Mermaid Curse

by Louise Cooper

  She and Rose both started to tease Dad. Lizzy did not join in, but she felt very relieved. It looked as if Mum’s idea of going somewhere tomorrow wasn’t going to come to anything. Which meant she would be free to meet Kes.

  Lizzy went to bed early that night. She was tired and she wanted to get away from everyone and have some time on her own. In her room she picked up the spiral shell, turning it over and over in her hands. She was half afraid to hold it to her ear, not because of what she might hear, but in case she heard nothing at all. At last, though, she gathered her courage.

  She heard the gentle, far-away hissing-roaring that she had heard before. A science teacher at school had once said it was only an echo of her own pulse inside her head, but Lizzy knew in her heart that it was the sea. Then, as she listened, something else mingled with the sound. The voices of the dolphins… If she concentrated very hard, she liked to believe that she could almost understand what they were saying.

  Slowly Lizzy put the shell down, then moved to her window seat and gazed out over the rooftops and beyond the darkening harbour. The sea had a shimmery look under the moonlight, and she knew that somewhere out there were Kes and the dolphins. Tomorrow, they would be waiting for her.

  The lighthouse beam moved slowly over the water and vanished on its circling round. Leaving her window and curtains open to the night, Lizzy climbed into bed and closed her eyes.

  To her own surprise she slept soundly, and when she woke up the sun was streaming into her room. Hastily throwing on some clothes, she rushed downstairs. Here was another surprise: Rose, showered and dressed and bolting a bowl of muesli at the kitchen table.

  ‘Ha! Beat you to it!’ Rose said triumphantly. ‘Are you going to the beach?’

  ‘Er… yes.’ Lizzy started to worry. ‘Why?’

  ‘Because I might see you there later. I’m meeting Paul, and we’ll probably go for a swim as the weather’s so gorgeous.’

  ‘Up early and swimming?’ said Dad, looking up from the morning paper. ‘I don’t believe it! This Paul must be having a good influence on you!’

  Rose stuck her tongue out at him. ‘Fishermen always get up early,’ she said.

  ‘I thought you said Paul’s still at school?’

  ‘Well, yes. But he goes fishing on his dad’s boat sometimes, so he’s a fisherman too.’ Rose finished her last spoonful and jumped to her feet. ‘Anyway, I haven’t got time to hang around nattering. I’ll see you lazy lot later!’

  She snatched up her new bag and whirled out of the door, the bright blue of a tankini showing under her thin cotton shirt.

  ‘Well, well,’ said Dad, grinning. ‘Our Rose is a reformed character! How about you, Lizzy, love? Are you meeting any friends on the beach?’

  ‘No, Dad. I’m just going swimming.’ Lizzy didn’t like lying, and had a horrible feeling that her face was turning bright red. Luckily, though, Dad was looking at the paper again. If only he knew, she thought. And Rose would be on the beach. That could be tricky – she’d better get there as quickly as she could, and meet Kes before her sister turned up.

  ‘Where’s Mum?’ she asked.

  ‘Having a lie-in.’

  ‘Oh, right. I’ll go, then, if that’s OK.’

  ‘Don’t you want any breakfast?’

  ‘Er… not really. I’m not hungry yet and, anyway, you shouldn’t swim straight after eating. I’ll take a cheese roll and some fruit and have them later.’

  To her relief Dad didn’t argue. Lizzy ran back upstairs, hastily tidied her room and left the house. When she reached the beach she saw that it was already quite crowded. There were people in the sea, people spreading themselves out with rugs and windbreaks and beach-bags, and the familiar 4x4 was parked on the sand, with one of the lifeguards sitting on the roof and scanning the water through binoculars. As she pulled her wetsuit on over her swimsuit, Lizzy looked around for Kes, but she couldn’t see him. She only hoped Rose wouldn’t show up before he did, or she might start asking awkward questions.

  ‘Lizzy!’ said a voice behind her.

  Lizzy started and swung round. Kes was there. He wore swimming shorts, but his hair wasn’t wet.

  ‘You made me jump!’

  ‘I’ve been waiting ages – you said you’d be early.’

  ‘I couldn’t get away before.’ Lizzy did not want to admit that she had overslept. She took a deep breath. ‘Did you tell your mother?’

  ‘Yes. She’s thrilled, Lizzy. Honestly, I’ve never seen her so excited. But there’s a problem. She can’t meet you today.’

