There was a Human on the beach.
Ashahn, floating only a short distance from the shoreline, watched tensely, one hand curing instinctively around the hilt of her dagger. The Human alone might not have been such a danger- she certainly would have been able to issue an order to her people, keep them from this area at the foot of the ancient Citadel- but there was another factor, one that made her teeth clench and her tail jerk: one of her people, Lion take it all, was already here.
And she was about to, from the look of things, approach the Human.
There was a distant part of Ashahn's mind that suggested that, perhaps, this Human- only a young girl by her looks- would do no harm. This calm voice suggested that she should pay heed to the calls of the Gulls and the other Birds, calls that told of the defeat of Jadis the Witch and the coming of Aslan's chosen rulers. The Winter had ended, after all; perhaps there was nothing to fear.
Or, perhaps, the larger and more cynical part of her said, that part of her mind and those Birds were optimistic fools who were overly eager to forget what had happened the last time one with the blood of Adam had laid claim to the throne of Narnia. And Ashahn had not forgotten.
The memories rose, unbidden: images of mutilated Mer-folk, warnings sent to Ashahn after her refusal to submit; the day the mouth of the Great River had turned crimson from the slaughter; the Minotaur's laughter and his mocking "A two-course meal in one creature; and so much more delicate than Fauns." Oh, no, Ashahn had not forgotten.
But she was hesitant to approach, now, fearful that the Human might not be so alone after all, that she and her unseen companions would take the appearance of a second member of the clan as a threat and would harm the young Mermaid who waited in the waves. So she could not approach, but neither could she go, and so she was forced to watch, and wait, and pray.
Her heart rose in her throat as she watched the Mermaid- damn it all, it was Lorna, and hadn't she warned her about swimming off alone only a fortnight ago?- raise her upper body from the surf and she, Vaida of her clan, flinched as the Human saw her visitor. Ashahn waited for a call for troops, or for a threatening move, but there was only a brief moment of silence followed by an "Oh!" of amazement that carried even over the breakers.
Cautious and curious and fighting off a vague sensation of hope that was, no doubt, false, Ashahn allowed the waves to bring her closer, that she might hear and see and protect. She saw the Human- whom she could tell, from this distance, was quite young- wade into the surf, and this surprised her. She tensed once more, waiting…
"You- you're a Mermaid!" the Human said. Ashahn snorted. Lorna nodded. "That's wonderful! Aslan said that we would meet all sorts of people, but... Mermaids!"
"And you," Lorna reached out with one hand, wonderingly- "you're a Human."
"That's right. Oh! I'm Lucy." And the Human promptly stuck out one hand and caught Lorna's in her own. Ashahn only barely stopped herself from surging forward. Lorna froze. The Human laughed. "It's alright; Mr. Tumnus didn't know what to do either. I suppose I shall stop doing it." She dropped Lorna's hand, but continued to smile. "I never really saw the point of it, in any case. And, oh, I've been rude again, haven't I? What's your name?"
She was quick and disconcerting, moving from one thing to the next like a Dolphin; it was no wonder that, when Lorna answered, she stuttered.
"L-Lorna."
"That's beautiful." Lu- the Human's, Ashahn reminded herself- smile faded slightly, and Ashahn was immediately on her guard. "I wonder if-"
"Lucy! Lucy!"
And then here came the rest, Ashahn supposed. Should she go to Lorna's side now, or call out to her to flee? How many, and were they armed? Damn the Human, she thought angrily, drawing her dagger; to come just when her clan had begun to relax after the Winter. Damn them all-
"Lu! Where are you?"
The Human looked over her shoulder, at the imposing cliff and the Citadel that rested on it. "I'm coming, Peter!" she called back. She smiled once more and said, "Lorna, could I- could I visit you again? I think that I would like to know a Mermaid."
Ashahn nearly dropped her dagger.
"C-certainly," Lorna managed.
Luc- the Human- smiled again. "I think- I think that I would also like to make a friend."
Ashahn's dagger slipped through her fingers/
"Lu! Now!"
"I'm coming!" She flashed one more brilliant smile in Lorna's direction and then fled up the beach, her soaked skirts slapping against her legs as she ran. Such a contrast to the cold magnificence that Jadis that Witch had been so fond of!
Ashahn watched her until she had mounted the cliff path and then she swam to Lorna's side. The young Mermaid did not move to face her Vaida as she approached, but her shoulders tensed. Ashahn took a deep breath, steadying herself, and then...
"That was foolish, reckless, and thoughtless. You could have been killed, or captured, or Aslan only knows what," she hissed. "And I would have had to explain this." She paused and then, still looking steadfastly at the cliff face, said, "Explain yourself."
"I- I am sorry, Vaida. But she- she was so young, younger than me, and she seemed-"
"The Witch seemed harmless, too, at the first."
"Yes, Vaida."
Ashahn sighed. She was too young to handle such things. She had been happier when things were simpler, when Narnia was a place to be avoided at all costs and all that did not live in the sea was an enemy. Now, it seemed, she would have to pay heed to the Lion's irritating signs and extend some sort of trust to- to- to Humans.
"Go to the clan, Lorna," she commanded, as Vaida. "And send Marik and Dia to me here. I have need of them."
"Yes, Vaida." There was a long moment of silence.
"Well?"
And the Mermaid was gone, her tail flashing as she disappeared beneath the water.
Looking up at the cliff and the white Citadel that rested at its summit, Ashahn sighed. Soon Marik and Dia would join her, she thought, and she would have to consult them as to whom to send to the Citadel. Because Aslan would not let her leave the Humans in peace.
Because the Winter was over.
Because this Lucy would like to know a Mermaid.
This is a bit of backstory for my longer story, Upon the Sundering Sea. Any of you who have read that will, I hope, recognize Ashahn.