Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the plot. This is purely for entertainment.

A/N: This is the fruit of watching POTC and suffering a lemon attack. The rating will rise.

Summary: Aboard his ship, The Promised Land, Sephiroth keeps a most enchanting creature and he is determined to make her his.

SIREN

Wood cut through water elegantly as The Promised Land arrived after days and nights of travelling. As silent as his ghostly white ship with black sails, Sephiroth stood at the wheel, hair and coat billowing in the wind as emerald green eyes pierced the mists surrounding the Jenova Isles. It was only here that he could be completely at rest, free from knowing that he was the last of his kind, freed, for the moment, of having to wreak vengeance on those who had done his family wrong.

From ancient grudge break forth to new mutiny… Wasn't that the prophecy of his birth? Wasn't that the reason why he had this ship that moved at his will, a silver phantom whose hull and sails defied even the most savage storm? So why was he so reluctant to do that which he had been born to do?

Moisture threaded his hair and skin with little beads of water. Gently, he smoothed them away, intent on making for the secret harbor where The Promised Land always docked. And then he heard it again. A faint splashing, as though something had surfaced for air before diving down again. For three days and nights someone had been following him and he had a pretty good idea of what she was. He had been careful not to let her know she had been found out, else it would have been impossible to play this little game, to savour this small distraction. Still, she had been damnably elusive. Glimpses were all he had caught. A cloud of silky brown hair like dark velvet floating on the surface before disappearing into the shadows of the sea, a slender milk white arm as she disappeared beneath the ship. However, the most important thing that he has seen was that she was curious, insatiably so. Once he had pretended to have fallen asleep on deck. Sometime later, he had heard a soft splash almost directly below. But the moment he had so much as opened his eyes, she was gone, hidden beneath the blue, her eyes still on him even as he made a show of stretching before returning to the wheel.

The little mermaid had no idea whom she was playing with. To be honest, he hadn't a very clear idea of what she was either. Mermaids sightings were notoriously rare and had become increasingly so for the past hundred years or so. It was rumoured that they had fangs that could tear a man's flesh from his bones and rip him sinew from sinew. Pale blue skin, webbed hands and silver hair were supposed to be their colouring; he now knew differently. And apparently they had a voice that could enchant a man and draw him to his own death in the ocean. Sephiroth thought briefly about the ribbon that adorned his arm and decided that even without it, he was quite beyond that type of enchantment. Still, he was mildly curious and because she had started this game, he intended to finish it. He wanted to see how lovely she was, if indeed at all, before deciding how it would all end.

…

It was dangerous for her to come this far from the sea, so near to shore. Still, she could no more resist watching him than she could have stopped herself from following his ship. There had been something as magical about it as herself, a pearl silver ghost ship that had come out of nowhere and almost rammed her over. At first she had been enraged when she had surfaced but anger was immediately exchanged for wonderment when she set eyes on the vessel, and then it's Captain.

He was beautiful, more so than any mermaid or merman she had ever seen in her lifetime. And he was human, undeniably so because she could smell his warm blood on the icy wind. There was something odd about him though, a strange aura that marked him out from the rest of his race. That and his great beauty were what had drawn her. The more cautious part of her warned to stay away lest she end up like the proverbial fish on a hook. The rest of her urged that she follow him, watch him for as long as she could.

'Have him as long as I can,' Tifa thought wistfully even as she chided herself for that sentiment. Since she had chosen to eschew the usual trading routes in favour of the lone islands that she loved, she had isolated herself. There were few of them now and she had heard unspeakable tales of what had befallen mermaids who had been captured by humans. All too often they died but not soon enough to spare them the agony and humiliation of captivity and worse. A shudder rippled through her and she hugged her slender arms around her body. Perhaps it was time to seek out a mate, a merman she would bind herself to for life so that this loneliness she felt inside would be assuaged. For contrary to the stories she had heard that were drunkenly shouted from the rare ship she followed, merfolk were not promiscuous. She was only permitted one mate for her lifetime, one merman to love and cherish forever. And when he died, she would go too because love would bind them together in an enchantment not to be broken…

Tifa's ruminations were interrupted as soon as she sensed he was near. Crouching lower behind the jagged rock she had selected, she watched him with hungry cinnamon eyes as he strode down the beach, black coat whipping in the wind along with that glorious hair. A god amongst men, she thought dreamily, biting back a smile as the human began to shed his clothes. She had been watching him for several days now and she did not feel the least bored of looking at him.

First the coat, and then the armour, metal and leather, and his boots before he stripped off his pants. Always last was a formidable looking sword with an elegant, wicked blade which he placed on top. Curiously, no matter how wild the wind, the sword seemed heavy enough to keep his clothing securely in place.

