Chapter Text
~A Time Before the Legends of the Black Pearl~
From the moment you could swim and talk, you were taught one important thing. Never trust a pirate. They were thieving liars and all they would do is manipulate others into their own benefits. Your kind was treated the worst by the buccaneers. You were a mermaid.
The first story you had heard about a pirate was a day when the other mermaids gathered together for the summer solstice. You were the youngest of the mermaids at the time, since the birth of a mermaid was a rare occasion. You were only a child, your tail was two feet long, and you were only beginning to learn to read. Your older sister brought you along to the event.
"Come along, ___! We can't keep the others waiting!" Your sister tugged on your hand and you let out a giggle, as you kicked your tail forward and through the water.
"What's so special about this occasion? The sun stays longer in the sky, doesn't seem a big deal to me." You swam faster to match your sister's pace, though your tail was getting tired.
"Mermaids from all over the seven seas are gathering this day. They sing songs, share stories, and even trade beautiful items." Your sister sighed in content. "It's a time to celebrate, rather than worry."
"It does sound fun." You admit. Suddenly the sound of a couple voices filled the area around you and the familiar siren sound soothed your senses. Your sister and you swam around a pillar of rocks to find a group of mermaids seated beside chests of fallen gold. One mermaid appeared much older than the rest of you and she seemed to be the one leading the shanty with the others.
"My name was William Kidd, as I sailed, as I sailed, my name was William Kidd, as I sailed. My name was William Kidd, God's laws I did forbid, and most wickedly I did, as I sailed, as I sailed, and most viciously I did, as I sailed." The mermaid sang and her voice seemed to echo off the ocean walls and probably pierced through the water itself.
"What is she-" You opened your mouth to say something, but your sister shushed you before leading you over to sit with the other mermaids. You sat down, curling your tail to the side. The oldest mermaid noticed you and smiled, before continuing her song.
"My parents taught me well, as I sailed, as I sailed, my parents taught me well, as I sailed. My parents taught me well to shun the gates of Hell. Oh, against them I rebelled, as I sailed, as I sailed, oh, against them I rebelled, as I sailed." The mermaid sang, as her fellow mermaids harmonized with her.
"It's a story, listen." Your sister whispered into your ear, before she straightened up herself. You began to pay closer attention to the song and found what your sister said was true.
"I sailed from sound to sound, as I sailed, as I sailed, I sailed from sound to sound, as I sailed. I sailed from sound to sound and many ships I found and most of men I drowned, as I sailed, as I sailed, oh, the most of men I drowned, as I sailed." The mermaid continued to sing, but piecing together the story you found yourself paling. This William Kidd disobeyed his parents, sailed off to sea, and sunk ships.
"Why would this man do these things?" You whispered to your sister, your voice cracking under pressure as you asked.
"And I murdered William Moore, as I sailed, as I sailed, I murdered William Moore, as I sailed. I murdered William Moore and I left him in his gore, not many leagues from shore, as I sailed, as I sailed, not many leagues from shore, as I sailed." The mermaid sang the next verse, before your sister looked back down to you with a sad smile.
"Because he's a pirate, ___." Your sister simply answered.
"Take a warning now by me, for I must die, I must die, take a warning now by me, I must die. Take a warning now by me, and shun bad company, lest you come to hell with me, for I must die, I must die, lest you come to hell with me, for I must die." The oldest mermaid finished her song, picking up a bag from the treasure chest, and began to hand out treasure to the other mermaids around. You looked to your sister with wide eyes.
"A pirate, they kill their own kind?" You asked, incredulous.
"Many men kill their own kind, but pirates don't do it for honor. They do it for gain." Your sister ran a hand through your long hair as she gave you a serious look. "___, your my sister and your dear to me. Promise me, if you ever meet a pirate make sure he's dead before you leave. Leaving a pirate alive... It's bad luck, they will hunt you down."
"I promise..." You nodded your head firmly, as the oldest mermaid approached you and your sister. She physically looked to be in her late thirties, but you knew better. Mermaids don't age physically as fast as humans and live on a lot longer. The mermaid before you had to at least be in her eighties. She withdrew a necklace and carefully handed it to your sister.
"You're a strong, protective one. I can tell, a good thing to have within a family." The older mermaid told your sister, who bowed her head in thanks. The older mermaid turned to you and her expression softened, as she swam to be in front of you. "Your heart is compassionate, but your mind is curious. That could get you into trouble."
The mermaid withdrew something else from her bag of treasures. You became excited and held your hand out. The mermaid placed a small item in your hands and you drew back to see what it was. It was a single earring forming a thick silver hoop, hanging from it was a large fang of an unidentifiable animal.
"Hopefully, you find trouble before it finds you." The woman gave you a warm smile, before moving on to the next mermaid. You eyed the strange gift, before lifting it up to your ear and looking at your sister.
"How do I look?" You asked.
"Like a pirate." Your sister smiled, before pushing off the sandy bottom of the ocean. "Let's go mingle with the other mermaids."
"Sounds like fun!" You held the earring close to your heart as you followed your sister further into the ocean of activities.
The sun hung high in the sky, as up above sailing the seas was a pirate ship. It sailed across the waters, taking no acknowledgement of the creatures below. Pirates moved about doing their duties on the ship, as the captain stood on deck and steered the ship. The captain glanced to the newest member of the ship and sighed. He knew he was going to regret recruiting a twelve year-old.
"Lad, no slacking now. Ye will see plenty of ocean for years to come." The captain shouted as the boy glanced back. The boy nodded and hopped off the gunwall, stepping over.
