Insula Somnium, Isle of Dreams.

Chapter Seven

Dedicated to Lisa Dieterich for being awesome!

I waited in my iron cage, walking around it restlessly. It was quite small, made to hold ten people at most. I was the only alive one in here. On the floor of my cage bones were scattered everywhere, and some were ripped open, the marrow sucked clean out. The smell of saliva and bone mixed together overwhelmed my senses, and I wanted to be out of theret, so that I could run away from the horrible stench. 

I looked up at the moon, which was casting a bright, brilliant light atop the water. I leaned against the bars of my cage, sighing. If I was correct, it should be midnight by now, but there was no sign that Genevieve was coming. 

I hadn't seen her at all since she and Ariel locked me up in here, and left me alone. Some other younger girl came and gave me some meat on a stick. I was so hungry, I didn't even care what kind of meat it was, and dug in. I sighed in relief when I tasted it and found it was rabbit meat. I got excited when I realized that I actually could survive on this island if I escaped. 

And now, I just lay in wait, hoping that Genevieve really was coming.

As if reading my thoughts, she emerged from the water, her hair and dress somehow remaining dry. She walked up to me, and smiled.

"How were you able to get out without looking like a..." I trailed off,

"...Mermaid?" She finished for me, "If Taylor was around long enough, then I'd teach her our tricks. But she doesn't seem to want to learn from me." She let me out of the cage, and I walked close to the water. I crouched down and breathed in the salty air, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Are you comfortable in your cage?"Genevieve asked, coming behind me. I stood up.

"Comfortable?" 

"Yes, do you feel the need for us to make you a new cage?"

"Humans don't live in cages." I said firmly.

"They don't?" She asked, her eyes wide. I studied her face, to make sure she wasn't just playing with me. But she seemed to be completely surprised.

"Then where do they live?" She asked.

"Houses, don't you remember?" 

"No," She shook her head sadly, "I don't. I've been here for a long time,"

"How long?" I asked.

"I'm not sure. When I was human, we used to go places in carriages, and we never used to speak in the way you do now."

It didn't compute that she could be thousands of years old. So I dismissed her comment abruptly, and continued with her purpose here in the first place.

"So we should get going, right?" I said.

"Yes, we should." She said. She started walking along the beach, and I followed. 

"So who are we going to meet?" I asked.

"She's an elder, she's been here even longer than I have," She paused, "She's one of the first."

"The first?"

"Legend has it that there were five mermaids originally, who then spread their disease, creating our giant mermaid population that we have today."

"But if your population is so big, how does the human public not know about you?" 

"We're well spread out, but this, this island, is our home."

"So basically I'm standing on mermaid central," I said drily.

"And you're the food. How does that make you feel?" She joked. I smiled.