A Mermaid's Heart

Chapter Three.

It was late, the moon was high in the sky and the pain in my hand had subsided to the point where I could try falling asleep. Caleb had crawled onto the bed beside me, wearing only his trousers and laying on his back with his eyes staring up at the ceiling. He’d help undress me once Rebecca had retired, leaving me completely naked in between the sheets and blankets. I rolled over, closing my eyes to try and finally fall asleep with my head resting on Caleb’s chest and my hand laying limp on his abdomen in front of me. I didn’t know that he was still awake until my name left his lips in a low whisper “Evangeline-.” I listened to his shallow breathing, to the sound of his heart beating in his chest, to the waters moving outside the ship. I hummed in response to him, prompting him to continue when I opened my eyes, staring down at the markings on his torso “Why are ye doing this?” it was a question that made me think, silence filling the air between us while I contemplated over my answer. My hand twitched with a need to trace the lines of black ink on his body, to feel his skin against my fingertips bit I could hardly feel my own hand let alone his skin. I knew he was referring to why I was heading to Corner’s Coast, why I was going through with what Blue wanted “For the same reason why you’re going along with it” I raised my head to look at him, the darkness clouding half his features while the light of the moon illuminated the other, making his eye seem as if it was glowing, his lips parted as he waited for me to continue “Because I love you” he didn’t need to follow me to Corner’s Coast, he didn’t need to worry about gods or stolen memories or sea nymphs and witches but there he was right by my side, ready to follow me to the ends of the earth all because he loved me. His eyes searched my face, moving from my cheeks to my nose and down to my lips “Neptune wants me dead-.” I began to explain further, using my left hand to push me into a sitting position, causing the sheets to drop down to my stomach, leaving my chest bare to his eyes “The way I see it, I could either stay where I am and let him kill me or-.” I tucked a stray strand of ivory hair back behind my ear and looked up at the ceiling overhead, at the cracks between the floorboards, at the old, warn wood then glanced at the feather mattress, the embroidered carpet and leather bound book on the nightstand. This was my home “I could follow Blue and fight to stay with you” he sat up on the bed, his hand reaching for my cheek, thumb brushing over the skin of my cheekbone before his fingers began to trail their way down my jaw, neck, in between my breasts to my stomach and around my waist to grip my hip “I can’t lose ye again” he admitted, one knee propped up beside me. I could feel his breath tickling my face when he leaned down, pressing his forehead to mine. I couldn’t look at him, I knew that if I met his eyes, I would lose control, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from melting into him “You won’t” I whispered, barely able to hear myself past the trembling of my lips and the shaking of my breath. His nose brushed against mine and I pulled back, just enough to meet his eyes. My heart squeezed in my chest, he was there, so close and he was mine. He brushed his lips over mine, first gently then waited for my reaction. I returned the kiss, neither one of us ever deepening it for fear of starting something we couldn’t quiet finish. That night I made him a promise, one that I intended to keep no matter what obstacles would block my path. I would stay with him for as long as I could before time and age would finally catch up to us. I pulled away from him, hiding my face in the side of his neck, closing my eyes to take in his familiar, intoxicating smell. I would do anything for him, even defeat a god if I needed to.

