by Walleye
She swam over to the entrance to the creek but this time the children weren’t there and neither was the little black dog. She listened and for a moment she thought she could hear the little dog barking off in the village out of sight behind the trees. He sounded like he was having fun.
Well, she hadn’t really expected to see him again but it would’ve been nice. She sighed and started swimming up the river again. She had new places she wanted to see before she turned around and went back to her drab existence.
As she went further up the river she noticed that the taste of the water had changed. The salt flavor was dying away and when she looked around she saw that the rise and fall of the height of the river water along the banks which had mimicked that of the tides was becoming less and less noticeable the further up the river that she went. Maybe being above the reach of the tides had reduced the salt that the ocean had contributed?
She wondered if this lack of salt would affect her and kept checking herself to see if anything was happening to her. She noticed no change and when she fell asleep that night in the rushes she decided that if she felt fine when she awoke, she would go a ways further.
When she awoke she found that she felt fine. It seemed that a mermaid could exist in both freshwater and seawater. She decided that she would continue on with her adventure.
However the river traffic forced her to constantly have to hide and slowed her down. Also she found she was tired from constantly having to fight against the river current and she was glad to fall asleep that night.
The next morning she was awakened by the sounds of a flat-bottom boat being poled down the river. An old grey-haired man was gripping the rudder pole and as she watched from the rushes he shouted. “There. There’s one.”
She froze, ready to dive under, when she saw that he was pointing with a pole at something near the other bank she relaxed. They weren’t after her. As she watched a young man came to the other side of the boat and dipped an oar into the water where the older man was pointing.
When he lifted the oar out of the water she gasped as she saw what was on the end of it. It looked like a small, grey, winged dragon about two feet long.
She had never seen a live dragon before but the way the body fell off the end of the oar to smack with a wet thud into the bottom of the boat she knew she still hadn’t seen a live one yet.
The younger man looked up at the older. “Where do you think it’s from?”
“Probably been swept down from the mouth of the Shane which is ten miles up the river from here. Wrap it up to protect it. You mark my words some wizard will pay us good money for the carcass, a lot more than we’ll get from the corn and beans in these bags.” They drifted off down the river, carrying away any further conversation with them.
Maryellen thought about it. Ten miles to the mouth of the Shane River and a chance to see real magic. She’d check it out and then turn back. She began swimming again.
The countryside changed again as she swam. There were fewer isolated villages with their guardian castles to be seen and the two banks started to be covered with much larger trees stretching their branches out over the flowing waters of the river. For a while she enjoyed the sounds of the singing birds but the further she went the less sounds she heard from the birds. The boats became fewer and fewer until they stopped appearing altogether.
She sniffed the waters around her as mermaids used odors in the sea to tell them what was near them. This time she could actually detect a faint odor that made her nose tingle. It was sweet like the flowers she’d smelled on the land on her last trip here. To smell it in the air was one thing, but to smell it in the water was something else.
The further she swam up the river the more the trees began to change along the left–hand bank. Their branches were no longer bare but were covered with loops of grey moss and as evening came on she thought she could see small flickering lights moving between the limbs and amongst the strands of moss. Here and there brightly colored birds sat on the tree branches.
The trees on the right-hand bank didn’t have any moss or lights but they didn’t have any birds either. Apparently the birds liked being near the ghostly flickering lights on the left-hand side of the river.
She noticed that on the left-hand bank that lights had also begun twinkling amongst the roots of the trees but these lights were sickly yellow and a white mist was beginning to creep around the trunks of the trees on both banks.
Once when she heard a warbling sound deep in the mists on the right hand bank the lights all winked out. She paused there in the river and when the sound didn’t repeat itself the lights winked back on and resumed their complicated dances again. She still couldn’t see what the lights were and had no desire to get too close and so she resumed her journey.
As she swam along the flowery odor in the river water grew stronger and at the same time the number of lights in the trees on the left-hand bank increased. There were now also larger pink lights which flitted amongst the clouds of smaller lights and she could now hear sounds like tiny silver bells tinkling which seemed to be asking and answering questions only they could hear.
As she swam around a bend in the river she saw that the river had split in two. The water coming from the left-hand branch seemed to be as clear as crystal and to glow softly with a pale light. The right-hand branch of the river was dark like the water she’d been swimming in all day.
Somehow the dark waters looked forbidding to her even if they appeared normal. And now she had a choice as to which way she could go if she wanted to continue. She sniffed the water coming from the left. The sweet scent was much stronger here. It seemed she could go to the left towards magic or to the right towards that which was normal.
There was something about the clear water with its scent of flowers that called to her. She had to fight the urge to swim up this river the farmers had called the Shane.
It was like a seductive voice whispering softly in her mind. ‘Come and join with me.’ It whispered. ‘Come and find the true love and the romance that you have always been seeking.’
