“I went to shore again,” I barely let the words escape my lips.
“We said we wouldn’t do that anymore... It’s too risky. We aren't children anymore Violet. We are future queens of the Emerald City... well one of us is... and at this rate, it won’t be you.” She scoffed, looking at her manicured nails. She was always one for beauty- always combing her hair and sticking baby starfish to her fingernails.
“You said that.” I mumbled.
“What—oh, you are unbelievable.” She scoffed, “We both said that!”
“Well, maybe I changed my mind...” I muttered, almost only to myself, starting to feel foolish.
“What were you doing up there this time anyway? Collecting shells again?” Her words were spoken with such contempt. I fell further into a pool of foolishness.
“I—nevermind.” I toyed with the idea of continuously giving her short replies until she stopped asking me questions, altogether.
“Oh, you have to tell me. Whatever it was, i’m sure it wasn’t worse than the act of going to shore in the first place.” She crossed her arms and raised a perfectly sculpted auburn brow in my direction.
“Someone needed my help...” I offered as little information as I could, to hide the shame of what I had done.
“Someone? like... who?” She was pushing for more, and it was making me feel incredibly uneasy...
“Just a boy...”
“A boy? was it someone from the neighbouring city?” Now her tone was condescending...
“I shouldn’t have said anything...” I was starting to admit defeat,
“So, it was someone from the neighbouring city...how scandalous” she screeched, overly excited, letting the words curl on her tongue.
I looked away, in an attempt to avoid her guesses. “You're avoiding me, just tells me more...” She swam around me with haste, so that we were eye to eye- Her’s narrowing.
“It was someone close to the shore... a human perhaps?” She laughed at the suggestion, “Not even you would be that stupid...” she moved onto the next conclusion and I let out a sigh of relief... all too soon... she whirled back around, glaring at me, “Why did you sigh?!” She pointed a finger at me, her voice rising in pitch. “A human?!”she boomed throughout the sea, vibrating the water and everything around it. A plate fell and shattered, hitting wooden panels at the boat's floor.
“I—I.” Esmeralda could be very intimidating when she wanted to be and I was no exception to those at the end of her rage.
“You went to the shore... and helped a human...” She said the words slowly, processing, building up to her final meltdown... I recoiled, waiting for the final show.
“ARE YOU INSANE?!” her voice echoed through the kingdom
“Hush!” I hissed, “Do you want us to get slaughtered?!”
“Do you?” She hissed in return. Silence hung in the air around us.
I didn’t reply. Esmeralda swam closer, before whispering, “You are going to bring our kingdom to its knees, and I’m not going to be here to watch.”
Before I could finish deciphering the meaning of her words, she finished with, “If it comes to defending you or our kingdom, I choose our home.” Her words stung as they hit my ears, and then my heart.
1 week later
Hundreds of Mermaids occupied my home. Once upon a time it consisted of thousands, but creatures attack as they do, leaving our home the small community that it now was. Many moons ago, my mother ruled as the queen of Asralia, The emerald city. She was attacked and killed by a giant squid, along with multiple other members of my family. It was in the midst of the last war of sea, land and sky, as evil mermaids, named Merrows, watched and taunted, snickering. Merrows were dark blue in colour and had rough scales, ugly faces and sharp teeth. Their hands were webbed and they only chunks of matted hair on their mostly bald heads. Us Mer would call one another Merrows if we really wanted to hurt someone's feelings.
Each one of us were hundreds of years old and had been there to experience the war. A lot of us were children at the time, myself, my sisters and Esmeralda included. There hadn’t been many children in our city since the attack, as so many were afraid of losing their babes, and those that had explored the path had lost their children to shark attacks- leaving my sisters, Essy and I to be the youngest in the city. There was only one Pregnant Mer right now, Layla, and everyone catered to her like she was a goddess.
Now the kingdom was under the ruling of my father, who gave strict rules on never going to land, EVER. The only exception would be war, which he banished our part in. Myself and Esmeralda were next in line for the throne, being that at birth, we were chosen by the Gods, which naturally drove my sisters wild with gelousy. When we were both, we were each given a glow - mine was golden and essy’s was red. This glow meant that we had superior powers that the others didn’t have. It also meant that one day Essy and I would have to battle for the throne. Until her words one week ago, and counting, we had always agreed that we would never fight and the higher ups would just need to agree to let us rule side by side. Now, I wasn’t so sure about her opinion on that.
CHAPTER FIVE
Voilet
Despite all warnings from Esmeralda, I decided to go back and help the human. The entire trip, my mind was filled with her judgemental thoughts. As much as I tried to shake them off, they followed me to the water's edge. My last encounter with him, he seemed so perplexed by how the mind of a Mermaid worked and It got me thinking of our genetic makeup... The way our bodies had built in self-heating for when the water dropped below a certain temperature, the way we had a navigation system for tracking prey, or ‘people’ in this case... it was all quite amazing, really.
