A New World
Isabella twirled, twirled, and twirled again. Bubbles rushed past her porcelain white face and gathered along her deep brown hair. She pushed her tail past her again. She twirled until she became bored. Letting the dark water drift her to the deep ocean floor, Isabella found herself sitting on the tip of a sunken ship. The light glow of her golden scales shone against the ship, letting her read the painted letters scrawled across it. "The Angelica" Isabella mused to herself, staring at the enormous piece of metal. A human man must have named this ship after his human lover, she thought. Isabella sighed. She wished to have a lover who would do such things for her. Unfortunately, there are no males of her species. What was she to do for the rest of eternity?
"Mother! Mother! Oh, I've done it! I told you all I could!" Adabelle shot through a group of newborn fish and its mother teaching her young to swim. Isabella sensed the fish quickly swim away, threatened by the larger fish. I would be afraid of Adabelle as well. Even though she may be my sister, she is indeed the most violent, Isabella silently thought.
All of Isabella's sisters heard Adabelle's excited cries and swam quietly towards their sister. Out of rare curiosity of such an uncommon event, they hurried to find out what all the excitement was about. All 96 of Isabella's sisters swam toward Adabelle from miles away in seconds. They gave young Adabelle their full attention – many seemed quite annoyed as usual of their sister's constant distractions from their daily events. Isabella, however, happily swam closer to her sister, anticipating every piece of news her land-walking sister always brought to distract her from her never-ending boredom.
The family of sisters felt a disturbance in the water and looked towards a bright glow in a patch of black water. As it grew brighter, a golden tail gave shape. The Queen swam slowly towards her daughter, staring at young Adabelle adoringly as she would any of her daughters. The girls have no father, of course – males are insignificant and a nuisance so, after a female has given birth, the male sacrifices his body to his beloved new daughters. There is no love for a mate, no loss. It is as a deal between them, a female of their species and a male of the human species.
"Yes, my Adabelle, what is it you must share with us today? News from the human world, I presume?" Isabella's sisters followed every movement of their adored mother and hung on every word she sung. The Queen of a family of their species is the only one strong enough to allure one of her own kind. All the girls wish to have such power someday – for now, they are only able to allure humans.
As Mother approached her daughter, the bright glow of her scales revealed a dark object Adabelle had wrapped her long tail around. Mother drifted towards the end of Adabelle's tail, her glow engulfing a pale body. The young girl had her tail wrapped multiple times around the thin neck of a young male, his eyes wide and lingering with fresh fear. Adabelle carried the young male to each of her sisters for them all to see. Clouds of crimson gathered around the body of the small blonde and her new prize. It didn't seem to bother young Adabelle as it was Isabella. Isabella looked at the lifeless human in disgust as her sisters stared in wonder. The queen looked at Adabelle approvingly and with a bright, proud smile.
"You are carrying then, Adabelle?" Mother asked in excitement. Adabelle nodded giddily, slightly shaking the human body. All the girls glanced briefly at Adabelle's stomach lovingly. "Well then, this is a time of celebration, is it not?" Mother asked her daughters cheerfully. The girls nodded in agreement.
"Why must we celebrate?" Isabella shot out loudly, but in a polite manner towards her Mother. The girls threw surprised looks at their young sister's outburst. They never went against their mother. "Another human is dead, and we are not even sure this one may work and provide us with children. The male last celebration hadn't worked, or the male the celebration before. Am I wrong? How many times have we tried to reproduce? And how many times has it failed? Equal amounts."
"I don't understand your point, young Isabella," Mother stated, not surprised at her daughter's boldness.
"Mother, we have killed hundreds of humans already – how many more are we willingly to slaughter?"
"As many as it takes to ensure the survival of our species!" The Queen used a sharp tone rare for her, causing fear and anxiousness among her daughters. Although, Isabella hadn't wavered under her mother's growing glare.
"The blood is all around us – it touches us all. We are not even bothered by it. It's cruel, especially how we kill them." Isabella looked towards the nearly hanging head of the long lost human.
