The Lost Mermaid

Chapter 3

Once inside, Bash walked to the kitchen table, and I followed behind him. The couple sat across from us while the others disappeared elsewhere into the house. “I am Arion, and this is my wife, Aurora. Bash, Londyn, and the two boys from the beach are our children. We were best friends with your parents,” he said as he handed me a photograph.

I held the faded photo and examined it closely. I’d seen pictures of myself as a baby, ones that my adopted mother had taken, but this picture was different. As I studied the photo a little closer, I noticed that the woman holding me was the woman from my dream. She was beautiful with long brown hair and sad-looking eyes. I don’t believe you can look into someone’s eyes and see if they have secrets, But I could see that she had dark circles under her eyes that showed she was troubled. The man in the picture had blonde hair and green eyes, both of which I also possessed. His eyes were sad as well.

“Those are your mother and father. We took this picture before they sent you to the mainland,” Aurora said. Pointing to the man, who was undeniably my father, she shared that his name was Jace and my mother's name was Athena. I ran my fingers over their faces, wishing that I had more answers and sensing an impending sad story.

Aurora pondered with a sigh,” Where to start this story? There is so much to tell. You should take comfort in knowing that your parents possessed a bond of true love. Also, take great pride in knowing that they were the greatest rulers our people have ever known. They loved their people deeply. You above all. The way it works in our community, I guess you would say, is like any other monarchy. The crown is handed down from the eldest child to their firstborn, and so on. Your mother was the eldest child and became queen when her parents passed away. Her sister had been a disturbed child and dreamt of not only ruling our people but the world. When your mother became pregnant with you, they had received word that Isobel planned to murder them and take the throne. Isobel’s followers were growing each day, making it hard for the queen to send someone to handle this situation. Just a week earlier, a group of assassins had attempted to kill the king. We strategized on stealing you away to the mainland because we knew you were in the most danger as the heir to the throne. When you finally made it back home, your parents wished for you to know the complete truth. We took the picture and hid the camera.

“I’m sure you must be curious why we would hide the camera. Isobel’s guards were coming for you, there were so many, and we didn't know who we could and couldn't trust. It might make little sense to you why there would be a rebellion against “the greatest rulers who loved all their people.” Revolutions come from dissatisfaction. Jace and Arion tried to fight them off for your mother to get away with you and get you safely to Joe, the fisherman. We believe that the guards may have fatally injured your father, for we never saw him again. We searched for him, but after ten years, we feared the worst, although to this day we have never found his body.

A couple of weeks went by, and the fisherman was finally able to get word to us that he could get you to safety. He stated that he watched the beach as the fisherman took you away; the fisherman wanted to make sure he wasn’t followed. He shared with us that he had left you at the fire station in hopes that you would be found quickly.

“Isobel’s guards captured your mother and took her away. We believed that she had also been killed, but now we have reason to think she may still be alive” Aurora took a breath, and I let everything sink in.

I thought back to what happened earlier on the road with Bash and Draven.

“Is that why that guy attacked us?” I turned to look at Bash, who nodded his head. “You were attacked? Bash, you didn't tell us! Was anyone hurt?” Arion exclaimed.

Bash laughed and said, “You haven’t given us much of a chance to tell you.”

“Thank the gods that neither of you was seriously hurt. If Draven attacks you, that means Isobel is still after you; he's her most loyal and feared assassin. She knows if you still live that you would have a month to claim your throne,” Aurora said thoughtfully.

A Month? My birthday!

“ I turn 21 exactly a month from now,” I mumbled. “Does this mean I have to claim the throne?”

Bash laughed, and I turned and looked at him quizzically. “What's so funny?” I glared at him.

He rubbed his chin with his hand, “Well, Ma still hasn't told you the most important thing about you, about us all.”

I turned to see Aurora and Arion exchanging looks. “Well, you accepted all of that easier than we thought you would. Hopefully, you can accept the rest just as easily. You need to know that you’re Fae; we all are,” Aurora said, laying her hands on the table near mine.

“Fae?” I asked, with a confused look on my face.

Arion smiled at me, the wrinkles by his eyes creasing and making him look fatherly.

“All magical and mystical creatures are Fae. We, for example, are ocean Fae. In human lore, we are referred to as finfolk or merfolk,” he said with all seriousness.

I felt the room begin to spin. All of a sudden, I found myself enveloped in purple, pink, and blue light. Falling to my knees, I was blinded by the light as it wrapped itself around my body. This confusion lasted for a few minutes, and once I blinked, my eyes cleared.

No one in the room could move. It was like I had been under a spell, and as I turned to look from Bash to his parents, I could feel that we were all different. It was like when I looked at them, I could see both versions of themselves, and I could smell the ocean rolling off of them.

I felt so many emotions; shock, confusion, disbelief, and a decent amount of awe. I wasn’t quite sure what to do. I pushed against Bash, so I could slide out of the diner-style bench, which was situated too close to the table.

“Move, Move, I have to get out of here,” I cried. Bash stood up, which allowed me to run out of the house.

I escaped out of the door, not sparing any time to shut it. I continued to run down the gradual sloping hill and sat near the water's edge, the colossal waterfall we had seen earlier within view. It can't be true. Lowering my head to rest on my arms, I began to weep. I sat there crying to myself until there were no more tears to shed.

I was so heartbroken. I had always dreamt of meeting my birth parents one day. I had the perfect mental image of a happy family. But all of these changes meant that I would need to leave my friends, home, and even my job behind. I felt another wave of emotions hit me.

The sound of leaves crunching underfoot took me out of my thoughts. I looked up to see Bash standing there.

“Can I sit?”

I nodded my head, and we sat together in silence, staring at the waterfall.

“Do you think my parents are alive?” I asked Bash.

Bash looked over at her, her blonde hair hung straight down, and her green eyes were full of tears. It hurt him to see her so upset.

“I hope so,” he said.

We sat in silence for a little bit before I voiced another question.

“Bash, How can this be true? I have been in the water? I love being in the water,” I said, looking up to him and feeling the familiar electricity between us. He reached over and rubbed my arm.

“From what my parents have told me, the reason you haven't ‘changed’ yet is that a powerful witch, who had been friends with your family for many years, came to this island upon your birth and put a spell of protection on you. She knew the evil that Isobel would inflict not only on our people but on all the realms. The magic was supposed to wear off when you were ready to accept the truth and fight for your destiny. Your parents knew you were going to the human world and would have to be ‘human.’ They were protecting you,” he said.

“So back there, the lights I saw, that was the spell breaking?” I asked, looking out towards the beach. He nodded his head. I looked down at the water before asking, “If I go into the water now, I will become a mermaid?”.

“Yes, you will change...except it will be a bit more painful than if you had your first change as a child. When you change, starting at a young age, your body gets used to the transformation, and it doesn't feel the pain as intensely as an adult changing for the first time,” he said softly.

I sat there thinking to myself. I must be crazy to consider all this to be true. I must be mad to think of going into the ocean to see if I am a mermaid. I took a deep breath and reached my hand out to Bash.

“Will you take me to the ocean?” I asked as he took my hand.