I spotted the boy sitting by the water, his body looked like it had deteriorated since I saw him last. “I thought I told you to stay out of trouble.” I greeted him, going for his arm, “Let me see that.” He leaped back onto the rocky shore as if not expecting me. “Oh, come on... you're not still startled from when I got your arm the first time, are you?” I couldn’t stop a giggle from making its way up my throat. When he didn’t seem amused, I went on talking, “I thought you would have mulled over my existence by now and gotten used to the idea.” He looked confused. Scared. Why?
I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to decipher the thoughts behind those eyes, when he spoke, “I have always known mermaids to exist.” Then why was he afraid? “Then why be afraid?” I placed my head on my shoulder, trying to figure him out.
He straightened up. Was he trying to intimidate me? That's what male mer did in the emerald city when they wanted to assert power over a female. Mostly when they wanted to get their own way. Ha. We females could see straight through them. “Why are you here?” Wow. Humans were not so smart. Or perhaps it was just this one.
“Don’t be silly, let me see your arm.” I yanked it toward me, ignoring his resistance. His body obeyed my instruction. The body was willing, but not the mind, interesting.
After retracting venom as I had done the last time I saw him, I released his arm. “To answer your question, which I thought would have been obvious. I am here to help you.”
His eyes looked understanding, willing for help, but his words said otherwise, “But why? Your kind have been nothing but destructive to Vikings since the dawn of time.”
“And Vikings haven't been to my kind?” I snapped. Maybe Esmeralda was right. I shouldn’t be helping these ungrateful humans. Ready to dive back into the deep and never return, I held the urge, “you know none of our kind have been to the surface since the last war. We have respected the treaty. My father has made sure of that.”
“But you're here now...” His eyes looked confused by his voice held sarcasm.
I paused, trying to come up with an explanation that would rid my family of his accusations, while at the same time explaining why I was here. Disobeying the laws put in place to protect us. “I’m disobeying the law. Me. No one else. And you know why? because I took pity on you.” I regretted the lies
as soon as they left my mouth, but didn’t let on.
He looked down at his arm. Sadness crossed his face. “Okay, I will let you help me.”
I got lost in his eyes. The way they flecked was mesmerising, “The poison has spread. There is nothing further that I can do for you without help.” I gulped, resisting the words I was about to say. He spoke first, “So... I’m going to die?”
“Not, if we get the help that we need. Come on, let's go.” I pulled him into the water, the heaviness of his body very noticeable on my back as we began the journey to Sugarland - the forbidden city.
“We need to seek help from the dark faeries,” I finally let out the words that I knew he was going to hate me for.
“What? No. That is where I draw the line. I will not go to them for help. They are the enemy.” he was starting to shiver, which would only make his condition worse.
“I’m not fond of them either, but we need their help. The poison has spread, and there is nothing else I can do for you now. You will die, if we don’t go.”
“I refuse,” he continued to fight the inevitable. “My father would never allow it.”
I stopped swimming just for a moment, turning to face him. “Your father doesn’t have to know.” I paused for effect, “Your cold, let me fix that.” I let my body heat regulate. A natural glow came to my skin, turning it from an icy white to a golden tan.
He gasped, “How did you do that?!”
I let out a chuckle, humans were so easy to impress, “Just another mermaid trick.”
“How can you be sure that my father will not find out?”
“I put a spell on him. He will forget about you, as will the others, until your safe return.” I lied, knowing I had no such power. He seemed to relax a little, at least there was that. I glided through the water, the human, just above the surface. “Off we go to Sugarland.” I sighed.
“Sugarland? Why? That is halfway across the country. It is the forbidden land.” He was yelling again and at this rate, I wanted to throw him off my back and let him sink to the bottom of the ocean.
“That is the only place we will have access to the portal that can take us to the Isle of Faeries. We need to get to Sugarland, make the journey across it, find the portal and somehow gain entry.” As I said the words out loud, it sounded more difficult than I had made it out to be in my head. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. It was only a matter of time before the boy's father discovered that he was missing -not to mention that girl that was always hanging around him. I spotted her many times, almost never leaving his side. It made it very hard to collect him.- and I knew that, but if I had let him worry about that fact, he never would have come with me. I could tell that in my grasp he felt safe, though he would never admit it. I had done some investigating over the time that I had not been with him, that he knew of. I had come to the water's surface, watching him curiously from a safe distance.
I had come to find that his name was Bear, and that the girl that was always hanging around him, was very clearly in love with him, which made me slightly jealous. I was never one to fall in love with any of the boys back home. There was something about this human. Something so enchanting, so forbidden.
At one point, I had watched her place her lips to his as he slept. I felt my body heat up with rage, turning me to a bright shade of red. I wanted to hurt her. I pulled myself onto the rocks, the moonlight glistening over my scales. I knew I was far surpassing my bounds, but I didn't care. That was until someone saw me- some big oaf of a man. He called out, “I think I just saw a Mermaid! Quickly, look at this!” Another burly man ran to his side. I ducked under the water and out of sight until I heard him say, “Oh, I must have dreamed it.”, both of them walking off laughing. Deciding that was too close, I made the journey back home, until today.
I could tell that Bear couldn’t seem to shake the feeling that he shouldn’t be going to Sugarland. It was only because it had always been forbidden, due to the fact that it was one of the places involved in the world famous feud, 200 hundred years before. Our homes had been separated after that day- Sugarland, The Isle of Fairies, The Emerald city and Västerbotten. I knew it would be worth it, and in time, he would realise this too.
