At the last possible second, William broke through the surface and took a deep gasp for air.
She then slumped back into the water, and felt Schrödinger hold her head above water as she had done for the count.
"Well, that wasn't so bad, eh, William?" Schrödinger smirked from below her.
William made a wry face, but was too exhausted to argue. Relief from the earlier agony, coupled with exhaustion from what happened finally seeped in, and William allowed herself to relax as Schrödinger swam her to shore.
The sky had just started to turn dark when William had approached the Sea Witch's palace, and the sun had begun to set when she broke through the surface as a human. The darkening sky and emerging stars made William' eyes droop, but she could not fall asleep since her head kept dropping below water. She was tired, so tired… All she wanted to do was sleep forever.
"Whoa, you've got to stay awake, mein Schatzi," Schrödinger said, "Don't wanna drop your head below water und drown, do you?"
William nodded with difficulty.
Because William was so tired and unable to use her new limbs, she needed Schrödinger to swim for her. She tried to stay awake and help them float along, but she could barely keep her head up. The sun soon went down and the orange and rose tinted lights faded with it, until the sky turned black and silver from thousands of little stars and the brilliant moon. They swam long into the night, until they spotted the Count's castle glowing from the light of the moon and stars.
The sun had not yet risen when they approached the Count's castle. Despite his usual bravado, Schrödinger was getting tired from ferrying William around. He was still a little boy while she was a grown-up girl, and so it was all he could do to fight the current enough to heave her over into a small cove near the castle. As William was too exhausted from the earlier grief and pain, she was unable to help him. As she crawled up the fine white sand, the moon shined bright and clear.
As soon as her head was safely out of the water she swooned away, and collapsed as though she were dead.
When the sun rose over the sea, she woke from the brilliant rays shining over her eyes. William winced and tried to turn away, but felt heavy as an anchor. This alarmed her more than the unusual brightness, and so she slowly came to. The strength of gravity was not what she was used to, living in the sea. She tried to turn over but felt a flash of pain. She winced, slowly pushed herself over and brushed her hair out of her eyes… only to notice the beautiful long, white legs directly in front of her.
William slowly extended one leg, staring in amazement. She tried to wiggle a few toes. When it worked, she beamed openly.
"Well, well, look what the catfish dragged in!"
William looked up and saw Rip van Winkle flying toward her. William grinned up at her.
"Look at you, you silly fish! That little sea devil said you were human, but I didn't believe him!"
"She certainly slept in long enough!"
William looked out to see the little devil himself smirking at her. 'Schrodinger?'
"That's right, mein Schatzi," he grinned, "Who else would haf known to bring her here?"
"Look at you! You're just the sweetest little thing!" Rip Van squealed, "Ah, she makes such a lovely little human, doesn't she?!"
"I figured since you wanted to be human," Schrödinger answered William' questioning look, "You would want some help from the 'human expert.'"
William grinned, pure love and gratitude flooding her eyes. She wanted to lean over to hug and kiss him. His bottomless eyes told her he knew she did.
"Aw, just look how cute you are!" Rip Van squealed, lifting William' chin with one hand and stroking her arm with the other. "You have such lovely round eyes! Such a cute little nose, und such cute pouty little lips. Ooh... und such soft pale skin, und such large plump breasts! Truly, this is really amazing! There ist no way these humans cannot be enchanted by your exquisite beauty up here!"
William wry thought she always had these features, so why was Rip gushing now when she never did before? The only difference was now she had a pair of legs instead of a fish's tail. At the thought of legs, William grinned again and leaned down to look at them, and tried to move them. They were slow and clumsy since she never used them before, but she still tried just the same. She wiggled her toes, and beamed openly. She opened and closed the knees, then giggled like a child at the way they splashed in the water.
"Looks like someone's having a good time," Schrodinger grinned.
William splashed around for a while and then tried to stand very suddenly, only to fall back down into the water.
