the little mermaid

prologue - cordelia

"The kingdom is not the place for you."

That's what Cordelia's mother always said.

"The royals and the socialites will eat you alive."

This didn't scare Cordelia.

"A rich merman, much less a prince, will never marry someone like you. They hate us; you need to understand that."

This made Cordelia sad. She wanted to marry a prince. She wanted to live in a palace and have beautiful clothes and an abundance of jewelry, so much she could never decide on just one piece, so she would have to wear a necklace and earrings and a tiara and a ring all at the same time.

Cordelia didn't think she was greedy; she just wanted to know what it was like, and she didn't want to be poor and friendless, living away from civilization with no one to talk to but her mother. She didn't want to see the prince when he came to "feed the less fortunate merpeople," as they called it. She wanted to see the prince on their wedding day, standing at the altar as she glided down the aisle in a beautiful white lace corset, with pearls from the finest oysters around her neck and placed delicately in her long blonde hair. It didn't even have to be the prince smiling down at her. It could be any boy, as long as he loved her. She so desperately wanted love. Then she would be happy.

But Cordelia couldn't have that life and she knew it. Her mother was a sea witch, and therefore exiled from society. Even though she never had any intentions of harming others, normal mermaids were afraid of her, and others of her kind. Even Cordelia's father left her mother when he discovered the truth. So Cordelia and her mother had to keep their identities secret, lest they be sent to prison, or worse, executed. They lived in a small cottage far from any neighboring houses or businesses, and Cordelia's mother had no job in order to stay hidden. Because of this, they were very poor. Cordelia's mother's powers helped to fix some of their problems, but by no means did it rid them of all their insufficiencies. Cordelia was sent into town every week by her mother to beg for food and money from wealthier merpeople in the kingdom.

One day, when she was swimming back to her house with a basket holding a few cents, a loaf of bread, and some cloth, she heard a scream coming from the direction she was heading.

When she arrived home, her mother was not there.

The hours passed and her mother did not return. Hours turned into days, and still Cordelia was alone. After a week, Cordelia faced the fact that her mother was gone. She would be alone, forever. The only person who had ever loved her, the only person who had ever even talked to her, was gone.

Cordelia was on her own, and she knew exactly what she was going to do. She would forget the past and start a new life for herself. She would not meet the same fate as her mother.

Cordelia put on her best top, grabbed the trifling bit of coins they had saved in a drawer, took some kelp out of the cupboard, and although it was hard leaving the cottage where all the memories with her mother were made, she left.

She barely even knew how to get to the kingdom, but she managed. The great white palace so huge it was almost protruding from the ocean was a slight giveaway.

She didn't really know where to go when she arrived. There was an inn, but she figured she didn't have enough money. It was worth a shot, though.

The shot missed the target.

Cordelia didn't know what to do.

As she was debating between going back to what used to be her home or simply sleeping in the street, someone approached her. It was a boy.

He was probably two years older than her, around 17. The first thing she noticed about him was his tail. It was emerald in color, so green it made Cordelia want to go on land to see more of that color in the trees and the grass that she once heard about. The next thing she noticed were his eyes, almost the exact color of his tail. His hair was the same light blonde as hers, but that was about the only thing they had in common. He was somewhat tan and very strong, while Cordelia was pale, and her skin had an odd hint of grey, and her body was frail, and the first word that one thinks when seeing her is malnutrition. His features were soft, while hers were so sharp it seemed almost painful to touch her nose.