The Magical Mermaid and the Moon

by Angiah Harris

The gray-eyed shark found the princess not moving, appearing lifeless in her enclosure. Was this why the new light had not yet appeared—because the princess was unable to summon it? He cautiously inserted the rusty key into the keyhole and turned it slowly, then paused. Surely she would hear him. But she remained still, so he entered quietly.

  Inside the enclosure, he moved toward her still body with a silent urgency. Paranoid thoughts crossed his mind.

  This is a trick; don’t fall for it. She’s going to spring up and try to escape.

  He was almost to her when he noticed her subtle breathing and realized she was asleep, not dead or plotting to attack him. He relaxed a bit. As she slept, he watched her, staring at the curves of her lips, the shapes of her closed eyes, the way they moved beneath her eyelids. Her beautiful purple hair lay perfectly on her head, just as vibrant as it had been the first moment he saw her as a young shark. She hadn’t changed much with age, but he felt he had. Glancing down at his scar-covered arm, he snapped himself out of his thoughts.

  He began to search her enclosure for anything odd, keeping his eyes locked on the princess every chance he got. She continued to sleep, not moving at all, despite any noise the gray-eyed general made. After finding nothing but the crates of food and supplies he himself had delivered, he decided to swim to the surface and look around.

  He examined the enormous boulder bulging out of the water and found the area where he could tell the princess sat and stared at the stars. He pulled himself up, keeping his lower half in the water, and propped himself against the rock to look around. He glanced upward and stared in surprise—the half sphere of light, no longer just a sliver, had appeared directly above in the sky.

  He dropped into the water and looked down toward the princess. She remained in the same position and had clearly done nothing to make the light appear. Confused and curious, the shark moved back above the surface, again face to face with the light. He examined it with his gray eyes and watched it as it lit up the sky. The stars around it shone as well, and the gray-eyed general realized that he had not actually stopped to look up at the sky like this for a very long time. As it had been all that week, the wind was blowing strongly. The shark listened to it whistle around the walls and up into the air, toward the light in the sky.

  I should go now, he thought, and he pulled himself away from the breathtaking sight. She would probably wake up soon, and he didn’t want to be caught.

  After taking one last long look at the sleeping princess, he exited the enclosure and headed back to his camp. He needed to rest so he could rise early the next morning to do his surveillance. In his camp, he lay there, staring up through the still waters toward the light in the sky, thinking of the beautiful sleeping princess, until he drifted off to sleep.

  The next day, after sleeping much longer than he expected, the gray-eyed shark general examined the rest of the area and found no signs of any other creatures or disturbances. He decided to return to the enclosure—the princess was probably awake now, wasn’t she?

  When he arrived at the enclosure, he found the princess awake and eating a carrot fruit. His heart raced when he saw her conscious and moving around. She hadn’t seen him the evening before, and he wouldn’t let her now.

  I will watch and report back, he told himself. That’s all.

  Chapter 12

  Another Reveal

  The princess slowly opened her eyes, feeling refreshed.

  Several days and nights had passed since her first encounter with the sliver of white light in the night sky. She’d slept a deep sleep almost the entire time since then, making up for all of her lost rest. Each night, the white light grew in size; now, it was no longer shaped like a fingernail.

  Glancing around, the princess tried to guess the time of day and determine whether anything had changed. She watched her chest rise and fall with each breath as she reflected on her conversation with the mystical light in the night sky. She could hear the whistling in her ears and feel the warmth in her heart. Something shifted within her, and she knew she could no longer sit around and wait for something outside of herself to save the day.

  She rose from her bed and stretched her arms above her head, deciding she would find something to eat. Glancing around at the food crates, she realized there was enough food to feed a whole village there. She rummaged through a box, and when she found her favorite carrot fruit, she quickly bit into it. The juices exploded against her taste buds, shooting a positive chemical reaction down her spine that sent a tingling feeling throughout her whole body. It was the first time she could actually taste anything since her father’s passing.

  As she ate, the princess glanced around the prison enclosure, seeing it almost through different eyes. Until now, she hadn’t realized how the depression had closed her eyes to the world around her, but now she noticed the many useful tools among the array of items that had accumulated over the months in her enclosure. Continuing to eat and humming a tune, she started to sort through the items, and she quickly realized she would be able to create a type of paint. She loved to paint—it reminded her of the beauty of the world. She believed that all creatures in the world should be able to mix together beautifully as the paint on her canvas did.

  Finishing the last of the fruit, she set to work creating the paint.

  * * *

  The gray-eyed general watched the princess through cracks and crevices in the enclosure. He felt a low vibration in the air, and the crystal around his neck occasionally flickered as he moved around.

  The princess was creating beautiful colors from random supplies around her, and the gray-eyed shark was intrigued by this glimpse of her creativity. As he watched, she began to dance and throw the new colors at the wall, slowly creating a masterpiece. She laughed, humming louder as she threw different colors every which way, as if in a trance.

