. She waved and smiled slightly. She looked at Pedro one last time and pushed herself back to sea. Gerda stood up. She looked at Pedro. He would be fine. She needed to go and find Kale. So she started to walk once more.

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Well, that was weird. I think this has gone from bad to worse. But I'll finish it, just for the sake of finishing.