by Selena Kitt
As she swam to the Sea Witch’s cave, Ariana searched her mind for something to offer. All the treasures she had were at the palace, and she had no way to retrieve them. The only item she had that the Sea Witch might find of value was a beautiful shell that had belonged to her mother. Ariana didn’t want to give it up, but if it meant she could go to the human world and find the man who had taken over her thoughts, she would do it.
At the Sea Witch’s cave, two large sharks met her, swimming back and forth in front of the entrance, preventing any but the bravest from going inside. Ariana swallowed her fear and swam directly toward them, singing as she went. To her surprise, they allowed her to pass.
The Sea Witch waited just inside. “Greetings, Princess,” she said. “I have been expecting you.”
Surprised, Ariana asked softly, “Then you know why I’m here?”
“Indeed,” the old woman said, as though the question were frivolous. “You wish to be a human, one of those poor unfortunates who never know the joy of the sea, who are forced to walk about on two spindly sticks rather than gliding effortlessly through the water. Why do you wish this, Princess?”
“I visited the surface last night during my birthday ball,” Ariana replied. “I encountered one of them, a man who had fallen from a boat. He was beautiful, and I wish to find him again, for I can’t stop thinking about him.”
“It is unlikely you would be able to find him,” the Sea Witch warned. “The city which you saw contains thousands of humans. Most of them do not even know each other, and you know nothing of this man save what he looks like. How would you locate him?”
“If you can make me human, you can give me something that would enable me to find him,” Ariana argued. “Please. I can’t return to the palace; my father wishes to marry me off, and the man he has chosen is, in my mind, far from suitable. I want to marry for love, and I love the human I saved last night.”
The Sea Witch regarded her as one might look at a foolish child. “Love does not develop as quickly as that. It is cultivated over time. However, you are clearly infatuated with the man, and therefore I will help you. I can transform you into a human woman, and I can aid you in finding this man. However, once you find him, you must attract him on your own. You must gain his love. Should you be unable to do so, you will die in human form, and will never see your home again. Are you willing to give this up for a man you have seen only once?”
Ariana didn’t give herself a chance to hesitate. “I would give up anything for him. If I die, at least I’ll have experienced humanity. And maybe I will gain his love.”
The Sea Witch nodded. “Then first I must have your payment.”
“I haven’t much to offer. Only this shell.” Ariana held up the shell that had been her mother’s. “It is dear to me, but I will give it up for this opportunity.”
“Keep your bauble,” the Sea Witch replied scornfully. “I wish something that is more a part of you. I will take your voice.”
Shocked, Ariana couldn’t answer for a moment. She had known the price would be high, but she could barely conceive of this. “My voice?” she stammered finally. “But without that, how can I speak to the young man? How will I get him to love me if I cannot talk to him?”
“Women have many ways to attract men,” the Sea Witch replied, her tone leaving no doubt as to her meaning. “Your form, your movements, the swing of your hair, all these things will draw the man to you if you use them properly. Your eyes speak volumes, Princess, without you uttering a sound. You will find a way. Your voice is the payment I require. Will you give it?”
What choice did she have? Return to her normal life and risk being married off to a man she despised, or give the Sea Witch what she demanded and chance finding true love. “I will,” she said quietly.
Those were the last words Ariana ever uttered. The moment she gave her agreement, the Sea Witch forced her mouth against Ariana’s, as Havian had done. The witch’s slimy tongue pushed into Ariana’s mouth, and Ariana felt something give way and flow into the witch. She wanted to vomit from the sensation of the alien tongue in her mouth, but mercifully, the witch released her before that occurred. “Open your mouth, Princess,” the witch ordered. “Try to speak.”
Ariana tried to say something, but no sound came out save her breath. She couldn’t say a word.