"Ah, be careful, kleinen Schatz!" Rip Van cried, steadying her arm. "You wait for help before you try to do something dangerous like that."
She helped William to her feet (though William would have wanted to do it herself) and half-propped her up so she would not fall. William indeed wobbled and collapsed against the siren, clutching her waist for support. Rip's feathers were soft and glossy. William slowly straightened up, smiled in thanks, and then tried to lean away, only to fall over from the weight of her own legs, and splash again into the water.
Schrödinger laughed himself a fit to die.
"Oh, you poor thing! Here, let me help you!"
"Ah, this ist priceless!" Schrödinger grinned.
Rip again helped William up, and she picked some seaweed out of her hair.
"You should leave that on, Schatzi, so you will look more like a mermaid!"
William ignored him and tried again, this time with Rip's help. When she could take the slightest step without falling outright, William felt thrilled to have done such a good job!
"Oh, you haf done such a good job!" Rip exclaimed happily.
She hugged William so suddenly that when she let go, William fell again into the water.
This time, Schrödinger swam over to help her up.
"Enjoying being human yet, mein Schatzi?" he teased.
William snorted out some water she had gotten up her nose.
"Oh, you haf such a pretty figure!" Rip exclaimed when she again propped William up like a rag doll. "And the Count, he will be so pleased with you!"
William' smile faltered.
"Truly, you are the cutest little thing I haf ever seen. Once he sees you, he shall fall in love at first sight!"
It was a testament to how well Schrödinger knew her that he said, "I think unser Schatz ist worried about no longer having her hair or her slim figure - to say nothing of her clumsiness, stupidity, poor manners..." At William' glare, he continued, "that she might not seem suitable for the human."
"Oh, that's so silly!" Rip exclaimed, "You'll be quite at an advantage up here, for humans find large breasts und blue eyes quite attractive indeed, while you merfolk like slim bodies und long hair. It is quite foolish of you, since everyone knows glossy feathers are the prettiest of all, but that it cannot be helped! You will be in good company!"
William smiled and sighed with relief. She had none of the traits merpeople found beautiful, but if humans really liked her hair, eyes and figure, she wasn't completely at a disadvantage up here. She smiled dreamily and wondered what the count might think when he saw her?
"Oh, I cannot wait to see you discovered by the Count! You will be the belle of the ball!" the siren then looked at her and laughed, "But first, we must find you some clothes! Without your fins or hair, you are quite naked!"
William' eyes widened and she quickly tried to cover up.
Rip propped her against a rock like a chair and rushed over to a discarded lifeboat. "Now, if you want to blend in among humans, the first thing you need to do ist dress like one! They haf no sea shells or sea stars to decorate their bodies, as you do. Instead they haf long cloths draped across them to replace the hair und feathers they don't haf. It's quite strange, you know," the siren paused, "The women here grow their hair so long, yet they tie it up at the backs of their heads! Und then they cover themselves with cloths to replace the hair they won't drape over themselves!
It's very inefficient if you ask me, but not everyone can be as wise as sirens…"
William smiled wryly, for sirens are not famous for their wisdom, but she listened politely as Rip van Winkle worked. She grabbed a few discarded sails from a wrecked little lifeboat and draped it over William' body. When it failed to stay up, she got some rope from the life boat and kept tying, cross-tying and retying until it finally stayed up.
Rip van Winkle fancied herself as something of a savant when it came to fashion, and so kept teasing and fluffing it in different places.
When she was finally done, Rip suddenly squealed: "Now you look so beautiful, kleine fischi!"*
In reality, William was haphazardously wrapped in a rumpled old sail that was cross-tied with rope, so that it bulged in odd places. But William had spent most of her time watching humans that worked near the sea. They were rough, coarse, and grizzled sailors and fisherman that often wore coarse fabrics. To William, this was the norm for humans. She thought she would fit right in.
"Just look at her, Schrödinger! She will be the prettiest fish up here!"
