Prologue
The mershark glanced over his shoulder to make sure he was not being followed as he swam further and further away from the city. He had never been followed before, nor did he think he ever would be, but it was a nervous habit that he couldn't seem to shake after having made this swim so many times in the past; and if there was ever a day to have something to be nervous about, it was definitely today.
After the regular 30 minute swim, he reached colder waters and took a deep breath to relax himself as he dove down deeper into the trench below him. The dark and the cold never bothered him before, but today was a different matter. He wasn't able to get what he needed…what she needed; and without it, he feared he had nothing else to offer for the exchange.
Many might have found it foolish that he still decided to go empty-handed and that it would have been wiser to just stay at home and return another time when he had something to offer; but he had no time today. This was a very last minute thing and it was urgent. He didn't have what she wanted, but he knew she liked to bargain, so surely he had something else he could offer the sea witch. Anything.
One, two, three, four holes down the side of the trench's slimy wall, unseen to those who were not looking for them. He reached his hand into the fourth and uttered the incantation. The two eels he had grown to be so familiar with emerged from two of the holes above him and smirked once they saw him.
"Mistress was not expecting you today. She'll be pleased to see you again so soon." They chanted in unison.
She won't be once she found out he didn't have what she wanted today, he thought as he felt the two eels wrap themselves around his body in their own amusement before swimming back through the holes, opening the hidden door, and letting him in. He swam through the narrow cave and did not flinch when the odd plant-life growing on the sides grazed him as he passed. The many times he swam this passage had gotten him used to it, so he was not afraid. Unfortunately, he was still afraid of the sea witch herself.
She was an aging octopus; how old exactly, he did not know, but she was quite an ugly one at that. The last to ever mention her age and ugliness had done so to her face and he ended up being strangled by one of her deadly tentacles as a result. So the mershark made sure to never say a word about it.
He'd been bargaining with her for nearly a year now, and in a normal situation and a normal acquaintance, you might gain trust within that time. The sea witch, however, was not a normal acquaintance. She did whatever she wanted and had no boundaries; she was cunning and unpredictable. The mershark knew he was at a high risk by making bargains with her, but he had to. He had no other way of doing his job on the surface, and without this job he could not feed his family.
He reached the end of the cave where an odd bowl of coral sat, the place where she would mix up potions and other magical things the mershark did not know the names of. And there she was, lounging in a giant clam shell chair, looking at herself in a hand mirror. She did that quite often, despite her ugliness; but he knew the true reason for that.
She looked up from her mirror once he had fully entered the room. "Back so soon?" She asked with an odd cheery tone to her voice. "So, how long will it be for this time? A week? Two weeks?"
"I only need two days."
"Oh? That's the shortest you've ever requested." She laughed. "That doesn't mean I'm lowering the price any."
"I wasn't expecting you to." He swallowed. "But I don't…I don't have a payment for you today."
There was a flash of anger in her eyes, but it subsided quickly and her expression softened. She was always skilled at keeping her composure. "Oh? And what makes you think I'd give you something for nothing? Just because you've done business with me for a while does not mean I'll give you any favors."
"I wasn't expecting to get something for nothing. Is there something else I can offer you?"
"Well, I'm not sure. What else could you possibly offer me that is more valuable than the black jellyfish you have been trading me?"
"I-I don't know." He looked at the ground. "But there must be something. I have never been more needed on the surface. It is an emergency and I need to be up there by tonight."
The sea witch sat up from the comfort of her chair, floated lazily around the room, and hummed a nameless tune; her two eels swam around her and she petted them softly and whispered to them. "What do you think, my lovelies? Think he's desperate enough to go for it?" Her eels whispered back, but it was too quiet to hear. "Yes, I have been waiting a while, but I think it just might work. All right, let's try it." She swam quickly back to her chair and faced the mershark. "I have a proposition for you."
"Name it!"
"Your children are well, aren't they?"
