The Mermaid And The Beast

by Walleye

  ‘Fine.’ She thought. ‘It’s growing dark and I don’t want to charge right into something I can’t see coming. It is almost night now and I’ve been swimming all day. I’m going to rest a while.’ She leaned back in the water and looked around at her surroundings.

  This time she saw each bank of the river had the same black trees with their twisted roots and branches hung with snatches of grey moss. The same white mist drifted between the black trunks and the same tiny white lights flickered in the branches and between the roots. Of the larger pink fairy lights she saw no sign.

  For the first time Maryellen noticed the feel of the clear, glowing water flowing around her. It wasn’t like regular river water. It felt like it was touching and caressing her with hundreds of invisible fingertips, leaving her skin to feel heated by its touch.

  Her face was still wet from being immersed in it and she touched her tongue to the drops of water beading up her lips. The drops of river water tasted like they smelled, sweet. It also sent a tingling feeling down through her tongue.

  She wondered what this water was doing to her body as she was touching it with her skin and breathing it in through her gills. It didn’t seem to be doing anything but being that it had magic in it something might be happening that she couldn’t detect.

  However, she didn’t see any place she could get to if she crawled up the bank and decided to stay in the river for now.

  She never saw the small pink light land on a tree branch above her head. The pink light belonged to Thistledown and the little fairy was extremely frustrated after having chased the girl for miles. How had the girl gotten so far up the river by swimming?

  Thistledown started to lift her glowing wand to break the spell she had placed on the girl but suddenly she gasped as a wave of force shoved her back and blocked her magic casting.

  She traced the direction the force had come from and when she saw the origin she stared in shock. Two flickering lights were approaching the river and they were heading right for the girl.

  She knew in that moment that she was too late to remove the spell. The first test had already started.

  As Maryellen rested in the water she saw two sets of flashing lights coming towards her, weaving their ways between the black tree trunks. As the lights flashed they changed colors. From red to yellow to blue and back again.

  When the lights stopped and hovered above her head she saw they were actually large insects with yellow cylindrical bodies bearing three black legs on each side. Their heads were round and had large, multifaceted blue eyes and like pretty colored moths they had large grey wings with spots of different colors and each spot was responsible for the different flashes of color erupting from the flapping grey wings.

  A wave of power washed over her from the two hovering insects and she found she was compelled to lift her right hand and to hold it out with the palm up. One of the insects flapped over and landed gently on it.

  The insect then walked around on the hand probing the lines on her palm tickling her with what looked like a tongue that it uncoiled and coiled up as it tasted her. As the tongue touched the lines on her palm sparks of magic ran up and down the lines.

  Its companion flapped down and landed gently on her head where its coiled tongue flicked out as it probed her hair and scalp. She held still almost afraid to move and upset the strange insects as they investigated her.

  The one on her palm looked up and proclaimed in a very melodious voice. “She has a loving heart, desires adventure, and she seeks romance and love.” It considered for a moment before continuing. “But she still desires to be strong and independent.” The small voice intoned. “I find her suitable for this fairytale.”

  The one on her head replied in a very similar voice to that of the first. “I find that she is brave, loyal, kind, and steadfast.”

  The one on her head tasted again with its coiled tongue before saying. “She has hope and the capacity to love in spite of all obstacles placed in her way. I find her perfectly suitable too for this fairytale.”

  Both flew from their perches and hovered in front of Maryellen, borne on fluttering, light flashing wings. “You may continue on your quest.” The one from her head intoned. “Your soul has been judged by us and found not to be wanting in the qualities so desperately needed to win your true love.”

  “Go in peace and know that we approve of you and your capability to love. You will need them as you seek to win your happily ever after.” The second finished.

  “Who are you?” Maryellen asked as they started to flutter away with their wings flashing even brighter between the different colors.

  On hearing this they fluttered around to face her. For one moment they hung there and in the next they had merged into one. The single moth glowed a bright white that was almost too intense too look at and when the white light died it was shown to have morphed into a beautiful blond-haired woman wearing a white toga-like garment that came down to her ankles. It was fastened at her shoulders with two mother of pearl pins which showed between her blond tresses.

  Her smile and voice filled Maryellen with peace and love as she replied. “You may call me by the name I was known by when Pan played his pipes in the sacred groves of Olympus. “You may call me Psyche.” And with that she faded away into the mists.

  Before Maryellen could even process what she’d just experienced she felt the magic once more seize her arms and force her into swimming up the river again. With a sigh she fell into the rhythm again.

  After Maryellen had swum far enough away to be out of sight, Thistledown emerged from her hiding spot on one of the gnarled branches, looking very disconcerted. She shook her head. “This is going to be very bad as now Psyche has approved of her participation and that means that there’s no way I can use my magic to get her out of this quest. My only hope is that she’ll fail one of the next two tests.”

  She floated into the air and beating her wings she frantically set out in pursuit, following the mermaid.

