A Mermaid's Tale

Chapter 7

The rowboat was lowered into the water, and Arthur began to paddle toward a white beach. I could tell we were in a small cove somewhere in the Sea of Norden by the smell of the water, but I had never actually been here before. My kind didn't usually come so far north, not to say that it never happened. I trailed my fingers in the cool water as the ship, which I now realized was called the Queen Lady, grew smaller and smaller behind us.

"Don't get any funny ideas," Arthur warned.

"I wouldn't think of it," I replied tensely. I already agreed to do this, didn't I? It frustrated me that he still thought I would try to escape. I could barely walk on these new legs, so I wasn't sure how he thought I could swim with them.

The bottom of the boat scraped against sand as Arthur rowed onto shore. He hopped out first and pulled the small craft up onto the beach to keep it from drifting away. I was surprised to see him offer me a hand out, but took it anyway. Might as well keep things civil while tensions were low. I didn't have anything on my feet, and yelped as soon as they touched the warm sand.

"What are you-?" Arthur swore when he noticed my bare feet. "Did you step on something sharp? I should have gotten you some shoes, how careless of me."

"I'm okay," I said quickly. "I've just...never walked on sand before. It's warm."

He started to give me a funny look until he remembered my predicament. It probably wasn't every day that he walks with someone that's never had feet before. "Well, just try to be careful."

With that he turned and began to walk toward the dark forest that was beyond the beach. I followed closely behind him while enjoying the feeling of sand between my toes. It was a brand new sensation, and even though I missed my fin, I kind of enjoyed it. Walking gave me a kind of thrill, but I could feel my new legs tiring fast. No wonder humans ride instead of walk whenever they can.

The forest loomed just in front of the two of us when Arthur stopped. He looked up at the towering trees before turning toward me. "Follow me and try not to get lost. Or touch anything. Definitely don't touch anything."

He plunged into the foliage before I could answer, so I quickly followed him. His warning hadn't quite scared me, but it did make me wonder what could be in this forest that was so dangerous. My curiosity continued to grow as we walked further and further into the forest's dark depths. It was starting to look more like a jungle, which was odd since the climate wasn't warm enough for jungles to grow this far north. I could feel it becoming more humid too, and I really wanted to know exactly what this place was.

The chance to ask never came because we had reached our destination. A large hut had been built in a gigantic tropical tree with vines and moss growing all around it. It actually looked more like someone had built it but decided it was too small. Other huts and walkways had been built around the largest one, which made the additional huts seem more like an afterthought than part of the actual structure. A staircase spiraled down around the sides of the tree and connected the whole ensemble of buildings to the ground. Arthur started to walk toward the stairs without hesitating.

"Are you sure we can just walk in?" I asked nervously.

He shot me a look which gave me the impression that he thought the question was extremely stupid. The pirate just kept going up the stairs, and I followed him as fast as I could. Something about this weird jungle made me not want to be on the ground by myself if I could help it. It was probably the eerie silence. I had never been in a forest before, but I always imagined it would be noisier with all the things living here. Unless nothing lives here. The thought sent a chill down my spine.

A bright red curtain was hung in the doorway of the biggest hut, which was right next to the stairs, and Arthur pushed it aside as he went in. I slipped in behind him and took a good look around. The place was decorated with all sorts of weird looking things like wooden statues, painted war masks, and glass containers, along with plain wooden furniture. There were selves just filled with different sized glass jars with strange looking things in them. One even appeared to be full of eyes, so I looked away before I could feel sick.