Origins
A/AN: This little piece is for my giftee Villans-are-better! I've really enjoyed participating in the Mantis Menagerie gift exchange, and I hope it meets all of your expectations!
Beatrice French felt like her entire existence was nothing more than a meaningless drop in the ocean. She had no idea who she was or where she originated from. She'd been found by a merchant and his crew holding tightly to a piece of driftwood when she was merely six years old. The captain surmised she'd been the lone survivor of a shipwreck and had developed amnesia from the trauma of her accident. She didn't have the faintest idea of who she was in those prior years, but from that day forward, she inherited the last name of the captain who rescued her. Beatrice was the name his wife fancied and bestowed upon her once they returned from their voyage. She had cerulean blue eyes and wavy chestnut locks which cascaded down her back.
The couple doted over her for many years since they'd never been gifted with any children of their own, and she became the inextinguishable light in their lives. She was brought up well and given the best education. Beatrice still wasn't content, no matter how much knowledge she acquired, and thirsted after it, she did. She'd read everything in the merchant's library down to the secret love letters he'd written to his wife in the early years of their courtship when he was away on business, though she would never divulge such a secret.
He brought her new books home from each of his travels, and she wasn't sure why but the ones about the sea and its fantastical creatures intrigued her the most. Merpeople seemed to fascinate her the most. They were whisper of legend, but Beatrice had indulged in many a tale from the passing fisherman who ported in her quaint little fishing village. There were tales of alluring beauties with siren songs leading naive sailors off to their deaths. She found these tales to be more embellished after hearing other stories about merpeople leading a shipwrecked crew to safety. Sometimes she imagined she was one with a tail made of shimmering sapphire scales with the ability to breathe underwater and talk to all of the sea creatures. Every once in awhile, she would dream vividly of swimming with the merpeople, but she accounted it as nothing more than her imagination conjuring up an image she'd immersed herself in as a child.
A few well spun tales didn't sate her desire to learn more about the mysterious merpeople. She found every book and article she could about the subject until her father put a stop to it and demanded she focus more on her studies. Her parents wanted her to go to a university and better herself, but all she really desired was a life at sea.
She journeyed with her father every chance he let her, and Beatrice discovered the more she focused on her studies, the more he let her accompany him. On her seventeenth birthday, her father and mother gifted her with a special trip to Astyn where she would attend the university. They packed all of her possessions and embarked immediately. She could feel their heightened excitement about this trip, though she couldn't fathom why. They'd sailed to many destinations together, but this one felt more like a goodbye than a temporary parting.
For over ten years, she'd resided within their care but tonight the sea would reclaim what was stolen from it. Beatrice French had no idea she was more than a mere drop in the ocean, but fabricated into the very heart of it instead. The winds blew fiercely through their canvas sails, and the waves roared around them. She could hear the waves calling for her, beckoning her to jump within their murky depths.
She became mesmerized with the way they moved back and forth, calling to her like an old friend she'd long forgotten. The urge to plunge herself within their darkened depths was overwhelming, but the moment she tried, her father pulled her back harshly by the collar of her drenched navy sailor's dress.
"Have you gone mad Beatrice!? The waters will swallow you up, and I won't be able to save you!" he chastised, but his words felt like a mere echo, the sounds of the sea drowning out his voice.
"Go below deck with your mother! You'll be safe there!" he pleaded, but she shook her head before pulling away from him harshly.
"I'm sorry papa, but I cannot go with you. This day marks the anniversary of the night you found me. The ocean credits you for taking great care of me, but now I must return to the place whence I came. My purpose is finished here with you and mother, and I'll never forget all you've done for me, but somewhere out there, someone is waiting to tell me who I really am, and I must go," she replied before lunging into the stormy oceanic depths. She could hear his cries for her, a distant echo in the howling wind as she submerged herself into the water. Thick black darkness wrapped its tendrils around her as she welcomed the rush of burning salt water in her nostrils.
