When Princess Rachel arrived at the shore, she let the gentle waves carry her up the beach. The moon was high and so was the tide. She took one look up at the magnificent castle whose walls held her love and salvation. That thought solidified her will and with a jerk, she popped open the lid of the flask and let the noxious liquid pour down her throat.
The potion slid hotly down and she felt as if she was being cleaved in two. With a silent plea for mercy, she writhed on the sand. Rachel felt the pricking of a thousand needles on her tail. The pain was so great that she fell from consciousness.
When she awoke, blinking in the sunlight, her hazy vision focused on the face of her beloved Quinn. "I must be dreaming," she thought as she reached up with a sandy hand to stroke the angelic face hovered above hers.
"Are you she? Are you the one who saved my life? Are you the girl whose voice I cannot forget? Have I finally found you?" the blonde princess asked as she leaned into the caress upon her cheek.
Rachel smiled up at tumultuous hazel eyes that had her dumbstruck.
"Those eyes! Oh, it must be you! Won't you sing to me my cherished melody? I must hear it again," Quinn pleaded as she clasped Rachel's hand in both of her own.
Eager to please her Princess, Rachel opened her mouth to sing. She clasped her throat when only a silent breath was expelled. With horror, she remembered that she could not sing nor speak and looked upon Quinn with panic in her eyes. "She must know it's me! But I cannot prove it!" she shook her head violently and looked pleadingly into hazel eyes.
"Can you not speak?" Quinn asked as she helped Rachel sit up.
The brunette could only shake her head.
"Then I must apologize, Miss, for I have surely mistaken you for another."
Rachel fought the tears that threatened to spill over her cheeks. She must remain true to her goal and not lose faith. In order to win the heart of Princess Quinn, she must remain pleasant in every possible way. She nodded to Quinn and smiled sweetly.
"You must come with me to the palace. We will have you fed and clothed. You need rest," Quinn said as she draped her coat over Rachel's shoulders.
When Quinn helped pull her to her feet, Rachel only fell to her knees, her mouth opening in silent anguish. The pain that the witch had promised was excruciating. Standing on her new feet felt like knives and needles all along both stalks.
"You must be exhausted," Quinn murmured as she knelt beside a trembling Rachel. "Please, allow me." In a surprisingly swift motion, Quinn had Rachel snugly cradled in her arms.
Rachel draped her arms over Quinn's shoulders and clung to her. Her forehead was pressed to the warm cheek she adored so much. "This joy is worth every ounce of pain I will undoubtedly endure," she thought to herself.
As they slowly made their way up to the castle, all who saw Rachel marveled at her beauty. She was the loveliest girl they had ever seen whose beauty was rivaled only by their Princess Quinn who held her aloft in her arms. When they arrived she was immediately tended to by a handful of handmaiden who dressed her in the softest of silks in the loveliest shades of pink. Though the pain of merely standing still was grievous, Rachel marveled at all of the attention and the opulence surrounding her so much that she could easily ignore it.
Quinn stood by with her hands clasped behind her back as she watched with a smile the way the brunette was being cared for. When the mysterious girl was sat upon a table covered with various foods, Quinn sat across from her and observed. Rachel tried some cheese with blue veins and made scrunched face at the taste of it. Then she tried a bit of ham and was none too impressed. When brown eyes fell upon a bowl full of strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries, Quinn chuckled lightly at the way they widened with awe.
Rachel saw the bowl with the most colorful and oddly-shaped objects and wondered if they were for eating. Her eyes darted to Quinn's questioningly. It would not be pleasant at all if she put in her mouth something that was not edible. As if understanding her question, Quinn reached inside that bowl between them and plucked a few blueberries with deft fingers.
"Mm," she moaned as she chewed slowly, deliberately.
Rachel tentatively took a single blueberry from the bowl. With her scant experience, she determined that anything blue tasted awful, "But if Quinn likes it," she thought, "I must learn to like it, too." She placed the berry on her tongue and marveled at a sweetness she had never known before. Without hesitation, Rachel reached in and tasted each of the berries. So enamored was she by the taste that she was stuffing her cheeks and swallowing by the mouthful. She noticed Quinn laughing with abandon and she smiled around a mouthful of strawberry.
