The Little Angel (Completed one-shot's in "Love Me". On hiatus. possibly 4ever)

Part Two---The girl Before Sorrow

Chapter 4

Christine was a happy child, spending her days peeking over the edge of the houseboat she lived on while her parents hovered nearby. She spent her afternoons swimming in the waters below, looking at the fish she called her siblings. Christine was not a lonely child, and never had been. Why should she be lonely, when she had her family, the fish, and the sea with her? Why should she miss other children?

If they weren't at sea—which was rare, indeed—Christine, Charlotte, and Gustave were visiting Christine's grandparents—Eric and Arael. Christine always thought her grandmother's name was spelled oddly. When she was six, and staying with her grandparents, she asked about it. Her grandmother winked at her, "My name comes from an older race."

"What race?" Christine asked, knowing a story was coming. "The Mer, of course." Arael's voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. Christine stared at her grandmother in awe.

With hair so red it resembled pomegranates—something Christine had once in a while—and soft eyes which were a brilliant aqua hue that never failed to amaze Christine; combined with a fair complexion, Arael truly was a beauty. She wasn't surprised her grandfather fell head over heels for her.

"What are Mer?" Christine asked, sitting on her grandmother's knee. "You don't know?" Christine shook her head, marvelling at the lyrical, musical voice of her grandmother. "Well, then, I must tell you, mustn't I?" "Yes, please!" Christine cried eagerly. Arael smiled at her granddaughter, "The Mer live in the ocean, my love, and are much like us....They live, and breathe, and act, much as we do. They sing, and spin, and swim. But they are not us, Christine. They are fish, they are human, they are both." "They're mermaids!" Christine cried excitedly. "Shh, my love, they'll hear you! Christine, never refer to the Mer as 'mermaids' or you life they'll take." Christine was spellbound. "They will?" "Yes, so hush, and be cautious in what you say! They hear all said above a body of water." "How?" "Haven't you guessed? They're magic!" Christine looked at her grandmother, delighted. "Their singing rivals the purest bird, and can make landdwellers cave to their whims. Their speed is like nothing imaginable; faster than a mako shark, or any swordfish, it's true. And if you care, their strength puts the best strongman to shame. They can enter dreams—well, the royals can." "Mer have royals?" Christine asked. "Of course they do! Do you take them for barbarians?" Christine blushed, "No..." "And they're beautiful, Christine, so beautiful you forget who you are, just by looking at them. Their lips can make you cry, their cheeks create joy. Their eyes mesmerize."

"They sound amazing!" Christine gushed, "I want to meet them!"

"No, my love, you don't. They are dangerous." Arael warned, stroking Christine's hair. "They are?" "Why, yes! If you cannot imagine danger in what I've said, hear this now. They are frightful jealous of beauty. Anyone they perceive as beautiful, they will kill. Christine, my love, you are beautiful. They kill, my love. The female Mer sing by ships, so they can drown their captives. If any sailor is missing, you now know the cause. If a Mer is truly wicked, the will entrance, with their eyes and voice, the human and make them do their bidding. The royals can enter a landdwellers' mind, and drive them to joy or despair—depending on their mood." Christine's eyes widened, "Oh..."

"And the Mer King—both the kindest and the cruelest—controls the seas. His power is in him, and the staff he holds. He rules the sea. He is brave, wise, capricious when he feels like it, and cruel when he must be." "Is he handsome?" Christine asked. "For his age, yes." "How old is he?" "Over five hundred." "The world's older than that!" Christine objected, "So he wasn't always the king!" "No, he wasn't. His father was the King before him, and his father's father, and so on and so forth." "Mer were here before humans, and they will be here after humans, too. The sea will claim the land, and the Mer will prosper." "They live everywhere?" "Yes. Wherever there is a large body of water."