I woke from seagulls crying out overhead and men moving about the deck of the ship. My eyes blinked open to find an empty bed, my naked form concealed with the white blankets that Caleb had wrapped me in before he’d left to head above deck. My eyes found the locket on the bed side table when I threw my legs over the side of the mattress. The memory of my sixteenth birthday surfaced in the back of my mind. It had been a few months before I met Caleb. It was just like any other day filled with practice sessions, an early breakfast and lectures on History, Literature and Astrology. It was only when night had fallen that my mother had brought a small box, wrapped in baby pink paper and tied with a golden bow that it truly felt like a birthday. She had eased herself down onto the edge of my bed and brushed away the white netting that hung from the ceiling, over the mattress, making it seem as though my bed was a hidden world, the gateway of which was a white canopy, an ivory teepee. I remember the excitement that filled me when I abandoned the book I had been reading and took the box, holding it in the palms of my hands as if it would break at any moment. I missed my mother dearly, she was the only person who knew me, who understood me even if I hadn’t known it at the time. My father had forbidden me from seeing Caleb but my mother, Lady Bethany hadn’t said a word, only looking on. Somehow I had convinced myself to believe that she was against me being with a pirate Captain when really she knew my pain and longing as she had known hers. Her love for Darkheart went beyond her love for my father. She wasn’t always a noblewoman, she was raised poor and married into nobility when she was forced to marry my father. I stood up from the bed, my hand moving to caress the detailing on the locket, the haunting tune surfacing in the back of my mind. A mother and daughter, both in love with pirate Captains, one drawn to the black, another to the red. I gave a sad smile at the thought that maybe my mother and I could be the force that would end the feud between the them and finally bring them together but I knew that was far-fetched. She could never leave my father, he would hunt her down like a dog and kill anyone who dared defy him, she would live a life more miserable than the one she already lived. Being with Darkheart meant death and she couldn’t die because she loved him too much to let him live in a world without her. She took comfort in the fact that he knew she was out there, somewhere waiting for him, living only for him “Raise the anchor!” the order snapped me out of my train of thoughts and drew my eyes toward the steps that lead to the deck. There was a short dress on the foot of the bed, one that was a pale green color and had long sleeves that flared out at the bottom. I tugged the article of clothing onto my body then stepped out onto the deck. Blue was dressed in one of Ben’s oversized shirts. Her eyes were locked on the Coast with her hair tied on the back of her head while her tail whipped back and forth behind her. The ship had already been docked and I found myself holding onto the railing, eyes examining the abandoned waters around the Coast where other ships and small boats would normally be sailing in other Ports that we visited but this one was empty “People say that these waters be cursed, that the mark of the damned follows all those who enter here” Nolan explained, stepping up to my side when he noticed my sheer confusion. Blue was listening in on his words and began making her way over to where we were stood “It’s teaming with witches” the Irishman added, tangling his fingers behind his head to lean back against his hands, eyes locked onto the abandoned buildings beyond the shoreline ‘Only one witch resides here’ Blue corrected him, causing Nolan to turn and look at her, not needing to look down because of her sheer height. It was no secret that Blue confused and frightened him from the way his muscles tensed at the sight of her “Alexandria” I breathed the name, my eyes once again turning to the rundown buildings, the empty streets and gloomy grey skies. Blue watched me, her eyes focused more on me than Nolan. She didn’t particularly care about anyone other than Ben and I. Caleb approached us, clamping his hand down on Nolan’s shoulder “Man the ship” he instructed, tightening his grip more than was necessary, still irritated by the fact that Nolan had called him a moron. The Irishman tensed and dropped his arms to his sides “A-Ai, Captain!” he managed to get out before Caleb let go of him and threw himself over the ship’s railing, landing in a low crouch below. He was dressed like he always was in a shirt, an undercoat, a jacket, trousers, boots and his Captain’s hat ‘She’s waiting’ Blue felt the need to inform me when I hesitated about climbing down the side of the ship. I swallowed hard then sat down on the railing, turning so that I could start climbing down with the use of the netting on the side. Blue ignored my slow method and used her hands to hoist her feet onto the railing which she then used to leap onto the docks, landing on her hands and feet like an animal, claws scraping against the wood beneath her when she stood, eyes looking up to the deck where Ben was stood observing. I turned to jump from the netting and onto the docks, barely getting my footing when one slipped, toes dipping down into the water of the ocean before Caleb managed to grab hold of my hand, tugging me toward