Disclaimer: Unfortunately I do not now, nor have I ever owned Pirates of the Caribbean. I will let you know when I do though.

The Mermaid and the Missionary

Philip and Syrena

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She was there, right in front of me, holding herself afloat in the deep waters of the black pool. Syrena had not deserted me as I thought.

"Philip, I can heal you. You need only ask."

"I seek only one thing." I winced, clutching the bloodied open flesh of the slash in my belly. My blood seeped across the rock and into the water as I tried in vain to compress the wound. But I knew it was futile. If it was God's will that my life be taken in order to save Syrena's, then so be it.

"What is that?"

"Forgiveness. If it weren't for me you would have never been captured."

"Ask." Her voice, her sweet honeyed voice, beautifully melodic to my ears, the only thing I could hear. The only thing I wanted to hear.

The explosion of pain in my abdomen was reduced to a muted nothingness as I gazed upon most beautiful of the Lord's creations. She was exquisite. Lovely, delicate and beautiful, but perilous and lethal all at once. She was without a doubt the most incredible creature to ever grace this earth with her presence.

"Forgive me?" I pleaded. I tried to convey my all of my feelings through those two simple words. I wanted her to know her sorry I was that I was the reason she had been discovered and captured, sorry that I hadn't freed her when I had the chance and sorry that she thought I had deceived her. But those two words couldn't describe how much I yearned for her. They couldn't describe my awe and longing for her. They couldn't describe my love.

The beautiful girl leaned close, drawing me into a tender, lingering kiss, claiming my heart and my soul. Claiming everything that I was. I closed my eyes, deepening the passionate kiss as I felt the pool's warm water encircle my body as she pulled me under with her.

I didn't need to breathe, a single kiss from a mermaid could prevent a sailor from ever drowning, but still my lungs screamed for oxygen and my vision blurred perilously. I would not die, but losing consciousness was a whole other story.

I felt Syrena's soft arms surround my waist, holding me close and tight as we spiraled down deeper and deeper into the black depths of my watery heaven.

And then my world turned black and I could see her angelic face no more.

I awoke on a beach to the endless stream of blinding sunlight shining in my eyes, the squawking of birds all around me and the feeling that my body was engulfed in fire, burning from the inside out. My throat was dry and parched, my lips chapped and cracking. I swiped my tongue across them, hoping moisture would ease the feeling, but my mouth was so dry that it felt like I was scraping splintered wood across them.

I tried to sit up, but dizziness overwhelmed me and I fell back to the ground, my head hitting the damp sand of the beach with a thud. Water lapped at my feet, making them feel raw. How long had I been out here in the sun? Surely I couldn't have been here that long, else the tide would have come in and I would have been washed out to sea.

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to move each of my limbs. At least I was not paralyzed. I had feeling from the waist down. I tried to move my arms, but they screamed in protest. Well good, at least now I knew that my body would recover.

My heart on the other hand, might not. I opened my eyes, blinking and squinting in the bright sunlight. Although my body protested, shooting pain and burning fire through every bone, muscle and vein, I pushed myself into a sitting position and looked around. Syrena was nowhere to be found.

She had vanished. Had she gone, left me here alone? I saved her life, she saved mine, and now that we were even, were we to part? Somehow that didn't seem fair. But perhaps sometimes fair just wasn't in Gods plan.

I recounted the last few days, everything coming back to me slowly. The walk, the slash, the kiss, the fear, the panic and the love. I could still feel the pressure of her soft swollen lips as they pressed against mine. I could feel the pain of my wound as the sword sliced through my skin.

The wound! I looked down, tearing my shirt away from my skin hastily. Where there had been a bloodied, gaping gash, there was now a shiny white line of skin raised and knitted together to form a scar.

She had healed me. Syrena had saved my life.

I looked out at the vast ocean mournfully. Could the Lord be that cruel as to take my savior from my arms without giving me the chance to utter even a simple thank you?

I was about to let my eyelids droop closed once again in defeat, when I noticed a small circle of the water in front of me begin to movie in tiny circles rather then waves. I stared closer, hoping that my eyes weren't deceiving me. And then two Beautiful brown eyes framed by thick dark lashes rose above the water level, watching me closely.

I cried out in joy as a moment later, the rest of her body followed. Syrena had come back! I could not tear my eyes away as I watched her sculpted, curving body emerge from the water, as she propelled herself with her strong tail onto the dry land next to me. Her long curling brown hair fell gracefully over her beasts and I averted my eyes from her cleavage, watching mesmerized as moments later her shiny golden tail began to morph into long, lean legs.

I ignored my body's protests once again as I threw my arms around the shyly smiling mermaid. I felt her arms wrap around me once again and suddenly it felt like all was right with the world. Like having her back in my arms meant nothing could go wrong ever again.

'You came back.'

'I never left. I was so worried you would not wake up.' She whispered in my ear.

I drew back, kissing her gently on the forehead and stoking her long locks of hair. 'How could I not? I had you to come back to.' I smiled.

Syrena ducked her head, a blush creeping across those lovely flawless cheeks. 'You flatter me. I had to know you were safe. That you were alright.' She sighed.

I was momentarily frightened by the tone of her voice. It sounded so final. As thought she was saying goodbye.

'And now that you know I am alright…'

She looked up at me from under her long eyelashes, a shy smile playing on her lips. 'I wondered…perhaps I could… if it is alright with you… might I stay with you?'

Relief washed through my body, flooding me with happiness. She wanted to stay with me. I sent my silent prayers to God.

'It will always be alright with me.' I whispered, 'please, stay.'

She smiled up at me, lifting her chin so that her lips could easily meet mine and catching my lips in a lingering kiss. I drew her in deeper, savoring the delicious taste and feel of her lips molding with mine. I knew this was how it was meant to be. This was how it was meant to feel with the one.

Syrena broke away, looking deep into my eyes. It felt like she was staring into my soul, like everything I was, everything I stood for, was laid bare for her to see.

'I have to ask. What is your name? Your real name?'

Syrena blinked and cocked her head to the side, letting waves of curled hair tumble around her, like she didn't understand the question. 'I am the youngest of my sisters, I have not yet earned a name.'

'I think what you have done for me, saving my life, deserves more then a name.' I said softly. Perhaps I was too forward with her. I didn't want to scare her away.

Syrena shrugged. 'I have never felt like this before. And besides, you are different.'

'You have never felt like this before? Nor have I. How do you feel?'

'I feel… different. My sister Tamara tells me that is how mortal's feel when they are in love. She says love is a vile, nasty thing that corrupts a mermaid and makes her weak. But I feel happy, not weak.'

I shook me head, 'your sister is wrong. Love is everything. I have the same feeling and I have never felt happier.'

'You feel love?' Syrena asked, slipping her arms around my neck.

'For you, yes.'

Syrena looked at me and smiled.

'I love you.' I whispered.

'And I love you, Philip.'

One thing was clear to me; wherever we wound up in the future, we would be together for all eternity. Love and fate would see to that.

Okay, so I saw the movie a couple of days after it came out and I loved the romance and the unfinished ending to this gorgeous couple, so immediately I came home and wrote this. It's by no means an ending, but the film never expanded on their blossoming romance, so I thought I would.

This took me three hours to write, well actually, truth be told it took me an hour to write because the other two hours I spent googling pictures of Sam Claflin and Astrid Berges-Frisbey, but whatever. Please be kind haha.

Comment and let me know what you think :)