Marley blew out her breath in frustrated irritation. “Yuri, I come from a completely different culture. Didn’t it occur to you that I was not thinking of the same plans you were?” She was trying to keep an even mind about communication, but it was difficult in her anger. She felt violated, but this didn’t fall under the normal stratum of what she understood of rape in the American culture. This was difficult.
“No,” Yuri rubbed the back of his neck, his expression one of discomfort. “Your behavior and thoughts did not tell me to stay away…” He squirmed with anxiety as he tried to respond to her anger. “Your body liked mine,” he said finally in a flat tone, mutinous expression gracing his gorgeous features. A stubborn tilt appeared to his chin and his lips firmed with compression and determination.
“And what about conception?” Marley angrily asked. “And sexually transmitted diseases across species?”
Yuri’s dark healthy skin tone paled and took on a greenish tinge. “Conception? Sexually transmitted what?”
Marley let out a scream of pure frustration and dove underwater to swim off her explosive emotions. She didn’t know how to deal with this situation.
Hours later, she realized she was lost, though she wasn’t sure how that came to be. She surfaced for a breath of air. “I thought I kept the same land mass to my right,” Marley muttered. She shaded her eyes against the glare of the water and realized there was no land mass in sight. She felt as if her stomach was a sinking pit of worry as she saw what looked very much like an orca spy hopping above the water. Several black dorsal fins circled near the whale she had spotted.
“I hope it’s not looking at me.” She very much wished there was some way she could remove herself completely from the water at this moment. Several squeaks, clicks and piercing calls filled the air and the orca that had been half out of the water dropped below her line of sight beneath the waves. She remembered her visits to Sea World, and how orca were creatures possessed of curiosity.
Marley.
She recognized the voice calling to her mind, having heard it sending to her in her sleep. “Oh, Xoc, I lost my temper and I think I’m about to become whale food! I’m in trouble!” she cried to the air. “There’s a pod of orca out here with me. I think they’re going to eat me!”
Marley, came Xoc’s voice in her mind again, I can’t hear you. Pretend you are starting to dream and talk to me in the dream.
“I don’t think that’s something I can do right now,” she muttered. She tried closing her eyes, but found she couldn’t resist peeking one eyelid open to see how close the orca pod was in relation to her position.
Marley, I can’t hear you.
“I’m trying, I’m trying,” Marley squeaked out. The dorsal fins were coming closer. Both her eyes popped open and seemed of their own volition to refuse to close out of sheer terror. A large, sleek black shape rushed through the water, the tall dorsal fin slicing through the ocean faster than Marley’s fork could slice through coconut cream pie. She only hoped merfolk were not the orca’s favorite food as coconut cream pie was Marley’s. She didn’t even want to think about how fast she could chow down on her favorite food because it was not a calming thought. “No, no. Don’t think about food. I don’t want to be food either.”
One of the whales slowed near her position, rocking her gently in the water. Next to the whale, she felt positively tiny. One of the whale’s eyes watched Marley as four other whales surrounded her. She heard more squeaks, clicks and whistles. She stared at the eye and felt her nerves tense in the moment as nothing happened. The waiting was awful.
“Uh, hello,” she finally said weakly, reaching forward with a hand shaking with fear to touch the first whale’s slippery skin. “Please. I’m not food, don’t eat me.”
The whales jostled nearby. She had the impression they were examining her. After a long while, the whales left her position without molesting her. She flopped back in the water, floating for a moment as she considered her encounter. She rolled onto her stomach and looked from whence she had come. Far in the distance, she could see rocks and figured she’d be safer in a location above the waterline. Marley struck off, swimming strongly for the rocks, determined to remove herself from further encounters with predators since she knew with certainty she couldn’t outdistance them.
