by Walleye
“An unexpected message arrived right after you left and it comes from the Magic Council.” Elrith said and her expression turned dark. “They ordered me. ‘Leave the mermaid to finish the fairytale. Your part is done.’ It was signed by Lilith.”
She smiled nastily. “I will heed their order as far as this tale is concerned, but it does not apply to any other fairytale. Now with this in mind I have examined many of the fairytales and there are several which would be fun to interfere with. The Council has no idea of what they have now unleashed.”
She grinned savagely. Morgin and Druga grinned back. The Sidhe put their heads together and gleefully discussed who else’s life they could mess with besides the mermaid’s. That cinders girl came to mind as did the one white as snow.
But as they did so Morgin noted silently that her Princess had not forbidden her from continuing her own interference in this tale. In her own subtle way she was encouraging it. She would be happy to continue her interference as it was now personal between her and the mermaid.
Back at the magic river Maryellen was beside herself with rage and despair. Her beloved friend the Beast had been taken from her. No. He was more than just a friend. He was the one she loved, but now he was lost to her thanks to the evil Sidhe. There was no way he would be coming back to see her again.
If there was just some way to do it, then she would have to go to him. But how? The Sidhe had tried to put a spell on her and now she feared that she couldn’t leave the river without triggering the magic.
She looked around anxiously. Where was the fairy Thistledown? She needed her help. She had no magic of her own.
But the day passed with no sign of the fairy she had come to think of as her friend. The mermaid waited until it was completely dark and strange creatures were calling in the blackness before giving up.
While she’d been waiting with fading hope, Belle’s Father, Thomas Fontaine, had arrived at the castle seeking shelter for the night after traveling from the port where his second lost ship had arrived safely.
He was not someone that you would notice more than once. He was a rotund little man with blond hair that was just starting to turn white. He was riding a horse and leading four mules loaded with goods from another of his ships that had just arrived in the last week at the port. It was amazing that this additional ship had made it in when storms had sunk all but one of his other ships with all their merchandise aboard.
He’d bought gifts for all of his daughters except the youngest one, Belle. She had asked for only a rose again and he was just realizing that he had not gotten one for her. He wondered as he was admitted to the castle for the night and got a glimpse of the flower gardens if maybe the Prince would have one that he could spare? After all he had so many in his garden that surely he wouldn’t miss one.
By the next morning Maryellen the mermaid was starting to feel pretty desperate. She had hoped she’d been wrong but John hadn’t been back and he never missed his morning swim. She kept leaping up trying to spot him, but by noon she was slumping in despair with her head and arms on a rock near the river bank. The spell had him in its grip and if she left the river water then the one the Sidhe had put on her would have her too.
It was there that Thistledown the fairy finally found her. She flew up and by the gloomy look on the mermaid’s face she knew that something was very, very wrong.
“Maryellen?” She asked. “What happened here?”
“Oh, Thistledown.” The mermaid looked up with tears streaming down her cheeks. “It was horrible. The Sidhe witch who had originally cursed John came here and put a new curse on him to make him forget me and not come back.”
She looked forlornly in the direction of the castle and told her friend. “She tried to put one on me too. I got back in the river before they could change me but John is totally under their spell to not return here.”
“Darn. I was warned something like this might happen.” Thistledown fluttered down onto the palm of the mermaid’s held out hand. She looked at the sad mermaid. “Maybe there’s something I can do. Maybe I can negate the spell since it hasn’t completely activated yet.”
Thistledown reached out with her magic wand and touched the mermaid on her head, but instead of the usual magical aurora she felt a change and it was not one for the better.
She looked at the mermaid with concern. “I’m sorry but I’m afraid they did put a really bad magic spell on you and it’s going to activate as soon as you leave the water.”
Maryellen sighed. “I was afraid of that. Is there anything you can do?”
Thistledown considered this for a moment. She took her wand and began drawing diagrams on the palm she was standing on. A red dot traced itself around the diagram following the moving wand and leaving a luminous trail behind it. This was not good. This was a very high class spell that had been laid on her friend. It was one that she suspected Toby, the wizard from the Magic Council, would have a hard time handling if he tried to negate it. However Toby had given her a spell that would alleviate some of this cruel spell that the sorceress had put on the mermaid.
The fairy sighed. “I’m not going to hide anything from you. This is a very bad spell that they put on you. There may be a way that this can be modified but from what I’m seeing here it’s still going to take great courage on your part to accept what this spell will require you to do.”
She dropped her wand to her side and told her. “If you want to continue on in this fairytale, then you’re going to have to accept the changes this spell will make in your body. Your other choice is to stay right here in the pool until this fairytale concludes.”
Maryellen immediately protested. “I’m not going to do that if I can help him. I’m going to accept this spell and whatever modifications you can make to it.”
Thistledown sighed. “Be really sure that you want to do this as this spell is very sadistic and has a lot of pain associated with it. It has a lot of elements of pain in it from your sister’s fairytale.”
