There was a kind of box with steps by the side of the boat. Jake climbed it and jumped down onto the deck. "Come on, might as well get started."
John scowled. "What's with the big rush to die? If it's all the same with you, I'd like to take my time."
Crystal sighed and put her foot on the bottom step. "Nobody's going to die. Come on. Jake's right. We might as well get this over with."
With a reluctance Crystal tried not to show, she led them all up the steps and onto the boat. The boat itself was made of Ash, and the inside was surprisingly sparse. There were sea chests to sit upon, and oars to row, but not much else. It was like the inside of a giant row boat, and much narrower than she would have guessed for a boat of this size. But considering she had maneuver two oars, that was just as well. Looking up, she saw the others were also taking in their strange new surroundings. Stu was holding onto one of two green lanterns and seemed to be peering inside.
"What lights these? I can't smell any oil."
"They are made of a special night rock. Inside each rock is a bug. The bug is the source of the light that you see."
"Like Kryptonite?" John said. "Awesome."
"No, like fireflies, you idiot," Nic said. "It's a chemical reaction, look up bio-luminescence next time you're on the Internet."
"Whatever that is." Jake shrugged his shoulders. "Anyway, I suggest we spread out evenly along the length of the boat - that should give us the best control. I'll sit here up at the back, so I can see what you're all doing and spot if there's a problem."
As he suggested, they all spread out on every other seat. The boat was so narrow, it was difficult to pass each other, and Crystal felt the hull wobble underneath her as Nic squeezed past towards the stern. "Oops, sorry."
Crystal herself took the center oars, and John and Stu positioned themselves ahead of her, with John just beneath the dragon's head. There was a small receptacle down by the gunwale, and she stood the base of her torch in it, tilting the head slightly away so it didn't come near her clothes. She saw the others do pretty much the same thing after she'd done it. Then the night filled with the sound of wooden oars being picked up, and judging by the banging, they were all handling them none too well.
"These suckers are heavy," Nic said. "I thought they'd be lighter."
"You think you'll be able to manage them?" Crystal picked up her own oars. Nic was right. She had doubts she could row them herself.
"Well, there's only one way to find out," Nic said, setting hers in place on the handle.
As soon as everyone was seated, Jake jumped up and climbed off the boat.
"Where do you think you're going?" John asked.
"I'm just going to untie the moorings, or we'll be going nowhere," Jake replied.
"Ah. I thought you might be abandoning ship."
"Never," he said, looking wounded by the accusation.
Crystal heard Jake clump about on the pier, then a hop, skip and a jump later, he was back on board with them. How perky he seems now. And how odd. I wonder why Jake isn't as afraid as the rest of us? Stu was seated just ahead of her. He looked back and gave her a reassuring smile.
"Are you ready?" Stu asked.
"As I'll ever be." Crystal smiled back and hoped she looked more confident than she felt. She tried not to think of the vast black waters that would soon surround them, not to mention Ursula, who might be watching them even now.
Jake took his own oar and pushed hard against the pier, pushing them out to sea. As soon as there was room enough to dip the oars, he sat down in his seat, and the others all turned to face forward, and took up their oars. There was a loud splash as all oars hit the water at once.
"Wait! Okay John and Stu keep your oars up for now. Nic and Crystal, row backwards, we need to turn this nose seaward. I've got the tiller here at the back and I'll steer."
"Alright." Easier said than done. For a minute or two the girls struggled, and there was much frustration as the force of the waves and their own ineptitude pushed them into the sides of the moored vessels.
"Are you trying to sink us?" John asked.
"Like you could do any better," Nic replied tartly.
John got up and looked like he was going to take her seat, but the untied boat wobbled violently, and they had to hold on for dear life.
"Sit down you numbskull or you'll sink us before we're out of the dock," Stu said.
Exasperated, John threw his hands in the air but sat down again without answering.
It was a rough beginning, but after a minute or so they fell into a rhythm, and ever so slowly, the boat swung round and headed out to sea.