"Ja, I know. You've said it a million times."
Loud barking drew their attention, and they saw two large wolf hounds running toward them!
Rip van Winkle squawked like a startled bird and took flight.
Schrodinger exclaimed "Whoa!" and ducked right back under water.
William gasped and scrambled away from them. Since she was still clumsy on her legs, she could only crawl on top of a rock to try to stay out of reach. This did little good, they just kept jumping and barking around her, and she tried to lift her head out of reach. She'd seen them snatch and mangle many a helpless animal from the sea, and felt sure they would do the same to her!
She was proven wrong when a hound merely licked her cheek, as she had seen them do to their human masters, and she began to smile. Before she could change her mind, loud whistling drew their attention.
William' eyes widened in apprehension, for she was sure it would be the Count! Her face dropped when the man who rounded the corner was not the Count, but the strange one-eyed human instead. He was dressed in his usual dull green attire, with his long red-brown hair draped in a braid around his neck. The Captain of the crew that used to sail the Wild Geese.
The hounds ran over to him, jumping and barking excitedly.
"Quiet, mutts!" he shouted when they reached him. "What's gotten into you, mongrels?"
When he spotted William, he looked as if he had been struck by lightning. "Oh…"
The hounds then ran back to her, barking as they did when they found a prize for their master.
"Oh, I see," he said.
William felt her breath hitch. She had watched him from a distance many mornings and evenings, but she never saw him looking at her. Looking at her... William gasped. He was looking at her! A human was looking right at her! And she didn't feel pain at all! He approached her, still staring as though mesmerized, and she felt just… nervous. He seemed so much taller and broader here than from the sea. She felt so small, crouched on the rock, and he seemed so huge to be looking down on her. She fidgeted and propped up her legs, preparing to stand or run if need be.
"Are you all right, ma cher?" he asked amid the dogs' barking. "Ta gueule!" He snapped at them, and then stooped down to pet them roughly while he smiled at her. "I'm sorry if these knuckle-heads scared you. They're harmless, really."
William smiled wryly. She had seen them hunting many helpless animals from the shore; seen them catch and mangle them with large pointed teeth, and so knew they weren't harmless at all. Maybe this human didn't consider animals when he said this?
"Well, harmless to pretty girls, that is," he grinned.
William chuckled silently and nodded in agreement.
The human stopped petting them and then stared at her in recognition.
"Have I seen you somewhere before?"
She shook her head.
"Nah, you seem very familiar to me… I'm sure we've met!"
William frowned and shook her head even more emphatically.
"No… I think I'd remember a pair of breasts like yours," he smirked.
William instinctively went to pull her long hair over her breasts, then settled for pulling her sail dress up when she realized it wasn't there.
"Wait... I think we have met!" the human exclaimed.
William again shook her head. What was with him? Why did he insist on trying to remember?
"No... I think I've seen you around. I think you're the one, the one I've seen around the grounds! Who are you? What are you doing here? What's your name?"
'William Hanna' she went to answer, then her spirits fell when she remembered she didn't have a voice.
"What's wrong?"
She patted her neck.
"You have a sore throat?"
She shook her head.
"You can't speak?"
She nodded sadly.
"Wait, you can or you can't?"
'Can't!' she thought as she shook her head emphatically.
"Oh," he said, "well, that's too bad for you."
'You don't know the half of it,' she sighed.
"Well, I guess we will have to get you back to the castle. Get you some paper to write with. Come on..."
He went to help her down, but when his hand wrapped around her arm she instinctively pulled away and nearly fell off the rock.
"Whoa! Whoa! Careful!" he said, catching her.
Again, feeling arms wrap around her triggered an instinctive "flee or fight" reaction. The only time one got embraced in the ocean was to get tangled up in the tendrils of something hungry like squids, octopuses, and polyps. Besides which, William had recently gotten tangled up in the Sea Witch's garden. She struggled to get out of the tendrils trying to snare and eat her now.
