I did this story for my November Writing Challenge and I decided to post it here as a one shot as well. I hope you enjoy it. It's a bit different from what I usualy write :)

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There are many stories about us. One more gruesome than the other. They are all true. And at the same time they are all wrong.

It’s funny really how humans justify their own actions, but when another creature acts after its own nature, it becomes repulsive, cruel, horrific.

And they’re wrong. What we do is not an act of cruelty, it’s an act of love too. 
Does it surprise you that creatures like us can fall in love too? 

I remember the day I met him. He was beautiful for a human. At least I thought so. I have watched many humans in my life. They stroll the forests that surround our lakes and rivers. I envy them. They seem so content with their lives, however short they are. I watched as they laughed and made love. 
In the few years they have, they live their lives to the fullest.
I wanted that too. So I kept watching them and one day I edged closer than I had ever dared. And then they noticed me.
First they were taken in by my appearance. I know how mesmerizing my blue mane is for humans. But they also know the stories. And I watched as one of them held back his friends as they tried to approach me. They said some things, but I could not hear their words. It was clear to me though that they were frightened. And they ran.

It made me feel so terribly lonely. I hung my head and wailed.

I was so sure they had all left that I did not notice him at first. He was young. Perhaps on a quarter of his human years. 
As I said, he was handsome for a human. 
And he was studying me carefully. His eyes were kind and curious and I took a step closer.

He took a step back and I stopped, waiting. I did not want to scare him away like the others. I wanted to watch him a little longer. Maybe finally I could learn something more about humans. Why they enjoyed life so fully. Was it because of their mortality?

He muttered something then as he sat down, and again I could not hear his words. I regretted that.

After what seemed like hours, he stood up and I ran.

I was certain I would never see him again. 

But he came back to the forest, this time on his own and he sat but the water edge for hours. I was hiding below the surface, listening and watching. Wondering.

He came again the next day. And the day after. On the third day he had an instrument with him and he played a sweet, sad melody.

The fourth day I was waiting. This time I was wearing my disguise of a human girl.

He startled when he noticed me on a rock near the river bank, but then he smiled and came closer. It was too far for my liking, but I suppose he was cautious.

And then he spoke. His voice was even more beautiful than I remembered.

“Is it you?” 
I nodded. No matter what form I am in, I can not speak the human language, though I can understand it better in this form.

“What is your name?” he asked. 
But I was unable to tell him. My name, my true name, is impossible to pronounce in human tongue. And even if I could speak it, I would not. It would give him power over me and that was something I could not let happen.
“Don’t be frightened,” he said when he noticed my hesitation. I shook my head. It was strange to hear him say those words when it should be him that was afraid. Did he not know what I was? Did he not care? 
“I have heard about your kind,” he spoke, “but I had never encountered one such as you. I am honored.”
A small smile appeared on my lips then. Who can withstand a compliment? Aside from that, I am not ashamed to admit that I am quite vain. It is embedded in my blood. It comes from the notion that we, my race, can seduce any man. 
But for some reason I did not want to seduce this particular man. Not yet. I did not understand this feeling, but I wanted to find out more about him.

I sat there, waiting, afraid hat if I moved, he too would run away like the others had done. Somehow I knew it would make me sad.

After a while, he settled down against a tree, tilting his head at me. “I can not believe the stories to be true. You are not what I believed you would be. So far you have not made any attempt to drown me.”
I flinched at his last words. He must have noticed, because he held up his hands. “I am sorry. I did not mean to hurt your feelings.” He smiled. “You are very lovely, did you know?” 
Of course I knew. I know what human men enjoy looking at. I know exactly how to hypnotize him, make him long for me.

Instead, it seemed the other way around this time. I was mesmerized by him. I wanted him to play that melody again. I wanted to know why he was not afraid of me when all his friends had warned him what I was. I wanted to know why he kept coming back.
“Can you not speak?” he asked curiously and I shook my head.
There was sadness in his eyes and he nodded. He took out his instrument, a flute I think it is called. He smiled when he found me watching it. “Do you like music?” 
I liked his music. I nodded and offered a smile. He started playing.

It was the same sad melody he had played before and my heart bled for him. What could have happened to him that he felt the need to produce such sounds?

Then the music stopped and I opened my eyes, unaware that I had closed them. He was watching me curiously. “You are crying. Are you crying for me?” he asked. 
I flinched again.

“Do not weep for me,” he whispered. And I knew in that instant that I loved him. I wanted to ease his sorrow, no mater what had caused it.

Night fell and he stood up, startling me. “I should go,” he said quietly and I nodded. He should. There were other creatures in the forest that were crueler than me. “I will be back,” he promised, “on the morrow. Will you promise you’ll be here?”
And I nodded, not knowing what else to do. I wanted to see him again, hear his music again.

