The Little Water Elf

12- Fear

「 Every one was enchanted,
especially the prince, who
called her his little foundling; and
she danced again quite readily, to
please him, though each time her
foot touched the floor it seemed
as if she trod on sharp knives. 」

Panic blinded Rayla as she hastily pulled herself out of her sopping wet dress. A bath was waiting for her, as she'd requested the servants to do each night. She sunk into the water, running it over her skin in hopes that the scales would fade like they had under the ocean.

The longer her hand stayed in the warm water, the more and more visible the scales became.

There had to have been something wrong with Viren's spell. She found herself sinking underneath the water in the tub. Her scales had never been so promenant and visible, yet now they appeared to be just as blue and luminescent as the scales on her tail had been.

She didn't know how they could've become like this.

Viren. Viren would know what to do.

The mermaid pulled herself out of the water, quickly dressing herself in a nightgown and making her way to the door. It had been quite late when Callum and Rayla had returned, and she suspected that most of the palace was now asleep. She needed to find where Viren would be.

When he'd first found her, she'd been brought to a strange tower, if she could just find the way there she should be able to speak with him.

She ran, despite the pain that filled her legs with each step and the exhaustion that threatened to steal her consciousness.

She stopped by a window, peering out over the beach and tide as it came in.

There was a tower, rimmed with a dark, freshwater stone and on the thin border between land and sea. The sandstone lining the walls was chipping away, revealing black rock underneath.

She made her way towards the tower, racing through the hallways and down several staircases in the direction of the tower.

Just when she thought she'd finally gotten herself lost, Rayla turned yet another corner only to run straight into a tall human.

She looked up, finding herself in the presence of the very mage she was looking for. Immediately she began going through several hand signs, trying her best to spell out what had happened with what signs she remembered.

"Whatever are you in such a frenzy for, elf?" the mage asked, taking her wrists to stop her from fumbling over her spelling even more than she already had.

In response, she looked down at her hand, Viren released and Rayla held it out to him.

A look of shock crossed his face.

"Come with me."

• • •

Viren watched the little elf retreating through the darkened hallway, a small vial of a shimmery purple liquid in her hand, and his palm resting on the door as it swung closed.

It seemed as if the spell was draining her magic much more quickly than he had originally anticipated. He reached into his pocket, dragging out the small orb that rested within, the constant, endless singing beginning to once again fill the tower, echoing off of the walls and filling the very air around him with its power.

Perhaps that was the problem. An ocean elf without their voice wasn't very magical at all. Viren had assumed that the rest of the magic within her would be enough, as ocean elves held much more magic than the others in order to fulfill their needs underneath the surface. The water would normally be too cold for them to survive, so their bodies naturally warmed the water around them as needed, and they had the strange ability to communicate with each other normally and prevent the water from distorting their voices.

In every way it would be impossible for someone to survive, their magic made up for it.

He briefly wondered if it was due to her age, and she hadn't had enough time for the ocean to fully fill her body with magic.

Still, that only made his recent discovery even more fruitful.

The dark mage made his way across the room, reaching his bookshelf and placing a few carefully placed stones beside it. A few seconds later, the shelf began to move downwards, it's contents sinking into the floor and revealing a passageway behind it. He followed the small hallway, heading down the thin staircase, using Rayla's voice to light the way. He paused when he came to an old rusted cell, the smell of mildew and moss was prominent in the air. The mage tried to spend as little time as possible in this area, for fear that the air would pollute his lungs and cause an illness.

He slipped a key into the cell's lock, carefully opening it and pushing away the rusted bars. A look of disgust brushed his face as his foot stepped into a puddle of water from one of the many leaks in the ceiling and walls.

Viren held up the voice, illuminating the sole occupant of the cell.

The prisoner remained still, his arms locked in their positions above his head and his skin covered in a million small, lavender scales that were slowly but surely drying and flaking off, traces of blood caked over and threatening to break and let blood flow once again. A long, thin tail stretched out across the floor, bruised and bloody splotched scattered across it.

"I see your physical situation hasn't grown any better," Viren mentioned, looking down at the ocean elf with disgust, "though I do hope your mentality has changed."

The merman remained silent.

"Of course, I've always wondered what would happen to a fish who's stayed out of water for too long," he continued, "how long they would last before the strain becomes too much."

The merman moved for the first time, his eyes glaring up at the sorcerer.

He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but was interrupted by the chains binding his wrist suddenly glowing a white hot color. The elf let out a single grunt of pain, before returning to silence.

Viren frowned, clutching Rayla's voice even more tightly.

"You cannot sing here, it is enchanted to steal any magic you attempt to release."

The dark mage sighed, seeing that he wasn't getting anywhere on this particular night, and turned. Closing the gate and locking it once more.

He left without a word.

Runaan looked up, watching the faint green glow fade as the mage disappeared, and silently cursing every human who'd ever walked the face of their earth.