Misfit Trials

Chapter 11

Ariel gave birth to a beautiful baby girl in late August. She was immediately in love. Ariel named her after her home, Aegae. She regretted that she would never be able to take her daughter home or introduce her to her family. By naming the baby after her childhood home, Ariel would honor her people and her family.

Eric visited when the child was two weeks old. Janni had taken the baby out to her room in the barn so that Ariel could sleep. Eric sat in the bed with Ariel, marveling over her already flat stomach and her glowing skin. He kissed her hair, her eyes, her lips. He was cupping her breast beneath her nightgown when the front door opened. The baby was crying and Janni announced that Aegae was hungry. Eric stood, surprising Janni into a fast curtsey.

Eric went to take the child from Janni, but upon seeing her, he recoiled. Wrapped in a pink knitted blanket was Aegae. Her clear skin was the color of green sea glass. Her hair was a startling, fiery red. Her tiny ears were curled into themselves and she had tiny pointed teeth. Her eyes were entirely filled by her pupils. She was the perfect replica of her mother's mermaid form.

"What is that?" Eric cried, looking at Ariel.

"It is your child," Ariel said.

"That is an abomination!" Eric screamed. "Get rid of it! Now!" With that, Eric ran out of the cottage.

Ariel was crushed and in a panic. Aegae was the love of her life. She could never "get rid" of her. She had to save her. But how?

Janni immediately set about packing clothing and food.

"We have to leave," Janni said, speaking rapidly. "We have to get out of Eric's reach. We can't stay here. We have to get far, far away." Janni helped Ariel dress and bundled up the baby. She pulled a mirror out of her bag, grabbed Ariel's arm as Ariel held the baby, and said "Hanau."

Instantly, the three were transported to a small village. They were behind a two-story, stone house. The windows were shuttered and the grounds were enclosed by a tall fence. A thick forest bordered one side of the village and a river ran along the other side.

Janni pulled a ring of keys from her pocket. She quickly picked out a key and shoved it into the backdoor lock. She pushed Ariel in the house and shut and locked the door.

Nikolaus had given Janni the mirror as a parting gift. He knew Eric was a volatile man. The palace had tried to keep many of Eric's darker deeds hidden, but Nikolaus knew where the bodies were hidden. Literally. Janni was one of Nikolaus's oldest and dearest servants. He wanted to give her a way to get out.

Nikolaus showed Janni how to use the mirror to transport her and anything or anyone that she was touching to another place. All she needed to do was say the name of the town she wanted to go to and the mirror would transport her there. Nikolaus had Janni set up multiple locations through mirror, but she was not to tell Nikolaus where they were. He knew that Eric was not above torture and he did not want to be the reason that Janni was found.

Janni listened to Nikolaus. She took his money and set up houses in seven separate locations: Hanau, Germany; Daresbury, England; Barneville-la-Bertran, France; Boguchar, Russia; Paris, France; Bloemfontein, South Africa; and Florence, Italy. When Ariel went out with Nikolaus or Eric, Janni used the mirror to visit one of her homes. She carefully cultivated relationships with people in each town. She needed to know when strangers came and to hear news from Denmark. Making friends gave her allies in the town that could hide her and help her hear the rumors. Janni stocked each home with clothing, dry goods, and money. She was ready for the surety that Eric would become too much to handle. But, she hadn't planned on bringing Ariel with her. She loved Ariel, but her death would likely be how Janni knew to leave. Aegae's birth had changed everything.