This was originally hidden as a short story for a Creative Writing class, thus the changed names. Cannot decide whether this should continue. Reader's thoughts? Grazie.
All my life I'd been different. I was born around 1300 - perhaps, the bloody Hell if I understood of time - and the moment I opened my eyes for the first time, it made my mother shriek in a fit of terror and sorrow. The son she'd waited so long for was not...'right'. The little bundle in my mother's arms, flesh a bright pink and oozed in bodily fluids, peeled back it's little eyelids to show his mum his blue left eye and right of brown.
I was imperfect. She was revolted.
These were not hospitable times. Having a 'mutant' child shoved you as far down the social ladder as you could get. The streets of Mother's tiny, mud caked village we not kind to us. She was the only one keeping me alive, and yet I've known all along that she resented me. All she needed was a normal child, and she and my father, whoever he was, would have lived the rest of their days in lavish. I took that from them.
Many years had passed since my birth, of course. I had awoken yesterday morn, the day seeming plain and relentless as any other, until I stepped outside the shack. The entire village was waiting there for me, surrounding the draped hole I'd emerged from that acted as a front door. My inability to count hardly crippled me here; I could see the butcher, local farmers, bread makers, sheep herders, wood cutter, the elders of the village, and the whole brothel – including Mum. Bullocks, it really is the whole bloody village! Surrounding my home…it was suspicious. Were they finally sickened of seeing me around the village, the 'cursed' boy with different eyes, ready to attack me as a mob?
One of the elders approached, and I flinched at the movement. She addressed me with a hoarse, wheezy voice, "It is time, Sorel."
"T-time for what?" I stuttered, legs twitching, getting ready to run for my life. Why is she speaking to me? No one ever speaks to me. Why is the entire village-
"Your mother speaks of this being your eighteenth's birth year." She cackles, lifting a boney finger. "This is the day you become a man, but only once you fulfill a man's quest."
I remembered blinking again and again at the old hag, confused to why she wouldn't disappear and make the vision end. It had to be a dream, right? A quest? I'd never heard of such an event on one's birthday…
"What is this 'quest'? Why had no other boy ventured on one when he turned man?"
The butcher spoke up, pushing his way to the front of the crowd, meat cleaver pointed threateningly at me. "Because none o' dem had te prove they's was human, ye freak!"
Hurried murmurs spread throughout the mob, with sounds of agreement and steady head nodding. The old woman spoke again, "The quest is yours alone, young one. If you fulfil the quest, you shall return to our village not only as equal, but even higher, a hero, a saint. Your deformation shall be forgotten and you shall live richly."
The story was shady, but the cluster of disgruntled townfolk left me without much choice. "…What would this quest…entail?"
A little smile and hoarse chuckled broke from the hag's mouth. "Slay the Water Beast; bring back a fin. A man you'll become and honour you'll win."
"Water Beast? Bloody Hell, you're sending me after one of your foolish, imaginary monsters?" I scoffed, relaxing a little. They couldn't have been serious. "The only thing eating your damn sheep are common wolv-"
"Slay the Water Beast; bring back a fin." She repeated with emphasis and force. "A man you'll become and honour you'll win."
The entire crowd had shushed, and all eyes were on me. Christ, they all took this mythical horseshit seriously, too? If they want me to kill some 'Water Beast' so badly, I'd just find water, cut off a fish's gimpy fin and bring it back. I doubted the 'become a saint, live richly' proposition, but refusing completely would not fare well by the look of the crowd.
I gritted my teeth. "Fine. I'll kill your damn 'beast'. Just let me pack my thi-"
Two large farmers emerged quickly to grapple each of my arms. The elder turn and the crowd dispersed for her, the men dragging me behind. Out of the village, past the windmill, and finally to the dark forest's edge, nearly out of sight from town.
The men gave me a blunt toss forward, my feet catching me just beyond the first trees. I turned back to have one of the farmers toss something to me.
"Fend 'em off with this, ye blighter."
"Have fun drownin', mutant!"
The men left with the hag in tow, as I looked to the package in my hands. A small, wimpy, nearly dull dagger. Great. No food, no water, the thin clothes on my back and hardly any defense. They had never even mentioned where to find said terrible creature, or what it looked like. Only once had I ever heard tell of a 'water creature' myth, which must have been years before; something about a monster singing, humming, making some sort of melody to lure and drown it's victims. All I'd known was that beyond the thick forest, endless fields and moors stretched out until the ocean, several moons away. Whether I'd find a brook somewhere in between was a mystery.
Banished, perhaps already forgotten, I could only start walking, in search of the 'beast'.
Feet tripping, legs quaking, I finally fell to my knees in exhaustion. The thin, dirty fabric covering them soaked quickly from the damn grass and mud of the moors. This is it, the end, my doom; I am going to die here.
