Ever After #7: Waves of Scales

Chapter 11.1: The Foundation

ASCEIA WOKE UP from a bad dream. Even when asleep, she was still haunted by the curse planted in her mind by the new Order. It’s been days and still, she can’t brush it off, like a parasite clinging and sucking out her life. Her mind was very silent, she was not hearing her people’s voices anymore, and that silence made her think of things she doesn’t want to.

It was still dark and she can hear the insects making noise around the house. Her eyelids were still heavy but she chose to stay awake. She got up from her bed and looked over her shoulder to check on Troy sleeping on the other bed in the corner of the room. He was still deeply asleep and snoring lightly. She heaved a sigh and walked to the mirror hanging on the wall.

She wiped the dirt on the corner of her eyes, yawned, and fixed her long curly hair with her fingers. She slightly lifted her head to take a clearer look at her neck. She touched her scar and held her breath after reliving the memory of how she got it. The memory of her mother who slit her throat and took her ability to speak and sing scarred her mind so much that every day, her disappointment and anger towards her kept building up. But she can’t have her revenge anymore. She and other elders were gone.

She opened her mouth and tried to speak. But no words came out of her throat, only air and pain. She stopped trying and massaged her neck instead. She looked at herself again and felt sorry for her condition. Her skin, especially her lips, was rough and starting to crack and itch. She felt so dried up. She was vulnerable and abandoned by her people. Every day, her energy was draining, and her senses were dulled. She was thirsty for water and her skin was screaming for the sea. But she can’t think of water, even the idea of drinking haunts her mind. She was hopeless and just waiting for her death.

She took a deep breath, slowly left the room, and headed outside the old house without making any noise. Feeling the cold air embrace her and the silence that she had gotten used to, Asceia walked the path made out of bent and crushed grasses that she made in the last five days. Every day, she jumped over the fence, wander around the woods, passed in between the trees, and explored other parts of the area to sort her thoughts and release her frustrations. But that morning was different. For the first time, she heard a voice from the being she didn’t expect to hear.

“Asceia...” She stopped walking and right in front of her, a sercean appeared floating midair.

“G...Goddess Aesercean,” she telepathically whispered. “I didn’t expect you to be here...after you let my mother and the elders attempted to kill me.”

“Asceia...I am just a consciousness that exists in all sercean minds. I have no power over anyone’s decisions.”

She faced her again and look right through her eyes. “What do you want?”

“You need to get back to the water.”

“I...I can’t. The New Order cursed me.”

“Curses have cures. You just need to find it.”

“But where?”

“I chose you as my warrior because you always do what’s best for our kind. Now I’m asking you this...You need to get back into the sea to confront Yrevia and stop her. She may have spared the lives of humans for today, but we know she’s planning for something bigger.” The Goddess sounded so worried and afraid.

“She was like me before, wasn’t she?”

“She’s also a Sirencean, like you I chose her as my warrior when the pirates started hunting us. We did win, but she craved power. She used her abilities for selfish reasons. That’s why I punished her and your species, I took the Voice of the Ocean and imprisoned her and her followers in the memory chamber.”

“But why now? They broke out of the memory chamber days ago. You should have warned me.”

“Because she can cause disturbances in the ocean that messed up the telepathic communication. I only got this chance right now because she and her Order is out in the land. Asceia, you are our only hope. She’s not fighting for our people, she’s fighting for herself. I’m afraid she will bring the end of our kind---”

Out of a sudden, Goddess Aesercean just went silent. She was left in the woods, alone with her heart beating loudly. She was left to think of her situation and condition, the request and warning of her goddess. It wasn’t an easy thing to ignore, for both man and sercean kind was in danger. She tried to brush off the heavy feeling in her chest but it won’t go away. She then took a deep breath and walk back.

Reaching the house, she was caught in between shock and confusion after walking into the living room with a group of strangers talking with Troy. With her presence, they stopped speaking and all eyes darted to her. She immediately sensed danger and uneasiness. She extended her barbed stinger and clenched her jaw tightly to endure the pain of her serrated stinger tearing her flesh and skin.

“Asceia...” Troy stood up and raised his hand, gesturing for her to calm down. “They are not a threat. Let me explain first.”

“Who are these people?” she telepathically asked while checking out the strangers, assessing for anything suspicious.

“I didn’t tell you about them because I don’t want you to have a bad impression or negative idea about this. Yesterday, I finally found them, the members of the Wave Foundation, Cynthia told me about this before she died. They can help us, Asceia, especially with your condition.”

“You told them? You led these people in here and never told me, and you expect me to trust them? I didn’t say I need help. Even if my body is failing, I can still kill them now,” she warned. “Give me one good reason not to slit their throats right now.”

“Please, Asceia. Give them a chance. They worked with my parents. They’re good people.”

“What are they after?” she asked while enduring the pain in her wrists as they kept bleeding. “Most of the humans offer help because they’re going to get something out of it.”

“They are doing this because they wanted to protect both serceans and humans. They hope for the good of all.”

She retracted her stinger and she felt doubled pain after how it went back and slice her open wounds. She ignored the bleeding and looked at the two men and three women in their eyes. She connected with them and telepathically she spoke in their minds, “What are you doing here?”

A woman sitting on the couch stood. She fixed her clothes and walked closer to her without showing any signs of fear. She extended her hand. “I am Fatima, the head of the Foundation. Troy managed to track us. He said you needed help.”

“And what do you want?”