The Octopus Queen (A Little Mermaid Retelling)

20 - Banished

I feel like a fool.

I am a fool.

I sit in my room, arms curled around my knees, and wonder how I missed the signs.

No. I know how I missed them. I was too infatuated, too confident that I could spot any sort of ill intent.

Pride was my downfall. My embarrassment.

Klaus said that his father was stern but fair and I believed him. What I should have realized was that his fair judgment only applied to those with money. Women from poor villages were treated as less than human, beneath his notice. Certainly, all they were good for was as whores.

A sigh leaves my lips, tiny, resigned. I look up at my window and push my hair back from my face. I can learn from this. I can move on.

Wiping my eyes on my sleeve, I reach for one of my texts and crack it open. The words are comforting and familiar. I learned these spells as a child.

There is a knock at our front door. I pause and listen; I hear Papa crossing the room to answer.

At first, there is nothing; then, suddenly, there is a mighty shout from my father. I drop the book and race through our small hut to see Papa staring at Marc Lentz and the mayor, both men crowded uncomfortably in our tiny doorway. They jump as I come racing into the room, but keep their focus on my father.

"She can't be here anymore, Einarr," the mayor is saying. He's not the same mayor who dallied with Miss Templeton; that man was ousted years ago for things unrelated to extramarital affairs. I don't recall what, and right now I don't care.

Papa's face is a mask of pure fury. "Why?" he demands. "Did the duke demand it?"

I grow cold. They're trying to get rid of me? But why? What did I do?

"No," Marc says, mouth pinched. "But it's clear he doesn't like her. Even the viscount wants nothing to do with her."

I put a hand out and catch myself on the wall, head swimming. News of my argument with the duke and Klaus's very public repudiation of me reached Farbarrow quickly.

"That spineless boy didn't stand up for Sina," Papa retorts. "After all his promises ..."

"It doesn't matter," the mayor interrupts, even though it very clearly does. "Melusine is a liability to this village."

"How!?" I explode, pushing myself off the wall. Both men take two steps back until they are well outside our hut. "I have done nothing but try and help!" Tears fall down my face as I spread my arms wide. Who knew a human body could produce so much water? "I have found fish for the village, brought the lobsters back, and risked my life to save a stupid boy in a storm! And yet, here you fine, upstanding gentlemen stand, telling me to leave because the duke doesn't like me!?" My mouth curls into a mocking sneer and it won't leave.

Marc Lentz exchanges a look with the mayor. "We don't want you here anymore, Sina. I've already sent word to the squire to cancel our contract. My wife has spoken to her friends and instructed them to not purchase any charms from you." He pauses then swallows. "Don't make us force you to leave."

This is ludicrous. I tip my head back and laugh bitterly. "You? You are going to make me leave? Try." Magic rolls beneath my skin like a storm cloud.

"Sina," Papa hisses, catching my arm as the mayor pales.

I shake him off. "This village is nothing without me! You will starve, the lot of you!"

Both men are white as sheets. "Then," the mayor replies, trembling, "you leave us no choice." He motions to something—someone?—upon the dunes.

I push past them and stare up at the dunes. Dozens of men—and some women—appear with muskets and scythes and gaffs in their hands. Torches flicker in the dying sunlight.