Come away to the Water,
To the ones that are waiting only for you
Away from the life that you always knew,
We are calling to you.
Maroon 5- Come away to the Water.
Irving Braxiatel could still feel Darkel's nails piercing into his back as he plunged down and down into the murky depths of the water before he could even turn around to fight back. She had crept upon him, silent and deadly like a predator before whispering into his ear like the devil whispering to Eve; 'It'll be a pleasure to watch you drown and watch your life as it comes crashing down upon your wretched soul.'
He knew Darkel must have planned his death for days before they boarded the Irverfield. They were on a cruise for a political meeting that was about to take place in regards to the Collection he was running and Darkel had disagreed with every plan he had suggested from the beginning. Always countering his arguments, always challenging him and his place among the council. But to stab him right in the back like this-oh, he had expected it metaphorically, but to have it physically happen to him was something he had been entirely unprepared for and felt a little foolish.
But it also made Darkel a coward.
The fact that she chose to stab him in the back without a fight was something only a coward would do. She didn't have the strength or the mind of a fighter and he was a powerful figure, both by strength and politically so she wouldn't have dared tried to attack him face to face when she knew that he could overthrow her so easily with his strength.
But she must have known the night she was planning his death was also the night of when the storm arose. A storm engulfing the sea, whipping at the waves and raising them hell-bent down onto the ship which was all the more reason to make his death, look like an accident. A man overboard, he could imagine Darkel saying to the Inquiry. The wave came crashing down onto the ship and took Lord Irving Braxiatel with it.
He was drowning and although Irving was an excellent swimmer himself, always coming first on the swimming team during his university days, the water was too powerful to fight back. Water always wins, that's what they used to say. You can fight against an army, you can fight against disease but you can't fight against water. Water was a force of nature not to be reckoned with.
Down and down he went, looking up at the disappearing Irverfield which now looked like a tiny dot above the water from where he could see. Down into Davy Jone's locker as the water consumed his throat like a snake sneaking and coiling around his insides, squeezing out every bit of air he had in his body.
About to lose all hope, he was about to close his eyes for he knew there was little hope that could save him now. Blood consumed the water, turning the water into a ruby from the wound in his back as he felt pain surging through him.
He had forgotten about that. At least Darkel had the decency to remove the knife before she plunged him to his death.
But then he saw her.
At first, Irving thought he was hallucinating the whole thing. He thought he must be going mad from the loss of hope that began to consume him and thought she must be an apparition or at least, a figment of his imagination, thinking that she was a servant of death who had come to greet him before time ran out, awaiting for his smothering embrace. But then long, blond hair caught his attention and she looked just as real as he was.
Impossible.
She should have been nothing more than a legend that time forgot. Nothing more than a children's tale that parents who belong to the sea tell at night. But she was real. An impossible sea goddess that he caught glimpses of through his now clouded vision.
Down and down in the murky depths of the water he still went.
The water tugged at his soul, pulling him into a cold embrace and he welcomed it like a lover would.
Down into the pits of hell with death smiling upon him like he had gain a victorious prize.
"Our people cannot interfere with the mortal world. We must only observe."
Romana had been sitting on a boulder in the middle of the ocean when the incident happened. She had watched the evil woman plunge her weapon into the man's back when he was taken by surprise, unable to defend himself from the upcoming attack. She had watched her for days now, waiting for the predator to make her move and Romana knew when she did, she wouldn't be able to do anything to stop the killing. Her crimson tail flickered angrily at the thought.
"It is against the laws of the Merepeople. Mortals are inferior to us, they do not deserve our help." That was what her advisor had told her.
She scoffed at the thought.
"And what about Commander Andred's wife? She was a mortal and she turned into a mermaid for the sake of her husband. Are you calling your commander's wife inferior?"
The councillor hesitated, not wishing to anger his Queen despite his opinions were clearly visible upon what he thought of the mortals that lived above. "Lady Leela is a peculiar predicament, I admit. But you are our Queen, Lady Romana. Your people need you here. You cannot go and waste time going up to the surface to see the mortals if you simply dislike that one mortal."
"She's dangerous! She's a political enemy to the mortals and if she got her way, I have no doubt she could rule the British Empire if she so wished." Romana argued back, gritting her teeth. "I tell you. That man needs our help. I know he suspects the woman just as much as I do."
Matthias cleared his throat as he approached forwards, bowing his head respectfully towards her. "Your Majesty, with all due respect, Councillor Zachary is right. Your people need you now more than ever and you cannot afford to waste time or your energy upon the humans, especially with ones who are so high-ranking in politics. If they find out the truth of our people, it will only create an ever lasting war in which there will be millions of loses on both sides. A war that we cannot afford to start."
