Of Thorns and Glamour

The Mers

The salt water rushes up my nose and my mask is ripped from my face. It stings to have my eyes open, but I struggle to try to free myself.

Soon I am let go and I flail my arms trying to reach the surface, my skirt dragging me down, but I finally breach. I take in a deep breath and try to keep myself afloat. I didn't know how to swim, "Inchiki!" I try to call out as salt water floods into my mouth.

I hear a girl giggling, no multiple girls. Their laughter sounded unreal, "She can't swim!" I hear him call out again. I look around but then I get pulled under by two hands, water again fills my mouth and nose. I try to open my eyes and see two other pairs,  glowing yellow flash before me, and an inhuman face with sharp teeth grinning.

They pull me back up and I take another deep breath, throat burning. "Girly can't swim, girly needs to breath." One hiss at the other, "We were only playing joke." I cough out water and feel the sandy shore touch my back. I look at the two, eyes too big for their face, mouth full of sharp teeth, and skin that has fish scales reflecting in the setting sunlight. Their hair looks like kelp, but they're beautiful in a otherworldly way. Two strong hands grab me by my armpits and pull me up to shore farther.

"It wasn't very funny girls." He says to the two of them, they pout and I see them move away, their lower bodies were tales fish like with a spiny back. I realized they were Mers. "Lily are you alright? I didn't think they'd see you." I realize I don't have the mask but one of them comes back, holding it with webbed hands. Inchiki takes it from her, putting it away in his cloak. I crawl up the shore and spit out snot and salt water.

He offers me his hand and I take it, but standing up proved to be too difficult so I fell to my knees. I pull my wet hair from my face. "Friends of yours?" I ask him, wiping the wet sand from my face, my skin feeling scratchy. The sun was just barely below the horizon and streaked beautiful rays, and some stars were peaking out behind the daylight veil.

I finally get up and find my cloak and shoes, and I walk over and lay down on my cloak, exhausted again from nearly drowning. Savoring the last bit of warmth of the sand and cloak that heated from the sun I sat up and began working on straining the water from my hair and my skirt. "Are you alright?" Inchiki stands over me, tall enough I have to crane my head to look at him. His eyes peering through his mask, "Lily?"

"I'm alright." I interject quickly, realizing I wasn't responding to his question. I offer my hand to Inchiki, "Probably best if I keep wearing it."

He shakes his head, "It will do you little good, it's cracked." Pulling my mask out from his cloak I can see a fissure through the cheek up to the eye, "Must had hit a rock, I didn't have much time to perfect yours. I'll do the next one better, but it might be awhile till I can make something strong enough for you to wear." Least it only didn't work against the Mers, I comment to myself. He sits down next to me looking out to the ocean. "The Mers must had been curious to come so close to shore while it was still day out. They're mischievous beings, but they help me find ingredients that are underwater. The Selkies on the rock over there are more pleasant but they keep to themselves." I notice the seals he was pointing at, remembering that Selkies looked like them as well.

I comb my hair and pull it behind my ears, "How did you know I couldn't swim?" I ask him, embarrassed by the truth of it. I had no opportunity, as all the underground hot springs I would bath in were too shallow to practice in. Let alone trying to swim in a current that was determined to pull me under.

"I know a lot about you, I told you I've seen what you are capable of, and that included what you were not. There's nothing to be ashamed about, I only learned how because it was sink or swim." I see him pull off his mask, the small amount of light left from the setting sun shines in his eyes. "I'm sorry you had to experience that, but sadly I cannot predict everything that will happen." There was a deep sadness in his eyes.