She reached the rocks, and then hoisted her body up onto the rough edged forms that had been abraded by the sea and then she sat, elbows propped on her knee joints, face propped on hands to peer morosely into the water. She must be near a coast or an island. She felt sure that rocks would not exist in the middle of the ocean without any structure nearby. She tucked her lower body and fins onto the rocks, letting out a cry of pain as one rock sliced through the filmy fronds that crested her flukes. Blood dribbled onto the rock and into the water. Salt stung her wound as the water splashed over the rock with a wave’s breaking. She closed her eyes, brow furrowed with concentration as she struggled to ignore the sting of the small wound and calm her fear that no one will find her. The sight of the ocean’s endless existence stretching out to the horizon did not help her mindset.
“Marley? Come on wake up.”
Marley cracked open her eyes to see a round faced individual with scars lacing the mermaid’s left cheek. Short hair, dark from wetness and spiky, crowned her visage whose merry violet eyes sparkled at Marley from within a face possessed of apple round cheeks atop a strongly delineated neck and shoulders that fair rippled with muscle. Marley averted her eyes from the impressive bobbing breasts back up to the mermaid’s face. “I am. Are you of Xoc’s Conclave?” Marley asked.
“Oh, yes. He’s had any able members of the Conclave out looking for you for the last few hours. I’m Raci, by the way. It’s nice to meet you. Xoc should be here any moment, I just spoke to him.” Raci tapped her head to indicate telepathic speech. She smiled warmly at her and then frowned.
“Oh, you hurt your poor fin. That must sting. And since it was bleeding, that explains the presence of the black tip sharks prowling in the water. They can smell a drop of blood, even diluted by water.” Raci hauled herself onto the rocks next to Marley and revealed her stocky body as well as a short tail, which shimmered with cerulean colors and silver tipped fins. “We’ll just wait right here for Xoc,” Raci stated in a decisive manner. “I don’t want to drag you through hungry sharks while you’re bleeding. Xoc said you can hear telepathy, but you haven’t been responding to me,” Raci remarked with a curious look at Marley.
“I’ve only heard Xoc a couple of times and seen visions far from my body once.” Marley admitted her own experiences as she shifted uncomfortably. “I haven’t heard anything else.”
“Mmm. Interesting. Tell me, who all have you met in the Conclave. Don’t leave out any juicy details. I won’t tell, Spell Singer’s honor.” Raci giggled.
Marley realized for all Raci’s evident strengths that the mermaid reminded one of bubble gum and soda with perky spirits, enthusiasm and verve. “Are you a Spell Singer, too, then?” wondered Marley.
“Father of us all, no! But don’t let that stop you, I’m all ears,” Raci urged.
Time passed. Darkness descended. In the middle of conversation, Raci looked up expectantly.
Marley also looked up to see Xoc swimming slowly on the surface of the water. The injuries on his back were dark in contrast of the unusual paleness of his skin. Lines of either fatigue or pain bracketed his lips, which were pressed together tightly.
“Spell Singer!” Raci slid into the water with a splash. “Are you well?”
“I am just…weary, I think. Thank you for your concern, Raci.” Xoc glanced up to meet Marley’s gaze. There was no censure in his expression, however.
Marley was still miserably aware of her actions and the impact upon Xoc. After expressing concern to Yuri about Xoc’s injuries, here now, she had added to Xoc’s burden. What a hypocrite Marley felt like.
“You’ve had a hard day of it,” Xoc said quietly, sympathy in his tone.
&
nbsp; Marley, not normally given to cry any sort of tear, felt tears leaking out of her eyes as the welter of the day’s emotions caught up to her and responded to Xoc’s concern. With some difficulty, for which she cried a little bit more because she knew despite what he had said to Raci that he must be hurting, Xoc hoisted his long form onto the rocks. Without preempted thought, she lunged to hug him whereupon she cried on his shoulder and chest. In between her sobs, she tried to apologize.
“You’ve had a hard day of it,” he murmured still quietly. “Please don’t feel this was your fault. In our similarities, it never occurred to me that there would be problems. You’ve fit so well into our daily routines and not a one has sat down to tell you in depth of our customs or etiquette despite the time you’ve been here. I should have thought better and made room in my duties to you.” He patted her shoulder.
