41. Chapter Forty-One

Chapter Forty-One

Meria

T he island was dark as we rowed the small boat across the glassy sea and onto the shore. It was something else, possibly the clouds, causing the depth of darkness. It was only Dominick and me.

“Are you really ready?” he asked.

“Yes–I hope we find your sister.”

He nodded and tied the boat to a tree before he nodded in the direction of the jungle to the right.

“It is just through there.” Suddenly, as I removed myself from the waves and away from the boat, I collapsed to the ground. My tail shimmered and fell into the wet sand. I moved myself from the sea and waited. It usually only took a few moments to change back into a human.

What is going on?

“Meria–” Dominick began, but then quickly pulled me into his arms. We stood there, our breaths coming in very quickly and our eyes holding each other as we waited for my legs.

“Why are you not changing back?” he whispered.

“I have no idea,” I said, fearful and confused.

Dominick looked around.

I gasped.

He looked at me, confused. “What hurt you?”

“No, Dominick! Your veins–” I said, touching his chest where his shirt was always unbuttoned, showing just a peek of his skin. Without thinking much about it, I began unbuttoning his shirt and gasped. He looked down at himself.

“What is this?” he said, looking at his veinless skin.

“I have no idea. Are you in pain?”

“I feel as I always do. There is a lingering pain, yes.”

“How very strange.”

“It must be something about the island,” Dominick said.

I nodded.

“I will carry you. Maybe my skin and your tail are a result of this island.” He began walking up the beach, toward the jungle.

“It is too far to carry me.”

“I am strong enough, Meria. You weigh very little; it's like carrying a small fish.”

“No, it is not, and do not call me a ‘fish,’ please; you eat fish.”

“But, you are half fish?” he asked with a sparkle in his eyes.

“Still, I am mer. Call me a dolphin if anything; they are more comparable.”

He just chuckled. Luckily, the island was small, and in only a few minutes, twenty or so, we came upon what had to be the Mirror Sea. Its name was perfectly fitting. I did not know what we were looking for, or what was so special about the Mirror Sea, but I assumed Dominick did.

There before us stood a perfectly circular body of water. The depths seemed dark, and yet within them, there were millions of stars, sparkling. No waves lapped upon the shore, for there was no sand. Only rocks surrounded it, like a large pool. The surface was incredibly still, just like a mirror. As we moved closer, it was hard to tell where the starry sky ended and the Mirror Sea began.

“It is incredible,” I gasped.

“Truly, it is,” Dominick said, looking at the pool, then over to me. “I believe my sister could be here, somewhere. The Mirror Sea could give me the answer to where she really is.”

“How?”

“There is a legend about this place. It is said that if you capture a star from the Mirror Sea, you will be granted the desire of your heart.”

“The desire to find your sister!” I said with a smile.

“Yes, I have searched every sea and kingdom for her, and when I learned about the Misted Seas, I thought that she had to be here, and although she may be hidden well here on some island, coming here might help me locate her,” Dominick said.

“Wow, that is so wonderful.”

“It can help you, too, possibly help you find your mother, tell you if she is truly in Walden, or how to save your people,” Dominick said with excitement.

“Truly?” “Yes, if that is the desire of your heart,” he said with a gentle smile.

I wanted to save my people, wanted to find my mother, but shamefully, I was not sure it was the current, greatest desire of my heart.

“Shall we get the answers we seek? We must meet with the protector of the sea, first.”

“Who is the protector of the sea?” I asked.

Dominick set me down on a rock and pulled out his map from his back pocket.

“Here, it is a drawing of a dragon.”

“A dragon!” I gasped. I knew very little about Dragons, only that they were some of the oldest magical beings in existence, even older than the Ancients.

“Yes, if we ripple the water, the dragon is supposed to come and tell us what to do to gain our desires. I will learn where my sister is, and you will learn how to save your people.”

I nodded. Yes, I wanted to save them. I loved my people. I focused on them as Dominick picked me up again, and we moved to the edge of Mirror Sea.

Looking over the edge of the rocks and down into the depths, it seemed so deep.

I looked at Dominick.

“You should go first. You have wanted this far longer than I have,” I said.

“No. You go first, Meria.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” he said tenderly. He sat down beside me, and I took his hand in mine as I leaned over. I felt him squeeze it as I dipped my hand into the water, watching the once still pool ripple and warp, the stars sparkling within it.