"Excellent. Now guys, pick up your oars and row. We're heading out to the heart of the bay, which is straight ahead."
Again, Stu and John spent a moment grappling with their oars, but they too soon fell into a steady rhythm. After a little swaying and much rocking, they were soon on course for the center of the bay.
Once the rowers coordinated, the rowing became much easier, though Crystal felt the friction against her thumbs and wondered how long it would be before more blisters formed on her skin.
"Can't we just lower the sail?" Nic asked.
Jake raised his hand. "Sorry, no wind."
They all groaned.
As they slipped through the quiet water, she looked back to the shore which was growing ever more distant. What are we doing here? Where are we going? How the hell did we end up in this boat? How are we gonna grapple a sea monster if we can barely stay afloat? The more she thought about it, the more it seemed this entire mission was insane. But then hadn't everything been nuts since they came through the changing room?
A few feet back, Jake was helping them steer toward possible death. Jake. Or Jake's doppelganger. Back home she would have done anything to be with him. But now, what do I feel? Odd. Nothing. Maybe because he's not real. And maybe that's why he's not afraid of our mission. It's not like he'd really die. Not like us.
She thought about the real Jake. The passion she had felt just a few days back had changed as swiftly as the color of her dress. Her heart no longer jumped when she thought of him. But where have those feelings gone?
Crystal looked at Stu's back as he rowed diligently ahead of her. Every now and then he would look back on her and smile, checking she was okay. Those feelings of warmth and desire were still inside her, and in this strange world, they had shirked daydreams and clung to reality. Stu was real, and her burgeoning feelings for him were true enough. If they ever made it safely home....
Ursula
In about half an hour they reached the middle of the bay.
"Okay, ease up," Jake said. No one had to be told twice. "Pull your oars inside the boat."
Everything ached, Crystal's shoulders, hands, even her feet where she pushed against the boards to keep balance. Judging by the strained rowing motion of the others, she guessed they all felt the same pain she did.
Wherever Ursula was, Crystal figured she had to be deaf if she didn't know they were there already––they all made such a clatter. When the oars were secured, they all fell forward and rested on them, giving tired arms a chance to stretch. Crystal felt a tingle and throb. Looking down, she could see the redness of her thumbs, even in the flickering torchlight, and her skin felt hot and painful. Blisters. I knew it.
As they drifted a little, the boat turned so they could see all the way across to the shore. Only a line of tiny faint green dots betrayed its location, for everything was shrouded in complete darkness. Not even the moon had shed enough light to help them on their way, hidden as it was behind the clouds.
"Now what?" asked John.
"Now we wait."
"What for?"
"For her to come to us." Jake retrieved his torch and waved it slowly in the air, signaling their position to anyone or anything that cared to look.
While they were concentrating on rowing, there had been little sense of fear or danger. But now, drifting silently through the calm waters, so far from s
hore, a horrible sense of dread fell upon them all. The waters became something more than what they were a moment ago. They were full of menace. The last time they had been threatened by water was at the sulfur caverns. What if this was worse than that? Out there on the water Crystal was terrified, and she didn't mind who knew it.
A minute passed. And then another. And another. Nothing happened. There was no sound other than the gentle lapping of the waves against the hull of the ship.
"This waiting sucks," Stu said in little more than a whisper.
"What if she doesn't come?" Nic asked. “What would we tell Ella? What do you think she would do to us if we don’t find the dagger?”
"Oh, she will come, and when you least expect it," Jake said.
"How can you be so sure?" Crystal asked.
"Legend."
"Naturally," Crystal sighed.
Crystal and the others all looked back, and though Jake still waved his torch in one hand, he had his sword drawn and ready in the other. They all withdrew their weapons. Crystal felt sick. She had hoped never to use this dagger. But if she had to protect her friends, use it she would.
A hush fell over them all.
"Do you have any suggestions on how to defeat her?" Crystal asked, desperate to break the silence.