  Finally, she screeched to a halt and stared at the piece, as though she was fighting to catch her breath. The shark’s breath had also sped up, and he tried to slow his as well. He stared at what she had just created. Even from where he stood in his hiding place, he could tell the piece was marvelous.

  * * *

  The princess was happy with her creation; there had been no colors like these since the death of her father, and she found them refreshing.

  She wanted to share what she’d done with her new friend in the sky.

  She tossed aside her supplies, raced to the surface, and propped herself up on the rock to greet her new friend, who had already appeared.

  “Hello!” the princess called. “I am so happy to see you again, my friend. You’re even bigger and brighter than before!”

  The wind picked up and wrapped around her, as if to embrace her.

  “I painted today, and I have to say, seeing the colors made me feel more alive. I’m not sure what I’m going to do to help the world, but I have to do something.”

  She sat there in silence, waiting for a response. She heard no voice, but as the wind continued to wrap around her, she heard a magical humming. As she looked up at the bright light in the sky, now so much larger than it had been, she smiled.

  * * *

  The gray-eyed general decided to enter the enclosure after the princess disappeared above the surface.

  Inside the enclosure, he positioned himself behind the supplies to get a better view of what the princess was doing. From his hiding place, he examined what she had just created on the wall. It was beautiful—a collage of colors that seemed to change into different images when he looked at it from different angles. He’d never seen such a sight in such a dark place.

  What was she doing up on that rock of hers? He knew he needed to stay quiet and out of her sight, but he had to find out what was going on. As far as he could tell, she was just sitting on the rock, maybe singing. He wished he could hear her. Then he remembered his mission: he had to discover whether she did have something to do with the light.

  Near the top of the giant rock that rose all the way to the surface, t
he shark noticed a part of the rock that he could swim up to and underneath without being detected. It was close enough to the princess that he’d be able to see and hear anything he needed to, so he made his way to it and settled himself in the hiding place. He could now hear the princess near him; she was speaking out loud to the light in the sky.

  She spoke about her mother and father and of different adventures they’d had as she’d grown older. The gray-eyed shark general found himself hypnotized by the princess’s stories, and he longed to look into her eyes as she told them. The wind blew hard all around them as she spoke, entrancing him even more, and his crystal quietly vibrated underneath his royal clothing, responding to some unknown cause. After listening for a while, the gray-eyed shark decided to leave before the princess noticed him.

  The princess isn’t doing anything wrong here, he thought as he headed back to his camp. Who is really the threat?

  His mind wandered.

  * * *

  The mermaid princess felt relief after blurting out her stories and memories for what felt like hours. She listened to the wind slam into the walls of her enclosure, not caring that her friend wasn’t talking, although she hoped desperately it would. She needed to find a way to defeat the shark king. Could the light in the sky give her that answer?

  She sat in silence, deciding how to bring up the question. Should she not even ask? But finally she gained the courage.

  “What do I do, my light friend? I’m desperate for answers. Our kingdom cannot live in darkness for the rest of our days.”

  Her pulse beat fast, and she felt her cheeks flush. A strong gust blew in, and on it came words.

  “Be patient, my dear—the day will come. I feel your energy, and I feel the energy needed to defeat the darkness growing. That is why I grow in light. Be naturally you, despite the current circumstances, and the right things will come of it. Thank you for sharing the things in your heart with me tonight. They were beautiful.”

  The gust of wind blew out just as fast as it had blown in. Confused by the advice, the princess just smiled and lay in silence. What had the light meant with those words? Despite her confusion, she was oddly relieved. Her hope of breaking free from that prison and saving her people grew. She just needed to remain patient and faithful.

  * * *

  During the next week, the gray-eyed general secretly watched the princess paint, sing, sleep, eat, and tell stories to the growing light in the night sky. At times, she spoke as though the light were speaking back, although the shark could never hear anyone else but her; all he noticed was the strong wind that seemed to pick up anytime she spoke to the light.

  He knew he would need to leave soon to report what he’d found to the shark king. The king would surely be happy to hear the princess wasn’t responsible for the light in the sky, but he wouldn’t be pleased about the rest—that she was growing more vibrant each day and appeared to be happy, not broken; that more plant life was sprouting up around the enclosure, as if the princess’s energy was causing it all to thrive.

  The gray-eyed general knew the shark king would want the princess dead after he heard the general’s report.

  And for some odd reason, this bothered the gray-eyed shark.

  He found himself enjoying the many colors springing up inside and outside the princess’s enclosure, and he knew deep down that he was falling for the princess. Desperately unsure of what to do, the gray-eyed general continued to delay his return to the dark kingdom. He would have to choose, and how could he do that when the choice was between the creature to whom he owed his life and the one to whom he felt his heart opening?

  She doesn’t even know who I am. Could she ever feel for someone like me the way I feel for her?

  * * *

  The princess knew the gray-eyed shark general was spying on her.

