The Octopus Queen (A Little Mermaid Retelling)

16 - Rescue

"I have given you all the tools you need," Bippi continues placidly as the boat rolls to the right.

"Bippi!" I exclaim in surprise, causing several fishermen to turn around at the sound of my voice.

"Sea monster!" one of them shouts, yanking the rope from around his waist. He grabs a gaff from the side of the vessel and runs at Bippi, taking a swing at the octopus.

"No!" I scream, reaching out to grab the man by the arm. Our feet slide on the slick deck and we struggle with the gaff.

"Get off of me, sea witch," the fisherman spits, thrusting the gaff out and shoving me against the railing. Pain shoots across my lower back and I feel my feet slipping out from under me. My head tilts back and all I can see is violent grey water and eminent death should I fall. NO. My magic stretches and snaps through an unseen barrier. The rain sings, the wind howls, and the sea beats like a mighty heart. Power surges through my veins and I shove myself forward with a snarl as the fisherman takes another swing, but Bippi is gone.

"What?" he calls out, confused as the iron hook passes through empty air. The cry is cut short as I reach out and grip him by his wet canvas shirt.

"Don't you ever do that again," I hiss between clenched teeth, shaking him like an errant child. The gaff drops from the fisherman's hand to clatter on the deck. "He didn't do anything to you," I continue to berate the man as he stares at me in fear. "He was harmless and you tried to kill him."

"S-sea witch," the man stammers and twists himself out of my grip, running back to the others at the rail.

I glower as the fishermen watch me in silent terror until the captain leans out from the wheelhouse and shouts at them to get back to work. As I swing around, I see Mistress Krier's eyes go wide and her skin pales.

I know how to make charms of protection, potions to heal. The denizens of the sea cannot hide from me. I can find a boy in a storm.

Mistress Krier jumps in her chair, the legs banging against the floorboards. I march over to the woman and yank a cluster of hair from her sodden head.

Magic crackles in my hand as I walk over to the railing, Mistress Krier's muffled sobs fading behind me. The deck has gone quiet, save for the howling of the wind and the drumming of the rain. "Find him," I command, throwing the hair overboard.

Gripping the rail, I look down. The cluster of brown locks hits the turbulent waters and sinks below the white-capped surface. I wait, eyes narrowing.

As a massive thunderclap echoes overhead, the waves suddenly begin to glow phosphorescent green. Like a snake, a trail shoots outward, rocketing towards the rocky cliff at the far end of the processing plant.

"There!" I shout over the storm, pointing to the rocks.

The captain rushes out of the wheelhouse and looks down on the glittering trail. "I'll be," he mutters, staring at me in awe, rain streaming down his thick, ruddy beard. Shaking his head, he turns and shouts at his crew, "What are you standing around for? Get to your stations!"

"She's leading us to our deaths!" one of the men shouts, jabbing a finger at the rocks.

Waves crash up against the sharp, jagged edges of the cliff, spraying foam into the air. As anyone in our village knows, it's suicide to attempt to sail close to the cliff; the ocean will simply pull a vessel into the rocks and smash it to pieces. Even now, through the driving rain, I can see broken bits of wood crashing up against the base of the cliff. But that is where the trail leads; that is where it ends.

"You do your job and I'll do mine!" the captain shouts, slapping the other man on the back of the head. The man cowers but runs for his station. The captain turns back to me and looks me dead in the eye. "I don't want to die today, sea witch," he grumbles before running back to the wheelhouse.

Suddenly, the deck is alive with activity, men hauling on thick, wet ropes, turning the sails toward the edge of the processing plant. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see the other ships follow our lead.

I don't want anyone to die, either. I look out over the bow, at the phosphorescent trail and take a deep breath. Klaus once asked me if I could summon storms and I told him "no". Well, now we'll have to find out if I can banish them.

Releasing my grip on the rail, I stretch out my arms and lift them over my head. My fingers grasp the rain, the wind curling against my palms. "Be calm," I command.

The boat creaks beneath my feet as we turn towards the cliff. I close my eyes and dig down deep, touching a part of my soul that I've never explored. Sweat breaks out upon my brow and along my back, salt mixing with sea brine and rain. "Be calm!"

Power tingles down my arms and along my palms, dancing between my fingertips. A heaviness falls around me, causing my knees to buckle and my feet to slide. Electricity crackles in the air as the wind picks up. All around, I can hear the shouts of the fishermen as we glide closer and closer to the cliffs.

Gritting my teeth, I lift my head to the sky and scream, "BE CALM!"

It stops.

Everything stops.

The rain that lashed the sails and skirted the deck comes to a halt. The wind ceases its howling and the sea is no longer turbulent.

"By the Grey God!" more than one fisherman exclaims.

Slowly, I open my eyes and see that the village ships bob in placid waters. I cannot believe what I'm seeing: a perfect circle, a hundred meters in circumference, surrounds us. Outside the circle, the storm rages, but inside the dome, it may have well been a normal summer day. Even the waves that crash upon the cliffs gently lap at its lichen-covered base. Bits of broken wooden hull bob towards us.

I did it, I sigh loudly in relief. I've commanded the sea and wind. My arms sag with fatigue, but I'm forced to keep them aloft as the circle we sit in wavers.

"There!" a fisherman shouts, pointing up towards the cliffs.

Slowly, I turn my head as the captain begins to order a rowboat into the water. Next to us, three other vessels drop their own small boats.

Up on the cliff, wedged into a small alcove above the crashing of the waves, is a small figure pressed up against the rock. The trail of phosphorescence pools beneath his safe spot.

"Hurry," I pant as my temple begins to pulse with strain. I don't know how much longer I can keep the storm at bay.

Distantly, I'm aware that someone has untied Mistress Krier and she rushes to the side of the boat, screaming her son's name.

Be calm, I groan to myself as a fisherman reaches the cliff and calls up to the boy. Be calm.

My vision begins to blur and I start to sink towards the deck. Droplets of rain begin to penetrate the shield I've created and the boat starts to rock as the sea regains control.

"Oh," I sigh and collapse, darkness washing over me.