-Pirate Miguel O'Hara x Fem Mermaid Reader
-Synopsis: After a month or so of your initial meeting with Miguel. He's been spending his free time studying the ways of merfolk and uncovered a dark secret. A secret you've been warned about before, advised to stay away and not give in to you curiosity despite your longing for something more than life in the sea.
-C/W: Enchantment, pining for a mythical creature, reunion, usage of Spanish, longing, hints at depression and isolation, talk of dark magic, angst, depictions of blood bonds and ritualistic magic, mentions of blood, depictions of violent transformation, depictions of souls bonds, vulnerability, trust between human and mythical creature, affirmations. No use of Y/N
-T/W: Depictions of Dark/Ritualistic magic, mentions of Blood, depictions of violent transformation.
-A/N: Hey, so I had this idea for a while and I finally got it written down, a little darker for what I was originally planning but I like me a romantasy with some dark themes. Didn't know if I was actually gonna make a part 2, but here we are lol. I'd like to make a part 3 and progress the story some. But we'll see. @lazyjellyfish300 and @miguelandjayce4ever this is for you guys. Know you've been waiting awhile, Enjoy my dears đ«¶đ»đ
âąCredit for the artwork goes to the lovely @shuploc
A full moon cycle or moon since you and Miguel met that night on the beach. Days and nights passed like a blur on the ship. But you were never far from his thoughts as the days passed. He found himself seeing your face in the most unassuming places.Â
In the clouds that formed before the storm.Â
In the early morning wisps of sea mist.Â
In the swirling tide pools of the harbors they docked in.Â
He was completely, utterly, and hopelessly smitten.Â
Every moment of free time he had he was desperately hoping to see you once again or reading up on whatever lore he could get his hands on. Raiding libraries or shops for manuscripts, storybooks and whatever writings he could find during their short stays in ports of their shipment routes. Hiding away in his quarters after a day's work and learning every bit of information he could with the hope of understanding you better the next time your paths crossed.Â
Which he seemed to be getting a bit desperate for as the days and nights dragged on without so much as a hint of your presence.Â
Searching from the bowsprit or the stern, scanning over each horizon for the familiar, gentle eyes or shimmering scales to emerge from the deep blue depths.Â
Every night he searched, only to be met with silence and darkness.
And with the silence, the longing seemed to intensify, like a pit being dug deeper and deeper in his soul.Â
That was, until the night of the new moon when they arrived back in that same harbor where you two met.Â
That somber, oceanside village.Â
Another shipment was delivered, another night of their celebration at some local tavern, his crew members forgetting their worries and cares like clockwork. That was the routine, and that would continue to be the routine.
Instead he found himself sat on the worn, almost splintered wood of the pier under a lamp post. Back hunched over a manuscript and his legs crossed, engrossed in the weathered text as the low light of the oil lamp illuminated his concentrated features. Taking in ancient rituals and forbidden magic of merfolk.Â
Writings of a graphic transformation, an almost forgotten Latin tongue, and a blood bond that was almost impossible to break.
Upon reading the text, he felt his stomach lurch in discomfort before he saw you peak your head up just past the edge of the pier.Â
He knew those eyes anywhere.Â
The ones he was hoping so desperately to see again.Â
His heart betrayed his stoic features, jolting slightly as he stood from his spot at the lamp post. His manuscript fell out of his lap, the disturbing text quickly forgotten, wanting nothing but to be close to you again.Â
He knelt down on the edge of the pier, a softened expression on his face, a hint of a smile even.Â
âIt's you, sirenita.â
A simple statement, the nickname rolling off his tongue so naturally as if that was the way it was supposed to be. But the weight behind it was very apparent. Not shy or hesitant like before.Â
It was more comfortable, a sign of letting you know he was happy to see you again.Â
You smiled brightly back up at him, crossing your arms against the pier, resting your chin on your elbow in a relaxed state.
Allowing yourself to trust him just a little.
âOf course it's me. I was hoping you'd come back again. Although I'm surprised you didn't make your way to the bluffs like the last time.â
A gentle huff escaped his nose.Â
âMakes it difficult when there's no moon to light the way.â
You giggled at his rebuttal.
