Darcy leaned over the edge of the large vessel, resting her head on her arms as she looked out over the sea. She was never sure, even to this day, whether to love the oceans, or to hate them. As it was, much like the roiling waves, Darcy's emotions crashed against one another head on, with full force. In one sense, she loved the sea. Loved the ferocity of the water as it lashed out against the edges of a boat cutting its path through the waves. And on the other, opposite sense, she hated everything to do with the water, the creatures beneath the horrifying waves. If anything, the brunette navigator blamed her past, for causing such a turmoil in her emotions. Or her eyes. Or just that day, back then.

Wind whipped hair around Darcy's face, as she ran out onto the deck of their boat. It was a beautiful boat, normally with sails that billowed out much like the fins of mermaids. Her father had told her the stories of mermaids, as they ruled over their kingdom of the sea. But now, as the men on the ship scrambled to draw back the sails, to secure life lines as water crashed upon each side of the boat, Darcy was afraid.

"Papa!" She shouted, staggering against one of the worker's for support, turning in the hustle as life lines were secured, tightened, and checked again. "Papa!"

"Darcy! Darcy I'm right here!" The boat lurched, and Darcy looked up as something rose above them, flicking its tail as it arced over the deck. "Darcy!"

"Mermaid..." She breathed out, many of the workers stopping whatever they were doing to watch.

"Everyone! Below deck! Hurry, before they sing!" A voice shouted, and it was as though all hell was breaking loose. Men were running everywhere, carrying a small, easily misplaced child across the deck, away from the doors. She wanted to hear them sing, to hear the voices of creatures she had only ever heard stories about.

"Darcy!" She turned at her name, standing near the railing as the ship tossed again, a mermaid flying so close to her, skimming along the wooden deck as she stole one of the crew members, stealing into the sea. "Darcy!" The ship rolled again, and Darcy's fear took hold of her, watching the gorgeous creatures pick off their victims one by one.

"Papa! Papa, I'm scared!" She shouted, grabbing onto the netting around the barrels on the side of the deck.

"Darcy! Little one, hold tight!" He shouted over the roaring of the waves, the thundering of the sky as it crackled down around them in anger. Water sprayed up around the two of them, as Darcy's father used his body to shield his daughter from the salt of the sea.

"Papa, I'm scared!" She shouted again, as he grasped onto her hand, pulling her towards the cabin.

"It'll be alright, Darcy! Come on, run! Let's go!" She stumbled, the taller man stopping as the ship tilted, wave drawing up over them as Darcy slipped, her father's hand around her wrist the only thing holding her there. "Darcy, don't let go!"

"I'm slipping!" She cried out, water crashing into the side of her, hand sliding through the man's grasp. "Papa!"

"Darcy!" She couldn't see him, curling herself into a ball as her back seemed to shatter against the turmoil of the sea. Darcy blinked away the salt, flailing against the hellish waters, the familiar form breaking through as he kicked off for her. Darcy grabbed out towards the man, towards her father, as he neared, a fish- like tail streaming past her outstretched fingertips, a silent scream erupting into bubbles as she tried to call out to him. The red- haired woman flipped her tail around the child's father, even as he struggled towards the sinking child, shouting out in his own stream of bubbles as he was dragged away, down, into the depths. Darcy reached out for him, coughing as water entered her lungs.

"Don't cry, little one." The voice whispered, singing against the thundering behind Darcy's ears. "Keep fighting." She whispered, voice floating against the current, an arm closing around Darcy's waist, pulling her upwards. "Come with me." Darcy tried to turn around, to see who it was that was speaking to her, when her head broke the surface, body blocked from the hard deck by another. She coughed weakly, spitting up water as she rolled over, the boat still rocking wildly around them. Darcy rolled over, eyes widening as she looked up to the pale, young face. Her hair was a perfect shade of ebony, soaked through because of the storm, framing the sharp, angular features. Darcy was captured by the eyes though, a striking hazel green that she could almost see through.

"Mermaid..." The child breathed out, when the pale woman held a finger to her lips, drawing away slightly. Darcy opened her mouth to ask her a question, when the cabin door opened, the ebony haired, fish- tailed woman flicking a powerful fin to throw herself back into the sea. "Wait!" The little Darcy cried out, hands reaching for her, picking her up and rushing her below deck. "Don't go!"