  One day, she’d decided she would take a nap before the evening sky appeared, and not long after she’d closed her eyes and drifted away, she’d been awoken by the sound of the latch opening and the door creeping open, then shut again. She’d lain perfectly still with her eyes closed.

  She’d suspected that someone was watching her, and now this suspicion was confirmed.

  Slowly, she peeked from beneath her eyelids, and there was the gray-eyed general, wandering around inside the enclosure, not taking his beautiful gray eyes off of her for long. She remembered those gray eyes. She remembered seeing them when she was a young girl and then again when she’d been captured.

  As she watched, he examined her art on the walls, looked at her for a few long moments, and then crept out. Something in her heart longed to speak to this mystery soldier, yet she also knew he worked for the shark king, so she had no reason to trust him. Still, she felt something for him that she hadn’t felt before, but she ignored it.

  She had other things to focus on and could not be distracted.

  Chapter 13

  Good to Meet You

  One evening, as the princess talked to the captivating light in the night sky, now grown so much bigger, she felt hypnotized by the evening and the cold, crisp air whispering nighttime songs. The night sky was gloomy with clouds scattered over the black canvas, and raindrops sprinkled from the clouds. The princess closed her eyes, listening to the sprinkling rain hitting the calm ocean surface. She loved the sound and began swaying in unison with her surroundings.

  * * *

  Nearby, in the shadows of the rock in the enclosure, the gray-eyed general also listened to the sweet lullabies in the air. They were hypnotizingly pleasant and alluring, and he began to sway sleepily.

  * * *

  The princess woke when she felt a strong breeze nudge against her. Had she fallen asleep? She focused on her breathing as she came fully awake, and the thought of the gray-eyed soldier crossed her mind. What was he doing at that moment?

  Suddenly she heard a noise directly beneath her. Deciding to investigate, she moved swiftly off the top of the rock and into the water, toward the noise. Listening, she moved carefully forward, then froze—there, propped in a little crevice of the rock, the gray-eyed general lay asleep.

  Why is he here? she thought. Should I wake him? Is this my chance to make a run for it?

  Uncertain of what to do, she moved out of his direct line of sight in case he woke, then sat silently, waiting.

  * * *

  With no idea of how much time had passed, the gray-eyed general shook himself from his unexpected nap, careful to not make too much noise. His heart pounded loudly in his ears. Did the princess know he was there? How long had he been asleep? He tried to listen for the princess, but his own pulse beating in his ears made him feel panicked. It was time to leave the prison.

  * * *

  Say something, the princess thought. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach, and she couldn’t make herself speak.

  The shark moved toward the prison entrance—now was her chance. She moved into the open.

  Their eyes met. A million things she could say raced through her mind, but she still couldn’t find her voice. She watched his chest rise and fall and fully surveyed his entire physique—strong, muscular build, skin covered with battle scars.

  He moved toward her, never taking his gray eyes off hers.

  “I… uh…,” he stuttered.

  She watched his eyes, waiting for him to speak.

  “Uh… uh…,” he stammered again. “Your Highness—good to meet you.” He fled past her.

  By the time the princess decided to speak, the shark had reached the enclosure door. “Wait!” she shouted.

  * * *

  He froze with his back to her, his hand on the latch.

  “What were you doing?” she asked softly. “Why are you here?”

  He couldn’t believe she was speaking to him. What should he do? He contemplated rushing out the door, never to return, but he knew that would certainly mean death for the princess. And his heart no longer wanted that. It wanted something else now—something he never imagined he would want.


  He slowly turned. She was just a few feet away from him, watching him. He searched his mind for an appropriate response.

  “Forgive my intrusion,” he said. “I originally came here on business for the new king. I was to report on whether you were the reason the new light is in the night sky. But—” He searched for the words, fidgeting nervously. “I found myself drawn to you in a way I have never experienced before. I was taught my whole life to hate you, but there you were, bearing your soul—I began to feel like I also had a soul again.”

  He couldn’t believe he was being so honest. Something had come over him—he knew he had to continue.

  “I’m sorry that I violated your privacy and that I ever doubted you. I will return to the dark kingdom, but I will never speak of any of this, and you will be safe.”

  He watched her face, but he couldn’t tell what she was thinking. Would she speak or remain silent?

  Suddenly she straightened. “You are forgiven. I have not been all the way honest either.”

  The shark frowned. What did she mean?

  “I know you have come in here while I was supposed to be asleep. I knew you were watching me, but I didn’t lie or pretend to be anything but myself. The bearing of my soul was all real.”

  Amusement flashed through the gray-eyed shark. She’d known he was there. A slight smile curved his lips. “Okay, Princess. Thank you for your kindness.”

  He turned to leave, but before he could, the princess said, “You don’t have to go! I’m sure you’re camped somewhere around here, and your rations have to be getting low. I have plenty here; please stay and join me for a meal.”