It was a calm evening in the village of Felicitas-In-Gloam. The sun was setting over the tranquil ocean, painting the sky with shades of pink, tangerine and gold. Gentle waves lapped at the shoreline, leaving silvery sea foam in its wake.
Faerynne sat hugging her knees on a blanket on the beach. The stars were just beginning to shine in the growing dusk, when she saw her.
A maiden with green hair, ornately braided with seashells and kelp, swimming in the cold water. Faerynne could not quite make out her face but, the maiden suddenly dived below the surface, revealing a fish tail ornamented with scales the colour of the moon.
She soon resurfaced, singing in a lilting language which the blonde elf did not recognise. A dolphin soon joined her, squeaking and laughing in joyous harmony with the mermaid’s song.
Faerynne sat transfixed by the sight.
She is beautiful… she thought.
The elf scrambled to a standing position, and walked a few steps towards the shoreline. At that, the mermaid, noticing her, abruptly stopped, dived, and vanished beneath the crest of a wave.
The next morning, Faerynne was eating a simple breakfast of porridge, honey and berries when there was, yet again, another sharp knock on her front door.
“This is getting silly now” she grumbled, eating another surreptitious spoonful of porridge before rushing to the door.
On her doorstep stood her favourite person; the village constable. Fantastic, she thought unhappily, perking a brow and leaning against the doorframe.
“Ah, Sorceress Faerynne. Your presence is required on the Village Green. Immediately.”
With that, he spun on one elegantly heeled shoe, and departed. Faerynne sighed, gave one last longing look to her breakfast and, grabbing her cloak, trudged out into the street.
The village green was resplendent in the golden morning light. Immaculately tended beds full of multicoloured wildflowers gleamed as Faerynne walked past. Feeling a little better about being disturbed so early, she sauntered up to where Selinewyn and Bronlas were waiting with an older elf.
The unfamiliar elf had wavy brown hair down to his shoulders, and azure eyes, with laughter lines etched at their corners. The village head, I presume, thought Faerynne to herself. He spoke in a booming voice which commanded attention.
“Ah, the new sorceress. Exactly whom we’ve been waiting for.”
Faerynne was puzzled at that comment, but all was soon illuminated as he continued:
“Merfolk have been sighted off the coast of our village. We need use of your… unique skills, to establish whether or not they are a threat.”
A threat? Thought the blonde elf, baffled. She seemed fairly harmless to me-
“Do we have any just cause to believe these people are a threat to us?” She said, evenly.
The village head frowned at that, but inclined his head and nodded.
“A fair question. Although they have not shown any signs of hostility yet, we must remember that we are on an island surrounded by ocean, effectively cut off from the mainland. They have the advantage and, at any point, may choose to exploit this and attack. For this reason, we must gather intelligence - it is a matter of survival.”
Faerynne bowed her head in acceptance, though in her heart, she was unsatisfied by this response. Her gaze shifted sideways to where Selimewyn stood. The ocean-eyed elf looked concerned; she chewed on her full bottom lip thoughtfully, and absentmindedly swatted at a bumblebee which flew too close to her face.
I don’t think she likes this much, either, she thought.
Eveningtide came once again, and with it the balm of rest and relaxation found at the end of the day. The village houses were illuminated from within by roaring hearths, topped with steaming copper tea kettles and pots of bubbling stew. Faerynne glanced into each of them as she walked through the quiet streets, her sense of unease at direct contrast with the tranquility of the setting.
When they reached the shore, the constable turned to her abruptly, gold accents on his uniform sparkling in the half-light.
“Try not to die. It would make for an ungodly amount of paperwork.”
Flashing him the fakest smile she could muster, Faerynne kicked off from the ground, making sure to try to sweep some sand over his annoyingly shiny shoes. Soaring over the water, she searched for signs of life.
A few schools of fish, and a dolphin or two later, she spotted her again. This time she could see her more clearly. the mermaid had dark eyes set in face which looked as if it was chiseled from marble. Strikingly, she had a long scar running from her hairline on the left, sweeping across her nose, and ending on her right jawline.
Faerynne felt her mouth go dry once again. The mermaid was singing what sounded like a lullaby in her lilting, ethereal voice, treading water with a gaggle of dolphins surrounding her. One of the creatures did a flip, and, noticing Faerynne in the sky above, let out a shrill cry of warning.
Immediately, the dark-eyed mermaid hissed and, revealed a spear that had been concealed under the waterline. Faerynne panicked, and held up her hands in the universal gesture of surrender.
“I’m unarmed!” She squeaked, hoping the woman could understand her.
The mermaid halted, looked first at Faerynne’s open hands, and then at the airborne elf up and down. Faerynne felt a hot blush rise up into her cheeks, despite the fluttering panic in her stomach. Just fly away, you idiot! Screamed her rational mind, but something, whether it be fear or curiosity, kept her rooted in place.
Tilting her head, the mermaid uttered three words in a highly accented version of elvish.
“Do. Not. Follow.”
With that, she turned her tail and dived deep underneath the waves, her entourage of sea creatures following her. One dolphin made sure to dive with a flourish sufficient enough to splash salt water in Faerynne’s stunned face.
My guess is that’s dolphin for fuck off, she thought wryly, wiping the beads of moisture off of her cheeks and brow.
The village head was not best pleased when she sheepishly recounted what had transpired, the next day.
“An act of hostility, then. Very well, we must prepare to defend our settlement.”
Faerynne pulled a face, and tried to explain:
“Well, I did startle her? She would have had ample reason to believe I was there to attack her. And after all, she didn’t throw the spear in my face. Her friend was a little rude- but nevertheless we should not jump to hasty conclusions-”
The older elf raised his hand to stop her.
“We simply cannot take the risk. You, Bronlas, and Selinewyn shall attend training drills every sunrise for the foreseeable future, to hone your talents. And, the village shall be placed on high alert.”
Faerynne’s shoulders sagged at the thought of training at sunrise every day, and then there was the matter of what she considered a gross overreaction to the situation.
“Look, I really don’t think-”
The elf shook his head, and rapidly departed the small cottage. Faerynne sighed, picked up her well-loved lyre, and began to strum the notes from the mermaid’s song.
Beneath the waves of blessed, truest blue,
Folk with fish tails, of star and moonlit hue.
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