Christine looked up at her grandmother, transfixed. "How do you know all this?" "Haven't you guessed? I'm a Mer, my love." Christine pursed her lips, thinking. "But you don't want to kill me! And where's your tail, and how come you can walk on land? I thought Mer lived in the sea!" Areal chuckled, "I was getting to that." Christine blushed, "Oh..." "Well, my dear, that brings me to my next point. If Mer are dangerous, there is someone more so. Beware, above all others, The Sea Witch. She's ruthless, hard, and evil. Don't make deals with her, above all else. Deals mean destruction. She will exact a price you cannot pay for a wish or desire, and give you a fortnight or less to finish a task you cannot complete. Then you become her eternal slave—a zombie with only your mind as your own. She cannot be trusted. The Sea Witch, my love, controls the wind and can manipulate the weather if she tries hard, and says a certain spell; she controls the sharks, the eels, the octopus. They are her friends, her slaves, her pets. They also cannot be trusted." "But she can't always have been bad—can she?" Christine asked, wanting to believe in goodness, even if it was long gone. "Ah, I knew you'd ask that. There was a time, lovely, when she was partly good. Someone like her will never be wholly good. Even in her decent days; she was a dark art practicer, and a schemer wanting to achieve above what she had—by any means she possessed. She was of good breeding, I believe, above the common Mer, and set to marry the present King. His father arranged the match, thinking it would do both his son, and the girl good. They seemed to like each other, and love would perhaps follow. The Sea Witch was getting all she wanted—Power, security, a place above others. She would gain more than the King and Prince would." Arael paused, absently stroking Christine's hair, a faraway look in her eyes. "Then what?" Christine asked. "Then, Christine, The Prince fell in love with another. He was wandering along the outer limits of the area he and his father lived in, when he chanced upon a young Mer maiden, sitting alone on a rock. He walked up to her, thinking she was lovelier than anyone he had ever seen. He asked what a sea angel was doing on a rock, prompting her to look up at him. It is said her eyes were the softest, warmest lavender, and her hair was the richest auburn ever beheld by any eye. Her tail was silver, rare indeed, and on her cheeks were a sprinkling golden freckles. He was smitten instantly. She, too, had never seen such a dashing Mer, with eyes the color of a bright sky and hair that was almost her hair shade. His tail was gold—the mark of a prince.

They talked of everything they could think of, for hours. Weeks went by, and they grew terribly fond of one another. Then, the Mer maiden—who's name was Aleyla—was nearly killed by a fishing boat. The Prince saved her, and they were in love. The Prince went to his father, and begged him to call of the wedding to the Sea Witch. The King asked to see the girl who had captured the young Prince's heart. When Aleyla was shown, the King announced that the girl was from a long-lost, nearly extinct, line of Royals. When he found the two to be in love, he called the wedding off, and Princess Aleyla and The Prince—who's name happened to be Triton—were married.

Well, you can imagine how angry the Sea Witch was, can't you?

She spent years plotting the demise of Aleyla and Triton. Finally, she had honed her dark skill enough to do something. In front of King Triton, she murdered Queen Aleyla. Triton was so enraged, he bound her powers, so that they were only able to be used if she was granting something, and cast her into the outer regions, the darkest and uninhabited regions of his kingdom." Arael finished. "Wow...." Christine exclaimed, "But didn't the Sea Witch have a name? She must have....Right?" "If she did, no one knows it. In his rage, Triton managed to erase The Sea Witch's name from everyone's memory—even The Sea Witch's!" "He must be very powerful, then..." "Oh, he is, love."

"But was the King left all alone?" "No. He and his wife had ten daughters before she was killed." "That's good. Nobody deserves to be left alone!" Arael smiled, "No, nobody deserves that."

"Now, my love, I think it's time for bed." Christine nodded. Arael picked up the yawning girl, carried her to her bed, and set her down. "Oh, and Christine, one more piece of advice—Never let a Mer kiss you."

Christine would have asked about that sentence, had she not been too sleepy to even open her eyes.