the little mermaid | jellal fernandes [discontinued]

Chapter 18- The Surface

"Now sing." 

And I sung. 

My voice came out just like I remember it- fluid, and calming. A pain went through me as I realized I would lose the ability to sing, but I dismissed it. 

The steam of the cauldron turned green- bright as green moray eel. And with my fright, two veiny hands emerged, made of the same material. Aquarius controlled them like she was their puppeteer- fingers long and bony, curling its bones wickedly as they snapped at me. 

They came closer and closer, and I watched as they sunk down my throat. 

It didn't hurt- no, I didn't feel anything at all. But as soon as they came back out, holding a glowing, glinting object, I realized I wasn't the one singing anymore. 

With an inaudible gasp, my hands went to my throat. 

I watched as her puppet hands dunked my voice in the cauldron, and Aquarius fished it back out with her real hand. However, an amulet came out instead- of a shell, a conch shell held up by a string. 

Everything went by so fast after that. 

The cauldron erupted, spewing hot orange liquid everywhere. 

It surrounded me. Enveloped me. 

And then I screamed. 

It ripped apart my tail into two pieces- tears fell from my eyes as I saw my (f/c) scales scatter through the water, more and more. At the same time, a new feeling crept up my tail- refreshing, wrapping around the two pieces as if healing. 

And then it ended. 

I let out a scream. 

Tried to, at least. 

Instead- bubbles erupted from my mouth, the same salt water I grew up in invading my body. 

I gasp. 

Aquarius gave me one last grin, and swam away. 

I desperately tried to swim up, but the- legs- just weren't made for that. My arms beat at the water. No. No. I don't want to die like this. 

As if hearing my prayer, Amica and Kelton dash towards me. 

Each taking one of my arms, they lead me through one of the gaps in the ribs of the Megalodon. 

I prepared myself to be burned by the hydrothermal vents- but I didn't. I still had mermaid's skin and could withstand heat like that. 

Pressure pushed on my windpipe. 

More bubbles. 

The surface came closer and closer, a barrier to the air I now needed to breath in. 

No more gills on my neck. 

"Ah!" 

It wasn't me that gasped- but Amica, needing her air as well. 

But I felt much more relieved. 

Never had I craved air like that. Never had I loved the fresh morning sun shining down on my skin. Never had I looked at the sky with such wonder. 

* 

The palace had grown over the years- much larger, sloping down and taking up part of the coast. The white stone burned in the sun- so bright, but the Prince on the rocks didn't seem to care. 

"I can't get her voice out of my head," he murmured. "where could she be?" 

His companion said nothing, unusually quiet. 

It was not normal for Natsu Dragneel to say nothing- he was known to be loud and painfully obnoxious- expressing his opinion and not giving a shit to whoever was listening. But now, not a word escaped from his mouth as long as the topic stayed on that girl. 

The girl that had saved Jellal, which only them believed to be true. The rest, the court, thought of it as pure nonsense. 

Freed included. 

They made sure not a word of it escaped into the public. Their exact statement went something along the lines of 'God knows what would happen if the citizens heard that their future king believed he was saved by a girl in the middle of the ocean'.

Lunacy, the court would call it. When in fact, others, the majority, would label it as romantic and spark up old tales of the sea. 

However, the Prince did not know that the entire crew of the broken ship had his back. 

"Where could she be?" 

*

I joyfully swing my hair to my side, sending a giddy Amica and a grumpy Kelton a kiss. 

'How do I look?' I mouth, the two animals knowing my exact intentions. They take a good look at the attempt of human clothing- an abandoned sale, tied at the back of my neck, and a sturdy rope around my waist to keep it in place. 

The material reeked of seaweed and salt, but it was only comforting tp me on such foreign land. 

I had only just mastered standing up and what they call walking. God, how do they do it all day? It's much more boring then swimming, and you can't go that fast. 

I plumped myself down in the sand. 

My fingertips immediately smoothed over the soft skin of my legs- no more rough scales, but skin. It went up to my thighs, soft and smooth. 

I have toes as well- toes like Jellal. 

It took me a while to stop wiggling them. I have ten of them, just like my fingers. 

"Eh, it's good enough," Kelton groaned. "not like clothing is going to help him fall in love with you." 

I roll my eyes. What enthusiasm. 

"I can't believe you did it, you insensitive wrench!" he bursts out again. For the fifth time this morning. "what would you father say? Well, I'll tell you what her father would say! He would kill her, lock her up in the dungeons if he found out! He'll fire me, make me into an outcast, never to enter the merkingdom again! And you- you are just sitting here drawing in the sand?!" 

I send him a look. 

I wiggled a finger, telling him to come over and read what I wrote. 

"Ah, yes, finally. An apology, this is what I've been waiting for," the crab says with a smug grin, looking down to read what was written. 

Shut up you old crab. 

"That's enough!" he screams, becoming redder and redder by the moment. "I've had it with you! I'm going to swim back and tell your father everything- don't you shake your head at me- or we can go back to the witch and trade your voice back- don't look at me like that- " 

I whimpered, giving him my best puppy dog eyes. 

He sighs. "I can not believe I am agreeing to this madness. But... you're going to be miserable for the rest of your life, right?" 

I give him a sad smile and a nod. 

"Fine... fine, I'll help you find that Prince." 

In an act of fleeting happiness, I give him a kiss on his ruby skin. 

"Why, what a softshell I'm turning out to be..." 

I stretch, picking up another sail to find a softer fabric. The moment I touch it, footsteps come. Tripple-trapple. 

I look up, meeting deep onyx eyes. 

Splash. 

Amica and Kelton dive headfirst into the water, leaving me vulnerable against the pink-haired stranger. 

My throat clogs up as I stumble backwards. 

"Hey- aren't you that girl-"

"Natsu, there you are. Ready to go back?"