He had, in fact, landed on the shores of Greece. After he'd coughed up more water and accepted that his mermaid wouldn't be back, he'd counted it lucky that she'd left his mask. He'd donned it and tracked to the closest farmhouse where he'd stolen some proper clothes, enough food to regain his strength and a little money to get started. Then he'd continued inland until he reached Athens. From there he had sent word to Paris where his funds had been moved to. He needed them here instead.
He was aware that the transfer of his funds would be traceable for the man who had helped him set it up in Paris in the first place; it would be a matter of time before the Daroga would know that Erik hadn't perished when the ship sank. He only hoped the police chief would be too busy in Persia to go search for the assassin he'd helped flee.
It wasn't like Erik was planning to continue what had happened in the rosy hours of Mazenderan. He had found a true purpose in life now.
It was only a week after he'd last seen the mermaid when he bought an abandoned farm house near the place his mermaid had brought him to shore. The house itself was in dire need of restoration, but the stable's structure was sound and he only needed to repair the roof and remove the stalls.
He spent his days working, driven by the thought of her. In the evenings he would go down to the shore and sing in hope that she would come back to him, but she didn't. All he could do was hope that he could still find her where he'd first heard her.
Digging the hole in the stable proved to be the most difficult task and he ended up employing a local boy, Romei, to save time. Together they managed to dig a hole that was 100 meters long, 30 meters wide and 5 meters deep. It had to do because he didn't have the room to make it bigger and making it deeper was close to impossible after they encountered clay at the bottom.
Romei was clearly curious about the hole's purpose, but never asked directly and dutifully left when they had finished digging.
Erik covered the bottom of the hole with concrete, as well as the walls. Then he called for Romei again to help him heave sand from the shore to the stable. Romei also aided him in buying a small sailboat for a reasonable price. The locals were understandably wary of the masked stranger who was working on something in the old farm house, but to Romei's credit the boy never told a soul about their work.
Pumping water from the sea to the stable was amazingly the easiest task of all. During the lonely evenings by the shore, he had plenty of time to plan the development of a pumping system that would not only fill the hole with water directly from the sea, but would also allow him to replace the water regularly. Procuring the pipes for it was easy with the help of Romei and soon Erik had pumped enough water to fill the pool.
Lastly, he fished for various kinds of seaweed, clams and small fish. He didn't know what the mermaid ate, but at least he could come up with a few possibilities.
He hadn't succeeded in finding any literature that could be deemed truthful in regards to mermaids. He's been forced to learn Greek when settling down in the country and at the same time he'd learned their alphabet, so he could study local literature on the matter. But none of it gave him details on how they lived or what they ate.
He did, however, learn much about sirens which were well known in ancient Greece; some locals still believed in them. They would lure sailors into shallow water with their song and watch as the ships sunk. Erik began to wonder if the mermaid truly had been a siren. After all, she had enchanted him with her song and caused him to sabotage the ship's engine. It was also because of her that he'd been inclined to risk his life (as well as everyone else's on board) and had blown up the ship. While it had been his own decisions, they had been taken because of her.
But he could not believe that a creature so beautiful and so sad as her could be maleficent. He felt a connection with her, a loneliness so profound, that he was sure she was innocent in all of it. It was he who had the darkness in him, not her.
He often had moments where he was certain it had all been a cruel dream, mostly because she'd seen his face and smiled as though it hadn't mattered. Even if she was of a different species, mermaids' upper bodies - including their faces - clearly resembled humans whereas his absolutely did not. It couldn't have been real; it was his mind's cruel way of torturing him. And yet, each night he heard her voice and felt her touches as clear as the nights he'd seen her. These nights were the only reason he kept going.
One day, approximately three months after she'd saved him from drowning, it was at last time to sail out to the coordinates where he'd met her for the first time; where he would call out for her with his song until he found her.
Despite his wish to do it alone and not let anyone else see her, he had to admit that it would be beneficial to have another person on board. Therefore, he asked Romei to join him and the boy was more than willing. Erik suspected he was bored in the little town where he'd grown up. The boy wished for adventure and though he didn't understand what Erik was doing, he didn't dare to ask questions; this made him perfect for the mission.
