Note: I have an original rewrite of this idea in my other short stories fic.
Her father had always warned her about the surface.
She must never go there.
It was dangerous and the land dwellers would mistreat her, lock her in a cage and view her as some kind of spectacle.
Bilba had rolled her eyes and utterly ignored him.
Her father had never even been to the surface, merely heard stories told to him by his parents and others who'd gone.
Like her mother.
Her beautiful, vibrant mother who'd often traveled to the surface and always brought back stories of the places she'd seen and the people she'd met.
The stories had filled Bilba with wonder and amazement.
They'd filled her father with fear.
When her mother had failed to come back one day he'd believed his point proven.
Bilba had believed her mother had simply found a better, and more exciting, life.
Had.
She had believed that.
She didn't anymore.
The water she currently sat in was stagnant and foul but she had no choice but to take it in through the narrow slits on her waist, her body filtering what oxygen it could. The result left her feeling perpetually ill and weak, barely able to muster up an appetite for the table scraps of fish and other seafood her captors tossed her way, when they remembered to feed her at all.
The aquarium they'd locked her in was so small and narrow she couldn't stretch her tail out or even turn around.
So she simply sat, and slowly lost her mind.
Was this what had happened to her mother? Was she even then trapped in a similar situation in some tavern or the private collection of a nobleman, locked away in the dark far from the sun or sea?
If she was Bilba doubted she would recognize her mother any longer.
Soon enough she doubted anyone would recognize her either.
She had no idea exactly how long she'd been there but it had been long enough for her to grow thin and for her tail, once a mix of brilliant blue, emerald green and rich brown, to dull to a flat, muddy color. Her hair, auburn streaked with gold had begun to fall out and she imagined her eyes, which had once matched her tail, were probably as flat and colorless as the eyes she'd once seen in a captive dolphin.
She understood that creature now, in a way she never had before.
Through the glass she could hear the dull, distorted sound of humans talking and laughing, mugs and cups clunking to the tops of tables and the clink of coin exchanging hands. No one had cleaned her aquarium in some time so the glass was clouded and hard to see through but she knew, if she could, there would be little worth viewing.
After she'd been captured and dragged to the mainland she'd been sold to the owner of a tavern so far inland she could no longer feel the pull of the waves no matter how hard she tried. The tavern owner, an odious human who saw her as little more than an exotic fish, had set her up where she currently was and charged extra for the privilege of coming in and seeing her.
At first she'd been surrounded, people on all sides chattering excitedly or knocking on the glass in an effort to get her to do...whatever it was they wanted. She couldn't hear them well enough to know and, even had she the desire, her quarters were far too tight to permit much more than pushing herself up vertically a few feet and sitting down once more.
A far cry from the ocean with its miles and miles of space in any direction one might wish to go.
Eventually the novelty had worn off to the point she was virtually ignored and the fact she'd been there long enough for that to happen brought a fresh wave of misery and despair. She drew her tail up, wrapped her arms around it and put her head down.
No one who mattered knew where she was.
No one was coming.
Ever.
***
Someone tapped on the glass.
Bilba ignored it.
It was several days later and her captors had finally bothered to clean her cage. It wouldn't last long but, until it clouded over again, it gave her a clear look out. The downside, of course, was that meant it also gave others a clear look in. There were always one or two who'd never seen a mermaid before, or at least not in a long time, and having the glass clean always drew them over. There were guards stationed at the four corners of the aquarium, day and night, to protect her captor's investment from being stolen but they did little to stop the onslaught of knocking, or outright beating, on the glass.
Sometimes all she could do was hold her hands over her ears and scream inside her head until it finally, mercifully, stopped.
The tapping came again, no harder than the first time, just the lightest tap...almost polite.
Bilba opened her eyes.
There was a man standing on the other side of the glass, down a way, near the opposite end. He was tall and solidly built, dressed in a high quality tunic and trousers with black, worn boots that went to the knee and folded over in a wide cuff. He was younger than most she saw, or had lived an easier life, with hair so blond it was nearly white. He had a short, neat beard and mustache, the ends braided. There were more braids in his hair, it probably meant something but she had no idea what.
Seeing he had her attention, he moved along the outside of the cage, up toward where she'd been resting her head against the glass. He moved with an ease that suggested he was comfortable, in both his own skin and his surroundings, but the grip he had on the handle of a sword strapped to his hip and thigh suggested he wasn't so inexperienced as to drop his guard.
He stopped, just on the other side of the glass.