“I don’t care what it requires. I’ll do what it takes to help him.” Maryellen swore
“The first thing I have to ask is this. Do you love Johnathan, the one who is called the Beast in this fairytale? For if you do, then this will be easier for you to bear as love heals most wounds.” Thistledown waited for the answer.
Maryellen realized that was what her feelings had become. She was in love. “I’ve been asking myself the same question over and over and now I know the answer. Yes, I love him. I want to be with him and to help him.”
Thistledown sighed. “And now this is where it gets harder. The spell that they put on you will make you human so that you can journey to the castle and try to get him to fall in love with you and to marry you, but this spell has several terrible prices that must be paid.”
“In the first price you must pay, the spell removes all your vocalization apparatus including your tongue; you will not be able to speak or sing.”
The mermaid put her hand to her throat and asked. “I have to give up my voice? How will I communicate with him?”
The fairy sighed. “Unfortunately it is part of the price to become human in this spell. Even with good magic there is always a price to be paid. As for communicating with him you’ll have to use your brains to find a way to do it.”
Maryellen thought a minute and then she picked up the slate and chalk and held them out. “I’ll use this to write messages unless it’s forbidden by the spell.”
The fairy consulted something unseen with her wand before looking up. “It’s not allowed in this version of the spell as the originator wants you to fail but I can change it so that you can use the slate. I can also make it so you can keep your tongue as that will allow you to drink and eat better.”
“However, I must warn you that you still will not be allowed to tell anyone certain things about your curse, especially how to break it and unfortunately this is just the beginning.”
The mermaid sighed with painful acceptance. “What’s th
e rest?”
The fairy smiled sadly at her. “Brace yourself. In the second price you will have legs instead of your beautiful green tail but every step that you will take with these legs will cause you severe pain. In the original spell the pain would be like a burning torch shoved up each leg with every step that you took.”
“Please tell me you can neutralize that.” The mermaid pleaded with her as such pain sounded terrible.
The fairy shook her head. “I’m sorry. I can reduce it, but I can’t take it away entirely. As the spell was formed originally the pain was supposed to drive you mad so that you couldn’t make rational decisions. I will be able to reduce it to bearable levels such as those experienced by your youngest sister but it’s still going to hurt a lot. In order to save the man whom you love are you willing to bear this much pain?”
The mermaid didn’t even have to think about this. She nodded her head and said quite firmly. “Yes.”
“Very good.” The fairy said. ”And now for the final condition and the third price of the spell. If Prince Johnathan marries someone else or passes the time limit in which he must transform and becomes the beast permanently, then you’ll turn into an air spirit and evaporate. Essentially what this means is you will die.”
The mermaid grimaced. “I think that if I had to live without him I’d prefer this sad ending.” She looked desperately at the fairy. “Please, tell me there is a way for me to somehow save John.”
“There is a way.” The fairy told her. “In order to win you must make the Beast fall in love with you and marry you. If you do that, then you will become human and be with him and he’ll remember you.”
“There’s another problem.” Maryellen pointed out. “If I let you do the changes to this spell, will you be able to protect me against the dark magic on land so I can reach the castle after I leave the protection of the river?”
The fairy hastened to reassure her. “I will be able to provide some magic protection, but I also have a gift for you from the wizard Toby from the Magic Council that will help you defend yourself and complete the quest.”
She gestured and a sword in a scabbard appeared floating just in front of the mermaid. “This sword is a gift from the Magic Council. It is a sword of white magic. Its name is Draiocht which means Magic Destroyer. It will destroy any evil creature’s magic on contact.”
“But I have to ask this. Do you know how to use a sword?” As she said this she placed the sword on the bank.
“I do.” Maryellen confirmed. “My Father wanted all of us to be able to fight under water. But using a sword under water is quite different from using it in air.”
“Our sword master instructor told us that under water we have to use a two-handed grip while on land they can also use a one-handed grip. I guess I’ll have to learn quickly if I’m going to survive.” Maryellen told her.
“Well I do have some good news.” Thistledown told her friend. “Actually Toby the wizard said there is a spell on this sword that will have it do the fighting for you. In fact it will try and take control. I’m not sure this will make you good enough to fight an expert swordsman but it should work against most magical creatures.”
Maryellen stared at the glowing sword. “I hope that will be enough. Is there anything more that you can do?”
The fairy shook her head sadly. “I’m sorry, but that’s it.”
Maryellen sighed. “I hope that it is enough.” She looked at the nearby river bank. “I guess I need to get out of the magic river for your magic to work and change this spell.”
“Yes.” Thistledown warned her. “But be prepared for pain as this is going to hurt a lot during the changes as you’re going from half fish to totally human. Some of the changes are going to be pretty rough.”
Maryellen just nodded. She loved John and would do anything she could to save him.
Thistledown lifted her wand. “If you’re ready, get out of the river.”
Maryellen leaped out of the water and landed on the grass. She looked right at the fairy and grimaced in pain as her body began to glow. “The Sidhe spell is starting and it really hurts.” She gasped out.