"Since you cannot tell me your name," Quinn said as she calmed her merriment. "and because you seem to adore berries tremendously, would you be opposed to me calling you Berry?"
Rachel blushed. The idea of Quinn addressing her by a name with such sweet and mirthful implications made her giddy. She nodded eagerly.
After her adventure of a meal, she was corralled up the stairs where the handmaidens placed her upon a luxurious bed and bade her rest a while. Rachel drifted off to sleep with a contented smile, hopeful for a bright future filled with more human bliss.
Rachel was roused from a deep slumber as sweet music wafted through the air. With a smile to cover the pain she felt in her legs, she emerged at the bottom of the stairs. In the large room there were people in rich dress moving gracefully to the music. She spotted Quinn dancing merrily, swaying and twirling to the cheerful music at the center of the crowd. Rachel closed her eyes and let the music flow through her. She moved her body to the music with such grace that all who saw her were captivated. The tiny princess twirled about the room, pleased to see that Quinn had noticed her and was watching her intently. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes from the pain in her legs as she whirled and leapt to the crowd's pleasure. Rachel knew that her dancing pleased Quinn, and she resigned herself to the idea that she would dance for her every night, despite the agony she willingly, eagerly suffered.
From that day on, Rachel spent all her time with Quinn. The blonde was a very active person and took her to see the surrounding terrain. They hiked into the deepest woods and climbed the tallest mountains together. Rachel bore the pain bravely each day and retained her pleasant demeanor around the blonde princess.
Each night, Rachel would steal away to the beach to sit upon the sand and let the waves soothe her aching legs. Each night, she would hear her melody, the one she shared with Quinn, emanating from the blonde's violin as the she sat upon her windowsill and gazed longingly out to sea.
One evening, as she sat at the edge of the sea, Rachel heard her friends singing for her. She waved at them and they happily greeted her. They were elated at having found their princess, but Rachel wept for the home she left behind.
"Your father grieves for the loss of his Princess," Santana called mournfully. Rachel could only weep in reply. With a final wave, her five friends turned and disappeared beneath the water's surface.
Each day that passed Quinn became more and more enthralled by Rachel's charming manner and her refreshing disposition. Days turned to weeks and the two were inseparable. One afternoon, while they sat for tea, Quinn's father, King Russell, said that the Princess must travel to a neighboring kingdom and woo the Princess there. The marriage would bring the two kingdoms together and would make both families very wealthy. Quinn protested as much as she could, but resigned to her father's wishes. Rachel's panic was evident and she struggled to keep the smile on her face. After tea she went to her quarters and wept into her pillow. "I have surely lost my Princess," she thought.
Instead of sitting alone in her room that night, Quinn decided to join Rachel as she sat upon the beach. The moon was bright in the sky and the light bounced gently off the waves and the sand. Together they sat listening to the crashing of the waves against the sand. Rachel was still upset over the thought of Quinn wooing another Princess and for the first time, Quinn saw her frown.
"What upsets you, darling?" the blonde asked quietly.
Rachel only responded with a sad smile.
"Are you upset that the king has asked me to visit the Princess of the next kingdom?"
The brunette turned away and brought her knees up to her chin.
"Well, you have no need to worry," Quinn said as she mimicked Rachel's position. "My heart already belongs to a girl and even though I will likely never see her again, I will not abandon my search." She reached out and tucked a strand of Rachel's hair behind her ear. "Even so, there is no need for you to worry. If I were to marry, you would still be my closest friend. You will not lose me," she said with a smile.
Rachel's heart sank at her beloved's words. In desperation, she bade her eyes show what she was feeling as she looked back at Quinn. She bade them tell her, "Do you not love me? You are the object of my every thought and dream, am I not yours? I am the one whom you seek!"
The blonde princess looked intently back at her and a small smile spread across her lips. "Berry, you have been the joy of my every day, but as I have said before, my heart belongs to another, a woman with the voice of an angel who saved me from drowning. And I cannot stray."
Rachel had not the strength to fight the tears, but the darkness masked them.
"Come," Quinn said as she stood up. "I have watched you dance every night, but I have never danced with you. Will you do me the honor?" She held her hand out to Rachel who took it hesitantly.
