A Touch of Ruin ✓

The Murder of the Human Prince

"You will die tonight."

The seawater had turned red.

Crimson replaced the placid blue. Waves sloshed and splashed against each other, creating giant ripples in the sea. It churned and churned in frothy circles, reddened with blood. A ship swayed in its midst. Men shouted and anchors were lowered. Then, a scream:

"MAHINA!"

A boom of cannon. Another scream, this time much louder than the one before. Bits of fins and flesh flew high in the air before falling into the sea with audible thuds. Abruptly, everything went silent. The water returned to its calm state.

What remained was the corpse of her sister, floating with her eyes open and most of her lower tail gone.

Tears ran down from Mahina's eyes. She held onto a boulder by the shore, waiting for the potion to transform her. Pain stabbed every part of her body. It was as if a thousand red-hot needles had been poked into her body. Still, the remembrance of the ghastly day came to haunt her again.

"Nera."

A tender wail rose from her lips. The name of her little sister, the light of her life. Torn from her chest by the awful humans who cared not about their actions.

What was her fault? She had been a little too curious about those demons, a curiosity that established her as nothing more than a hunting target for them.

But it will end tonight; they will know what pain is.

It was in the middle of the night. The sky was a blanket of utter darkness. No star rose from within its abysmal womb. Even the moon was just a crescent, glowing with faint light which could not light the sea's surface. By the shore was anchored a ship, swayed by the waves beneath.

"Urgh..."

Mahina scrunched her face in pain. She clutched onto a jagged rock rising from the boulder, biting her lower lip with full force. Her fingers bled. Spit rolled down from her mouth. The potion was burning her from within, mustering all her strength she looked behind her shoulder.

She gasped at it.

Her tail - it was gone! It seemed as if it had never existed. In its place were a pair of limbs, smooth and rosy like her skin. For a few moments, she looked at it with rapt attention; she was feeling like a child again.

Pressing her bleeding hands on the boulder's surface, Mahina rose on her newly formed feet. A sight to behold she was at that instant. Night's gloom was the sole cloth that she wore while the sea gurgled behind her. Standing there on the boulder, she resembled a goddess risen from the depths of the sea.

She touched the tip of the knife tied into her braid. Sighing relief, she took the first step. Pain shot her with the force of a million whirlpools. She stumbled and fell face down on the sand.

Gritting her teeth, she rose again. With unsteady steps, she walked towards the ship, inches away from the boulder. A bulky black mass upon the soft blue of the sea. It loomed high over her head, wearing a sign of foreboding.

Its hulls cut through the layers of clouds and rose towards the heavens. Flags, silver in shade with a three-headed serpent in the middle, flew from its poles.

Mahina did not remember too many times when she had seen such ships. Her home did not lead to anywhere important, nor was it situated around some mesmerizing tropical island. Thus, when this ship had come a week ago, she and the others in their pod had been confused.

Apparently, they were here to celebrate - and hunt.

Nera was not the only one who died in their hands. Dolphins, turtles, sea lions, sharks, eels and many other fishes had perished too at a rate one rarely saw. They spared no one, not even the young ones.

She saw them lifting heaps of these creatures onto the deck of their vessel. They left the fishes to thrash about, unable to breathe and eventually give up. They put burning metal within the heads of the dolphins and the larger creatures. The others said that some of them ate the animals alive.

Then came the day of her sister's slaughter.

She recalled clearly how they cheered each other on the ship. She recalled clearly the grey-eyed man with an iron diadem on his forehead, the shouts of congratulations he had received. They hailed him as their prince. Later, she learnt he was the one who ordered the cannon to be fired.

"You will die tonight." Enduring the equal agony that he had caused.

She spat on the ground. What celebration was this that made others cry, that stole mother from child? Tonight she will end it all. Without the head, the body would be useless. They would go back to their lands. No one else would die. Peace will return to their lives. The sea, her home, will be safe again.

Euphemie's last warning rang in her ears. Of how fate could be colder than the northern seas. But does it really matter? No, thought Mahina, walking closer and closer to the ship.

Even death would not be enough to make her regret this decision.

***

The human prince held his new bride, deep in sleep.

Mahina looked down at them, fire burning in her eyes. She was a sight to behold - naked, with water dripping from her body and the glistening dagger in her hand. There were many cuts on her; the ropes through which she had climbed onto the deck had been rough on her skin.

The night bathed the chamber in darkness. It was big, but the many trunks and trinkets which filled it made it seem a lot smaller. Nothing moved. No one made a sound. Faraway she could hear the soft gurgle of the sea.

Mahina took a small step forward, closing her eyes as the pain traversed through her body. It was like standing on fire and one ice at the same time. The ache brought tears to her eyes every time she moved her newly formed legs.

But she would finish what she had started, no matter what.

She bent over the prince. Still sleeping. Raising her fingers, she let a drop of water fall on his face, but he made no movement. At last! Here was her chance. With a throbbing heart, she shifted the dagger to her other hand and, in one quick motion, slit the throat of the prince.

It moved most smoothly, tearing the skin and exposing the flesh. Like an underwater spring, blood dribbled down from the wound, wetting the pillow on which he slept. Mahina watched it without once averting her gaze. Why, this was almost like the time when she and Nera would cut seaweeds for food!

Time bled into oblivion. Then, as the beat of her heart stopped, she took the dagger to lips. Euphemie's words of what she should do with it rang in her ears. She stuck out her tongue and took a tentative lick.

The taste made her feel so wonderful. It was like she was floating amidst the clouds. Even the pain she felt was gone. It felt so good: the rusty taste of the warm blood on her lips and tongue.

How sweet vengeance could be was all she could think.

~•~