Chapter One: So Much for A Happy Ending
The fire burned a bright orange reminiscent of fading sunlight leaving a twilight sky. I stared silently into it. My mind far off into the distance as I recollected what had just happened a few hours before. My weekend adventure with my mother had ended in a tragedy, and there was nothing I could do about it. Kieran was dead, and Grandma Adelaide had taken to her room for hours. Completely unexpected, and out of nowhere we had been ambushed by poachers. Mom suspected that they had followed us to the house, and probably waited for the chance to clarify that I was the next princess in line to merge our two clans. I shuddered suddenly. The realization of what had happened was more than I could bear, but I would never forget it. Not as long as I lived.
“Vanna, Vanna?” Mom’s voice broke through the silence of my thoughts, and I shook my head before looking back at her.
“Yes, Mom?” I had hardly known him, and yet I found myself already wondering if I had truly escaped anything by being born in America. She frowned once I looked up at her, but her expression spoke bounds.
“Nothing, I just wondered if maybe you would like something to eat?” She sighed, and began to walk away. She must have realized I wasn’t in a talkative mood. Suddenly I found myself drifting off into the memory of what had happened.
A smashing sound echoed behind us, and I turned to see what it was I heard the screams of a few of the girls who had been sitting on the porch.
“Run!” Kieran yelled out to me pushing me off the porch as he hopped over the railing, and dashed out towards the aggressors. There were two men approaching us with what appeared to be rifles, but I had no chance to be sure of the caliber before smashing into the ground beneath me.
“Mom! Mom!” I screamed as loud as possible, but all I could see was darkness. Gunshots fired behind me, and in fear I ran through the wide-open yard towards our car. Behind me I could hear the shrieks of the people on the porch, and dogs barking wildly.
“You won’t get too far, missy! Your pelt will be ours just like the rest of your clans!” I turned to peer over my shoulder as I ran to see Kieran rushing the man who had threatened me. I watched in horror as he took his head in between his palms and began to twist his neck to the side. The perpetrator fired a shot directly into Kieran’s chest, but it didn’t stop him from completing his task. Suddenly I watched as the man fell limp to the ground, but just as Kieran turned to look at me I knew he was gone. Blood had splattered all across the front of his shirt, and as he hit his knees my mouth fell agape. The second man had already been killed, and lay some seven feet or so from his partner’s limp body. Jogging over to Kieran’s side I fell to my knees.
“Oh, my God!” I wailed as my hands fell to his chest. It was a grave wound, and I knew that no ambulance would make it out here in enough time to save him. There was entirely too much blood loss. Even I knew that at seventeen years old. Kieran grabbed for my hands, and pulled me down to whisper against my cheek,
“Vanna, I waited forty years for you. Forty years I waited, and if this is the only thing I could do to show you the capability of love I had...”His voice trailed off, and with a sighing breath he closed his eyes, and fell limp upon the ground. Lifting my hands I peered at the crimson stains upon them. I began to tremble, and laying my forehead upon his chest I whispered in fear,
“May angels guide you to your rest, and God bless your soul from haunting this realm.” It was the only thing I could think to say. Suddenly I found myself being surrounded by the others.
“Take the bodies down to the swamp, and dump them. As for Kieran we’ll give him a traditional burial after I contact his father.” It was the sound of broken English, and I recognized it as the voice of my grandmother Adelaide. Lifting my head from its placement I steadied my gaze upon her face, and suddenly worried about my mother.
“Where’s my mom?” I sobbed. Two of the girls came to help me up, and pulled me back from his body. I could barely find the strength to stand. Nothing so tragic had ever taken place in front of me. I was in shock, and my Mom’s presence was all I wanted.
“Sh, it’s okay. She’s here.” The girls moved out of the way so mom could come to my side.
“Gillian, do not baby her. She has to come into her own.” My grandmother quickly scolded her for her desire to be nurturing. I found it horrifying, and without any hesitation I fired off an angry retort.
“What the hell is wrong with you people? I just met you, witnessed three murders, and now you won’t let my mother calm me!” The angry redhead in me was not going to budge now. I was infuriated, scared, sad, and shaken. I shook my head bringing my hands up to cover my face as I began to cry uncontrollably. Why had my mom brought me to this place? Why had she struck out on bringing me to meet family I had no idea existed, and introduce me to someone I never met. Someone I was somehow supposed to marry? And now they were clearly dead! It all had to be a nightmare, but it wasn’t. My tears rolled down my cheeks one after the other, and I trembled to the point I felt my legs going out from underneath me. It was then that I felt the sensation of someone wrapping his or her arms around me, and pulling me close. I knew it was my mother before I ever looked up to see her face. She was shaken by the experience too. I could see it in her eyes, and I wondered what my father was going to say when he finally heard what happened. Was I going to have to deal with another lecturing about this being the very reason why I couldn’t ever resort to being a Selkie in natural habitat? I was beginning to hate everything I had found out. I was beginning to think that maybe I would’ve been better never seeing the pelts, and never enjoying the frolicking we spent at the sea. I couldn’t make any sense of anything. Here my parents did not want me to know about the pelts for so long, or any of my history, and now suddenly I was catapulted into meeting family members, and my betrothed who was now dead?
“Vanna, you have to understand. This has been a clan issue amongst our species for a very long time. Our pelts are not like the normal seals. They are worth their literal weight in gold because of how luxurious the coat is. The poachers know if they hunt us all out we will not procreate for them to continue selling their products. So they do this.” My mother waved her hand at the land around us, and made a reference to everything that had just happened. Strangely I felt a sudden release from my fears. Although my tears had not yet ceased I felt refreshed. My mother must have noticed that because she then reached up to wipe my cheeks, “No need for tears over what happened. Everything is okay now. All is well that ends somewhat well, no?”
Regardless of her words being absolutely meaningless in every other comparison to what had just happened I felt a false sense of security. Who said teenagers couldn’t still get their hopes up with a little affection given by their mother? Whoever did was clearly wrong, or just had a really bad one because in that moment my mom had erased all my anxiety with nothing, but a hug, wiping my tears, and a few simple words. I settled into her embrace, and inhaled deeply. In a matter of a few hours my entire perception on life had been drastically changed. With an exhalation my mother pulled herself away, and held my arms as she looked over my face.
“Vanna, I promise it will be okay. Let’s go inside, and get you something to drink. We’ll let the rest of the family handle this tragedy for a few minutes.” She looked from me to my grandmother, and the rest of the group before glancing back at me again. My eyes ran to the ground, and I nodded without any argument. All I wanted was to get out of there. Out from beneath their cold stares that seemed to make me feel icy, and rigid even though it was clearly far from being fall. My mother slid her hand down to grasp my own, and began pulling me towards the house.
