A Mermaid's Heart

Chapter Two.

Night had fallen over the Sunken Soul, Ben and I had worked to light the lamps around the deck as Nolan and Snaggletooth lit a much larger fire inside a steel drum, the one they would use for warmth on much colder nights. Rebecca sat at a makeshift table, the wind causing her hair to dance much like she would while her eyes scanned the cards and dice in front of her. The game was called three pieces where the players must match up three of the same cards in the deck with three of the same numbers on the dice when they threw it. She was a natural, laughing and taking a sip of her wine whenever she would get close to winning. A glass eye, a few rings and some golden buttons that had been stolen off a man’s coat in Port Alice, lay on the table, the only things worth bidding on the whole of the ship. Ben and I sat by the table in the navigation room, Blue looking on when I tried to explain to her how the letters of the alphabet should sound when spoken, the shapes the tongue should take to be able to form the words properly. She tried and tried but failed causing Ben to chuckle at her frustration and confusion. She couldn’t understand why the words didn’t sound the way they were meant to. She didn’t know how to move her tongue properly apart from when she ate. Caleb was on the helm, his eyes locked on the horizon much like they always were, in a rush to get to where the sea was taking us “Try saying Ben” I prompted, motioning to the man seated across from me. He had his arms crossed on the table, looking at Blue like she was some type of rare fish that he wanted to dissect. There was a hint of fascination and adoration in those brown eyes of his “B-e-n” I said the sounds, loudly, clearly so that Blue could hear me. Ben smiled when Blue furrowed her eyebrows up in concentration, trying to first form the word in her head before she attempted to speak it “B-.” the single sound was dragged on for some time, causing Ben to sit on the edge of his seat, waiting for her to continue “-en” the name was like music on her lips, much like anything she said was, sounding so magical and mystical. Ben grinned like a proud father and shot a brilliant smile in my direction “Ben!” Blue rushed out when she realized that she had said it right the first time. She repeated it a few more times and sat up straighter, her eyes going from Ben to me when she repeated his name “Mary” she said out loud when her eyes landed on me. The two names echoed around us, repeated once then twice causing both me and Ben to laugh as she flew up from her seat, excited. I still wasn’t used to being called Mary, the woman whom I had seen so many times in my dreams and visions, the women I was born as. I was the little girl in the bed, asking her mother to read her a bedtime story, I was the blond girl with the tight bun, doing her best to perform a ballet routine. I was the one playing the grand piano in the ball room, the one who had written the letter to Caleb, the one who had given herself to him that night two years ago. My smile faded as I watched Blue, my mind going back to that night, his touch, his kisses and gentle words. The panting, the heated skin and hands fisting at the sheets beneath me. I found it hard to believe that what I had seen while I was just Evangeline was in fact me, Mary Grace Sillvan. The bed that I had been avoiding for so long was mine, the yellow dress I had worn was meant for me, the ring he had given me to wear as his pretend wife, was mine and the locket. The locket. I froze when I heard a sound coming from the deck of the ship, Blue’s head whipping in that direction as her eyes began to glow, she had heard it too but Ben was completely unaware of the danger that lurked in the waters beneath the ship. The low hissing sound touched my ears again, the brushing of scales over the side of the ship was almost masked by the laughter of the crew while they played at their games and drank by the fire. My eyes followed its movement, glancing into the kitchen area that sat off to the side then toward the helm ‘The helm’ that’s where Caleb was. My head was thrown back, my hands gripping at the table and the chair when the glass doors began to rattle. It was the that Ben realized something was wrong but before anyone could stop it, it was too late. Something lashed out onto the deck, snapping its mouth down onto one of the crew then wrapping itself around the man. It was only then that I could make out what it was. The golden scales reflected the light of the fire while its long, slender body constricted around the man it had captured. The rest of the crew had erupted into chaos, some running for the trap door, others backing away, some leaping overboard as Rebecca stood stunned, watching while one of the snake’s heads began to digest the sedated man, opening its mouth wide to take the human in, head first ‘A two headed snake’ I thought, my body stiff and eyes wide with horror, the sight of the man being slowly swallowed whole was enough to make my stomach churn, the contents becoming harder to keep down. Blue’s hands balled at her sides, claws digging into the flesh of her palms ‘Neptune’ the single word was sent into all of our minds, including Rebecca’s. She looked up to us with terrified eyes and knew that whatever the creature in front of her was, it had been sent by Neptune to hunt both Blue and I down “Aurum” the name escaped me before I could stop it. I began to slowly rise from my chair, turning to fully face the creature. It was one of the protectors of the sea, like Gigas but instead of being powerful like the turtle, Aurum was violent and unpredictable. It was said that Neptune would only release it from its cage if the underworld was to start seeping into the sea. Why is it here? Why would Neptune be willing to go to such lengths all for the sake of keeping memories hidden? The reptile had finished swallowing the man and turned its attention onto me when its name had left my lips “Evangeline-.” Ben warned, lowly, cautiously but he didn’t more, too afraid that if any sudden movements were made that the serpent would lash out once more. Cards littered the deck of the ship, dice was thrown in every direction and the table was turned onto its side. The sound of a sword being unsheathed came from overhead and its eyes followed the noise “No” I breathed, knowing that the sound had come from the helm and that there was only one person on that part of the ship. Blue looked at me, her teeth clenching but her words came from her mind ‘Do not act recklessly’ she said, knowing exactly what I was thinking without needing the ability to read minds. I locked eyes with her, my lips pressed together, my fingers twitching at my sides. She knew me, she knew that I could be reckless when it came to the people I care about ‘The fate of thousands rests in your hands, if you are to die then all of this would have been for nothing’ she