15. Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

Meria

G ood, he is gone.

I waited until he was gone from my view before I turned and made my way back to the beach. I wobbled a few times as I moved fast, but was impressed with myself for not falling flat on my face. Legs were not all that bad, and Dominick seemed to like them, as he kept glancing at them. I smiled.

“Ancients, Meria! I was so worried about you. What happened?” I heard as I walked to the spot where Dominick and I had washed up. Finn was there in the water, just offshore with a frown on his face.

“I rescued a human, and now I have legs,” I said, pointing to the obvious, new appendages.

“So it’s true,” he gasped, swimming closer.

“Yes, I will say they are rather easy to get used to,” I said, making a point of balancing on one and showing him the underside of my foot.

“Impressive.” Finn said with a grin and a nod.

“But I don’t know what to do here,” I said walking closer to Finn, my legs submerged up to my knees. He swam even closer to me in the shallow water. As Finn poked at my leg, I flinched.

“Feels so weird,” Finn said in awe. “No scales at all–just like skin.”

“Yes, I thought it was so strange, too. Please focus, Finn. What am I going to do? I have a human here!”

“Ask him if he can help you find your mother in Walden. Most humans who travel these seas have some connection to the Kingdom of Walden. If she’s on land, she’s most likely there, unless she is here–she isn't here, is she?"

“No, of course not! If she was, don't you think that would have been the first thing I told you?”

“My, you are in a mood.”

“I am on Marren Island with a human, and I have legs! Of course, I am in a mood , Finn! I am stressed,” I said, exasperated. “The island is small, and I walked around it. There are no obvious mer structures, but I found pearls, seashells, and some carvings in an underground cave of sorts. We were here.”

“I knew it!” Finn said, pumping his fist into the air. “Perhaps, your mother came here, and when she discovered nothing , she went to Walden. Like I said, it is the closest kingdom.”

“This is all happening so suddenly, Finn, and I know next to nothing about being a human.”

“You have to try. Of course, you could swim to Walden, but having a human connection already established could help us find your mother.”

“I can try, but he is strange.”

“Well, I am sure he is. You have never met a human before,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Yes, but he–he has black veins in his hands and over his body, like some poison is flowing inside of him.”

Finn shrugged, “So heal him.”

“Should I really reveal that about me so soon?”

“Ah, you are right. You should feel the situation out, first. Trust your melody a bit more, though. Ancients know, you need practice with that. But from what I hear, you finally listened to your heart. I’m proud of you, Meria. The whole kingdom is talking about you defying your father and refusing Edmar and being banished.”

“It was awful.”

“It was good.”

“Was it? ‘Cause now I’m here with these!” I said, poking my legs.

“You’ll be okay. What's the human like?”

“He—” I was not about to tell Finn I thought he was handsome. No. “He is not as friendly as you are,” I said with a frown.

“What are you wearing?”

“He gave it to me. He wouldn't look at me unless I wore it,” I said, lifting up the black fabric from off my shoulder. It was very soft.

“Humans do cover up their skin all the time; I have seen it on the ships.”

We were silent for a few moments. The waves crashing against my legs were a comfort to me. I wondered why I was not changing back into a mermaid. Perhaps, I had to be submerged completely.

I missed my family, mostly my nieces and nephews.

“How are my sisters and my nieces and nephews?”

“They are okay; no one was hurt in the storm.”

“That’s good,” I said with a nod.

I was not allowed back home, and I couldn't stay on that island. I needed to find my mother and ask for her help to do– what ? Force my father to see that we needed to rise out of the waters? Was that what we needed to do? Would he ever listen? At the very least, I wanted to meet her.

“Everything will be okay, Meria.”

“How can you say that, Finn, when everything is a disaster?”

“Easy, I like to be positive,” he said, splashing me. “Come in the water. I am sure your tail will come back once you fully submerge."

“I cannot just leave the human here. He is looking for a cave to shelter us. He is trying to take care of us. He thinks I have been stuck on this island for a while from another shipwreck. He is kind, but a little odd. He seems to really like water that is not from the sea,” I said with a shudder.

“It’s probably just because he is a human; they have different ways, different tastes than us. Become his friend; then he will take you to Walden.”

Finn was very set on that human taking me to Walden.

You should travel with him , my melody sang.

“I am not good at making friends.”

“I am your friend,” Finn said with a puffed out chest and a frown.

“You are, and yet you have to like me because you are my cousin.”

“Technically, I do not have to like you at all. I do not like Coral,” he said with a smirk.

I splashed water in his face, and he laughed.

“But seriously, come into the water all the way, and see if you get your tail back again.”

I stepped deeper into the waves, feeling a peace engulf me as I walked further and further into the waves, causing the almost dry fabric of Dominick’s clothing to become wet.

“Anything yet?” Finn asked.

