The Mermaid's Key: A Novella

Chapter 8: Part 5

And she was going to have to allow herself time to plan and think, and the only way to get that was to act like nothing was going on at all. The more her parents and sisters suspected something the more likely they would catch on and it would all be lost. It was all she could think about though. No matter where she looked, no matter what she saw, no matter what she heard, everything - it all reminded her of him. Everything was beautiful and beauty was everywhere.
On she went through the day, distracted and yet withdrawn into her own day- dreams she made it through as many of her chores and obligations as she had to. After an early evening gathering and meal with her family and another of the val- ley's families she finally got some free time to herself. Her hunger had been more than she had thought at first and she ate more than she normally would, secretly blaming her exertions the night before for her increased appetite. The taste of free- dom was like magic to her heart that felt as if it had been constrained all day. All she wanted to do was swim over and under and all around and tell everyone she could about the most beautiful human she had ever seen. The moment she did that it would all be over, she knew that for sure and so did Triton. The second one of her family or clan members found out she had been associating with, let along fallen in love with, a human she would be in more trouble than even her father could save her from. It would be the end of her time in the valley with the rest of the clan, and she was only willing to do that if it was on her own terms and not anyone else's.
All day long she had been humming and singing to herself, off in her own little world. If it wasn't for Triton and his watchful eyes and tentacles she would have been found out long ago. It was like an itch she couldn't scratch. One afternoon and she was losing her mind, she didn't know what she would do if it were any longer. She would surely lose her mind. After finally finding the time to break away she headed back the way she knew she must go, not toward the shore but back toward the center of the sea to see the sea witch. Anyone interested in her comings and goings wouldn't suspect her trip to the surface if she was now headed back towards the deep.
The trip this time didn't seem nearly as long and it was almost as if the sea witch was waiting for her, as if she somehow already knew that Ariana would be coming back. "Hello, my darling, how have you been?" She lowered herself down from the upper back right corner toward the center of the room and looked upon Ariana as she came to float on the other side of the floating orb and cauldron in the center of her chamber. "What have you been up to since last we talked? It seems almost as if it was just a moment ago. Ha ha ha ha ha." She laughed at her- self, almost as if she were laughing at some inside joke she had with herself.
"I...I...I need your help, again. Something has...happened, and I don't know where else to turn."
"Where else to turn? That piques my curiosity, now I am interested. Tell me child, what is it that is going on? What happened? What is troubling you so much that you have come to me for help?"
"There, there is something I need to know. Something I didn't ask before."
"Spit it out my dear, what is it? There is something different about you this time. I can tell; you know I am a witch my dear, stronger than most. I can see what most can not and more than that I can sense just about everything around me. Be- ing alive as long as I have has taught me how to adapt and listen to my environ- ment around me. Something happened last night child, something is no longer the same about you."
"Yes, ma'am. So much has changed and awakened inside of me and yet I feel as if it was there all along." Ariana began recanting the story of what happened the night before, Triton relaxed his grip and floated around her head as she told her story animatedly. After she began the sea witch began to toss in a couple of po- tions into her cauldron and as it began to bubble the giant floating orb above it came to life showing scenes from the past as if from a moving picture camera. Upon the orb played out the events of the night before as she told her story from beginning to end, the beauty of the two souls coming together. As she finished her story Ariana could feel Triton wrapped around the left side of her neck tightly once more and couldn't understand why until she turned to her right and was star- tled to see the sea witch floating right there in front of her, less than a foot away.
"My child, my child. What can I say that will make things better for you now? Let me, here, let me touch that beautiful belly of yours," she said as she reached out and touched the exposed belly of the princess. In a flash both princess and sea witch saw what was to come in tiny spurts, im- ages one after the other of what is to come. The sea witch quickly withdrew her hand and looked at Ariana in the eye, a piercing gaze; not a gaze of hate but a searching gaze as if looking for what truly lied there beyond the facade she pre- sented.
"Young lady, you are with child and what is more there is only one thing that can save this magical abomination - magic. What happened yesterday is some- thing that was never meant to happen, at least not between two people who are not witches with knowledge of the old ways. You are lucky my child, you have me. Maybe I can help. I do not know for sure, but I can tell you that I will help. There is a lot I know and maybe together we can sort our way through this."
As the sea witch sank down next to Ariana and wrapped her arm around her she drew her close and held her there so that the two were touching completely. Ariana had to hold back a shudder, being so close to someone she trusted and knew so little. Maybe she shouldn't have come here alone this time; well, she never was alone. Triton was still here, although from the way he clung to her now she could feel his seething reaction to her putting herself once more in harms way.
"Listen to me closely child, the ancient ways are as I told you - strong and pow- erful. They have been along before the dust of the earth and existed as the oceans and seas began to first form. Through this we are all connected, and it is by using this and only this that you will save what is growing inside of you. You felt it didn't you? Something different, something off."
"Well, to be honest, I felt something, but nothing of consequence. I never ever thought in a million years I would be pregnant. After just one night? And with a human? My father's going to kill me!"
"Sweet thing, your father is the least of your worries at this point. You need to be looking ahead, not just for you now but for your child and what is going to hap- pen once it is born into this world. This child may yet still form to be a human child and not a merchild, it is yet to be seen. Although I am sure that soon we shall have our answers. What will you do with a human child? What will you do with a merchild? Are you ready to accept fate or are you ready to take control and make sure you get what you want? Sometimes a sacrifice must be made, but in the end it is worth the cost. Magic is not free, especially the ancient ways; probably because they aren't really magic but more the rules that unite and bind us all. Dear thing I am so glad I am here to help and guide you. Whatever would you do without me?"
