by Ruhi Jain
“Stop shaking me,” she moaned, shifting to her side. Lukas’s worried face slowly seeped into her vision. She realised with elation that she was still in the sick ward.
“Susan.” He sighed, running his hand slowly through his hair in relief, and letting out a deep breath.
“Why are you calling me …?” she turned her head and saw Lola. “Oh.”
Luka’s eyes were strained. “Dilan told me that he found an injured mermaid.”
She tried to forget Zeldae’s haunting voice as she formed words to say. “Yes,” was all she could manage.
“Would you mind leaving us alone?” He half turned his face to Lola, who was already edging towards the door. She fled, banging the door shut behind her.
“She’s intimidated by me,” Lukas said, the moment Lola had left. “No idea why.”
She turned properly so she could face him. “I need to tell you something …” the quivering mermaid was not there in the other bed. “Is there anybody else in this room?” she panted, recovering from her nightmare.
“No.” He leaned closer to her. “What is it?”
“Figgie suspects a human was there in the Garden of Faith last night,” she said flatly. “She got a call from someone called Gerta. She found a strand of my hair.”
Lukas leaned away, his face ashen. “Gerta is the person who cleans the Garden of Faith. How do you know this?”
“I overheard her talking.” She searched his face. “We are in trouble, aren’t we?”
“If Figgie doesn’t find out it’s you until CreDay, we’re safe. I can’t believe that Gerta suspected a simple strand of hair that wasn’t supposed to be there. I know merpeople are more alert because of CreDay, but still.”
“I was expecting a huge outcry after what happened in the garden. But there have been no checks, no alarms...nothing.” She looked at him expectantly.
A tiny smile played at his lips for a fleeting second. “Dave and Ralf were too embarrassed about having let the ‘trespassers’ escape. They haven’t mentioned a word of it to anybody and claim they got the bruises in a brawl between themselves in the garden. Nothing was stolen or lost from the garden. They realised that if they admit to having failed in their job, they’ll most probably be executed by Zeldae.”
She couldn’t believe her luck. “So…we’re safe?”
“Yes, for now. I wish I hadn’t taken you to the garden- none of this mess would have happened then.”
“Dilan didn’t send you, did he?”
“No. Callum did.”
“How did the message reach you so fast? I asked Callum to call you like, fifteen minutes ago.”
“You were asleep,” he said gently, holding her cold hand in his warm ones. “It’s been three hours since you contacted him. When I came here, you were thrashing and screaming. Lola was trying to wake you up but you were asleep and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t wake you up.” He looked away for a few minutes, suddenly becoming tense. “It was all very frightening for a few moments. You became quiet very suddenly; I thought you were finally going to wake up. Then your face contorted, your body convulsed and you began whimpering. God, you just wouldn’t wake up. It was as if someone was keeping you asleep. When I was just about to give up, you opened your eyes.”
She sighed. “I was having a nightmare. About… Zeldae. It felt so real, that I… actually thought she was there in front of me, trying to kill me.”
“That will never happen.” He lightly touched her forehead. “How …?”
“I fainted while doing work, split my head and it’s been throbbing ever since.” She brushed his hand away. “Don’t. It hurts. Lola gave me a sedative but it hasn’t worked on me.”
He frowned. “The sedative also contains an anaesthetic. That’s why you’re still in pain. Do you mind?” He pointed to the cut in her arm. Unravelling the cloth around it with unexpectedly skilful and gentle fingers, he exposed the cut, which still looked raw and swollen.
“It hasn’t healed it, yet, but it’s supposed to.” Lukas examined it slowly, stretching the skin at places and probing it gently at others. Finally, he wrapped it back up with a clean cloth from Lola’s medical kit. His face was unnaturally pale.
“What is it?” she somehow already knew the answer before the words came out of his mouth.
“The reason,” he said quietly, “Why your Dreign hasn’t healed this wound yet is because it was caused by a poisoned arrow.”
That was unexpected.
