Blood. There was so much blood. It pooled in the water around Pretie, blossoming out of Ephyra's wound like the petals of some sort of ugly, gruesome flower. The first several seconds were pure, panicked chaos in Pretie's mind, her heart racing as she stared at the mermaid in front of her, stared at the blood, blood, so much blood.
When Pretie was finally able to snap herself out of the initial shock, she found herself drifting closer to place a tentative hand on Ephyra's shoulder. The mermaid's eyes rose to meet hers. Ephyra's face was a war of pain and fear, her brow furrowed and her lips pressed tightly together. Pretie wished she could somehow make it all go away.
"Let me see." She whispered. The girl held her breath as Ephyra lifted a trembling hand to guide Pretie's down to her stomach. Her fingers bumped against a sharp metal edge. Pretie gasped. The tip of the harpoon's arrowhead-shaped blade peeking through Ephyra abdomen; the weapon had impaled her from behind. "Oh my gods, Ephyra..."
The mermaid was wilting—that was the only way Pretie could think to describe it. Each flap of her tail to keep herself upright grew weaker with each passing second, her eyelids fluttering as she struggled to remain conscious. Pretie swallowed, grabbing Ephyra's hand in hers and giving it a tight squeeze. "We're... I'm going to get you help. Okay?" The lack of response on Ephyra's end only increased the worry pooling in Pretie's stomach. "Okay."
We're close to shore, she thought to herself, scanning the surrounding waters. Maybe someone from Aecora can help us. At the very least, we can wait on the shore until Melody and Krill find us. Nodding faintly to herself, Pretie tightened her grip on Ephyra's hand, using her arm like a rope to tug the mermaid behind her.
"Hang in there." She mumbled as she swam toward the shore. The water was becoming shallower; that was a good sign. Any second now, and they would be above the surface, safe on Aecora's sandy, warm beach—at least, as safe as one could be with the blade of a harpoon buried in their flesh.
Pretie heaved Ephyra onto the beach beside her. Somehow, the gaping wound in her abdomen seemed even worse out of the water. Her hands trembled as she reached over to brush a strand of hair out of Ephyra's face. The mermaid's eyes were half open, staring at something only she could see. The only sign she was still alive was the faint rise and fall of her chest with each shaky breath that escaped her lips. Pretie could thank the gods for the fact that Ephyra's lungs had assumed their job.
The girl took a breath. What am I supposed to do when someone's impaled? I never thought I'd have to deal with something like this... She chewed on the inside of her cheek. I don't think I'm supposed to just pull it out, right? Shit. I can break it first, I guess. With shaking hands, Pretie reached over to the end of the spear-like weapon protruding from Ephyra's back. She tentatively wrapped her fingers around the wooden shaft, clenching her hands into fists. Gritting her teeth, Pretie managed to snap it in two. She winced, tossing the snapped shaft aside as she shifted her hand toward the wound in Ephyra's abdomen. As gently as she could manage, Pretie gripped the edge of the harpoon's blade and tugged the remaining half out, barely withholding the urge to gag at the surprisingly wet squelch the motion created. She rinsed the blood from her hands in the shallows, though it still left an unsettling stain beneath her fingernails.
"I'm going to get you help," Pretie promised the mermaid in a low whisper, pressing her lips to the mermaid's damp forehead. "You're going to be okay." This time, she didn't allow her eyes to drift to the source of the blood beginning to soak the sand beneath them.
The girl turned to face her kingdom, shifting to sit up as best she could. Well, here goes nothing. "Help! Help, anyone! We need—" The words died on her tongue as her eyes caught on a figure standing on a pile of rocks nearby. Dark hair, blue eyes...
"Stickman." She breathed in a stuttering breath. Pretie had never thought she would be happy to see the prince. "Virid. You. You have to help my..."
She froze as the boy turned to reveal the long, slender object gripped in his hand. That's a harpoon.
"You."
The prince's stare flitted between Pretie and the wounded mermaid beside her. "Get away."
"What?"
He raised the bladed weapon in his hand. "Your Highness, get away from that thing."
"Excuse me?"
"I'm here to save you," Virid growled, taking a step closer. "You made it back here—thank the gods—and I won't let you be killed by some dangerous monster." It was then that Pretie realized he wasn't glaring at her, but past her. She followed his gaze.
"Ephyra?" Pretie scoffed, turning back to face the boy. "The very one you impaled? You... You could have killed her."
"Could have? I was hoping to do a little better than that." This time, when Virid stepped forward, Pretie scooted over to meet him, blocking his path to Ephyra. "What are you doing? I'm trying to protect you."
