odessa beach } { if you hurry you can still catch the tide, my love
Being a mermaid was easy.
There was the cold comfort of immortality, the games of the sea, and such a feeling of freedom. Mermaids were nothing but games and fickle hearts, their attention held for as long as something was shiny and new. She could fall in love every day with a different man, drawn to her song, and watched as they crashed against the rocks when she was done with them. They were just toys, in the end. Things that were left for immortal things like her to play with and cast aside when she was done.
It was simply the way the world was.
That didn’t mean the world wasn’t prone to change however; or that the means of that change wasn’t going to be something she did all the time. She had just swam in close to the beach, propping herself on the rocks where she could feel the sun against her body when she heard a sound that she had heard before, but never this close to land. She picked herself up a bit, before rolling over onto her side to look for the source of the sound, and what she saw astonished her. It was a woman.
Claire hadn’t seen many human women. They don’t normally come on the ships, and the ones she had seen never quite looked like her. She had long dark hair, and when she laughed, Claire felt warm, and not just because she was lying in the sun. There was something about her that Claire wanted to know more about, but she wasn’t sure how to figure it out. She was still a mermaid after all. The world of the humans wasn’t a place that she could cross into, for more reasons than one. So for right now, she just continued to watch until the boy that was with the woman happened to spot her on the rock.
“Hey!”
She startled, before turning quickly and launching herself back into the water again. As the cold rush of water hit her skin, she fought the urge to look back and see what was happening in her wake. She just snunk further down into the water, attempting to distract herself with new shells and trying to push the sound of the woman’s laughter far from her mind.
***
She had almost forgotten about the woman, before the night of the storm.
Claire loved storms. It was probably the one time when she could stay on the surface and relish in the feel of the nature around her, and not have to worry about the humans seeing her and trying to entrap her. She was leaning back in the waves, feeling the rush of the water and wind against her skin, when she spotted a boat coming over the waves. She was honestly surprised to see it. Usually the humans were forewarned of the storms and didn’t come this far out, but this boat seemed to have been caught in the suddenness of the storm and was not faring well in the water. Claire sunk into the water just slightly, watching the boat to make sure that she wasn’t caught in it’s wake, and she was about to swim away when she heard a familiar voice that made her blood run colder than it already did.
“Elena!”
It was the same voice as the man from the beach earlier, and when Claire looked up, it was just in time to see the woman, the one who couldn’t escape her thoughts, tumbling over the railing of the boat and into the water. Claire reacted without thinking, diving under the waves and swimming after her. A normal human might not have made it, but given Claire’s lifetime of experience living under the waves, it didn’t take much for her to find her, drag her up to the surface and then carry her to shore.
By the time they reached shore, the storm had passed and the sun was starting to come out. Elena had been unconscious the entire time, and Claire laid her down gently on the sand, before reaching up and brushing a hand against her hair. She wasn’t sure what it was about this woman, but Claire wanted to be part of her world, not just this peripheral piece of it. She had never wanted to live on the surface before, but now … there was a curiosity there that wouldn’t go away.
The rest of the boat party were starting to catch up to them, and Claire bounded back into the water again, and this time, she couldn’t help but look back and watch. There was a man there, one who took her into his arms as she woke up, and held her tightly, relieved that she was alive, and there was another flare of a feeling she didn’t understand. She turned back to the water, diving lower and heading to a place where very few mermaids go-to see the Sea Hag herself.
***
Selling Angela on the idea wasn’t as hard as she had thought.
Claire should have probably been worried that it was so easy, but she was so desperate to see what was beyond the surface, to see Elena and be seen in return that when Angela said yes, she didn’t bother to question it. She insisted it be done right away, always over eager and getting ahead of herself but Angela forced her to slow down and make sure she understood the terms.
“You have until the end of the festival to win your beloved’s heart. The spell itself will be sealed with a kiss-if you kiss her, you will be human forever. You fail, and you’ll be forced to return to the sea.” The old sea witch just studied her as she spoke. “And there is a price. The cost of your spell is your voice.”
Claire’s head tipped to the side. “How am I supposed to win her over without my voice?”
“You’re a smart little fish,” she commented dryly. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” She started mixing ingredients in the cauldron in front of her, before turning back to Claire. “Are you sure you’re ready?”
She nodded, more certain than ever. “I’m ready.”
The spell itself was excruciatingly painful. It was like she was being split in half, and things were being shoved where they didn’t belong. She writhed in pain as things settled into place, and once it was finished, she was suddenly struck by the fact she couldn’t breathe. Her arms flailed, pushing up and cutting through the water until her body broke the surface and she gasped for a fresh breath of air. The minute the air hit her lungs and her breathing started to even out, she turned and started to kick her way to shore.