Quinn held her close, cheek to cheek, and Rachel basked in the warmth and scent of the woman in her arms. Quietly, Quinn began to hum into her ear their melody, the song she did not know they shared. They moved together on the sand, whirling and gliding together in ankle deep seawater. The water that lapped at her calves as she gracefully moved through the waves soothed her aching legs but for her heart it only served as a reminder of the sacrifices she made for this heartbreak.
By the next dawn, Quinn and Rachel on a ship to bring them across the sea to meet the princess Quinn was told to court. The blonde froze when she set her eyes upon the Princess Marley Rose. Hers was the first face she saw when she awoke on the beach on that fateful day. "It's her," she said, so quietly that only Rachel, who was faithfully at her side, could hear.
Rachel watched as recognition ignited the faces of both Princesses. They could not look away from the other even as people milled about around them in the ballroom.
Quinn walked briskly toward Marley and bowed deeply in front of her before taking of her hands in hers.
"It's you," they said simultaneously.
Quinn kissed the Princess's knuckles. "Sing for me, won't you? I must hear your sweet voice!"
Marley Rose curtsied and took her place upon a small stage. Quinn was enamored with the beauty and eagerly awaited the song that would erupt from her ruby lips. Rachel took her place next to Quinn and held her hand. The blonde was too distracted to squeeze back.
When Marley sang, Quinn furrowed her brows in confusion. "Her voice is nice," she said to no one in particular, "but it is not the same as the one I hear in my head." She dismissed the thoughts with a slight shake of her head. "I was near death, surely my memory is flawed and mistaken." Bright hazel eyes swimming with happiness looked into Rachel's. "I have found her, darling. I have found the woman who holds my heart."
Rachel could feel her heart crack and with utmost certainty, she knew she had lost her Quinn.
The blonde noticed her sad visage and wrapped her arms around the smaller brunette. "Be happy for me, darling. Do you not wish me to be happy?"
Rachel smiled and bade her eyes tell Quinn, "More than anything else in this world."
It was agreed that the wedding take place the next day aboard the Royal Ship. That evening, Rachel danced more gracefully than ever. She allowed her sorrow to translate through her movements. Quinn noticed and went to her room that night before bed.
"Are you bothered by my bride? Do you not adore her as I do?" she asked as she combed Rachel's long silky hair.
Rachel bit her lip and shook her head.
"I have told you before, darling, that though I may be married, I will always remain your closest friend and you will always be my favorite companion."
The brunette, with a look of desperation in her eye, spun around and wrapped her arms around Quinn's neck. She pressed a soft kiss upon the blonde's cheek and let it linger. Her heart swelled. Rachel ached to kiss her there since that first dawn on the beach. She was glad to have been able to do it one last time.
At the wedding, Rachel stood behind Quinn and watch the ceremony unfold helplessly. She had resigned herself to the fate that she would be dead by the next sunrise. As it grew dark, bright lamps were hung around the ship and all the guests and seamen celebrated with music food and dancing. For hours, she danced for Quinn. The pain in her legs was dim compared the anguish in her heart knowing that this would be the last time she would be dancing for her blonde princess. The blonde princess who now belongs to another.
Rachel's heart trembled and cracked more and more as the night wore on. She knew the witch was right; she would die of a broken heart. She had given up her family, her beloved friends, her kingdom, her precious tail, and her treasured voice for a chance at gaining a soul and spending eternity with her love, but now it was all gone. Still, she danced, grateful for the time she was given with her love. Though it was brief, it gave her more joy than three hundred years without Quinn could ever produce.
The ship grew still in the late hours. The final pieces of her heart shattered when she watched Quinn take her wife to the bridal chamber. Rachel removed the plaits in her curled hair and stood at the edge of the ship looking out forlornly to the east at the ocean she had forsaken.
Just as the sky began to lighten, she felt a strange warmth radiate from her throat. The witch had promised that her voice would return after Quinn was married and Rachel was glad for the small mercy. She sang for the first time in months.
The voice that haunted Quinn's dreams drifted through the ship. The blonde sprang up in bed where her wife lay sound asleep. Out the door she ran in search of the dulcet melody. She stopped abruptly as she saw Rachel singing into the wind. The salty ocean breeze billowed through her brown hair and her and her silk dress.
Quinn's heart missed a beat as she listened to Rachel sing their song. So surprised was she that she could not move. "All this time," she whispered.