"No."
"How many have tried?" Nic asked.
"Hundreds. There's a lantern on the pier for everyone who died." They all turned and looked at the long line of green lights back on the shore.
"Great," John said.
"Their bodies were lost at sea; some may still be lying at the bottom even now."
"Too much glum information, Jake," Stu said. "Do you have any information we can actually use?"
"Sorry, no. No one has ever survived to tell us of her weaknesses - if she has any."
"How do we know she even exists then?" Nic asked. “Maybe she’s just some giant octopus or squid or something?”
"Legend."
"Your legends suck," Stu said.
"Plus, the dead bodies," Jake added.
"Oh yeah, right."
"Hush," Crystal said. "Listen!"
"I can't hear a thing," John said, after a few seconds.
Crystal held up her palm. "Be quiet! There!"
It was faint at first, and she doubted her own ears. But then there it was again. At the same time, the night clouds seemed to open, just a fraction, to reveal the largest moon Crystal had ever seen. It hung low on the horizon and seemed just inches from the surface of the sea. Its pale light lit a dazzling line directly to their boat. Looking over the side, Crystal imagined she saw small dark shapes, darting about just under the surface of the water.
There it is. She heard a woman's voice. Soft and low, it sounded so wistful and melancholy, and her heart ached to hear more of it. The others must have heard it too, for they all grabbed the sides of the boat and stared hard at the water.
While the others looked overboard, she heard the voice again. Its misery touched the heart, and she felt an overwhelming desire to talk to it.
"Crystaaal. Why are you heeere?"
Crystal looked over the side of the boat and scoured the surface of the water. But all she could see was her own reflection in the shimmering water. "Where are you? We have come to find you, Ursula."
"Fiiiind me? But I do not want to be fooooooound. Is it too much to ask to be left alooooone?"
"I would if I could, but Queen Ella sent us. We had to come."
"Aaaaah. So, you seeeek the crown she wears. It is heavier than it seeeeeeems."
"No, that's not true," Crystal replied. "I don't want it. None of us do. But we were ordered to come find you.”
"Reeeeeeally. Then you really don't know why you're heeeeeeere."
"I don't understand." Crystal looked back at the others, wondering why they weren't listening. Like her, they were also looking over the edge of the boat, but they all appeared to be in individual fogs, as if entranced.
"Crystaaaaal, Crystaaaaal. You are here because your heart is full of soooorrow. There are demons in you, Crystaaaal. Monsters even. Monsters that needed to be set freeeee."
"Really! You're talking nonsense."
"Aaaaam I? Isn't it true you feel like no one loves yooooooou? And don't you feel all abandoned and aloooone?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. Where are you? Why don't you show yourself?"
She heard a cold laugh. "All in good time. But tell me, Crystaaaal––are you not envious of your friends?"
"What?"
"Look into your heart, Crystaaal," Ursula said. "Think about Ellaaa, think about Nic. Don't you sometimes wonder why they are loooved, and you are noooot?"
"That is rubbish," Crystal scoffed.
“Iiiis it? Oh. Have you forgotten how you felt when Jaaake led Ella to the dance flooor?"
"That was nothing."
"The pain was real to yoooou. And before that, when she was crowned homecoming queen. Did you not turn away from your friend? Did you not shun her? Because you were jealoussss."
"That's not true. She turned her back on me."
"I am not wroooong."
"Stop it!"
"Are you not angry with your moooother?"
No."
"Your faaather...?"
"No!"
"But he left you."
"That's a lie! He didn't leave me."
"He left all of you behind...."
"Don't say it!" Crystal cried.
"He left your mother and your sister––and you––all alone––and for whaaaaat?"
"Enough! Stop this. You are trying to trick me, I know it."
"Noooooo, I am but a mirror of the truuuth. Looook at me, look at my faaaace. My face is your faaace." Crystal looked, but like before, all she could see was her own face, mirrored on the surface of the sea.
