Lady of the Sea

Ch 15

Marina awoke to the sun's warmth on her face, the sound of waves crashing nearby pulling her from the depths of unconsciousness. Her body felt heavy, as if she had been asleep for days. Salt clung to her skin, and when she coughed, seawater trickled from her lips. Dazed, she blinked against the blinding light, trying to make sense of her surroundings.

She was lying on a sandy shore, the soft sand clinging to her wet skin. As she moved, a sharp pain shot through her skull, and her hand instinctively went to her head, fingers brushing over a tender bruise. She winced, her body aching with every small movement. The gentle tug of the sea lapped against her legs, but something about the sensation felt... off. There was a numbing disconnection, a strange unfamiliarity that sent a jolt of panic through her.

Struggling, she propped herself up on her elbows, her breath catching in her throat. Her heart lurched. Where her legs should have been was a shimmering tail, scales catching the sunlight in a way that made it almost mesmerizing. She blinked, but the image didn't disappear. A mermaid's tail. Her mind couldn't process what she was seeing.

Panic surged. She dragged herself out of the water, her movements frantic and clumsy. Her tail scraped against the sand as she pulled herself further onto the shore. And then, as quickly as it had appeared, the tail began to change. Marina gasped as the scales shimmered, dissolving into flesh. Her legs returned, but the fear lingered. She collapsed onto the sand, breathless, trembling, her mind racing to comprehend what had just happened.

It felt like she was caught in a dream—a nightmare that refused to end. She lay there for a long time, staring at her legs, waiting for them to change again, but they remained. Her chest heaved as she struggled to calm herself, to focus on anything familiar. When she finally sat up, dizzy and weak, she realized the only clothing on her was Jack's oversized pirate shirt, now tattered and soaked. Her necklace, the one that had always brought her comfort, was gone.

How long had she been unconscious? Where was the ship? Where was Jack?

The uncertainty gnawed at her, but there was no time to dwell on it. Marina forced herself to stand, though her legs wobbled beneath her. She needed to find shelter, answers—anything to make sense of this madness. Her feet dragged through the sand, the unfamiliar weight of her own body making each step feel like a battle.

After what felt like hours of walking, she stumbled upon a farm nestled beneath a wide-open sky. The fields stretched endlessly, and in the distance, she saw cows grazing lazily under the afternoon sun. The sight was so ordinary, so mundane, it felt almost absurd compared to the chaos she had just escaped. Exhaustion weighed heavily on her, and with nightfall approaching, she found an unlocked barn and slipped inside, collapsing onto a bed of straw. She closed her eyes, her body aching, her thoughts spinning in circles. Tomorrow, she told herself. She would leave at dawn, before anyone could find her.

But when she awoke, she wasn't in the barn anymore. Instead, she found herself under warm blankets in a small, tidy room. The scent of herbs and wood smoke filled the air. Marina blinked in confusion, her hand brushing against a neatly folded farm dress lying on the chair beside her. Her heart raced. How had she ended up here?

She quickly dressed herself with the folded fresh clothes on a chair by the bed and ventured downstairs, her footsteps cautious on the wooden floor. In the kitchen, an elderly woman stood at the hearth, stirring something in a pot.

"Excuse me ma'am, where am I?" Marina questioned.

The woman's wrinkled face broke into a warm smile. "Good morning, dear," the woman greeted, her voice kind but firm. Marina noticed English was not her first language. "My husband found you sleeping in the barn last night. You looked half-dead, so we brought you in. He's gone to the village for supplies."

Marina swallowed hard, relief mingling with confusion. "Thank you... I don't know how to repay your kindness."

The woman waved her hand dismissively as she motioned for Marina to sit. "No need for that. We don't see many travelers around these parts, especially ones washed ashore. You're lucky he found you before the wolves did."

As the woman tended to the wound on Marina's head, she asked how Marina had ended up in such a state. Marina hesitated, her voice distant as she recounted the storm, the ship, and the fall into the sea. "I don't remember much else," she added, her throat tightening with the weight of her lost memories.

The woman's eyes lingered on Marina's earrings as she applied a poultice. "Those are fine earrings, dear. Unusual for someone in your position. Where did they come from?"

Marina's fingers instinctively touched the pearls, a faint pang of loss cutting through her. She forced a small smile. "They were a gift from my father," she said softly, though the truth of it felt distant, as if it belonged to someone else.

The old woman's gaze sharpened with interest. She hummed thoughtfully. "A fine gift indeed."

An idea sparked in Marina's mind as she stared at the simple farm around her. She needed to move forward, to leave this place and search for answers. "Could I... could I trade them for a horse?"

The woman paused, her eyes calculating, but after a long moment, she nodded. "A fair trade," she agreed. "You'll find a mare saddled in the barn. She's steady on her feet."

Marina felt a wave of gratitude, but it was tinged with sorrow as she handed over the earrings. They had been her last connection to her past. But there was no turning back now. She mounted the horse, her heart heavy with the uncertainty that lay ahead. The road stretched before her like a new chapter, waiting to be written—one filled with questions, and perhaps, the answers she sought.

With one last glance at the farm, Marina set off toward the unknown, the wind whispering through her hair, carrying with it the distant echoes of the sea.

The mare's hooves beat a steady rhythm along the dirt path, each step taking Marina farther from the farm and deeper into the unknown. The sun had risen high, casting long shadows over the rolling hills that spread out before her. Her body still ached from the ordeal at sea, and the dull throb of her wound was a constant reminder of how close she had come to losing everything.

Her mind, however, was far from the pain. It kept circling back to the transformation—the tail that had appeared, the scales shimmering like jewels in the sun. How was it possible? She'd heard tales of cursed waters and sea creatures that could lure sailors to their doom, but never had she imagined something like this could happen to her. The memory sent a chill down her spine.

Marina's gaze flickered to the horizon, the vast open fields ahead offering no answers. She didn't know where she was headed, only that she had to keep moving.

As the hours passed, the land around her slowly changed from farmland to sparse woodland, trees growing thicker along the path. The sounds of nature filled the air—the chirping of birds, the rustling of leaves—and while it was peaceful, Marina couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. She glanced over her shoulder more than once, scanning the path behind her, but saw nothing except the empty road winding back into the distance.

Her stomach growled, a sharp reminder that she hadn't eaten since waking. She had no food, no coins, nothing. The weight of her situation pressed down on her. Alone, injured, and far from anything familiar.