VIOLET

Despite all warnings from Esmeralda, I decided to go back and help the human. During the entire trip, her judgemental thoughts plagued me. As much as I tried to shake them off, they followed me to the water's edge. I thought about my last encounter with the human. He seemed so perplexed by how the mind of a Mermaid worked and it got me thinking about our genetic makeup. The way our bodies were built for speed and resilience, how we had built-in self-heating for when the water dropped below a certain temperature, and the way we had a navigation system for tracking prey or people in this case. It was all quite amazing, really.

I spotted the boy sitting by the water; his condition had worsened since I last saw him.
“I thought I told you to stay out of trouble.” I reached him, looking for his arm to inspect it. “Let me see that.” He leapt back onto the rocky shore as if not expecting me. Humans were strange creatures. “Oh, come on… you're not still startled from when I removed the poison last time, are you?” I couldn’t stop a giggle from escaping my mouth. When he didn’t seem amused, I continued, “I thought you would have mulled over my existence by now and gotten used to the idea.” He looked confused. Scared. Why? 

I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to decipher the thoughts behind those eyes when he spoke. “I have always known Mermaids to exist.” 

Then why was he afraid? 

“Then why be afraid?” I cocked my head, trying to figure him out.

He straightened up. Was he trying to intimidate me? That's what male Mer did in the Emerald City when they wanted to assert power over a female. Mostly when they wanted to get their own way. We females could see straight through them. “Why are you here?” 

Wow. I help him and he doesn't even offer a thank you? Just an insult? I hadn’t met any other humans, but they seemed ungrateful. Or perhaps it was just this one.

“Don’t be silly and let me see your arm.” I yanked it toward me, ignoring his resistance. His body obeyed my instruction. The body was willing, but not the mind. Interesting...

After retracting the venom as I had done the last time I found him, I released his arm. “To answer your question, which I thought would have been obvious… I am here to help you.”

His eyes looked understanding, willing for help, but his words said otherwise. “But why? Your kind has been nothing but destructive to Vikings since the dawn of time. One of you attacked me!”

“Do not compare my kind to Merrows! What an insult!” I paused, gathering myself, but couldn’t help going on. He was being very unfair. “And Vikings haven't been destructive to my kind?” I snapped. Maybe Esmeralda was right. I shouldn’t be helping these ungrateful humans. Ready to dive back into the deep and never return, I had to remind myself to breathe deeply so I could hold the urge to leave him there. “You know, none of our kind have been to the surface since the last war. We have respected the treaty. My father has made sure of that.” 

“But you're here now…” He looked confused but his voice held sarcasm.

I paused, trying to come up with an explanation that would rid my family of his accusations while at the same time, explain why I was here, disobeying the laws put in place to protect us. “I’m disobeying the law. Me. No one else. And you know why? Because I took pity on you.” I regretted the lies as soon as they left my mouth.

He looked down at his arm. Sadness crossing his face. “Okay, then. I will let you help me.”

I searched his eyes. The way they flecked was mesmerising, but I wasn’t about to let him know that. “Oh, wow, what an honour.” I rolled my eyes. “Now listen, the poison has spread. There is nothing further I can do for you without help.” I gulped, resisting the words I was about to say. 

 “So… I’m going to die?” 

“Not if we get the help that we need. Come on, let's go.” I pulled him into the water, the heaviness of his body noticeable on my back as I positioned him for the journey. 

I felt him shift slightly on my back. He was clearly uncomfortable with this foreign concept. “What were you doing on the surface, when you saw me, since it’s so against the law?”

I gulped. “I like to come to the surface from time to time.” Clearing my throat, I changed the subject. “We need to seek help from the dark faeries.” I let out the words that I knew he was going to hate me for.

“What? No. That is where I draw the line. I will not go to them for help. They are the enemy.” He started to shiver, which would only make his condition worse. We would need to travel just below the water to keep him heated. Though I did have my self-heating abilities, it wouldn’t be enough in this case.

“I’m not fond of them either, but we need their help. The poison has spread, and there is nothing else I can do for you now. You will die if we don’t go.”

“I refuse.” He continued to fight the inevitable. “Sage would never allow it, my father would never allow it.” 

“They won’t know.” I paused for effect. “You’re cold, let me fix that.” I let my body heat regulate. A natural glow covered my skin, turning it from an icy white to a golden tan.

He gasped. “How did you do that?!” 