“And I’m guessing that’s why you fainted too. The poison has affected your immune system.” The frown on his face deepened. “I didn’t know they still use these arrows. They work very slowly, only showing symptoms after half a day or so. In active combat it is of no use at all, so these arrows were discontinued. Now we use arrows with paralysis serum on the tip, so the enemy can’t move at all once hit. When you got cut, I thought you were going to be paralysed, but since you weren’t, I just pushed it off as you being human.”
“The arrow that cut me, the poisoned one, are there any long-term effects other than fainting?”
“No, not for you, since you are human. But you will feel weak for a long time. Maybe a month.”
“But CreDay is in two weeks!” she exclaimed.
“That is what I’m worried about.”
They were silent for a minute. His hands were back over hers. “Callum said that after I free Timmy, you’ll be waiting at the bottom of the stage for me.”
“Yes, I will be. You will have to come down quickly, though. I won’t be able to hold the guards off forever.”
She closed her eyes. “He also said that you will take me to Lily’s home and from there I’ll go home through the portal.” He nodded. “The thing is, Lukas,” she said carefully, opening her eyes and looking at him in the eye.
“Yes?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Not sure about what?”
“All my life, I’ve been treated like an outsider. I’ve always felt like I didn’t fit in, not that it matters. When I came here, I felt… I guess I felt like I had a purpose. I know that the main purpose was to save Timmy, but I felt one with everyone else. I finally have friends I look forward to meeting. And Lukas, you don’t know how wonderful it feels to… I’m not sure if going on land is the best thing for me. I want Timmy up there, but do I have to be on land too?” She looked at him helplessly. “I’m not making a shred of sense, am I?”
He shook his head. She sighed. “If Zeldae didn’t exist and I didn’t have to work in the castle, I actually might enjoy being in the sea. But at the same time, I want to be on land. I want to feel mud below my feet and wind against my arms… if I had a family on land I would want to be on land. Do you understand what I am trying to say?” she said finally, her voice rising a bit.
He took her palm and rubbed circular motions on it with his thumb. If it was meant to soothe her, it worked. “I understand. You want someone to want you.” His eyes burned with heat. “You want family, friends, company, understanding… love. Wherever that is, be it land or sea, you want to be there.”
“You just read my mind,” she murmured, wondering how on earth he understood exactly what she wanted.
“But you can’t stay here Brell.” His voice lowered. “It’s dangerous here in Gelled. You don’t know how precariously close you are to death. When you go through that portal onto land, I will be so relieved.”
“You don’t mean that,” she whispered, torn.
“I do,” he said. “I want you to be safe. It’s the only thing that matters to me. The only way that’s possible is if you go back on land.”
“The prophecy said that I will be in Gelled to kill Zeldae. So why ever leave? It could be wrong about that part.”
“God of the Seas!” he dropped her palm and she immediately missed the warm feel of his hand. “You are so stubborn!”
She kept quiet and so did he. The silence dragged on till she couldn’t bear it anymore.
“Help me u
p?” she asked, struggling to get in a sitting position.
“Sure.” He wrapped his strong arms around her shoulder and waist and eased her up. Suddenly, he looked over her shoulder and his eyes widened.
“Don’t move.” He whispered into her ear.
She froze. “What is it?”
He inched away from her, his hand going towards the pillow on the opposite bed. “I’m not going to tell you because it will freak you out. I’ll kill it with the pillow.”
Hell. What scary sea creature was on her now?
“It’s on your shoulder. Don’t move!” he hissed when she tried to turn her head. The curtain of her hair prevented her from seeing her shoulder. A chill ran down her spine.
His hand curled around the pillow. She stared at him in mute terror. His eyes met hers and he burst out laughing. “You should see your face!” he guffawed.
It took her a minute to realise what was happening. “Lukas Tract!” she said, trying to be stern but failing miserably because she couldn’t stop smiling. She grabbed her pillow and flung it at him. He ducked in time and the pillow sailed towards the wall, knocking off a small lamp with a muffled thud.