Crystal covered her face with her hands. "No, it's a lie. He loved me. It wasn't my fault. He loved me."
"Did heeeee?"
Crystal's eyes were full of tears. "He did––he l-l-loved me." The words caught in her throat. "He just didn't love me enoooough."
"I'm sorry, Crystaaaal," Ursula said. "I know it huuuurts.... Look at me, Crystaaal. I am right here. Look over the side. My face will bring you peeeace."
Carefully, Crystal gripped the edge of the boat. She wiped the last tears from her eyes, and after taking a deep breath, looked down into the cold, black waters.
At first, she could see nothing in the dark, though the sea seemed a little more sluggish than usual. And then she saw a clump of seaweed, which looked black like licorice. Slowly, it began to rise up, out from the deep, and she saw a head. Ursula slithered to the side of the Viking boat and put her hands on the hull, pulling herself slowly out of the water, and raising her face up toward Crystal. Her eyes glowed green like the lanterns along the shore, and she had such a melancholy expression, and Crystal inexplicably felt the urge to pull her on board and to comfort her.
Ursula was black from head to toe. The foul oil covered every inch of her naked body, and even now oozed out of her very pores, as if she'd just been dunked in a vat of the stuff. Around her neck, Crystal saw the glimmer of something blue, and for a second, she was reminded of their mission.
"Look at my faaaaaace," Ursula coaxed, her enticing voice making Crystal forget what she was there to do. "Do you not recognize meeee?"
Crystal stared at her features, but it was hard to make her out in the dark. There was... something....
She shook her head. "No––you are trying to trick me. I am not a fool."
Ursula pushed away from the boat and swam in a small circle. She scaled the side of the hull again and sighed. "You will not gaze on my face? Are you afraid? I am not Medusa you knoooow. You will not turn to stooooone."
"It's not that I'm afraid to look at you. I just don't trust you."
"Loook at meeeee. I can help yoooou."
Crystal felt some power draw her gaze down toward the floating mermaid. Ursula couldn't climb f
ully out of the water, but she sat high in it, so much so Crystal could see her mermaid's tail thrashing gently behind her. "Come, Crystaaal, loook at meeeee," Ursula coaxed.
Crystal couldn't help herself. Ursula's face was mere inches from her own, and Crystal's eyes opened wide with horror as she recognized her own features beneath the slick oil. "I don't understand why...."
"You silly giiirl. Haven't you figured it out yet? Everything that happens here is happening because of youuuu. We are all objects of your subconsciousssss. Everything that has happened here was stolen from your memoryyyyyy."
"No."
"Yeees. You belong in Caduuuucus. Somnia is yours for the taaaaking. None of the others could ever rule here, for it is your world, and yours alooooone."
"That's where you're wrong! I don't want to rule here! None of us do!"
"You know that's not truuuue. Each of them to some degree cherishes the same desire in their heaaart. Only you know the truth––and that it can never be theirs. Unless you accept your destiny, they will all die heeeerrre...."
"No! That's not true!"
"I assure you, Crystaaaal––it is truuuue! Take my hand and be the friend you should have beeeeen, all along. Come with me.... only you can save them.... All you have to do is slide out of the booooooat….”
Once again Crystal's eyes filled with tears. It really was all her fault. Everything. All of this. They were all going to die and she had led them here.
Ursula raised an oil-coated hand to her, and Crystal felt compelled to take it. The time for illusion was over. It was time to face reality. She stretched her hand down toward the dark mermaid. I cannot let my friends die....
Their fingers almost connected... just a little further...
"Come to me Crystaaaal and save them aaaaall."
A sudden flash of light illuminated the face of the thing in the waters. It no longer looked like Crystal. In the new harsh light, the face degenerated to something diseased and decayed. Ursula's scaly skin hung loose from her face, and those bright green eyes reflected nothing but hatred. Her lips were thick like a fish's and her needle teeth were as long as fingers.
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