She hadn’t had herself turned into a human just to drown in the middle of the ocean, after all.
There was the cold comfort of immortality, the games of the sea, and such a feeling of freedom. Mermaids were nothing but games and fickle hearts, their attention held for as long as something was shiny and new. She could fall in love every day with a different man, drawn to her song, and watched as they crashed against the rocks when she was done with them. They were just toys, in the end. Things that were left for immortal things like her to play with and cast aside when she was done.
It was simply the way the world was.
That didn’t mean the world wasn’t prone to change however; or that the means of that change wasn’t going to be something she did all the time. She had just swam in close to the beach, propping herself on the rocks where she could feel the sun against her body when she heard a sound that she had heard before, but never this close to land. She picked herself up a bit, before rolling over onto her side to look for the source of the sound, and what she saw astonished her. It was a woman.
Claire hadn’t seen many human women. They don’t normally come on the ships, and the ones she had seen never quite looked like her. She had long dark hair, and when she laughed, Claire felt warm, and not just because she was lying in the sun. There was something about her that Claire wanted to know more about, but she wasn’t sure how to figure it out. She was still a mermaid after all. The world of the humans wasn’t a place that she could cross into, for more reasons than one. So for right now, she just continued to watch until the boy that was with the woman happened to spot her on the rock.
“Hey!”
She startled, before turning quickly and launching herself back into the water again. As the cold rush of water hit her skin, she fought the urge to look back and see what was happening in her wake. She just snunk further down into the water, attempting to distract herself with new shells and trying to push the sound of the woman’s laughter far from her mind.
***
She had almost forgotten about the woman, before the night of the storm.
Claire loved storms. It was probably the one time when she could stay on the surface and relish in the feel of the nature around her, and not have to worry about the humans seeing her and trying to entrap her. She was leaning back in the waves, feeling the rush of the water and wind against her skin, when she spotted a boat coming over the waves. She was honestly surprised to see it. Usually the humans were forewarned of the storms and didn’t come this far out, but this boat seemed to have been caught in the suddenness of the storm and was not faring well in the water. Claire sunk into the water just slightly, watching the boat to make sure that she wasn’t caught in it’s wake, and she was about to swim away when she heard a familiar voice that made her blood run colder than it already did.
“Elena!”
It was the same voice as the man from the beach earlier, and when Claire looked up, it was just in time to see the woman, the one who couldn’t escape her thoughts, tumbling over the railing of the boat and into the water. Claire reacted without thinking, diving under the waves and swimming after her. A normal human might not have made it, but given Claire’s lifetime of experience living under the waves, it didn’t take much for her to find her, drag her up to the surface and then carry her to shore.
By the time they reached shore, the storm had passed and the sun was starting to come out. Elena had been unconscious the entire time, and Claire laid her down gently on the sand, before reaching up and brushing a hand against her hair. She wasn’t sure what it was about this woman, but Claire wanted to be part of her world, not just this peripheral piece of it. She had never wanted to live on the surface before, but now … there was a curiosity there that wouldn’t go away.
The rest of the boat party were starting to catch up to them, and Claire bounded back into the water again, and this time, she couldn’t help but look back and watch. There was a man there, one who took her into his arms as she woke up, and held her tightly, relieved that she was alive, and there was another flare of a feeling she didn’t understand. She turned back to the water, diving lower and heading to a place where very few mermaids go-to see the Sea Hag herself.
***
Selling Angela on the idea wasn’t as hard as she had thought.
Claire should have probably been worried that it was so easy, but she was so desperate to see what was beyond the surface, to see Elena and be seen in return that when Angela said yes, she didn’t bother to question it. She insisted it be done right away, always over eager and getting ahead of herself but Angela forced her to slow down and make sure she understood the terms.
“You have until the end of the festival to win your beloved’s heart. The spell itself will be sealed with a kiss-if you kiss her, you will be human forever. You fail, and you’ll be forced to return to the sea.” The old sea witch just studied her as she spoke. “And there is a price. The cost of your spell is your voice.”
Claire’s head tipped to the side. “How am I supposed to win her over without my voice?”
“You’re a smart little fish,” she commented dryly. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” She started mixing ingredients in the cauldron in front of her, before turning back to Claire. “Are you sure you’re ready?”
She nodded, more certain than ever. “I’m ready.”
The spell itself was excruciatingly painful. It was like she was being split in half, and things were being shoved where they didn’t belong. She writhed in pain as things settled into place, and once it was finished, she was suddenly struck by the fact she couldn’t breathe. Her arms flailed, pushing up and cutting through the water until her body broke the surface and she gasped for a fresh breath of air. The minute the air hit her lungs and her breathing started to even out, she turned and started to kick her way to shore.
She hadn’t had herself turned into a human just to drown in the middle of the ocean, after all.