"Careful! Easy!" he said as he kept her from falling again.
Eventually William realized there was nothing to be afraid of, and stopped struggling. She was panting from the effort though, and her eyes were wild with fear. When she finally looked up, she realized she was clutching the shirt and shoulders of the strange one-eyed human, and he was holding her tight. She realized she was so much smaller than him too. He always seemed so small or average sized from a distance, especially compared to the enormously tall and seemingly larger than life Count. But now, up close, William realized this human was over a full head taller and wider than her, made of pure muscle that she could feel under her finger tips, had long hair wrapped in a braid, and smelled very strongly of dust, musk, and spices.
They say time slows down directly before a tragedy. When one is about to fall; when one sees someone aim a gun just as they start to pull the trigger; when one sees two carriages about to impact.
For one terrible instant - instant that seemed to last for eternity - the Old Grey seemed to hover in the air and William atop him. She looked shocked, numb. Her eyes met Captain Bernadotte's, and she stared blankly. She slowly reached out her hand, and then time slowly seemed to speed up as they fell down.
He heard the defending snap of a twig or branch as the two disappeared in the thick brush along the steep hill. They would tumble. They would fall. They would no doubt crash or scrape against thick branches and trees that littered that steep hill. The horse's bridle would or could no doubt get tangled up in some branch too thick to go with him. If he didn't, he could roll. With the girl on his back...
The Captain was so enraged he pulled out the pistol he had not used because the girl was too nearby, aimed it at the murderer's face and pulled the trigger.
The rest of the robbers were dispatched quickly, and their master was extremely proud of himself.
"Oh, marvelous!" he cried, "I have not had so much fun in ages! So this is what your country has to offer!"
"William fell down the cliff!" Pip cried.
"What?!"
"Those assholes pushed her off the cliff! Hurry!"
They soon raced down the ravine, which was almost as s
teep as a ridge. They were not hopeful that she had survived, but if she had... if there was any hope...
The men found her at the bottom of the ravine, near the creek. She looked distressed and harried, but visibly unharmed. The horse lay on its side, with his head cradled in her lap. Huge and no doubt heavy as it was, the horse kept groaning and writhing, yet the girl kept holding his head closer and caressing his forehead to keep him from trying to get up.
"Oh, Dieu merci!" Pip gasped again as he reached her. "Thank God you are alive! Are you all right?"
She nodded.
"Are you hurt?" he asked, and he ran his hands up her arms and shoulders to make sure nothing was broken. "What happened? Did you break any bones?"
She shook her head again, then gestured frantically toward the Grey.
One closer look and the men knew it was over. The horse had broken no less than two legs. Even one broken leg for a horse was a death sentence. The horse was clearly distressed and in pain, and would have thrashed about if he had use of his legs. The girl seemed also distressed for him and kept trying to hold him still and sooth him into calmness, yet the horse could not be consoled.
"Captain Bernadotte, get her away from here," the Count said.
"All right ma cher, come on, this way…"
His touch was soft and his voice was soothing.
Captain Bernadotte spoke to her more kindly and gently than she ever heard him speak to anyone, ever. With much caressing and cajoling, he persuaded her to stand and he led her away, back toward his and the Count's horses. He caressed her hand and ran his other hand along her arms to make sure nothing was broken. He told her as calmly as he could what they needed to do, how they needed to make sure she had not broken any bones, make sure she could move properly, they would soon take her to a doctor, and so on.
The Count was not so gentle. He loaded his pistol, and, as soon as they were a respectable distance away, he aimed it at the Grey's forehead.
William started and darted her head back when she heard the blast.
Horror and trauma did not even begin to describe how she felt as she saw her beloved Grey lie still, and her beloved Count pocket his gun as he rose. Her heart broke, her eyes flooded with tears, and her spirits sank.
Trapped with a Way Out Page 100