  The sun rose over the hills as Maryellen swam and the water around her glowed red and purple, reflecting the lighted clouds. A few minutes later she encountered a large tree which had fallen across the river blocking it and water was pouring over it. With a single leap she cleared the tree and with a large splash and a flap of her fishtail she entered a quiet, deep area of the river partly created by the fallen tree.

  This did not go unobserved by a certain fairy. “Oh no.” Thistledown gasped. “She has a fishtail. She’s a mermaid. No wonder she could swim so far so quickly”

  Not only had she sent the wrong person, she had sent the wrong species on the quest. Supervisor Lark would personally rip the wings from her back for this.

  As Maryellen came back to the surface, she felt the grip of the magic relax. But when she turned back to the tree barrier she felt a warning tingle. Going back was not going to be an attainable option.

  As she floated there she guessed that the magic was giving her time to recover after swimming for so long. She sighed and gratefully leaned back to float on the surface and relax.

  A large silver fish bumped against her side and swam on. Its presence reminded her that she was hungry after all that swimming. She watched the fish swimming away and wondered if it would be against the rules of this place to catch one to eat.

  She decided to err on the side of caution for now but later she knew her hunger would grow and it might drive her to hunt. For now she decided to look around and see where in these magic-filled lands that she was.

  Now that the sun was up she could see how beautiful the land surrounding her was. Between the black tree trunks she could see green hills off in the distance and all of them were decked out with bright clusters of flowers. Each cluster had its own color but that color was compatible with the colors of the clusters surrounding it. In between the trees, bushes with broad green leaves and white or yellow flowers grew. Each was orderly and the bushes looked like they were tended to by gardeners just like the plants back in her f
ather’s underwater gardens at his palace under the sea.

  She saw small butterflies fluttering overhead but unlike the two large butterflies she’d seen at night their wings did not flash or change color. Each was its own pattern of bright and cheerful colors.

  As one passed by closely over her head she heard faint sounds like music emerging as its wings flapped. The melody was gay and happy. And when another fluttered by her she heard a different tune but still one of joy and happiness.

  Still when she lifted a hand to see if one would touch her like the other two had last night, the butterfly avoided it. It seemed she was not accepted by them. She looked over at the bank and saw some of the other residents of this magic land.

  Beautiful little birds hopped and sang in the branches of the trees. Their plumages were so bright that they put to shame all the coats of the birds she’d seen back on the river coming from the sea. One of the birds was about as big as a robin except it was silver and green marked hopped out onto a branch and sang a tune at a bright-red butterfly passing by.

  The butterfly dipped its brightly colored red wings and sang its tune in response and when it flew on both tunes had changed into something even more melodious and joyful than before. It was as if the butterfly and the bird had shared components of their two songs.

  Maryellen was almost overwhelmed by the beauty and the sounds that surrounded her. She knew her sisters would truly be amazed with her tales of what she’d seen and heard when she got back home.

  This thought sobered her immediately. It was very possible that she would never get back to her home. She shrugged. She would face that problem in its own time as she was not being given any choice in the matter.

  Abruptly all the butterflies flew to one spot near the left bank. They hovered there while the birds joined them in the branches over that spot. The birds’ and butterflies’ singing grew intensity as they all sang the same song which was joyful and triumphant.

  Maryellen relaxed as she felt peace and contentment spring up inside her. Somehow she knew this was a song of welcome and whoever or whatever was coming meant her no harm.

  In front of her the bushes parted and three creatures stood there. Maryellen’s mouth fell open. She had heard of these creatures but as a mermaid she had never expected to meet one, let alone three of them.

  Three unicorns stood there on the river bank as the butterflies fluttered around them and the birds sang their chorus. There were two silver-colored mares and one black stallion. All three had white gnarled horns about two feet long.

  The two silver unicorns stepped off the bank into water up to their bellies, lowered their heads and began drinking while the butterflies hovered above them.

  As Maryellen wondered what she should do, the black unicorn spoke. “The river is sacred and no harm will come to while you are in it. It’s only when you leave these waters that you should be leery.”

  Maryellen felt the pangs of hunger and from remembrance of the fairytales her grandmother had told her as a little girl about mermaids being punished by magical beings because they did not ask permission before eating the food controlled by them she inquired. “I’m hungry. Are the silver fish in the river here off limits to me?”

  The black unicorn shook his head making his white mane sway back and forth. “In this river they are not, but you would be wise on approaching any other body of water such as a pond or stream to ask permission of its protector which is usually a water nymph or naiad but sometimes is a pooka which is a horse-shaped being but much less friendlier than we are.”

  He looked intently at her. “You should remember that many a fairytale quest has ended badly or been cursed by the failure of the quester to ask the guardians of the pond or stream for his or her permission to enter the water or partake of its bounty.”

  He continued. “And I give you this warning. You will not be blocked from leaving this river. However until you reach the end of your journey do not leave these river waters unless forced to. You do so at your own peril.”

  One of the silver unicorns whinnied and said something softly to the stallion. The black tilted his head as he listened. When the mare had finished, he looked up. “Seren says that you’re a virgin. May she touch you with her horn?”

  Maryellen wondered how the female unicorn could tell but didn’t want to ask. “What will happen?”

