*cough cough*
Charlotte woke up on a beach with no recollection of how she got there. Last she remembered was sinking and passing out. She held her head, still being a little lightheaded. She tried to stand up, but ended up flopping back down because her legs were too weak. She looked up behind her to see a very familiar volcano. "Mako Island." From the looks of things she wasn't on the main beach. There were rocks scattered through sand, seaweed littered the beach and footsteps emerged from the water. She thought that it was her own, but how could she have got up and just walked out of the water? Something wasn't right. She attempted to get up again, but that failed. She felt like a fish out of water, without the tail. Like her limbs were chopped off and she was left for dead.
"Keenev oppe be lou."
Charlotte flinched, she looked to see where the strange voice was coming from. Walking towards her was a woman, she had ginger hair and her clothes didn't seem fit for the warm environment. "W..who are y..you?" Charlotte asked, stuttering through her chattering teeth.
The strange woman stared for a second, then cleared her throat. "I'm sor..ry..I'm not very good at English." She said, her voice heavily accented.
"That's..okay. Did you..did you pull me out of the water?"
The woman didn't answer her. Instead she grabbed a jacket from a nearby bush and handed it to her. In any other situation Charlotte would've pressed her to talk, but she just didn't seem to have the energy for that anymore. She took the jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders and immersed herself in the warmth of it. "Are you hungry?" The woman asked. Charlotte shaked her head, "I don't have much of an appetite." The woman nodded and started walking away. "Wait!" Charlotte shouted after her, the woman turned around. "What's your name?"
The woman thought for a second, most likely trying to find what her name would be in English. "Grace. My name is Grace. Now follow." Then she started walking away again. Charlotte got up, feeling her legs had much more energy and followed her.
Grace led them to a campsite hidden behind rocks and trees. She had made a makeshift bed out of large leaves and mud. The fire was still going strong with two large fishes grilling over it. Grace sat down in front of the fire, Charlotte sat opposite of her. The two sat in silence for a while, then Charlotte spoke.
"Did you see who dragged me out of the water?"
Grace remained quiet.
"I saw a fish when I was down there.." Charlotte continued, "it was huge.. It reminded me so much of.." She stopped talking, then she looked up at Grace who was busy keeping the fire alive by feeding it kindling. "Grace..do you believe in mermaids?" Grace's body went still. Her eyes widened just a bit before relaxing.
"I do." She answered. "Do you?"
"Yeah. You'd never believe me but I saw one before. Three actually. Their tails were a beautiful golden bronze, the way it swished through the water would leave anyone mesmerised." Charlotte smiles fell, "I knew them. I attempted to befriend them, at first they let me, but my jealousy got the better of me." Charlotte thought back to how she tormented the girls with her powers. "I almost hurt them in an unforgivable way."
It went quiet again.
"Did they forgive you?" Grace asked.
"I want to believe they did. But I know deep down they don't. I doubt they even want to see my face ever again."
"These mermaids you speak of...why do you speak of them so..personally? Have you ever seen them without a tail?"
Charlotte thought for a second, she wanted to choose her next words carefully without giving too much away about the girls. "I don't recall. It was a while ago. I had moved away after things got…hectic."
Grace nodded. "I have a similar story. I made bad decisions because of greed. I wanted what wasn't mine and when I didn't get it I did..bad things. My family was already on edge after the war that affected the first generations. Then the summoning began, and they decided to travel on their own without me so they could cool off."
Charlotte listened intently, questions popping in her head here and there. "What do you mean by summoning?" she asked.
Grace looked away, searching for something to say. "It is..something my people will feel when our rulers are rethroned. It's what was said to happen after the war had ended many years ago."
"Your people?"
"Yes, I noikevv la hiboruyl." Grace stopped talking, noticing Charlotte's confused expression. "I'm sorry, I wasn't sure how to say it in English. Enerii lijv."
"It's fine. Why are you camping out on this island anyway? I don't see any boats, how did you get here?"
"I..It doesn't matter. Oh! The fish is done! Let's eat."