"Darcy! Hey! Darcy, where'd you go?" The brunette blinked away the emotion behind her eyes, the sting from the sun's reflection across the water. That had been a long time ago, all of it. Twenty years, now. And yet, she still remembered every minute detail of that mermaid, the one with the pale ivory skin, and the ebony hair. Shaking herself out of her daze, Darcy turned to acknowledge the captain of the vessel she was on, a woman by the name of Jane Foster. "Good to have you back. You know, the men always wonder why you stay up here, just as the vessel enters dangerous territory. There are those damned fish- creatures in these waters, you know. They could jump up and snatch you away like it was nothing." Darcy rolled her eyes, turning back to the sea that seemed so calm.

"They prefer storms, the crackling of thunder and lightning as it lights up the sky." Jane laughed, shaking her short, light brown hair.

"I forgot, you had a run- in with them, awhile back, didn't you." Darcy simply smiled sarcastically, pulling away from the rail and heading towards the sleeping quarters.

"Twenty years ago. I was only six. They made me an orphan that day." Darcy stated, keeping it to herself that she was only alive because of the same creatures.

"I'm so glad that women can't hear them sing." Jane stated, shaking her head again as she paused at the door to the captain's quarters. "I'd hate to be stuck out on deck if mermaids suddenly decided this was their next vessel. But, hey, what are the chances that they'll be coming after us anyway?" Darcy just rolled her eyes at the captain's antics, choosing to not answer such a horrifyingly dangerous question and instead, left it hanging heavily in the air.

Darcy flipped through the charts in the captain's quarters early the next day, the sky dark with clouds. Jane was seated beside her, legs up on the edge of the desk as she lounged. The captain whittled away at a piece of wood, paring knife clasped tightly in her hand.

"My heart is pierced by cupid." Darcy felt her eyebrow tick, as the siren- like voice echoed through the room. "I disdain all glittering gold." Darcy rolled her eyes, glaring at Jane. She was trying to make out if they were still on track, and that required the utmost concentration.

"What? Darcy, why are you glaring at me like that?" The other woman stated, bristling visibly. Though she was the captain of the ship, Darcy was the force to be reckoned with, to be feared. Because, if Darcy was angry, then every person on the ship was going to feel it.

"I'm trying to concentrate, Jane." The other woman held up her hands, returning to her chunk of wood, which was slowly but definitely turning into a perfect statue of a man hunting a mermaid.

"There is nothing can console me," Darcy slammed her piece of charcoal on the table.

"Jane! What did I just say? Shut the hell up!" The captain's head shot up, her eyes blazing.

"I didn't say anything, Darcy!"

"But my jolly sailor bold." Darcy's eyes widened in shock, and she turned, cursing, as she all but ripped the door's hinges off, opening it.

"Raise the sails!" The brunette screamed, cupping her hands over her mouth. "Get below deck! All of you!" Jane shot out after her, Darcy running for the main sails as, quite literally, every person on board dropped what they were doing to begin climbing the masts.

"Darcy! What the Hell is going on!" She shouted, light brown hair whipping around her face as she grasped onto the cables.

"They're coming! Hurry! All hands below deck! Hurry the fuck up!" Darcy shouted, even as the ruckus above the deck became men shouting to one another, raising the sails and securing them, as quickly as was possible.

"Miss Lewis, I can hear them. They sing, again and again. The same words. I'm frightened." One of the men on board stated, Darcy glaring at him below dark curls that a strong wind whipped across her face.

"Come all you pretty fair maids, whomever you may be." Darcy turned towards the masts, only half the sails secured.

"Get below deck! Screw the sails! Move!"

"You don't run my ship! Secure the sails! We have time!" Jane shouted in reply, Darcy turning towards the other woman.

"You're going to kill everyone, you stupid bitch!" Darcy screeched back, securing the life lines, pulling the ropes tighter as their ship rocked violently with a wind that seemed to have appeared from nowhere.

"Who love a jolly sailor bold, that ploughs the raging sea."

"You have no idea what you're-" A fish tail whipped the air beside Jane's head as a half- creature, half woman arced perfectly above the deck, snatching one of their ship- mates from the ropes, cable snapping.

"Who's the stupid bitch now?" Darcy shouted, the screeching of mermaid voices ringing out across the ship, coupled with the cries of human men as they ran for cover. Darcy grasped a wooden bar from beneath one of the barrels, grasping it tightly as a mermaid attacked one of her only friends on the boat, lashing out with the curved bar, knocking the woman away. "Get inside! Go! Go, now!"

"No one gets left behind! Get under cover!" One of the ship- mates cried back, wrapping his arm around his life line before drawing his sword. There was a cry, before Darcy shook her head.