  Lizzy’s face fell. ‘Why not?’ she asked.

  ‘She’s had to go away,’ said Kes. ‘Only for a day or so, but there was nothing she could do about it.’

  ‘Is something wrong?’

  He frowned. ‘Well, no, but…’

  ‘Hi, you two!’ called a voice, and they turned to see Rose, with a boy in tow, heading towards them.

  ‘Oh, no!’ Lizzy hissed. ‘It’s my sister – she said she was coming here, but I thought we could avoid her.’ She thought quickly. ‘Look, don’t say anything except “hello” and “nice to meet you” and that sort of thing. I’ll do the rest of the talking.’

  Rose and her companion reached them, and Rose beamed at Kes. ‘Hi. I’m Rose, Lizzy’s sister.’

  ‘This is my friend Kes,’ said Lizzy quickly. ‘He’s the one who found my locket.’

  ‘Of course! I thought I’d seen you somewhere before.’ Rose grinned. ‘You were too shy to hang around last time, though.’

  ‘He just had to get home, that was all,’ said Lizzy defensively.

  ‘Sure. Anyway, this is my friend, Paul Treleaven. If you live round here, Kes, I expect you two know each other?’

  Kes shook his head, and Paul said, ‘Don’t think so. Hi, Kes. Hi, Lizzy. Nice to meet you.’

  He had darker brown hair than Rose’s, hazel eyes, a suntan and a friendly smile. Lizzy liked him immediately, and she liked him even more when he added, ‘Come on, Rose, I don’t suppose these two want us around. They’ve got their own things to do. Let’s go and swim.’

  ‘OK.’ Rose looked at Kes again. ‘Lizzy will have to bring you to our house some time. Come and have tea, and meet Mum and Dad.’

  ‘Er… yes,’ said Kes. ‘Th-thanks…’

  Rose raised her eyebrows at Lizzy in a way that promised plenty of teasing later on, and she and Paul walked away along the beach.

  Lizzy let out a long breath of relief. ‘I’m glad they’ve gone! Kes, what’s happened with your mother? What is it she’s got to do that’s more important than meeting me?’

  ‘I said, she didn’t want to go, she had to.’ Kes flicked a glance over his shoulder. ‘Let’s find somewhere quieter, and I’ll explain.’

  ‘The lighthouse?’ Lizzy suggested.

  They hurried to the end of the beach and climbed up the rocks to the deserted lighthouse. There, Kes told her about the summons from the Queen.

  ‘Who’s the Queen?’ Lizzy wanted to know. ‘Another mermaid?’

  ‘Yes. Her name’s Taran. She’s very powerful, and everyone’s afraid of her.’ He frowned. ‘She sends her servants to spy on people, and she’s always demanding tribute from everyone.’

  ‘What sort of tribute?’ asked Lizzy.

  ‘Sea jewels, rare shells and plants… anything, really, which she thinks will make her or her palace more beautiful.’ He paused. ‘Mother’s had to give away her coral necklace, because there wasn’t time to find anything else. My great-grandad made it for her, and she really loves it. But Taran always gets whatever she wants.’

  ‘Couldn’t people stand up to her?’ Lizzy said indignantly. ‘There’s only one of her, after all. If you got together and said no, what could she do?’

  Kes shook his head. ‘I told you she’s very powerful. I don’t know where her power comes from or how she uses it, but she does some really frightening things. When she’s angry, she can call up storms. If anyone disobeys her, she punishes them by hurting t
hem, or destroying their homes, or worse. And she doesn’t even have to leave her palace to do it – she just uses her power and it happens.’

  ‘What do you mean, “or worse”?’ Lizzy was uneasy.

  There was a long pause. Then Kes said quietly, ‘People disappear.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘It’s true. There were some cousins of Mother’s, who lived in the next bay east of here. They had a beautiful shell, big enough to lie in, made from mother-of-pearl. Taran wanted it, but they refused to give it to her. Next day, some friends went to call on them. The shell had gone, and everything else in their cave had been smashed to pieces. And our cousins had disappeared.’ Kes shivered. ‘No one’s ever found any trace of them.’

  Lizzy whistled softly. ‘That’s terrible!’