The aquarium was up on a stand but he was still taller than her, if she turned her head she'd be eye level to his collarbone.
She didn't.
She was tired of them. Even the ones who most likely thought they were kind, smiling or waving at her as if she were some kind of exhibit and then going off into the night undoubtedly patting themselves on the back over how they'd behaved.
All the while leaving her to rot in their wake.
He was still standing there.
Most would already be trying to get her attention. If that failed they would get bored and leave her alone.
He just...kept standing there.
From the corner of her eye she could see him breathing, his chest rising and falling in a relaxed, casual manner.
He was in no hurry.
Finally, with the hope he'd leave her alone if she gave him what he wanted, she turned her head and angled it up to meet his eyes.
They were blue, the color reminding her of the sky on a bright summer day. The sight brought back memories that wrenched at her heart and she clenched her hands into fists.
He held her gaze easily, his eyes steady.
So caught was she by it that it took her a few seconds to realize his lips were moving, he was mouthing something, the same phrase in fact, over and over again.
She focused on his mouth, watching as his lips formed the words yet again, exaggerated and slow so she could pick them up.
I.
Will.
Come.
Back.
For.
You.
Bilba snorted and looked away again, putting her head back down and closing her eyes.
He was one of those then.
There had been a few, a very few, but some nonetheless. The first one she'd been foolish enough to believe.
She'd had hope.
He'd broken into the tavern in the early morning and tried to break the glass of her cage with a rock. The noise had awoken her captors, who slept over the bar, and he'd been chased off, never to be seen again.
The guards had been installed that very day.
The second had tried to buy her, only to pale and quickly backpedal at whatever outrageous price the tavern owner had named.
A few others had come and gone since then and, at some point, they had taken her hope with them, disappearing with it into the night, never to return.
She lifted her head, risking a glance, and saw the opposite side of the glass was empty.
Good riddance.
She was done with false hope.
***
Bilba jerked, her eyes snapping open and her heart racing.
She'd heard something, something that had woken her out of a dead sleep but, now that she was awake, she had no idea what it was.
The tavern was empty, the only light coming from the moon shining through the windows.
Wait...the tavern was empty?
Where were her guards?
She pushed up, as much as she could, and put her hands on the glass, trying to peer out into the room.
She saw no one, not a single soul.
Light spilled down the stairway at the back of the room, coming from where the owner's room was, and she pushed back from the glass, hoping he wouldn't see her.
The tavern owner had a bad temper and she didn't want to be the focus of it when he saw the guards had neglected their duty and left her alone.
Boots sounded on the stairs, and a figure appeared, coming down into the main room.
Bilba blinked in surprise, sure her mind was deceiving her.
It wasn't the owner.
It was the blond man, from earlier.
As if he could feel her watching, he looked over. He smiled, as if he didn't have a care in the world, tossed her a jaunty mock salute, and headed toward one of the tables where he began to pull the chairs down from where they'd been stacked upside down on top.
Bilba watched him in disbelief.
As soon as the chairs were off he bent, grabbed the table, and started to shove it over until it bumped up against her aquarium.
He gave her another smile and mouthed the words, "told you I'd be back." He then reached into a pocket and came out with a long, leather cord.
At the end of it dangled a squat, metal key.
Bilba's eyes widened and she felt a jolt run right through her.
The blond jumped up easily on the table and grabbed the heavy padlock that locked the lid of the aquarium. He shoved the key in, unlocked it, and dropped it on the table with a heavy thud. He then grabbed the edges of the lid and shoved it up and over.
Bilba was shaking by that time, her breathing shallow and harsh. She looked over her shoulder to watch as the lid hit the other side of the aquarium.
When she looked back he was looking at her, one eyebrow raised in expectation.
Still half terrified it was all some sort of awful trick, Bilba pushed up, awkwardly, her body stiff and uncooperative from being cramped in one position so long. Her fingers breached the surface and her heart started to race at the feel of the cold air of the pub against her skin.
She curled her fingers around the lip of the aquarium and pulled herself up.
Her head broke the surface.
Immediately fear settled bone deep inside her and her shaking got worse, her fingers curled into the edges of the aquarium until they hurt. Her eyes darted nervously toward the stairs.
"Don't worry about him," the blond's voice drew her attention back. "He and the guards are a little tied up at the moment. They won't be bothering us."
He sound exceptionally pleased with himself.
"Of course," he went on, "that doesn't mean we should tarry. Come on."
