Persuasion

Aria gently touched her fingertips to her lower lip, lightly sliding the pad of her index finger back and forth. The deep ridges were gone. Her fingers were... smooth. She'd never felt anything so soft and sensual before.

Even the sounds around her were more vibrant and broad. She listened intently as the waves gently rolled under the ship, straining its great, tense timbers. The creaking alone was full of high clicks and low croaks, a whole range of tones flying through the air to reach her ears.

Air! She took a long, deep breath, letting it fill her lungs until she thought her ribcage might burst. She held it, closing her eyes to see if she could feel her excited red blood cells saturating with oxygen and warming her extremities.

She looked down at her toes and scrunched up her nose. She had heard that some men enjoyed feet, but she couldn't find anything attractive about the malformed, stubby digits. As far as she could tell, they were just ugly, useless fingers. She wondered what her feet would look like if she chopped off all the toes.

Muffled voices penetrated the heavy oak door of the captain's quarters where she was reclined in his lavish bed wearing exactly what she had been wearing when the crew had hoisted her onboard and carried her inside. She smiled. Men were so easily manipulated. This was going to be simple. She'd seduce the captain, get pregnant, and be home before lunch.

She quickly brushed her hair behind an ear and put on her best innocent smile just as the captain's voice grew louder.

"I don't care if she's Aphrodite herself!" he bellowed, barging into his room. He stopped short, staring at her with wide, steady eyes.

"Captain Bloodwake," she sang, her melodious voice wafting to his ears like love tonic. "Or should I call you Jim? I heard you were lonely, so I decided to drop in for a visit."

His wide eyes narrowed slowly, locked onto hers with the steadiness of a marksman. "Aye," he said, his voice softening. "You heard true."

"I'm lonely too," she cooed, patting the bed beside her supple, perfect body. "Come join me. It's a bit chilly in your cabin."

He approached the bedside, gazing into her eyes. Dropping to a knee, he brought his face close to hers and his pupils began dancing wildly, soaking up her charm and falling deeper into her enchantment.

"Captain," she whispered, extending her soft hand to his leathery, scruffy cheek.

A forlorn twinkle shimmered in his eyes at her touch. His lower lip quivered and he breathed in sharply through his nostrils. "I..." he began, his lungs shuddering. "I don't know you."

In a swift, powerful motion he scooped her up into his arms and carried her out onto the ship's deck. The crew gasped as he unceremoniously heaved her over the railing. The ocean swallowed her up with a great splash, welcoming her home once again.

***

"Ugh!" Aria cried, swimming back and forth irritably. "I don't understand why it didn't work!"

Belina, her sister, shrugged. "Maybe he doesn't like women," she suggested, stifling a laugh.

Aria shot her a fierce glare. "He likes women," she growled. "I have been watching him for almost a year now. He's smart, strong, cunning, a good leader, his men love him... he's perfect. And he has been publicly searching for a wife for almost three years. He's the most feared pirate on the seven seas and the most eligible bachelor on the planet. I don't understand how I failed to enchant him!"

"Were you covered up?" Belina asked, still obviously tickled but trying to act serious.

"Of course not," Aria grumbled.

"Well, sometimes you need to cover up a little. It drives them wild. Lets their imagination do some of the work for you."

Aria shook her head. "I don't think that was it. He just picked me up and tossed me overboard like an unwanted stowaway. The whole of his crew would have done anything I asked, but he was just... immune."

"What did he say before dumping you?"

"Nothing!" Aria cried, throwing her hands up. "He didn't say anything at all! Just something about not knowing who I was."

"Maybe he doesn't want to make babies with strangers?" she suggested, drifting lazily to the sandy floor and stretching. "Sounds to me like he needs to get to know you better."

The offhanded way Belina said it nearly boiled Aria's blood, but in reality it wasn't a half bad idea. "Alright," she said, clenching her jaw. "I'll introduce myself properly then!"

With a powerful flick of her tail, she darted up toward the surface, leaving a trail of cavitation bubbles in her wake.

***

Finding the ship again hadn't been terribly difficult. News spread quickly about the exploits of Captain Bloodwake and his mighty ship, the Spear. Aria swam ashore and crawled onto the hot sand sand, dragging her tail along until she was cleared of the surf. The warm sun almost sizzled on her wet, shiny scales and soon she felt the tingle of metamorphosis deep in her lower half.

Her kind had sent scouts to the surface to study human science for centuries, and in so doing they had learned a lot about their own kind. They had learned, for example, that their kind lacked the required biological mechanism or trigger to produce males. So, it was the duty of every maiden of their species to venture to the surface and get impregnated at least once in her life.

Some were prolific and undiscriminating about their surface dwelling partners. Others, like Aria, wanted good, strong pedigrees to produce exceptional offspring.

Captain Bloodwake, though thus far uncooperative, offered precisely what Aria wanted.

She stretched her long legs, arching her back and feeling her spine adjust to the pull of gravity without buoyancy. Carefully, she got to her feet. It had been easier on the ship where the handsy crew was more than happy to carry her to the bed and deposit her for their captain. Now she would have to put her ancient instincts to the test.