She bit her lips as her eyes roved over his body. He was magnificent, incredibly tall but lean and muscled, and so very, very fair. Even in the water he would be a deadly predator. As he dove beneath the waves she slipped into the water soundlessly, glad that he favoured this part of the island where the current was strong and the water more grey than blue. Human eyes could not see even an iota as well as merfolks' eyes and it enabled her to get closer to him. Sometimes she had been several feet away and he had never known. The temptation to touch him though, was what frightened and thrilled her.

Today the current though was exceptionally strong and Tifa felt some slight concern even as she skimmed the surface of the sea bed, aware of the fast fading light and the gathering storm clouds on the horizon. He would be sensible enough not to stay too long, she assured herself, watching him from below.

Almost as though he had heard her and was determined to prove her wrong, he struck out for the deeper waters, swimming towards the rocks she had just left. Tifa clamped her lips shut although she knew he would not hear her cries of alarm underwater. For the first time she felt annoyed with her human. Even if he had some magic about him, the rocks and sea would not care about those and just as easily dash him to pieces.

Just then, a particularly strong undercurrent buffeted her and she rolled, unable to break through it. The air that she held in her lungs escaped and she swam for the surface, breaking through with a powerful thrust of her tail. Gulping in air, she looked around, expecting to see him somewhere nearby. To her horror, he had disappeared.

"Oh you stupid, stupid human," she thought as a chill that had nothing to do with the water invaded her body. Keeping her head above the surface and abandoning any thought of keeping hidden, Tifa swam, frantically scanning the waters and diving below occasionally as she went farther and farther out. Still, he was nowhere to be seen.

The rocks! "Of course," she breathed. Cresting the top of a large wave, she sliced through the sea, praying that she would not find his body broken on the treacherous stone. And then amidst the shining foam she spotted his silvery head slipping under the surface. "No!"

With a reckless burst of speed she raced to him, praying that no currents would snatch them apart. Belly and tail low to the ground, Tifa swam until she was directly below him. Rising quickly, she slipped her arms around him, pulling his back close against her chest as she fought for the surface while keeping both of them away from the rocks. Strong as she was, he weighed her down and it was minutes before she managed to get his head above water.

"Don't you die on me," she muttered, almost unaware of it as she dragged him with her towards the shore, cradling his head between her neck and shoulder while maintaining an iron grip on his chest. It was hard to swim this way, especially since she had to keep her tail well away from his legs since a blow from it could easily break his bones.

As she neared the sand, her natural fear of land took over and she hesitated for a moment before pushing on. She could not leave him unconscious in the shallows for the tide to suck in and drown. Curling her tail sideways, she gave one last powerful heave, and felt the rough hardness of the sand as it scraped her tender skin. She had just beached herself, the man held securely in her arms.

Rolling him onto his back, Tifa smoothed his hair from his face frantically, searching for a pulse. To her horror, it was so faint she could barely feel it. "No," she implored, rubbing her hands against his cheek, his chest. Her eyes burned and she realized she was in tears. "Please."

Pressing her palm against his chest, she felt his heartbeat slowing and knew she had to choose. There was no law forbidding merfolk from rescuing humans but it was forbidden to give them a kiss. The Breath of Life was not for humans but only for other merfolk who were betrayed by the sea that bore them. Torn by indecision, Tifa bit her lip so hard she tasted her own blood. The cold water lapped at her tail even as she tried to wrap her body around him, tried to give him her warmth.

No one would know, a tiny voice whispered guiltily. She would do this for him and then leave him forever, her punishment for breaking the law. A tear dropped on his cheek, mingling with the seawater as she held his face between her palms and leaned over him. His lips were cold, dreadfully so and she pressed down on his chin, opening his mouth as she kissed him harder, giving him the air in her lungs, her tongue stroking his gently.

Because her eyes were closed, she did not know when he opened his. Cold emerald gleamed with triumph and arms like bands of steel closed around Tifa. She broke the kiss with a strangled cry of alarm, rearing back only to find herself caught in a grip she could not break. In a heartbeat, fear turned to fury as instinct set in and she thrashed like a maddened thing, feeling the water on her tail, knowing sanctuary was mere feet away.

Apparently so did he because he rolled them away from the shore, almost crushing her in the process. Sand coated her tail, weighing her fins down as an inexplicable weakness set in. Gasping, she found herself flat on her back as he straddled her, pinning her arms above her head. "You…" The world swirled in dizzying circles as darkness set in. The last thing she saw was those beautiful eyes gazing down into hers and she remembered wondering why there was no emotion in them. And then she could think no more as her eyes closed and she surrendered to enchanted sleep.