The doting of the sea witch was starting to wear off on Ariana and she was get- ting fed up of being coddled and talked to like she was still a child. It was about time to get out of here, she had enough to think about before and now this?! Preg- nant? What was she going to do? It wouldn't be long before her father found out, and after that the rest of the family and clan. It was just about hopeless, she was lost. Her only hope was the fact hat her crime was so unspeakable that it had never been committed and therefore a punishment had never before been needed and therefore there was no precedence to follow. But she needed to get back, she had to deal with this head on before they found out on their own. She had a lot of work to do, and a lot more convincing.
"I, I...don't know what to even say to you. The only thing I can think of right now is how in shock I must be. This news....is unexpected to say the least. And the implications, well, they reach farther than I thought things could even reach any- more. I don't even know what to think, I feel like my head is spinning and I can hardly get a grip," as she reached out to steady herself against the cavern wall the witch reached out and put one of her hands on Ariana's arm, an icy hold that felt cold and hard and draining. For the lingering moment that she held on Ariana could feel the light that had been starting to burn bright deep inside of her start to gravitate towards the touch and even begin to transfer one from the other. It was if she were sucking it from her in that instant and when Ariana forced herself free she knew that she must never again let the sea witch get a hold of her. "Listen, I thank you so much, for the guidance, the help, but I must go. I must return to my clan right now, there are just so many things that must be done and now so many things to figure out. I know now I need your help, and I will return upon the fort- night to talk with you and learn from you and let you guide me. I know not where to go from here but I do know that I must get home right now, I must return to my family. They will come looking for me, and that is the last thing that I want - especially right now." In a last ditch effort she threw in, "Once I have worked out a plan and reason to stay away it will be easier to come and visit and it will ensure no one will come looking. If I stay now there are too many wondering eyes..." with this she quickly glanced at Triton and then at the darkness that surrounded them in the deep cavern of the sea.
"Why, my child, have I frightened you so? What have I done to make you want to leave me so quickly? And here I thought we were having so much fun," and with that she released a cackling laugh that sent tingles down Ariana's spine. The repulsion that she felt came upon her like a wave of fury and almost threw her for a loop.
"Repulsed? No, not at all. You are the wisest and oldest witch I know and the only one who knows of the ancient ways. I would be lost without you. I need you, you must't give up on me; please don't just leave me helpless," Ariana lied hoping it would be just good enough to distract the sea witch and allow her to get away. She slowly began inching backwards towards the only exit and entrance. "But still, if I don't get back soon the entire clan will be out looking out for me and all hell will be broken loose. I don't want to bring any more attention to us than we al- ready are." Here she stopped and looked the sea witch deep in the eyes, frozen in fear, "Please, don't tell anyone what has happened. Please, keep this secret be- tween us, and please don't disappear on me. We must make this work, because on my own I don't think I can do this."
"Child, Child, What am I to do with you?"
"I am all yours, we just have to be smart about this," Ariana said conspiratori- ally, trying to mask her desperation.
"Don't rush now child, there is still one more thing that you need to know. One more secret I have yet to share that cannot wait."
"Something else? What else could there possibly be? I can't think of any news more shocking and possibly devastating than what you have just told me. It is enough to handle. Really, I must be going. I can't handle any more." At this point the tears were starting to well at the edges of her eyes as she tried her best to stand there defiantly and stay strong in front of the most ancient creature she had ever met.
"Sweetheart, stop. You must be strong. We all must be strong. We all have to grow up at times that we are not ready because of circumstances not under our own control. You have been forced into something you are not yet ready for and yet here you find yourself no matter what you do. There is one extra thing though, something else you need to know and it has something to do with your precious Theodore."
"Theodore, how do you know anything about him? How do you know any- thing at all besides what I have already told you?"
"I know much more than you my sweet thing, I know much more than your fa- ther will ever know and will be around much longer than most of your people will grace these seas. I am a powerful and ancient witch, that is all I will say. Darling, you see that crystal ball right there above my cauldron. Right here in front of you. I can cast more spells in this here cauldron than you can possibly ever dream up in your short little lifetime. Beyond that I can see much more than you can, and much more than you will ever be able to. That ball there allows me to see more than you know and I have seen much."
"Wait, what? Seen much? Does that mean that this has all been built on the pre- tense of a lie? Did you know all along what happened?"
"My darling, I can explain it to you like this; you coming to me is like when a human comes to the gods and asks for guidance. The so called beings know what will happen in the end but they still provide guidance to the individual as he or she came to them for help."
"I just....what else could there be now? I can't handle anything else. Tell me, tell me now. What is it?
"Theodore, your precious love and amazing man of your dreams is not what he seems to be. You may think that you have found the man of your dreams but he is far from it, even if he doesn't know it himself. It seems there was one thing that this poor sweet boy unknowingly left from you. After hitting his head he forgot, poor thing, can you really blame him? After going through all that I don't know what I would do. You see my dear, before he ever met you and before you ever came into his life he was betrothed to another." Ariana gasped and doubled over as if she had been sucker punched. "Yes, my dear; I am sorry to have to be the one to tell you. The father of that baby you carry is going to marry another and whatever we figure to do with the two of you you will both be alone from now on."