Marvel & Jaden
Christi is doing an Illustration project on dark fairytales and asked me to write one for her based on an older fairytale. I chose 'The Mermaid and the Boy' and rewrote it completely to create 'Marvel & Jaden'. Hopefully, she's able to get the entire book of fairytales published.
Marvel & Jaden by: Julia D. Royal
In a dark land, in an even darker castle, lived a very enchanting king. His dark hair, dark marble eyes, and hard body had been enticing women for years. Until a year ago, when he finally wed, this dark king had been known for his promiscuous tendencies. Sitting down in his study one night, he really thought about his life. He found he wasn't really happy with his wife nor was he in love with her, but he needed a son to ascend to the throne one day. They had tried and tried to have a child, but it never worked. Although the king was never trusting in the kingdom's legends, he decided to set out alone to find the Life Stone, which was said to magically impregnate any female who laid her hands upon it.
The next morning, without a word to a single soul, the dark king set out across the seas. A day or so after his departure, he found the water to be rough; almost as if it was fighting against him. He lost the fight against the violent sea, and his ship ended up tossed up on rocks. The king had just begun preparing for his inevitable death when something floating about the surface caught his eye. Whatever it was, it literally lit up the ocean's surface around him. Then, she ascended into plain sight. Her long wavy white hair was all around her, teasing her milky white skin and her full exposed breasts. The king became mesmerized by her body and even more so by her bright emerald eyes. He was sure he never felt this way about anyone before. She raised her sparkling fins above the ocean's surface, tempting the dark king with her whole self.
"Dark King," She spoke, her voice a beautiful echo, "I can save you."
He swayed at her voice, forgetting just how close he was to death-trapped in her beauty.
"Please. Save me, female. I need the Life Stone so that my wife may bear a prince for our kingdom," The king explained.
The mermaid smiled a glorious smile and told the king that she would save him. In return, he would have to surrender his firstborn son to her and to the ocean on his twelfth year. Furthermore, the beautiful mermaid promised the dark king a true love and immortality once the firstborn was given unto the sea. She cupped her small hands in front of her, and before the king's eyes, there was the Life Stone. It was blinding, the red light that emitted from its surface. The king was stunned.
"Yes, beautiful mermaid!" The king shouted above the crashing waves," I accept your offer! Thank you for your kindness."
* * *
The morn Prince Marvel's twelfth birthday, the Dark King told his queen about the deal he had made with the enchanting mermaid in the sea. She was enraged with the king and had sworn by any means to protect young Prince Marvel.
The king knew it wasn't that simple, although he wanted to protect his son. Later that night, while everyone in the kingdom was preparing for Prince Marvel's feast, the Dark King decided to pleasure his wife in their chambers. While she was most vulnerable, he slid his very own knife across her thin olive throat, killing her. Once her breathing ceased, he kissed her cold lips gently and placed a single rose across her chest.
"My apologies, my Queen," He whispered to her, "Our young Marvel belongs to the sea."
Away from his chamber, the king finds Prince Marvel and tells him that he must take him to his birthday gift before the feast. The prince, excited and thankful, agreed.
"Is it my very own land, Father?" Prince Marvel asked as they drifted farther out into the sea. The Dark King just studied his young. His dull gray eyes were piercing, and his chin-length sienna hair tossed about so delicately in the wind.
"My son," The king started, "there are things more important, more sacred, than soil to own and rule."
Just then, the waters begin to sparkle and that same beautiful light illuminated the ocean's surface. She was more beautiful than the king had remembered as she ascended about the waters. Prince Marvel, on the other hand, could feel her malevolent aura stinging his skin.
"My King." Her voice sang to the king, and he was once again in her alluring spell, "You have brought your son upon my sea. As we agreed twelve long years ago, he is now mine, and I shall be yours."
The prince screamed when he realized that he had been betrayed by his father, and dived into the sea, swimming as fast as his body would carry him to the bit of the land that was not too far away. The mermaid and the king tried to stop him, but he had made it to land before they could. Prince Marvel turned and saw the mermaid wrap her glittery fin around the king with such grace and pull him into her depths. The prince was stunned and exhausted from his swim, but knew he had to get away from the mermaid. She reappeared.
"Young Prince, I will find you. No matter where your foot finds shelter, you will belong to me and my ocean for I have given you life. No matter where you are, boy, you will hear my song, and you will know I am near."
