10 Minute Tales, Part 2

Oct 17 - Reversal 2

Mica smiled. "I... I'm honoured that you're interested, but..." her smile dropped a little. "It's not ready yet..."

"It ain't?" he frowned slightly. "What's missing?"

"Your blood..." she mumbled. He clearly wasn't impressed, crossing his arms and frowning a little.

"Why do you need somethin' like that?"

"Blood is, well... it's a way to show who you are. Nobody has the same blood, even among family. In this charm, the blood acts as the link between our spirits, a way to tie the body to the correct soul..."

"So what?"

"Well... if I do it right, we'll keep our gender correct. You will become a merman, and I will become a female human. I-if I have the charm right, that is..." She revealed another shell. This one was longer, slender and had a bit of seaweed wrapped around one end. He recognised a dagger when he saw one.

"And if you don't?"

"Well, I... I'm not sure..." she shook her head nervously. "I don't usually work with this sort of thing..." he crossed his arms, unimpressed. "I-I think I've got it right, though, so please..." she pressed the blade against her palm, blood dribbling down its length gently.

"Careful there, missy, that's a lot of blood." he frowned, fingers twitching as he resisted holding her hand.

"I'm okay..." she mumbled, clenching her hand a little tighter and bringing it over the charm. A couple of drops of her blood fell onto the shell, making it glow with a soft blue flame. "It's a lot of blood, but merkin have longevity. A cut like this is trivial."

"Huh..." he grinned. What he could do with a gift like that... he frowned and shook his head. That sort of thought was what got him in this mess in the first place. "So, what, do I need to do the same?"

"Yes... please be careful. Humans are vulnerable to bleeding, are they not?"

"Eh, I've had worse." he shrugged, holding his hand out too. "So you need the blood?"

"Yes. Once you've supplied some, the charm should do the rest."

"Should?" he frowned again. "You don't seem very confident."

"My mother had not taught me the finer points..." she smiled awkwardly, looking away. "But I taught myself. My father's tomes told me more than she ever did."

"So you're sure you're ready?" he frowned, looking up. He had almost forgotten about the rain, even as it poured on to him. "You don't sound it."

"Yes, I'm sure. Please..." she reached up, the shell-dagger in her other hand. "If you're ready, we can... we can begin."

"..." he looked back to the town. It was true that he'd lost a lot of money, but it wasn't entirely over either. There was still the chance of an honest wage, he could use his sailing knowledge somewhere. All he needed was a chance... he frowned as he realised. That chance would have him thrown into jail. He would be used as an example to warn off piracy. He didn't have a choice. "Just take the damn blood."