She was a mad woman and assumed she was drowning in the moment of her hasty decision, but she felt the darkness dissipate when two sinewy arms wrapped themselves securely around her. The saltwater didn't burn her lungs like she imagined, and the air tasted wild around her as her senses were awakened. She allowed her eyes to drift shut as her savior carried her to shore, and she let go of everything.
She half expected to wake up in some heavenly afterlife her minister preached so passionately about, but instead she felt warm sand beneath her with the soft cries of seagulls overhead. She opened her eyes hazily to feel brilliant warm sunlight caressing her skin.
She shielded her eyes from the blinding sunlight and groaned once she attempted to move her ligaments, but something wasn't quite right when she attempted to bend her knees. She managed to push up with her arms and stare down at her absent appendages. She gasped when she noticed a tail embroidered with sapphire scales reflecting jewel tones in the sunlight. She gazed down at her breasts in horror after she realized they were merely hidden by a thin piece of cerulean silk fashioned into a makeshift brassiere. She attempted to cover them with her hands, but she fell backwards clumsily. she noted she needed her arms to prop herself up.
Was this some kind of twisted reality she'd fallen into? A few hours ago she'd been standing on her father's ship, and now she had fins. Shards of memories she struggled to piece together fell away as quickly as she managed to string two together, leaving her head reeling in pain. She decided instead to scan the shoreline for any other signs of life and sighed when she saw no one. The water advanced and receded against the shoreline, giving her a bright idea.
She had no idea who she was, but sitting on a beach and contemplating about it wasn't going to give her any answers, so she decided to search for answers out in the oceanic depths. She could feel the waves calling her home as she began to scoot across the sand and towards the water. She was mere feet away from the salty waves until she felt a gentle arm wrap around her waist and pull her away from the water's edge.
"Let me go!" She struggled against her captor, but felt her eyes drift shut when he whispered something foreign against the shell of her ear, sending her spiraling into a deep slumber.
She awoke several hours later and groaned as she rubbed her head in agony. She scanned the room hazily, absorbing her surroundings, becoming aware of the fact she was in a cave and lying on a makeshift cot of what felt like seal skin. She gazed down at her wrinkled and damp sailor's dress and sighed despondently. The sapphire mermaid tail she'd acquired earlier was gone. Perhaps it had all been a dream, but it had felt too real to be such. She knew she hadn't dreamed it, and for a few brief moments, she really had been a mermaid.
She sat up on the cot and gazed around the cave. Murals and an ancient tongue she'd never seen before decorated the walls. She swung her legs over the side of the cot and decided she wasn't staying here any longer. She was going to find a way out of here and demand her captor reveal to her how to transform herself back into a mermaid again. There were no answers here, and she would make him realize that. He had no right to keep her here, and she wasn't about to become his prisoner. She frantically searched for a way out, but was met with disappointment after discovering the only way out was a large hole in the floor filled with water. She gulped back the bile in her throat as she stared down into the darkness. She was an excellent swimmer, but she had no idea how deep the cavern was or what lurked below. She shuddered at the thought of what fearsome creatures dwelt amongst the blackness and would gobble her up in an instant.
She retreated glumly back to the cot and figured it would be best to wait on who lived in this grotto to return. She licked the sea salt from her lips as she allowed her eyes to wander over the mysterious cave paintings. She studied the unfamiliar images and dialect, hoping to unlock some clue about this place. She focused her eyes on the images, and she wasn't sure if she'd gone mad as the pictures began to move.
A mural of three mermen with tritons lunging towards a sea monster resulted in cries of death from the mermen as it devoured them. The spears didn't pierce its obsidian tentacles but broke in thousands of pieces as soon as their sharp edges met its calloused skin. The paintings became more lifelike and felt more like one of those moving picture shows she and her parents had watched at a theater one time. The creature stared at her with its single cloudy jaundiced eye, reaching for her with one of its many appendages. She was too paralyzed with fear to move until the image became distorted, as if someone was pulling her away from the fearsome beast. It glared angrily at her as she was pulled away by some unseen force from its tangled web of adversity.
