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Sarine, the story of the Mermaid's Song |
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Far away from a beach, a mermaid sat on a rock. She was a beautiful mermaid. Her eyes shined like beauties, and many pearls twirled in her long, brown hair. Around her wrists pearls and shells rung loosely. At first glance, you wouldn’t know she was a mermaid if her tail was in the water, but when she opens her mouth, millions of sharp glistening teeth showed. Her name was Sarine. Also known as the princess of the mermaids. The only strange thing about her was that she never sang. She knew of her powers, and decided not to use them. Many others say she was a human once, some say that she’s not real. None have ever heard her song except for the Queen, her mother. It was used once, and only for a short second. Right when she sang, her father had died. He was old, yes, but he wasn’t supposed to die for another five years. After that day, Sarine never used her song again.
Normal mermaid songs are beautiful, and beautiful was Sarine’s song. Every other mermaid’s song, though, had the power of love and healing. Sarine’s song had the power of death and time. It can make time stop, go faster, become slower, or kill time itself. When she was born and after she sung her song, when she was still small, she was brought to an old mermaid who has lived longer than any other mermaid. She knew everything and anything. She was known as Corryln. When the Queen brought Sarine to her, Corryln got very frightened and told the Queen of her daughter’s powers, quickly as if she never wanted to see Sarine again.
The Queen has been desperate to have another child, because Sarine must sing if she were to be queen. But every mermaid can only bear one infant. There was never any exception. Also, the princess must be that of the Queen’s, and no one else’s.
Unless the daughter was killed before she was made the queen.
That is how this whole story started. The Queen doing was just doing what was best for her child. And, of course, the whole mermaid world lay in her hands. So the Queen called a special mermaid hunter from the human world down to her cave, which is breaking the rules unless it is very important. That is because the mermaid’s don’t know if the mermaid hunter will kill them or not, and if they do…well…the other mermaids get…vicious. And they can never calm down.
“So, hunter, I have your word that you won’t harm me?” asked the Queen. “Because if you do, I will haunt you until the day that you die. And that is not pleasant.” She smiled a toothy grin, which, if you looked close enough, made a flicker of fear in the hunter’s eyes, but only for a second.
“Yes, Queen,” He answered, bowing. “You have my word. Now, what did you call me down for?” The Queen looked away suddenly, only partly ashamed at herself, but not ashamed enough to stop her plan.
She turned back to the hunter. “I want you to kill my daughter.” A look of surprise covered the hunter’s face. He was expecting to kill a traitor, or a murderer, but not the Queen’s own daughter! The Queen looked away again. “It’s for her own good. I will not tell you the problem, since it is none of your business. Her name is Sarine. Most of the time she’s watching the human’s at Coral Shore. If she’s not there, then don’t bother looking for her. She has this place that we can’t find of hers, and you won’t find it either.” The Queen saw a flash of gills under the water, and dived under, her sharp claws grasping a fish. She popped her head back out of the shining pond, and started eating hungrily at the fish. It’s blood dribbled down her lips, a look of savageness in her eyes.
The hunter was very afraid. He bowed. “I will go now.” He said, and left in a hurry. There was only a small strip of land outside, since humans rarely go in that cave. Mermaids can’t walk on earth, obviously, because it will scratch their tales, and the mermaid’s tail is pretty much their life.
Far away, in Coral Shore, a lone, beautiful, song less mermaid popped her head out of the water, and went to hide behind a rock. On the beach were two dogs and a human. Sarine had no idea what her mother had just told the mermaid hunter. Her tail splashed in the water, and she immediately dove back under, afraid the human might have heard her. When she looked back up, the human was looking around, curious at what the splash was. The dogs had stopped too, but when they saw her, they barked once and went back to playing in the water.
As stupid as human’s were, the human shrugged at the dogs bark and threw a stick again. It landed right next to the Sarine’s hiding spot. She held her breath as the dogs paddled toward her, and shrunk against the rock. The black dog retrieved the stick, and went back to the human, not noticing—or not caring—about Sarine being there. As smart as that one was, the golden dog wasn’t as smart. It stopped and looked in Sarine’s direction. It started paddling towards her. She looked around quickly, and dove back under water, swimming far away from where that dog was, hoping it wouldn’t follow.
