Written for Myths and Legends Classroom – Task 4: Greek Mythology creatures, #6 Mermaid, prompt – Danger.
Written for If You Dare Challenge – Prompt16: Homeless
In Too Deep
Various shades of blue and green and gray – that was all Draco had been surrounded throughout his life. Sometimes the water was calm and sometimes it brought a storm. And Draco hated it in all its forms. He wished he didn't have to spend his entire life on the ship; it belonged to his father. At an age of six years, Draco knew that he would have to carry on his father's trading business once he was old enough. He dreaded that future. He wished his mother was alive, at least then he would have been able to stay with her when his father, Lucius Malfoy, traded.
Cold wind washed over his face, blowing his blonde hair back, goosebumps rose on his exposed skin.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" A voice of authority spoke just as Draco felt a presence next to him.
"Yes, father," Draco agreed timidly. Despite all his thoughts, he never imagined himself confessing his hatred for the sea to his father. The man would have him thrown off the deck, Draco was very sure of that.
"You don't look well again, how are you feeling?" Lucius asked with a sigh.
"I'm all right father," Draco answered mechanically.
"Nevertheless, get some rest. The journey ahead is going to be rough. We are so close to the shore, if the gods allow it, we'll reach our destination safely."
"Okay," Draco found himself saying. "I'll go to bed in few minutes, shall I stay here for some more time father?"
"Of course, already a man of sea, aren't you?" Lucius exclaimed as he thumped his son on his back and walked toward the main deck to yell out few orders.
"Man of sea . . ." Draco mumbled to himself.
Suddenly, he saw a flash of something, a glisten in the water which seemed to immediately vanish. It seemed too odd for a fish. Thinking that he had been staring for too long at the waves, Draco retired to the comfortable quarters he had been assigned.
On his way back, nobody spoke to him . . . nobody ever really did.
Draco woke up caked in sweat. He had been dreaming about his mother again. It had been a nice dream with lots of laughter and hugs, but it had quickly turned into a nightmare as it would all the times before. His mother had turned into a dark shape, and he wished with his whole heart that he could forget that or that he would get used to it.
When Draco grew more accustomed to his dark surroundings, he acknowledged the violent lurching of the ship and muffled screams from above and wasn't sure what exactly had woken him up. Still dressed in his sleeping attire – a simple white shirt and loose khaki pants – Draco ran out of his cabin and went up the stairs. As he grew closer, the shouts only kept getting louder and his heartbeat accelerated in fear. It was the first time he was experiencing such a situation.
As soon as he got above, he was greeted with a darkened sky and rain – or maybe it was the waves? –splashed heavily onto his face. Fear gripped him like death's hand while he stood frozen for a moment, watching the men scream out to each other to get the water out, to pull down the sails, to make sure that the ship wouldn't sink.
"It is the Curse of the Mermaids! Oh lords, save us! Save us!" a man closest to him screamed.
Something seemed to snap in Draco at the sailor's words, and he began to run and scream on top of his lungs, "FATHER! FATHER!"
He was encompassed with bodies as he tried to make his way through to Lucius. He fell down twice and rolled to the edge when he picked himself up again and searched for his father. Up on his feet, he immediately slammed into one of the sailors.
"Draco! What are you doing out here? Go back to your cabin!" Severus, Lucius' closest friend and Draco's godfather, ordered him, holding him and looking surprised but ready himself would walk Draco back.
"No, I need to see my father!" Draco cried. "Please, let me see him. I can't go back Uncle!"
Severus stared at him for a while and mumbling something under his breath he dragged Draco away.
When they reached the main deck, and his presence was brought to his Lucius' notice, Lucius simply said, "It's never too early to start learning," and motioned him to join the others.
Draco didn't know how long he was at it, but he continued throwing the water out. The screams – a mixture of orders and panicked voices crying about the mermaids – reached Draco, until his father's loud voice put an end to the mer-talk.
The storm seemed to be clearing and the sea calming. The thunderous rain had stopped into a mere drizzle and the waves had stopped splashing so high and tumbling the boat. There were prayers going all around.
Just then a sudden silence filled their surroundings. Suddenly, everything had gone still. And then the voices came . . . so entrancing, so beautiful . . . they called him . . .
Just as the silence had fallen in few seconds, the mermaids' were all around their ship. They continued to sing in their eerie beautiful voices, Draco didn't understand what they meant, but he knew that they were calling to him.
Their music was broken by a splash in the water – someone had jumped overboard.
Lucius' voice rang out in the middle of their song, he urged his men to not listen to the monsters below. He told them of their gods, and that they could win. Draco began listening to his father, and the mindless need to jump overboard into the mermaids' embrace subsided.
Apparently it seemed to have worked on the other men too, and the mermaids realized that. Because their music was no more sweet and appealing. Instead it was harsh and hurt his ears. It was painful. Draco covered his ears and bent down, hoping to get their voices out of his head.
The ship began to sway to either sides in a forceful manner, and in within a matter of seconds, men were falling overboard.
Draco watched his father fixedly, holding onto the wooden railing with all his might – praying that the creaks he heard weren't of the ship being broken. He didn't want the mermaids to get him, but he didn't want to drown either.
Very soon his fears were realized. His side of the ship cracked. He screamed for his father, Lucius screamed too and reached out for his son. Their fingers were mere inches away, when Draco felt a huge jolt and was thrown into the ice cold water.
It was hot, very hot. His skin burned under the scorching sun, Draco tried to get up but immediately fell back onto the rocks on which he was previously lying. He opened his eyes, trying to get adjusted to the sun glaring above. As his senses returned, Draco realized that he felt horrible. His entire body was in pain, and his muscles felt lethargic. It felt like his brain was bursting within his head. But worst of all, there was a burning in his lungs. All he wanted was to get rid of it.
He lay awake for few minutes before passing out again. Just as his breathing slowed signaling that the boy was asleep, there was a moment from behind the rocks. A half-human and half-fish figure appeared, a mermaid. She had thick brown hair and skin glistened with beads of water, she appeared to be donned in shells and pearls.
The mermaid watched the boy curiously as he lay unconscious. He was young, much younger than the other men she had devoured. She didn't know if they boy was lucky that she liked to study her prey before eating them. The others hadn't minded her, they had been too far gone into her trance – well, not until she had sunk her vicious teeth into their flesh of course. But by then, she usually dragged them underwater. Their flesh and blood tasted ever so juicy with the seawater.
She stood over the boy casting a shadow over him, protecting him from the brilliant sun, and watched him hungrily. Her senses were screaming for her to taste the boy, tear his limbs apart and eat him and crunch his bones – but she didn't act on them. There was something very different about this pathetic looking boy, something almost tragic. She stroked his temple and brushed his light hair back gently.
She continued to trail her fingers across his face possessively, and Draco lay unconscious, oblivious to the danger he was in.
A/N: Hello! It's been long since I wrote. Hope you enjoyed this. Any ideas who the mermaid is?
Not sure if I'll be continuing it, though I wanted to when I started writing it. Let me know if you want to read more. :)