“Think of your intent; hold it there in your heart,” he whispered.

I thought of my people, thought of my family, my sisters, and my nieces, nephews, Finn and Dominick. Dominick, his painful, hurting eyes, his furrowed brow, the scar on his cheek from his father, the black veins that drained the happiness from him, the blasted curse I wanted to save him from, the light in his eyes when he looked at me. I loved his smirky pirate smile, the golden earring in his ear, the fathoms within his eyes. I loved the way he always protected me and the others he cared about, and those precious memories of the cave, him saving me and helping me when I was so afraid.

He was good. He was so good.

“Sea Princess.”

‘I looked from the water, and then pulled back. Moving along the surface of the sea was a huge silver dragon. His scales reflected like a thousand stars in the moonlight. His wings spread out wide in the water on either side of him.

“Dragon?” I asked as he reached us, his head just barely above the water.

“You have come to receive the answer to the desires of your heart.”

“I have, wise dragon,” I said gently. The dragon lifted himself, and it was then I saw that he was a dragon serpent as he curled and lifted himself out of the water, his large wings moving, creating more ripples in the pool below.

“What is the desire of your heart?” he roared.

“To save my people. How can I save them?”

“The Mirror Sea is a reflection of who we are. It teaches us. What have you seen within it?”

“I have not–”

“Dip your hand inside again, Sea Princess.”

I reached down again and touched the water. Dominick flooded through my mind, and I tried to focus on my family and my people. I removed my other hand from his and pushed both hands inside the pool. Still, my thoughts pointed to him.

“That is not the desire–”

“The pool reveals, Sea Princess.”

“But I need help with my people.”

“You must choose a star from the depths. Choose a star, and bring it to the surface; then you shall know what you seek.” The dragon dove into the water. I removed my hands from the pool and leaned back. Dominick was there, and I leaned against his chest.

“Dive to the bottom. You can do it easily enough,” he said with a smile.

“Dominick?” I said, shaking.

If I do not find out how to save my people, they will all die. How can my heart be so selfish and think more about Dominick than my people?

“Meria, are you alright?”

“I believe so.”

“Take your time,” he said, caressing my shoulder.

I removed myself from Dominick and shook my head. I thought of Finn, my sisters, my people, Dominick, his lost family, his mother, and all the pain he had endured. No matter how hard I tried, he was right there, the main focus. Without thinking anymore about it, I dove into the Mirror Sea.

The warm water of the mirror sea was soothing. As I moved deeper and deeper, trying to reach the stars that dotted the bottom of the seabed, I tried hard to focus on my people, but my mind kept showing me Dominick.

Once I reached the bottom, it was then I realized that the entire seabed was made of nothing but those stars. As I moved to grab one, it darkened before me. Again and again, I moved and attempted to touch those stars. Finally, I moved my hand over another, and it glowed. Touching its edges, I thought of my family, of my people, but to my left, there was another star that began to flicker, then glow brighter. I moved to it, touching it, and Domnick came into my mind. I touched it and felt love pour from me to him. I saw a life that could be mine, a life that I had desired above all else for all of my life. Dominick was there with a smile on his face, and two small children were sitting upon his knees. One was playing with his golden earring, and he laughed, tickling them; the other was giggling. I came up from behind him, carrying another child, a sweet, little, chubby infant with blue eyes, just like Dominick’s. A family with beautiful children. I noticed, then, that we were on the deck of a ship. I watched another scene where Dominick was beside me as we swam in a cove, our children swimming around us; they were mer. Their tails flashed in the sunlight. I laughed as Dominick wrapped his arms around me, and one of our children splashed us with her tail.

I wanted that.

I removed my hand from the star and paused.

What is this? Why are there two stars that call to me? Can I take them both? Get answers about my people and know if this is a life I could have with Dominick? It was my dream to have what I saw there. I picked up the star and swam back to the other. I picked it up, and nothing flashed before me. I just had a feeling that it contained hope for my people. I swam up toward the surface, but it seemed the closer and closer I came to the surface, the heavier the two stars became. I paused. If they kept becoming heavier and heavier, I would have to leave one behind. I continued swimming, pulling them both into my arms, using my tail to power me through the water as best I could, but I was barely moving.

“Dragon!” I called out into the fathoms. In an instant, the dragon appeared beside me, his body was so large, as if three whales had lined up.

