LEGEND OF THE MER

by Sheri L. Swift

  The water was so thick and had the most beautiful blue-green she had ever seen, and yet, it was so familiar. As she got closer to the bottom, she saw sights just as she had remembered. How could a toddler remember what the bottom looked like? How could I have swum here at such a young age? But, now she knew she had. This was not her imagination, she had been here before. She knew what every boulder down here looked like and where to find the next one. The coral went from hues of pink to burgundy. She even saw a spade fish like the ones she remembered. There were several lion fish and even a sting ray floating effortlessly near the surface.

  Out of the corner of Lana’s eye, she saw a grey dolphin swimming in her direction. At first she was a little scared, but as he got closer she felt more relaxed and realized that he was friendly. He swam past her legs rubbing up against them as he did. Lana put her hand down and let it run along his side as he passed. How wonderful he felt. He was cold and slippery; he seemed to enjoy her touch. Lana grabbed onto his top (dorsal) fin and let him pull her along and he sped up and she loved it. The dolphin sped past rocks and reefs, dodging in and out of them. Lana couldn’t help but laugh inside at the fun she was having. None of this makes sense, but I don’t care, she thought. Lana decided to just enjoy the moment.

  It wasn’t long and Lana began to get lightheaded. The pain on either side of her neck began to throb again. She let go of the dolphin and realized that she no longer recognized where she was or how deep she was. It was such a rich dark shade of blue everywhere she looked. The dolphin kept nudging her, but her head was now aching and she couldn’t think straight. Am I looking upward to the surface or downward to the ocean floor? Lana was getting dizzy and she began kicking; only not knowing where she was going. Then everything was a blur and her head felt like it was going to explode. Her neck felt so strange with stabbing pain on either side. Then all she could remember was someone’s strong arms cradling her and she blacked out.

  ~~~~~

  Chapter 3

  THE MER

  Lana didn’t know if she were alive or dead? All she knew was that her head was pounding as well as her neck stinging. Everything was dark. She heard voices speaking softly. They were strange, it sounded like an older man and a younger man. Lana opened up her eyes and as she did, she saw what she believed was the rocky roof of a cave. She blinked several times to try and focus, yeah; it is some sort of cave. She was lying down on what she thought was a pile of seaweed. The floor was also rocky and she could make out a ring of stones nearby where hot coals were smoldering in the center. That must be what’s giving the cave some measure of light.

  Lana began to focus on the voices that she heard and looked around to see where they were coming from. Am I dreaming? This was all so strange and frightening. Across from her was a pool of water where an older man and a younger man seemed to be wading chest deep. She heard them speaking to each other, only their mouths weren’t moving. How can that be? They each had long white hair. Their bangs were pulled back into braids behind their ears. The rest of their hair hung loose and wet down their backs. They each wore a ring of shells around their heads like a crown. Their skin was pale. The older man had a long white beard and white hair upon his chest. He was a large man with a broad chest and muscular arms. The younger man had no facial or chest hair and was also muscular, but not quite the size of the older. How can I hear them speaking?

  Then Lana tried to focus even harder and she heard the older man say, “You cannot keep her here, she must return to her people.”

  “She has finally come to us, why must we send her away?” said the younger man.

  “You know why Prince Titus. Her father is the guardian and it will not go well for our people if he is displeased.”

  “Can she not stay a little while to find out who she is and what she is meant to be?” asked the younger.

  “She must leave as soon as she is able, we cannot take the chance. Besides, do you not think that I know your dolphin Tempest led her to us.” The older man smiled.

  “Yes, but only after she had come down below searching,” said the younger and then he looked towards Lana and said, “She wakes.”

  “Please do not be afraid of us. We wish you no harm,” smiled the older man once more as he spoke the words out loud for the first time.

  “Where am I? Who are you?” Lana asked cautiously.

  “You are in an underwater cavern. My name is King Titan and this is Prince Titus, it was he who saved you and brought you here after you had passed out.”

  “I passed out? Wow, thanks,” Lana said to the Prince.

  “You are quite welcome.” The Prince smiled.

  “You must go and get your sister Princess Tarra,” said the King to the reluctant Prince Titus and he let go of his stare he had on Lana and turned and jumped into the water. When he did, Lana was filled with fear as she saw his glistening tail follow behind him.

  “Please do not fear us, I know we must seem strange to you. We are called the Mer. We live below the surface of the water and have since time began. We are a peaceful people and will not harm you,” said King Titan very compassionately.

  “I’m sorry, I am scared. I’ve never seen anything like you before,” said Lana still a little unnerved.

  “You did once live among our people when your mother was alive, but you must have forgotten.” He smiled tenderly.

  “Are you serious? Did you really know my mother?” Lana asked still a bit shaken.

  “Yes, your mother was one of my many generations of granddaughters, and she was Princess Leona.”