"Aye, captain." The boy got down on his hands and knees, continuing to scrub the hull of the ship. The captain rolled his eyes. He hoped picking up this Hector boy wasn't a big mistake.
~Forty Years Later~
Time had been fair with you. You looked to be in your mid-twenties, despite the time that had gone by. Like other mermaids, you aged slower but your mind was not the same. You were wiser than most mermaids, though you gained that knowledge in the most unconventional ways.
You read the books of men, something most mermaids didn't partake in. But every time you found a sunken ship or sinking ship, you searched it for knowledge. You considered taking trinkets for yourself from these wrecks, but they seemed pointless.
Besides, the only one you cared for hung from your left ear. The gift you had received decades ago. Your right ear was clear of any damage and you explained to your sister you only needed the one pierced. No point getting both your ears pierced for one earring.
From the books you read, you learned many things that wouldn't really help a mermaid. Swordsmanship, marksmanship, sailing, you even learned the Pirate Code, despite the wedge between pirates and mermaids. You also read plenty of fairytales from the human world and they weren't entirely wrong when it came to your kind. Mermaids were vicious, but only because they could trust no human being. Man had not earned that trust, not after all the trials they had put mermaids through.
You had yet to come across a human alive, though occasionally you would see silhouettes of them in the distance. But keeping to your sister's promise, you never neared a pirate's ship. You knew better by this point.
You had become independent about thirty years ago and you found yourself swimming across the sea, but found yourself staying relatively in the same area. The Caribbean Sea. You couldn't help it, it was a beautiful ocean.
You were swimming near an island and recognized it's supernatural aura. Isla de Muerta. You remember being told that the gold on the island was cursed and that taking it was just a bad idea. You never felt an urge for it, but tonight was different. A smell coursed through the water and you slowed down your swim.
Blood. Lots of fresh blood.
You looked over to the island and frowned. You knew approaching the island was a horrible idea, but someone could be hurt. You weren't a human, you weren't going to allow someone to die. You turned and kicked towards the island.
You came to face large water tunnels that led into the island. You smelt the fresh blood become thicker through these tunnels and knew you would need to swim through. You carefully maneuvered through the tunnels, following the torch light that flickered above.
You thought you entered a cavern filled with torches, but when you slowly pushed your head out of the water, you gasped at the sight. You were in a chamber filled with gold from floor to ceiling. It was a pirate's paradise. You looked in awe at the room, but another sight caused you to duck back down into the water. A human body.
You peeked through the surface of the water and looked at the body from afar. It was lying on the piles of gold, motionless. You quietly swam over, ready to swim away in case the body showed any sign of consciousness. Seeing no movement, you reached up and pulled yourself out of the water and onto the stone surface above.
Your tail dipped into the water as you sat on the cool stone, as you looked down at the body of the human man. A pirate. You watched his chest for a moment, but it didn't rise and fall like a normal beings did. So, with some hesitation, you lowered your head down and pressed your ear against his chest.
...
Nothing.
You lifted your head from the chest of the man and frowned. He was dead and it was clear how. Fresh blood dripped from a bullet wound on his chest. You shifted your sitting position and examined the man better.
He was dressed nicer for a pirate. Dark brown breeches, an elaborate, grey waist-coat, browns swash boots, a grey shirt, an orange sash wrapped around his waist covered by a leather belt and a leather Baldwin that crossed over his shoulder. A faded green bandana was wrapped around his head, but this was covered by his big, round, dark hat that had a couple feathers sticking out of it.
You decided to inspect the man himself now. He had nicely tanned skin, clear evidence of being at sea all day. Wrinkles wrung across his face, showing age and doing your best to recall how humans aged, you identified him of being in his early fifties. Around your mental age then. Ragged auburn hair hung loose from his head reaching his shoulders, it also grew from his upper lip and chin.
Men were so particular.
There was no such thing as merman, so seeing a male at all was a very rare occasion. You couldn't help the... Compelling feeling that filled your chest as you continued to look at the man. He had to be considered handsome in his world, at least you assumed so. A shame he was gone.
Carefully, you pushed yourself closer and hovered over the man. You pushed your long hair back behind your ear as you leaned on one of your arms over the man. You hesitated, before reaching up and gently tracing the side of the man's face. His skin was rough and cold.
You gently smoothed out the hair of his upper lip and remembered what is was referred to. A mustache, not an uncommon thing for a man to have. You admired the jewelry he wore around his fingers and hanging on his neck. You smiled a little, before reaching up and brushing back the man's auburn hair. You froze in your actions, your eyes widening in surprise.
Hanging from the man's right ear was an earring that perfectly matched your own. You brushed his hair from his other ear, but found his ear clear of earring and piercing. You gently lifted up the fang that hung from his ear and frowned. What did it mean?
A screech caused you to jump away from the man and snap your head over to the piles of gold. A small monkey sat on one of the piles of gold and hissed at you. You furrowed your brows and gave the monkey a slight glare back. You were trying to make some witty comment to throw at the creature.
Suddenly, the dead pirate beside you did something no dead pirate should do. He gave a shuddering gasp as his whole body tensed up. Your blood ran cold and without another thought, you dived back into the water. You kicked through the water, speeding out of the cavern and not looking back.
Oxygen filled Barbossa's lungs and his eyes snapped open. The pirate captain pushed himself up on the gold pile and looked around in surprise. He was certain Davy Jone's Locker was his next destination. Barbossa's companion hopped onto his shoulder and the pirate looked to him with an amused look.
"Suppose we should see why we weren't fed to the fish, eh Jack?" Barbossa gave a snort, before he climbed to his feet and turned to the exit of the cavern. He adjusted his hat, before stepping across the piles of gold to his next destination.