I was there that morning, had been there even before the cracks of dawn.

When he arrived I could see the sadness in his eyes again. It had deepened over night. 
“Can I ask you a question?” he asked quietly and after a moment of contemplating, I nodded. “What is it like to drown?” 
The question took me off guard. I did not know the answer. I am a creature of the water, I do not drown. 
“Please,” he said, “I know your kind drowns the people you lure in. What is it like for them? Do they feel pain? Are the already dead when they reach the water?”

I cast my eyes down. How could I ever answer that question? I did not know. I had never considered what it was like for our victims. It had never mattered before. But for him, I wish I knew the answer. I felt that there was a deeper reason behind his question. Perhaps it was the reason for his sadness. 
“Please,” he whispered, “I must know. Does it hurt to drown?” 
I looked at him sadly. He must have seen it in my eyes, that I would not answer his question. Could not answer.

He sighed. “Why?” he asked, “why have you not tried to drown me? The gods must be playing some cruel trick on me.”
His words stunned me. He wanted  to be drowned? By one such as me?

There were tears in his eyes now. “For years I have sought for someone like you. Someone that could bring me back to her. And I thought… when I saw you in the forest that day… I thought my prayers had been answered. But here we are. And I am still alive. Why? Why have you not taken me?” 
His words hurt me. I had believed he had come to see me. That he wanted me. But his heart belonged to someone else. And how not? After all, I was not human. I was a fowl creature that lured men to their death. If I had ever had a heart, it was surely broken now. Men can be cruel in their own way. And the cruelest part was that he wasn’t even aware of it. 
After all, who would ever believe that a creature like me was capable of love?

I understood that is beloved had drowned. She had taken her own life, though I did not know why. 
And despite his unknown cruelty, I still wanted to comfort him, ease his suffering. I eased close and for a moment I saw his eyes widen. 
I changed shape before his eyes, reading his mind, knowing what it was he most wanted to see.
Her.

And he kissed me.

It was the first time I had been kissed by a human and it confirmed what I had already known. Humans lived with a passion that shone more brightly than that of any other creature I had ever met.

I knew it would not harm him. My ability only works when I’m wearing my true form. But I wanted this. Wanted it more than I had ever wanted anything. I wanted to know what it was like to be loved by this man. In the short time I had known him, his soul had embedded itself into mine. 
If I would never see him again, I wanted to have at least this, this piece of humanity that I had never understood. 

His lips trembled against mine and he looked at me with sad eyes. He must have known, for his eyes held regret too. His fingers trailed my lips and I closed my eyes. “I am sorry,” he whispered and I looked at him confused as he sat back. “I did not realize. I am sorry. I did not mean to hurt you.”
I shook my head confused.

He closed his eyes. “You care for me? Is that it? Is that why you have not taken me yet?”
I looked away, surprised and embarrassed at the same time at his perception. He sighed. “Forgive me. I had only heard the stories. I thought you were cruel beings without conscience and when you did not claim me, I believed it was my punishment for not being able to save her. But I was wrong, wasn’t I? You care for me. I had seen it before.. in your eyes…” I glanced at him and he looked down. “I wish we had met in some other time,” he said.
I closed my eyes. I could not bare the grieve in his voice. There was only one ting I could do. And it would be both a kindness and a cruelty. 
I heard his gasp when he saw me changing form and I could not resist opening my eyes.
He stared at me in wonder. I knew how beautiful I was and it felt good to notice I could still captivate him even if his heart was not mine. 
I stayed still as he approached me, letting his eyes move over me in adoration, water dripping from my mane. 
He reached out a hand towards me, but paused, hesitating. “You truly are beautiful, you know,” he said. He took a step closer and I forced myself to stay still. “Will you take me then?” he asked and I nodded my head, waiting for his response.

Even his tears were beautiful.

“Thank you,” he whispered and patted my neck. 
He wouldn’t thank me if he knew the truth.

Immediately my skin pulled on his hand as I knew it would. Once he touched me, he’d be unable to ever let go. He wouldn’t even want to. Such was the hypnotic effect of my being. 
I stayed still as he mounted my back and clung to me. A sweet sensation moved through me. He would be mine now.

If he had known more about my kind, would he still have come looking for one like me? 
I did not know. But I knew that I could drown him a thousand times over and he would never be reunited with his beloved. 
She had taken her own life.
I had taken his. 
He was mine now.

He would get his wish to drown. But in return I would get him.

 A cruelty and a kindness.

I never said the stories were completely wrong.

With the man on my back, I slowly walked into the water.