The hunter quickly got in the boat he had took to travel there. He was going to go see if the mermaid, Sarine, was in Coral Shore. If she wasn’t there…well…he would wait. The silence made the stroke of water when the boat passed louder and clearer. Coral Shore wasn’t very far. One hour boat ride if you’re going slow at the most. The mermaid hunter got out the book that he carried in his pocket. It was a book about mermaids in the olden times, when they weren’t as vicious as they were now, and how they became vicious. He had gotten it from the Queen when he did a job for her last time, a long, long time ago, it seemed like.
He had been reading for a while, and before he knew it, he was at Coral Shore. Eagerly, he looked around for any signs of a mermaid, but all the hunter saw were two dogs laying against an old man, sleeping peacefully. He sighed. Rowing his boat softly to the shore, so he wouldn’t wake the old man, he got out and sat on a rock.
In the back of the book were some empty pages, where the hunter wrote his own stories and adventures about mermaids. Just in case someone found it when he was long gone, and they could beware of them, instead of being tangled up in their foolish—but dangerous—games. His eyelids became heavy, and he forced them open. He wanted to finish writing about his meeting with the Queen, but he was so…tired…
The Queen swam silently in the water, wondering about the hunter. If he fails, she will kill him herself. But what about Sarine? Would she be able to kill her too? No, that was ridiculous. She couldn’t kill her own daughter. That’s the whole reason while she hired the hunter! But if he’s caught by her beauty…No, it won’t happen, the Queen thought, more hopefully than positive. He’ll succeed. I’m sure of it!
She drifted in the water in silence for a while, thinking of the guilt she’d have. Time. That is what her daughter controls. Why did it have to be her daughter? She’s the queen! The mermaid gods would have known what her powers could do, but they gave her that power anyway! Maybe it was for a reason. What if her powers would save the mermaid world…
Turtles under water squeaked in joy as Sarine came by. She squeaked back at them, and swam at their pace for a while. They had a long chat, then the turtles went the opposite way. Sarine was, once again, left on her own. She hadn’t seen any mermaids in this area, which was strange, because there were usually lots of mermaids here.
Deciding to go peek on the upper-surface, she swam to the top. When her head poked out of the water, she saw that it was nighttime. Night was Sarine’s favorite time of the day. She lifted her tail up and put her hands under her head. Closing her eyes, she drifted off into a sleep, still floating on the water.
When Sarine opened her eyes, it was sunrise, and she found herself in Coral Shore. Like she was brought here by something. She looked at the beach, and saw the man with the dogs were gone. Instead, there was another man, with a spear, knife, and other sharp items waiting to be used. His black hair shined in the sunrise, making him look very peaceful, except for the weapons. Sarine was very old, but she looked at least 20. The man looked around 21. In front of him, in his hands, he was holding a book. It looked similar to the one that her mom had and lost, but she decided it couldn’t be. The Queen had lost that book many years ago.
Forgetting about being hidden from humans, she went up to the shallow part of Coral Shore and watching him. She hesitantly slipped herself onto the wet parts of the sand where it was soft. Waggling up to him, she got a look at the book more closely. It had the symbols of the mermaid. Curious, she went closer. On the back looked like the Queen’s symbol, too, but part of it was covered by the man’s hands. She reached out and tried to get the book out of his grasp. He jerked awake, and Sarine quickly went back into the water and dove down.
The mermaid hunter thought he saw a mermaid, but he wasn’t sure, since he was still a little but sleepy. He look at the book, which he thought someone tried to steal, and saw that he wasn’t holding it, but it was in the sand. That’s when he noticed the lines in the sand. He went over to them, and found a shining blue scale. It was a mermaid. He looked out into the Shore.
Sarine was still in the water watching the man. He couldn’t know about mermaids. No human knew of mermaids. Trying to get a better look at the man, she poked her head out of the water. His hair still shined like an angel. The only strange thing was…he was looking right at her. She ducked under water again, deeper this time.
“Wait! Don’t go!” The hunter called. She hesitated and stopped momentarily before going away. Her head poked out of the water again, but she wasn’t stupid enough to let her tail show. She kept that under water. Sarine’s mouth stayed closed as tightly as it could, too.
