Mermaids for Venus, by Boyce
Chapter 3 : Statue
/ In the village \
(Priestess Holly was swimming very slowly in front of the group, after Mina asked politely if she could swim a little bit slower, since she doesn't have a tail like them. Everywhere she looked, Mina saw eyes of curious mermaids looking at her. She was in a foreign world, and she felt very unconfortable. Although her ears were full of water, she could hear some "It's our Goddess" coming from the different houses. She tried to talk about something to forget all of this)
Mina : You have a nice little village here.
Nelia : Yes. It's a small and peaceful place.
Mina : But don't you have like, shark attacks or squid attacks or something in the ocean?
Nelia : ...
(Nelia didn't say anything... she just turned her head away from Mina, sadness showing on her face)
Mina : (Feeling bad) Nelia... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say anything that could...
Nelia : It's alright Mina...
(Mina still felt bad for what she said to Nelia, but before she could say anything else, the Priestess stopped her swim, stopping Mina and Nelia at the same time)
Holly : We're here!
(Mina took a few seconds to look around. It seemed that they stopped at the center of the village. There was a lot of vegetation around, and some kinds of benches made from different kinds of seaweed disposed in circles around the "Plaza". And in the middle of it all, there was a statue)
Holly : Here's the statue of our Great Goddess Venus.
Mina : (In shock) I... I can't believe it.
(Mina started to swim toward the statue, and she examined every detail about it. The statue was about a girl, swimming in the water. She was in the middle of a stroke, a trail of bubbles leaving from her mouth. Her long hair was flowing on her back. Her long arms seemed like it was cutting the water in front of her, and her long extended legs giving her the speed she needed to advance. Mina stopped in front of it, and she started checking everything. She checked the length of the statue's hair, which matched perfectly her long blonde hair. She saw that the statue didn't have a red ribbon in her hair, which was different than Mina's usual hairstyle, but she remembered while passing a hand in her long flowing hair that she lost it in the ocean. She looked at the body, and went to see the fingernails of the statue. She looked at her fingernails and amazingly, the length of Mina's nails and the statue's were exactly the same)
Mina : I can't believe it. She has the exact same fingernails as me... Even the length
(She looked at the legs of the statue, and she couldn't believe it. She put her foot besides the foot of the statue, and everything was exactly the same, from their ankles to the tip of their long toenails. She was so absorb in her comparison that she didn't see all the mermaids that gathered around the statue in amazement)
Holly : As you can see, Our Great Statue is the exact replica of yourself, Great Goddess...
(The crowd of mermaids began to whisper among each other)
Mina : (She swam back to the Priestess) But... how? when?
Holly : This Statue is called "The Great Goddess Venus". It was here before I was borned 800 years ago...
Mina : 800 years ago? But, I was far from born back then... I'm only 16 years old.
Holly : The Priestess before me said to me that this statue was in fact made about 1000 years ago.
Mina : 1000 years ago... Why was it constructed?
Holly : Nelia... It's a good way to see if you remember your studies. Please tell our Great Goddess why this statue was made.
Nelia : (Nervous) Y-Yes Priestess Holly...
Mina : Studies? Nelia, are you studying to become a Priestess too?
Nelia : (Nods) Yes. It's been my dream ever since I saw for the first time our beloved Priestess Holly.
Mina : Aww... That's great!
Nelia : (Blushes) I'm glad our Great Goddess thinks it is a good idea. But for now, here's the story of this statue... About a 1000 years ago, our little village was in despair. A giant squid was creating havoc in our peaceful world. Each year, the monster came to our village, and asked for a sacrifice to be made. If the village refused, the squid would destroy the village and all of their harvest. Although they didn't want to, the villagers had no choice but to do what was asked by the monster.
Mina : That's horrible!
Nelia : I know... But it was also then that the miracle occured. A young and very beautiful girl appeared in our village. After hearing the story about the giant squid, she met with the monster and vanquished the demon that was haunting the village. They made big celebrations, and to commemorate the acts of the young heroine, this statue of her was made and put in the center of the Plaza.
Holly : Very good Nelia. I can see you take your studies very seriously.
Nelia : Thank you, Oh Priestess Holly.
Mina : A young and beautiful girl... you mean a human girl? What was a human girl doing swimming at these depths... And how was she able to breath underwater?
Holly : The story doesn't say. Maybe she was aided by another Priestess, just like I helped you breathe underwater, Goddess Mina. But the story also says that if terror would again rise its evil hands on our village, the Goddess would reappear and help us again.
