As the days passed aboard This man ship Ariel became used to the coarse words of the pirates that drifted into the captains cabin and their bawdy songs, often times joining with a sweeter melody of her own, that floated up and into the heavens.

Nevertheless she had not forgotten that she was a captive.

"Say fish, what say we see what happens when we drain you of that water, you've been laying in it for far too long."

"But surely I will dry up and die?" she responded. "Would you see your best treasure die?"

"That I would not little fish but let us see what will happen first before we jump to any horrid conclusions."

She sighed and watched something akin to worry cross Jones features.

"Captain?"

"After all this time with no foul play, me being the upmost model of a gentleman you still distrust me?"

"You kidnapped me and you expect me to trust the man who has kept me in this room for almost a moon cycle, tell me what part of that should endear me to you"

He chuckled. "Well countered My dear fish…" He chuckled again when he saw the blush rise on her cheeks.

"Thank you but I am not your dear anything Captain, I am cargo to you nothing more, when you deem that you are tired of me you shall sell me to the highest bidder and make yourself a nice little profit"

"Ahh it must always come down to money? I must say your speaking has improved your grasp of words has greatly increased. I can understand why you have no wish for me to sell you on, after all I have treated you well."

"Treated me well Oh yes because every Mer dreams of being stuck in a room with a half drunk half dressed pirate who sings off key and makes up nonsensical songs"

"Come now lass have we not had fun? "

"Is that what they call it? This… this is not fun this is imprisonment"

"Many a maid would be squabbling with her sisters to be in my cabin with me half naked"

Ariel smiled acerbically "Most maids then need their heads testing, and most maids also haven't been kidnapped and choose to be here willingly… Seas knows why"

"Most Maids are less cold toward me lass"

She sighed and realised she was not going to win… yet again. There would always be this stale mate between them a line that neither could cross.

"Most maids have legs and as you love to tell me when you are drunk they love to uncross them for you whatever that means."

He laughed "soo so young lass"

She had not seemed to age from all those years ago, looking back that had been a time when his life had meaning, teach the Mer about the world, prepare her for what was to come when he sold her on.

But he was a different man now and the things that drove him then did not drive him now. He was after one thing getting home. The mer could do that for him.

"You're looking at me funny please stop, it's unnerving, you have no right to look at me like that any more." she muttered

Her words jarred him out of his remanisence "I have every right," he began coldly.

"What right…" She began but he cut her off.

"You are my property Lass and if I want to look at you I can, if I wish to undress you with my eyes or otherwise I shall, you cannot stop me… In fact it would be interesting to see you try."

She glared "Where did the gentleman go that you often assured me you were?"

"He was nothing more than a fallacy love, something that I needed you to believe to make you trust me. After all i needed a portal"

"I trust you Captain… Drain the water" Ariel said with a note of hesitance in her voice.

He smiled down at her, "All will be alright you'll see… here…" he handed her a book. "to keep you occupied while you go above."

She smiled a little and opened the book at the page marker.

Arriving on deck Ariel was met by sunlight almost blinding in its intensity and the sound of the sea on the body of the ship. She smiled, one step closer to her home.

She crinkled her eyes up and gasped as two of Jones' crew hoisted her from her prison, none to roughly and placed her on deck.

the wood was warm on her tail, not rough as she had expected but smooth, she guessed from years of scrubbing. She relished the warmth of the sun bleached wood, and attempted to tale a look around her new surroundings.

Jones was there in an instant, kneeling beside her "What did I tell you lass all will be well…" He cut off when he heard the gasps of the crew and looked in the same direction they were, at her tail. Or lack of it.

The last of her scales were falling off onto the deck and she watched as slender legs all milky white flesh and ten little toes on the ends of her two feet formed.

"What… Where is my tail?"

Jones shook his head "… Removal from the water… must turn you into a real person"

"A two legger?"

He chuckled "Yes"

"But how will I get around?"

Like the rest of us lass."

"Walk.. oh no thats no good, I can't do that" She poked at her legs hoping that they would move by themselves… no joy.

"Why ever not?"

"I don't know how, I've always had a tail…"

The crew seemed to find this funny The captain silenced them with a look.

A truly fearsome Pirate to be able to silence men with the briefest of glances, was the first thought that flitted through Ariels head then Yet unbelievably kind too… a total antithesis of what a pirate should be.

"I shall instruct you lass we shall have you waltzing round the deck before the weeks out.

Music was filtering from goodness knew where and Ariel swayed to the memory before catching the captains gaze and stopping.

"You have changed captain."

"People do that Love"

She nodded "yes so I hear yet not as drastically. What happened to turn your heart to ice?"

"It's not your concern."

"I could run you know and any house would give me shelter."

"Aye, I don't doubt that you could…" He hadn't thought of that, He had assumed that she would have cooperated with him as she had of old. He needed to entice her once again, as he had all those years ago. But how?

She smirked, knowing that she had the upper hand for a while at least. She struggled against the crew that held her.

"…I'm sure you could, But then that would be a rather silly thing to do, after all what would I tell your family if you did choose to run?" He knew from the way she practically snapped her neck to face him she was interested. Of course her hearts desire, not a man.. no she was too pure for that, she yearned for her family. She always had.

"My family.. You've seen them?"

"Oh yes lass, and they are just dying to hear news of you." His crew chuckled at the joke. Of course her poor family were no more but the fish didn't need to know that, Not if his empty promise would return him to his home.

"And I sing you a portal and I can see them again"

"Indeed, you can be reunited with them for all I care, after all you will have served your purpose.

"You mean that? Truly?" she asked not yet daring to hope that he could be being sincere.

"Yes With all my icy heart." He said with a grin that he hoped seemed friendly enough.

She smiled back at him a smile full of hope and he was sure if he were to steal a kiss from her lips he would steal all her dreams of a happy ever after with her family. The thought of kissing her had often crossed his mind before. She was pure, unsullied yet wild and part of him yearned to take everything from her that had never been taken. He wondered how she would respond to that first kiss… would she be shy, or would she… No he couldn't think of that

"Alright, I'll try singing this portal for you"

He looked up "Alright lets be underway then."

"Am I permitted to collect my belongings such as they are?"

He had been as good as his word and Ariel now knew many dances, she could run jump skip and walk, The crew she felt, accepted her as one of their own and she had taken to spending days on deck pouring over maps or darning rips in clothing or sail cloth, listening and learning to the shanties the crew sung.

Evenings she still spent with Jones and her legs had proved another problem. Whereas before she had happily rested in the tub now she had legs that had proved rather more difficult.

When she had gained her legs, they had not bent as easily as a tail, and the captain would not hear of her sleeping on a hammock with the rest of the crew for some strange reason.

So he had taken the chair in his room while she had taken the bed.

For a while that had been fine. Things had not changed all that much, he would still return to his cabin singing off key and she would feign sleep until finally he quieted and the singing turned to snores.

Such nights she would watch him and wonder what it would be like to love a man such as this. Because she had never found a merman who could hold a candle to this man.

She wasn't sure when the imprisonment had started to feel like belonging but she knew that she was still to be sold. it was just a matter of time. Days passed weeks too and she began to hold on to the moments that passed between herself and the captain, the conversations, Knowing deep down that whoever the highest bidder was he would not be half as good to her as Killian Jones.

SO both in the past and in the present they are starting to see life with each other as something more wonderful than life without. will the realise this in time?