"It is necessary Isabella! They are merely males, why does it bother you so? They are not intelligent, they cannot keep peace, they are only good for one thing, and one thing only – to provide our species with life and our new children with food. This is the end of this discussion, my daughter." The Queen's tone shifted quickly to her usual light and happy voice. "We will celebrate this joyous event of life," she smiled towards her beloved daughters.
The Queen drifted away with her daughters – except Isabella, who lingered with her head hung low with shame of what she had just done. She had gone against her mother – her own mother! – but she still stood with her opinion. She dared not to believe all the stories of hatred toward the males. She believed in the love stories the humans told; Isabella longed for them. She glanced briefly at the dim glow of her family some miles away before making a decision.
Isabella swam slowly away from her sisters and mother, her golden glow drifting away from the bright glow of where her family celebrated her sister's pregnancy. They snapped the head of the young man – which was about to fall off anyway –and tore it off, feasting on the delicacy. The body was then wrapped with seaweeds to preserve him until the babies were born, so that they may have something to eat. The skull of the man floated to the sea floor, resting peacefully in the sand, while the man's wife and two daughters wept on the land.
The mermaid wept as well without knowing so.
o~~~o~~~o
Isabella swam without a last glance behind her, and without a word to her Mother. Isabella swam towards the north of the Pacific where it grew colder. She didn't mind the decrease in temperature; her kind isn't really affected by temperature. She swam without any set destination; she swam just to swim.
Isabella didn't know exactly what she was doing, just that her body was taking her somewhere. It was as if something was calling her, and she gladly accepted it, a bit of excitement running through her at the thought of something waiting for her. All she wished for was adventure. And, of course, love. She briefly wondered whether her family was worrying of her. She quickly hid the thought from her mind, however. She didn't want to worry anymore; she didn't want to be sad anymore. She sought happiness on her journey – a feeling she had never really felt before.
Isabella had heard of many wonderful human stories from her land-walking sisters, who were of only 5 – some hadn't survived the violence of the humans who discovered her sisters' secrets. Isabella remembered the stories of Romeo & Juliet, and of many others. She had even witnessed many love stories in the 105 years of her existence. She frequently – without the knowledge of her family – swam up to the surface and to watch the humans on the islands that surrounded them. She had once witnessed what they called a "kiss." It was wonderful for the young, lonely Isabella.
Once, Isabella was caught coming back from the surface. She got scolding from her sisters and some scales ripped off of her by her raging Mother. Isabella had never felt such a pain. She cradled her arm from where her Mother had yanked her beautiful golden scales and looked at her Mother in sadness. Disappointment and anger flooded the Queen's eyes.
"How dare you, Isabella! Do you know what those savages can do to our kind – what they have done? They're beasts, Isabella! Whenever our secret is discovered, death of our kind follows. The only thing they know is violence." At the terrified look on her daughters face, she softened her tone ever so slightly. She did love her daughter, but Isabella's behavior was unheard of. "Our kind is of kindness, compassion, and love," as the Queen constantly reminds her daughters when talk of the "cruel, disgusting, violent humans" surfaces.
Isabella had promised her Mother to never again visit the humans; and she kept her promise, for she never again wanted to feel such shame and pain she had. But at today's events, Isabella could take no more of her family's cruelty. Her Mother spoke of their species "peacefulness," but Isabella wondered how different we were from the "violent" humans if we killed without any thought of regret or sadness. Isabella believed that if her Mother was wrong about her species, then she may be wrong about her idea of the humans. All Isabella ever saw of the human was kindness: she had witnessed laughter and happiness and love among them, and Isabella wanted to feel that as well. Maybe the stories of the humans' cruelty towards her kind were untrue. After all, she had never witnessed any of these events.
Isabella swam for weeks until finally the water slowly began to shallow. She approached a coral reef, which was active with many different colored fish. Isabella smiled brightly at them. She had never seen such colors! The light from the sun shone on her, and she loved it. Isabella had become used to the pitch-black darkness of her home on the ocean floor. She had never seen the water so clear and blue and bright! The fish greeted her warmly, not sensing her as a threat to them.
