- 10 Dec, 2025 *
There. My target.
He was a handsome man. Chocolate brown skin that glistened in the moonlight. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked at a map. I could barely hear his gravelly voice over the turbulent waves and the shouts of his shipmates. There was no storm outside, but the wind was making the waves choppy. They must have been turned around. Perfect time to strike.
I stretched from one of the rocks on my cove and dove into the water. My legs transformed into a turquoise green tail with iridescent scales. The scales peppered the rest of my body as well, and I mused about how pretty they looked against my dark skin. Gills formed on my neck, and webbed skin appeared between my fingers. I made my way to the boat, making sure my body was hidden under the waves. O…
- 10 Dec, 2025 *
There. My target.
He was a handsome man. Chocolate brown skin that glistened in the moonlight. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked at a map. I could barely hear his gravelly voice over the turbulent waves and the shouts of his shipmates. There was no storm outside, but the wind was making the waves choppy. They must have been turned around. Perfect time to strike.
I stretched from one of the rocks on my cove and dove into the water. My legs transformed into a turquoise green tail with iridescent scales. The scales peppered the rest of my body as well, and I mused about how pretty they looked against my dark skin. Gills formed on my neck, and webbed skin appeared between my fingers. I made my way to the boat, making sure my body was hidden under the waves. Once I reached just before the boat, I let the top half of my face above the water. I heard his voice again.
“We aren’t going the right way,” he grunted.
“We’ve been drifting for hours, Navigator,” one of his crew mates complained. “Look, there’s land. We should dock there and wait till calmer waters.”
The navigator’s eyes flickered with annoyance. “Fool. Not every piece of land is safe.”
Smart man. However, the crew wasn’t having it. They complained and groaned, and soon the men were arguing viciously. Excellent.
I swam fast towards my cove and started treading the shallow water. I cleared my throat and began to hum. My voice activated the bioluminescent plankton in the water, and the soothing blue glow crept toward the boat. The waves became nonexistent, but the crew did not seem to notice. I began to sing:
“Come to me, come to me, You’ll be safe in my arms. Come to me, come to me, I will save you from harm. Come towards the water, Then, you surely will be safe. Come to me, come to me, Come to me, swiftly.”
I watched as the crew started to quiet down to listen. One by one I saw their jaws slacken and their arms go limp. A dazed but slightly euphoric expression appeared on their faces. They stumbled clumsily towards the edges of the boat, then fell into the water head first. I didn’t really want them, but my hypnosis does not discriminate. What a shame.
My target watched in confusion as his shipmates entered their watery graves. He nudged a couple that walked past him, and he even tried to pull one person back on board. It was all in vain; the person pushed him away and the navigator watched helplessly as the person fell overboard. He was soon alone.
However, he did not seem to fall under the spell of my voice. Maybe I just needed to sing louder. Clearing my throat, I projected my voice far enough to hear it echo back at me. Immediately, the navigator slammed his hands over his ears. He looked around wildly as if he was trying to identify the source of my voice. I sang louder. He will come to me. He will submit, He will be mine.
I heard a loud sigh and then a splash. I no longer saw the navigator. I modulated the key of my song so that instead of sinking, the target would be lured toward me. After a few moments, I heard splashing sounds. The navigator easily cut through the water. I stood up to greet him, my tail turning back into legs. The moonlight shone down and bathed us in soft white light.
Before I could speak, the navigator groaned. “Please,” he begged as he swam towards me, almost too willingly. “Stop. You are so bad at singing.”
I gasped. “What? I am not–”
“I think my ears are bleeding. Goodness, gracious.” The navigator didn’t even look hypnotized or in shock. Just mildly annoyed. That infuriated me.
“How dare you, you pirate!” I squawked incredulously. I watched him stand up and squeezed the water out of his shirt. Of course, I didn’t see his biceps threaten to rip the fabric. Of course not.
“Not a pirate,” he mumbled.
“Then why did your shipmates fall under my spell?”
“Because they are fucking idiots that have never been exposed to good music. May they rest in peace.”
I blinked. “Well,–”
“Plus, your voice is terrible.”
I stamped my foot. “It is not!”
“Okay, whatever you say.” He rolled his eyes, then fixed a steady glare on my face.
“I shall kill you where you stand, pirate!” I seethed and bared my teeth.
“Again, not a pirate.” He walked past me and headed toward a palm tree.
“What are you doing?” I questioned.
“Getting some food.” He easily shook the tree and several coconuts fell at his feet. I gawked at his strength, then shook my head.
“I do not understand how you were not under my trance.”
“Well, before you start pondering, you should really put on some clothes. It’s a bit cold out here.”
“I do not require clothes,” I shot back.
He turned to look at me, scanned me from head to toe, squinted at me, then shrugged. “Well, good for you, I guess.” He turned around to continue looking for more food. Who does this man think he is?
I walked towards him and tapped him on his shoulder. “I do not think you understand your predicament, young navigator. You belong to me now.”
He glanced over his shoulder. “Sure.” He returned to foraging.
“I am serious!”
“I’m sure you are.”
“I do not appreciate your tone.”
“And I don’t appreciate you killing all of my shipmates and stranding me in the middle of nowhere, but we can’t have everything we want, right?”
“Enough!” I bellowed.
I lept towards him, grabbed his shoulders, and slammed him into the sand. I straddled him, swiped a sharp seashell and held it at his neck. He looked more displeased than terrified. “Here is what is going to happen to you, pirate,” I growled.
He rolled his eyes. “For the last time, I am not a–”
“HUSH!” I barked. “You will follow me to my cave. You will let me have my way with you until you are unconscious, and you will let me consume your body. You do not have a choice.” An evil chuckle passed through my lips.
A moment passed and I suddenly found myself launched into the air. I groaned when my back connected with the sand. I eyed my weapon next to me and reached to grab it, but the navigator caught both of my wrists and held them over my head. I struggled against him and screeched, but the man seemed unfazed.
“You’re really bad at this,” he tutted.
This is my first fiction piece on here. Wow! This short story was inspired by a prompt I found on Pinterest. I just wanted to share this! Hope you like it!