I let out a chuckle; humans were so easy to impress, maybe I should be around them more often. “Just another Mermaid trick.”

He sighed. “How can you be sure that my father will not find out?” 

“I put a spell on him. They will forget about you, as will the others, until your safe return,” I lied. In truth, I had no such power. He seemed to relax a little, so at least there was that. I glided through the water, the human’s top half just above the surface. “Off we go to Sugarland.” I sighed. The forbidden city--even more so than the land of humans.

“Sugarland? Why? That is halfway across the country. It is the forbidden land.” He was yelling again and at this rate, I was starting to consider simply throwing him off my back and let him sink to the bottom of the ocean.

“That is the only place where we will have access to the portal that can take us to the Isle of faeries, which is above Sugarland. We need to get to Sugarland, make the journey across it, find the portal, and somehow gain entry.” As I said the words out loud, it sounded more difficult of a mission than I had made it out to be in my head. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea... The only cure for Merrow bites was a special and very rare flower that was located deep within the Isle of faeries. More often than not, people would just die of a Merrow bite, as they were unable to ever find the healing flower they needed. Besides, it was only a matter of time before the boy's father discovered that he was missing, not to mention that girl that was always hanging around him. 

I had spotted her already, almost never leaving his side. It made it very hard to collect him. If I had let him worry about the fact that she would be looking for him, he would have never come with me.

One night, I had watched her place her lips to his as he slept. I felt my body heat up with rage. I wanted to hurt her. I pulled myself onto the rocks, the moonlight glistening over my scales. I knew I was far surpassing my bounds, but I didn't care. That was until someone saw me--some big oaf of a man. He called out, “I think I just saw a Mermaid! Run, look at this!” Another burly man ran to his side. I ducked under the water and out of sight until I heard him say, “Oh, I must have dreamed it.” Both of them walked off laughing, one punching the other in the arm. Deciding that was too close of a call, I made the journey back home... until today. 

I had discovered that his name was Bear, and that the girl who was always fussing over him was clearly in love with him, which made me slightly jealous. I was never one to fall in love with any of the boys back home, who were so conceited and always had ill intentions. But there was something different about this human, something so enchanting, so forbidden. Although, the more I was getting to know him, the more I doubted my judgment.

I could tell that Bear couldn’t seem to shake the feeling that he shouldn’t be going to Sugarland, and neither could I. It was only because it had always been forbidden, due to their part in the war. Our homes had been separated after that big event: Sugarland, The Isle of faeries, Islanda, and Västerbotten. I knew it would be worth it, though, and in time, he would realise this, too. 

I knew that he didn’t know why I was helping him, and perhaps he thought it was out of the goodness of my heart, though he couldn’t be more wrong. I did have an agenda, and that was to explore and find out what was beyond the bounds of Islanda and this section of the Earth. Besides, I found myself drawn to this human and even though I didn’t understand why, I just knew I wanted to get him away from the girl. This expedition would provide the perfect opportunity to explore this connection.

Despite my speed, the journey was a long one. We travelled mostly a few metres under the water, his ability to breathe aided by my own. Altogether, the trip took about a day. I watched through the water's surface as the moon came and left. “Now we just have to find an ombudsman to take away my tail,” I murmured, debating our path when we were close to shore. On the luscious grass of the entry to Sugarland sat a large, round, man-like creature with a bald head and off-putting features. His stomach displayed roll on roll as he sat there watching the boats pull in. I knew they hadn’t spotted me yet, and I wanted to keep it that way. 

Oh, how I longed to touch the grass, to have legs that could walk upon it, to feel the sensation on my skin. Tiny fairies buzzed around the strange creature, fluttering in the lush forest greenery. Annoyed, he swatted them away, hitting the ground angrily with a balled fist, causing it to shake. 

Creatures began to emerge from the forest, eager curiosity on their faces as we reached the shore. “Great,” a sigh of complaint seeped from my mouth, “we have been spotted.” 

The rotund man stood. His legs, short and stout, were disproportionate to his large stature. Three curious trees with unusual faces peered out from the bushes to see what the fuss was about--Muqules were known for their silly manner and stupidity. I had heard of them before.

“What do you think is coming about?” one tree spoke to the others. 

“We must go and alert the witchy lady,” a fourth said. 

“We must, we must! let's hurry,” said another as they all began in different directions. I watched them circle around and fall over each other in a messy pile. What strange creatures occupied this land. I wasn’t sure if I should be afraid for our lives or excited to see such oddity.