  ‘Yes – and it’s getting worse. She’s taken so much from our people that we’ve hardly got anything else left to give her. But she still keeps demanding more. I hate her; so do the dolphins and seals and all the friendly sea creatures. And she isn’t even the rightful Queen. She’s a u… u…’

  ‘Usurper?’ Lizzy had learned about usurping kings in history at school last term.

  ‘That’s the word. The old Queen died years ago. She had a daughter, who should have taken her place. But she disappeared, and Taran became Queen instead.’ Leaning towards Lizzy, Kes added darkly, ‘Mother’s always pretended that Taran was chosen to be the new Queen, but I don’t think that’s the way it happened. I think there was something strange about the daughter’s disappearance.’

  ‘You mean, Taran had something to do with it?’

  Kes nodded. ‘I’ve heard rumours. Just snippets, but enough to make me suspicious. I heard another story once…’ He hesitated, then leaned closer to Lizzy and whispered, ‘Some people think she kidnapped the old Queen’s daughter and… killed her.’

  ‘But why won’t your mother talk about it? Why doesn’t she want you to know the truth?’

  ‘Because she’s trying to protect me. She thinks I’m too young to understand. Either that or she’s scared I might say the wrong thing to the wrong person and vanish, like her cousins did.’ He sighed. ‘You know what mothers are like.’

  Despite herself Lizzy smiled. But the smile didn’t last. ‘So she’s frightened, just like everyone else… Have you ever met Taran?’

  ‘No. No one ever sees her. Her palace is far out in the deep sea – no one knows exactly where, but they say the only way to reach it is through some kind of magic gateway. When the merfolk have to pay tribute, she orders them to meet her servants at some place she decides, and they take the gifts to her. Then, if she’s not satisfied, the servants come back and say she wants more.’

  Lizzy stared out to sea, silent. A false Queen, plots and intrigues and strange powers… there was far more to Kes’s underwater world than she could ever have imagined.

  Then she remembered something else he had told her. ‘Kes,’ she said, ‘you said I was kidnapped when I was a baby. You don’t think Taran had anything to do with that, do you?’

  He looked thoughtful. ‘I don’t know. I think it’s possible… but I’ve never been able to work out why she’d want to. I mean, we’re not important or anything.’

  ‘In that case, why would anyone else have wanted to? It doesn’t make sense.’ Lizzy stared at the sea again. ‘It seems to me that there are a lot of things your mother has never told you. And I’d like to know what they are.’

  ‘I’ve tried to ask, but she always says she’ll tell me when I’m older. Maybe if we both talk to her, though…’

  ‘Yes. Yes, I think we should. After all…’ Lizzy hesitated, and then smiled at him, a little sadly. ‘She’s the only person who can tell me anything about my life under the sea.’

  Chapter Eight

  Neither Lizzy nor Kes had much to say as they climbed back down the rocks and walked along the tideline. Lizzy stared down at the wavelets foaming around her ankles. She felt an awful sense of anticlimax. She had been so excited about meeting Morvyr, and now she would have to wait at least another day. Even if there was a good reason, it was still an enormous disappointment.

  Kes’s voice broke into her thoughts, and she looked up. ‘Sorry, what did you say?’

  ‘You were fathoms away!’ He smiled sympathetically. ‘I know what you were thinking, and I’m disappointed too. So I said, why don’t we swim for a while?’

  ‘You mean, under the water?’

  ‘Yes.’ Kes’s smile turned into a grin. ‘You could do with the practice, I expect.’ Then before she could dodge, he kicked up water with one foot and splashed her.

  ‘Hey!’ Lizzy’s dismal mood vanished and she splashed him back, using her hands as well for good measure. A water-battle began then, and within seconds they were both soaked and laughing. Finally Lizzy lost her footing and sat down in the shallows. A wave surged in her face and she spluttered, and Kes reached down to haul her to her feet.

  ‘That’s better!’ he said. ‘You look much more cheerful. Come on, we’ll slip away while the lifeguards aren’t looking.’

  Quietly, seen by no one, they moved into deeper water and dived. For the first few moments Lizzy was afraid to try to breathe, but she plucked up her courage and it all happened as naturally as before. She found, too, that her wetsuit made swimming much easier. In fact she could almost imagine that she was a dolphin, sleek and swift in the water.

  Kes looked over his shoulder at her and called, ‘Let’s play follow my leader! Bet you can’t do everything I do!’

  ‘Bet I can!’ Lizzy called back indignantly.