him and pressing me firmly to his chest “Careful, love” he warned, a slight grin on his lips when he mockingly said those two words. Blue had already begun walking in the direction of the shore and the vacant town beyond it so I stepped back from Caleb and started following her, hearing the heavy footsteps echoing my much lighter ones. The sand was as black as Alexandria’s hair when I set foot on the beach, the unique color far from the white. brown or even red sand that I had grown so used to. Caleb moved past me, hardly noticing the unique sand beneath him along with Blue who only had one objective in mind. I took my time, glancing back at the ship before I slowly made my way across the shore, savoring the feel of the sand between my toes, not sure when I would have such a simple moment to just breathe after listening to what the witch had to say. Sand turned to cobble stone that was littered in broken shards of glass, dust and dirt that had been blown in along with the sea breeze. There was a bells tower that had crumbled over time, its bells littering the streets and the roof of one of the surrounding buildings. The winding path of stone stretched on to a structure, a circular wall built on the top of a slope and surrounded by long green grass. It looked collapsed, abandoned with plants growing in between the cracks of the stone slaps. Blue stepped in through the entrance of the circle and disappeared from view. Caleb paused to look back at me, finding that my back was turned to him, eyes taking in the sight of the ship and the ocean beyond that, the town and grey skies. I might not survive facing Neptune, it might be the last time I saw the sea or the Sunken Soul for that matter. I breathed in through my nose, shoulders straightening out as a thought crossed my mind ‘I promised him’. I couldn’t die, I wouldn’t die even if I had to claw my way back to life “Evangeline?” I glanced back at the Captain from over my shoulder, his eyes trying very hard to conceal the fear and anxiety of what lay ahead. He might’ve fooled Eva by placing an annoyed look on his features but Mary knew him better than that. I dared one last glimpse at the world beyond the stone circle, surrounding a patch of grass the turned, my hands rubbing at my arms in anticipation of what was to come “There’s no turning back” I said when I passed Caleb and stepped into the circle, not bothering to pause or wait for Caleb to follow for fear of me changing my mind and running in the opposite direction. The golden eyes watched my body disappear while my mismatched ones stared in awe at the circular tower that formed overhead, books lining the walls with chairs and a table placed in the middle of the room. Walkways hung overhead and rooms branched out on the bottom floor. I threw my head back, my arms dropping back to my sides at the sheer height of the structure before me. The roof above was mostly made of tile but a stained glass window hung midway up the tower, an image of a circle with a crescent moon on either side of it, disrupting the minimal light that poured in through the round window, casting a shadow on the floor where I stood. Blue was inspecting a few of the books that littered the surface of the table while Caleb entered the cloaked building, hidden from the outside by magic, powerful magic that only a witch could manipulate “Welcome” I turned in the direction of the voice and so did the others to find a woman dressed in a black gown, her raven hair dangling down to her lower back with her white eyes solely locked onto my form. She looked like she had stepped directly out of my memories to appear at the top of a grand staircase, opposite the large double doors “Ye-.” Caleb muttered under his breath from beside me as if he recognized the woman with the mark of a crescent moon on her forehead. I shot him a glance, wanting to ask how he knew her but before I could, the woman began descending the stairs “Mary Grace Sillvan” my attention was drawn back to her. I hated that name, despite it being my birth name but I preferred to be called ‘Evangeline’ especially after having believed that it was my name for so long. I chose to stay silent, not correcting her while her ebony dress trailed behind her, gliding over the steps until her heels clicked against the floor of the tower “I am sure, you have many questions” she stopped a few feet in front of me, taller but not as tall as Blue. Her neatly folded hands were hidden behind the much too long sleeves of her dress that dangled down to the floor “But before I provide you with answers-.” she held one hand out to Caleb, palm facing up but her eyes never once left me. Like Blue, she hardly acknowledged him as if he wasn’t important when it came to their grand scheme “The jewels” Blue was inspecting a golden globe that she found fascinating to stare at, turning it this way and that to take in the mapped continents. Caleb’s eyes flickered in my direction before he stuffed his hand into the pocket of his coat to retrieve the velvet bag, placing it in Alexandria’s open palm. She weighed them as if to make sure that seven gems resided beneath the fabric then she abruptly turned on her heels, causing the skirt of her dress to whip upward from the sudden movement but instead of material, we were met with black fog, dancing before our eyes “In the beginning, seven mortal women were blessed with the power of the gods-.” she began to tell her tale, the fog of her dress shifting to form the