wasn’t referring to their current lives but to the ones they had lived in their past, to the memories that they harbored, the identities that have been lost. If I died then they would stay lost, mothers would lose their daughters, lovers would be torn away from each other like Caleb and I had been, fathers would not remember their children, siblings would be split apart by the seal placed upon their minds, depriving them of the relationships they had experienced while they were human. I gave a sad smile “Forgive me” with that I darted forward, my feet carrying me onto the deck and toward the giant snake that was too focused on Caleb to notice me until I skidded to a stop in front of it, ten feet away “Eva!” Ben yelled from somewhere behind me when the golden creature turned its heads toward me, the eyes glistening with excitement even though it couldn’t see past the heat that my body radiated “Lassie!” Nolan exclaimed from his place, shielding Rebecca with his body. My eyes frantically searched the deck, the man on the helm behind me my main concern. He couldn’t die, he wouldn’t die. I was terrified, my hands trembling at my sides when I once again looked at the serpent straight ahead of me. My mind raced with thoughts, eyes going to the body of the beast that was wrapped around the ship, the sound that the sword had made when it was unsheathed, the fire still burning in the pit “Your sword!” I cried out to the man stationed above me, the pirate Captain that had called my name as if to tell me to turn around and head back below deck but I had ignored him and met his eyes with determination in my own. He gritted his teeth but did as I had asked him to when the reptile lunged itself at me. He tossed the sword over the helm’s railing allowing it to twist and spin until I could catch the hilt of it in my outstretched hand. I wrapped my fingers around it and stepped to the side, narrowly dodging the beast and watching as Blue hurriedly shut the glass doors to the navigation room in time for the creature to crash into it, shattering the glass into a thousand pieces, some of which imbedded itself into the snake’s body. Despite the doors breaking, they still managed to protect both Blue and Ben as the protector turned and once again made for me. I shot forward, running in the direction of the fire as fast as my legs could carry me. There was a sudden burst of warmth as the mouth of the serpent came ever closer and I knew that I had to do something or else I would die. The snake would devour me like it had the man from before. I raised the sword and jabbed it into the part of the snake that was dangling over the side of the ship when I passed. There was a loud screech, black blood trickling from the wound as I leaped for the fire pit, my hand outstretched, ready to grab hold of the rods that sat within the fire for the crew to poke around at it with. I knew that it was going to be hot, I knew that my hand would only suffer more, I knew this but I had no other choice. Hands were only hands but a life, the life of others on the ship was more important than my own limbs. I tore the searing hot piece of metal from the flames and rolled onto my back just as the beast lunged for my head. I raised it, jabbing the pole into its open mouth and deep in its throat, causing it to rear back and let out a whining, weeping sound that tore through the air around us. I instantly let go of the rod and gripped at my wrist, my hand trembling, the wound scorching. I bit down on my bottom lip and glanced at Aurum, the protector dived into the sea, untangling its body from the ship to delve down deeper, to disappear into the oceans waves, leaving behind only silence and stunned pirates. The silence was broken by a shriek, my shriek that I wasn’t even aware I had let out, catching the attentions of everyone around me. I fell back onto the wood, my eyes staring up at the sky that was starting to clear of clouds, giving way to a map of endless stars. I felt tears streaming down the sides of my face, I could taste the salt on my lips and clenched teeth but I couldn’t hear my sobs, the sound having gone mute to my ears. A man fell to his knees beside me, reaching for my wrist and scooping me into his arms. I curled in on myself, feeling the pain grow even more unbearable. I had always loved playing the piano as Mary and even when I had played it as Evangeline, I had enjoyed it so much that the thought of my hands being too damaged to ever play again made my eyes fall shut and my heart ache with dread. I would truly give up anything for him, I would abandon the piano if it meant keeping Caleb safe, I would forget how to dance if it was solely for his sake, I would stop breathing if it meant that he could continue to life. I was placed in the tub in the Captain’s quarters moments before Rebecca began to pour water onto my body from a bucket that she had rushed to get. I gasped when the cold water came in contact with my skin and flexed my hand when it began to burn the wound even more. Another bucket was poured onto me followed by another. They were trying to soak my hand in it since it would be impossible to ask me to di my hand into a bucket when I couldn’t even move on my own. It was all a blur, from my soaking in the tub to them lifting me out of it and carrying me to the bed. They had rubbed some type of ointment onto my hand made from natural ingredients. The wound wasn’t wrapped for fear of the blisters sticking to the fabric of a rag or cloth then later peeling away once the bandage would be removed. I remember blinking at my hand while Rebecca applied the cream, the cuts and scar, the stiches and burn made my hand look abused, destroyed because of what it had been through. I glanced at the other hand, still wrapped in its bandages and knew that beneath the material lay even more scares, cuts and scrapes. I would have to wear gloves for the rest of my life. Would I be able to feel with my burnt fingertips again? Would I feel Caleb’s skin when I went to touch it? These thoughts crossed my mind at some point during the treatment of my hand, maybe it was after the tub or before I had fallen numb? I stared at the far wall, my hand laying limp beside me while Caleb sat by my side, his own hand brushing over my cheek, his thumb running across my bottom lip. He felt guilty, I could see it in his eyes whenever he would look at my injured hand or in the way he would bury his face in my hair as if tell me that he was sorry. He felt weak, like he couldn’t protect the one thing he loved more than anything but I couldn’t tell him that it was alright for me to be the one protecting him when he felt the same way toward me. He would give his life just so I could have mine, he would do anything if it meant that I could live, even sacrifice a reincarnation if that had been the case. We would protect each other then, even if it meant doing so against a god that was out to kill us.