Benjamin watched as the clouds passed overhead. His sandy straw hair ruffled in the breeze. The seas were calm today and the crew was lethargic. They hadn't had any good plunder in more than a week. The first break in this quiet came when the Quartermaster hollered from the stern. He had been netting for fish when something caught him off guard. Benjamin was lounging against the rail near him when he jumped and his net snapped out of his hands.
"Get over here, you dogs! Grab a rope and pull!" He roared.
The men rushed to his side. Benjamin grabbed ahold of a rope that tied the net to the railings. A few others gathered around him and the Quartermaster to heave on them. Whatever he caught was big. The net rose to the surface and the water thrashed and foamed. Something in it was giving a wild fight!
The Quartermaster bellowed as he pulled, "Don't let it get away, men! We might be eating shark tonight!"
As they pulled back, whatever was in the net raised out of the water and dragged up the side of the ship. It pulled over the rail and flopped onto the deck. The crew exclaimed in surprise, drawing even more eyes up. Laying in the net, blue-green scales sparkling with water in the sunlight, was a mermaid. Deep tan skin and long, elegant black hair crafted a beautiful visage.
Benjamin stared in awe as she looked up at them. Her eyes were a bright, vibrant hazel that struck him deeply. Fear filled those eyes as she squirmed in the entangling net. He felt his heart thud and his belly drop as he realized what was going to happen. This gorgeous creature shouldn't be here, she shouldn't have been caught. The pirate crew were not merciful nor benevolent.
"Sea woman!" One of the men breathed.
"We've struck it rich, boys!" The Quartermaster laughed deeply, wrenching a knife from his boot, "Bitch's scales are worth a few nights in Tortuga at least!"
A few more were looking beyond just the scales on her tail. From her waist up she was an immaculately gorgeous woman and her naked breasts were making men drool.
"No! Stop!" Benjamin yelled, throwing himself forward. He shoved past other men and stood over her, "You can't do this!"
The Quartermaster lifted the knife, "Boy, think about yer choice. Move!"
Benjamin shook his head, "I won't! I can't let you just kill her!"
"That is my catch! If ye won't move, then I'll make ya!" The Quartermaster barked, advancing on him.
The rest of the crew looked no less murderous. Benjamin looked hurriedly between them as swords and pistols were drawn. He held up his hands, "I invoke my right of exchange!"
"Ye think ya rich enough to trade for her?" The Quartermaster sneered, "Yer a coinless swabbie!"
"Do you deny my right? A law of this ship?" Benjamin said, standing stern in front of him.
"Jus' cause you say it, doesn't make it true, boy." The Quartermaster grabbed his shoulder and raised his knife.
"Halt!" A booming voice sounded behind him. The Quartermaster stopped and let go of him immediately.
The Captain pushed through and looked at them. He was a grizzled man with a long beared and a scarred face. He carried a huge cutlass and a blunderbuss across his back. He looked at the Quartermaster and then down at the mermaid, who was staring at him in fear from beneath the net. His eyes raised to Benjamin, "Boy."
"Captain! I invoke my right of exchange for this catch. The Quartermaster has only shown an interest in the value of her. I will compensate him for it." Benjamin said, looking down at the mermaid.
"Right ye are, boy. As a crewmate, you have that right. Now what have ye to trade The Quartermaster for his catch?" He said, his dark eyes sparkling. He knew Benjamin was poor and had nothing of value to trade. He was as cruel as The Quartermaster, only he liked to play games and toy with his quarry.
"I offer myself. I'll be a slave to The Quartermaster if you but let her go." Benjamin said, stepping off the net holding the gorgeous mermaid.
The Quartermaster laughed loudly, "Oh like yer scrawny ass would be worth the riches of a mermaid!"
"Nay. I say his claim is true." The Captain waved him off with a smile.
"What?" The Quartermaster yelled, face turning red.
"The Mermaid is free to go." The Captain waved to it and a few crewmates grabbed the net. They pulled her free of it and she flopped off the side of the ship, falling back into the surf.
The Quartermaster stared at the captain in rage, "Cap'n! I don't want to wrong you, but he ain't worth that fish!"
"Yeah he is. Because yer gonna throw him over. Tell me you don't like making a fool walk the plank." The Captain smirked, "See if the mermaid is as grateful as he thinks. Somehow me thinks she won't be."
A smile spread across The Quartermaster as his eyes moved to Benjamin, "You certainly got me there, Cap'n. I do enjoy sending yellow-bellies over."
Benjamin looked between them and turned in a flash. He dove overboard and the warm, Caribbean waves enveloped him with a splash. The ship's wake frothed around him. He kicked to the surface and took a breath. A glance around showed The Captain sailing away and then men on deck laughing loudly at him. The Quartermaster didn't exactly look happy, but they weren't going to turn around to try and catch him only to throw him back on their own terms. He had never fit with them anyway. He had too good of heart and too honorable of view for a cutthroat crew like that.
The only problem was that he couldn't see anything but water in all directions. He floated there and watched as the ship sank into the distance. It was pretty far distant as his legs started to tire from treading. He was going to drown out here. But then he always knew that would be his end at sea. At least it had been a worthwhile end.
"Why did you do that?" A sweet voice said behind him. He turned to see the mermaid floating there, her long black hair spread out in the water around her.
"Those are cruel, cruel men. They would've done terrible things before killing you." Benjamin said.
"Your captain wasn't wrong. I have no interest in saving you. Humans are nothing but problems for us merfolk. There is no love lost between our kinds." She scowled at him.
"Well, maybe that should change. If I helped that happen, then good. If not..." He looked up at the sky as it blazed with an orange sunset, "Then at least I have saved something of such incomparable beauty in this world."
Her eyes widened and she looked away. She disappeared under the water and Benjamin watched her swim away. He sighed again as exhaustion overtook his limbs. He closed his eyes and stopped moving. Water closed in over his head and he sank. Pressure tightened all around him. This was the end for him and he felt strangely at peace with it.
A hand grabbed his and his eyes snapped open.
The mermaid was in front of him and she waved up. Her fin kicked hard and she pulled him effortlessly to the surface. He coughed and gasped, "Wh... Why?"
"At the least, I will not let you die. I owe you my life so I will pay that back." She said, still hiding her face from him. She pulled his arm across her shoulder and