Mina : A 1000 years ago... Hmm... Wait a minute, could it be that I was the one who came to help these mermaids 1000 years ago, when we were fighting for the defense of the Moon Kindgom? It would explain why the statue is looking exactly like me, although the reasons why I wouldn't have my ribbon or why I would come swimming at the bottom of the ocean is still unclear to me But didn't you just say the Goddess would reappear when terror strikes again?
Holly : Yes I did...
Mina : Since you think I'm your Goddess Venus... does it mean... ?
Nelia : Please... You just have to help us.
Holly : Nelia, please!
Mina : What's wrong? This seems like a peaceful village...
Holly : Great Goddess Mina, please hear us. We ask for your help to eliminate the terror that lives in our village.
Mina : Please tell me what's going on, and I'll see what I can do.
Holly : Thank you. Look around you... and tell me what you see.
(Mina looked around herself, and she saw a lot of mermaids gathered in the Plaza, but nothing peculiar)
Mina : I'm sorry Priestess, but I don't see anything that catches my attention. A lot of lovely mermaids, but...
Holly : Yes... A lot of mermaids... but no mermen.
(Mina heard the comments of the Priestess, and when she looked around again, she saw in fact that there were only female mermaids... The men were nowhere to be seen)
Mina : I'm sorry. Where I come from, mermaids are usually beautiful young girls with fishtails. We hardly ever talk about male mermaids. That's why the fact that all of the mermaids were female didn't ring a bell. I'm so sorry...
Holly : Do not worry Goddess Mina. But you must know that mermaids also need to reproduce with males.
Mina : (Blush) Y-Yes...
Holly : But like I said, there are no males in our village anymore.
Mina : What happened?
(A mermaid came out of the croud to speak)
Mermd : My Goddess (She kneels) The monster came, and he took all of our men and also our little merboys. (She starts to cry) She took my Aven, andmy little Tear away from me... this monster must pay.
Mina : Please, stand up. What is your name?
Mermd : (She gets up) Kathy
Mina : Who did this Kathy? What kind of monster?
Nelia : It's a giant squid... just like a 1000 years ago. But this time, he took all of our men, and he uses them as his slaves... or even worse...
Mina : Nelia... (She swims to her, and takes her palmy hands). It also took someone important to you?
(Nelia started to cry)
Holly : The monster took her love away. She pleaded the monster not to take him, but the monster just spitted on her and laughed at her.
(Mina felt the sadness rise in her, but also the frustration)
Mina : I'm sorry Nelia... I didn't know.
(Mina looked at Nelia's face, and passed a hand on her cheek)
Holly : Great Goddess, we implore you to help us defeat this vile creature, so that the curse we suffer may end.
Mina : (She swims to Holly) I don't know if I can be of any use. I mean, you had to use your powers to help me survive in your world. Didn't you try to use your magic to defeat the monster?
Holly : We tried. And we were able to repel the beast for years. But it developped an immunity to our Priestess' spells, and we couldn't do anything to stop it afterwards...
Mina : Damn it... I wish I had my Sailor Venus powers here. But I don't have my power stick and I'm underwater
(While she was thinking, she felt tickles coming on both her feet. She looked down, and she saw two little mermaids playing with her feet)
Mermd : (Touches Mina's toenails) Look Olive! The Goddess has 2 tails, and she only have 5 little scales on each legs.
Olive : I can see Elysa! How can she swim with 2 tails and no palms?
(Mina giggled in a cloud of bubbles that got lost in her long flowing hair, her ticklish toes feeling the palms of the little mermaids)
Holly : Elysa! Olive!
Elysa : Goddess, will you help us get our papa back?
(Mina looked at the little mermaid who was playing with her toes)
Mina : Sweetie... (Swims to her) Sigh I'll do what I can to get your dad back, okay?
Elysa : You promise?
Mina : (Smiles) Yes, it's a promise between you and me.
Elysa : Thank you Goddess Venus!
(Elysa jumped in Mina's arm, and hugged real tight. Mina smiled and hugged the little mermaid back. Nelia just watched and smiled)
Holly : Elysa... Oh thank you, Great Goddess.
Mina : I'll give my best shot. Where does the monster live?
Holly : It lives North of our village, at bout 1hour of swim.
Mina : An hour of swimming? (Tear Drop) Oh man...
Holly : I'm sorry... That's an hour of mermaid swimming.
Mina : (Super Tear Drop) I see. I think I better get some rest first. All those emotions and swimming left me tired.
Nelia : Please, I offer you my house for you to rest, Great Goddess.
Mina : Are you sure? I mean...
Nelia : For what you have proposed to do, it's the least I can do to help you out... Mina.
Mina : (Smiles) Thank you Nelia.
(The mermaids all gathered around Mina to thank her for her courage and what she offered to do for the village. After some hugs, Mina left with Nelia to get some rest)
End of Chapter 3