The Mermaid Spell

What do you Mean? You're not dead....

(Adrian's P.O.V)

"Ian,"  I repeated the name quietly.  I had heard the name from somewhere, but couldn't put my finger on it.  "I feel like I should know you..."

"You probably do.  I'm the kid who went missing, they probably already found my body.  Wouldn't be surprised if my funeral was being held,"  I heard Ian sigh.

"What do you mean?  You're not dead..."  I was utterly confused.  Ian chuckled.

"The whole council thought I had kissed a mermaid.  Apparently it's against the law, so I'm sentenced to death."  I could here his chains rustling again and he came into view of somewhat dim light.  His golden brown hair was a mess, he had sad violet eyes, tattered clothes, and strangely enough, two bare scarred legs instead of a tail. 

"You're human..."  My voice faded off.  I had never talked to a human before, but Ian was strangely comforting.  He wasn't bad looking either and I didn't blame the mermaid for wanting to plant her lips on his.

"You're a merman."  He stared aimlessly at my tail.  I looked down, at it, feeling girly like the whole mermaid species was.

"What did you expect?  We are underwater."  It didn't mean to sound cruel, but it sort of came out that way.

"I dunno, I guess I just expected that you would be in water, you don't look so good anyways."  I could feel his gaze on me.

"I can breath oxygen, it's just a bit dry, I'm not used to the full air."  As a matter a fact, I had never been fully out of water.  "How'd you get all the way down here anyways?"  I raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"Some kind of bubble thing.  I was unconscious for most of it though.  I think they're planning on drowning me for my execution, or slashing me with double-edges knives and whips that leave a foul mark."  His descriptions were almost too vivid.  "Why are you here anyways?"  He asked.

I honestly had no idea.  They had just thrown me in here.  No trial, no speaking or determination of punishment. 

"I wish I knew."  I replied and stared up at the ceiling of endless darkness.  "I really do..."

_________

(Elly's P.O.V)

"What's your plan?"  Tristan asked me as we swam down the long hallways of the castle.  I was beginning to understood the ways mer spoke underwater.  It was always ,muffled and full of bubbles, but it was becoming clearer and clearer.

"We need to find him, something tell's me he's in here."  I said, flicking my tail to get a boost of speed.  Tristan thought about what I said for a moment.

"You're kidding right?"  She finally responded.  I shook my head.  "Fine then, I'll just follow you.  As many times as I've been in here though, I've never actually found my way anywhere!"  She exclaimed.

It was true.  The castle was like a labyrinth of twisted hallways and dead-ends.  It was almost as if there was really no rooms, just staircases leading to more hallways.  The deeper we got into the castle though, the more I could sense we were getting closer.  We had to be.

"HEY!"  someone yelled.  Both Tristan and I shot around to see a merman with full body armor around him.  I tried to swim away but was grabbed by another beefy guard who grabbed my arms.

"Let me go!"  I shrieked and tried to squirm out of the guard's arms, yet he was way too strong.  The other one grabbed frozen Tristan.

"Hold on...This one's a halfling!"  The larger of the two yelled.  "Outlaws!  You two were sneaking for the Aquamarine!" I had no idea what they meant by 'Searching for the Aquamarine,' but decided it was best that I keep my mouth shut, for this guard could squish me like a bug.

The guards dragged us into the darkest parts of the castle and threw us both in a cell with no water.  My tail dried quickly into two legs, but they were chained together by one cuff along with my hands.

"They're going to torture us to death!"  Tristan rambled on as we sat there in the darkest.  The patches of scales on her legs had completely disappeared and she now looked as human as I did.

"Please stop."  I finally said after an hour of Tristan shaking and coming up with insane ideas of death.  "We both just need to calm down and try to think of a way to get out of here."  I told her.

"How!?  There's no way of escape!  I'm going to die just like my dad did!"  She began to cry.  I wanted to comfort her, but we were across the room and I could barely see the outline of her shadow under the dim light that reflected from the ceiling. 

I ignored her and listened to her speak about how dumb her mother was to ever come in contact with her father. 

"Stop."  I whispered after hearing faint voices from outside the cell. The door creaked open and a bit of water flowed in.  It drenched me and my legs melted together to form a tail.  The same tail that had gotten me into this mess to begin with.

"Elly Moss.  Tristan Wells."  A thin merman with sharp features emotionlessly said from the doorway.  "The both of you have been committed of trying to steal our most precious treasure, and for one of you being a halfling."  I was glad I still had my tail, and used my fingers to keep the last but of water touching my scales.  "Since you both did not actually commit the crime, your punishment won't be as severe."  he gestured for two guards to take hold of us. 

They reopened the doors and let all of the water from the hallways flood in before dragging us to an arena-like part of the castle.  It reminded me of the roman coliseum that I had learned about in 7th grade World History.

"What's going on!?"  I piped up as they placed us in seats and chains us up once again.

"You shall see..."  The merman said before stepping out before the crowds. I turned to Tristan who tried to shrug.

"Let the execution begin!"  I merman announced as the wide doors opened and out stepped two beefy guards holding none other, than Ian Fields.  I gasped and watched as they forced him into the middle of the arena where a large wooden post stood with one single rope.  This was not the same post I had seen Tristan's father be executed on.  No.  This was far worse.

I could feel the burning sensation in his lungs as he tried to hold his breath.  The two guards carefully tied the rope to his neck and lowered a cloth over his head and upper body.

"What's going on?!"  Tristan squeaked. 

"Turn away."  I told her and she did.  I glared daggers at the merman in charge who watched pleasantly as the first guard took hold of the opposite rope.

"The exile feat this human has performed costed him his life.  Shall he forever perish under mer rule!"  The merman yelled and before I could even blink, the guard pulled the rope.