Charlotte wondered why she was avoiding the question. But decided against pushing her to talk. After All that fish looked delicious.
The two ate in comfortable silence, gigging about the ants and bugs for some apparent reason.
"That was delicious!" Charlotte said.
Grace giggled.
"What?"
Grace broke out laughing, "Your face- It's covered in fish!"
Embarrassed, Charlotte quickly tried to wipe her face, but that ended in failure.
Grace scooted over to Charlotte. "Here let me.." She licked her finger and wiped the food off her face. Their eyes locked for a second. Charlotte noticed that Grace's eyes were an off shade of brownish-orange. It was almost hypnotic, if not for the feeling of dread it brought her. Grace, noticing Charlotte's discomfort, pulled her hand away and scooted back over. Her face was red, but you could see her sad expression peaking through. Grace cleared her throat.
"Um so..Do you know any good streams around here?" Charlotte asked, trying to relive the tension that appeared between them.
"No..YES! I do. Yukniv oplljv." Charlotte raised an eyebrow, "Follow me."
Charlotte got up and followed Grace over to a nearby stream. Grace was very specific to the best of her English abilities of where Charlotte was supposed to walk. The stream was small, it was also so hidden that you couldn't make out the source of the water. "Here you are." Grace said, walking away.
"Wait! Aren't you going to wash off your hands too? We're both covered in sand and mud."
"I'll be fine." Grace said, almost immediately and walked away.
Charlotte was taken back by her sudden tone, but decided not to point it out. She took off her clothes and stepped in the stream. It was surprisingly deeper than it appeared. After washing off she just floated, staring up through the thick trees. Then she got out the stream and air dried. She put back on the jacket that Grace gave her along with some shorts she found inside (weird).
Grace walked up to the stream, "Immasa erty?" She asked.
"Um, I'm done? If that's what you're asking." Grace nodded. "Well you can go ahead now. It's all yours."
"I'll do that when you leave, it's a pride thing."
"Right.."
Charlotte stepped on the stone Grace told her to step on when coming out of the water, then walked on the path leading back to the camp.
"I'll take those." Grace said, taking the clothes Charlotte was wearing earlier out of her hands. "Thanks." Grace's smile turned to fear as she dropped the clothes suddenly. "Grace?" Charlotte asked. She ignored her and ran towards the stream, ignoring Charlotte's call of worry. She then stepped up and dived in.
Charlotte's eyes grew wide. She's seen that exact reaction before. Could Grace be..
Charlotte walked up to the stream, searching the water with her eyes for any sign of Grace. Then she saw it, that familiar golden bronze, how could she forget? Her body lit up with a feeling of excitement but she pushed it down. Grace surfaced from the water, her back facing Charlotte.
"Are you a.."
"Mermaid?" Grace finished. She turned to face Charlotte. "You can't tell anyone, you can't!"
"I won't! I've..seen mermaids before. I think it's time we got honest with each other."
Grace sighed, and then sank down into the water.
"One blueberry blast for Lewis and one strawberry shake with a hint of mint for Rikki."
"Why thank you Emma, delicious as always."
"Only the best here at Rikki's"
"You know it."
Rikki had recently hired Emma at the cafe, which Emma was thankful for as working distracted her mind. Zane, surprisingly, offered to pay Emma above the base salary but she refused so instead he promoted her to lead juicer because of her experience at the Juicenet, which she couldn't turn down. Bella walked over to where Rikki and Lewis were sitting. "Hey strangers. Where's Cleo?"
"Mm- She's working today." Lewis answered.
"Work is for the strong. I'm too busy enjoying my smoothie."
"Rikki, you own the cafe."
"Not without me she doesn't." Zane said, hugging Rikki who smiled in return.
Emma walked up to the table, "Guess who's taking their break. Me." She sat down.
"Guys, not ruining the aura here but..what do we do about Denman? I think I'd rest better not worrying if she'll snatch me out of my bed."
"I agree."
"So what do we do about her?"
They all brainstormed different ideas. Zane expressed how frustrated he was with the whole thing, after all he's only been a merman for a month and a few weeks and each day was filled with the fear of being pulled into a net or kidnapped and used as bait.
