When Worlds Collide

Chapter 34

"The Selkie Wife loved her children but she could never forget the song of the sea which called to her." Gray narrated to Juvia. "Many times she pleaded with her husband to return her coat to her but he refused. As the days went on, she gradually became ill with misery. Her children could not bear to see their mother this way, so one day the most clever of them, her son, followed their father to a secret spot where he had hidden the selkie coat. The child then swiped the coat and returned it to his mother. She embraced the boy and promised her children that she would love them forever. After that she put on her coat, once more became a seal, and disappeared into the sea. The fisherman and none of the villagers ever saw her again, but at night the fisherman's children would sneak out to the shore to where their mother would visit them always."

Juvia listened to him in amazement as she pictured the remarkable folktale in her mind. He was such an incredible story teller, so gifted in knowing the right tone to speak and describing each factor so well. She never thought she'd meet anyone who could tell a story as good as Levy could.

"Did you like that one?" He asked her.

She nodded.

"You know you're the first woman I've met other than my mother or Ur who actually likes these stories. You don't think they're stupid or juvenile. Can I tell you a secret?"

She nodded again.

"Okay the only other person I've told this to is Ur and that's because I'm pretty sure anyone else would think that I've lost my mind. But something tells me you wouldn't, would you?"

She shook her head.

"Alright then, the secret is my father believed that he met a selkie once."

Curiosity and interest shined within the little mermaid's eyes.

"Do you want to hear about it?"

She nodded.

"It was sometime after he had met my mother, he was off sailing across the seas in search of the perfect jewel to propose to her with. On the journey his ship was attacked by pirates and he was thrown overboard. But someone saved him and brought him to a small island. When he awoke with a brain fever and he was the house of a maiden. For days she stayed by his side and nursed him back to health with special remedies and healing methods that were unknown to most people. When my father recovered, he promised her anything she desired in exchange for saving his life and she told him that all she wanted was to become his wife because she had fallen in love with him during all that time they spent together. My father was kind and a man of his word, but he pleaded with her not to ask that of him because although he was fond of her, he loved my mother more than life itself and could never know joy again without her. The girl was heartbroken but she didn't hold him to his promise. Instead she blessed their love by giving him a boat to sail home with. He offered to let her return with him and to make her a lady of the court but she insisted that her true home was in the sea. The next morning as my father made ready to leave, he couldn't find her, he did however find the most beautiful jewel he could have imagined on board that boat and as he was sailing away, he noticed a seal watching from behind the rocks. A seal that had eyes just like the girl. He never really knew for certain if she was a selkie or not but he always believed she was one."

"She was a selkie." Juvia wanted to tell Gray. "You can always tell who a person is by their eyes. That's how I knew how truly wonderful you are."

At that moment, Panther Lily had finally managed to crawl all the way up to the Summer Palace and was now climbing vines that hung along the walls of the castle. He entered through a small open window and began to search for Juvia with the same stealth as a cat from the land. Sea-cats, unlike most sea creatures, were bio-elemental, that meant they could jump between two worlds. They could live on land or in water, though they usually preferred the sea.