He slid his arms under her shoulders and pulled her up enough that she could wrap her arms around his neck. As she did he transferred one hand under the water to her waist, managing in the process, somehow, to completely avoid her gills.
"Are you strong enough to change?" he asked. "Not that I wouldn't mind carrying you but I imagine you'd probably enjoy breathing, not to mention walking through town with a mermaid would probably draw a bit of attention, even at night."
Bilba barely heard him, still half convinced she was dreaming the entire thing and that, any moment, she'd wake up and find herself still locked away. Keeping her arms around his neck, all she could do was stare past him. There was a window nearby and, through it, she could see a cobblestone street with wooden buildings on the other side. She put a hand on his upper arm and pushed up, leaning partly over his shoulder in the hopes of seeing a glimpse of the sky but the tavern had a porch and awning and she couldn't see past it.
Her rescuer jostled her lightly, getting her attention. "Change," he said gently, "then we can go outside."
Bilba nodded and concentrated.
The change was slow and sluggish. She was weak, and tired, and changing took a lot of energy and concentration. It was the main reason she hadn't been able to use it to escape after her capture, she'd been scared and unable to focus at first, and to starved and weak later.
Light shone out from her tail, starting at the fin and racing up, past her gills and up to her chest. Dimly she could feel her tail splitting, the scales receding. Her gills closed and vanished and, deep inside, she felt herself changing, lungs forming and her mouth opening as they demanded oxygen.
She felt fabric, wet with water, wrap around her legs as the dress she'd worn the last time she'd changed appeared. She had no idea where the dress went when she changed to a mermaid, just as she had no idea where the breast band she wore as a mermaid went when she changed to human.
She could remember asking her father once where her clothes went when she changed and he'd simply shrugged and said, "Same place your tail or legs go I'd imagine."
The light faded and the blond grinned at her. "Great."
He pulled her up again and, a second later, she was out of the aquarium. He kept one arm around her waist, slid the other under her legs and lifted her. He then easily jumped off the table and hit the floor.
"I can walk," Bilba said, her voice quiet.
"Alright." He lowered her legs to the floor and Bilba hissed at the feeling of the rough wood under her feet. She'd forgotten about the sensitivity, it would fade but not for a few hours.
He still had an arm around her and she held onto him, trying to put weight on her legs.
Her knees buckled and he caught her, swinging her back up into his arms.
"Maybe a little later," he said. "We really need to get out of here."
Bilba curled a hand in the front of his shirt, nervous for a different reason. She'd been so focused on being free she hadn't thought to question what manner of man her rescuer was, or what his purpose for saving her was. "Why are you doing this?"
He shrugged. "Why not?"
He adjusted his grip on her and started walking, behind the bar into the kitchen and toward the back door. He managed to get the door open without putting her down, and walked outside.
Bilba sucked in a deep breath. It wasn't the freshest air, the smell of decaying trash, horse dung and who knew what was heavy in the small alley but, to her, it was paradise.
She struggled to get down again. He allowed it and, this time, her legs held. Barely.
She braced a hand on the wall to support herself, staggered to the end of the alley and looked up.
A brilliant, coal black sky stretched out overhead, studded with what seemed like millions upon millions of stars, glittering like sharp diamonds spread upon black velvet.
She heard her rescuer coming up behind her and turned to face him, pressing her back against the wall behind her to stay upright. The air was warm and heavy and the air thick with residual heat from the day. When last she'd been free, and on the surface, it had been winter and she'd worn a thick dress with a warm overcoat and sturdy shoes. Now it was clearly late spring, if not summer, and far too warm for what she was wearing.
Her rescuer moved beside her, glancing out and checking the street. "Come on," he said, "let's get out of here before those idiots get out of the ropes I left them in."
Bilba nodded and allowed him to put an arm around her waist and pull her away from the wall. She was still weak, still getting the feel of walking back, and wouldn't be able to move fast without him helping her.
"What's your name?" she asked quietly as he led her out onto the street.
"Fili," he said, nodding his head at her in greeting. "What's yours?"
"Bilba," she answered. "Thank you. For saving me."
She still didn't know his motives or what his plans were but, for the moment, he'd gotten her out of a prison she'd become convinced would be her grave.
"At your service," Fili said. "You're welcome."
He tightened his grip on her waist, taking on more of her weight and, together, they continued down the road.
***
Bilba studied the large house with trepidation. "This is not where you live."
Fili frowned. "How do you know?"
She rolled her eyes. "If you lived here you wouldn't have been in that tavern."
He shrugged. "Maybe I just like slumming it with the locals."
