A/N: I'm so sorry I haven't had the time to update in what feels like forever. I am literally squeezing this update into my very busy schedule... the work never ends! :(

I honestly don't know when chapter four will be up... I have ideas in mind, but when I have time to actually compose them into a chapter I don't know. But why dwell in the future when there's a chapter up now!

Thanks to my lovely readers and reviewers for your comments and critiques. I take your thoughts into much consideration and you guys help me improve! Thanks heaps! :)

Enjoy!

5 July 1740

10:00

The Scattery Inn was nestled at the end of the town's center walkway. The Inn was aside from the usually bustling square, yet not too distant in the somewhat secluded in the open farmlands. Always having its doors open, it was known as a small resting place for the rare passersbys and those who perhaps had one or two more drinks than they could handle. The Inn had charm, an Irish character that was cozy and comfortable. In no means was it large; it only consisted of a living area, small kitchen, and a hallway with several doors that led into the guest rooms. At the end of the hall, there was a final door which was resided by Meara and Lochlann.

Eva, however, slept in a hidden attic-like room above the main floor of the Inn. The only way of entrance and exit was through a floor hatch door, which one would have to climb up a rickety ladder to get to. There was a petite window that had a view of the ocean and the perfectly green landscape. The room was small and cramped, but Eva was quite satisfied with her space. The best part, of course, was the privacy; any accidental transformations would not be seen by her parents or any house guests, except the sound of a large thud.

In the farthest corner of the room was a sobbing Eva. Her heart was low, emotions irate and upset, reliving what her parents truly thought of her. Indeed, Eva had to admit that sometimes her mermaidness consumed her and her ability to live normally. She had to be careful every second of the day, ensuring that no water could accidentally come in contact with her. There had even been times where Eva was imprisoned in her home for days, because of a non-stop spell of rain. Yet, being a mermaid was a vital part of who she was a person and nothing they could say or do could change that.

Managing a smile, Eva's hand fiddled with her crystal. It has been so many wonderful years as a mermaid; in fact, more than half of her life was blessed with magic. Eva remembered her experience like it was just the other day. A day that, in Eva's mind, shall never be forgotten.

11 Years Ago…

"Eva Dempsey, if ya know what be best for ya, hold still." Meara said as calm as possible while she was busy fixing Eva's dress.

"Mother…" A fussy Eva moaned, trying to push away from her mother, who was now trying to tame Eva's wild mane of hair. And even after Meara's hard work, Eva just fixed it back to the way it originally was. "I be capable of doing this myself."

"Yet you do not look like a lady." Eva looked at her mother with an unamused expression. Meara cracked a grin and managed a small laugh. "Nevertheless, you are still a beautiful daughter."

Eva, once again, ruffled her hair to its wild state. Her cherubic face lit up and she beamed in delight. "Not as beautiful as you, Mother."

Meara smiled and happily laughed at her daughter's comment. "That is me girl. Go out and play, my dear. 'Tis a grand day in Scattery for once. Be back before sunset; ya do not have much time left. And stay away from—"

"Stay clear of the cliffs. They be a dangerous place for grand girls such as you, Eva." She mocked her mother. "I be knowin' the rules by now, Mother. I shall be careful." She wrapped her arms around her Meara's waist for a hug. "Slán, Mother!"

Shutting the door behind her, Eva felt the abundant sunshine on her skin. There was a slight breeze that blew her hair back, and the smell of the sea was rushing through the air. Eva heard the laughter of the other children in the village and knew that was where her mother approved of her being. Yet, something inside of her was telling to go elsewhere. The sound of the nearby waves stopped her in her tracks. They were seemingly calling her closer to them. Eva turned her attention towards the cliffs. The cliffs…

No one had ever gone near them. Eva herself had never even been in a close range to them. She was ever so tempted to go near them; it was a new adventure and she had never felt more attracted to anything in her life. Looking back and forth to make sure no one was watching her directly, Eva scurried off towards the forbidden sea cliffs…

Eva was skipping through the fields adjacent to the cliffs. She was instantly enchanted by them; the lush green earth and the tiny flowers spread across enticed her with a distant feeling of something powerful. The waves crashed into the rocks, which descended further and further down the cliff. Curious, Eva began to climb down them, taking her small hands and grasping the sharp rocks for support. Then out of the nowhere, Eva realized she was at a dead-end. The cliffs had ended and there only a remarkable view. Eva suddenly lost her balance, tumbling down an opening within the rocks.

