The Medallion

Nilla: Creatures of the Sea

"You know my name, but you have yet to tell me yours. You spoke to your flunkies over there that they shouldn't be rude. Not having a proper introduction is also considered very rude."

The blonde girl looked at me for a moment and then she smiled.

"Very well. I am often called Azalea."

"Azalea? Like the flower?"

She smiled. "That flower was named after my beauty."

"For that to be true, you would have to be extremely old."

She simply smiled. "These are my servants, Tessa," the dark-haired woman curtsied "and Vidal." The red-haired woman stood with her arms folded in front of her.

Vidal shook her head. "We're wasting our time. She's obviously oblivious to everything around her. We need to find that boy now."

"Patience, Vidal," said Azalea. Her eyes flicked back to Nilla. "The medallion belongs to the mermaids. That dolphin stole it from us."

Vidal huffed. "You can't turn your back on a dolphin."

"They can be most untrustworthy," said Tessa.

"Dolphins?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. They look so sweet and harmless. "Dolphins are super smart creatures."

Azalea nodded. "Yes, as well as cunning. They are smarter than humans...."

"All creatures are smarter than humans," Vidal interrupted.

Azalea continued, "...so it was easy for them to have the humans believe they are trustworthy and sweet. That smile that appears on their lips is not one of kindness, but one of menacing contempt. They have you right where they want you."

"If you're going to talk about lying, why would you call yourselves his sisters?"

"We did not think he had told you the true nature of his origins and were hoping to not to shock you with the truth. I deeply regret having to lie to you like that, but it was a necessary risk to keep you from going into shock once we revealed it to you."

"Look, mermaids or whatever you are, I'm not buying whatever it is you're selling, okay. I'd appreciate it if you left my spot now."

Azalea seemed a bit saddened but she understood. "We will leave you now, Nilla but please heed my warning. Jace, as you call him, is not to be trusted."

As they walked by, Vidal stopped and looked me in the eye. "Never turn your back on a dolphin," she said.

They walked off toward the ocean.

I sat on my stump under my willow tree and let thoughts enter my head. What were they doing here, really? Jace had said many creatures wanted the medallion for its magical properties to control the elements. I could've sworn he told me that a sea creature could only come on land using it, but here these three women were which meant that either A: they weren't really mermaids or B: Jace was lying to me. But if they weren't really mermaids, how did they know about Jace? I didn't want to believe that Jace lied to me, but so many people had said it that a bit of it started to sink in, but why would he lie?

I sat pondering all the questions she could come up with for both scenarios and found it shocking that I could even fathom option B, but my brain found itself turning over those possibilities as well. I hated thinking of it, but all of these people just couldn't be wrong, could they?

Jace walked over interrupting my thoughts. He looked so wonderful and I wanted to run to him right away, but didn't. I needed a bunch of questions answered that he probably wouldn't want to answer.

He looked down and saw my expression. "Why are you so sad, my love?"

"I just met three women who called themselves your sisters and then said they were mermaids and that you were lying to me." I didn't look at him when I spoke. I was afraid his beautiful eyes would suck me in and I would lose all of my nerve in trying to get to the bottom of things.

"What were their names?" I heard the growl in his voice.

"Azalea, Vidal, and Tessa. Why are you so angry?"

There was a pause.

"I am...simply surprised by this new development. I did not mean to scare you." His voice was back to the sweet soft cadence I knew and loved.

"So, Azalea told me the medallion belonged to her. I thought you told me the only way to come to shore was using it."

"It is. Mermaids are just... different. All a mermaid has to do is become dry and their tails turn to legs. Once they're wet again, they're back to being mermaids. The only problem with that is they can only be on land for a small amount of time or they risk turning human for good. Of course, with the medallion, that danger does not exist."

"Why would they claim it to be theirs?"

"I already told you, the medallion has magical properties. Every creature wants it to control the elements. Why are you asking me these questions? I thought we had finally begun to trust each other."

I saw the pain in his eyes. It crushed me. I reached for him and wrapped my arms around his waist.

"I'm sorry. It's just...between those women, that dream I had last night, and Allison..." I let out a heavy sigh. "I just don't know who I can trust anymore."

He held me tightly and kissed her.

"You can always trust me," he said. "Always put your trust in me. I will be here for you when others will not. I am the only one you can trust."

I looked deep into the eyes I loved so much.

"Do you trust me?" he asked.

"I will always trust you," I replied. "You will be there for me when others will not."

He gave me another gentle kiss and stroked my hair. We stayed in each other's arms until the sun went down.