“Wonderful!” the Sea Witch exclaimed. “You have paid your price, Princess, and now I will keep my end of the bargain.” She took a vial of foul-looking, smoky stuff from a shelf and held it out to Ariana. “Swim to the surface, then drink this. Your tail will split in two and become those ‘legs’ of which humans are so proud. You must leave the water within moments of your transformation, or you will drown, for you may be able to swim as a mermaid but you will not have the skill as a human. There will be pain, Princess, make no mistake about that. With each step you take on those legs of yours, it will feel as though you are being stabbed in the soles of your feet. And there may come a time after you find your man when you will feel a sharper pain and will bleed. You have seven days to win his love or you will die, and will turn to sea foam as do all merfolk. Any questions?” She waited a moment, but of course Ariana said nothing. The witch laughed. “Of course, if you had questions you could not tell me. One more thing I will give you.”
She took a strip of skin—Ariana tried not to think about what that skin might have come from—and on it wrote with a quill and ink. Handing this to Ariana along with the vial, she said, “You cannot tell your love your name, but you are being brave and deserve to be known by your true name. That is what that skin says. Ariana. Study it and perhaps you will learn to write the human language so that in time, if there is time, you might communicate with him.”
Ariana bowed her head to show her thanks to the witch and left the cave. The sharks did not hinder her; they were there only to prevent people from entering, not from leaving. Ariana swam rapidly toward the surface, hoping she would not encounter any other merfolk. But her passage went unnoticed, and she arrived at the surface within minutes.
The Sea Witch had told her she would need to leave the water immediately after taking the potion, so Ariana swam as close to land as she could without being seen before she uncorked the vial. A foul smell emanated from it, and she almost lost her nerve. But this was her one chance to find her love, her one chance to escape the life her father had planned for her. Ariana took a deep breath, then swallowed the contents of the vial.
The effects were immediate. Her tail tore in two; she almost passed out from the excruciating pain, though mercifully it didn’t last. Looking down through the water, Ariana saw her beautiful green-blue tail change into two legs the color of the flesh on her upper body. Between her legs was a patch of hair the color of that on her head. A strange place for it; Ariana was not quite certain of its purpose. And her mind was unable to focus enough to figure it out; although the pain had abated, she could not get used to the feeling of legs rather than tail.
Her time was running out, as well. The Sea Witch had told her she would drown if she did not get out of the water. Ariana tried to swim to the land, but could not coordinate her legs to get her there. With her arms alone, she dragged herself through the water, hoping she would be found before she sank below the waves. She couldn’t drown before she found her love.
A shout came from above. “Someone’s in the water!”
“What the hell?” another voice said. “It’s the week for drownings, I guess.”
A splash beside her and strong arms gripped her, pulling her from the sea. She turned to see the face of her rescuer and almost fainted when she recognized the young man she had saved. Clearly the Sea Witch had kept her word that she would enable Ariana to find him.
He pulled her to the edge of the water, and his friend assisted him in bringing her onto dry land. For the first time, Ariana felt something dry and solid beneath her. She almost laughed with joy at the feeling, but stopped herself. She would have been unable to laugh anyway, without a v
oice.
“She’s naked,” the man’s friend said, looking stunned.
“Yeah, well, sometimes people try to drown themselves without clothes,” the young man retorted. “Close your mouth and get your mind out of the gutter. She looks like she’s in shock.” Lowering his voice to a gentle tone, he said to Ariana, “Are you hurt? Where did you come from?”
Ariana shook her head in response to his first question, but of course could not answer the second. Even had she been able to speak, she wouldn’t have known what to say. Surely she couldn’t tell him the truth of where she was from.
“Can you talk?” the man asked.
Again Ariana shook her head. Remembering the strip of skin she still clutched in her hand, she held it out to him. “Ariana,” he read. “That’s your name?”
Ariana smiled and nodded. She loved the way her name sounded in his mouth, as though his lips and tongue were caressing it. “My name is Finn,” he said. “Are you from around here? Do you live nearby?” Ariana shook her head. “Do you have friends near here?” Finn asked.