“No,” I said, shaking my head. I walked in deeper and deeper, and then I felt it as I was submerged to my waist.

Slowly, my two legs and feet merged together, becoming my teal tail again. I dove under the water with a smile. I breathed in the water and let it soak inside of me. The surface was beautiful and mysterious, but I had, dearly, missed the sea. It felt so wonderful. I swam toward Finn.

“That is so easy,” Finn said as I popped out before him. “You'd think it would require more.”

“I cannot tell you how much I missed the sea, even though it was only one day,” I said with a smile. Finn splashed my face. I splashed him back. “Finn, if I need to travel to Walden, you need to help get us rescued.”

“How do you believe I can manage that?” he asked.

“All you have to do is lead the humans, a human ship, to us. You know that no human can find Marren Island without the help of a mer.”

“I’ll see what I can do. I’ll search for a ship from Walden. I am familiar with their flag. If I place bits of the wrecked ship in the water, like a trail, maybe they will follow it.”

“The human was worried about the people on board his ship. Do you know if any of the humans died?”

“A few died, but most of them survived; they had some smaller boats to save them.”

“Okay–”

“Meria?” I heard a shout from the shore and went back under the water.

“He's here!” I exclaimed to Finn with my melody.

“Go then. You need him to be your friend, right?”

“Well, yes, but I am not ready for him to know I am a mermaid till I know him better.”

“Are you sure he did not see your tail?”

“No, I woke up before him, and I was already human,” I said, shaking my head and biting my lip.

Finn popped his head out of the water, then came back down.

“He went away,” he sang.

I popped my head out and saw that he was no longer on the beach. Finn moved up beside me.

“Hurry up before he comes back,” he said, poking my back. I nodded and swam up onto the shore and pulled myself out of the water until my entire tail was out of the sea. In a few minutes, my tail disappeared, and my new legs and feet appeared. I stood and watched Finn wave to me, before diving under the sea.

“Ah, there you are–” I turned to see Dominick, walking toward me. “You had a swim?” he asked, and I looked down at his clothing, which I wore. It was wet and stuck to my body.

“Yes,” I said as he reached me.

“I found a cave. It’s actually really close–and empty, so I think it will be a safe place for the night. There is also a small pool, where the stream feeds into it, near the cave, and we can draw water there.”

I nodded.

“I think I can catch some fish if you can look for some wood for a fire?” he asked.

I nodded, not exactly sure where wood could be found.

I knew that human ships were made from wood and that wood often rotted under the sea. Brown, wood is brown. I walked around, picking up long, brown sticks from the ground. Once my arms were full of the wood, I made my way back to the cave. Dominick was not back yet, and I sat in the mouth of the cave, waiting and looking at my legs, which were covered in that brown sand. When he returned, he had a small smile on his face.

He held up a fish with his hand, then began to make his way to the cave. I looked at the fish’s tail as he carried it surrounded by air, so out of place, while I walked behind him. The scales reminded me of my own tail, and I wondered what he would do if he discovered that I was a mermaid. Would he want to spear me, too? No–humans wanted us alive for our magic. We ate sea life, too, although it was still a bit strange to see that fish in his hand–on land. I couldn't eat. The whole dynamic of that fish being eaten out of the water, seemed wrong. I felt sick.

“And you found–” He paused beside the pile of sticks I had collected and placed inside the cave. He frowned. I had not found the right wood, it seemed.

“Is this not good wood?” I asked.

“I am sure some of it will work,” he said as he kicked at a few pieces. It seemed that he favored the pieces that were not very wet. I tried to find the wettest wood I could. Perhaps, that was not the correct strategy.

“I have never made a fire before, but I would like to learn,” I said. He looked up from the wood pile.

“We need dry wood for a fire. I know that is probably difficult as this island is more tropical, and most everything is drenched in water. It is very humid here.”

I scrunched up my face. The island was so incredibly dry, and I had no idea what he was talking about. Wet? He thinks the island is wet? I watched him as he set the fish upon a rock and gathered up the dryest sticks and made a pile out of them in an odd shape.

“The fire needs air and wood,” he said, pointing to the sticks as if it would explain how they were arranged. I just nodded, fascinated by him. “You haven't had a fire since being stranded?”

I shook my head, no .

“Luckily, I still have this in my pocket,” he said, pulling out something black from his pocket with a wink.

My stomach did a flip, and my head felt light–as if I had just done a backflip. His eyes caught mine, and his lips tilted at their sides. I liked that look entirely too much. He looked back down at his hands, and I watched as he bent over, causing sparkles and tiny lights to spray over the wood. He leaned down and gently blew, and in a matter of moments, a yellowish, reddish-orange, rippling wave emerged from within the sticks, causing billowing clouds to rise above it. It moved and swayed, just as water did, and I had a desire to reach out and touch it. I moved closer, reaching out my hand, and the closer I got, the warmer it was. I wondered how close I could get before it burned me like the lava tubes within the ocean, but before I could see, Dominick pulled me back by my waist.

