A Merman's Tale

Fates: Chapter Thirty-Nine

Seirra

It was an understatement to say that Marge had a panic attack upon seeing my father's transformation. She went pale in less than a minute, her body going rigid before her hand unconsciously reached out to try and help Kalus. Her feet were rooted on the spot though, and she could only watch as my father dropped to the ground, crying in pain.

And then something must have snapped in her because she was suddenly shaking me, demanding for me to do something. She started babbling, debating with herself whether it was worth the risk to bring a magical creature to a hospital or not. I continued to watch Kalus, my muddled thoughts stopping me from doing anything. I almost tuned Margaret out but I caught on her next worry.

"Do you think it's wise to--" she was saying before I heard her surprised gasp. "Oh my god! He's naked!" She abruptly turned her back as an attempt at modesty and continued with her blabber. "How could I not have noticed it a while ago? Seirra! Your father's naked! We've got to put clothes on him as soon as possible. The cold might be making it more difficult for him. Oh my god! What do we do?"

I should have found this funny but I could not bring about that kind of emtion. Right now, all I could think of was how much I did not know about my own father and how so many mysteries were being solved by his presence on land.

His cries turned to screams as the pain became more and more unbearable.

"Argh! Whatever! It's just a naked body anyway," Marge said to me or to herself as she spun around to face my father again.

He was still suffering like a wounded animal. This was obviously the effects of the curse that made human interaction fatal to us. The consequences weren't instantaneous but the abnormal rate of aging caused by magic was a torture that was less preferable than sudden death. I was lucky to be able to use magic that countered the curse but this week-long trip was not at a low cost.

Suddenly, Erwann's warning voice came back to me.

She's...she's dying, Seirra.

I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists. I wanted to lash out again because of how unfair everything was. I could take an attack against me but endangering the lives of both Margaret and Marina was a choice I never would have made. Unfortunately, I was helpless in this situation. Fate was not in my hands and I had to live with the fact that my friends and loved ones would always be at risk.

"Seirra! What exactly is happening to him?" Marge demanded for what seemed to be the sixth or seventh time.

His magic must have been what had kept his body from showing how fast he was aging. Now however, he was too weak to summon even a drop of magic to ease his pain.

"Seirra, your father's dying!"

Margaret was shaking me again and this time, the meaning of her words finally hit me.

Another person was dying. My father was dying.

I moved in a flash, asking the Key for his clothes and using my own healing abilities to at least slow down his torture. There was not much I could do seeing as I had not fully recovered from the fight so I decided that we could no longer stay here.

"Marge, we need to get him somewhere we won't be seen. We've stayed here too long."

She understood the implications of what happened and she looked around, trying to figure out if the fight and the screams had attracted anybody's attention. We were not anywhere near the streets and the gym was at the back of the school but we had already pushed the limits of what we could risk tonight. She saw nobody and nodded.