Rikki sipped her smoothie, her focus completely on it. Cleo used her powers to stop the smoothie from going up the straw. Rikki glared at her before returning her attention to the conversation at hand. Cleo smiled.
Lewis rubbed his head, "I just remembered something." Everyone looked at him expectantly. "We're royalty."
"Yes Lewis, we are aware of that."
"No no, we're ROYALTY. The palace! We need to build the palace!"
"Oh." Rikki said.
"It's underwater. How do you suggest we do that Lewis?" Emma asked.
"We could scope out a concealed area and go from there." Zane said.
Rikki grinned, "Good idea Zane."
"Well c'mon then, I reckon we're running out of time." Cleo said, getting ready to leave.
"Hold a second, let me grab Ash and we can go."
"Ah, Bella!" Rikki shouted, getting Bella to call for 5 and walk over to her. "Can you keep watch of the cafe while we're gone?"
"Sure thing." Bella said, smiling at returning to the stage.
Rikki,Emma,Ash,Lewis and Zane walked out the cafe and towards the water. Rikki pointed out Denamn's boat not too far from where they usually dive. "Change of diving spot then."
The group chose to go into the water from behind the cafe, first making sure no one was actively watching them and then dived in. They speed swam all the way to a secluded part of the ocean, deciding to split into pairs and search.
"How long have you been a mermaid?"
Grace sat on the edge of the stream rocks, her tail still partly submerged underwater.
"All my life. I was turned when I came of age, or 10. In my culture, the men get turned earlier so they can develop their abilities to protect our community."
"So all your family members are mermaids?"
"Down to my 78 year old great grandmother. What about you? What are your experiences with mermaids?"
"Ah…well. The story I told you earlier, I left out a few things. Like the fact that
the three mermaids, I knew them, I ended up being turned into a mermaid too."
Grace's face scrunched up, "They let you into the sacred waters? Just like that?"
Charlotte felt ashamed under Grace's expression, "They didn't. I did some pretty invadeful things. I wanted this boy..I thought that by becoming a mermaid he'd loved me more. I jumped into the water on a full moon and boom."
Grace nodded. "How did you touch the water earlier then? You look pretty human to me."
Charlotte's face wore a sad expression. "I..used my powers to mess with them. I had all three, I was pretty powerful I'd like to think. I got out of control, so I lost my powers."
"Lost them?"
"When all the planets were aligned with the moon, any mermaid in the water would lose their powers forever."
"You went in? Willingly?"
"No. I tried to take theirs. In the end I lost mine. Turns out they were much more powerful than me, regardless of the things I could too I couldn't overthrow them."
"You miss being a mermaid don't you?"
A small smile came on Charlotte's face, "Everyday."
Grace thought for a second "Those girls..do you know their names?"
"Yes, they are Emma, Cleo and Rikki."
"Can you describe them?"
"Ah sure um. Cleo was very soft. She can manipulate water, wind and rain. She's a lot more emotional than the other two but she's very sweet.
Emma is the more organised one. She likes to be in control of things and doesn't take well to mess or disorder. She can freeze water and other things like hail and snow I guess. She's a very tough and authoritative person.
Rikki is the fiery one, much like her power. She can boil and make fires."
"Really helpful for drying off quickly," Grace added.
"Yeah. She's kind of hot headed, and tells you what she thinks. She made it pretty clear off the bat that she didn't like me. But once she gets used to you enough, she'll tolerate you."
"They sound like good friends."
"They are. And I messed up my chance of being a part of it."
Grace nodded. She swished her tail back and forth. The two sat in a comfortable silence.
"Y'know Charlotte…you can become a mermaid again."
Charlotte felt that feeling of excitement light in her again. "I can?"
"Well of course, on special times they are special moments. But it's not as simple as just being in the water on a full moon."
"Of course it isn't."
"Remember the summoning I mentioned? Well I left out important details too. See there was a war that broke the mer society. And the summoning was something prophesied by many scholars that the heirs would be throned. And when they did, all mer would feel this pull towards them and reach home."