She gasped loudly as her eyes fixated on a man with unruly brown gray colored hair and sable eyes. His hands were placed securely on her shoulders, and she could feel raw power radiating from him unlike anything she'd ever felt before.
"Who are you, and where am I?" she managed to speak, but he didn't answer. He only gave her a stern look of disapproval before flourishing his hand towards the cave walls.
"I'm not sure who you are or what you were trying to prove, dearie, but attempting to unravel one of these spells will get you into trouble. The walls of this cavern are enchanted with an ancient magic that is dark and unholy. I only brought you here because I thought you would be safe, because these ancient walls are typically harmless, but I can feel its anger burning against you. Are you some type of enchantress?" he explained and interrogated simultaneously as he raked his eyes over her disheveled appearance.
"I'm certain I owe you no explanation of who I am! The question I have for you is why did you halt me from submerging myself into the water? I woke up with beautiful scales and now I'm back to being human again! I have no explanation for either, but why did you do it?" she demanded angrily, and a small smirk tugged at his lips.
"You should be thanking me for saving your life, dearie … Do you not realize that after you dove blindly into the blackened depths that they would have crushed you? The ocean is full of a vast assortment of cursed beings looking for a pure soul to devour. I was only sparing you from a fate worse than death," he retorted, and she blinked, a look of puzzlement painting her porcelain features.
"I'm afraid I don't understand," she remarked, and he sighed running his nimble fingers through his hair timorously.
"Many centuries ago an evil sea witch named Vershalda arose from the Nebulous Sea, which is infamous for birthing the darkest and deadliest sea monsters around. Vershalda dwelt and ruled the waters and kingdom of the Nebulous after her brother Ecthelion banished her after she tried to usurp his rule of Marinus. She endeavored to turn his kingdom against him before he ostracized her. Ecthelion was foolish for banishing her, because what he didn't realize was the Nebulous consumed the darkness of those who wandered into its hellish depths and turned them into the most fearsome of beasts. Vershalda became one with the Nebulous and completely consumed her brother and his kingdom, fueled by her burning hatred towards him. The waters of the Nebulous widened and it began to consume more hosts. The merpeople scattered to islands and shallow beaches where the Nebulous couldn't reach them. The merpeople cried out to Ursula the sea goddess and begged her to turn them into humans to spare them from the wrath of the Nebulous, and she agreed but she also warned the merpeople not to interbreed with the human race lest the bloodline of the merpeople become tainted and the magic lost. Ursula wanted her people to one day return to their kingdoms, but they refused to listen to her and began intermarrying with the humans and the magic inside of them became distorted. Only one merman heeded Ursula's warning by marrying a mer-princess far out of the reaches of the Nebulous in a quaint kingdom called Nagisa. A few of the merpeople retreated with Triton to Nagisa and remained at peace for many years. Ursula used her remaining power to hold back Nebulous and spare her remanent of followers from being eradicated by the darkness. There's only one small pure bloodline of merpeople left, for the rest have been distorted with human blood. Every few decades or so an offspring will be born with mer-magic and will be able to transform from human to merperson after they discover their abilities. I'm one of few born with the gift and ability to become both, and I've had the good fortune of learning magic to conceal my gift from the Nebulous. If it knew I was a hybrid then it would consume me instantly. You have the ability as well, but you can't just dive into the sea ignorantly without a form of protection," he expounded, and Beatrice felt her mouth gape open from his explanation.
"How about Nagisa? Why haven't you tried to go there?" she quizzed excitedly, hoping to learn more about this arcane city, but he frowned at her query.
"I've been searching for Nagisa for decades, but to no avail. The night you threw yourself overboard, I was returning from a long three month voyage I spent searching for it. Why did you do it?" he inquired, realizing a trivial piece he seemed to have forgotten.
"I felt the strong magnetic pull of the current calling for me, and I couldn't resist the urge any longer and decided to jump. I know it was foolish, but I felt like it could tell me who I was, and I've been searching futilely for answers my entire life. I've always felt drawn to the ocean like it was a long lost relative who could give me all of the answers of my origins," she resolved, and his sable eyes softened in understanding for her quandary.