  The black unicorn looked approvingly at her. “It is good to be cautious. In this case nothing bad will happen to either of you since you are both pure of heart and body. Please, it is a great honor for the two of you.”

  “All right.” She agreed. She watched the silver unicorn approach and then it sank into the deeper water and swam with careful strokes of its hooves over beside her. As the mermaid watched with a little apprehension the unicorn touched the tip of its white horn to her bare shoulder.

  The flower scent increased so that it almost overwhelmed her. For a moment she reeled from the onslaught on her senses and at the same time there was a spark of light and a puff of smoke but no pain from where the horn was touching her shoulder. She felt a joyous flow of magic through her from the unicorn and then a return flow from herself to the unicorn.

  She almost collapsed from the shock and found her hand touching the silver unicorn on its warm shoulder in order to steady herself. In response the unicorn turned her head to look at the hand on her shoulder.

  On a branch overlooking the river Thistledown froze. If the girl was in any way unworthy, the reprisal of the unicorn could be deadly.

  The unicorn gently sniffed the hand with her velvet nose before tipping her head back to affectionately regard the mermaid. Thistledown let out her held-in breath in relief. The unicorn approved.

  As Maryellen regained her senses she felt the spot where the unicorn had touched on her shoulder tingle with pleasure. She twisted her head and looked at the spot. She could see a mark there almost like it had been tattooed. It was the symbol of the unicorn in the image of its gnarled horn.

  The silver unicorn gently nuzzled her cheek. “Seren thanks you.” The black unicorn announced. “That sign of our blessing will remain with you as long as you are pure of heart.”

  With a soft puff of her nostrils Seren swam gently away, leaving an astonished mermaid behind staring at her retreating back.

  There was an even more amazed fairy sitting on a tree branch who had watched all this go down and now realized what had happened. Thistledown slapped her forehead. “She passed the first two tests. There is only one more to pass and if she does, then she’ll be locked into the fairytale all the way to the end.”

  She cringed as she thought. ‘Oh no. If this happens, Supervisor Lark will not just want my wings. She’ll turn me into newt.’

  She watched with resignation as a butterfly landed on Maryellen’s outstretched finger and sang its song of joy to her. Maryellen was now accepted here by the butterflies and the birds.

  Something made up of the darkness that everyone has inside them to some degree formed in Thistledown’s mind. It had no shape or form and the things it whispered of were what everyone craved: safety, shelter, influence, protecting oneself, and rich reward.

  ‘You’ll never have to fear Supervisor Lark again.’ The darkness whispered. ‘If you join with the forces of the dark you will be safe, protected and infinitely strong.’

  Thistledown found herself greatly tempted to say yes. ‘No one ever needs to know of your mistake.’ The darkness said to her. It was so tempting that she almost accepted as she didn’t want to lose her wings or be turned into a newt.

  She gasped in horror as she realized what she had almost done. All the fairytales needed a villain or a dark temptation. She had almost agreed to become one of the dark ones for this tale.

  She put her hands to her head and shouted inside her mind. ‘Get out of my head. I refuse to be the darkness in this fairytale.’

  ‘Your loss.’ The dark voice inside her mind said. With this the darkness vanished, leaving only a vile taste in h
er mouth.

  As Thistledown watched the mermaid catch a fish she realized that by refusing the dark role she had been offered she would soon be joining this quest as the helper and guide if the young mermaid survived the next test. If she wasn’t going to fit one role such as the dark, the magic would ensure she would be present in the form of another.

  ‘Well.’ She thought. ‘If I join the quest, then Supervisor Lark won’t be able to touch me until the quest is over. That’s good. But remember, my girl, that all quests come to an end and Supervisor Lark will still be very displeased with you.’

  She shook her head. She’d face that when it happened. For now she was in all the way.

  Maryellen when she first went to catch a fish to eat was surprised by the behavior of the fishes. They swam right into her hands as if they were offering themselves to her. Reluctantly she killed one of the biggest, ate, and not seeing anything else to do with the scraps she tossed the leftover bones and guts into the water.

  There was a flash of light and when it cleared she saw the fish she had just eaten swimming away from her very much alive. She realized this was the way the magic gave her food and the fish never died permanently.

  After that she accepted what was being given her and ate her fill. Each time she placed a carcass back in the river the fish reformed and swam away.

  After satisfying her hunger she cleaned and groomed herself and remembering the words of the unicorn that the river was safe, she settled to the bottom of the river to sleep. Magic might make her swim but it didn’t prevent her from getting tired. She fell asleep instantly.

  She was so tired that she slept the remainder of the day and most of the night. Above her in the tree branches the little fairy kept watch.

  It was the noses of fishes poking at her that finally awoke the mermaid. Maryellen came to the surface and yawned while stretching out her arms. It took her a minute or more to realize where she was, still in the magic river.

  She caught a couple more fish and ate while she observed the birds and the butterflies at their games. After eating she disposed of the fish bones and watched them turn back into fish with a sense of wonder as that still amazed her no matter how many times she saw it.