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The tip of the cutlass was icy to the touch. Firmly pressed into her shoulder blade, the young woman felt its sharp edge dig into her soft skin. She winced, defeated, dejected, but without remorse. Stowing away on their vessel took her far away from the life she despised, but she was reckless, sloppy, exposing her presence aboard the ship for a measly scrap of food. Within minutes, the whole crew was hunting her, and she was ousted, made to walk the plank in the dead of night. 

"Captain, are we sure about this?" A crewman asked.

"Aye, Mr. Thomson. Stowaways must be made examples of."

With no hesitation, the Captain extended his arm and pushed the cutlass into the stowaway's back. Reflexively, she moved to escape the stabbing pain, stepping off into the darkness of the frigid, churning sea. She floundered against the waves, lit only the heavenly bodies above and the faint lantern light of the galleon that faded and faded into the night. She kicked and sputtered, treading water for as long as she could, but with no land for miles, the young woman knew she was dead in the water. She tread until her arms and legs gave out and she felt her consciousness drift. 

"Awfully far from home, aren't you?" A voluminous voice spoke, rousing the stowaway from her exhausted sleep. Curiously, she lay flat on her back, warm water rushing underneath her as though she were on a shallow beach, but that couldn't be possible. How had she made landfall, how had she not drowned? Cautiously, the young woman stood, the earth beneath her rocking with the waves as she scanned for any sign of who called to her. 

"Easy now, little thing." The powerful voice said from behind.

"You kicked for a good few hours last night, I'm impressed you can stand." 

The stowaway spun on her heel, expecting to confront a person of similar stature, but what she saw instead was a visage far larger than herself. Black, beady eyes peered down at the young woman, affixed to a creature so large she realized she had been standing on its chest, mistaking it for solid ground. The creature, pale green and scaly, beamed a gentle smile, showing rows of razor teeth that gleamed in the sunlight. It's face was alien in nature, but beautiful in an ethereal, otherworldly way and as the two locked eyes, the stowaway recalled tales from her youth of merfolk, larger than any ship, that prowled the ocean's depths.

There was silence for a moment when the young woman bolted, sprinting over one of the creatures soft, pert breasts as she dove back into the merciless sea. Reflexively, a massive arm surfaced from the waves and a webbed, clawed hand caught the stowaway before she could escape. 

"Am I such bad company that you'd rather swim?" The massive mermaid asked, bringing the young woman closer to her face for a quizzical closer look. The stowaway said nothing in return. 

"I promise you, I'm not going to eat you." The mermaid said. 

"I met up with some lovely sailors that already treated me to breakfast!"

The mermaid chuckled to herself, but the young woman stared back with wide-eyed disbelief.

"Ahem. Well, I can see how that joke might be in poor taste." The massive creature paused.

"But the sailors certainly weren't."

The mermaid laughed to itself again. Amidst the giggling, the stowaway found herself moving in the firm-yet-gentle grip of the creature as it settled its hands on its chest, the massive extremities blanketing the incredulous young woman. She could not move, pinned beneath the clawed hands and the blubbery, warm flesh of the titanic mermaid's chest, held like some beloved keepsake against the monster's heart. She wanted to panic, but curiously, the stowaway felt at ease in her prison, cradled by a comforting hug. Gently, she could feel the pulse of the mermaid's heart against her body, it's slow soothing rhythms easing her mind. 

Together, the two drifted in the warm sun for a few more hours, with the creature occasionally lifting its hands to peak at its tiny passenger, flashing a contented smile each time they made eye contact. Eventually, the sun set and land was within sight. Under cover of darkness, the mermaid approached the shore and safely returned the stowaway to dry land. And then, with nothing but a wink to say goodbye, the massive creature dove into the depths, never to be seen again. 

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