âWell, I suppose you're right. But it's good to see you again all the same, Miguel.â
âSame to you, mi amiga.â
He whispered, as if whispering a secret before he let a full smile spread across his face. Adjusting his position on the pier so his legs dangled off the edge and one of his hands rested dangerously close to your own. The soles of his feet skimming the inky black water, your tail hidden beneath the surface.
The low flames of the oil lamp reflected off the freckle like scales on your cheeks. Casting a dreamy haze in your eyes as Miguel took in the vision that was entirely you.Â
Breathtaking even in the darkness.Â
He wasted no time catching up with you. Sharing what new adventures he had been on, his pursuits of learning about merfolk, and what he had learned so far before inviting you to share as well.Â
Not that much ever changed for you, it was a quiet, simple life. Watching ships come and go, the townsfolk go about their lives, and envy the freedom they had. Of the kinship between them. Of the love they shared amongst themselves.Â
All the while you were chained to a life below the surface.Â
You weren't unhappy per se.Â
You just wanted a little more.Â
To be a part of something meaningful.
As you vented your troubles to him, he felt his heart uncharacteristically crack in sympathy for you. Hearing the genuine sadness in your voice, the loneliness you endured, it stirred thoughts in his head of what could never be.Â
To give you the life you very clearly wished for.
To show you what it meant to be human.Â
But within those thoughts, it reminded him of something he read. Something scribbled on yellowed pages in faded ink from generations ago.Â
A flicker of hope bubbled in his chest as he stared at you, but it was just for a moment.Â
He remembered what the pages entailed. How gruesome the ritual appeared to be on paper, he couldn't even imagine how it would be if it were carried out. He knew he couldn't do that to you, it wouldn't be fair to ask for you to change either.Â
But he was curious, he wanted to know from the source that faced him on that pier.Â
He wanted to know the truth.Â
â... Forgive me if what I'm about to ask is inappropriate, but I'm curious.â
âNot long ago I found an old manuscript, no dates, no names. JustâŠinstructions. A ritual that is said to turn merfolk into humans. Is that something that can be done? ÂżEs verdad?â
The silence of the night consumed you both as he uttered what the text contained alongside his curious inquiry of you. The air thickened into an uncomfortable atmosphere. He knew the moment your eyes lost their soft edge that you heard of this ritual before. An expression of unease replaced the previous one of comfortability as you broke the silence.Â
âThere's a legend that long ago, long before you or I, there was an elder siren and a fisherman who fell deeply in love with one another. She was infatuated with him, and with human lives in general. So much so that she was willing to give up her life in the sea to be with him.â
You paused, unsure if you should even be speaking.
âSomehow, some way, using the power of the moon and the tides, she was able to shed her tail she was born with. To turn herself into a human.â
You paused, setting a slightly dramatic tone.Â
âIt's said she lived out the rest of her days with that man. That she never returned to the sea. But the elders speak of it as a tale of warning, saying the magic she used is best left alone.â
But even as the words fell from your tongue, you didn't heed them. If anything, the idea of such magic existing had you buzzing in the dark, salty water.Â
The ability to leave your isolated life in the sea.
To have the human experience.
You always assumed the story was a wives tale. A lesson for merfolk to stay away from humans. To resist the temptation of what was considered âforbiddenâ knowledge.
That temptation was winning.Â
Miguel, eyes wide with intrigue as well as concern for your shared infatuation as the elder siren in the story she spun, leaned in.Â
âYou say it's a tale of warning, but you don't seem wary, pequeña. If anything, you seem enthralled at the idea of such magic truly existing.â
âAm I that easy to read?â
He could see the gleam in your eyes despite the darkness that swallowed you both.
The thirst for knowledge.
It created an unsettling sensation in the pit of his gut.Â
âIt's unlike any ritual I've come across,â
A hint of hesitation in his tone once again as he looked away from you to the dark depths of the skyline. Watching where the stars met the sea.Â
âYou were right about that usage of the moon and the tides, butâŠit's so much more than that. So much darker.â
â...Please, tell me.â
You quietly coaxed, placing your webbed hand over his. The contact of the wet, cold skin sent a jolt straight to his chest. His brownish crimson eyes met your own with a clear sense of caution at your persistence.