I'd heard of this 'Water Beast' only in fearful whispers. None directly spoken to me, of course; no one in the village ever acknowledged my existence until yesterday, other than to maybe spit at my name. If said beasty thing was so monstrous, they were probably hoping I'd never heard of it and didn't know what I was facing.
The little I knew of this creature was heard from superstitious elders wobbling and cackling as they passed my hut. It was supposedly ghastly, covered in slimy scales, with bulging eyes on the side of its head, large sharp fins for arms, and deep, waning gills down the length of its body. It would emerge from it's a bog or pond-like lair, and if you were standing too close to the water's edge, it would either grapple your leg and drag you under the surface to drown, or hum its sweet melody that hypnotised a man's mind, convincing him to jump into the water.
There I was, on my knees in the middle of a vast, empty moor. My head spun and insides churned from the last of food and water, and blisters on my feet bled through the thin excuses for footwear I wore. Every limb was aching, my throat was parched, breathing was difficult, and I knew this was the end for my mutated self. A pained, shallow breath escaped my throat in the form of a moan, the only thing cutting the silence on the open, lonely moor-
Splash. A heavenly sound. My tired brain slowly came back to alertness. My bleary eyes searched, until there I saw it; cat tails poking up from a divot in the ground, somewhat far off but maybe, maybe just close enough that I could drag my sorry corpse there. Water…drinking water!
With a grunt and cry each step, I toppled from my knees and began a slow crawl forwards to what I guessed may be a swamp. The palms of my hands sunk into the wet earth as I drug myself on all fours. Why…so far…j-just keep going, Sol, bloody Hell don't stop now!
The bliss of finally reaching the bog's shore was overpowering. It was much larger than I looked from afar; nearly the size of a pond. My elbows buckled and I collapsed flat on my front, resting for precious moments before the strength came back to me. Fingers digging into the wet mud, I clawed my way forward and pulled my body close enough to plunge my face straight into the shallow water at the edge of the pool. The relief was amazing. Water stung down my dry throat, and probably a good deal of mud as well, but I didn't care. It was euphoria to me. I'm going to live.
Once I'd had all I could take in, my belly full and hurting at the sudden filling with liquid, I pulled my face out and panted heavily for air. I hadn't been able to stop myself even to breath. I coughed and hacked, some of my accidental ingestion of mud escaping with each pant. My lungs stopped aching, my breathing leveled, and I collapsed on my stomach again. A shrill croaking noise sounded for the side of me, and with weak eyes I glanced over to see a rather large frog sitting on the bank across from me. That frog. It must have made the splash I heard.
Tired, near death and delirious, I managed to flip myself over and onto my back, staring straight into the bleak, gray sky as I chuckled hoarsely. "Thank you, Frog. Thank you for saving my worthless arse."
"Don't thank the frog."
My eyelids peeled back in surprise and I jumped, nearly landing in the water. Back on my rear, I kicked and clawed my way backwards, getting myself away from the pool's edge wear the voice came from.
"W-Who – where – who said that?" I stumbled on my words. "W-Where are you hiding?"
"I need not hide from you, boy."
"I-I said where are you? Show yourself!" I screamed, rummaging through my pocket for the measly weapon I'd been given. I pointed it blindly at the water.
A wobbling cat tail caught my eye, and I quickly pointed the feeble blade in that direction. Before long all of the plants around it shook, before little waves formed around them in the water; signs of movement from below. The blipping waves moved farther from the plants and roamed in my direction closer and closer, until they stopped in the center of the bog. Slowly, the waves got bigger, as something down there near the surface more and more.
My palms were sweating and I thought I'd drop my weapon. I swallowed thickly, instinctively biting my lip and tensing my muscles. A dark shape began to emerge – no, that was hair, a soaked black head of hair, mostly slicked back from the water, with a shock of – was that violet? – in the front. A forehead of dripping, off-tinted skin was next, before a pair of piercing, hunting purple eyes crested the waterline.
I was frozen there, dagger shaking in my hand. The body revealed itself more; a straight nose, thin lips, angular cheekbones and strong jaw, a muscular neck, broad shoulders, and protruding collarbone. The creature looked…well, human. And fit for one, as well, not scrawny and uncared for like myself.
The being's lips formed a sly smirk and its eyes became half lidded, and all over expression of…allure? I couldn't tell, of course; the only looks I'd ever received before were of disgust.
With deep pitched, accented words similar to that of the Scots to the north, the creature spoke.
"Here I am, boy. Now thank me, not the damn frog."
The man – could I call him a man? – watched me intently for an answer.
"Fine…" I quivered. " Thanks. N-Now, what are you?"
"Mmm, curious lad?" He chortled under his breath, suddenly gliding (though he didn't seem to be moving a muscle) through the water towards me, until he crossed his arms and leaned on the bank of the pond. "Use them eyes of yours and tell me what I seem to be."