They set off at dawn, a steady breeze carrying the small sailboat the direction they needed to go and in only 16 hours they reached the place where he'd first heard her. It was almost midnight and Romei had retired to his hammock a few hours before. Erik was satisfied with this as it might ensure that the boy wouldn't catch a glimpse of the mermaid. Furthermore, it would allow Erik to sleep during the day while Romei kept eye out for any dangers; these waters didn't usually carry pirate vessels, but one could never be too sure.
With as much assurance as possible that they had reached the right place according to his calculations, he anchored the boat and began to sing. It didn't matter what he sang, just the feelings he portrayed; he sang of the loneliness she'd expressed - that he knew so well - of the joy of meeting a kindred spirit and of the longing to see her once more.
His song continued into the break of dawn. He'd promised himself not to be disappointed if she didn't show up the first week, but it was impossible to avoid; somehow, he'd imagined that she would come to him the very first night. Had she not longed for him as he had for her? Was she just a siren, attempting to lure anyone into the depths?
No, she had saved him from that fate. He had to trust his instincts; they had always kept him alive at least.
Romei was quick to access Erik's mood in the morning and only nodded with apprehension and respect as Erik fled down to his cabin. The large wooden bathtub he'd built for her stood across from his bed and seemed to mock him as he attempted to rest his eyes. He would find her and bring her home!
The next five nights were spent in a similar fashion: Erik would sing for her until the sun rose, sometimes almost screaming in his desperation to have her hear him. He didn't sleep much during the day, too worked up by the feeling of being so close to her, yet far away. His vision blurred at times and though he tried to convince himself that it was caused by the lack of sleep, he knew deep down it was tears that threatened to spill.
Nearly a week passed and the way Romei eyed him every time they crossed each other's paths, it was obvious that the boy had figured he'd gone insane. However, he couldn't sail the boat home without Erik; he had to trust the maddened masked man.
Erik was also beginning to wonder if he'd finally lost his mind. Perhaps it had all been a dream; he was probably still on the cargo ship from Persia, or worse, still in Persia in a haze of opium and imagining all sorts of things. These thoughts haunted him every time another dawn broke without hearing her sing once more.
On the seventh night the dream returned: the sun had barely set and he hadn't even started to sing when he heard it: the captivating voice so ethereal that it defied all natural laws. He searched the sea for any sign of her, but he couldn't see her, and though he heard her clearly, he wasn't convinced yet that it wasn't a hallucination. But he answered her song with his own; she responded, her melody growing bolder and more joyful.
Then he saw her: she was in the water at starboard, the last of the sun's dying rays casting a light on her pale face and golden hair. Without hesitation, he grabbed a loose rope, tied it to the mast and jumped into the sea. As he dove beneath the waves, into the dark waters, he saw her follow him; her smiling eyes greeted him underwater and he was reluctant to swim upwards to reach the surface in fear that she would disappear. But even he needed to breathe.
He gasped for air as he resurfaced, but he was prepared to dive down again immediately after her. It proved to be unnecessary because she'd followed him; suddenly, she was there beside him, looking more beautiful than he could ever have imagined her.
It wasn't until he touched her wet, yet impossibly soft curls that he finally believed that he had found her. The smile in her eyes spread to the rest of her features and he felt his heart swell. This was love, unlike any other, and he would make sure he'd never lose it.
With that in mind he circled her with the rope, swiftly binding her arms tightly to her body. She screamed, naturally, but he hushed her and comforted her, more with the tone in his voice than his actual words which she didn't understand. Still, she struggled, but he was stronger and faster. In mere moments he had her properly secured. He climbed up the side of the boat, then pulled her up from the sea by the rope.
The fear in her eyes were plain, though her screams died out. He kissed her forehead as he lifted her bridal style down to his cabin where the bathtub waited for her; he'd made sure to fill it with fresh water every day. Gently, he sank her into the water, satisfied that the tub fit her perfectly; her tail had room to move around and she could stay under water at all times if she wished or needed to.
She began to scream again and to avoid that Romei would come running, Erik had to gag her. He hated to see the panic and horror in her eyes as he stuffed a piece of cloth into her mouth, but it couldn't be helped.
They belonged together.