With her hands out she kept her center of gravity low and wobbled for a moment, her inexperienced inner ear sending a mess of unintelligible commands through parts of her brain that normally didn't have to worry about things like falling. After a moment of balancing with her knees bent, she straightened them, extending her spine until she was upright. The ground seemed so far away, but if she was going to fall, it would be best to fall in sand.

Tentatively, she took a shaky step. Then another. She stumbled, caught herself, and staggered forward. Soon she was walking almost naturally, or so she hoped. Nearby she knew there was a shack where an old woman had pinned up some clothing to dry. She made her way there and snuck away with an unflattering dress that was a little too big. She wasn't worried though. Her statuesque figure had already failed to seduce him. This time she would charm him into submission.

She wandered onto the cobblestone streets of the fishing village keeping her eyes peeled for her target. The smell of fish swirled through her nostrils and over her tongue with the power of distant memories. The sights and sounds were almost overwhelming. Everywhere she looked there were bright patterns, noisy conversations, and the constant rush of wind and waves crashing against the nearby shore. It was like a shallow tropical reef when the water is crystal clear and all the sunlight dances in the white sand. Bright, busy, and beautiful.

She found some of the pirate crew stumbling out of a tavern, reeking of cheap rum. The smell was nauseating and it made her head spin. She was sure the captain would be inside.

It took her eyes a moment to adjust, but eventually she found him at the back of the establishment, surrounded by prostitutes and admirers. She furrowed her brow and took a deep breath, steeling herself.

His eyes widened with recognition as she marched up to the table trying to smile but barely managing not to sneer in disgust at his company. "Hello captain," she barked. "I'm Aria."

He leaned back tensely and stared at her. To her satisfaction, his eyes looked her over from head to toe once, then settled on her gorgeous face. "Didn't I dump you overboard?" he asked. "You didn't come up. I assumed you'd drowned."

"Well I didn't drown. Now, do you want to make a baby?" She extended her hand, forcing a smile through her clenched jaw.

He cocked his head at her, puzzled and perhaps a bit concerned. She tried to relax her face so the smile would overpower her disgust.

The captain suddenly exploded in a fit of laughter. He looked to some of the crewmates at his table. "What is this?" he asked through tears of laughter. "Did one of you put the poor girl up to this?" He doubled over, his eyes clenched closed while he pounded a fist on the table.

Aria waited a minute, but the captain's laughter did not subside. He was still bellowing his amusement as she slowly wandered back out onto the streets in a daze.

***

"You introduced yourself?" Belina asked, choking back a chuckle.

"Yeah, now he knows who I am. I don't understand why he doesn't want to lay with me. I'm incredibly attractive!"

Belina's whole body twitched and she covered her mouth, but a tiny snort of laughter managed to slip out.

"Why is this so funny to you?" Aria demanded.

Her sister didn't dare answer. Her shoulders shook as the laughter boiled and bubbled up inside. She looked away, squinting, and began rolling and twisting in the water as her defenses fell and she succumbed to the impulse to laugh.

"Ugh!" Aria roared. She pumped her tail furiously and raced away to a quiet cave where she could think.

***

Aria took a deep breath and looked down at her hands just below the table. She held them clasped in her lap, resting gently on the fine silk dress she'd stolen. She wiggled her toes uncomfortably in the shoes, wondering how people could put up with cramming their feet into such a confined space all day. She watched the candle's flame flicker and roll with the ship as it gently rocked in the sea.

Somehow she knew this was her last chance, but she knew it had to be more than just a quest for his seed. Deep in her thinking cave she had realized that what he wanted and what she really wanted weren't all that different.

Her heart jumped at the sound of the cabin door opening. She stood quickly, knocking silverware to the ground as she clumsily bumped the table with her thigh.

"Alright, what is this?" the captain called out into the night.

The deckhands were silent but she heard the first mate's trembling voice respond. "She wanted one more opportunity to speak with you, over dinner captain."

Quickly she bent over and retrieved the fallen utensils, whacking her head on the edge of the table on her way back up. She was still holding the bruise when the captain looked at her, his face twisted between doubt and pity.

"Fine," he grumbled, "but only because I'm too hungry to argue."

He approached the nearly empty table as the first mate called out to the cook to bring the first course.

"I'm Ar..."

"I know," he interjected. "You're Aria. We've met." He dutifully seated her, pushing her chair in with precisely the kind of gentle power that she expected from him.

"I just want to apologize," she began bashfully. "I was... a bit too forward before." She rubbed the bruise on her skull and winced.

He sat and raised his eyebrows before scooting in. "Indeed."

"I thought about it, and realized that I wasn't being true to what I really wanted," she offered.

"And what, pray tell, do you really want?" he asked dubiously, tucking his napkin into his collar.

She smiled sheepishly. "A friend."

He looked up at her, disarmed.

***

"And that," Jim said, looking lovingly at Aria, "is how I met your mother."

Cecilia smiled and clapped, rolling around in her bed. "I love that story!" she sang.

"Come now," Aria said. "You need to settle down. It's time for bed."

"Aw, but can't you tell me just a little more? What about the wedding? And what happened to Auntie Belina? And what about..."

Aria laughed. "We will tell you all of those stories another time."

Cecilia pouted but allowed her mother to tuck her in and kiss her gently on the forehead.

"Goodnight button," Jim said, blowing out the candle.

"Goodnight daddy," she sighed.