After the brief spate of crying, she sat back with a sniffle and a hiccup. “Sorry.” Marley wiped her eyes. “I don’t normally cry on anyone like that except my brother.” She scrubbed at her eyes with the heels of her hands, absently noting that Xoc had straightened his posture and set some space between them.
“Raci, I must ask some questions. Could you gather some food and keep watch?”
“Of course, Spell Singer.” Raci’s words were respectful in tone and she seemed to puff out her chest with pride at the responsibility. She promptly dove under the water.
“First, Marley, I will tend your hurts,” Xoc stated, green eyes changing to silver before Marley’s eyes. He lifted her torn aching fin to lick the wound and seal it, holding it as the seal firmed.
“Is it just your spit that can do that or is it a spell that works on any spit that allows it to act as a sealant,” she asked.
“A spell on my saliva,” he replied.
“Does it work for others, on wounds?”
“I have never tried nor asked,” he admitted.
“Could you try it on me?” she requested.
Xoc looked momentarily startled and then opened his mouth to emit a clear warble of song.
She felt a cool glow suffuse her body.
“Your eyes are silver now instead of the dark gray of the seal’s fur normally in your gaze,” Xoc said in wonder.
Hearing that, Marley knew the spell had worked. She spit into her hands several times and reached behind him to smooth the salve over his wounds. She noticed Xoc’s eyes, now dark green again, closed briefly and she thought she saw a slight relaxation in his facial lines.
“That feels good. No one has ever done that for me. I thank you. It foams a bit, doesn’t it?” Xoc said with a quiet chuckle.
“How did you learn it then?” She found she wanted to know more about him.
“The Seafather taught me in my dreams.”
“There’s no old Spell Singer or teacher in your community?” asked Marley in surprise.
“No. The last Spell Singer was Yuri’s father, Sama, who died when I was young. A colossal squid ate him.”
“Are Spell Singers chieftains or leaders?”
“Neither. Our duty is to support our small communities, mentally and physically.”
“But your Conclave seems to look to you as a leader, you seem to be a leader in actions, words, thoughts and deeds,” she pressed, smoothing the last of the salve in her hands over a scratch on his shoulder.
Xoc placed his hand over Marley’s hand and stilled her petting motion. Somberly, he looked at her arm and her shoulder, then her face. “I don’t know of any who want the responsibility of being a leader to our Conclave,” Xoc explained. “We haven’t had a leader since the last one.” Xoc changed the subject. “Are you hurt elsewhere? Yuri meant no harm, but I think I would hear it from you.”
Raci came back mid-story to share some fruits and krill. The three ate the krill raw, sucking out the brains and peeling off the shells. Marley kept her eyes closed as she ate. She knew it was nourishment and practical, but she still had a squeamish stomach. Especially since the krill were alive as she bit off the head.
Marley continued her story after eating. “I can’t say I was hurt. I have no physical injury in the sense of a bruise or cut, but I feel violated. Yuri’s actions weren’t violent. I don’t know how to explain it.”
“In this situation, I would say communication problems and cultural differences are the blame.” Xoc sighed. “Raci, how is it for a woman in our culture?”
“Receptive females will not offer protest and will leave with a sexual partner to find privacy outside the Conclave,” Raci explained in between savoring her krill and her fruit.
“Again, I feel the blame. I had shared with Yuri my expectation that Marley showed signs of being able to use telepathic communication before I left to visit Jack Tanner. He likely thought she was receptive when she accepted his offer to see the anemones. I was not thinking in terms of Yuri taking her through our culture’s courtship even though I knew he found her attractive. I was just thinking she would like to see more of the beauty of the sea. Yuri probably took her silence, mentally, as assent. I should have realized the possibility of such a situation rising when he started to flirt with her, which I admit to noticing several times.”
“What action should happen now?” Raci inquired.