Wincing in pain, Eva managed to get up and found herself in a cave. Immediately taken aback by it, she felt drawn to the cave, like she was looking for something, knowing that she somehow always belonged there. Gliding her hand across the rocks, she felt peaceful and alive in a way she's never imagined.

"Wow…" Eva exhaled in awe when she saw a pool teeming with magic. Its waters were drawing her in, daring her to jump in, and though she was fully clothed, she stepped into the pool. It began to bubble, just as the full moon was perfectly centered in the sky near the pool. Tiny yellow bubbles floated into the sky and Eva was then the happiest she had ever been in her lifetime. For magic had occurred, and nothing would ever be the same again.

Eva sighed, remember that day eleven years ago when she had received her powers at the young age of eight. It was not that Eva would ever take the opportunity to give up her mermaidness, but she was forced to close up in order to maintain her secret. She knew that she could not play with other children; even at a young age, Eva understood the risk of exposure or someone finding out. The villagers of Scattery, or any other person, would not understand who or what she is. For all they knew, magic did not exist.

The only form of entertain she had were her powers. Eva absolutely loved them and did not know she had them for weeks after her transformation. The probability of using them was seldom with the risk of exposure high. Even so, Eva found the time to activate them when she was alone or even playing tricks on the townspeople.

Eva looked at the empty wooden bucket in front of her and knew that this was a perfect time to use her powers. She twisted her hand above the bucket and it slowly began to fill up, water being created at her command. This power was unique, Eva believed, and the water created was cleaner than the water found in Scattery's town well. The water was near the point of overflowing and with a blink of her eye, the water stopped.

Some of the water had managed to leak over the edge and not wanting to get wet, Eva balled her hand into a tight fist. The water then began to evaporate, it slowly going down to a more comfortable level. Once her hand had relaxed, her power was deactivated. The water inside the bucket then rose and grew before her as she twisted her hand once more. Eva loved to twist and manipulate the water into any shape; it sometimes helped to deflect the rain from falling on her during sudden rain showers.

Focusing on the water floating above her, she twisted her hand to form the water into the shape of a mermaid. Eva smiled proudly and twisted her hand to turn to the water into a gelatin-like substance. With a hand gesture, the mermaid was turned into a harder, glassy substance and dropped into Eva's hands.

"Eva! Did ya take the pail for the well again? Bring it down here if you got it with ya!" Meara suddenly shouted up to her daughter. Eva immediately placed the statue down.

"Yes, mother! Be right down!" Rolling her eyes, Eva clenched her hand and the water evaporated from the bucket. She took the bucket into her hands and opened the door to the main floor.

Meara placed the bucket near the front door and looked at her daughter's tear-stained cheeks. She sighed as Eva barely made any eye contact with her. "Eva, daughter, about this morning…"

"There is nothing to say." Eva turned away, still upset with her mother and father.

"There is much to discuss. Ya father and I have decided that you need to change ya ways." Meara replied simply as Eva did not move or even say a word. "We have been too easy on ya. You be nineteen years of age and you have nothing ta become of ya—"

"Such as what?" Eva exclaimed. "What be so important?! Have the responsibility of cleanin' after me husband and being a housewife with no future?"

"You are a lady, Eva. Best be startin' to act like one!"