“I know what you are,” He said, continuing. A look of shock spread across Sarine’s face, and she realized her mouth was open. She closed it quickly, and was going to swim away now, if the man’s angelic voice hadn’t stopped her. “Don’t go. I won’t harm you. My name is Max. I’ve been studying mermaid’s for a long time.” A glimmer of lying spread across his face, but it disappeared quickly. Sarine had just realized she had drifted closer to the shore, her tail visible to someone above water.
It didn’t matter, though, she realized. The strange man knew what she was. What was the point in trying to hide it.
“What’s your name?” He asked. Sarine didn’t answer. If a human knew a mermaids name, then the human the controlled the mermaid. But the worse half of her got the better of her.
“Sarine.” She answered shortly. Sarine wanted to smack herself for being so stupid! Hopefully he didn’t know the part about humans controlling mermaids with just their name. But something kept Sarine from slapping herself just then. Sadness, anger, and regret spread across Max’s face. All those emotions mixed together so that had to be something bad.
“So you’re Sarine…” He whispered. Sarine hoped she didn’t hear that. How would this human know who she was?
“What did you say?” She asked, hoping for something other than what she heard before.
Max shook his head. “Nothing, nothing,” He said, quietly. Sarine was confused.
“Well, I have to go…somewhere.” She said quickly, and dove under the water, swimming back to her own kind. Above the waves and churning of the water, she thought she heard Max say “I’ll be here tomorrow!”
Oh well, like she wanted to see him again… In her heart, she knew that was a lie.
Mermaids know a lot about love. In fact, mermaid’s got love from humans. At the beginning of mermaid time, when the first mermaid was born, the only thing they could stand of humans was love. They have studied it since the beginning of their time.
And that was a long time ago.
The first mermaid was…created when a human wanted to be able to be in the water forever. She wanted to live in the water. So she went to this powerful witch she knew. The witch’s name was Corryln. Corryln turned the human into a mermaid, but gave her a curse as well. The first time that a witch casts a spell, it will always go wrong unless a curse is placed upon it. Then the witch is free to do that spell whenever, without a curse. But the curse stayed on the humans to this day. It was the craving of human blood. That’s also the reason mermaids have sharp teeth.
No mermaid can live without human blood. The witch’s spell did go wrong, though, and turned her into a mermaid too. Corryln is not able to die, and can not live, either. She is in between those two. Neither living or dead. A mermaid-zombie, really.
Every mermaid must have human blood at least once a week, and if they don’t…let’s say things get bad.
But if a human falls in love with a human, that’s even worse.
And that’s exactly what Sarine did. She fell in love with Max, and went to see him the next day.
But the next day, Max was ready to kill her. She had no idea this would be her last day in the world.
Sarine happily swam to Coral Shore, eager to see Max again. As he promised, he was sitting there. But something to Sarine didn’t seem right…When max saw Sarine, he quickly got up and waited for her to get to shore.
“I thought you wouldn’t come,” He said, smiling that smile of his. Sarine smiled back, her sharp teeth showing.
“Yes, I am here. I came.” She answered. Max knelt down beside her.
“May I?” He asked Sarine. She nodded, and he stroked her tail. It felt so nice for someone’s hands to be running over her tail. She closed, her eyes, oblivious to what was about to happen.
Max looked at Sarine, and saw that her eyes were closed. He sighed an inner sigh so Sarine wouldn’t hear, and, with one hand still stroking her tail, reached for his knife. It had the handle of a mermaid on it, carved by his mother, who adored mermaids. Every day of her life was spent reading about mermaids, and searching for them. She never cared about Max. Mermaids were the only thing she lived for after…his father’s death.
He despised mermaids for that. That’s the reason he became a mermaid hunter. His mother died in the sea while she was searching, and all that was left of her was the knife. Max burned his house and all the books his mother had written about mermaids.
Gripping the handle tightly, his hands sweating, he pulled it slowly out of the sheath. Max has killed many mermaids before, but none as beautiful as this mermaid. Her hair billowed in the wind, and her scales shone in the sun, and were wet with water. Looking at her made him pause for a moment. She looked so peaceful, with her eyes closed, like she’d never felt happier.
Then the mermaid opened her eyes, and turned to Max. She saw the knife in his hands and seethed.
