Blights & Burns

Chapter I: The Newbie's Debut

Dedicated to Spritney_spritz, the closest friend I could ever have.

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[ It was a fairytale farther than the sea... 

Once upon a time; a beautiful mermaid lived in an underwater kingdom.

Located at the very bottom of the ocean's depths, its endless foothills were connected with triple seamounts and so forth and lit up by half-moon shaped streaks of light. Immeasurable amounts of buildings built from lime stones from the bottom of the sea stood side by side. The walls that were giving off a pearly glow had shells and corals pasted on them like bricks, creating wonderfully bright and fresh colors. The treasures located within were piled up in glittering, dazzling mountains, and the color of the sea added a beautiful layer of oceanic blue over it. Away from the filthy solid ground, the calm seawaters were like walls. Aside from countless unnamed fish and whales, there are glowing jellyfish lit up by blue rays of light striking the schools of fish of varying colors, reflecting a wonderful rainbow.

And down in that colorful paradise, she resides.

She lived in harmony with her kind, fellow creatures with the lower half of their bodies covered with scales and resembling fish tails, and the upper half of their bodies human. However, she stood out amongst them for her innocent beauty, with her round eyes resembling that of a cow's, her luscious brown hair flowing down exquisitely. Her character was of a gentle nature, as beautiful as her appearance, yet her most exceptional trait was her voice, which was unlike any other. When she starts singing, she moves their hearts to her songs. Each day, they gracefully swam while spinning round and round in the water, displaying their glittering scales in line with her tune. Their incredibly colorful jewelry made of corals and pearls displayed on their smooth, pearly-white skin swayed about along with the current.

It was a wonderful world for her.

But one day, a wicked sorcerer had invaded her wonderful home. He had tricked her father into giving him all his treasures in exchange for knowledge of the dark arts, which they did not know of. He aimed to be powerful amongst his kindred, so he had gotten his help.

In the end, he had gained nothing from him.

Going into despair, her father takes up a black pearl containing evil magic, and his wife; in her futile efforts, tried to stop him but in vain, all the while the poor mermaid was powerless to even join the fray. The magic of the pearl took them away and they disappeared forever, leaving her behind. Very soon the news of her parents' disappearance reached others and they accused her of it, even though she was completely of no fault at all.

The poor mermaid's heart was shattered.

Then one day, the page of the wicked sorcerer arrived in their kingdom, using his powers. Although inferior to his master, he was quite astounding in his own way. He delivered news to the sorrowed mermaid, that his master demands more compensation from their family. But they were already impoverished, her father having given all their wealth to that man, to obtain that despicable ability of the dark arts which he failed to get.

In the end, what was decided is that the mermaid should serve him for as long as needed. To protect others from this dangerous master, she readily agreed. In place of a fish's tail she was given a pair of human legs, and she was led to the strange upper realm.

Little did she know what it would cost her. ]

Mich.

It was dark.

I was staring at the vanity mirror in front of me. Like the passing nights I was asking myself how in hell I ended up here. My life wasn't as messed up as I remember it was. I definitely have a family: loving parents, and a caring brother... which vanished in an instant.

Maybe that was the reason why I ended up doing this.

"Here, for you."

I looked back to see a blond girl in a revealing sailor uniform and black boots holding a mask and handing it to me. Taking it from her, I stared at it. It was definitely pretty, white with all the bedazzling glitters sprinkled over. It'll be my shield against the people outside.

"Thank you," I replied.

As I put on the mask, I looked at myself again. I really should stop wondering why I'm here and why I am doing this. This is my life now and I know I won't be getting out of this anytime I would've liked.

"Good luck!" she cheered. "I'll be watching you!"

Taking a deep breath, I strutted out of the stage. Cheers erupted around me as I gave them the sexiest smile I could manage.

"Presenting, Diva, and her debut performance!"

My hands reached for the pole.

The music started out as slow as I was singing the lyrics, then turning fast. Acting out my cue, I swayed my hips and went down the floor, spreading them. I roamed my right hand around my breasts, while the other one was still holding the silver pole. Getting up on my boot-clad feet in an instant, I reached for my bra top and unclasp its front, revealing to all what was underneath.

The audience roared louder.

Then, acid clawed violently in my throat and my sight spun around. Inhaling, I fought for the calm I had earlier, and reminding myself that I'd be screwed if I ended up ruining this show.

I climbed the pole and spun around it fast, my hair gently floating downwards while landing on my knees. My chest bounced as I moved away from the pole and swung my legs around, doing the dance that I practiced a few days ago. As the melody finished, I struck in a pose and smiled again.

They were cheering for me while I was reeling in disgust.

After taking a bow I fixed myself and walked away, and then ran for the comfort room. The instant I got there, I rammed one of the stalls and vomited in the toilet bowl, groaning out of the uncomfortable sourness in my mouth.

"Good job, Mich!"

Turning my head to the voice, I saw the blond girl from before holding out a glass of water to me.

"Thanks, Erine," I replied as I took the glass and gulped the water in a second. I groaned again.

"I've watched it from the backstage, you know?" she continued in a cheerful voice. "It's a first that someone removed their bra in their debut. You've made your mark! I'm proud of you!"

I didn't know whether I should be happy or be offended with that. Nonetheless, I smiled at her.

Suddenly, the door opened and a white-haired girl dressed in simple jeans and white shirt barged inside. A pair of azure eyes was staring at us.