"There be much more to life than sittin' around bearing children e'er five seconds and cookin' and cleanin'. Have you e'er had a dream of exploring and truly doing somethin' with ya life?"

"'Tis a man's job to work, Eva. Ya be knowin' that by now. You be a lady and you need to be normal for once in ya life!"

Eva's heart sunk again. "Perhaps I shall be best dead too." She whispered, rephrasing what her parents said to her earlier.

Meara decided to give her daughter little sympathy. "And ya deny all we had said? Eva, ya be knowin' what the town says about you! Ya father and I have been the town laughin'stock from years from ya odd behavior."

Finally able to truly look her mother in the eye, Eva emotionally exclaimed, "Have ya e'er thought my differences were blessings or gifts? No! Ya merely thinking about yourselves! I be perfectly happy as I am now!"

"Un-betrothed? Ya be happy with no betrothal? I was married to ya father at thirteen and with child at fourteen. When you were nine, ya father and I went lookin' for a suitor for you, but no one would be willing to marry ya, Eva!"

"Their loss…" Eva muttered under her breath.

"Eva Dempsey, are ya even listenin' to a word I be saying? This is a serious matter and you not even listenin'!"

"There is more to life than this. I want to live a life that matters, do somethin' that the villagers ought to remember, be free!"

"EVA! Listen to me! If ya do not get ya head out of the clouds, ya father and I will be takin' ya life into our hands with—"

Eva's eyes widened. "No…"

"Yes, Eva. An arranged betrothal. Or so help me Lord, ya father and I shall fix you into a normal Irish lady."

"And to think ya may still be on me side…" Eva whispered and headed for the door.

"Eva, do not dare leave this Inn!" Meara called after daughter, but Eva had already ran out and down the street of Scattery and headed straight towards the cliffs.

The villagers only looked at her with amused expressions and whispered amongst themselves:

"She be a beautiful lady, pity she be so strange."

"Eva be bringin' shame to her Dempsey name. 'Tis no wonder why she is not betrothed."

"I wish she would stay by those bloody cliffs. It would save us the humiliation of her."

Eva ran into the fields and did not look back once. Her hair was flying every which way and her dress was getting stained with mud, but she did not care. The only thing that would soothe her mind was the thought of Scattery getting smaller and smaller in the distance. The only thing that she truly desired was to swim away and get away from the land.

Coming to a stop, Eva looked at the cliffs. She pondered about going to the Sea Caves, her second home, but even that seemed so close to civilization. The waves were rough that day and getting to the Sea Caves would be hard enough without getting wet. Turning to the seemingly endless ocean, she looked across the horizon and saw freedom. Swimming would do her much good and would relax her in the way a mermaid needed.

She slowly walked up to the edge of a cliff and looked down. Below, the waves pounded ferociously against jagged rocks and was a long way's down. Eva quickly looked back towards Scattery to insure no one was coming or looking at her. She concluded that the only thing that could be watching her was the Heavens, destiny, and the tree planted near the edge of the cliff.

Placing her hand over her crystal, Eva sighed and braced for what she was about to do next. She closed her eyes and dove off the cliff. For a moment, Eva felt like she was flying free, capable of doing anything. There was a sense of danger; any mortal would feel as if the jump would lead their ultimate doom, but not Eva. The ocean and her magic would protect her. She was sure of it.

With a single splash, Eva landed in the ocean and received a familiar tingling sensation in her legs. Moments later, her legs transformed into a beautiful golden tail and she zoomed off into the ocean.

A man came out from his hiding place behind the tree close to the edge of the cliff. He had watched Eva from a respectable distance and had emerged after she dove off of the cliff. He did not move or even say a word after she had jumped. The man had simply watched her every move. His expression was unreadable; it could not be determined whether he was in awe or surprised by her actions. It was as if he had expected it, hiding something himself.

After a minute, the man simply turned around and headed back towards Scattery, a blue shimmer coming from a crystal that he wore around his neck.