Short Synopsis -
A mermaid by the name of Cora and Rye, a cursed water gypsy, unknowingly find themselves the subject of a wager between the witch of the Sea and the witch of the Earth. Turning Cora into a human, they set her adrift in a world she doesn't know and begin their trickery to ensure their victory.
A strange chirping noise sounded somewhere nearby, the lamp shining brightly through Cora's eyelids and she squinted, silently cursing her brother for not turning it off when he left. Her skin felt oddly warm, reminding her of floating on the waters surface in the sun.
Her eyes opened, blearily taking in the blue sky overhead, soft white clouds floating high above and her body froze.
She was not in her home.
She wasn't even in the water.
The sun beamed above, shining on her very warm and very dry body. Chest heaving, she twisted her head side to side, seeing only trees and a small slip of water upon which she travelled. Shooting up to a sitting position the world moved below her and she reached out trying to steady herself. She was on some sort of raft, the wood digging into her naked flesh. Her usual cover she wore over her breasts was gone and her tail felt dry and odd. Looking down she saw the reason.
Two pale white legs jutted out from her waist, bent in a strange crook.
She screamed, shuffling away as though her tail would be hiding beneath the thin limbs. The legs kicked up, pushing her against the raft and she cried out as her skin scraped against the rough surface.
"What's going on?" she whispered, breathing sharply.
The last thing she remembered was closing her eyes in her own home in the Colony. How had this happened? Trying to calm her rapid breaths she looked around at her surroundings, causing the ball of panic sitting on her chest to grow heavier. She was drifting down a small river, the flow running steadily North, the water lapping against the raft. Trees grew on either side of the water, towering over her; their roots crept into the water, moss inching up their trunks as though the river and the trees were trying to consume one another. Their leaves were a vibrant green, many of them falling into the water below. Some of their branches reached across the water and at one point she had to duck her head so she didn't hit a branch.
As she passed one by, she reached up to touch the branch, marvelling at the feel of the soft bark beneath her fingertips. The trees opened up into a large field on one side, seeming to never end. Many different coloured flowers decorated the field, creating a wave of color in the breeze. She watched the scenery pass by, time slipping away as the river never seemed to end. To pass the time and ease her frantic thoughts she tried to figure out how her legs worked. They were such strange looking things and it astounded her she could move them separately from each other. She ran her hands down them, her skin soft and supple like that of her upper body, not at all leathery and slick like her tail was. They started to grow dangerously warm in the heat of the sun and she pinched and prodded them, wincing from the sting.
Slowly, she moved them back and forth laughing as she wriggled the little appendages on her feet. She couldn't remember what they were called but they were so tiny and cute. She wondered how people stood on them, they seemed so small and weak she wasn't sure if they could bear her weight. Wanting to try, she attempted to stand on them as she had seen humans do so. The raft however did not like this movement and began to tip. She shrieked as she lost her balance, almost falling into the water and laughed.
Why should she fear the water? It was more familiar to her than the earth. To think she was afraid to fall beneath its depths was ludicrous. She brushed her hair out of her face, letting it flow behind her in the breeze, a few wisps hitting her face. It was such a strange sensation to have dry hair. It was soft but brittle and she could smell the salt still clinging to the strands.