Uncomfortable at the new closeness, I studied his features again. Nah, still looked pretty human, other than the odd eyes – though who was I to judge, ha – and his flesh being slightly off tint, a little more…gray, perhaps?
"You look like me." I paused. "Well, not like me, but, er, man."
"…Except?"
"…You're grey."
The being laughed, his lips pulling back into a smile and revealing glistening rows of pointed teeth.
"A-And your teeth!" I swallowed a hard lump in my throat. "What kind of monster are you?"
His laughter subsided. "What I am should be obvious by now, lad. You're out here to kill me after all, neh?"
"No, you lie!" My hands and feet push me scrambling back on the grass. "Monsters don't exist! Get away from me, go back to your cat tails!"
He grinned again, before shifting his arms and began pulling himself out and onto shore. I scrambled more desperately to get way as he emerged. I was still not far off when he stood fully on two long, chiselled legs, with a bare chest, lean stomach, and good Lord what is that between his legs- I shot my eyes back up to his top half. Oh. Oh God. Streaking down both sides of his torso were three deep, flexing gills made of purplish flesh. He was not the 'beast' I had imagine, but neither was he human. There couldn't be a creature in between the two, could there? No passing hag had ever whispered of this! Water Beast and human...a Water Man?
He posed his hands on his defined hips in a stance of power and pride. As if that damn grin could get any wider, he looked down at me from his tower height.
"I am Prince Errol, next to be Lord of My Kind, and I certainly do exist, boy."
This can't be. Bloody Hell, this isn't real! My body froze as I stared in frightened awe up at him. He approached on foot until his quite literally stood over me, then knelt down until he practically was sitting on my chest to get closer.
"Got nothing to say now, do we?" He chortled, strands of purple coming un-slicked and sticking to his wet forehead. I shifted with discomfort at his…ahem, groin being so close.
"…Y-Your name is stupid."
"Wow, rude. It stands for 'nobleman', you worthless land peasant. And it's not so far from yours, Sorel."
My eyes widened. "How do you know my-"
"I've seen sad saps like you lost and dying out here all of my life." Errol snarked. "They promised you riches, didn't they, the people of your town? Money for killing the terrible beasty in the bog?"
I struggled under his weight, but the prince continued. "My kind struck a deal with humans like you long ago, lad. When a gathering of 'em send off their weak and unwanted," A hand darted out and grabbed a fistful of my thin shirt, yanking my top half unpleasantly close to his. His fishy breath blew in my face. "My kingdom gets a fresh meal."
A startled flinch rocked through me in his grip, my breath freezing. Fingers trembling, I suddenly felt the worn wooden handle of the dagger still clutched in my grip. A way out. It took all my bravery to swing the hand up to the creature's smirking fishy face, plunging the blade into the side of his slimy neck.
I froze in place, expecting a shower of blood, a scream, retaliation, anything. Errol…kept smiling.
"Aw, that's cute, Sol. Can I call you Sol? - Sure I can." He chimed, grinning and baring his wicked teeth as the blade slowly pushed back against my hand. It forced its way back out of his flesh though I struggled to keep it sheathed in his neck. As the knife emerged, his skin simply stretched back to its normal spread, as if it was made of rubber, baring not a singled slice. "You really though your measly human weapon could make a scratch on royalty like me? I've tried to break it to you nice and easy, Sol. The people of your kingdom were hoping I would do their dirty work by getting rid of you.`` He yanked harder on my shirt, pulling his face to the side of mine and whispering in my ear. ``Your kind and mine have done this for centuries."
His words shot a spark through me, like a strike of lightning. I had to fight. I have to run. In a burst of adrenaline, I thrust a knee up to strike the fish man atop me. Being unclothed as he was, there was a specific body part I was aiming for. Though I managed to miss that marker, the move still caught the so called 'prince' by surprise, giving me enough time and wiggle room to attempt escape again. Crawling backwards hadn't worked so far, so the first moment I could I flipped myself onto my stomach and clawed my way out from under the fishface.
It seemed the Royal Arse was just as relentless as I. My freedom was short lived as he pounced on me again, straddling the small of my back and pinning my arms beneath his legs.
"Rudeness!" He scoffed with a chuckle in his throat.
"Get off me, you asshole!" A command he, of course, ignored. I struggled to free my hands from under his knees, my only, now useless weapon having tumbled from my hand into wet grass not far away.