Just as Quinn began to move toward Rachel, she heard voices calling out from the water's surface.
Rachel stopped her singing when she heard them. There were her friends! They were a magnificent sight for her on this terrible night, but all of their beautiful flowing hair had been cut off.
"What has happened to you?" she asked them.
"We have given our locks to the witch Cassandra so that you may be saved, Princess!" said Santana as she threw a twisted dagger to Rachel. "You must plunge this blade into the heart of Princess Quinn before the sun is free of the horizon and then you will be saved! She has married another, forsaking your love, and sentenced you to death! As she dies, your tail will reappear and you can return home to live the rest of your life as a Mermaid. If you do not do this, you will die and become nothing more than seafoam."
Rachel held the dagger gingerly in her hands and stared at it.
"You must hurry, Rachel," Brittany called. "The sun half showing! Soon it will be too late! " With a wave, the five Mermaids dove back under the sea.
"Rachel."
The brunette whipped her head around and saw Quinn standing there with her shoulders slumped and her eyes glistening with moisture.
The sky grew brighter and Rachel grew weak. Quinn rushed to her as she fell to her knees. "It has been you all along!" she cried as she knelt beside Rachel. "All this time, it was you who haunted my thoughts and dreams. I had known in my heart. I think I had always known, but how could I have been right?"
Rachel gasped for breath. She felt the life and energy draining from her body. "It is the sweetest sound, my name from your lips," she said quietly.
With tears distorting her vision, Quinn grasped the hand that held the knife and brought the point to rest against her chest. "Plunge the knife into my heart! You must not die!"
"No," Rachel said as she loosened her grip on the handle of the dagger.
"You must!" Quinn closed her hand over Rachel's. "If you do not live, it means I have killed you."
The brunette leaned up and kissed Quinn's mouth. The kiss was returned [eagerly]. Rachel's broken heart mended at the taste of her beloved's lips. The blonde pulled away when she heard the splash on the water and watched as the dagger disappeared from sight. Quinn moves to dive in after it, but Rachel clings tightly to her shirt.
"I would not want to live if you were not in this world," Rachel said.
"And how can I?" Quinn asked with a tremulous voice. "How can I?"
"You must. For me," the sky is brighter and Rachel feels weaker.
"But I've finally found you! I cannot lose you now!"
"I will always be a part of your world, Quinn. When you stand upon the beach and let the sea foam wash over your ankles, I am touching you. Sing my melody, play my song, and I am there."
Quinn could not speak as sobs wracked her body.
"Promise me," Rachel struggled to get out, "promise me you will love your wife and your children. Promise me you will rule your kingdom with benevolence. Promise me you will live your life to the fullest."
"I-I promise," Quinn said. "Your life will not be lost in vain."
With one last press of her lips against the blonde's cheek, Rachel lets her body tumble overboard and splash into the sea. She felt the water engulf her body. She could feel her limbs dissolve and she was sure she was becoming foam. Then she felt a tug in her chest pulling her up towards a bright light in the clouds. Suddenly she was floating high above the waves and she was met with ethereal figures with pleasantly smiling faces. Looking down at her own body she realized that she looked like them.
"What has happened to me? Am I not foam upon the sea?" she asked the figures around her.
"No, child. You are soul."
"But, how can that be? My princess married another and-"
"All of the creatures of the world may win their everlasting soul through an act of ultimate selflessness. You loved the Princess Quinn more than life itself. You loved her so completely that she became your every thought and every wish. A love like yours is rare and more powerful than any witch's potion. You are soul."
For the next fifty years, Rachel watched over Quinn. She watched Quinn love her kingdom, her wife, and her children. She watched Quinn never stop loving her. She watched as Quinn went to beach every night with her violin to play her song and let the waves tickle her ankles. Rachel stood there with her nightly, invisible, and sang along until one day, when she died peacefully in her sleep.
Quinn's soul emerged from her body and she looked just as she did on her twenty-first birthday. She glided through the palace and out to the beach. There she saw, in the spot where she stood every night, a smiling Rachel waiting patiently for her arrival.
When she reached Rachel's gossamer form, she embraced her and kissed her with all the love she had felt all her life. Their souls were united and together drifted over land and sea and loved each other for eternity.