Romana's mouth thinned and she pursed her lips as she so badly wanted to refuse to believe it. She new mortals couldn't all be that bad. A few mortals couldn't represent the whole of the human species,, could it? Although Romana had longed for her time to come when she took the Throne after her father passed away, Romana had always loved to explore the Ocean and the surface above. Always loved to watch how different the mortals were from them and learn from them, whether that be the good or the bad.
"Fine." She lied through her teeth, giving a dramatic sigh as she rubbed her temple which was now throbbing with an upcoming headache. "I apologise Councillor Matthias. You are right of course, my people come first and I must do what I can to protect them and our Empire. Now if you'll excuse me, I have other matters that need my attention." She flickered her tail and swam away from the council rooms where all the tedious meetings took place.
She lied to the councillors but it was no difference to the lies she told them every other day. She didn't care what they thought of the mortals. To her, they were the most intriguing beings and being friends with Lady Leela made her even more fascinated by the land above.
She just needed to see if he was alive. Needed to know that the cunning mortal hadn't revealed who she truly was yet and made her move on the mortal man she had found fascinating to watch.
Then she heard the mortal witch spoke.
'It'll be a pleasure to watch you drown and watch your life come crashing down upon your wretched soul.'
She swam fast towards the surface until she smelt the blood.
Everything was so calm now, calm after the storm save from the long and steady thump of Irving's heart beat. Whether or not he was awake or dreaming, he couldn't tell. It was as though it was from a nightmare that would never end. He couldn't think, couldn't speak and he couldn't move.
A male form swam into his vision-or was it his mind? He couldn't tell. A man wearing an Edwardian jacket and with short, brown hair and blue eyes that so equally matched his own. He found slight comfort that the last person he saw before he died was him.
Brother, he wanted to speak out as he pathetically tried to lift his arm out towards him.
His heart gave a last feeble thump in his chest, the blood pounding in his veins had stopped running and his arm fell back to his side as his head drooped.
I am home.
By the time Romana had located the injured mortal, he was nearly dead and if she didn't have excellent hearing like the rest of her kind do, she would have thought so to had it not been for the faint flicker of his heart beat that she could just about here or the fact his arm fell limply to his side.
She pushed herself forward and dragged him by his collar, swimming up and up as she went. By the time she reached the surface, the ship he was on was already just a mere spot in the distance and she glanced at the mortal, seeing the life before him disappear.
Damn it all. She was the Queen of the Merepeople and she knew what she was about to do would only put them at risk but this man needed her and if she didn't do anything soon, he would die.
Without a second thought, without another doubt or hesitation holding her back, she did what she presumed was the only thing she could do to save him.
She kissed him.
The first thing that Irving was aware of when he regained some form of consciousness was a pair of lips pressing against his and the cool air brushing against his skin like a feather.
He wasn't underwater.
He wasn't drowning.
And he was kissing someone.
Irving eyes opened and water splashed into his vision, blurring it slightly and he blinked away as he instinctively began to push against the person in front of him. But when he saw who it was, when he saw the blonde hair and grey eyes staring back at him, he stared before his eyes trailed down to her crimson tail where it should have been human legs.
She was a mermaid. Was she the same Mermaid that Irving had caught mere glimpses of from earlier that was swimming towards him and she was real.
Impossibly real.
His eyes trailed back from her tail and up her stomach and her feminine attributes and before the mermaid could make an angry gesture, he quickly trailed his eyes back up to her face, staring at her with his icy blue eyes, colour of the sea.
A mermaid.
He wanted to speak, to talk to her and ask who she was but thoughts swirled around his mind, unable to allow him to think straight, perhaps from consuming too much water and the fact he was still fatally wounded from the loss of blood but when he tried to open his mouth to speak to her, without a moment of hesitation she spun around and pushed him behind her so that their bodies were pressed against each other. She wrapped her tail around his legs slightly, her spare hand wrapped around his wrist.
He would have protested against her that he could defend himself, that he was not entirely weak but given the state he was now in and he didn't have a single weapon on him to defend himself from the upcoming attack.
Damn. Damn, damn, damn.
Romana tensed, controlling the magic within her as she was on high alert. All merepeople had magic, each person had a different type of magic that suited them best and for Romana, that was ironically controlling water.
She couldn't have been followed. She had been discreet with her coming to and from the surface from the council chambers she has left earlier. She held her arm out, the magic searing through her she relaxed once she saw it was her friend and Commander Andred's wife Leela into view with her knife.
"What are you doing here Romana?" Leela questioned as she approached the two of them.
