Dance of the Mermaids

Chapter 1 – Sea Creatures

Fiorentina

The mirror flickered again, and the image was gone. I was left there with my mouth hanging open. I almost liked Carla’s version of the story better. The image of a wickedly handsome merman would have been preferable to seeing myself dead. Dead with human legs! Even a plain merman would do.

I lifted the mirror and twisted to swim a few meters upwards and out of the deep-sea trench toward where the sunken pirate ship was lodged into rock and sediment. I flung the mystical object into the wreck. I had no plans to keep it. I feared the repercussions of destroying it, but I did not want to risk Carla seeing it, either.

“Fiorentina! Where are you?” Fiorea called.

Oh no.

If my older sister had to be yelling like that, it meant that my mother had also noticed my disappearance. It could not have been that long, could it?

I swam upward faster. Fortunately, mermaids did not suffer the same condition humans suffer from whenever they surge upward.

“Well, there you are!” Carla cried. “Where were you?”

“I won the race, Carla,” I said, trying to inject as much triumph into my voice. My heart was still pounding hard, and I could swear my hands were jittery. So, I clasped them together almost as if in prayer.

She combed through her silky red hair, her pride and joy, with her slender fingers. She looked genuinely concerned, I must admit, but I was not ready to keep the peace. I pulled at my black hair. Midnight black. Something to disappear in.

“What race? I reached the finish line, and you were not there,” Carla said.

She was right, of course, but I was a proud little wretch. I also did not want to part with the secret knowledge I now have.

“Okay,” I sighed. “You won. I went swimming further. That’s all. I don’t know what you all are fussing about.”

The vision of the dead bodies flashed before my eyes again. I almost whimpered but bit my lower lip enough to make it bleed.

Suffice it to say that I was not allowed to swim into the depths of the ocean. Because of this new restriction, I asked if I could explore the land.

“You must be joking,” Fiorea exclaimed.

She was about twenty-three summers, a spinster, and she sometimes thought she was my mother. Our real mother sighed heavily.

“I know you like your adventure, Fiorentina. I believe if I keep you here, you may rebel even more.”

“No, mother -,” I protested.

“Listen. No matter what they say about humans, the depths are more dangerous.”

“More dangerous?”

“Of course, it is. You must keep away from the sea witches – and other sea creatures.”

I pondered about that. My mother might be right. I was too sheltered, staying primarily in our cove and its environs. We mingled with fellow mermaids from the same community. My latest adventure shook some of my beliefs.

Perhaps Cora’s Tante Mercelle was trying to tell us something. She knew some of the young mermaids would only listen if she added a dash of romance to her stories. She could have caught me hook, line, and sinker, if she were more willing to talk about the gruesome details.

“So, does it mean I can rise to the land above?” I asked, excitement brewing inside me.

“Yes.”

“Do I need to fulfill a mission? Smile at some mermen? Dance for the Cove?”

My sister rolled her eyes at me. She weaved shells together with a magic golden thread to create something to cover our bosoms. If someone asked me who was the nicer one between us, I would willingly say my sister was. Yes, she was. After my father died from being at the wrong end of a deep-sea trawler when I was ten, Fiorea had made it her mission to be our mother’s comfort.

It meant that I was the only one they had been relying on to marry an important merman.

“You know what your role will soon be, Fiorentina. Enjoy your time out there in the sun. Walk on two legs to see what it’s like. Dance on the shore. However, you must always remember to return.”

“To marry, you mean?”

“Yes. Prince Radu will soon visit our cove and see who the eligible mermaids are. You must get yourself ready for that.”

“Why can’t mermaids choose their betrothed?”

My mother laughed at that. Nobody questioned the law of the ocean, especially not if marrying a sea god was at stake. As much as I loved to see her look delighted, I was not joking.

“Mother, who do I see about shifting into a human?” my mind hopped on to the promised adventure. I was excited about the novelty, but not about seeing the humans themselves. They were the monsters that little mermaids and mermen were warned against before they slipped into their coves.

“You don’t need to see anybody, not really. Nevertheless, a trip to Tante Mercelle would do you some good.”

I groaned. Not her. I did not want Carla to know about my preparations to go on land. I was not sure I wanted to go up, either, not when the bad outweighed the good. I shuddered at the memory of my father’s remains sinking back into the ocean.

He had only wanted to help. There was a storm, and some men were hollering from a ship. My father had thought he could help. So, he rose to see how he could assist the crew. My uncle Drigo saw how the human men threw a trawler at them. It was no accident. They were not fishing. Instead, they wanted a merman. Perhaps they wanted him as a plaything, a freak in one of their shows. I’ve heard stories about their performances. Of dancing, singing, and acting for a crowd. Some went beyond, by using people who looked different to be jeered at, gawked at, and feared. Transforming into the two-legged beast would give us more insight into their activities. Their thoughts. Nobody else had weaponized such knowledge. Perhaps I could be the first.

