The Creature: Secrets of the Servant Girl

Chapter 1 - The Nucian Coast

I was born on the Nucian Coast without any assistance from the city midwives. In fact, they had no idea me or my mother even existed. Not at the time, anyway. My mother and I were nothing like the people in the city. In fact, it was debatable to say whether or not we would even be considered 'people' by their standards. Which was understandable, considering I wondered the same thing on a daily basis. In fact, there was no debate to be had really, because none of the city folk even knew our kind existed. We were part of legends.

I barely remembered my mother, Ruelia Warren. My earliest memory at four years old was her cooing over me, regaling stories of when I was a baby, with my father. I never learned my father's name, as he was only ever called Father by the members of my family.

That was one of the good memories. There was another memory that stood out much stronger in my mind. The nets. Being hauled on board a large ship. Splatters of red streaking the deck wood. Screams of pain.

My entire family ended up on that ship. Only myself and my mother survived. My mother had grabbed me and hauled me overboard, using her body as a shield against the oncoming harpoons.

Somehow, by some miracle, my mother had survived the wounds. But in the attack, she had been brandished on her face like some type of sea cattle.

My mother was most proud of her own face. That scar ruined it for her. She was so traumatized by the incident that she retreated into a cave and, after saving me, ordered me to fend for myself.

"You will have no life in this cave," my mother said, bobbing just above the water's surface. Her slick graying hair floated around her face. "You must live and thrive. I've brought misfortune on our family. They are dead because of me." My mother's tear-rimmed eyes gazed at me, and I knew that it wasn't her fault. Not really.

Because I was the one who'd attracted the attention of the fishermen. Mother hadn't done that, yet she was taking on all of the blame.

"You won't live and thrive with me. But you also won't survive without a family." She reached for a pendant in the small bag around her waist. "Go to the coast. Become completely dry. It will take hours, as you know. When you look like them, the people you've seen from the city, take this pendant and present it to the castle guards."

I furrowed my brows. None of this made any sense. Why couldn't my mother leave the cave? I had begged and pleaded with her, but she seemed terrified anytime she attempted to venture out.

My mother hesitated. "I acquired this ten years ago from what turned out to be a member of the royal family. The young prince's beloved Uncle. You will go to the castle and convince them that you are a member of the royal family, indeed, the King's long-lost niece. This will, no doubt, cause some kind of scandal. And what the royal family will do from there, I can't tell you. I don't know anything beyond what a pendant like this represents."

She handed the pendant to me. I cradled it in my hands like a small, lost fish. I was only ten years old. How would I survive out there in the city? How could I spin a lie so unbelievable to a couple of city guards? My mother knew my tells when I was lying. The slight smirk. The giggle that erupted, sending bubbles up to the water's surface. I could only hope the guards would have no clue.

I looked into the surface of the pendant. It was so shiny and reflective, as if mother used it more like a worry stone. My appearance was much like my mother's: several sharp teeth. Large dark gray, almond-shaped eyes. Long, dark brown hair. Harsh lines puckering our facial features. Dark gray lips and skin. Scales all over our bodies.

A memory bubbled to the surface. "Mother, what are they, and what are we?"

"They are humans. We are Vumerans."

"How are we different, though?"

"Come on, surely you can piece that together yourself, dear. But I'll tell you. They walk on land, but cannot breathe underwater. We can do both. They don't enjoy blood. We do." She sighed. "There are so many things I could tell you."

And so my mother taught me all of the differences. I remembered those differences fairly well.

"Can I visit you from time to time? Please, please say yes, mother. I have to know that you will be okay."

"Of course. I just... I can't leave. But you know that."

I nodded. "I love you, mother," I said and hugged her. After a long look back, and staring at my mother's sad smile, I could no longer give her any attention. Not with the sadness etched on her face and the scar that twisted her facial features. I dived beneath the water and made my way to the Nucian coast with the pendant firmly in hand. 

Little did I know that due to my coming circumstances, it would be a very long time before I had a chance to see my mother again. 

It was a very long early morning. I hid in an alcove surrounded by leaves and moss. It was a little outside of the coastal area, extending into the surrounding forest, but it was better than being on the coast where anyone could see me out in the open. 

I vividly remembered the slurs the fisherman had thrown our way in the bad memory. The worst things they called us: 'Monsters' and 'demons.' I never thought we were anything like those things after my mother explained what those words meant in the long years we'd spent afterward in the cave. 

To dry off, it indeed took hours. Using my will, I shifted into my disguised form. It was a real form, but it wasn't how I saw myself, so I thought of it as a disguise. It was real as any real thing, though. My bones had shifted. My tail had disappeared and turned into two legs. My teeth were flat and white. My skin was a light golden color, lips a light red. Only my dark brown hair remained the same color. 

I gripped the pendant and stood wobbly on my legs. The last time I'd stood on them was when I was a young child, before my family was murdered in front of me by those fishermen. 

I knew, when I was older, I would avenge them. But now, I was too young. I was just a little girl, what could I do? I knew one thing. I could at least follow mother's directions. I gripped the pendant and made my way to the city gates.