Isabella, as excited as ever, began to swim farther through the water. It gradually became shallower and shallower, up to the point where the young girls hair poked through the water's surface. Surprised and suddenly alert, Isabella swam back to where the water was deep enough to conceal her. What if someone saw her? Would she be caught? Will someone come after her? What if someone hurt her, like her Mother said humans had done to many of Isabella's sisters? She believed there were many good people on the surface, but she never really doubted that there were bad ones as well.
When Isabella felt that she was safe and calm, she carefully stuck her head above the water. She gasped at what she saw: she saw green, and so much of it! She had seen little bits of it before, on small islands she visited, but never in so many places! The beautiful bright color covered most of the land. The sun didn't seem to shine as greatly in this new area, but that did not dampen Isabella's excitement.
Isabella sensed movement on the cliffs above her, and quickly dunked her head back under the water. She had to be more careful around these humans. She wasn't used to being so close to them, and that both excited and scared the young girl.
Isabella knew that she had to find somewhere safe to transform: she had to wait for her body to change into a human form. She needed to wait for her body to dry, which she was unsure of the time it would take. So, Isabella looked for a spot safe enough for her to wait until she was fully changed. As Isabella swam around the high cliffs, the land started to slope downwards to a lower, flatter piece of land. The area was now covered with beautiful golden sand instead of the bright green. Soon, she came across a small cave at the edge of the beach.
Searching the area for any signs of humans, Isabella hesitantly began to swim towards the shore. When she felt it was safe, she quickly tried to pull herself towards the cave, which became more of a challenge than she expected. When she became so close that her body was hardly covered with the ocean water, she had to use her arms to try to pull her towards the beach. She struggled to pull her body and heavy fin into the cave. She was afraid that she might be seen, since she was taking longer than imagined to get to safety. Isabella panicked for a while, pulling at the wet, soft sand for a grip so she could pull herself in. The waves thankfully helped her by pushing her towards shore, and eventually the young girl made it to the cave.
The girl dragged herself to the farthest corner of the dark cave, taking peace in the pitch-black qualities of it; the only thing in the cave that guided her was the soft glow of her scales. She took quick, sharp breaths, trying to relax herself. She felt as if she would have been caught and undeniably killed in that moment. She felt so vulnerable, and now she was afraid of what was to come when she got farther into this new world. Briefly she regretted her decision of her journey, and thought of going back home, but she realized that she could not go back to her Mother now, not after all she had done.
Isabella laid her body on the cool ground of the cave, waiting for her fin to dry. When that time comes, her body will begin to transform. Isabella was not assigned to be a land-walker, as some of her sisters and Adabelle had been, so she had never been through the transformation. Neither did anyone talk about the experience. Isabella hadn't known what the process brought, and soon she began to fear what would happen to her. However, Isabella never heard any bad stories of it, so assured herself that it would be a quick, easy experience.
She touched the scales that covered every inch of her body, and realized that they were warm and dry. She smiled to herself at how quick it took to get dry. A few seconds later, the young Isabella heard a sharp snap and felt a great pain in her back. She screamed out in horror, her shriek echoing in the lonely cave. What is this? Isabella wondered in panic. She curled her body around herself in pain. Tears streamed down her face, and Isabella was terrified at the salty water coming from her body. But she could not worry about that right now, for another snap occurred at the end of her tail.
Isabella screamed at the horrific pain and sting of her eyes. The snaps and cracks of her bones continued for an hour and Isabella screeched in fright. Her scales began to peel, and Isabella felt the burning sting of her skin peeling off her.
"Mother! Mother, please!" Isabella yelled and screamed without any answer to her pleas for help. She was alone to face the pain. Isabella had never felt such a great feeling of agony in her life. Her eyes were squeezed tightly shut, as she was afraid to see what was happening to her beautiful body. The golden light of her scales began to dim as they lay dead around the girl's body. A an hour of pure agony passed. After Isabella's transformation was over, the cave became dark again. The cave was quiet, while Isabella lay motionless on its floor. She lay there for a while, taking small, shallow breaths; she was still curled around her body.