Prince Marvel, now alone, found himself in the worst kind of wilderness. The thick green wall of leaves and branches seemed endless, and with nothing to protect himself with, he prepared for his inevitable death. As the sun found its natural resting place below the horizon, Prince Marvel searched for shelter for the night. Above all else, the animal callings and the sway of the abundant trees, he heard the mermaid. She sang to him every hour. Her voice was a screeching pitch that pained his ears, but he knew no matter how hard he pressed his hands against his ears, he would not be able to escape it.
Not long after the prince nestled up against rough bark sure he would be safe, he heard something approaching him. A great lion trotted towards Prince Marvel. Its yellow eyes glowed in the black night along with its tussled golden mane. The breath of the creature was most vile, and Prince Marvel inhaled it with a disgust he'd never known. The lion was death walking. Trying to maintain still, the prince slowly moved his hands around the rough grounds looking for something to scare the lion as it continued to approach him. Feeling foolish but still in power, Prince Marvel reached out to the lion's mane when it was within reach, stroking it lightly. The beast let out a lethal growl and fell dead against the prince as he stabbed it in the heart with a sharp shard of bark he'd found. Seeing the blood rush from the lifeless animal, the prince began to thirst. The thirst grew wild throughout his body and left his throat as dry as the deserts. With no other choice, he drank straight from the beast until his belly stretched and ached. The prince lifted his head and saw his surroundings like never before. Every sight was crisp, clearer to him. He could hear every speck of dirt, every single leaf shift around in the forest. He looked down at his fingers, and he was still the same thin prince he'd always been.
"This lion…this beast is in me for I have drank from it," Prince Marvel declared to himself and to his mermaid, whom he knew was near.
He heard her voice squeal in disapproval, and its tune seemed to be closer and closer so the prince climbed up the tree he was to rest under to heights he knew the mermaid could not reach. He closed his eyes and his senses and fell into a reluctant slumber.
When the sun's light lifted the prince's lids, he found he had slept right next to a fruitful beehive. His greed seemed to overwhelm him as he reached out for it, looking to taste the sweet honey inside.
"Please don't harm my family," a meek voice pleaded from behind Prince Marvel.
He whipped his head around only to find a tiny bee, drenched in the musty but enticing smell of fear.
"But I hunger," The prince told the bee, "and your sweet honey will nourish my weak body. I am to escape from a dreadful mermaid. She wants me one with the sea so I cannot rule my land." The bee, being kind in nature, felt sorry for the prince and offered to help him the only way he knew how.
"Boy, I can protect you. I have something special that will help you." The bee flashed his stinger, and the prince chuckled.
"Your sword will be no match for her, silly bee creature."
"But you misunderstand, Prince. This sword of mine is magical. It enables me to fly, unlike other bees born with this trait. The venom inside will help you fly high above the merwoman's reach. It will kill me to give you this, but it will help you Prince."
The prince's eyes lit up as he was filled with thankfulness and the most sincere of gratitude.
"But Prince," The small bee continued, "you must not ever experience true love, for this will put a tragic end to your blessing you are about to receive. You will not fly. I do not know this for sure for I have been terrified of love and never sought it out because of my fear, but beware of such a love. It may cost you your life, great Prince."
The prince nodded, "True love will never find me, Bee."
With that, the bee pressed its stinger into the prince's throat and released his magical venom. The prince held the small weak bee as he faded from existence. Again, the mermaid cackled her song which carried over and through every treetop. Prince Marvel concentrated hard on flying and the gift he had just been given. He felt the venom as it moved and danced through his body, strengthening and lightening every atom of him. He cringed as his bones shortened, and his frame was the size of his deceased bee friend. He flew cautiously out of the tree and buried his friend before flying high above the forest.
After hours of flight, mourning, and the mermaid's song, the prince had stumbled upon a new land. Its palace was grand, made of sparkling gold. He'd never seen anything like it before. Curious and intrigued, he flew up to the only window that was open. The inside of the palace was just as luxurious as its exterior. Inside, he saw a towering king with a long red beard and a crown full of matching curly locks. Standing aside him was a breathtaking maiden-a princess. She had flawless milky white skin and a crown full of pale yellow hair. It was like the morning's sunlight danced around her face. Her sparkling green eyes were priceless emeralds set in a perfect face. The prince's eyes finally rested upon her dainty pink lips, and his heart danced around in his chest. The king's deep and powerful voice knocked the love stricken prince back to reality.