“Oops!” she giggled.
“We’re going to be in trouble!” he laughed. “And it will be your fault.”
Their laughter quietened down to silence. She gazed at his dark black eyes that looked like water and fire together, like strength and softness at the same time. It felt nice. “You have nice eyes.”
“Same as any other merperson in the sea.”
“On land there are all sorts of eye colours; blue, green, brown, light brown, straw, even black.”
“Which one is your favourite?”
“I’m not sure yet,” she said thoughtfully. “I feel darker eyes are deeper and richer. They seem to hold more mystery.”
“What was your eye colour before you became a mermaid? Callum told me the whole story.”
She picked up the mirror lying next to her bed and scrutinised her pitch black eyes. “My eyes were really dark brown. So dark, you would think they looked black unless you came really close.”
“Like dark chocolate?”
“Yeah. Like dark chocolate.” She nodded. “That’s the perfect way of describing it.”
He smiled, picked up the fallen lamp and restored it to its former glory. While he dealt with the fallen pillow, she watched him carefully.
Just then Lola entered, looking around sheepishly, her wispy thin hair finally looking neat.
“I’m really s-sorry Mr. Tract,” she stuttered, looking completely lost. “But King J-Jade wishes to meet you.”
Lukas nodded and turned towards Brell. The laugher had stopped and his face was serious again, but his eyes still twinkled a little.
“Get well soon, Susan.” He gave her hand a small squeeze.
Brell made a face at him as he left.
“I want to get out of here,” she told Lola.
Lola gave her a stern look. “No, not yet.”
*
When Lola finally let her go the next day, Callum and Valery had reached the Castle. She was assigned to wait on Valery as she decided the menu for CreDay.
But before that, her chore was to air the plants outside the castle. There must have been quite a few plants because she was paired up with Meghna.
Her heart fluttered nervously when Dave opened the back door, but he didn’t recognize her. She made sure to keep her injured arm away from his sight. The scar on his face looked threatening as it shone in the light of the sea. Bruises ran all the way from his throat to the side of his head.
“Thanks,” she mumbled and slipped past him.
The sides of the castle were covered with ivy creepers that ran from the base till the top. Well-groomed, flowering plants adorning the base of the wall glistened so much that they looked fake. As she aired them, she thought about the plan. Her heart beat picked up as she thought about how it would be like to stand before Zeldae; to see those black eyes bore down at her. For a second, her thoughts drifted to Timmy hung on ropes and the fear in her heart melted away, replaced by burning hatred. The shift in feelings was so sudden that she herself felt surprised by the rage that burned inside her now. What was happening to her emotions? They shifted and swung from one vine to the other like a crazy monkey.
Valery’s golden locks were in a feather braid and she was wearing a sheer, golden, v-neck shirt that emphasized her bosom in a rather inappropriate manner.
“Why on earth is my wardrobe not here?” she was yelling at a black shirt as Brell entered. “When I say that I want my wardrobe, I want it!”
“S-sorry ma’am.” The black shirt looked close to tears and Brell felt a twinge of sympathy for her. “The designers will have it here by tomorrow.”
She felt exhausted. Her Dreign wasn’t working or something was wrong with it because she knew she wasn’t healing. Her bones felt like lead and she felt like she might have to drag herself around the castle to do work.
“Whatever. Now scurry off.” Valery waved her hands dismissively, her impatience suddenly gone. Turning towards Brell, her eyes twinkled a bit and she smiled, revealing two rows of perfect, white teeth. “You’re here!” she purred and Brell felt the shock on her face; Valery had addressed her directly. That had never happened before.
Somebody brushed past her and she realised the smile and the sweet voice wasn’t for her, but for Callum.
“Yeah, well. I needed to get away from the tasting,” he said, and pecked her lightly on the cheek. “You are going to love the options.” He rubbed his stomach as he remarked, “So many delicacies!”