Isabella could not form any thought. All she felt was a numb pain. Her species were all very kind to each other, and never put themselves in danger, so hardly any of them ever felt pain in their lives. So, none of them really knew what it was like. Isabella hadn't expected it, and now she felt as if she was dying. Her species were immortal, but they could be killed, although it took a lot of strength to do it. Unfortunately, a transformation wasn't strong enough to end the misery of poor Isabella.
o~~~o~~~o
Days past. Weeks past. Maybe months, Isabella didn't know. All she knew was that she couldn't move and that she was alone. She wanted the embrace of her Mother and sisters. She wanted to not be alone. All she was able to do was think of her family and the comforts of home. And when she heard footsteps echoing in her cave, she wasn't even able to feel neither excitement nor dread. All she felt was numbness within her. The pain of her body, and her lonely heart, left her broken.
"What is it? It smells like a fish, but I donno… It's… Well, it's weird." Isabella heard a deep voice of a human man, but she was too far into unconsciousness to comprehend the danger she was in.
"I smell it too. But it's probably nothing, Jacob. Come on, let's get back. The suns falling," another man's voice told the old man. It was closer than the last voice, as they began to walk closer to Isabella.
"Just wait a sec, Sam. I think I see something…" Isabella heard a gasp above her, and then another following it. The two men stopped abruptly and stared at the naked girl lying on the floor below them. Somehow, they were able to see the human girl in the darkness of the cave.
"Sam! It's a girl! Is she dead?" the younger man's voice asked in a panic. The older man bent down on his knee to inspect the girl. He looked towards her face in horror to see her unconscious, maybe dead – he didn't know.
"Jacob, pick her up. I'll get Paul and Embry. We'll take her to someone who can help her." The older man ordered the younger one. As he started to walk out the cave, the younger man laid a hand on the older man's shoulder.
"Wait, Sam! She looks hurt pretty bad. We need to take her to an actual hospital, and we both know which one is the nearest," the younger man said. The older man looked at him knowingly – they have both tried to avoid the area the hospital was located, but it was the only place the men could take the broken girl.
"We'll have to take her to the Forks hospital, then. We have no choice if we want to save the girl." If she isn't already dead, the older man thought to himself.
Isabella slowly drifted deeper into unconsciousness, when she was abruptly lifted off the ground. She gasped at the sudden warmness of the giant object that was cradling her. She began to think clear thoughts, and started to realize the danger she was in. Humans! Although, because of the transformation, Isabella wasn't strong enough to react, and she involuntarily let the giant, warm man carry her outside her cave.
The younger man, named Jacob, ran out the cave, cradling the small girl to his bare chest. When he was out in the sunlight, he quickly spotted the older man, named Sam, and jogged over to him. Two other men emerged from the forest, called Paul and Embry. All four of the unusually large men stared down at the nude human girl, but only to check for any injuries.
Isabella's pale skin was covered in a dark crimson of dried blood. Her arms and legs were hanging limply from Jacobs arms in an unusual way. The men were shocked at the condition of the beautiful girl.
"Is she alive, Jacob?" Sam asked Jacob with an authoritative tone.
The men anxiously waited for an answer as Jacob placed a hand on the girl's chest. The men couldn't tell whether or not she was breathing, for her breaths were so low that her chest was not rising up and down. Jacob let out a sigh of utter relief when he felt the steady rhythm of her heart.
"Yes, she's fine. She's alive. But Sam, look at her limbs! That can't be normal," Jacob said.
"You're right, Jacob. We need to go now. We don't know how long she has left," said Sam.
"I have the truck," Paul said. "Let's hurry."
Isabella heard the whole of the men's conversation. However, she was still too numb to feel or think or react, so she just slept. Her body finally gave in to her wishes of unconsciousness, and the last thing she felt was a light bobbing up and down as the man holding her ran through the forest.
When she finally awoke, she was greeted with a brilliant pair of golden eyes.
Thanks to my lovely beta Twicullenfan96. She's always correcting me on my errors. :)