“Where did you get that?” She hissed, still looking at the knife. Then Sarine looked at Max. “You’re a killer! You hunt mermaids for a living!” She said, her teeth now showing. A look of fear spread across Max’s face, and Sarine raked one of her claws against his cheek. Blood started flowing freely, but Max continued to stare at Sarine, sadness filling his eyes. Sarine hissed at him again, and shot him a look of anger and hatred. She dove into the water again, where she belonged.
Max could feel tears burning in his eyes. His heart had opened know, revealing his feelings for the mermaid. They hadn’t been there before, but now he realized he loved her. She was the only person he cared for. The only person left to care for. Even if she wasn’t human, though. He still loved her.
He felt the wet blood on his cheek then. And the pain appeared. Max had been so busy thinking of Sarine, he had forgotten. He didn’t care though. Let the blood come. If he were never to see Sarine again, let him die. Right then, he swore to himself he would never kill another mermaid, and also realized why his mother had loved them so. They were creatures that were so beautiful, but vicious. Mermaids could tie you in their hands and make them do what they want. Max had never heard a mermaid song before, though, and he probably never will.
“Sarine, come back. Please.” He begged to nothing.
Sarine’s eyes were burning. The tears didn’t come because she was underwater, but she could feel the pain in her heart.
Then four simple words rang in her head.
Sarine, come back. Please… It was Max’s voice. She sighed. Sarine could hear the pain in his voice, and she couldn’t do anything except go back, since he knew her name. She turned around, probably going to regret it, and headed back to Coral Shore.
Max had started to feel dizzy. The blood from his cheek now lay in a puddle next to him. He had to lay down on the sand, and he was too week to put pressure on the wound. Everything started to get dizzy, and he fainted, but now before hearing something splashing in the water.
Sarine quickly swam up to the shore. She noticed that Max had taken all of his weapons off and threw them into the water. Then she immediately knew that Max would never kill another mermaid. She waddled over to him and pressed against the wound. Straining for a heartbeat, Sarine heard if was very faint. She felt like crying. Max was going to die, and she couldn’t do anything about it. Then she remembered her song. Power of life and death. Time. She could use it to make him live! Quickly, she opened her mouth.
Poor, poor creature of the land,
Do not die here.
Many thing await you,
Come back to me
I love you, Max!
The beautiful song rang through the whole shore, and when she was done, nothing happened. Max’s heartbeat had stopped. She sat down, her tail curling around her. Sarine’s arms hung loosely at her side. Tears flowed freely from her eyes. They burned like fire. Her arm reached for the only weapon left on Max. The knife with the mermaid handle. She held it over her tail, ready to cut it open. No matter what happened, she couldn’t live anymore. It was her fault Max had died. She killed the person she loved.
Max coughed. Blood spurted out of his mouth. His legs began to move, and a bright light filled Coral Shore. Sarine had closed her eyes when the bright light appeared, and when it was gone she looked at Max. Where Max’s legs used to be, a mermaid tail had formed. He opened his eyes, even more beautiful before, and looked up at Sarine. He winced.
“Sarine…Sarine…” Max began.
“Max, stop, you have to heal.” She insisted. He shook his head.
“Sarine, I…I love you,” Sarine’s eyes became huge. Two reasons. First, Max’s teeth had become sharp, and so had his nail. He was a mermaid now. That’s what her song did. Secondly, Max told Sarine he loved her. No one had ever said that before to her. Not even the Queen.
Max sat up, and looked at his tail. A look of confusion spread across his face when he saw it, trying to take it in. Then he smiled and looked at Sarine.
“I loved your song. It was beautiful.” He said, a look of love crossing his face. Sarine smiled too, but sadly as well.
“I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. And also…you’re a mermaid now! What have I done?” She shook her head, her tears streaming. A hand touched her shoulder, but it wasn’t a human hand this time.
“No. You’re wrong. It’s not bad. We can be together forever now.” Sarine looked up at Max, and Max leaned in and their lips locked.
If you look over from Coral Shore, you might still be able to see two beautiful mermaids sitting together, and little glow of love shining off of them. The Queen had died, but Sarine and Max never returned to the mermaid cavern. They preferred being on their own, peaceful. That’s the way that they will live for the rest of their life, loving each other.
THE END
 Faye Chromium · Fri Feb 08, 2008 @ 02:54am · 1 Comments |
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