"You fools are going to get your asses killed!" She shouted back, blocking the cabin boy from a mer- woman with the wooden bar, the mermaid falling onto the wooden deck. All hell was breaking loose, when she approached the fallen woman, who bared her fangs.

"Kill her, Darcy!" The boy shouted, crumpled beside her, scrambling to draw out his sword. Darcy held up her hand, one finger pressed against her lips. The mermaid tried to scramble back, gasping out for air, when the brunette slipped an arm under her shoulders, the other around her waist. "Darcy-!"

"Shut up, if you know who won't hesitate to kill you." The navigator growled, bracing the weight of the woman against her chest as she tried to remain upright against the rocking of their ship, one of the mermaid's screeching behind her as she claimed her own victim. Darcy staggered to the side, as the cabin boy braced her back with his weight, her curved waist pressing up against the side of the boat as she directed the blonde haired, suffocating mer- person back into the churning waves. Grasping onto the edge of the boat, Darcy threw herself over the boy as a mermaid flew over them, man in her grasp, fangs bared.

"Darcy! Why did you save such an abomination? A killer?" He shouted over the thundering of the waves.

"Perhaps one day I'll tell you!" She shouted back, staggering back, grasping onto his elbow as they fought the wind, the sea, on their way towards the cabins. The two of them staggered, when Darcy heard the screech, approaching, turning her head to the side as she placed a hand in the boy's back, shoving him to the ground roughly, moving herself where he had been. The stone- hard arms wrapped around her in an iron grip, fangs bared in her face as a screech was ripped from the mermaid's throat, a scream filled with agony, anger.

"Darcy!" She could barely hear the cabin boy, a servant in the kitchen, as her head was immersed by water, fangs driving into her neck roughly, the pain enveloping her mind. It may have been less than a few moments, yet it felt like ages, before the body of the mermaid was forcibly torn away, screeching erupting all around the woman as she tried to blink away the pain from the salt in her eyes, the stinking and burning on her neck. She could see blurred outlines, fire red hair mixed with a dark cloud, the screeching, a bright blue tail and a deep, blood colored one. They were wrapping around one another, angrily, when Darcy felt herself choking on the water, on the lack of oxygen. She thought one of the mermaid's was sinking, the other rising towards her. But she wasn't sure, everything hurt. And she just wanted to make the burning stop.

But the damn burning would not stop. It simply became a pounding throb, her head feeling as though she had been hit in the head repeatedly with the mast of the ship. Darcy rubbed her forehead, groaning to herself.

"I disdain all glittering gold."

The worst part was she couldn't get that damn, beautiful, heartbreaking voice out of her head. The one that always seemed to be searching, to calling. She had heard it, ever since that day twenty years ago.

"There is nothing can console me,"

Darcy rolled over. The voice was so much closer now. As if she was right there. Rubbing her eyes, clasping a hand to her neck, where the aching was, she blinked the brightness of the sun away.

"But my jolly sailor bold."

Her hair was long, the edges of it touching the water despite the woman being seated on a low shelf of rock, only her upper torso visible. And it was the darkest black, as if made of ebony, contrasting the pale ivory skin as if from the other end of the spectrum.

"You!" Darcy called out, her voice hoarse. The woman looked up, her face overcome with shock for the briefest moment before she sprang forward into a perfect dive, disappearing into the water. "No! No, don't go! Damn it!" Darcy pushed herself up, leaning on one arm as she pressed against the throbbing portion of her neck. "Damn it. This hurts like a bitch." She cursed, trying to draw in a deep breath, the pain causing her to slump over to the side slightly. "Shit. I'm so done." There was a ripple against her leg, and Darcy tilted her head back towards the water, the ebony haired wonder looking up at her from only a few feet away, only her eyes above the water line. "Wow. I never... Won't you come closer?" The woman seemed to consider her options before she floated nearer, wrapping one arm up around Darcy's knees, resting her other hand on top of the first one, before resting her chin on her fingers. "It is you. I never thought I'd see you again, you know." Darcy panted, unable to look away from the alluring hazel gaze in front of her. "Sorry. This hurts really awfully. I have so much to say to- agh!" The woman lifted one of her hands, drawing Darcy's downward, away from the spot on her neck, tilting her head curiously, running her thumb over the swollen mark until the human flinched. "Oh, fuck, don't-!" The mermaid held a finger to her lips, pushing herself up out of the water until she was leaning over the brunette. "What are you- oh!" Darcy began, cut off by the feel of the mermaid's mouth against her neck, fangs brushing against the sensitive skin there, before closing tightly over the already present mark. "I uh, oh. Oh shit." She found herself moaning out, back arching, neck tilting just enough to give the woman from legends more space. A few moments more, and Darcy was gasping for breath in a state of euphoria, tongue sliding over the mark on her neck before the ebony- haired woman drew back, folding her arms against Darcy's knees again, dropping down into the water again. Darcy shook her head, still gasping for air, a smirk finding its way across the mermaid's lightly purple lips, blood trailing down from the corner of her mouth. "You have a bit of... Oh, fuck it." Darcy sighed, catching the mermaid's face in her hands as she collapsed her stomach, crushing their mouths together. When they broke apart, it was, again, because Darcy found herself unable to breathe. The mermaid pushed back, ducking her head beneath the water again with something resembling a squeak. "Oh, Hell! Come back, please! I didn't mean to frighten you, honest." Blue- rimmed, hazel eyes broke the surface again, the human biting on her bottom lip as she locked gazes with the mermaid floating just an arm- length or so away. "I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to frighten you." The ebony- haired mermaid floated a bit closer.