âMi amiga, I understand your curiosity, I do. But this, this ritual. It'sâŠviolent. Tan muy violenta. There's a reason the elders advised that you leave it alone.â
A bitter frustration crept in your chest.
âHow can I believe it's as bad as you say if you won't tell? If you explain it, perhaps I can better understand.â
And he caved with a defeated sigh.Â
"It's a blood bond, mi sirenita.â
He paused, letting the statement settle in the thin air between you.
âIt's a blood bond that takes place on a full blue moon when the tide is low and there's a pool big enough for the mermaid to settle herself in. The mermaid exchanges a vial of thirteen scales and thirteen drops of blood from her hand. The man must exchange the same amount of his blood and a lock of hair to her in return. A symbol of each other's...devotion.â
He saw the curiosity on your face twist and morph into one of fear and disgust as he painted you a mental picture.
But he wasn't even close to the worst part.
âWhen the moon reaches its peak, they intertwine the hands that have been sliced open. Allowing their blood to combine while the man recites an incantation that bonds the mermaid to him. Allowing himself to give up a part of his human attributes to her in exchange for her soul⊠to be tied to one another. To become one.â
A moment of silence, the air thicker than oil before he described the finisher.Â
âWhen the incantation is finished and the hands pull away. With the lunar magic and the combined blood spilled in the tide pool. The mermaid begins an agonizing transformation. She sheds her scales first, then her bones begin to shift under her skin. The one tail splits in two, the skin ripping, tearing, and then bones reshaping into human legs. When all is done, the mermaid is left bloodied and incapacitated for days, even weeks after the ritual is finished. Her soul belongs to the man, she cannot return to the sea unless they perform the ritual again. And as you know, there's a reason it's called a blue moon.â
There were no more words to be said after that.Â
Only the suffocating silence of the truth.Â
You didn't realize it was that intense.
That it was thatâŠgruesome.Â
And the worst part of it all, even after hearing how awful of an experience it would be.Â
You still wanted to go through with it.Â
You were willing to put yourself through hell, to experience the agony of the transformation, and to bind yourself to him as long as it meant you could leave the sea.
You stuttered before finding your footing as you placed your palms down on the edge of the pier.
âI'd still go through with it.â
A quiet admission, but a firm one all the same.
Miguel just shook his head in disbelief.
âDon't be foolish. You'd really go through that kind of pain, that agony, give up your very soul to a man just to be human?â
His eyes searched your own, seeing a flicker of the gleam in them from before.
âIf you were the man I'd give it to, I'd do it in a heartbeat.â
He wasn't ready for that.
As the words registered in his mind, he felt the flush creep up his face. His serious expression wiped right off his face from how blunt you were.
Here you were, the creature that had been haunting his thoughts since the day he met you. Wanting nothing more than to be with you in every sense of the word.
You were willing to give that to him.
To bind your soul to his without hesitation.
âYou shouldn't say things like that, sirenita. Not when you don't mean them.â
Trying to convince himself you didn't mean it. That you were acting brazenly.
âI do mean it. I meant it with every atom of my being. Can you even fathom how long I've dreamed of being able to leave the sea? How I've longed for something more than the isolation of the deep? To have connections with people? To dance with someone I love? Can you comprehend how much I want to actually live and not just exist?â
Your voice cracked with emotion and your eyes shimmered with unshed tears. It made Miguel's heart wrench down at the sight. His large, calloused hand found yours. Trying to loosen your vice like grip from the edge as he leaned in closer, close enough that his forehead brushed against yours.
âI know, mi amiga. I know, and I'm sorry you've lived with those sorrows for so long. But I don't want you to jump into something that you'll later regret. If this is really what you want, just know it's not all love and joy. There will be moments of pain, moments of sadness, and moments where it feels like it's all too much.â
His hand moving from yours to your face, tilting your jaw so you were looking at him. Looking for any hesitation, any kind of sign that you weren't sure of what you were asking for.
But he didn't find any at all.
This was what you wanted.
âBecause I trust you.â
Vulnerability laced in your answer.
âNo te dejarĂ©. Lo prometo, mi amiga.â
'I won't leave you. I promise, my friend.'
You allowed a few tears to fall down your scaly cheeks and a smile to spread on your lips.
âYou really promise?â