"That sounds.."
"Like complete bull? Yeah I get it, I didn't want to believe either but here we are."
"That's why you're here in Australia? Because of the summoning?"
Grace nodded.
"If the summoning started, doesn't that mean the heirs have been throned? Why are you here on land, hiding behind trees."
"Ah well. They haven't built the palace yet. It needs to exist physically before the healing moon so all mer can come home."
"Healing moon? Palace?"
Grace chuckled. "You have a lot of questions don't you?"
Charlotte's face got red in embarrassment. "I'm sorry."
"It's fine. I had a lot of questions too. But the basic gist of it is, on the healing moon all mer-"
Suddenly the ground shook.
Charlotte grabbed onto Grace, "Whoa, what was that?"
"I-um- it felt like an earthquake."
"Are you okay?" Charlotte asked, looking at Grace.
Grace could feel her face burn, she quickly turned away from Charlotte and gently pushed her off. "Yeah, I'm fine. Are you?"
"Yeah, that was weird. Look there!" Charlotte pointed to the ocean.
Grace looked to see a pretty large section of the water partially drained, then it refilled and then it drained again before coming back to the calm it was before. Grace laughed.
"What? You know what that is?" Charlotte asked.
Grace pushed herself out of the water, allowing her tail to rest on the grass. "The heirs are building. At least I think they are, it looked pretty messy."
"What are they building that it caused that?"
"The palace. It is where all the important mer live. Like the queens and kings, advisors, authoritarians, things like that."
"So where does the average "mer" live?"
"We build our own. It is not as hard as it sounds. But it also depends on where you reside. Like the Carribean sea, where I am from, would build huts for example."
"Underwater?"
"You'd be surprised."
"This all sounds crazy to me. I mean, don't mermaids or mer need air as well? As far as I know we couldn't breathe underwater."
"Not anymore. After the war, the arctic region fell apart, which is what controls everything."
"So like the government of the merfolk?"
"Sort of. All the important gems or whatever are stored there for safety reasons, it's really cold there like icebergs and stuff, any threat not accustomed to the extreme cold would freeze."
"That's a pretty smart defence system."
"Then it was. Humanity wasn't has developed. The new rulers might have to come up with new strategies. I hope they do."
"I trust that they will. Oh, you were telling me about the healing moon earlier before the shake."
"Unohki! The healing moon is a time where all mer is healed. They are reborn into new mer bodies so they can live within the ocean without issue."
"Does it make them breathe underwater?"
"Kind of."
"So..I go into the moon pool on a healing moon and become a mermaid again?"
"Yes. However, if your intentions are not pure, it will curse you."
Sweat rolled down Charlotte's face, "Curse..? What kind of curse?"
"Depends. Say you wanted to be a mer again to use your powers against the palace, you'd be cursed to eternally serve them."
"That doesn't sound too..bad?"
"I know. But to someone who wishes to harm them, being bound to their every need and request is a hell in itself. You're like a puppet trapped in your own mind."
"Oh. That sounds horrible."
"You have nothing to worry about!" Grace smiled, "I feel you have no ill intentions. You'll be fine!"
Charlotte awkwardly smiled back at Grace. She knew she didn't plan on bothering the girls, she wasn't even planning on ever facing them again. But what if deep down she wanted to hurt the girls? Cleo? What if she was giving herself too much credit. What would her curse be..?
"Charlotte? Are you okay? You seem troubled by something."
"I'm fine. Just thinking. When is the healing moon anyway?"
"Saturday."
"I think. I think I might do it. But what if the girls are there too? What do I do then?"
Grace thought for a second, "It won't matter. They won't remember who you are once the moon takes effect. They won't even acknowledge you."
"But how-" Grace put a finger on Charlotte's mouth, shushing her.
"Don't ask questions. I'm not a scholar you know."
"Sorry. Ah, how long will you hide out here?"
"Just until my family gets here. They should be on their way. And you should be too." Grace looked up through the trees at the sky. "It's getting dark, I'm sure your parents must be worried about you by now."
