Eric stood bracing himself against the rush of the waves. His stomach churned over the remains of his dinner, cabbage and pork doing their best to escape his belly. One end or the other.

At twenty-two, the handsome young Prince was the catch of the day, at least to the ladies of the Dutch Royal Court. Each family pushed their daughter forward for meetings, balls and 'Oh, so, unexpected!' chance encounters every day of every week. Boredom ruled his world. The only way he could escape, was here, on this ship. Pretending to care about foreign affairs, his father swallowed Eric's lies, and sent him as his emissary. This time to the far reaches of the Caribbean.

Unfortunately, for Eric, Lydia Stemson, the youngest daughter of the ambassador for Jamaica, happened to be travelling home on the same voyage. What a surprise. He could smell her coming up behind him right this moment, her perfume unbelievably potent. Did these women have no shame?

Eric grasped onto the railings and prayed for it all to be over quickly.

"Why, Prince Eric," Lydia's squeaky voice cut through the whoosh of the sea, breaking against the hull. "This is such a fortuitous event, you and I, together, on such a romantic adventure. Don't you believe, isn't it so, so, fortuitous?"

Eric leaned clear over the side of the rail and hurled his meal into the ocean. Wiping his mouth, with the back of his hand, he straightened up and spread his weight to ease the roll of the deck. He half turned to reply, barely audible above the rush of water.
"Hmmm, it's definitely 'forking' something, lady."

Taking this as a good sign, the optimistic young lady threw her arms around the Prince and planted her lips firmly upon his sour, sickly mouth.

A huge spray of seawater flew up from the ocean, rising high above the young couple, before crashing down over the two, drenching them completely. Was it his imagination, or did Eric hear a girl laughing?

Eric spluttered, spitting out saltwater and lipstick, pushing a shocked Lydia away.
"Get off me, woman!"

Poor Lydia ran her hands through her bedraggled hair and squealed, before rushing off below decks.

Eric spat on the deck, cursing his luck at being born a noble. Then he heard the singing. A beautiful, enchanting tune. Was it his mind playing tricks? He'd heard that sailor's experienced these phenomena after long stints at sea, how come it sounded so real?

He leaned over the railing once more, this time, his icy blue eyes scanned the waves for signs of life. The sea bulged and subsided, a living, breathing entity cradling the vessel. There! Over there.
He picked out a crowning head of gorgeous, auburn hair, picked out in the sunset. Slender shoulders, like a sculptured Greek statue, rising out of the waters. A face, turning up to see him, beautiful, beautiful girl, wonderful to behold, eyes as deep green as the ocean.

He needed to see her closer. He had to get nearer. The voice called to him, stirring his blood, his passion, wrapping around his brain. Eric leaned further over the side. He let go of the railing and reached out to the fantastical creature.
If only I could touch her.

*****
Ariel held her arms up to meet his fingertips, she wasn't close enough by far. The waves bumped her off course from her intended target, stirring her frustration.

She had to have him. This gorgeous man of dark skin and blue eyes was hers. Hers to kiss, hers to hold, hers to do with as she wished. She deserved a distraction.

Flicking her strong tail against the pull of the ship, the mermaid rose quickly from the ocean and grabbed out at the sailor. She sunk her nails deep into his wrists and yanked him over the side and into the water.

He didn't make a sound. They never did. She dragged him deeper under the surface, his body naturally rejected the lack of oxygen. She chose to ignore his desperate thrusts for freedom. Humans could be unpredictable things, sometimes they never made it to her air bubble. A few times their feeble hearts gave out, before she had time to play with them.

Glancing back, as she shot to her cavern, the little mermaid got the impression that this blue eyed, black Adonis would not be giving up on life so easily.