I knew that he didn’t know why I was helping him, and perhaps he thought it was out of the goodness of my own heart, though I did have an agenda.
Despite my speed, the journey was a long one, “Now we just have to find an Ombudsman to take away my tail,” I murmured, debating our path when we were close to the shore. On the luscious grass sat a large round man-like creature, with a bald head and off putting features. His stomach displayed roll on roll as he sat there watching the boats pull in. I knew they hadn’t spotted me yet, and I wanted to keep it that way.
Oh, how I longed to touch the grass, to have legs that could walk upon it, to feel the sensation on my skin. Tiny fairies buzzed around the strange creature, fluttering in the lush forest trees, he swatted them away and hit the ground angrily making it shake.
Creatures began to emerge from the forest, curiosity on their faces as we reached the shore. “Great,” I sighed complaint, “We have been spotted.” The rotund man stood up, his legs thought short and stout, did not interfere with his large stature. Three curious trees with unusual faces peered out from the bushes to see what the fuss was about. Muqules, known for their silly manner and small brain mass; I had heard of them before. “What do you think is coming about?” one tree spoke to the others. “We must go and alert the witchy lady,” said another. “We must, we must! let's hurry,” said the third, as they all began in different directions, circling around and falling over each other in a messy pile.
CHAPTER SIX
Iris
I watched from my hidden spot in the bushes of Sugarland. It was dangerous territory for a young faery like me. I tried to conceal my large wing span as the whole land seemed to go into a ruckus. Trees were falling over themselves, an overly large creature, which was pretty terrifying to look at, pounded the ground with its fist angrily. I peered at the ocean to see what had caused the fuss. There appeared to be intruders coming into the bay. I gasped at the sight of a mermaid, with a could that be a.... yes. There was a human on her back! Two forbidden elements to anywhere, but their own homes, and they were together... in a forbidden land. Never in my life did I think I would see either of those creatures, and here I am, seeing both of them together, with my very own eyes. What were they doing here? What was I doing here?
Appalled at what my eyes were beholding, I watched the creatures react to the intruders.
“We must alert the Witchy Lady!” one tree said to another, as they went to find her. I zoned in on their whereabouts, my eyesight as clear as lazors- a trick I was glad to have at this moment. The witchy lady was found hovering over her crystal ball, in the midst of deep forest trees. She resided in a small hutt that she was granted by the lords of Sugarland, in exchange for her healing powers and knowledgeable abilities. I was glad to hear this information as she thought it, my mind reading abilities as sharp as my sight.
“Witchy Lady, Witchy Lady!” Exclaimed one of the trees, bursting into her yurt mouth first.
“How dare you disturb me!” She shrieked, causing all three trees to scramble back, escaping her rath.
“Please, please,” one of them pleaded in a loud whisper, “Intruders have entered Sugarland!”
She gasped, gazing into her crystal ball, “Agh, so they have.” she pondered to herself in a hushed tone, stroking her chin and tosseling stray white hairs that poked out from its warty surface. “Don’t you know I already know everything?! You idiots!” She shouted, knocking their heads together with one swift motion, causing the trees to recoil again, falling into the lineup of creatures waiting to see her, “Get out of my yurt!”
The clumsy trees pushed past them impatiently and the other creatures began to complain, “Witchy Lady!”, “There are creatures approaching the forest from the east!” they whined.
“I see the
m.” she replied sharply, her hands circling the crystal ball on the table in front of her. “A Human and a Mermaid, together... this is forbidden!” She suddenly exclaimed in shock, her messy eyebrows rising high on her old face. The creatures once in an orderly line, now all starting to panic and run amuck. “Contain yourselves!” she yelled above the bustle. They all came to a halt. “You must gather an army at once!” We are going to meet these unwelcome intruders at the east wall,” “Go!”
I watched as the entire village of Sugarland made their way to the east end of the land, as the witchy lady zeroed in on her prey...the ball glowing, reflecting her anger upon its shimmering surface.
As I watched, a new voice appeared in my mind, the voice of a woman. It was beautiful, like a song... the song of a Siren. I snapped my head in the intruder's direction, “We need to find someone to change my tail to legs,” the voice said, the human followed her gaze as her sentence trailed off, “On another note, maybe we won’t get the chance. It looks like we are going to be met by the entirety of Sugarland.”
I watched as all residents made their way to them. A ragged homeless man, got to them first, “I can grant you the wish that you seek,” his voice matched his appearance. “I just need some coin in return,” He rubbed his grimy hands together, standing from his position on the grassy shore.
“And why should I trust you?” The siren narrowed her eyes.
“I know that you are trying to redeem a wish. I can grant that wish.” he beckoned. “Besides, what other choice do you have? That one is clearly dying,” He nodded in direction of the human, who glared at him, “and you are seeking adventure...” He raised his eyebrows at the mermaid, who looked away as to not give away her intentions, “And I have been kicked out by my no good wife, and need some coin to get back on my feet.” He finished, letting out a disgusting cough.
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