Mermaid in a Bottle

Chapter 1 ~ A twisted beginning

Hello fellow readers! I started this book a while back. It's actually been on here for quite some time, but I'm finally editing it because as we grow older and more mature, we start to realize what seemed Great back then is just not going to cut it now. Hope you enjoy!

I'm also trying to make the chapters longer so they've got a bit more meat on them. I just now realized how short these chapters are. Thank you for reading!

Beth c:

***

The stench of decades old seaweed and algae burned my nostrils. My fingers dug into the slimy mess, hoping to get a grip on this rock I was hiding behind. I calmed my breathing and positioned my body closer to the rock, bringing my nose closer and closer to that god awful smell. I was going to make him pay for this!

"MerLissa, where are you?!" I could hear my best friend, Otto, calling.

I yearned to answer back, to show where I was hiding, just so I wouldn't have to bear this smell, but I knew why he was calling. I hadn't finished my job. That was something I could not go back to. I couldn't blow my cover just because of that stupid job. No way! Those pesky little humans could go drown in a lake for all I cared.

I hated my job. While other people stuffed their pockets with big wads of cash for cleaning the capital building, I made a living finding half-humans and escorting them to their true place, under the sea. I almost snorted, but held myself back at last minute for fear of being caught. What a waste. Humans were just fine without Mers; and Mers were just fine without Humans. Tell that to his royal highness.

I squinted my eyes and spat on the algae that was growing on the rocks in front of me. The saliva accumulated on the green substance, making it swell with liquid. I scrunched my nose in disgust. I just couldn't afford another bad turn of events. Those little humans wouldn't dare ruin my life again. They'd already messed it up badly enough. Losing my father was not something I took pride in. What more did they want from me?

Suddenly, something grabbed my tail. My breath caught in my throat. Otto had never been able to find any of my hiding places unless I presented myself from them. I laughed. I guess he had some hope after all. With my mustered up strength, I tried to wriggle out of Otto's grasp. He thought he had caught me, but we both knew who was the fastest swimmer. I'd beat him a plenty number of times. Otto never could get that in that thick skull of his, however. He kept trying.

"Otto! Stop it. I give up, you found me. I'll report to the halls as soon as you let me go," I lied. Of course I wasn't going to go to the halls. As soon as he would let go, I would be speeding out of the trench I had hid myself in and racing to the house.

There was no response, however. The object wrapped itself tighter around my scales. I turned. This wasn't Otto. A huge slimy eel was hanging onto my tail. He was gleaming with Darkness, something I had always been told was a myth. Now that I saw it, though, I knew exactly what it was.

"Eek! Let go of me, you stupid eel! How did you get through the gates?!"

Eels were banished from the village a long time ago, way before I was born. Gates had been put around each and every city to keep the bad things out. The eels had never managed to infiltrate the Capital of Merillia, however. This was definitely a first.

The eel wrapped it's body tighter around me and answered. "I know no gates."

Then I remembered. The gates had been brought down by our lack of kelp a couple days ago. Kelp was a main contributor to the gates. They kept them strong and mad sure nothing could get in unless they went through the Main Entrance or the two Side Entrances. Only approved visitors can get in, but when the Kelp started to wilt , the Gates weakened. The monsters had entered freely and tore up the remaining bits.