Valery pouted, and it looked so fake that Brell felt like throwing up. “Why do they have to send us separately? I want to go with you.” She sounded like a child whining for chocolate.
“It’s tradition, Valery. If we go together, there will be no separate area during the meal time for you and me. Now you don’t want that, do you?”
“I wish we were together,” Valery sighed, running her hand down his shirt. “Anyway, bye.” She pecked him back on the check and swam out, with Brell following her. As she left, she caught Callum staring at her. There was something about his eyes that made her sense that he was angry.
“What did you mean by a separate area?”
“On CreDay the food that is served to the royal guests are according to the tastes of the Royal Family members. For me it is the starters, for Valery it is desserts.”
Before she could say anything, he cut the connection and she sighed. He had sounded agitated about something. Must he always be like this?
She followed Valery to an enormous room in the east side of the castle. There were so many rooms in the castle that she honestly had lost track of them. She didn’t worry about remembering them anyway, since she would soon be out of this place. Or maybe not.
The large room she entered was designed to please the eye. Huge sheer peach drapes covered the windows, allowing just the right amount of light to filter in, imparting a soft look about the room. Right at the centre of the room, on a raised pedestal was a huge white seat that was decorated with rhinestones. A conveyor belt that wound around and around the room raised its level as it came nearer to the chair. There, it split into two parts, both going to different doors. The belt itself began from another door on the opposite side of the room. It was made from huge, highly polished seashells till they looked like marble and was cut into rectangular pieces. It was laden with fine china plates. Each plate held a different dessert.
Brell couldn’t control her mouth from watering when she saw all of them. Her pupils widened unconsciously.
A fit, muscular merman in a crisp black shirt was standing next to the door. The moment he saw Valery, he bowed perfectly and smiled, “Your Highness.”
“I’m so excited,” Valery fluttered, smoothing the back of her hair. “Let’s begin, shall we?”
The merman bowed again. “My name is Matthew and I am the catering manager for CreDay. Pl
ease, come with me.” He led Valery to the chair. “Please have a seat. The dishes will come up to you one by one. If you don’t like certain ones do tell me and they shall be thrown away. The ones that please you will go on for mass production.”
“This dish,” he pointed to the first one in front of Valery, “Is a creamy arame sponge cake lined with melted caramel and soaked in sea honey.”
Brell’s tiredness was gone in an instant. Valery made a face. “So many carbs! And calories! But, I do like desserts, and I don’t think a few bites will do any particular harm.” She picked up the glistening silver spoon next to it and sunk the curved edge into the black and golden piece of cake, scooping it delicately into her mouth. Brell forced herself to look away lest she attack the cake.
“Yum… It’s delicious! I approve it.” Valery licked her lips clean. The sounds she emitted just increased Brell’s desire to grab the cake and run away.
“Wait till you see the others, Your Majesty.” The arame sponge cake moved towards the right conveyor belt. Brell’s stomach churned at the thought of some unknown dessert being thrown away.
The next dessert came sliding up the conveyor belt. “Rich panna cotta served with chilled and chopped red sea berries.”
This time she couldn’t peel her eyes away from the plate as Valery dipped the spoon into the creamy panna cotta. Oh, what torture! She watched as dish after mouth-watering dish was tasted by Valery.
Brell’s mouth was way beyond watering… it was a river of saliva now. She was sure she could fill up a whole water bottle with it. Her eyes settled on the briscuits and cream that was coming up next.
“Hello? Are you deaf?”
Brell looked up, startled. Valery was frowning at her with dark, irritated eyes. “I said, get me my pink notebook.”
She hated this part of being ordered around, but dipped her head deferentially. Tracing back the path through which she had come, she reached Valery’s empty room. A sparkling pink notebook studded with crystals was lying on her bed. She picked up the book and suddenly, she heard a noise. A noise that sounded close. Slowly swimming out of the room, she heard the noise again. It sounded like someone arguing.