"She should. If she were here."
"Oh Im sorry is she-"
"No! No.. she's not dead. She's just been super busy lately with a new company and has hardly been home."
"Oh. " Grace cleared her throat. "Well you were unconscious when I dragged you here so..Wait! I have an idea. I'll just hold on to you and speed swim towards your mainland."
"Okay..how would that work? You're not killing me are you?"
Grace laughed. "No! At least I don't think so." Grace stood up and grabbed Charlotte's hand, "Now c'mon, we gotta at least test it out right?"
Charlotte smiled. "Race you to the beach."
"You're on!"
The two ran through the trees towards the beach. Laughing and trying to outrun each other along the way. Grace got to the beach first, folding her arms and smiling widely. Charlotte emerged not too long after her, panting breathleasy. They both laughed, Charlotte promising to beat her the next time they came across each other.
Charlotte followed Grace as she walked into the water, a good enough distance so Grace could dive in without headbutting the floor. Grace took Charlotte's hand, holding it tightly and swimming out deeper into the water. Grace's tail kept hitting Charlotte which she apologised for every time it happened.
"Are you ready?"
"Lets hope I don't drown yeah? Bad experiences."
Grace smiled, then went underwater, carrying Charlotte with her (still very much holding her hand) before flicking her tail and speeding off in the ocean. Charlotte felt dizzy but overall was not drowning.
The two sat on the edge of the beach, both looking out into the water. The moon shined brightly, just full enough to be enjoyed without the risk of being moonstruck. It was beautiful amongst the sunset orange sky, it was almost romantic.
"So I guess this is it huh?" Charlotte asked softly.
Grace nodded. "Yeah. I guess so." She turned her head to look at Charlotte. "We'll see each other again someday. Maybe we'll come across each other while swimming after you regain your tail."
"I hope so."
Grace punched Charlotte's arm, "I really liked being with you. I wish you all the best with Cleo, Rikki and Emma. I'll pray that they forgive you, and you four become one. Polonosha uteivv."
Charlotte smiled at her, "Thanks Grace."
Grace moved back into the water, the gentle waves hitting her brown skin just right, allowing it to shine with beads of water.
"Grace!" She turned around, "You never told me your name. Your real name."
Grace smiled, "It's Geneva." And with that she disappeared into the ocean, her tail flipping up for just a second.
"Geneva.." Charlotte thought, as she hugged her arms and walked home.
BOOM
"We really gotta figure out how to make the floating pavilions float."
"Never mind that, how on earth do we make shallow pools underwater."
"This is very stressful. We haven't even gotten anywhere yet!"
They all stared at the one wall they managed to make after so many hours. It was bent and misshaped and practically falling apart.
"Okay. We're not getting anywhere like this. I say we take a break, come back tomorrow?"
"I agree, I'm tired and really craving fish."
"Great, dinner at my place, I developed a new recipe I want you guys to try!"
"That's great Emma! Your last one was delicious!"
"Good. Cause I'm starving."
The group swam back to the mainland, talking about how they were going to build the palace, something was telling them they were running out of time.
"That was delicious Emma! You really know your way around a fish."
Emma blushed, "Well, thanks Ash. I spent a lot of time trying to perfect it."
"Well you certainly did your thing, I can barely fry an egg."
"We know Rikki, we all remember that day very clearly."
"Hey! I was trying."
Knock Knock
"I'll get it! Oh, Ms Chatham?"
"Hello Cleo. How are you?" Ms C smiled.
"I'm great…what are you doing here?"
Emma walked over to the door, "Ms Chatham! Come in come in."
"Thank you Emma."
They all sat in the living room, Ms Chatham sipping her tea.
"So. You're gonna tell us why you're here?" Zane said, getting glares from Emma.
Ms Chatham smiled softly, "I'm here. Because I came here."
"Great. Can you not speak in riddles for once?"
"Zane!"
"It's okay Emma." Ms Chatham looked at Zane, "Some of us are more hot headed than others."
Lewis chuckled.
