Intro

She jumped into the water ever so gracefully. Her legs morphed into one, and became a scaly tail. Her hair floated around her delicate face as she dug deeper and deeper into her sparkling waters. She felt so safe and happy now that she was home.

Her dark-brown hair turned bluish-black, and her arms grew fins, and coated with scales. Olivia never felt more beautiful. As a human she felt out of place. But she always loved the land. Its beauty, and determination to survive through the harshest of climates, and raging fires.

By day, she would live on the land with the trees and humans. But by night, she would live in her home the sea. Where she would live with the creatures, and vow to protect everyone and everything that her waters held. It was her home, and she wouldn't trade it for anything.

Little pieces of dawn broke through the mighty trees that towered above me. The sunlight tickled my eyelids, causing me to open them. I rubbed the tiredness out of my emerald eyes, and arose from my place on the log. It wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep, but I had limited options.

I needed to get back to my village before someone noticed I was missing. With a loud yawn, I composed myself and my small satchel from the forest floor. Small leaves and twigs snapped and crackled under my feet as I tried to walk quietly as to not disturb the forest at such early hours. From a few miles away, I could smell the ashy smell of smoke, mixed with the salty fresh scent of the sea.

As I came closer to the giant cloud of grey, I saw the horror that came with it. Large men dressed in black, carried huge swords, and were burning down my village! I longed to cry out against this horror, but I knew if they saw me, it would be the death of me. So I carefully climbed the tree that was closest to me, and got a better view of my home.

Many of the huts were already burned to ashes, or still burning wildly. Everything looked as though Hell opened its gates, and unleashed it on my village. The flames worked like monsters that consumed and destroyed everything in their path. People scattered, trying to find a way out of this madness, without being slain by these men, I've heard some of the elders call Northmen, or Vikings.

"OLIVIA! OLIVIA! WHERE ARE YOU?" I searched for the voice from the top of the tree, and saw my mother frantically calling for me. Without hesitation, I leaped down from the tree, and dashed through the buildings and ashes of what was left of the village. My head turned searching for my mothers face, but everywhere I looked she wasn't there. As I turned to look in front of me, I ran into, or rather slammed into a Viking. I looked into his eyes, which were nothing but white glowing circles with no soul to look for behind them.

"Olivia!" I looked over the Viking's shoulder, and saw my mother reaching out for me. But one of the Vikings was holding her back. Rage filled inside me at the thought of losing her to these demons that thought they could take my life, my mother away from me! I screamed and shoved the man out of my way with my fist, and sprinted towards my mother, now being toted away.

I surprised myself with my behavior that day. I growled and snarled in pure anger. I was never one to lose my temper, but this was a whole different situation. This was to keep my mother with me and escape. Gathering up enough courage and strength, I shoved all my body weight into the man, knocking him over.

"Mother! Come on! We have to go now!" I yelled through all the chaos and screams surrounding us. She gave me a look of panic and shock, and nodded her head as I took her hand. We dodged the falling pieces of buildings, the piles of ash and soot, and the bodies of those that were smothered in their own homes. The very thought brought tears to my eyes, but there wasn't any time for crying.

"Look out!" someone shouted from behind us. A huge tree that once stood tall and powerful, now began to fall over helplessly. I tugged on my mother's arm, trying to direct her away. But she just stood there. A blank expression on her pale face. Perhaps it was from the shock of it all, or just the fact she couldn't live after seeing her home destroyed, but whatever the reason, she wouldn't move, and the tree came falling on her tiny body.

"NO!" I tried to shout, but my voice was gone, only replaced by large teardrops. I ran to her side, and looked at her petite body, crushed under the large trunk. With all the strength I had, I had, I managed to wiggle her body from under the tree. Her body looked like someone tied her into a knot, and untied her. Her eyes were still open, probably still looking for me to make sure I was okay.

With tears running down my cheeks, I closed her delicate eyelids, and ran. My chest burned, and my heart ached. My mind was scattered in different directions, and nothing seemed make sense in my panicked mind. The sun had risen, and I felt the heat bearing down my neck. I skidded to a halt as I came to the shore of the island. All I had to was jump into the water-

I screamed as I felt someone pulling me by my hair, and slamming me into the sand. Above me, two black figures stood mumbling to one another, in words that I couldn't understand. They kicked me in my sides, and any place they could think of to harm me. I wasn't going to lay here like a child while these men, the same men that helped cause my mothers death.

Letting out a loud scream that made them cover their ears, I pounced on both of them, digging my fingernails deep into their flesh, biting them, cursing their very existence, and punching their bodies. My fists were covered in their blood when I withdrew, seeing the damage was enough to keep them occupied for a while. I felt no guilt at hurting them, as they felt no guilt for killing all those innocent people and taking the little gold they had.

With a deep breath, I looked back at the cloud of smoke in the distance. I thought of my mother. Her beautiful face, her kindness towards the humans we chose to associate with. Not all humans are kind though. Some kill each other, for sport, or for their own gain. Much like these Northmen. I said goodbye to my little island that had been our home for so long, and jumped into the chilling, but reassuring sea.

My legs turned into my scaly tail, my dark colored hair turned into a darker bluish-black, and my arms grew their webbed fingers and scales. With everything in place, I silently swam through the dark sea for hours. Maybe even a whole day. It seemed that everything had stopped while I swam across the floor of my sea. Tears overflowed, just making look like water was pouring into the water.

I lost the need to care, and just let myself drift against the current of the sea. What was to live for now? Nothing mattered. My life had been shattered in front of my very eyes. My mother murdered, and all I knew destroyed. But wait. There was still my sea. It needed me to be its princess, and protect it. I couldn't give up. I wouldn't give up on myself like this.

But either way, I was still exhausted from swimming for days it seemed. I closed my eyes and let my waters carry me. Blood began to surround me. I forgot about the whole nearly being killed by the Northmen I suppose. Then, everything from my face to fins hurt, and I remember nothing after that, except feeling the warmth of land. A new land.