A/N: Sooo... I'm back from the dead... or something ;) This has been about five years in the making, but I'm coming back with the intention to finish this story. All I can say is that real life and writers block hit me like a ton of bricks. When i stopped publishing i was finishing up my degree in nursing (here in Denmark it is a bachelor level degree) and began working full time as a registered nurse. This involved a lot of stress in my life and left my hobby of fanfiction writing quite a bit on the back burner. I had zero inspiration until a couple of months ago, but I'm back again.

Everthing has been edited, some chapters more than others, but the biggest change is the name of my main character. In my mind she always felt a bit more like an OC, but I didn't realise this until i revisited the story, so I changed her name and I hope you will like it.

I have about five rough chapters in the making outside of the original 10, but everything will be posted as I finish editing them.

I hope you can forgive my absence and will love the story as much as I do.

Disclaimer: I do not own any recognizable parts of twilight, only the plot and original characters.

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Finally I was on my way North. For a long time now, I had longed for new seas to explore, my heart had grown weary of the same old routines and the same caves and reefs to explore and play in. My sisters love the tropical oceans around Hawaii and Asia, and I do too – really, but the oceans have become infected with humans and their glass bottom boats and diving equipment. We always have to look over our shoulders when we venture out from the caves. I long for some peace, quiet and most of all freedom. I dream of being able to swim in deserted areas where it's only me and the marine life without fear of being discovered.

My sisters and I are mermaids you see, and we survive on secrecy. Humans and other more deadly creatures of the dry land have hunted our kind since the dawn of time, and secrecy is our ultimate defense.

We are near immortal creatures of the sea originating from Poseidon who created us at the dawn of man. Our species are all female, a fact that make some very lonely. To reproduce a mermaid goes on land to find a man she deems worthy of fathering her child. To do so our tails transform into legs when on dry land, but this is not without risk… if we go 24 hours without being submerged in water at least partially we start to weaken and will eventually die. This is why few mermaids ever come on land and only one or two mermaids are born every couple of centuries.

To help us thrive in the oceans Poseidon blessed us with gifts. We breathe underwater, control the water, sense surrounding marine life, swim faster than any living thing, and our voices surpass that of any living creature. If we wish for it our voices can take on a hypnotic quality, rendering any humans nearby under our complete control. This helps us find a willing mate easier within the 24 hours. It can be hard to control though and so we are taught as children to always exercise caution when singing.

A few mermaids have lost their hearts to love gone wrong and have claimed the name of Sirens. They spend their days luring sailors into dangerous waters, causing shipwrecks. I don't think I could ever do that willingly, but then again I'm young enough to have never had the urge to go on land and have my heart broken by a man. I've only ever been close enough to see humans from afar.

I swim faster and I feel the water growing colder steadily.

My tail is a beautiful midnight blue with indigo tones around the fins. My hair is a deep mahogany brown and reaches the place where my tail blends into my torso. My skin is about as fair as it can get, accentuating the deep blue of my eyes. My mother named me Anabelle after the mother of the man who fathered me, the only human she ever loved. I've never been fond of my full name and insisted to be called Ana for as long as I can remember. I lost my mother almost a hundred years ago; vampires killed her the last time she went on land.

Lost in my thoughts I've travelled further than I've realized. The water is probably around freezing and any human caught in it would most likely die quickly, but being a mermaid, I'm not affected by the waters temperature. It only indicates that I've reached my destination. I start to rise up from the depths approaching the shore to look for a cave to rest in and make my new home.

I see no ships around and I feel excitement start to bubble up in me as I close in on the surface. This is what I longed for; no humans in the oceans to hide from.

The currents are getting stronger and as my head breaks the surface, I can see why there were no ships. It's approaching nightfall and a storm is rolling in. I struggle against the waves to stay in place. In the distance, I see land. Tall cliff sides and dense pine forest are the defining features. The currents are getting too strong for me to get down to the bottom again and my safest option is to swim towards the coast and hope to find a hiding spot safe from humans and the weather.

I'm fortunate that the current I'm caught in leads towards land and to preserve my strength I swim along with it keeping my head above water to look for potential shelter.

The rain is blurring my usually sharp vision and as I close in on the steep cliff ahead of me, I don't notice the massive wave coming up behind me before it's too late.

I feel the water crash down on me pushing towards sharp rocks lining the bottom.

Pain tear through me as one of the rocks brake through the scales at my hip tearing at the flesh there. Gasping for breath through the pain, I struggle towards the surface.

My nearest escape from the currents is the beach. I start to struggle towards it but panic when I see movement in the distance to the right. Clenching my teeth through the pain, I swim as hard as I can in the opposite direction.

The storm is getting worse and I can feel myself weakening from blood loss.

I cry out in relief when I spot the opening of a river in between the trees and apply the last of my strength to get there. The panic begins to fade in the partial shelter of the trees. My head sinks beneath the surface in the river and I swim slowly along the bottom trying to preserve my strength until I get to somewhere safe and secluded. Black spots start to appear in my vision and I know I'm not going to last long. I look above the surface. I'm in a secluded spot in the trees. The only sounds nearby being from forest animals I pull myself up on a flat rock to avoid being carried back out to sea. Grimacing in pain, I inspect the wound on my hip. It's bad… I realize it's a miracle I've made it this far and as the adrenalin wears off I start to feel the full effect of the pain.

Mermaids might not age or sicken and in that sense be immortal if we stay safe, but make no mistake, we can be killed or die from severe injuries. If a mermaid dies in human form she merely remains in that form, but if she dies at sea her body will rejoin it and dissolve into foam upon the waves. That's why any human that have been successful in actually killing one haven't been able to prove it, thus securing our secret.

Turning my thought from their morose directions, I whimper quietly with tears streaming down my face. I need healing plants and seaweed to bind the wound but I have no idea where to find them this far from home, let alone the strength. The only possessions I have brought with me are my comb and mirror in my pouch at my side, my hunting knife and the pearls in my hair. None of which will help in my current situation. The only hope I have is to apply pressure to the wound and hope that the bleeding stops before I pass out.

Mermaids don't have the same sense of modesty that humans do so it's not custom for mermaids to cover up with anything but their long hair, especially since fabric chafe our sensitive scales. Therefor I've got no cloth of any kind to stop the blood flow.

I spot some mushy green stuff growing at the base of the rock that should do the job. Twisting my body to reach the plant I scream yet again from the pain wrecking through my body. Grabbing a handful I spread it out over the wound the best I can, take a deep breath and push down hard with both of my hands.

I bite down hard on the inside of my cheek to avoid crying out and taste blood. I fear attracting attention from somebody passing by despite the unlikeliness of it judging by the heavy rain and surrounding wilderness, but this is the first time I'm this exposed close to the shore so I'm a bit paranoid.

Tears are still streaming down my face. It's a weird sensation as I've actually never felt tears on my face before living underwater. I choke on a sob at that absurd thought. I'm too weak to swim very far in the rivers currents, so I'm stuck here until I heal at least slightly. My tailfin is still submerged in the water allowing me to keep my preferred form. I had never let it dry into legs before, opting like many mermaids to sleep in a cave at least partially submerged.

Absorbed in my thoughts I don't realize I have company until I hear a male voice speak up behind me.

"Are you hurt Miss?"

...

I really hope you liked it, please give it a like and/or a comment if you did.