Bilba sincerely doubted that but was too tired to argue. Fili had led her all the way to the very outskirts of the town, down a winding trail that led to the top of a hill and a massive villa sprawled across it.
Fili had guided her through a side door that looked suspiciously broken and into a vast foyer. The entire thing was almost blindingly white, from the paint on the wall to the marble floors to the statues and flowing drapes covering the windows.
She shot Fili a suspicious look. "You broke in, didn't you?"
He shrugged. "Are you really that surprised? Look at how my night started out."
He had a point.
She shivered and wrapped her arms around her chest. "Why are we here?"
"You're too exhausted to move very far tonight," he replied. "We'll rest here and leave in the morning."
Bilba shook her head, fear rippling through her. "They'll be free by morning and after us."
"And they'll have no idea which way we went." As he spoke, Fili unbuckled his sword belt and pulled it off, draping it over a nearby couch. Bilba imagined it would probably leave oil and dirt all over the white fabric but he either didn't realize it or, more likely, simply didn't care. "I imagine they'll pick a direction at random, at which point we will immediately go in the exact opposite direction."
We? Bilba frowned. "Go where?"
He gave her that same disarming smile he'd been sending her all evening. "If I told you it'd ruin the surprise."
He pointed toward a doorway, through which she could see a long hall. "The room at the very end belongs to a young woman who is currently on vacation in a much warmer climate. You may be able to find something you can wear more appropriate to the weather."
"What will you be doing?" Bilba asked.
"Same thing," Fili said, "just in a different room. After that I plan to raid the kitchen. You're welcome to join me if you wish."
Bilba didn't answer, just gave him a noncommittal nod and padded off to find the room, her mind whirling.
She didn't know Fili. He'd rescued her, yes, but to what end she had no idea. He'd had no compunction about breaking in, to both the tavern and house, and she only had his word about what he'd done to her captors or the guards. He said he hadn't hurt them and though she couldn't pretend she would shed a tear if it turned out he had but still...the fact he broke the law so easily, even if it'd been to save her...and breaking into someone's home without care...it presented a contradiction, between the man who'd saved her and the one who so readily flouted the law, and she had no idea which was the real Fili.
She forced her feet to start moving again and reached the room.
Grabbing the doorknob she pushed it open, and gasped at the room beyond.
It was beautiful.
The walls had been painted a soft lavender with white trim while the floor was more of the white marble covered in thick, plush rugs of varying shades of purple with intricate designs worked into them. There was a massive, four poster bed piled high with royal purple and white bedding and the wardrobe and vanity were a light colored wood with gold accents.
Stepping in, Bilba shut the door and was gratified to find a lock on it. Granted she doubted it would hold up against more than a few swift kicks but it gave her at least some semblance of peace. Besides, had he wanted to hurt her, Fili had already had ample opportunity.
She opened the wardrobe and nearly shrieked in happiness at the sight of all the clothes. Rooting through them she quickly found most would be much to large given the weight she'd lost, but she found a few with ribbons and stays that she thought she could adjust to fit.
She gathered the ones she thought would work, silently apologizing to the owner, and stepped to a nearby door. Opening it revealed a full bathroom complete with a tub that, to her delight, had hot and cold water. She stripped out of her clothing, grimacing at the dress as she dropped it to the floor. Her cage had been relatively clean when she'd changed and gotten the fabric wet but, even so, she wanted nothing to do with anything that had been touched by that water, ever again.
She filled the tub and couldn't keep back a moan of pure bliss as she stepped into the steaming water.
Unable to resist, she called her tail back and slipped completely under the water, sighing as the heat seeped into her body.
She didn't come up until the water was nearly tepid. She changed back to a human again, grabbed a bar of soap she'd spotted on a nearby table when she'd come in, and set to work scrubbing her body and hair.
When she felt she was relatively clean she got out and reached for a dress only to change her mind and grab a shift she'd found in the back of the wardrobe instead. As with the rest, it was too big and hung on her body. She gathered it up as she walked back out into the room. She sat at the vanity and brushed her hair out, flinching at the tangles and knots that had no desire to come out. It took her forever to get it in order and set it in a thick braid that reached her midback and, by the time she had, her body had remembered just how exhausted she was.
She remembered Fili's invitation to the kitchen and was tempted to take him up on it but was quite sure she'd never make it all the way back down the hallway.
Instead she got up and managed to stumble to the bed, collapsing on it and immediately sinking down into the insanely soft mattress.
She was asleep before her body had even settled.