"You must marry, my lovely Jaden," He shouted. Prince Marvel swooned at the princess's name and repeated it over and over in his head, "I have sent five knights up to your chambers thus far and none of them to your fancy. Five more bearing my royal ribbons will come to you when the sun sets, darling. You must choose one. You must, my Jaden."
He pleaded with her, and her face remained blank with traces of disgust. The king merely sighed and left his daughter's chambers. In her father's absence, Princess Jaden picked up a polished violin by her bedside and started to play a sad song. She wept as she sang the melancholy melody. The prince was heartbroken by her sadness and drawn into her chambers by her beauty. He wished himself his former size and it was. The princess turned to face him, and she stopped playing, shocked.
"I didn't hear you enter my chambers, Knight," Princess Jaden said.
"I am no knight, Princess. I don't bear any ribbons. I was brought here by only your song and your superior beauty."
She searched him with her eyes, looking for her father's royal ribbons but found none. She searched him once more, taking him in. His eyes were a kind gray, none like she'd ever come across on this land. His features were all very new and pleasing to the eye. She even found a liking to his tussled sienna hair. She felt like she hadn't said anything in years, just staring at him, and she was finding it hard to find courage to say much else.
"So," She finally choked out, "you are here for my song?"
The prince thought about the mermaid and his escape, but didn't want to scare Princess Jaden.
"Well, fair female, I am…here for you right now. Your song has drawn me to your bedside."
She smiled a charming smile. "Come with me."
Princess Jaden, violin in hand, led the prince down to her private shores. It was beautiful, and the seas had never been so relaxing. The princess began to play her sad song, but she did not weep. The sound was amplified and ascended over the violent crashing of the waves as it echoed and played with the rocks. In her song, the princess told stories of a maiden sending mystical creature back into the sea with a beautiful silver harpoon, all for love.
Her song lit up the sea's surface and made the crashing waves go in reverse. No. It was the mermaid, and she screeched Princess Jaden into silence. Without a thought, the mermaid ascended and wrapped the prince in her blinding fins, dragging him into the depths of her sea. Prince Marvel's heart sunk and his lungs filled with salty water as she took him deeper into her watery hell.
Everyday, with her broken heart growing weak, Princess Jaden would go down by her shores and sing out to her lost prince. And everyday, she would fail for the prince could not hear her pure voice from the ocean. The mermaid, on the other hand, did hear the girl's songs and laughed. One noon, the princess brought her violin with her out to the waters and sang her sad song. The mermaid was hysterical down below and thought the prince had to hear her desperation. She ascended a bit.
"Do you hear her, Boy? Do you hear her foolish longing?" The mermaid spat.
Prince Marvel strained his ears, desperate to hear the beautiful girl singing. He couldn't hear her.
"I can't hear her, you witch! All I hear are the crashing of your demonic waves. Surely you can take me higher."
The mermaid grinned and took the prince even closer to the surface. He still could not hear Princess Jaden so again, the mermaid took him even higher, breaking the surface.
She was stunning. Her yellow hair swayed gently in the wind and her eyes were closed. Her face was angelic porcelain. She wore a sheer white gown that lifted and played with the breeze from the sea. She played with such emotion; it made the prince's heart flutter. He'd never felt it before, but he was sure it was love. He felt as if he was flying towards her. Not just his body, but his soul was reaching for her. He looked down, awaken from his realization, to see he was indeed flying toward the princess. The mermaid was right behind him, screaming and gliding towards the shore. The prince found his way to Princess Jaden's pocket. The screaming stopped her playing and she smiled as she saw the mermaid coming towards her. Like a bullet, she pulled a silver instrument from her knapsack and launched it through the salty air. It struck the mermaid right in the heart, and she stained the sand in red.
The prince jumped out from the princess's pocket and wished himself a boy again. They embraced and watched as the mermaid took her last breaths and left only a river of blood running into the sea.
"I love you, Female," Prince Marvel confessed to the princess, "Marry me and let her flesh be our first feast."
So it was. Prince Marvel and Princess Jaden were wed, and granting them eternal life as from any flesh from a mercreature, they dined on the mermaid's flesh at their first feast.
They lived happily ever after and returned together to rule the dark land, where Prince Marvel ascended to the crown
.