image of seven women gathered around the altar I had almost been sacrificed on. Alexandria’s eyes were glowing a bright white as if she could see into the past, her gaze cast up to the stained glass window overhead “Devine power that was beyond controlling-.” I was consumed by the smoke, drawn into it as if the shapes had hypnotized me, brainwashed me into stepping ever closer. My eyes had begun to glow and my lips part to release a small breath “Amun, the ruler of the gods ordered the women to divide their power in half-.” a man appeared in the fog, his chest bare, his lower half covered by a golden, decorated cloth while a black and god headset decorated his scalp. His eyes glowed a menacing red and the wings of an eagle stretched out on either side of him with golden bracelets decorating his ankles and wrists. He was beautiful with dark, tan skin and painted black markings around his eyes “Placing that power within the seven treasures” the seven glowing stones rose in the smoke, each glowing their own designated color when they began to circle the king of the gods “He then split them far and wide, hiding them within the seven seas to prevent any mortal from ever possessing their power-.” the jewels flew in every direction, being placed within twin towers, on the back of a giant sea turtle, in a desert with red sand and various other places where we had to venture to find and assemble them. Alexandria turned to look back at me, causing the image of Amun to dissolve into the air, once again becoming part of her dress “For once gathered, they could perform powerful spells that could resurrect the dead, throw kingdoms into chaos or-.” she paused. Blue raised her head to look in the direction of the witch when she knew what was about to be said “Defeat a god” my back muscles stiffened at the realization that the answer to the question both Caleb and I had been asking all this time was right under our noses “However it is impossible to kill a god-.” my breathing caught in the back of my throat at the thought that maybe I would die and there is nothing I could do to stop the force after me from finding and murdering me “If you intend to escape Neptune’s fury-.” Alexandria continued, her eyes locking onto mine, the white, empty gaze that resembled the on stretching tundra, covered in snow and ice seeming to see directly through me “Then your only choice is entrapment” Blue grabbed a glass orb from the table and began to toss it from one hand to the other, seeming almost bored with the conversation like she already knew about it all “How?” I asked, finally finding my voice in between the awestruck, dumbfounded silence that had casted its shadow over me “How do I trap a god?” the witch gave a small upward twitch of her lips then began stalking toward me, each step slow like that of a hungry panther, forceful like that of a raging bull and elegant like the walk of a queen “Pandora’s Box” were the words that she spoke when she came to a stop in front of me. I had heard the story a thousand times about the box gifted to Pandora by the gods, a box that she opened and released all the evil inside of it out into the world. Alexandria shook her head “Your version has been tainted by mankind” it was as though she could read my thoughts unlike Blue. I knew just from listening to her speak that the witch before me was far more powerful than any I had ever encountered before her, even the witch at the Pirate’s Nest “Pandora was the box and the evil within it was the god Balor that had been sealed away by Amun” my eyebrows furrowed up, not understanding what she was getting at. How could a human, a woman be a box? How could such a frail body hold a god within it? “Her heart was his prison but because of this she fell madly in love with the god that inhabited her body and set him free allowing evil to corrupt the once pure earth-.” Alexandria raised her hand to point her clawed index finger at my chest, directly over where my heart would be beneath the ribs, skin and fabric. My head tilted down to take in the sight of my chest, her pale hand hovering directly in front of it. I could hear my heartbeat thundering in my chest, the sound echoing through my ears “By releasing the magic within the jewels and preforming a binding spell will we entrap Neptune” my head raised, eyes locking onto hers. I began to slowly shake my head, my feet moving back and away from her by a few steps, my soles slapping against the floor of the tower “No-.” I uttered, eyes wide and hand moving to grip at my chest once I came to a stop, gaze roaming to where Caleb was stood, watching me with confusion clouding his golden orbs. He didn’t understand what it all meant “His cage will be your heart” it was only when she had spoken those words that the Captain began to understand what was happening and why I had reacted the way I did. If Pandora had fallen in love with Balor, then what was stopping me from falling in love with Neptune once he was to become a part of me. Blue pushed off the table and left the glass orb on its surface, taking a stand beside the witch ‘We have no choice’ she reminded me, referring to the thousands of memories that would be lost if I backed out and the fact that Neptune would eventually find me and kill me if I didn’t do something about it. My arms dropped to my sides, my face hidden beneath a layer of ash white hair when I parted my lips to whisper the words that I knew were only a means to stall the inevitable “I need time”