Maryellen found the urge to do as the magic water requested was growing stronger but a part of her hung back as she realized that if she did as the whispering voice urged her to do then she would have to give herself over to the magic and do what it wanted her to do.
She found the ideas of romance and finding love to be very appealing. Being the third in line for her Father’s throne she had had no offers for her hand in marriage as it was highly unlikely that she would ever inherit the throne.
She had watched her two older sisters being actively courted by mermen princes from the surrounding sea kingdoms and she had envied the fact that the two of them had so many desirable suitors that they had been able to choose the mermen to marry whom they loved and who loved them in turn.
But this pickiness by her two sisters had warned off the few suitors that might have been interested in her and they had all vanished. This had left her and her two younger sisters with no one to court them.
She knew that her youngest sister whom everyone called the Little Mermaid and who was quite a rebel wasn’t going to resign herself to living single forever. She’d do something crazy. Maybe she’d even want to court a human prince.
Maryellen shook her head. She understood the temptation of this forbidden love but she wasn’t about to succumb to it. With a sigh she was about to turn around and swim back down the river when there was an excited tinkling sound from amongst the tree branches on the left-hand bank of the river which drew her attention there.
As she watched one of the pink twinkling lights left a branch hanging over the magic-filled Shane River, flew gently towards her and then it dropped down until it floated about six inches from her nose. She gasped as she saw it was a tiny two-inch tall woman with rapidly flapping transparent wings attached to her back.
She had silver hair which fell down below her shoulders and she wore a silver gown with faintly twinkling lights. The gown we
nt from her bare shoulders down to just below her waist leaving her legs mostly uncovered. Her feet were encased in silvery sparkling slippers.
“Greetings.” The little woman said as she made a curtsey. “My name is Thistledown. What’s yours?”
“I’m Maryellen.” The girl replied. “It’s nice to meet you. Are you a fairy?”
The little woman nodded. “Yes, I am. Are you on a quest? Is that why you’re swimming in the river?”
Maryellen frowned and then decided that was as good a description as any. She was on a quest to see the world. “Yes. I guess you could say I am.”
Thistledown crossed her legs and sat there in midair while her wings buzzed with the effort to keep her aloft. “You’re not what I expected.” She declared in a musical voice and there was an element of surprise underlying her words.
Thistledown knew that finding the heroine of this tale swimming right near the mouth of the magic river was unusual to say the least. Usually you found the heroines of the fairytales sitting in ashes, living with dwarves, walking through the woods trying to avoid the big bad wolf and other mundane things like that.
“Who did you expect?” The girl asked in puzzlement.
“That doesn’t seem to matter lately.” The fairy replied. And that was certainly true when you considered that the heroes and heroines of most fairytales came from all walks of life from serving girls like Cinderella, puppets like Pinocchio, pixies like Thumbelina, and princesses like Snow White.
Thistledown and all the other fairies involved in making sure their fairytale reached a happy conclusion had been horrified when they had learned that the heroine of their tale who was supposed to lift the curse on the Beast had vanished and thanks to Sidhe magic they had no idea who the heroine was and where she had gone. Their Superintendent Lark had sent them all out looking for the heroine and now it looked like Thistledown had gotten lucky.
But she still had to verify this was the heroine as she didn’t want to get in trouble. The fairy leaned forward. “I have to ask some questions before we go any further.”
“Why?” Maryellen asked with a frown. Something just wasn’t right here. Why was the little fairy so curious about her?
“My supervisor requires it. Please. It’ll only take a few minutes.” The fairy seemed to be really apologetic and concerned.
Maryellen was finding this all very interesting. She’d certainly have a story to tell all of her sisters when she got back. What harm would it do? She didn’t have to answer, did she? “Go ahead.”
“Thank you.” The fairy consulted a small white pad and looked up. “First thing I have to ask is do you have two older sisters?” She leaned forward as if this answer was very important.
“Why yes I do and I have two younger ones too.” Maryellen replied surprised at this question which was not one that she had expected.
The fairy waved a hand in dismissal of the two younger sisters. “With all the hundreds of variations of this tale going around that’s not important here. The two older sisters are what’s important as that is always the same.” Thistledown knew at last count there were over three hundred versions of Beauty and The Beast, one of the most beloved fairytales, and that there were always two shrewish older sisters.
She leaned forward eagerly and asked. “Are your mother and father still alive?”
Maryellen frowned. “My Mother unfortunately passed away years ago but my father is doing quite well. Why are you asking me all these questions?”
The fairy declared. “I had to make sure you fit the tale which requires two older sisters and a widowed father and you certainly do fit. Now one last question to make sure you are the one I’m looking for.”
She looked at Maryellen intently. “Do you use magic yourself?
Maryellen frowned. “I am afraid that I don’t. My Father does use magic but that is inherited with the throne and so I don’t use magic and probably never will as with two older sisters it is likely that I will ever inherit his throne.”