"Do you remember anything from your past?" he inquired softly before handing her a small cup of steaming liquid. She took a whiff of it and felt her shoulders relax when she realized it was just herbal tea. She placed the steaming cup to her lips and took small sips from it. The warm brew cascaded down her throat, filling her mind with clarity as she began to recount the tale to him.
"Eleven years ago my father and his crew found me clinging helplessly to a piece of driftwood. They rescued me, and he took me home with him, and he and his wife adopted me. I've been in their care ever since, and I haven't been able to remember anything before that day. It's as if my memory was wiped clean or I developed amnesia." She sighed, downing the rest of the warm brew.
He stared at her inquisitively, and she felt a warm blush rise in her cheeks from his calculating gaze, "Tell me something-" he paused searching for a name.
"Beatrice," she supplied, and he nodded before continuing.
"Beatrice, have you ever jumped into the ocean since the day your father found you?" he asked simply, and she attempted to recount a time when she had because she loved the waves and the smell of the salty air, but something had always repelled her about even dipping a single toe into the calm tides which skimmed the beaches.
She grazed the rim of her cup with her fingertips in focused concentration before giving him an answer, "No," she said, dropping her gaze to the stone floor unable to fathom this simple phenomenon she'd never given a single thought to before.
She was startled when he took her hand delicately in his with the most empathetic gaze anyone had ever held for her reflected back in his ocher depths. "Beatrice, I could be wrong, but I don't believe you're a hybrid at all," he said in his thick brogue which made her believe he must be from a distant land on the farthest edge of the world where only a rare handful spoke like him. Her father had been there once and told her they were the wisest and most gifted people he'd ever met.
"How would you surmise I'm not?" she respired heavily, awaiting his answer.
"Because someone placed an enchantment on you years ago to protect you from something or someone. They gave you the ability to be human but your mer-sense has never left. If you had even dipped even your big toe into the salty waters, you would have turned immediately. The moment I caught you in my arms, you had already changed. I pulled you upon the beach and went back to my cove to gather a few resources before returning to you, but you were already headed for the waves. The ocean has a strong pull on you, and I had to put you to sleep to keep you from fighting me. There's a strong desire inside of you to return to a place you've long forgotten I believe. It's been inside of you your entire life ready to explode," he illuminated, and she stared at him a moment before replying.
"Who are you exactly?" she inquired, unable to formulate a response to the overwhelming statements he'd just made.
"Ruailidh," he supplied, and she repeated the name softly, the taste of spicy herbs and rich plums exploded in her mouth when she said his name.
"You may call me Ruail if you wish it though," he offered with a shy smile, and she smiled bravely at him.
"Ruail it is then." She grinned, and he felt heat pool in his belly from the way she said his name, but he quickly cleared his throat dissipating those desires and emotions. She was a young lass, and he was a worn old man, and he was certain they had nothing in common more than their partial origins.
"Where do we go from here?" she quizzed before he offered her his hand.
"We go down there," he stated, gesturing towards the watery hole in the floor with his index finger.
She gulped back the bile in her throat. "I'm sorry but didn't you say there was an entire cursed ocean ready to swallow me up? Are you sure that's wise?" she asked hesitantly, withdrawing her hands to her sides.
"This cave leads back to the island you were on before. There's no danger below." he assured her, and she nodded, taking his outstretched hand, a jolt of electricity surging through her the moment their fingertips brushed against each other.
He lowered himself down into the water, pulling her after him, and she felt the transformation overcome her as her legs melted into the regal sapphire blue tail she was so mesmerized with before. She gasped as she breathed in the fresh water, her gills tingling with delight, and she turned to him and gasped at his golden tail that embodied something King Midas had touched from the ancient legend. Sunlight filtered through the cave from above, and she couldn't help but admire his masculine beauty. She swam towards him, and it felt second nature to her as if she were walking along the shoreline.