“Sea Princess, what do you choose?”

“I need answers to both, Dragon.”

“Only one star is yours to claim.”

“But, I need to know.”

“Look inside, Sea Princess. You know more than you realize.”

“What does that mean?”

“Your love for your people, your desire to help them does you great credit. You are more selfless than most who have dived into this sea.”

“Please, tell me how to save my people.”

“You know how to save your people.”

It was then that I realized that I did know. I knew it as soon as I had risen out of the sea and grew legs.

“We were never meant to stay in the depths of the sea,” I whispered.

“You are wise, young one.”

I looked at the star and saw our people living both on Marren Island as well as within the sea; hope bloomed inside of me.

“But my father–”

“Stubbornness afflicts many, even in the dragon realms.”

“If we rise, humans will not come for us?” I asked.

“Some humans may, but the world is a better place than it was when your people went into the fathoms, long ago.”

“Thank you, dragon.”

“So what will you do?” He nodded to the two stars I was still holding.

“Was this not you revealing my deepest desires to me?”

“This is not your deepest desire. You already know that answer. You are still deserving of one star. You must take that star to the surface.” Then the dragon curled and swam into the depths.

I slowly dropped the star that I had found first, with the truths about my people I had already learned for myself and watched as it sank to the depths below. I cradled the other star in my hands, my thoughts racing, wondering about Dominick, about a future with him, about the possibility of him being free of his curse, of us being a family, the family I had always wanted. I smiled and gripped it tight in my hand and began my swim, once again, up to the surface. Yet back down in the depths, there was another star, growing brighter and brighter, and I could not ignore it, so I swam back down to it and picked it up, placing mine upon the seabed.

As I touched the new star, lights flashed in my eyes, and I saw Dominick as a child, sitting beside his mother, his little brother so small. I saw another flash, and his sister was locked away–high away. Another flash, and Dominick was walking into Walden, speaking to his mother; she wept at his feet. I let go of the rock. Was that Dominick’s greatest desire? I saw another star alight. I moved to pick it up.

In another flash, pain flowed through me; it was as if I was Dominick. He clenched his fists, looking at those veins. I watched as a vision of myself walked up to him, kissed him as tears fell down my cheeks; then my legs grew solid–permanent. I gasped, almost dropping the star, but Dominick pulled away. The pain was gone. All the dark veins were gone. The scar on his cheek had healed. He looked at me, and then at himself. I wrapped my hands about his neck and kissed him soundly.

I dropped the star. Three stars gleaming at the bottom of the sea.

One was a life with Dominick, and the family I always wanted.

One was Dominick reuniting with his family.

And the last one, was me breaking his curse. Although there had been no words, I knew from the images within that star that, somehow, I would sacrifice my tail to break his curse. I drained all of my magic and poured it all into him with that kiss and with those tears. I had become merely human, and he had been freed.

“You must choose one. When you do, you will forget about the other stars you have seen,” the sea dragon's voice echoed through the water.

If I chose to break his curse, to bring that knowledge to the surface, Dominick would still be able to choose his desire, so he would not only be reunited with his mother, but he would have no curse. That was the only option. I reached for it, picking it up.

“That is not your desire to choose,” the dragon rumbled.

“It is here, and I desire it.”

“If you can remove it from the pool, it is yours.”

The longer I swam, the heavier and heavier it became. I was determined, but was struggling more than I could admit to myself at that moment. I looked up toward the surface, and I thought about Dominick. I closed my eyes and swam harder than I had ever swam before. In what felt like hours, my head finally broke through the water, and I panted, my body exhausted, but I made it to the rocks. Dominick was there, and helped pull me from the water. As soon as I sat upon the rocks, I felt my energy slowly coming back to me.

“You did it. Are you alright? You were down there for so long.”

I looked up at Dominick whose face was above me. I smiled, looking into those blue eyes, glancing at his scar. Soon, his scar and all his pain would be gone. I smiled again. Then, I gasped, seeing the rising sun behind us. I sat up.

“Oh, no!”

“What is the matter?” he asked.

I pointed to the sky.

“It’s alright.”

“But you did not get to go,” I said.

“I can tonight,” he said with a smile.

“I am sorry, Dominick.”

“Do not be.” It was then that even though I felt my strength coming back to me, I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.