  Now Lana knew he must have known her to know her name, “You did know her. You said that she was a Princess and your granddaughter?” Lana said almost in a whisper at the wonder of it.

  The Prince came back to the surface and he was joined by a young woman that could have been a sister to Lana, they looked so much alike. “Hello, my name is Princess Tarra, welcome to your home of old.” She smiled to Lana.

  “Hi, I feel like I’m dreaming a crazy dream,” said Lana half believing all that she was seeing.

  “It is not a dream, you have finally come home to your people, and I am so glad to see this day.” Smiled the Prince. Then the King gave a stern glance to the Prince and once more, the Prince reluctantly took his eyes off of Lana and dove into the water.

  “We will give you a time of rest, you have been through much and Princess Tarra will stay to give you comfort and food.” Then the King bowed his head slightly and also dove into the water.

  The young girl swam to the ledge and hopped up out of the water and sat there. She too had the glistening tail. Now Lana could see her better by the light. She had long white hair and a ring of large grey pearls around her head. For the first time, Lana saw that her ears were different. They were flat to her head and shaped much like a butterfly’s wing. She moved them occasionally as she listened. She smiled at Lana and said, “Do not be afraid Princess Lana, I know that you find me different, I will not harm you.”

  “Wait a minute, you just called me Princess,” Lana said all the more confused.

  “Yes, for that is what you are. All of the granddaughters of King Titan are Princesses, just as I am. We are cousins from a long and ancient line.”

  “Wow, this dream is getting even crazier. I must have really hit my head,” Lana said out loud to herself.

  “Princess Lana, I assure you, this is not a dream. You are lucky to be alive. If your gills had not finally opened, you might have died. You are also lucky that my brother Prince Titus, found you when he did,” she said seriously.

  “Okay, did you just say my gills? If this is real, then I must be part fish.” Lana put her fingers to the stinging sides of her neck just under her jaw line and felt the tiny open slits.

  “Not all merwalkers have gills, you are even more blessed.”

  “What’s a merwalker?” Lana asked, still in shock about the gills.

  “They are what you are, half mer and half human. You have the ability to wal
k on the land and to swim beneath the ocean. It is a rare thing.”

  “So, my mother really was a mermaid?” Lana asked in disbelief.

  “Yes, she was. King Titan only allowed the union of her and your father because he was a descendant of the merwalkers himself.”

  “You’re telling me that my dad not only married a mermaid, but he is somehow related to one as well?” Lana asked again in disbelief.

  “Yes, it is so,” said the Princess as she scooted to the ring of stones and began to build up the fire.

  “No wonder my dad never talked about any of this. No one would believe him,” laughed Lana.

  “It is because of him being the guardian that he does not speak of us,” said the Princess as she began to cook a fish she had placed at the end of a stick.

  “What do you mean, he is the guardian?”

  “I believe I have already said more than I should, you need to speak to your father,” said the Princess now in a more guarded tone.

  “Believe me, I’ve tried to talk to my dad about many things and he just doesn’t want to do it,” said Lana somewhat frustrated.

  “Perhaps he will speak to you now that he will know you have seen us.”

  “I don’t think he will; he’ll probably just think I’m crazy.”

  “He will not think you are crazy. He spoke to my brother himself only just last night after he called for us on his shell.”

  “You mean last night on the dock, that’s what I heard? I thought it was a fog horn. My dad was saying all kinds of things that didn’t make any sense. He said he didn’t care what he agreed and something about not caring about mating rituals,” said Lana not understanding any of it.

  Then the Princess Tarra giggled out loud and said, “I am sorry, I did not mean to laugh. Since you have said this to me, then I will tell you more. When you were born, your parents agreed with King Titan that when your time had come, you would be joined in union with my brother Prince Titus,” said Princess Tarra smiling at Lana.

  “Oh my gosh! You mean marry? What do you mean, when my time had come?” Lana asked horrified by the idea.

  “A mermaid is ready for a union when her hair turns completely white,” said Princess Tarra with a half grin as she looked at Lana’s hair.

  “Wow, no wonder my dad got so angry. No wonder he’s been even more distant from me lately. But how stupid is that, all he had to do was talk to me about it,” said Lana staring into the fire.

  “I hope you like your fish,” said the Princess as she handed the stick to Lana.

  “So why would your brother want to be married to a, what did you call it, a merwalker like me?” Lana asked as she bit into the hot fish.

  “It is true that my brother could have chosen from many of our maidens, but you are a Princess and a merwalker and that makes you all the more special,” said Princess Tarra encouragingly.

  “What do you mean that he could have chosen, wasn’t he practically a baby at the time like myself?” Lana asked curiously.