"Would you like to swim to the surface?" his voice echoed within the cave walls, and she shook her head, reaching for his other hand, and she felt a strong longing for him like she'd never felt for any other as they joined hands.
She reached out to touch his graying locks, and he became spellbound by her touch. It had him uncharacteristically pulling her against him, their tails intertwining around each other as he reached out to touch her rosy cheeks and brush his lips gently against her petal soft ones. She cradled his face in her hands, deepening the kiss. He threaded his fingers through her unruly chestnut tresses, both unaware of the soft ethereal glow emitting around them.
Ruailidh opened his eyes briefly to see the light. He broke the kiss abruptly before pushing her away, his heart beating a tattoo against his chest. Her eyes were filled with hurt and confusion, and he regretted his decision immediately as she began to swim to the surface without him. He sighed, swimming after her in hopes of explaining himself, but how was he to explain to her about this newly discovered revelation? He barely understood it himself and yet the light had wrapped them in its warm embrace signaling the one thing he never thought possible. He and Beatrice were true love, and that was an enigma the most powerful sorcerer in the vast oceans couldn't even wrap his mind around.
Beatrice took a deep filling breath once she reached the surface and pushed herself upon a flat rock to bask in the now setting sun. She pushed chestnut curls from her eyes, attempting to stifle back the tears threatening to fall in rivulets from her eyes. She wasn't sure what possessed her to kiss him,8 nor was she about to him it was her first kiss. Several suitors had vied for her hand back in Avonlea, but she'd never paid them any mind. She'd ultimately assumed she would die an old spinster someday - after traveling the world of course - but here she was, kissing a merman she'd only just met. She didn't even know if she could trust him or not, but the wave of emotions coursing through her left her in a daze.
She stared down at him, and he was looking up at her. He rested his arms against a flat rock while his majestic tail was submerged in the water. She blushed at the thought of finding his tail appealing, but she assumed it was just the same as a woman finding a man's backside alluring, and she couldn't help but blush even deeper as a slew of thoughts she normally didn't think on entered her mind.
"What are you staring at?" she inquired, locking her gaze with his.
"The most beautiful specimen in all of the seas," he answered, and she felt the heat rise in her cheeks from his compliment.
"Why did you kiss me?" she asked daringly while running her fingers through her salt water tresses to alleviate the tension racing in her mind.
"Because I wanted to," he answered simply, but it didn't satisfy her, so she continued to press him for answers.
"Then why did you pull away?" she demanded, and he could sense the agitation in her tone.
"Because I'm a fool … Beatrice, I'm sorry for hurting you. Please forgive me," he apologized, and she averted her gaze towards the vast waters, the tension thickening in the air as the uneasy silence between them continued.
"Bea, I-" but she cut him off with the flourish of her hand as she submerged herself back into the water.
"I forgive you, Ruail," she replied, kissing him on the cheek lightly. He stared in disbelief as he watched her submerge herself back into the water, her sapphire fins bidding him farewell as she returned to the cove. He stared out towards the endless blue depths wondering what had changed her mind before following after her.
~X~
In the weeks that followed, Ruailidh showed her the wonders of the cove and island, and every afternoon, they would sit on the flat rock together and discuss mundane things like what her life was like back in Avonlea and how she wanted to study and become a philosopher. Sometimes she would trail off, and he would catch her gazing out towards the ocean, and he knew she longed to explore it, but he was afraid of the Nebulous and what it might try to do to her. Merpeople who wandered away from their havens were consumed by it and turned into loathsome beasts who lured unsuspecting sailors to their deaths. He couldn't let that happen to Beatrice. He wanted to tell her about the light. If he did, then she would bind herself to him, and he wouldn't have to worry about her ever wanting to leave again, but he knew it would be selfish of him, so he kept it to himself.
One night they were curled up together on the seal skin cot, and she was spooned comfortably against him. She liked to take on her human form while they slept together at night. He'd fashioned a special cuff for her to wear out of magic to give her legs anytime she wanted and some homespun dresses for her out of a bit of thread he'd kept from his past trade of spinning to keep her warm. He loved to bury his face in her downy locks and inhale the fresh scent of sea salt and a fragrance that was all her own.