The fairy grinned. “Even better. If you used magic, you would not fit. Now I have to ask what do you sense coming from the clear river water of the Shane?”
Maryellen frowned at the strange question. “The water smells like it has the odor of flowers in it and it makes my skin tingle.”
The fairy clapped her hands excitedly. “You are indeed the one, the heroine for this tale because you are responding to the magic inherent in this fairytale. You may enter the magic river and swim to your destiny.” As she said this she pointed her finger up the river with its clear and flower-scented water.
Maryellen frowned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about and I’m not sure I should swim in that river. There’s supposed to be a lot of very powerful magic up there.”
The fairy gave her a knowing grin. “Of course there is a lot of powerful magic in the river, you silly girl. It’s all part of this fairytale.”
“And if I do enter the river, then will I become part of this fairytale?” The stubborn girl asked her.
“Of course you will.” The fairy declared.
“Thank you, but I must decline.” Maryellen replied. The last thing that she needed was to get involved in some magical tale.
She started to turn away but the fairy frowned and waved her wand once. The wand tip pulsed and a glowing charge shot from the tip and struck the mermaid on the head.
Maryellen’s whole body tingled even stronger and when she tried to swim she found she couldn’t move either up or down the river she had just swum up.
“Silly girl, declining to be part of this fairytale is not an option.” The fairy told her as she shook a finger at her.
Maryellen tried harder to swim away back down the river she had just come up but she found herself swinging around and swimming towards the clear magic waters of the Shane River. No matter how hard she tried to turn around the only direction she could go was up and into the Shane River and her arms were stroking fast through the water and were not under her control.
She felt the magic force of the clear water within the river take over her body and she felt like she’d just been immersed in warm sensuous water that made her feel wonderful and she no longer fought to go back to the normal river water.
The fairy watched her swimming away and waved at her retreating form. “Good bye. Have fun with your fairytale.”
She smiled as she floated back up into the tree she’d come from. The supervisor fairy was going to be so proud of her.
About an hour later another fairy light approached the first, but this one was a bright red light. The red glow surrounded another silver-haired fairy but this one was six inches tall instead of two inches, she wore a golden gown instead of a silver one and she carried a small white scepter.
The fairy in the pink light quickly bowed to her superior. Thistledown was anxious to tell Superintendent Lark that she had solved the disappearance of the unknown heroine who was supposed to save the prince who had been cursed to be a beast in this fairytale.
Her superior nodded for her to rise. Before Thistledown could speak to tell her the good news her supervisor spoke. “I’m sorry you were sent out here, Thistledown, on a wild goose chase. The good news is that we found the correct heroine with her father and her two older sisters in a hidden valley in the Blue Mountains.”
“It seems that some magic forced the poor Fontaine family into the wrong fairytale, the one that people call Rumpelstiltskin. The real heroine’s name of this tale is Belle and she’ll be leaving soon from the castle two kingdoms over to initiate the telling of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale and to get her own happy ever after ending.”
Thistledown swallowed hard on hearing this. Could she have been wrong? Could she have sent the wrong girl? Had she literally sent her up the river? The last thing she wanted to do was to tell Superintendent Lark that she had messed up as this was her first big assignment. If she failed at this it was back to nursery rhymes for her.
“Please, try and get some res
t.” Superintendent Lark told her. “It’s been a long day for all of us.” With that she flew off, vanishing amongst the lights dancing between the tree branches.
‘Oh dear.’ Thistledown thought as she stared up the glowing river of magic where she had compelled the unknown girl to go. Maybe she should just let things play out as they would and hope it didn’t come back to haunt her.
She shook her head in disgust and discarded that idea as that wouldn‘t help the poor woman she had just sent into danger. That poor girl had no idea of what trouble she could be getting into as Sidhe magic was involved in this fairytale and it was quite dangerous.
But aside from the magic and animosity of the Sidhe there was the fact that all the fairytales had tests or challenges for their heroes or heroines to solve on their journeys. Some of these tests besides being very difficult to pass could get you killed. Thistledown realized that she didn’t want the girl being harmed on her fairy conscience.
“I have to do something.” She declared and she began flying up the river over the clear waters with their magical glow. Even though the girl had a head start of about an hour she was swimming against the current which would slow her down. Maybe she could catch up with her and remove the spell.
Unfortunately for Thistledown she didn’t realize that she had sent a mermaid off to be the heroine of this tale and mermaids can swim very fast.
Testing
After the first initial surge of frantic high speed swimming induced by the fairy’s magic Maryellen found that she could finally slow down. She tried to turn around and swim back down the river but every time she tried that she just ended up swimming in the other direction back up the glowing river.
Since she could feel the current of the river as it sped by her she stopped swimming and floated there, expecting the river current to carry her back. It did not. She just hung suspended in the river as the waters sped past her.