  He grinned. ‘We’ll see!’ And he was off, leading her in a fast and complicated chase. He was very acrobatic, twisting and turning in the water. Lizzy did her best to copy him, and to her own surprise she was able to perform many of the moves he made.

  ‘Not bad!’ said Kes when at last the game ended.

  Lizzy looked smug. ‘Do I win the bet, then?’

  ‘Well… nearly. But not quite. There’s something I haven’t shown you yet, and I bet you anything you can’t do it. Want to see?’

  ‘Yes!’ said Lizzy determinedly.

  ‘Right. Then watch this.’

  He launched himself away and started to swim round her in a wide circle. Lizzy was puzzled, for he didn’t seem to be doing anything special. But then she realized that his shape was beginning to change… Amazed, she watched as his legs merged together. Shining scales appeared on them, his feet elongated and became fins… and suddenly the transformation was complete, and in place of Kes’s human limbs was a fishlike tail. He was no longer an ordinary human – he was a merboy!

  ‘Well?’ He swam back to her and gave his tail a flick that made him spin right round. ‘What do you think?’

  ‘It’s – it’s amazing! I had no idea you could do that!’

  Kes grinned. ‘It’s easy. I’m only half human, remember.’ He paused. ‘And so are you. If you try, you can learn to do it too.’

  ‘Me?’

  ‘Of course. It’s in your nature.’

  Lizzy was astounded. Yet when she thought about it, wasn’t it obvious? She was Kes’s true sister – and that meant she was half mermaid. The thought made her dizzy.

  ‘Come on,’ said Kes. ‘Why don’t you try? Just use your willpower to make it happen.’

  He set off, swimming more slowly, and after a moment’s hesitation Lizzy followed. Use your willpower, Kes had said. She concentrated with all her strength as she tried to make herself change. But though she felt twice that she was almost succeeding, nothing happened and her legs stayed the same.

  At last she stopped swimming. ‘It’s no good,’ she said despairingly. ‘I just can’t.’

  ‘Never mind,’ Kes consoled her. ‘I didn’t really expect you to, not yet. You’ve never tried before – you didn’t even know it was possible until a few minutes ago.’

  ‘But you make it look so easy!’

  He laughed, sending a stream of bubbles shimmering upwards. �
��Well, I’ve had eleven years to practise, haven’t I? Don’t worry, it’ll come to you in time. You’ve just got to be patient.’

  ‘Oh, great. You mean like I’ve got to be patient about meeting Morvyr?’

  Kes’s smile faded. ‘Yes,’ he replied quietly.

  Suddenly Lizzy felt mean. ‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. Waiting for her to come back must be awful for you as well.’

  He reached out and clasped her hand briefly, but only said, ‘We’d better head for the shore. We’ve come a long way out, what with all those games.’

  With a big effort Lizzy made herself cheer up. ‘I enjoyed them,’ she said. ‘And you know what? When I do learn to become a mermaid, I’m going to practise and practise and practise my swimming, until I’m even better than you!’

  ∗

  Rose smirked across the kitchen table and said, ‘Lizzy’s got a boyfriend.’

  Mum and Dad both looked at Lizzy in surprise, and Lizzy felt her face turning bright red. ‘I haven’t!’ she said defensively.

  ‘No?’ Rose’s smirk turned into a wicked grin. ‘Who’s this Kes you’re spending all your time at the beach with, then? I saw the two of you, heading up to the old lighthouse.’

  ‘He isn’t my boyfriend,’ protested Lizzy. ‘He’s just… someone I met.’

  Mum saw that Lizzy was getting upset and said, ‘Stop teasing her, Rose. If she’s making new friends, that’s great.’ She smiled at Lizzy. ‘Who is he, love? A local boy, or someone here on holiday?’

  ‘He’s… sort of local,’ Lizzy mumbled, still red-faced. ‘He’s the boy who found my locket when I lost it.’

  ‘Well, there you are, Rose! She’s got every reason to like him.’

  ‘Anyway, you’re a fine one to talk,’ Dad chipped in. ‘What with Paul this and Paul that and Paul the other… I don’t know – you kids!’

  ‘You should invite him round some time,’ said Mum to Lizzy. ‘Bring him to tea one day.’ She looked sidelong at Rose. ‘And you can ask Paul too. It’s about time Dad and I met him.’