"You okay?" she asked, her gaze focusing more on me as she came near.

I groaned. "Yeah, thanks. I'll live."

She kneeled beside me and held my hand. Despite not looking at her, I felt completely embarrassed. My mind was replaying the scene from before; their leering eyes boring on me. Trying to dispel it, I stared at the vomit inside the toilet bowl.

"You should've seen her, Ria!" I heard Erine say to her. "She's so amazing! She looks so confident when she took off—"

"Yeah, yeah—I know, Erine," she answered as she held my hand tighter. "But stop talking about it already. It's pretty obvious Mich doesn't want to remember it."

I was thankful she said that. At the corner of my view, I saw Erine casting me a sympathetic look.

"Oh yeah, it's your first!" she commented. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it—"

The door opened again with a loud bang and someone entered, her heels clicking heavily every step.

"Erine, I've been looking for you!" the person said, her feminine voice tinged with irritation. "It's already your turn!"

"Oops, sorry, Louise," I heard Erine reply. "I lost track."

"Go now! Before Margaret punishes you! " the other person replied.

Raising my head, I saw a red-haired girl donned in an elegant pink dress, dotted with pepper-like black dots that reached just above her knees. Her heels were so tall that she's literally looking down on me. Her Peridot green eyes were sending me a glare.

"I'm sorry..." I muttered. "I'm... I'm just starting to get used to this."

"You forgot most of the steps I've made you practice," she started, ignoring my apology. "And you paused for a moment where you shouldn't have. The only thing that made it good was the part where you stripped yourself."

"Hey Louise, cut her some slack," Ria said. "It's her first time."

It seems that she's admitting that I definitely ruined my performance.

"Yeah, Lulu," Erine added, much to my dismay. "Let her be. There's always a next time. I'm sure she'll reach your standards by then!"

At least Erine believes in me.

"Whatever," Louise answered. "Get going, Erine."

"Oh yeah, Michie," Erine suddenly turned to me. "Will you watch me perform? Please?"

"Erine, I don't think she should watch...," Ria interjects, her sight switching to her.

She was looking at me, her sky blue irises sparkling as if she's going to cry and her lips in a pout. I'd honestly wanted to turn her down, but she looks so dejected. Guilt was tearing me just by looking at her.

"Umm... I... I'll watch, just... just don't cry," I pleaded.

"Yay!" she exclaimed, hugging me tight. "You're the best, Michie!"

A few seconds later she ran out, with Louise following her. I rinsed my mouth with the remaining water to clear the unpleasant taste and spat it to the toilet, and then flushed it out.

Ria helped me stand up, looking at me with worry. "Are you serious?"

"Uh... yes?" I answered back, feeling doubtful of what I just did.

She shook her head. "You're gonna regret it."

"Why?"

There was an unsettling silence around us.

I was staring at her, unsure of what she meant. Then she took my hand and tugged me gently, going outside the comfort room. Still pulling me we ended up to the backstage and we sneaked through the private viewing box in there. Opening the screen, I saw the side of the stage, with Erine swaying her body to a slow-beat melody and the men cheering her stage name; "Sunshine! Sunshine!" as they leered at her. She really looked like an expert to it.

But what bothered me was that she was smiling under her cerulean mask.

"She's like that," Ria explained, rather reading my expression. "I don't know why, all I know was... she's nuts."

Was she always like that?

After spinning around many times she strode down, and sat on a middle aged man in a business suit waving a wad of cash at her. While she was caressing his face he was roaming his hands all over her, groping her left breast and slipping his hand in her skirt.

My mind started spinning. The world lost its sense of reality. The dizzy feeling was surging from the insides of my body. This feeling was as though someone had injected a foul and vulgar movie into my mind then played it, forcing me to watch against my will. The overwhelming feelings were making me lose balance. Everything afterwards became a blur. But just at this moment I felt warmth, accompanied by a kind of soft sensation. When I came to my senses I felt that I was sitting on the floor and a pair of arms was around me, my view from the stage particularly blocked. The scent of mint entered my nose. It took a while before I realized that my body was shaking.

"It's okay, it's okay... I got you," Ria whispered, hugging me tighter.

I lost control and the dam holding it all back was broken. My tears flowed freely, my sobs came out loud. I was crying.

I was scared. Scared of what I did, of what I've seen... of everything in here.

"That is the way you should do it, Michelle," a voice told me, and I'm pretty sure it's not Louise's. "If you wanted to earn your keep in here, you should do it way better than what you did earlier."

Whose voice was it?

"C'mon, Meg—not you too," Ria replied.

'Meg'? Does she mean Miss Meg is here?

"You won't last if you keep on being like that," Meg's voice added, ignoring Ria.

I didn't answer her, neither had she continued speaking. Yet I could feel her gaze penetrating my side, as if she wanted me to agree with her. Or maybe nod.

I can't bring myself to do either.

"I wanna get out of here," I muttered, hugging Ria back.

"Look... once you're here, there's no way out," Ria told me as I felt her hand caressing my back. "Believe me. Someone had tried to... but she ended up getting shot."

"That's..."

Feeling dejected, I bowed my head and let my tears fall. I was pursing my lips to control the sobs trying to get out again. Ria, on the other hand, stayed silent. Maybe she understood that I needed this. Miss Meg didn't reprimand me for it, probably just watching Erine instead.

This is now the mess I'm in... and there's no getting out alive.