The Mermaid's Egg

4 -- The Mermaid

A commotion seemed to recall the Keepers of the Eggs as they all ran back towards the village. The young mermaid watched as she sensed that whatever was going on, they probably shouldn't stick around to find out.

Kiandra was eased down to the ground as the young mermaid glanced down at him and said in his language "Follow." He just nodded as he was grateful for her.

***

'This will be the third time that she has saved my life in a few hours!' Kiandra thought 'My debt to her is becoming far too steep to repay! I am, however, grateful that she hasn't asked for anything in return.'

'Wait a moment!' Kiandra then thought, remembering that something important was still missing.

"Uhm, where is my pearl?" he asked the mermaid.

She glanced back at him as she licked the salt off of her soft pink lips, studying his face.

"No! No! No! Please tell me that you did not eat it!" he begged "It is priceless!"

"I did not eat it." She told him, reaching into her cloak and pulling it out "As payment for guiding you home, I want this in return!"

"I cannot do that!" he yelled, taking back the pearl from her "You do not know what this little thing can do to you! It brings nothing but bad luck for generations!" he told the unphased mermaid "It cursed my family, and if you take it for yourself, it will curse you too! I cannot live with knowing that this pearl will bring you harm! That is why I must take it back to where it came from!"

"You think that the Pearl of Manannan Mac Lir causes bad luck?" she asked him, shocking him that she even knew the name that his parents had called it by.

"Ever since it came into my family's possession, from the Lord of Dunkerron, generation after generation has been cursed by it!" he told her, holding the pearl close to his heart.

"Foolish mortal!" she mocked him "The pearl does not cause wickedness in the hearts of mortals. If there is a curse upon your family name, then it is a curse made by the greed that possess a man's heart—not the Fae."

Kiandra stepped back as he had never considered that before. The mermaid made a valid point in pointing out that it was his parents' lust for money, fame, and power that made the O'Sullivan family into the monster that Kiandra despised.

"Then...why do you want it so bad?" he asked her "Bad enough to steal it away from me!"

"It is a Merrows jewel." she told him softly "A long time ago, the Pearl of Manannan Mac Lir allowed my people to venture into the mortal realm to find love and companionship amongst the hearts of Adam. The pearl can give me life and allow me to travel in-between worlds."

"I see..." Kiandra said, looking deeply at the pearl in his hand "...it was a Merrow Princess that supposedly gave this pearl to my ancestor. It has been passed down from generation to generation, like an heirloom."

He glanced at the mermaid as she just stood there, listening to his story with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Uhm, if I may ask...where is your pearl?" he then asked the mermaid.

"Given away." she told him, plainly.

"A long time ago, I fell in love with a handsome human man who had captured my heart. I disobeyed my Queen's orders, going to see him almost every night. One night, I took him into the ocean to live forever with me in this kingdom of Tír fo Thuinn—he promised to bear me many children and to bring me nothing but happiness. But the Queen had found out what I had done, and as a result, she tore the pearl from my tail and used it to send the human man back to his own realm, and I to forever remain in this realm, away from him."