The Hunter and the Pirate (Pirate!England x Reader)

Things Always Get Better...

"Stop jumping! Get back to your posts, dammit!"

Arthur whipped around the deck frantically as lightning thundered in the distance and rain pounded the deck. Thankfully, the men were moving sluggishly, but they were moving nonetheless. What to do, what to do? What was happening? Then he saw something that made his blood run cold.

"Allistor..."

There was his brother with the same glazed look on his normally cheerful face, standing about two feet away from the edge of the ship and closing.

"Allistor! Get away from there!" Arthur yelled, running towards him only to see a shock of red hair disappear over the edge. He lunged forward and managed to grab his older brother's wrist. He grunted from the effort it took to even keep his hold. Had his brother always been this heavy?

"Dammit, you may be annoying sometimes, but I'm not letting you run that easily," Arthur growled, giving a final yank on the redhead's arm. He catapulted up and over the ship's railing, landing on the deck with an unceremonious thump. Arthur let out a strangled yell when he saw what followed after Allistor. "What-"

Without missing a beat, the creature sprung at him with a blood-curdling scream. Arthur quickly drew his sword and pointed it at the lunging creature. Its own momentum carried it onto the sword's end, and with one final shriek, it turned into seawater and splashed onto the deck.

"Well, well, well. Not many days you meet a human with the Gift," a raspy voice said from behind him. He whipped around, sword still raised. Its tip came to rest on a marble white throat which was connected to a face straight out of Arthur's books.

A mermaid.

"Quite an honor meeting the face of horror," Arthur snarled at the... thing. "As far as your reference to the Gift, I can assure you that I do not possess this ability you speak of."

She laughed. A horrible grating sound that made Arthur want to run her through right then and there.

"Release my men at once, sea witch," he commanded, trying to sound as firm as possible. After all, he was the one with the advantage, right?

Wrong.

The mermaid melted into seawater and reformed behind his back before he could react. In the same second he could feel a cold pressure across his neck.

"How about you ask nicely?" she purred. Arthur glared at her as best as he could with a knife at his throat.

"Release my men this instant."

"Or what? You'll kill me?" She let out another piercing laugh. Nevertheless, she screamed something out in her own language, and his men ceased walking, though they still wore a glazed expression on their face. Arthur breathed an inward sigh of relief.

"Now get off of my ship," Arthur growled. He could practically see the smirk on her face.

"I'm afraid not, my dear, sweet Arthur. You interest me too much for me to leave right away. But perhaps we could make a deal."

"Never trust a mermaid's words," Arthur muttered to himself.

"Oh, Arthur," the mermaid purred. "Surely there is some way I can gain your trust? I see it will be very hard won."

With that, the pressure at his neck disappeared while the mermaid reappeared in front of him again.

"Better?" she said, smiling a grisly smile.

"What do you want?" Arthur asked, a wary hand on his sword.

"Simple. I want you to get what you want," she said matter-of-factly. "And that is Captain (l/n)'s head. And you even get to learn how to use your gift! See, Arthur? Nothing to be worried about. We both have common intere-"