Thistledown lifted her wand and said the words that released the spell that Toby had installed inside it. A stream of blue sparks streaked from the wand and settled in a ring around Maryellen’s throat.
Maryellen’s throat began to glow and she gasped out as power poured through her neck and the Sidhe spell clashed with the wizard’s spell and finally melded with it.
That gasp was the last intelligent sound she would make while the mixed spell was active as both her vocal cords and voice box vanished at the same time.
The magic then surged its glowing way down her neck and coursed through her upper abdomen into her fish half where it drew up the coils of intestines from inside her fish body and into her newly formed lower abdomen. This repacking of the intestines was accompanied by intense pain which caused sweat to break out on her forehead. It felt like she had been stabbed and the sword was twisting in her guts.
She felt blood vessels inside the tail wriggling like snakes as they moved to the outside and this was followed by a flash of pain as part of the upper bones inside her tail fused together to become her pelvis and joined with her backbone. More pain followed as the rest of her fish bones lower down moved to form her leg and foot bones with ligaments and cartilage.
The blood vessels moved into position and finally the fish tail separated into two legs and transmuted to human flesh and skin. The tail fin transmuted into two feet with five toes each and with a flash of light she had newly formed legs complete with nerve endings. After this the pain died away leaving only an aching throbbing behind.
But her intestines and newly connected stomach were in turmoil as an entirely different set of intestinal flora was introduced and the intestines and her stomach began to convulse.
“Hhh…Hkkk.” She managed to say using her tongue against her cheek and teeth before she bent over and threw up the remains of the fish she’d eaten recently.
The concerned fairy wiped her friend’s mouth off with a cloth that she materialized from out of nowhere. “Rest. Give yourself a few minutes before you try to stand up.”
The former mermaid nodded as she drooled and she held a hand up to indicate that she understood.
Thistledown frowned as she gazed down at her friend and realized something. “You can’t go to the castle naked. Humans tend to get upset over such trivial things.”
She gestured with her wand and a white shirt and brown knee-length skirt now covered Maryellen’s nakedness and a pair of soft leather boots formed over her feet and ankles.
“That’s better.” Thistledown said with a nod of satisfaction.
When her friend seemed more in control of herself Thistledown flew in front of her face and told her. “I can only briefly suspend the pain you’ll be feeling in your newly formed legs, but I can do it long enough for my magic to rewire your brain and body so that you can walk and we can get you on your way.”
The mermaid now a woman nodded. Thistledown touched her head with the wand and the new woman felt the throbbing pain vanish.
Thistledown gestured again with her wand and said after the glow faded. “Now try and get up. Since it’s wired in, it should happen automatically.”
Maryellen found herself rolling on to her side and using her arms and new legs to roll erect and come to her feet. She stood there swaying unsteadily and then something clicked inside her brain and she was balancing on her new feet. She took her first tentative steps and found that she could stumble along and as each step passed she became more and more confident.
She turned to the fairy and gestured with a smile. “Hkk. HHkk.”
“Very good. Try walking some more. You have about five minutes before the anti-pain spell wears off.”
The former mermaid walked around, becoming more assured with each step. But then the magic pain killer wore off. “Hkkkkkkkkkk” She cried as the pain hit her anew a
nd she almost fell.
“Is there too much pain?” The fairy asked worriedly.
The almost mute young woman shook her head, indicating she could bear it and took one step and then another. She kept her mouth shut as she walked over and picked up the slate and the chalk. She wrote some lines on the slate and let the fairy see them. Bad hurt.
“But you can bear it?” The worried fairy asked her friend.
Think so. Maryellen wrote. I’ll try.
She bent, picked up the sword in its scabbard with a belt, and strapped it around her waist. She then pointed her hand towards the unseen castle off in the distance, indicating that it was time for them to go.
The fairy flew up and landed in Maryellen’s hair on the top of her head and commanded. “Let’s go save the Beast.”
Maryellen rolled her eyes. He was not just a beast. He was so much more. She took her first painful step towards the palace and winced as she knew it was just the first of many to come.
She controlled herself as she felt the burning pain shooting up her leg. She took the next step and kept going putting one foot ahead of another. She would do this. She had a man whom she loved to save.
For Maryellen as she walked up the trail to the castle this was the strangest thing she’d ever experienced. Walking on legs was like a perpetual competition between falling and thrusting upward. Each step forward was a fall with a push upwards by the trailing leg. As each foot hit the ground she felt a sharp pain that radiated up her leg all the way to her kneecap.
The closest thing she had to compare the feeling of pain to was the time she’d cut her hand on a seashell and each touch of the injured hand had sent pain shooting up her arm. The pain coming from her feet hurt even worse than that but she would bear it. If this was the price she’d pay to save the man she loved, then she would gladly pay it.
Thistledown peered ahead and felt her gut contract as motion in the bushes ahead of them drew her attention. A dark creature built like a gorilla and almost six feet tall stepped out of the brush and growled at them as it raised its clawed hands in the air.