Children of the Water (Yandere M. x F. Reader)

Dreadful Awakening

A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.

Limbs sore, (f/n) felt smooth and cold stone beneath her. Her body shivered from the ice-like rock, but there was nothing to alleviate it. (F/n)'s hands grasped for something, and her mind played the trick on her that Tarhuinn was nearby. When still nothing met her fingers, she opened her eyes. Groaning from the aching of her body, she steadily pushed herself into a sitting position while she regained her vision.

She turned away from the stone wall in front of her and shifted to look the other way. To her fright, she was met with several pairs of eyes. Merfolk watched her, and some whispered some things betwixt themselves. Frankly, she doubted that their words were in her favor, but she was still alive so that was a positive. Where was Tarhuinn, though? Had they killed him?

Panic beginning to bubble up, she scanned the space. There was only the small stone area that she was on and the surrounding merfolk-filled water. Her stomach was starting to feel sick. What if they really had ended his life? She would never get to enjoy his warm embrace again or the teasing that they had with each other. It was as though a void was slowly creating itself within her heart and mind. Was this how he had felt when she left for the cabin? If so, she was gradually beginning to understand why he had wished for her to come back so badly.

Meeting the gaze of a mermaid, she managed to ask without stuttering, "Where's my husband?" The mermaid in response looked to another one. They spoke a few quiet words, but this only increased her distress. "Please, tell me ..." She nearly couldn't form the next question. "I-is ... he d-dead?"

Before the mermaid that she had previously made eye contact with could answer, the one next to her took her place. "He's near to dying, but we're keeping him alive for now. His fate will be decided soon as will yours. Hopefully, we'll be able to take back what was stolen from us."

Despite being perplexed by the mermaid's last statement, (f/n) was relieved to hear that her husband was breathing still. There was a chance for them both after all. Unfortunately, the odds were stacked against them. If Tarhuinn wasn't fighting or even calling out to her, he was most likely in a less than satisfactory position. For all she knew, the merfolk could be torturing him, and his cries were merely muted by the water.

Those thoughts made her inner torment all the worse. She needed to find a way to him, but she wasn't near the swimming capabilities of the creatures before her. Her eyes looked over the room once more. (F/n) kept doing so to find a way out if there was one. It didn't help that the merfolk were growing more accustomed to whispering among her.

All of them seemed to have some opinion about her fate. Some desired to eat her, stating that she would be a feast. Others simply wanted to drown her and toss her body into the snow. There were a few that wished to keep her as a pet of sorts. In general, the remarks were only increasing her want for escape. These creatures would most likely not let Tarhuinn or her out without a few scratches. Their injuries would most likely be worse than that, though.

A conversation between two of the merfolk caught her attention. She didn't try to pinpoint them among the crowd; she needed to keep her gaze on the more important matter at hand. The only issue was that one of them was progressively growing more ill with regards to their words.