The Mermaid's Egg

5 -- The Troubles

"You—" he softly said, ashamed of himself "You are aware that I took one of the eggs from the shallows?" she nodded her head.

"I am." she softly said "That is why I know that you are a Breeder. You somehow managed to awaken the Spirit inside the Egg. I am sorry if my people treated you so strangely at that moment, I do wish that I was there for you. For my kind, you see: Breeders are something rather divine and revered."

"Maybe—" he rationalized "Maybe I can return the Egg back to its—"

"Absolutely not!" she scolded him.

'Guess it would be kind of hard to return fragments back to the Merrows.' He was certain that the Merrows in the village had already found the carnage of the exploded egg. It is quite likely that once he arrives, even Meara will not be able to stop their divine wrath.

"M—aybe it won't be all that bad." he worried "Besides, there is no way for me to return home at this moment." He wandered for a moment longer as Meara gave him room to breathe "Uhm, Meara, what happens if an Egg is rejected by a Breeder? Does it go bad?"

"It turns to water, returning back to the Source." she answers.

"I see." He gulped.

"Do not be afraid, Kiandra." she held him softly in her arms "There is no rush in making a decision right now. Give it time, think it over tonight. Tell me your answer tomorrow."

"O—okay." he said 'That is, if they do not murder me before sunset! Maybe I should just tell her what happened? Maybe she could explain to them that I did not intend to kill it!' He began crying as he did not have the heart to tell her that.

"Come...I will take you back to the village." she offered her hand for him to take.

"There is no need to get yourself involved, Meara!" He mourned, not wanting her to also take the blame for what he selfishly did. "I'll go back and face the people in the village. Besides, I am almost certain that they will be looking forward to locking me up when they see me once again."

'He is acting very strange!' Meara watched the young man walking like he was on deaths door. His head hung low.

"Kiandra Muirgen." she said his full name, needing answers from him. She grabbed his arm gently as he finally broke down.

"I am so sorry!" he wailed.

"Kiandra, being a Breeder doesn't mean that you have to get married to a Merrow." She told him "When I held your pearl, I saw that you were scared of commitment, because of what your parents had done to you. You feel guilty that you cannot bring life into this world. Please, do not force yourself into commitment."

"I—I do not have a clue what you are talking about!" he stepped away from her "I—I was only worried about what would happen if we were caught! You did break me out of jail, remember! We had to sneak out of the village and avoid detection! A convict does not normally return to the prison that he had broken out of, just to stay the night!"

"I suppose you have a point." she sighed 'It is getting late!'

'Besides, I cannot let her see what I have done to that egg!' Kiandra's mind went on the offensive 'And I most certainly cannot become a Breeder! If we go together into the village, then, whatever punishment I am going to suffer...they will do the same to her! I...I can't allow her to be harmed! I need her to guide me out of this world.' he held his head as it ached once more 'Aahh! My mind is so boggled down with so much turmoil...I think it will explode!'

"Okay." she softly said, forcing him out of his panic attack "Then this is what we will do." she took off her precious cowl and draped it over Kiandra's shoulders. She had expected something dramatic to happen once the enchanted garment enveloped him, but to her surprise...nothing happened. In fact, the cowl adjusted to his height.