Lethal sun, envious moon

Reno

The elders had sent me to Tifas cave. She was being accused of being a threath to us mermaids and I had to bring Tifa before the court. I didn't understand how a pretty creature like her could have been dangerous to us – Tifa was a mermaid herself, a simple artisan. I barely knew her but every time I met her she was always polite and positive, helping others. Her kindness and friendliness was familiar to everyone. Her beauty attracted many mermen but for some reson she had always said no. There was a smile on her face every time she was out, but who knew what was hidden behind it. I still couldn't believe she could have committed a crime. But as a soldier I had to follow the orders and arrest her.

Her small home was beyond the village border. She lived there with her younger sister Yuffie. When I reached the cliff, dived into the dark crack and went inside there was no one there. It was weird because of the moving proscription after midnight - all mermaids had to be inside by that time but this place was empty. I checked the back room in case they were sleeping but it was abandoned. A thought that something bad had happened to the sisters hit me and I hurried back to the village.

I swam as fast as I could to see the elders who were waiting for me. All of them sitting on stone thrones with respondent jewels to show their rank. Most of the elders had long grey hair and wrinkled faces. In the place of honour was the ancestress stone with the laws set into it.

"Did you bring the prisoner, where is she?" One of them adressed me. "I'm sorry, but when I reached her quarters they were empty. Her sister Yuffie was gone too." I replied. "Maybe something happened-"

"She has escaped. And Yuffie went to warn her. Gather up all the soldiers, we must find Tifa before she does something stupid." One of the guards left to gather the men but I needed to know why was it so important to capture her. "Excuse me, but what has Tifa done, if I may ask?"

"We can't tell for sure but she may have fallen for a human and it is the worst thing ever. She has visited the surface near an island for some time now. People speak legends of us but if they find out that we really exist, we are in great danger. They want to see us, own us, sell us, make us entertain them. Our race could become extinct. We must avoid it any cost." The eldest of them rose from his seat and the others followed him. He stopped beside me. "I set the orders with a heavy heart because Tifa is very warm-hearted and obviously she never ment any harm but it needs to be done for the sake of others."

I looked the stone on my left and the words written into it. The first law: Never make contact with people or show yourself to them! That's what was hidden under Tifas smile – a love to a human. But how was it possible? How it had happened? Only she knew the answer.

I turned my head away and joined the other soldiers.

.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.

After days of searching there was no sign of either Tifa or Yuffie. Many wanted to give up but the elders ordered us to find the missing sisters. No one knew what was their punishment because it had never happened before. Many spoke of the Black Cave, others feared the worst – death. But no one seamed to support it, everyone whished to see Tifa and her little sister alive.

Then one night when I was checking a dark cave I saw a weak glow. First I thought it was some kind of a fish but when I reached closer I saw Yuffie who was hewing the side of a stone sharp. There was a lantern besides her giving the soft green light.

I lowered my spear. "Yuffie!" I whispered. She startled but when she understood that I was a soldier she raised the stone. "I won't give in without a fight…" she said quietly. Her face was tired and thin. She looked hungry and scared. "No, I'm not gonna hurt you. How long have you been in here?" I asked. "A couple of days. I don't know, I've lost track of time." She said still holding up the stone and her eyes watching my every move.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to harm you if you don't attack me. Here, you need some food." I handed her a box and she accepted it but then backed away quickly. Inside the box she found some fish and seaweed that she started to eat hiding her hunger in shame.

"Yuffie, we need your help to find Tifa. She has escaped." I said and Yuffie suddenly stopped. "I'm not gonna tell you where she is because I don't know either." She said and her face turned painful and she screamed. "I may never see her again because of the stupid laws. Tifa hasn't done anything...and now you are going to take the last member of my family away."

"I'm sorry…look, it's not safe for you to stay in here. Let's go back to the village. Just tell me where Tifa is." I reached out my hand. "I told you that I don't know and even if I did I wouldn't tell you. There's no chance of hiding now, you have found me…" Yuffie said and swam past me. I followed her in silence, she had surrendered.

When we finally reached the village she swam right to the elders and I followed her. They all looked surprised but Yuffie obviated their questions. "I give up. I don't know where Tifa is, I don't even know if she is alive anymore…"

The elders looked at Yuffie but then a dolphin distracted them. The nearest to the messenger listened to the dolphin and called out loud. "We have found the prisoner. Stop the searches."

Yuffie looked desperate, she clenched her fists tightly. It seamed she was going to break or scram when the soldiers finally brought in Tifa. Two soldiers held her almost unconscious body between them. She had also changed, like her sister. There were numerous scratches on her skin, her hands were tied behind her back. Her face was pale and sad, scared, very different from the old Tifa we once knew. Yuffie didn't move.

Tifa was placed in front of the old mermen and mermaids. Some of them seamed pitying but the leader started to announce the allegation. "You have committed a crime with secretly visiting the surface near human stellement to observe a human male and you have showed yourself to him. It is the worst breaking against the mermaid laws. What do you have to say?" Tifa didn't say anything, she closed her eyes in guilt. Yuffie broke in. "You can't do this, please…you can't…"

"We are sorry, but there is nothing that justifies her actions. She will be held prison in the Black Cave." It was very hard for the leader to say it. "Reno, take Tifa to her sail." The order came to me. For a moment I thought to refuse when I saw the impressions on the sisters faces when the looked each other. But when I'd refused to fill my order I would have become a prisoner like Tifa and my hands would been also tied. I swam to Tifa and took her hands. "I'm sorry…"I whispered to her when I took her away.

The cave started behind the village from the ground. It was rarely used and was kept open mainly to frighten us. It had done its duty well.

Tifas head was down. "You better finish me here, I'm not gonna stand it…" I looked her and stopped. Did she really want to die? It was so unreal to me. Her only desire was to be with a human and now she was going to be locked up into the darkness. No. "Don't talk like that."

"I'm already dead inside…let me be reborn." She whispered.

Those words hit me hard. She had fallen for a human because she was a human inside to. She was a lost sole…a sole.

"I won't have to kill you for that…" I said when I remembered a warlock who asked the half of your sole and in return gave you a new life as someone else. "I can help you, I can make you human, Tifa."