The Merman's Lament - IvanTill

~14~

Ivan headed to the newlyweds' chamber, dagger in hand, determined to try to do what his friends and his sister had told him. Their chamber was close to the one he was supposed to sleep in, which he didn't get to use at all, considering he was in so much pain. He opened the door, and immediately saw them cuddling together in bed, sleeping soundly as if nothing.

He approached the side where Till was and looked at him, a look that would be his final one. He took in those long eyelashes, that now silver, messy hair, that tall nose, those lips which he had kissed but now he had also used to kiss another...

He prepared to attack, raising the dagger above his head, closing his eyes so it would be easier for him, but when it was time to lower it and plunge it into him, he couldn't, his arms trembling. He tried once again, but he couldn't.

In the end, he could not do it, falling to his knees. He really couldn't bring himself to kill Till for the sake of his own survival. He still loved him too much even after everything he had done to him...

He decided to leave the chamber and brought his notebook along with him. He returned to the deck and decided to lean on the railing, staring at the sea. He longed to return to it, to let the waves envelop him again, even if he was no longer a merman, so he could put an end to the pain he was feeling.

He decided to write down, at last, the confession he hadn't been able to tell him, considering he was about to leave everything behind. He left it along with the notebook on the deck, and then, got on top of the railing. He took one final look at everything before jumping into the sea.

Everything was cold, but he didn't care. He sank, and as he did, he kept losing his breath, until eventually, he wasn't able to breathe anymore and he couldn't feel anything.

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When the newlyweds woke up, they noticed Ivan was nowhere to be seen. Till was worried and feared the worst. That's when he found the letter and the notebook he had left behind, and his entire world came crashing down. He sat down to read it and was left devastated.

"Dearest Till,

If you are reading this, it's because I have decided to take my life. I wanted to confess that I was a merman who gave up everything to become a human, and that I was actually the one who had saved you from the shipwreck, way before Princess Mizi had saved you.

I hope you live happily with her. I just wanted to confess everything to you so that I would die knowing you knew the truth.

I have loved you ever since I rescued you and I will still love you even after I'm gone.

Always yours,

Ivan."

Till immediately felt tears falling as he recalled a brief memory from the day he was saved from the shipwreck: He was in someone's arms, in the sea, barely conscious, and the person who had him in his arms had...

Black hair and dark eyes, like Ivan.

It was indeed Ivan who had saved him, and Ivan had probably sacrificed everything to be with him, and he had instead treated him so badly by ending up agreeing to marry Mizi and leaving him to suffer in his last hours. He was terrible, and he deserved to suffer.

He ended up also getting on top of the railing of the ship before jumping into the sea, quickly sinking into the cold depths of the ocean, where he lost his breath and met the same fate as Ivan.