“Okay, mother. I will go to Tante Mercelle,” I sighed dramatically.

Fiorea shook her head in disgust and placed her crafted garments into her precious wooden box.

“I will go with her, Mother, at least to Tante Mercelle’s,” she offered.

So, we went. It was not that far. It took possibly a hundred wiggles with my tail, each movement annoying my sister to no end. She was a patient one, my dear Fiorea, because we reached Tante Mercelle’s little coral cave without her whacking me on the head.

“Good day, Tante Mercelle,” I called.

“Good day,” was the delighted croak. “How may I help?”

Suddenly, I felt some remorse and pity. Of course, the old wise mermaid expected merfolks to visit only when they needed help.

“I want to shift into my human form. My mother said I need to come here for some advice,” I said hesitantly, my tone rising almost like in a question.

“You are eighteen summers, are you not?” she asked.

“Yes, I am, Tante.”

“Then, you only needed to go past the edge of the water. Hold on to the sand, claim it. Not only the two-legged beasts have a claim to the soil just as they sink to our depths as if they owned them.”

“That’s all?”

“That’s all. The only time you will not shift is if someone curses or punishes you. The Fire Coral Cove community’s elders should have agreed to the punishment. It is not something that one could simply give to you.”

I nodded, agreeing. The community was right to prevent the possibility of abuse.

“So, is it true what they say? We will become merfolks again if we drink water or get splashed with it while on land.”

She shook her head, amused.

“No. That’s not always true. Different types of merfolks have different rules. Those rules keep us loyal to the water. Our own is more lenient, I must say.”

“What is it?” I asked eagerly.

“You cannot fall asleep on land,” she warned.

“Or else I’ll become a mermaid on land?”

“No. Or else you’ll die.”

I gasped. I turned toward my sister. She confirmed it with a nod. Fiorea had never been on land and had no desire to go. My mother thought that by making me have my adventures early on, I would gladly take on a husband when the time came.

“Is there any way out of it?” I demanded.

“No. The only other way is if you become human,” the old mermaid said. Her hand suddenly flew to her mouth as if she had said too much.

She had said enough to make me wonder. So, it was true then – the rumors that some merfolks might have found a way to become human. But how could humans become merfolks?

The vision of the two-legged woman with my face floating dead on the water came rushing back. My heart pounded wildly. Again, my hands felt like sea urchins were prickling them.

“I’m ready then,” I said.

It was not just an adventure for me, just like a race with Carla was not just a race for me. It was going to be a treasure hunt, but the treasure was the identity of the woman with my face.

***

My first shift would be at twilight. I was not yet brave enough to transform under so much light and possible scrutiny during the day. I needed to scout the grounds to see what to avoid and where to tread. I did not expect to find anything yet, on my first night.

I surfaced, feeling the strangeness of being half-immersed in water and half-caressed by the breeze. I swam to the shore swiftly and effortlessly. As soon as I reached the edge of the water, I clutched at a heap of sand. I claimed the soil. Tante Mercelle was right. Every creature made by the gods could lay claim to the land. After all, the humans had laid claim to every little thing under the sun.

A dress waited for me on the rocks. It was kept in a wooden chest, and my locket had the key. My mother was right about telling the wise old mermaid about my impending shift. She had some mermen purchase some human clothes the other day. I shifted.

It was not painful, but it gave my whole body a tingling feeling. I was almost vibrating as the scales peeled off and made way for legs. I tried to run to the rocks to get the dress, but I stumbled at the first attempt. My body fell on the sand. I tried again. Then, I fell again. Graceful on the sea, my first attempts at walking were a disaster so far.

I focused on my legs, thought of each as a separate tail. I thought of my hands and how I could sometimes press them on the ocean floor. On the rocks. I knelt first on those bumps that bent the legs. They were called knees. I stretched until I was standing on the tiny feet the gods had given me that night. Then, I pressed. One foot went forward, followed by the other. I giggled once I found my rhythm. Then, I twirled, naked, with only my hair covering parts of my body. I did more turns until I reached the rocks where the chest could be found. Then, I used my key to unlock it and found a beautiful purple tulle and silk dress.

It was not long after I slipped the dress on when a voice called out. It was a deep voice, slightly slurred.

“Good evening, fair maiden. Are you invited to the ball?”

I prepared myself to see a hideous two-legged beast. Instead, I came face to face with a handsome man, with limbs fully covered and drinking something from a glass.

“Yes, I am,” was all that I could say.