"Protect me from what, exactly? If you cared at all about me or my life, you would have tried to protect me when my father set his advisors on me. You would have tried to protect me when I was attempting to escape, instead of tattling on me just to save your sorry hide. So, Prince Virid—"
"I'm sorry. I should have—"
"Don't interrupt me, or so help me, I will drag myself over there and find a way to strangle you with my fins—the very ones you cursed me to take."
Virid's eyes went wide. Pretie didn't miss the way his grip tightened on the harpoon in his hands, his knuckles going white as he tensed. Good. He's uncertain. Now he'll listen.
"So, Virid Stickman, you lying snake, I don't need your protection. I don't need you to hold up some weapon and act like my white knight just because you feel guilty for being called out on your slip-up. I don't need a knight, nor will I ever forgive you for what you've done to me—and, now, what you've done to Ephyra. You've made a mistake, you sick, cowardly man."
The tide licked at the edge of Pretie's tail. That's odd, she thought to herself. I thought I was further from the water. But the waves continued to swell around her, and Pretie recognized a welcoming tug in the center of her stomach. Somehow, Pretie knew she was the one calling it forward; she could sense a newfound connection between herself and the sea, like it was somehow twined with her very being. The water lapping at her fins seemed to grin up at her, promising to back her up should she need it. The girl felt a grim smile tug at her lips as she reached a hand down to run her fingers through the shallow waves. The sea seemed pleased by her touch—though Pretie had no idea how she would know that—as it rose beneath her hand.
"What are you..."
"You dare speak to me?" She snapped, clenching her hand into a fist. The seawater at her fingertips leapt up, called to attention by the motion.
Pretie had never been allowed to feel strong emotions freely. Back in Aecora, she'd been forced to hide her anger, frustration, sadness; she'd been forced to play the part of the princess, a role in which there was no place for acting out in her emotions. Now, however, Pretie had nothing to hold her back.
As the girl let the rage build in her core, she felt the sea rise to meet her. The shallow waves built up into larger swells, plunging against the shore and frothing with their eagerness. Pretie let them build beneath her, sweeping her up in their hold until she was no longer a fish out of water, but a queen towering above the human prince before her.
The roar of the tide echoed in Pretie's ears, drumming in time with her own heartbeat. She gritted her teeth as she glared down at Virid. "You have made a grave mistake, and for that, you will pay."
Pretie didn't need to speak any words aloud for the ocean to hear her command. With the tide beneath her aiding her movement, the girl lunged for the prince. She relished the panic that flashed across his features as she fell toward him, the waves raining down around them. The ocean got to the prince before Pretie could. Virid's stumbling attempts at escape were futile as the sea caught him up in its swell. Pretie watched, faintly amused, as the waves overtook him, tossing him in their powerful surges. When his head popped above the surface, Pretie made her move.
With the sea guiding her, she plunged closer, latching a hand around his throat. Virid's eyes went wide, clumsily lifting his arms up to fight the hold. He was still coughing out saltwater, his dark hair drenched. He looked a bit like a drowned rat, Pretie couldn't help but think to herself.
"Look what the tide dragged in," Pretie hissed, tightening her hold. "Did you know that the only reason I wanted to come back to Aecora was to exact my revenge on you? And, wow, you decided it was a good idea to anger me further."
"Please," the prince gasped, his hands scrabbling helplessly against hers. "I was just trying to do what was best for—"
"For who?" The girl spat. "For yourself? Tell me, Prince Virid, did you ever think of anyone but yourself when you stood by in silence when I was cursed to take this form? When you told the guards my whereabouts when I was trying to get away, to do what was best for me?" Virid's silence was the only answer she needed. "I didn't think so."
"You don't understand..."
"I understand plenty well, thank you," Pretie growled. "You don't deserve my forgiveness."
Virid squeezed his eyes shut, his brows furrowed. "You know, maybe I was right to let you get cursed like this. You're a monst—"
Pretie let out a low hiss. The waves lapped at her waist, a gentle reminder that they were on her side, ready to take on the prince themselves should Pretie desire it. Not yet, my darlings, she found herself promising them. Soon. "If you've resorted to name-calling, then I've already won this fight."
When the prince simply seethed in her hold, Pretie raised an eyebrow. "Any final words before I wring out your body and cast it to sea?"
"You're a—"
"Oh? Did you say something? I didn't think I heard anything." She narrowed her eyes, tightening her grip. "I'm sure Butch will love to feast on your body, even if you are a little tasteless..."
Before Pretie could throw Virid into the ocean and let the waves do the rest, a soft moan reached her ears. Her grip on the prince went slack, the water dropping away as she recognized the source of the sound. Ephyra.