"I could say the same for you. I thought you have given up on going to the surface." She retorted but knew it was a weak argument to fight against with Leela.
"I overheard what Matthias said earlier and I know he made you upset. I wanted to stand and fight against him but my husband wouldn't let me so I followed you to keep you sa-" Leela voice began to trail off as she peered over Romana to see the human barely floating next to Romana and could see his blood stained suit and knew that he was wounded. "Romana! You have found a man?"
"He was stabbed in the back Leela, by a mortal witch and she threw him overboard without a second thought," Romana protested against her friend and it was the truth. "I couldn't let him die, I had to do something. He didn't deserve to die like that, alone and forgotten at sea. Nobody does." She could still feel the warmth of his lips against hers, the mustache tickling against her skin and what surprised her even more was the fact she wanted to kiss him all over again.
"You can't keep him Romana and he cannot leave here when he knows about us," Leela spoke, her voice soft. "The Merepeople will kill him or at least make his life unpleasant. It took them a long while to accept me as Andred's wife
"I know the rules of our people Leela, I am Queen after all." Romana sent her friend a piercing gaze, not wanting to be reminded of the laws of the Merepeople and her tail flickered with anger in the water, causing a splash sent in Leela's direction. But Leela was right. He couldn't stay even if she wanted him. "I am not going to kill him."
"I didn't suggest you should." Leela replied softly, sending her friend a mixture of pity and longing. She knew what the situation felt like for Romana. That had been her and Andred a long time ago, only she wanted to become a mermaid to be with him. She could see in her friend's eyes that Romana somehow felt the same with this man before them.
"Give us a few minutes, that is all I ask of you."
Leela gave Irving a warning look, clearly telling him if he so much made a move to hurt Romana, she would strike him down dead without a second thought and Irving met her gaze and nodded, for he was in no place to do anything else before she turned and swam off in the direction of home.
Once her friend was gone, Romana exhaled, calming herself before she turned to face him and once sure they were quiet alone, she looked up to his icy blue eyes, eyes that she could easily get lost in before she spoke again as the sea remained calm before them. "I apologise. I know this is very daunting for you and the wound in your back is only making the situation worse, however, I can help you home or at least find a shore with civilisation on for you."
Irving studied her. Gods, she was beautiful. She held herself like a Queen and he heard what she said before-that she was the Queen of the Merepeople and yet against defying against her people's rules, she was still saving him. The sea brushed against them, their bodies pressing against each other and he gave her a sly smile, his eyes twinkling with mischief. He and his brother were born with mischief, his father had once said. It was in their blood and this was no different.
Romana's cheeks turned pink as she realised how close the two were and turned even pinker when she realised his eyes lingered upon her lips.
"Why?" He finally managed to ask her, his voice smooth and sounding like velvet even with the near drowning experience. "Why did you save me when it could have put you in danger? Do you have a habit of saving men?"
She met his gaze, not backing down. "I couldn't let you die alone. Nobody deserves to die like that, especially at sea."
He pressed for no further reasons why and she gave him no more to the question. Seconds ticked by into minutes and minutes ticked by into hours as their bodies were still pressed against each other against the gentle wave of the current in which she controlled to guide him home.
She knew her time was up with the mortal man. She had already broken more laws than she dared to count and knew that when she got back to her kingdom, other marriage proposals will come through the door to look for a suitable partner to rule the Kingdom with her. But for now, for now she could dream that this man was hers.
But dreams didn't always last forever and they always come to an end.
"I'm sorry." She murmured and she felt the magic run through her veins, running through her bones as it became one with her. She raised her hand and gently brushed her fingers delicately across his cheek, cupping it gently. His skin felt so smooth and soft, even with his stubble.
"What are you sorry for-" Irving began to ask before realisation hit him and he opened his mouth and his hands flew to her waist where the scales met the flesh, wrapping his arms around her as though afraid that if he let her go, he would drown. He knew he couldn't fight back against whatever magic she was going to use against him, couldn't fight against her for he knew she would easily out power him.
His warmth only made her want to lean into him more, to hold him and to listen to his steady, mortal heart thumping quietly in his chest but her time was up. She had to say goodbye and Romana had always hated goodbyes and this was no exception. The magic was already starting to take effect and a soft, light blue glow erupted from her finger tips and his body sagged against her, his eyes drowsily closing and his head drooping from side to side as the sleeping spell that she used took its course.
She ran her hand through his hair briefly, just wanting to feel it through her finger tips one last time before she wrapped her arms around his slumbering form and quickly began to swim towards the coast of England. She only had minutes to get him to the shore before the spell broke and she made it to the shallow waters and she managed to pull herself up with her tail flapping and shifting in the water as she dragged him across the soft sands and stones. After a few struggles and failed attempts, she managed to at least manoeuvre him so that he was out of harms way of being taken in by the sea again.