"I want to go to Nagisa." she whispered within the darkness of the cove, and he tightened his grip around her waist from her admittance, afraid the Nebulous would swallow her up and steal her away from him for her confession.
"Beatrice … We can't just go to Nagisa at will. It's hidden and I-" but she cut him off with her next confession leaving uncertainty and fear churning in his gut.
"I know where it is … I've been there before," she revealed, and he felt like he wasn't talking to Beatrice but a mysterious entity who'd stolen her voice.
"How do you know?" he swallowed back the bile in his throat as he forced the question.
"I remembered something from my past about it, and I know the ocean wants to take us there. We just have to be brave and follow its guidance. It wants to gather the hybrids and all of the merpeople remaining in its lineage unto itself. Nagisa is the heart of the ocean and the only place that will keep us safe from the Nebulous," she explained as if she'd known this revelation her entire life and was just waiting to remember.
"The Nebulous is powerful, Bea … It could overtake us in an instant," he rationalized wanting her to forget all about journeying to Nagisa and to be satisfied with living together on their little island, secure in the shelter of the cove and untouched by the darkness.
"We must make the journey home if we ever want to be free of the clutches of the darkness. You have to believe in me and in us," she returned as she turned to face him. She tangled her legs around his just how they often did with their fins and kissed him with all her might. He moaned into her mouth, wrapping his arms securely around her thin frame and allowed himself to believe for once. The golden light transfigured in the room, burning away all of the dark spells interwoven into the walls for centuries with its raw power. Many miles away the Nebulous felt the igniting power of their true love and sought out to destroy it because nothing that pure could be allowed to exist. It must be extinguished because the darkness knew a love as strong as theirs could easily snuff it out and free the oceans of its tyranny.
"Ruail, what is that bright light?" she inquired, shielding her eyes from its brilliance.
"It's the power of our true love," he replied breathlessly, and she kissed him again without making another sound as she ran her hands agitatedly over his silk shirt, longing to feel bare skin. He seized her wrists and stared deep into her cerulean depths searching for affirmation, her eyes reflecting a desire no one had ever held before for him.
Tonight his mermaid wanted to consummate their relationship, and after it was complete, they would be bound to each other. He wanted to give in to his carnal desires and mark her as his own, but he couldn't. When two merpeople mated, they created an unbreakable soul tie. He couldn't selfishly bind Beatrice to himself when she wanted to travel to Nagisa. He would protect her at all costs, but intertwining their souls meant if anything happened to him, she would also feel the blunt of it and may even die. He couldn't allow it.
He wet his lips hesitantly and sighed, brushing his fingers gently over her captive wrists, "Bea … I want this more than anything, but consummating our relationship means you'll be bound to me forever. If anything happens to me, then you wouldn't be able to journey to Nagisa. Mating creates an unbreakable soul tie between two merpeople not only physically but spiritually and emotionally as well. It would literally intertwine our fates and if anything happened to either one of us, the other would feel it or lose their life. I want you to succeed in your quest to Nagisa, so I aim to go with you and offer my assistance and protection. If we are successful and you still want this, then so do I," he explained warily, and she nodded in understanding. She freed one of her wrists from his grasp, and reached up to cup his face with it, brushing her delicate fingertips along his jawline, sending shivers up his spine.
"I'll still want you, Ruailidh..." she whispered huskily, and the way she drew out his name in her thick accent made him shudder. He needed to get them out of this compromising situation before he gave into his fleshly desires and continued the ritual.
"When do you wish to journey to Nagisa?" he inquired to the beauty who he still couldn't believe wanted to bind herself to him eternally and become his mate.
"Let's go in the morning." She yawned, curling up against his side. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, relishing the warmth her body emitted. He closed his eyes, yearning for sleep but it was futile because all he could contemplate on was the precarious odyssey ahead and all of the pitfalls it promised.