“Don’t touch it!” he said as if he were dumbfounded by my behavior.

“Beautiful,” I said with a smile still looking at the flames.

He moved his hands away from my waist.

“Did you injure your head when you were shipwrecked?” he asked as he began poking the fire with a stick.

“I believe so; things are confusing? I do not remember fire being so beautiful, and many other things; I am so sorry,” I said.

“I will help you as best I can.”

I felt my cheeks heat up as I looked at the flames, and I felt foolish. I must not have been acting very human. Perhaps, injuring my head was a good enough excuse for my strange, non-human behavior.

“Sorry,” I began again, but he looked at me, and I paused.

“Why are you sorry? You didn't do anything to me.” He brushed it off as he picked up the fish. I watched the fire grow and turn bright and yellow. It was so lovely. If only mer could have such a thing beneath the waves–that light and warmth could save my people. But, of course, that was foolish as it was impossible to bring that air-fire into the depths. Even the Marren Lights were not so beautiful. It reminded me of–

“You have captured the sun. Are you an Ancient human?” I asked, looking up at him with a playful smile.

“I am as far from an Ancient as can be,” he chuckled darkly.

“Oh–” I had no idea what to say or how to respond to him, so I was silent. He speared the fish with the stick he was holding, and set it over the fire.

“What does the fire do to the fish?” I asked in awe, watching as he turned it, and the scales glistened in the firelight. It was terrifying, yet beautiful. We used the heat from lava flows. Merpeople pressed injuries against the tubes to close their skin in order to stop the flow of blood when injured in the depths when using our healing magic was not possible.

“You truly do not remember what cooking is?” he asked, his eyebrows rising.

“No, I seem to have forgotten much,” I said, looking away from him. I hoped that I was believable.

“That is okay. The fire cooks it, heats it, so you can eat it."

“Oh, I usually just eat them as they are.”

“Raw? You are not from Walden, are you?"

“No, I do not believe so,” I said, and then I remembered what Finn had suggested. Become his friend, and have him take me to Walden. “I would like to go to Walden. My mother is there.”

“My mother, too,” he grumbled slightly under his breath.

“Are you hoping to return if we get rescued?” I asked.

“To Walden? Eventually, yes, I do need to go to Walden, but I have a mission to accomplish first.” He paused as he spoke and continued to focus on the fish, turning the stick.

“Mission?” I motioned for him to continue.

“My sister, I am looking for my sister. I believe she is across the Misted Seas.”

I gasped. No humans were allowed within the Misted Seas unless accompanied by a magical sea creature. Why was his sister beyond the Misted Seas? Even mermaids stayed away from there. Sirens were believed to dwell within those cooler waters and other terrifying sea creatures.

After a few more minutes of silence, he declared that the fish was cooked and then tore it in two, giving me a piece. I winced, trying not to compare myself to the fish. We were both quite vulnerable and out of our natural elements. I watched him as he ate it, and I wondered how he could eat that fish when it looked so unnatural, so horrible. I was starving, so I nibbled on it, but I had to spit it back out. It felt weird in my dry mouth and tasted awful and dry.

“You don’t like it?” he asked.

I shook my head, no .

“Okay, tomorrow, I am sure we can find you something you like, or you can have them raw if you'd prefer that.”

“Thank you,” I said, feeling a bit tired .

How do humans sleep without the lull of the ocean moving them, rocking them to sleep? It was so still and quiet in that cave.

“You can rest if you'd like. I'm sure you are tired.”

“Thank you,” I said, but did not move. After a little while, Dominick reclined on the cave floor, and I followed his lead. Humans slept laying down. It made sense because it would not be possible to sleep standing up. Although it was possible for merlings to sleep upright, I liked laying on my open clam shell. I missed it at that moment. The only noise was the flickering fire for a time before Dominick turned to look at me.

“If you get cold, please let me know. Body warmth is a great way to warm up. Don’t worry. While I would not call myself anything close to a gentleman, in this sense, I am,” he said.

“Gentle?” While he was not unkind, gentle seemed the completely wrong word to describe Dominick. He was strong, brave, and sure of himself.

“I can be if needed,” he said quickly.

“Okay, thank you, gentleman Dominick,” I said with a nod.

He laughed; it made his blue eyes so bright. It was a glorious sight.

“Sorry,” I said, slightly embarrassed, not knowing what I had said wrong. I was sure I did not sound at all like a human.

“No need to be sorry. I haven't laughed in a while; it felt nice.”

I followed his example and reclined on the other side of the fire, seeing his handsome face through the flickering, colorful flames.

“Goodnight, Meria.”

“Goodnight, Dominick.”