"You saved Pepper." She spoke, her voice accented, deeper than Darcy would have thought.

"The little blonde one? Yea." She just shrugged.

"Humans do not save. Humans kill." Darcy leaned forward as the mermaid flipped her tail, using her arms to keep her head above water.

"You saved a child, twenty years ago." The mermaid was silent, staring. "Mermaids do not save. Mermaids kill."

"Is an awful stereotype, based upon misunderstanding." Darcy just tilted her head to the side, moving her arms away from her legs, and back to the rock. The mermaid moved forward, settling on Darcy's knees again, her gaze intense, encompassing.

"So. Do you have a name?" The woman moved, dark hair brushing against Darcy's thigh.

"Sif." She whispered. "They call me Sif." Darcy flicked her eyes to the iridescent violet- green tail that broke the surface of the water just behind the woman's shoulders.

"Wow." Darcy whispered. "You're beautiful." Sif grinned, before covering her mouth self- consciously, hiding the fangs that were in place of teeth. Darcy slipped her fingers against the pale wrist, lowering it back to her knees. "Don't hide. Its alright. Wow, those were in my neck? Cool shit. Wait, I don't hurt anymore. Was that you?" Sif wet her bottom lip, nodding a little bit.

"Venom. Natalie gave you hers. I took it back." Darcy scratched her head, exhaling deeply.

"So, its twice now, that you've saved me." Sif flicked her tail above water again, and Darcy licked the corner of her lip.

"I would repeat my actions a thousand times more. I do not regret them." The mermaid stated, her gaze dark with a turmoil of emotion. "I feel... But I do not understand." Darcy nodded.

"I know just what you mean." She stated, brushing her fingers against Sif's hair. "I look at you, and I can not imagine letting you disappear back into that sea. I know that I will go out on any number of boats, on any number of voyages, just to find you again."

"It is as though... All is right in the world." Sif whispered, trying to look away, when Darcy pulled her back, albeit gently. "I was warned against this feeling. To a mermaid... There is one connection, a mate to one's soul. A person that can hear our voice and no other, and we shall not sing to another either."

"I have heard the most beautiful siren song, for almost twenty years." Sif leaned forward, touching their foreheads together.

"Is this even possible?" She questioned, clasping onto Darcy's hips as the human tangled her fingers into long, ebony hair.

"I don't know. Does it matter?"Sif shook her head slightly, pressing open lips against Darcy's own, tongues slipping out to touch one another. Darcy moaned, tugging on Sif's hair, answered by a similar cry, nails biting into her back. Sif ended their kiss, pulling back slightly to turn her head towards the open ocean. Her voice rose to a serious of rapid clicks, pausing a few moments before speaking in that same outlandish language a second time, as though she was speaking to someone, far away.

"I must go." Sif finally whispered, Darcy's fingers curling around her jaw at the very thought. "If you need help, call for me."

"Sing. Sing if you need me." Sif leaned up, catching the woman's lips with her own. "Oh god, do you have to? Please, please, don't have to."

"I must." She whispered again, almost as frantic as Darcy was herself. "But I am never far away. You will hear me." Darcy nodded, inhaling the scent of the ocean, the salt, and Sif's hair.

"Alright. Alright, go." She stated, releasing the woman, nodding her head. "Go. It'll be alright."

"It will." Sif stated, backing away a bit before diving under water. Darcy watched the mouth of the cave, scrambling to her feet quickly.

"Wait! Wait, I forgot!" A head broke surface, nearly fifteen feet away, and Darcy cupped her hands around her mouth. "I love you!"