"All my life, I've fed on humans so contorted, they hardly seemed man." The Prince's hand suddenly appeared on the marsh grass on either sides of my shoulders, his frame leaning down closer to my back. "Deformed beyond recognition, disabled, non-functioning. Children and men whom shouldn't have lived past birth. But you, lad…why have you been sent out here, anyhow?" I felt one of Errol's slimy hands slide under my chin, pulling my face to one side for examination, then to the other. "Ah, I see…yer eyes be different, eh Sol? That's not such bad thin' to me, if it don`t hinder yer vision or notin'. Hm. Actually…"
He turned my face side to side again, before shoving his hands under my ribcage, lifting himself slightly from my body, and flipping me back onto my front. Impeccably strong…
He sat down on my torso again, a hand grabbing his chin in thought and his eyes squinting slightly. He bent his frame down uncomfortably close to mine, thoroughly inspecting my irises from inches away. That unique, somewhat unpleasant yet hypnotic scent wafted through my nose as I tried my hardest to keep scowling in disgust at him.
"Actually what, fishface?" I growled, thrashing under him to make his over-personal examination all the more difficult. "I'm not interesting enough for this much attention, so damnit just get off-"
"Intriguing." He announced suddenly. "..No, maybe…ah, that's it…" The smirk reappeared.
"Delicious."
A snarl burned at the back of my throat as I barked "Go to Hell!", making him throw his head back and laugh into the bleak sky.
"Sol, I like you. Yer different; you've got a…stubbornness I haven't seen in a while, it's entertaining." His arms crossed over his chest and his eyes turned soft, endearing. Aw Hell. "So, because I like yeh so much, I'm prepared to make yeh an offer, if you'd stop you damn wiggling."
Though the scowl stayed constant on my expression, I let my muscles loosen and relaxed under him. "Fine, if it means I can get up now."
"Come with me."
"…I need something more than tha-"
"I mean, come with me, back to my home. Live with me in my kingdom."
"Your kingdom. The gigantic city you say is somewhere deep under that murky pond. Without drowning."
"That's the idea, lad. I have a way to let yeh breath, but I need yeh to consent to come-"
"Then no!"
"Aw, why not?"
"Do you think I'm a complete idiot? You just said that I'm out here so you can eat me! You said my eyes are delicious!"
"I also said that I like you, so I won't. Eat yeh, that is. I can't help that yer eyes are coaxing." Errol smirked.
"Right. So if you won't chew on my face, who says you won't try to drown me, or off me in other ways? Isn't that what you slimy 'Water Beasts' do? You're just thirsting to kill me, aren't you?!"
"So is your village. Look, Sol, you don't have to trust me. But if yeh want to live, you'll come with me."
"No way in Hell, fishface."
"Yer stubbornness is cute, but not like this. Yer just being stupid now, boy. Yeh go back home, yeh die. Yeh stay out here with no food, yeh die. Yeh come with me…I'm offerin' a second chance at life. Yeh don't know what it's like down there, maybe you'd love it."
I grimaced, turning my face away from him. Damn, He was right. "…What if you're tricking me?"
Errol sighed, eyes closing for moment before opening with a pitiful look. "Here." He combed three fingers through his hair, pulling the strand around his face back and revealing spiked, intricate fins where one might think his ear should be. Slay the Water Beast, Bring back a fin...
"This is the only place on my body where yer puny weapon will cut. You come with me down to my watery Kingdom, and along the way if yeh feel panicked or like I'm trickin' yeh, slice of a fin and swim back to the top. Go home, show'em the fin, see what happens. I promise, Sol, they'll still kill yeh. I'd prefer yeh livin'."
With that, he pushed off of me and stepped over my frame. "Yer choice, Sol."
I clambered up onto my knees as soon as I could, watching him trudging back to the bog's edge. I was free of him, free to go back home. Before standing fully, I reached out to clasp the dull knife in my hands again. I glanced at the blade, contemplating it's sharpness, if it could really cut off a fin. When I looked up, the forest sat before me, and I knew I need only push straight through those dark trees for a day or so, and the droopy village windmill would come back into sight. Would the villagers really kill me if I returned? Maybe there was no other way. Maybe fate had slammed the door in my face. This was the end, whether I went back or stayed here.
A light breeze came tumbling across the flat moor, the first I'd felt on this quest. On the wind came a soft sound, a faint melody of pleasant notes, the lullaby I'd always wished for as a child. A beautiful humming.
My head turned to see the prince lowering himself to his waist in the water of the pond, turning his naked body to face me while the hum grew a little louder. It was him spinning the coaxing chords.
He held out his hand in my direction with a compassionate grace, his eyes locking on mine, and suddenly my heart was lifted. My bleeding blisters numbed their sting, my muscles shushed their aching, and I found my lips curving into a pleasing smile as my feet seems to carry me like I was floating on a cloud. The closer I got to the pool, the louder and more intoxicating the humming became as it echoed in my mind.
My hand brushed his extended one, and I gladly let him softly pull me beside him into the water. It was warmer than the air, soothing, enchanting.
"I've so much to show you, Sol." He smiled in genuine glee down at me, taking either side of my waist in his hands. I nodded and smiled back with hypnotized eyes.
Errol leaned in and murmured "Hold your breath."
And the water swallowed us up.