  “No, the mer do not age as humans do. My brother was thirty-nine winters the day that you were born and he agreed to the wish of King Titan and your parents,” said Princess Tarra not sure if she should have told Lana.

  “What! Why would he ever have waited for so long to choose someone, let alone marry them?” asked Lana in shock.

  “You see, the mermen do not usually join in union until they are fifty winters. My brother has waited six winters past his time for you to come of age.” The Princess smiled proudly.

  “Wow, that was nice, but I didn’t know anything about it,” said Lana as she picked out the bones of her fish.

  “We thought that you must not have, my brother only hoped that your father would keep to his agreement,” said Princess Tarra sadly.

  “I can’t imagine my dad ever agreeing to such a thing. After my mother drowned, he never allowed me to enter the water. I just went in the ocean for the first time yesterday.”

  “Your mother did not drown, and now I see what he has been doing,” said the Princess in a stern tone.

  “My mother didn’t drown? Then how did she die?” Lana was even more confused by what the Princess had said.

  “I am sorry Princess Lana, I can tell you no more, you must make your father tell you everything that happened the day your mother died and why he took you away from our people. I must go and speak to King Titan, I will return shortly,” said Princess Tarra as she leapt into the water and disappeared.

  It was dark in the cavern. There were stacks of driftwood along the cavern wall and from what Lana could see in the distance a rain barrel of some sort. Lana looked to the fire and wondered how the smoke was escaping into the cavern roof above. They must have the cavern vented somehow, she thought. Then Lana felt the presence of someone else in the cavern wading in the water.

  “Please do not be frightened, I did not wish to leave you alone. As to the smoke, your father helped to design this cavern. He drilled several holes into the roof leading to the top. As you know, the top is nearly covered by fog year round and no one notices the smoke. This is where you and he lived with your mother for a time,” said the Prince as he came near the ledge where Lana sat.

  “How did you know that I was thinking about the smoke?”

  “We mer have the gift of reading each other’s thoughts. Even your father has the gift,” said the Prince and then he gave a wide grin.

  Just at that moment, Lana had been thinking that he wasn’t that bad looking and she realized that he must have read her thoughts. “I’m not sure I like someone reading my thoughts,” said Lana a little creeped out by it.

  “I am sorry, I shall try not to do it, but it will be hard.” He smiled once more.

  “I’m sorry if my dad was rude to you last night and I’m sorry you’ve been waiting, I mean, your sister said that you’ve been waiting for me,” Lana said as the words spilled out of her mouth and she realized that she was rambling.

  “It is alright; Cole and I know each other well, and yes, I have waited for you for seventeen winters. I am sorry that you did not know about the matter,” he said again with that beautiful smile of his and Lana guessed that he must have read her thoughts again.

  “Okay, well this isn’t awkward.” Lana giggled.

  “I can leave if I make you feel uncomfortable,” he said seriously.

  “No, it just takes some getting used to. Tell me, where are we exactly?”

  “You call it Gull Island. The cavern is located far below the surface.”

  “Now I understand why no one is ever allowed to come here.”

  “Yes, your father guards our secret, but it is also a dangerous place for humans to go. Many have died here,” the Prince said somewhat sadly.

  “Yeah, I’ve heard that too. It’s still so amazing to me that your people have lived here without anyone ever knowing of you.”

  “The guardians have kept the oath and kept mine and your people safe, for you are part mer yourself.” He smiled slightly at her again.

  “Yeah, I keep forgetting that, although now it makes so much sense” Lana smiled.

  “I am sorry that you have not known about your people until now. It must have been hard for you being a merwalker and never being allowed to swim in the ocean,” Prince Titus said with such compassion.

  “Did you hear me talking with your sister or did you read our thoughts?” Lana asked with a giggle realizing that he must know all of it.

  “I could not help but read your and my sister’s thoughts” He grinned.

  “Can you read thoughts even when you’re under the water?”

  “Yes, even then. I know you find my speech strange as well as my appearance, but I am glad that I no longer frighten you,” he said with achuckle.

  “Yeah, you are a little different from the guys I know, but it’s cool. I kinda like it and no I’m not afraid anymore,” Lana said with a half grin.

  Just then, King Titan came up with Princess Tarra and he looked to Lana and said,
“I am sorry that you did not know of your people and that your father has kept you from us. He must have his reasons and I will not question his choice in this matter. We mer have always tried to live at peace with the guardians, for so much of our way of life depends on their ability to guard us. We do not wish to anger your father any further and no matter how much we wish to have you home once more, we cannot go against his wishes. I am sorry Princess Lana, but you must return to your home as soon as possible. If it is agreed by your father, then we welcome you to return and visit with your people.”

  “Can she not stay one night?” Prince Titus asked.

  “You know she cannot, but I will allow you to escort the Princess home as long as you do not speak with her father.” King Titan smiled to the Prince.