Thanks to ScandinavianTrash for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Spaustria: More Than a Precious Treasure

Antonio grinned, watching his men as they attacked the crew of another ship. A merchant's ship that was rumoured to have an extremely valuable treasure. A treasure that Antonio wanted.

He was known as one of the most feared pirate captains, and his love for treasure – especially gold – was legendary. He was also famous for his lust for blood.

Antonio strolled through the battling men, and he smirked when he saw a figure cowering behind a corner. He walked up to the man and slammed against the wall, startling the man who looked as though he was staring into the eyes of the Grim Reaper himself.

"You look like a smart, reasonable man," Antonio said. Translation: you look like someone fearing for his life and is willing to say/do anything to make sure you keep it. "Tell me, where can I find the treasure?"

The man's eyes widened in surprise.

"T-the t-treasure?" he stuttered.

"Si," Antonio said. "Where is it?"

"L-lower deck. B-but… It's n-not w-what you think."

Antonio raised an eyebrow before he shrugged. He supposed that he would find out what he meant when he saw the treasure with his own eyes.

As an act of mercy and in return for telling him what he wanted to know, Antonio decided to spare the man's life. That wasn't a guarantee for his men, however. But now that he was finished, he didn't care at all what happened to the man. He was a stuttering coward, and he wouldn't have survived long on his ship.

Antonio made his way to the lower decks, past the crew's sleeping quarters and into their supplies. The treasure had to be there somewhere…

He stopped when he heard a sound. It sounded like raspy breathing. He quickly withdrew his cutlass. If someone was guarding the treasure, then he would strike him down. And besides, a guard meant that he was in the right place.

But as he came closer, he noticed that the breathing sounded pained, and it would often be accompanied by wet coughs. If this was a guard, he wouldn't be very effective.

As he rounded a corner and finally saw the source of the raspy breathing, he almost dropped his weapon in shock.

It was a man, that was for sure, with dark hair with a piece sticking out in front. His upper body was bare, revealing the wounds that criss-crossed along the skin. He was chained to the floor, and he was extremely pale.

But that wasn't the most prominent feature about him. Below the waistline was a large, dolphin-like tail. Upon seeing that, Antonio immediately realised that this was the treasure.

A merman.

Antonio knew how precious and valuable this treasure could be, but he also saw other things: the skin was cracked and dry, and so was the tail. In some places the tail appeared to be so dry that it had torn, making what should have been a beautiful creature look horrible. Antonio could only imagine the amount of pain the creature must have been in.

The merman opened his eyes, and Antonio was shocked to see that they were violet. It was more beautiful than any amethyst he had ever seen before.

But looking into the merman's eyes, Antonio saw no fear, or anger, or… anything. He immediately knew that he was dying, and the eyes reflected that he no longer cared.

Antonio was a pirate. A cruel, merciless pirate who had no sympathy for humans. But this wasn't a human. It was just an innocent creature that looked as though it didn't have a lot of time left. This was a creature that had been snatched from his home and was forced to suffer.

And that hurt Antonio more than he realised.

Antonio raised his cutlass, and he saw the merman close his eyes. Antonio felt a pang when he realised what the other must have been feeling, and in his frustration he lashed out at the chain.

The merman's eyes snapped open as the chain broke and he could move more freely. Antonio crouched down and helped free him from the chain.

"It's okay," Antonio soothed. "I won't hurt you. Can you understand me?"

The merman stared at Antonio for a moment before he nodded. Antonio sighed in relief.

"Can you speak?" he asked.

The merman opened his mouth, but only a croaking sound came out, followed by a throaty cough that made red pearls come to the lips, being the only colour that the other had.

"Should I take you to the water?" Antonio asked. "Will you be safe?"

The merman nodded, and Antonio removed the last of the chains. Once the merman was completely free, Antonio tried to scoop him into his arms, but the creature was heavy. The merman wheezed in pain.

Eventually Antonio managed to lift him with some difficulty, and he felt a pang in his chest when he felt the creature's ribs.

"Have they been feeding you?" Antonio asked.

The merman shook his head, and Antonio could feel his anger growing. He should probably have a little discussion with the captain of the ship. If one of his crew hadn't met the captain first.

Antonio carried the merman to the upper deck, and he noticed that the fighting had stopped, his men victorious. His eyes landed on the captain and his eyes narrowed.

"You had one of the most precious treasures in the world in your possession, and you didn't think to care for him?" Antonio hissed. "You would let him die. Even we pirates know that when you have a treasure, you protect it."

The other captain flinched.

"It's only a monster," the other captain said.

"Oh really?" Antonio sneered. "He's not the one who chained you in the lower decks. You failed to feed him, and you didn't even care that he was having trouble breathing. That he was dying. The way I see it, you're the monster."

"Enough! I will not have a pirate lecture me about morality!"

"The fact that it was even necessary shows that you are a failure as a human."

The men were silent as Antonio took the merman to the nearest ship's boat and placed him inside. He then worked to lower the boat until it reached the water. He watched carefully as the merman realised where he was and pulled himself into the water.

"You fool!" the other captain said. "Do you have any idea how rare they are?"

"There are some treasures that are too precious to keep to yourself," Antonio said.

…

Antonio examined the charts. He had found a treasure and wilfully allowed it to slip through his fingers. Now, he was looking for another treasure. Something that wasn't a living creature.

His first mate rushed in, and Antonio glanced towards the man. He looked excited and a little breathless.

"Captain," the first mate said. "You may want to take a look at this."

Antonio frowned in confusion, before he followed after the other man. He saw his crew looking at something in the water, and he went to see what it was.

His eyes widened when he saw that it was the merman, swimming along with the ship. When the merman saw him he stopped, a wide smile on his face, and he waved to Antonio.

"I think he likes you," the first mate remarked.

Antonio smiled. The merman was happy, and seeing his happy face enhanced his otherworldly beauty. Antonio was correct to let him go. Seeing his face radiate with happiness… It was more precious than any treasure that Antonio could have ever imagined.

The prompt is: 'Person A is the captain of a pirate ship. Their crew raids a ship that supposedly has priceless treasure inside. What they find is Person B, a merfolk held prisoner in the lower decks, chained to the floor and dying. Person A frees Person B, who decides to swim along with their ship.'

A little different from my other merman story, but I suppose you can't have everything being the same all the time.