His breath caught in his throat. "Y-yes…"
"Good, good. How old is your daughter again?"
"She's six. But what does she have to do with this?" He asked defensively.
"Six?" She sighed. "Such a long time to wait. But I suppose I can be patient."
"What are you talking about?"
She grinned and summoned a scroll before him. "A contract. Sign this, and we'll have a deal."
"And what exactly is in this contract?"
"Read for yourself, if you wish."
He didn't take his eyes off of her as he reached for the scroll and only looked away to read the words on it. His eyes widened in disgust halfway through reading and he angrily threw the scroll in her direction.
"You'll own my daughter once she turns 16?! What kind of contract is this?! What makes you think I'd ever agree to something like this?!"
She looked slightly disappointed. "Aww, you won't even think about it?"
"Hell no!"
"But it's ten years away. You'll still have the joy of getting to raise her, and just when she comes to that difficult age, you can get that burden off of your hands."
"My daughter is not a burden! And she is not going to be a part of this bargain! What would you even want her for anyway?!"
"I trust by now that you understand my obsession with youth and beauty."
"Well obviously." He grunted. "What else would you use black jellyfish for?"
"And as you can tell," She gestured toward her own face. "The effects don't last long. To make true use of their power, you need another in the equation; a true beauty, an innocent one. And your daughter is very beautiful, no? She definitely takes after your wife. Your son too, though they both have your eyes."
"How the hell do you know anything about what my family looks like?!"
She laughed. "You underestimate my power, my dear mershark." Her two eels swam gracefully down into her lap and she petted them. "My lovelies do their job."
The mershark sprang up from his seat and with a loud growl. "Forget it! I'm not signing this, and don't expect me to ever come back. Good luck getting black jellyfish on your own." He turned and swam towards the cave to get out, but he felt something tight against him that made him stop. He looked at his waist and saw one of her tentacles wrapped firmly around it. He should have known escaping wouldn't be this easy.
"Not so fast." She pulled him toward her and her expression turned dark. "I'm not letting you leave until you sign this contract."
"Oh, fuck off!"
"Such the sailors' mouth. Did you pick that kind of language up from the humans?" The mershark glared at her in response. "Now, we can do this the easy way, where you sign willingly and I give you your legs and you can just hurry off to this urgent business on the surface. Or we can do this the hard way, where I make you sign and you get nothing." Her grip on his waist tightened ever so slightly.
"You're mad if you think those threats will convince me. I'm not signing that damned scroll; I'd rather die than give you my daughter."
She cackled. "Well then, fortunately for me, all I need to make this contract binding is your blood."
His eyes widened as he stared into her now smirking face, and with one swift motion, he felt a stinging at his neck and made a strangled noise. She pulled him closer and made sure to get as much blood onto the scroll as possible; it quivered and glowed at the contact and she laughed again.
"Thank you for your business, it was a pleasure. Sorry to see you go so soon." She tucked the scroll away and released him from her grasp. He clutched his bleeding throat as he sank to the floor of the room. "Ugh, how bothersome. Lovelies! Please take him out of my site. I don't want him to die in my home."
The eels nodded. "Yes, Mistress." They slithered over and wrapped themselves around the bleeding mershark to carry him out. Once outside, they detached themselves from him and just let him sink slowly into the trench.
As soon as the eels disappeared, he kicked his tail as hard as he could manage in an attempt to reach the top of the trench. The loss of blood made him feel weak, but he had to at least try. He continued to kick aimlessly, keeping one hand pressed to his throat; though that barely helped at all. He felt himself grow weaker with every kick and he hadn't made it any higher up.
He felt woozy and everything was starting to blur and darken. With one last kick with the last bit of strength he had, he was able to see the ledge of the trench, but it was too far out of his reach. He started to sink again and everything felt colder…darker. He took a last breath as he sank into the abyss of the trench. "I'm sorry…Gou." And the darkness enveloped him.