"But why are you here?" Cleo asked.
"I'm here to warn you."
"Warn us?" Emma asked.
"Yes."
"Warn us about what?"
Ms C held her mug in her lap, looking at everyone longingly, "About the next full moon."
Rikki nodded, "There's nothing you can warn us about that we don't already expect at this point."
"Yeah, we've pretty much been through it all." Emma agreed.
Ms C smiled, "Then surely you know the next full moon isn't just any full moon?"
"What's up with the next full moon?" Cleo asked, worriedly.
"Is it a Lunar Eclipse again?" Lewis groaned.
"No Lewis. The next full moon is the Healing moon."
Zane scoffed, "Healing moon? Is this some sci-fi type thing?"
"It sounds that way doesn't it?" Ms C laughed softly, "But no."
"Then what's the healing moon?" Ash asked.
"The healing moon is..a legend. A myth even. But not to you. It is the night where all mermaids and mermen alike..are healed."
"Healed? Are we sick or something?" Rikki asked.
"In a way…You are."
"Wow. It's not like fatal is it?"
"Not at all."
"So the healing moon..heals our sickness? What's so bad about it?"
"I never said it was bad. I only said it was like no other moon."
Cleo nodded, "So if we're at mako on the healing moon, we're healed and then we can move along with our lives"
"I can not say. I've never experienced it."
"So how do you know about it? And what does it do exactly?" Ash asked.
"I've..heard stories. I did say it was a myth. However, what I can tell you is if you choose to be healed, your lives will never be the same ever again. From what I know, you become eternally tied to your mermaid selves."
The room went silent.
Rikki cleared her throat, "So…we turn into mermaids forever? Like a losing our legs kind of thing?"
"That sounds horrifying." Cleo said.
Ms C smiled, "It's nothing to fear Cleo. You always have the option of saying no."
"We can choose?"
"Yes."
Lewis held his chin, his eyes squinting just a bit. "Ms C. What do you know about royal mer?"
Ms Chatham smile fell, her eyes going wide for just a moment before relaxing. "Royal merfolk. I don't know much about them."
"No, what's up with that reaction? You know something don't you?" Zane said, his voice slightly raised.
"I..I don't know much. I only know that they existed at one point, but no longer."
The group eyed each other, Emma nodded.
"Well Ms C. There's something you should know."
"We are actually the heirs. Which makes us royal mers."
Ms C had a confused look on her face, "How could that be?"
"Well.." Cleo went to sit beside her, "It's a long story. But we need to know everything you know. Please."
Ms C shaked her slightly before sighing in defeat, "I don't know much."
The group sighed.
"However. I assume you all have built the palace, yes?
"Um..no.."
"We're planning on fully completing it tomorrow."
"You must build it before the healing moon. It's very important."
"I had that feeling of urgency. Was it because of that?" Cleo asked.
"I had that feeling too." Emma said.
"It doesn't matter if you choose to be healed or not. Many other mermaids and mermen will, without the palace there's no structure and without structure-"
"There's no society, so all mer are divided which can lead to segregation." Lewis finished.
"Yes Lewis. And no one wants that."
"How does having a palace stop any of that from happening? It's just a building." Zane asked.
"The palace is physical proof of your existence and not just a false calling. From what I know and can tell you, it's very important."
"I'd prefer not to risk it if we need it or not." Cleo said.
"I agree. We need to start first thing tomorrow morning."
Emma stood up, "I'll look over the blueprints and create a plan for who does what. I feel like we can do this before the full moon."
Lewis stood up, "I'll help you."
" is the next full moon exactly?" Cleo asked.
"This Saturday."
"SATURDAY!?" They all shouted together.
"That's in a day if you discount right now!"
"We need to get on top of it! Right now!" Zane said.
Ms C sipped her tea before letting it rest on her lap. The warmness of the mug and the chitter chatter that filled the area made her feel comforted. She knew when the healing moon arrived, she'd be there, to immerse herself in the water, to allow the magic to embrace her once more and take her home.
She smiled and nodded. "Good luck."