She panted, trying to catch her breath for it was hard work for taking him this far and onto the shore so that he was safe. As she regained her breath, she looked down at the unconscious mortal man before her. Wondering what it was about him that made him call to her, that made her want to save his life when she could have let him drown.
"Goodbye, Irving Braxiatel." She murmured and she leaned down, kissing his lips softly once more before she disappeared into the ocean where she belonged.
Irving wasn't sure whether he was dreaming but he felt sunlight flickered behind his eyelids, forming shapes of blonde hair and crimson as he slowly but surely regained some form of consciousness. He let out a groan, his back aching from the wound that Darkel had given him earlier as he raised a hand to rub his eyes before sitting up to realise he was on a beach, not far away from civilisation either.
How in god's name did he get here?
He struggled to stand up, the drenched suit making it harder for him to walk and his shoes were full of water and seaweed when he emptied them out onto the sand and he crinkled his nose as he smelled of salt. He looked himself up and down, trying to see if he had gained any other injuries expect from the wound on his back as gazed out towards the sea.
Had any of the others noticed his disappearance? Did Narvin believe the lies that Darkel would tell him about Irving slipping over board the Irverfield? Would anyone trust Darkel after what she had done? When they got back to England, when they were docking the ship, Irving Braxiatel was going to give Darkel a hell of a surprise when they returned.
He was about to leave as exhaustion over came him. Not only that, but he was starting to feel famished and parched, realising he hadn't had anything to eat or drink since he was one the Irverfield a day ago when a flicker of crimson caught his eyes near one of the tide pools. He blinked, recognising the flicker of crimson from anywhere and he half-walked, half-stumbled towards it as a memory swirled in his mind, pulling the pieces together.
A memory of her.
He remembered her golden hair like gold bathed across the deep blue sea, her rosy pink lips that pressed against his to breathe life back into him with her crimson tail brushing against his lips.
Mermaids existed but they preferred to be nothing but legends, nothing but stories that sailors liked to talk about around a pub fire with a beer in their hands. But he had seen them and he knew mermaids weren't all that bad. But she had a name and an important title. His saviour had a name. What was it her friend had called her?
Queen Romana.
Her name was Romana.
"He's in the pools again." Leela swam up to her, a smirk dancing across her face as though she knew something nobody else didn't.
"Who?" Romana asked, her brows furrowing in confusion as she sat behind her desk to finish the last report from the latest council meeting they had. She was getting bored with these meetings. They were so tedious and she swore Matthias was making them long on purpose to infuriate her.
"Your man of course. Who else would it be?"
"Leela!" Romana let out a deep sigh of annoyance towards her friend. It had almost been three months since the incident since she had given Irving Braxiatel the mermaid's kiss to save his mortal life. Nearly every few nights he would return to the same spot that Romana left him, the shallow pools that neither belonged to the mortal or the merepeople but belonged to them. She would perch on one of the large boulders, hidden from plain sight but yet she would have a perfect view of him and she could admire every detail from his clothing and down to the beating of his heart. The wound of his back now healed thank the gods.
She wondered if he only came to the pools to reassure himself it was all a dream. That none of it happened and he was trying to reassure himself none of it was real and that she was a mere figment of his imagination.
She needed to stop this.
She had a Kingdom to run.
"I know you can hear me."
He must be completely mad to be back here in the tide pools again, standing in knee-deep water and talking to the ocean. He had healed from his wounds and had alerted the authorities with what happened and when the Irverfield arrived at the port, Darkel would be arrested for attempted murder. Something which pleased him a great deal after what he had to endure. Even his own brother was surprised that he had travelled across an ocean and somehow managed to find his way back home.
He often came here when the beach was empty, when no other living soul would disturb him from finding the woman who had consumed his thoughts and dreams. The woman who had saved his life and had beauty that even he had trouble describing. No other woman had entranced him like she had and he became enthralled with her and he wanted to taste her lips upon his once more. This time, without the dying part.
His blue eyes flickered towards the ocean's surface, searching for any hope or sign that it might be her swimming towards him. He knew it hadn't been a dream. That everything about her was real and ever since then, he got every single book about mermaids he could possibly get hold of. He wanted to learn more about them, to learn more about her and see if she was mentioned in any of the myths or legends that sailors often spoke about.
He exhaled and closed his eyes as he imagined their bodies pressed against each other once more, her golden hair dancing in the wind with her smile golden.
"Come back to me, Romana. I am waiting."