Another head shake. “Good grief,” Finn’s friend muttered. “Apparently she just appeared out of thin air. What are you going to do with her, Finn?”
“The first thing is to get some clothes on her and get her warm.” Finn took off his shirt, revealing a broad, muscular chest. He handed the shirt to Ariana. “Put that on. Garrett, go to the truck and get my spare swim trunks. Those will work as shorts for her. When we get back to my place, I’ll call my sister and see if she has any clothes she can lend her.”
“Your place?” Garrett repeated skeptically. “You’re taking a strange girl to your place? You’re nuts! She could be a psycho or something.”
Finn looked into Ariana’s eyes. “I don’t think so. I think she’s just lost, and I want to help her. Ariana, put the shirt on.”
Ariana looked at the garment, clueless. She had seen how the shirt looked on Finn, and how he had removed it, but she didn’t know how to put it on. After a moment, Finn took it from her. “Hold up your arms,” he said. Ariana obeyed.
“Okay, either she has a head injury or she’s really stupid,” Garrett said.
“Shut up.” Finn eased the shirt over Ariana’s head, then manipulated her arms through the sleeves. He was taller than she, and the shirt hung nearly to mid-thigh on her. “That’s better,” Finn said. “Garrett, thought I asked you to get those swim trunks.”
He grinned. “I wanted one last look at her body. She’s hot, even if there is something wrong with her.”
Finn smacked him. “You want to walk home? Stop saying shit like that. Come on, Ariana. You understand what’s happening, right? You’re going to come back to my place until we figure out where you belong.”
Ariana nodded. As far as she was concerned, she belonged at Finn’s place, but she couldn’t tell him that. Perhaps she would figure out how to write enough to tell him her feelings, someday. Someday before her seven days ended.
“All right, then let’s go,” Finn said. “And don’t pay any attention to Garrett. He just doesn’t know any better.”
“I know better than to bring someone you just fished out of the harbor to my house,” Garrett countered.
“That’s because you still live with your mommy and daddy.”
Finn led Ariana to a large piece of metal. As she walked, just as the Sea Witch had said, a stabbing sensation covered the soles of her feet. It hurt, but Ariana kept her mind on Finn and barely noticed the pain.
Round rubber objects sat at the bottom of the metal object, and it had glass through which Ariana could see inside it. She rested the palm of her hand against it, feeling the warmth that the metal had soaked up from the sun. “It’s not much, but it’s mine,” Finn said. He opened one of the doors. “Get in.”
“Where am I supposed to sit?” Garrett demanded.
“You’re a pain in the ass,” Finn said. “Ariana’s small; she can sit in the middle.”
Ariana climbed into the vehicle and slid to the middle of the seat. The seat was hot beneath her thighs, painfully so. “Sorry about the seat,” Finn said. He fished a piece of cloth from behind the seat and gave it to her. “Sit on this towel. That will make it better.”
Ariana lifted her buttocks from the seat and placed the towel beneath her, then sat back down. The towel covered the unpleasant heat, though she could still feel warmth through it. The men got into the vehicle on either side of her. “Fasten your seat belt, Ariana,” Finn said.
Ariana had no idea what he was talking about. She watched as he and Garrett brought strips of fabric and metal across their chests and abdomens and fastened them beside Ariana. “Seat belt,” Garrett repeated, enunciating each word. “Good lord, Finn, I don’t think she get anything.”
“It’s like she’s never seen a car or truck before.” Finn reached between himself and Ariana and pulled out a similar strip of fabric and metal. “This one doesn’t go across your chest,” he said. He brought it over Ariana’s abdomen and fastened it between Ariana and Garrett. As he did so, his hand brushed Ariana’s belly, making her shiver.
Finn inserted a small piece of metal into a slot in front of him and turned it. The engine was much louder than that of any boat Ariana had ever heard, and she jumped. But she did recognize the sound. “Are you scared or something?” Garrett asked her.