“I don’t know,” lamented Marley. Despite an expertise in communications, she was miserably aware that she failed to interact well with a culture that relied on non-spoken words and a body language that was different from her land dwelling experience. She began to doubt that Leviathan had made a wise choice in speaking to her. Communicating her uncertainty, she said, “I disbelieve Yuri intended me harm. Perhaps, dropping the matter is best, to let it alone unless the situation arises again. This becomes more relevant if land dwellers visit enclaves or merfolk go visit land. The different interpretations of behavior could become an issue if both parties want a working relationship, without misunderstanding, fear and hurt.”
“If it is your wish,” Raci said firmly. “But only then because your importance as a woman and a guest are both high amongst our people in respect. Normally, we would have a shunning or a counsel if a man ignored a maid’s wishes.”
“I will make sure to communicate better,” Marley said with resolve. “I really do think that the situation arose because neither Yuri nor I recognized the other’s reactions.”
“Raci and I will let it be known you are not telepathic nor are you familiar with our customs,” Xoc promised.
“Right.” Raci agreed as well, smiling and offering Marley support and understanding.
The next few days, Marley stayed in her cave at the Conclave. Michella came in to explain that women of the merfolk did not conceive unless they desired a child because they could somehow control their ovulation through telepathic abilities. Marley was left even more confused as Michella couldn’t really explain that tidbit of information more accurately. She worried that since she didn’t seem to have telepathic abilities if that meant the possibility of Yuri fathering a child in her body was more likely.
Marley was the recipient of a pleasant surprise one morning when she awoke to see a heavily pregnant Eddike perched on the communal rocks at the center of the Conclave. The Danish mermaid in comparison to the Conclave residents was longer in form, less stocky and paler in skin and hair. The only person who rivaled Eddike in length by surpassing it was Xoc. Eddike, upon seeing Marley, called out a greeting in Danish to which Marley cheerfully and with surprise replied, ploughing through the water with great enthusiasm to the side of her pregnant sister-in-law.
“Jack was not happy to see me go,” Eddike said with a mischievous smile at Marley. She rubbed her belly. “He is an anxious father.”
“I can certainly understand his feelings,” Marley said, reflecting on how she had felt around the orca.
“He said to me if I was not back in four days, he would come for me.” Eddike confided. “He gave me this bracelet, which he said could locate me anywhere.”
“Boy, my brother has been paranoi
d since partnering you,” Marley remarked, examining the shiny stainless steel bracelet that looked to have some type of transmitter on it. The most she knew about electronics was how to use her gadgets for entertainment and work.
“I am worth it,” Eddike retorted, wrinkling her nose as she grinned at her. “How have you been? You are well?”
So Marley answered, relating all she had experienced so far, including her doubts.
“You should not doubt yourself or Leviathan. Leviathan makes no mistakes. Everything happens for a purpose. Didn’t this incident where you doubted yourself bring awareness to Xoc of how cultural differences and bodily behavior could be a concern when land dwellers interact with water folk? This is valid and should be addressed before something horrid happens. Trust me when I say you have special qualities that Leviathan recognizes. Look how much you helped me and Jack, the mule headed polar bear.” Eddike was distracted momentarily. “You know, I still do not see why he is so proud of being called a polar bear.”
Marley chuckled at Eddike’s confusion over Jack’s pride in being part of the Polar Bear Swim Club, which prided itself on swimming in very cold conditions. Then she continued on with her conversation, asking Eddike questions about Conclave leaders and Spell Singers. “Are Spell Singers priests? Holy men? And how are your folk led? Who will address the issues of behavior such as what happened yesterday? The ocean is a wide place.”
“Of a sort, holy bloodlines more like,” Eddike replied to the question about Spell Singers. “It’s said that the Song of Leviathan sings through their hearts, beating into their very blood and bones, and emerging through their voice to bask the Father’s blessing over the head of the people. Spell Singers are made, not born, though some would say the reverse,” Eddike confided. “They make life easier for Leviathan’s children. In return, Leviathan grants them their heart’s desires so long as they remain true to their duties. It’s an old legend, an older oath.”
“That’s fascinating.”
“You had an incident with this Yuri, somewhat like I had with Jack?”
At the Far Waters of Forever Page 4