She shook her head. The noise had startled her, but she knew that with Finn beside her, she was safe from anything. And after the initial sound of starting up, the engine was a pleasant, relaxing noise.
Finn moved a lever and pressed a pedal on the floor. The engine sounded louder, and then the vehicle began to move, Finn’s hands on the wheel in front of him steering it onto a street where many other vehicles moved. Ariana was thankful for what she had learned of the surface world; although these objects were unfamiliar to her, she realized now what they were, and was fascinated. Just as boats moved through water, these vehicles moved on land, rolling along on the round rubber beneath them.
She watched intently through the glass as they passed other vehicles and buildings. She was so occupied with trying to see everything at the same time that she barely noticed Garrett’s thigh pressing against hers. Then he placed his hand on her leg, and she started. “A little jumpy, huh?” he said softly. “What do you expect when you walk around naked.”
Ariana slapped his hand. The movement caught Finn’s attention, and he glanced over. “You want to get your ass out of my truck, Garrett?” he snapped.
Garrett played innocent. “What are you talking about?”
“Keep your hands off her, or I’ll drop you off right here. Without stopping.”
“Why? You want her for yourself?”
“I don’t think she’s like that,” Finn said quietly. “She’s too innocent. Just leave her alone. You have plenty of women to choose from; you don’t need her.”
“Whatever.” Garrett shifted himself away from Ariana.
Ariana studied Finn gratefully. Garrett wanted the same from her that Havian had attempted to take, and Finn had stopped him. She began now to understand what the Sea Witch had meant, that her body would attract men’s attention, that she had means other than her voice to earn Finn’s love. He clearly cared for her already; he had treated her with so much kindness without even knowing who she was. She sent a silent thanks to the Sea Witch for her assistance in finding him, a task that might have been impossible otherwise.
After several minutes, he stopped the vehicle in front of a large brick structure. “This is my apartment building,” he said. “You can come in. Garrett, go home.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Garrett snarled. “Thanks for nothing.”
“Asshole,” Finn muttered.
Garrett got out of the vehicle and slammed his door so hard the vehicle shook. Ariana shuddered. “Don’t worry,” Finn told her. “He’ll get over it. He just thinks any female is fair game to drag into bed.”
She looked at him curiously, not quite understanding what
he meant. He smiled. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’m not trying to get anything from you; I just want to help you. Garrett doesn’t grasp the concept of helping someone without expecting something in return. Come on, let’s get you inside and find something else you can wear. You look very nice in my T-shirt, but it isn’t exactly acceptable to wear in public.”
They got out, and he led her into the building. Several doors lined the hallway. Did he live in this entire structure? It was as large as her father’s palace! But he unlocked one door and pushed it open to reveal a small room containing a pair of stuffed chairs and a small kitchen. “It isn’t much, but it’s big enough for one,” he said. They went inside, and he closed the door and pointed to another door beside one chair. “That’s the bedroom. You can sleep in there while you’re here; I’ll sleep in my recliner.”
She shook her head. It wasn’t fair for him to give up his own comfort for her. But then she realized it was another indication of how much he cared for her. Perhaps seven days would be enough to gain his love and make her transformation permanent.
“Yes, I will,” he said firmly. “Don’t worry; I don’t mind it. I fall asleep in the recliner sometimes when I’m watching TV. I can manage to sleep there for a few days, till we find out where you’re supposed to be.”
She smiled thankfully at him. But in her heart, she wanted him to sleep beside her, not in another room. The touches she had experienced from Havian and Garrett filled her with revulsion, but from Finn, she would not only tolerate but enjoy such caresses. Even if he laid no finger on her, feeling the warmth of his body beside her would be wonderful.
He opened the bedroom door. The room was so small the bed took up nearly the entire space. “Sorry it’s so small,” he said. “You can take a nap if you want. I’m going to call my sister and see if she can bring over some clothes for you to borrow. You’re about her size.”
